The Baba Yaga of Vale
Chapter 1 – Introductions
The first time any of them saw him was at The Club.
The Club is going full speed, even if it is still a week night. The various denizens came out to drink, dance, drug up and try to impress those of the opposite sex.
Yang walked in, surveying the dancers before slowly making her way over to the man she wanted to see.
She walked over to him as he finished talking with another person, going up to the bar and ordering a drink. "Strawberry Sunrise" she says, "no ice. Oh, and two of those little umbrellas!"
Junior gives her a brief once over. "Aren't you a little young to be in this club blondie?"
Yang smirks as she turns to him. "Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?"
Junior grunts in affirmation. "So, you know who I am. What do you want from me kid."
Yang is about to answer, but a nearby soft voice cuts through the sounds of music and dancing, grabbing their attention. "Junior."
Junior turns around and sees a man with black hair and a short beard, dressed in a dark, three piece suit standing next to them. Yang is surprised, as she didn't notice him at all even though she is facing his direction.
Junior tenses, before replying with a simple "John." He pauses before continuing, sweat appearing on his brow. "Are you here on business?"
"Afraid so." John give Junior a look. "Winston told me you have the information I need."
"I have lots of information." Junior says vaguely, "You'll need to be more specific."
Yang is getting annoyed at being ignored but decides to keep her mouth shut for now.
John's eyes bore into Junior's. "You know who I'm looking for, and you know where they are." He doesn't move but somehow becomes more menacing. "You know what I'm willing to do to get that information Junior."
The two have a staring contest, waiting for the other to blink. John stays calm while Junior is about to crack at any second. Junior opens his mouth but John speaks first. "Of course, I don't expect information to be free." John slowly pulls something out of his outside jacket pocket. "I'm willing to pay for it." He flicks it to the other man.
Junior fumbles a bit before getting a grasp of the object. He holds it in his hand and stares at the large Gold Coin. Junior looks at the Coin, then back to John, then back to the Coin before closing his hand around it and pocketing the currency. "Residential district, west side of the city. They're above an Atlesian restaurant that's a cover. They own the apartment building and every resident there is a member. It's a safe house so there's no civilians there, except maybe the employees in the restaurant below, but they would know who they're working for."
John nods "I know the place." He turns to leave, but Junior calls out to him.
"John." He stops and turns back to Junior. "They know you're coming."
"I know" the man replies, "but it won't matter." He pauses before nodding. "Junior."
Junior reciprocates. "John." The man leaves, disappearing into the crowd as he heads towards the exit.
The Twins walk up to Junior, and all three look towards where John Wick walked off. "Was that, like, who I think that was?" asks Miltia.
"Yes." Answers Junior, pulling out the Gold Coin again. He looks at it for a bit before handing it off to Melanie. "You two, take this and put it in the safe." Melanie takes it, nodding in understanding of what the Coin is capable of buying. The Twins walk off, extra alert as they go to put away the precious object.
Junior sighs, rubbing his brow before turning back to Yang. "Sorry about that. You wanted something from me?"
Yang lets her irritation drop as she smiles back. "Yep. I hear you're the guy to talk to when you want to find somebody. And from that little conversation you just had, I think you'll be able to tell me what I want."
"Really" Junior says, rolling his eyes. "Before that, why don't you tell me what your name is sweetheart."
Yang reaches out and grabs Junior by the balls. "I've got several, but for now, you can call me sir."
Things escalated from there.
The next day, Yang sees a news report about a gun battle at an apartment complex that leaves over thirty suspected mobsters' dead, including the son of their leader, but doesn't connect it with the mysterious man from the night before.
The groups' second encounter with the mysterious man happens a few nights later, just outside From Dust till Dawn.
Ruby has just knocked out all the henchmen, forcing Torchwick to have to come outside as the sound of gunshots start to disperse to the distance. "You were worth every cent, you truly were." He mockingly states to the downed men.
Roman drops his cigar. "Well Red, this has been an eventful night, and as much as I'd like to stick around, I'm afraid we'll have to cut this short." He points the cane at Ruby, but before he pulls the trigger a male voice calls out to him.
"You sure you want to do that?"
The two combatants pause. The criminal looks over to his right and sees a man clad in a dark suit. Roman recognizes who it is. "Evening John."
"Evening Roman."
"You, uh, you working tonight?"
John has a small smile on his face. "Not really."
Roman doesn't believe him. "I'm pretty sure you don't wear that suit just because you want to look dashing."
"I was actually on my way to see Winston about something when I heard gunshots and the sound of fighting coming from a shop I frequently visit." John looks around at the knocked out thugs and the broken window. "Thought I'd check it out, make sure no one was trying to do anything."
"Oh." Roman sweats at that declaration. If he had known that, the thief would most definitely not have attempted to rob the place. 'Well' Roman thinks, looking back towards Ruby, 'Even with Red here, I'm sure I can take him. He's been out for a while anyways.'
Roman looks back at John. 'Oh who am I kidding, it's John Wick. If Neo was here, I may have had a chance.'
Ruby doesn't understand what's going on, but she doesn't want to get a civilian involved if she can help it and stays crouched in her combat stance ready to intercept any attack the criminal may launch at the other man.
"So that's all you came here for?" Roman says, trying to buy some time. "If that's the case, I'll leave this store alone. I just have to deal with Red here and I'll be on my way."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Roman."
Roman grinds his teeth. "And why not?" he asks in frustration.
"I'm not the type of guy that can walk away when a hunter trained adult points his weapon at a young girl."
"Hey!" shouts Ruby, "I'm 15! I'm grown up! And don't talk about me like I'm not here!"
"See?" says Roman, "She's not a little girl, she's a pain in my ass!" John is unimpressed by that logic while Ruby splutters at the insult.
"So as long as I don't fight her, you won't get in my way?" Roman asks. John nods. "In that case." Roman angles the cane down slightly and pulls the trigger. Instead of hitting Ruby, the shot strikes the pavement a few feet in front of her, forcing the young girl to close her eyes as Roman makes his escape.
Ruby opens her eyes a few seconds later, finding the flamboyant criminal gone. She looks around before spotting him climbing up a ladder to a rooftop. She quickly makes her way up to stop him, completely forgetting about the other man at the scene.
John chuckles softly at the departing girl. He sticks around until he notices the telltale purple glow of Glynda Goodwitch using her semblance on a Bullhead and retreats back into the night, making his way towards his initial destination.
Ruby doesn't remember him until they meet again.
The group's next meeting happened the day after Ruby's own encounter.
Phyrra Nikos exited the Vale airport terminal. Her manager said that Ozpin sent someone to greet her, but she didn't know who it was.
Already, she could hear snippets of conversation, all about her, wondering why she is here and if they could get her autograph. She picked up her pace, hoping to get away from the stares and whispers, even though she knew she could never out run them.
In her haste, Phyrra nearly exited the terminal before a gentle voice called out to her.
"Miss Nikos!" Phyrra turned to see a black haired man with a neat beard, wearing a dark turtle neck, a suit jacket and dark pants. "Headmaster Ozpin sent me to pick you up." He pulled out a business card and handed it to her.
She inspects the card, seeing that it is one from her manager with writing on it that she recognizes is from the Headmaster. Phyrra sighs in relief before looking back at the man. "Thank you. Yes, I'm Phyrra Nikos."
The man smiles and Phyrra blushes for introducing herself to a man who is there to meet with her and already knows who she is. He doesn't say anything though, instead taking one of her suitcases and gesturing her to follow him.
They go outside where two police officers are waiting by a nondescript car. The man nods to one of the officers. "Thanks Jimmy."
The one on the right nods back. "No problem John." Both step away from the car as John puts her suitcase of clothes in the Trunk. Phyrra decides to keep the smaller suitcase that has her weapons and armor with her as she sits in the back seat.
He gets into the driver's seat and pulls out of the airport and onto the main highway into downtown Vale. She looks out at the scenery, watching the buildings pass by her for a few minutes. The silence is a bit strained to her, so she decides to speak to the driver.
"So, um, what's your name?"
He looks at her through the rearview mirror briefly. "My name is John."
She waits but he doesn't elaborate further. "Just John?"
"Just John."
"Oh." She says in a small voice. Phyrra looks out the window again, the rest of the ride passing in silence.
They pull up outside a very opulent hotel, John taking the car slip from the Valet before grabbing the suitcase from the trunk. He leads Phyrra inside and they make their way to the check in counter.
"Welcome to the Vale Grand Hotel. How may I assist you?" The receptionist asks.
John motions Phyrra forward. She does so and says "Phyrra Nikos, checking in."
"Of course Miss Nikos. Can I have your scroll to verify your I.D. please?"
Phyrra pulls out her scroll and inserts it into an Identification slot that is molded into the granite counter top. The receptionist checks her computer and verifies the identity of the person checking in.
"Thank you for that Miss Nikos. I have you for two nights, is that correct?" Phyrra nods. She decided to come two days early, which gives her one and a half days to explore Vale before Initiation starts.
"Wonderful." The receptionist types into the computer. "Your room has been paid for by your manager and we have a credit card on hand for any charges, which have already been pre-approved. This extends to our restaurant which is open from 6 AM to 11 PM every day, and room service is available until 2 AM." She proceeds to give Phyrra the hotels' amenities, including the local attractions and a few nearby restaurants. "Your scroll has been updated and will be used to access your room. I hope you enjoy your stay at the Grand Hotel."
"Thank You" Phyrra says, taking her scroll back. She and John make their way to the elevator, scanning her scroll to take them to the correct floor. She goes to the correct room and scans the scroll on the lock, letting them enter.
John merely pushes her suitcase inside, staying outside the room. "Miss Nikos." Phyrra turns to him. "If you need anything, my scroll number is on the card I gave you earlier. I am available today and tomorrow if there is any place you wish to visit. I will be here the day after tomorrow at 8 A.M. to take you to the Beacon Airship for your initiation."
"Thank you John." She says, grateful for his assistance.
"You're welcome ma'am." He closes the door and makes his way to the elevator, while Phyrra collapses on her bed and ponders on what to do next.
John exits the elevator at the lobby and heads for a cluster of couches and chairs. Sitting down next to a woman in a business suit, he looks at her and says "Afternoon Neo."
The woman appears to ignore him for a few moments before there is the soft sound of breaking glass and her appearance changes. Instead of a non-descript woman wearing a business suit, a young woman wearing a pink, white and brown outfit takes her place.
Neo huffs before signing back "Afternoon John. Here on Business?"
"Kind of." Neo raises her eyebrow in question. "Ozpin called in a favor I owed him. I'm here to escort Miss Phyrra Nikos around Vale until initiation. And seeing that you're here, it looks like his intuition is correct."
"Who, me?" Neo signs, putting on an innocent expression. It would have worked if John didn't know exactly who she is.
Neo pouts when she fails to sway him. "I'm guessing Ozpin calling in his favor and you being here are related."
Neo doesn't answer but that's enough for him. "Why does Roman want you to follow a hunter in training, even one as famous as her?"
Neo shakes her head. "Roman didn't send you?" A nod. "Then who did?" Head Shake. "Can't, or won't tell?" Shrug. "Right." Nod.
"I can't let you follow her around Neo." Neo remains still for a few moments before giving a slight nod. John nods back. "Thank you Neo."
Neo points her chin at another group of men dressed in business suits sitting on the other side of the lobby. "I'll handle them later."
She smirks at him and points to herself before signing "Professional Courtesy?"
"Something like that." Her smirk turns into a smile as she activates her semblance. "I'll be seeing you, John Wick."
"I'll try to do the same." He stands up to the sound of breaking glass, and she's gone before he takes his first step.
He makes his way out the hotel front entrance, before turning and walking down the street. The group of men from before follow him outside and tail him at a distance.
Two days later, Phyrra doesn't connect her driver to the six dead bodies the police found near the Hotel.
A week after Initiation, John is riding the Bullhead to Beacon. Ozpin called, saying that he needed his assistance with something important. The man may be addicted to Coffee, but he wouldn't call John up unless something truly needed to be done, especially since he's out of favors.
John steps off the Bullhead and makes his way inside the school. It's currently between classes, and the students are all in the in the hallways. They give him a strange looks, as he is an adult that they don't recognize. It may also be because dressed in a white t-shirt that's stained with oil, a leather jacket, jeans and slip on penny loafers. John ignores them all as he makes his way to the elevator.
He rides it all the way to the top, entering Ozpins office to see the Headmaster and his second in command there.
Ozpin looks up from his desk to see who had just arrived. "Mr. Wick." He says. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. Please, have a seat."
John sits down across from Ozpin and waits. Ozpin and Goodwitch look at him without saying anything for a few minutes. "Ozpin" he says, "You asked me to come here. If you're going to waste my time, I'll just leave."
"My apologies Mr. Wick." The Headmaster says, "I was just gathering my thoughts. I didn't expect you to be here until tomorrow."
"I'm not one to Procrastinate Headmaster."
"Truly, you are not." Ozpin takes a sip from his mug. "I called you here to offer you a job for the next year."
Wick raised an eyebrow. "A job?" he asks, "Here. At your school." He looks around the room. "What should I teach, assassination and sabotage?"
"No, I have Glynda and Peter for that." He pushes a folder across the table. "I need you to deal with something within Vale itself."
John doesn't reach for the envelope. "I'm not that guy anymore Ozpin." He says quietly.
"Perhaps" he replies, "But even if you are a mere shadow of that person, you would be far better than anyone I could contact."
John still doesn't reach for the envelope. "What about Qrow?"
"Qrow is more suited for the outlands and Grim." Ozpin's eyes narrow, "I need someone that fights monsters disguised as humans."
Now knowing what exactly Ozpin wants from him, he slides the folder back across the table. "I can't help you."
"This effects your brother-in-law." Ozpin declares, causing John to pause in the middle of getting up. "This effects every single person in Vale, possibly all of Remnant, and it especially effects those who are attending Beacon Academy."
"What are you getting yourself into Ozpin?" John asks.
"There are forces at work, forces that are determined to undermine the Four Great Kingdoms and bring us all to ruin." He gestures John to sit back down, sliding the envelope back over to him. "Please, just look at it. Afterwards, we can call it even."
John raises an eyebrow again. "We are even."
"I remember doing you a favor and letting your brother-in-law into Beacon without a proper transcript."
"I remember escorting Phyrra Nikos around Vale and killing eight men to protect her."
Glynda snaps her attention to Ozpin and glares at him, while the Headmaster coughs in discomfort. "Right, I had forgotten about that." He murmurs. "Regardless, I am willing to pay you for your efforts." Ozpin pulls out a dozen Gold Coins and lines them up on the table. "One per month for your services."
John looks at the Coins, knowing what Ozpin had to do to get them. This must be the entire stash Beacon has, or most of it. "Are you truly that desperate?" he asks quietly.
"Yes."
That, more than anything, convinces John to pick up the envelope and look through it.
The information is sparse, seemingly not connected, but he could see the strings tying everything together if he looked hard enough. 'Ozpin is right' he thinks, 'something big is going to happen in Vale within the next year.'
He closes the folder and puts it back on the table, saying nothing.
"Well?" Ozpin asks.
John remains silent for a few more moments before nodding.
Ozpin sighs in relief before sliding one of the Coins across the desk. He is surprised when the man slides the Coin back. "I'm not doing this for money."
Ozpin is shocked and before he can stop asks "Then why are you doing this?"
John Wick merely stands up and nods to the Headmaster. "Ozpin."
Knowing he won't get an answer, he nods back. "Mr. Wick."
John the nods to Glynda before turning around and walking towards the elevator. He enters the doors and rides it back to the ground floor.
Ozpin lets out another sigh of relief, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair.
"Ozpin" says Glynda, "are you absolutely sure we need someone like him?"
He stands up and grabs his mug and cane before walking to the windows overlooking Beacon and Vale. "I do Glynda." He looks at the young adults milling about the campus grounds, knowing that something is going to happen soon that may rip their lives apart. "You need one Baba Yaga to kill another."
John exits the elevator and makes his way to towards the front door. On his way though, he runs into a familiar face.
"Uncle John?"
He stops and turns, seeing blonde hair and blue eyes that are achingly familiar. "Hey Jaune."
Jaune runs up to the man his sister married and hugs him. John hugs him back. "It's good to see you again uncle."
"It's good to see you too, kid." They part and look at each other.
"What are you doing here?" Jaune asks.
"Ozpin wanted to talk to me about something." Jaune gets a nervous look on his face. "Don't worry, it's not about the favor I asked of him."
Jaune lets out a breath of relief, wiping sweat off his brow. "Phew. Had me worried there for a moment." He looks back at his uncle. "I never thanked you for doing that, did I?"
"No worries kid." John ruffles Jaune's hair, ignoring the protest. "Helen asked me to help you and I did."
The mention of his sister brings a pang of pain to Jaune's heart. He pushes it to the side, he'll grieve later. "Still though, I want to say thanks. Without your help, I wouldn't have gotten into Beacon."
He accepts the thanks, knowing that it would be useless to argue. Jaune speaks again. "I haven't seen you since the funeral. Are you doing ok Uncle John?"
"I'm doing better now Jaune." He replies, getting a smile of sympathy in return. He decides to change the subject. "How are you fitting into Beacon?"
"Great!" Jaune says, excitement lighting his eyes. "I, uh, I was made the leader of my own team!"
"Really?"
"Really!" he puffs out his chest in pride. "Jaune Arc, Leader of team JNPR."
John is impressed. "Congratulations kid."
"Hehe," Jaune rubs the back of his head in embarrassment. "Thanks." He looks off to the side and sees the rest of his team coming towards him. "Oh, let me introduce you to my team mates."
"That's not really necess-" but is cut off by a loud shout.
"Heeeeey Jauney!" Nora yells, even though they are not that far apart. "Why'd you run off like that?!"
"Heh, sorry about that" Jaune replies. Gesturing to the man besides him, the team leader makes the introductions. "Team JNPR, let me introduce you to my brother-in-law, John Wick. I call him Uncle John. Uncle John, let me introduce you to team JNPR: Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren and Phyrra Nikos."
John greets them individually. "Miss Valkyrie, Mr. Ren, Miss Nikos."
"Wait, wait" Nora interrupts, "If he's your brother-in-law, why do you call him Uncle John?"
Jaune blushes while John explains. "Jaune's father doesn't have any siblings while his mother only had sisters. Jaune said he always wanted an Uncle, so I told him and his siblings to call me Uncle John when I started dating his oldest sister."
"Awww, that's so cuuuuute!" Nora squeals, causing Jaune to blush an even deeper red. Phyrra thinks it's cute as well, but doesn't voice it. Nora continues talking "But still, Jaune and John, it must have gotten confusing."
"Only in the beginning." Jaune says. "That's also part of the reason we call him Uncle John."
Nora and Ren nod in understanding while Phyrra steps forward. "Mr. Wick" all eyes turn to her, "Thank you for escorting me around Vale before initiation."
"It's no problem Miss Nikos." He replies, "I was merely returning a favor I owed Ozpin."
Further conversation is halted by the sound of a bell over the intercom system. "Oh no guys" Jaune exclaims, "That's the two minute warning. We gotta run or we'll be late to class!"
The four students start running down the hallway, though Jaune yells back over his shoulder. "Sorry about this Uncle John, it's nice seeing you again, see you later, bye!"
John chuckles at their antics. He squares his shoulders and exits the main door of Beacon, ready to go to Vale and do Business.
#
AN:
Edited: 2/1/2017 A few words, change placements of some things, helps the flow more.
And that's chapter 1.
I've been wanting to do a RWBY story for a few months now, and with John Wick Chapter 2 coming out, I wanted to do a John Wick story.
Let me know what you think.
I have a few ideas of where to take this story, but updates are going to be erratic. Don't be surprised if several months pass between chapters.
BTW, I wrote this entire story in about 8.5 hours.
Peace,
GunKatas.