A Changing World
Act 2
Chapter 5: Burning Fury Part One
…
Ren awoke with an arm wrapped possessively around Nora's waist.
He glanced over at his redheaded companion and gave a rare smile at the sight that greeted him.
Nora's hair was splayed in every direction, illuminated with the morning sunlight that streamed in through the blue drapes in front of the window on her side of their bed. There were also birds singing outside.
The peaceful moment was ruined by his scroll; which lay on his bedside table, vibrating with a message.
'I have news. Both of you, meet me downstairs.' It was from Sarah.
Wondering what the news was, Ren rose and got dressed before regretfully, shaking Nora awake.
…
Raven found two guards in the vicinity when she stepped out of her signature portal.
"So, Roman Torchwick is in there I assume?" Raven asked, addressing the two soldiers who were standing guard in front of Roman's cell.
Well, I say cell. It was actually a locker big enough for a full-grown adult to reside within.
They said nothing, opting instead to level their rifles at her. She dropped a hand to her sword in response.
"Hey, there's no need for that. Besides, if I did attack, you two would lose the battle but I would lose the war." She then slid her sword out of its sheath, smirking as the soldiers tensed before creating another portal in front of her.
When the portal disappeared, she was gone.
…
South of the city of Mistral, Hiccup and Astrid were prodded awake by Raven's boot.
"Why?" Astrid groaned.
"Is this going to become a regular thing with you?" Hiccup stated, sounding just as annoyed at being awoken in such a manner as his fiancé did.
"Roman and Neo have fled and are currently in Atlas Military custody. As he is unavailable, Vernal is preparing to head out and collect more Dust. You're both going with her." Raven said. "Also, be happy I didn't wake you up at dawn this time like I did Yesterday."
"You can't sense all my genuine enthusiasm already Raven? That's a shame." Hiccup snarked.
"Easy there Sasscup. You might cut yourself." Astrid mumbled tiredly.
Raven snorted and turned to leave. "Wait, why are we going with her?" Hiccup asked, stopping her in her tracks.
"You're a member of a bandit tribe. Like it or not, that makes you both bandits. Gobber as well." Raven replied. "Get ready, you're leaving in ten."
As soon as she was gone, Hiccup groaned aloud, his expression now etched with worry. "What are we going to do Astrid? We've never stolen Dust before. What happens if we get caught? Do we go to jail? That would be terrible, especially for you since-"
"Hiccup, breathe," Astrid commanded. He did so and she smiled. "There, now let's forget about all that for now and think of a plan. You can do that, it's what makes you Hiccup."
"That's just it Astrid. I don't know what to do."
"I'm sure you can think of something." She stated.
"You have too much confidence in me sometimes, you know that?" Hiccup muttered under his breath. Audibly, he said. "We should get ready now Milady."
…
Ren and Nora stepped into the living room of the house to find Sarah staring at her scroll as she sat on one of the Sofas in the room.
"What's wrong?" Nora asked.
Sarah said nothing, instead opting to get up and handing her scroll to Ren.
The pair gazed at it, finding it was a news article about something that had happened late last night.
'House destroyed. Twelve reported dead. White Fang claims responsibility.'
Ren scrolled down to read more, mouth drawn to a thin line as Nora paled.
'The attack occurred shortly past midnight at an apartment near the centre of Mistral.
Local police, as well as a visiting Atlas Military task force, have cordoned off the area for investigation, after releasing a statement that twelve were killed during the blast.
Shortly after the attack, in a video posted to the CCT, the White Fang claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming the residents of the area were part of a human supremacy group. No further details were given by the terrorist group.'
Ren gave Sarah back her scroll. "I have someone I want to talk to. Will you be alright on your own, Mrs Arc?"
She gave a minute nod so Ren turned and headed for the door. "Come on Nora."
…
Vernal, Hiccup and Astrid were walking towards the store that resided across the street.
They all had their weapons and wore balaclavas that concealed their features, with Vernal carrying a duffle bag over one shoulder as well.
The words 'From Dust till Dawn' were above the door, with the view being obscured by passing vehicles.
As they waited for the street to clear, Hiccup decided to make small talk.
"Is the shopkeep an old grey-haired man with bushy eyebrows and a penchant for speaking little?" Hiccup asked Vernal. "If so, this will be easy."
"It is actually," Vernal replied, bemused, having looked around the store beforehand. "How did you know?"
"The same guy used to run a shop in Vale, as well as a noodle stand and logistics business. One time, I had to keep watch on someone from the roof of his store."
His companions both stared at him. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."
Shrugging, Vernal crossed the street and headed into the store with Hiccup and Astrid following suit.
"Now would be a good time for a plan Hiccup," Astrid whispered with a sense of urgency entering her voice.
"I haven't got one yet Astrid. I'm just hoping we don't get caught." He whispered back.
"Me too," Astrid replied. She then reached forward and opening the door, they went inside, joining Vernal.
"Finally." She muttered, having glanced at the door.
She then reached into her duffle bag and handed them a glass vial each. "Get to work collecting Dust from those tubes over there - just hold those vial up to the bottom of the tubes. The quicker you do, the quicker we can leave."
Hiccup nodded and approached one such tube before holding his vial to it.
Astrid watched for a moment before doing the same.
They had finished filling the vials with powdered Dust when the old shopkeep suddenly jerked his head in the direction of the door, drawing their attention to him.
"What is it, old man? Scared?" Vernal taunted. "We won't be here for much longer as long as you don't do anything stupid."
"Vernal, we need to go." Hiccup said worriedly.
"Why? Get back to work!" Vernal snapped. "We're not done here."
Hiccup rolled his eyes and turned Vernal's head, forcing her to look in the direction of the door and see a police car parked outside, with two officers emerging from it.
Vernal gave a curse. "Open the back door old man. Now!" She ordered, brandishing her weapon.
The man complied immediately, running to the door behind which was the room where he stored his wares as Vernal pointed her weapon at him.
…
There was a knock on the door of Simon's office.
"Come in!" Simon called. The door opened and Ren and Nora entered. Simon noted, with an inward sigh, that their expressions were grim.
"I will admit, I wasn't expecting you to come back. You must like my office a lot." The headmaster joked.
His attempt at lightening the mood fell flat as neither of their expressions changed even slightly. "Alright, what is it?"
"We want your permission to investigate the building that was blown up yesterday," Ren spoke.
"And why do you want this? It was cordoned off by the police and General Mondschein for a reason. This isn't something for you to see, even if you are a Huntsman and Huntress in training." Simon replied.
"Our home town was destroyed by the Grimm when we were kids. We've seen death and destruction before. We can handle this." This time, it was Nora who spoke, her eyes shining, but not with happiness.
"And which town was this?"
"Kuroyuri." Said Nora.
"The town where the Branwen Tribe is-"
"With all due respect sir, don't mention them and our home in the same sentence." Ren's face was calm but there was an edge in his voice.
"Very well. I will talk to General Mondschein, but be aware that I make no promises."
"That's fine with me. What about you, Ren?" Nora asked.
"I'm good." Was his answer.
…
The door was now open, with Vernal shooting him dead and pivoting to face the other door, just as the police officers entered the shop.
She fired twice with her crescent weapon, resulting in both men being cut in half, as neither had aura.
"You didn't need to kill them!" Hiccup and Astrid both snapped, turning on her after glancing at the three dismembered bodies for a moment.
"Shut up and give me those vials, unless you want to join them," Vernal replied shortly.
The duo growled in frustration but complied, handing her the two filled vials.
Vernal placed them carefully in her duffle bag before handing them two empty vials from the bag.
"Fill those vials now." She ordered as she took out her scroll.
They did as they were told, turning to give Vernal the now filled vials, they saw a portal form and a bandit emerge from it, wearing a balaclava.
"Give me those vials. Shay and I will take it from here. Raven's orders." Vernal said, reading from her scroll.
Arriving back at camp with Astrid, the first person Hiccup saw was Raven. "Get ready to work on those weapons."
With what Vernal had done not long ago, this statement caused Hiccup to snap. For that moment, he didn't care if Raven was a maiden with more skill at fighting than he did.
All he knew was that Raven wanted him to make weapons and rounds to kill people.
Like the people who lived in Shion Village.
Like the police officers and shopkeep killed not even an hour ago.
Like Glynda Goodwitch.
Hiccup tore his balaclava from his face and took off his gloves.
His vision turned red.
His body was enveloped by blue flames.
Raven's eyes became edged by flame.
She summoned ice with one hand.
She drew her sword with the other.
He lunged.
She took up a stance to meet his attack.
Astrid stepped aside, knowing she should not intervene, but looking for an opportune moment all the same. 'There goes his control over his anger. He's never summoned blue flames before.' She thought to herself.
…
This scene will feature a single Ursa emerging from the rubble of the destroyed row of houses, to the surprise of Mondschein and the local police, both being present, with the former being in the middle of a scroll call with Simon at the time, concerning Ren and Nora's request to see the scene.
He will deny it until the Grimm appears.
It will survive thanks to its aura that was given to it by Merlot from a blood sample from Jaune.
Only blackened rubble remained of the row of houses that had been destroyed in the explosion.
The General was engaged in a scroll call while his soldiers stood guard outside the holographic police tape that was set up, with local police blocking all roads that led to the site and a cleanup crew working to remove all the rubble that remained within the confines of the hard-light Dust barrier.
"No, I don't care what they've seen. A crime scene is not the place for an undergraduate Huntsman and Huntress, Headmaster."
He paused for a moment. "They're from Kuroyuri? All the more reason not to bring them here. Seeing all this destruction may trigger some bad memories. My answer is still no." Mondschein said firmly before hanging up.
He pocketed his scroll and was just about to head off when a roar was heard.
Turning, he saw one of the workers in the cleanup crew had uncovered a hole. A moment later, another roar was heard.
"Seal that hole," Mondschein ordered, causing the man to look in his direction and nod before placing the rubble in his grasp over it.
Satisfied, Mondschein called the Headmaster of Haven back. "I've got an unusual and frankly concerning matter on my hands. Send the two who wanted to come here. Make sure they're well-armed. We've got at least one Ursa to deal with here."
…
"So, what do you think?" Banesaw asked, addressing Merlot as he, Merlot and Jack listened in on the four hostages.
The hostages had been moved to the White Fang base in Atlas late the previous night. They were now being held in the same room that Winter had been killed in, and they were silent besides the occasion attempt from Ilia to engage in conversation with the other three; mostly Jaune but increasingly Yang and Qrow, much to their audible chagrin.
"You know what I think Banesaw. They shouldn't be together. Now they can come up with a plan to escape. That faunus girl is quite eager in that regard."
"Nobody has ever escaped from this base before. Even if they did, they have to contend with snow that stretches on for miles. They'd all stick out like a sore thumb and be easily picked off by us at our leisure."
"When they do escape, what will you do if they manage to reach Atlas or are otherwise rescued?" Merlot asked.
"If that does happen, it will be our business, not yours. Be grateful you weren't trapped in that building, along with your Grimm pets, when it exploded. I could easily have ordered it done." Banesaw said.
He then turned and left the room, leaving Merlot and Jack behind.
"That didn't go well did it, boss?" Jack asked.
Merlot shook his head. "He's a fool. I want you to tell me the instant you hear our guests planning to escape. If he won't take this seriously then I will."