A/N
Hey everyone! I want to apologize for the rather late upload time, I was thinking about leaving this until tomorrow but it just kept nagging at me.
My laptop just... suddenly decided to stop connecting to the internet. After about an hour of troubleshooting (including opening up its internals to wiggle around the adapter) I have concluded that it needs a new adapter. Until the one I ordered arrives, my laptop has to remain grounded via my homes ethernet capable if I want to use the internet.
Yippee... I sure do love it when I ask my expensive device to do something for me and it tells me to fuck off!
Anyways, here's Chapter 30 of this story. I'm almost done writing the final few chapters! I'm estimating that this story will be about forty to forty-one chapters long was completed.
Chapter 30…
Lavender hummed a quiet tune to herself, tapping her fingers on the window sill as she peered into the evening light. Her seat gave her a wonderful and near uninterrupted view of the main path that led into the village.
Just a young girl gazing out the window… no ulterior motives here…
"Anything?" Vermillion asked, quietly padding up beside her teammate and peering out the window herself.
"Nothing and no one," Lavender sighed. "What about Teal?"
"The same," Vermillion responded with a sigh. "None of our strange 'friends' have been spotted… maybe they know that we're suspicious of them?"
"Maybe," Lavender mused. "Or maybe they know we know… and are simply lying low…"
"Who are you? A children's book author?"
"The rhymes were a pleasant coincidence…"
"Sure…"
"Anyways," Lavender shook her head. "How's my partner doing? Is she ok?"
"Honey's alright," Vermillion picked at her fingernails. "She's still hiding in the room though…"
"It's not good for her… paranoia isn't going to help this…"
"No… but what else can she do?"
"Right…"
Lavender turned back to the window and took a sharp intake of breath when someone finally appeared. A lone figure was entering the village, slowly walking down the road and moving in the direction of the house.
A ruffling of cloth was heard as Vermillion ducked out of view behind Lavender. The purple-haired girl did her best to look inconspicuous, sneaking quick glances out the window.
The lone figure was wearing a long cloak, as black as midnight, which was a strange choice of clothing for such warm weather. They walked with a balanced and even step… as if they were prowling around instead of actually walking casually.
The stranger soon walked out of sight, following the road to head deeper into the village.
"That was weird…" Lavender breathed.
"Totally," replied Vermillion, who was still pressed down on the floor.
Elsewhere in the village…
Clover Ebi's green eyes scanned his teammates, each one engaging in quiet conversation with each other. Their casual clothes would make the townsfolk believe they were simply travelers or tourists.
They weren't… they were special forces… but no one needed to know that.
The bar and restaurant of the town inn was bustling with bodies, the entire air filled with the hum of dozens of voices talking and interacting. The ACE ops had been careful to select a table in the corner, it would provide them privacy and the cover of noise.
"Alright, listen up," Clover mumbled under his breath, seeing his teammates snap to attention. Every one of them had their lips drawn into a tight line… except for the new recruit…
"Simmons," Clover huffed. "What are you smiling about?"
"I'm always smiling, sir," the brown haired man beamed. "Sorry…"
"Did you even go through basic?" Harriet growled in the recruits direction.
"Well, of course! How else would I have gotten a successful transfer to… uh…" Simmons caught himself and coughed into his hand, ignoring Harriet's glare. "The club…"
"Nevermind," Clover waved his hand. "We need to talk tactics… I don't think we're keeping a low enough profile…"
"Blame Elm for that one," Harriet grumbled. The muscular woman in question blushed fiercely at the statement.
"I'm sorry about that!" Elm stuttered. "I swear! I didn't see that merchant until he was undernea-"
"Please," Vine held up his hand. "You have already apologized for the mishap, allow our team leader to continue."
"Thank you," Clover huffed while rubbing his temples. "Anyways… I think they're onto us… Honey Aurum has been spending more time in isolation these past few days. We need to scale back a little bit… I want two man teams tomorrow. Harriet, you and Simmons will be monitoring Team VHLT for their locations."
"Why do I need to get stuck with the greenhorn?" Harriet muttered, adjusting the sleeve of her jacket and jerking a thumb in Simmon's direction. "And with all due respect… why are we still playing babysitter?"
"Ironwood's orders," Clover answered flatly. "You don't question them, you obey."
"Come on, Harriet!" Simmons chuckled, his smile still plastered on his face. "This is better than getting sho- uh… tickled at?" Simmons received four flat looks for his terrible misdirection. "I'm still working on the whole 'keeping a low profile' thing… alright?"
"You're working on a lot of things-" Harriet began.
"Sir…" Simmons interrupted, his eyes looking off in the distance.
"What is it?" Clover asked, although he received no response. "Simmons?"
Then Clover noticed it, the subtle knocking noises on the table. The ACE operative commander looked down to see Simmon's fist tapping against the wood at odd intervals.
The recruit was clever… cleverer than Clover gave him credit for…
He was speaking in code, taps and dashes that signified different letters and numbers. Clover closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, allowing Simmons to repeat himself before he understood the message.
'STRANGER-DOOR'
Clover peeked in the direction that Simmons had been looking in to watch the door. A new individual who none of the team had ever seen walked amongst the tables, dressed in a dark hooded cloak that made them stand out like a sore thumb. The stranger took a seat at a lone table and rested their forearms on the surface; they were wearing gauntlets of Mistralian origin, featuring square metal plates that had been overlapped, all coloured a dark black and highlighted in gold.
Simmons was now tapping out a new message. Every single one of the ACE ops was paying rapt attention to the new recruit, who was still smiling widely.
'ARMED-SWORD'
In a Mantle alleyway…
"Definitely expensive," Asher mused, using his hand to pull back the slide of one of the pistols Rust had confiscated. The fair haired boy turned the weapon sideways to scan his eyes along the barrel. "The serial numbers have been filed off- rather poorly I might add…"
"Yes, they appear to criminals," Mauve snorted as she shook her head in amusement. She planted her gloved hands on her hips and paced over to Rust, who was holding the lid of the dumpster aloft. "Any change?"
"Still sleeping like babies," Rust mock cooed, gesturing with his free hand to the unconscious criminals he had hidden inside. "They should stay like that for a while…"
"Good," Mauve sighed. "And you said the warehouse is filled with contraband?"
"Pretty sure I saw some missiles…"
Asher whistled in a low tone at Rust's statement.
"Sounds like a solid lead," Mauve turned away from Rust to glare at the building. "Let's get in there and see what we can find-"
"Wait," Asher held up his hands. "Are you suggesting we fight our way in? Shouldn't we call the police or something?"
"The police?" Mauve raised an eyebrow. "Why? So they can cordon off the area with tape and keep us out too? This place could be our only solid lead on where to find Sage…"
"Or it could be an entirely separate operation…" Asher argued back. "We don't have the jurisdiction for something like this…"
"Crimson said he was in a warehouse," Mauve shot back at her partner. "This is an obvious lead… and why would we care about jurisdiction? We're talking about our friends' lives here… and this isn't the first time we've done something like this…"
"But that doesn't make it right!" Asher grumbled back.
"You agreed to help u-"
"Both of you keep it down!" Rust interjected with a huff, steeping in between his two teammates. "Asher… as reckless as this is we need a solid lead!"
"I still think this is a terrible idea!" Asher stuttered back.
"Fine then… abandon Sage!" Mauve growled. She crossed her arms and held her ground, not relenting when her teammates eyes darkened.
"Are you sure you want to play that card?" Asher spoke quietly.
"I don't want to have to play any cards with you," Mauve replied. "You agreed to help us… are you going back on that?"
Asher stayed silent for a long and tense moment, his eyes were nearly unreadable. FInally he released a very long sigh and tilted back his head. "Fine… what's the plan…?"
Mauve uncrossed her arms and paced in her spot for a moment. She rubbed her chin gently with her fingers as she spun back to face her team. "Blitz play… we'll start with an ambush…"
"From inside or outside?"
"Inside… Rust, do you think you could bust through the wall?"
"I mean, yeah," Rust nodded and shrugged. "It'll be a lot less painful if I have Ruination on me though…"
"Okay… that's your and Asher's entrance…" Mauve finished. "As for me… do you think you could sneak me through a window?"
"I probably could," Rust nodded. He turned his brown eyes up to the blacked out windows, running his vision along the length of the glass until he found what he was looking for. At one small point the glass pane jutted out, meaning that that section of window had been left slightly ajar. "Do you think you can do it quietly?"
"Like a cat burglar?" Asher gave his partner a small smile. Rust chuckled in amusement and turned to face his leader, who had the barest hint of a smile on her face.
"I can do it quietly," Mauve nodded, breaking eye contact with Asher. "Also, when you were peeking in… did you see any skylights?"
"I think so," Rust nodded. "Why?"
"Need to get my rocket locker inside somehow…"
"You sure that's a good idea?" Asher asked, raising an eyebrow up.
"Nope…" Mauve smiled and shook her head. "Anyways… you two get away from here and find a quiet spot to call in your weapons… when I call in my locker that's the signal to barge in… got it?"
"I'm seriously calling into question your ability to lead," Asher muttered under his breath. "Do you realise that this is the stupidest idea any of us have come up with to date?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Mauve grinned before turning to Rust. "Now boost me up to the window…"
Later…
Mauve sighed as she gently tapped her fingers against the metal railing of the catwalk gazing downwards at the two dozen smugglers milling about. Keen amber eyes observed as two burly men carefully sorted several assault rifles into an unmarked crate and stacked said crate onto a waiting dolly.
Mantle really was like Mistral… it's insides were rotten to the very core.
She was standing perhaps ten feet above them and relaxing in the shadowy corner of the room. On the other side of the warehouse, unreachable from where she was standing, was a separate catwalk where a staff door could be seen. The inside of the room was impossible to observe at the moment but Mauve was sure she would be able to find some evidence there.
Her scroll buzzed quietly on her hip, indicating that a message had been received. The team leader unclipped the device from her catsuit belt and unfurled it; there was a message from Asher.
'Waiting at spot for your signal, please don't get yourself killed.'
Mauve shook her head and kept her scroll open, navigating to the option that let her call in her rocket locker. She placed her free hand on the railing again and turned her gaze upwards to several old metal chains that were hanging from the ceiling, all of which were well within her reach.
Mauve cleared her throat loudly, unsurprised when none of the workers heard her other the clatter of the cargo.
"HEY!" Mauve yelled. "UP HERE!"
Two dozen pairs of eyes looked up and instantly tensed.
"How are we today, gentlemen?" Mauve asked, smiling, squeezing her hand on the railing tighter.
"Who the fuck are you?" Came a response from the crowd.
Mauve waved the heckler off with her hand dismissively. "The building is surrounded by the authorities… give up now and-"
She was cut off when a bullet whizzed past her ear.
Mauve grumbled under her breath. "Fine then…"
Quick as a striking viper, Mauve moved her hand and selected the option to call in her rocket locker at the pre-prepared coordinates. With the countdown having begun Mauve jammed her scroll onto her belt as two dozen guns were drawn. She leapt off in a powerful jump as the bullets began flying, twisting gracefully in the air and snatching one of the chains that was hanging from the ceiling.
Mauve was instantly reminded of those silly adventure movies she used to watch as a child, particularly of the scenes when the characters would swing from vines…
Her aura flared up to stop a lucky bullet as she let go and fell towards the center of the warehouse. Her timing was flawless, as soon as she let go a rocket locker slammed through the flimsy skylight of the warehouse, smashing into the ground directly below her. The heavy container landed on a pile of munitions, filling the air with gunpowder and stray bullets and knocking over multiple smugglers.
Mauve roared as she landed, using her semblance to unleash and electrically charged smash upon impact. Lightning crackled as it sped towards the ground and arced into the guns of her nearby targets, who were forced to drop their weapons. The voltage she has used wasn't lethal but would certainly be debilitating.
Using the moment of confusion she had created Mauve tore open her locker and snatched her pre-prepared weapons, quickly sliding the sheath onto her back and drawing her twin blades.
"Shoot he-" One of the smugglers managed to shout out, he was interrupted when the wall behind him exploded in a shower of mortar and stone ships, filling the air with even more debris.
The shadow of a massive form and the glow of a dark red visor could be made out through the dust cloud as Asher and Rust sped into the building. Asher broke for the left, seeking to deal with one half of the building while Rust broke for the right.
Asher crouched into a well executed slide, flicking the switch on his rifle to ensure it was in its semi-automatic mode. He squeezed off several well placed shots, quite literally shooting guns out of hands as he leapt back up into a standing position. He ducked under a sloppy punch and bashed the stock of the Jackhammer MKII into its attacker, causing the man in question to double over in a hunch. Asher gripped his rifle as he vaulted over the prone man, rolling on his back to grapple with and headbutt another smuggler.
Meanwhile, Rust used his semblance to blast himself forwards, catching several smugglers on the handle/barrel of his weapon and leaving them sprawled on the floor. A quick blast of electricity from Mauve rendered them unconscious.
"RUST!" Mauve shouted as she sprinted towards him, sliding underneath a table to avoid a blast of buckshot. "BOOST!"
Rust dropped to one knee and held out his hands. Mauve slammed her boot down onto his hand and he hoisted her upwards. His team leader was sent flying through the air and she transformed her weapons into pistols, firing off with reckless abandon to force the hordes of smugglers below her into cover.
Rust grunted when a rifle round impacted with his shoulder, his hefty aura reserve flaring up to protect him. He spun to face his attacker, who was standing on one of the catwalks and firing down. The massive huntsman in training channeled his semblance into a downward funnel, ripping the catwalk off its supports and sending it crashing to the ground. The enemy sniper screamed as he fell but Rust reversed the direction of the wind at the last second; the sniper hit the ground and was left in a groaning heap, injured by not mortally wounded.
Rust chuckled under his breath as he spun Ruination in a circle to block some enemy fire, not even having to look in the direction it had come from…
On the other side of the warehouse, Asher used his semblance to dash to the left, pressing up against a wall and behind a metal bracer for cover. There was a door next to him that most likely led to the front of the building, but Asher paid it no mind.
Switching his rifle into its charged shot form, Asher cycled up some ice dust and held the trigger, watching the indicator light flash green. He channeled his aura and kicked off the wall, flying through the air and sending the shot loose downrange. The charged bullet landed at the feet of three smugglers, pinning their legs to the ground and rendering them immobile. The men inquisition dropped the weapons and began clawing at the ice to free themselves, which was what Asher was hoping for.
Suddenly, the door he had paid little mind to swung open and Asher ducked into a spin to avoid a shotgun slug. Standing in the doorway was a well dressed young woman with an absolutely furious look on her face.
"This was supposed to be a quiet job!" She roared in rage as she racked the pump of her twelve gauge.
Asher dropped the Jackhammer MKII and tucked into a forwards roll to avoid the second shotgun blast. He used his semblance to close the distance before she could prime the gun again and viciously wrestled the weapon out of her hand. The woman gasped when he wrenched the barrel of the gun upwards, smashing her in the nose and shattering her glasses.
Asher racked the pump of his newly claimed weapon, watching as the woman cursed and grabbed her throbbing nose. "You should leave…"
"I hated working here anyways…" The woman seethed before she turned tail and fled.
Asher racked the pump multiple times, ejecting shell casings until the weapon was completely empty. He dropped the now harmless gun and used his semblance to retrieve his weapon before rushing off to join his teammates.
In the center of the warehouse Mauve was wreaking absolute havoc. Her superior reflexes allowed her to toy around with more than half a dozen opponents at the same time. The kicks, punches and gunshots of her enemies went wild as she spun and sliced, destroying guns and lacerating her opponents with painful but not fatal strikes.
"MAUVE!" Rust yelled, grabbing his team leaders attention. He grabbed one unfortunate smuggler he had been captured with and spun him around like a shot-put ball before tossing him in her direction. The man screamed as he flew through the air and Mauve slid underneath him to create distance. The flying smuggler smashed into his friends like a bowling ball, leaving ten smugglers sprawled out and groaning on the floor. Mauve released an electric burst in their direction to electrocute them in one fell swoop; soon all ten of them were groaning in debilitating pain.
A clatter sounded behind her and Mauve spun to face the noise. Asher had caught a smuggler who was trying to sneak up on her. Asher blocked the man's knife and used his pistol to graze the man's leg. The smuggler shrieked in pain and dropped his weapon, giving Asher the opportunity to pick him up and crudely throw him over a table. Asher then jumped said table and landed on the unfortunate man with a body slam, rendering him unconscious.
Rust, Mauve and Asher now stood in the middle of the wrecked warehouse. Bullets, both spent and brand new littered the floor, crates had been reduced to splinters, tables overturned and one of the catwalks torn to the ground with sheer force.
The two dozen smugglers made no more moves to fight back, all of them either unconscious, groaning with pain, or still trying in vain to scratch out of the ice Asher had trapped them in.
"Well that was nice," Mauve chuckled, blowing a strand of hair away from her eye.
"Now can we call the police?" Asher muttered behind his helmet, sliding his rifle onto his back.
"In a minute…" Mauve huffed back. "I saw a room on another catwalk… it might have evidence…"
"Or we can question these guys," Rust swept his hand around to emphasize the two dozen defeated combatants.
"True…" Mauve began.
She was cut off by a slow clapping from above. Team MARS looked upwards to spot the face of the man they had heard so much about, but had yet to meet.
Verdant Bulwark was far more imposing than any of them had expected, nearly rivaling Rust in height and musculature. He stared at them with cool, calculating blue eyes and a neutral expression on his face. He raised his brawny hand to scratch his beard for a moment before addressing them.
"Impressive work," Verdant complimented, his voice deep and scratchy. "I must admit… I wasn't expecting this morning to be this loud… but you three put on a good show."
"I presume you're Verdant Bulwark," Mauve stepped forwards, eyes narrowing. "Where-"
"Mauve Aella Tempesta," Verdant spoke lazily, shrugging his massive shoulders.
"What?" Mauve blanched, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Born in Mistral to Argent and Amatharine Tempesta," Verdant continued cooly. "Attended a Mistral preparatory academy and graduated with top marks, gaining entrance to Beacon… I remember watching you in a tournament once… not Vytal, this was a long time ago… one of the less official ones."
"I-"
"Asher William Rus- no…" Verdant caught himself, a small smile tugging on his lips. "Not a Russet anymore… don't feel any shame though, it's not like your parents are taken seriously these days. Honestly, it's probably better that you don't have to carry that name anymore."
"How do you know my parents?" Asher demanded.
"Rust Adad Zephyr," Verdant yawned, completely ignoring Asher's demand. "The son of a dust miner who died tragically in a cave in… sorry to hear about it, sounds like he was an honest man."
"How do you know that?" Rust growled, seeing his two teammates give him a look of surprise.
"Rust?" Mauve questioned gently, her eyes wide. Asher seemed just as shocked at the revelation.
"They don't know, huh?" Verdant chuckled, lifting himself off the railing he had been leaning on. "We all have our little secrets…"
"Care to tell us how you know so much about us?" Asher questioned, having already drawn his weapon from his back.
"A man with my connections? All I had to do was ask the right people…" Verdant explained. "When dealing with unknown variables it's best to gather all the information you can…"
"What about Sage?" Mauve demanded, raising her pistols up to keep Verdant in her sights. "Where is he? Is he alright? Tell us!"
Verdant looked amused. "No…"
"No?"
"What are you going to do?" Verdant chuckled at Team MARS attempts to frighten him. "Shoot me? Beat me? Do you think I will tell you even the slightest scrap of information? Why would I help you three?"
"We can make you talk…" Mauve growled, tightening her grips on her weapons.
"I look forward to it…" Verdant laughed out loud. He threw off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, revealing burly forearms. "It's been a long time since I've fought Beacon huntsman… lets see if the academy is still living up to its former reputation."
Verdant reached down and retrieved a long black rifle he had leaned up against the railing; it was decorated with swirling gold motifs. He strapped the weapon to his back and secured it before making his next move.
With a colossal leap that made all of Team MARS jump back, Verdant landed on the concrete below, shattering the ground below him like a spider's web. His green aura flared up to protect him for a moment as he stood back up.
"You wanted this…" Mauve snarled, hearing her teammates tense up behind her.
"I'm not the one that started it…" Verdant nodded, his face drawn in a grimace. The gangster's entire form radiated with green aura, making his body shimmer with light. He cracked his neck and pounded his brawny hands together. "Shall we?"