You wanted to rush towards her. Fight to no end, clash weapons, dodge attacks, parry blows, dance and weave between strikes, feel the sharp edge of metal graze your skin, feel the adrenaline flood your veins, be at peace with yourself, with the city, with the world, violence cleansing your body, mind and soul from all impurities…

Nah, those feelings were under your control. Unlike Sora, you fought with your brain, not your brawn. Maybe she felt something similar? Very likely. Not like you could blame her. You’ve never felt as free as you do now. Sure, fighting Grimm, saving people and doing scouting missions felt rewarding and all, but truly giving it your all while in battle? With your skill? Your combat aptitude? This feels almost like a ‘first’. Not even sparring with your former team felt as good as it feels now. Maybe they weren’t challenging you enough?

“So? Are you going to stay up there or what, birdie? Scared of going toe to toe with me?” Sora yelled from the ground, her chains still rattling and spinning near her.

“Not scared. More like amused. It’s not like you can do anything to me right here, might as well take a nap so that you can go and search for a ladder or something.” A little bit of a condescending banter was the main strategy.

“Ha, ha. What a cowardly bitch you are.” Her weapon’s spin got slower. She was hearing you out.

“Maybe, but at least I’m not useless at range.” You smiled at her. A smug one at that. This ‘emotional stab’ was on purpose. Hurting her pride had the highest chance of working.

“Did you just call me… useless?” Her expression changed. You noticed her breathing grow heavier as her chest pulsed. Perfect. Time to deepen the wound further.

“Not directly. But if you feel that way, then I’m sorry for you.” You closed your eyes, moving your head to the side in dismissal. It was all part of the act. You didn’t like being acting this way at all, but it seemed to be working.

A tense moment of silence followed. Sora stopped moving her weapon, her expression completely astonished. She was just taking it in. But you knew her well enough. You knew she just wouldn’t take that offhanded insult like that. You made yourself appear as confident and relaxed as possible. This wouldn’t harm her physically or affect her Aura, but the psychological battle was clearly in your favor.

(1/?)

She ascended with a diagonally aimed dash. She turned around while still in the air and dashed towards another direction. And again, and again, and again. She chained dash after dash, moving upwards towards your position. This was the first time you saw her do something like this. Was she holding back, revealing some of her hidden cards right now? A likely possibility.

Unfortunate for her that you were quite experienced when it came to aerial fights.

She dashed towards you again, using her Semblance, aiming both of her chains where you were resting. You retrieved your weapon from the roof, using your Semblance to strongly lower your weight and get away from her landing point. Both of her chains dangled after her daggers got stuck on the roof, and the force of her blow pushed you away like a feather. It was a shame; you wanted her to engage you in melee range so that you could show off by letting her touch you just slightly.

She unstuck one of her dagger-chains from the roof and threw it again, moving closer to your floating body as if her weapons were vines that constantly extended and shortened. Each time she moved closer, she slashed you at a distance, but you evaded acrobatically by slightly changing your position as you fell slowly, pushed farther away after each movement of her weapon.

“Can you stay still just for a fucking moment?” Sora roared again, attempting to hit you with a series of long-range slashes from her left weapon while hanging from the other one stuck on the roof.

“I ‘am’ staying still. Not my fault your aim is so bad that your own attacks push me away.” You answered while dodging the attacks with relative ease. You even managed to strike some funny poises, like laying on the air with your hands behind your head as if you were sleeping, pretending to yawn, etc.

Sora attacked with increased ferocity while screaming in fury. Dodging her attacks while using your Semblance to precisely change your weight in the air was quite tricky, but you started getting the hang of it. You even decided to release of your weapons momentarily to ‘balance’ out your aerial mobility, grabbing them again when you needed the ‘weight’ back.

It was just a matter of time before she attempted a new tactic. Better have your guard up.

> Continue focusing on dodging. You felt something… special when doing so with your Semblance. Something unique. Something untapped. A new technique to be discovered?
> Your defense while airborne was on-point, but it could be improved. Try to blend your evasiveness with your weapons to parry her blows precisely. Unbalancing her would open her up for a counterattack.
> Time to adopt a more offensive strategy. The air was your domain. She was just a guest at best. Show her that fighting you up here was a mistake.
> Other (Write-in)

>>6115277
> Continue focusing on dodging. You felt something… special when doing so with your Semblance. Something unique. Something untapped. A new technique to be discovered?
Our semblance is one of our weaker points. An improvement there could pay great dividends going forward.

>>6115277
>> Continue focusing on dodging. You felt something… special when doing so with your Semblance. Something unique. Something untapped. A new technique to be discovered?

>>6115277
> Continue focusing on dodging. You felt something… special when doing so with your Semblance. Something unique. Something untapped. A new technique to be discovered?
Shame we didn't show off

Another dice throw needed. Big reward for this one.

Best of 3, DC 18, Crit 23

Rolled 9, 10, 7 = 26 (3d10)

>>6115821

Rolled 6, 7, 2 = 15 (3d10)

>>6115821
I'll roll anyway, but goddamn >>6115898.

Rolled 2, 4, 9 = 15 (3d10)

>>6115821

>>6115277

>New Perk! Battle Trance (Auditory Focus, Incomplete): Greatly reduced (Sometimes autopass) DC for actions focused on defense and dodging when your sense of hearing is able to be used. Gets weaker and/or stronger depending on certain unknown factors.
>Focus up from 3 to 3.5!
>Small Awakening! Weight of Gratitude now needs almost no effort to be used when the target is either something you own or yourself. Allows for easier aerial mobility (Still no flight, however).

You knew Sora was getting furious. She was acting recklessly at this point. Her dagger came close to hitting you a few times, but with each dodge, maneuvering in the air felt easier. Her screaming would be deafening if you were closer to her. Her eyes were now glowing a solid red. Was it her aura blazing? Maybe. It didn’t matter too much, because something else was caught your attention.

Her attacks seemed to be getting slower. Or were they? No, the chains seemed slower, but the force of the air brushing your skin after each near-hit felt stronger. It was something else. In reality, her attacks were speeding up. But why were they easier to dodge than before, then?

Sora dislodged her off-hand dagger from the roof, dashing towards you while spinning mid-motion. A good try, but a slight push from your hands was enough to lift yourself out of harm’s way. She turned around and dashed once more, attacking wildly in erratic patterns as her chains surrounded you from all directions.

But the randomness of the patterns didn’t matter. Everything was moving slower, and your enhanced hearing allowed you to notice when one of her weapons came dangerously close. Extending one arm here, a somersault jump there, etc. You didn’t even need to see the attacks to dodge them. You just felt them way before they happened.

And good thing you noticed that, because Sora changed her strategy again while you kept floating in the air. She dashed towards one of the room’s lights, slashing at it, then moving on towards the next one, and the next. The room quickly grew dark as more lights got destroyed by her chains. You felt proud, forcing her to strategize to beat you. She was growing, too.

And now the room was entirely in darkness, except for a few things. A thin trail of fiery sparks spun in place in the distance. Using Dust to set her daggers on fire? Cool—this would make things more interesting. But why were they spinning so slowly, and why didn’t you feel in danger at all?

Another dash came through, the bright objects moving closer to you. Her daggers approached you from various directions, trying to hit you as you continued to float like a feather. Now the breeze that hit your face after each swing you dodged felt warm, soothing. You were unable to see the chains, but there was no need. You could hear them approaching and instinctively dodge with plenty of time to spare.

(1/?)

For you, it felt as if each swing took three or four seconds, but you knew that wasn’t possible. It must have been your reaction time. Something about your current mental state made this far easier to you. You actually had to move towards the attack for it to hit you. You read about this some years ago—something about Huntsmen reaching a certain peak of strength when pushed to the limit. But you weren’t at your limit at all, so could this be something different?

One of her weapons stopped glowing; however, the other one was still lit. She resumed attacking with both weapons as she continuously dashed through the air. Ah, a nice strategy on her part. This was meant to confuse you, drawing your attention to the glowing dagger while the other, concealed in darkness, still swung at you. At any other point in time this would be extremely dangerous to defend against.

What a sad state of affairs for Sora.

But you couldn’t really blame her for this. All your dodging was mainly thanks to your enhanced hearing, which let you ‘cheat’ and anticipate the direction of her attacks. Sure, your unusual mental state helped you a lot, but the point was that your eyes were almost useless for defense, at least in this fight.

So, lets close them and rest a little bit, right?

You floated through the air, hearing the rattle of chains come from above, below and from side to side. Sometimes the sounds came from mixed directions, sometimes delayed. some bouncing on the roof hit you at weird angles, a few thrusts here and there. A few chains bounced off the roof, trying to hit you at odd angles, with thrusts coming here and there. No matter where they came from, evading them was too easy; you did so almost automatically. This felt like being in a dream.

“Are your eyes seriously fucking closed?! What is this bullshit?!” You heard her yell while still slashing at you repeatedly. You slightly opened your eyes, watching her expression sometimes appear beneath the dark curtain of the room as her fiery chain moved closer to her face. She looked angry, confused and scared. This was so much fun. You were sure that if you exchanged places with her, you’d have a similar reaction. How would you explain this to her after the fight? This feeling of lightness, of freedom, of relaxation. Honestly, you had no idea. Might as well enjoy the ‘high’ while it lasted.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

Both your Scroll and Sora’s began blaring an alarm. Multiple messages were sent to both of you. Was something happening? Maybe it was Tay with an important message?

As your eyes opened, you saw how Sora began to fall to the ground, dashing to stop the momentum at critical moments. You did something similar with your Semblance, changing your weight so that your descent was graceful rather than a freefall. Most of the other grunts were running towards the exit, some falling and getting up in nearly total darkness.

(2/?)

As you landed in a floaty manner on the ground, you saw how Sora fell to one of her knees. She looked exhausted. Beads of sweat were plentiful on her skin. Her breathing was too heavy, and she couldn’t help but breathe through her mouth as well. She looked astonished.

“What the fuck was that? Seriously, what was that? How did you do that?” Sora claimed with a ragged voice, struggling to breathe.

If only you could put into words how it felt up there.

“I was just dodging. Nothing too serious.” You shrugged. You felt fine, mostly. You still felt somewhat dazed, the high slowly fading. Slightly tired.

“No. No, no, no. No! I don’t buy it. Something happened up there. I couldn’t even touch you ONCE! What the fuck was that? It can’t believe! Was it an illusion? Am I on drugs or something? Am I hallucinating?” Sora continued rambling as she walked with her hands on her head, still unable to comprehend what just happened. You took out your Scroll as she continued walking back and forth, talking mostly to herself. Tay was the one who sent the messages.

we got attacked
heavy casualties
come here at once
you and sora

Oh shit.

> Head directly towards Tay’s office. This was an emergency. Sora would eventually stop rambling on her own. Some alone time would help her clear her head.
> Help her move. You knew she was tired. This would delay you a little bit, but you could use this time to talk to her about what just happened. Maybe also try to calm her down.
> “Hey, last one to reach Tay’s office needs to clean the room daily for a week. Move, slowpoke.” It was a bit mean, but hey, time to assert dominance, right?
>Other (Write-in)

>>6116582
>> Help her move. You knew she was tired. This would delay you a little bit, but you could use this time to talk to her about what just happened. Maybe also try to calm her down.

>>6116576
>Write In
Use Weight of Gratitude to lighten Sora. Carry her on piggyback to Tay's office, since she's tired.

>>6116667
+1

>>6116667
+2

>>6116582

You approached Sora as she muttered to herself, pacing in circles. She was still in disbelief, unaware of the situation. “Hey. Something happened. We need to hurry,” you told her, trying to get her attention so you both could head back to the main building.

She turned around to look at you, her figure barely visible through the darkness of the room, the room only slightly lit by her glowing weapons that were still on the ground. “What? What do you mean something happened? Hey, where’s everybody?” Sora said while looking around, confused.

You showed her the text Tay sent you a few seconds ago on your scroll. Her eyes widened as she tried to move past you towards the exit. However, you stopped her right in her tracks. “Not so fast. If something bad happened, then we both need to be in better condition. That means you need to rest. Please, let me carry you.”

Sora blinked a few times. “Wait, you think I can’t move? What’s the matter with you? I’m fine. Step aside, birdie.” She tried to push past you, yet you stopped her again. Her breathing was heavy, and her eyes blinked slowly in a slightly erratic manner. Symptoms of low pressure. No, she wasn’t taking it well.

“Stop saying that. I can easily see that you’re almost ready to fall over. You exerted yourself pretty hard back there. Give yourself some time to rest; I insist.” You started to use your Semblance on her as you touched her. You could have done this at range, however, its effectiveness quickly dwindled the longer the distance was.

“No. Fuck that. I’m not gonna let ya carry me around like I’m some kind of cripple.” She tried to push you away again; however, her strength was far weaker than before. It was obviously because of her tired state. Was your Semblance making her weaker too? Good thing to find out and investigate later. Well, if she wasn’t going to comply, then it was time to take matters into your own hands.

You knelt in front of her, gripping her waist as you effortlessly lifted her onto your shoulder. “Behave while we’re on the way and I might let you walk away. Trust me, you need to rest. Your breathing doesn’t feel right.” You started running towards the exit, Sora’s body weighed as if she were made of paper.

“No, no, no! Get me the fuck down. Right now. I’m not a lost child or anything like that. I don’t need your fucking help, Shell.” Sora started screaming, trying to hit you on your back. Her blows were faint and barely noticeable. You weren’t sure whether she was tired or holding back on purpose. Nevertheless, you decided to quicken your pace.

As you moved through the hallways, you noticed how they were unusually empty. Sometimes you saw a few guards here and there, but right now all you heard was an alarm not so far away. Whatever happened had alerted the entire base. “Can you help me speed up, Sora? Maybe use your semblance with mine?” You said as you reduced your weight. An idea.

(1/?)

“No, stop grabbing me and let me the fuck down or I’ll…” Sora started bickering again, but you decided to interrupt her.

“No. I have a plan. Climb on my back and try to dash together with me.” Maybe you could somehow combine both of your Semblances? This would help in the future should you decide to do missions together. Teamwork was key for success and all that jazz.

Sora sighed, but relented. She climbed behind you, wrapping her hand around your neck. You felt her take a deep breath as both of you looked towards the hallway, and…

A strong current of air forced you to close your eyes. If you hadn’t lowered your weight, you were sure that you would have fallen over. As you opened your eyes, you saw the end of the hallway, turning around to continue walking through this labyrinth. Halfway there. The plan worked! You managed to dash together with her. “Huh. Never knew that could happen.” Sora said while still climbing on your back.

“Yeah, it just did. So, it appears that as long as I’m not too heavy, you can dash together with me? Wait, is this seriously your first time trying this?” You asked her as you kept running. You would be near Tay’s office in less than a minute at this pace.

“Uh-huh.” Sora coldly commented as she extended her left hand, indicating the direction of her dashes. Sora’s demeanor was slightly aloof. No matter; this new technique allowed you to increase your travel efficiency. By dashing strategically between walls, you managed to cut down your time unnecessary running time. Good for emergencies.

“Just that? ‘Uh-huh,’? This is amazing! Your Semblance is amazing. It has so much potential. I can already think of two or two or three strategies we could do if we fought together. What took you so long to discover you could do this?” There, Tay’s office was on sight. You saw some grunts exit several doors with some makeshift guns as they headed towards the stairs to ascend towards the main floor.

Sora climbed off your back as she retreated towards a nearby wall. She hugged herself, her breathing still heavy. She glanced to the side, almost as if trying to hide her face. She looked so… fragile. “I despise it when people touch me. Let’s leave it at that.” Sora blurted, still looking at the wall and avoiding eye contact with you.

“What do you mean that you…” Wait, maybe she was… Oh, shit. And you grabbed her without asking her first back there. Fuck, if only you had known.

“I’m sorry, Sora. It wasn’t my intention. I should have asked if it was ok first before I...” Sora rubbed her eyes and sighed, interrupting you.

(2/?)

File: CarmineMupon.png (1.26 MB, 937x813)

1.26 MB PNG

“Nah, it’s fine. There’s no need to apologize.” She didn’t look fine. “You’re right, my dash thingie has potential. I’ll look into it when whatever this shit that’s happening is over.” Her tone got more confident as she continued talking, yet you catched up how her voice slightly cracked at times. She was trying to show strength. “Maybe we should… train together later? Help me learn more about my Semblance and all that? You look smart and all that. And then you can explain to me what kind of bullshit ya did back there. Aye?” Unexpected for her to offer this without your input, but you wouldn’t deny the opportunity.

“Yes. Yes, we should. Again, I’m sorry,” you still felt a tinge of guilt. Time to remember this for future missions.

“I said its fine! Stop apologizing so much; it makes you look weak. And I don’t want to be seen being carried around by a fucking…” Sora stopped talking as she took out her Scroll to read it. “…oh fuck. I gotta go. The Black Sheep got attacked too.”

“What? Right now?” you asked her. A coordinated attack against the White Fang and the strongest criminal syndicate in Kuchinashi? Atlas reinforcements? A group of Huntsmen? Grimm? Something else?

“Don’t know. Things look bad. I’ll catch ya later. Say hi to Tay for me, will ya?” Sora looked at you, briefly nodding. She started jogging away towards the exit.

You would ask her about the details later. Right now, your priorities were different. You opened Tay’s door and saw him sitting at his desk, his hands hiding his eyes as he looked up towards the ceiling. The room looked messy. Pieces of glass were on the ground, and his hair looked unkempt. He looked utterly exhausted. Carmine was there too, sitting on the sofa close to you with her arms crossed. She had the White Fang mask on, and a new high-tech prototype armor you hadn’t seen her use before. She turned to face you. “I came here as fast as I could. I was training with Sora. Sorry. She also asked me to tell you that the Black Sheep…” Tay’s voice sounded tired, defeated, as he interrupted you.

“Eight dead. Twenty-one critically wounded. All either agents, allies or sympathizers to us. Dinah’s gone. She was one of our veterans. Not only that, but info has already spilled to the bosses. She had renown, you know? Fighting for the cause ever since the beginning near Menagerie. A veteran, a heroine. And now she’s dead.”

Dinah, the elderly lady cat-faunus you met before, the one that had burn marks on her face who looked blind. You didn’t talk to her much, as she mostly performed lookout tasks. But she? A veteran? This looked bad. It felt bad.

(3/?)

“What do you mean she’s dead? What the fuck happened, Tay? Are we still under attack?” you raised your voice. Almost thirty people? That’s a lot, nearly half our total body count. Tay moved his head from side to side as if answering you, but Carmine decided to speak up as she held a hand close to her ear. She just ended a call with someone.

“That was Adam on the call, T. He wants to know what happened. Tell the… girl to leave. She has no place for this meeting.” Carmine spoke in a chilling tone, not even looking at you.

“What? How did he know about our situation this fast? We barely got the news a few minutes ago!” Tay replied in a frantic manner. His usually charming and calm demeanor had completely vanished, desperation clearly overwhelming him.

“Dinah was a direct family member of Selina. Its no wonder news about her death got around this fast. Can you please go already?” Carmine turned around to look and speak directly at you. First time she did so in weeks. “This is a private and important meeting. You have no place here. Just… go out there and do whatever you want, ok? You’ll just make things worse if you stay.” Her tone was condescending, laced with cold rage. Tay looked desperate, rummaging through his drawers and throwing papers to the floor, emotionally unable to back you up.

> Fuck that. Tay desperately needed emotional support for this meeting. He needed someone with a calm and professional attitude. Insist on staying. Carmine wasn’t your boss.
> As much as you hated her guts, you knew that meeting the upper ranks of the White Fang would likely bite you in the ass later down the line. Exit the office, but use your enhanced hearing to hear to the conversation.
> Too many people were dead. You liked Tay, but this was his fight to fight. Yours was to make sure people were safe. Go out there right now and find out on your own what happened.
> Other (Write-in)

>>6119369
>Fuck that. Tay desperately needed emotional support for this meeting. He needed someone with a calm and professional attitude. Insist on staying. Carmine wasn’t your boss.

>>6119369
>Write In
>Ask Tay where he wants us.
We're not really the "sitting in the boardroom" type. Our talents mostly lay in combat, so we can probably do more good trying to triage the *currently unfolding* emergency situation from the ground. That said, it's still kind of shitty to leave Tay in the lurch when he's going to pieces, and he specifically called us to his office.

>>6119369
>Fuck that. Tay desperately needed emotional support for this meeting. He needed someone with a calm and professional attitude. Insist on staying. Carmine wasn’t your boss.

>>6119369
>> Fuck that. Tay desperately needed emotional support for this meeting. He needed someone with a calm and professional attitude. Insist on staying. Carmine wasn’t your boss.

>>6116582

“So… Tay, what’s the plan for the meeting?” You decided to speak up first, steering the conversation in your favor.

“Let me handle it. If you see me in trouble, back me up as needed. I’ll do the same to you. And also, put on your mask. We need to keep a professional appearance, as impossible as that sounds right now.” Taylor answered, taking out his own white mask from his robes and putting it on.

“What?!” Carmine exclaimed. You knew she hated your presence, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t matter. Taylor was the one that asked for your help, and you’d be damned if you turned your back on him.

“Understood.” You said as you fully entered the room, closing the door behind you. You moved towards Taylor’s side, leaving Carmine mostly isolated near the sofa. As you put on your White Fang mask, on you saw how Carmine was clenching her teeth while observing you.

“This is a stupid idea, T. One of your biggest fuck ups yet. You know I outrank her. She needs to get out, now!” Carmine almost roared, still watching you. You kept a serious face as you hid your hands behind your back, trying to slowly breathe and calm your nerves for what was about to come.

“Carmy, let’s not keep Adam waiting. Call him. Trust me on this one.” Tay answered, sounding defeated. At least he stood his ground when confronted by this impulsive girl. You’d call her a bitch, but you were better than that. Academy drama was something you never tolerated, even back then.

Carmine roared again, but eventually relented. “Your funeral,” she said as she lifted her scroll, attached to her techy suit by the wrist. A hologram appeared between us, showing the sign of a phone with the message ‘Calling’ in bold, blue flickering letters.

A few seconds later, the projection disappeared. The insides of a tent appeared in the background with a grassy, yellowish floor beneath it. In the middle of the room sat a man on a single foldable chair. He had red hair, a pair of black small horns, and a slim figure. His wore a black kimono with bright red details with a black saber scabbard was resting at his side. Similar to yours, but somewhat longer. He also wore the traditional White Fang mask, though his had a few red symbols whose meaning you couldn’t really understand.

“Greetings, boss. Just to confirm, do you copy? Signal tends to cut out on these long-distance calls.” Tay said, starting the conversation. The guy sitting on the other side of the call had his legs crossed. You think you had read on him in the past? Something about a high-ranking White Fang member? You couldn’t remember exactly. It all happened a long time ago.

“Yes. The call is working just fine. Carmine is there with you, I assume?” Adam said, turning his head slightly as if looking for someone. It was hard to read his emotions.

(1/?)

File: AdamTaurus.png (1.76 MB, 900x1200)

1.76 MB PNG

“I am here, sir. Thank you for your patience.” Carmine started walking to move closer to us, most likely positioning herself so that the video feed could catch her.

“Patience is one thing I tend to lack, especially right now. Let’s skip the pleasantries. You know why this is a high-priority situation, don’t you, Tay?”

Tay nodded. “I do, sir. This attack was unprecedented, and the casualties are high in number.” You managed to sense Tay’s slightly erratic breathing by focusing your hearing on him. His voice kept calm, however. He was trying really hard.

“I’m aware that casualties are high. However, that’s not the main issue, is it? An high profile member was confirmed dead. You know who I’m talking about, right? Are the rumors true?” Adam’s voice kept steady and serious, showing close to no emotion. Maybe a slight trace of anger? Hard to tell.

“Yes… I’m afraid she was confirmed dead. Cause of death was blood loss, after being, well… severely wounded, to put it mildly.” Tay’s voice started losing strength.

“Her right arm was completely bitten off. Both legs too, below the knee. Eviscerated by a slashing attack of some sort, most likely a claw. Jugular was also cut. And her body had relatively low damage compared to the other ones. At least her identity was recognizable. Her wounds are most likely defensive ones. She fought back.” Carmine answered with far more confidence than Taylor. Her attitude was more professional than you expected. That meant that she decided chose to be ‘bitchy’ towards you.

“I see. Thank you for the report, Carmine. At least one of you is capable of doing your job right.” Adam answered in the same deadpan tone he’s had.

“Thank you, sir.” You saw how Carmine smirk, while Taylor’s breathing quickened, becoming more nervous. You wanted to pat him on his back or shoulder, tell him that things were going to be fine, but you got quickly interrupted.

“And… I see we have a guest with us. Who are you, girl? Identify yourself.” Adam’s voice got louder as you saw his face turn slightly to the side, looking at you directly. Now you were in the spotlight. At least you felt mentally prepared for this.

“Don’t bother about her, sir. She’s just a nui…” Carmine started speaking in a condescending tone, but Taylor quickly interrupted her.

“She’s one of our most recent members. Official name being Susie. She’s one of our most recent recruits. Her skills and abilities are indispensable in the future of our operations.” Tay’s voice was far more confident this time, tinged with anger. He didn’t want for Carmine to shut him up and make either of you look bad. This was your cue.

(2/?)

“Greetings, Adam, sir. My name is Susie. I’m here to help out in this awful situation we are in.” You bowed slightly as a sign of respect. Hierarchy stuff was important, specially here, it seemed. You didn’t want Taylor to look bad.

Adam kept quiet for a few seconds, still watching you through the holographic call. “I think I’ve read about your files a few times. Yes. Taylor speaks highly of you, especially about your skills. Yet I’m still concerned about something, and I want you to help me out with that.”

“Of course, sir. How may I be able to help?” Calm tone, right attitude, correct timing. Everything was indispensable to look as good as possible.

“I’m not concerned about your skills if that’s what you’re thinking. I know that you graduated from Haven academy and that your academic aptitude and combat skills are praised. No, what’s concerning to me is your loyalty to our cause. You’ve worked on some missions against us in the past, right?”

“Two missions. Mostly reconnaissance. Shelly has an enhanced auditory sense. She helped out the authorities back there in the capital to find some of our agents. Most of our soldiers got captured.” Carmine buttered in again. Not only did she use your real name, but she was trying to paint you in this manner? Damnit.

“That was years ago, and…” Tay tried to assist you, but Adam quickly shushed him.

“Silence, Taylor. I want to hear it from her. Is everything Carmine said accurate?” Adam said. Taylor quickly got shut. It was clear that he was the authority here.

And now, the social combat began.

> Approach this with conviction and honesty. Confirm that everything was true, and explain your reasoning. You felt that showing strength and confidence could undermine Carmine’s efforts to make you look bad.
> Approach this with charisma and cunning. Yes, that’s what happened, but with the right choice of words, you could make work in your favor. Shift the blame away from yourself, make you appear as an ally to the Faunus. Maybe this would improve Adam’s perception of you?
> Putting yourself on the spot would not benefit you. Be as vague as possible, planting half-truths here and there that couldn’t be easily confirmed. Let’s try to disarm Carmine’s efforts in every manner and shape possible.
> Other (Write-in)

>>6120804
>> Approach this with charisma and cunning. Yes, that’s what happened, but with the right choice of words, you could make work in your favor. Shift the blame away from yourself, make you appear as an ally to the Faunus. Maybe this would improve Adam’s perception of you?

>>6120804
> Approach this with conviction and honesty. Confirm that everything was true, and explain your reasoning. You felt that showing strength and confidence could undermine Carmine’s efforts to make you look bad.
Carmine is already gunning for our feathered ass, and she'll outright expose us if we lie or try to twist the truth. This is a test of character; I'd consider being unwilling to own up to our mistakes as an *automatic* failure. Adam's not really the forgiving type, but it's worth a shot, considering he's willing to hear us out in the first place.

>>6120804
>Approach this with conviction and honesty. Confirm that everything was true, and explain your reasoning. You felt that showing strength and confidence could undermine Carmine’s efforts to make you look bad.

>>6120804
>> Approach this with conviction and honesty. Confirm that everything was true, and explain your reasoning. You felt that showing strength and confidence could undermine Carmine’s efforts to make you look bad.

>>6120804

Not only was Carmine trying to make you look bad in front of the White Fang’s leaders, but now your past was being used as an argument against you. A past that you longed for. It was obvious you hurt the White Fang with your operations, but you didn’t feel any shame for it. They were breaking the law. They were hurting people, posing a danger to society. You did what was right.

“Everything is accurate, sir. I have worked against the White Fang in the past. I’ve helped huntsmen from Mistral in two operations against your people, because it had to be done. Your voice felt powerful and strong. You knew that showing weakness to Adam would not help you at all. Besides, you were a leader, damnit. What would your teammates and friends think if you cowered before Adam just because of his authority and rank?

“Something that had to be done? Plenty of our soldiers have been captured, most likely sold into slavery, and suffering even worse fates. All thanks to those humans. And you claim it was necessary?” His voice grew louder, more vigorous. You glimpsed both Tay and Carmine slowly backing down, fearing his wrath.

But you stood your ground.

“Yes, it was.” You stepped forward. “Those soldiers were aiming to sabotage the water supply of a whole town. Many lives, both faunus and human, would have been lost had they succeeded. And the second mission? They were planning on planting bombs on a whole building near the capital. Chaos and destruction would have ensued. It would have been a tragedy. I don’t feel shame or regret when it comes to the help I gave to those towns.” You weren’t backing down, moving forward without letting yourself show weakness. Just like Sora did, only with a strategic touch. She would feel proud.

“And what about all those faunus who get sent to slavery because of their capture? What about the pain they endure? Are you aware of what happens to them after they are sent to jail? Some are sold as forced labor to those mining companies. Some are outright killed. They are treated worse than animals ever would be. Don’t you realize that by helping those towns, you’re indirectly supporting those monsters? Don’t you feel shame in that?” Adam got up from his chair, moving closer to the screen.

“I don’t feel ashamed about that, sir. What I feel is anger.” You were improvising now, talking with your heart. “I feel anger because I hate suffering. I hate undeserved violence. I hate it when innocents’ lives are lost because of the desires of those with evil in their hearts. I completely understand why you and Carmine doubt me greatly. It is completely justified...” You turned around to look at her. Her face showed clear surprise.

(1/?)

File: SiennaKhan.png (766 KB, 564x758)

766 KB PNG

“…but what is not justified is hating me just because of the things I have done, especially when there were very good reasons for my actions. We are in the middle of a crisis, and many lives were lost. They were good people. Dinah had a kind heart, and now she’s gone. And all the grunts and soldiers who died? Their families are the ones who will suffer now. And trust me when I tell you that I will do everything I can and more in order to find justice for them. For that’s the reason I enrolled in Haven to become a huntress. That’s the reason I keep moving forward. To help those in need.”

The room was quiet for some moments. You felt the adrenaline surge inside you. Did you say something wrong? Maybe you made a mistake there? No. Those doubts had to be dismissed. You said what you truly felt. If Adam, Carmine or Tay didn’t accept it, then it was their problem.

“I’ve heard enough.” A female voice said through the projector. A second light turned on, and a new face appeared in the call, right beside Adam’s screen.

It was a female faunus sitting on a throne. She had black hair, amber eyes and a dark complexion. Black stripes marked her shoulders and arms, and a pair of pronounced feline ears rested atop her head. She wore numerous golden rings and various jewelry over a black sleeveless dress. A red cape was clasped at her exposed shoulders. She sat with her legs crossed.

You saw everyone in the room, including Adam, gasp in unison. Both Tay and Carmine bowed their heads, and Adam’s expression was one of clear surprise.

“High Leader.” Were the words they all spoke almost in unison. Wait, High Leader? Was she in charge of the White Fang?

“Your highness. How did you…” Tay decided to speak up, not even raising his head. Was she seriously that important? Should you lower your head as well?

“My aunt died, Taylor. Not only that, but she was killed on your territory. My agents wanted to contact you, but they informed me that you were already on a call. With Adam, nonetheless. Was this a private meeting of sorts? Maybe I should go, wait for all of you to finish? Say sorry for interrupting you? Send some gifts as an apology?” Her voice was strong, confident. Maybe even slightly more than yours. A hint of sarcasm was evident in her tone.

“No, High Leader. My apologies if you felt disrespected. We all are still reeling about such an event.” Taylor answered. Poor guy; you could even hear his heartbeat from his anxiety.

“And you, Adam. May I know why you decided to talk to him at this precise moment?” Selina’s screen slightly tilted.

“High Leader. I wanted to speak with my underling directly and ask him about the events to ensure nothing was amiss. I felt this important situation deserved my full attention.” Adam’s voice replied, with close to no strength to it. Was even he backing down against her?

(2/?)

Selina sighed. “It’s been an exhausting few days. And now this. Such awful timing. You there, girl. Shelly was your name, wasn’t it? I’ve heard your speech. You speak with conviction, yet I don’t know you. Is everything you said true?”

“Yes, your highness.” You bowed to her, unsure of the correct protocols when addressing someone of such a high rank. “That’s why I want to help. I know there’s doubt cast on me due to my past, but that doesn’t change who I am or what I want. I want to help those in need. I want to fight for justice. I met Dinah a few times. We spoke. She was gentle, strong, brave. If it’s worth anything… I’m sorry for your loss, Miss Selina. She didn’t deserve such a fate.”

“The name is Sienna. Not Selina…” Selina… Sienna’s voice sternly said. You saw Carmine smirk as she continued to bow. She deliberately provided you with misleading information, waiting for you to trip. And she succeeded. You felt your blood boil. “…and I do appreciate your concern. You’re actually the first one to offer your condolences. Thank you, Shelly. My relationship with Dinah wasn’t the best, but still, she was family.” Her voice softened at the end.

The room felt quiet again. You kept bowing. Perhaps it was time for someone else to speak? Being under scrutiny by such intimidating figures was not something you felt pleased about.

“Going back on topic.” Sienna started talking again. “I heard everything you said, girl. And I believe you. Yet Adam’s doubts aren’t entirely unfounded, either. The strength of our cause ultimately rests in the end on its members, and if someone shows doubts at any point, then the chain breaks. I’d like to see you back up your claims with actions. You feel anger over Dinah’s death, right?”

“Yes. I do, your highness.” Things were going mostly well. She felt far more reasonable than Adam based on her manner of speaking.

“Then please. Show me, show us, that we can trust you. Go out there and find out what happened to my aunt. Find out who did this to her, and make sure the one responsible gets what’s deserved. If you’re interested in having those doubts about you disappear, of course. Understood?”

“Understood, your highness. I promise you I will find out who did it.” You replied.

“Good. Dismissed. For the rest of you, there are some important things we need to discuss. Including you, Adam. It is in my best interest for you to stay here in this meeting.” Sienna said, waving her hand as if signaling for you to get out of the room. You bowed slightly.

(3/?)

Adam was now entirely ignoring you. Did your words register to him? Hard to tell. Tay slightly smiled as he glanced at you. Carmine, however, turned to watch you leave. You saw her teeth barely visible below her mask. She was still furious. You wouldn’t forget how she tried to undermine you. Had she even succeeded? Probably. Most likely. Hard to tell at this point.

You closed the door behind you. You felt far more at ease.

> Call Sora and tell her about what happened. Mention the doubts Adam and Sienna had and how Carmine tried to sabotage you. Maybe also ask her how she’s doing.
> Go outside and ask the guards directly about what happened. Interrogate them to find out more about what they heard. Maybe this could give you some clues as to how to proceed.
> Time wasn’t on your side. You had a good idea about where this happened: a warehouse a few minutes to the south. Go there directly while the situation was still fresh.
> Other (Write -in)

>>6123075
> Time wasn’t on your side. You had a good idea about where this happened: a warehouse a few minutes to the south. Go there directly while the situation was still fresh.
Tay can question the guards; he's going to be in his office for the better part of the day, most likely, trying to organize.

>>6123075
>Time wasn’t on your side. You had a good idea about where this happened: a warehouse a few minutes to the south. Go there directly while the situation was still fresh.

>>6123075
>Call Sora and tell her about what happened. Mention the doubts Adam and Sienna had and how Carmine tried to sabotage you. Maybe also ask her how she’s doing.

>>6123075
> Time wasn’t on your side. You had a good idea about where this happened: a warehouse a few minutes to the south. Go there directly while the situation was still fresh.

>>6123075

With the more political side of things finished, it was time to move. Plenty of people had died, the danger was most likely still present, and you had sort of promised something to the White Fang’s supreme overlord leader or whatever her official title was. High leader, highness it was? A strange mix of nervousness and adrenaline tingled deep inside your chest. Perhaps there was also some excitement?

As you walked up the set of stairs, the sound of rusty ventilation echoed around you. You finally reached the end of the hallway and arrived at the main floor. All the doors seemed locked, with guards stationed outside many rooms (Most likely, where the non-fighters were hiding). You headed outside the main building and saw nearly two dozen soldiers armed with firearms and makeshift weapons standing guard. They stood in silence, clearly on edge.

You saw Tusk in front of the gates, looking around as if searching for something. “I just heard the news. Tell me the details.” You said as you approached him, trying to appear calm and collected. Maybe this would help the others feel at ease. After all, you had slowly cultivated your fame as being possibly the strongest fighter around.

“Yes, Miss S. You see, erm… I don’t even know where to begin. According to some witnesses, it was as if the whole place turned into a warzone. The whole compound was attacked at once by something we still don’t know the nature of Some people say it was a beast, some other say there were many. We suspect Grimm, but plenty of details are vague at best and contradicting at worse.” Tusk explained. His chest rose and fell with each word spoke. He was visibly rattled.

“Uh huh. What else?” you asked him listening carefully to your surroundings. An eerie silence hung in the air, as if everyone was anticipating an attack at any moment.

“Our entire branch building, along with all civilians within a radius of maybe three or four blocks, was attacked by beasts made of shadow. They appeared out of nowhere. It was a surprise attack. Some flew, while others moved across the ground. The survivors closer to the edges managed to escape, and it appears that the beasts didn’t follow them. Whatever attacked showed no interest in pursuing the survivors. I’m not sure whether there are people still alive inside those residences.” He lowered his gaze with those last words.

“I see. That indeed sounds like an attack from the Grimm.” You replied. Beasts made of shadow match their description.

“I thought the same, but I have some doubts about it. Survivors claim they were formless, sometimes shifting shapes. No one knew where they appeared from and… I don’t know. They might be, but if that’s true, could it be a new type? How did they appear, then?”

(1/?)

“Thank you for the info, Tusk. Call me only if it’s an emergency.” You decided to lower your hood while combining your sabers to create once more your bow. Besides the sparring sessions, you had almost no opportunity to hold it in this manner. It brought a sense of nostalgia.

“Yes, miss S. Good luck. Please, really take care of yourself.” Tusk said, and you decided to run off towards the place. It would only take you a few minutes at most to arrive, since it was relatively close.

As you ran across the empty streets, you decided that the best course of action was to go to the rooftops. This would give you a clear advantage when using your bow, and it would help you maneuver more easily without really sacrificing much of your stealth. You had to be this careful, since whatever those things were, they managed to kill Dinah, a veteran.

Oh, yes, her. The first person you met when you arrived to the White Fang headquarters. She had a positive presence around her. You hadn’t spoken to her much, but you knew people looked up to her. Was she really Sienna’s aunt? What was she doing here, then? Whatever took her life must have been something insidious. Not only that, but this time you didn’t have a team watching your back.

As you jumped from rooftop to rooftop, you finally got a glimpse of whatever happened in this place. Smears of dried-up blood beneath the morning sun could be in almost every street. Trash littered the floors, ruined merchant stalls, destroyed doors and windows, etc. It was a very good depiction of chaos. The streets were completely empty, almost as if everyone was gone or deceased. Most of all, the silence felt off.

The deeper you got into the core of the zone, you saw how the violence simply grew in intensity. Large red marks on the floor and on some walls, with plenty of bodies lying on the ground, some torn apart in an unknow number of pieces. Men, women, the elderly, even some children. A few parts of plentiful android guards were also completely destroyed, sometimes shooting out sparks. It was all very feral. Gruesome and… sick.

Eight bodies and nearly twenty-one critically wounded individuals was the report. That number was only taking into consideration OUR agents and sympathizers. Civilian casualties should be far higher. This meant that the number of lives that were lost could easily rack up to the hundreds.

(2/?)

The landscape… reflected that. This was the first time you witnessed such a raw amount of violence, and it was only the aftermath. Not a single mission you completed at the academy came close to this level of tragedy. Classes didn’t prepare you for the sick smell of iron in the air, the oppressive silence, or the feeling of dread that assailed you from every direction. Your survival instincts kicked in, urging you to flee this place as quickly as possible.

But no, you weren’t going to turn back. You had trained for this. Time to put those useless emotions a side and think rationally. You were better than that, letting emotions cloud your judgment. You were going to find whoever or whatever did this and stop it. Stop them, most likely.

Okay, time for damage assessment. Easily over a hundred lives were lost. Were there survivors? Maybe, most likely in hiding IF they were still sticking around. What was exactly the thing or things that attacked them? Good. That was a useful starting point.

The manner in which the bodies were left, the slashes on the lower walls, the raw… viscera on the ground, the destruction littering the streets... All this pointed to a Grimm attack. However, it wasn’t easy to deduce. The amount of violence suggested multiple beasts, yet bodies didn’t appear…sufficiently eaten. Not only that, but Grimm had no reason to leave the bodies out there to rot, and there were no sign of them. No weird movements, no sounds, nothing. Maybe they went into hiding?

You didn’t feel in danger, and your hearing would help you if anything tried to ambush you. Furthermore, but you had to recognize that among all the people in the city, you were likely near the top (Maybe?) when it came to combat, so you could afford to be a little more reckless?

> Staying cautious was your top priority. You had to be slow and methodical. You were alone, and the danger that lurked within the neighborhood had killed a veteran just hours earlier.
> You didn’t want whatever the thing (or things) that were hiding to get comfortable. Be more brazen, make the first move, search with greater fervor. You trusted your instincts and skills enough to defend yourself should you get ambushed. Find them first before they find you.
> Many lives had been lost. The lives of allies, of innocents. Whatever the thing was that did this, it didn’t deserve to be hunted; It deserved to be defeated. Use your bow to shoot into the air, make yourself known, and lure the creatures out. Challenge them to come out into the open.
> Other (Write-in)

>>6125347
>Staying cautious was your top priority. You had to be slow and methodical. You were alone, and the danger that lurked within the neighborhood had killed a veteran just hours earlier.

>>6125347
>> You didn’t want whatever the thing (or things) that were hiding to get comfortable. Be more brazen, make the first move, search with greater fervor. You trusted your instincts and skills enough to defend yourself should you get ambushed. Find them first before they find you.

>>6125347

> Staying cautious was your top priority. You had to be slow and methodical. You were alone, and the danger that lurked within the neighborhood had killed a veteran just hours earlier.
>(Write in)Contact Sora with our scroll, to see if she can provider backup, just in case.
It shouldn't take too much effort to send her a message and see if she's available to help investigate.

>>6125691
+1

>>6125347

You took out your scroll, changing its settings to mute to avoid unwarranted interruptions that could sabotage your investigation. After doing that, you sent a message to Sora.

Are you close to the south? I might need some backup. Things are bad down here. Quiet, but bad.

After sending the message, you decided to move across the various rooftops of the neighborhood, keeping a low profile with your bow drawn. You expected multiple opponents, and it was highly likely that they specialized in ambush tactics. Letting your guard down was a mistake you couldn’t afford to make.

The landscape didn’t change at all. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. The only things that could be heard were the wind softly blowing, a few signs with rusty chains dangling, and… that was it. You couldn’t decide if this made you feel safer or more in danger.

You felt a subtle vibration come from inside one of your utility pouches. It was your scroll. A message notification. You took it out after pushing your back against a nearby ventilation machine and looked at the message. It was Sora.

S: nah im north, shitshow here 2, plenty of civilians dead, poison or smthing, what u need help?

Poison? Maybe whatever happened in the upper districts to the north was different from what you were investigating here?

Tell me more info about it. What do you mean poison? Were there no bodies torn apart? No wounds? Beasts made of shadow? Grimm?

S: nothing like that. plenty of stuckup rich nobles found dead in their rooms. some civs think it was a gas leak or smthing in the water but no , doctors here at the family say otherwise. lungs melted, acid gas. still investigating, wbu?

Different attacks were made across the city, each using different methods. Maybe something similar happened to the Spider family, Vespera or that underground fighting club? You wondered if the attack the White Fang received was the worst one of them all.

You approached the edge of a nearby rooftop and took a picture of a random street below. Most of the streets looked almost the same, which made you realize how awful the situation was. You sent the photo to Sora.

This is what attacked us near the compound. The situation is similar across two or three blocks. Sending pic.

Sora stopped responding. She was in the middle of her investigation too, which made sense. You decided to keep going with yours. Watching from the rooftops wasn’t revealing too much information, so you decided to find an empty alleyway and jump down. Getting closer to the ground would maybe provide you with some clues.

As you searched a nearby street, you indirectly approached the carnage below. Insects and flies were beginning to gather around the warm bodies. The smell began to intensify, and it would only worsen with time.

(1/?)

There was just… nothing else to find. Not even a whisper or a cry for help from anywhere. The only thing that was alive was rats and everything smaller than them. This felt eerily similar to when Grimm attacked towns far away from the capital and no Huntsmen were close by to provide protection.

Another message notification came from your scroll. As you hid behind a nearby abandoned merchant stall, you decided to read it

S: wow thats bad. some grimm? survivors at least?
Not sure yet. Everything is quiet. No trace of anything alive. This feels too wrong. Maybe you could head here when you’re done up there with the noble families?
alrighttt let me try to wrap this up. its not like i can do much help here anyways. might take a while however so dont do stupid shit w/o me

Good. You had a backup plan ready. If you were to be attacked then you just needed to stall until Sora came in. In the meantime, investigation had to continue.

…

After nearly twenty minutes of searching through streets, civilian homes, business buildings, and even the small ‘branch’ of the White Fang, you concluded that staying here was a waste of time. There were still a few places left to search, but you grew tired of inspecting bodies, the smell and the presence of death. You were slowly becoming desensitized to it, which made working as a detective easier, though still far from pleasant.

Whatever caused this massacre was gone. Could it be Grimm that vanish and appear without warning? A scary thought. Yet there was no other plausible explanation. Perhaps it was time to reinforce the HQ with better security systems. How could you defend against something that struck with no warning? Maybe retrieving the security footage from a nearby building could provide some clues…

Your thoughts were suddenly interrupted. You finally heard something far in the distance. It seemed that two or three blocks away, near the ‘epicenter’ of the attack. It was the faint sound of… a radio? Old-style music constantly looping every five or six seconds. You were fairly sure you would’ve noticed it earlier, meaning someone had just turned it on.

Time to go to the rooftops again. After a few acrobatic moves, you made your way towards the center of the neighborhood while keeping close to your favorite vantage points. Maybe it was Sora, playing a sick joke on you? No way. She was unhinged at times, but even this was beyond her.

You peeked out from a tall antenna to see where the sound was originating from. It was perhaps one block away now.

(2/?)

Good news? You could confirm it wasn’t Sora who did this. Bad news? Whatever did this was far more intelligent than a simple pack of normal Grimm. And far crueler.

All the bodies of that block were moved and stacked on top of each other, forming three pillars of nearly a dozen bodies (Slightly more, most likely). All their faces were frozen in a scream. Some of the original bodies had that expression when you investigated near here, but not all of them. This change was done deliberately by… something.

Between the three pillars you saw a small type of… altar? A table? Whatever it was, it was made of dismembered legs and arms from the victims, resembling a sculpture. On top of it was an old radio playing music loudly. It constantly switched on and off, as if faulty.

So that’s where the music was coming from.

You saw a smaller radio beside it, one meant for a more primitive encrypted communication, used by the military a few years back. A small red dot of light was constantly blinking on it. You weren’t that familiar with that tech, maybe it was an incoming call or something? Or maybe an error?

You felt dizzy. You closed your eyes as you hid on the roof again, looking away from that… sick display down there. Your hands were shaking. Your eyes watered. Was this an illusion? Maybe you smelled poison on the way here? No, no, it wasn’t that. It was fear. Plain and simple. Your breathing was erratic, your chest rose and fell in a frantic manner, hyperventilating. You felt a lump of something hollow inside your throat. A panic attack.

You knew the theory for dealing with this situation. Some breathing exercises, thinking it was going to be ok. You weren’t in danger. You were an exceptional huntress. A prodigy, even. Yeah, talk yourself up, this would help. You were sure that, given enough time, maybe even one or two minutes of rest, and you would be fit to keep going. You knew you were able to do so. You knew you could do it.

But, did you want to?

> Screw it. You were a Huntress, damn it. A graduated one at that, with honors and everything. Obviously, you were being mocked by whatever or whoever made that. Meet them face to face. Go right there and investigate. No ambush would surprise you. You would always win.
> Rest for a few minutes. Stay there on the rooftop and keep watch. Maybe wait a while, use your eyes and ears to see if there was a trap hidden nearby. Or maybe someone hidden nearby. Anything that could give you more information.
> You felt sick. Awful. This wasn’t the work of something human. You couldn’t blame Grimm either, as they acted mostly like rabid animals. This was something else. Send a message to Sora with this new update and wait for her. You didn’t want to do this alone.
> Other (Write in)

>>6126875
>Rest for a few minutes. Stay there on the rooftop and keep watch. Maybe wait a while, use your eyes and ears to see if there was a trap hidden nearby. Or maybe someone hidden nearby. Anything that could give you more information.

>>6126875
>Rest for a few minutes. Stay there on the rooftop and keep watch. Maybe wait a while, use your eyes and ears to see if there was a trap hidden nearby. Or maybe someone hidden nearby. Anything that could give you more information.

>>6126875
> Rest for a few minutes. Stay there on the rooftop and keep watch. Maybe wait a while, use your eyes and ears to see if there was a trap hidden nearby. Or maybe someone hidden nearby. Anything that could give you more information.

>>6126875
> Rest for a few minutes. Stay there on the rooftop and keep watch. Maybe wait a while, use your eyes and ears to see if there was a trap hidden nearby. Or maybe someone hidden nearby. Anything that could give you more information.

>>6126875

You closed your eyes while your back was against the railing on the roof of the building. You focused intently on your hearing. You tried to mute the looping sound of the faulty radio in the background, focusing on hearing anything else. Maybe it was set up to mask the sound of anything lurking nearby?

You heard the sound of something shuffling. Something close to where the pillars were. This was a relief. Now you knew something was nearby. Of course, it was probably something horrific, but at least you wouldn’t get attacked by surprise. You opened your eyes again as you turned around, focusing your sight on whatever made that shuffling sound.

And… everything still looked the same. You could hear something down there, but your eyesight couldn’t keep up with your enhanced hearing. The screaming expressions of the faces were certainly distracting, but the fear you felt earlier was fading little by little. Well, not exactly. It was more that you were getting used to it, its effects on you slowly dwindling.

Something rustled behind you. You turned around, startled, bow at the ready. But it was only a rat. You heart rate spiked. It seemed you were still on edge. You felt your scroll vibrate in your pocket. It was another message from Sora.

- S: im done here, heading 2wards ur location now. care 2 share it?

You did so. You were near a cluster of warehouses, the area primarily consisting of them. Due to this part of the city being mostly empty, some civilians decided that living inside those oversized garages seemed like a good idea. Warehouses… they felt familiar somehow. But why?

You heard static coming from far behind you. It was coming from the communication device beside the music radio. As you turned to look at the source of the sound, the static continued cutting in and out. The device’s light changed from red to green, and a faint voice emerged from it. No one else would be able to hear it, except for you.

“Is thi… on? Hello? I know you… hear me. I can sense you. Don't… me hanging, sweetie.” The communication device said, static constantly interrupting it. A male voice. A deep one at that.

“You know where I am?” you replied in a soft whisper. So, the perpetrator of this massacre could see you? Where was he? Could he be on another rooftop? You looked around, but everything seemed empty.

No answer from the device. Just the static and the music. His exact word had been ‘sense’, not ‘see’. Maybe he wasn’t hiding? A camera nearby? No, that wasn’t it. A Semblance? Enhanced perception? Something related to technology?

“Oh, you… shy. You have no idea how… effort I put into this delicate and… gift for you” The device said again, static constantly interrupting it. “Maybe I… to make it bigger? Better? Don’t y… like it?”

A few seconds passed. Sora would arrive in a few minutes. You were sure of that. You trusted she wouldn’t get distracted with something along the way. But… what if this was an ambush? What if you died here? What if by asking for her help, you both died? No, no. You were overthinking. Too many intrusive thoughts. You had to get yourself under control.

The arm of one of the bodies slowly started to lift into the air. A slash from… something invisible appeared, severing the arm from the shoulder. It floated towards the top of the pile, twitching and trying to push itself somewhere inside it. Multiple arms and legs did the same, as if they were decorating the sculpture…

You felt sick watching it.

“Please, miss… I’m starting to… bored. I put so much effort into this. I promise you peace. I pro…se you a truce. Can you please come closer? I don’t… to do this. I just wanted to talk to you…” the device said. A few arms from the pile of bodies lifted and levitated in the air, waving on their own as if greeting someone. The waving of the hands was directed towards various locations at random.

You were smarter than to fall for this. Both your instincts and experience told you it was a trap. This wasn’t a Grimm. Or… maybe it was a very advanced one? No, Grimm couldn’t talk. This was someone with a Semblance. These were the monsters Taylor had referred to weeks ago. They were the ones attacking huntsmen all across Mistral of late. You had read some of the reports. They hunted independent huntsmen, often making them vanish without a trace.

However, the specific reports regarding Kuchinashi were a different story. Instead of making the bodies disappear, they tended to be more… disgustingly playful with them. The victims were often torn in half, or had their heart and/or head removed. But this? This was excessive, even by their standards.

“If you don’t c… out, then I’ll leave. I’ll find someplace else. I’m sorry for being s… a bother, miss. I’ll make you a better gift. Bigger, too. Anything for you. That’s a prom…” The voice of the man got sadder near the end.

Someplace else? So, if you decided not come out, he would just leave? But what did he mean by a bigger, a better gift? Would he do this again to another district? The disgusting monster. He knew you couldn’t bear the guilt of letting this atrocity repeat itself again. If it were Sora in your place, then you’d be sure she would just not do nothing, just to spite him. But this? Using your morality against you? Unacceptable.

This anger you felt somehow helped calm your nerves. You still felt a bit scared, but now? Now you had a strong motivation to not back down.

> Take the bait. Jump down and approach the piles of bodies. You just couldn’t bear the thought of letting this monster escape and attack elsewhere.
> You wouldn’t engage on his terms. Keep hiding, see if he’s bluffing. If he decides to reveal himself, run away, or whatever else he might do, you had your bow ready to attack.
> Meet him halfway. Focus on stalling. Call him out from your rooftop, but do not approach. This would pique his interest, and you could maybe distract him long enough for Sora to arrive.
> Other (Write-in)

>>6128084
>> Meet him halfway. Focus on stalling. Call him out from your rooftop, but do not approach. This would pique his interest, and you could maybe distract him long enough for Sora to arrive.

>>6128084
> Take the bait. Jump down and approach the piles of bodies. You just couldn’t bear the thought of letting this monster escape and attack elsewhere.
Trying to stall for time only signals to our enemy that we're waiting for backup. If our opponent is intelligent enough and powerful enough to kill this many people and assemble their limbs into a grotesque objet d'art, any information we can get on them is valuable. Is Shelly tech-savvy enough to attempt to trace the signal to find out where they're broadcasting from, if we get close to the receiver? I know we're spec'd mostly into physical, but our cunning is still pretty high.

>>6128084
>Take the bait. Jump down and approach the piles of bodies. You just couldn’t bear the thought of letting this monster escape and attack elsewhere.

>>6128084
>Take the bait. Jump down and approach the piles of bodies. You just couldn’t bear the thought of letting this monster escape and attack elsewhere.

>>6128084

You just couldn’t let this continue any longer. There was a high risk of this maniac leaving the scene. More people would die. How could you even look yourself in the mirror if you chose not to step up and do… something?

You jumped from the rooftop with your weapon in hand, landing on the street besides the building as you turned around to face the direction of where the voice and the radio could be heard. You slowly walked towards where the dismembered… pieces floated.

They reacted to this, stopping midair and slowly turning towards your presence. “Ah… there you are. I’m so hap… you decided to show up. I wasn’t really su… you were really here. Most just leave. You’re brave. Splendid.” The voice crackled through the device, the static getting slightly stronger.

“Why did you do this?” You lifted your arm to point at the stacks of bodies near the center of the sculpture. “They were innocents. And even if some of them weren’t, they didn’t deserve such a horrific fate. You’re sick.” You had to drew on your rage to push back the fear of confronting such a violent scene.

“I’m afraid I can’t hear you. Can you please get a little closer? I promise you nothi… bad will happen. Nothing at all. My ears aren’t what they used to be. Maybe I should get more.” The deep voice of the man called out from the device. Was he serious? You felt bothered. Fear quickly dissipated. You were slightly more prone to rage as of late, but this time you felt that it was justified.

With a quick flick of your bow, a thin arrow made of light flew silently through the air. The faulty radio that looped repeatedly broke easily, the area becoming quiet once again. You raised your voice as you stepped forward slightly. “I said that you’re sick. You’re a monster. Even Grimm aren’t as vicious and cruel as you. Why did you do this? What was the reason?”

“As I said before, it was a gift.” It was easier to hear the communication device now that the music had stopped. “A gift from a fan of yours. I wanted to have so much fun with you a few days back. But you didn’t show up. I thought, maybe it was my fault? Maybe I didn’t entice you enough? And that’s when an idea came to me. Maybe if I give her something truly beautiful, something special, then she’ll arrive! And guess what? I was right!” The voice started laughing. Whoever was talking had a coarse voice. The sound of it felt… unnerving.

“A few days back? What are you talking about? And why did you think this plan would work? I’m getting tired of these drama games.” You lifted your bow, aiming at an arm that was floating. You seriously considered shooting, but a part of you wanted to stall so Sora could arrive sooner. Besides, this man was talking. Information would really prove useful.

(1/?)

“I don’t blame you for not remembering me. I get that often. I was just a simple man, helping a lousy dog with some foul business under the orders of the powerful. Just another cog in the machine. Just like you. Just like everybody else. Does the name… Rufus mean anything to you?”

Rufus? Of course, you remembered him. Somewhat. He was the man you met a few weeks back, the one that worked at Atlas, had a small home and some pets. A bearded man wearing a hat bothered you and told you to piss off, and then…

Oh, he was the man that gave you the piece of paper! The one that gave you some directions to some warehouses. Could it be? He looked so normal back then. Was he really the one who did all this?

“I’ll take your silence as a yes. But don’t worry too much. He wasn’t a man of importance in the grand scheme of things. Neither am I, and neither are you. Or, more specifically, my purpose is to make sure you stop doing whatever it is you’re doing. For the sake of him, for the sake of her.”

Whatever he was talking about, it was most likely the delirious words of a madman. None of it made sense. But you knew that most madmen wanted to be heard. It was time to use his ramblings to your advantage.

“You’re not making sense. I can’t understand you. Why don’t you explain to me a little bit more? After all, I came here as you wanted. Why bother doing all of this if I don’t really matter that much to you?” No sounds could be heard except for the voice. That meant there were no people nearby. You could go all out and you wouldn’t have to worry about unintended casualties.

“I’d love to say it isn’t personal, but I still feel slightly offended that you didn’t accept my invitation back then. However, someone my age must be a professional and act accordingly. This is simply because you’re a huntress. Nothing more, nothing less.” The pieces of dismembered arms and legs levitated once again, conjoining with one another as they slowly spun in the air, rearranging themselves. They were… forming the shape of something.

“But why attack huntsmen? Have you any idea about the dangers of the Grimm? We are the ones keeping them at bay. If you or your group is hunting us, then humanity will eventually lose territory. People will die as a result. Why do something like that?” You screamed at the top of your lungs, trying to sound desperate. It came easy, as desperation was something that you slightly felt beneath all your other emotions. He wanted you to feel fear. If you played into this, then maybe he would reveal more.

(2/?)

File: TheFleshyBeast.png (2.24 MB, 1007x1141)

2.24 MB PNG

The voice had a raspy laugh. This, along with the fact that the butchered pieces began to form something resembling a large… worm, or serpent, or something like that, made you want to step back slightly. You still weren’t close in range of him, you were sure, but it still felt dreadful to look at.

“I’ll try not to hurt you too much. I’d gladly play the usual game of ‘if you surrender, then I’ll make this painless’, but we both know that isn’t the truth. I slightly like you, and I mean it. If I end up being too rough, then… I apologize in advance.” One dismembered hand from the floating monster extended, grabbed the device, and retracted back inside the flood of flying appendages.

This monstrosity began to move slowly in your direction. It resembled an amorphous mass of flesh, except that you could easily see the parts that made it up. Faces, hands, legs, torsos, etc. Drops of a viscous blood fell on the floor as the moving closer and closer. The smell of death and rotten meat got stronger, too.

If you were to survive this… then you were certain that you would have nightmares for weeks.

> You could easily outmaneuver it. Stay at a distance, and barrage the monster with your arrows. Stay on the defensive, observe how it reacts. Maybe even get him to talk more.
> Break your bow in half to equip your dual sabers. Get closer and cut this beast to pieces (If it was even possible). If you inspected it from close range, then you’d be more likely to discover its weaknesses.
> Pretend to flee. Hide. Make this flesh abomination angry. Use this time to contact Sora or Tay and inform them of your current situation. Whatever this was, you felt that some assistance could be very useful.
> Other (Write in)

>>6131107
>You could easily outmaneuver it. Stay at a distance, and barrage the monster with your arrows. Stay on the defensive, observe how it reacts. Maybe even get him to talk more.

>>6131107
> You could easily outmaneuver it. Stay at a distance, and barrage the monster with your arrows. Stay on the defensive, observe how it reacts. Maybe even get him to talk more.

>>6131107
>> You could easily outmaneuver it. Stay at a distance, and barrage the monster with your arrows. Stay on the defensive, observe how it reacts. Maybe even get him to talk more.

Dice throw! This isn't exactly a combat roll.

Best of three, Normal DC autopass, DC 20 for a crit

Rolled 7, 9, 2 = 18 (3d10)

>>6132119

Rolled 4, 9, 9 = 22 (3d10)

>>6132119

Rolled 8, 8, 7 = 23 (3d10)

>>6132119

>>6131107

You used your semblance to lower your weight as you jumped backwards into the air. A few arrows swiftly flew through the air, aimed at the creature’s… eyes? No. Arms? Mouth? Anywhere. It didn’t matter, as long as the arrows connected, their force would help you get some distance.

The bright glow of the light-green arrows flew through the air, making almost no sound. They embedded into the beast multiple times. You saw the appendages twitch as they were hit, the glowing pieces of light softly dimming as the impact faded. “Oh. Good. I’ve killed three before who couldn’t even move out of fear. You’re better than them in that regard.” The voice crackled over the radio from somewhere inside the creature as it floated towards you, its bulk smashing through wooden and concrete buildings with ease.

You landed on top of a building. You could easily continue shooting in this manner, but a feeling in the back of your head made you think twice. You would slightly change your strategy, keeping the attacks fresh. Best case scenario? The beast would eventually fall defeated. Worst one? You’d probe his defenses and see what sticks.

A barrage of arrows into the air, curving and falling like countless rods of light, mimicking rain. The attack was a clear hit on the lumbering abomination. The constant stream of lights caused the creature to slightly stumble and lower itself, yet its flight continued uninterrupted. “I’m going to feel that. Shame on you.” the creature said again, though its voice felt… off.

Numerous body parts moved on their own, forming a horn on top of what you assumed to be the monster’s head. The horn grew in size, aimed at you, and shot a barrage of flesh, bones and body parts. You floated to the side, dodging with almost no effort. You had to test something different.

With a strong push from your legs, you jumped an absurd height thanks to your weightlessness. While in the air, you prepared your bow for a single arrow. Maybe this beast could only be harmed by a single precise strike instead of many smaller ones?

Several other parts of the beast converged, thinning its overall bulk a s a barrage of four ‘tendrils’ ascended to try and grab you. There was no need to dodge this; your own arrow would help you dodge once you shot it. If the beast was trading body mass in order to try and hurt you, all the better. This would make your attack far stronger as its defenses were greatly lowered

The single arrow flew from your bow, pushing you even higher into the air. You could even see the square of the city as you soared at least a hundred feet into the air. The arrow pierced two of the four tendrils that approached you, destroying them in the process and completely penetrating the main body of the flesh monster. For a moment, all of its body parts separated from each other, falling to the floor. Was the beast finally defeated? You’ve won?

Time to get closer and investigate.

(1/?)

You descended slowly, inspecting the beast while its remains lay on the ground. Maybe it was trying to lower your guard by pretending to be defeated? Your feet landed on the roof of a building nearby. With your bow still aimed, you tried to focus on your hearing and sight.

All the dismembered parts lay still on the floor. “I know you’re not defeated. I’m barely warming up. There’s no way you’re this weak.” you said on top of your lungs, your guard still up. You stood there, waiting for a few seconds as they stretched into half a minute. The pieces started to move on their own again, reincorporating themselves as if nothing had happened prior.

“You maintained your guard up even while I was faking defeat. Prudent. I think it was five or six other huntsmen that died after they got tricked. I commend you; You’re nearly above average.” The device said again, a soft laugh escaping from it. Were you even inflicting any harm on the abomination? Did your arrows have any impact? Maybe it was time to engage in melee combat?

No. Too risky. There was still something you could test.

You aimed with your bow again as the beast finished reconstructing itself, shooting another barrage of arrows with a slower rate of fire and focusing more on their strength. “Ow. Ow. Ow…” said the voice, pained after each arrow. You shot the last one, intentionally grazing the edge of the beast and missing, hitting a warehouse gate in the distance. “Ow… that one hurt.” the voice complained again.

Your left eye twitched involuntarily.

All this time, he claimed he was feeling the damage, but he was just faking it. He was mocking you and not taking you seriously. You didn’t do anything? Seriously? Were you back to square one? The fucking audacity. This bastard. You felt your teeth clench rightly in rage.

“Stop fucking pretending you’re getting hurt.” You spat to the side, losing control for a moment. Why were you feeling such intense anger right now? Probably your condition. No matter, in this situation rage would most likely help you.

The voice cackled with joy in response. “Oh, you’re a clever one. You have no idea how many people have died without noticing that. Easily above twenty. Now you’re definitely above average, my poor daughter…” the voice grew more solemn near the end.

Daughter? Could he be…?

No, your father had a softer voice. It was slightly higher in pitch. You knew your shit about sounds. The voices were clearly different.

“I will tear you to pieces if you keep mocking me. You’re not my father. Stop pretending.” You shouted, aiming with your bow instinctively, even if it was most likely pointless.

“But my daughter, Susie… I’ve missed you so much…” The voice trembled with sadness as the abomination remained motionless.

(2/?)

You shot another arrow at the beast. The arrow was shot with such force that it penetrated, causing the beast to almost stumble. Several arms and legs fell on the ground form the force of your attack. “I said, stop pretending.” You said with cold rage. Almost like an order. This felt good to do.

The voice from the device inside the beast’s bowels laughed again. “At least I tried. No, I was not mocking you. I was merely testing the waters. You see, this strategy did work once. Poor little girl fell on her knees and cried when she heard me say that. Her team tried to help her, but she pushed them away. Then she started running towards me, pleading for me to stop. Ah… good times.” The pieces from the ground reformed once more. The beast looked almost the same as when the fight started.

You were still in a strong position. You felt your Aura had plenty of reserves, and your semblance wasn’t expending much. And you didn’t feel tired at all. Yet mentally speaking… anger started gripping your mind. You could hold it at bay for now, but you were concerned that it might lead you to do something you’d regret later. Maybe letting loose was a good idea? You felt it was a good idea.

> Puncture wounds apparently didn’t have any effect. Time to switch to your sabers, use your agility to avoid being hit while slashing and cutting at it. Your anger pushed you to do this. Give in to your instincts?
> Continue fighting at a distance, but look for something else in the environment that could assist you. Maybe water tanks? A bomb? Electricity? Force a fire? A different weapon? Getting close to the beast was asking for trouble.
> As weird as it sounded, maybe fighting with your weapons was the wrong answer. Stall and mock the creature; insult it, force it to go on the offensive. Make it slip up an important detail or something, anything that could give you a clue.
> Other (Write in)

>>6133428
> As weird as it sounded, maybe fighting with your weapons was the wrong answer. Stall and mock the creature; insult it, force it to go on the offensive. Make it slip up an important detail or something, anything that could give you a clue.

>>6133428
>As weird as it sounded, maybe fighting with your weapons was the wrong answer. Stall and mock the creature; insult it, force it to go on the offensive. Make it slip up an important detail or something, anything that could give you a clue.

>>6133428
>As weird as it sounded, maybe fighting with your weapons was the wrong answer. Stall and mock the creature; insult it, force it to go on the offensive. Make it slip up an important detail or something, anything that could give you a clue.

>>6133428
>> As weird as it sounded, maybe fighting with your weapons was the wrong answer. Stall and mock the creature; insult it, force it to go on the offensive. Make it slip up an important detail or something, anything that could give you a clue.

Dice throw! Lets aim for a high social roll.

Best of three, DC 18, Crit 24. As an optional extra I'm willing to take suggestions as to what to do, investigate or say

Rolled 10, 9, 10 = 29 (3d10)

>>6135555

File: bruh.png (62 KB, 400x376)

62 KB PNG

>>6135628

Rolled 9, 3, 8 = 20 (3d10)

>>6135555
I don't really need to, considering >>6135628, but... rollan...

Rolled 10, 10, 5 = 25 (3d10)

>>6135555

>>6133428

Arrows weren’t effective, and getting close to use your sabers was just too risky. You had to find a clue, something useful. And if you couldn’t, then Sora’s slashing chains would most likely help you out. Maybe fire was the answer? Or ice? If only you had some specialized dust on you. Rattling the creature would likely give you additional information.

A strong rumbling came from above. Although it was slightly past noon, a thick formation of clouds slightly covered the sun. It was still bright, but the air grew progressively colder as time passed. It would start to rain soon, perhaps even turn into a storm.

You put your hands at your sides, sighing and looking distressed. Time to start the act. This monster prided itself on his trophies of other huntsmen. That would be a nice starting point. “I’m getting tired of this,” you whispered loudly enough for the beast to hear.

“What? So soon? But we are just starting, young one. I’m sure you still have a chance. You just need to keep trying.” The device inside the beast spoke, laughing a bit as it floated towards you again.

“It’s just… I don’t see the point.” You said, sounding bored, while walking backwards to create some distance between you and the monster.

“Giving up so soon? I don’t blame you, little one. Don’t take this personally. You just weren’t cut for this line of work.” A tendril of body parts extended from the beast, ready to grab you. You jumped to the side, flicking at it with an arrow from your bow, destroying it in the process.

“Don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not giving up. It’s just that… I’m getting bored. We are at a stalemate. You can’t touch me, and I can’t hurt you. There’s no point in this. You see where I’m getting at?” You had a follow-up idea in case this didn’t work, but you had to see the reaction of the enemy first.

“Don’t sell yourself so short, sweetie. I’m sure you can find a strategy. You’re supposedly smart.” The beast lunged at you, increasing its speed slightly. Nothing a Semblance-enhanced jump couldn’t avoid.

“No. I’m serious. I don’t have anything in my arsenal to beat you, and you’re just too damn clunky to be a real menace to me.” A spin in the air brought you to the top of the building across from it. The lunging beast crashed into a warehouse, bending metal and shattering concrete with its raw force. It turned around to face you.

“Then, I suppose I shall take my leave. I hope you know what that entails, right? I’ll just have more fun in another part of the city. Maybe the noble districts up north, or even the residential buildings near the center. Oh! I have a better idea. What if I visit your White Fang friends? Maybe they will give me a better fight?” The voice rattled inside the beast. It sounded confident.

You had something prepared for this.

(1/?)

“It’s not like I can stop you or anything,” you said with a dismissive tone. “Just remember that, for the ‘record’ of huntsmen you’ve defeated so far, you’ll have to add me as the one that you couldn’t beat.” You crossed your arms, adding a healthy dose of smugness and disdain to your words. Sora always said you sounded so bitchy when you weren’t even trying. Maybe if you actually tried, it would hurt his pride?

The beast kept quiet, its appendages and body parts almost immobile. Another thunderous crack sounded above you both. A few droplets of cold water started falling here and there, with the storm slowly approaching.

“Weren’t you leaving? Or what? Do you want me to shoot more useless arrows at you or something? What are you waiting for?” You snapped, scolding the monster. It would be awful if the beast actually took your advice and left. You just wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt of it escaping and killing more civilians. But realistically speaking, there was nothing you could do. Except slashing at it with your sabers, of course, but that was your last resort option.

“You’re bluffing,” the device inside the fleshy monster spoke. “You’re a huntress. You’re a good person. There’s no way you’re actually letting me leave.”

“Idiot,” You spat to the side. “I joined the White Fang. I’m in a pretty shitty situation, in an awful city filled to the brim with criminals and scum. I’ve peddled drugs, I’ve robbed people and I’ve hurt innocents. I’m no longer a huntress. You really think I care what you do? You’re just a bother to me. A bump in the road.” Tapping into your anger to feed your lie felt good, making it feel far more believable. Of course, if the guy controlling the monster investigated you, then this gamble would fall apart, but you had to try at least.

In the distance, you saw a small humanoid figure running and jumping towards your location across the rooftops of the neighborhood. It swung and dashed in the air repeatedly as it came closer. It was Sora, at last.

She wasn’t exactly stealthy, but the constant rumble of thunder above made her dashing sounds hard to detect, even with your enhanced hearing. There was no way this monster would be able to hear her.

You circled the beast, looking down at it from the balcony on the second floor of what appeared to be a restaurant. Time to use your position to make him vulnerable to a sneak attack from your friend. “Nothing left to say? Why so quiet all of a sudden? You managed to kill dozens, maybe even hundreds, yet one ex-huntress is giving you this much trouble? You haven’t even touched me yet. What a disgrace.”

Various pieces of the monster broke off from the main body and flew towards you at high speed. You ducked, dodging them with ease. They hit the walls and windows behind you, breaking into the building at your back.

(2/?)

You decided to jump from the balcony to the ground. Now that the beast’s pride was wounded and you had its full attention, you had to prepare for Sora’s arrival.

But as you jumped, you felt something almost touch your head. A thin mass of floating darkness emanated from the building, attacking just right where your nape was. You increased your weight, the droplets from the rain helping to accelerate your fall.

More tendrils penetrated the wooden walls of the place, aiming towards your body as you fell. Fortunately, you dodged them all. As you turned while falling, you noticed how some of the tendrils came from the pieces of meat the beast had thrown at you from earlier.

“Lucky,” The device inside the beast snarled. The tendrils of darkness retracted into the scattered flesh, and the pieces flew toward you at high speed again.

As the lumps of flesh got closer, the dark liquid inside them tried to surround you. They attacked from all sides, trying to stab or cut you. You remembered the spar you had with Sora earlier; this attack having a similar nature to when she tried to hit you with her chains. You dodged them with some effort, narrowly avoiding being hit. Just a few more seconds.

This wasn’t the result of telekinesis. The real reason the pieces started flying was because of that dark mass. That was how the monster controlled its parts. The lumps of flesh were merely the ‘carcass’ that concealed the dark liquid. That was the real Semblance here at work.

You kept dodging as the tendrils of darkness tried to hit you. Ducking, rolling, jumping, etc. They were getting much faster, too, but you had this under control. At least for now.

The main body of the beast started levitating towards you as you were distracted with the multiple attacks from the smaller pieces. It condensed most of its mass into one large appendage that extended wide, almost like a net.

A metallic sound cut through the air, as if something was spinning, just moments before a flash of light that came from a lighting ray lit up the sky. Sora’s chains. She was above the beast, ready to strike

“Unlucky.” You said to the general direction of the rotten enemy, gripping your weapons more firmly as you readied yourself.

> Barrage the beast with your arrows at certain critical points, trying to dismantle its structure and weaken it for Sora’s blow to land where it counts.
> Dash toward the beast with your sabers and cut into its core. Try to time your attack simultaneously with Sora’s to take the abomination by surprise.
> Get away from the flying surrounding parts of flesh, warning Sora to take care of the mass of darkness that hid inside the multiple body parts. That was the true threat.
> Other (Write-in)

>>6137246
>> Dash toward the beast with your sabers and cut into its core. Try to time your attack simultaneously with Sora’s to take the abomination by surprise

>>6137246
>Get away from the flying surrounding parts of flesh, warning Sora to take care of the mass of darkness that hid inside the multiple body parts. That was the true threat.

>>6137246
> Dash toward the beast with your sabers and cut into its core. Try to time your attack simultaneously with Sora’s to take the abomination by surprise.

>>6137246
> Get away from the flying surrounding parts of flesh, warning Sora to take care of the mass of darkness that hid inside the multiple body parts. That was the true threat.

>>6137246
> Dash toward the beast with your sabers and cut into its core. Try to time your attack simultaneously with Sora’s to take the abomination by surprise.

Rolled 1, 5, 7 = 13 (3d10)

Another dice roll needed. A defensive one this time. Best of three, DC 19, Crit 25

Rolled 5, 5, 7 = 17 (3d10)

>>6140189
Who's roll is that?

>>6140224

To discern the possible fate of an ally :)

Rolled 9, 9, 5 = 23 (3d10)

>>6140189

Rolled 9, 8, 5 = 22 (3d10)

>>6140189

>>6137246

Many parts that composed the enemy looked in disarray, some focusing on you while others turned their attention to Sora. Sure, the sprawling “net” of darkness and meat was impossible to dodge, but it wasn’t impossible to cut.

You leapt towards it, separating your bow into two sabers as you twisted mid-air. Mechanical whir from the gears of your weapons blended with the now somewhat heavy rain made for quite a pleasant percussion. You had to adjust your weight so that the speed of your jump aligned with Sora’s strike.

The spinning chains and daggers from Sora’s weapon tore through the monster as if it were nothing. Their erratic, high-speed movements created a gruesome attack that showered you in gore. You had to cover yourself to avoid having those… disgusting liquids and fragments of human remains from touching your face. Did she do that intentionally? Knowing Sora, it was likely.

And there it was, the now much thinner “main” body of the beast, nearly exposed, partly because its mass had been greatly reduced by the sheer size of his attack and partly because Sora had truly torn him apart. The darkness oozed here and there, acting as a sentient “glue” that held the fragmented pieces together. Horrendous. You would seriously take a well-deserved break once this was over.

While airborne, you unleashed a flurry of slashes aimed at the plasma-like shadows, trying to cleave them apart. You felt the substance on your blades. The darkness recoiled, driven back thanks to their exposure to the rain and the force of your strikes. Other pieces of flesh attempted to converge on you, but fighting in the air wasn’t a real disadvantage for you. It took some effort, but not a single piece of either flesh or shadow managed to touch you.

After a brief exchange of blows that lasted no more than seven or eight seconds you finally landed on the wall of a nearby building, hanging from it. You turned around to see the results of your attack.

Sora was on the ground, spinning her elongated chains all around her in wide arcs, continuously slashing at anything in reach. Nearby chunks of flesh attempted to levitate and fight back, but they were swiftly shredded into smaller and smaller pieces. She was almost like a blender. Her evil laughter was easily heard through the storm as rain poured down on us. Droplets seemed to form a dome around her, sliced apart by her chains mid-air. Good thing she was on your side.

And for the main body of the monster? It was still there, reconstructing itself. The viscous glue oozed outward, searching for nearby fragments to fuse back together. Some other chunks that you cut had cute before attempted to return to the core, but the rain heavily slowed them down. You could easily cut them down if you wanted.

(1/?)

But you didn’t have a chance to try. Sora advanced towards them as the core of the beast (Likely still hiding the device) began to retreat from her. All the other serpents of darkness that tried to fuse together were slashed apart, and the core was entirely separated as the chains stopped spinning.

“Didn’t I tell ya to not do stupid things without me?” Sora laughed, hurling her chains to the chunks of meat as they started moving on the ground, tearing them apart even further. The shadows sizzled where they lay, writhing as if they were struggling to move. Was the beast finished? Was it over? Was it unable to rejoin itself together now that the pieces were far smaller?

“This isn’t over yet. We still don’t know if that thing is truly defeated. Have your guard up.” You yelled at her, trying to push your voice through the now roaring storm. You weren’t exactly a fan of rain as it interfered badly with your Semblance, but at least it was washing some of the grime and congealed blood from your clothes and skin.

“What? I can’t hear ya, birdie!” Sora turned around again, dangling her chains and cutting in half other fragments that hovered off the ground. The severed pieces fell to the floor again, motionless. You stopped wondering minutes ago whether they were arms, legs, torsos or something else entirely. It was better that way, for the sake of your sanity.

“I said that this isn’t over! Stop playing around and come here!” You yelled again. Were normal people really this hard of hearing? The contrast between the sound of falling water and her voice was as clear as day for you. Or was the storm truly that overpowering for normal ears?

“Fineee, I’m sorry for your clothes too. Trust me, I’ll help ya clean them off, nothing a lil’ bit of fire can’t help fix, aight?” Sora’s smirk was clear as day. Was she fucking up with you even in this moment? Or had she misheard you?

Shadows congealed and began to rise from the ground beneath her, shifting into spear-like shapes right behind her. You didn’t hear them when they changed shape, and if you couldn’t, then it was obvious Sora wouldn’t be able to either.

“Behind you!” You shouted as you dashed towards her. You weren’t as fast as you wanted, the rain messing with your weight as you descended. Having to constantly adjust your weight against the downpour and heavy winds was a constant, grueling effort that slowed you down quite a lot.

“What?!” Sora said, finally taking you seriously after noticing your fear-stricken expression. She turned around, but it was just a fraction too late. The multiple spears lunged at her at a stupidly high speed. Sora crossed her arms while her chains coiled around her, but her defense was far from effective. The spears almost touched her, halting as they grazed her skin. Sora’s Aura flared suddenly in a brilliant yellow as sparks appeared from where the shadowy tips pressed against her.

(2/?)

File: TheShadowyBeast.png (2.06 MB, 1012x977)

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Just as you landed, you saw Sora hurled through the air against her will, flung by the force of the attack that had just struck her. You repositioned yourself to intercept, catching her as both of you flew backwards. Your Semblance helped you a lot by lightening her weight. The velocity of both of you slowed down even further, allowing you to stop her from crashing into a wall.

Sora’s face was one of terror as she rested in your arms, trembling. She wasn’t injured, but a hit like that would have definitely killed anyone without an Aura. At least she was safe now, but you doubted she could endure another blow like that. You weren’t sure you could either.

“Are you alright? How are you feeling?” You asked her as Sora knelt on the ground, her eyes fixed on the beast forming before you. It resembled a… lion? A centaur? It had a scorpion tail, multiple clawed legs, a pair of gaping mouths and spikes in nearly every surface. It towered over both of you, being easily over 14 feet tall.

Sora didn’t answer. She pushed you away, standing up and grabbing her weapons once more, spinning them at her side. You stepped back slightly to give her room to wiled them. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed heavily. Her face was one of panic and… amusement? Was it happiness she was feeling? Rage?

“This bitch just tried to kill me. I would have died back there.” Sora said. Smiling. But you knew her. She was terrified right now, shaking, twitching. She was the kind of people who, when gripped by fear, didn’t retreat, but instead confronted the danger head-on. You tried to approach her, but her spinning weapons made it almost impossible to get close.
She was tall, towering tall. Easily five or six inches taller than you. How hadn’t you noticed that before? Had she really been hunched over all this time? She stepped forward slowly.

The beast was still growing in size as all the other shadows from the pieces of meat retreated from their severed carcasses, merging into this giant… chimera. Now it had three scorpion tails and two heads. One of the heads retreated inside, elongating the neck of the remaining one. It was constantly changing forms, shifting almost as if it was a black liquid. A formless, ever-changing enemy.

At least you wouldn’t have to worry about the chunks of flesh again.

> Calm Sora. Another critical blow and she was done for. You had to fight this using strategy. Try to make her follow your orders as you fought defensively.
> Even when you trusted her to not make another mistake, this was the first time you saw her like this. She was erratic, reckless. But maybe her rage could help. Take a more supportive role, letting her take charge and help her when needed.
> The enemy clearly had a weakness, but you weren’t sure of what exactly. And stalling would most likely bite you both in the ass later. Go on the offensive too, try to blitz the beast together with her.
> Other (Write-in)

>>6141862
> Calm Sora. Another critical blow and she was done for. You had to fight this using strategy. Try to make her follow your orders as you fought defensively.

>>6141862
>> Calm Sora. Another critical blow and she was done for. You had to fight this using strategy. Try to make her follow your orders as you fought defensively.

>>6141862
>Calm Sora. Another critical blow and she was done for. You had to fight this using strategy. Try to make her follow your orders as you fought defensively.

>>6141862

>Autopass due to Trait + earlier victory!

“And you’ll die if you attack. Is that what you want?” You spoke up, trying to make yourself be heard over the rattling metal from Sora’s weapons.

“Don’t intervene, birdie. I can’t just let that monster get away with…” Sora started answering while walking forward, but you stepped in before she could finish You needed to deflate her anger, and fast.

“No. If you run and go towards it and just hack at it mindlessly you will eventually get hit, and you can’t afford that right now, right? We can’t afford that.”

“And why do you care so much?! I’m not a fucking, piss-weak cowardly bitch like you. If someone comes and bites me then I’ll bite twice as hard. Don’t you dare try to stop me or I’ll kill you next!” Sora turned around to glare at you, clearly in an altered state of mind. Her eyes were flaring crimson again.

“I care because I hate losing almost as much as you. Yeah, we’ve sparred in the past, I’ve beat you up and you’ve won against me quite a lot of times, and I know how much you hate losing. Only this time if you lose, you’ll actually die. Do you understand why I’m so concerned about it?!” You yelled back at her, trying to match her emotion with yours. Making her know how distraught you felt might help her empathize more with you.

“I don’t care about those losses. You’re wrong, so stop bringing it up. I’m already upset. Stop fucking with me.” Sora turned around to avoid meeting your gaze, bracing herself once more against the figure of the enemy. Maybe she started to feel shame? No, it was most likely stubbornness.

“Well, if you don’t care about that then guess what. I do. I don’t want to lose this fight, and I don’t want to lose you either. You’re my friend, and that monster hurt you. If that beast had attacked me, I know you’d have my back, so let me do the same for you.” Your argument leaned heavily emotion this time. Never your strong suit, but it was the best chance you had to make your case.

Sora let out a snarky laugh. “Wow. You have no idea how lame and gay you sound. Still the same goody two-shoes as always. I need to fix that.”

“Fine. Let me take the lead in this fight and I’ll let you give me tips on to how not to be a ‘goody two shoes’. You’ll be the weapon, and I’ll be the brains, supporting you as best I can. Deal?” A good middle point. A negotiation. Sora hated losing, you knew that. This way, at least, she would walk away feeling like she’d won something in this exchange.

The massive beast before you unleashed a barrage of spikes from its three scorpion tails, aiming at you both. You leaped slightly above Sora, using your Semblance at close range to lighten her weight mid-jump. “Jump!”

(1/?)

Sora obeyed, briefly hovering just above ground as her weapons came to a halt. The spikes destroyed the ground, dissolving a few seconds later into the same black liquid from which they had formed.

“Now fucking what? Are we gonna peck at it or something? What’s your next plan, nerd?” Sora exclaimed as the beast opened its mouth, targeting both of you.

With the monster no longer protected by its ‘flesh’ armor, your arrows might finally inflict damage. However, Sora was more of a ‘close-quarter’ combatant than you. Her daggers and chains could deal significant harm, especially if she used her dust infusions. What type of dust would work best? Fire? Ice? Electricity?

“I’ll support you from the air. You move in and slash at it. Keep your attacks long-range. Don’t get too close. If I sense something dangerous coming from him I’ll warn you. Just follow my orders and attack. And also use dust. Understood?” You landed on the ground with Sora right beside you, wary of the spear being created from the mouth of the chimeric monster. It would most likely be launched soon.

“You better keep on your word, birdie. Don’t ever think for a second that you can weasel out of the deal.” You stopped using your semblance on Sora, her weight returning to normal. Keeping it active would hamper her movement by a lot. It would also drain your Aura much faster.

The spear of black tar swiftly extended towards you both. You shoved Sora to your right and darted left. Moments later, the weapon’s tip shattered the pavement where you had just stood. From its shaft, small pellets shot out, racing towards you.

You dodged with ease, the attack being far too lineal for it to pose a real threat. Sora, however, struggled, forced to slow her movements as she deflected the pellets with the spinning arc of her weapons. You shot at the shaft of black liquid with your bow, destroying it and giving you’re a chance to recover.

You used your semblance to dart from side to side, using your bow mostly as a deterrent against any ranged attack that came from the beast. It focused on Sora, most likely because she had a harder time than you to defend against its attacks. Spikes were shot from its tails towards your hawk-faunus friend, while several mouths gaped wide in the shape of a roar, morphing their teeth into projectiles that went flying.

You shot with your bow as fast as you could, aiming to intercept the projectiles targeting your friend. While you managed to block most of them, a few still slipped through. There was simply no way for you in your current state to get them all, with your firing rate being far slower.

(2/?)

Once she closed the distance, she began slashing at the massive centaur, her chains slicing through the black liquid of its legs. The damage was difficult to assess, the liquid quickly reforming and sealing itself. The beast began advancing slowly toward Sora.

She increased the speed of her attacks as she closed the distance, the two now just a few meters apart. You jumped in the air to get a better view of the exchange, firing repeatedly at the liquid fragments breaking away from the creature’s body to defend both of you.

The leg finally crumbled, the balance of damage versus regeneration tipping in your side’s favor. The beast started shifting forms again, collapsing into a large pool of liquid to prevent its fall. It surged across the ground with increased speed, racing towards your ally.

You used your bow to propel yourself towards Sora, touching her as she began retreating. Gripping her shoulder near the edge of her leather jacket, you lifted her off the ground. The heavy rain complicated your ascent, the downpour pressing you against the terrain. Luckily, it hindered the enemy just as much as you, slowing the tar down.

A brilliant flash of light streaked across the sky as you landed beside a shattered building. The black tar refrained from pursuing. “So, how did it feel to slash at it? You think we are doing some damage?” You asked, regaining focus. Sora, however, remained entirely locked on the enemy with her gaze.

“It stopped moving. Look. Can you see it?” She pointed to the black tar, its shape shifting once again. It writhed, struggling to form a coherent shape, but it did so eventually. This time it was turning more into a grotesque spider with various eyes, fangs, mouths and scorpion tails. What was with this guy’s obsession with scorpion tails?

“I can’t see anything. The rain is too heavy.” You moved backwards, disoriented by the rumbling of the thunder that followed, into the broken building behind you, the storm now pouring violently on the city. Should the sewer system be faulty you’re sure that water would start overflowing in a few minutes.

“Of course, you can’t. Look, birdie. Its faint, but its there. There’s smoke coming from it. Almost like it is burning.” Sora kept pointing, shielded from the rain alongside you thanks to the broken building.

Your eyes couldn’t pick up on what she saw. Was she alright? Hallucinating, perhaps? Or simply a mistake? The place was shrouded in a dense mist, making her observation far more unlikely.

The black liquid changed shapes again, apparently overwhelmed by the storm’s strength. The black tar cascaded to the ground, vanishing from sight. Was the water harming it? Was it retreating? Could it have been defeated?

>Hiding in this building was your best choice. Fighting on such a rainy battlefield would hamper your abilities, and you needed to be in top shape to avoid injury. Get more info from Sora while you’re at it.
>You had a hunch that the rain was actually weakening the enemy. Maybe that was the thing Sora saw. Go out there and investigate with her, maybe force the creature to play its cards should he want to ambush you.
>An excellent time to retreat. Keep moving, try to get as far as possible from this place. This would give you the opportunity to plan a strategy with Sora, or maybe even leave… as much as the idea didn’t sit well with you.
>Other (Write in)

>>6144940
>>You had a hunch that the rain was actually weakening the enemy. Maybe that was the thing Sora saw. Go out there and investigate with her, maybe force the creature to play its cards should he want to ambush you

>>6144940
>Hiding in this building was your best choice. Fighting on such a rainy battlefield would hamper your abilities, and you needed to be in top shape to avoid injury. Get more info from Sora while you’re at it.

>>6144940
>You had a hunch that the rain was actually weakening the enemy. Maybe that was the thing Sora saw. Go out there and investigate with her, maybe force the creature to play its cards should he want to ambush you.

>>6144940
>You had a hunch that the rain was actually weakening the enemy. Maybe that was the thing Sora saw. Go out there and investigate with her, maybe force the creature to play its cards should he want to ambush you.

Gonna need the final dice throw before we change to a new thread.

Best of three, DC 21, Crit 25 (Risky move, high rewards should it succeed)

Rolled 2, 9, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>6146828

Rolled 9, 7, 6 = 22 (3d10)

>>6146828

Rolled 4, 8, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>6146828

Thank you all for the patience, my post upkeep time should be far better from now on.

NEW THREAD!
>>6150931