AN: Hey guys it been awhile, *awkward laughing* so some of you are probably wondering where i've been. Well it's simple, I recently started a new project called Arc Among Thieves. As you can guess it's an AU staring Jaune but the reason i'm here today to give you guys a promo of the story. You see, Saxon, Leo and, Jace are in AAT and I had the idea of writing a couple chapters covering their pasts. So if you enjoy this, go check out the actual story itself.
"So here it is it's just me
A different drummer but the same old beat
It seems like everything is going to be just fine
Cause I'm having a good time
As long as I'm staying true to myself
Then out isn't something I can sell
And I can sleep at night without your help it's fine
Cause I'm having a good time"
-Scene and Herd, Relient K
Chapter 004.5
The Employees
My name is Saxon Lacroix Armonia. I'm different to say the least, most eighteen year olds are looking at colleges or trade schools to move into…but not me. At eighteen years old I have a gun in my hand, ink on my body and a chip on my shoulder and I have one hell of a story to tell and like any good story it has action, romance, and the main characters committing multiple felonies on a daily basis!
/~/
I probably looked like a mess. Sunken eyes. Mud and grit in my hair. Dried blood, mud and sweat stained my clothes. It was a cool fall night. Probably sometime around midnight but honestly I couldn't care less...i'd be dead by winter. I hadn't eaten in a week and my ribs were nearly visible. To be honest, I was fucked.
My wolf ears twitched as a drop of rain fell onto them and not even a minute later, there was a downpour. I pulled my knees closer to my chest as my shirt and pants soon became soaked and my faunus ears drooped. I was in a mess. I'm a twelve year old for god's sake I shouldn't be going through this. A year ago I was happy, I had a loving mother who worked as a nurse, a dad who I looked up to, and then we moved to Vale from Mistral. Not even a month after living in Vale my parents were sideswiped by a drunk driver and I was moved into an orphanage, which burned down soon after I had managed to escape with some minor burns but as far as the government was concerned, I was dead along with the other kids and caretakers. So when I die, for real this time, I can't wait for the look on the coroner's face when my results come back that the dead twelve year old on his table is-...was Saxon Lacroix Fudo.
Fudo, Vaccuoian for steadfast or unmovable, at least I got that trait from my mother. I pulled myself from my thoughts and stared at a puddle of water. I somehow managed to see my reflection and I was right, my eyes were sunken and my normally vibrant storm gray eyes were shadowed and dull as the stormclouds above me. I turned my head skyward and blinked rapidly as a drop of water landed in my eye. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and a thunderous boom shook the ground.
I watched as another bolt of blue electricity arced in the clouds, also accompanied by thunder. Rain poured faster and I was soon soaked to my bones along with my black and white hair plastered to my head and face. Great.
I set my chin against my knees and sat, waiting for death. Heels clicked down the muddy cobblestone alleyway I was hidden in. I didn't even look up as I saw expensive leather dress shoes pass into my line of sight. They stopped. They turned towards me. I craned my head up out of curiosity and was met with the image of a young man and a girl a little younger than me. The man was maybe in his late teens or early twenties. Red spiked hair was mostly hidden under a black fedora and black rimless sunglasses hid his eyes from me and a black wool overcoat was worn over a simple two piece black suit with a white shirt. The girl had eyes like amber and was dressed in a black dress with a black jacket over her with a bow in her ebony hair. For the first time, I realized the man was holding his umbrella over the two of us, letting the girl stand in the rain, and crouched down in front of me, no doubt getting his overcoat dirty from the muddy alleyway.
"Why are you here Little Wolf?" The man asked curiously.
My teeth chattered from the cold, something about this man was strange, dangerous and alluring in a way, "I'm alone."
"Why are you alone?" The man questioned as rain bombarded the umbrella causing that a sound that almost sounded like a heartbeat.
"Because everyone I love has been taken from me." I replied as I felt tears tug at my eyes.
"That's unfortunate little one. Tell me, was your mother or father a faunus? Or both?" The man asked.
The tears began to come, slowly at first hidden from the man by the rain, "My mother."
"What's your name?"
I let my tears flow freely and, somehow not letting my voice crack, said, "Saxon Fudo."
The man set a hand against my shoulder and smiled, "I'm Adam. Adam Taurus."
Adam's hand pulled away and took off his sunglasses, revealing emerald eyes, and stowed them in his coat before taking off his fedora, revealing two horns protruding from his head, and placing it on my head over my wolf ears, "Well Little Wolf, my sister and I have a warm bed and meal for you if you want."
I nervously pulled on the brim of the hat as I saw the little girls amber eyes lock with my gray ones before she smiled at me.
"Okay." I mumbled out.
/~/
I was probably the most deadly sixteen year old in Vale at this point. Shortly after Adam took me in, he showed me his work. He said he'd take care of me like he did Blake and when I was eighteen I could leave like normal eighteen year olds do...but at this point in my life...that's just not me. I got a new identity soon after confirming that i'd stay with the bull faunus and his feline sister. My new name was Saxon Lacroix Armonia, not much of a change but I didn't really want to change it too much. It was the only thing I really had that my parents had given me.
As Adam trained me I quickly learned something, I preferred a knife to a gun. Granted, I am aware that sometimes a gun and do things a blade simply can't but the won't stop me from trying. But I still learned the fundamentals of being a mercenary slowly. Guns, knives and explosives if I absolutely had to but last time I tried I nearly blew up Wilt and Blush.
My kill count is currently twenty-six. Adam says it's dumb to keep track, it'll just end up messing with my head but no matter how hard I tried...I couldn't stop keeping track. The majority of my kills were acting as Adam's second pair of eyes for Blake seeing as despite her I-don't-give-a-damn attitude she worries about Adam and I know for a fact she felt safer with me at his six.
I was relaxing in Adam's office on one of the couches this particular night, I had a blue and yellow Mistral Mariners cap partially on my head and partially over my eyes. Something i'd collected over the past four years is hats, lots of hats. Mostly just duck billed and fedoras but I had a view others that came out on particular situations, usually drunk bets with Blake and the guys. I could hear muffled sounds of Adam down in the bar, pouring and making drinks as the DJ played some trap and bass, getting the people dancing and drinking. The muffled sounds soon became crystal clear as the door to the office opened and Blake Belladonna sauntered in wearing a small black dress that left little to the imagination.
Blake gave me a small smile, clearly happy to be away from her temporary job as bartender for a moment, "So this is where you've been."
I took my cap off, letting my wolf ears twitch and breathe, "I literally sit up here all night Blake."
"Jace and Leo were asking where you are, some asshole turned tables one and two into a mosh pit and they need some help." My ears perked up at the mention of the black and red haired brothers, they'd recently been hired/taken in by Adam as general workers and looks like tonight the fox and lion were working security for Bruno, the bear faunus who ran security.
I got along with the brothers and they were my age, which was definitely a slight change from hanging out with a guy who was eight years older than me and a girl who was a year younger, so we quickly became friends and roommates seeing as how my payment for working as a general worker for Adam only paid so much and having two more people in an apartment who made the same as me made life easier.
I groaned, slightly annoyed that my night of doing nothing is about to turn into breaking up a mosh pit. I stood up and set my hat on the couch and pulled off my white hoodie, revealing a plain black V-neck to accompany my stonewashed blue jeans and sneakers. Blake gave me another smile, "Thanks Sax."
I smiled at the cat faunus before sauntering out of the office and standing on the small iron balcony, scanning the packed club below. Lights reflected off my single tattoo of the Eye of Horus on the back of my right hand. It was mostly a callback to my home country, Horus being the god of war and one of the few gods still prayed to, even if it was only by soldiers and police. I spotted the massive fight over by tables one and two with over thirty participants and saw the fox-eared Jace and the lion-tailed Leo trying to break up the fight along with Bruno, who was an easy six and a half feet with a brown buzz cut and wearing a black suit.
I quickly descended down to the club floor and pushed through the crowded dance floor towards the tables and as I broke through the line of dancers I spotted one of the moshers about to hit Jace in the back of the head with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels. I started to shout for my friend to turn around but Jace clearly was prepared, spinning around quickly and delivering one of the most solid right crosses across the mosher's face that i'd ever seen. The would be assailant dropped the bottle as he stumbled backwards and landed face first on the floor, it didn't even take me a second to realize that the guy was out cold.
I rushed into crowd, punching and shoving the clearly drunk fighters and within a few minutes of fighting the moshers who weren't knocked out cold were running out of the club, some of them with their tails literally between their legs. Crashing down onto one of the leather couches, I sighed tiredly, "That was over before they could say, 'Created by Joss Whedon.'"
"That joked sucked." Leo commented as he collapsed next to me along with his brother.
Jace tiredly reached onto the table and grabbed a half empty bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label and taking a swig.
"You are underage." Bruno commented with a thick Atlesian accent.
"And?" Jace asked as he passed the bottle to me and I took a gulp of the Scotch.
Bruno reached over and grabbed the bottle before taking a long gulp of the Scotch and then handing it to Leo who joined us all in drinking the expensive bottle of liquor. It's moments like this that make life nice, sitting with my friends and a large Atlesian man who shouldn't be encouraging underage drinking but is anyway...plus the drunk girls with implants trying to dance in tall heels was pretty funny.
/~/
"MY DICKS BIGGER THAN ADAM'S EGO!"
"MY DICKS BIGGER THAN THE PYROTECHNICS BUDGET ON A MICHAEL BAY FILM!"
"I...I can't trump that…" Leo said as his voice trailed off as the debate between him and Jace in our living room came to an end.
"Are you idiots done?" I asked seeing as we were thirty minutes late for work and neither of them were fully dressed.
"FUCK YOU SAXON I'M SO SICK OF YOUR WHITE KNIGHT FAGGOTRY!" Jace yelled, clearly trying not to laugh.
"Jace Aiden Crimisi!" I shouted.
"YOU AND YOUR MIRROR POLISHED WHITE KNIGHT COCK!" Leo joined in with his brother, shouting clearly trying not to laugh.
"Leo Theros Ignis!"
"What?!" The brothers shouted in unison.
"...You're both dicks." I mumbled as I stood up.
"Tell me something I don't know." Jace said, laughing as he pulled on his shirt.
I shoved fox faunus and laughed as he stumbled around with his shirt caught on watch and eventually fell onto our "U" shaped leather couch. Leo laughed as his brother struggled to pull on the red V-neck.
I smiled at my friends, it was weird how they just seemed to show up one day and then just never left. In the year and a half i've known them i've never gotten the full version of their past. All i've managed to father is that they were the adopted sons of a rich family and some dangerous people were gunning for this family and their parents had them run. Vague I know.
They were both quick studies when it came to learning their way around a gun from Adam like I did once. Jace was by far one of the best sharpshooters i've ever seen and Leo was as good of a close quarter killer as I was. Adam had said the three of us made a good team and I couldn't help but agree. He said we might end up going on a job together soon.
I waved to my two roommates as they continued to pull on clothes before leaving our apartment and walking to the parking lot where the love of my life was. Yeah sure my job as DJ of the club got me one night stands almost constantly even though I was seventeen but that didn't seem stop drunk girls from trying to tear off my pants, but my brand new Harley Davidson Shadow Rod Special was easily the most loved thing in my life. It was blacked out, had low-rise handlebars, fastback tail section, fat rear tire, a double-barrel exhaust and, a streamlined front end. For lack of a better way to explain my love for my bike, i'd fuck it if it was humanly possible.
Straddling the beast of a machine and sliding on my helmet, I started it and was soon driving towards the Lantern District. I was easily going twenty over the speed limit and splitting traffic like it was no one's business...but seeing how I took out someone's outside mirror with my handlebar, it kinda was their business. I took a turn extremely quickly and smiled as the bike began to fishtail before I got it back under control and cranked the throttle.
/~/
Pulling up behind Wilt and Blush I pulled off my helmet and was thankful that I hadn't been challenged to a children's card game and forced to play said card game on my motorcycle during my ride here. What the hell would that even be called? I walked into the staff only entrance, and after walking down a small hallway, I exited into the club on the right side of the bar. I could spot one of the bartenders taking stock of the booze and I saw Blake over at one of the tables doing homework. I approached the feline casually, "What's up kitty cat?"
Blake sighed deeply, "Why must you always call me that?"
"It brings me joy." I said as I sat next to her and crossed my legs.
Blake rolled her eyes, "I'm not surprised."
"Do I look weird when I sit like this?" I asked.
"Like what?"
"Like this," I said as I gestured to my crossed legs, "Do I look weird when I sit like this? I mean, I like sitting with my legs crossed but I can't help but feel like it makes me look feminine."
"You look fine Saxon," Blake said as she continued to work on a worksheet, "So how'd your night off go?"
"I rode my girlfriend all night long."
"WHAT?!"
"I'M DATING A MOTORCYCLE!"
"I've known you for five years and you still confuse me." Blake commented humorously.
"I'm in a healthy relationship with a beautiful thing."
"It's a machine."
"Your face is a machine."
"How mature of you Armonia." Blake said as she filled something on a multiple choice question.
"God knows if i'm not mature no one else in my apartment will." I grumbled as I leaned into the couch.
Blake deadpanned at me before grunting slightly. I looked over at my feline friend, "Something wrong Blake?"
"Not really i'm just in a little pain." Blake said with a voice filled with underlying tones of anger.
"What's got you hurting?" I asked before Blake gave me a deadpanned look. What? I just asked a simple question? What could possibly be hurting h-
Oh.
"Oh." I said realizing that it was that time of the month for Blake. She rolled her eyes at me before looking back to her homework. Yeah, love you too you little ball anger.
I held both my hands behind my head as Blake continued to work, after a while I stood and sauntered to my DJ station and opened the main laptop for the whole setup. I went on to a sampler site and bought about ten bucks worth of heavy bassline and some background beats, I spent my next couple minutes trying to put together a new track for tonight's crowd. The new track bumped from the laptop's speakers but something didn't feel right...I looked through an audio folder I labeled "Light Vocals" and scrolled through the folder before finally settling on a vocal that sounded like a few angelic voices singing. I integrated the vocals into the end of the track and played with the vocals themselves so it faded with the end of the song. Yeah that'd sound good.
I quickly ran an equipment check on everything and it was perfect as usual seeing as how anyone how fucks with ma things knows they'll get shot or worse. The staff door banged shut as Leo and Jace walked into the club, finally able to get their old shitty Toyota started, even though I constantly told them to scrap the piece of junk. It's not like Adam didn't pay them well, they both had been recently promoted like me and that meant a bigger paycheck. So it made no sense to me that they, A, had such a piece of junk, and B, shared a car in the first place seeing as how the both of them could probably afford a car for themselves.
Jace approached the DJ station and walked up the steps before standing next to me and looking at the soundboard and three laptops I had open, all displaying different things from status of equipment to my song lineup for tonight, "This is so fucking confusing."
"Half these buttons don't even do anything." I said jokingly as I opened YouTube on one of the laptops and started playing 17 feat. Packy by Cyrus.
"I love this song." Jace said offhandedly as Leo approached us.
"Wassup guys?" Leo asked as he stood with us on the elevated platform.
"Looking at Saxon's weird ass board." Jace said as he pressed a button on the soundboard causing the strobe lights throughout the club to turn on.
I glared at the fox faunus before turning off the strobe lights and Leo rolled his eyes, "Not as weird as when I tried laced pot on accident."
/~/
"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CHEETOS!?"
"Oh god it's happening again."
"Where are they Jace?!"
"I don't know Leo!"
"Okay, your choice."
"No not the good china-" Crashing sounds were heard through the apartment building.
"Gimme my Cheetos Jace. If I don't have them i'm going to die!"
"For the last time I don't have your Cheetos."
"Liar!" The sounds of Leo punching Jace were heard throughout our apartment.
"Ow my face!"
Leo punched Jace again.
"Ow my hair!"
"Gimme my Cheetos you son of a-"
"THAT'S IT!" The sound of Leo's body crumpling and falling to the floor with a thump occurred after Jace punched him straight in the jaw.
Jace breathed heavily for a moment, "Fucking stoner."
/~/
"That could have been a lot worse." I said simply.
Leo leaned against my station and nodded, "Apparently Sun came by earlier with the latest batch of phones. Those five brought in a lot this month."
"They should visit more often." I commented as I adjusted my song lineup.
"Yeah, I kinda like those jackasses." Jace said with a smile.
"You're just saying that cause last time we all partied together Neptune jumped onto the table, tore his shirt off and shouted, 'I'm Wolverine!'" I said with a smile on my face, remembering the night well.
"You just remember that cause you got into a three way that night." Leo said, smirking at my own accomplished.
I blushed lightly at the thought of that night, it was a dead tie for the greatest night of my life. But the reason I was embarrassed about it was because, unbeknownst to me, Leo and Jace went home before me and ended up recording the audio of my night in nirvana. Six hours worth. That they occasionally held over my head as blackmail. Yeah they're assholes but they're my assholes.
Jace smiled at my light red cheeks, "Nice to see you haven't forgotten what we have."
"Drink bleach."
"Nah, last time I did that it just gave me this weird red highlight." Jace said as he pulled on the red lock of hair, even though it was totally natural.
I love Jace and Leo, they were my homies. Hell if I loved them any more i'd probably be gay. But they were the biggest jackasses on Remnant half the time and that's me biting my tongue till it bleeds. I continued tweaking the song list till I was sure I had a good balance. Closing my laptops, I walked to the bar and hoisted myself onto one of the stools as I adjusted my fedora.
Jace vaulted the bar and was soon behind it, mixing drinks, and Leo sat on the barstool one over from me before reaching behind the bar and pulling out a notebook and pencil. Leo was an artist and I watched as he began sketching busts of me and Jace. Jace set a drink in front of me, "Try it out. Vincent came up with it last night."
I cocked my eyebrow at Jace at his mention of one of the other bartenders. I reached for the drink and took a sip.
And then immediately spit it out onto the floor behind me, "What the fuck was that supposed to be!? Bacardi and Windex!?"
Jace looked at me strangely before taking a sip of the drink, "It tastes okay to me."
Jace moved the drink to Leo and without looking up from his sketch, Leo took a sip of the drink. I could tell he was letting himself fully taste the drink, after thirty seconds, Leo calmly stood up and sauntered across the club to a trashcan, grabbed the edges of the trash can and began puking the most violently i'd ever seen.
"Guess it has a required taste." Jace said simply as he took another drink.
"Vincent should stay away from the bar for a while." I said, looking at Leo's abandoned notebook and pencil.
"Why? He's a good bartender." Jace said as he poured out the drink and washed the glass.
"Because Leo is over there puking like he just spent the past decade inside Matt Stone and Trey Parker's heads." I said exasperatedly as Leo continued to vomit.
"Leo is nowhere near as fucked up as he would be if that was true." Jace said with a hand in his hip.
I sighed tiredly, "Just- get ready okay? Club opens at five tonight so you have two hours till then."
Jace nodded and I soon found myself on one of Adam's couches and stared into space. A wave of fatigue took me order out of nowhere and I soon found it impossible to keep my eyes open. A nap wouldn't hurt right? They'll wake me up in time. My eyes closed soon and sleep took me.