Here I am once more. I feel like I need a new way to introduce these chapters other than just different ways of saying 'hello' or the like.
For those wondering about why it said this chapter went up yesterday, it's because I accidentally hit upload but I meant to upload today, not yesterday. Sorry for the confusion, nothing is wrong!
IMPORTANT NOTICE! I go back to school this week so updates will be slower. My apologies.
Somebody made a point that this fic is starting to seem more like a crack fic and to that I say; I agree! While yes, there is a story I'm following, I can't disagree and say that things are definitely random.
To that end, though, I hope whether you're here for a crack fic or a goofy story, you enjoy! I love writing this and I love seeing your reasoning tions and comments!
Blake walked into her family's living room and sat down at the table in the center. She reached forward and poured herself a cup of tea, blowing on it gently before taking a slow sip. She hummed and smiled as she enjoyed the peace and quiet.
"Well good morning to you too," Sienna said from her right. She yelped and jumped, throwing the cup at the womans face.
"AHHH! SHIT THAT STINGS!" Sienna hissed as she clawed at her eyes. Blake let out a breath of relief.
"Oh, right. I forgot you were here," she said as she brushed herself down. Sienna groaned.
"I think there's glass in my hair," the woman seethed. Blake hummed.
"Sorry it whatever," Blake mumbled as she looked up to see Sun run in.
"What happened!? I heard screaming!" he said, weapon ready. Blake waved him off.
"It was nothing."
"Like hell it was!" Sienna shouted. Sun sighed and shook his head.
"We can't just keep her here you know," he said as he stashed his staff away. Blake nodded. She didn't want to keep her here forever.
"Well where can we hide her?" Blake asked. Sienna finished wiping her face down and shook her head to rid it of liquid.
The woman had been there for a day now, and they had already seen Fang scouts patrolling the streets. Evidently their plan of hiding with her parents worked. None of the faunus in the Fang thought they'd be stupid enough to hide in the middle of the city.
"Well we can't go back to Vale since it's mostly unprotected right now," Sun said as he pulled out his scroll and looked over a map.
"Atlas is obviously a no-go," Blake said as she walked over and looked on with him. That didn't leave a lot of land to hide. It was a terrible idea to hide her in a village or settlement since they'd have no way to contact her.
"Vacuo or Mistral?" Sun said. Having knowledge of both, he knew they weren't great options but it was all they had. Blake hummed.
"Well, if the Fang planned on attacking again they're most likely to attack Haven. Regardless of that, I have to meet up with my team and Yang finally got a line through to message me. They're there already," she told. Sun nodded and closed his scroll.
"Mistral it is," he said. Sienna didn't look entirely happy about the idea.
"And where pray tell would I hide?" she asked. Blake winced and looked to Sun. He shrugged and she sighed.
"We'll have to figure that out once we get there," she said. Sienna stepped up and looked fairly pissed now.
"You do realize that the Fang will without a doubt follow us to Mistral and just kill me once they find out where I am, don't you?" she said as she stood before them. Sun looked away and Blake tried not to swear. It was true that the Fang would probably just follow the woman. That made things harder.
"I'll get in contact with one of my... friends. I think they'll be able to help," Blake said as she pulled up her scroll and started to call someone. Sienna scoffed and crossed her arms.
"What, am I gonna get some goody-two-shoes hunter to watch over me? You realize that I'm technically a criminal, right?" she asked. Blake shook her head.
"I'm aware. That's why I'm not calling for a hunter," she said, sighing and wincing as the call was answered.
"Torchwick speaking, how can I— oh. It's you," the thief answered as he looked down at his scroll. She sighed.
"Torchwick, we have an issue on our end," she stated without greeting the man. He let out a sharp laugh and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh? And what the hell am I gonna do all the way in Mistral?" he asked. She sighed and pointed the scroll at the woman. His face immediately paled.
"No. No, no, no! I am not helping you smuggle a terrorist queen into a foreign kingdom!" he denied as he gazed at the woman. Sienna turned to Blake.
"Your 'friend' doesn't seem too reliable," she said flatly. Blake groaned and brought the scroll back to her face.
"She's on the run from some Fang extremists. If she dies, the Fang becomes a lot more volatile," she reasoned, "they already plan on attacking again. Based on location alone, it's probably Haven."
Roman sighed loudly and dramatically, walking away for a moment. The three faunus waited in silence as they heard muffled shouting. Then the thief came back and looked back at his scroll. He carried it into another room and set it up so that they were facing the rest of their party.
"Hey Blake!" Ruby said with a smile and a wave. Blake smiled very slightly and waved back.
"Okay, now explain to us what's going on. Why do we need her over here?" Roman asked. Blake cleared her throat and explained what had happened the previous day.
Roman groaned as he leaned back on the couch. The others felt the sentiment as well.
"That's... not as much information as I thought," Ren said. Blake nodded.
"We're as in the dark as she is," Blake said, nodding her head back at Sienna, who scowled.
"So you need her hidden here then?" Qrow asked. Blake nodded. They were all silent while they thought. It was broken when the twins coughed. They all turned to them.
"We did mention our family having a crime ring here, didn't we?" Miltia said, a hand on her hip.
They all looked at each other and Roman sighed before gesturing to them.
"Go ahead and call home then. Looks like we're doing things the old way," said. Melanie whipped out her scroll and hit a few buttons. It dialed. Once, twice, three times. On the fourth Roman rolled his eyes. Then it was picked up.
"Unless the caller ID has changed, this better be exactly who I think it is," a woman said on the other end of the scroll. The girls smiled.
"It totally is," Melanie said back. The voice laughed.
"What are you calling about then sweetie," the woman asked. Miltia walked over and stood next to her sister.
"We may or may not be in the kingdom right now," she started, "and we may or may not need to smuggle a notorious person into Mistral and have them hidden and watched."
"Miltia, Melanie, what did I say about asking for favors?" the woman asked. For a moment they all thought they'd have to find another way to get Sienna hidden.
"Oh, sorry mom. Please?" Melanie asked, a sweet smile on her face. The woman humphed.
"There you go. I know I taught you two manners," she said. They all couldn't believe that this supposed underground crime lord was acting like a regular mom!
"Who exactly am I having my men hide?" she asked. The two s looked at each other and played rock, paper, scissors. Miltia lost and swore.
"Um. Like, maaaaaybe Sienna Khan?" she said with a fragile smile. There was a sound that was much akin to somebody dropping their scroll before there was scrambling and it was picked back up.
"Both of you, get your perky little asses down here, now. We'll discuss this in person," and then the woman hung up. They both sighed and slouched.
"Well that wasn't a no," Melanie said. They all got up but the twins ushered them back down.
"It's probably better we only take people well versed in... the language of the trade," Miltia said. Roman, Neo, and Mercury all stepped up.
"Looks like we're going on a field trip! Call you back you little nuisance!" Roman said as he grabbed his cane and his school, hanging up before Blake could reply.
"What do the rest of us do?" Ruby asked. Chew hopped off his haunches and stood next to Neo. She let his head and stood with the other criminals in the room.
"I think I can fill that time for you, Miss Rose," Ozpin said as he walked forward. Nobody knew when he took control but he seemed to have things to tell them.
"Yes, and I have some good news regarding a little run in I had with General Ironwood," Weiss added. Ozpin looked happy to hear from his old friend, even if it was through someone else.
"Alright, we'll be back soon! Don't tear the place up without us!" Roman said as he pushed the door to the side, still broken from the other day, and stepped out. As the others followed, he leaned back in quickly.
"If we're not back by the end of the day, follow my scroll!" he said. Glynda nodded and he winked, ducking out the door and joining the team of young ne'er do wells to the bullheads.
"So what should we expect from Juniors in-laws?" Roman asked. The twins looked at each other before nodding and looking back.
"She runs a strict business," Miltia stated.
"And she likes to keep things under her terms," Melanie added. Roman nodded. That was some standard kingpin stuff. Sounded kind of familiar too. He remembered talking to Junior about where the twins were from but he had to make sure...
"Anything else?" he asked. They both hummed and put a finger to their chins.
"Don't bring up dad and she's generally pleasant," Miltia said. He nodded and smiled subtly. This will be interesting, he thought to himself. He looked out the window at the sun, already slightly past noon.
As they touched down in the city he looked around. The others stepped out behind him and he allowed the twins to lead. They all slipped between the crowds and alleys, each of them accustomed to the motions after years of experience in the criminal world.
The streets of Mistral weren't the prettiest, or the cleanest, but when things started getting even rattier Roman knew they were in the right place. He'd seen it before, after all.
They walked around, ignoring and avoiding street urchins and beggars that tried propositioning them. As they rounded a corner, somebody called out to them.
"Hey! It's you!" a greasy looking man said. He was pointing at Roman, who looked back at him with a bored expression.
"Yes, I suppose it is. Do we know each other?" he asked. He tapped a foot impatiently. He didn't have time for this!
"You're the assholes who stole my shoes!" he growled. By this point a crowd of other shady looking individuals had started to form. Mercury smirked and slid a foot back ever so slightly, while Neo opened Hush and rested it on her shoulder. The twins just scoffed and stood with hands on their hips.
"Sorry, not ringing any bells," Roman lied with a smile, "now why don't you go back to your dumpster diving?"
"When the boss gets a hold of you you're dead! She don't take kindly to people messing with her own!" he growled as he got into a sloppy grapplers stance.
"Look, whoever your boss is, she can hire an HR manager and get back to me. I'm kinda busy right now," Roman said as he leaned forward and crossed his arms over the top of his cane. He took out a cigar and lit it, blowing the smoke up and eyeing the man through the cloud.
The others in the crowd started to ready themselves for a fight too when Melanie noticed a particular design on some of their clothes.
"Hold the hell up, you all work for Lil' Miss Malachite, don't you?" she asked. They all seemed to laugh and eye their little group.
"Yeah, and we're the baddest gang in Mistral! Nobody fucks with us and gets away with it!" some girl shouted. The others cheered and Miltia scoffed.
"Listen here you stupid fucking greaseballs," she announced, stepping forward, "take us to Miss Malachite and we'll see just how much shit you feel like talking."
The gangsters all laughed more and got closer to the five. Some pulled out small knives and chains.
"Oh yeah? And why would we do that?" one of them asked. The twins shared a look before looking back at Roman. He raised his eyebrows in a nonchalant manner that said 'go on' and they turned back to the crowd.
"Because if you don't, we'll just kill all of you and find her anyways," Melanie claimed. The encroaching crowd stopped and looked at the five criminals. None of them even batted an eye, Neo even yawning as she twirled her umbrella. Chew looked like he was starting to fall asleep.
"You uh... You're bluffing!" somebody called after gathering a little confidence. The others cheered their agreement.
Melanie picked a bottle up off the ground and whipped it to her left without looking. It shattered against a man's nose, breaking it and sending the man sprawling. He didn't get back up, and the only indication he hadn't died was the groan he let out before passing out.
They all looked back to Melanie who was checking her nails. She blew on them before looking back up at the petty mobsters around them.
"Jerry has a family to feed," somebody mumbled.
"They're next," Miltia threatened. The crowd was silent. The all looked at each other before huddling together in a large group and whispering to each other. This went on for about a minute before they all broke and cir led them again.
"We have decided that we will take you to the boss as prisoners and let her decide what to do with you," one of them said as though they actually had a choice. The five just sighed and went along with it.
"As such we'll need to confiscate your weapons—" it was a brick this time that shattered against the speakers face, this time a woman who joined Jerry on the floor and in unconsciousness. Neo whistled silently and looked away.
"Er, what she meant was; just follow us and we'll get you there right away!" another girl said as the crowd moved down the street towards a large bar. Roman laughed as they trailed behind.
"That's one way to win over a crowd," he mused. They all chuckled as they walked through the crowd and stopped in front of the bar doors.
"The boss will just eat you up," the man whose shoes had been stolen sneered to the twins, "your attitude won't pass with her. You two will make for some nice entertainment in the bar!"
The other gangsters seemed to have found their bravado again as they got closer to their boss. The twins just smirked and opened the doors, both of them walking confidently into the center and throwing their arms out in exaggerated poses.
"Mom!" Melanie called.
"We're home!" Miltia announced.
All the gangsters now looked very confused. Roman, Mercury, and Neo all grabbed a table and sat down, content to watch the fireworks.
A slightly heavy-set woman walked out from a back room. She had dark blonde hair that was styled in a bob cut. She had a white and purple dress and a tattoo of a spider on a web on her shoulder. She looked around before her lavender eyes landed on the girls. Her stuff face broke into a warm smile as she hustled forward.
The gangsters all went into shock as their boss, Lil' Miss Malachite, hugged the two girls and kissed them on the temple.
"Oh you girls definitely took after your father," she cooed as she looked over her daughter's, "Hei better have been treating you girls right!"
"Juniors fine mom," Melanie answered as she hugged the woman, "probably less stressed now that we're out of his hair."
"Yeah, we've been traveling with Juniors friend for a few months now," Miltia said as she gestured to Roman who waved from where he was seated off to the side. The woman looked over him and huffed with a smile on her face. It was the smile of someone who was thinking something along the lines of 'you son of a bitch'.
"Roman Torchwick," she drawled as she stepped towards him, "it's been quite some time."
"Quite some time indeed, Molly," he said as he stepped forward to meet her half way. He took her hand and laid a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. Now everyone was in shock, Neo and twins included.
"Wait, you knew out mom!?" Miltia asked. Roman snickered.
"Yeah, I ran into her years back. Before I met Neo. Your parents didn't want you getting mixed up in the family business yet so we never met. And I never really drew the connection," he stated as he frowned. He wasn't normally so unobservant. Of course it was the same Malachite's. He didn't really know any others.
"That's how he met Hei too," she added. Hei Xiong was of course Juniors actual name.
"I knew you and Junior went way back but I didn't realize you guys knew each other that long," Melanie mumbled. Roman laughed and shot the two exasperated looks.
"You think your uncle would let you two run all around the world with me if he didn't know me long enough?" he asked. They hummed and shrugged. They hadn't really thought all that much on Juniors acceptance of their choices. They just figured he thought they were old enough to go off on their own.
Neo looked at Roman in confusion. He laughed and shook his head.
"This was about a year, probably less, before we met. I didn't really think about the names or the faces until the twins started describing her to me," he explained. He had genuinely forgotten that he knew the twins mother. To him it had always just been Juniors brother's wife.
"Wait! He said the bosses name!" one of the gangsters yelled. They all started mumbling and the woman rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. The room went silent.
"All of you, get outta here before I smack you seven ways to Sunday!" she yelled. They didn't hesitate as they cleared the bar, leaving only the six of them and Chew.
"Molly, Melanie, and Miltia. Really had a thing for the M's and the L's huh?" Roman asked. Molly shot him a look and he put his hands up. They shared a laugh shortly after.
"And who would these two be?" she gestured to Neo and Mercury. Roman pointed to Mercury.
"Introduce yourself kid," he said. Mercury rolled his eyes but stood and nodded.
"Mercury. Mercury Black," he said. She raised a brow and looked him up and down.
"Like Marcus Black?" she asked. He scowled and she smiled.
"That would be a yes then," she said as sent him a motherly smirk, "don't make that face boy; I won't pry."
"And this," Roman said as he placed a hand on Neo's head, much to the girls chagrin, "is Neo. She's mine."
Neo ducked under his hand and stepped forward, bowing and smiling. Chew stepped up next to her and sat patiently.
"Oh, and this is Chew," Roman said as he pet the dogs head. Chew barked happily as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.
"Well, it's lovely to meet you Neo. Chew," she said as she pet the dog as well, "I never took you for the family type, Roman."
"It grows on you," he shrugged. She laughed and looked back at the twins.
"Don't I know it," she laughed. The twins humphed and she laughed more.
"Let's get down to business shall we? What's this I hear about y'all wanting to smuggle an incredibly well known faunus terrorist into Mistral?" she asked. They sat down and started to explain the situation.
By the time they finished, she had a finger pinching the bridge of her nose.
"This is easily the biggest shit show I've ever seen. And I have seen a lot of shit shows," Molly said as she looked up at the twins. They had the decency to look a little embarrassed at the request.
"Believe me, when I heard it I wasn't too happy either," Roman said. The woman sighed and tapped a finger on her desk.
"I suppose I can have a place set up, but I'll need to ask a favor," she said. They all nodded and stood. She laughed.
"If only my own gang were that willing to help," she mused.
"Hey, this is the first time I'm being offered a reasonable exchange for something in like a year," Roman claimed, "I'll take the small victories when I can."
"Fair enough," she said as she pulled out a map of Mistral and pointed to a section near them, "right here is an old warehouse. I've been using it as a storage unit for years but recently, and I mean very recently, someone moved in and kicked all my men out."
"How many dead?" Mercury asked. She shook her head.
"That's just it. None of them were even all that hurt. They just said that an absolutely giant man came it, spouted some nonsense about honor and strength, and then kicked them out and locked himself inside," she said. Roman hummed. That wasn't the weirdest thing he'd heard.
"So we go and evict the evicted and you set up Sienna Khan with a safehouse?" Mercury asked. She nodded.
"It may not sound like a lot, but I keep a lot of shit in that warehouse, and I can't let someone take it over," Molly said as she rolled the map up again. Having committed the place to memory, Roman tipped his hat.
"We'll be back in a few," he said. She nodded and they all stepped out of the bar and walked to the warehouse.
"So what's the plan?" Mercury said as he cocked his heels. Roman cracked his neck. He went up to the warehouse doors. He pushed them and they budged a little. Locked from the inside.
"Easy. Do things the way we normally would," he claimed. They nodded and Neo placed Chew in front of the door. She put up three fingers and counted down in front of the dog slowly. As the last finger went down, they all covered their ears. Chew reared back and barked, a loud echo wave crashing forward and sending the door flying inwards.
They all swept in and looked around. Roman pointed and they fanned out, looking around the warehouse.
The twins were the ones to find the man who was mentioned. He was massive, and he only barely turned to look at them. His hair was dark brown and tousled, and arms looked like they could crush boulders.
"Uh, hello?" Miltia said. He grumbled. It was deep and gravelly.
"Can you like, beat it? This place isn't yours," Mealnie said. He turned and looked them over.
"Girls, what'd you fin— woah! That guy is big!" Roman said as he and the others rounded the corner. The man turned and looked at him. His face finally changed from its stoic expression to one of shocking realization.
"You," he grumbled, pointing at Roman, "you need to come with me."
"Woah woah woah, I don't even know who the hell you are!" Roman said. The man hummed as he stepped closer.
"Hazel. Now come with me. There's somebody who requires your presence," Hazel said as he stood before them. They dropped into a ready stance.
"I'm not going anywhere! The last guy to say something like that was screaming about his 'queen' and then I got abducted by a giant bird!" Roman shouted. Hazel hummed.
"So that's how Tyrian failed so badly," he mused. They all immediately went on alert.
"Wait a minute," Mercury whispered, "if you know his name..."
He didn't get to finish the thought when Roman shot a flare right into the man's chest. He slid back and slowly looked back up at them, chest smoking where he's shot.
"Very well. We shall do this via fair combat," Hazel said as he stomped forward slowly. Roman took a step back.
"He... took that a lot better than I thought," he rasped.
"Should we call for help?" Miltia asked. They didn't get a chance to when Hazel stomped down where they stood. They danced out of the way as his foot shattered the stone floor. They gaped at it and looked back.
"Okay, well, this has been fun," Roman said as he started backing towards the door, the others following, "but I really think we should be going now—"
Where the doors had previously been caved in as Hazel picked up the doors from Chew's bark and hurled them at the archway above. It collapsed, trapping them inside with him.
"Shit," Roman sighed as he and the others spread out and away from Hazel.
So much for an easy job.
"So James is sending a small scout troop here then?" Ozpin asked as Weiss finished telling them about her interaction with the general.
"It would seem so. They should arrive within the week if he was to be believed," she said. Ozpin hummed.
"I suppose any support is helpful. Though I'd hoped it would be more discreet," he mused.
They all had listened as Ozpin told them about the relics and maidens. The maidens were old news but the relics were new. Apparently one of them lay under each school, and the relic of knowledge was here at Haven.
The issue was that the vault holding the relic required the power of the spring maiden to open it. Which meant that they were really only defending the vault until they found the spring maiden.
"Roman has been gone for quite some time now," Glynda said. She looked down and noted that his scroll had remained in the same spot for a while now. It moved occasionally, but never from the place he was, almost like he was running around a large house or something.
"I'm sure he's fine. He's the most street savvy person we've got," Qrow assured. She hummed. Perhaps he was right. Roman was no fool. He was perfectly capable of—
Suddenly her scroll rang in her hand. She looked down to see it was from Roman. She picked up as the others all looked to her.
"Roman? Is something wrong—"
"BIG GUY! REALLY STRONG! TRAPPED IN WAREHOUSE! HELP!" and then the call hung up. The Disciplinarian was in her hand in an instant, and she was out the door in the next. Qrow nodded to Ozpin and followed, Ozpin staying in place.
"You all, stay with Oz. We'll handle this!" Qrow called as he and Glynda sped off. Ruby looked like she wanted to dash off too but Weiss and Yang stopped her.
"I'm sure uncle Qrow and Goodwitch are enough to help. They'll be fine," Yang said. Ruby whined but nodded. She was right.
Besides, how strong could one guy really be?
It wasn't like he had some sort of semblance that made it so he couldn't feel pain. That'd be ridiculous!
Mercury dodged out of the way as a large fist shot past his head. He danced back as three more punches were shot his way. He jumped and curled up before shooting from his heels and propelling himself over the man.
The twins dashed in and slashed at his back but it hardly had any effect. He spun around and backhanded Melanie, sending her flying into Miltia and launching both of them into a wall.
Neo shattered from above him and locked Hush around his neck, grappling him from behind and holding herself on his back.
"I... have orders, rgh... not to hurt you..." Hazel ground out as he struggled to remove her. He grit his teeth and fell back, Neo gasped as she felt all the air get driven from her body. She let go quickly and Hazel stood, breathing heavily for a moment as he regained his breath.
Roman dashed in and swung down, cracking the man across the knee. Normally this would buckle a person and bring them low.
Hazel just turned and looked at him.
"Ah shit—" he was cut off as the giant grabbed him, hugging him close and trying to keep him still.
"I apologise but I have no choice but to subdue you," Hazel said as Roman's struggling moved him slightly. Roman aimed down and shit, blowing up the ground beneath them and sending Hazel skidding back. He sighed and cracked his neck, righting himself and advancing again.
"Are you serious!?" Roman shouted. He saw Mercury running from behind and narrowed his eyes.
He launched a flare and spun his cane quickly, catching the shot and swing out horizontally. The flare spread out into a wide arc, and caught Hazel in the eyes. The man grunted as he covered them, the flash blinding him slightly.
He was halted as he felt two heels plant down between his shoulder blades. Before he could toss Mercury away the boy shot from both legs, sending Hazel crashing face first into the ground. The giant growled a little as he made to stand, planting his hands on the ground, but the twins intercepted.
They came from both left and right, sliding across the floor and swiping his arms out as he pushed himself up. The result was him falling back down. He scowled. While he was still in fine shape, the cunning and slippery nature of the criminals he was having a hard time dealing with all of them at once.
"I had orders to keep them alive and well," Hazel grunted as the twins and Mercury all jumped on him and held him down, "those orders don't extend to you!"
He suddenly thrashed around, sending the three off of him. Mercury stumbled but stayed standing. He was about to tell the twins to move in again.
Before he could, Hazel buried his fist into his stomach with the force of a truck. He felt spit fly from his mouth as he was lifted off his feet from the force. He dropped to the ground and shook as he held himself up. His vision swam a little and he lurched before throwing up.
Hazel kicked him square in the jaw, breaking his aura and sending him up and back, before he landed unconscious on the ground.
Hazel turned and eyed the twins, who now stood defensively. He grunted and started charging forward, arms in front of him and ready to grab them.
They both jumped away from each other to dodge but he was expecting it. He stomped down and turned suddenly, rearing back and carrying all his momentum into his punch. The strike caught Melanie unaware and she took it in the chest, right above her breasts.
She gasped as she was launched backwards and embedded in one of the concrete walls of the warehouse. Her aura flared one more time before she fell forward in a heap on the ground.
"Melanie!" Miltia called out. Hazel grunted and grabbed her by the throat. She choked out a gasp and kicked and clawed at him, but he held her out of reach and she could only scrape at his forearm.
He grunted again as he felt a solid, dull strike impact the back of his head. He turned slightly, this time his eyes widening as Roman swung his cane down and cracked him in the nose. While he didn't feel the pain, the impact rattled his brain and he saw stars for a moment. The distraction worked for what it was as Neo sliced at his hand, causing him to drop the red twin.
"Thanks..." she gasped out as she coughed. Neo pat her back and the two shattered as they disappeared. Roman leapt back and shot at Hazel's feet, making the man lose his footing.
Hazel attempted to regain his footing but Roman dashed in and swung his cane in a two handed grip, taking out the man's legs, sending him crashing down.
Roman didn't get a chance to capitalize as Hazel lashed out from the ground, sweeping Roman's legs and sending him to the floor as well.
Hazel made to jump on the man but he was kept where he was when Neo shattered down from above and drove Hush down and through his shoulder. He grunted as he felt the blade pierce through his body and into the stone. If he didn't have his semblance he would've been in agony. As it stood, he was simply uncomfortable, though he could tell his aura was dipping quickly and once it was gone he'd be feeling all of this.
He pushed himself up quickly, ignoring the sound of the sword coming with him as he rose. He stood at his full height over the two thieves and they stared up in shock. He towered over them, Hush still lodged in his shoulder and blade visibly protruding from back to front.
"What the hell are you!?" Roman finally screamed. Hazel groaned as he grabbed the blade and pulled it from his shoulder, throwing it down and embedding it in the concrete. Neo gaped as her sword went deep into the earth. That was going to be hard to retrieve.
He stomped forward, intent on knocking them out and nabbing Roman so he could finally leave, when he heard growling.
He didn't have a chance to turn as he felt a massive weight crash into his back, as though somebody had launched a cannon right into his spine. He flew forward and rolled, whatever struck him rolling along with him until they crashed against the far wall of the warehouse.
When he finally regained his bearings he looked up into the ferocious glare of an absolutely giant dog.
"Atta boy Chew! FUCK HIM UP!" Roman cheered. Hazel grunted as he held his hands up and caught the dog as it descended down to bite at his face.
He gasped and his eyes widened as he felt the force the animal was bearing down on him with. The dogs mouth was still open, and he tried clamping it shut but found himself struggling more than he anticipated.
Chew suddenly leaned back, and Hazel, not expecting it, let him. He was confused as the dog took a deep breath.
Then everything went silent. Well not silent, per say. He could hear a loud ringing and his vision was a little spotty. The dog stepped back slightly as he stood. He saw Roman speaking.
The issue was that he didn't hear Roman speaking.
"I think he's deaf," Roman mused as he stood defensively with the dog in front of him. Not many people could take a bark that loud so close to their ears without suffering some real damage.
Hazel narrowed his eyes. He was about to move in again when he saw the debris around the door glow purple. He grumbled and closed his eyes. That must've been the reinforcements Roman had called at the start of their fight. He turned and punched the wall down, he didn't look at them as he dashed out the opening and deeper into the city.
"That... that really sucked," Roman groaned. Neo nodded and adjusted herself. She still felt rattled from having the man's full bodyweight crush her.
They turned as they heard the collapsed door to the warehouse creaking. Then it all levitated out and away, the worried looks of Glynda and Qrow peering in. Roman waved and ran up to them.
"You're a little late now but at least I don't have to carry the kids by myself now," he said as they met halfway. Glynda looked around the destroyed warehouse and back to him.
"What the hell happened here?" she asked. He sighed and reached for a cigar. As he pulled out the box he found that they had all been crushed during the altercation. He sighed even deeper.
"It's a long story," he said, "let's walk and talk."
The two huntsman nodded and they each carried an unconscious fighter. Chew allowed Neo to drape herself on his back and he walked unencumbered, happy to help his owner.
"Who assaulted you?" Glynda asked as she carried Miltia with her semblance. Qrow had Melanie bridal style and Roman had Mercury over his shoulder.
"Some guy named Hazel, you know him Qrow? He seems to be working with our resident 'Queen'," Roman said. Qrow swore.
"Yeah I know Hazel. It's a miracle you guys made it out okay," the drunk said. Roman grunted.
"I wouldn't say okay, but definitely better than dead. And walk this way, I gotta let the twins mom know that the warehouse is hers again," Roman grunted as he turned down a street. They stopped outside the bar and Roman walked in.
"Roman? I heard one of your flares go off, what happened—" Molly stopped as she gazed upon the unconscious forms being carried by the three huntsman. Her expression grew firm.
"What in Sam-Hell did you get into over there?" she demanded. Roman smiled and shrugged.
"The usual Torchwick antics," he said. She rolled her eyes.
"So a big fuckin fight?" she answered. He shot her a finger gun and hoisted Mercury onto his shoulder more.
"Bingo. Warehouse is clear though," he replied. She sighed and punched the bridge of her nose.
"I'll have my men set up the place I'm thinking. Keep my daughter's safe or I'll have you shot," she told. He saluted her and turned. Qrow laughed and looked over to him.
"Talk about a weird parent-teacher conference, amiright?" he asked. Roman socked him in the shoulder but the smirk said he found it funny. Glynda just scoffed as they all returned to Haven.
At least they'd be safe there.
Blake hung up her scroll as the snide voice of Roman told her they had a place. It was well past midnight now. She sighed and walked through her home. She found Sun and told him they were set and he nodded.
She walked into the living room and found her parents and Sienna all awkwardly drinking at the center table.
"Ah, Blake!" her mother exclaimed, clearly happy to have a break from the strange scene, "What did you need?" She asked a little too enthusiastically.
"We have a place to hide her," Blake said pointing at the tigress. Sienna rolled her eyes as she was repeatedly not referred to by name by the girl.
"Oh thank the brothers— I mean, that's very good," Ghira said. He wasn't fooling anyone.
"Now we just need to grab a bullhead and get off the island before the New Fang find—" there was a sudden noise from the front of the house. They all looked around in confusion. Sun ran in and had an urgent look on his face. He pointed to the front.
"You're gonna wanna see this," he claimed. They all snuck over to the front window and their eyes widened in shock at the sight outside.
The New Fang stood on the stairs leading up to the Belladonna residence, holding weapons aloft and chanting.
"That's definitely bad," Sienna stated. The others shot her a look that had her blushing slightly.
"We need to get her out of here now," Ghira said. Blake looked worried.
"But what about you two?" she asked, concern washing over her as she looked between the mob outside and her parents. Kali stepped forward and lay a hand on her shoulder.
"The sooner you get Sienna out of here, the sooner they'll leave us alone. If we have nothing to hide from them, they have no reason to attack," she told, a small worried smile on her face.
"But won't they just attack anyways?" Sun asked. Ghira shook his head.
"If they do, they tell the people of Menagerie and the rest of the world that they stand against peace. They won't make the attempt," he assured. His confidence eased Blake enough for her to take a breather.
"Okay," she said looking up, "Sun, call Ilia and grab your weapon. If we encounter anyone on the way out, we take care of them before they can call for backup."
The blonde nodded and made the call, dashing away to grab his staff from the other room. Blake motioned Sienna to the back. On their way the woman grabbed her chained whip.
"It's been a while since I got my hands dirty," she smirked as she refamiliarized herself with the weapon, "it's a shame this is what's bringing me back to combat."
Sun ran in and stopped behind them. He nodded to Blake and pointed east outside the backdoor.
"Ilia said she'd secure a bullhead at the landing area that way. We need to move now though," he said. Sienna was already out the door, knowing exactly where he was referring to. Blake was about to leave but stopped.
"I need to take care of something first," she said. Sun nodded as he waited outside with the tigress. Blake ran back and found her parents still at the front of the house.
"Mom, dad, I—" ghira cut her off.
"Don't," he said, "save it for when we can finally relax again."
Kali smiled and stepped up to her daughter, hugging her. Ghira stepped over and embraced both of them between his large arms.
"Please be safe," Kali whispered. Blake nodded and took a deep breath.
"Once you're off the property we'll open the door and address this crowd. Make it count," Ghira said. She nodded and shuffled for a moment. He leaned down and nuzzled her ear.
"Keep fighting Blake," he smiled as he held her shoulder. She nodded and grew a determined look. She dashed out the back of the house and caught up with the other two.
"About time," Sienna scoffed. Blake flipped her off and Sun laughed. They leapt atop the roof of a nearby building and stayed out of sight from the streets.
They followed Sienna as she took the lead. They ran and jumped across rooftops for about twenty minutes, changing directions and making their way east.
They leapt from the last building and landed quietly, Sienna pointing to a barren clearing with a large hangar sitting near the water.
"This is the dock. The Fang have used it for years now when they conduct raids," she told them. Sun nodded and scanned the area. He swore.
"They're everywhere," he said quietly. Indeed, New Fang members were walking around, their allegiance evident as they walked around, weapons barred and patrolling the area.
"Seems they expect us to be leaving. First clever thing they've done on their own," she groused. They all searched for an opening. Blake pointed to where the hangers were.
"They aren't guarding the waterfront. We can sneak around the shore," she suggested. They looked a moment longer for a safer way, but found none. They made their way along the outskirts of the airfield and towards the shoreline. Blake scanned around and waved behind her, the three moving quietly and staying low.
They were now crouched behind the small bank leading up to the landing area. Blake stood up and peered above it to look around. She leaned back to Sun.
"The bullheads are all in the hangar. We make it there and Ilia will find us," she said. Sun nodded and they vaulted over the bank, moving quickly to the large building. They entered and looked around. There were three bullheads there.
They looked over each one and noticed that one of them was left open. They moved over cautiously, ready for it to be a trap. As they made it, Blake held her hand out and jumped in first. She went to the cockpit and looked around.
Suddenly, a hand covered her mouth from behind. She was about to lash out but they spoke.
"It's me, it's me," Ilia said quickly. Blake intended and Ilia let go. Blake raised an eyebrow at the girl.
"You were gonna scream," Ilia said with a shrug. Blake humphed and went back to the open door. She ushered the two in and they closed the door quietly.
"Okay, once we start moving, they're gonna know where we are. We're gonna have to take a shortcut to Mistral," Ilia said as she started the ship. It whirred for a moment before it lurched as it started quickly driving out of the hangar.
"Here we go!" Ilia said as she flipped switches and grabbed the control stick, pulling back.
The bullhead hovered into the air suddenly, drawing the attention of the New Fang members. One pulled their scroll out quickly.
"They're leaving by sky Brother Albain!" they shouted. The brothers both growled and said they'd be right over and to prepare a bullhead for chase.
"Are we safe?" Sun asked. There was no pursuit yet and they were already over the open ocean. Sienna checked the radar.
"I see nothing," she said. Blake checked the windows just in case and saw nothing.
"We seem to be safe for now," Blake said. They all still held their breath as they flew. It was quiet for about forty minutes, with no sign of any other ships.
They had taken turns keeping watch on the radar as Ilia flew the ship. Each time they checked there was nothing. Sun swapped places with Blake and he looked over the screen. There were no dots yet so he took a moment to watch the ocean fly by from the front windshield.
"This seems way to easy," he said. Ilia hummed her agreement, focused on flying the ship.
"When did you learn to fly by the way?" he asked. She didn't look at him as she spoke.
"I had to play getaway driver for a few missions. I'm not really that good, but I can do well enough to get us to Mistral," she answered. He nodded. He was about to ask how long she'd think they'd be when he heard a quiet beep from in front of him. He looked down quickly.
"Shit! They're coming up behind us!" he shouted back. Ilia narrowed her eyes and leaned forward on the stick, the bullhead speeding up. Menagerie was a lot closer to Mistral than Atlas, Vale, or Vacuo. If they managed to stay ahead, they'd be in the clear.
"I see them!" Sienna said as she looked out the back. Blake joined her and grit her teeth as she saw the other two bullheads from the hangar in pursuit.
"What do we do? Is there a gun on this thing?" Sun asked.
"You said we needed to get out fast, so I grabbed the ship meant for stealth raids. It's fast, it's small, but it is not made for combat," Ilia grunted from the cockpit. Sun winced and joined Blake and Sienna in the hull.
"Do we try shooting from the rear door?" he asked. Blake shook her head.
"We don't have the power or the reach," Blake stated. This was a bad situation for them. They didn't have a way of fighting back when the other ships caught up.
"I have a plan but it's definitely a bad one!" Ilia said from the front. At this point any plan would do them better than getting shot down.
"What are we doing then?" Sun asked. Ilia stuck her tongue out and jerked the ship left, the passengers all stumbling at the sudden turn.
"Ilia you better not get us killed!" Blake shouted. They all looked ahead and their eyes widened.
"THAT DEFINITELY LOOKS LIKE KILLING US!" Blake screamed. Ahead of them was a mass of floating islands that were testing before the mainland of Mistral.
Ilia flew under the floating islands and made sure not to chance getting too close to any of the landforms. The pursuing bullheads had a hard time keeping up, their larger bodies making it difficult to traverse the path.
"We're losing them! Keep it up!" Sun said. Ilia was tense as the islands ahead began closing in on each other. She lowered the craft and went under the islands, the rumbling above them causing all of them to wince.
"They're still behind us!" Sienna said, watching as the larger bullheads went above the islands, scanning for them as they flew.
"Uh, not to make things more tense or anything but," Sun pointed out the window. They all looked and their mother hung open at the sight.
"Goddamnit!" Sienna shouted as a swarm of Lancers began buzzing around the three ships. The good in this was that it was attacking all of them! The bad was that, unlike the other ships, their bullhead had no way to defend itself.
"Ahh!" Sun screamed as a stinger pierced through the hull. He slammed it with his staff, breaking it and the hold the Lancer had on their small ship. Blake took out her weapon as well and aimed out the hole the stinger had created. He shot a few of the giant bugs out of the sky. The Grimm all buzzed angrily and hovered away.
"They're... leaving?" Sienna asked. They were all quiet for a moment.
Then an even louder buzz came from behind. The door was stabbed through and pried open, revealing a queen Lancer. Blake aimed and shot a few times, but the Grimm didn't take notice.
"What do we do!?" Sienna asked as she whipped a few smaller Grimm out of the sky when they flew too close.
Nobody got a chance to answer due to the other two bullheads now lowering and flying directly behind them. The guns on the fronts began whirring.
"THEY'RE GONNA SHOOT US DOWN!" Sun yelled. Ilia did her best to maneuver the field and the Grimm, but there were just too many.
"I have an idea," Sienna said as she stepped forward, "do we care for the lives of those in those two ships?"
"Nope."
"Not particularly."
"Not at all."
"Perfect! Sun, Blake, get over here and pull!" Sienna said as she went to the opened back of the ship and looked out and around. She reared back and shot her chain out. It got embedded in a small floating rock. Sienna heaved back, the other two running up to her and grabbing the chain.
The Rock floated behind them, knocking a few Lancers out of the sky as they turned the large rock into a wrecking ball.
"AND PULL!" the tigress shouted. They yanked back and the whip dislodged from the rock.
Meanwhile in the other bullhead, the Albain brothers screamed.
"TURN YOU DUMBASS!" Corsac shouted.
"I-I can't! There are too many Grimm surrounding us!" the pilot shouted.
"If you don't turn, we're going to cra—" Fennec was cut off as he and the other passengers in the ship flew forward.
And promptly exploded against the rock that had been placed in front of them.
The other bullhead soon followed, and the resulting explosion burned the wings of the Lancers around them, sending the swarm plummeting into the ocean below.
The queen Lancer buzzed loudly, but before it could launch it's stinger, several bullets found their ways through its wings. With the new holes in its fragile wings, the large Grimm hissed as it crashed into surrounding rocks.
"We did it! We're not gonna die!" Sun cheered. The others all sighed in relief as well.
Until the queen Lancer, as though in a final act of 'fuck you', crashed right into the engine of their bullhead, its head shredded and the engine bursting. As a result the ship started falling, the mainland finally coming in. Sadly, it was because they were watching the land become closer and closer as they crashed.
"EVERYONE HANG ON!" Ilia screamed as she braced herself. The others did the same, and then the ship crashed and skittered along the earth, bumping and breaking through trees as it slid.
Finally, the ship stopped, tilted over, and spilled the four out onto the forest floor. They all coughed and groaned as they lay there.
"I... I can't believe we're not dead," Sienna said.
"We're okay? We're okay! WE'RE NOT DEAD!" Sun cheered as he hugged the ground. They heard footsteps and all looked up.
Above them all, a woman in a dark red jacket stared down at them. She wore an array of feathers in her hair and had a long katanaike blade resting on her hip. Most notably, she wore a large white mask resembling that of a Grimm.
"Well, isn't this an interesting surprise," she mused.
"That sounded way more ominous than I'd appreciate—" Sun was cut off as she kicked him in the head, knocking him out.
"Sun—!" Blake soon followed, and Ilia after her. Sienna glared up as the woman stood over her.
"Your shoes are tacky," the tigress spat. The woman growled before kicking her too. She called her men over to bring them back to the camp.
"Do we search the ship Raven?" one asked. She shook her head and leaned down to lift Sienna over her shoulder.
"No. There's nothing in that hunk of metal," Raven answered, turning to walk back to her camp, "besides, this one right here is about to bring in a lot of money."
"An aristocrat?" one asked. She shook her head. Sienna Khan, leader of the White Fang, the terrorist organization that Atlas, and more specifically, General Ironwood or Jaques Schnee would pay top dollar to see behind bars or dead.
"Not an aristocrat," she smirked, "a bounty."
Raven you devious bitch.
We aren't done with volume five yet! I wanted to take my time here for two reasons.
One, I don't want to rush through the show like I have been doing.
Two, I don't want to catch up to volume seven until it's done so I'm dragging things out a bit.
At any rate, I had a fun time writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it! Please remember that every review, favorite, and follow is much appreciated!
Please have a wonderful time!
And don't you ever, ever, bite off more than you can chew!
Omake: Salem tries to get in touch with Hazel
Hazel stood before the Seer Grimm. It's orb like form floated and swayed slightly. He needed to tell Salem that her... requested individual was in Mistral and prime for capture.
"Hazel? What is it?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow and stared at her.
"What?" she asked. He looked very confused. She waved a hand in front of the Seer and peered into the orb.
"Stop looking at me like that! I'm going through a process!" she demanded. She knew why he was looking at her like that! It made sense now!
It's because she was in the middle of her makeover!
Her hair had been dyed back to its original color, and she'd managed to cover her veins with some makeup. He must not have recognized her with how young she looked!
"I know, I know, I was just as beautiful in the past as I am today," she said, waving a hand down herself.
After all, once her new prize caught a look of all of this he'd be eating out of her hands!
"Is there anything else you want Hazel? Or were you just seeing how gorgeous I look?" she said, striking a pose. Oh yeah, she could feel the pants dropping from her throne! He'd be all over her!
But Hazel continued to stare, just as confused, if not more, than he was when he first got in contact with her. She made a face.
"What? What is it?" she asked, now a little nervous. What was wrong with her that someone as stoic and neutral as Hazel would be looking at her in such clear hesitation?
"Is it my dress? Do I need a new one? I suppose black death isn't in style these days..." she mumbled. She looked over herself. No, no! This was awful.
"This dress doesn't compliment my figure at all! I gave birth to four kids and goddamnit I need my hips to look like it!" she growled. She nodded back to Hazel.
"As always Hazel, you prove to be one of my most competent minions. I'll be in touch," and with her new goal to find a dress to make her truly shine, the Seer went dull and she disappeared from the man's sight.
Hazel just tapped the Seer in confusion and scratched his head. He picked at his ears as the dogs bark still rang through his skull, completely deafening him.
"What the hell did she just ask?" he mumbled nervously. He had no idea what she told him! He was almost assuredly dead if he returned to her with nothing.
He looked around. Everything was still ringing.
It'd be really nice if he could hear again.