Howdy folks, how's it going?
Hope you guys and gals have been keeping safe, and I bring you a new chapter that'll hopefully help ya through these times.
As always, huge shout out to mah dude Chaos Productions for his help and commentary.
Also, I do not own either RWBY nor TES, if I did we would not be heading for a massive clusterfuck of grim (no pun intended) edginess in the former and telekinesis would work very differently in the latter.
And now, on with the show
/
"Hhhhhuuurrrggghh" Ruby groaned as the torment that was known by the name of Peter Port's lessons finally ended, getting out of the classroom as fast as it was possible with non-semblance assisted movement. "That took forever. How can someone speak so much and say so little?!"
Seriously, at this point the only reason the student body of Beacon didn't have more intimate knowledge about the man's life than anyone would ever want to know was the fact that nobody managed to stay awake long enough to be that badly scarred…
"Oh, quit being so melodramatic, Ruby." Weiss admonished with an unimpressed roll of her eyes. "I am sure that there are logical points to the way Professor Port teaches."
"Oh yeah? Name one." The younger girl challenged.
"I said there were points, I never said I saw what they were." Came the retort in the heiress' very own conceding-but-not-quite sort of way. "It still does not mean you shouldn't try."
"Oh, give it a rest, Weiss." Yang interjected as she finished stretching to shake off the sleepiness, at this point the blonde made better use of Grimm Studies as a naptime. "If even you, the cleverest, biggest nerd of the class can't figure it out, what chance do we common mortals have?"
"Well, I suppose you have a-Hey!"
"Speaking of," Ruby immediately took over in order to avoid a fight, although she herself was struggling mightily to contain her giggles at her partner's delayed reaction. "Anyone knows where Tristard got to? It's not like him to skip out before a class is over. I mean, he actually likes Port's classes for some reason…"
"He got a message from Serana on his scroll." Blake answered, having been sitting the closest to him at the time and thus helped him actually work the device to see it (it was amusing how his fellow other-worlders seemed to adapt to Remnant's technology faster than him…). "Apparently she really needed his help for something. He said they'd be meeting at our dorm."
"Uh, well, let's go back then. We need to get ready for our investigation." Ruby declared, whispering the second statement secretively, and since none of the other girls could think on any reason to object, off they went.
"Soooooo…" Yang eventually broke the silence, in a casual tone that poorly masked her rather intense curiosity. "What do you think they're doing up there?"
…
…
…
"Please tell me you're not implying what I think you're implying…" Weiss groaned in exasperation.
"And what, exactly, do you think I might be implying, Ice Queen…?" The blonde replied with mock cluelessness that was fooling nobody, likely because of the teasing grin on her face. "I mean, a smoking hot woman calling a handsome guy for "help" in a private setting? Please, do tell what came to your prim and proper little mind."
"Yang, give it a rest." Ruby cut in, with a level of annoyance that only a long-suffering younger sibling would ever be able to show. "I highly doubt Tristard and Serana are banging each other."
"Ruby?!" The older sister gasped, reaching her hand to her chest in a dramatic shock that was only partially faked. "Who has corrupted my little sister?!"
"Firstly, I am fifteen, not a clueless little kid. I had sex ed in Signal same as you, and just because I have trouble socializing doesn't mean I'm blind." The red-cloaked girl rolled her eyes, not rising to the bait. "Secondly, I know you, an unfortunate side-effect of being your sister, well enough to see that you're legitimately curious. To which I say, give it a rest. Even if they were involved, it's none of our business."
"…It kinda is if they're using our room." Yang retorted, in a somewhat petulant mumble.
"I'm with Ruby on this one." Blake interjected for the first time, as they crossed the hallway to their room. "I can't imagine Tristard would be such a deviant as to skip class to get some, much less be inconsiderate to the point of using our room."
What she left unsaid, however, was how confused and concerned she was at how much the mere implication of such a thing bothered her…
"Oh, is that a hint of possessiveness I hear there, Kitty cat?" Her partner immediately switched teasing targets with a taunting smirk.
The faunus was about to follow her team leader's example and tell her partner to shove it, when with a twitch of her feline ears, she picked up on a noise that went unnoticed by her friends.
Something suspiciously in between a moan and a contented sigh…
And it was coming from their room…
Almost faster than the eye could blink, Blake was stealthily standing before the door, two ears, human and feline, to the door.
"Blake, what the-?"
"Shhhhh, listen." She whispered quietly.
Blinking and glancing at each other in confusion, the other 3 girls reluctantly followed in her example, and listen they did.
"Thank you for this, Tristard. It has been far too long…"
"Think nothing of it. You know that I am always available to provide what you need, should you require."
"I wouldn't want to impose…"
"Oh please, we've been over this, Serana. I do not hold your urges against you. This is altogether the most efficient and expedite way to deal with them. I wouldn't have offered if I found issue with it. And it's not like we're making a mess of things, it's already a rather practiced routine."
"So you keep reminding me. Well, as long as we're at it… could I have just a little bit more? I'm still not quite satisfied."
"Aye, of course. Now where did I put that-oh there it is."
It was at this point that the combined weight of the eavesdroppers leaning on it proved too much for the door, and it gave way, the four girls too frozen in shock of varying origins to realize it until they found themselves piled in a tangle of limbs on the floor, after which they were quick to scramble to their feet, each of them prepared to say something-
Until they saw the surprised looks in the faces of the rooms current occupants, Serana from where she was primly sitting by their room's desk, and Tristard standing before her, with a hand bleeding into a cup she was holding.
…
…
…
"Huuuhh," The rather caught off-guard breton ventured, the injured hand retracting while glowing with a healing spell as if in a hasty attempt to hide the evidence. "There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this?"
/
"So, you're a vampire." Yang couldn't help but state a while later, when they had all calmed down and the perfectly reasonable explanations were given.
"I can see that you are still processing it. By all means, take your time." The woman replied, in a sincere, polite, and somewhat amused tone, even as she took another small sip of the cup as if she were just enjoying some soothing tea, to which the girls observed with varying degrees of queasiness and/or morbid curiosity.
"I'm sorry, it's just… wow, you know in hindsight this really shouldn't be all that surprising." The blonde conceded with a shake of her head. "Compared with the whole other world thing, a man with a dragon's soul and a humanoid cat, a vampire actually sounds downright normal."
"To be fair, vampires exist in Remnant's folklore." Blake commented ponderingly. "There's a Grimm species named after them, and a lot of old stories and modern-day franchises employing them. The concept is familiar, it's just surprising to actually meet one in the flesh…"
"Oh, I am well aware, I've seen what… "books" the Academy's library and the bookstores in the city have to say about my kind. I would very much like to have a word with those authors, because they are clearly idiots with no idea what they're talking about." The vampire in question replied, now sounding somewhere in between contrite, and insulted, (the cat faunus cringed in embarrassment and prayed that no one brought up the book shelf by her bed…) before her eyes turned to the youngest girl in the room, who seemed to be trembling in barely contained excitement. "I see you have questions, Ruby. I can probably guess what they are, but by all means, fire away?"
"Weeelll…" Ruby briefly, briefly, hesitated before letting the floodgates of her curiosity open. "If you're a vampire how come you don't burn in the sun? Can you be killed by a stake through the heart? What about garlic? Or running water? Do you sleep in a coffin? Do you have a castle lair? Why do you even need to drink blood if you are technically dead, or are you technically dead? If you bite people, would they become vampires or just your mind-controlled thralls? And do you have to drink human blood to survive and is that why Tristard offered his?"
Serana took a few moments to blink and process the sudden rapid-fire stream of inquiries, even as the red-cloaked girl paused for breath, the others looking at her oddly.
"Well, in that order:" She eventually started. "Sunlight weakens me and feels unpleasant, but I can walk in it just fine as you've seen. A stake through the heart would kill just about anything with a heartbeat. No, that's a stupid superstition. Same. I don't like coffins, spent too many millennia in one. Castles are very common in Skyrim and my family's home just happens to be one of them. I am technically undead, even if I can still feel things the living do, and the thirst for blood is an intrinsic part of my condition. I can spread the infection through bites, scratches or draining spells, and the afflicted become vampires until cured, which is why we were using a cup to prevent a reinfection, while turning people into thralls is another skill entirely and only really works on the weak-minded. I can get by on any kind of blood, and Tristard helps me only because his blood is extremely filling, probably because of his status as Dragonborn, and thus I only really need to drink a few sips about once a week. Barring that, I tend to hunt for animals, or barring that feed on bandits and criminals, don't really care for hurting sentient, innocent beings."
…
…
"What do you mean "reinfection"?" Weiss eventually voiced the most pressing thought on all the girls' minds.
"Vampirism in Nirn is daedric in origin, spread through a variety of diseases, with different strains that result in different breeds." Tristard explained helpfully, causing all eyes in the room to whiplash towards his position casually leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "Serana is of the Volkihar bloodline, one of the most ancient and pure. She turned me once during our adventures at my request, as it was, at the time, the only readily available way for me to safely venture into the Soul Cairn that wasn't guaranteed to end in disaster. Shortly after that whole sordid business got sorted out, I got myself cured."
"…What did being a vampire feel like?" Ruby couldn't help but voice out, in innocent curiosity.
"Unpleasant. You know that feeling when you get so thirsty that the back of your throat starts itching? Like that, except all the time, and worsening exponentially the longer you go without blood." The dragonborn replied, to which the red-cloaked girl shuddered in discomfort at the mere thought of itchy throat all the time.
"You are being rather candid about this." Blake commented, as she couldn't help but think this whole reveal to be rather more casual than it had any right to…
"And you all are taking this in remarkably well." Serana replied with an appreciative smile. "My thanks for not immediately recoiling in fear and disgust. That gets boring to watch after a while."
Before anything else could be said, there was a knock on the door. Tristard promptly went to answer, and in came none other than J'Zargo. The khajiit in disguise took a glance around the room, and nodded to himself with a little hum of realization.
"Serana's little secret is out, then. J'Zargo says this is a good thing, saves us some time." He commented, and as soon as the door was closed, the illusion surrounding him faded, leaving him in his full, feline glory for all to see. "Ah, much better…"
"…It's really just now dawning on me that our team is a magnet for the weird." Weiss couldn't help but voice the realization that suddenly dawned on her after the recent reveals. Her words made the catman bare his teeth in his kind's version of an amused smirk.
"Stick around, Snowflake, we haven't even begun to see weird." He said, causing the heiress' eyes to narrow in annoyance at the nickname.
"What are you even doing here?" She asked with a clearly displeased frown.
"Don't mind J'Zargo here, Weiss, he is frankly far too good at annoying people." The dragonborn explained, in the matter-of-factly-tone of someone who had said the same thing a million times over. "And I called him. We are planning to begin our investigation, aye? Well, take it from me, it never hurts to have a little extra help."
"Help that J'Zargo will gladly provide." The khajiit confirmed with a roll of his eyes at his comrade's passive-aggressive remarks. "It has been soul-crushingly boring these past few days, J'Zargo would certainly appreciate a little more action and less taking care of books. And hunting down a criminal organization? That just makes it nostalgic. It'll be the Dark Brotherhood all over again."
"The Dark Brotherhood…?" Yang parroted, blinking in confusion.
"An organization of assassins back in Nirn with a history spanning the ages, up until we put an end to it when they decided to make me a target." Tristard replied nonchalantly. "But I believe we are straying, yes?"
Deciding the more questions about her friends' rather adventure-filled past could wait until the next story-telling session, Ruby opted to voice out a more practical question.
"You're here at Beacon as a librarian, though." She said, looking towards the catman. "Wouldn't you get in trouble if you get caught. I mean, more trouble than us? We're not exactly going through the legal channels here…"
She promptly ignored Weiss' muttered 'Took her this long to consider that…'
"We shouldn't need to worry overmuch about that," The dragonborn replied reassuringly. "I ran it through Ozpin. We're not expecting any major issues in a simple outing for information gathering, but when they inevitably happen, he's ready to pull strings for us again. Within reason. And Serana isn't joining us anyway."
"Someone has to stay behind to hold the fort and keep an eye on Tawny when Velvet and the others have to see to their own work in a bit, after all. Coco was quite insistent that it be me for some odd reason, not that I mind taking care of children." The vampire cleared up when all eyes fell on her, before looking out the window distastefully. "Besides which, it's still too bright out for my tastes if there's no truly pressing reason for me to go."
"Fair enough." The red-cloaked girl conceded, before turning to the dragonborn in confusion. "But what did you mean with "pulling strings again"?"
"Ruby, you are all unlicensed students, and yet we got involved in an unsanctioned fight at the docks where between me, Penny and Durnheviir, people died. Now, in my world, that would be, at worst, a mild inconvenience, but here? Did you really not find it odd that we just got a slap on the wrist for being "reckless" even as we were commended for our efforts?" Tristard asked, somewhat bluntly.
"Well, the Headmaster has known the whole time who I actually was." Blake cut in ponderingly, (and privately kind of embarrassed for having ever thought she could've sneaked into the Academy…). "He let Ruby in two years early, and he's fully aware of Tristard's situation, it makes sense that he'd be keeping tabs on us…"
…
…
…
"So," Yang eventually said, voicing her conclusion. "Basically, what you're saying is that we're getting the Headmaster's indirect backing…?"
"Essentially, aye."
"…Uh, neat." She said simply, and after a few moments of glancing at each other, the girls decided to leave the matter be for now. The revelation had left them curious, the dragonborn was quick to notice, but also more comfortable with what was being planned, enough at least to leave said curiosity for later.
"So," J'zargo chose that moment to cut back in. "As J'Zargo understands it, you lot had a plan of action, yes? What was it, and how can J'Zargo fit in it?"
"Right so, me and Weiss were going to head on over to the CCT to use her heiress credentials to learn more about the White Fang attacks on SDC shipments." Ruby started, ignoring the heiress' indignant mutter of 'Don't talk about me like I am a tool and not present…'
"Me and Tristard were going down to Vale." Yang followed, walking to her teammate's side and patting him on the shoulder with a grin. "I know a guy there that keeps an ear to the criminal grapevine. Between the two of us, we can convince him to talk, easy."
"I thought I'd long left my thug days behind me." The dragonborn commented sarcastically, but with no real bite behind his bemused smile.
"And I was going to attend a White Fang recruitment rally a friend informed me about to try to learn more of what they're planning." Blake concluded. "I suppose it'd be more practical and safer if you came with me."
"Ah, yes, infiltration. J'zargo can do that." The Khajiit nodded with a feline grin, tail swaying in excitement at the prospect of some action.
"Excellent!" Ruby cheered, her excitement at their incoming activities now coming in at full force as she pointed towards the door. "Operation: Investigate White Fang begins! Let's go!"
She promptly marched towards the door and swung it open… To find Sun and Neptune standing there, the former's hand still reaching for the handle.
"Oh, hey there, guys." The monkey faunus greeted with a grin. "We'd have dropped by a bit earlier, but someone was feeling particularly wimpy regarding heights today so-"
"Yeah, that's nice and all." Ruby interrupted. "But we've got stuff to do and we've already lost too much time. You can come with, if you want."
With a nod towards Tristard and J'Zargo, who swiftly understood the implicit request and started pushing the very confused boys along, the group finally walked out of the room.
"Take care out there!" Serana called out encouragingly, before taking one more sip from her cup.
/
"Alright then," Yang said as she pushed Bumblebee out of the transport ship and joined the others in the airship terminal. "Are we ready to roll out?"
"Ready as we can be!" Sun answered with excitement. After things were explained to the duo, the monkey faunus was more than on board to help out, certainly much more enthusiastic than his teammate who mostly just joined to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble.
"Great, so, we'd best get going, Storm Caller." She addressed the dragonborn with a grin, as she patted the seat on the bike. "Hop on, we've got a little ways to go before we get there."
"Oh, that is quite alright, Yang." The breton declined politely, a purple glow now suffusing his hand. "I have my own ride."
Then there was surprise and slight alarm for civilian passers-by and the two boys of another academy when the skeletal spectre of Arvak took form upon the world.
"What the fuck is that…?" Neptune couldn't help but let the thought escape his lips as he stared wide-eyed at the apparition, flinching in discomfort as the sound drew the steed's empty eye sockets in his direction in turn, and the thing trotted forward with oddly mundane peppiness as it began rubbing its muzzle against an amused Weiss.
"Hello, Arvak." The heiress greeted with a smile, scratching the steed's lower jaw, much to its delight.
"…Eh, careful, friend." J'Zargo turned toward Tristard, the illusion over him presenting a teasing smirk. "You may find yourself losing your mount to the fair maiden soon."
"Yes, yes, Arvak, there'll be ample time to spend with Weiss later." The dragonborn grumbled good-naturedly as he approached and, with practiced ease, swung himself onto the horse's back. "For now though, there's work to do."
"…Dude, isn't it, like, really uncomfortable to be sitting like that? Without a saddle? On naked bones?" Sun asked as he beheld the odd scene, taking a step back when the horse snorted in his direction in what seemed to be… aggravation?
"Not really," The dragonborn shrugged even as he calmed the horse down with a pat on the back. "Don't think about it too much, Arvak's just a good horse like that."
…
…
"We've gotten ourselves into some rather crazy stuff this time, haven't we?" Neptune eventually said, with a look towards his team leader, the kind of look that indicated that one was not quite sure what was actually going on but they were still going to blame you for it, a look that the blond was honestly so used to he barely even bothered to acknowledge it nowadays.
"You don't know the half of it. At any rate," Ruby said, calling everyone's attention, in her best "serious team leader" impression, which was falling a bit flat given the sheer excitement that was making her eyes practically glow. "This is where we split up. Remember to keep in touch, everybody, and good luck!"
With that she marched off towards the CCT, shortly after followed by Weiss(after a few more scratches to Arvak) and Neptune, the latter trying to strike up a conversation and the former not giving him much room to.
"And that's our cue as well." Blake stated, motioning for Sun and J'Zargo to follow. "Follow me, I think I know we're we can get started."
"Blake," Tristard called out, making the cat faunus look back at him curiously. "Yours is the riskiest assignment of this entire operation. Do be careful out there."
"…Of course." She eventually replied, smiling a small, genuine smile at his evident concern. "Don't worry, we've got this."
With that she walked away, Sun following after a brief thumbs up and a 'cya later', and J'Zargo after that with a final glance to his rival, an unspoken message to be vigilant and ready for anything passing between them. The clear amusement in the khajiit's illusory visage however did leave the breton mildly confused.
"Well," Yang said after a moment of silently watching them leave. "Guess it's just you and me now, dragon man. You ready to go?"
"…Yes," Tristard replied, after he saw the others disappearing round a corner, sparing a quick prayer to the Nine for the safety of everyone. "Let's."
"Good, then let's roll." She said with a grin as she put on her helmet and sat on her ride, before looking at his somewhat dubiously. "Are you sure you don't want to ride in the back, though? I'm not really sure he can keep up…"
Tristard's answer was merely to snort in amusement.
"You hear that, Arvak?" The dragonborn said, sounding oddly cheeky. "She thinks you can't keep up."
Yang did not know how it was physically possible, but she could almost swear that, in that moment, someway, somehow, the skeletal horse was giving her a glare that just screamed 'Bring it, bitch!'.
/
"Ok. That's just cheating." Yang said as she was removing her helmet, the duo having arrived at their destination, staring at her teammate's steed in annoyed disbelief. "How is that thing that fast…?"
Seriously, she had put the pedal to the metal and Bumblebee's engine had roared as she took off as fast as the speed regulations of Vale allowed, expecting to stop a few blocks away to cheekily wait for him to catch up and tease him relentlessly over it. Imagine her surprise when she had glanced to the side and there the thing was, not only having caught up to her baby (Hey, if her sister could treat her weapon like family, she could do it with her bike too. No, that's not a double standard.) but easily keeping pace and even a few times pulling ahead as if just to prove it could…
"There is no finer steed than Arvak in all worlds, Yang." The dragonborn replied as he swung himself off his mount, with the wide, mocking grin that she should be throwing at him dammit, the horse snorting as if in agreement, his skeletal visage looking smugger than any horse skeleton had any right to be. "You'd be surprised at what a lack of muscles to strain, tire and weigh you down can do for your speed and endurance. Arvak could run around the world 5 times over without ever breaking stride if he felt so inclined."
"That's not how skeletons work." The blonde felt the need to point out with a grumble. Anatomy was boring, but that didn't mean she hadn't learned.
"Not mundane, natural skeletons maybe, but skeletons raised by necromantic power is another matter entirely." Was the archmage's retort, even as he dismissed the steed back into the Soul Cairn, with the promise he'd be getting called upon again very soon.
"Man, magic is such bullshit…" The blonde couldn't help but mutter as she stared at Arvak's form fading into motes of purple light.
"T'is a versatile craft." Tristard replied in amusement, before considering the building that stood before them. "So, this is the place, I take it?"
Yang had explained to him that this "guy" they were visiting was an information broker, who operated from a bar that was the regular haunt of Vale's… people of ill repute. The non-descript appearance of the place certainly made it seem like the sort of place that thrived in discreet business.
"Yep." The blonde confirmed as she moved to stand beside him, looking up at the building. "If Torchwick and the White Fang are planning anything, then odds are high that Junior's got an idea what it might be."
"How did you come to learn about this fellow?" The dragonborn couldn't help but ask curiously. "Sounds like something slightly outside the purvey of a huntress-in-training."
His curiosity only increased when the girl reacted to his inquiry with a mildly contrite frown.
"I… sought him out for information regarding… my mother." She admitted, and Tristard gave a little 'ah' in understanding, having long been made aware of the sisters' sordid family history by now. "Turned out to be a bust then, but hopefully we'll have more luck with more local intel."
"I see," The archmage replied neutrally, clearly realizing that his teammate didn't wish to dwell on the subject, so he tried to steer towards another. "Why request that I join you specifically?"
"Eh, thing is, last time I was here I mmaaaaayyy have caused a bit of a mess." Yang replied, sparing him a small, grateful smile that quickly turned teasing as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I kinda doubt that I'll be welcome here, so I figured I might as well have you backing me up. Surely a big, strong hero like you would have no trouble protecting lil 'old me from all these bad men, right?"
Tristard rolled his eyes with an amused snort at the implication that she, the most adept at melee combat of the team, better than even he were he unaided by his sorcery, would need protection of any sort from him.
"Of course I can." He replied in the best dramatic, heroic tone he could muster. "And how would my lady expect me to go about this protecting?"
At first, the blonde seemed to momentarily balk, caught off-guard by his playing along, but that was quick to give way to an amused grin.
"Oh, don't worry, you'll know what to do." She said simply, before stepping forward and motioning for him to follow.
They went to the large, non-descript door, and Yang knocked on it. There was some shuffling noises from the other side, before a slit opened, revealing a pair of red shaded glasses.
"What's the pass-" The man began monotonously before he very noticeably stiffened in panic. "Oh, shit."
The slit promptly closed, and the sound of steps hastily moving away was heard.
"It certainly seems that you made an impression." Tristard commented.
"Well, I am pretty unforgettable." The girl grinned, and then swung back her arm. The door proved to be a poor impediment as she punched it off its hinges and casually strolled into the place.
"Protection, my arse…" The breton muttered in bemusement as he followed her.
After a short walk through a corridor dimly lit in red, they found themselves before another, much larger door, the sound of rushed, panicking voices rising over the odd cacophony that echoed through the other side of the silvery surface, which was not spared the same treatment of its counterpart as Yang once more resorted to her fists, this time even using her weapon's discharge for that little extra "Oomph".
The doors blasted inwards, launching away a few men that'd been trying to barricade them, as the duo strolled in, one grinning cheekily while the other was the picture of casual calm.
"Guess who's back!" Yang called with an all too cheery friendliness, throwing out her arms as if expecting people to come rushing in for a big welcome hug.
Instead their welcome consisted of every firearm within the room being trained on them with obviously less than friendly intentions. In an odd sort of way, this all felt rather nostalgic to the dragonborn, like the Stormcloak rebellion all over again, even if the apparel differed.
"So," He said casually, looking around as he took in the odd, flashing lighting, the noise that stabbed at his ears sharper than any blade, and the ridiculous uniforms of the 50 or so men spread around before them. "Is this the sort of place the scum of society comes to dwell in? I have to give credit where credit is due, never thought I'd see such a den that'd make me prefer the abandoned ruins and damp, mouldy caves back home."
"What? No!" Yang, equally as unthreatened as he, turned to him with indignant surprise. "Tristard, this is a club. Many people come to these places for a drink, some dancing, you know, to have a good time. It's just that this one happens to be under bad management."
"Dancing? To what? Surely not this drivel. This is not music, this is the dying wails of a malfunctioning Dwemer Centurion." The dragonborn replied, his frown of pure distaste shifting into mild gratitude when the fellow with the odd bear mask cut off the horrible racket.
"I have no idea what that is, but-"
"Hey!" A gruff voice called out as a burly man in a fancier outfit than the others bullied his way through the crowd, glaring at Yang with annoyance and no small amount of wariness. "What the hell are you doing here, blondie?"
"Junior!" The blonde greeted the man with an enthusiasm that was very much not reciprocated, by either him or the oddly dressed girls that moved up to stand by him, twins most likely. "Just the man I wanted to see. I got some questions for you."
"Oh no. Ohohohohoh hell no." The information broker immediately denied, with all the demeanour of someone who was quite simply done and wanted no part of whatever was about to be said. "I do not know what your deal is, blondie, and I really don't care. I ain't seen nothing, I don't know nothing, and I would really appreciate it if you took your boyfriend and got the hell out of my club without making a fuss. I am still paying for the damages from your last visit…"
The man's words, bold as they were, belied the nervousness that was plain to see in his eyes. They did serve to embolden his goons, however, the wall of guns before them taking a menacing step forward, the two girls taking combat stances as they glared at the blonde with particularly intense vitriol.
"Now, that's just hurtful, Junior. And here I thought we'd been getting along so well." Yang replied in a mock hurt tone, dramatically bringing a hand to her cheek, before finally deigning to acknowledge the many, many weapons in front of her. "Ah, well, I suppose this is why I brought him along. Tristard, do the thing."
…
…
"I am afraid you will need to be a bit more specific than that, Yang." Tristard responded casually, which did little to ease the tension that build up in the room at the blonde's words. "Which thing in particular?"
For a moment, that took the wind off Yang's sails, her cheekiness fading as she almost stumbled and threw him an annoyed stare. She was quick to bounce back, however, if the returning grin was any indication.
"Ya know what? Surprise me."
…
…
"Very well, then." The dragonborn obliged after a moment's consideration, turning back towards the crowd. "ZUN HAAL VIIK."
With his shout asserting his will over reality itself, gasps and cries of surprise followed as every single crook in the room found their weapons flying from their grip no matter how hard they struggled against it. With a rather humorous squawk of surprise, one of the twins quite literally had her feet swept out from under her as the blades at her heels broke free. Then with a calm, deliberately slow movement of a hand glowing in orange light, surprise turned to alarm as they suddenly found their own weapons floating in the air, aimed against them.
"…Eh, not quite what I had in mind, but I'll take it." Yang commented, before turning once again to a rather worried and irate looking Junior. "So, about those questions? Since we're all trying to avoid a mess and all, it'd be a shame if my teammate here suddenly lost his focus."
As if to emphasize, a few of the weapons closest to her clicked ominously as their slides racked back, ready to fire.
"…Uuuugh, fine, what do you want to know?" Junior asked, to his credit less out of any genuine fear at the situation and more out of wisely deciding that refusing her was a futile effort and that it was best to just get this done with as swiftly as possible.
"Atta boy, Junior." The blonde said in cheery encouragement, and it clearly took a fair amount of self-control for the man not to growl. "Now, what do you know about what Torchwick has been up to?"
"Torchwick?" The man replied, now sounding legitimately surprised as his face scrunched up in consideration. "Next to nothing, actually. I haven't seen that bastard in ages, not since he took some of my men for a job and they never came back. Last I'd heard he'd been shacking up with the White Fang cell here in Vale and got into some trouble at the docks recently, but that's about it."
"Seriously, Junior? That's all you got?" The blonde replied, eyeing him critically. "You really don't know anything else?"
"Blondie, your boyfriend is holding me and my crew at gun point, and last time, you didn't even need that to wreck us so bad we're still recouping from the losses." Junior replied with an utterly dry look. "What would I gain by lying? I don't go for stupid deals."
"Uh, fair enough." The blonde had the grace to concede the point, although the lack of results was rather annoying, but then the thought struck her. "What about the White Fang itself? Any news on that front?"
"Word through the grapevine is those animals have been mobilizing all over the city." The man replied grudgingly, a sneer of distaste on his face at the thought. "Rumour goes, they've been gathering in numbers somewhere outside the city, but I got no idea where that might be."
"Is that so?" Yang commented, sharing a glance with Tristard, who had opted to keep quiet in order to maintain focus on his spell. It wasn't much to go on, but at least it felt like a step in the right direction…
"Yes, that is all I know." The man answered the rhetorical question with a long-suffering sigh. "Now, if that would be all, blondie, please, get out of my club…"
"Alright, alright, yeesh, who pissed in your strawberry sunrise, Junior?" The blonde questioned with exaggerated aggravation, before she turned and motioned for her teammate to follow. "We'll get out of your hair now. Cya later!"
"I sure as hell hope not…" Junior replied with the utmost sincerity, as the duo walked out.
It was only after they were out of side, and all the weapons suddenly clattered harmlessly into the ground, that the broker and all his goons allowed themselves a sigh of relief.
He needed a freaking drink after this…
/
"Were the theatrics truly necessary?" Tristard couldn't help but ask as soon as they reached the street, as he let the telekinesis spell end.
"Eh, given how they were still all so scared of me after last time, maybe not." The girl conceded, before throwing a friendly jab at his arm. "But come on, it worked out. We got a lead and everything! That was an impressive trick, by the way. I mean, I was expecting you to do the push thing, but using their own guns against them was a great move."
"A mere bluff." The dragonborn admitted, causing the girl's eyes to whiplash in his direction. "I lack the familiarity with firearms to have been able to properly fire all of them."
"…I've seen you lift anything from books to big pieces of rubble." The blond felt the need to point out.
"Books are as easy as flicking a page and rubble is one big mass. Guns have moving parts, machinery that I simply would not be able to manipulate in large quantities like just now." He paused, as if considering something, then amended. "Not that I would actually fire, anyway. I doubt that'd do much good to our reputation."
"Fair enough, I guess." Yang conceded with a nod. "Anyway, it wasn't much, but we got what we came for. Here's to hoping the others had better luck in getting something concrete."
"Aye, we shall find out soon enough." Tristard agreed, and a short silence fell between the duo.
"Sssooooooooo…" The blonde broke said silence, giving the dragonborn an amused smirk. "Now that it's just you and me, is this the time where you give me helpful advice to get through my issues? I mean, I know you've been handing those out to the others, when is it gonna be my turn?"
Tristard blinked, genuinely caught off-guard by the sudden question, and by the fact that the blonde's demeanour, as teasing as always, also seemed almost… expectant?
"…Well," He replied neutrally, carefully considering what to say. "I wouldn't go so far as that, but if you're bringing it up, there is something I've been meaning to-"
It was at that moment that their scrolls beeped, and a voice that was unmistakeably Blake's filtered through in clear distress.
"Everyone, we found trouble! We need back up NOW!"
A couple of loud explosions echoed in the distance as the message cut off.
"…I knew things were not going to be so simple." The dragonborn stated with a tired sigh.
/
Things can never be simple.
Not gonna lie, this chapter fought me a bit, mainly because Shadowlands has been taking most of my time and attention these days, but still, I hope you all found it an entertaining piece.
Next month, at the end of this shittery of a year, we have the next update to 'Ere We Go, Pluz Ultra!, so look forward to that.
Cya all on the next one, stay safe and take care.