Grayson and Jenny stand across from each other, with Grayson's blue eyes staring directly into her blank purple eyes. The fact that the violet-haired criminal took control over her body makes him mad enough. Though, it is the despondent look in her eyes that makes him even more furious.
This is something that Riza noticed rather quickly. Although, anyone would be tipped off to that fact after seeing the look on his face. If anything, it just made her that much more satisfied.
"My, my. Isn't that a wonderful expression you've got there." she said with a teasing smirk. "I guess that means that you are enjoying my little surprise."
Were Grayson not already extremely tired and low on aura, he would've charged straight at the conniving woman to give her hell. Though, considering the situation he is in, he wisely held himself from having an outburst and chose to continue glaring at her instead.
His lack of response only seemed to make her even happier. "Alright. If you don't feel like talking, the perhaps you'd rather get straight to the action." she said, waving her staff in front of her and causing Jenny to lunge forwards.
With his Profound Vision still activated, Grayson quickly tilted his head to the side, preventing him from getting hit by the blonde-woman's powerful punch. He then began to distance himself from her as much as he could, not wanting to pick a fight with Jenny.
However, Riza had other plans. She had Jenny continue to follow him, pushing him even further in order to force him to engage her. Just because she isn't the best in close-quarters combat, that doesn't mean that she can't just take control of someone who is.
Grayson blocked another punch with his sword before ducking underneath her other fist. He then got behind her and kicked the possessed Jenny in the back.
He had held back a lot in his kick, which resulted in her only going tumbling a couple of feet away. However, it was enough to keep her occupied for a couple seconds for him to go after Riza.
The violet-haired woman watched him advance towards her with a giddy smirk on her face. As soon as he was upon her, she deftly blocked his sword strike with the center of her staff.
"Look who is getting a little impatient." she said with a slight giggle. "Unfortunately for you, my "friend" isn't quite done with you yet."
Not long after that, he could sense someone coming up on him from behind. He quickly jumped into the air, and he watched the ground he was previously standing on get caught in a large explosions. Much to his misfortune, Riza had also dodged the attack in time.
As soon as Grayson had landed back on the ground, he was forced to block another powerful strike, causing him to release a pained grunt. Even though he blocked her attack, the amount of force behind her hits was enough to send a powerful shockwave throughout his body.
"Dammit, Jenny! I know that I've said you'd be the death of me before, but I never legitimately thought that it'd happen!" he said with frustration.
It is times like these that he would hope for Jenny to come out with her own irritating retort. Though, that didn't happen. Instead, Jenny remained absolutely silent, in a trance, as she continued to assault him. The sight itself is enough to piss Grayson off. This is not how Jenny is supposed to be, and he intends on setting things straight.
Though, that is much easier said than done. If he is going to want even the slightest chance of getting past Jenny and to Riza, he is going to have to fight her seriously. He doesn't like the thought of possibly hurting her, but as long as her aura is still up, it should be alright.
Baring that though in mind, he added a bit more force into his swings, which began to push Jenny back a little. After being pushed back, Jenny launched several shots at Grayson, which he then sidestepped to avoid.
Jenny took a slice to the stomach, though she didn't even make an attempt to dodge it. Instead, she took it straight on, sliding back a couple of feet. As she was about to go for a counter attack, she found herself restrained by several of Grayson's tendrils.
Grayson moved her out of the way, holding her high up in the air. He then sent another one of his tendrils out towards Riza. Logically, he shouldn't have to fight Jenny. If he can take down Riza, then Jenny should hopefully revert back to normal. So, while he has her occupied, he is going to go after the caster.
However, given the amount of ground his shadow had to cover, Riza had plenty of time to avoid the attack. The tendril snaked its way towards her, but she was able to easily avoid the slow attack.
Grayson grimaced as he watched Riza evade his shadow. He knew that, given how far he had to stretch his shadow, it would begin to slow down, but he was hoping that it would still be fast enough to catch her.
Riza blasted the shadow with her staff, causing it to dissipate. She then turned her attention back to Grayson with a grin on her face. "Not a bad move. Though, I don't think that your little distraction will keep my new puppet busy for very long." she informed with laughter.
Grayson looked back at Jenny, who up until this point has refrained from struggling out of the shadows that bind her. Although, on Riza's command, she flexed her arms and easily tore through the delicate shadows before descending upon him with a clenched fist.
The wolf-eared man jumped back to avoid the devastating punch. Though, with his growing fatigue, he wasn't able to react quick enough to avoid the second one, which resulted in him being slammed into the ground face-first, creating a small person-shaped crater in the ground.
He let out a gasp of pain as his back was slammed into the ground, coughing a couple of times. While he was laying there, his aura began to flicker around him for a moment before finally disappearing. He cursed underneath his breath upon his aura finally being deplenished.
Once he managed to catch his breath, his looked up only for him to find Jenny pinning him down in a…rather intimate manner. She is lying with her body on top of his, her massive chest pressed against his as she holds him arms against the ground.
Despite the situation at hand, Grayson couldn't help but blush at the compromising position. He never really paid much mind to her assets before, though when she is pressed right up against him like this, it is a little hard for him to ignore it.
"She is going to tease me so hard about this whenever she regains control over herself." he thought.
Grayson was then roused from his thoughts when he heard Riza laughing as she made her way towards him and Jenny. Though, she still stayed somewhat of a distance away, just in case he managed to break free.
"It looks like you are having fun down there. Perhaps you should be thanking me." she said with a lecherous grin. "After all, not everyone gets to say that they had a beautiful model pinning them to the ground."
The wolf Faunus rolled his eyes in response. "You're right. I should be thanking you…for irritating me to hell and back." he retorted as he sent a glare in her direction.
Riza's lecherous smile soon turned sadistic as a small giggle escaped her lips. "Well, if you want to go to hell, then I can most certainly have you sent there."
Grayson snorted. "Please. You think that Jenny would be able to pull that off? Never once has she ever beaten me in a sparring match, and that was with me going easy on her."
The violet-haired woman shrugged her shoulders in response. "Perhaps, but I'm guessing that you weren't exhausted and without your aura. Plus, with her under my control, she most certainly won't be holding her punches now." she said, snapping her fingers.
With the order given, Jenny raised her fist, preparing to give the final blow. Grayson struggled underneath her to try and push her off, but he has just used up too much energy. He can't use his sword either, since it was knocked out of his hand when she pinned him down.
Once he realized that he wouldn't be able to break free, he tilted his head back with his eyes closed. He then let out a small chuckle.
"And to think that I always believed that it would be the Grimm that did me in. Instead, I was outsmarted by a woman with a smart mouth."
He has long since decided that if he dies, then he dies. After all the times he has messed up, he surely wouldn't complain if the time finally come. Though, for once, he is actually regretting not being strong enough.
"And after finally finding someone that I could somewhat tolerate, too." he thought. He let out one last chuckle as the blonde woman bring her fist down. "This world just keeps finding more and more ways to piss me off."
Though, the fist that he was expecting to feel never came. Instead, he heard the sound of a gun being shot, and then suddenly, he felt the weight on top of him suddenly be removed. When he opened his eyes and sat up, he saw Ruby standing in front of him with her scythe out, between him and Jenny.
Sun then jumped down in front of them, twirling his staff around and knocking Jenny even further away. He tried to push her even further, though he couldn't do so in order for him to block an explosive with his spinning staff.
While Ruby and Sun were keeping Jenny busy, Blake appeared beside Grayson and slowly helped him stand up while supporting him on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Well, I've definitely been better. Though, the fact that I'm not dead yet is probably a good sign." he joked. Blake helped him over to where his sword laid on the ground, helping him pick it up so that he could use it to keep himself steady.
Blake then got in front of him, holding her weapons at the ready. "Just stay back. We should be able to handle them." she told him. They have had a chance to rest since their fight, and Ruby is raring to go.
Normally, Grayson would've told them to stay as far away from these people as possible. However, given his not so great condition at the moment, there really isn't much else that he can do except let them help. The bigger threat in combat has already been taken out. If they can get in close, they should be able to defeat Riza, and then break Jenny free from the spell.
"Alright." he begrudgingly agreed. "Although, you've got to listen to what I say. That woman is dangerous. I'm not sure how she did it, but her 'semblance' somehow allowed her to take control of Jenny."
"So, we'll have to fight her if we want to get to the criminal?" Ruby asked, receiving a shake of the head in return.
"No. If we can take down that woman then Jenny should be freed from her clutches." Grayson explained as quickly as possible. "Given that we outnumber her, if a couple of us stay back and distract Jenny, the others should be able to take down our real target."
Blake nodded her head in understanding, brandishing her weapons. "Alright, then. I'll stay here and keep her distracted."
"You can count me in." Sun added with a confident grin. "She won't get past the two of us."
Satisfied with the plan, Ruby nodded her head in agreement. "In that case, I'll go deal with the other one."
Ruby was about to begin making her way there; however, she was stopped by Penny who suddenly appeared in front of all of them. Everyone except Grayson, Blake, and Jenny jumped in surprise.
"I'll help too, Ruby. After all, I am combat ready!" the orange-haired girl said with a salute.
"If you want to help, then that's fine. I saw what you did to those bullheads earlier, so I'm sure that you can handle yourself." Grayson responded. He then raised a brow at her. "Though…who exactly are you?"
Penny bowed out of respect before answering his question. "My name is Penny, and I am here representing Atlas in the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournament." she replied.
This caused Grayson to narrow his eyes momentarily. "If she is from Atlas, then she might be close with the general. This could be bad." he thought.
After a brief moment of silence, he sighed and nodded his head. "Very well. Just be careful, you two. I don't know how many tricks she has up her sleeve, and we still aren't sure exactly how she controls someone."
The two girls nodded and ran off to go take care of the woman. He doesn't like the idea of sending them to take on someone so dangerous, but they are both skilled, and compared to Orochi, Riza isn't nearly as strong of a foe.
However, before they could even reach Riza, Jenny had turned around and she was about to shoot and explosive at them. Before she could, Grayson leapt in front of her, and swung at her with his sword. She was forced to block his attack, which allowed the two students to get away.
Jenny reeled another fist back to punch Grayson while his sword was occupied, though her hand stopped mid-punch due to a ribbon that wrapped itself around her wrist. Grayson looked past the controlled blonde, and he saw Blake using the ribbon of her weapon to hold Jenny back.
The raven-haired teen let out a battle cry as she yanked the ribbon back, causing Jenny to go flying towards her. Next, Sun leapt into action, hitting her in the stomach with his staff.
The force behind the attack sent her flying further back, until she went crashing into the side of another shipping crate.
Blake looked back at Grayson with concern in her eyes. "You're hurt. You should let us take care of this." she said, only for Grayson to shake his head yet again.
"I'm exhausted, and my body is definitely aching, but I can still fight." he responded. "Besides, I'm sure that you haven't noticed what I have about Jenny."
This made the other two faunus look at him in confusion. "Uh…and that would be?" Sun asked.
Grayson smirked. "That woman thinks that she is clever, but in reality, her 'semblance' shows just how weak she is."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked, keeping a close eye on Jenny as she rose from the debris from the shipping container.
"Alone, she isn't a very good fighter. She makes up for that by controlling people or Grimm and having them fight for her. She is merely borrowing Jenny's power. How can she make better use of Jenny's power than Jenny herself?"
It took Blake a moment to figure it out, but once she did, her eyes widened in realization. "The criminal doesn't have a good grasp of Jenny's fighting style, so she is simply using her for her muscle. Ms. Realight isn't putting up as much of a fight as she normally would." she realized, receiving a nod of confirmation in return.
"Jenny is a tough opponent, because she is intelligent, and she uses that to her advantage in battle. However, she can't do that when she has no control over any of her actions."
After hearing this, Sun smirked. "That makes this easier, then. It shouldn't be too hard to outsmart someone who can't think for themselves."
"We just have to hope that Ruby and Penny can make quick work of that criminal. Otherwise, this will get a lot more difficult." Grayson replied.
Riza blocked a high-speed bullet from Ruby's Crescent Rose with her staff before creating several more magic missiles and firing them at the hooded girl. However, Ruby also made quick work of them, spinning her massive scythe with incredible speed and precision, slicing all of the missiles in half.
She used her semblance to speed towards the violet-haired woman in a flurry of rose petals. Riza ready to counter, though she wasn't expecting the spinning disk made of swords to hit her from the side.
Penny's attack knocked her off balance, allowing Ruby to swoop in and get a good hit in with Crescent Rose.
Once Riza stopped rolling across the ground, she quickly stood up and shot several magic beams at the ground in front of her. The explosions cut off Ruby and Penny's vision of the dark mage, as well as made them cover their faces out of protection.
While their vision was impaired, Riza came out of the smoke and hit Ruby in the face with her staff, eliciting a grunt of pain from the younger girl. She then went to kick Ruby; however, she was forced to block yet another sword from Penny.
The older woman glared at the orange-haired girl. "You are really starting to annoy me." she said angrily.
However, instead of offering up a response, Penny's back opened up, sending out several more of her blades. Riza tried backing up, though she was too slow, and she ended up getting caught in a flurry of blades, getting knocked back onto the ground.
After knocking Riza away, Penny checked up on Ruby. "Are you alright, Ruby?"
The hooded girl nodded, still in awe of her new friend's abilities. "You sure are strong, Penny." she said, causing the orange-haired girl to smile.
Riza stood back up, glaring daggers at the both of them. "Do you really think that a couple of students from these lousy huntsmen academies can defeat me?" she asked, with both arrogance and irritation clear in her voice.
Ruby gave her a serious look in return. "You hurt my professors. I'll defeat you, so that they and no one else gets hurt anymore than they already have."
This made Riza giggle a little. "Alright. I'll admit, you've got guts, kid." she said to Ruby before looking at Penny with a wide smirk. "Though, I wonder if you'll have the guts to fight against your own friend." she said as her eyes began to glow purple. Her staff began to glow as well, as she looked directly into Penny's eyes.
Ruby isn't sure what she is planning on doing, though, given what she said and what she did to Jenny, she knows that she can't let her do it to Penny. She activated her semblance to push her friend out of the way in time. Though, she was too late, because Riza had already activated the spell.
"Soul Marionette!"
Several seconds passed by, and Riza was expecting for Penny to be under her control. However, she just continued to stand there as if nothing happened, and her eyes remained their normal color.
Upon realizing that her spell had failed, her eyes widened in absolute shock. "I-impossible! No human has ever been able to resist my Soul Marionette before!" she exclaimed. Though, little did she know that her spell doesn't work on artificial life.
"Just give up." Ruby told her. "There is no point in fighting anymore."
Although, this just made Riza even madder than she was before. "Me? Give up to two brats like you?" she asked sarcastically. "As if. Besides…" her eyes began to glow purple once more. "She might be immune for whatever reason, but I can still use you as my little puppet." she said to Ruby.
Unfortunately for her, neither Ruby nor Penny would let that happen. Ruby used her semblance to zoom out of Riza's field of vision, meanwhile Penny gathered all of her blades and created a circle in the air. Soon, the blades began to spin as they charged up energy.
Riza narrowed her eyes at this, recognizing it as the attack that took down several bullheads. "It would be bad if I got hit by that." she thought before smirking. "It's a good thing it won't finish charging fast enough."
She began to run away from the robotic girl, though she stumbled and fell when she was shot in the back by Ruby with her sniper. The violet-haired woman stood back up, only to see that Penny had finished charging up her attack and was about to launch it at her.
"Crap! I won't be able to get away in time! I'll have to counter it!" she thought, standing straight and holding her staff in front of her. She concentrated her magic into the end of her staff, until it was glowing brighter than it has before.
Penny thrusted her arms forwards, shooting the massive, green beam of energy straight towards the dark mage. Though, Riza was going to just give up without a fight.
"Shining Repulsor!" She shot a single, massive beam of magic energy right at the beam that Penny just shot off.
The two attacks met halfway, colliding with each other and giving off a magnificent green and purple glow. They fought against each other for several moments, trying to overpower the other. Though, soon enough, Riza's magic beam began to lose ground as Penny began to push her back.
Riza desperately poured her remaining magic power into the blast, hoping to counteract the other beam attack. It didn't work, though, because Penny added more power to her own attack causing it to tear straight through Riza's, hitting the dark mage head-on.
Riza was engulfed in the green beam of energy as she struggled to maintain her footing. The beam travelled past her and over the ocean. This continued for several more seconds before the beam started to dissipate.
Once the energy had finally disappeared, it revealed Riza laying near the end of the docks, unconscious. Though, it didn't surprise Ruby. Considering that she was able to bisect several bullheads at once with that attack, being able to knock the woman out with it isn't much of a stretch.
"Well, that was easier than I was expecting." Ruby commented.
"Perhaps that is because she focuses too much on controlling others. She herself lacked the power necessary to fight back." Penny stated matter-of-factly.
Ruby nodded in agreement. "I guess so. Well, we should probably go check on the others. If Professor Canis was right, then hopefully Ms. Realight should be back to normal by now."
Grayson ducked underneath Jenny's fist, which revealed Blake standing behind him with the gun portion of Gambol Shroud in her hands. She fired several shots at Jenny, which the blonde-haired woman blocked by moving her gauntleted arms in front of her face.
When she moved her arms down, her vision was blocked by Sun throwing a banana peel on her face. While she couldn't see, he went behind her and jabbed her with the end of his staff.
Blake looked at the monkey-tailed Faunus with a sweat-drop. "Where do you keep getting all those bananas?" she asked.
He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders with a cheeky grin on his face. "Hey, what can I tell ya'? I always come prepared."
"Or, maybe you just really like bananas." Grayson replied. "Though, I don't really think that now is the time to have this kind of conversation."
Jenny removed the banana peel from her face and was about to charge after them. However, all four of them were distracted by the green beam of light that was shot off on the other side of the docks.
"Isn't that what that Penny girl used to take down the bullheads?" Sun asked.
This made a small grin form on Grayson's face. "If that is the case, then I have a feeling that this fight might finally be over."
Almost immediately after he said that, Jenny dropped to her knees with her hands on either side of her head. Moments later, the purple glow in her eyes began to fade, causing her normal blue to slowly return.
Once the glow was completely gone, Jenny was in a slight daze. She looked around, not really sure what the hell is going on. The last thing she remembers, she was fighting against Riza, and then she suddenly just blacked out.
"W-what happened?" she asked.
Grayson walked over to her and knelt beside her, partly because he just didn't feel like standing anymore. He then placed a hand on one of her shoulders.
"I'll give you the full version later. For now, what is important to know is that you somehow lost control of your body to that woman, and then you nearly killed me. Luckily, Ruby and Penny managed to stop the criminal before we had to actually hurt you."
Well, that definitely explains why it feels as though her entire body is aching. Though, since she still has a small amount of aura left, she hasn't taken any serious injuries. Although, the thing that really shocked her was when Grayson said that she nearly killed him.
"W-wait! I seriously almost did that?" she asked.
Grayson shrugged his shoulders in response. "Kind of. Though, you weren't exactly in control of yourself at the time, so it isn't like I blame you for it."
"Yeah. Plus, we stepped in and saved his butt." Sun added, receiving a stern glare from Grayson, as well as one from Blake that was basically telling him "shut up."
"The important part is that everyone is alright." Grayson responded.
Still, just the fact that her body almost did something like that disgusts her. Much like Fairy Tail, the members of Blue Pegasus don't like the thought of killing someone. It wasn't her fault, but she still would've felt bad had it actually happened.
Then, she noticed all of the injuries that Grayson had. His clothes are pretty torn up, and he is also cut and bruised all over his body.
"D-did I do all of that?" she asked, gesturing towards his injuries.
Grayson looked down at himself for a moment, only really noticing his injuries for the first time now. "For the most part, no. That was from Orochi, the woman with the sword. You gave me a couple of bruises here and there, and you might've possibly bruised a rib or two with that last punch, but other than that, I'm just really tired." he reassured her.
"And I don't blame you." Blake replied. "After all, you fought that woman off yourself, and then kept Ms. Realight at bay for a little while."
"I'm just glad to be alive right now." Grayson said, looking towards Blake and Sun. "I would've preferred it if you would've just stayed where you were, but had you not jumped in, then I could've been dead. So, I am grateful for that."
Blake smiled, though she didn't voice her thoughts. Sun, on the other hand, grinned widely with his arms resting behind his head. "All in a day's work." he responded.
Grayson ignored Sun's comment, choosing to keep his gaze focused on Blake. Despite thanking them for helping, by the way he was looking at her, Blake could tell that he had a lot to say to her.
He was about to speak up, but then he heard someone calling out to them. Grayson sighed. "We'll talk later." he told Blake before turning around.
She was expecting as much. Though, she isn't looking forward to their upcoming conversation.
The four of them focused their attention on Ruby and Penny, who are now walking up to them with Riza in their grasp. As soon as they reached the rest of the group, Penny placed the unconscious woman on the ground.
The wolf Faunus looked down at the dark mage before looking up at Ruby and Penny with a small smile. "I'm impressed. You were able to defeat her pretty quickly, which was able to finally bring this fight to an end."
Jenny was impressed as well. Despite her power, she had a hard time facing the woman, and ended up being used. Though, she had probably used up a lot of her energy fighting Jenny and keeping her under her control, which must've weakened her a bit.
However, she was curious about one thing. "Did she not try to control one of you?" she asked. When it happened to her, she didn't have a chance to move before it was already too late.
Although, instead of giving an immediate answer, Ruby sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Um…about that, I'm not entirely certain what happened." she admitted, confusing the others.
"What do you mean, Ruby?" Blake asked.
"Well, I think that she tried to take control of Penny. I tried to push her out of the way, but I didn't reach her in time. Though, it didn't seem to affect Penny at all." the hooded leader explained.
Grayson placed his hand on his chin in thought. "That is odd."
"Maybe it is because she was still controlling me at the time." Jenny suggested.
It did sound like a possibility, though you think that she would know that the spell wouldn't work. "Perhaps she was just running low on magic." Grayson thought.
"Speaking of her, what are we going to do with her and that other chick?" Sun asked, looking at the two unconscious criminals.
"As soon as the police arrive, we'll have them take them into custody for questioning." Grayson answered, finally sheathing his sword.
Blake looked down at the ground, disbelief written on her face. "I just…can't believe that the White Fang is working with Roman, or humans in general." she said.
Grayson shared the look on Blake's face. "Trust me, you aren't the only one." he responded with a quiet sigh. "Seeing how far the White Fang has fallen almost makes me wish that I took Ghira up on his offer all those years ago." he thought dejectedly.
Suddenly, a portal opened up across from them, causing all of them to turn and face the distortion of space. Each of them prepared to brandish their weapons, unsure of who was about to step out of the portal. Though, their reactions varied when they watched as Jester bounced out of the portal, landing on both feet with his arms held neatly behind his back.
Seeing everyone's serious expressions, Jester snickered. "My apologies. Please forgive me for my sudden intrusion." he said, bowing and tipping his hat slightly.
This didn't fool anyone, as they all stayed on guard. Considering what the last two were capable of, there was no telling what he can do, especially after seeing him open up a portal.
Grayson stepped forward, despite his injuries. "Who are you?" he asked with a growl.
Jester stood up straight, faking a polite smile. "Well, I do suppose that I owe you the curtesy. My name is Jester." he introduced, earning a snicker from Sun.
"Man, his parents must've known he'd end up becoming a clown." he joked, resulting in getting a punch in the shoulder from Blake. "Hey!"
"I'm guessing that you are friends with these criminals." Blake said, gesturing towards the two dark mages laying at their feet.
Upon seeing his unconscious subordinates, the older man let an amused chuckle escape his lips. "My, you lot must be quite impressive to defeat my underlings. Though, I suppose I shouldn't punish them, given that their mission was only to help that orange-haired pushover escape."
Both Grayson and Jenny narrowed their eyes at the man after hearing this. They also noticed that his clothing has the same symbol of a crown as Orochi and Riza.
"If those two were only his subordinates, then I can only imagine that there are much stronger members in this dark guild." Grayson thought on edge. "They just had to align themselves with the White Fang. This isn't good."
He could tell that Grayson and the others, despite their exhaustion and injuries, were raring to fight. Normally, he wouldn't mind putting them in their place. However, he is unfortunately a bit pressed on time.
"As much as I would love to continue this chat of ours, I am afraid that I have much more important matters to attend to. If you would just hand over my subordinates, then I will happily be on my way." he stated.
Jenny changed into her Crescent Rose takeover, changing one of her arms into a rifle and aiming it at the man. "Sadly, we can't let that happen. So, either you give up now, or we'll have no choice but to take you down." she informed him.
Once again, Jester merely chuckled at his 'predicament.' "Oh my. It seems as though I've been backed into a corner." he said sarcastically as he pulled out several small, purple balls from his pockets. "Before I take me leave, how about I show you a little trick of mine." he suggested as he began to juggle the balls.
Sun raised a brow at this. "What does he think balls are going to do against us?" he asked in confusion.
Ruby nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. It seems like an odd choice in weapons, if you ask me."
However, they weren't his weapons. Instead, they were his diversion.
Jester threw several of the balls at them with great speed. Although, he wasn't aiming for them. Instead, they made contact with the ground, exploding and creating several large clouds of purple smoke the came together and formed one massive cloud of smoke.
Jenny covered her mouth and nose, unsure of whether the smoke was safe to inhale or not. "Poisonous gas?" she questioned.
Though, after getting a brief sniff of it, Grayson could tell that it was safe. "No. They were just regular smoke bombs." he stated.
"He's going to use this to give him time to escape." Blake claimed.
However, she was only partly correct. Through the thick smoke, they were able to see the formation of two portals a couple of feet away from them. They then saw two bodies disappear into the portals before they dissipated.
Soon enough, Grayson and the others stumbled out of the smoke, only to find Jester standing in front of his original portal with Orochi and Riza in each of his arms.
"I'd love to stay and have a bit of fun with you all, but I'm afraid that this is where we part ways." he said with a wide grin. "Tata for now~" he said before jumping into the portal behind him. Before anyone could make a move to follow him, the portal quickly disappeared.
"Well…that was a thing." Sun said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
Soon after, the cops began to show up one by one. Grayson and Jenny were informing the police about the theft, leaving out certain details to not reveal magic.
While they were speaking to the police, Grayson noticed Blake talking with the others. It looked a little awkward at first, though all of Team RWBY ended up with a smile on their faces.
This brought a grin to his face. "Well, it looks like she managed to settle things between them." he thought.
After they finished speaking with the police, Grayson was offered a ride to the hospital. Though, being the stubborn Faunus that he is, he refused to go to the hospital, opting to wait for his aura to return and heal him instead.
"Are you sure that you don't need to see a doctor or something?" Jenny asked, though Grayson just shrugged it off.
"I've survived worse." he responded. "A little pain never hurt anyone."
"Uh…I don't think that's how it works." she commented.
"Maybe, but I stick to my logic, no matter how flawed it is." he replied. "Though, are you alright?"
Jenny nodded her head in confirmation. "I've been better, but I've also been worse. I'm surprised my aura lasted for so long, though it would've only taken a few more hits." she answered.
Grayson slightly rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. We didn't really have much of a choice when you were attacking us."
She just waved it off. "It's fine. I would've done the same thing." she responded. Though, a small frown then appeared on her face.
The wolf Faunus noticed this, making him frown as well. "It wasn't your fault. You had no idea that she would be able to control more than just monsters."
"Yeah but had Ruby and that Penny girl not defeated her when they did, who knows what could've happened?" she stated. The fact that she had almost killed him was still a shock to her. Though, had he not already been through one intense fight, then he probably could've beaten her.
Grayson shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really sure." he answered. "Though, what I am sure of is that it was in the past, and that it wasn't your fault. I'm still alive, and all of this just gives me another reason to step up my training."
This made her lips curve upwards slightly. "I guess you are right. I need to start taking training more serious, as well, especially if we are going to have to fight more of them in the future."
Grayson could only nod his head at that. In the past, he has faced some tough opponents. However, he hasn't had this much trouble since…
He shook his head, trying not to remember that horrible day. Although, something else then popped into his head.
"Wait. You mentioned Penny. Though, I can't see her anywhere." he said.
He and Jenny both took a look around, though they couldn't spot the orange-haired girl anywhere. After learning that she is from Atlas, he has a bad feeling about this. There is a chance that she won't tell him. However, knowing the general as well as he does, he knows that it won't be long before they find out.
Later that night, Roman walked through the doors of his warehouse and set a box full of dust vials on one of the tables. He let out an audible sigh, one which was heard by someone who he wasn't entirely excited to see.
"How disappointing Roman." the voice said, making the criminal in question jump in fright.
A woman wearing a red dress walked into the warehouse. She has shoulder-length black hair and amber eyes. She also has a strange marking between her shoulders. On one side of her is a boy with silver hair, and on the other side is a girl with green hair and red eyes.
"Whoa! Haha, I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon." he said.
"I expected more from you, Roman." the woman in the center said.
"Hey! You are the one who insisted that we work with those stupid mutts from the White Fang, as well as accepted help from that freaky clown." he argued.
Unfortunately for him, the freaky clown that he was talking about just so happened to be sitting above him on one of the windowsills. When he cleared his throat, Roman looked up at him in shock.
"I'll have you know that it was thanks to my subordinates that you managed to escape with a portion of the dust you were supposed to collect. Not only that, but one of them was badly injured, so I would expect you to be a bit more grateful." he said, his tone changing from joking to angry near than end of his statement. He is more than willing to use and cast people aside if it means the best for his master. However, he still cares enough about his underlings to not like seeing them get hurt.
"Lucky for you, you will continue to work with them." the woman said, starting an ominous fire in the palm of her hand as she walked closer towards Roman. "All we ask for…is a little cooperation."
Jester hopped down from the windowsill, landing next to the woman and her subordinates. "Speaking of which, while my subordinates are resting up from this previous mission, one of my associates will be sending her own underling to aid us."
This made Roman groan. "Oh great. Another brat that I'm going to have to deal with."
Jester chuckled at his reaction. "Oh. I'm not sure that you'll be saying that once he gets here. He may look calm and cool on the outside, but in battle, he isn't someone you want to cross."
"Just remember this, Roman." the woman said, walking closer towards Roman. "We have big plans for you. However, if you continue to disappoint me, then I'm sure it would be hard to find a replacement."
A/N: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! I finally wrapped up the fight at the docks, as well as foreshadowed a new enemy that Grayson and the others will be meeting in the near future.
Also, I will have Grayson and Blake have a personal conversation soon enough. So, just be patient with that. I have an idea of how to write it, and I decided to save it for the next chapter.
Just as a reminder, I have a poll up, which so far only 3 people have voted on. I'm in no hurry, but I would like to see a bit more feedback on it, so if anyone feels like they would want to check it out, then please do so.
With all of that said and done, review if you enjoyed this chapter. I always look forward to reading what you all have to say. Now, with that out of the way, I hope that you all have a wonderful day/night!