[Noon, Vale]
"Damn it" Mordred curse as she punched the wall beside her "We've been at this for hours and we still haven't found her!"
"Have Mr. Takeda or Mr. Moriarty found anything yet?" Pyrrha asked from beside the blonde.
"Nothing yet. If they did, they're not telling me" Mordred replied as she checked her scroll for what felt like the tenth time in five minutes "Damn it, you stupid cat… Where the f**k are you?!"
"I'm sure she's fine, Mordred" Pyrrha said as she placed a hand on the blonde before Mordred whirled around to face her "What about Mr. Moriarty?"
"Nothing from him, either" Mordred replied as she stared at her scroll, hoping for a miracle "Is it just me or does that guy just scream suspicious?"
"It's definitely not just you" Pyrrha replied, thinking back on how quick the older gentleman was to assist the two girls in their search for Blake "Either way, I'm certain it's only a matter of time before we find Blake"
"That's just it. What if we don't?! What if something terrible is happening right now?! She could be sold into an SDC mine, for all we know" Mordred shouted as she grabbed hold of Pyrrha's shoulders "That damn cat won't last a week in one of those death traps and it'll all be my fault! Argh! Ruby and Weiss are going to-"
"Mordred, calm down!" Pyrrha shouted back in an attempt to calm the panicking blonde. Seeing that her attempts are futile, the redhead then proceeded to deliver a sharp slap towards the blonde "There. Are you feeling better now?"
Mordred rubbed the spot where the girl just slapped her before she came back to her senses, "Y-yeah… Feeling a little sore but… I'm good"
"Good. Now that we've cleared our heads, let's think back on where she might have been taken to" Pyrrha suggested.
"Got it. Sorry about before. I… don't perform well under pressure" Mordred said.
"Nothing to apologize for. You were worried about your friend, after all"
"It's like when something like this happens, my brain just shuts down, you know? I remember this one time when we were kids" Mordred said, going into a flashback all of a sudden "Me and Weiss, we-"
"You mean 'Weiss and I', Mordred" Pyrrha said, cutting the blonde off.
"What?"
"What you just said… 'Me and Weiss' is not grammatically correct" Pyrrha replied, pausing a for a moment before continuing "The correct way to put it would have been 'Weiss and I'"
Mordred simply stared at the redhead for a few more seconds, her head unable to form any words, as Pyrrha stared back with a small smile.
"…Okay. Weiss and I" Mordred said, stressing that last part "When we were kids, we- Okay, you know what? I'm not gonna tell the story anymore. You ruined the mood"
Before Pyrrha could say anything more, Mordred's scroll rang.
"Wait, shut up. It's old man Takeda" Mordred said before answering the call "Old man Takeda, you found anything yet?"
"My boys found something. They're not a hundred percent certain but your friend could have been taken to the docks" the veteran huntsman said from the other line.
"The docks? Are you serious?! Why is shit always going down over there?!" Mordred replied.
"Your guess is as good as mine, kid. Anyway, there's a ship docked there now but the thing is, the company that owns it don't exist" replied the huntsman "Not only that, but people in the area have said that they've seen a couple of black vans coming in and out of there ever since it docked in Vale a few days back"
"Hmm… It's not much to go on but it's better than nothing. Thanks, old man Takeda" Mordred said before she hopped on a bike "Sorry again for taking your bike like that. I promise I won't wreck it… this time"
"It's fine, kid. You're looking for your friend, after all. Anyway, you better get moving fast. Word is, they'll be leaving Vale tonight"
"Tonight, huh? Then I guess we don't have time to lose. Thanks, old man. I'll pay you back for this one day, I swear" Mordred said before she ended the call "Pyrrha, hop on. We've got a cat to save"
"Where are we going?" Pyrrha asked as she revved the engine.
"The docks" Mordred answered as the two girls sped off into the night.
[/]
The first thing Blake noticed when she regained consciousness was that she was being carried on someone's shoulder. The second thing she noticed was that she did not recognize who it was that was carrying her or her current location.
"W-wha… What's going… on?" Blake managed to say, albeit in a slur.
"Great. Now she's awake" a female voice said from somewhere nearby "Now what do we do?"
"What else is there to do? Throw her in with the rest of the garbage on this ship" a male voice answered. Before the faunus could figure out what he meant by that, the sound of a metal ground. Groaning in pain, it took the girl a few minutes before she could finally regain her footing.
By then, however, the door had firmly shut behind her and the room was cast in total darkness. Luckily for her, she was a faunus and that meant natural night vision. Scanning the immediate space in front of her, the girl noted that the room wasn't as small as she initially thought. A stack of crates was placed against the wall and on top of that, it was easily two times the size of her dorm back in Beacon.
"Weapons? Gone. No surprise there" Blake said to herself as she patted her body "Right. Now to figure out where the hell I am and what the fu-"
Her train of thought was immediately cut off as the stack of crates behind her suddenly fell to the ground, causing the girl to jolt in surprise before immediately turning around and assuming a fighting stance.
"Who's there?!" she shouted. Receiving no response, the student cautiously and slowly made her way to the source of the mess. Getting closer, the girl then took a deep breath before, in an attempt to seize the initiative over whoever was in the room with her, she pounced over the crates and was about to land her attack before abruptly stopping, "Wha-?! Children?!"
To her surprise and absolute horror, what stood before her, trembling in fear, where three children, each with a number of bruises on their body. One of them – a boy – was glaring at her, hands stretched to the sides to protect the other two behind him.
"P-please… D-don't hurt us… We d-didn't mean to scare you, ma'am…" one of the two behind the boy – a girl this time – said with a shaky voice.
"W-we didn't mean t-to drop the b-boxes, ma'am…" said the other one – a girl, as well – in a trembling voice.
Seeing who she was up against, Blake let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, alright?" Blake said, as she took a step towards the children.
"Liar!" the boy shouted, his glare not letting up one bit "You're one of them, aren't you?! You're just trying to trick us like before!"
"What-? No, I'm not whoever you think I am" Blake replied as she brought her hands up defensively "Look, I was kidnapped and brought here, just like you. Okay?"
Having said that, she noticed that the boy began to relax, albeit just a tiny bit. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "My friends are probably looking for me right now but we can't just rely on them. I'm gonna try and find us a way out of here, okay?"
[Beacon Docks]
"So, we're here. Now what?" Mordred asked as she and Pyrrha got off the motorcycle.
"Mr Takeda said that these people operate from a ship, right? Let's start from there" Pyrrha suggested.
"This is a dock, Pyrrha. There's bound to be more than one ship right now" Mordred countered.
"Well, actually…" Pyrrha said as she gestured around the dock which, fortunately for the girls, only housed one ship at the moment.
"Huh. Funny how I didn't realize that until after you pointed it out" Mordred said before she took out her scroll.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling down our lockers, obviously. What, were you gonna go in there unarmed?" Mordred asked, as she finished typing on her scroll.
"Hmm, hmm… That is a splendid idea, young miss" came the voice of James Moriarty, seemingly appearing from out of nowhere.
The two girls jumped back in surprise, more than a little startled by his sudden appearance.
"Wha-?! Where the f**k did you come from, old man?" Mordred asked "And how did you know that we were coming here, anyway?"
"Why, simple deduction, of course" the old man replied in a confident and unwavering tone "That and, just like your friends, I have my own information network throughout the city"
"Hmm… Mighty convenient, isn't it?" Mordred said, as she squinted her eyes at the old man in front of her.
"Indeed it is" Moriarty replied. Before any more words could be said, Mordred and Pyrrha's weapon lockers came crashing down next to them a few seconds later.
"Well, whatever. We can talk about this later" Morded replied as she and Pyrrha hurriedly grabbed their gear.
"You're not going to put your armor on?" Pyrrha asked
"Nah, not this time. It'll just slow me down. We need to move fast, after all" Mordred answered.
"Quite right. Time is of the essence, after all, and if we're to save your young friend from whatever predicament she is currently in, we'll need to be quick about it" Moriarty added, himself brandishing a cane with a golden chameleon as its' handle, as the three of them reached the ship's ramp.
"Blaaaaaaaaake!" Mordred shouted at the top of her lungs "Hang in there! We're coming to rescue you right now!"
"…And with that, consider our element of surprise gone" Pyrrha said with a sigh.
"Ah, don't sweat it, Pyr. With how things were going, I doubt it was going to help us much, anyway" Mordred replied, as the three of them sprinted up the ship's ramp and onto the deck.
"Blake, are you here or aren't you?! Can you hear us?!" Mordred shouted once more "If you can't, it doesn't matter! We're coming for you, anyway!"
"Yo, what the f**k?! Who let a bunch of kids and an old man onto the ship?!" a voice shouted from above the three.
"Someone f**king left the ramp there" another voice replied "Whose fault was that?!"
"Don't look at me, it was Jerry's turn to put it away today" a third voice answered.
"Gods damn it, Jerry! Can't you do anything right?!" the first voice shouted back.
"S-sorry. Yup, is my bad" a fourth voice – presumably belonging to Jerry – answered.
"You're damn right it's your bad. Now get down there and take care of those clowns. Idiot!" the second voice ordered "See, this is why your father-in-law hates you!"
"W-what is going on right now?" Pyrrha asked, looking at Mordred.
"Maybe this is a rehearsed comedy skit?" Mordred suggested with a shrug before an amused grin appeared on the blonde's face "What's more confusing is the fact that Blake was caught by a bunch of idiots like these. I mean, wasn't she part of the White Fang – a literal terrorist group – at one point?"
"She was?" Pyrrha asked, surprise on her face.
"Oh, right. Crap. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about that. Could you do me a favor and not tell her that you know. Cool? Cool"
Before Pyrrha could answer, one of the doors in front of them suddenly exploded, knocking it to the sky, startling all three of them.
"What the f**k was that?!" Mordred asked. Her question was answered a moment later as a giant of a man came out, with an equally giant hammer in his right hand.
"Hey now, youz guys shouldn't be here. It's private property, 'fter all" the man said as he hefted his hammer onto his shoulders with a grunt.
"I do apologize about that, good sir." Moriarty said as he took a step forward "But, you see, we are in search of a young girl. A cat Faunus by the name of Blake. We have reason to believe that she might be on this ship at this very moment. Have you seen her? Additionally, am I right to assume that you are Jerry?"
"Don't know nothin' about no Faunus, old man. Like ah said before, this here's private property and right now, youz guys are trespassing" he replied "And yeah, tha's right, I am Jerry"
"Tch, fine. If we have to knock this big oaf down, then let's-" the blonde's words were cut off as Moriarty placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Now, now. Remember what I said? Time is of the essence and we shouldn't delay your friend's rescue any longer. You girls go on ahead while I deal with this lovely gentleman" Moriarty suggested, earning surprised looks from Mordred and Pyrrha.
"Are you crazy, old man? Have you seen the size of this guy?" Mordred asked.
"Mordred's right, Mr Moriarty. We have a better chance of beating him if we work together"
"Normally, I would agree with you, if our objective was to defeat our foe in front of us. Unfortunately, it is not. Rescuing your friend and teammate, that is our original objective" Moriarty countered before flashing the girls a sly grin "To add to that, you girls should also learn not to underestimate anyone, me in particular, by their looks"
Mordred and Pyrrha shared a look between the two of them before nodding, "Alright, old man. If you're so confident, then I hope you won't mind if we just went ahead"
Dashing towards the entrance into the ship, the giant Jerry entered a battle stance, ready to crush the two of them into dust, "Where d'you think you're going, huh?!"
"Now, now. Let's leave the two maidens alone and face each other, as they say, mano a mano" Moriarty said, suddenly appearing beside Jerry before delivering a devastating blow to the side of his face, an impact that left the man staggering.
"Oh, not bad, old man. Well, good luck" Mordred said before she and Pyrrha disappeared into the ship.
"A'right, old man. What's the big idea?" Jerry asked as he steadied himself from Moriarty's earlier impact.
"Hmm? Whatever do you mean, good sir?" Moriarty asked as he flashed his opponent as innocent looking smile.
"You're the one who told us to kidnap those kids and sell 'em on the market. So, what gives?"
"Ah, that. Well, I'm afraid that circumstances have forced a change in plans, dear Jerry"
"What does that mean?!" Jerry shouted, agitation in his voice.
"It means that I no longer require the services of you or your crew" Moriarty responded.
"Fine, then. Guess this means ah won' get in trouble if I kill you!" the man shouted, raising his hammer up high into the air before sending it crashing back down where his older opponent was standing. With a sly smirk, Moriarty swiftly jumped back to avoid the devastating impact.
"Come, now. I'm sure you could do better than that" the old man said, taunting his foe with a 'bring it' gesture.
"Oh, ah'm gonna enjoy this!" Jerry shouted once more as he resumed his assault. Unfortunately for him, Moriarty was just too quick on his feet as he swiftly dodged each and every single swing of the man's hammer. This exchange went on for a couple more minutes before the kidnapper started to show obvious signs of fatigue.
"Well, this has been fun but alas, I have places I need to be" Moriarty stated before delivering a flurry of attacks on his opponent's body using his cane. Seeing his opponent was unconscious, the professor then made his way towards the ships' interior.
That was the plan, anyway, before he easily dodged a crate that had been flung his way.
"Where d'you think… you're going… old man?!" Jerry asked, panting heavily "We ain't… finished yet…"
"So uncivilized" Moriarty noted with a sigh and a shake of his head.
[Inside the ship]
"Blaaaaake! Where are you?!" came the all too familiar obnoxious voice that she's learned to hate these past few months from the other side of the door.
"Is that…?" Blake muttered to herself as she immediately pressed her ear against her only exit.
"Blake, if you're here, say something!" came another familiar voice, one she was much happier to hear.
"Pyrrha! Mordred!" Blake shouted from within the darkened room as she banged on the door "I'm in here!"
"Mordred, there! That door over there!" Pyrrha shouted.
"You're sure?!" she could hear Mordred ask.
"Mordred! Pyrrha!" Blake shouted as she banged on the steel door "I'm in here!"
"Alright. Step back, Red. I got this" was the last thing Blake heard from her teammate.
"Wait, Mordred… What are you-" Blake's confusion immediately turned into surprise as she heard something – or in this case, someone – crashing against the other side of the door.
"Oww…" came the pained groan of her teammate "Well, that didn't work. You got a Plan B?"
"Mordred, if you had just been patient, I could have easily gotten Blake out of there" Pyrrha replied. A few seconds later, Blake noticed that the door began to crumple slightly before it was quite literally torn off its hinges, a black aura surrounding it, "There, see? Problem solved"
The sudden light from the outside blinded Blake as she need to take a few seconds to adjust her sight. Before that could happen, however, she found herself suddenly assaulted with a hug.
"There you are, you stupid cat" she hear Mordred say before receiving a smack on the back of her head "Something wrong with you head? There must be, if you let yourself get kidnapped so easily"
Before Blake could say anything in her defense, her reunion with her teammate was cut short when a voice said from inside the room, "U-um… Miss? Are these your friends?"
"That's right" Blake replied, looking at the three kids with a bright smile "It's okay, kids. These nice ladies will get you back to your home"
"Hey! You kids can't be down here!" a voice shouted from down the hallway, cutting off whatever the girls were about to say.
"Well, better make good on that promise, then" Mordred thought aloud as she hefted Clarent on her shoulders "Pyrrha, you take the back while I take the front. Sound good? Awesome"
Before anyone had any chance to voice their opinions, Mordred was already starting her assault.
[Later, Beacon Docks]
"Well, all things considered, I think today went spectacularly" Mordred noted, as she, Pyrrha, and Blake stood amongst a dozen paramedics, firefighters, reporters, and police officers.
"Mordred, I was kidnapped" Blake retorted.
"Not to mention the amount of property damage we've just caused" Pyrrha added, gesturing to their surrounding area which included but was not limited to a ship that was practically half destroyed while the other half was on fire.
"Ah, you guys and your glass half empty mentality. Look on the bright side, at least Blake is safe and sound" Mordred responded with a nod.
"Probably shouldn't have said that" Blake said as she nudged her teammate "Look. Dock's entrance"
"What?" Mordred said, looking at where her teammate said to look before promptly choking on air at the sight of the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon rapidly making her way towards the three of them "Boy, if looks could kill, huh?"
"Mordred, shut up!" Blake hissed as Glynda Goodwitch stood in front of the three girls, her glare directed primarily at the blonde and the Faunus.
"Professor Goodwitch" Mordred said "How've you been?"
"Tell me something, Miss Pendragon" Glynda started "Why is it that when something happens around here, it's always you two?"
"Believe me, Professor, I've been asking myself that same question these past few months" Blake replied.
"I suppose I can't be too angry at you girls. After all, you did stop the kidnapping of three young children" Glynda said as she tried to rub her headache away, to no avail.
"Quite right, Professor Goodwith. Why, if it wasn't for these three brave girls, who knows what would have happened to those poor children" came the familiar voice of Moriarty who, like always, seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Hmm? Professor Moriarty? What are you doing here?" Glynda asked, surprise in her voice.
"Professor, you know this old man?" Mordred asked, earning a sharp glare from the Deputy in return causing the young blonde to recoil a bit.
"I would ask that you treat him with respect, Miss Pendragon, for starting next semester until the end of the Vytal Festival, he is to be your new Professor in Advanced Dust Manipulation and Politics" Glynda stated.
"Seriously?! You weren't lying about being a Professor?!" Mordred asked.
The old man chuckled in response, "Quite an energetic young student you have there, Professor Goodwitch. To answer your earlier question, I happened to come across these young ladies while they were in a bit of trouble, you see, and I saw no harm in offering my assistance"
"I see. Then, it's a good thing you were here, then. Thank you, Professor Moriarty" Glynda said with a slight bow.
"Think nothing of it and please, no need to be so formal. Since we're to be colleagues in the very near future, I'd prefer it if you just called me James" Moriarty said before turning his attention to Blake and handing the girl her weapon back "Additionally, I think this belongs to you, Miss Belladona"
"My weapon. Thank you, Professor"
"No thank necessary. I was only performing my duties, is all"
"Well, it has certainly been an eventful day. The bullhead is ready to take the three of you back to Beacon anytime although I strongly suggest that all three of you ride back home now"
"But all our stuff is still in-" Mordred made to argue but immediately thought against it as she saw the murderous look in the Deputy's eyes as the three girls scrambled towards the Bullhead.
"It's a week early but your room at Beacon is ready now, Prof- James. If you'd like, you're welcome to take the Bullhead to Beacon, as well" Glynda said.
"Many thanks, Professor, but I think I'll stay here for a bit more, just in case they need my help with anything. Despite how I may seem, I am still a professor Hunter, after all"
[Atlas Academy]
"Attention!" came the voice of one specialist Winter Schnee as she stood on the stage overlooking four teams of students "Understand that your achievements have earned you the right to represent Atlas Academy in the upcoming Vytal Festival. However, just as you have earned that right does not mean it cannot be taken away. Therefore, I would like to make it clear now that all of you are to be on your best behavior when you arrive at Beacon Academy next week, especially since the General himself will be there up until the end of the Vytal Festival. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am" came the unified response from the four teams of students in front of her.
"Very well. Dismissed" Winter said as she eyed the retreating forms of the second-year team that Atlas Academy had chosen. The second-year team who was most likely to cause a scene in Beacon and who most of the students in Atlas have predicted will win it all. The team that most students call "The Knights of Atlas".
[/]
"So Weiss, how do you find Patch so far?" Ruby asked as she and Weiss were cleaning the dishes.
"It's very peaceful and relaxing. Not at all like how Beacon is" Weiss replied.
"Yup. That's Patch. Quiet and boring" Ruby added.
"Hey, have you girls seen the news?" came the voice of Taiyang Xiao-Long from the living room "Apparently some kids have been kidnapped in Vale and a few Beacon students put a stop to it. Happened just this evening"
"Oh, wow. That's amazing" Ruby thought aloud as her dad increased the volume on the tv.
"...Take it away, Lisa" came the voice from the tv.
"Thank you, John. We are coming to you live from the docks as standing beside me now is one of the three girls responsible for bringing this horrible operation to its end. If you could, miss, please tell us how this all came about"
"Yeah, well... It was all in a day's work. I mean, my friends and I..."
"Ruby, does that voice sound familiar to you?" Weiss asked as she turned her attention to the television in the other room.
"Hmm?" Ruby hummed as she poured herself a glass of milk "Now that you mention it, that does sound a lot like..."
"...then one thing led to another and now here we are, with a ship half destroyed and the other half on fire and the kids are all safe and sound" the voice from the tv said just as Ruby and Weiss appeared in the living room.
Ruby, however, had no time to process what was going on before she spat out the glass of milk she was drinking while Weiss herself could only stare at the tv screen in shock.
"MORDRED?!" the two girls exclaimed in surprise at the same time.
[Chapter END]
A/N: First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize for taking so goddamn long to get this chapter out. My last update was 4 months ago. That is just unacceptable.
Secondly, finally, I have this chapter out. Damn, what a pain it was to write it. Hope you guys enjoy it. Also, 100 points to anyone who can correctly guess who those Knights from Atlas are. I have some great matchups for them for the Festival. Stay tuned for that.
Anyway, that's all I have for now. As always, faves, follows, and reviews are greatly appreciated.
NoXIV Signing Off
