Re: A World of Dust and Souls

[Helsing]

The person in question's eyes widened. She jumped to the side and hid behind the kitchen table.

[BerrySayRoar]

Her fan left a mark on the countertop, she quickly turned around, "Don't think cowering is going to save you now!" She jumped up onto the table and changed her fans into pistol aiming at the person in question, "where are my friends?!"

[Flagmauth]

"Hey Sterling, if you have any objections to my new plan of ripping the town apart until we find Nisha you should say so now so I can ignore them."

[A Blind Guy]

"None whatsoever." Sterling says, unsheathing his sword. "I thought about doing the same. "

[Helsing]

"I don't know!" she says, throwing her hands up, "I was told just to wait for you and make some dumplings!"

***

"So we're knocking skulls?" Yang asks from a branch, cracking her knuckles, "Perfect."

"No, we need to stop and think," Weiss reasons.

"Think? Nisha disappeared while we were thinking, we need to act." Yang argues.

"If we don't think, then we'll end up dead," Weiss counters.

"Then we start looking for Nisha," Ruby says.

"And the mission?"

"Fuck the mission," Tyson growls, "It's an elimination and scouting mission. We alpha strike, we leave nothing left, we report that we had to leave the town a crater."

"That isn't what we're supposed to-"

Click

The sound of a round being loaded into a gun stopped the heiress dead. She turned, and from across the branches, stared down the barrel of Tyson's cannon.

"I'm not waiting for your approval, bitch, I'm just telling everyone what's going to happen."

"You're not the leader, you can't give orders," Blake reminds him, although warily.

"I have an anti-building rifle, I have the firepower to ignore any fucking order!"

[Flagmauth]

The branches of Tree RWBY shuddered - despite the dead lack of wind. "Weiss, shut the hell up. Tyson, you're pointing that thing the wrong way, the White Fang are on the other side of the wall."

[BerrySayRoar]

Nisha squints her eyes at the person who didnt appear to have a weapon on her. She sheathed her weapons away, "Who told you to do this?"

[A Blind Guy]

"Tyson, I understand you're pissed, we all are. pointing guns at your teammates won't solve anything. We will find Nisha, we need to focus."

[Helsing]

Tyson takes a deep breath and holsters his weapon on his back.

"Then give me someone to shoot, quickly."

[Flagmauth]

"Great, let's do this," Sienna said - though she looked at Sterling for the go-ahead rather than just immediately blowing the head off of a conveniently placed terrorist.

[A Blind Guy]

"Hold up. we need a plan. We don't know if Nisha is even still in town. how about this. we go in, thin out their numbers enough to where they either surrender or we get them down to a manageable number, then we interrogate them."

[Helsing]

"Fine," Tyson says, readying his cannon once more, "Say when."

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling nods. " Tyson, you get people to go near trees, sienna, make some kebabs. everyone else, we'll head for the center of town cutting down anyone in our way."

[Helsing]

Tyson nods and starts going through the trees to line up a chance. Yang shoots towards the city, Blake going after her. Ruby and Weiss share a look, and Ruby looks to Sterling.

"Are you sure about this?"

[A Blind Guy]

"Am I sure it will work? no. Am I sure it's what we can do to get our friend back? absolutely." Sterling's swords appear behind him as he looks toward the city.

"let's hit it." he says, leaping form the wall.

[Helsing]

The leader of the other team looked apprehensive but nodded. Weiss looked ready to scream but complied. They leapt to the edge of the wall as Tyson finally got to his position. He stood at the ready, then noticed a White Fang member down the street.

He looked confused, and almost screamed, but the sound is blocked out when Tyson fires his cannon.

Not even paste remained.

And with that shot, team RWBY descended on the town like vengeful angels. No one they came across stood a chance, though they kept it to non-lethal, while Tyson didn't bother minimizing his blasts.

"Knock knock motherfuckers." he grits out.

[Flagmauth]

Tyson's explosives were wonderful for crowd control, especially when dealing with large groups with no Aura. Dust-infused explosives erupted into pillars of fire, jagged walls of ice and furious whirlwinds. If you got caught anywhere near them you died. Period.

Most of the White Fang mooks were doing the smart thing and advancing in the opposite direction of the explosions...which, as per the strategy, led them under the cover of trees.

It very quickly became apparent that was a huge mistake.

As the groups clustered within reach, the area around each of the trees became a zone of horrifying carnage. Roots erupted from the ground like tentacles, wrapping around their torsos and crushing them to leave their heads and arms dangling limply in place. Branches sharpened to razor points and plunged downwards like pickaxes, hard enough to impale straight through the top of skulls. Larger tree limbs formed themselves into clawed fists, reaching down to smash terrorists against the ground like paste or lifting them up into the foliage to be torn apart.

In essence, as brutal an attack as Sienna could possibly make it. She wanted the White Fang to surrender now, and terrifying them should do that rather nicely...okay, and she was also furious Nisha was gone and may have been working out some of that anger right the hell now rather than processing it in a healthy way. But hey, progress!

[A Blind Guy]

"Ok, great job all. Now, chorale them into the town center."

[Helsing]

Blake stared at the forest in abject horror. She steps back, her normally calm persona breaking in the sight of such... devastation. But a quick tug from her leader takes her away. They share a look and after a nod, Blake jumps over the wall to assist her partner.

Ruby then turns to Sterling. There's understanding in her eyes, but also, disappointment. He couldn't dwell on it, as she jumps over to help her team.

On the far wall, Tyson continues to pepper the ground with his cannon. He cought a surprised look from Yang when he shot a bolt straight through the head of one White Fang member without even batting an eye.

She wouldn't understand, less it was her sister that was getting hurt. In Vacuo, there were few rules. You were allowed to do pretty much anything that made you feel free, but there were three exceptions.

1. You weren't allowed to steal from your family, only from other tribes.
2. You weren't allowed to stake your claim on another unless given permission by the Elders.
3. All slights against your family must be paid over tenfold.

Atlas called Vacuo weak, they called them lazy and simple. They weren't. They sat upon the richest suply of dust in all of Remnant, and throughout their history they learned to use it. Only, they didn't have the inner wars that Atlas had to truly show them what they could do. They only had the works of a single man to go on. But even after ten years they've forgotten.

The man who struck them down before a single metal boot could insult their sands.

The man that showed Tyson how to shoot his weapon.

The man that told him that he needed to protect everyone that he cared about like they were his family.

For a hunter, the team was their family.

And he for one remembered the third rule vividly.

***

Nisha

Before anyone could continue, the kitchen door opened, revealing a man.



Upon seeing Nisha, the man dropped to one knee, bowing his head.

"Milady, forgive me for my intrusion, but I have been ordered to escort you from this room. The commander asked to meet with you, and he waits with baited breath."

[Flagmauth]

At Sterling's command Sienna shifted to a less lethal strategy. Since the point had been (excessively) made, her trees stopped going straight for the throat. Roots began sprouting from the ground like stalagmites, cutting off routes that didn't lead to the desired area and herding the survivors back.

[BerrySayRoar]

Upon hearing the door, she quickly turn to the open door way and aim her guns at the man entering the room. It was creepy enough being in a room with two strangers, the cherry on top was when the man bowed and mentions of a master. Nisha's spine shivered at the thought as she backs away a bit, "I rather not."

[Helsing]

Tyson had to switch out his clip for a less destructive payload and started shooting at the sides of the road, bringing down walls and trees to force them down certain roads. Team RWBY looked visibly relieved that less lethal tactics were being used, doing their part to get people moving.

***

"I know it's sudden, but I give my word as one of the Knights of Three that no harm will come to you." The man says.

He smiles, the action coming pretty easily despite the deadly feeling of his aura. Reaching to his side, he takes out a sheathed katana, well made by the look of it, and offers it to the other woman. She quickly walks over, and takes the weapon, only to place it on the table next to her.

"As a token of our sincerity, none of us will be armed." He gestures to the door, "Please, the commander is anxious to meet you."

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling makes his way to the town square, looking for a high vantage point to make his statement to the now terrified white fang.

[BerrySayRoar]

Nisha reluctantly followed. It wasn't out of trust or security that the weapons will be left behind, but the eerie aura his body was seeping out of his body. The same feeling that you feel when you fear death, the heartgripping, lightheaded feeling.

[Helsing]

The two of them walked out of the room, with the woman awkwardly trailing behind, the katana kept close. Now that they were out of the room, Nisha could tell that this place was some sort of bunker made out of some old building.

Though, that isn't the main sight that drew attention.

White Fang members, dozens of them stared in awe at her. Some just stared, others bowed, even more smiled.

After a minute of walking, the knight opened a set of doors to a chapel area. Pews lead up to a single stone statue depicting three women standing next to one another. On the left, a woman with a scar over her face from time held a shield. The other end, a woman cradles a blossom in her hands. Finally, in the centre, a woman without eyes holds a sword in one hand, and a hilt in the other.

In front of the statue was a man, one that the knight bowed to.



He turns, nodding at the knight and smiling at Nisha.

"Don't mind their reactions, it's simply rare to see one such as yourself."

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