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Chapter 03: The Raid

Screams. Smoke. A crowd of officers in full riot gear pushing their way into the nightclub.

It was pandemonium. A panicked press of bodies desperately tried to reach the shutter doors that the Vale Police had miraculously left unattended in favour of storming a single entrance. The pungent stench of the smoke bombs that had been thrown in disoriented the enhanced senses of the Faunus as the helmeted officers waded into the crowd, swinging batons at anyone unfortunate enough to be within striking distance.

Gangrel snarled as he launched himself into the fray. It wasn't his first time dealing with law enforcement, but the violence they seemed to reserve for dealing with Faunus always brought his rage to the surface. As he barged through the crowd, he became aware of someone shouting his name.

"Gang! Where are you going?" He turned to the sound and saw that Squish was hanging behind, unwilling to jump into the fray like Gangrel was.

Gangrel reached into his pocket and threw his keys to the smaller Faunus. "I'm getting Adam and Velvet. Get to my place. It's nearer than yours," he ordered.

Squish caught the keys, nodded, and headed for the exit. Gangrel continued his own path through the former revellers as he searched for his friends, throwing a vicious elbow strike out with his left arm as an officer rushed towards him with a raised baton. The blow found its mark, the baton flying from its owner's grasp as the officer's collarbone cracked, and Gangrel was quick to follow with a devastating right jab, knuckles finding their way under the bottom of a protective visor to ruin lips and break teeth.

These officers must've been regular humans, then- no unlocked Auras or Semblances to complicate things. It was a small mercy to Gangrel.

As he continued pushing through the crowd, another officer came at him, bringing his baton up for a backhanded strike across Gangrel's face. As as he swung, Gangrel caught his arm, putting one hand on either side of the man's elbow, and by pouring a little Aura into his next move to augment his already considerable strength, he twisted both hands in opposite directions and was rewarded with the a wet snapping sound and agonised screams as the officer's arm shattered at the joint. Throwing the man aside, he pushed on, finally catching sight of what he sought: crimson hair and a pair of rabbit ears rising above the heads of the crowd.

Velvet shouldn't have been this scared. She was a huntress-in-training and had faced down literal monsters. But the police had arrived with no intentions of questioning people or giving anyone a chance to come quietly, choosing to lead with violence rather than resort to it, and the panic in the building had become infectious. Thankfully, Adam's hand had found hers and he led her towards the exit at a brisk walk rather than the frenzied run that many around them were breaking into.

"Shouldn't we find the others?" Velvet shouted over the noise.

"They'll find us. Me and Gang have done this enough times to know the drill," he called back attempting to sound light-hearted. The tension, however, crept into his voice like an unwelcome stowaway. "Once we get outside and have some room to manoeuvre we'll be fine."

Velvet looked past the Bull Faunus to see that they were nearly at the shutter doors of the loading bay. But then her hopes were crushed as she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder and pull her back, her hand slipping from Adam's. She turned to face her attacker, becoming aware of three things in the smoke-filled darkness: firstly, that her attacker was a large man, the kind that had been muscular once but now had a layer of extra padding; and secondly, that his left hand was on her shoulder with his right hand about to bring his baton down across her skull in a sloppy overhand clearly aimed at her Faunus attributes. The third thing she became aware of was the echoing crack of Gangrel's teleportation, the sound rising above the ambient cacophony. No sooner had he appeared behind her assailant than when he launched a brutal punch into the man's kidneys with enough force to lift him from his feet. Velvet could swear, although later her sober mind would refuse to process the fact that Gangrel's one punch made a man in full body armour skim across the floor like a stone on water.

The Bear-Faunus turned to face her with a manic smile. However, whatever greeting he was about to give was lost as a second officer crashed through the haze behind Velvet, his weapon arcing downwards and impacting Gangrel's right cheek with an audible crack that sent him spinning to the left. Terror rose up in Velvet, but Gangrel wasn't caught as unaware as his opponent hoped, as the bear Faunus's right arm shot out and dragged the attacker down with him. Velvet looked on with detached horror as the hulking Faunus managed to position himself above his opponent and land two vicious head-butts, the first reducing a protective visor to a spiders'-web of cracks, and the second ploughing through the obstruction and into its' intended target. This was followed up by Gangrel springing to his feet and raining kicks and stamps to the face and chest of the helpless officer before he turned to face her blood trickling from his mouth and pouring from several cuts to his face from shattering the visor, implying that he wasn't using his Aura to protect himself; still with the same insane grin on his face and a truly terrifying look in his eyes.

"Adam, get her out of here!" Gangrel barked before turning his attention back to the direction that the majority of the increasingly violent law enforcement was coming from.

"Come on," Adam hissed, his hand finding Velvet's again, leading her away.

"But what abou-" Velvet started.

"He doesn't need help!" Adam's voice was urgent as he cut across Velvets' protests, and she reluctantly turned and followed him the remaining few meters to the exits. The cold night air greeted her as she found herself in the large loading area of the former warehouse- an expanse of tarmac and concrete with a road leading away from the building and a high, rusty fence forming a perimeter around the premises. The remaining Faunus were scattering in all directions as they escaped the chaos of the warehouse.

"Which way?" she asked to Adam.

"Where are you heading to?"

"I live in Oak Hill" Velvet replied. Dread rose up in her as she realized just how far from her suburban home she was. This run-down warehouse in the Kennels was literally on the other side of Vale.

Her impromptu partner considered this for a moment. "They'll have unmarked cars patrolling the Kennels within twenty minutes, so we can't double back the way you came, and this road leads to an intersection where they'll have set up a checkpoint," he remarked. After glancing around for a few more seconds, he moved forward. "Jump the fences and we'll go through the back of the estate."

Velvet followed his advice. Despite it not leading her exactly where she wanted to go, it would get her out of here. She broke into a run, flaring her Aura as she approached the fence, and with a mighty leap, she cleared it and landed somewhat gracefully on the other side. Adam made to follow suit, but before he reached the fence, angry voices pierced through the darkness.

"Hey, stop right there!"

"Get your hands where we can see 'em, fleabag!"

Two police officers rushed out of the warehouse towards Adam, their weapons ready; the crimson haired Faunus grimaced at the racial slur as he turned and strode back towards the officers, muttering something that sounded to Velvet like "He always leaves me some trash to sweep up."

"Stay where you are, hands-"

The officers' words were cut short as Adam sprung into action, moving almost too fast to be seen. As Velvet watched, she realized that Adam's aura was unlocked and that he had at least some level of combat training. That was made obvious as he unleashed a roundhouse kick to the first target, his heel connecting directly with the mans' throat. The officer's body crumpled under the assault, and Adam used the momentum from the first strike to carry him forward to the second officer. He sent an open-palmed strike to the second officers' chest, cracking the body armor under the immense pressure of the strike and lifting the wearer from his feet. He went sailing back in the direction he had come, and just like that, the two officers were down and out.

Adam straightened out his suit jacket nonchalantly before walking back over to the fence. Velvet stood in quiet shock as he ripped it apart with his bare hands and stepped through the opening. He gestured in the direction of their escape, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Shall we?"

Roman Torchwick was left gasping for breath as the fist collided with his stomach, and any air he managed to inhale quickly left his lungs again as he was slammed against the wall by the owner of said fist; Gangrel Slate.
"Took you for a lot of things Rome, but a fucking squealer wasn't one of them" Gangrel snarled, his left hand closing around the redheads' throat as he pulled his right fist back for another punch. "So what was the deal, Junior gives you a discount when you rent his muscle as long as you shut down the competition?"

"I didn't inform anyone about anything," Roman managed to choke out through his painfully constricted airway. The anger at the insult to his professional reputation wasn't quite drowned out by the sheer terror of being at the mercy of the six-foot-eight bear Faunus. Anything he wished to add to that sentence, however, was lost as Gangrel's paw-like fist collided with the bridge of his nose. Bone and cartilage gave away, and a warm flow of blood came pouring down down his face. Gangrel's hand left his throat, causing Roman to slump to the ground, wiping his face in a vain attempt to keep the coppery taste of his own blood out of his mouth.

"I got a tipoff from one of my guys. I only came to the warehouse to try and warn you. The raid wasn't meant to be for another hour," Roman gasped out. Hearing his captor growl in displeasure, he continued desperately. "Ask your friend, the short one! He was the first person I saw that I recognized! I told him the raid was coming!"

There was a moment's silence, which was pierced by a peculiar beeping sound. Roman dared to look up, and saw the drunken and quite possibly concussed Faunus struggling to dial a number on his scroll while keeping an eye on him. After a moment, whoever Gangrel was calling answered.

"Yeah Squish, it's me… as far as I know they got out… I'm fine, I'm outside… Stop talking for a sec, I need you to tell me how you knew the Police were coming… Right, I had to pull him out of there as well. I'll be up in a minute." The scroll was closed and returned to his pocket.

"So you're not an informant, you're just a fucking idiot," Gangrel mocked.

"Wha-"

"One of your sources?" Gangrel roared "You heard about a police raid from an OFFICER! You're a famous fucking Dust thief, Roman, and you got stitched up! You nearly took us down with you! I don't even want to think about the amount of Lien you've just fucked the White Fang out of!"

"I wa-"

"If I were you, I'd lay very low for a while, because it doesn't matter who works for who. When Adam gets ahold of you he's gonna cut pieces of you off... Can't honestly promise you I won't do the same next time. Now get the FUCK out of my sight!"

As soon as Gangrels' tirade ended, Roman scurried to his feet and fled.

The Bear-Faunus watched him leave with disdain. With a growl of discomfort, he leant against the wall of the alley he'd dragged the redhead down. Defeating police officers with no Aura in a dark room had been child's' play to someone like him, who'd spent the last two years at Beacon and had several years of real world experience before that. But he hadn't emerged unscathed in his victory. His knuckles were bleeding profusely after being opened up by the edges of police-issue body armour, a series of small cuts covered his face, and a litany of bruises were forming on his body, and all this was topped off by a pounding headache from the baton he took to the face. To make matters worse, he'd had to teleport Roman out of the nightclub, and that was a limitation of his teleportation- carrying passengers was physically painful and incredibly taxing to his Aura. That was the only reason he hadn't just grabbed his friends one at a time and teleported out of the warehouse with them. Carrying Roman for just a short jump had left him with a bloody nose, a vicious onslaught of nausea, and what felt like a few burst blood vessels in his eyes from the strain. Taking a deep breath as the adrenaline high wore off, he reached into his pocket and withdrew his scroll again. He had another call to make.

Velvet and Adam trudged through the empty streets. The abandoned industrial estates had eventually given way to tenement housing, and Velvet still wasn't sure exactly what part of Vale she was in, but they definitely weren't in the Kennels anymore. Feeling her scroll vibrate in her pocket, she removed her hand from Adam's grip to reach for it. The fact that their hands had almost inevitably found each other was left unspoken. A sense of relief washed over Velvet as she saw the caller. Gangrel.

"Gangrel, are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

Gangrel's voice, tired-sounding and more than a little slurred, but clear in its concern, came through the scroll. "Yeah I'm good. Is Adam still with you?"

"Yeah."

"Put me on loudspeaker, will you? Saves me checking up on him as well."

Velvet complied, showing Adam the screen so that he knew who she was talking to.

"Gangrel, where are you, and where in Oum's name did Perdu run to?" Adam asked.

"I'm outside my apartment building, I'm fine... Some use you were back there though, standing there looking confused while I did all the work ragdolling the police," Gangrel replied in a voice that sounded equal parts amused and irritated.

"When have you ever needed my help to cause utter havoc?" Adam's rebuttal earned a small chuckle over the line.

"True, Squish didn't run either. I gave him my keys and told him to go on ahead, saves him having to sneak halfway across the Kennels. I would say come round for a house party, but my dad'll be back from work in a few hours…. Where are you, anyway?"

"Me and Velvet got out of the Kennels. We're somewhere in Shoalsdale right now, heading for the docks."

"Hardly a romantic walk on the beach is it, Adam?"

Velvet swore Gangrel could see her blushing through the scroll somehow. His laughter practically confirmed it.

"Gangrel, don't tease. We've suffered enough tonight." Her admonishment only brought more laughter, which was abruptly cut off by pained coughing.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine... just took a couple knocks to head. A few shots of whiskey should take the edge off it."

The rabbit Faunus stared in disbelief at her scroll. "You are not seriously still drinking."

"Well, I'm not going to mix pain killers with liquor, and aura-healing works faster in your sleep, but I reckon I've got a concussion so I'm staying awake just to be on the safe side. So, drinking it is."

Velvet groaned. Gangrel's logic made too much sense for her to argue back. "Fine, stay safe."

"You too, and keep Adam safe for me, he's delicate." With that, Gangrel hung up, and Velvet laughed as she turned to Adam.

"So, why the docks? I assume Gangrel was joking when he said romantic walk."

"Not that I'd be opposed to the idea but it's not exactly the best place for one," Adam deadpanned. "We're heading for the freight docks, not the tourist trap ones. There's a taxi service that's based nearby. It's mainly for the dock workers there, but I know a few of the people that work there, so it'll be a lot quicker and safer than walking you all the way to Oak Hill."

Velvet nodded silently, her fingers intertwining with Adams' again as they continued down the silent streets of Vale.

But after a few minutes, the silence was broken by the sound of an approaching vehicle. Velvet looked over her shoulder and saw it was a police cruiser. A knot slowly formed in her stomach as she looked to Adam, who had clearly seen the car as well.

"If they stop, get ready to run at the first opening. They already know we were at the Warehouse." Adam said, his tone tense.

The car came to a halt next to them, and a window rolled down. An officer stuck his head out.

"Evening, would you like to tell me what you two are doing roaming around at this time of night?" he asked, his eyes fixed on Velvet's Faunus ears.

"I wasn't aware Faunus being out in public was a crime, officer," Adam replied, feigning boredom.

The officer turned to Adam. "I wasn't aware I was talking to you, big guy." Then the doors of the car opened, and the officer and his partner stepped out. "But seeing as all units have been told to look out for suspicious Faunus, how about you turn around and put your hands against the wall." With that, the officer stepped towards them, reaching for a taser.

And then Velvet made a reckless decision that was definitely fueled by the alcohol that still coursed through her system. But another part of her was really quite done with everything that had been happening tonight.

She sent a furious left hook into the officer's jaw, both of her hands grabbing the back of his head and forcing it down as she brought her right knee up to meet his face, followed up by an Aura-fuelled kick to the chest that sent him into the door of the cruiser. The body of the vehicle warped around him on impact, and with her instincts having fully taken over, Velvet bolted. The sound of the remaining officer screaming into his two-way radio for an ambulance faded into the distance as her Aura and adrenaline pushed her further than normal humans could hope to keep up with.

An indiscriminate time later, she heard Adam calling out to her.

"Velvet stop, or at least slow down," he wheezed out.

The sound of sirens was far-off enough that she felt safe enough to finally stop, and she turned to see Adam leaning with one arm against a wall, and holding his side with the other arm.

"I... really... need... to stop... smoking," he managed to get out between pants. He betrayed no horror at the scene they'd just escaped.

With the heat of the moment over, Velvet was panicking. "How are you so calm?! I just assaulted a police officer!"

"And it was brilliant."

Adam's smile was both beautiful and utterly infuriating to the rabbit Faunus at that moment. "Are you serious?!"

"Yes, I'm serious. The police in Vale are almost as bad as they are in Atlas. They deserve everything they get." Adam walked over to Velvet and wrapped his arms around her waist. As she leaned into his comforting warmth, resting her head on his shoulder, he continued. "Look at what happened earlier, at the Warehouse…. no attempts to de-escalate the situation. Not that it was ever violent until they got there. Nobody was charged with anything. No warrants. They just walked in with weapons and smoke bombs and attacked us. If a Faunus ever did something like that back at them, we'll all be called monsters and terrorists. The only difference between Atlas and Vale is that in Vale when the media gets a hold of the story the police will have an investigation and a few officers will get paid leave. But in Atlas, the police abusing us is just considered the norm. More Faunus need to do what you did and defend themselves from a corrupt system."

Velvet was silent for a few moments. The sheer fire and passion in the mans' voice was halting her objections. "It's just... I'm training to be a huntress," she started, trying to find words. "I'm meant to be one of the people that fight to protect civilization. Can I really call myself that if I start attacking people myself, especially people like the police, who are supposed to be here to help... Surely, if I go down that road, I'm just part of the problem?"

"Oum bless your innocent soul." Velvet didn't need to see Adam's face to know he was smiling as he held her tighter. "There's a world of difference between marching out beyond the kingdoms to face the Grimm and wearing a uniform with a badge to abuse the authority it carries. Don't sell yourself short by comparing yourself to them."

"Thank you," Velvet said. As the pair broke apart, she took stock of her surroundings and realised they were almost at the docks.

"Looks like we made it. Where's the taxi place?"

Adam looked around for a moment before indicating to one of the few business with its door still open that late at night.

"That one there, with the blue sign. Let me pay for the taxi. I didn't get chance to buy you a drink, so this can be my way of apologising for how your night turned out."

Velvet shook her head. "You're sweet, Adam, but I'll pay for my own ride. How about you put your number in my scroll, though? We can have another try at a night out sometime. I believe there was some talk of a romantic walk?" she giggled, the mix of alcohol and adrenaline fuelling her words, Adams' eyes positively lit up as he took the proffered scroll
"That sounds like the best idea I've heard all night" Velvet gave a small giggle

"Good." She leaned into him and stood up on her toes to reach up and plant a quick kiss on his cheek, before she turned and headed towards the taxi outfit.

This left one of the most feared Faunus in all of Remnant staring after her with an expression that was two parts grinning like an idiot and one part what the fuck just happened?

Author's notes:

Notice: As of February 2017, this story is being proofread chapter-by-chapter by Air Force Muffin, so a sudden increase in typos from one chapter to the next means the chapter hasn't been proofread yet.

And now ladies and gentlemen, the ball has started rolling. But this won't go in the direction you think it might go in.
Also, when I uploaded the last chapter it didn't appear in feed for some reason. I'm hoping that problem fixes itself.