I do not own RWBY
Coco woke up slowly her eyes locking on the figure of her grimm as he went through the container of weapons. He shot glances at her every few moments as he rummaged. Sitting up she watched him in confusion. Picking out a long thin blade he seemed satisfied since he stood and moved to his cubbies. Pushing herself up she didn't know what to do as he carefully searched through his collection.
Shifting nervously on her feet she blinked as he turned and moved toward her. Holding out the sword and a small red dust crystal he waited impatiently for her to take it. Following the silent order, she tensed when he started toward the entrance. Realizing what he wanted she scrambled to follow him. Exiting the cave for the first time in a week she followed him closely refusing to stray from his side as he led her through one of the tunnels.
Unlike usual there were no crimson eyes following her every move. The tunnel was completely empty, something she hadn't expected. Of course, due to his mood last night she doubted any of the grimm were stupid enough to have stuck around. Then again, they were foolish enough to enter his nest. Holding the sword loosely she didn't realize they were going to the surface until bright moonlight was shinning down on her skin.
Staring up at the stars she still her head tipping back; she didn't notice the grimm looking at her. With his shinny in her hand she looked almost like one herself. Ignoring the thought he growled more at himself than her. Snapping to attention she moved out of the mouth of the tunnel as he started moving again. She could guess that this was the last time she would be seeing him; for some reason the thought made her hesitate. Shaking her head she trailed him knowing that he was walking slowly for her sake.
Seeing light in the distance she tilted her head as houses came into view. A small village was only a few miles away. The small hill they were standing on overlooked the village and she knew it was the one her team was supposed to deliver too. Turning to get one last glance at her grimm her heart dropped for a reason that she would never admit. The spot where he'd been standing was empty.
Slumping she started walking. As the village got closer, she felt like she was being watched. Spinning the sword in her hand she twisted; the sharpened weapon dug into Beowolf that had been following her. Tugging the weapon free she blocked the downward descending claws of another. Kicking it away she stabbed the sword through its body.
Watching her destroy the weak grimm around her, he let out an approving coo. She wasn't weak, although she wasn't as skilled as some of the human's who'd hunted down his species. Trailing her through the forest he kept a close eye on her making sure that she didn't get into trouble she couldn't handle. He did not consider her part of his collection; this might be denial.
Tensing he scented the air holding back a growl. The stench of the seer grimm reaching his nose once again. He was sure that he hadn't done anything to attract the attention of the fake god. Yet now the spy was lurking in his territory. Killing it would only draw her attention; he wouldn't however allow it to injure his new treasure. Yeah, he was definitely attached. The knowledge caused his fur to bristle.
Coco slid the weapon into the belt loop of her tattered pants and looked down at the crystal in her hand. She didn't understand why he would give her something he clearly treasured but she had no time to dwell on it. Putting the crystal in her pocket she ran a hand through her hair; time to move. Stalking forward she kept an eye on her surroundings. Seeing the village come into view she sighed in relief but that wasn't the only thing she saw. A warm pair of brown eyes met hers and she almost cried.
Sprinting forward she didn't realize she was crying until her arms were wrapping around her bunny. Velvet returned her hug without hesitation. Clinging to her leader she felt Coco's tears dampen her shirt. Tightening her grip, Coco felt Velvet run a soothing hand through her hair and broke a little more.
Watching the scene, the grimm tilted his head before turning away. His treasure was safe with her pack and she no longer needed his protection. The knowledge led him to turning around and walking away.
(Blake)
Having the heiress of the SDC and a White Fang general in the same room should've been nothing but a disaster instead it was going surprisingly well. The only thing missing was tea and she would've thought this was a simple meeting at a café not the first meeting of a terrorist and literal princess. It wasn't a lie to say that she wasn't the only one confused by how well the two were bouncing ideas off each other; much less the easy comradery they had when the subject of Jacques Schnee was brought into the conversation. Let it be known that she never wanted them to plot her murder not even Raven had been able to keep the topic on track after Adam had made the mistake of mentioning Weiss's father.
At least they were getting along; she'd been worried that they would end up murdering each other. It was just the four of them in this tent trying to decide both what to do about the captured faunus and how to move forward. Still despite the fact they were getting along so well, Weiss was tense. It was subtle but Blake could see the stiffness in her shoulders and the fact she'd put enough distance between herself and Adam that she could make a run for it. She'd never seen the white-haired girl so tense before now.
Adam had noticed it too. He'd abandoned his weapon on the crate in the corner despite the fact Weiss still had her own. The only reason he would do so was to make Weiss more comfortable in his presence, but it wasn't really working. Weiss knew the same thing that everyone with more brain power than a tree; he was extremely dangerous with or without a weapon. If anything, him not having a weapon had made Weiss even more afraid. Blake was worried.
Her teammate was not weak yet, Weiss was also a victim of abuse who tried too hard not to break. If pushed to hard her teammate would shatter; Adam had realized it to if the way his finger tapped on the table was any indication. He was hesitating every time she shifted as if the smallest movement would cause her to run screaming from the room. Blake didn't think that it would. Weiss despite how afraid she was had put on the mask of perfect heiress that she wore so well; if any confrontation happened, Blake was more worried for Adam than her teammate.
What she didn't understand was where the fear was coming from. Weiss had been more than willing to make peace with the White Fang, she still was, yet she looked at Adam as if he was the enemy. She knew for a fact that Weiss only considered Jacques an enemy. Besides this wasn't the normal I hate you're guts and want to strangle you with them behavior she'd come to appreciate from her teammate. No this was just plain fear that got worse with every single moment they spent in this room.
"Before we go far into committing homicide, we should talk about the captured faunus," Raven said tyring to get the conversation back on track. Although there were hints of amusement in her voice; something that was usually only directed at Ruby. Speaking of Ruby; Blake was starting to get worried since her leader still hadn't woken up. Viper had said the toxin could keep Ruby asleep for days, but Blake didn't trust him. She was only going to relax once she was certain that Ruby was safe and awake.
"Are we negotiating for their release," Weiss asked taking the change in subject in stride. Blake tensed her eyes going to Adam except there was no anger on his face only curiosity.
"Well we can't keep them here."
"I say we send them to Menagerie," Weiss stated. It was obvious they weren't going to help her nor could they remain prisoners.
"Weiss..."
"I assume this enemy neither of you can tell us about would notice if supposedly dead faunus started walking around in plain view," she asked. Crossing her arms, she kept a cold expression on her face despite the fact she was resisting the urge to shiver. At this point she was dreading taking over the SDC. Shifting she said, "sending them to Menagerie instead of holding them hostage or executing them is a solution."
"I agree, the issue is getting them there," Adam muttered. He was confident that he could make the agents leave, but he had no idea how to get them to the island.
"I assume the White Fang has airships," Raven asked while Blake watched in horror. If they sent these faunus to the island, then her parents would find out that she was here at Beacon. Then they might come here to watch the Vytal tournament. The mere idea of Sun meeting her parents was horrible although the idea of Ruby meeting them was worse.
"Could work."
(Shifter)
Breaking into a highly secure Atlas flagship, should've been harder although he supposed being able to copy the appearance of Ironwood completely was to blame for how easy it was. Entering the General's office, he noticed how spartan it was. He'd known Ironwood wouldn't be one to leave personal effects in his office. It was kind of amusing how the man tried not to leave traces of himself only to amuse those who were professionals in that area. Anyone with eyes would be able to tell exactly what had been happening in this office.
There was a moisture ring on the left corner of his desk, most likely from the glasses of bourbon he drank late at night when no one was watching. The light scent of ash clung to the chair in front of his desk and was mixed with the Generals own chalone. He wanted to laugh at how easily the man had failed at leaving no trace. The only thing he'd done by not personalizing this office was point out the things that he wanted no one to know. One of which was that he was having sex with a woman in this very office and the camera in the left-hand corner of the room would tell him who.
Allowing a cold smirk to appear on his face, the assassin walked over to the desk and quickly hacked into the office computer. He wasn't supposed to be here, nor was he thinking of the consequences. It was possible that Cheri might be the best person to hack into the data and get what he needed but he couldn't exactly ask her for help right now. Not when she didn't even believe that Ironwood wasn't going to double-cross them. It was amazing how naïve a terrorist could be to the truths of the world.
He expected a lot of things when he pulled up the security feed, seeing the two-faced female leader of the team from Haven without a shirt was not one of them. It proved one of the theories that he'd had since he saw the woman at the dance, she wasn't who she pretended to be. Connecting the camera feet to his scroll, he knew that he didn't have much time as he began copying the files. He could go through the files later once he was back at Beacon. At least that was the plan until he noticed a file with Penny's name on it.
As an assassin he was taught never to get attached to people, so why did he care so much about a ginger-haired android. She wasn't even human, nor was she important in the grand scheme of things. His teachers would've called him foolish for even starting to care about someone other than himself; even Chesire wasn't foolish enough to do something like this on a whim. He wasn't supposed to care about the three girls on his team not when Chesire could take care of herself. The woman was a well-known terrorist after all. Ciel was simply one of Ironwood's disposable lackeys and Penny was a child.
There was no way that he was attached to them. Nope he was doing this out of self-preservation and nothing else. He didn't care about them. He was lying to himself. He was going to die in this overheated democratic cesspool called Vale.
(Cinder)
How had it gone this wrong?
She'd been planning to snatch a student or two during the chaos of the breach but now she had no chance to do so. The burning desire to destroy was curled under her skin like a demon waiting to be released. She couldn't simply et go and give in to her rage either since she was posing as a student. That didn't however keep her from simmering in rage that was far to overpowering for even her cute pet to disable. Emerald had tried her best too, which had left the green-haired girl lying unconscious on their bed. At least she was far less murderous than she'd been when she cornered the thief earlier.
Speaking of thieves Roman was dead leaving her without eyes in the underground of Vale. She wished with all her soul that she'd been there to see the man die or at least to have a part in his death. Just imagining the despair on his face as he realized he was going to die was enough to make her tremble from excitement. Neo had vanished the second she heard the news leaving their team a member short. Luckily, she'd prepared for this and there was no rule stating a team of three couldn't compete. The mute assassin was most likely already halfway to Vacuo something that while annoying wasn't all that impactful to her plans. There was a little over a month left until the tournament started leaving her with time to reevaluate some of her plans.
Having Roman take control of Ironwoods ships so the man would have to do the job himself. After all, she'd promised him the return of the Winter Maiden if he allied with her, something she couldn't actually do. The fact was she wouldn't give the Maiden back even if she could since Ironwood had let the girl slip through his fingers. After the attack started, she would need to start tying up loose ends anyway. Amber would need to be found first which shouldn't be hard considering that the woman was comatose. From what Ironwood had told her the Maiden was kept in a stasis tank bellow Ozpin's little tower.
The thought of Ozpin leading her right to the Maiden when he tried to make one of his little students take Amber's place was amazing. She longed to see his expression twist in shock and panic as she tore the heart from his chosen Maiden's chest. A large part of her hoped that it would be Ruby that he chose to be the next Fall Maiden for no other reason than to see the girl break into pieces. All this waiting was boring. She wanted to be out setting things on fire and indulging in torture rather than playing house with Emerald.
It was her nature to wreak havoc and tear apart the weak; she wasn't meant to be this docile. She'd even been reduced to stalking Vale as she tried to keep from snatching a random student. Emerald wasn't enough to keep her satisfied right now although she did adore her little pet. It was simply a fact that she needed someone to hurt, to torture. Most people would say that she was broken since she loved to cause others pain but that was simply who she was. She loved seeing others bleed.
Another issue was Mercury, he'd been upset ever since she'd tried to trick him into having sex with her. She had no idea why he'd refused but she guessed it was because she wasn't his type; he seemed to have a genuine attraction to Ruby. Maybe he liked the sweet and innocent type if so then she hoped he would like the present she was going to give him. After all even assassin's usually liked having pet puppies. That was all Ruby Rose was a cute little puppy that had caught his attention. There was nothing even remotely dangerous about the girl nor was there any reason to fear Ozpin.
Even after she'd stolen half of the Fall Maiden's power, the man had done nothing to retaliate. He was an old fool too blind to realize that she was about to steal away his power; she would bring him crashing down to his knees. She couldn't wait to see his face twist in horror as she slowly tore the skin from his bones. The screams she would tear from him were going to be delicious. She longed to see him break into a thousand pieces. Biting her lip, she couldn't hide the shiver that passed through her as she daydreamed his demise.
Soon, she would get the chance to make them all burn.
(Shifter)
Making his way down to Vale had been easy, losing his escort had been harder but now he was back at Beacon only to find that he might've been safer on the flagship. He was an assassin, one of the best, however he also remembered the man that tore apart the assassin's league of Mantel as easy as breathing. That man was currently sipping tea under a tree as if he belonged here. Why would the former King of Assassin's be here at Beacon, a school? Worse why did he look so relaxed as he chatted with a dark-haired woman?
Swallowing a whine, he felt ice trail down his spine when brown eyes met his own. The ability to change into anyone was great until a man came along who could see through his shapeshifting. At the moment the only man who could do that was the brown-eyed legend smirking at him. Nope, Ironwood could go die, he was not getting into a fight with the King of Assassins for a foolish General. He was going to pack his bags and vanish into the city where this man would never find him... or that was what he would like to do.
He couldn't leave and not just because of that stupid contract. If he made a run for safety Ironwood might hurt his team... he might kill them. The scroll in his pocket burned as he narrowed his gaze into a glare. The brown-eyed man blinked at the aggressive move; most assassins would've run away by now hoping to save their own lives. Running away wasn't an option for him but he wished that it were. Having Aiden Kane here was just another sign that Ironwood was a fool after all who would want to fight someone commanding the King of Assassins.
Twisting on his heel, he stormed away hoping that the man wouldn't take his actions as a challenge. He had no desire to play war games with the brown-eyed man. Entering his dorm room, he was a bit relived that only Cheri, Evelin, was sitting on her bed near the open window. Slamming the door behind him, he crossed the distance between them quickly before reaching out to grab her arm. For a moment the terrorist flinched at the action, she no doubt remembered that he was a killer. His hands were so stained in blood that no amount of washing could make it go away.
However, his past didn't matter right now. What did matter was the fact there was a monster at this school walking around like he owned it. They needed a new plan that didn't involve dying or following Ironwoods orders. Her scroll clattered to the floor as he pulled her off the bed without really thinking about what he was doing.
"Adrian..."
Her voice trembled reminding him just how tight his grip was. Loosening his grip on her arm he took a calming breath trying to keep from stuttering out just how much danger they were in. Aiden Kane was at Beacon most likely an ally of Ozpin; they were doomed the second Ozpin learned that Ironwood was a fool with a god complex. Her fingers were cold as she wrapped them around his wrist trying to pull him back down to reality. It would've worked if not for the fact he'd been foolish when he left the courtyard.
"Nice name, although I prefer your real one."
Registering the voice, he snapped; the only thing he knew was that he needed to protect Cheri. All it took was one fluid motion to throw the terrorist behind him and draw his katana. Slashing at the brown-haired man sitting on his window, he flinched as the man blocked without even fully drawing his weapon. The weapon in his hand was shaking as he tried to overpower the older assassin. The stuttering sound of Cheri sucking in a breath behind him echoed in his ears like an alarm.
"Easy Shifter, I'm not here to kill you," Aiden cooed as if trying to calm a child. It would've been less threatening if the man wasn't radiating bloodlust.
Hands shaking, he threw out his hand to block Cheri when she tried to move beside him. He knew she was trying to show support and present a united front, but she had no idea what was going on. At this point there was no guarantee that Aiden wouldn't change his mind and kill them anyway. Throwing his body in front of her own might not do much to protect her yet he would do so in a heartbeat. He'd become such a fool, allowing himself to become attached to these people was the worst decision he'd ever made.
"Then why," he asked. Thank the gods he didn't stutter like a five-year-old.
"Curiosity, although your reaction proves you have something to hide," the man said with a sharp smile.
"Are you working for Ozpin?"
"He's an ally."
They were doomed. Sheathing his sword, he acknowledged the part of him that wanted to run away then beat it down. He would never abandon his team there wasn't enough energy left for him to even think of doing that. They were like leeches who'd drained all the self-preservation out of him. At least now he had a real reason for switching sides; that wasn't even taking into account the evidence in his pocket. Ironwood had never planned on allowing him and Cheri to go free and he had the file to prove it. Not only had the general broken their contract, but he'd given Shifter all the reason he needed to tell his team and Ozpin everything.
"I'll be in his office tomorrow to explain everything."
"See you there."
(Weiss)
Thank god Adam was gone. He'd left with the White Fang survivors an hour ago leaving behind Viper and Nix to help with Ruby and Roman's recovery. She was sure he didn't mean for the blonde faunus to start scolding her the moment he turned his back. Tugging on her hair, she tried to think of nice things instead of the cold blue eyes glaring at her. She'd apologized for almost ruining his plan, what more did he want from her? It wasn't possible that he cared about her, so she didn't understand why he was making such a big deal out of this.
Glancing at the leopard faunus who had decided to sit down and sharpen her weapon, she wished that anyone else had chosen to stay here and protect her from the man. Raven had vanished to check on Yang while Blake had rushed back to Ruby's side. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now. Raven hadn't given her any orders and the tribe was too busy to cater to her. In truth, she just wanted to return to Beacon and cuddle with Sky. It had been far too long since she saw him. Just the idea of lying in bed as he ran a hand through her hair was enough to make her heart ache; she really hoped that this feeling faded soon.
"Are you listening to me!"
Flinching, Weiss shook her head. Her pride refused to allow her to lie even when it would've been far easier. The tortured sigh from the blonde reminded her of a noise her father made, except he wasn't glaring at her when he did it. If anything, he seemed concerned although she had no idea why.
"I honestly didn't mean to ruin your plan," she said hoping that it would be enough to appease him. Staring at her as if she was some kind of undefined creature he frowned.
"I don't give a damn about my plan. I care that you almost got hurt," he stated slowly. The words were not what she'd been expecting and worse she felt a strange curling in her stomach that made it hard to breathe.
"Shn-… Weiss Viper doesn't give a damn about the plan, he cares about you."
"Why? You two are White Fang, I'm a Schnee."
Her confused expression wasn't faked. She honestly didn't understand why they cared about her at all, she was supposed to be their enemy wasn't she? Nix's fingers brushed over her own causing her to flinch for only an instant before she was desperately trying to cover up the action, there was no other choice but to pretend everything was fine. Blinking, she frowned pushing away the vulnerability that she felt.
"Once I take over the SDC the White Fang will have a stable foothold in Atlas," she stated. Tilting her head back she dared Viper to mention the weakness she'd shown a moment ago. Narrowing his gaze the man seemed to consider calling her out then he nodded. The agreement was all that she needed to feel a bit better about the situation. Turning away from him, she started back to the medical tent in hopes that Ruby would be awake when she arrived.
(Yang)
She didn't know if it was because Ruby had been hurt or because her mother was showing that she cared more for Ruby than anyone else, but this sick feeling in her stomach wouldn't go away. The truth was, she was getting tired of watching Ruby come first. Of course, now she knew that it wasn't Ruby's fault that all this happened, but she still felt as if she was sinking in an ocean of despair that had no end. She wanted to scream and rampage yet she shoved the emotions down. Now wasn't the time for her personal emotions to interfere with the task she'd been given.
The most important thing was keeping the tribe and her team safe. Glancing around the ruined city, she frowned for a long moment. It was amazing how horrible the grimm could be; she was starting to think that the cycle of losing people and places to the grimm would never change.
"How did you end up in the Tribe?"
Unable to stand the silence, she asked the first question that came to mind. Liam frowned at the question for only a second before he was giving the same cocky smirk that he always wore. The expression looked so fake that she almost felt bad for asking the question.
"I tried to collect Raven's bounty," he admitted. Leaning on his spear, he relaxed. It wasn't as if anything would change if he told her. Yang trusted him enough that she wouldn't abandon him for simply telling the truth. Closing his eyes for a moment he remembered the scent of blood that had hung in the air along with the hollow feeling of betrayal that had torn him apart. Rolling his shoulder to drive away the emotions he said, "I joined up with a temp team to track her down. Turns out they were more interested in my bounty than her own."
"You have a bounty?"
"Fifty Million," he said with pride in his voice. Grinning at the woman who rolled her eyes at his happy expression, he winked at her. The best Huntsmen were the ones who were good enough to be hunted by others. Eyeing the way her hair brushed against her neck he pushed back the urge to push it away from her skin; it would give him an excuse to touch her. Turning his attention back to the empty streets before he did something stupid, he said, "Raven saved my life."
And in return he'd fallen in love with her daughter; there was a part of him that wondered if it made him a horrible person.
Hi guys, it's been a while. Yes, this is a short chapter, but it was the best I could do. Honestly, there comes a time when fighting against writer's block does more harm than good. Either way, this chapter is done and I can move on. So, what did you think of this chapter?
Stay safe and have a good day
-Shyla
ps. does anyone know any colors that work really good when dying dark hair? I tried to dye my hair neon blue but it failed.
