Team CYAN: Raging Storm

Chapter 5: Pieces of the Puzzle

(Note: I do not own RWBY, all rights to RWBY go to Rooster Teeth in honor of its creator, Monty Oum)

Next is a call from Nick. "Hey, Nick! Congrats on the ceremony today!"

Nick: "I'll be glad when it's over. A truck full of armed criminals scares me less than public speaking. But I'm calling about something else."

Celena: "What's up?"

Nick: "Just got a tip that Riddlers are moving on a construction site long since abandoned in midtown."

Celena: "Riddlers raiding an abandoned place? Why does that sound familiar... Spiders must be using it."

Nick: "Problem is the wife'll kill me if I ditch the ceremony prep to play cops and robbers, but I thought maybe my Huntress partner would want to know..."

Celena: "Understood! I'll zip by and see what I can find out." Hang up. Midtown's not far from here so I zip through town and observe the site from a nearby rooftop. I see a delivery truck leave the premises labeled Nomad Shipping. Then I hear gunfire from the sites upper levels so I zip in and see the problem. "Nick, I'm here."

Nick: "What do you see?" The Riddlers are dragging a dead body into a corner.

Riddler: "Find the rest. The boss wants then dead."

Celena: "Looks like the Riddlers are moving in on the Spiders territory."

Nick: "You got this?"

Celena: "I got this." Hang up. I shealth these guys and move on to the next door area. The Riddlers have a Spider surrounded.

Spider: "You got what you came for. You don't need to kill us too!" One of them smacks him with the back end of his gun.

Riddler: "Malachites territory is ours now."

Celena: "Not today!" I zip the Spider to an eyebeam above us and handle these Riddlers. Afterwards, the Spiders drops his Scroll while it's ringing. I catch and it's labeled 'unknown' so I answer in video chat and see it's...

Celena: "Why hello, Junior." Hei Xiong, more commonly known as Junior, is a crime boss who runs an underground club in Vale. He has close ties with Malachite though as her daughters act as his personal bodyguards.

Junior: "You... Your the Huntress who put the Lil' Miss away!"

Celena: "Hey. Is that a new suit? Slimming." His hair and beard are the same as usual as well as his red tie but he now wears a black dress shirt with a red vest.

Junior: "Stay out of my business!"

Celena: "WAIT! The Riddlers... who's their leader?"

Junior: "Keep my men alive, and maybe I'll tell you what I know." He hangs up on me. That's when a Mistral airship, most likely stolen by the Spiders but then stolen by the Riddlers, flys by with Riddlers in the pilot seats. More Riddlers are filling the site, setting their sights on the Spiders, so I zip around and hide the Spiders in a place where the Riddlers hopefully won't find them, but also can't escape from so I can call the cops on them as well as the Riddlers. Then I deal with the Riddlers within the site. After dealing with the ones already here, a Riddler wearing earth Dust gauntlets drops from the airship and almost crushes me. This guy is strong but not exactly quick so working around his strength and earth power shouldn't be a real problem. Afterwards I decide to call Junior back.

Celena: "Junior. Your men are safe. Your turn: who runs the Riddlers?"

Junior: "First off: where'd you get the idea I knew who their boss was?"

Celena: "What!? So I did all that for nothing!?"

Junior: "Now hold on. I said I'll tell you what I know and a deals a deal. I may not know who their boss is, but I do know one thing: he's got a second in command. He's the guy leading the goons you saved my men from just now. I don't know who he his. But I know he's there. Check the roof." He hangs up. I zip up to the roof to find a dead Spider at the hands of that Riddler with the flashy coat that got away last night, holding a sword of fire dust. He boards the ship and they fly off right as I zip in to try and catch them. Mister flashy is firing rockets as they go, so I follow after them to try and stop them. Dad calls in while I'm chasing them.

Aidan: "I'm getting reports of you chasing a... Mistral airship firing rockets?"

Celena: "Yeah, things with the Riddlers got... complicated! Don't worry Dad, I got this!" Hang up. After a few minutes of chasing it and avoiding rockets I finally get in close enough and hang to the ship as I try to avoid the guy stabbing his sword through the walls. I stab my daggers into the ships engines to try and disable it... Probably should've waited until we we're close to a roof though as we're now falling towards the streets! I summon Kusabira to fly down and catch it before it crashes and hurts someone. After a bit of a struggle she manages to put it down safely without and incidents. I de-spawn her check on the Riddlers inside. The pilots unconscious while mister flashy is stirring as I take off his mask too see his face. No one really recognizable though. "These masks keep turning up everywhere... Where do you guys get them?"

Riddler Captain: "Watashi wa anata o koroshimasu!"(I'll kill you!) He responds by drawing his sword and trying to stab me but I dodge and knock his head against the wall and knock him out. Better call Tyler.

Celena: "Hey, Tyler? I caught some more Riddlers, but..."

Tyler: "But what?"

Celena: "Clean up team might wanna bring a crane." It's almost afternoon. I better get going to make the ceremony. As I zip by a boy in blue t-shirt and orange dress pants is recording what's happening. His friend with him starts walking away.

Friend: "Yo! Ned!" He doesn't respond at first. "Hey fanboy!" Then the boy named Ned walks with him but then gets a text from his Dad.

Text: "Ned, where r u?"

Ned: "Oh crap! I'm late..."

Friend: "You coming?"

Ned: "No, I gotta get to City Hall for my Dads ceremony."

Friend: "Oh, right. Tell your pops I said congrats!" They high five and go their separate ways with Ned replying to his Dad.

Text: "onw"(on my way) Cut back to me on a nearby roof calling Alice.

Celena: "Did they start the ceremony yet?"

Alice: "They're still setting up. Where are you?"

Celena: "Got hung up at work. Be there soon." The trip to City Hall was pretty quick. Cut to Nick and his family. His son Nedry, the boy from earlier, and his wife Elizabeth, who wears a pink summer dress.

Liz: "Theres the stage entrance. And we'll be right out front."

Nick: "Sounds like a lot of people out there."

Liz: "You'll be fine, honey."

Nick: "The last time I gave a speech was my combat school graduation. My classmates thought it was weak."

Liz: "Hmph. If only they could see you now."

Ned: "Hey, you got this, Dad. I mean come on, you saved a real Huntress, I'm pretty sure that proofs you're creed of being equal to them. Like it makes a real hero."

Nick: "A real hero?*chuckles*Or... maybe I'm just a guy who remembers his family creed... in which we never run from trouble... we face it head on." They all have a group hug then go their separate ways. Cut back to me and Alice by the edge of the crowd making sure we're prepared for any sort of trouble. Storms secretary starts off the ceremony.

Secretary: "Welcome, everyone. And before I hand it off to Councilman Storm, I'd just like to say a few words. Our kingdom is so fortunate that such exemplary citizens..." Pretty typical speech really, do we wisper among each other regarding the case.

Alice: "So...?"

Celena: "Well, I caught the second in command but the Riddlers leader is still out there. Which means this gang war is still far from over."

Alice: "Anything to report that I can have Nya look into?"

Celena: "Yeah, a truck pulled away from the site, from a company called Nomad Shipping. Something's not right about it... I just don't know what."

Alice: "Hm. Well maybe after this we can grab some coffee and head to my place. You and Nya can recap and pull together all the info we've got so far." That's when we hear Storms voice over the mic.

Jack: "Well thanks, Josh. Couldn't have said it better myself. But I'll try. We all know that Officer Fuko is a hero-" I swear, these speeches get more boring every time I attend these things... But I'm more than happy to listen to what Nick may have to say. "-For acts of extraordinary bravery above and beyond the call of duty, it is my privilege to present Officer Nicholas Fuko with the department medal of honor." As he's applying the medal his secretary wispers to him.

Secretary: "Scroll call, sir."

Jack: "Kind of in the middle of something here, Josh."

Secretary: "Sounds urgent, sir..."

Jack: "Fine..." He shakes Nick's hand. "Congratulations, sir." Nick stands up to the podium as Storm walks away as his secretary hands him a Scroll.

Nick: "Uh, thank you, Councilman Storm. I share this honor with my family, my wife, Elizabeth, and my son, Nedry. Without their support I... I couldn't do what I do." Cut to Jack on his Scroll.

Jack: "Yes?"

Caller: "I've worked a long time for this moment."

Jack: "Who is this?"

Caller: "Over the coming days, your properties, your kingdom, and everything you care about will be destroyed." Jack spinning his finger by his head indicating that he thinks this guy is crazy. "People will beg you for help, but you or any of the council won't be able to save them."

Jack: "Listen jackass, I get threats like this twice a week. Why don't you grow a pair and tell me what you want?"

Caller: "To watch you suffer."

Jack: "Alright enough of this! I'm only asking one more time: Who is this?"

Caller: "Riddle me this: When you do not know what I am, then I am something. But when you know what I am, then I am nothing. What am I?"

Jack: "Is this some kind of joke to you!? Cause I'm not laughing!"

Caller: "Incorrect. This is no joke. The answer... is a riddle." He hangs up. Leaving Storm a little confused and pissed off. His guards escort him away from the premises. As he's leaving I get a strange sensation, so I turn to the left to see a random guy with glowing eyes at the edge of the crowd pull his jacket open to reveal... an explosive strapped to his chest! I turn behind me to see... what looks like Mr. Mondai in the back out of sight, wearing a green suit with a black question mark and the Riddler guys mask holding a gold staff. Finally, I see the secretary's eyes start glowing all of a sudden. That's when the random guy explodes, leading to panic in the crowd!

Ned: "Dad!" Ned points at the secretary. Nick turns around to see him opening up his suit to reveal another explosive. Nick pushes him away and tries to run but the guy explodes upon hitting the floor. That's when I notice a third bomber in the crowd.

Celena: "Everybody get down!" Then the guy explodes. I wasn't prepared for this... The explosion knocked me unconscious... and Alice had to drag me out of the crowd and stay with me until paramedics arrived. Looks like Nick's wife did the same thing with her unconscious son. He ended up waking up rather quickly.

Liz: "Ned! Ned, are you okay!?"

Ned: "Ugh, Mom...?"

Liz: "Stay here... I'm going to find your father!" She runs off into the crowd."

Ned: "Wait, Mom!" 'This is crazy... Who would do this? Theres no way Mom can find him by herself... I better look too.' He runs into the scene and notices the bombed area is now swarming with Riddlers killing off any stragglers within the area. He sneaks his way past the Riddlers using fallen debris as cover until he reaches the stairs of the stage. He peeks to see his Mom hidden on the other side of the scene before him. While the other Riddlers aren't looking, Ned grabs a steel pipe and tries to sneak up on the only Riddler on the stage standing where Nick use to be, but the Riddler ended up disarming him and knocking to the ground. He was about to bring his sword down and kill the boy, but...

Mondai?: "Enough! We have to leave. Now." They all just walk away.

Ned: "Dad..." Ned gets up and rushes on to the stage, only to find Nick... dead. "Dad? Dad!" As he pleaded for him to wake, he soon realized that they weren't being answered.

One week later.

Nicholas Fuko's funeral. Liz and Ned are up front with Councilman Storm. Me and the twins are in attendance with the crowd. Storm hands Liz a folded flag with Vacuo's symbol, and then tries to comfort Ned before walking off. Several jets fly over and a large crowd of officers salute their fallen comrade... It's the end of the funeral. Ned stands by Nick's coffin. I decide to talk to him.

Celena: "I'm sorry for your loss. I know I may not have known him for very long but I can tell... Your Dad was a great man, with a good heart."

Ned: "Thank you... I... appreciate you coming for this. It means a lot."

Celena: "It's the least I could for the man who saved my life." A moment of silence. "Look, I know you don't really know me, but believe me when I say that... I know what it's like... to lose someone who was once precious to you. My family and I were rather close with Shades previous Headmaster, Jade Quartz. There was a break in. A man in black. The intent was to assassinate her... and it worked. She tried to fight back, but she was outmatched. It was after that when my Dad become the new Headmaster. And I've almost lost him several times... It's not a pleasant thought... Thinking that your going to lose the one you're closest too. It hurts."

Ned: "He already worried me enough with that because of his job alone. Now that it's actually happened... I don't know what to do." He starts tearing up and walks away. Liz comes up to me.

Liz: "I'm sorry about that." She looks in Ned's direction. I don't know what I'm going to do with him." She follows after him. The twins go home afterwards. I decide to do the same and collect my thoughts for bit. Aided by a hot shower.

Celena: " I'm sorry, Nick... I let you down." I look out the window to see it raining outside, the shower matching the sound of rainfall. "But I swear, I won't let him get away with this! For your sake... and your son's." After my shower, I suit up, prep my equipment, and get back out there to begin my search. Best start would be to call Tyler and see how far the police have gotten.

Tyler: "I'm busy. What's up?"

Celena: "Have you started looking for Mondai yet?"

Tyler: "No. And don't get me wrong, it's not because we don't believe you, but because we've been getting nothing but false leads all week, I'm afraid we can't start a manhunt solely based a hunch. Which means if you want to look for him, then your gonna have to present solid evidence of his involvement."

Celena: "Solid evidence... Right." I decide to contact Nya next. "Hey..."

Nya: "Hey. So what are you thinking?"

Celena: "I'm thinking I really screwed up. And that kid lost his father."

Nya: "I know you too well to say you should give yourself a break. What about the police? Do they have any leads on Mondai?"

Celena: "They're not even looking for him. Said they need solid evidence first. I still can't stop thinking about it... Is it possible that Mondai is actually that Nazo criminal I heard about? Cause I thought for sure that Nazo might've been the one behind all of this."

Nya: "The only way we'll know for sure is it we look into it ourselves. I've been doing some research... I'm sending you an address. For some reason, Mondai bought a controlling interest in this recycling center last year."

Celena: "You think he's hiding out there?"

Nya: "Maybe. We know he's not at the shelter. If he's not at the recycling center, maybe you'll find some evidence as to where he might be."

Celena: "Yeah. I'll let you know what I find." I start zipping across the rooftops.

Nya: "Oh, and one more thing. I talked with a detective about questioning the arrested Riddlers. They're all claiming Mondai has the power to control people. Some sort of specific form of mind control that seems to tie in directly to confusion. They say he gained control over them after they got confused from him asking them what I'm assuming was an intentionally confusing riddle."

Celena: "He did say that Nazo's name translates to riddle. Pretty on the nose if you ask me. Assuming if Mondai and Nazo are the same person."

Nya: "Well, I better get back to it. Be sure to keep me in the loop, alright?" Hang up. I find the center and the front lot is crawling with Riddlers. I decide to enter from the air vents. There's no one inside so I come out and start looking around. Everything if interests are in the same room. First I find a map of the kingdom on the wall with specific places marked.

Celena: "These must be where they're planning to attack... Wait... These are Storm's campaign offices. All the paths originate from the same address." Next to the map is a crate of high tech equipment pieces. On the other side of the room is a bigger crate full of explosives, taken directly from the Spiders. On the far end of the room are some of the guns they also stole from the Spiders. Next to that is a table with a paper showing a sketch of a delivery truck and bombs with measurements and calculations. They must be planning to use these to smuggle around the larger explosives. That's everything of interests... I'm starting to see the bigger picture here. "This wasn't a gang war. The Riddlers were stealing from Malachite to go after Councilman Storm." I sneak out and get out of their earshot before calling Nya.

Nya: "Hey, did you find Mondai?"

Celena: "No. But you were right. Mondai's using that place as a front for the Riddlers. Bomb making, gun running..."

Nya: "Oh my god..."

Celena: "And it looks like they're planning another attack, this time on your Father's campaign offices."

Nya: "Sounds to me like Mondai has some kind of beef with my Dad."

Celena: "I found an address there. I think it's their staging area. If I hurry, I might be able to stop them."

Nya: "Be careful!" Hang up. Time to call Tyler.

Tyler: "Make it quick, I'm busy getting yelled at by the police commissioner."

Celena: "Mondai and the Riddlers are planning another attack, this time on Jack Storm's campaign offices."

Tyler: "Are you sure? I told you before we've been getting nothing but false leads this past week."

Celena: "Positive. I'm sending you the address of a recycling center, you'll find all the evidence there."

Tyler: "Got it. I'll get those campaign offices evacuated." Hang up. I reach the address I found, and it's that Nomad Shipping place from earlier. The entire front lot I crawling with Riddlers, and it looks like these are the trucks from that sketch. Considering what this place is being used for, it'd be best for me to take these guys out first... quietly. It took a while but I manage to take them all down, allowing me easy access into the building. One particular office has what I'm looking for in terms of relevant interests. A clipboard on a desk has a note. 'Boss is to meet with the Spiders boss later today.' The address written is for some kind of auto shop. Meet with the Spiders boss? They can't be talking about Malachite, right? It's gotta be Junior. But I thought they were on bad terms with all this fighting. What's going on? I find another map of the kingdom, this time labeling their hideout locations. Best to let the police handle these. I get back outside to make my leave when I encounter a Riddler duel wielding wind Dust whips that can expand for a longer reach. Trying to get close is a challenge so ranged combat is my best bet to stun him before getting close enough to finish him. Afterwards, I call Nya, but Alice ends up talking.

Celena: "Hey, I think I stopped the attack on the campaign offices."

Alice: "Nice. And what about Mondai?"

Celena: "I think I got a lead. He's meeting with, I'm guessing Junior, later today at an auto shop. I'm sending you the address."

Alice: "Alright. We'll look into it. See you later." It was after the call when I see something I wasn't expecting to see at all: some Atlas military soldiers coming to arrest these guys... with general Winter Schnee accompanying them.