I own nothing. RWBY is the property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth Productions.
The club was called Nevermore, an ironic name given that it was also the name of one of the creatures of Grimm. It wasn't a spectacular club by any stretch of the imagination. In fact it was one of the worst clubs in Vale, full of criminals and lowlifes looking for a cheap thrill. But the drinks were cheap and the music was decent, which was good enough for Yang Xiao Long, who knew every one of Vale's clubs like the back of her own hand.
However, it wasn't cheap drinks or decent music that had brought Yang to the Nevermore tonight. It was a desire for knowledge that had done that, though Yang was beginning to suspect that she'd come to the wrong club. The information she was after was known by only a handful of people and the Nevermore wasn't the kind of club those people would likely visit. Still, Yang knew there was a chance they'd show up here. And so she chose to wait, hoping the boredom didn't drive her insane.
A short time later, as Yang was in the middle of her sixth drink, the doors of the Nevermore opened and two of the people she was looking for entered, though they didn't seem to notice her. Melanie and Miltia Malachite, the twin associates of Junior Xiong, who owned one of the other clubs in Vale. Yang had dealt with the Malachite twins before and was not particularly worried about them, nor was she worried about Junior, who was sure to be close behind his girls. In fact, she wasn't even really interested in them. It was who they knew that Yang was interested in.
Shortly after Melanie and Miltia entered, a group of Junior's thugs entered as well, drawing Yang's attention. She sipped on her drink as she watched the twins engage in a conversation with a man at the bar, Junior's thugs standing around them like bodyguards.
That's curious, Yang thought, as she watched. The twins are conducting business on their own. Could it be that they've finally left Junior behind? She doubted that was the case. Melanie and Miltia were extremely loyal to Junior and were not likely to go into business for themselves. Still, it was strange to see them conducting business without Junior present. There had to be an explanation and Yang knew how to get it, if she could just get one of Junior's thugs alone.
That didn't figure to be a difficult task. Yang was an attractive young woman, who was excellent at flirting. She was also powerful, a graduate of Beacon Academy and member of Team RWBY, which was sure to get most men all hot and bothered. If Yang knew anything about men, and she knew a lot, it was that men loved power and she was not above using that to her advantage. All she needed now was an opening, a chance to make her move.
That opening arrived a short time later when one of Junior's thugs left his post beside the twins and headed for the restrooms. Grinning, Yang finished her drink and rose from her seat, before following the hapless criminal to the back of the club where the restrooms were located. She waited in the hallway for him to finish with his business, pouncing on him as he exited the restroom.
"Hey there." Yang said, her smile radiant. "Mind if we chat a moment?"
"Uh...huh...what?" the thug asked, stumbling over his words like an idiot.
"I asked if we could chat for a moment?" Yang repeated. "You know, over drinks and all that. What do you say?"
"Uh...sure!" the thug said, seemingly forgetting why he was there.
"Excellent." Yang said, grinning. "Let's go get some drinks."
"Okay." the thug said, nodding vigorously as he followed Yang back out to the bar.
Once they were seated, Yang turned to the young man and showed him a picture. "Do you know this man?" she asked, her violet eyes boring into his.
The thug didn't answer, but immediately grew uncomfortable, which told Yang all she needed to know. It seemed she had chosen the right club to visit. All she needed now was a bit more information and this night would be a success.
"His name is Roman Torchwick." she continued, pretending not to notice how uncomfortable the thug was getting. "I've been looking for him for awhile and it would be really helpful if you could tell me where he is."
"I...I don't..." the thug stammered, unsure if he should talk or not.
"He doesn't know where Roman is." a voice said then, drawing Yang's attention. "But my sister and I do."
Yang sighed and turned to face Melanie, Miltia, and the rest of Junior's thugs. "I don't suppose you'd share that information with me, would you?" she asked.
"Of course not." Miltia answered, raising her metal claws in a threatening manner.
"Didn't think so." Yang sighed, rising to face the twins, her shotgun gauntlets, Ember Celica, clicking into their combat ready position.
As she stared the twins down Yang realized that she wasn't the only one who had stood. All around the club people were rising to their feet, and very few of them were running for the exits. It occurred to Yang then that she might have bitten off more than she could chew, but she didn't really have any other option than to fight.
"Well, looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way." Yang muttered, her gaze flickering around the room as she spoke.
"You didn't really think you could come in here and start a fight without facing an army, did you?" Melanie asked. "Everyone knows who you are now, Yang, and famous graduates from Beacon aren't welcome in this part of town."
"Oh really?" Yang asked, sarcastic now. "Well, I'll just have to change that now, won't I?"
"You can try." Melanie mocked, clicking the sharpened heels of her boots together, as though she thought that would frighten Yang.
"I can do more than try." Yang said, before she sent Melanie flying with a wicked, Ember Celica aided punch.
Before she could savor the hit though, the rest of Junior's thugs had descended upon her, their various weapons flashing in the bright lights of the club. Miltia was amongst them, her claws swinging wildly, as though she was trying to shred Yang's flesh like paper. Yang effortlessly avoided each attack, launching counterattacks against anyone who got too close. She felt her blood surge as the battle commenced, a primal instinct driving her forward despite the overwhelming odds. Yang loved to fight and she hadn't had a fight this good in quite awhile.
The other criminals in the club were beginning to join the fray now as well, but Yang barely registered them. Most of them were even less skilled than Junior's men and they were no match for a trained Huntress. But Melanie and Miltia were and Yang was certain Junior would be making an appearance himself at some point, so she still had to be careful.
At that moment, one of Junior's thugs came flying at her with a weapon that resembled a baseball bat. Yang leaped backwards, avoiding his strike, and took the opportunity to eject the spent shells from Ember Celica's chambers. Before her attacker could even ready himself for another attack, she had loaded new belts of shells into each gauntlet and turned to face him. The thug took another swing at her with his bat, only to be blasted in the face by her counterattack. The man went down in a heap and Yang turned to face the only enemies who were still standing, Melanie, Miltia, and a pair of tall, muscle bound thugs who were bigger than Junior.
The two big thugs attacked first, one of them swinging a large club and the other using his fists, on which he sported a pair of heavy duty brass knuckles. The thug with the club reached Yang first, his swing forcing her to roll to her left to avoid being hit. The move proved to be a distraction however, for just as Yang avoided the club, the other thug caught her full on in the face with his brass knuckles, sending her sprawling.
Yang was on her feet before either man could land another blow however, though she looked more than a little shocked by the effectiveness of their attack.
"Wow, you two hit hard." she muttered, spiting blood on the floor at their feet. "Almost as hard as an ursa."
The thugs did not respond and seconds later, the one with the club took another swing at her. Again Yang avoided the hit, but this time she was ready for the second attack as well. As the second thug closed in with another punch, she countered with one of her own, discharging a shell from Ember Celica in the process.
The thug howled in pain and reeled back, his right hand a broken ruin. "Fool me once." Yang said, grinning as the thug retreated.
"Fool you once huh Blondy?" a voice said from the club's entrance. "More like fool you again, you arrogant little bitch."
Yang glanced at the entrance just long enough to see Junior step through the doors and then the other thug's club caught her in the back, driving her to the floor.
Yang hit the floor with a thud, pain screaming down her spine, but before Melanie and Miltia could move in to finish her off she managed to roll into a seated position that gave her some defense. She avoided Melanie's bladed kick as it came crashing down beside her, but Miltia's claws hit their mark, one of the blades tearing through Yang's right shoulder.
Yang screamed in pain, the hot gush of blood down her arm drawing a look of panic from her eyes. Yet, before Miltia could skewer her with the other set of claws, Yang summoned the strength to swing with her left hand. Her fist made contact with Miltia's face, another shell discharging from Ember Celica in the process, and suddenly Miltia was flying across the room, her claws yanked painfully from Yang's shoulder.
Yang scrambled to her feet, clutching her bleeding shoulder, her burning gaze fixed on Junior. For a moment she simply stood there, staring him down and then she sprang into action, all pain and suffering forgotten.
Junior tried to move out of the way, but Yang was too fast. She barreled into him with tremendous force, her fists swinging wildly as she knocked him to the ground, shells flying with every punch. Melanie, Miltia, and the remaining thug moved to help their boss, but Yang drove each of them back with rapid fire punches that left each of them dazed and prone. Finally she slammed Junior into a table, its legs buckling under his weight, and stopped, one fist raised above his head.
"Alright, alright jeez." Junior shouted. "Stop kicking my ass Blondy."
"Don't ever call me that." Yang snapped, her eyes flashing.
"Fine, fine, whatever you say." Junior said, raising his hands in a defensive pose.
"Good." Yang said. "Now, tell me where Roman Torchwick is and I won't have to finish kicking your ass."
"That's why you're here?" Junior asked, honestly surprised.
"Of course it is." Yang replied. "Why else would I come to a club like this?"
Junior shrugged, as though he had no idea what motivated Yang to do anything. Not that Yang had really expected him to know why she was here, but she had assumed that he'd at least have made a guess.
"So, are you gonna tell me what I want to know?" she asked, her gaze boring into his.
"I have no idea where Roman is, I swear." Junior said. "No one has seen him in months. The word is he's either disappeared or dead."
Both likely possibilities, Yang thought, though she doubted either was really the case. She glanced at Junior again before deciding he was telling her the truth. He had no idea where Roman was, but that didn't mean he was completely useless.
"What about Roman's associate, Cinder Fall?" Yang asked. "Do you know where she is?"
"I don't even know who she is." Junior answered, not meeting her gaze.
"Come one Junior, I thought you knew everything?" Yang pressed. "You're not lying to me, are you? Cuz you know what happens if you are."
"I'm not lying, I swear." Junior said. "I've never heard of a woman named Cinder Fall."
Yang stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if he was lying or not before finally sighing. "Damn, you really aren't lying, are you?" she muttered, disappointment coloring her tone.
"No, I'm not." Junior confirmed. "Now, will you please get off of me?"
Yang nodded and rolled off of him, her injured shoulder giving her a twinge of pain. As she stood, she saw Junior grin and realized too late that she'd made a mistake.
"Oh Blondy, fooled you again." Junior said, still grinning, as the big thug hit Yang in the back again, dropping her to her knees.
Yang landed hard once again, pain screaming through both knees and down her spine. But before she could rise to defend herself, the thug hit her again, driving the air from her lungs. She pitched forward, her head smacking the floor, and for a moment she blacked out before another blow with the club brought her back to her senses. She screamed in pain and the thug hit her again, this time in the ribs.
Yang felt a rib crack from the force of the blow and she gasped, blood dribbling from her mouth. And then Melanie's heel was at her throat, the blade digging into her flesh as the pressure of Melanie's weight cut off her supply of air.
"You made a mistake coming here tonight Yang." Junior said, using her real name for once. "Did you really think we'd tell you where Roman is? Did you really think the fact that you're a Huntress would save you here? We're gonna teach you now just how wrong you were."
Yang gasped and choked, Melanie's heel pressing even harder on her throat, to the point that Yang was sure it was going to crush her larynx. From the corner of her eye she could see Miltia grinning, her claws ready to deliver the killing blow. And then something happened that Yang did not expect. Melanie bent and tore a strand of the flowing yellow hair from Yang's scalp and everything went red.
"No, not her hair Mel." she heard Junior shout and then Melanie was flying across the room, where she slammed into the wall with tremendous force.
Before anyone else could move, Yang had laid Miltia and both of the thugs to on their backs and was turning her fiery gaze on Junior, who was backing away as quickly as he could. He didn't get far however, before Yang nailed him with a ferocious barrage of punches that ended with him going head first though the wall of the club.
And before anyone else could make it back to their feet Yang was gone, speeding off down the street on her motorcycle, all her pain forgotten as she focused on the one success of the evening. Roman Torchwick was still out there somewhere and now that she knew that for sure, she would find a way to stop him once and for all.
End.
A/N: And that's Yang's fic. I know, I basically just ripped off the Yellow trailer, but it's not all the same. In the Yellow trailer Yang is questioning Junior about someone else and in this, she was obviously asking about Roman. That is, by the way, the thread that will tie over to the multi-chap fic. No one knows where Roman is or what he's up to (or so Junior claims) and Yang is curious to find out. That's why I used a similar setting to that of the Yellow trailer. Anyway, the trailers are now complete, so it's now on to the main fic, which will be titled Of Ashes and Dust and will tie everything together. Look for the first chapter sometime before the end of the month. That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed. Cheers, KT.