Mad Max: Road to Salvation: Volume 3
Episode 65: Pain in the Nuts n Bolts
A/N: Sorry for the delay. Now that RWBY has been removed from YouTube my writing just got a lot harder. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
originally posted on 10/31/2020
[Wolfan10: Thank you, what happened to Anya was that she used the powers of the maiden and the Angel at the same time. Basically, she used too much power at once and nearly killed herself. I'm not sure if I could bring in the dark one, I'd have to see if it could even fit. Too much weight in the story can slow me down.]
[blueassassin996: Yep, and thanks.]
[MasterScarcity1: Thank you!]
[Wombag1786: It certainly isn't, my friend. There's hell to pay!]
-UNKNOWN LOCATION-
Darkness, that was all Max could see for the moment as he wondered where he was. While he struggled to move or use his sense of touch he listened for any sounds at all to help him understand what was happening. Perhaps he was still asleep and struggling to wake up, or was he trapped in a black void? In the midst of his plight a voice began to ring in his ears, one he had not heard in quite some time since the earlier days of his time in the world of Remnant: the voice of Salem.
Salem's blurred visage appeared within Max's field of view though the room surrounding them remained dimly lit. "…And so you find yourself here, such arrogance to think your sacrifice would have meaning. Tell me, did you hope to defeat me and those who serve me as if you were a kind of hero from a pointless fable?" She said in her regal manner as she looked down upon Max.
The road warrior tried to turn his head to look himself over for wounds, from what little he could see it was clear that his body had been battered and beaten to pulp. Yet even though he was so badly injured he could still clench his fists in defiance, not that it mattered when he considered what was happening in front of him. Oddly enough, he didn't remember how he'd even gotten here at the feet of the dark queen.
"Not… not a hero… I just want to make you pay… for everything you've done." Max wheezed despite the hellish amount pain he was in just to speak his mind to queen of evil. "I was never a hero, and I knew I wouldn't survive coming here: I wanted this."
"Then it's as I suspected, you are merely another fool with a death-wish." Salem summoned a concreted ball of magical energy in her hand, prepared to destroy the fallen warrior and bring his journey to an end.
"A fool… would have come unprepared to die…. I didn't." Max spat at Salem with a look of sheer malice in his eyes that would chill the blood of even the most hardened souls.
But just before Max would perish he felt a powerful shake rattle him to his core and a blinding light filled his vision.
The Road warrior's eyes flew open and he bolted upright with rapid breaths for air. He looked around and saw that he was in the bedroom he normally stayed in while he was at Beacon. A glance to his side revealed that Glynda was no longer in the bed beside him as she had been the during the previous night. Max could guess where she was, he'd barely spoken a word to her over the last several days but he knew she wasn't teaching classes. He sighed and moved to get out of bed and dress himself in his usual gear, the first thing he was going to do after that was collect Bruz and then talk things out with Glynda.
After a few minutes of getting dressed into his usual attire, Max set off into the halls to face the trials of the day ahead of him. Though the nightmare would haunt him for some time to come, he knew he could not speak of it to anyone until the time was right. For the time being he would have to keep another secret on top of the other thing which he could speak of.
-BEACON INFIRMARY: SEVERAL MINUTES LATER-
To say things looked bad would be an understatement in the case of Max and Bruz. The two of them were walking towards the Beacon infirmary with a myriad of thoughts on their minds, chief among them Glynda's fury. When they reached the infirmary, Max took a deep breath and grasped the knob.
"Boss you know mum is right pissed with us..." Bruz said nervously.
"We're about to deal with it." Max replied stoically as he opened the door. Sitting over by the bed that Anya was sleeping in was none other the good witch of Beacon and her good friend the manic doctor Gray. Glynda's back was to the boys but she knew the door had opened from the sound of the hinges squeaking.
"... Husband... Son... I've heard you have managed to save our precious little bundle of joy." Glynda said in a hush and irritated tone without even bothering to look back at them. Her eyes were focused on the child she has been calling her daughter for the past year now.
"That we did mum, we... All I can say is we did our best." Bruz replied meekly. His ears drooped down in a mix of fear and shame, he knew that it did not matter though. "She's home at least." The little girl in the bed was hooked up to all manner of medical gizmos, including a breathing tube to keep her going. It was all his and Max's fault, they'd been too slow to rescue the Anya which put her in the position to suffer so greatly.
"... Yes home." Glynda said as she turns around with both eyes hidden behind her glasses. "While I am thankful that both of you brought Anya home, I must ask..."
She pauses as she grabs ahold of her ridding crop. Holding it firmly in both hands before speaking again.
"What, in the name of Oum almighty... Gave you two idiots the idea to ram your car into the side of the truck with her in it, that almost went off a cliff?" Glynda said before slowly tapping her riding crop in her hand. She lowered her head to show the anger in her eyes before speaking the next words in a vengeful and terrifying tone. "Before you answer, take a moment to think this over and choose your words, very carefully."
Bruz flinched, his stepmother had no idea they'd technically blown up the vehicle in order to crash it.
Max's brow furrowed, and his eyes wandered to the crop in her hands before locking on Glynda's face. "It was the only way to stop them." He kept his stoic demeanor but subtle twitches of his eyes betrayed his underlying regret. "What else could I have done?" He asked honestly.
Glynda looks at him in the eye. That stoic look may make a Beowolf sweat bullets, but with Anya in her condition and with how Morning sickness has been treating her... The stare she sent back would give the same result if not turn the poor Grimm to stone. After a full minute of staring she said in a dead serious tone. "The Couch. Full week. No exception." She quickly turned her head to Bruz so fast it could be mistaken that sound it made was a whip cracking. "As for you. Car Keys. No driving for two weeks unless it's for school work, or an emergency."
"But mum! I-!" Bruz's mouth was wide open in shock.
Glynda slams her riding crop into a wheel tray next to Bruz. Leaving a rather large dent in it. With an intimidating tone she holds out her hand for the keys while saying. "Keys... NOW."
"Urk!" The young man flinched in fright and slowly reached into his pocket for the keys to his sand shark. With a heavy heart he presented his keys to his step mother. "Here." He replied coldly.
"... Three weeks." Glynda said in response to Bruz's tone.
Max looked to his son and nodded in confirmation, now wasn't the time to argue with Glynda. He knew all too well that it was best to give her what she wanted or it would not end well.
"Do it... son."
"Take them." He handed her the keys and held in a bit of anger. His reply to Glynda wasn't exactly the best choice of words but he had no other thoughts to choose from besides cursing.
Glynda grabs Bruz by the collar of his shirt before pulling him in close with the upper half of her face darkened in rage. "Four weeks. Continue with that sass, and you will be helping Port collect Grimm till you graduate. Am I clear?"
"Tch. Just take the keys, I have homework to do." Bruz growled.
"Both of you, enough." Max tried to put a stop to the disagreement but he had forgotten that that road to hell was paved with good intentions.
Glynda lets her step son go. watching with fire in her eyes as he leaves the room. She clenches her hand in a fist so tightly that blood begins to leak out. Didn't help that the keys were in her hand... and small sapping noise can be heard from it. She then turns to Max before grabbing him by his jacket. She brought him down to her level and spoke in a terrifying tone. "I'm still pissed at you, Husband. But unless you get our son in line, then our beloved daughter makes a full recovery AND GET ME SOME GODS BE DAMNED PICKLES... I will beat your head in like it was fucking bongo drum! Am I clear?!"
"Glynda, ...your hand." Max warned his wife.
Glynda looks down at her hand. Realizing she cut herself she stares down at the blood before tears begin to fall. She looks up at Max before grabbing him as she cried. "Why?! Why our precious girl?! She has to I take the burden of that terrible role and then she gets kidnapped! Why can't the two brothers just give us a break?!"
"All we can do is move forward." He slowly wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace.
"*Sniff* I know but... I... I just want her to enjoy being a child. It's the least this world can do for her. Let her childhood be like any other." Glynda said as she silently cried into Max's shoulder.
"Pickles eh? Guess you want some Jalapeno sauce to chase it with too." Bruz muttered sarcastically while still within earshot.
Glynda waves her riding crop. Using her semblance, picks Bruz up before tossing him out the window. "... And that will be six weeks. *SIGH* Sad part is I have to pick that up."
"I'll get him in line. But for Anya, all we can do is try to protect her." Max glanced at the child, all that equipment attached to her... She didn't deserve that. "Her injuries..."
"*Sniff* I agree... though ramming your car into it didn't help either." Glynda said as she lets go of him and walks over to the side. She held her daughter's hand before looking up at Max. "Max... Promise me one thing. Don't ever let her kill again. Not while she is still young."
"I'll do what I can. But I'm not sure if she'll even walk again, only doctor Gray and Amy know." Max replied.
"For the sake of the world as well as your own, she had better run a marathon after she wakes up." Glynda said in distraught.
"Ahem, Glynda. Pardon my intrusion but it wasn't the crash that did it." Said the voice of Doctor Gray.
"I know, yet whenever I ask you refuse to tell me what caused the issue with her legs." Glynda hissed in annoyance.
"Because I'm still trying to figure it out." Emily replied sternly.
Glynda turns to her with confusion in her eyes. "W-What are you talking about?"
"Almost didn't hear you come in." Max remarked as he locked eyes on the school's chief physician.
"I can be quiet when I want to." Doctor Gray retorted, pressing her glasses up into their proper position which got a gleam from the sunlight in the room.
"Anyway, yes there was blunt force trauma to Anya's legs but it wasn't the main cause of her temporary loss of the ability to walk." Doctor Gray explained to Max and Glynda, the latter of the two widened her eyes in confusion. "Her spine AND her legs, the nerves specifically, have suffered severe damage. I'm having a hard time figuring out how exactly that happened."
"I can lend some... insight on that." Max said to the good doctor.
"How so?" Doctor Gray raised an eyebrow.
"Her semblance, that caused it." Max sighed in an apprehensive manner and looked away from Doctor Gray.
"Her semblance..." Doctor Gray put hand to her chin thought.
"Yes, her body couldn't handle the strain of so much energy at once." Max nodded, though he wasn't exactly telling the truth.
"Hmmm... then I might have to run a check. I've never heard of a semblance causes that kind of damage to the user." Doctor Gray frowned and messed with her glasses.
"New semblances appear all the time, you know that..." Max told her and then looked to his grieving wife.
Glynda nodded and dawned her stern look. "Emily, will our daughter walk again?"
"It's hard to tell. I'll run some more tests to determine if we can treat her with physical therapy, if that doesn't work then I can contact a colleague in Atlas who could try to help if that's what's needed." Doctor gray explained to the grieving parents.
"Run the tests, let us know when you have results." Max said sternly, though he wasn't telling Emily the whole truth about what happened. He couldn't afford to do so, that was a secret that was best kept closely protected.
"Very well. If you need anything else let me know." Emily nodded and walked away to her desk to setup up the next tests.
"We certainly will." Glynda hummed as she looked back to the sleeping child. Her heart ached to see the little girl in so much pain, but all she could do was watch… and not for much longer. Unfortunately, she still had other duties to attend to, aiding Ozpin with the administration and disciplining the children of the academy were also her responsibilities.
Max put a hand on her shoulder. "Glynda, you and I have work to do. We'll come back to see her later, I promise."
Glynda nods her head and the two of proceeded to leave the infirmary, she took one last glance back at her step daughter and clenched her fist around her riding crop.
-BEACON COURTYARD: HOURS LATER-
Sunlight shown above the academy with a warm light of comfort for most of the people walking with the halls of the academy and its outer areas. For the newly discovered youngest member of the Schnee family, it wasn't as cheerful. The boy stared into the fountain water, his face had a few stitches and bandages from his hairy experience a few days ago. He was practically a bandage mummy with all the wrapping that covered his arms and legs. Standing a short distance away from the boy was Special Agent Washington, who just happened to be twirling a knife in his hand that he'd kept since the Chorus incident.
Wash holstered the knife after another moment of twirling it and sighed to himself, he wondered to himself just how he was tasked with keeping an eye on the boy. "Hey uh... Danny, how long are you gonna be standing there, little buddy?" He asked the kid in a nice tone.
The child glanced at him and continued to look back into the fountain.
"You know, we could go see your cousin at the stadium..." Wash tried to encourage the child to react to him. He could tell there was a lot of weight on the boy's mind due to recent events, he could sympathize with that to an extent but that was pretty much it.
"My cousin Weiss... right." Danny said in an almost numb tone, that suggestion had perked him up slightly.
Wash caught the reaction and decided to try and capitalize on the opportunity. "Your cousin Ruby is there too from what I heard.
"Who told you about all that stuff?" Danny said with a hint of anger in his voice.
"Your moms, and your cousin Yang, they figured I needed to know if I was going to be watching you. So now that you know why I know, I'd really like to avoid having all three of them... mad at me, ok." Wash replied, trying his hardest to be nice to the kid. There was some PTSD there, but it wasn't in his skillset to help.
Danny took a breath and looked up to the stadium, his facial expression lightened a bit more as he stared into the sky. "I... guess we could do that."
"You won't have to go far." Said a familiar voice in a slightly regal tone. Danny and Wash looked over to the source of those words, it was Weiss and Ruby walking right up to the both of them.
"Guess that match you two were watching is over." Wash said coolly to the two young huntresses in training.
"Yeah, it was great mister Washington! Our friend Sun and his team kicked butt!" Ruby said with a smile.
"I'd bet it was." Wash sat down on a bench.
"So why were you going to see us?" Weiss inquired to the soldier.
"It was for Danny, ...he's not in a good place. I figured it would help him out a bit after what happened." Wash put a hand to back of his head while he explained the situation.
"I'm standing right here you know... Hi cousin Ruby, hello cousin Weiss." Danny tried to make a smile to the two of them, though both girls could immediately tell something was wrong.
"Hi Danny, are you feeling better? I didn't know you were out of the infirmary yet." Ruby tried to ask her cousin.
"Hey Ruby…. I'm doing fine." Danny said in a tired manner, but the boy's reaction betrayed his words.
"Daniel... why don't you come with us? We're going to meet someone very special. I think you might be very happy to meet her." Weiss smiled warmly to her little cousin.
"Oh?" Curiosity appeared in the boy's eye.
"Yes, it'll be kind of a surprise." Weiss made an attempt to further encourage the boy. "She's family."
"Oh?!" Daniel grew a bit of smile, and Weiss could see she was breaking through.
"Well are you coming or what?" Weiss tapped her foot expectantly, but the look on her face was a confident smile. She had the boy's attention now, all she had to do was reel him in now.
"LET'S GO!" Daniel said happily as he darted over to Weiss.
"That's the spirit!" Ruby beamed at her cousin.
"Then follow me." Weiss began to walk toward the landing pads. "Be on your best behavior Daniel."
"Ah huh! I will. But who are we meeting?" Danny asked the heiress as the group of four approached their destination.
"You'll know in a moment, she's a very nice person. I'm sure she'll be very happy to see us both!" Weiss said in a giddy tone of voice.
"Oh? Really?" Daniel looked a bit puzzled from how vague his cousin was being.
"You're saying oh a lot ya know." Ruby remarked to her cousin.
"Ahem." Weiss cleared her throat when they came to a stop in front of an airship that had just lowered its exit ramp.
"Weiss who are we meeting though? What's the big deal?" Ruby asked the Schnee girl.
"Winter!" Weiss hollered over the woman who had just exited the Atlas military craft. She was surrounded by military personnel and combat droids.
"Wait, your sister?" Ruby exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh, you dolt! You spoiled the surprise for Daniel!" Weiss snapped at her team leader.
"She's my aunt too?" Daniel pointed to the woman as she walked toward their group.
Ruby winced in regret and rubbed the back of her head. "Oops...sorry."
"*SIGH* Forget it." Weiss rubbed her forehead for a few seconds and then looked to Danny. "Yes, she is."
"Oh, your presence honors us." Weiss curtsied for her elder sister.
"Beacon... It's been a long time... The air feels different." Winter remarked as she glanced around the courtyard.
"Well it is fall so uh... that might be why." Ruby muttered uncomfortably.
"So, you're related to Weiss?" Wash asked the older Schnee sister. "I can see the resemblance."
"And who are you?" Winter eyed the man with a mix of annoyance and mild curiosity.
"Special agent Washington, ma'am." He saluted the Atlas specialist, doing his best to channel his old habits from his time in the UNSC military.
"Why are you here special agent?" Winter asked him with an inquisitive look in her eye.
Wash shrugged. "Not the first time I've heard that question... anyway it's for several reasons, but right now Weiss can partially explain it." He gestured to the heiress.
"I can?" Weiss raised an eyebrow at the agent's vague words.
"Weiss, to you it should be obvious." Wash deadpanned.
A lightbulb suddenly clicked over the girl's head when the realization struck her. "Ah yes, thank you Agent Washington. All this has gotten us sidetracked."
"Thank you, Mr. Washington." Ruby whispered to the agent.
"You... needed help. I've been there." Wash replied to the girl with the red cape.
"So Winter, what are you doing here?" Weiss asked her elder sister.
"That's classified." Winter replied.
"How long are you staying?" Weiss asked another question.
"Classified." Winter replied coldly.
"Well this is nice, I think." Ruby said awkwardly while she clung to Washington's side.
"Ruby, not to be a bad sport but you're in my personal space." Wash said to the teenager.
"You're going to love it here!" Weiss became very giddy all of a sudden. "I know you travel a lot but Beacon is different from Atlas. The government and school are completely separate! Can you believe it?"
"I'm more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its bureaucracy. That is not why I came, nor did I come to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle. But it appears I have no choice in the matter." Winter said sternly in response to her sister's words.
'Oh, she is so much more like the old Carolina...' Wash thought to himself while he watched the two sisters converse with each other.
"But we won." Weiss yelped indignantly.
"Only a novice would count that as a victory. I counted three strikes missed." Winter narrowed her eyes at her sister in disapproval. "Leave us." She said to the droids, which immediately stepped back.
"*SIGH* how have you been?" The Atlas specialist's tone lightened a bit.
"Oh splendid! I'm at the top of the ranking in our sparring class, and my studies are going well." Weiss started to say but was quickly met with a bop on the noggin.
"Silence you boob. I don't recall asking about your ranking, I asked how you've been. Are you eating well? Have you made any friends?" Winter scolded her sister for a moment, but her expression softened into a small smile. But before Weiss could answer, a loud sneeze from behind Washington interrupted the conversation.
"AAACHOO!"
Winter looked around for a moment to find the source of the sneeze and spotted a small figure hiding behind the agent.
Timidly hiding behind the man's leg was a little boy she had never laid eyes on before, and so she looked down on the child for a moment in curiosity.
"You're supposed to cover your mouth when you sneeze, and excuse yourself." She addressed the boy, who simply tried harder to hide behind his bodyguard
"I almost forgot, Winter... I introduce you to the youngest member of our extended family. I discovered him and our long-lost aunt very recently." Weiss explained as she gestured to the boy.
Winter's eyes widened a bit at that tidbit of knowledge. "And you have proof of this?" She asked her younger sister.
"Of course, DNA evidence in fact." Weiss huffed proudly.
"That's... unexpected." Winter kneeled down to get eye level with the child.
"It's okay. Introduce yourself." Weiss politely instructed her little cousin to approach the older Schnee sister.
The boy looked a bit apprehensive to meet the stranger, her first impression had been very intimidating. "I'm... I'm Danny. Danny Kalt, my ... my middle name is Wilhelm. It's nice to meet you Auntie Winter." The boy said timidly to Winter at the behest of his cousin Weiss.
Winter was... bemused, if not outright surprised by the child. "Wilhelm, … that's a respectable name." She nodded to Daniel, who had formed a small smile.
"He's been through a lot over the last few days... so uh cut him some slack?" Ruby chimed into the conversation.
"And how is this your business?" Winter narrowed her eyes at the leader of team RWBY. "I wasn't even speaking to you."
"Well uh I'm a friend of Weiss and her team leader, and Danny is my cousin too." Ruby rubbed the back of her head nervously, trying hard to avoid looking Winter in the eye.
"Is that so?" Winter glanced back at Weiss for a moment, expecting an answer from her younger sibling.
"That was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to her." Weiss defended herself while under the microscope of her sister's gaze. "I had planned on telling you before this dolt interrupted us."
"Hey! Traitor!" Ruby took offense to what Weiss had said.
"Ok that's enough, let's move things along." Washington intervened before chaos could ensue between both girls. "To make a long story short, Danny here is related to both families of these two, who happen to be friends and teammates, otherwise there's no family relation between them. I was assigned temporary guard detail since he was kidnapped recently and it's believed someone might try to kidnap him again." The freelancer explained in a very clear and consistent manner.
"Thank you for the explanation Special Agent. I'll discuss this with my sister and... nephew, alone. You're dismissed." Winter nodded respectfully in appreciation for the man being straight to the point.
"You're welcome ma'am, but with all due respect I must inform you that I have higher orders to keep an eye on him." Washington politely refused to leave.
The two of them had a brief stare down after Washington spoke. Even the air around them seemed to become frigid with disagreement. Ruby shuffled uncomfortably and backed away slightly from the two military service members. Wash didn't flinch in the slightest while he looked Winter directly in the eye, though on the inside he was squirming. To him it was like dealing with Carolina all over again, but he knew exactly how to deal with stubborn brass due to his service experience.
"Then it seems we are at an impasse." Winter hummed.
"Pretty much, I go where Daniel does until I hear otherwise from General Ironwood." Wash threw out the General's name to get Winter to back off, he wasn't exactly lying when he said so. The general had spoken with him earlier though it was more of a suggestion on top of Amy's request. He suspected it was because of some political favors.
"I understand, come along then… We'll verify your orders soon enough." Winter had to respect the General's orders if that was the case. She looked back at Weiss and Danny for a moment. "Weiss and ... Wilhelm, let's find a more appropriate place to speak."
The group of four began to make their way across the courtyard, unaware of a certain someone following them. Suddenly a loud pop was heard by all four individuals and it was followed by clanking from the body of some headless drones that collapsed on the ground.
*CLANK! POP! *
"Hey! Yeah, I'm talking to you... Ice Queen!" Said a slurred voice from behind the three Schnees and the soldier.
Ruby, who was peaking at the group from behind a small wall sweated nervously at what was about to happen. "Oh noo..."
Now thoroughly annoyed by the man who'd just torn apart the drones, Weiss walked over to him to give him a piece of mind. "Excuse me?! Do you know who you're talking to?!" She started to scold him but he immediately shushed her.
"Sh shs hs sh. Not you." The man said in his slurred way of speaking and pushed Weiss aside. He then dragged himself over to Winter, Wash, and Danny. "You." He looked the specialist in the eye. "Saw that gawdy ship of yours in town, guessed you were here too."
"I'm standing right before you." Winter retorted; her gaze was focused squarely on the drunken wretch who'd stirred her ire. "You realize you just destroyed atlas military property."
"Ooh I mistook this for sentient garbage." The drunkard snorted.
"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow." Winter snarled back.
"Wait a minute, you two know each other?" Wash and Weiss said at the same time.
"Jinx!" Ruby shouted from a short distance away.
"Yeah, we do know each other, and this stuck up ice queen has a few things coming to her." Qrow slurred to the agent with a grin still on his face, to which Wash was not amused. "Now, outta the way soldier boy. She and the other Atlas specialists think they're so special… so I'm gonna knock her off that high horse."
"It's going to be one of those days... "Wash shook his head and got between the two of them before something could break out, he hoped his experience mediating between the reds and blues would help. "Now hold it right there! HOW do you both know each other? And by the way, the last thing any of us needs is certain people breathing down our necks!"
"It's in the title." Winter replied to Qrow with a hint of anger.
"Well, ya know what ya really are? A bunch of sellouts." Qrow egged on the specialist even further. "Just like your boss."
"I don't know what you think you're implying but I've heard enough!" Winter responded and took a step forward.
"Okay, did nobody listen to what I just said?" Wash groaned and facepalmed.
Qrow glanced at Wash lazily. "Oh, I heard you buddy, ... but I just don't care."
"Agent Washington, get out of the way." Winter ordered to the freelancer.
"No, I'm stopping this right here before it gets out of hand!" Wash snapped at the two feuding fighters.
"I ordered you to move." Winter growled.
"What's the hold up? You just stand aside and let us settle things, or are you just another Atlas flunkey like her?" Qrow said as he eyed Wash and then glanced back to Winter to taunt her again. "I heard something too by the way, that Ironwood turned his back on OZ..."
"If you two start anything, I'm getting dragged into it just because I was here!" Wash retorted to the both of them.
"Then don't be, it's that simple." Qrow told the agent.
Winter then turned her attention to Weiss and Danny. "Weiss, take the boy and leave." She said sternly to her younger sister.
"Listen to big sister Weiss, she'll protect you and the kid... just like Atlas is going to protect all of us." Qrow threw his hands in the air as he paced to his left for a moment.
"If you won't hold your tongue, I will gladly remove it for you!" Winter unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Qrow, and subsequently Washington since he was standing in the way.
"Alright then, come and take it." Qrow slicked back his hair and smiled dangerously as he brought out his own weapon.
"THAT'S IIIIT!" Washington shouted furiously, then he drew both his Battle rifle and pistol, loading in the rubber rounds for the guns. He pointed the rifle at Qrow and the pistol at Winter, earning a look of disgust from the Schnee. "THIS ENDS RIGHT HERE!"
"Agent Washington, …You have 5 seconds to explain why you are pointing that weapon at me." Winter hissed violently.
"Because both of you forced me to! Now either we ALL walk away and pretend this never happened or this gets ugly..." Washington retorted as he swapped between looking at both of his colleagues. "All Civilians… please stand back for your own safety!" He said with his helmet's built in bullhorn, and the civilians just continued to watch the fight albeit from slightly further away due to Wash's request.
"... Hmph, looks like we've got a genuine standoff." Qrow remarked humorously at the situation. "So, who's going to make the first move…?"
"You started this Qrow." Wash snorted in annoyance.
A tense atmosphere settled over the area that surrounded the three warriors, observing civilians held their breath at thought of what could happen next. Seconds ticked by with each fighter tensed up to fight one another in all out combat. Wash pulled back the hammer on his magnum and flicked the battle rifle's safety off while Qrow rolled his shoulders confidently, and Winter corrected her posture ever so slightly to deal with both meatheads.
The specialist gauged her opponents carefully, she needed to be efficient if she wanted to come out victorious in this disagreement. Her eyes flicked from Washington to Qrow, with one perfect strike she could put down both of them easily and all it would take was perfect timing.
Washington shook a bit; his arms were growing tired from the strain of holding both weapons out straight for so long. Unfortunately, he could not drop his guard, even the slightest opening could badly for him.
"Oh! HI UNCLE QROW! I've got something to tell you! You're a dad!" Ruby shouted at her uncle as she ran over to watch the spectacle. "Look over by Weiss!" Qrow turned his head in surprise just the tiniest bit to get a look at his niece and then the little boy, which provided Winter with the first opportunity to attack.
Suddenly Winter vanished in a flash and Wash reacted just in time to fire his pistol. The bullet pinged off of the blade as Winter rushed forward to strike him and Qrow. In that split-second Wash stepped to his side and brought up the pistol to parry the incoming attack. Winter's sword made a loud ping when collided with the edge of the pistol as she dashed by Washington to get to her real target. Wash managed to knock her off course slightly with his parry but she still crossed swords with the drunken master.
Both swordfighters pressed each other back and forth before they were broken apart by a burst of gunfire from Washington. He began firing both his pistol and rifle at the clashing hunters, taking care not to hit civilians in the process of shooting at Winter and Qrow. While he was used training ammunition in both of the guns, it was still dangerous to have the rubber bullets hit something or someone. Qrow and Winter dodged the rounds continuously to avoid being hit, they knew the agent would have to reload in a few seconds after taking so many potshots.
Shells pinged onto the ground as the rifle spit them out with each pull of the battle rifle's trigger. Each rubber bullet whizzed by the hunters as Wash swapped between targeting the two of them.
Clicking signaled their opportunity, and Wash immediately tried to reload the two guns. The freelancer stepped back out of the path of a slash from Qrow's weapon, taking one step back after another to avoid getting hit by the blade. Winter joined in attacking the third party to bring remove Washington from the fight and bring it down to just her and Qrow. It seemed all the agent could do was continuously dodge slash as the two feuding hunters ganged up on him. Regardless, Washington wasn't going to back down so easily even if he was outclassed by his opponents. If the stories were true about what Max could do in a fight against huntsmen and huntresses, then why couldn't he do the same?
Winter grew more irritated with the agent as he kept dodging her strikes as if he could see them coming. It had to be pure luck for the agent to be dodging her and the miserable drunkard at the same time. She had no idea just how hard Washington was actually trying to not be cut to ribbons. She swept her blade horizontally and the agent dropped to the floor before he rolled onto this back and jumped forward out of the constant slashing between her and Qrow.
Washington dropped to a knee, he unholstered the battle rifle for his retaliation against both of the other warriors. He focused his fire on Qrow's legs to take away the huntsman's mobility, he figured he would see how well the drunk could dance. Rubber bullets hit the ground where Qrow had been standing a second ago, the huntsman was going to make Wash work for the shots. Out of the corner of his eye the agent spotted Winter coming at him from above for a down slash. A quick roll to the side gave him a moment to breathe from the fighting, it didn't last long though as Winter used him to take out her anger.
Wash dodged another slash and pulled out a knife he'd sheathed on his forearm armor. Sparks flew when the small combat knife met the sword of the specialist. "I'm not the one you had a bone to pick with you know!" The freelancer snapped to his opponent, he glanced to the side and moved to tackle Winter. Clearly Winter was caught off guard by that sudden change in tactics but it had come just in time for the both of them to avoid being hit by a shot from Qrow's weapon.
"Don't tell me you two forgot about me!" Qrow bragged to them. Wash rolled off of Winter and fired his pistol rapidly at the huntsman he'd been dumb enough to pick a fight with. Pistol round had an even worse chance of hitting the drunken huntsman though since they traveled slower than the battle rifle rounds.
"Oh, I didn't forget Qrow! I'm Just busy fighting you AND the specialist!" Wash griped as he fired at Qrow, which had little effect except forcing the huntsman to zig zag until the time came again for the agent to reload.
"Normally people pay double for that action!" Qrow joked as he rammed a fist into Washington's helmet, which knocked the agent flat on his back.
Wash felt dazed from just that one punch from Qrow' fist, he made a mental note that getting hit with an aura user really freaking hurt. But compared to the two hunters, he was lucky to be hanging on in the fight for as long as he was able to so far. "I swear somewhere Tucker just said his thing…" Wash muttered as he tried to recover.
Winter dropped her focus on Washington and decided to go head to head with Qrow again since the agent had been knocked down. If he was wise by her standards then he would know to stay down at leave her to finish her business with the drunkard whom she heavily disliked. Within seconds the two of them were clashing blades again, Winter wanted to make Qrow regret his actions today. But her bout with the drunken huntsman was not going so easily, Qrow seemed to be countering very well as they dueled. On the sidelines of the battle Ruby had just run up to join Weiss and Danny in viewing the battle.
"What's going on Weiss?" Ruby said as she watched the three-way fight go on.
"It's horrible! Some crazy guy just attacked Winter!" Weiss pointed to Qrow as he threw a heavy slash at Winter.
"Oh, that's my uncle!" Ruby said cheerfully as she also pointed to Qrow.
"Ruby, he's your uncle?!" Weiss exclaimed to her teammate in outrage.
"Yep… he's also Danny's dad." Ruby poked her fingers together, Weiss's expression soured at that news and turned to face the fight.
"Teach that ruffian some respect Winter!" The heiress shouted encouragement to her sister
"Hey!" Ruby pouted with puffed up cheeks at her teammate. If that was how Weiss would play it then she'd do the same thing. "KICK HER BUTT UNCLE QROW!" Both girls looked at each other with a spark of intensity buzzing between both of them, but then a realization hit the two of them, Danny hadn't really said a word the whole time.
They looked down at their cousin and the boy could only shrug. "Don't look at me, I got a foot on all sides of this…."
"All sides?" Weiss wrinkled her brow in confusion.
"Mister Washington." Danny pointed to his bodyguard who was getting back in the fight. "He's nice."
Wash got back on his feet and rolled his shoulders; he couldn't believe what he was about to do but he was already in trouble anyway. The agent broke into a hard sprint to catch up with the clashing hunters. He dropped to the floor and slid for a few feet right into Qrow's legs. Knocked off balance for a second, Qrow barely caught a punch from Washington that was followed by a knee to the stomach. "SURPRISE!" Wash pulled the pin on a flashbang grenade and rolled back from Qrow and Winter when the explosive went off.
"My eyes!" Winter screeched as stumbled around in pain. Blinding light stunned the two them just long enough for Wash to slug Qrow in the jaw and elbow Winter in the chest. Wash uppercut Qrow and then knocked Winter flat onto her back with a high kick. Winter recovered and slashed Wash across the back, that cut through Wash's armor. Washington felt the slash tear deep into his suit but it missed the skin by only a hair's width.
The agent dropped to the floor and rolled forward onto his face, that had been too close for his tastes. He breathed hard dude how fast he'd just done his attack on Qrow and Winter, it wasn't that often he pushed himself so hard. Wash moved to stand up and turn back to face his opponents but unfortunately, he'd let his guard down for a few seconds too long. Winter ran at the agent and kicked him directly in the face, thus Wash flew head first into lamp post. A whole new meaning of the word pain opened for Wash when his face struck the lamp post with a loud clang. It seemed Agent Washington had gone down for the count with that final hit to his skull.
"Ouch." Ruby winced when she saw Washington hit the pole in a pose that resembled some of those funny old cartoons.
"Aww." Danny deflated at the sight of his bodyguard's defeat.
"Stubborn fool." Winter huffed at the downed agent's folly and turned back to deal with Qrow.
"Looks like it's just you and me now, Ice Queen." Qrow said with a smirk as he faced down Winter.
"That's obvious Qrow." Winter hissed at her opponent. Without any further warning, she ran at Qrow and he retreated back to an archway then ran up the side of it. Winter split her sword in two and jumped when she reached the top of the arch's support pillar. She slashed downward at Qrow both of her weapons for some extra damage in her attack. Qrow blocked the hit and the arch shattered beneath them from the force of Winter's attack, which plowed them both into the ground.
Both fighters jumped out of the hole in the ground and went back to clashing their blades again. Winter went on the offensive and forced Qrow to skid backwards for several yards. Qrow stabbed his blade into the ground to slow himself and prepared for another counter attack from Winter. The specialist elegantly stabbed one of her swords into the ground and used her glyphs to summon a swarm of miniature nevermores. The summoned beasts flew straight Qrow, pelting him repeatedly with their beaks and talons. Qrow swiped his sword at Winter with an energy wave of some sort that forced her to break her concentration. She stepped to the side and glared at Qrow with a look of pure anger on her face, summoning a glyph behind her back to propel her forward at the dusty old crow.
Qrow flicked a switch on his weapon and the gears began to turn with a hiss of steam, within seconds the blade segmented to form a curve. But before the weapon could be used again, Qrow suddenly stopped and put the sword away. He smirked arrogantly as he gestured with a wave if his fingers for Winter to attack him.
The specialist grinded her teeth and launched herself forward with the glyph. Her sword was aimed directly at Qrow's throat for this next strike but before she could land her attack a loud voice bellowed her name. "Schnee!" She turned to look at the source of the voice and it was none other than General Ironwood himself, followed by Ozpin, Glynda, and Max.
"They're in trou-ble." Danny said coolly.
-END CHAPTER-