Chapter 22: The Hunt

It was oddly comforting to be in an airship flying back to Vale. It reminded me of the brief time I had at Beacon when we would go out on missions. Actually the more I think about it, all of those missions we nothing I would be proud of. I nearly died on all of them. Whatever, I'm just glad to finally be able to return to the city and not have to worry about being attacked by Grimm in the middle of the night while I slept. A comfy bed to sleep in. The only thing that worries me is the possibility of being discovered by that spy.

Marshal Brass assured me that I would mainly be working in the cities outside the walls of Vale for the time being. Lately, bandit tribes have moved in closer to the city because they are also being pushed out by some of these outlaw gangs and crime syndicates. Once the Marshal swore me in as we flew back to Vale, he told me that I would be joining a posse he was forming to go after a few members of the Exodus. While the majority of the Exodus has been laying low ever since their attack on Abrigo, a small band of ten of them robbed a bank and been on the run near Vale.

Brass is worried about these guys are just testing the area around Vale so their friends can come out of hiding. The last thing we need is this band of killers and marauders potentially ending up in Vale and cause a panic. The good thing is these five can hardly hide or run since the closer they are to the city, the easier it is to track their movements. Another bonus, hopefully, is that there are close to twenty of us against ten of them. Although, they are split into teams of five for the moment as we search for these criminals.

Our search was going to start with a town to the northeast near the edge of Forever Fall, Sumire. A medium sized town nestled against a cliff face near the mountains, I actually passed by it during the train protection mission. The town was were those assholes were first spotted after their robbery went sideways close to a week ago. Thankfully for the town, they waited until after the Exodus members left before they sent word about their arrival.

"We're about ten minutes out." I heard the pilot yell back at us.

"Luckily for us, the Exodus guys are long gone so we'll just be asking around." Marshal Brass stated.

I laughed. "Well, that will be a nice change of things."

"I'm sure." Brass replied. "You've been through a lot in this past few weeks."

That took me by surprise. "It's really been a couple weeks?"

"Correct, it's November 7th." The Marshal stated.

November? It couldn't be November already, it was barely September. Or at least it felt like it was. Guess that would explain the snow coverage the closer you got to the mountains. That meant that the first semester of the school year would be over next month and time is running out. If all these feelings I have are correct, I have little under a year until Salem makes her move, likely during the Vytal Festival. It's been three months since I ended up here and I have a few broken memories to show for it. The race against the clock is starting to pick up its pace and I do not like it one bit.

The feeling of descent reset my focus on the present; it was oddly comforting as well. After a while, one of the side doors opened revealing a small town in the distance. Marshal Brass got out of his seat, walked over to the open door and jumped off the aircraft. I followed suit since it was only a few feet drop as the Bullhead was hovering in place. Once we were off the Bullhead, it quickly ascended and shifted into it's plane mode and flew off.

"What's his big deal?" I asked.

"He had to dust off because he's low on fuel." Brass explained as he began to walk towards the town. "Follow me."

"So what do you want me to do?"

The Marshal held out a badge towards me that had: 'Jakob Liath, Ranger'. "Walk around and ask some questions about the Exodus. It's why you're here."

I took the badge and observed it for a few moments. Part of me didn't want to put it on, part of me wished I stayed in the frontier and fell off the face of the world. I really wish sometimes that I just ran away from all of this because it's too much to bare. Having the fate of a whole world and countless lives on your shoulders is a very hard thing to live with. That's why at Beacon I drove myself into my work, into training. I tried to forget that weight existed but now it feels even heavier, almost crushing. My heart threatens to break through my ribs and out of my body. Not to mention knowing you have a target on your head. I never should have agreed to any of this.

'Calm down, take a breath.' The rational part of my brain instructed. 'Too little too late to run away now. People are counting on you.'

If there is one thing in existence that can really push me, it's the fear of failing and letting people down. Even more so when its people close to me like my friends or my family. This was a weight I threw on myself and I have to be man enough to should this weight. After all a great man said: 'Courage is not the absence of fear, but acting in spite of it'. I can't really remember whether it was... Twain or... someone named... Doyle who said it, but it didn't matter. I have to do this as no one else can or will. After taking a breath to steady myself, I pinned the badge to my vest and continued towards the town. That didn't mean that part of me still wanted nothing to do with this shadow war.

I focused on the task at hand: finding where the few Exodus members are. The town definitely looked like it had been plucked from the countryside of Japan. While traditional in it's appearance, it was obvious that modern amenities were woven in to the town. Electricity was present and a small communication tower was in the center of the town. On the town's southern side was a path that led up the cliff face and looked like it led to a shrine of some sorts. At the beginning and the end of the path were traditional Japanese archways. The town did have a very sturdy stone wall that helped protect the town from Grimm attacks.

As I walked into town I saw that the town was bustling with people and a very lively settlement. Vendors on the street sold goods, stores were open with many people browsing their wares, people moved from place to place. It was strangely peaceful to see a town so active and blooming. These people were just living and I honestly envied them for it. I would love to go back to my mundane life on Earth but I would also hate it. As much as I don't want to admit it, the life I was living here was strangely addicting. Maybe I was becoming an adrenaline junkie. Suppose it doesn't matter.

"Excuse me." I called out to a store owner. "Did you see ten armed men come into town a few days back."

"I didn't see them come through personally, I didn't want to get shot so I hid while they were here." The store owner said.

"Do you know anyone who did?"

"Uh... I think Edward did." The store owner said as he looked off into the distance, thinking. "Edward is a Huntsmen who doesn't understand the meaning of the word retirement."

I nodded. "Where can I find this Edward?"

"He usually spends his time training his grandkid at his house, just over that way." The man stated as he pointed to his right. "Look for the house with 'Caspian' in front of it."

"Thank you." I said before walking off in the direction he gave me.

"Hope you catch those criminals, officer."

'So do I.'

I walked around town for a bit before I finally found the house I was looking for. I walked up to the door and knocked three times, then I stood there waiting for an answer. Eventually I head someone walking up to the door followed by the door sliding open. The man at the door was an older gentleman given the silver-gray hair kept in a messy pony tail and the weathered skin. He was currently wearing a pair of baggy black pants and a white sleeveless gi.

"Can I help you, sir?" The man asked respectfully.

"Are you Edward Caspian?"

"That would be me, is something wrong officer?"

I shook my head. "No I just wanted to ask you about some armed men that blew through here a few days ago."

"Oh, those thugs. They had the audacity to ask for protection money, but wised up seeing me and some of the other Huntsmen. Last I saw they were heading back south." Edward recounted.

I hummed as I as I thought about what I heard. "Did they say if they were going to come back?"

"One of them huffed about coming back but the others said we weren't worth it and they had other things to worry about. Unfortunately that's the last I heard."

"I see." I said taking note of this. "Well, that's all I have for you. Have a good day."

"Take care." Edward said as I walked away and before he closed his door.

I walked around a bit until I found Marshal Brass again.

"What did ya find, kid?" He asked as I walked up.

"They came by here and tried to get money from the locals. Eventually they left and went back south." I explained.

"Well at least we know where they're heading."

"What about you?" I said quickly pointing at the Marshal. "What did you find out?"

The Marshal shrugged his shoulders. "Only that ten armed men came to town then left."

"So what do we do now?"

Brass sighed. "Well, we follow their trail and try to find these guys soon. I think they might be trying to reconnect with the rest of their ilk."

"Yeah, hope that's not the case."

"We're gonna take a Bullhead south to the settlement of Dawn's Peak and meet up with a few others before we begin our search." Brass said.

'Great let's hope that doesn't backfire on me.' I thought.

The ride to Dawn's Peak was surprisingly long, or at least felt like that to me. That place unnerved me and I can't tell if it was because Daisy and her friends were watching me or the guards were but that feeling of being watched was the root of it. I found some comfort that I had some other people with me and now that I had a badge on my chest that might help some. I tried to not let it get to me so I can worry about finding these few Exodus fuckers and take them down.

"Hey, kid." Marshal Brass said as he shook me from my thoughts. "We're almost there."

For the second time today, the airship begun its descent with it actually landing afterwards. We walked towards the town and I could feel the guards on duty were scrutinizing me pretty hard. As we walked up to the gate one of the guards raised his hand, signaling for us to stop.

"State your business." The guard spoke.

Marshal Brass pointed to his badge. "We're on the trail of ten armed men believed to be members of the Exodus."

"What ever you need is at your disposal Marshal, however your hound stays outside." The guard spat as he pointed at me.

"My partner comes with me." Brass stressed.

Another guard stepped forward. "Marshal, the White Fang have been causing problems all over Vale and he looks like the type to take up with those animals."

My blood was beginning to boil and I had to resist the urge to draw on these assholes.

"He's a member of the Rangers and I can vouch for him."

"Let me make this abundantly clear." The first guard began. "That animal stays out of our nice city and you can continue your investigation. Last time he was here, he damn near caused a shootout in a bar."

Brass raised an eyebrow at me; I guess no one told him.

"The Marshal of Blackburn wanted me to hand a pardon to a ex-member of the Silverados if she told us where they were hiding. They had the drop on me and there was a stand off which we resolved peacefully." I explained.

"Lying Faunus! Bystanders said that you came in guns drawn and practically held the place hostage." A third guard said.

"Fuck it, you go in and I'll wait on the Bullhead." I said. "It's not worth the effort to talk to these thick bastards.

I walked back to the airship, not even waiting for Brass's response and sat down in a seat as I let out a frustrated groan. Fucking knew I would face racist fucks again. I would love to beat their asses but I knew that would only get us into more trouble. Not to mention it would be the two of us against... who knows how many. Fuck it, the faster this is over with the faster I can leave this place behind. I just want to go back to Vale already. Hell, I'd be fine with going back to Blackburn. This place still gave me the creeps and I would love to be far away from here already.

It was a while before Marshal Brass came back. As he walked back to the airship, he signaled for the pilot to take off. Brass climbed aboard then the doors closed as we began to takeoff.

"Any luck?" I ask as he takes a seat.

The Beacon alumni sighed. "Kind of. Some of the tree cutters saw a group of people pass through the woods yesterday still heading south."

"Not a surprise these guys aren't great help."

"I'm sorry about those guys. I forget not every settlement out here is like Vale."

I huffed. "Ran into people like that in Vale too. Anyways, were we supposed to meet up with other lawmen?"

"Yeah that's the odd thing. They never were here according to citizens and guards alike. No one with a badge came to town the past few days."

"Do you have anyway to contact them?"

"I do, but the reception out here has been spotty. I haven't heard from them in days." The Marshal said as he checked his scroll. "They were coming in from the south, which has me worried."

"You think they ran into them?"

Brass nodded. "It's not out of the realm of possibility. We're heading south to find these outlaws and see if our guys are okay."

Just as I was about to star talking, a fast beeping noise came from the cockpit as well as a flashing red light. I had a sinking feeling in my gut, knowing what that meant.

"Missile lock!" The pilot yelled. "Deploy countermeasures!"

"Deploying countermeasures." The copilot stated.

I could hear the sound of flares being activated, a sound I knew from the many military movies I watched back home. The aircraft banked to the right hard and I held on tightly to my seat and the safety harness. Again, the pilots made another quick rapid movement and I held on for deal life. The beeping came back with the red light.

"We're locked again! Deploy countermeasures!"

"Already deploying!" The copilot yelled.

The sound of flares being dropped filled my ears again as the aircraft began to take evasive maneuvers.

"Where they hell is it coming from?!" The Marshal asked.

"Unknown, somewhere in the mountains to our left! Little busy to check."

For a third time, the missile lock alarm came to life.

"We're out of countermeasures!" The copilot yelled.

"Take evasive-" The pilot was cut off by a load explosion.

The whole aircraft rocked violently and began to descend as well as slowly begin to spin.

"We're hit! This is Firefly 2-0, I repeat, we are hit and going down!" The pilot yelled into his radio.

"Lost the tail, we're going in hard and fast gentlemen!" The copilot yelled back to us.

The Marshal, got out of the seat and the safety harness and ran over to the left side door. As he opened it I got out of my seat and joined him, barely holding on to the seats inside the aircraft to not slip out of the Bullhead. The Marshal grabbed the collar of my duster and quickly gave me a nod. Then as we were about to hit the tree top, he jumped from the aircraft pulling me with him. As I fell through the trees, I hit the branches on my way door and ping ponged off of them just like I did in initiation. Thankfully, I landed on my side not as fast and pushed my self to my feet. Looking to my left I saw Brass dusting himself off and in the background I heard the airship crash.

"We'll defend the crash, they'll come to us." Brass stated.

"Agreed." I could see him clutching his side. "You alright?"

The Marshal let out a light chuckle. "It's been a while since I've taken a fall like that, I'm getting old."

I nodded. "Come on."

The two of us ran over to the crash site as fast as possible. The area was filled with knocked down trees and the Bullhead was right side up tilted to the left, with the left wing broken off. I watched the area as the Marshal opened the only available door and climbed in. After a few minutes, he popped half of his body out of the aircraft.

"They're alive but barely. Radio still works and they're sending a medical Bullhead out." Brass explained.

"Until what took us out is dealt with, they'll get shot down."

"I know, but these guys won't make it if we wait for a ground team." Brass stated. "And we both can't go. I can stay here and look after them if you want to go."

"I'll be back."

"Good luck."

I could see where the mountain was even through this dense forest and I quickly ran towards that area. Thankfully, in the sky there was a fading trail from the missile that gave me a good idea of were exactly these guys are. After a while, I slowed to a walking pace knowing I was getting close to them.

Eventually, after hiking up the mountain I saw this clearing on a cliff overlook where there were ten people and a makeshift camp site with a truck in the center. I could see that the launcher was just laying against a tree nearby the overlook and the people seemed to be striking their camp. I moved a bit closer, near the end of the treeline to get a better view. I could see these a few of these guys were dressed in everyday clothes with others dressed like wild west outlaws, meaning these guys were most likely Exodus.

From my spot, I grab my rifle from off my back and quickly load Black Dust rounds in and look for my first target. Close to the truck was a man with a sub-machine gun, and he seemed to be in charge as he was letting the others do the work. With him standing still, I made sure to line the perfect shot up and fired, quickly dropping him. The force of the round caused him to fall back into the truck and make a noise before he crashed onto the ground. By now the other criminals realized that there was someone behind them and a few began to fire towards me. Of course these guys couldn't hit shit as they were all spraying from the hip like a bunch of 80's movie bad guys. I still ducked behind a tree as I wasn't going to tempt fate.

Once their fire let up, I peaked from my cover with my semblance active and took out two more shooters before ducking back behind my cover. When I peaked from my cover to see what they were doing, I was not expecting them to be charging my position with swords and guns. I wanted to just drop them right then but I also wanted to try out my new weapons and see if I still have my moves. I carefully place the rifle against the tree and drew my 1873's and flicked my wrists to the sides and they transformed into gauntlets very similar to my old ones. The barrels swiveled backwards and the cylinders lined up with the row of bullets on the leather braces. It was goddamn nostalgic.

I heard the first two outlaws running up towards me, but I kept behind the tree for the moment. The first guy stopped next to the tree and swung his sword for my stomach. I punched the blade with my right fist, knocking it from his hands then followed up by giving him a left cross boosted by the kinetic energy of a round going off. The punch sent him flying into a nearby tree and he collapsed to the ground, knocked out. Acting quickly, I kicked the guy to my left away before he could swing at me. I then rolled forward to avoid a swipe at me and quickly got up into a boxing stance. There were three bandits armed with swords, one with a spear and one with an assault rifle of some sorts.

'Knives to a fist fight.' I mused as I prepared myself.

As the guy with the gun raised it at me, I shot the ground next to me to dodge out of the way of a burst of bullets. I then shot the ground behind me to launch myself towards the guy followed by hitting him with a close-line. My landing was a bit shaky but I quickly recovered and side step an overhead strike from a spear. As the bandit brought his spear up, I grabbed it with my left arm and pulled it. The bandit lost his footing and stumbled towards me and was met with a left hook that sent him flying back and on to his ass. Before I could react, a sword clocked me in the head and cause me to stumble back. A sword sliced across my stomach but thankfully my Aura absorbed the blow.

As the guy who just struck me began to come back with another attack, I kicked the side of his knee causing him to buckle and fall to his knees. I then hit him with a boosted right uppercut that sent him back a few feet. The remaining two rushed me and began to swing at me wildly; I was barely able to block each attack. Not wanting to be on the back foot, I use my semblance for a split second to give me the opening I need. I used that moment to hit the attacker on my left in the gut with a boosted right jab which had the intended effect of knocking them back a bit and giving me some room. Again I sidestepped an over head swipe but as I spun, I used my gauntlets to give me more momentum as I spun around and hit the attacker on the right with a vicious right hook.

Now with the last attacker standing I sprint forward and hit them with a flying kick to the chest which launches them into a tree. I spring back up to me feet to see that the guys with the spear was back up. He again brought down an overhead strike but I crossed my arms above my head to catch the attack. Pushing the spear up and throwing this guy's balance off again, I used the opportunity to rush forward and deliver two jabs followed by a right cross. He spun to his right a bit before he finally fell to the ground.

"Still got it." I said as I looked over my weapons.

I quickly ran back to my position and saw that there was nobody moving in the campsite. The launcher was still were it was so I could rest easily knowing the medical transport was safe. Cautiously, I approached the camp to search for any more of these guys, checking tents that were still up for people but they were all empty. I was approaching the last tent which also was the largest when I heard something from inside. I swapped my weapons into their normal mode and holstered the left revolver.

As I got closer to the tent flap, I saw that there was a blood trail that went inside. Following it inside the tent, I found a person slumped against one of the support poles. The man was having trouble striking a match as he leaned against the pole with a cigar in his mouth. I walked over, slowly took the match box from him and lit one for his cigar. The man slowly looked up at me with a grimace from the pain and gave a light nod before looking back down. There was no weapon on him or close by so I figured I'd leave him be; with that wound he wouldn't last long anyways. I exited the tent and made my way back toward the Marshal and the crash site.

Coco was glad that class was over, she never though Goodwitch would ever stop lecturing the class on their various performances in the Field Midterms. She also couldn't wait to see Nikita finally awake herself. While Nikita had been awake for a couple of days, the doctors only allowed teammates and family to visit since she was barely woke up. Coco met up with Velvet and Yatsuhashi who also wanted to see how she was doing.

As they approached the room, they saw Anna waiting patiently outside also still dressed in the school uniform. Coco could not help but admire how her fellow Huntresses in training looked in those uniforms. The boys' uniform wasn't too bad, just a little plain, but that was neither here or there.

"How is she?" Velvet asked.

"Oh." Anna let out as she noticed the three walking up. "She's doing good, they doctor wanted to talk to her. That's why I'm waiting out here."

"How are you doing, Annabelle?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"I told you to please call me Anna. I'm alright. Just wish things were different."

"We all do." Velvet replied as she placed a hand on Anna's shoulder.

The doctor walked out of the room. "You guys can see her now."

The four students flooded into the hospital room where there friend was laying in bed. She had a heart-rate monitor and an IV hooked up to her, but beyond that she looked just like her old self. Nikita's face lit up as she saw her friends walk in and stand on both sides of the bed.

"It is uplifting to see you, my friends." Nikita. "You all make me feel better already."

"You're looking far better then the last time I saw you." Coco half joked.

"I know, it is like I never suffered a life threatening injury at all!" Nikita exclaimed.

"How are you feeling?" Velvet asked as she walk up to the side of the bed.

"I feel almost normal. There is a bit of pain from the wound, but that is to be expected from a surgery as serious as I had." Nikita rattled off.

The four shared a glance before they chuckled amongst themselves. "Well, you still the same old Nikita." Coco added.

"I would feel better if Jakob and Oliver were here." Nikita said, looking down at her bed. "I could use one of Oliver's pep-talks right now or Jakob's words of wisdom."

"So do I, Nikita." Coco said, wistfully.

A silence hung over the room for a moment before Nikita broke it. "We should not get caught up in sorrow, we have to keep moving forward no matter how much it hurts."

"I agree." Yatsuhashi said.

"When I am discharged from the infirmary, I would like to go and have lunch with my friends."

"Yeah." Velvet said. "We need a break from school work... and other things."

The doctor came back into the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have to take her to have some X-Rays done."

"It's alright." Coco said. "We'll see you later, Nikita."

"Thank you again for visiting, friends."

As they all flooded out of the room, Anna and Coco shared a quick glance. They both wanted to tell Nikita but ultimately agreed with Wednesday and elected not to. It didn't sit well with them but they had to in order to lull the leak into a false sense of security. They had to make sure the other was still on board with the plan as they had their own doubts. Once they saw the other still had the conviction in their eyes, they went their separate ways and continued their day as normal. Anna would go over possible suspects in the confines of the room where only she lived in and Coco would come up with a plan to catch the mole.

Johnny Clay, one of the few people in charge of the Exodus, was not having a good day. Some other idiots in the gang had been on the run from the law after robbing a bank. This came after the leaders of the Exodus ordered everyone to lay low as they figured their next move. Since coming to Vale, the Exodus has ended up in more hot water than they would have liked to and that worried it's leaders. No one knew this, but the Exodus was not one gang originally but were a few that banded together. That's why they have multiple leaders as opposed to just one like many others had.

Johnny and his gang joined with them for mutual security as the people of Vacuo began to crack down on bandits and gangs that were terrorizing the kingdom. His posse originally formed when he wanted to rob a bank that cheated their family out of their home. His sister, his father's friend Jeremiah and a few local boys all asked to join in on the plan. The robbery went sideways as a Huntsman tried to intervene and was killed in the process and they were hunted down ever since.

As he thought back to that day, Johnny slammed a shot before he leaned against the counter in the bar of the abandoned town they were hiding out at. Although a lot has happened since that day two years ago, Johnny's goal never changed. He joined with these guys in the hopes of paying back a world that never cared for the people that it screwed over. Paying the world back for being a cruel, evil and selfish place. Johnny despised the other leaders and their men as all they cared about was money, notoriety, or they just craved violence. Thankfully, those that followed him agreed with his philosophy and he knew they would trust his decisions no matter what.

Even though he didn't trust that 'Autumn' lady, he could resonate with her goal to topple those in power. The world had to change and no one else would take the steps necessary to do so. He say that conviction in her eyes as she explained how her goal was similar to his. Johnny felt like this woman was a part of a bigger group that looked to shake up the order of things and bring in a new age and someone to ally with. But first, he needed to shed the extra weight that was the rest of the Exodus.

A/N: Sorry for the wonky schedule, life always finds a way to side track me. I really appreciate all the support and feedback you guys have given me. It's invigorating to see you guys enjoy the story and give predictions about where the story is going next. I can not thank you all enough for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting this story.