Hey my faithful readers I'm back! This time not three months later either! Anyway, if any of you are wondering how many more chapters this arc will take, it will take at the least, around seven more chapters. Not including this one of course, for those of you who are worried I promise I will finish this story; but, don't take this as a warning. This story is still far from over, hell, I'm not even half way there yet. Any way thank you for all of your awesome support! If you guys were waiting for some comedy and dense Allen fun, well here you go! Now, onward into the next chapter of: Beacon's Exorcist.
P.S: Also, to those of you waiting for more grimm and action packed moments I promise you those are coming. Try to see this chapter as the calm before the storm. Anyway for those of you waiting for some good comedy, I hope this chapter provides in full.
P.S.S: I hope you like triangles.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or -man.
Chapter 10: A Day at the Carnival
The sky cried crimson and orange tears as the colored leaves wafted into the rosy horizon. In the distance the bright blinking lights of the fair crackled in the twilight sky. Allen filled his lungs with the red tinted air as he walked down the cliffside stairs.
" Your sister is getting along quite well with Road. I'm sure they'll become great friends. " Allen said to Yang as he turned to face the rest of their merry band.
" Yeah I'm sure they will be. " Yang said as she coughed into her hand. She knew Allen meant well, but sometimes it was quite tiring how much the huntsman tried to be a proper gentlemen. For if he just eavesdropped on the two young huntresses behind them, Yang knew that Allen would be singing an entirely different tune. As the two aforementioned huntresses were close to clawing each others eyes out. Yang, Weiss, Blake and everyone else, besides Allen of course, couldn't help but break out in a sweat. As the tension in the air rose to unimaginable levels, one could almost see sparks flying between the two huntresses as they stared each other down.
" Hmph! " Ruby grunted as she puffed out her cheeks and turned away from the smiling Road. " You know you say that but I don't think you have what it takes to survive Beacon, you should just leave. " Ruby hissed out as she cocked open an eye to glare at the huntress.
" If someone like you can 'survive' here I think I'll do just fine, what? Does my presence threaten you or something? " Road said as she glared daggers at RWBY's leader.
" Hah! As if I would be threatened by you! Last I checked real 'threats' didn't walk around in a skirt that looks like it belonged in some little kid's dollhouse. "
" Oh and you're much better? It might be that brick that you have instead of a brain, but you are also wearing a skirt. "
" It's a battle skirt! " Ruby yelled at the huntress. Road just rolled her eyes and kept on walking.
" Do you think one of us should do something? " Weiss whispered into Yang's ear. The blonde huntress sighed and turned to her teammates and JNPR.
" Well we cant let them walk into the fair about to tear each other's legs off; but I'm sure all of us here would like to keep our limbs so... " Yang mumbled to her classmates as her sister and Road continued to argue.
" Well we have to break them up somehow, does anybody have any ideas? " Jaune asked the group as they neared the bottom of the steps to the forest floor.
" Hey are you guys okay? " Yang popped up when she felt a tapping on her shoulder.
" Ah Allen I almost forgot you were here. "
" That's fine, I was just wondering why you all went silent all of the sudden. " The white haired huntsman said as he looked up at the rest of the group; still blissfully unaware at the veritable war of words that went on a few steps above. Allen tried to drum up a conversation but his words just flew right over the huntress's head. Suddenly Yang snapped as an idea popped into her mind.
" That's it! " Yang yelled out.
" What's it? " Allen asked Yang, only for her to smile and grab Weiss and Blake.
" Ugh hey! "
" Watch where you put your hands! " The two huntresses yelled out as Yang rushed them towards the fair.
" Hey Yang why the rush! " Allen yelled.
" The lines can get pretty long to get into these fairs. So I'm going to run ahead and get our tickets! You and your teammates should also come along too Jaune, you know how bad the lines get right? " Yang yelled back at the leader of team JNPR.
" O-oh right how could I forget! Yang's right Allen, the lines can get pretty bad around this time of year. Why we go off to get tickets do you think you can go get Ruby and Road, they seem a little behind. " Jaune asked Allen as he too began to rush off towards the fair, his teammates hot on his heels.
" Uh... yeah sure. " Allen mumbled out with an eyebrow raised, his friends bolting off towards the carnival.
What was that all about? Allen wondered as he walked up the steps to the two huntresses. They didn't seem to notice him walking up the stairs, whatever they were talking about must have peaked their curiosity.
" Road, Ruby everyone else has moved on ahead! " Allen yelled up at them to no response.
Maybe I need to get closer? Allen thought as he jogged up to the flight of steps that Ruby and Road were on. But even then the two didn't notice him coming. Allen sighed as he walked up to the two's forms, they were turned away from him and for some reason looked a little tense. It must be the heat. Allen concluded as he lifted up his arm to get their attention. Honestly he felt quite bad to interrupt their talk, but he couldn't let them get left behind.
Nephew, you might want to tread lightly. Allen rolled his eyes at Nea's worried tone.
You worry too much Nea. Allen thought as he raised his hands to Ruby and Road's shoulders.
" Hey guys I hate to tell you but- " Allen started, only to get cut off when he felt two sets of sharp nails jerking his head down by the ears.
" WHAT! "
" They sure are taking their time. " Weiss grumbled out from her perch upon a nearby bench. Next to her sat Yang and Blake, while Jaune and his team occupied the bench opposite to them. The archway entrance to the park hung above their heads, multi-colored lights twinkling ever so brightly in the twilight sky.
" Ah, here they come! " Yang said as she waved to her sister and the others.
" Dear Monty Allen what happened to your ears?! " Jaune yelped as Allen walked up. The boy's two ears were horribly red and swollen, it almost looked like the boy stuck them in a vice.
" Ouch... this was my punishment for interrupting Road's and Ruby's conversation. " Allen whimpered out as he rubbed his earlobes. Yang walked up to him and gave him a pat on the back.
" Well I'm glad to know that you don't have some disease. But damn... those two really got you good. " Yang said with a giggle as she gave a thumbs-up to her blushing sister. " Well anyway I have our tickets. So do you guys want to stand out here and chat about Allen's new ears, or do you want to go have some fun? " With that Yang turned around and walked through the gate with the rest following behind her. None of them had any time to think before a group of familiar voices filled the air.
" Hey guys over here! Blake and her friends just showed up! " Said huntress turned to see Sun and his team walking towards them. He also seemed to have a guest, one that Ruby new all too well.
" Salutations Ruby! "
" Penny! Your here? " Ruby asked the redheaded cyborg who pranced up to her. It seemed like she had come to join in on the festivities and met Sun and his team along the way. Her monologue was cut short though when Allen walked up to her and Ruby.
" Greetings stranger! " Penny said as she rapidly shook Allen's hand.
" Uh hi... are you one of Ruby's friends? " Allen asked as he rubbed his right hand, that girl could rip a man's arm off with a shake like that.
" Oh yes you two have never met before have you? " Ruby this time, the young huntress pointed to Penny. " Allen, this is Penny, she's also participating in the tournament. Penny this is Allen Walker, I'm sure you have seen him before. "
" A pleasure to be met Ms. Penny, " Allen said as he gave the girl one of his small bows.
" You're quite the gentlemen aren't you Allen? " Road piped in as she jumped up to her previous perch upon Allen's shoulders. The eldest noah stuck her tongue out mockingly at Ruby, when Allen's eyes were preoccupied with the tastier attractions of the carnival. Sadly her ride was short lived as Allen quickly, but gently, moved her back onto the ground.
" You know I can't carry you through a place like this Road, " Allen told her. In truth he could but this way was much easier.
" Ah how disappointing, " Ruby jeered at Road as Allen walked away to get himself some cotton candy. Road just waved her off and took a seat on one of the nearby benches. Penny just watched the two with a raised eyebrow before moving on to talk some more with Ruby.
" Oooh~ the plot thickens! " Sun exclaimed as Yang and the others explained to him what was going on with the young team leader. The other three members of his team were too busy laughing at how Allen got his beet-red ears to give any input.
" Yeah, I gotta admit that it's quite the situation. Sadly though Allen is a bit dense to say the least. " Weiss said as she glanced at the twinkling stars above. It was quite the night.
" I just can't handle the fact that now she has competition. " Neptune laughed out in between greedy gulps of air. Another round of chuckles went through them as they saw Ruby and Road begin to argue once again.
" Who has competition? " Allen asked them as he returned to the group.
" It's nothing, just some gossip. " At his words Allen just shrugged and turned to Yang, who seemed to be busy counting the new members of their group.
" Well, we're at a carnival. What do you guys want to do? " Allen asked, getting everyone's attention. Yang was the first one to speak up, the blonde huntress had a glint in her eye, a glint her friends new all too well.
" What crazy idea is swimming around in that head of yours Yang? " Weiss asked. Yang just smiled and skipped up to the front of the group.
" You'll see. Hey Sun! are you and your team leaving? " Yang asked the huntsman.
" Uh no, we were planning on going to the- " Yang didn't even let him finish his sentence as she turned to Penny.
" And you? Are you planning on staying much longer? "
" Um yeah- " Yang only gave Penny the time to nod her head before she turned back to the rest of the group. A smile creeping across her face that just screamed mischief.
" Well then, why don't we make this visit a bit more interesting. "
I don't like this Allen. Neah said as Yang divided their group into two.
I think you might just be a bit paranoid Uncle, whatever Yang has planned is just for fun after all.
That's what I'm concerned about.
" Okay cool we're ready! " Yang said as she and the rest of the huntresses stood across from Allen, Ren, Jaune and the members of team SSSN.
" What's going on Yang? " Ruby asked the question all of them had been thinking. Yang smiled and tussled Ruby's hair.
" I noticed that we had an equal number of huntsman and huntresses in our group. So I thought that we should have ourselves a little competition. "
" Competition? " Jaune wondered.
" Huntsmen vs. huntresses! There are quite a few carnival games here, whichever team wins themselves the most tickets wins! " Yang announced with open arms.
" Ooooh~ that sounds like fun! You can count me in, " Road said as she balanced herself on top of one of the benches. Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha shrugged and turned to Yang.
" We're in but what about you guys? " Pyrrha asked the huntsmen.
" We don't mind joining in on your little game, but I can't speak for the other three. " Sun said as he cracked his knuckles.
" Well I'm not getting any younger, " Jaune said. " What about you Ren? You fine with something like this? " Jaune's teammate gave him a nod. " Well then, it looks like he's fine. " Jaune said as he turned back to the group.
" I'm ready for merrymaking! " Penny exclaimed.
" I shall help bring victory to my team! " Nora piped in.
" Well that's almost everybody, but what about my little sister and Mr. Walker? "
" It doesn't seem like we have much choice in the matter. " Allen said as he scratched the back of his head.
" This man gets it! " Yang said as she turned to her sister. " And you sis? "
" Do you even need to ask? " Yang smiled at her words and turned back to the two teams, her evil smile now in full bloom.
" Well then, before we get started why don't we discuss what the winning team will get. " At those words everybody perked up, a prize was always a great motivator. Especially when it came to things like this. " Here's what I've been thinking: our next matches aren't for another week or so. So until then the losing team will have to become the winning team's servants for the entire week. In simpler terms: the losers will have to do whatever the winners say for the next seven days. " Yang watched as everyone's minds went wild with the possibilities. The huntress quickly stole a glance of her sister and Road, she smiled when she saw that both of them were blushing. This was going to be fun. The only person who didn't seem to be thinking about the prize was Allen, the gentlemen as always. Yang clapped her hands and turned to the group. " Well then does anyone have any objections? " When she was met with silence Yang smiled and walked into the first tent.
The arcade tent was brightly lit up like the twinkling night sky. To the far left of the tent children of many different ages played in the indoor playground. In the back center of the arcade was a prize table for people to turn in their tickets. The rest of the room was jammed packed with air hockey tables, large arcade machines, skeeball lanes, and many other complex contraptions. But what was amazing about this arcade was the sheer size of it, if one wasn't careful he could get lost. Allen and Road found their eyes wandering about the numerous blinking lights and gizmos as their group neared the skeeball lanes. Yang walked up to a larger party lane and flipped out her scroll.
" Since we're participating in the tournament we get unlimited access to the arcade. " Yang said as she held her scroll in front of the coin slot. A dull light quickly turned on and scanned over Yang's scroll from the slot, after a few moments a ding was heard and the skeeball lane came to life. The skeeballs came flowing down from a newly opened hatch, while up above a monitor displayed the points.
" Well which team goes first? " Pyrrha asked as everyone grabbed a ball. Yang only smiled and tossed her a coin.
" Heads, " Sun spoke up.
" I guess that means we're tails. " Pyrrha said as she flipped the coin, it landed tails.
" Yahoo! We're first! " Sun yelled out and stepped up to take his throws.
" Try not to break the ball Sun " Scarlet said as he and the rest of the huntsmen watched on. Sun just gave his teammates a smile and wrapped his tail around one of the skeeballs.
" Here we go! " Sun threw his tail forward and the skeeball rocketed down the lane, before landing squarely in the ten point hole. " Yes! "
" He's pretty good at this. " Ruby spoke out from her seat upon a fixed plastic stool. She and the huntresses sat on the left of the lane while the huntsmen took the opposite.
" Yeah, Sun and his team always did strike me as a group that would be pretty good at this. " Weiss said from her stool next to Ruby. Ruby was about to respond but was beaten to the punch by her sister, whose words got all of the huntresses attention.
" And that's why we need to bend a few things. "
" What could you possibly mean by that? " Weiss asked her. But Yang didn't respond and instead tiptoed to where Road was sitting and whispered something in her ear.
" Can you do it? " Yang asked the girl.
" Hmmm... that's simply awful, I think we'll get along just fine. Sure I can do it. " Road said as an evil smile that could rival Yang's found its way upon her lips. Ruby and the others were about to ask her what was going on until they heard the Neptune's voice cheering his friend on.
" Go for the gold Sun! " Ruby sighed as it looked like Sun was ready to get another ten points.
" Wait for it... Now! " The huntresses heard Yang say before something small whooshed past their eyes.
" And another perfect through for- OW! " Ruby turned back to see Sun digging at something in his tail. His ball had fallen onto the wooden lane and was rolling into the bottom hole, only worth one point. A few moments later the boy pulled out what was causing him pain. It looked to be some sort of small, plastic candle. Though any other person would just think it was a plastic splinter, unless they had some indication of what it could be.
" I wonder what that was. " Pyrrha said as she and the other huntresses turned their heads to Yang and Road. Both girls were giggling like mad. If it wasn't for the fact that they were in an arcade, Sun, Allen and the other huntsmen would have definitely heard their suspicious laughter.
" Did you guys manage to hit your target? " Blake asked the two.
" Yup, it was a bullseye. " Yang said.
" Yang that's dirty. " Ruby stated as Neptune walked up to the lane.
" Yeah you shouldn't have done that. It isn't fair. " Pyrrha this time.
" Oh really? Cause I don't remember saying anything about not cheating. " Yang said before wrapping her arms around Ruby and Pyrrha's shoulders.
" Plus I'm sure we'd all like to win this little wager of ours, be it for one reason or another. " Yang said as she gave Ruby and Pyrrha a suggestive gaze.
" Well it would be fun to get Jaune out with me on my morning exercises. " Pyrrha mumbled out.
" I could finally get Neptune to take dancing lessons. " Weiss said as she rested her chin within her palm.
" See what I mean? Plus I know my little sister and Road would absolutely love to have a certain someone wrapped around their finger for a week. " Yang joked, causing Ruby to blush crimson. Even Road had a slight tint of red surface on her cheeks. " So come on guys, we aren't cheating, we're just using the rules to our advantage. " Yang glanced up at the scoreboard, it seemed like Neptune had bagged them an extra ten points. " So what do you say? "
" Well... " Ruby mumbled.
" You would be right, we wouldn't technically be breaking the rules. " Pyrrha said.
" I'd do anything if it meant seeing Sun meander around in a tux. " Blake piped in with a giggle.
" If it means a better shot at victory, Penny will give it all she's got! " Yang smiled at their words and turned to Weiss.
" Well if we're all willing to go the extra mile, then there is nothing in our way. Weiss, how accurate are your ice spells? "
" Why do you ask? "
" Well... "
" Ah crap! " Sage said as his ball once again went into the drink.
" Wow you suck at this Sage. " Scarlet jeered as his teammate plopped back down beside him.
" You didn't do much better. "
" Either both of you just suck or that lane is coated in ice, and I'm pretty sure it's the first one. " Sun said as he patted Sage's back. " We still have Ren, Allen and Jaune. If we're lucky they might get a few good shots. " Just as the words escaped his mouth a defeated ding permeated the air. The members of team SSSN turned back to see Ren walking towards them.
" You didn't do so hot either? " Sage asked him. Ren nodded and collapsed into his seat, his legs dangling over the edge.
" This definitely isn't a good start for us, Nora's going to work me to the bone. " Ren whimpered as Jaune wound up his first throw. As expected the ball either didn't have enough energy, or the luck of the bounce was against them. Either way Jaune only managed to squeeze out a measly three points. But that was better than what most of them got.
" Okay Allen it looks like your up. " Sun said; however, he got no response. " Hey Allen, " Sun spoke up but stopped when he saw the huntsman staring at the giggling huntresses with narrowed eyes. Sun got up and placed a hand on his shoulder. " I think they know that we've lost this one, " Sun sighed. However Allen gave him no response causing Sun to raise an eyebrow. " What's up? "
" I think we're being conned. " Allen spoke, before any of them could reply Allen turned around and walked towards the lane.
" What make's you say that Allen? " Jaune asked him as Allen grabbed his three skeeballs. Allen yawned and craned his neck so he could look at JNPR's leader.
" I've gambled quite a bit in my life and it wasn't that long before I started to learn some tricks. " Allen jammed a thumb in the huntresses direction. " One of those tricks was how to notice when someone is cheating you; and right now Yang and the other huntresses are giving me all of those signals. " Allen told them as he rolled the skeeballs around in his palm.
" That does sound like something Yang would do. " Sun mumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose before turning back to Allen. " So what do we do? " Allen only smiled at him and placed the three skeeballs in his hand.
" Well we bend the rules a bit ourselves. " Sun looked back up from the skeeballs Allen had given him to see the huntsman walking towards the huntresses, Allen gave him a wink as his only instruction. But a wink was all he needed.
" Ruby look alive, Romeo's on his way. " Yang whispered into her sister's ear. At her words Ruby shot up just as Allen walked up to her and Yang. " Hey Allen, you okay to go? You huntsmen aren't doing so hot. " Yang said with a smile.
" Haha, very funny Yang. This isn't over yet, anyway have you two seen Timcanpy? He was with me when I walked in but he flew off somewhere. " Allen asked as his silver eyes scanned over the ceilings above. That got the huntresses attention, Timcanpy did grow on them quite quick after all.
" Timcanpy, that weird golden thing that's always on your shoulder? " Weiss asked him, Allen nodded.
" I just don't have any idea of where he could be. Did he fly by here? " They all shook their heads.
" Do you think we should go and look? " Blake asked the other huntresses, they couldn't just let Timcanpy fly into anyone after all.
" I know where he is. " Everyone turned to look at Road who was pointing at Allen. " You really should clean your hair more often, who knows what could get stuck inside it. " Road said with a smile.
" What are you saying Road? " Ruby asked the girl.
" Just look at his hair. " At her words every other huntress stared at Allen's silver locks. That's when they found the small orb of gold hiding inside. Their eyebrows all twitched as Allen smiled and dug around inside his hair before pulling out Timcanpy.
" Oh there you are Tim! I was so worried. " Allen turned around and walked back towards the other huntsmen. " Thanks for your help guys! "
" Hey wait was that all about? " Pyrrha asked the question on every one of their minds. " There's no way you couldn't feel your pet rummaging around in there! " At her words Allen only granted the huntresses a completely innocent smile.
" No I didn't feel Tim at all. "
" Then what was the point of all tha- " Yang was cut off once they heard the sound of three high pitched dings. Craning their heads around Allen they all saw Sun walking back to his seat from the lane. Yang quickly jerked her head to the scoreboard, Sun had managed to get the ten point hole three times in a row. Yang shot out an accusing finger towards SSSN's leader.
" Wait what I thought you already went! " Yang yelled.
" Hmmm? No, Allen let me take his turn why he looked for his missing pet. " Sun shrugged off Yang's glare and sat back down next to his teammates. It was then that Yang and her fellow huntresses finally figured out what was going on.
" You, you distracted us! " Yang said as she moved her finger to Allen.
" Distracted you from what? " Yang went silent at his words. Allen gave them all a wink as he sat down. Yang ground her teeth, this wouldn't be so easy now.
" Hey Yang what just happened to their score? It shot way up. " Pyrrha asked her. Yang just turned back and frowned.
" I think we've just been tricked. They're definitely on to us, " Yang said. " Which means if we want to win the bet we're going to have to win fair and square. "
" Wasn't that what we planned to do in the first place? " Weiss said as she got up and walked past Yang, tapping her on the shoulder with the back of her hand. " We'll beat these guys and then I'm going to get Neptune to take dancing lessons. " Yang and the other huntresses smiled at that.
" You sure have a way with words Weiss. "
" Of course, a Schnee has to be skilled when it comes to motivation. " Weiss said as she picked up her first skeeball and tossed it down the lane, it went into the three point hole. The huntress really had loosened up to them since they first met. It didn't take long for Weiss to finish up her turn, she ended well on a five-pointer. After her was Blake, then Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Penny, until finally it came down to Ruby and Road. Allen and the other huntsmen watched the monitor as the huntress's score slowly ticked up. They were close to their score now, about twenty-five points off.
" That little plan of yours really did save us from some hard labor. They would have passed us up long ago if I didn't get those shots in. " Sun said, his eyes never leaving the scoreboard. Allen waved off his praise, it was just a small carnival game after all. Sun nodded and turned his attention back to the lane, it seemed like Road was up to the plate. Sun nudged Allen with his elbow and pointed to one of the skeeballs Road was picking up. " Thinking back on it, some of our throws did manage to take one crazy path. One of them might have used their semblance to achieve that, do you think that- " Allen cut him off there.
" There's no way that they would cheat again after our little show. Give any cheating gambler, man or woman the slightest sense of suspicion that you're on to them, and in most cases they'll stop that nonsense quick. " Allen said, Sun stopped the questions at that. Once again a small ding chimed signaling the end of Road's turn. Allen and Sun looked up at the monitor, she had quite a good run. Two fives and a four, Sun and the other huntsmen started sweating at that one.
" Crap... they only need eleven points to beat us now. " Jaune mumbled out, he could already hear Yang's evil laughter.
" I know what you mean man. " Neptune said as he pinched the bridge of his nose, he was also hearing laughter, the kind of laughter only an ice queen could make. " I feel cold, " Neptune mumbled as a shiver went down his spine. Most of the huntsmen were too busy thinking to notice Road making their way to them.
" Wow you guys look awful, " They all looked up at her voice. Road gave them a grin before walking over to where Allen was sitting. Plopping herself in the open seat right next to him.
" Come on Ruby focus! It's only eleven points! " Allen looked up at the scoreboard, Ruby only managed to bag one point on her first throw. Which was odd, Ruby seemed like the sort of person who would be good at this sort of thing. Maybe something had distracted her? Something of course did, but Allen was too busy staring at the monitor to notice Ruby glaring daggers at Road.
" Don't lose yourself here little rose, I know you want to win this as much as I do. " Road whispered to Ruby, her tone half mocking half serious.
" Then you need to back off little witch. " Ruby whispered back at Road, her tone laced with venom. Road only stuck her tongue out at her and went back to what she was doing. Ruby ground her teeth into dust as she turned back to the lane.
Calm down Ruby, calm down, as much as you hate to admit it she's right. You can't just let a chance like this pass you by! Ruby thought as she lifted her arm for her second throw. Sadly though Road just couldn't seem to resist.
" Um... do you mind? " Ruby heard Allen say.
" I'm tired, these stools don't have backrests so you'll be my replacement. " When she heard that Ruby nearly crushed the skeeball in her hands. The throw was sloppy, and didn't have enough power and only managed to reach one of the single point holes.
" Ruby! Don't mess this up for us after we've gotten so close! " Weiss yelled.
" Agreed, unless you're preparing for some sort of breath taking finale. I'd like it if you would actually start playing now. " Road again, deep breaths, deep breaths. Ruby fought the urge to throw the skeeball at the little wench's face and prepared her final throw. Everyone held their breath as Ruby lifted the skeeball up behind her back. But of course that little monster just couldn't wait.
" Road there's a free seat right next to me. I don't see why I have to be one. "
" The metal's gotten cold. Just stay still will you. "
That's it! She's going down! Ruby didn't even think as she launched the skeeball down the lane. If one was close he could see the numerous veins throbbing in her small, but very powerful muscles. Ruby turned around as quick as lightning, so fast she almost put skid marks in the tiled floor.
" Hey witch you wanna go! " Ruby yelled at Road. But her battle cry was drowned out by the cheers of Yang and the other huntresses. She didn't even get the time to treat herself to a single punch before she was surrounded by her friends. Road managed to get up from her ''seat'' before Ruby laid eyes on her. Which was good because she would have sent her through the wall otherwise.
" Congrats little sis! " Yang said as she patted Ruby on the back.
" Wait what happened? " Ruby asked her, still confused about the whole situation.
" Just look up little rose. " Ruby turned to see Road pointing up at something, after a short glaring contest Ruby finally looked up at what she was pointing at. Ruby's jaw nearly dropped when she saw what had happened, apparently that haphazard throw went straight into the ten point hole. Which meant that...
" We won? " Ruby asked her sister. Yang laughed and tussled her hair.
" Yes we did sport, you got the winning throw. I have to admit though you do know how to keep an audience on the edge of their seat. " Yang said, when she finally understood what her sister was telling her Ruby lit up like a Christmas tree.
" It was a good throw Ruby, " Weiss this time. " But more importantly, " Weiss and the other huntresses turned to the huntsman. Their eyes and evil smiles were all those boy's needed to realize the hell they were in for. Sun and Neptune were huddled together, while Scarlet and Sage tried to make a run for it. They didn't get far though, it's funny how effective a good iced floor was at stopping a man in his tracks.
" Now then, " Yang cracked her knuckles and tore off the last of the tickets that came spewing out of the skeeball machine. Yang smiled as she stared at the many prizes available at the ticket counter, and looked down at the veritable mountain of red currency they had amassed. " Why don't we go collect our winnings? "
" You guys ready for one extreme makeover! " Yang laughed as she threw a bag down before the huntsmen. After their defeat Yang had given the huntsmen their first order. That order was to sit down and wait outside the arcade tent, while she and the other huntresses went to go get something from the prize booth. Something that they just knew wouldn't be good. Sun and Neptune both gulped as they watched their fate tumble out of the bag.
" What the hell are these?! " Sun yelled as he unfolded the contents of one of the many packages. What laid crumpled before him was what looked to be a large, and highly unfashionable, baggy full body sweatsuit. Sun cringed as his eyes wandered to its bottom half. " Dear Monty it even has polka dots! " Neptune, Jaune and the other huntsmen all flinched at the absolutely appalling getup. Soon they went to unfolding their own personal hell. Neptune nearly passed out when his eyes landed upon the blue afro wig and glittery makeup. Sage and Scarlet were both presented with two huge identical blow-up fat suits. Jaune and Ren got it the easiest, both having received renditions of a sweatshirt and jeans outfit... that is until they found the incredibly itchy wool lining the inside. Yang, Road, even Ruby and the others couldn't hold in their giggles as they watched the huntsmen observe their new outfits. Circus going pedestrians who recognized their little band even stopped to watch the show. By the time the fat suits first unrolled they had amassed quite the crowd. Children's giggles filled the air as they watched the huntsmen participating in the tournament grimace at what they had been given.
" Well witch, would you mind informing us on why we have been given these terrible outfits? " Scarlet asked her as his fat suit flapped in the breeze.
" Well... " Yang began as her eyes scanned over the crowds. " At first we were going to have you wear these things until we left the carnival but... Now that we have an audience I think we're obliged to give them a show. " Neptune swore he almost had a stroke when he heard those words.
" But- " Neptune began, only to be cut off by Weiss.
" Now, now sweetie. Just calm down and put that wig on, we won the bet so for the rest of this week we own you. Remember? " Weiss said in a tone so deceptively sweet it could give one cavities.
" It's just like Weiss said. Now go and change! Women don't like to be kept waiting! " Yang chimed in, before something popped into her head. " Wait a minute... " Yang turned to her sister. " Where's Allen? I haven't heard him say anything in a while. "
" He's still staring at his costume, " Ruby said and pointed towards Allen. Yang waltzed over to the quiet boy and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
" You heard everything Allen? " Yang asked him, he nodded but his eyes remained glued to the white cloth he held in his hands. " Something the matter? "
" Oh no, no, no its fine. It's just... " Allen couldn't find the words. For what he was holding was a clown outfit, and not just any clown outfit. His clown outfit, the clown outfit he had when he was with Mana. To be fair it wasn't an exact match. For one, the size was bigger and the color palette was almost exclusively shades of white and black. But the similarity still managed to strike a chord with him. Though it was a good chord to be struck. Yang shrugged and waltzed back to the other huntresses before clapping her hands.
Huh? What's this? Allen thought, as he pulled out what looked to be a strange white vile of liquid from one of the package's compartments.
" Hey Allen use that stuff on your hair! It's an order~ " Allen rolled his eyes at Road's voice. But it did make him quite curious on the contents of the vile.
" Come on people move! We're on in ten minutes! " Yang yelled at them while pulling up one of the many wooden picnic chairs. The huntsmen, bound to their word, all walked into one of the many bathroom tents to change. It wasn't long before the bathrooms were filled with the huntsmen's cursing and frustrated yells.
" Man, it feels like I'm wading through spiders! " Allen heard Jaune yell from the neighboring stall. He sighed as he zipped up his checkerboard overcoat. It felt familiar.
What's that stuff for? Allen heard Neah ask him once he pulled out the white vile.
I don't know, Road told me to put it in my hair. Allen grimaced as he opened the vile, the liquid smelled of sweet sickness and rotten onions. Oh god it smells awful! Allen quickly wrapped his left hand around his nose before Neah chimed in, he sounded quite smug.
Well you lost the bet, Road was on the other team so you know what that means. Neah said as Timcanpy flew out of Allen's pocket onto the top of the stall door. Almost as if the golem was waiting for some kind of show.
When did you become such a curious bastard? Allen thought as his eyebrows narrowed. As much as he hated the smell he knew that Neah was right. Plus he was a man of his word, he made a bet and now he had to deliver on it.
" Bottoms up. " Allen mumbled to himself as he poured the foul smelling liquid into his white hair; his eyes closed to protect them from any stray drops. The effect was instantaneous, it only took a few seconds before Allen felt something tickling his nose. He opened his eyes and what he saw confused him at first. What was irritating his nose was a long silver-white strand. The strand seemed to start at his scalp and went downwards all the way to his waist. It didn't take long before Allen realized what had happened. " My hair... " Allen whispered in a hush tone before immediately grabbing the white vile and smelling it. After a few sniffs Allen had realized that he had come across a similar stench before. Once in the science section at the black order, a small concoction the science team had made to fix bald spots. Allen could feel a bit of the street start to crawl back to him, as he opened his mouth and charged through the stall door. " Road! What the hell did you do to my hair?! "
" Here they come. " Pyrrha spoke from the shadow of a nearby street lamp. Ruby, Yang and the other huntresses had all found themselves a spot to rest under the lamppost. Penny for some reason had a picnic blanket on her so that's where the most of them sat; gazing at the beautiful night sky above. It reminded the Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Blake of their first assignment with Mr. Oobleck. But the night was still young, now wasn't the time for reminiscing the past.
" How do you feel? " Yang said from her spot on the picnic blanket. She got Jaune and Ren's answer from their fervent scratching. Yang turned her gaze from them to Sun, who looked absolutely dashing in those polka dots.
" Oh I'm just peachy, " Sun growled as he leaned on a nearby tree.
" Neptune, you look great. " Weiss this time, everyone turned to see the disco-styled Neptune, blue afro and all. Weiss gave a hearty chortle when her eyes landed upon the huntsman's sparkly glitter makeup that adorned his cheeks. But it lowered to a giggle once Neptune's eyes landed on the waiting crowds.
" What are they waiting for now? "
" Well we told you already, they want a show. After all, it's not everyday you get to see a team of famous huntsmen absolutely humiliate themselves. " Yang again, but this time with a smirk. Sun was about to start cussing at her like a sailor until he saw what lay at her feet.
" What's that? " At his words Yang smiled and lifted up the cylindrical object.
" What don't tell me you've never seen a pen before. "
" I know what it is! But why do you have it? " Yang looked at the boy like he had suddenly become a lot stupider.
" For signing, we already took care of our fair share while you guys were changing. " All of team SSSN turned at that, then they felt the rumbling. " Oh, looks like your up, " Yang said and tossed Sun the pen. The second he grabbed it Sun felt a shiver run down his spine, his animal instincts were kicking in, and he knew exactly why.
" Look its team SSSN! " At the yells Sun and his teammates turned to the source of the voices.
" Oh Monty, Sun, its our fans. " Neptune mumbled out. Sun was speechless, probably due to the massive loss of face he knew he was about to lose. After all nothing says ''cool'' like polka dots right? Yang got up and put a hand on his shoulder.
" I asked a few people to spread the word, team SSSN and the men of team JNPR preforming their patented street show! Tonight in the center of the circus! "
" Street show?! What have you been telling these people? " Yang grinned and let go of his shoulder.
" Good luck, and try not to disappoint. " Yang just managed to get out of the way before the huntsmen were swallowed by the raging tide.
" You can be really evil at times, you know that right? " Pyrrha told her as she sat back down next to Ruby.
" Yeah but it's all in the name of fun, they'll be fine. " Yang said and turned to her sister, Ruby's eyes kept flashing back and forth from the crowd and the changing stalls; a glance to her right Yang saw Road acting in the exact same way. Yang sighed, she was about to speak up but it was Blake of all people who picked up the slack. Her faunus teammate gave her a wink before she raised her voice over the crowd.
" Hey boys you seen Allen yet! He sure is taking a while! " Blake was met with no response, they were all probably busy signing for their lives.
" I think we know exactly why he's taking so long. Probably has to fix his hair. " Road said, causing her and Yang to giggle evilly.
" I know we had some tickets left over but don't you think that was a bit much? " Ruby asked the two of them, for once she was not at Road's throat.
" Maybe, " Yang shrugged. " Or maybe it was just the right amount. " Another round of giggles went around after that.
" Penny will admit that she is curious to see what Mr. Walker looks like in a clown outfit. "
" Either way he's going to look fabulous! " Yang chirped, complete with jazz hands. She was about to continue but stopped when she felt something land on her shoulder. Glancing to the left Yang saw a familiar set of golden wings flutter about on her shoulder. " Ah it's Tim! What? Did you forget what your master looks like with his new hair? "
" Ha, ha very funny. But I'm not laughing. " Ruby smiled at the familiar voice and nearly tore the picnic blanket out from under her feet and she turned.
" Allen, are- " Ruby stopped. Her voice was replaced with Yang's as the other huntresses turned to see AJWR's leader.
" Well Allen, how did you like our little concoction? " Yang turned around, only to stop dead in her tracks once her eyes landed on the boy. For Allen didn't look bad at all, it fact he looked rather nice. The black and white clown suit fit him perfectly, and his now long hair was dangling down in a neat ponytail. He also seemed... paler. It might've been makeup or the lighting, but the boy gave off an alluring aura. It was comforting, almost like he was...
You look exactly like God's little Jester now, don't you Allen? Well I'd be lying if I said that you weren't a sight for sore eyes. Road thought as she stared at Allen in his new getup, she always did think he looked better with longer hair.
" Well... damn... you really went all out didn't you? But you did take quite a while. " Yang said as she got up and walked towards Allen.
" I would have taken less time if it wasn't for this, " Allen tugged on his ponytail before shifting his gaze over to the other huntsmen. " You mind telling me what's going on? " Yang shrugged and handed him a pen.
" You'll find out soon enough. " Allen's eyebrows twitched a little and he was about to ask Yang again, but was stopped when he felt a small tug on his shirt.
" Excuse me Mr. Clown, me and my friends heard that the huntsmen from the tournament were here. " Allen swiveled his eyes down and saw a small child, probably about six at most, behind the kid was another group of similar aged children. Probably the kid's friends.
" The huntsmen are in there kid. " Road spoke and pointed into the crowd of clawing fangirls. However, instead of rushing right into the crowd the kid ran up to her.
" Y-your Ms. Road! " The kid squeaked, he had sparkly eyes. Road gently pushed the kid back a few inches while his friends came to join him.
" You're Road from team AJWR! " A little girl squeaked, she looked to be around five.
" Yeah what of it? " Road said as she crawled back a bit, this was a first. The first to speak was the little girl, she was holding a small teddy bear.
" Uhhh... you were really cool. In the tournament I mean. " The girl said, Road smiled and patted the girl's head. As a noah she hated humans in general, but children she could stand. Still so innocent, unaware of the dangers that lurked around every corner.
" Nah, I didn't do much. "
" Don't say that Ms. Road! You were awesome! You had those boys on the ropes and you didn't even have to lift a finger! " The girl spoke, she must have been a big fan. Allen smiled as Road got barraged with questions, for a few seconds he swore that he saw a smile. Not a creepy, evil or annoyed smile, but one of genuine happiness.
" Are the other members of AJWR with you Ms. Road? " Another kid asked, a boy asked. He looked a bit older than the girl. Road sighed and shook her head.
" No, my brother and Jasdevi couldn't make it. Circuses aren't really their thing. "
" Then what about your team leader? Is Allen Walker with you? " The kid who tugged Allen's shirt asked.
" No silly she just said that her teammates weren't with her. "
" She only said that Jasdevi and her brother weren't here. She didn't say anything about the leader... unless she wants to keep something secret. "
" What would she want to keep secret? " The little girl asked the two boys.
" Well isn't it obvious Sam? They must be dating! " The boy turned to Road, " Ms. Road are you and Mr. Allen dating? " The little girl blushed at the boy's question, and she wasn't the only one. Allen couldn't help but stare when he saw Road blush crimson, that... wasn't like her at all. Road fidgeted and twirled her fingers.
" Well no... " Road started only to be interrupted by the boy again.
" You aren't? You sure act like you are. " Road started fidgeting some more, her face going blood red, luckily the kid was stopped by the other boy before he could dig any deeper.
" Stop that idiot! We shouldn't ask her questions like that. " The little girl nodded, she seemed to agree with the boy's sentiment. They were about to continue before Allen spoke up.
" Now, now, it's rude to question a lady. " Allen started, the group of children turned around and looked up at Allen. The exorcist couldn't help but giggle when he saw the children's eyes bulge.
" You're, you're Allen Walker! " One of the boys yelled, Allen gave him a smile and waved his hand.
" Why are you dressed like a clown Mr. Allen? " The little girl asked him, Allen shrugged and quickly whispered something to Tim. The Golem flew off as Allen turned back to the children.
" Oh this? Well me and my fellow huntsmen were going to put on a show, but... " Allen turned and grimaced when he saw that the tsunami of people still hadn't let up. " They seem preoccupied. But! " Allen clapped his hands together. " I am sure I can work something out. " Allen held out his hand as Tim flew back from god knows where, in its jaws Tim held a small bag filled to the brim with supplies. Tim dropped the bag and Allen caught it, he took out about ten smaller balls and one larger one and turned back to the children. " Well then! Who likes juggling? " Allen didn't wait for an answer before he started, every now and so often reaching for another ball in the bag, soon there were about twenty plastic spheres flying through the air.
" Ahhh, " the children went. Their smiles said it all, but it wasn't just the children that were watching. Ruby, Road and the other huntresses all had their eyes drawn at Allen's little show, but it didn't stop there. As he was also catching the eyes of a few in the crowd. Allen smiled and threw all the balls high in the air.
" Now then! " Allen said and tossed the larger ball onto the ground, he did a flip and balanced himself on the ball with his hands. He didn't forget about the balls in the air either, as Allen caught them in the cleft of his foot. Soon he was juggling them just as well as he did with his regular hands. Now that drew some curious gazes, as soon the crowd that was practically mauling the other huntsmen had their attention drawn to Allen. The voices of the crowd could be heard all around.
" Hey is that... "
" The leader of team AJWR? "
" Nah man it can't be, isn't that the guy who took out a team of huntsmen by himself? "
" Yeah the guy's practically a demon, who knew he some clown in him? "
" You have to admit though, he looks like he's done this before. "
" Yeah, it looks almost... "
" Professional, " Ruby murmured. She had to admit what Allen was doing was impressive, but it looked practiced, staged. He had done this before, Ruby glanced over to her sister and the others. They all looked to be having similar thoughts, none of them really knew about Allen's past... Well, that was a matter for another day. " I don't want to ruin him mid flow after all. " A few minutes later after doing a few more tricks, Allen hopped off of the two balls to a loud applause. He gave a few bows and walked back to the group of children.
" How was that for a show? " Allen asked them with a large smile. The boy just shook and gave him a hug.
" That was awesome Mr. Allen! How did you do all of that? Can you teach me? " Allen smiled andgave him a pat on his shoulder.
" I'll show you again some other time little buddy, until then it's getting quite late. Why don't you three go find your parents? " Allen said and gave each of them a goodbye fist bump. The children all nodded and soon ran back to a nearby tent. Allen grinned when he saw one of the boys father pick him up and put him on his shoulder. It was quite the heartwarming scene. But then came the crowds, or more specifically, the girls. The first was a buxom lass with red hair, looked to be about the same age as Allen. She was followed by a few more women, probably her friends.
" You seem to be pretty good with kids, hows it going? Name's Mariline. These are my friends: She's Alica, this one's Elena and she's Roxane. We all loved your little show. " Allen smiled and gave the ladies a small bow.
" A pleasure to meet you, Allen Wal- " Allen didn't get to finish his sentence before he was dragged off by two sets of hands. Looking up Allen saw that it was none other than Ruby and Road. " Uh, that was rude, I was talking to those people. " Allen craned his head and saw that the others were following. " Are we leaving already? "
" Uh yeah, if we don't leave now we won't make curfew. " Ruby said, Allen raised an eyebrow at that. Did Beacon have a curfew? Allen was about to speak but was stopped by Weiss.
" We don't want to be late now Allen? Remember the bet? We have a week to wring as much out of you boys as possible. " Allen sweatdropped at that, for a second he could swear he heard master's voice. Allen sighed and stared up at the night sky, it was a beautiful shade of blue, the stars were shining up above. The moon was beautiful as well, covering the walkway in its wonderful light.
What a beautiful night.
Somewhere deep in the Emerald Forest
" You mind telling me why you called us out here so late Adam? " Cinder asked the leader of the White Fang, Mercury and Emerald were standing at her side.
" Agreed, we don't have much time before the plan commences genius, and some of us have things to do. " Roman this time, Neo stood behind him. The White Fang leader sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
" That's just it... the plan, it has to be delayed. " Adam said, causing Roman and Cinder to groan.
" We don't have time for this, we'll only get one shot at this Adam. This is our chance to ruin those thorns in our sides! " Roman said. Cinder stayed quiet.
" Well unless you want to go in head first with no soldiers, then I suggest that we wait. " Adam grunted, sticking his sword in the ground.
" Do you mind telling us why we need to delay the plan? " Cinder asked him. Her serpentine eyes pierced right through him. Adam shifted a bit under her gaze and stared up at the moon.
" I'm sure you've all heard the rumors. " Adam said, once again causing another round of groans.
" Is it those huntresses again, what was it again? RWBY, I believe. If you can't handle four little girls then I suggest that you- " Roman started, only to be cut off by Adam.
" It's not them. According to my agents, a man in a mask charged into my forward base in Emerald Forest. "
" Oh please! Your telling me because one man managed to down a few of your men that- " Adam cut him off.
" That one man managed to destroy my entire base... with everyone in it. " Roman had the brains to go silent at that. Adam sighed and slipped out a holographic display from his pocket.
" These were taken just a few weeks ago, " Adam clicked a button. " And these... were taken yesterday. " Even Cinder did a second take when she saw the image. The base was completely gone, all that remained of it was a large, flat, pitch black plain.
" You mind telling me who is responsible for this? " Cinder growled. Adam smiled and clicked the button again, this time it was a video that popped up on the screen.
" This video was taken from a police drone a few days ago. Notice anything odd? " Roman and the others all stared at the video before they saw it.
" A man, and is that a grimm mask he's wearing? Talk about poor fashion taste. " Mercury said as he watched the video, the masked man downed a few outside guards easily before disappearing to the inside of the compound. Adam held down a button and the video fast forwarded.
" Now watch this. " Adam said, it was only a few moments later and everyone gasped. They watched the masked man jump through the ceiling, so high he could almost be flying before they saw a small purple ball form in his hand. Then the man threw it, they saw the ball begin to expand at an unbelievable rate and then. Static. " And that is what we got ladies and gentlemen. " Adam sighed, " That man destroyed my entire base. Without it we cant stock up on troops, we cant gather fuel or weapons. Without it we don't have our starting line. Which means no invasion. "
" Monty- " Roman rubbed his cheeks, the man's pure power was astonishing.
" How long will it take to build a new one? " Cinder asked. Adam scratched his head and stared at his sword.
" A few months, we should be able to make the deadline. But with that masked man running around I can't say for sure that he won't just destroy the next one. " Silence. Cinder clinched her fists, she hated when things got in her way.
" Do the police know? " Emerald asked.
" They do, I have friends on the force, that's how I got this video. But they haven't gone public with it yet, but like I said: rumors are circulating. "
" This is a problem... what should we do? " Roman turned to Cinder.
" Roman, Adam, you both have friends in the news and government correct? " Both of them nodded their heads. " Then use them, I want this public, get that video on the air but don't let them know it was a White Fang base. We need to kick this guy off balance. " Cinder turned to Mercury and Emerald. " You two, I want you to spread the word. Five million lien to whoever can bring me this guy alive. I'm sure we all want to have a little chat. " Mercury and Emerald just nodded and sprinted off into the forest. Cinder turned around and bit her thumb, Adam was right, with a guy like this on the playing field her invasion would stand no chance. He needed to be taken out. Cinder turned to Adam and Roman, " After you two are done with getting this viral, I want you to pull back. Adam, use your troops to help Roman with his drug and illegal dust trade. This may be more expensive than we thought. " Adam and Roman nodded and soon they could all hear a helicopter coming down. Roman and Adam hopped on and turned back to Cinder.
" Anything else? " Adam asked her. Cinder just waved the two of them off, the helicopter left and soon all Cinder could hear was dead silence. She bit her thumb.
Dammit. Why now of all times?
Holy crap yes! Sorry guys I was a bit late on my deadline, but it's finally here! Those of you waiting for some more action and grimm scenes, you better get ready! Just like this the real prelude of the play begins! Thank you all for your support so much by the way! Anyway, not that much to add. Just R and R, PLEASE, I live off of them! Well anyway goodbye! I'll see you guys in the next chapter of Beacon's Exorcist!
Chapter 11: Black Sheep