A Changing World
Act 2
Chapter 6: Burning Fury Part Two
A/N: I've recently been informed that Raven's sword is an odachi rather than a katana. Wonderful, I've had Raven fighting with the wrong sword until now. Clearly, I am the best that fanfiction has to offer.
Let's begin.
…
Hiccup's left foot met nothing but air, his lunge unsuccessful, leaving him open to a slash that tore through his leather flight suit before aura was summoned and the odachi repelled.
Hiccup then withdrew, disappearing to retreat. When he reappeared, he used his left hand to let loose the flames that surrounded him at Raven.
Blue fire met ice, both opponents steadfast in their attack.
Raven advanced step by step, despite Hiccup's best attempts to discourage her by letting loose flames with his right hand at random after putting his hand axe away.
She stopped when she was just outside his guard and slashed at him again, which he avoided.
Then, repeated ice blasts from his opponent meant that Hiccup couldn't stop moving, preventing him from finding an opening to exploit.
Frustrated, he disappeared from the sight of his opponent and those watching the fight again.
Reappearing behind Raven while inside her guard, he pressed a flaming hand to the back of her shoulder, successfully taking a slither of aura with the attack.
She brought her sword to bear on him, the point of her odachi briefly cutting into the back of his flight suit as he tried to get away.
Changing tactics once out of range of any attacks from her odachi, he drew both hand axes and threw one at her before advancing once more.
In response, Raven stepped forward and caught the axe just before Hiccup reached her. Now faced with two sharp objects intending to cut him, he was forced to withdraw.
Hiccup's next move was to throw his remaining axe at the same moment he let loose a stream of blue flames. Raven brought her sword up to block the axe that was heading in her direction but was left open as she dodged the flames that came her way.
Hiccup took advantage of that as he closed the distance. He snatched up the axe that lay in the grass while running before slashing at the arm of his opponent that held his other axe.
Wincing at the pain that came as a result, Raven dropped the axe, only to follow up by slashing with her sword at where she had cut the front of his leather suit earlier and letting loose ice behind and on the right side of Hiccup, forcing him to move into the path of the slash that came from the left.
Knowing he was about to be trapped, Hiccup disappeared from view to retreat.
When he was ready to make his next move, he found that Raven was gone. He looked around but noticed - too late - when she appeared behind him only when he felt her odachi cut through his leather suit, drawing blood before he could draw aura to the area for protection.
Following it up, she kicked the calf of his right leg after he turned. Falling onto his back, he was pinned when she pressed a heel to his stomach and held her weapon against his throat.
"Are we done here?" Asked Raven, looking down at him.
"You…" Hiccup began, only to be cut off.
"I said are. We. Done?" Raven demanded.
"No." Hiccup had barely spoken the word before he sent flames in the direction of the offending foot.
When Raven stepped back, Hiccup struck out with both legs, knocking her onto her back. He was quick to get up and send fire that blocked her way again as she tried to roll away.
Pinning her with his left foot, he disarmed her, all the while keeping his left hand on fire. He then gripped her arm, ensuring she couldn't turn into a Raven and fly away.
"You're done, however, Raven. Astrid, little help?" Asked Hiccup.
His fiance quickly approached. "I need to go get this cut tended to." Hiccup told her. "Can you keep an eye on Raven?"
"Sure thing babe," she replied. Satisfied, he set off.
…
"So, as you gentlemen both know, all of the twelve victims were trapped in their houses before the explosions occurred, resulting in each being burned almost beyond recognition." The pathologist who had been assigned to the case reported to the Mistral Chief of police and General Mondschein.
Both nodded and the man continued. "What was recently discovered was that each victim died beforehand, being killed by a wound inflicted by a knife or other bladed weapon in one of three places, or in the case of a retired huntsman, three places at once; the chest, the throat or the heart."
"They stabbed the huntsman twice in the chest?" The police chief inquired.
"No, they sliced a major artery and his chest open, stabbed him through the heart and slit his throat, then blew up his house. His children and grandchildren happened to be there at the time of the attack." The pathologist elaborated grimly.
"They're utter monsters. Faunus oppression my arse." The police chief spat, venom in his voice and a frown creasing his brow.
Ren and Nora, who were standing apart from the General and Police Chief, having arrived at the site not long ago, found themselves agreeing with the man.
"I think that is all we need to know about that." Said Mondschein, steering the conversation onto a more pleasant topic before he threw up; the bile was already in his throat as he fought to push it back down again. "Are you two ready to deal with the Grimm now?" He asked the pair.
Ren and Nora nodded. "Good. Follow me then."
…
Spare clothing in hand, Hiccup entered the infirmary tent in the camp. The tent contained a few beds and packs of first aid supplies, along with a full-length free-standing mirror so hard to reach wounds could be seen and tended to with care.
Raven had set the tent up so that minor wounds could be dealt with, without members of the tribe having to visit hospital and risk being arrested.
Hiccup stood in front of the mirror. Wincing a little as he pulled off what remained of his flight suit and the holsters that held his hand axes, he stood bare-chested. The scar he received from the Ursa all those years ago, was in clear view.
Staring at the three white lines that ran down the middle of his torso for a moment, a distant memory came to him.
'It's only fun if you get a scar out of it.'
'Not sure I can agree with you there Milady.' Thought Hiccup, smiling besides himself.
He then turned, observing the cut on his back as best as he could.
After a few minutes had passed and the wound had been cleaned and dressed as best as he could, Hiccup heard a familiar-sounding croon and squawk coming from outside, followed by a familiar voice.
"Toothless, stop! Don't go in there and make a mess!" Astrid begged the dragon, with no luck as he poked his head through the tent flaps, spotting Hiccup who was now laying beneath the duvet on a bed, concealing the fact he was almost entirely naked.
"Hey, Toothless!" Hiccup greeted cheerfully before he grunted as the playful lizard dove forward and head-butted him in the stomach.
"Ow! It's good to see you again bud." Toothless warbled an affirmative in turn before giving him a thorough licking and withdrawing a little and sitting on his haunches at the foot of the bed, watching him.
"It's nice to see you not on fire again." Astrid quipped, standing at the entrance of the tent with her arms behind her back.
"Sorry, lost control of myself back then," Hiccup muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's an understatement babe. You were on fire, but blue. Did you know you could summon blue flames? You usually summon orange flames."
"To answer your question, no I didn't, but that was some pent up anger. I know that much. I think it might be gone now, so don't worry. I don't plan on getting that angry again."
"Good." Astrid muttered. She then spotted his flight suit on the ground by the mirror. "You're naked under there, aren't you?" She smirked.
"…Yeah. Can you get me some clothes?"
"Luckily for you, I brought some." Astrid tossed him a shirt and trousers. "Raven gave them to me. In her own words, 'Because you won the fight, you deserve a prize since you're strong.'
"She said her favourite phrase, didn't she."
"Yup. 'The weak die, the strong survive.' Well get dressed, Mr. Strong."
He got out of bed and proceeded to do so. "See something you like Milady?" Asked Hiccup as he bent over to pick up the holsters that contained his axes once dressed.
"Yup." She grinned. "At least twice now."
Hiccup straightened up the instant he was done with the task, his cheeks turning pink and drawing laughter from Astrid before he sat on the bed again.
Once she stopped laughing, she spoke again, all humour in her expression replaced with concern. "You know, I thought I'd lose you when Raven cut you in the back and when she pinned you down." Astrid's voice cracked a few times during her sentence before she regained control of her emotions, but it was enough to let him know how worried she had been.
"Come here," said Hiccup, inviting her for a side hug. She drew near, allowing him to embrace her.
"I promise to try better next time Milady." He said, before groaning inwardly as she started to silently sob onto his shoulder while still in his arms.
"I'm wondering what happened to the fearless Valkyrie that I fell for?"
"She's taking a break right now. She'll be back later." Astrid kissed him on the cheek, only to recoil in disgust, wiping at her mouth.
"I think Toothless' saliva scared her off." Astrid added once composed again, making him chuckle.
His laughter was infectious and it wasn't long before her lips quirked upwards as well, though her eyes were still shining with unshed tears.
"I swear the little one is making me emotional. This is all your fault somehow babe."
"Really?" said Hiccup, an eyebrow raised.
"Mhm." Astrid lay a hand on her stomach. "Because of you, I'm becoming huge and my emotions are all over the place."
"Guess I'll have to redeem myself then. How do I do that Milady?"
"Already done that Hiccup. Also, I'd like to leave here." She continued. "Preferably where Raven won't go, like Beacon."
"I'd like that as well, but it's not like Raven will just let us all leave."
"That makes it worse." Sighed Astrid.
"Agreed." Said Hiccup.
Hiccup's scroll alerted them about an incoming call before either of them could do anything else. "Hello?"
"Hiccup, meet us at Haven. We need to talk." Said Ren before he ended the call just as suddenly as it had begun.
"And we're needed again." Sighed Hiccup.
"Aw, and I was hoping to get used to some quiet after that fight. Just us together without anything needing to be done." Groaned Astrid.
"If only the gods wanted it. But unfortunately, they hate me. Let's go see what Ren wants to talk about." Suggested Hiccup.
Both stood up and left the tent, with Toothless following eagerly behind, only to bump into Raven.
"Going somewhere so soon?" Raven asked, an eyebrow raised. "We need to talk."
"Later Raven. I've been summoned and you just got here. I'll be back soon." said Hiccup. He then stepped forward, only to find Raven blocking the way.
"Wasn't a request. Get back in there." Raven ordered, her eyes edged by fire like in their earlier fight.
"Alright fine." Hiccup turned and entered the tent without another word.
"Feel free to wait here, Astrid. This shouldn't take long." Said Raven before following after Hiccup.
"So what was so important to talk about that it needed to be done now?"
"That fire in the armoury tent. How did it start?"
"Why do you ask?" Hiccup queried, hoping his expression didn't give anything away while resisting the urge to scratch the back of his neck.
"Oh, it's just that the tent is kept away from all the others and there are no light sources in its vicinity that could cause a fire. It should never have caught fire. There is however you, someone who can summon fire at will. Tell me, were you there when it caught fire?"
"No, you woke me up remember?"
"I do, but if you weren't the cause of the fire, then what was?"
"Maybe Roman and Neo? It would explain why they ran away."
"Probably. Another question, what was that fight all about?"
"Pent up anger over some things."
"Such as?" Raven pressed.
"None of your business. Look, I don't want to be involved in stealing Dust, or to be part of this tribe anymore for that matter but I doubt you would be that kind."
"You're correct." Raven turned and started walking away. "I'm not a charity. Go wherever you were going. We're done here."
Hiccup left soon after, approaching the waiting trio. "Sorry about that, Milady, bud, Stormfly. We can go now."
…
"Anyone wondering about the Goliath in the room?" Asked Nora.
Present in Simon's office this time was Simon, Hiccup, Ren, Nora, Mondschein, Astrid and Taiyang, the latter having arrived at Mistral airport less than an hour prior.
"My flight suit got torn up. I need to fix it, so until then I'm wearing these." Hiccup stated. "I made them not long before you two joined Beacon, but I'm much more used to wearing my flight suit, hence why you've only just seen these."
"Now, why did you call us here Ren?" inquired Hiccup.
Ren filled the pair in on the news.
"The White Fang blew up houses here in Mistral?" Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose.
'That happened while I was helping Roman and Neo to escape. For Thor's sake.' Thought Hiccup.
"Any other horrible things that have happened?" Asked Astrid.
"There was a whole scenario involving two Ursai that somehow survived the explosions. We found these afterwards." Replied Ren before handing Hiccup two battery-like objects.
"I've seen these before. According to Ozpin, they were made by a guy called Merlot, who was thought dead. These allow Grimm to have their own aura, which is how they survived. I think this tells us that he and the White Fang are working together. I bet they blew up the houses to get rid of the Grimm." Hiccup stated.
"It could just be a coincidence." Said Simon. "They did blow up three houses. If they wanted to kill Grimm, they could have focused on one house. The effect would be the same, wouldn't it?"
"Maybe they thought it would be better this way. Anyway, I vote we head to Atlas and find out. Is that White Fang base is still there?" Hiccup's last question was addressed to Mondschein.
"Yes. If you're planning a recon mission, be aware of the risks. The last time any soldiers went there, all of them died, according to a report from Ironwood. How do you expect to succeed now?" He asked.
"With great caution. Ren, do you still have Weiss' number?"
"I do." He nodded.
"You should talk to her about all of this. Astrid, can you bring Gobber here?"
"On it babe. I'll bring some coats for you guys as well."
"Oh, yeah. Great idea Milady."
"I know, I'm great aren't I?"
"So modest Astrid."
"I try." They shared a laugh before she set off and Hiccup turned to speak to Taiyang.
"If I'm right, and Merlot and the White Fang are working together, then there could be a chance that Yang and Qrow are in that White Fang base. I think you should be in charge of rescuing them if we find them over there."
"If they're there, I'll be busy doing something else." Said Taiyang, cracking his knuckles for emphasis.
"Fair enough." Replied Hiccup.
"Moving on," Said Taiyang. "I visited your old forge to see Ruby while in Vale before coming back here. I arrive to find a book with the title 'Ancient Giant Runes'. She told me that it belongs to you. What is it about?"
"Oh, uh yeah. The book on Jotunn runes. Ozpin thinks it might help with my semblance. I forgot to bring it with me when Ren called and told me that Jaune was missing."
"Jotunn?" asked Taiyang, quirking an eyebrow.
"A type of giant." Replied Hiccup. "Anyway, I have a message to send to someone. I'll be back in a moment."
Hiccup left Simon's office without another word.
…
Raven took out her scroll when she felt it vibrate.
'I'm going to be gone for a few days to take care of some things. If all goes well, you'll have a new Dust supplier, which could mean no more theft, no more potential murder and no more fights between us.
Also, before you ask, it's Weiss Schnee, who I'm sure you know by now is the CEO of the SDC. With all that said, Astrid is heading to get Gobber since they're both coming with me.'
'I'll be interested to know if it works out Hiccup, though I have some doubts.' Raven sent in reply.
'Fair enough. Also, would you mind bringing me my railgun crossbow and shield? I know where I might be able to make more crossbows while in Atlas.'
Raven's eyes lit up at the possibility. 'I'll be there in five. I will, of course, be checking in on you occasionally.' she sent as a reply.