Luci's Journey pt3

<i>The state of Luci was survivable, given enough time and rest. Perhaps faster if there were medical personal, however, Huntsmen aren't always given that luxury. The couch proved to be a sufficient place to rest, but the rest of her body ached, and she laid in a cold fever, the pain overwhelming for someone who at times, is so fragile. Lucinda knew this going in, she knew the path she walked was covered with claws and mud. But every fiber of her being ached, and her aura could only sooth so quickly. She seemed to phase in and out of consciousness, her mind swirling in an abyss of loneliness and anxiety. She was so vulnerable, the feelings of trepidation crept further into the recesses of her mind as it processed all these feelings. A common sight to see was the Grimm from her nightmares, massive, an endless wall, with orange eyes that dotted itself like the night's sky, and the skull large and imposing. Often her friends would be there; Dawn, Nova, Cal. Their bodies mangled and destroyed in different ways each time her mind went to the darkness. <b>'You can stop one of us, but two will take our place'</b> it often said, in between visions of her past, her rough childhood, her friends putting themselves in harm's way to protect her mistakes. <b>'Is your effort not in vain? Did the children not teach you this? Are you truly that simpleminded?'</b> She tried to fight back, but her body was recovering. She reached, but never was able to pull her allies from danger. <b>'Luck saved you from that stone cast upon you that should of ended you. Luck is what brought your life to where it is. But when it dries up, and you are left without it, what more are you, than a useless rabbit, waiting to be made prey.'</b> Luci, despite her social shortcomings, was a people person, perhaps being alone has left her thinking these things, but coupled with the grueling fights, and the constant tendrils of these thoughts plaguing her waking mind, allowed her mind to see the beast itself in this time of weakness. <b>'And when the day comes, you may kick, and scream, but your end will mean nothing. All of your useless efforts will remain in vain. And you will be alone.'</b> A blackened claw oozed from the mass, eyes shifting to allow the sharp talon over the poor rabbit as she sat in the void, staring with wide eyes and tears streaming down her face, her friend's corpses strewn around her. It lashed down, her mouth opening to scream, but nothing exited. The claw's impact was only halted by a blinding, golden light, and she was back to the real world. She didn't sit up, she had not the strength still, nearly every ounce was going to her Aura, to heal the wounds that were...bandaged? Her vision was blurry, fading in and out of focus, but there was a shadow coming from the window. She took a look with a very circumspect gaze, her head tilting up to see a figure sitting on the windowsill, facing the outside, a bright light coming from the exposed sun. She couldn't make out many details, save for two ears that poked out from the top of her head, much like her own, and what seemed to be a kimono. But her eyes still were attempting to focus, but at the soft, pained grunt she let out, the head of the figure turned just enough to surely see her sorry state. "So...it is true. Not what I was expecting, but, true, nonetheless." Luci blinked confused, but as she tried to speak, the head turned away, back outside. "But now is not the time. Nor the place. You were the one they wanted to forget, but they may not be able to do so for much longer. Rest, dear sister. Your road is long and dangerous, but you will make it to the end." The figure didn't remain to answer questions, as it leaned out the window, and fell down. Luci grunted as she tried to get up, "W-wa-" she didn't get very far, her body moved, but pain made her yelp, and roll off the couch and onto the floor. All at once, it was immense, and with not much to stop her head bouncing off the floor upon impact, she now laid face down on the floor, feeling reality slip away once more. "Hey, boss, we found the Huntsmen!" Distorted voices were muffled, but she heard the presence of people enter her room. "Ooooh, lemme look, lemme look!- Eh? That's it? Is she even alive?" She felt covered fingers press against her neck, to feel the minute pulse that kept her body alive. "Barely, she seems lucky, seeing what happened out there." There was a scoff, followed by the sounds of armored footsteps. "Whatever, anyone can knock down a building. But, if she's still alive, there's a lot of Lein here. Especially for a Faunas. Get her stuff and let's leave. This decor is already starting to bore me." Time began to blur for her, her limp body was taken, but to where, she had no idea. It was an information overload. Who was the person that called her...sister? As far as she knew, she was an only child. But she knew she was adopted. Did this mysterious person know more about the family that left her to the one she knew her whole life? Who were they? What did she mean, 'but not for much longer?' All of these were silenced, as a rush of cold water was dumped over her face. Her brain woke up, and she gasped for air, blinking quickly as she looked around. Nothing but black, something was covering her eyes. She tried to move her arms, but they were bound behind her back with rope. Panic was quick to set in, but it wasn't much longer before she was allowed to see, the blindfold snapped off her eyes, and she squinted to adjust her vision. They appeared to be in the forest, not too far from the City's ruin she was operating in, but how deep in, she was unsure. But what worried her more were the people surrounding her, scattered about in an encampment, with tents and structures made from metal and cloth. It seemed almost militant, men and women staring at her from behind jet-black armor, with white and red accents. This wasn't White Fang, in fact, there wasn't a Faunas in sight. Their symbol was something completely different, a square of hash marks, with a white flame over it, perhaps symbolizing a fire, but she was unsure. "W-where am I? Who a-" She was silenced by a kick to the back, causing her to fall forward into the dirt, whining out in pain as the man who committed the act moved beside her and squatted down. "Speak when spoken to, animal." He said, his voice sharp, like daggers stabbing into her ears. She gritted her teeth, but yelled out as she was sat back up by a yank of her ears, and the largest tent before her parted open. "Well, the rabbit wakes. But oh no! She's caught in a cage!" It wasn't what she was expecting, a woman walked from it, covered from neck to toe in a layered, black armor, similar to her allies, but lacked the helmet, instead letting her platinum hair shine in the sun, and her eyes carry the feint sense of worry for her. Her hands rose to hold her cheeks, as if gasping as she approached. "Whatever will the little bunny do? No hop-hop-hopping out of this one for her!" It was a sing-song tone she played, and each time, it was making Luci bubble with frustration. "If you're going to kill me, get it over with!" Panic was being replaced with anger, and the strange woman blinked, and let her lips form a wide grin of malice. She bent down and gripped Luci by the chin, forcing her head up to look into the depraved eyes of the other, and she let out a coo. "You wouldn't of woke up if I wanted you dead. All alone, already almost dead. No thanks? No praise for your saviors?" She let go and delivered a devastating back-hand to Luci's cheek, causing her to fall-over. "I hate it when they step out of line." She mumbled to herself as she produced a handkerchief to wipe her gauntlet off, seeming annoying she even had to <b>touch</b> a Faunas, but she looked to see Luci sit back up, a glare that was very unfamiliar to her character. "Lucinda Hopkins, sole, albeit adopted, heir to the Hopkins Pharmaceutical Company. That's quite a title, even if your parents like to stay out of the public's eye. But that means your family has Lein." She seemed to purr at that thought, Luci attempting to stand up was met with a swift punch to the gut by the man who had removed her blindfold, making the Huntress dry heave back to her knees. The woman seemed to take a few steps back, in case she did indeed vomit, and put a hand on her hip. "That's very unladylike. Still, guess from someone like them, goody two-shoes of the world, they instilled some level of justice in you. If I had a reason to, I'd make sure to break that out of you. Regardless, they might pay rather handsomely for your safety." She paused, putting her finger-tips together over her chest and smiling, "Or sell your rather exotic qualities to the highest bidder and have them do what they want. Aren't choices exciting?!" She clapped now, rocking on her feet as Luci let her head hang. She had noticed the ropes binding her had loosened, but she did her best to keep it under control. Her breathing had returned to normal, but it wasn't quite over yet, looking back up to the black-armored woman holding Luci's scroll in her hand. "I was going through your contacts too, you know, messages, games, really you are <b>so</b> boring. Not even past level 100 on Carrot Crusade. Sad. But, I saw some faces that piqued my interest. You're friends with Nova Astrea, of Astrea Arms. They've been rather...hmm, generous, so we can say." She started to pace, Luci had noticed the coat of arms used by the Astrea's on many of the weapons and armor, but mostly seemed painted over. Generous was more along the lines of stealing, but, this woman seemed confident in her craft. She did stop, and walk back towards Luci as she pulled up a picture and presented it, squatting down to help the rabbit see. It was a picture of her and Caldera, a perfectly innocent selfie, with her friend seeming more interested in everything else but that picture. "But her. Now that's even more interesting. I know a very influential group of people that would want to know she's still alive. And where to find her. The plot indeed thickens~." That's when the woman was met with a huge glare, and a headbutt that sent her onto her ass in surprise, dropping the scroll in the process. Luci was about to receive retaliation, but she snapped the rope free from its grip on her, and ducked under the punch. Luck for her, this same person had her weapons on his hip, and she was swift to snatch them from his hip. He pulled his pistol after she was behind him, but a crack to his head with Handicapper had sent him to the floor. All guns and weapons were raised at Luci, who glared at the woman, Handicapper pointed solely at her. "If you hurt her. If you touch a hair on her body. I will kill you!" She had snapped, her ears sharpened back and anger covered all over her face. Honestly, the woman appeared more worried that Luci had touched her, more than anything, and stood up, unknowingly stepping and destroying Luci's Scroll in the process and looked around at her soldiers. "Well, what are you waiting for? SHOOT HER!" Luci had prepared to attack, but the hail of gunfire made her retreat. The nearest Soldier was the first victim, her body was not fully recovered, but running on pure anger and adrenaline, she attacked. The whip lashed out and wrapped around his neck, yanking and throwing him into the way of the projectiles as a few more approached from her flank. Twisting to face them, she brandished her blade as well, a weapon in each hand and met them half-way with a leap forward. One of the soldiers raised a sword to block the blow, but she pushed the blow away, and spun to kick his feet out from under him, and smash him into the ground. Luci's movements were ferocious, leaping between combatants, gunfire seeming to miss her by mere inches, impacting allies with friendly fire as she swung her weapons to incapacitate the woman's grunts. She twisted to block a blow with Handicapper, stepping out of the way to throw the man into another, but the sound of a cannon made her hop away, and the explosion sending that group flying. "IDIOTS!" The woman stood at the mouth of her tent, a large black shield blocking most of her, save for the large shotgun poking out of the notch on the side, braced via the ax-head attached to the length of the gun, was pointed squarely at Luci. "DO I NEED TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?!" She out a scream, firing shell after shell, cocking in the next round with a thrust forward of the gun to expel the last cartridge. Luci jumped away from the first round, and began sprinting towards her, putting her weapons away, but holding to the hilt of High Roller, ready to strike when within range. The woman snarled in frustration, having left craters from the impact of the explosions, and swung the axe behind her, "YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Pulling the trigger, it fired a round into the ground behind her, the explosion propelling her forward to met Luci half-way, and while she swung downwards during her advance, Luci countered and swung up, the two weapons clashing, and sending a small shock-wave that licked up dirt. "They say there's more than one way to skin a cat, BUT THE SAME CAN BE SAID ABOUT A RABBIT!" Luci's sword was deflected to the side, and with a spiral, smacked the Rabbit with her shield with enormous strength, sending her flying into a tent and collapsing it. "Screw selling you, I want your ears, Faunas!" She slammed her shield down, setting the ax up to fire a round, and as Luci cut herself free from the fabric the round flew and exploded against the wall behind her, catapulting her towards the woman, and landing harshly against the ground. She thought victory was assured, and lifted her ax into the air with one arm, but as it came crashing down, Luci moved and blocked the incoming blade with her own. While she was out of Red Dust, a crank of the handle activated the remaining Yellow Dust inside of High Roller, sending sparks up the blade. Her opponent's face twisted in anger, pushing to try and drive Luci's own blade into her, but the electric build-up reached critical mass, and surged up the ax and into her, sending her flying back. "Shut up. Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Luci sprang after her, clutching her katana with both hands, and swinging at her as she tried to rise. The blade dug in and gashed her armor, Luci shouted as she twisted to go for another blow, but it was blocked by the shield. "Dont." Her blade was pushed back, and the axe was swung, clashing against Luci's aura, making her stumble back. "Cut." Luci moved to retaliate, but she had already been counter-rushed, stabbing the ground  with her ax to trap her foot into place. "My." Luci lifted her sword up, but the large shield smashed into her body, stunning her, and she reared back her shield before screaming. "ARMOR!" The second hit was much harder, the deafening crack as the force flung the Huntress across the encampment and smashed into a stack of crates, causing their content to spill out. Luci coughed up blood, moving to shakily push herself up to her feet, keeping a tight grip on her blade as she looked back, barely able to stand straight. All guns were pointed at her again, but one soldier saw what came spilling out of the boxes: Dust Rounds. "Don't shoot! D-" He was quickly shut off as the other woman aimed her shotgun at Luci. "DIE!" It fired, and Luci sprang out of the way with all of her strength, out of the open gate. The explosion that followed after the round made contact with so much Dust sent a large portion of the camp into the air, Luci covering her ears and head as the shock-wave sent her flying and into a tree. Her vision went black in an instant, and all was silent. Next thing she knew, she was being loaded onto an Airship in the city ruins, seems like another Huntsmen team had luckily shown up in time, judging from the voices she hear between the loud ringing in her ears. Her arm was in a sling, and all of it seemed to play out just in her luck. She looked out at the courtyard while her mind was still there, to see the faded vision of the same figure from before standing by a tree, ears perked up and watching, but as the ship lifted into the air, her mind slipped back into unconsciousness. But, she was not only watched by that strange figure. The woman watched from the edge of the forest, her soldiers back at camp cleaning up her mess, but she had rushed after the Huntsmen that had saved Luci, between the chaos of the camp exploding, and the sudden rush of Grimm that attacked from the commotion. She was covered in dirt and ash, but her eyes were furrowed with extreme anger. Setting the shield down, she aimed her shotgun to fire at the departing airship. <b>Click</b> "W-wh..." She looked at her gun; out of ammo. She had fired her last round at the Rabbit, and missed. It started with a growl, but it grew into a temper tantrum as she threw them both on the ground while screaming in vexation. Her soldier that had accompanied her waited for her to calm down, which didn't seem like it was going to happen, but took a step towards her, "L-Lieutenant Mariko, we should retreat." She spun around and hissed at him, "I know that, idiot! But due to your incompetence, we just lost out on one of the biggest paydays in your life! I should leave you to the Grimm, without your arms or-" She paused, seeming have come to a realization. She quickly began to pat herself down, stopping at the satchel on her hip, and turned her head down to look inside. The anger quickly washed away, a devilish grin growing as the snarls and screaming turned into a bout of unbridled laughter. The soldier seemed confused, having taken a step back, "M-mam?" She lifted up the small pouch, and looked at him, "Don't you know? Sometimes to catch a wolf," She paused, pulling out a vial of blood, and shaking it for him to see as she held it next to her face, "You need to use prey as bait? Mm?" On the glass of the vial, there was a crudely drawn image of a rabbit, and Mariko gazed up at it in fascination, "Go tell the rest of them to be packed up and ready to go. I can smell the Lein already. And this time," She followed after her soldier, her tongue running across her lips in anticipation as she held back to contain her giddiness, <b>"I won't let the little rabbit run away."</b></i>