'I'm writing. The pages are starting to stack up. My morale is improving the more I feel like a writer.' - Neil Gaiman.
'All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.' - Walt Disney.
'I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavour to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams is something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death.' - Monty Oum, 1981 - 2015.
Vale City. Finical District.
Marron Blanc rushed through the corridors, shutting the doors with whatever came to hand, whilst ensuring her Grimm mask stayed on. She held the case tight in her hand, as she heard the men in suits break the doors and makeshift barricades down. She tapped her scroll, it was the next part of the plan that was mostly working as she had designated the events.
Then the men kicked the door down, their grins widened as Marron was up against the window. She saw the city below, all the lights twinkling like stars as the moonlight filled the room.
"Faunus, you get one chance to drop the case!" The central man ordered as the others raised their guns, the alignment dots converging on Marron's head as she placed the hat back on her head.
The rabbit ears vanished as the rim of her top hat balanced on the top of her head. She mentally counted down in her head, disregarding their warnings as she back stepped to the window. She then knew it was now for her next step, as the bullets flew at her.
Only they shattered the glass behind her as she opened up black holes at the tips of their rifles and pistols barrels. The fresh night breeze swooped in, the refreshing air was far better than the stuffy office she thought, as Marron took another step back to align herself.
"Like a rat caught in a trap, that's what you are!" The man laughed as he extended a hand to her. "Give it now, and we won't push you out!"
Marron smirked as she dropped the case out of the window, seeing the men scramble despite knowing it would be too late to catch it. She then threw a Dust shard, the ice making them slip and lose their balance as they continued to scramble forward. Then the man fired a single round, his face showing blood fuelled rage for her actions.
Only Marron gave a smirk under her mask before saying, "I have a ride to catch." She then fell back, free-falling as the sky was above her and the building was racing past her. The man stepped over the other men still straining to regain their footing, before peeking over the edge.
He saw it in a flash, though he could't believe the sight before him, like the tales he was told as a child. A witch in a pointed hat and riding a broom, as it flew downward past him and he saw the case in what looked like a tail around the handle. Then he saw the Grimm mask and chose to open fire on the witch.
Only Noir Raven swooped past his bullets, speeding up to catch her partner. Marron grabbed Noir's outstretched hand, using the momentum to lift herself up on to the broom. They both laughed as they left the men behind, who kept taking odd shots that were nowhere near the huntresses.
The two flew only to a couple of buildings away, where Noir dropped Marron off with the case. Patty Platinum & Donald Carmine of Team COPR were eager to finally see them, despite the bickering they had done, which they were too well known for. The two headed down the side of the building, heading to the next watch-out point as Noir soared around the building, keeping watch for the men.
Marron headed downstairs, meeting up with the rest of her friends. Ecru Modena was keeping an eye on the entrance of the building with her new sniper rifle. She had more practice thanks to Cyan's help, but she was still hesitant with it, zooming in on the slightest movement. She had already jumped at seeing the same stray kitten three times now as Marron entered the room.
As Roland Rust and Olive Origami were relieved to see Team MNCE's leader, Cyan Chrome saw Ecru signal them. Just as Marron had predicted, they saw several cars rush down the street and the Dust clouds that Patty, Donald and Noir had for signalling trouble. There were more men than they had planned for, so they agreed to splitting up. It was the only way out for them since they couldn't take on that many enemies head on.
"Cyan, you ready?" Roland asked as Cyan nodded and took her stance.
Ecru got extra ammo out ready at the side of her, while keeping the rifle aimed at the first vehicle
"Head down…" Roland instructed to Cyan, who followed his instructions. "Arms in…" He added as Marron lined up against the window. "Knees apart." Roland finished as Olive aligned her papers at their feet, to which Cyan was oblivious to.
"Knees apart?" Cyan repeated, confused with the words as the others grinned. "Why knees apa…" Cyan froze as the paper shifted under her, forming a spring board.
Then the sudden realisation hit her like a ton of bricks. The cold chill went down her spine as a certain memory resurfaced. The one she experienced back on the top of Beacon Cliffs, and the horrid sensation replayed as she turned to them.
"Don't you…" She started to order to them but she was too late, being propelled into the air.
"DARE!" Cyan screamed, seeing the world spin again, as the other three followed suit and Ecru took several shots to distract the men below.
Despite Cyan's scream of surprise, the men were too busy with the ice Dust that blocked their path. They arced in the air, landing on the next rooftop, all except Cyan who landed on Noir's broom. Noir was about to crack a joke but suddenly stopped herself at seeing Cyan's face.
Noir hurried to land as Cyan shakily swayed on the broom, and even wobbled with her first steps off the broom. The others were getting to their feet, expecting Cyan to scream at them for not explaining that part of the plan to her. Instead they saw Cyan open her lips to shout at them, only she hurried to the edge of the rooftop to vomit.
"Is she going to be ok?" Olive asked but only Roland was able to hear her quiet voice.
"I think so, but I think she's not going to be happy with any of us." He stated, backing up as Cyan took in deep breaths and turned to them, giving an evil glare.
Marron and Noir rushed over to her to see if she was all right, only to be grabbed by the ears by each of her hands. Roland would have found it funny, given the height difference between the girls of Team MNCE which meant Cyan was tiptoeing to reach, only hearing Noir and Marron winch deduced to Roland that Cyan was truly angered.
He watched as she kept a vice like grip despite the two apologising to Cyan. Cyan made it very clear they weren't to do it again, as she stopped to speak, only she rushed to the roof edge to throw up again. Marron ouched at the pain when she saw the men swarm around the building. So she made a black hole for Ecru to escape out of the room.
Ecru leapt through the hole, though as she gracefully landed on the roof, she took a double glance to Cyan and sighed. She knew it would've been better to have filled in Cyan on the plan, but she also knew that Cyan wouldn't have liked the back up plan or using Noir's broom.
She was glad to see Cyan was back on her feet after she took a few deep gasps of air. Ecru knew how much it got under her skin, remembering the initiation test and how Cyan reacted afterwards. It was then Marron frantically looked around her, the others at a lost for what she was doing, then it was what wasn't there that got them nervous. The case was missing.
Marron and the others searched the rooftop, wondering where it could've gone. Only Cyan saw where it was, it had fallen down and was currently sat precariously on the top of a dumpster bin. Worst still, the men were all around it, completely unaware of it but if they tried to grab it, then they'd be found.
Cyan got Marron's attention, who was already making a tiny portal for it. Cyan saw Marron's hand grab the handle and slowly pull it through. Only the lid of the dumpster fell shut, the case slipped out of her hand and the men jumped over each other to grab it, after hearing the slam of the lid.
Olive sent a flurry of paper to distract them, as did Noir with Dust vials crashing down on the men. Ecru fired several rounds, but the men had the case in the car and were already starting it up to escape. Marron used her black hole to get to the ground and the others jumped through it after her, though the car was already speeding away.
Cyan was already rushing over to her bike, the 'Shocker' as she called it, charging it up with her semblance. Ecru only just managed to climb on as Cyan revved the engine and took off after the getaway car. Ecru held on for dear life, as Cyan gained speed and left clouds of dust with the tyres roaring and screeching with her fast turns.
"Come on, we can catch up with them!" Donald shouted after slamming the enemies rifle straight into their face, with Patty freezing some with ice Dust arrows with her bow.
"No!" Marron issued, furious with herself that she had dropped the case after all their effort already. "You four stop these boneheads before they get away! We'll go after the case!" She called out over the Dust explosions around them, nodding to Noir who already swooped her up and were gone in a flash after their team.
Donald angrily sighed as he unclipped the enemy rifle's ammo and tossed it at the three men who were bunkered behind a car. Patty fired at the magazine of ammo, causing it to blind the men and jump up from their cover. No sooner they stood up, they felt paper ensnare their feet, resulting in them colliding with the car's bumper before greeting the concrete road surface.
Roland was silently cursing as his Dust shots from his club were spiralling too far right. He tried configuring it to a shotgun but it sparked slightly so he stopped it. The last thing he wanted was it to backfire in their cover, so he threw the last few vials he had from Noir, causing the desired effect he wished his weapon would do.
Olive dragged the captured men with the semblance she had left, trapping them in a cardboard like web and they effortlessly wiggled for freedom. She gave him a reassuring pat, she knew how frustrated he had been trying to repair his family's weapon. He had confided in her that he hadn't told the teachers nor his family about its serve damage.
Olive wondered why he'd hide it with so much effort, especially with the tournament coming up. Though from what Roland had talked about his family, she gathered that they'd be disappointed with him at the very least, though she knew there was something he wasn't saying. So she helped him up as he returned his weapon, pushing the weapons out of their enemies reach to use.
Patty was about to have another heated disagreement with Donald about which turning their friends took, when Roland pointed to the residents and businessmen coming to investigate the disturbance. Patty was glad that Ecru's semblance kept them all hidden with a change of colour palette, but she would rather not take the risk. So the four ducked to the shadows, dodging the residents who were already causing a commotion, and headed back to Silas' place in the hopes of meeting up with their friends.
Team COPR took glances behind them, seeing the men in suits, The Crimson Hand, get surrounded as they continued to fight fruitlessly from their trap. They only prayed that the others were safe and sound, as they slowly saw their disguise start to change. Soon their colours were back to normal, as they saw the familiar building that was Silas' clinic and their crime fighting base.
All the while Team COPR fought off the Crimson Hand who remained, those that got in the two cars were fleeing with the case. They knew their boss was back in the kingdom and he was already on the war path as it was. Now they wondered if theses thieves were the same students that Soot wanted.
Then they saw the bike tailing them, so the first person got out to see, only they soon slumped in the car, Dust powder from a direct impact still surrounded him as the second man started taking shots. Though Ecru was able to blast it out of his hand, as the second man scrambled to get another weapon. Cyan swerved to avoid the ramming of the second car, as Ecru misfired and froze the side of the building.
Ecru tried reloading but every jerk of the bike's sudden turn prevented her to aim carefully. She clutched at the ammo magazines, hoping not to drop it nor cause any further collateral damage. She then saw the first car shuck something out and warned Cyan as she steered the bike, darting between the objects that fell as she cursed at what the objects were.
"Grenades!" Cyan screeched as she slowed down to avoid the detonating devices, causing the road to be upturned and chunks of it to fall from each blast.
"They really don't want us to get that case!" Ecru called out over the bangs of grenades popping around the bike.
Cyan bit her lip, frustrated that she let her pride lose the case, so she put her foot down to speed up. She then used her bike's special weapon, firing a bolt of static ahead of them. Ecru then understood Cyan's plan, she was purposely aiming at the junctions ahead of them, stopping other vehicles from being caught up in the chase.
The first car swerved to avoid Cyan's blockade, with the second following it in hot pursuit to guard it. Noir got a bird's eye view of the devastation the Crimson Hand were causing, and yet she saw where Cyan was directing the cars, to the highway road. 'Risky' she thought but it was safer than the downtown roads or letting them get away.
Marron then jumped down from the broom as Noir got closer to it. She landed on the second car as Noir flew by Cyan's side along the road. Noir stood on the broom, triggering the missiles with a tap of a foot. Marron dodged the missiles, while getting her staff to fight off the troop that had climbed out to fight her.
'Showoffs' Cyan thought loudly in her head, speeding onto the highway to catch up to the cars. Ecru fired several more rounds, hoping to take out the tyres but she kept missing, only infuriating her as she searched for what types of Dust she had left. She then saw Noir throw a magazine round to her, which had the symbol of earth Dust on it as she caught it.
She immediately switched it to load her rifle and fired a shot, though instead of aiming for the tyre directly, Ecru aimed where the tyre was going to be. She missed the tyre, but it was close enough to distract the driver. Cyan was now riding near it, enough for Cyan or even Ecru to jump on to it.
Though neither did with the return of the grenades that bounced out of the window. They fell back as Noir flew closer and threw all the ice Dust she had to freeze the grenades, now only popping like tiny shards of glass. Marron watched with odd glances as she battered the rifle out of the troops hands.
She then saw the troop loose his footing and he went head first off the car. Marron used her semblance to make a small portal as he fell safely out of harms way. She wanted him handcuffed and behind bars, but her parents teachings, especially her father's, screamed at her to save the man. She wrestled with those reasons some days, but she knew it was the morally right thing in her heart.
So Marron returned her staff to a wand before getting both wands out, which began to change into her dual pistols. She sidestepped several shots, using her semblance to deflect closer range bullets, while taking aim at both the car beneath her feet & the other car with the case. Marron smirked as her aim hit the intended targets, only then the car beneath her started swerving and threw her off.
Noir darted to grab her friend, but Marron was already back on her feet with the portal she made. Noir raced past her as did Cyan's bike, as Marron saw the second car had frozen to a halt in ice Dust as the men soon saw they were locked inside from the ice. Marron didn't look back, knowing their foes weren't going to thaw out anytime soon, as she ran after her friends.
Marron's portals helped her catch up to her friends, though she was thankful that most of the other vehicles were no longer moving. She dreaded what her mother would say if she knew that her only daughter was chasing a dangerous group on the busy highway of the city. She landed on the first car, aiming both pistols down as Cyan caught up behind the car and Noir steadied her broom just to the side of the car.
"Give it up! Hand over the case!" Marron ordered the Crimson Hand men, as the driver started flooring his car on the highway even faster.
The men didn't answer, instead their response was a swerve of the car. Marron readjusted her feet to the sudden change, while avoiding the Dust crystal that was thrown at her. Noir caught it in the air, and pocketed it before inching closer to the car.
"Do as she asks, you're surrounded!" Noir advised the men as they attempted to fire, but each shot was missed as she got closer to help her partner.
"Like hell we'll give it up to you mongrel brats!" One of the men screamed as he started to open fire on the roof of the car and then aimed it at Noir. "You animals hardly have the upper hand!" He continued to rant as he started misfiring out of the back window, as Cyan leaned side to side to avoid a direct hit.
Ecru shook with Cyan's bikes momentum, carefully taking her time to regain her balance while aiming her sniper rifle at the vehicle's tyres. She wanted to join in Cyan's swearing, since they had insulted her team, but she needed to drown out all distractions as she looked through the scope. Only as she looked where the tyre was going to go, she paused at what came into view.
"Uh, Cy…" Ecru nervously started to inform her partner, but Cyan insisted on keeping their cover.
"Codenames remember!" She called over the roar of the engines and gunfire.
"We've got a problem!" Ecru shouted, loud enough for Marron and Noir to turn their heads to her words.
"Like what?!" Cyan demanded, still evading the bullets and trying to maintain her speed.
"We're running out of road!"
Ecru's words were the last thing any of them had expected, even the Crimson Hand men joined the huntresses in turning their heads forward. What they saw terrified them in an instant, for they had in fact traveled on the closed off section of the highway, and had gone past all the warnings for the roadworks ahead of them. They saw the highway was missing a piece of road, too big for any of them to attempt the jump, as it came upon them within seconds.
Cyan slammed on the brakes, grabbing Ecru who was launched into the air but was soon pulled out of her seat. The car had spun ahead of Cyan's bike, spinning it and then crashing upside down, as Noir slowed down to swoop up Marron who jumped backwards. Marron then created a hole as Cyan cursed at seeing the world spin as she landed with Ecru on the tarmac.
Cyan felt ill despite the softer than expected landing, but it was the sight of her bike being shredded to shards that made her gasp. It was deafening to her, seeing the metal bend and twist as it came to a grinding halt, the frame barely recognisable as the lights died and sparked no more. Ecru was amazed that she had no scratch on her but saw the gloves exposing Cyan's hands, only she too froze at the wreckage before them.
"Cy, you ok?" Ecru wrongly asked from the horror on Cyan's face. "It's only a bike this time." She tried getting her to laugh, given the number of prosthetic limbs Cyan had gone through in their first semester.
"Silas is going to kill me for this one." Cyan softly squeaked, knowing what happened the last time she had crashed it.
Ecru knew it was serious when Cyan referred to Doc as Silas. Her guardian and friend looked after her like a daughter but Ecru guessed he'd scold them all for this mess. So she helped her friend up, trying her best to distract her from the mess and help her with her gloves.
Marron and Noir landed next to them, with Cyan asking why Noir had slowed down when she was flying. Noir didn't realise she could've kept flying, she guessed the adrenaline got the better of her, while Cyan thanked Marron for the portal. She never liked the use of it but she was grateful that she and Ecru got off lightly, unlike the mangled remains of her bike.
The four were relived that one another were fine, but none had noticed the buzzing sound till it was right above them as they ducked for cover. Then they saw who was inside the Bullhead vehicle and they felt a mix of relieve and fear. Team CFVY descended down from the drop-ship while Professor Goodwitch remained inside, but her face was frowning which sent alarm bells to Team MNCE.
Coco Adel led the team to investigate, with her case turning into a giant heavy machine gun, and Yatsuhashi Daichi was effortlessly shifting Cyan's bike for them to head to the car. Velvet Scarlatina politely asked if the men were fine inside the car, Fox Alistair darted past his team to pull her back as the men opened fire on her. Fox Alistair shielded Velvet from several of the bullets with his blades on his arms, as she grabbed her case to use her weapon.
"Fallback Velvet, you should save that." Coco pointed to the case Velvet carried on her back. "Don't waste it on these… fashion rejects." Coco instructed to her rabbit Faunus teammate who compiled, while not diverting her eyes of the men in suits who were climbing out of the overturned car.
She aimed the heavy gun at them, ordering them to choose wisely. She tutted as she opened fire back on their bullets, the men now scrambling for cover with Yatsuhashi throwing debris to create cover for Velvet and Fox. Fox nodded as he darted forward, knocking the gun out of one of the men and punched him to the ground.
Velvet jumped over the cover, kicking the gun out of another Crimson Hand goon as Yatsuhashi grabbed him before he could lash out of Velvet. The last of the Crimson Hand kept firing from the crumbling door he used as cover, the bullets of Coco's weapon continued coming with no end in sight as he counted the remaining bullets. He never got to fire another round as he was propelled into the air.
Professor Goodwitch had launched him with her semblance, he crashed as the rubble slowly formed around him. He found himself entombed in stone, unable to wiggle free as she stepped off the Bulkhead drop-ship, turning to Team CFVY who brought over the others who reluctantly were carted together to accept being apprehended. Professor Goodwitch then caught something in the corner of her eye, seeing a slight shadow move oddly.
Ecru returned to her team, holding the case in her hands, only then noticing her colours as well as her team's colours were back to their own again too. Her aura was nearly completely spent and it meant that Team COPR were no longer in disguises either. She inspected the case, wondering what the hexagon and strange M symbol meant.
She handed it to Marron, who opened it with the luminous green glow coming from within the case. Marron wasn't sure why the glowing liquid was important, but she knew instantly from her gut feeling it was deadly in the Crimson Hand's clutches. So she sealed the case up, and was about to call the police when their Professor spooked them with her presence.
She angrily tapped her wand, waiting for an explanation as she commanded Team CFVY back to the drop-ship. The police finally came dragging the Crimson Hand away as Glynda Goodwitch marched the students to the drop-ship. They willingly obeyed, not talking back or trying to explain the situation.
One look on their professor's face was enough for them to know the inevitable, as the ground left them and she took the case from their hands. Team COPR remained silent, wondering why the professor had asked for their assistance instead of the teachers. They guessed their teacher just needed whoever was free, as the police cordoned off the area.
'We're in serious trouble.' The thought was unanimous amongst Team MNCE, with the Beacon Tower approaching them and the school grounds soon coming under the drop-ship. Upon landing on the ground and a few shaky steps from Cyan, the girls and the professor began the slow walk to Ozpin's office. While Team CFVY headed back to their dorm room, wondering what trouble the first years had got themselves involved with.
…
Elsewhere, the young girl with dark skin and green hair had found what she was after. She plucked the piece of paper from the board, determined to follow out this job for the person who saved her life, as she pocketed it. The gray haired boy irritated her but she thought it best for him to tag along. Despite his irritable nature, she knew he had her back, especially after the fool of a criminal called Roman Torchwick had failed to carry out a portion of the plan.
They turned to the news that flashed up on the terminal display. It showed something off a car chase, with the reporter commenting on Beacon students being involved and claiming to question what teachers were doing to control the adolescents wild behaviour. She smirked, thinking it was less dull than she was led to believe Vale would be.
Emerald Sutstrai called over Mercury Black to find this place in downtown Vale. They needed to ensure this rat wouldn't inspire others to question Cinder's plans, or think of ditching the so called 'Brothers of the White Fang.' 'And just maybe teach Roman a lesson of how it's done.' She thought as she headed out of the White Fang's hideout.
It would take time for her to get used to the city, but she knew he'd find somewhere in the city, especially with a name of a store like that. 'There couldn't possibly be that many bookstores named after her target.' She thought, as the two strolled past the city buildings, on their hunt for Tukson.
[A special thank you to everyone who helped me with Volume 1 and for reading it. Without you, Wouldn't be here to post this chapter, so thank you to each and every single one of you amazing people.
Also a special shout out to Monty Oum and the #MontyOumProject for giving me the will and belief in my OC's.
I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next chapter, which will be up very soon.]
