Chapter Text
"Ugh, that's your fifth win in a row! There's no way you didn't get tired yet!", Sethos sighed.
"I'm just warming up.", Cyno sounded way too serious, even though it was just a card game.
"Tighnari, come on, save meeeee."
"I told you not to accept playing with him.", Tighnari flipped a page on his book. "Anyway, you can just stop playing if you don't want to."
"But I wanna wiiiiiin.", Sethos whined.
"Another round?", Cyno asked.
Sethos was about to respond when he got a message. Seeing it as an opportunity to dodge playing another game, he immediately reached for his scroll. But what was supposed to give him a break ended up being way more trouble than a round of Genius Invokation. Noticing his frown, Cyno immediately spoke up.
"Is it something about the Temple?"
"Yeah. One of our guys that was spending time in town said he overheard a Fatui mentioning an investigation. The area is pretty close to the Temple and he doesn't know if they're onto something or if it's just a coincidence."
"You know there's no such thing as 'coincidence' when the Fatui are involved.", Tighnari said.
Sethos went silent as he typed something. Shortly after, a reply came.
"Okay, apparently, the Fatui he overheard don't know exactly what the operation is about. Even IF it is about the Temple, the information hasn't been spread.", he told them.
"Let's go there, then. Maybe we can set them off course.", Cyno suggested.
"What? Do we pretend we're treasure hoarders or something?", Tighnari frowned.
"Or eremites. We can make them think they're stepping in our turf or something. Y'know, the usual. Scare them off with my incredibly skilled fighting prowess.", he winked, which made the other two roll their eyes.
"I hope you're aware a fight is inevitable.", Cyno crossed his arms, looking at Tighnari.
"Don't give me that look. We'll be joining the Beacon Akademia next week! Fighting will be a daily occurrence in our lives!"
"Yeah, Cyno, you can't be overprotective of him forever.", Sethos teased.
"I guess I can't always be your a'Cyn'ed bodyguard."
Sethos groaned and Tighnari sighed.
"Let's just go before Tighnari murders you and I let him."
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"Do you think they know where it is?", the sweet, gentle voice echoed in his head.
"Doubt it. They're running around like headless chicken. Probably just a general idea but no clear leads. Would explain why no higher up is involved."
"Hm... Yet the fact they have such leads... Why would they be so certain of a general area yet not have enough concrete proof to take it to their superiors?", she wondered.
"There's no point speculating. Even if they're not certain, they're bound to find it the way they're going."
"Then we need to throw them off course or scare them away. We can't let them get too close."
"I'm not sure that's optimal. Imagine you're them, following your lead to the mysterious Temple of Silence, and as you're getting close, suddenly it seems as if the desert itself is telling you to go away. If the higher ups didn't believe them before, they'll certainly believe them if something like that happened. They're too close. Any interference will be suspicious."
"If only I caught wind of this information earlier...", she sighed. "You'd be able to intercept them before they got this close."
"Wondering what could've been won't solve the problem at hand. They're getting closer. We're running out of time."
"Can you try distracting them? Give me... 5 minutes to think of something!", her voice was getting a bit desperate.
"Buer."
"You know I don't like causing harm to living things."
"I know. And you know this is why I'm your right hand man. Because someone's gotta remind you that, sometimes, it's inevitable. They're on the right track. No matter what we do to scare them away, if they survive, the information will leak, and we CAN'T let the Fatui get this close to forbidden knowledge."
".....I know...", she sighed, saddened that it had come to this. "You're right. Just... Please make it quick. So that they feel the least pain possible."
"Roger. I'll eliminate the threat."
But, before anything could be done, she heard the voice she was communicating with call back to her.
"There's- A group of people just showed up!"
"What?!", the gentle voice was back, alarmed. "More Fatui?!"
"No. They're... Fighting the Fatui. Well, there goes any chance of discretion."
"Maybe they're not related to the Temple. Can you give me descriptions?"
"Three guys, all of average height. A white fennec faunus with black fur and green and red eyes, a tanned guy with white hair, orange eyes and a hood that looks like animal ears and another tanned guy with brown hair and braids on a ponytail and olive green eyes."
"Wait. That last one. And the second- Oh no, it's Cyno and Sethos. The fennec must be Tighnari. They're from the Temple."
"The ones you mentioned will be joining the Beacon Akademia next week?"
"Yes. You can't hurt them!"
"They're too close! I can't get the Fatui without hitting them!"
"They're innocent. They're doing the right thing."
There was a moment of silence in their conversation as the battle raged under the one hidden in the winds.
"This is bad... I can't see through your eyes, so I can't properly assess the situation.", the kind girl was in deep thought.
"Buer."
"Yes?"
"Do you trust me?"
For a beat, it was silent again. Not from hesitation. No, it was obvious "Buer" had been stunned silent. To hear that voice say that word... The word he feared so much.
"Yes.", she said, with unwavering confidence.
"Then leave it to me. I have an idea."
"Do your best to avoid hurting the innocent students."
"Roger."
Finally, the conversation came to an end.
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The fight raged on the sands. Arrows charged with dust flew around from Tighnari's bow at the Pyroslinger, as he engaged in a long raged battle in an attempt to keep his shots off Cyno and Sethos. He was quite agile, but he knew he was fighting at a disadvantage. He was quite sensitive to heat, so he couldn't risk using his semblance, as to not drain his aura, as it was the only thing protecting him from the scorching sun.
Knowing that, Sethos gave up using long ranged attacks with his bow, and pulled it apart into the double daggers form. He would help Tighnari by slowing down the gunslinger so he could fire arrows more precisely without having to use his semblance to create illusory roaming arrows. He would sometimes yell at Cyno to grab someone with his whip so maybe he could jump and get a hit in, but the enemies were alert enough to jump in to defend the other.
Cyno's got Sethos back whenever he was helping Tighnari. The two of them were going melee against a cryogunner and an anemoboxer, so they had to be really careful not to hit the shielder whenever he gathered up anemo dust, or get too slowed by the cryogunner.
But the fight wasn't able to continue for long, as the dark clouds covered the sun and thunder roared. The Fatui and the Temple trio looked up to assess the situation, but Tighnari was sharp enough to notice the gunslinger look away and immediately took the opportunity to shoot an arrow at his ankle. The anemoboxer retreated to protect his companion from any other shots and the cryogunner took a few steps back, just like Cyno and Sethos.
"We have to go, this is looking like a bad one.", Cyno said.
"We can't just let them run off freely!", Sethos frowned as he pulled his daggers back into a bow.
"I think Cyno is right. This storm-"
But he couldn't get another word out before lightning fell between them and the Fatui.
"We HAVE to go!", Cyno insisted.
"Fine!", Sethos sighed. "Tighnari. Use a Dendro bomb to distract them."
Tighnari nodded and took a few steps forward to throw the bomb. But, with the lightning falling like rain, this advance made him get struck. He did manage to throw the bomb, and was lucky enough that the lightning strike only broke his aura, not did further damage. But it alarmed Cyno and Sethos regardless, who ran up to help him.
They were able to run off, Tighnari soon getting to his feet by himself again. They ran off until Sethos abruptly stopped, making Cyno and Tighnari crash against him.
"Why did you-"
"Look up.", Sethos cut Cyno off.
The three of them looked up at the sky. It was... Perfectly clear. They looked back and, sure enough, the storm was still there. But it was stuck in a circular area, right above the Fatui.
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"Bystanders are safe. Eliminating target."
A wind vortex enveloped the area under the dark clouds. Looking like a black hole, the powerful winds surely acted as one pulling everything in the cloudy are into a destructive storm. After a while, the winds settled, and the dark clouds disappeared. Among the sands of the desert, one who just arrived would've never known what transpired.
"Mission accomplished."
"Well done. Are the students unharmed?"
"One of them jumped straight into the lightning for some ungodly reason, but it just broke his aura. He should be fine. Get a scar at worst."
"What happened to being careful?", she sighed.
"I was. If I wasn't, he would've been evaporated on the spot."
"Hm... We need to work on your definition of 'carefulness.'"
"Can I head back? This blazing sun is driving me insane."
"Of course. Thank you for your help. You did well."
Just like the wind, the perpetrator was gone from the scene.
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Cyno let out a whistle.
"I didn't know your defensive mechanisms were this crazy."
"That's not one of ours!", Sethos protested.
"I... Know I don't live in the desert and you two haven't lived here in a while, but... Surely this isn't a common occurrence?", Tighnari looked worried.
"I've never seen something like this. I thought they were the ones making the storm with their Delusions, but...", Cyno frowned.
"Those fake Semblances could never whip up something like this!", Sethos shook his head. "I- Tighnari, are you feeling okay? Can we-"
"Yes. Let's check it out."
"Wait! No! What if it starts again?", Cyno objected.
"It... It looks like it settled.", Tighnari reasoned.
"Please... I need to check it. It's the Temple area still.", Sethos pleaded.
"....fine. But at any sign of danger, we run off immediately."
With that settled, they moved to the area slowly, almost as if fearing that any noise would make the storm come back. When they finally managed to get a look at the Fatui, Tighnari let out a horrified gasp and Cyno immediately covered his eyes with one hand. He placed the other on his arm and gently turned him away from the scene.
"Don't look."
"I have to get used to it. We're going to train to become huntsmen, I- I have to-"
"It's okay. You don't have to hurry into getting used to something like this."
And it was SOMETHING alright. Sethos gulped as he forced himself to look, to make sure no one had made it out. And there was no way any of them did. There were limbs everyone, from all three of the Fatui. Sethos felt sick looking at it so, as soon as he was sure he saw all of their... Heads... He turned away a took a deep, shaky breath.
"L-Let's go.", he said. "It's- It's done. One way or another."
"Yeah, we need to go back before Tighnari drains all our water.", Cyno said, trying to break the ice.
And it worked, because it got a chuckle out of Sethos and a punch on his arm from Tighnari.
The trio turned their backs to the atrocity, having had their first taste of what the reality of a huntsman is.
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For those who don't know RWBY: (more will be added in later chapters as needed)
Semblances: Abilities unique to a person that they may or may not develop at one point in life.
Aura: A "shield" of sorts that can protect you from hits, from extreme weather conditions and such. Using your semblance also depletes your aura. Once your aura is depleted, you cannot use your semblance and you can take fatal blows.
Dust: Crystals that wield elemental power that can be imbued in weapons and used with semblances.
Magic: Something most don't believe even exist. Think of it as dust and semblance with no limitations
Semblances and Weapons:
Sethos:
Semblance: Basileos Delta
Can either slow down or accelerate time for a short period. Most of the time, he uses it to either slow down enemies, make himself run faster, make himself be able to fire a large amount of arrows quickly or perform rapid slashes with his daggers. However, it doesn't last long and can't be used continuously, as his body will still feel the toll of moving so quickly in such a short span of time. He's working on his stamina to be able to use his semblance for longer.
Weapon: Scion of the Blazing Sun
A rapid fire bow that can also be split into double daggers. The bowstring is made of dust, so it can be remade once the blades are reconnected into the bow form. The bowstring also powers the arrows with the element they're made from, but not many types of dust can be kept in the weapon. Most of the time, Sethos opts for Electro and Geo dust.
Wanderer:
Semblance: Peregrinus
Can absorb dust into his body to wield the element it holds. When he uses it, some parts of his body light up in the same color of dust he's absorbing and, when using a particularly large amount of dust, his eye color also changes to reflect the color of the dust.
Weapon: Tulaytullah's Remembrance
An ornate hat that can hold all types of dust. It was made specifically to work with his semblance and, when he calls upon it, the semblance changes the hat into a beautiful halo that responds to each dust he calls upon. He shows a preference of using Anemo dust, specially as it can be used for flight.
Tighnari:
Semblance: Vulpes Zerda
Can create illusions of himself that will shoot at enemies until they're destroyed. At the moment, he can only summon three at a time, but he's practicing to try and increase that number. He discovered that he can enhance the strength of these illusions using Dendro dust, so he usually carries around a few balls of Dendro so he can throw at enemies either to summon a stronger illusion, or as a distraction.
Weapon: Hunter's Path
A precision bow that can use dust to power arrows with elements. With his semblance, his illusions use the same bow, which will copy the dust he's using on the arrow (if he's using any). If he concentrates, he can use his semblance on the bow to create illusory arrows, made with Dendro dust, that will shoot alongside the real arrow. The Dendro illusion arrows can track the enemy Tighnari has set them to.
Cyno:
Semblance: Lupus Aureus
He can invoke the power of Hermanubis to enter an empowered state, in which he can use dust to create claws to fight the enemy. After entering this state, he can only leave once his aura is completely depleted, which makes it so he only uses it if absolutely necessary.
Weapon: Staff of the Scarlet Sands
A spear that can break down into a whip. Its dust compartment is spread throughout the entirety of the spear, which makes it so it can channel the dust's element throughout the entirety of the weapon , which is particularly useful in the whip form. On the downside, it can only accept one type of dust, so Cyno opts to use Electro, which can shock whatever enemy comes in contact with the spear or whip.
Notes: Since Sethos is a 4 star and doesn't have a signature weapon, I opted to use his promotional weapon. Wanderer, being a catalyst user, makes it quite difficult for the weapon be just like the in-game one, since you can't really explain why the thing floats. That's why I opted to make Tulaytullah's Remembrance his hat! Kinda fits with the whole hat "disappearing" when he uses his skill. Still kinda hard to explain, but it is a bit more feasible.