Chapter 10: Let's get that plot moving
Sun pulled the shutters on the windows closed and lit a candle on the dining room table. The four of them took up seats around the table. Rain chose to sit across from Sun. Blake sat to his left and Yang sat to his right.
"So who are you and how did you find me?" Sun asked in a terse voice. "Because I still don't fully trust you. Even though you managed to reunite these two." He gestured to Blake and Yang.
"I've answered that question truthfully more times in the past few weeks than in the past five years. Like I said, I am Rain Branwen: Son of Raven Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long; brother to Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. I was trained, at least partially, by Ozpin himself. I lead a secret team put together to fix the world once something like this current situation happened. I was actually a contract killer for a little bit; it payed the bills.
"I found you by walking into your father's office and asking for the location of a specific huntsman. He didn't even ask who I wanted; he just wanted me out of his office. I spoke to his secretary, and he pointed me here."
"Wait." Yang spoke up, "The headmaster is Sun's father?"
"Yes. Although I think the tale is best left to Sun to tell."
They all turned to look at Sun. He sighed and sat up straighter in his chair, "My parents were an outspoken anti-faunus activist and a faunus waitress. He got drunk one night and slept with my mother. In the morning, once he'd realized what had happened, he fled. He tried to forget that night but my mother wouldn't let him. You see, he had left something behind that night: something alive. He sent my mother a decent amount of money every month until I left for Haven. He's the reason I went to Haven over Shade; I couldn't stand to learn from someone who had abandoned his own child."
Blake and Yang sat in shock at what they had just been told. Finally Yang spoke up, "Wow. That is really messed up. I don't know what else to say."
"There's nothing to say, Yang." Rain spoke without taking his eyes off Sun, "Sometimes people are shitty. There's nothing you can do. But that isn't why we're here." He addressed Sun directly now, "I need your help to find a specific huntress. She isn't registered in the system, but you would still probably know her. I was never given her name, but I do know what she looks like. I also know what her weapons are. Do you think that will be enough to go on?"
"Maybe. I've only been back a few months, after all. Although I do need to know her description to help you."
"Right. Sorry. She's about six feet tall with blonde hair and pale skin. Her favoured clothing is a hooded, blue cloak with gold clasps and an orange tunic with beige pants: no armour. She uses a dust broadsword and shield. The sword uses fire dust and the shield uses earth. Her cloak is also infused with air dust. She would also be a loner. She might have taken up residence in the shady part of town or she might not even be in the capital. She would tend to avoid flashy jobs and would go for solo jobs as well."
Sun started to laugh. It started out low and built until he was practically howling with laughter.
Blake reached out her hand to touch his. "What's funny, Sun? Do you know this woman?"
"Yeah, hehe, you could say that. She taught me practically everything I know."
"So you know where she lives?"
"Yes I do. But I need to know exactly why you want her. Otherwise, you can forget about my help."
"Can't." Rain immediately responded.
"Just tell him!" Yang spoke up. "It's not like it will change anything."
Rain seemed to struggle for a reason not to tell Sun. Finally he looked up, "Fine! I guess we'll just tell every random stranger we happen to run in to!" He then proceeded to inform Sun about the Maidens and the threat of the Dark Maiden.
When he was finished, Sun slumped down in his chair. "Wow. So Jas is some kind of superhuman? That...actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it."
"So her name is Jas? Tell me more."
"Jas -short for Jasmine- is an out-lands huntress. She doesn't often step into the city. She prefers to do the jobs nobody else can get to. When I was a kid she saved my life... a lot. I used to live in a pretty remote village. She would often stop in the village to check for jobs and check on the people. She would leave some money for the town in case of an emergency; she always said that she didn't need it."
"So she doesn't live in a particular town?"
"No. She has a hidden base in a system of caves in the dessert south of here. She gave most of her money to the villages and towns struggling to survive. I used to try following her to see a real huntress in action. One day, I went out too far from the village. Before I knew it, a King Taijitu had erupted from the dunes. I would have been dead if Jas hadn't heard it and come to investigate.
"After that, she started to teach me some things about how to fight and stuff. I became her apprentice and she became my mentor. She even helped me make my gun-chucks when it came time for me to build a weapon. I technically never even went to a primary battle school; all my training was out in the wild with Jas. When I left for Haven, Jas was pretty broken up. She told me to watch out for my team and make her proud. Then she just vanished. I haven't seen her since I got back."
"Well, that is a fascinating story. But I really just needed to know the location of her base. I didn't need to know your life story. So where exactly is it? Because 'south' is not a useful set of directions."
"You're not going there without me."
"Sure thing. Get some sleep tonight and we'll head out at dawn." Rain got up and moved toward the door.
"Wait. What do I tell my team?"
"Bring them with us. Extra manpower never hurt anyone. But don't tell them everything. Please. The knowledge I just shared with you is technically confidential and I would be well within my rights to kill anyone who reveals it."
"Okay then. But where are you going?"
Rain slid on his grimm mask, "I'm going to find some real fighters." With that he left the building.
Sun turned to look at Yang. "Hey, Yang."
"What's up?"
"Your brother is a dick."
"Yes. Yes he is."
Rain strolled through the more seedy part of town. He wasn't even really paying attention to where he was going; he was just hoping his teammates would reveal themselves.
As he turned down a particularly dark alley, he was suddenly surrounded. They were all White Fang grunts, he could tell. One of them stepped forward and spoke up, "You will come with us, interloper."
"Nope. I will not be going with you, defiler."
"Who are you to call me a defiler? You wear our masks but have never been through our suffering. We should cut you down where you stand for such an affront."
"That would be fun to see. Unfortunately, I don't have time for this. And I call you a defiler because you have defiled the meaning of these masks. They once stood for strength, honour, sacrifice, courage, selflessness. But you have twisted them in an attempt to make yourselves terrifying to the common man. You have never known true suffering. You have known cruelty, yes. But not suffering. You are not superior to people who were cruel to you. You're just a whole bunch of new cruel people. You used to be peaceful, if memory serves. Why would you abandon that?"
"Peace got us nowhere. Conflict has allowed us to affect change."
"Change is not swift. True change comes slowly. It takes work. You are just lazy bullies with not enough brain power to see what is right in front of your eyes. Now die!"
An explosion of ice and energy could be seen from the alley mouth, followed by a cloud of smoke. When that cleared, Rain stood among a circle of dead bodies with shattered grimm masks.
"Holy shit, boss. Do you think you may have gone a bit far? They were just grunts, after all." A deep, masculine voice spoke from above Rain.
"You know my opinion of these scum. If you really didn't want them dead, you could have tried to stop me."
The voice's owner jumped nimbly down to the alley, "I just got here, and we both know I can't stop you."
"That's true, but you could still try. It's good to see you, Banner. Where's Flare? I need both of you."
"She's back at our hideout. I came alone just in case it was someone who could kill me. If I don't get back in an hour, she'll send a message to our 'special' transmitter. So why are you visiting us? Did you figure out Vale's issues already?"
"I solved all the big problems. Ozpin's remaining staff can sort out the rest. I'm actually looking for one of Ozpin's allies in Vacuo right now who might be able to help us. I already established a local contact and tracked her down. I just need your help with the extraction. Things could go sideways and I don't need that right now."
"Okay, boss. Do you want to come back to the hideout with me?"
"No, I should back to where I'm currently staying. If I'm not there they might get themselves killed or something."
"Got it, boss. I'll tell Flare that you're in town. She'll be excited to see you."
"You guys always are. It's like you're hoping I'll release you from your deals or something. Now goodbye." Rain blurred and disappeared.
"Fuck." Rain whispered under his breath.
When he got back to the house, the door was ajar. He walked up quietly and listened. All he could hear was one person's ragged breathing.
Rain pushed open the door and stepped through. Inside, everything was how he'd left it. Except for the blue-haired boy currently bleeding out in the corner.
Rain rushed over to him and crouched down. "I assume you're Neptune."
The boy coughed up some blood. "Yeah. And I assume you're Rain."
"Correct, but let's skip the pleasantries. What happened here, Neptune?"
"I was the last to head back here tonight. When I got to this level on the wall, I was jumped by some White Fang members. They marched me here, kicked in the door, and threatened to kill me if the others didn't submit. They did. Then the bastards stabbed me in the gut and told me to wait for you."
"Dammit! How did they know I was here? Why would they leave you alive for me to find?"
"Because they told me where they were going. They want you to go. They said they were told to kill you."
"That's not uncommon. But where are they?"
"In the warehouse district there is a large, black warehouse with no windows. They're camped out in there, apparently."
"Did they say anything else?"
"Just that it was going to be fun torturing my team. Can you promise me something?"
"Sure."
"When you find them, rip them to shreds. Break them so that they never regroup. And maybe torture a few while you're at it."
"Deal."
"Thanks. Now I guess I'll continue to slowly die by bleeding out."
"I can make it quicker. I can absorb all your aura that's left and that would kill you."
"Nah. I'll just sit here. Go get those sons-of-bitches."
Rain stood up and walked outside. Once he was a good distance from the house he pulled out his scroll, "Hey. It's me. I need you at the black, windowless warehouse in that district. I wouldn't call if it wasn't important. Fine. Be like that." Rain ended the call and set off toward the warehouse district.
A.N: I guess people needed to start dying. Why not Neptune? It's not like he's in a boring quasi-relationship with a member of team RWBY or anything. All kidding aside. I needed to kill somebody and Neptune was the only one I could think to use. Scarlet and Sage don't have enough character to take this spot and Sun deserves a more momentous death. So I guess Neptune drew the short straw. I wonder if anyone is still reading this.
Also, I just realized that I've been using desert instead of dessert this entire time. Please forgive me. I will make sure it doesn't happen again.
