Chapter 9: Enemy
Stepping out of the school building, Qrow looked around stealthily. Doesn't look like anyone's nearby. That's good. He glanced behind him "Hurry up," he whispered.
Summer's steps echoed in the distance. A few seconds later, she was out the door as well. She frowned at him. "Lockpicking skills? Really?"
Qrow shrugged. "Hey, I'm good at it. Now are we gonna do this or not?"
"Yeah, alright." Summer nodded reluctantly. "The Low-Go Department Store, right?"
"Yep, that's the one. Just don't do anything stupid, alright?"
Summer scowled. "Don't worry about me!"
"That's what you said earlier today, and didn't you lose like a chump?" Qrow asked with a snort.
"That's beside the point!" Summer snapped. "Why do you always have to such a jerk abou-"
Suddenly, Qrow heard a movement in the trees. He felt a chill run down his spine. Someone's here. "Quiet!" He hissed to her. "I think someone's nearby, be ready to fight!"
Summer's eyes widened, and she nodded, readying her bow. Qrow pulled out his sword. The two of them stood there for a moment, glancing around.
"Stay on guard," Qrow muttered. "They could show up at any moment. I can't tell who it is, but we may have to fight our way out!"
"Actually, I don't think that'll be necessary." Someone spoke from right next to him.
Oh shit! Instinctively, he turned swiftly towards the source of the voice, preparing to strike-
-and was promptly disarmed. His greatsword landed with a clang several metres away.
"You still need to focus on your defense, it seems." Raven smiled at him, as she sheathed her katana.
"S-s-SIS?" Qrow stammered.
"And that's not all!" From behind the trees, Tai walked out with his typical smile. "Didn't see that coming, eh?"
"Raven? Tai?" Summer looked at them in confusion. "W-what are you two doing?"
"C'mon, did you really think we'd let you two have fun all by yourself? Yeah, right!" Tai laughed. "You can't lie to the Tai, baby!"
You have got to be freaking kidding me. "How …" Qrow muttered incredulously, "How did you know we were…"
"Don't you know?" Tai bumped his chest with his fist. "Taiyang Xiao Long always finds out!"
Raven rolled her eyes. "Is that so? Because I recall you were sleeping like a rock until I shook you awake a few minutes ago."
"Argh! Don't ruin my moment, Rae, I just want to look cool…" Tai gave an exaggerated sigh.
…Rae? Qrow glared at Tai. He better not be trying to make a move on my sister.
"In truth, I simply sensed your agitation today, and became suspicious. So, I waited to see what you would do after we were asleep. What you sought to accomplish by sneaking out, I don't actually know." Raven admitted. "I'd like it if you informed the two of us."
"…Alright." Qrow sighed. There was no point fighting back; Raven and Tai had already inserted themselves firmly into the matter. And plus, changing Raven's opinion once she'd made up her mind was like taking on ten Nevermores bare-naked. "Here's the deal…"
He and Summer filled them in on Ozpin's mission regarding the Revenants.
"Ozpin himself gave you a mission?" Tai's eyes widened. "You're kidding, right?"
"…It must be serious, then." Raven looked intrigued. "If what you said is true, and something is really happening tonight, then we should go immediately."
"Yeah." Qrow grunted. "That was the plan."
"Don't worry about it!" Tai cracked his knuckles. "With the four of us together, nothing can stand in our way! Let's go, team!"
They'd arrived at the Low-Go Department Store. Sure enough, the Revenants' symbol was painted on the wall. A few people were walking around at this time of night, not paying attention to the four students sneaking out past their bedtime.
"...I don't see anything suspicious," Tai frowned, scanning the area. "You sure these syndicate guys are going to show up?"
Qrow nodded. "They have to. It makes too much sense-and there's definitely a Faunus meeting tonight in there. I know I'm right."
"…Whatever you say, Birdy," Tai said, still skeptical.
"I told you, my name's…oh, forget it." Qrow sighed.
Raven frowned. "Brother is right, I can sense there are at least ten people gathered in close proximity in the building, among others. Presumably, those are the Faunus that will be discussing the land treaty."
"Huh?" Summer asked, cocking her head to the side. "You can…sense them?"
"Oh, Sis can do that," Qrow replied. "She can sense when others are nearby, and can even tell when they're distressed or in pain."
"Oh. So that's her Semblance?"
"…Yeah. Sure." Qrow looked strangely hesitant.
A long silence followed. The four of them waited outside the department store, behind the cover of a nearby building, waiting for something-anything. It slowly dawned on them that they actually had no idea what they were expecting to happen.
"So, uh, shouldn't we actually go in to check on the Faunus?" Tai suggested.
Raven shook her head. "No, I don't want to risk us looking suspicious." She turned to Qrow. "Are you certain this syndicate will make their move tonight?"
Qrow scowled at his sister. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm sure of it. Like, cross my heart and all that crap. Why don't you have some faith in me for once, huh?"
"I'm only making sure," Raven reassured him. "At any rate, if no one comes by in the next few minutes, I'm afraid we'll have to-"
Suddenly, her body stiffened. Eyes widening, she stared straight ahead. Without a word, she darted towards the department store, drawing her sword.
"Sis?" Qrow yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"
"No time to explain!" She turned back for second, and disappeared into the building.
"W-what should we do?" Tai looked at Qrow and Summer uncertainly.
Qrow began to smile. "…Heh. Guess I was right. Looks like our culprit is here after all."
"The syndicate is here?" Summer's eyes widened. She grabbed her bow. "We need to follow her-"
"No!" Tai grabbed her hand. "It might be dangerous!"
"Yeah, Tai's right," Qrow nodded. "Don't worry, Sis can handle anything." Reluctantly, Summer put her weapon away.
Tense, the three of them waited. Suddenly, they heard yelling coming from within the store. A little girl ran out, crying.
A moment later, several middle-aged Faunus wearing business suits came rushing out. Those must be the guys who were discussing the treaty!
"Hey!" Qrow yelled at them. "What's going on?"
One of them turned to him with a frightened gaze. "S-some crazy woman came rushing in and forced us out! She said there was a-"
Before he could finish, a thunderous tremor rang out, as the department store exploded. The force from the blast knocked everyone down to the ground.
"No! Raven!" Tai yelled.
"W-what happened?!" Summer screamed, scrambling to get up.
Horror welled up in Qrow's chest. He'd hoped that his hunch would be correct, but he'd never expected this. He stared in shock at the wreckage of the building.
They had a bomb!
Summer was frozen in terror. She stared blankly at what had once been the Low-Go Department Store. She could only imagine how many people had still been in the building. She glanced at the three Faunus who were lying on the ground, out cold. The little girl was still sobbing.
With a sinking feeling, she remembered Raven saying that she'd sensed ten Faunus in the store. She knew all too well what had just become of the other seven.
Some nearby civilians had seen the explosion. Screaming, they ran as fast as possible away from the scene.
"Raven!" Tai screamed, trying to run into the flaming wreckage, with Qrow holding him back. "Raven, are you alright?!"
"Don't go in there!" Qrow growled. "You'll just kill yourself-stupidly! Plus, Sis is fine, don't worry!"
"Huh? Really?" Tai stopped and stared at him.
"Really." Right on cue, a portal materialized next to them and Raven stepped out. "Come on, we need to take care of the culprit!"
"What about the other people who were still in the building?" Summer inquired.
Raven shook her head slowly. "I'm afraid I couldn't save all of them. I had to get out of there before the explosion happened."
"No…" Tai murmured. "That can't be…"
"Well, Brother?" Raven turned to Qrow. "It seems you were right after all."
"Yeah…" he muttered, still kneeling in shock. "Didn't think it would happen like that. Sis, you saw who did this?"
"Not quite." Raven raised her head to the sky and yelled: "There's no use hiding! I think it's about time you showed yourself!"
There was a moment's silence. Then, a sinister laugh rang out in the night.
"Not bad…" A raspy voice came out from the shadows. A middle-aged man with graying brown hair stepped out from behind the nearby warehouse. "I'm surprised…I thought Faunus were the only ones who could sense others."
The man grinned, showing off his horrifically large teeth. This guy's…a Faunus! Summer realized. But…that doesn't make any sense!
"I assume you're the one who did this?" Raven's eyes narrowed.
"Bwa-ha-ha! Indeed!" The man laughed unpleasantly. "I could've just planted the explosive and hightailed it out of there…but I decided I'd stay back and admire my own handiwork. Haha…it looks like that wasn't a good idea after all."
The little girl who'd run out of the building was now staring, terrified, at the Faunus. She ran up to Summer and continued crying. Instinctively, Summer held her comfortingly.
Tai clenched his fists. His face was contorted in anger. "You…bastard…I can't believe you can stand there and say that! How many people did you just kill?"
The man shrugged. "I couldn't care less. All that matters is that I eliminated my prey." He scowled at the three Faunus who were sprawled out unconscious on the ground. "Kh. Most of them, anyway."
Qrow drew his sword. "So that settles it. You've gotta be one of the Revenants!"
"But why?" Summer demanded, bewildered. "You're a Faunus, too! Why would you kill your own kind?"
"Ahahaha! Big words, coming from a human!" The man laughed again. "If you really want an answer…it's true that I despise your kind, but my species isn't that much better! I owe them quite a bit of pain for what they did to me. If it weren't for their meddling, I'd have my name in the history books by now! I, Buck London, the Butcher of Waterdown!"
"Buck? That's one of the names that masked guy mentioned." Snarling, Qrow transformed his weapon into a scythe. "Now I really want to kick your ass!"
"Waterdown…" Raven murmured. "The village that was massacred during the Faunus War…I see. So that's who you are."
Summer also recognized the name. She'd heard stories about the Massacre of Waterdown Village. During the early days of the Faunus Revolution, a small camp of Faunus had taken over a village in Mistral. Low on weaponry, the humans there had surrendered almost immediately, and it was one of the few peaceful victories of the war.
The next day, every last human in the village was dead. They'd all been slaughtered overnight. None were spared, not the elderly nor the infants. Their deaths had apparently been so brutal that no official pictures of the incident had ever been released.
At first, it was believed the village had been overrun by Grimm, but it soon became clear that a Faunus had been responsible for the massacre. The Faunus camp had cleared out long before anyone could investigate the crime scene, and the perpetrator had never been caught.
"Oh, so you figured it out. I'm touched," Buck said smugly. "Yes, my traitorous comrades decided to wipe all traces of me from the war records. As far as the world's concerned, all those victories I fought for my people never existed!"
Raging, he drew his weapon-a high-tech machine gun with chainsaw blades decorating the exterior. "And that's how…I got stuck working a low-end job with a company of cowards, instead of being honoured as the hero who rid the world of over two hundred humans in a single night!"
With a whir, the chainsaw blades on his gun began their motions, making a sinister buzzing noise. "So yes…I've got a reason to want a few Faunus dead. Those fools would sign their meaningless treaties, believe that humans and Faunus could ever coexist in peace? NEVER!"
With a shrill battle cry, Buck charged at the four Huntsmen.
Summer felt fear rising up in her as she held the crying girl. This was a mass murderer they were going up against. This was someone willing and experienced with cold-blooded slaughter. Did four kids even stand a chance?
"You won't get away with this!" Tai met his strike. Barehanded, he blocked Buck's chainsaw, his Aura protecting him from the blades' deadly whir. The tattoos on his arms began to glow red.
"Hraahh!" The Fire Dust enhancing his strength and speed, Tai parried away the Faunus' weapon and swung a flurry of fiery punches. Growling in pain, Buck aimed his machine gun and fired a load of bullets into Tai's arms.
Tai winced as over twenty bullets painfully chewed away his Aura, bit by bit. "Damn it!" he growled, swinging another punch. However, this time Buck simply blocked it with his bare hand.
"What?" He gasped.
"Don't let your guard down!" Qrow yelled, leaping over him while swinging at Buck. With surprising speed, his opponent dodged, jumping off his scythe and knocking Qrow down with a direct hit from his chainsaw.
"Argh!" Qrow yelled. Chuckling, Buck held him down and prepared for a lethal strike.
"Get away from him!" Tai leapt at Buck again. The Faunus simply swiped him aside. It should have been a weak punch, but it struck the young man square in the jaw, sending him flying straight into the nearby brick wall. "H-how…" Tai spat out a tooth. "How's he this strong?!"
"Heheh…" Buck laughed. His eyes were wide with bloodlust. His hair was glowing, and had turned completely white. His fanged mouth hung open, drooling. "The more pain I inflict on others, the stronger I become," he rasped. "That's my Semblance!"
"What's with him?" Summer stared at him. "Why does he look like that?"
"A side-effect of his Semblance," Raven murmured. "Most of the more powerful Semblances have them. Some of them, like his, merely cause physical changes upon activation. Others grant additional abilities that can be mistaken as Semblances on their own." She glanced at Summer. "Now, then, shall we help out the boys?"
Summer nodded nervously. "Yeah. Oh, right!" She gestured to the girl. She couldn't have been older than five, and had short black hair and amber eyes. "What should we do about her?"
"Here." Raven swung her sword, creating a portal. "Get in, little girl. When you get out, do not move, and you'll be safe." The girl just looked at her, motionless and terrified. "I said, get in!"
"It's okay," Summer soothed her. "You can trust her. We'll take care of this, promise." After a moment, the girl nodded and walked in.
"Let's see how you ladies like this!" Buck dashed towards them. He parried with Raven, sending sparks flying into the night sky. Summer desperately tried to aim for Buck while the two of them fought it out. C'mon, let me get a clear shot!
"Hrahh!" With his enhanced strength, Buck knocked Raven's katana out of her hand and kicked her across the ground. Before she could recover, he moved his sights to Summer, and charged.
Oh no! She fired her arrow. It struck him in the chest, taking off a respectable chunk of Aura, but he simply shrugged it off and struck the young Huntress in the stomach with his chainsaw.
A blinding sensation of pain sent Summer keeling to the ground, screaming. He's taking us all out like nothing!
"Tch," Buck grumbled, looking at his downed opponent. "Looks like R was just talking nonsense again. "The Grandmaster says to observe Summer Rose; she poses a great danger to our plan." Hmph! I guess even they can be wrong, too."
Wait, what's he saying? I'm…a danger to them? Me? None of this was making sense. Who was this 'R'? And the 'Grandmaster'?
Whatever the case, she couldn't give up. This was what she'd trained for, after all. To fight people like this, who put the peace of Remnant in peril. Agonizingly, she picked herself up. Qrow, Tai and Raven were recovering from their injuries as well.
"Oh? Still got some fight left in you?" Buck whirred his chainsaw nonchalantly. "You humans really are tenacious, huh?."
"Guys!" Summer yelled. "Let's coordinate our attacks this time! Fighting him one-on-one is suicide!"
"Don't order me around!" Qrow readied his scythe. "You're right, though. Now, don't hold me back again!"
Tai and Raven nodded. "Even you can't beat us four-on-one, old man!" Tai taunted.
Buck sighed. "Now this is just a waste of time. I think I'll just end you all quickly." With that, the battle continued.
Tai and Raven struck at him from both sides. Even with Buck's enormous strength, he couldn't defend himself from both of them. For every one of Tai's punches he blocked, Raven landed three swift blows on him with her katana. Every time he parried Raven's blade, Tai struck him in the back of his head with his fist. Slowly, they wore him down with their coordinated attacks.
Incredible. Summer couldn't help but stare in awe. Their teamwork was impeccable. All of their attacks were perfectly synchronized.
"Don't stand there and gawk! It's our turn!" Qrow yelled. Raising his weapon, he grinned at her. "Ready, partner?"
"Yeah!" Summer readied her bow. "Let's do this!"
She fired a round of arrows in Buck's direction. Seeing them approaching, he swiftly knocked Tai and Raven aside with a sweeping kick and leapt out of the projectiles' range.
Without having to worry about hitting his teammates now, Qrow jumped straight at Buck and swung his scythe. Buck desperately bombarded the young man with bullets, but they were easily deflected by the enormous weapon. Qrow struck his opponent with a devastating swing that disarmed him and sent him flying.
"Dammit! I won't lose to you…" Buck struggled to regain his footing. In that moment, Summer loaded an ice Dust-infused arrow into her bow and fired. The snow-white streak exploded where it impacted Buck's ankle, creating a crystal of ice that froze his legs in place.
"Got you!" Summer yelled triumphantly. "Get him, Tai!"
"No problem!" Tai activated his Semblance, and began to glow with Aura. He swung a full-powered punch at Buck. "Eat this, you bastard!"
Without his chainsaw-gun, Buck had no way to defend himself. He felt the full impact of Taiyang's strike into his face as his Aura was completely depleted. He was sent flying straight into the pavement, creating a respectably-sized crater. Immediately, his Semblance faded, and his hair returned to its normal graying brown.
"It appears that…we win." Raven smiled.
"Damn right we did!" Tai whooped. He smirked at Buck, lying there on the ground. "You get stronger from other people's suffering, but I get stronger when I've got my friends behind me. So what have you learned from this, huh? It's that you'll never win against the power of friendship, baby."
Qrow sighed, retracting his weapon. "And just like that, any satisfaction I would've got from this battle is gone forever."
Summer smiled. They'd actually done it. Cheesy as it was, what Tai had said wasn't wrong; they really were stronger when working together.
"…Can't be happening," Buck moaned, struggling to get back up. "How…could I lose…to you…"
"You only have yourself to blame for that, Buck."
Summer froze. Who was that?
Qrow's eyes widened. "You're kidding me…that voice! It's-"
Suddenly, from the docks, a large mechanism rose out of the water. It appeared to be some sort of aquatic version of an Atlesian aircraft. Summer had never seen anything like it before.
"What. The heck." Tai muttered, staring in disbelief at it.
The door to the craft opened, and a single figure stepped out. A figure with long auburn hair, a black robe, and a white mask.
"You," Qrow snarled.
"Good evening, everyone," the mystery man said, their voice heavily distorted by the mask. "I really am sorry about my comrade's irresponsibility." They turned to Buck. "I'm sure I told you and Simon to wait for my order before making your attack."
"Sh-shut up," Buck rasped pitifully. "The opportunity was…too good to resist."
The masked man sighed. "I suppose I should have expected that. Well, it doesn't matter now. I'd advise you to be careful, though; I don't believe the Grandmaster will forgive you for another act of disobedience."
"Who…are you?" Raven demanded. "You are also with the syndicate, aren't you?"
"In a way. Ah, that's right. I haven't properly introduced myself." The masked man bowed mockingly. "I suppose you can consider me to be the leader of the Revenants. You may call me 'R'."
"R? As in 'Revenants'?"
"You might say that. Or perhaps it stands for 'revolution', or 'revelation', or 'revenge', or something else. It doesn't matter to me."
Summer stared at R. This was their enemy?
"Hey, enough talk," Qrow growled, reaching for his weapon. "I still owe you for back in the forest, Mr. Mask, 'R', or whatever you call yourself."
R shrugged. "Apologies, but I am afraid you'll have to wait a bit longer for that. I only came here to retrieve an unruly subordinate."
From beside them, Buck had gotten up and retrieved his chainsaw-gun. Rather than attacking the group again, he leapt, snarling, next to R. "Don't think this is over," he rasped at them. "Next time, I'll make you suffer."
"As an apology for the headaches Buck has caused you tonight, I'll let you in on a secret," R said casually. "This craft is a special gift given to our cause by the Grandmaster." They spoke that name with an almost reverent tone. "It can completely disguise its presence underwater. The Grimm that I used to control poor Mr. Huang in the Emerald Forest was also one of them."
"I see," Raven murmured. "So it was a Grimm, after all."
"The Grandmaster?" Summer asked. "We keep hearing that name, but who is that?"
"Nothing you need concern yourself with-not that you could ever comprehend the Grandmaster's brilliance," R replied coolly.
"Nnnngh…" Qrow was losing his patience. "You're really pissing me off, you know? Wanna get down from that toy and fight me, coward?"
R glanced back at him. "Ah yes, Mr. Branwen," they said dispassionately. "Really, your reckless behaviour is unsightly. And you wonder why we consider your dear sister to be more valuable to us." From within their robe, they pulled out a strange-looking rifle. Its barrel glowed a sinister shade of red. "Of course, if you really have a death wish, I'll accept your challenge."
"Done." Qrow leapt at R with his sword above his head, yelling.
"No, Brother!" Raven yelled. "That gun is-"
R chuckled. "Too late." They fired.
The bullet pierced through Qrow's chest, sending him flying back with a grunt of pain. He landed ungracefully on the ground, unconscious. He was bleeding.
"Qrow!" Summer yelled. She and Tai ran over to his side. After a few seconds, Tai sighed in relief. "It's not lethal, thank god. He'll recover."
Raven narrowed her eyes. "I knew it. That weapon…has the ability to bypass Aura, doesn't it?"
"You really are observant, Miss Branwen," R said approvingly. "This, too, is one of the Grandmaster's gifts." They cocked their head to the side. "Shouldn't you be by your brother's side now, crying and begging for him not to die?"
"There is no need to worry about him," Raven replied calmly. "He has much to learn, but he is stronger than you seem to believe."
"Perhaps." R turned to Summer. "My master has taken an interest in you, Miss Rose."
"Me?" Summer looked up from Qrow's unconscious body.
"Yes. I was asked to observe you, you know. I was disappointed with what I saw of you at first, but if you could take out Buck, perhaps there really is more to you after all." R paused for a moment, then continued. "Ah, it seems the authorities are approaching. I suppose I'll be taking my leave."
Sure enough, there were sirens blaring in the distance.
Buck chuckled. "Heh heh heh...Looks like we live to fight another day!" The craft began to shake, as the door slowly closed.
"Wait!" Summer cried out. "Why is your master 'interested' in me?! Why are the Revenants recruiting Faunus? What the hell are you after? Who in the world are you?!"
"My, my! So many questions!" R laughed. "Do not worry, I'm sure you'll have your answers in time. After all, I think we'll be seeing each other again…very soon."
With that, the door closed on the two of them. The craft lowered slowly into the ocean, and was gone.
The plot thickens!
I'm really looking forward to developing the story from here on out. Hope you all keep reading!
(And leave a review, more feedback is always good :D )