Arc 2 – Journey
Chapter 7 – Presumption of guilt
The town of Yanagawa was in uproar.
The word spread like a wildfire. The local police force was too eager to show off their latest achievement; an arrest of collaborants of the feared terrorist organization called Red Talon who showed up in town, no doubt scouting out the place before launching another nefarious operation. Everybody hated the Talon, especially after all the info about their genocidal campaign in Vale came to light, and the Faunus weren't well-liked either, so nobody was inclined to question the validity of the news.
Any failure of the Talon, no matter how insignificant, was a cause for a celebration. Nobody cared about the little details... such as why the faces of the suspects were never revealed, how was it that the response of the police was so quick and successful, or why only one single officer led the operation.
And in the interest of appeasing the populace, it was never mentioned that one of the 'collaborants' had successfully evaded capture.
His lungs burned. His ears were ringing. Every muscle in his legs was screaming for relief.
But Nicolaus didn't stop. He couldn't afford to stop, not with bunch of armored policemen on his tail.
Ever since he managed to escape being trapped in a house filled with sleeping gas, thanks to Tanya's help, he ran. His escape didn't go unnoticed and the strike team sent a couple of their goons to deal with him. Nicolaus could easily outrun them... so they tried to incapacitate him with gunfire.
His mind was reeling even as the bullets whizzed past him. Why put so much effort into putting them behind bars... or worse? Why was he and his friends even being accused of something so... ludicrous? The rest of the world must've known about his team's exploits in both holding back White Fang saboteurs who tried to disrupt Unity's rally, or defending Vale City during the breach – both of those, in fact. What was the point of accusing them for a crime they didn't commit in the first place, even after all their efforts in combating the Fang?
Something simply didn't add up here.
The first clue were the two stalkers that followed them around the town. It was clear they were police's informants... and somehow they knew his team would turn up in Yanagawa.
Nicolaus was starting to think this was less of an error in police's judgment and more of a deliberate attempt to take them out of the picture. But why?
That was the burning question... and he swore he'd get to the bottom of this. He owed his friends that much, he owed his leader that much. What was happening to them while he was on the run from whatever passed as 'the law' in this strange case?
Whatever was going on here, he would get them out of this... but there was no way he could do this alone, not with the very-likely-crooked cops searching the town up-and-down for him. He needed help... and Albain had to be warned.
The thundering of gunshots grew more distant... but Nicolaus didn't stop until he was sure he lost his pursuers for good. By that time, he was on the outskirts of Yanagawa, where the built-up area was giving way to the wild rainforest.
The fox Faunus collapsed to his knees and gave his tired muscles a bit of rest, panting with exertion. As he looked around, he realized he ended up in the wholly unfamiliar part of the town. A minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things; it sure did beat being shot dead by those lunatics.
In the distance, police sirens began wailing again.
This was the cue to leave.
Forcing his exhausted body to stand up once more, Nicolaus disappeared into the woods.
Waking up from the sleeping gas attack felt awful; burning throat, stinging in the eyes and almost nauseating headache.
Is that what being drugged feels like?
The cold hard floor sure didn't help in the least... but Tanya realized very soon it was the least of her worries.
First off, she couldn't see a damn thing once she opened her eyes. For a moment, she thought that whatever shit those bastards pumped into that deathtrap of a house rendered her blind. Fortunately, it was 'just' a blindfold as given away by the light pressure on the eyes. That was about the only piece of good news, however.
Her captors went out of their way to make sure she was no threat. Her hands were secured behind her back by a pair of rigid handcuffs; the same went for her legs which were cuffed at the ankles... which would be impossible to do without removing the braces first. And as if that weren't enough, the cuffs on her hands and ankles were secured together by a chain, which left her in a hog-tied position. The final insult was the gag in her mouth and a tight collar around her neck, an Aura suppressor, most likely. Tanya couldn't see them but could definitely feel them.
This feels like an intro to a really bad dungeon porn flick...
The fencer was amazed she could make jokes in a situation that was far from laughable. She was completely defenseless; if her captors decided to 'do things' to her, she wouldn't be able to stop them. Hell, thanks to the damn blindfold she couldn't even see if she were alone in... wherever the hell those bastards dumped her.
Where was the rest of her team, anyway?
The thought of her friends who most certainly ended up in the same unenviable position spurred her to struggle against her restraints. It was completely useless, of course... but that didn't deter her.
She ceased her efforts once she heard muffled voices approaching. Two guys engaged in a conversation; Tanya decided to play unconscious hoping to get some information from the chat.
"...is too busy to deal with this yet, talkin' to the press and all. For now, we'll get to play babysitters until the boss gets back."
"Yeah, but why am I here? This case falls to your department; I have nothing to do with this!"
"Tough luck then, 'cause I'm in charge around here while the boss is away so when I tell you to do shit you bet your ass you're gonna do as I say, got it?"
"Okay okay, I get it! Now calm down before you burst a vessel or somethin'..."
"Great, glad we understand each other, rookie."
The footsteps stopped; very close, a couple paces away at most.
"Now, let's get down to business." The bossy one said. "You see the bitch in the cell?"
Good thing those two knuckleheads weren't Faunus, otherwise they'd hear her grinding her teeth in rage.
"What about-" The meek one paused abruptly. "Wait a moment... isn't that one of those kids from Beacon that kicked the Fang's asses during that rally in Vale City?"
Of course it's me, you dumb fuck, Tanya wanted to scream... if she could, that is. She needed them to believe she was still unconscious.
"Hell if I know." The bossy one grunted. "If she really is, though... now, wouldn't that be funny. You see, she and that team of hers were workin' with the Talon."
"What?! How is it-"
"Don't know how that happened and frankly, I don't give a shit. If they're buddies with a bunch of fuckin' terrorists, they deserve whatever's comin' their way."
"You said team, right? Where's the rest of them?"
"Two others are here in the building; we keep them separate so they can't plot. The fourth, a filthy Faunus bastard, managed to get away; our boys are scourin' the town to find the slippery bugger. Frankly, if they shot him dead I wouldn't lose any sleep over it... but the boss wants him alive, for whatever reason."
So he did get away, after all. Tanya couldn't feel more relieved.
"A public trial, maybe?"
The bossy one scoffed at the idea. "Are you shittin' me? Talon shouldn't be gettin' more publicity than they already have! Besides, it's already proven those shitheads worked with them; the town council will decide what happens to them. It's gonna be either lifetime in a cell... or a noose, depending on if we can get the names of other collaborants out of 'em."
For a moment, Tanya almost couldn't breathe. What the hell did we do to deserve this?!
"Holy shit... I can't believe this. Are you sure they're really involved with Talon? What kind of evidence is there, anyway?"
"I dunno... and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
This kind of evasive answer proved it. There was something fishy going on... and this arrogant bastard was a part of it. She'd bet an arm and a leg on this.
"Look, you owe me some answers since you dragged me into this! What if your 'evidence' is wrong? We're gonna have an international scandal on our hands because collaborators or not, those guys are citizens of Vale; if their government learned-"
"Their government is too busy cleanin' up in Vale City to care 'bout a bunch of damn teens." The frustration was audible in the man's voice. He was probably close to snapping, especially when the 'meek one' wouldn't shut up.
"We really gonna send them to the death row even if we might not have enough evidence ag-"
A thud interrupted his speech. The telltale gasp of pain meant that the self-proclaimed boss hit the junior coworker.
"Allow me to give you a very useful piece of advice, rookie." The man practically snarled. "You shouldn't be goin' around pokin' your nose into affairs that ain't fuckin' yours to begin with; not if you want to keep the damn job! You feel me?"
"F-fine, I get it, okay? Now let me go, for fuck's sake!" There was another thud as the assaulted cop fell flat on his ass after his aggressive colleague let go of him.
The guy certainly didn't hesitate to throw his weight around. Almost beating up a fellow cop for asking too many questions... Tanya was almost certain this one was crooked. How many others could've been involved in this scheme?
"Glad we finally understand each other. Now, why won't ya go and do somethin' useful... like makin' sure our prisoner won't escape!"
"How could she? With that amount of restrains you put on her?"
The 'dirty cop' groaned audibly. "Do I look like a goddamn seer to you? Use your brain and think, dumbass; do you know why they send other Hunters after rogue Hunters instead of cops like us? 'Cause those assholes are way above our league; fuck, even kids from them combat schools can easily take out a squad of cops! We got so fuckin' lucky to catch this chick here and her buddies... Look, I'm sayin' those kids are resourceful as fuck; who knows what they can think of when not under constant watch!"
"Uh..."
"Or you know what? You can sit around with your thumbs up your ass and do fuck-all... but if that bitch somehow gets outta here I'm holdin' you responsible, and gettin' fired's gonna be the least of your worries!"
Having finished his tirade, the man stormed away, leaving the rookie as the only other person in the room.
"... What the hell did I get myself into?"
Tanya could've asked herself the same question...
There was no time for sitting around and waiting for a rescue that might never come. Whoever had them kidnapped (because this was definitely no lawful arrest) planned to make sure she and her team would never be a threat, one way or another. She had to find her friends, then hunt down whoever was responsible for this dirty scheme... and make them pay.
But first, she had to get out of this cell.
It took nearly an hour of blundering around the woods to find the place where Albain's gang set up camp... and during that, Nicolaus kept glancing around almost at every step, expecting to be jumped by a group of goons with a net. Whoever sent the police squad really did want his team gone, whether behind behind the bars or in the ground, and he didn't want to risk leading his pursuers right to the rest of their company. Everything seemed to indicate he managed to lose the cops completely.
The bastards wouldn't track him here.
His arrival didn't go unnoticed; sitting near the campfire, Albain raised his head the moment Nicolaus emerged out of the dark woods. His content smile faded instantly once he saw the young hunter-in-training turned up alone.
"Where are your comrades?" Judging by the strange edge to his voice, the former Fang emmisary suspected something.
Nicolaus said the first thing that came to his mind; no point in carefully picking words.
"We're fucked. Someone's trying to take us down and they're using the local police to do it."
Albain frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Nicolaus let out a shuddering breath. "Listen, we've had a couple guys tailing us shortly after we entered the town; we thought they might've been Talon spies so we tried to lure them into a trap and beat some info out of them. But when we finally got the chance to spring the trap... the cops showed up; a fully armored strike unit, two vans of 'em. Turns out those two spies kept feeding them info about our whereabouts the whole time; that's why they found us so fast."
"I see." Albain intoned. "And I assume their intentions were less than friendly?"
"They pulled guns on us and accused us of collaborating with terrorists." Nicolaus replied bluntly. "I don't know where they got that from but they were dead serious about it. Tan tried to explain to them it wasn't true but they wouldn't listen. So we tried to run but ended up trapped in a derelict house. And then the cops pumped it full of sleeping gas because they had us boxed in. Tan somehow managed to find a way out and made sure I'd escape and... she went down with the rest."
The people who overheard the tense conversation shared uneasy glances. Blake had terror written all over her face.
"Damn, this complicates things a great deal." Albain muttered. Understatement of the year, the fox Faunus thought. "I don't suppose you'd know where your comrades are being held?"
"Well, I don't," Nicolaus admitted. "But the police station would definitely be the first place I'd check out. And if I don't find them there, the records in the database might have the info on where they are now."
"Unless it was an operation that was never approved by the leadership." Albain pointed out. "I think the Talon is the most obvious culprit here... though I have no idea how they'd know we'd pass through here, or how they'd get the police involved. Information doesn't spread that fast these days, with the CCT still not fully operational."
That was actually a very good question. There weren't many good roads in this part of the Kingdom so unless the Talon had their own means of quick transportation across the land there was hardly a chance they could not only spread the info so quickly but also come up with a response. True, his team discovered a stolen Bullhead in one of Talon's bases during one of their missions but there was no denying the Talon had better position and support in the Kingdom of Vale. Mistral, on the other hand... Once the word of the disaster in Vale City reached them, the Mistral authorities approved a hard crackdown on Talon and everyone associated with them. Even Khan's White Fang had to restrict its actions in order to avoid further repercussions against Faunus kind... which might as well have further weakened its standing and given the Talon a better starting point to launch their 'Revolution' in Mistral.
The point still stood, though. Talon was hardly capable of spreading information so quickly... yet it still didn't explain the swift 'police action' in Yanagawa. Who else could've had a stake in stopping them from ever reaching Mistral city?
Another of Cinder Fall's ploys, perhaps...?
"I don't know how those bastards learned we'd pass through here... if they're involved to begin with. But we gotta go out and rescue my friends!" Nicolaus insisted. "Those cops might already know you and your people are traveling with us, Albain; who knows how far they're willing to go to get the info on your whereabouts... but I sure as hell don't plan on waiting around to find out!"
"Damn right! Wherever they are, we're getting them out!" Blake exclaimed and jumped on her feet to the best of her ability. "I'm coming with you!"
Not a damn chance, Nicolaus scowled. Just seeing her wobbly stance was enough of a proof that in her current state, Blake would be more of a hindrance than help.
Albain shared his opinion. "That is out of the question, Belladonna! You're still in recovery and as long as I'm around you're not going anywhere!"
Blake sat back down, deflated. "So what are we gonna do, then? Sit on our asses and hope for a miracle?"
The answer came from the last person anyone would expect.
Ilia Amitola stepped out of the crowd. "I'll go. I can blend in with the crowd with no one being any wiser and nobody can see me if I don't want to be seen. Out of everyone in here, I'm the one best suited for this operation."
For a good couple seconds, Nicolaus was rendered speechless. For as long as he'd known the girl, she always seemed to stuck with Albain's group and keeping her distance from the Beacon gang, with Blake being the obvious exception. And now she was volunteering to save a bunch of humans she couldn't have been bothered to speak a couple words to?
Were it any other situation, he would've questioned her decision... but right now, he needed help. It didn't matter who from.
"Uh... thanks." There wasn't really much else he could say.
Blake scoffed. "Is that all, really? Nobody else is gonna step up and help? Are you guys still so damn wound up about them being humans? We're supposed to be better than this!"
A few individuals actually looked ashamed at her remark.
Albain shook his head in disapproval. "Don't be silly, child; breaking a couple people out of jail should never involve an army. Stealthy and inconspicuous, that's what we need to be. A blatant, flashy display of power will only make things worse for us. Don't forget, whoever abducted our human comrades might be after us, too."
Nicolaus couldn't agree more.
"That settles it. We're setting out now; we either return with my teammates... or not at all."
Albain smiled ruefully. "I'm aware you survived impossible odds but do not tempt fate. Godspeed; we'll be waiting."
Nicolaus gave a curt nod in response and then retreated into the woods alongside Ilia, both of them seemingly vanishing into thin air.
It felt like years had passed since the cops knocked them out with the sleeping gas. Now that Roland finally felt his consciousness returning to him and struggled to open his eyes, the world before him was one big featureless blur.
Damn... How long was I out?
Even his thoughts were slow.
Yet even in his half-drugged state it was impossible to miss the unpleasant weight of handcuffs on his wrists. And as if that weren't enough, there was some kind of collar around his neck... and it wasn't difficult to figure out why they slapped it on him.
Aura suppressor… Shit.
He should've expected nothing less, though. Those cops sure weren't dumb; they must've known who they were dealing with and made all the precautions.
Of course, nobody could've accounted for his cybernetic arm... or enhanced strength, thank to Dr. Polendina's augmentations. Whoever put him in the cell never bothered to take off his gloves and behold the surprise beneath them. How sloppy... He could've broken out of the cuffs on his wrists; but there was no point in using this trick when he was yet to escape his cell. There was no way he could muscle his way through those thick bars in front of him.
Judging by the heavy silence, there seemed to be nobody around. Still, Roland lifted his head to look around and made sure... only to put it back down as slamming door and heavy footsteps rang out nearby.
The sharpshooter went back to feigning unconsciousness, listening in on the conversation between the visitors, whoever they were.
"... the sleeping drugs are gonna wear off soon so we gotta move the guy and secure him properly before we can begin the interrogation."
"Yeah, I know. Believe it or not, this ain't my first time doing this."
"And here you are, acting like a goddamn amateur. I bet you didn't even search that pirate-wannabe chick before dumping her in the cell, did you?"
So Tan is here, too...?
"I did search her! Hell, I took every damn thing I found that could be used as a weapon, even those stupid leg braces of hers!"
"Yeah... but did you look everywhere?"
"Oh come on, I did everything I could without performing a full-on strip search, which nobody ordered me to do, by the way! Besides, it's not like she might be hiding a shank up her cunt... or ass."
Roland almost choked on his own breath at that. Thankfully nobody noticed.
"Whatever, man; your problem if this comes back to bite us." The door to the cell squeaked softly as they opened. "Now help me get this guy out; the fat fuck is heavier than he looks."
Why, you motherfucker...
"Wait! H-how can you be so sure the guy's still out cold? I mean, even with the handcuffs and shit, he could still be dangerous if he woke up too early-"
"Hey, watch this." The speaker approached until he stood just a pace or two away.
Roland still feigned unconscious, praying that his ruse worked and wondering at the same time what his captor was about to do.
Nothing in the world could've prepared him for having a heavy boot rammed into his stomach. It was no gentle nudge, either; it was a full-on kick in the ribs that would make a grown man double over in pain... and Roland couldn't show even the tiniest of reactions.
The cops needed to believe he was still out cold so they would drag him out of his cell. Once that part of the plan was accomplished... all he needed to do was wait for a suitable time and place to strike.
A second passed, then another... all while he did everything in his power not to move a muscle or make a sound despite agonizing pain coursing through his bruised side.
Oh please buy it, please buy it...
"See? Still out like a light."
Oh thank God...
"Now quit bitching and help me carry him."
Roland found himself being lifted by his shoulders... and almost failed to bite back a smirk as the cops dragged him out of the cell, audibly grunting with exertion.
"Damn... what they were feeding him when he was a kid?!"
"Hell if I know; let's just move quickly so we can dump his fat ass in the interrogation room."
Yeah, hurry up so I get to kick your faces in already!
"If this one's trouble already, what about the other two?!"
"You saw the chick with sabers, she has some kinda crazy telekinetic Semblance, from what I heard. And if you complain about this guy's weight, then wait to see the other one we picked up; a real brick shithouse, that one. Crazy strong too; our boys had to pump him with a triple dose of sedatives to finally knock him out."
"Holy shit... wouldn't that kill him, though?"
"A normal guy? Sure... but those kids from them combat school ain't exactly normal, you know. And I'm tellin' you right now, if you saw that big bastard... you'd understand just why we want him to stay down as long as possible."
The longer he listened to this banter the more Roland understood that those chumps bit off more than they could chew. True, with the right preparation and equipment the cops had a chance at arresting 'normal' hunters in training like Tanya and Nicolaus. On the other hand though, himself and Emery were abnormalities and nothing could've prepared them for that. About the only reason he and his friends ended up in the brig was that none of them expected to have men of law as enemies, for seemingly no reason at all. He knew better than to believe that, however.
There must've been some kind of secret agenda behind the unlawful arrest and ridiculous accusation. He would get to the bottom of this, once he got his team out of here, of course.
Shortly, the police escort arrived to their destination, all while the sharpshooter faked unconsciousness. Luckily for him, they didn't suspect something was amiss.
One of the cops grabbed the doorhandle, cursing under his breath when the door wouldn't budge. "Okay, hold the guy up while I unlock the door." He said and promptly released his hold on the captive.
In the next moment Roland found himself dropped unceremoniously on the cold floor as the other cop couldn't keep his hold on him. At least he ended up on his back so the cops couldn't see him straining against the cuffs.
"Shit..."
His colleague snorted in disgust. "You had one job, you fuckin' donkey. Grab him!"
"Okay, I'm sorry, alright? Jeez..."
The 'donkey' bent down to pick him up... and in that precise moment, Roland could feel the cuff on his cybernetic arm give away.
It was now or never...
The cop howled in pain as a boot suddenly rammed straight into his family jewels.
Alarmed by the sudden twist of events, his colleague immediately reached for his sidearm. Spinning on the floor, Roland quickly swept his legs out from under him.
The cop fell hard, banging the back of his head on the floor. If that didn't knock him out, the kick in his face surely did the job.
Roland quickly got to his feet, pulling his right hand out of the now broken handcuffs. The other half still remained stuck on his left wrist but that was but a minor annoyance.
The other cop hadn't recovered from his agony yet but the sharpshooter wasn't about to take any chances.
One punch later, he joined his buddy on the floor.
Roland took both their guns and restrained them with their own handcuffs, both for the laughs and to keep them from coming after him later.
Hopefully nobody else heard the racket.
This part of the plan went without the hitch. Now to get rid of the nullifying collar... Escaping the police station would've been much easier with working Aura. No idea where he'd get the key to unlock the damned thing... and he sure as hell didn't intend to waste time finding it.
Grabbing the collar with both hands, he pulled with all his might, trying to rip the bothersome device in half. It took a couple attempts but finally the collar came apart.
Damn, I really should thank old Polendina next time I see him...
He could feel a rush of power surge through his body as his Aura was no longer bound by the suppressor. It felt good, not having to worry about getting wounded by every stray bullet that came his way.
Okay, now I gotta find the rest of the gang, Roland thought as he began creeping along the walls, armed with a pistol he picked off one of the cops.
And our weapons, too.
As far as he could remember, it was in the evening when the police nabbed them. He guessed it could've been a couple hours past midnight, or early morning; there was no way he could've been out longer than that... or he hoped so, at least.
Breaking out of here at broad daylight would be a lot more challenging...
All he could hear as he stalked down the hallways of the seemingly vacant police station was his own footsteps. Was there even anyone around here? Anyone besides the two chumps who were enjoying a well-deserved dirt-nap? Usually fewer people worked the night shifts and if the same were true for policemen, then he had better chances of escaping without anyone finding him.
If he didn't lost on the way, that is. The police station seemed a little too big for a frontier town like this.
There must be other cells than the one I was in. If there were any signs or something around here-
A noise broke his train of thought. Heavy boots tapping against the floor.
Someone was coming from a side corridor.
Roland immediately pressed against a wall right at the crossing, waiting for whoever was nearby to make his appearance... or go away.
No such luck, though; the footsteps grew closer.
The gunman shook his head. This was useless; there were precious little things around to use as a cover so he was bound to get noticed. And then the entire damn station would be after him.
Unless...
Very carefully he fished one of the pistol magazines out of his pocket and tossed it very quickly at the other end of the crossing. Hopefully they wouldn't see where the object came from.
"Huh?"
The voice sounded familiar though Roland couldn't quite place it. But more importantly whoever it was, they took the bait, immediately stalking towards the source of the noise.
Roland clenched his left hand and drew it back, ready to strike the moment the intruder appeared. The 'left hand' being a very important detail as a blow with his right-cybernetic-hand would've likely been fatal. While Roland was still pissed about his current predicament, he wasn't planning on going on a killing spree.
A figure suddenly emerged from behind the corner. A man, clad in a recognizeable plain police dress uniform. A completely unremarkable run-of-the-mill cop... except for the distinct stripes on his shoulders.
More importantly, the poor bastard had no idea he wasn't alone.
Roland made a single step forward and swung his left fist right at the cop's head, putting all his strength into the blow
The unlucky bastard never saw it coming. It connected with the back of his head and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Roland immediately crouched to the downed cop to relieve him of his gun and all the ammo. He turned him on his back to get better access to his pocket... and paused for a moment as he recognized him as one of the informants that followed his team around the town.
Thanks to this guy, they all got treated like common criminals, thrown behind the bars because someone said they worked for Talon... and now he got himself tricked and knocked out like a complete noob.
Yep... karma is a bitch.
As with his previous victims, the rifleman cuffed the spy's hands behind his back... and tied his shoelaces together using the most complicated knot he could think of.
"Hope that promotion was worth it, asshole."
He was about to stand up and be on his merry way but muffled noises coming from further down the hallway captured his attention.
At least two voices screaming over each other, interrupted by occasional thumping.
Roland was tempted to simply turned around and keep going... but a gut feeling told him he'd better investigate.
"Damn it..." He whispered to himself as he began following the racket. "This better be worth it..."
There were multiple doors lining the corridor... and the noises seemed to come from the very end of it. As he drew closer, Roland could recognize two voices; male and female.
Could it be...
That lone thought kept him going.
The door at the very end of the corridor led into a small darkened room, sparsely furnished with an large plain table, some chairs and a couple file cabinets. One side of the room had a large glass window in it, with another room just beyond, though he couldn't see inside from his current position at the door.
He must've been really close for the noises became that much louder.
A thud sounded, followed by a distinctly feminine yelp.
"You ready to start talking now or do I have to keep disciplining you?!
"My crippled grandma hits harder than you!"
Roland tightened his grip on the pistol; he'd recognize that voice anywhere. He crept towards the door next to the window, careful not to be seen. He could see outlines of two men pacing around in the room beyond the glass.
If these guys are supposed to uphold law and order around here, then this town is truly fucked...
"A couple months at a combat school and you already think you're some hot shit, don't you?"
"Oh that's rich coming from a goon who thinks he can do whatever and get away with it just 'cause he has a gun and a badge!"
*SLAP*
"You watch your mouth, bitch; I ain't gonna take this shit from a brat who kills monsters just for kicks and nothin' else! The only goddamn thing I wanna hear from you now is your full confession... and where the rest of you fuckers are hiding at!"
"Or what?" Tanya spat out. "You gonna kill me?"
"Keep fucking with me and you'll find out!" The interrogator snarled.
"I bet you wouldn't act so tough if I were out of those damn cuffs-"
Next to come was a screech of a table scraping against the floor and a soft gasp.
Fuck it, I've had enough!
"Shut yer fucking trap, you cunt, or I'll-"
Whatever threat the goon was about to voice was interrupted by the door being slammed open.
"You'll do what?"
The duo of cops in the room were very surprised to see Roland barge inside with a pistol aimed at their heads.
"What the hell?!" One of them spluttered in shock; the rifleman instantly recognized him by his voice as the one to do all the screaming. "How did you get outta yer cell, you mo-"
"Shut up, meathead." Roland snapped and risked a glance at his team leader.
Tanya looked like hell.
The 'interrogation' left her with a massive black eye, multiple cuts and bruises in her face and a busted lip. Despite her current state, she smirked, baring teeth covered in blood.
"... You guys are so fucked."
The goon scowled furiosly. "One more word and Oum help me-"
"Yes, 'Oum help you' indeed 'cause I've half the mind to blow your fucking head off right now!" Roland barked out. "And the other half agrees wholeheartedly, just so you know. Now, I want your guns on the floor; the handcuffs, too."
The cops clearly didn't take too kindly to being threatened but there was hardly anything they could do about it while being held at gunpoint.
The loud-mouthed goon, however – and Roland was pretty damn sure he was the one to beat Tanya during the interrogatino – that guy had other ideas.
His hand went lightning-fast to the holster on his hip containing a pistol. He hoped to catch Roland by surprise... but the gunman saw it coming from leagues away.
With the help of his Semblance, he aimed at the cop's hand and pulled the trigger.
The bullet grazed the cop's wrist and forced him to drop the gun. In the next moment, Roland was suddenly in his personal space, grabbing his head and slamming it face-first into the table.
The guy was already unconscious as his head met the steel desk for the third time.
His colleague watched the scene with wide eyes; having lost his courage after such display he immediately dropped his gun and his handcuffs to the floor. Roland knocked him out regardless; the moment he and his friends set foot outside the police station they'd be hounded by every cop in town. Better thin their numbers now.
"Which one of them has the key?" The rifleman asked, noticing his team leader still being restrained by handcuffs.
"I don't know; they didn't even take the cuffs off while I was in the cell!"
That's just great, Roland huffed. "Looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way."
Thankfully, taking someone else's handcuffs off proved a lot easier then getting out of restraints himself.
Tanya sighed in relief as she began rubbing her hands, enjoying her regained freedom of movement. "Finally... now if we could get the damn collar off, that would be great."
"You have but to ask." Roland smirked.
A while later, a broken Aura suppresor clattered on the floor. Once again, Roland reminded himself to give proper thanks to Dr. Polendina... and Dracul, in a way. Without augmentations and the cybernetic arm, he'd still be stuck in cuffs at the mercy of his captors.
"We can't go anywhere just yet," Tanya reminded him while he was busy cuffing the unconscious cops together. "Those bastards stole my- our guns; we'd be sitting ducks without them."
Only now, when she stood at full height, Roland noticed his team leader was barefoot.
"They took your boots, too?"
"They figured I could use them as weapons so they 'confiscated' them along with my sabers." Tanya grimaced. "I mean, kicking people with those things on hurts like hell." Of course, these 'boots' doubled as leg braces – for medical reasons – and looked kind of like armor pieces.
"I guess they'd keep our weapons in the same place as other 'contraband'; they better be 'cause I don't feel like-"
Suddenly he was interrupted by a roar of a siren.
"Shit!" Tanya cursed. "We need to move now!"
The two of them burst out of the interrogation room, as if flames were licking at their heels.
"You didn't see Emery somewhere around here, did you?" Roland questioned as her ran alongside his team leader.
"I had a blindfold the entire time before they dragged me off to the interrogation," She snapped back. "I literally couldn't see a goddamned thing!"
"Fuck... let's search other cells; we ain't gonna leave without him!"
"I second that... but let's get our weapons first; the cops ain't gonna stand back and watch while we waltz around their place!"
That would be too much to ask, indeed...
It was difficult to navigate through the police station's layout, especially when there were multiple separate cell blocks, twisting corridors and no boards with directions or room designations of any kind. Whoever designed this place seriously needed to grow some brains.
The entire time they ran, the alarm siren kept blaring full-blast until their heads started hurting. Strangely enough, soon after ascending the stairs and entering what appeared to be a ground floor, they came across knocked out cops.
Roland frowned. "That wasn't me."
Tanya gave him a look. "You didn't kill anyone, I hope?"
"You really have to ask? I don't wanna give those chumps more of a reason to hound us!"
Suddenly a hulking figure burst out from behind a corner of a darkened hallway.
Startled by their abrupt appearance, Roland instantly aimed the pistol on the intruder, prepared to shoot... until his brain caught up with the rest of his body and he realized he'd almost shot his teammate.
Aside from a few bruises, Emery looked pretty well... and he carried an armful of weapons and other equipment.
Their equipment, in fact.
"Holy shit," Roland breathed out, lowering his weapon. "Damn if you ain't a sight for sore eyes, big guy."
"Same here," Emery grinned in response. "Thanks for not shooting me, by the way. My wounds may heal almost instantly but they still hurt, you know."
"Hey, after everything that's happened to us today, you can't blame me for being a bit jumpy."
"I guess so," The 'big guy' shrugged. "Listen, after breaking out I stumbled across the room where they kept our stuff. I took everything I could carry but had to left some of it behind."
"Great!" Tanya exclaimed. "We'll just take it back and get outta here!"
"Wait a moment," Roland interjected. " Shouldn't we look for something around here that could prove we were framed?" Otherwise they'd risk becoming fugitives in all of Mistral.
"We'll get our proof, but not now." The fencer decided. "We're gonna have every cop in Yanagawa on our asses very soon which ain't gonna end well for any of us; our best bet is to retreat back to the woods and plan our next move from there. How's that?"
"I can get behind that," Emery nodded. "I guess the only reason we managed to break out is 'cause the cops underestimated us. They won't make the same mistake twice if we get caught again."
"Okay, so what the hell are we standing around here for?" Roland spoke up. "Let's grab our stuff and get the hell outta here!"
Revenge could wait... for a while, anyway.
Ruby Rose found herself hard-pressed to stay out of the way of the wicked wrist-blades that kept swinging at her.
This was supposed to be easy! She thought in dismay. It was six of them against a single guy... however this single guy turned out to be ridiculously overpowered, easily keeping all of them at bay and then some.
It didn't matter whom he faced; Pyrrha the invincible Iron Maiden, the master strategist Jaune, Yang the flaming berserker, the tandem of Nora and Ren, or herself, taught by one of the most lethal Huntsmen in existence... it never seemed enough to bring their opponent down as he could somehow counter everything they could throw at him. Not even Ruby's trick with hitting Nora with a Lightning Dust round to 'amp her up' didn't work as intended; instead, the stranger used a scorpion tail to block what should've been a devastating blow by Nora's hammer, effectively outing himself as a Faunus.
As if there weren't enough nasty surprises already...
And it wasn't just not being able to defeat him... it was the stranger's attitude to combat. Ruby would've rather been threatened, insulted, yelled at... anything but the deranged, borderline psychotic grin on her assailant's face.
It sent shivers down her spine.
"What is this about?" She screamed as she barely blocked another attack coming her way. "Torchwick? White Fang?"
The stranger barked a laugh. "Hah! Nothing but pawns and traitors, that lot! My heart and body belong only to our goddess!"
Goddess... What the heck does that mean?
"Cinder?" Ruby guessed, only for the scorpion Faunus to laugh in her face.
"Only in her wildest dreams!"
This short exchange confused her more than ever.
The attacker was back on the offensive, though, using his tail to bring her scythe down. Ruby managed to keep a firm grip on it, if only barely. She then launched into a series of quick slashes which her opponent met with own attacks. The two of them exchanged blows for a solid couple seconds, parrying and dodging... until the scorpion managed to find an opening and kicked Ruby away.
She stumbled several steps backwards from the blow, nearly losing her weapon in the process.
It was Jaune's quick intervention that saved her from being skewered by the lunatic's stinger.
True, Jaune was hardly a match for the experienced and very dangerous warrior the scorpion Faunus was and lasted only a couple seconds before the assailant beat him back. Yet that short delay was enough for Ruby to recover... and for the scorpion Faunus to be swarmed.
The demented grin on his face faded as he found himself under attack from five sides at once... or six, when Ruby jumped back into the fray moments later.
To his credit, he recovered quickly after receiving the first couple major hits, doing his damnedest to block or dodge all the attacks coming his way while looking for an opening in the seemingly impenetrable wall of human bodies.
The Hunters-in-training didn't intend to make things easier for him, most of all Yang who kept coming after him like a warhound taken by bloodlust, with an enraged snarl on her face. True, her fighting style might've been laughably simple in his view, restricted to simply showering him with punches, it was her annoying ability to absorb his attacks like a sponge with little effect on her.
Rolling under Ren's kick, the scorpion maneuvered around Yang a prepared to strike at her back when a blur of red and black flashed right in front of his face.
"Not a chance, you monster!"
Ruby knew she'd just regained the attention of her would-be kidnapper but she couldn't allow him to hurt her sister... or anyone else, for that matter.
The scorpion Faunus found himself pushed back into defensive as the Beacon students descended on him once again.
Unbeknownst to them, however, a wicked idea formed in his mind.
Just like that, the eerily familiar ill-boding smirk was back.
He abandoned all attempts to defend himself. Almost instantly, blows began impacting directly against his body, taking a sizable chunk of his Aura within seconds... but in his mind, the end result would be worth it.
He took a step towards Ruby, ignoring a slash squarely across his chest from her scythe... and his hand suddenly shot forward, enclosing tightly around her neck.
Next thing she knew, in a display of extraordinary strength, the scorpion Faunus pivoted around and threw her directly into the path of Nora's hammer as it was moments away from striking her assailant.
Her world exploded in a wave of pain and she soared through the air several paces away before landing hard in the dirt.
Her Crescent Rose ended up embedded in the ground well outside her reach.
Groaning in pain, she lifted her head; her rattled body responded very unwillingly to her command.
Even at the distance she could hear her sister roar in unbridled fury.
"YOU'RE DEAD, YOU SORRY PIECE OF SHIT!"
Nora kneeled on the ground, her hammer dangling in her limp grip, as if unable to grasp what just happened, with Ren standing beside her and trying to rouse her from her shell-shocked state.
That left only three of her friends fighting the mysterious attacker, with Yang leading the charge. Unfortunately, that enabled the scorpion Faunus to take control of the battle.
Jaune attempted to stab at his seemingly exposed side yet the stranger instantly turned the tables on him, stopping the sword with the blades on one wrist and using his free hand to twist Jaune's arm behind his back, then kicking him against Pyrrha.
Breaking her concentration, Pyrrha tried to catch her partner as he was being tossed right at her... and both of them ended up tumbling to the ground.
Despite being the last one standing at the moment, Yang kept fighting, her face contorted with rage.
Despite her best efforts, the scorpion Faunus managed to dodge her every punch, much to her frustration, while he kept taunting her with his manic smirk.
And it worked, as Yang grew more careless with each swing she took.
One such swing threw her off balance as she put a bit too much strength in it... and the scorpion quickly jumped at the opportunity.
First, a kick to the abdomen that left Yang doubling over in pain.
Then he moved around her, his sickly yellow eyes suddenly glowing bright purple... as did his hand.
He touched her side... and suddenly, her Aura in the place flickered and died.
Then his stinger rocketed to hit the vulnerable place, all while his grin grew even wider.
Acting on instinct, Yang quickly stepped to the side.
From Ruby's point of view, it looked like she managed to dodge the stinger, if only barely, which gave her immense relief. If the stinger was poisoned, as it was with his animal counterpart...
As the assailant was about to attack again, a gold-and-crimson streak hit him straight in the chest.
Pyrrha...
While it didn't pierce his Aura, it was enough to send him staggering backwards.
Then suddenly, literally out of nowhere... Qrow appeared.
He was furious.
And he instantly launched a multitude of attacks against his stunned opponent; so quickly that Ruby couldn't even follow his blade.
Having recovered from the initial shock, the scorpion Faunus responded in kind.
The two of them exchanged blows at a breakneck pace, seemingly unable to gain an advantage over the other.
Suddenly, an agonized scream pierced the night.
The mysterious assailant stumbled back, clutching a bleeding stump where his tail used to be.
"You will pay for this, Branwen-"
Qrow didn't let him finish and charged at him, hacking away with almost reckless abandon and scoring a multitude of hits before kicking him away.
The stranger who attacked them, tried to kidnap Ruby, and came way too close to singlehandedly defeating all of them, now lay in the dirt with multiple cuts across his body and his tail severed.
Qrow stared him down as he struggled to stand up, silently challenging him to do something, anything. The hunters-in-training lined up at his sides, weapons at the ready.
Ruby joined them, doing her best to ignore the pain shooting through her body at every move.
It didn't escape her that Yang's stance was off... and her face was screwed up in pain.
It worried her.
"It's over, pal." Qrow snarled. "Seven against one."
"Seven for now." The scorpion Faunus gritted out, voice dripping with malice.
Ruby frowned; there was a sinking feeling in her stomach and she didn't like it one bit.
The attacker stared them down for a brief moment... and then, with a quiet murmur of "She'll forgive you, Tyrian" he spun on his heel and ran.
Qrow didn't pursue him.
Ruby suddenly exploded. "What was that about? Why did he attack us? Why was he trying to kidnap me? Who's the 'goddess' he kept raving about? And what did he mean by 'seven for now'?"
Branwen gave no answer.
Instead, he looked straight at Yang... and every other pair of eyes around followed.
"Yang?"
Contrary to her earlier demeanor, filled with rage while trying to reduce the mysterious attacker to smithereens, Yang looked vulnerable, almost terrified.
Her hand moved her coat away, baring an ugly gash in her right side.
Ruby's heart stopped.
"Guys," Yang whispered, "I- I got nicked."
Author's note: As always, thanks for reading, review, favorite or follow; compliments and/or critique always welcome :-)