Remnant's Most Wanted
AN: Onward to the plot of this arc. This is the beginning of a string of events that mostly serve to give this generation something to do while the big stuff happens in the background.
Chapter 14: The Most Wanted
Eiess stood in the Buford Hall lounge watching the news in utter shock. Citrine and Nova sat beside her with varying degrees of shock and horror. A train had been attacked. No survivors to verify the attacker's identity. The only evidence was an out of place piece of paper with the calling card of the Chaos Syndicate.
"I thought they were disbanded after the war." Eiess said.
"Their leader is currently locked up in Dragna." Nephrite said. "But a lot of them are still out there…Even so, they've never hit anything this big."
"What on earth would possess anyone to wipe out an entire train like that?" Citrine said.
"The criminally insane." Eiess said. "These are the same people responsible for kick starting the Grimm War."
"That was decades ago." Nephrite countered.
"Nephrite's right." Nova said from the table. She was playing cards with her team and doing a good job at it. "Since then, they've just lived on the run. Usually just stealing what they need. My parents have tried catching them plenty of times but they're always one step ahead."
"And now they're in Vale." Eiess said. "All that dust, all those lives, gone."
"I'm sure your mother is handling the situation." Nephrite said.
"She only hired a pair of fresh huntsmen as security." Eiess said. "Vale was supposed to be a safe place. Now look at it."
"They were weak." Nova said.
"What?" Eiess responded.
"It wasn't just two people, it was dozens of them. All of them highly trained. Two of them graduates from this very school. Obviously, they weren't up to the task. It's no wonder Headmaster Qrow is starting to get stricter with who he lets in."
"Well..." Eiess didn't feel as comfortable with talking about the dead like that.
"Someone should still do something about it." Citrine said.
"I'm sure the police and the huntsmen have already mobilized to deal with it." Nephrite said.
"Fat chance if the cops back home are any indication." Nova scowled.
"Hmm...Helios said something about chasing criminals." Citrine said. "Maybe he'd help."
"Is he even still in town?" Nephrite asked.
"I don't know why he wouldn't be." Citrine responded. "We should also get Johnny in on this."
"We don't need his help." Nova scowled.
"If I'm going to do this without getting in trouble, we need all the help we can get. Besides, we know he and Ariadne are the best at this sort of thing."
"Citrine's right." Eiess said.
"And of course Topaz will come along." Nephrite said.
"Yeah there's no way she'd miss this." Citrine said.
"That means Scot will tag along too." Nova said.
"Where would we even begin?" Eiess asked.
"You have connections." Citrine said. "Use them. Find the pattern. These guys are pro, we should play detective, not vigilante." She looked at Nova.
"Why are you looking at me?" Nova crossed her arms.
"You know exactly why." Citrine responded.
"Well, on Mistral motto, if you want to know the streets, talk to the rats." Nova said.
"You and Nephrite do that." Citrine said. "You know what to look for and she knows where to look." Nephrite smiled and nodded.
"Sounds good." Nephrite said.
"Eiess, you and Johnny play detective in the library."
"What about you?" Eiess asked.
"Ariadne and I will talk to Helios and any other patrollers along the north wall. If we're lucky, she can find a bird or something that knows where to look."
"Great idea." Nova said. Eiess nodded in agreement.
"That leaves Topaz and Scot...maybe they can talk to some police, see what they know."
"I'll get ahold of her and let her know what we're planning." Nephrite said.
"I'll talk to my team." Nova said.
"Tell them to meet us in our room tonight after dinner." Citrine said.
"That's pretty short notice." Eiess said.
"Come on Eiess, where's you're spontaneity?" Citrine nudged her arm.
"My mom did tell us to stay vigilant." Nephrite said.
"And I know for a fact none of you have anything cooler to do on a Friday night than be superheroes."
"Detectives, Citrine, you said it yourself." Eiess said.
"Of course." Citrine gave a dorky smile.
Eiess smiled basfully. She could never say no to Citrine. Her team captain was too persistent and beaming with confidence for Eiess to turn down. On her whim they were about to aid in an ongoing police investigation. On her whim they were going to try and find leads on the Chaos Syndicate. On her whim Eiess was being pulled into the crosshairs of two people her mother had warned her about.
"I think we should also get my parents involved." Nephrite said.
"No." Citrine panicked. "I mean, we're not looking for a fight. And if we tell your parents, they'll tell my parents. Then they'll want to get involved and my mom's already at home trying to relax and I don't want her to worry. And I definitely don't want my dad to shelter me and by extension you guys and..."
"I get it." Nephrite said. "We'll keep it between friends."
"If we do get in a tight spot, don't be too proud to call for backup." Eiess said as she looked at Nova.
"Why do you look at me every time you say something like that?"
"Because you're the one who picks fights with thugs for fun, then gets mad when your dad saves you."
"I don't need his help." Nova crossed her arms again. "What about you princess, you're the one who could just call your mom and she'd be here with an army."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Eiess said.
"It means you have no idea what it's like out of your ivory tower. I'm surprised you even agreed to this. At least Nephrite knows the area and Citrine is just impulsive enough to not care."
"Hey, we're all here to make the world better. No one is better than anyone." Eiess argued.
"Nova just drop it." Citrine said. "None of us know what we're getting into. That's what makes this so fun!" She said.
"Whatever." Nova said. "I'm going back to my team." She left the room.
"What's her problem?" Citrine huffed.
"Citrine please..." Eiess said.
"What was she even getting at?" Citrine asked.
"I think we both know."
"So you're rich and she's not." Citrine said.
"That's not the only thing." Eiess said. "Apparently her mother has been...absent lately."
"Oh yeah..." Citrine said. "My mom said something about that. It still doesn't give her an excuse."
"No, but could you imagine your mother leaving and never coming back?"
"No, I can't." Citrine admitted after a moment.
"Think about it...my parents are the only ones that aren't active duty huntsmen. Nova sees that as weakness. But I think it just fuels her own resentment." Citrine nodded in agreement.
"I'll talk to her later. I'll also let Johnny know. Sense they're partners, he's better suited with dealing with her."
"Alright." Eiess said. "Let's get ready."
AN: So, our girls are on the hunt for the wrong people. Good thing though, Cipher is a way more dangerous beast than the Chaos Syndicate. Next chapter some interesting stuff is going to happen.