Hey guys! Sorry that I'm a little late, but school just started and work and stuff and all those other excuses. It definitely wasn't just me procrastinating and watching One Punch Man for the second time instead of writing or anything. That would be unprofessional of me. Anyway, be sure to favorite, follow, and comment your thoughts and questions about the story. Enjoy the next chapter!
"It's so good to be home," Roman said, looking at the city lights from the edge of the forest. "The place hasn't changed a bit."
The crime lord wasn't entirely wrong. It was true every back alley and cesspool were in their rightful spots, but most of the city had gone quiet since his capture. With the White Fang leaving the area and his own empire being temporarily disbanded, the police were having a pretty easy time.
All that was about to change.
"I'll have to stop by that shop in the square soon, though. These old drabs aren't exactly cutting it. What do say, Neo?"
The heterochromic girl just looked at him in response.
"Nothing huh? That seems about right." He lit up a cigar and turned around to face the small crowd.
"Alright," he said, addressing the White Fang members behind him, "listen up. I know most of you haven't had the pleasure of being in my city before. Luckily for us, a few here actually know their way around. Group 1 will be heading up to an old warehouse where a weapons cache or two should still be hidden. Just try not to break anything, okay."
The only rhino in the group snarled at Roman, not being very happy about getting orders from a human, but the orange haired man just brushed it off.
"Group 2 will be coming with Neo and I to one of my favorite clubs in the city, or at least it was. Note to self: never buy dollar store thugs," he said in a grumbling voice. "Any questions?"
"Umm," said the eagle in the back, raising his hand, "I have a…"
"Good," Roman said, cutting him off. "Now, let's get started."
-x-
If Aero was impressed by Vale in the daylight, the view at night left him in awe. The lights seemed to be streaming from every windowsill while people busied along, enjoying the nightlife. Totum was only this bright after sunset for festivals, so the boy was naturally excited when he learned it was like that every night.
"Yep," said Yang, "this city never sleeps. In fact, we're going to a dance tonight."
"A dance?" he asked, walking along. "Like, with partners and everything?"
He very quickly glanced at Ruby, who had been quiet since they made their way to the city. It felt strangely difficult for him to be around her since what happened at the cliff side, but it wasn't exactly awkward. Instead, the cold pang in his chest grew whenever he looked at her, the buried guilt slowly rising up.
Still, on a far less grim sounding topic, he mentally slapped himself at the thought of dancing with her.
Why am I thinking about that!?
"Kinda, sorta," said Yang. "It's more like a bunch of people jumping up and down in the middle of a room."
"Doesn't sound that far off from dancing to me," he said.
"I guess it just depends on who you're asking," Yang replied. "I'm sure Weiss and Blake will have something to say about it once we meet up again."
"Do you think they'll be alright?" asked Aero, noticing they were moving farther and farther from the busier, more lit streets.
"They'll be fine," the brawler said. "They can handle themselves, unlike Ruby on the dancefloor."
"Hey!" said Ruby, earning a laugh from her sister.
"I'm not wrong," said Yang, "and fyi, you sounded like Weiss there."
"You don't dance, Ruby?" asked Aero.
"Well," said the girl, her cheeks a bit red, "it's just not something I like to do."
"If you can use a scythe," he said, "you can dance."
"What do you mean?"
In response, Aero did something he was very glad no one else was around to see. He quickly picked up his pace on the sidewalk, throwing one arm forward as he did. In his mind, he saw his hand gripping at a hilt, but that was just to get the motion started. He spun to right on his heel, arced both hands in wheels around his body, and followed with a flurry of motion that ended with staring at the girls from a bowing position.
"Phew," whistled Yang, "someone has some fancy feet."
"You should see Selena in action," the boy responded with a smile. "The point is, fighting and dancing are hardly different. One is a bit more deadly, but that's just a minor detail."
"You sound like Ozpin," said Ruby.
"Ozpin had the right idea then."
The two looked at each other for a moment, the smile on Ruby's face making the cold feeling in his chest disappear. He couldn't really explain it, but it felt right.
That is, until a loud, blaring sound came from his right. Both Ruby and Yang reached forward and pulled him back onto the sidewalk. A car drove by a moment later, the driver rolling down his window and raising one of his fingers for some reason.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Well, you did just dance your way into an intersection," said Yang. "Try to avoid that. Anyway, we're almost there."
The blonde brawler pointed down the street to a building with multi-colored lights flashing in the windows.
"You kids may want to stay outside," she continued. "I shouldn't be too long."
"You're not gonna blow the place up again, are you?" Ruby said while crossing her arms and glaring. Aero wasn't sure what she meant, but wasn't sure he really wanted to learn.
"No way," said Yang, not making eye contact, earning another glare. "Well, maybe just a little."
-x-
Though Weiss was more than happy to be doing something productive, sitting on top of a rooftop doing nothing wasn't exactly entertaining. They had spent the last half hour watching some old, abandoned warehouse with the hope that the White Fang would be in the area. Eventually, she rolled over onto her back, confident that Blake's watchful eye was more than enough.
"How did we get stuck with this job again?" said Weiss.
"Yang said the person she talked to last semester may have some info we need," Blake responded. "In the meantime, I thought it'd be good to check up on this spot. No one has reported anyone in a White Fang uniform since the Breach, but that doesn't mean recruitment has stopped. This used to be a popular spot."
"Emphasis on "used to be." There is no one here."
"I'm here," Blake said jokingly.
"You've been hanging around Sun and Yang too much. You almost have a sense of humor."
"I could say the same to you, though I doubt Ruby appreciates it."
"You know it's fun to tease her," Weiss replied. "I bet you even think they look cute together."
"What I think is that you're enjoying messing with her a bit too much." Blake turned her attention back to the warehouse. "But yes."
The heiress smiled as she spotted the grin growing on her teammates face. Yang may still be close to the fence on Aero as a whole, but it was obvious each of them were warming up to him. This made her feel a bit guilty about accusing him of hurting Ruby a few days earlier. She'd apologized, but still felt a little down inside.
To cheer herself up, the white haired girl decided to do a little teasing on the side.
"So," she said, "have you kept in touch with Sun?"
An evil smile crept onto Weiss' cheeks as she saw her faunus teammate's cheeks start glowing.
"Well, um," Blake said, obviously trying to stay calm, "yeah. We… we talk."
"Oh yeah," she said. "Do you send pictures to each other?"
"I don't know what you mean," the faunus responded, not looking at Weiss. "What… what pictures would we… would we even…"
"You know," said Weiss, enjoying her reaction far too much "pics of his…"
"His what?"
Weiss leaned in close and whispered…
"His abs."
Weiss could practically feel the heat coming off of Blake as her entire face turned a deep shade of red. The fencer was about to comment further, but a buzzing sound from Blake's pocket suddenly sounded. The moment the black haired girl took the scroll from her pocket, Weiss took it as fast as she could. Despite the flailing arms trying to get it back, the heiress hit the "Open Picture Message" button.
"Let's just see what…" she said, her eyes widening and cheeks reddening as she tried to find the words. "Oh my… you mean… you mean he really does send…"
"IT'S NOTHING!"
Blake finally reached her scroll, hit the delete button, and erased all evidence of a certain monkey faunus' six pack from her phone. The girl's sat in silence for a moment, unable to think of anything to break the awkward atmosphere. If she wasn't so shocked that she'd been right, Weiss would have had the brain capacity to hope something would happen soon.
"Did you hear that?" came a deep voice from beneath them. Both girls quickly ducked behind the edge of the building, listening to the voice.
"I didn't hear anything," said another voice. "It must've been the wind. Just keep moving."
Weiss and Blake slowly peeked over the edge and into the windows of the building. Several people in White Fang uniforms had made their way inside while they were… distracted. It looked like they were unloading some cargo containers, but it was hard to see what was inside. Judging by the glow being put off though, they knew it was likely Dust.
"I can't believe it," said Blake.
"Me neither," said Weiss. "How many crunches does he do?"
"A time and a place, Weiss," said Blake, her cheeks red with embarrassment and anger. "Seriously though, I can't believe our luck."
"I'd probably say contrivance instead of luck," came a whispering male voice from behind them, "but whatever. Same difference."
The girls turned around to see the silhouette of two black wings almost blending into the night sky. His White Fang uniform let them know he was an enemy, but it was the Nevermore mask that really put them on edge. Acting on instinct, the huntresses-in-training grabbed their weapons and attacked.
-x-
"She's been in there for a while," said Aero. He and Ruby had been standing outside the establishment for several minutes, waiting for Yang to return. Apparently, the older sister thought they were "too young" to go in, something Aero thought was almost funny, given his situation.
"She'll be fine," Ruby responded.
"How can you tell?"
"Well," she said, leaning back against the wall, "I haven't heard any explosions yet, so that's probably a good sign."
"Yeah," he said, "probably."
The two stood there in silence, the awkwardness slowly growing. To try and distract himself, Aero reached into his pocket to make sure Zeta was still were he put it. The weightless sensation tried to overtake him, but he willed the feeling to return to the Shard. It still amazed him how Zek walked around like that without motion sickness, something the prince may or may not have gotten when he tried on the ring for the first time.
"So," said Ruby, "I was just wondering something."
"Yeah?"
"It's about, well…"
The hooded girl didn't finish her thought. Instead, her eyes grew wide as she looked down the quiet stretch of road. Aero tried turning to see what she was looking at, but instead felt her shove him towards the door, desperate to get inside.
"Ruby!" he said "What are you…"
"Just get inside!" she said in a forceful whisper. The boy did as he was told and made his way into the building. Once inside, he heard… well he wasn't sure what it was. It was some sort of wild, ringing, high pitch noises.
"Is this music?" he asked.
"Yes," said Ruby, obviously still to move faster.
"Huh," he said. "Not bad."
The two quickly made their way into a large room filled with bright, glowing lights and a few men in black coats walking around. Yang was sitting at what looked like a bar, talking to a grown man in a tie. The blonde girl looked intent on something, and the man looked very nervous about being the victim of her glare.
"Just tell me what you know," Yang said, gripping her glass tightly.
"I told you," the man responded. "I have no idea if Roman is… hey, who are you?"
"Huh?" Yang said, turning around to see Aero and Ruby standing there. "What are you…"
"We gotta hide," said Ruby. To everyone's shock, the silver eyed girl jumped over the counter and hid below it. In an even more surprising move, Yang quickly followed her younger sister, knocking over her glass as she did so.
"Come on!" said Ruby, motioning for Aero to join them. The boy had no idea what was going on, but decided to walk around instead of jumping over the counter like a crazy person.
"What's going on?" asked Yang.
"Get out from there or I'll… uhh." The man didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he'd taken the sound of a shotgun shell loading as a sign to be quiet.
"Not. One. Move."
"Y-Yes, ma'am," he said in a scared tone.
"We've gotta stay hidden," whispered Ruby. "Roman's gonna be here any…"
"Hellllloooo, Junior!"
Though they couldn't see him, the trio knew another person had entered the club. Aero assumed the voice to belong to Roman Torchwick, though the footsteps made it seem like there were others with him.
"R-Roman," said the man, apparently named Junior. "I didn't know you'd be dropping by, what with the whole… you know."
"You mean prison?" said Roman, who sounded like he'd just sat down. "Come on. When has that ever stopped me from coming back."
"Well, I just assumed Ironwood would give you a bit more trouble."
"Oh, he did, but some friends of mine helped me out."
"You mean these White Fang guys?" Aero could see the expressions on the girl's faces tighten, waiting for information they could use.
"None of your concern," Roman said, much to the sisters' disappointment. "Anyway, let me get right to it. I realize things have probably gotten a little out of control since I left."
"Actually, I've never seen the city so peaceful," said Junior.
"I meant out of my control," he responded. "That needs to change. I need to get some messages through to some old contacts of mine, but I need it handled… discretely."
"Why not just handle it yourself?" asked the club owner, still painfully aware of the situation he was in.
"I'm trying to lay a little low for a while, keep the cops off my back. They don't exactly know that I'm back yet, and I'd like to keep it that way. You, however, I know will keep your mouth shut."
"How…"
Aero heard a thud quickly drop from above them, causing Junior to step back in fear.
"Right," he said in fear. "Message received."
"Good," said Roman, "I'm glad we have an understanding. Why don't we get a few drinks while we flesh out the details."
"Sure thing," Junior responded. The man bent down behind the counter, looking at the hidden trio as he did so. Aero slowly moved to the side as the bartender reached for a glass, all while Yang kept her weapon ready.
Suddenly, the man dove out from behind the counter, desperate to escape. Yang fired a shot that barely missed him as he moved, causing an explosion that destroyed the cabinet in front of them.
"Move!" shouted Ruby. The blondes quickly followed the hooded girl as she sprinted toward the door, readying their weapons as they did so. Aero looked to his side and saw a group of uniformed faunus, a man with orange hair holding a cane and a short girl with multicolored hair. They all looked shocked at the sudden action, hopefully giving the trio the time they needed to escape.
Unfortunately for the teenagers, the strange looking girl recomposed herself much faster than the others. She dove towards Yang, looking like she was trying to land a kick, but launched a silver burst that knocked the attacker just before impact. An explosion behind him told the orange haired man, who he assumed was Roman, had fired a shot, but he dashed forward just in time to escape the heat.
Up ahead, Ruby fired several rounds toward the White Fang members, causing them to scatter. With a force that probably knocked them out, the hooded girl slammed her scythe into two guards stationed at the door, motioning for he and Yang to follow. Aero glanced back at Roman just in time to see his expression switch from anger to shock before the Yang fired an explosive blast that brought down a portion of the ceiling, blocking the exit behind them.
"We've gotta get to Blake and Weiss," said Yang as they ran.
Aero watched as Ruby folded up her weapon and tried to contact her teammates on her scroll. He didn't see anyone following them, but he knew it wouldn't be long before their enemies found another exit.
"It's no use," Ruby said in frustrated tone. "They aren't picking up. Let's hurry."
The group continued to make their way towards where Weiss and Blake were supposed to be. Knowing Roman didn't want to be seen, they cut through the most populated areas they could, though they did get some weird looks from the civilians. After a few strenuous minutes, they finally reached the area they were heading toward, though they weren't expecting to see the buildings around them looked so damaged.
"What happened here?" asked Ruby.
"If I had to guess," said Yang, picking up an arrow, "I'd say they got spotted."
A moment later, an explosion sounded a few blocks away.
"Sounds about right," said Ruby. "Yang, you keep heading straight. Aero and I will flank around."
"Right," the blondes said in unison, and they took off running, though the prince couldn't help but admire Ruby's tactical thinking.
It must run in the family.
The two made their way around the nearest corner, just getting the glimpse of Weiss as she dashed between two swordsmen, knocking them down as she did so. The white haired girl turned, noticed the two, and pointed toward the next street.
"Come on!" said Weiss. "Blake and I got separated. Follow me."
"What's going on?" Ruby asked.
"We got spotted on the roof and before we knew it we had a over a dozen White Fang thugs attacking us. We managed to get away, but the eagle and rhino are making it pretty difficult."
"Eagle and rhino?" asked Ruby.
The two followed the fencer, all of them visibly tired, but the adrenaline just kept pushing them forward. It didn't take long before they saw the faunus Weiss was talking about. A man, at least 7ft tall with a small horn on his head, was charging at Blake and Yang, whose hair was a glowing like fire. Several members ran out of the way as the giant and the brawler collided. Aero almost closed his eyes, thinking the girl would be crushed, but way the horned faunus ended up getting launched into the side a building proved the boy's theory wrong.
"Freezerburn!" Ruby shouted, though the boy had no idea what that meant. He watched as Weiss covered the area around them in ice while Yang leaped into the air. Ruby quickly grabbed the boy's hand, almost stopping him in his tracks.
"Trust me," she said with a determined expression, though her cheeks were glowing. Aero didn't have time to respond before the whole street was covered in mist. The pull on his hand led him forward and they were out of it a moment later.
"Smokescreen," the boy said, still being pulled. "Clever."
"Thanks," she said. He quickly felt her hand leave his a moment later, followed by the sound of laughter coming from beside them.
"I was showing him where to go!" Ruby shouted.
"Suuuuurrrreeee," said the heiress.
"Above us!" shouted Blake. The all looked back to see a pair of black wings appear out of the fogbank. He was flying erratically, probably from the impeding mist, and wearing a Nevermore mask, probably making flying even more difficult. Yang fired a shot at the eagle, the explosion knocking him to the side, and he began to fall quickly towards them, the quiver of arrows on his back and bow in his hand becoming more and more visible as he approached.
Wait. Is that…
The boy was so wrapped up in his thought that he didn't notice the faunus was heading straight towards him. It wasn't a moment later that he felt the impact of of the falling boy crash into him and causing him to fly backwards down the road. He looked up a few seconds later and, with dizzy eyes, saw that the Grimm masked had been knocked off, revealing a pair of emerald green eyes.
"Zek?!"
"Aero!" said the eagle faunus, standing up, pulling Aero up with him as he did. "I can't believe it. I mean, I was in the city, and then a forest, and then a cabin, and then a cave, and that girl looks like Summer, and I am freaking out right now!"
"Zek!" Aero said again. "What is going on right now?!"
"Right now?" he said, looking back at the clearing mist as a few White Fang members headed their way. "Right. Probably should have started with that. Here's the thing..."
Aero watched as his best friend readied his bow and pointed an arrow right at the prince's chest.
"I may have accidentally joined a terrorist organization."
