Forsworn

HP/VS

XXIII: Derailment and Disregard

Rumpole confronted Harry just before the skiff took flight "You're going to need the Headmaster on board for this. How are you going to convince the Twins?"

"You. I'll kill the Headmaster and you're going to be the one who brings them in."

Rumpole nodded "Then what happens? They're going to be attacking the school! I don't want to just throw my…"

Harry's eyes began to shine an eerie silver "You will do what I tell you to. You have the Beacon Brigade in your school; the moment they hear that we're under attack and I'm back…I got them to fight, like devils at night until dawn, this time it's going to be much easier. As for your precious Vacuo native students…perhaps this time they'll learn what it's like to fight for your home when there is nowhere else to run. NDGO for four are ones I'm going to have conversations with. No-one threatens my woman, no-one threatens my friends and colleagues; I'd rather stand on my own against an invasion if my only choice of outside forces are from your school right now Rumpole."

Rumpole gulped "Just what happened at Beacon? The Vacuo Contingent just told us the school was lost."

Harry snorted "Atlas's mechanical douches got hacked and turned on the human populace, Grimm attacked. Those that didn't run, I rallied to a singular plateau, I was intent on saving the school. There were students inside fighting Grimm, White Fang Terrorists and Mechanical Threats, the Brigade fought to keep the school from being overrun. However, I was pulled away as I was needed elsewhere. I escaped that fight with my life to see my Sister destroy a particularly destructive and respawning Grimm; I didn't know that the woman I failed to kill had killed a dear friend of ours. This time I'm the one orchestrating the invasion, I'm the one in control. If this goes to plan then hopefully, just hopefully, I might have some faith in the world."

Rumpole nodded "After you've brought experience to my School; then what?"

"A few days of downtime. Before dragging whoever wants to come with me across the world to Mistral. Then up to Atlas where I may, attempt to, murder James Ironwood with a rusty spoon for being an utter dick...Or burn down Atlas."

Rumpole snorted, she didn't like the Headmaster-General anymore than her current companion. "Note, I do not like this."

"Neither do I but the things I do for love. Besides, the pay is amazing for a group of technophobic morons with delusions of grandeur."

Rumpole shook her head "Is that all you think about?"

"Nope. My girlfriend, my family…amongst other things. Money is secondary to me but for me all I want is my girlfriend to be okay. When I fall for someone, I fall hard."

The woman nodded "I do not apologise for splitting up the teams that transferred in; I should have taken into account personality and prior experiences before enforcing them. I do apologise on my part for allowing NDGO to act unprofessionally towards Miss Scarlatina. But you have to understand, those four, they grew up together and their families are in positions of power."

Harry's smile was nearly all teeth, "Because of that, they threaten everyone with their parents' involvement?"

Rumpole nodded, "Does that not frighten you?"

"People have been threatening me with parental involvement for years. I've thrashed the parents, in front of the cryers and then beaten the cryers…I don't care who you are, if you square off against me have the decency to fight me."

Their conversation was briefly halted as Velvet stirred, reaching out around her from her sleeping position on the deck, found Harry's torn jacket and pulled it on as she got to her feet. "Miss Scarlatina…" The rabbit-faunus stared the deputy down.

"Professor Rumpole…I heard everything."

The woman held the Rabbit Faunus's gaze "I don't apologise for what I did, but I apologise for the torment. Now, we have a job to do."

Velvet nodded "Stage an assassination and an actual assassination and stopping my boyfriend from going completely murderous."

Rumpole chuckled at that "I take it that's a full time job?"

"Not exactly. Him going straight to murderous is like a Huntress killing a Grimm, second nature, it's the getting him out of the murder-state that's a problem. Everything sets him off."

"I'm not…" Harry began but Velvet raised an eyebrow "I remember you saying you'd kill the Vale Council because one of them tried to address you as 'boy'."

"My Uncle and Aunt called me that repeatedly…My Team are Faunus, the Woman I love is a Faunus; so a quick sure fire way to get me in your face with the intention of removing it is to threaten, demean and knowingly put them down near me. I nearly put a man through his workplace, I've beaten the crap out of police officers for doing it. The only reason they survived was because of their positions and sometimes learning to live with the consequences is much more painful." Came Harry's glacial response.

Velvet could smell the tension building and stepped between the pair. Rumpole watched with a dropped jaw as Scarlatina stepped without fear between them. "Enough. Harry, you need to eat. I am not above spoon feeding you if I have to. Your conversation has probably woken the rest up! If so, we should get going. And Harry, this runs off dust…if you're planning to help then you certainly need to eat. I've seen what happens when you don't eat and over do your semblance."

Harry wanted to retort that he was fine, but the look in Velvet's eyes promised retribution. "Will do." With that he sulked off heading down stairs.

Yatsuhashi and Fox were bustling around the kitchen prepping for breakfast. "I have ears. I've never heard V, THAT pissed off at you. Trouble in paradise?"

"Less in paradise. More troubles in Hell. I've…fucked up. Colossal fuck up and its going to turn into another…"

"Siege. I heard. As did Yatsu."

"Fox, I know you like to communicate telepathically. But Harry, must you really do the same?"

"Because it was simple. Fox was asking questions and I simply responded, I didn't think you'd be interested in Velvet and My problems."

Yatsuhashi chuckled, Fox finished off the eggs. Harry found the gargantuan teens massive arm around his neck "Velvet is one of my team. Coco, Fox, Velvet, Yatsuhashi: CFVY…so please explain."

"Ive found myself working as a multi-agent for some nutcases who believe themselves the rightful rulers of Vacuo. They want to attack Shade! Need me to assassinate the Principle. Naturally…"

"You're going to do it or stage it. They're going to attack and then we're going to slaughter everything that comes in. It's gonna be like Beacon again."

Harry nodded "We're in. The Brigade will back you! But what are you going to do about Team NDGO."

"I'll either beat them to death, leave them for Grimm or a mixture of the first two. They deserted us when we needed them! They threatened Velvet… they threatened Velvet. Snicker at the fact we fought."

"But you're more pissed that they bullied and threatened Velvet. So Harry, what are you going to do about it?" This was Coco, standing in sleeping shorts and a gigantic t-shirt.

"Beat the shit out of them. Now what's this about food?"

Fox chuckled and soon enough everyone was crammed below stuffing their faces. Harry wasn't stupid enough to know that each one of them were shoving their seconds onto his plate. His eyes flickered to Velvet who smiled weakly at him.

"We're roughly two or three days' casual travel from the capital. If we steer flat out and the weather is good we might be able to do a day and a half." Rumpole stated, her experience out in the desert definitely appearing in her tone.

"With my semblance, I reckon we could get back in a day." Harry countered.

"Your semblance? What does it do?"

"I absorb, channel, convert and wield the ambient dust in the atmosphere. I can also do some…other things. It requires me to eat like a bloody pig. Now I'll clean up and then get down to the engines; Rumpole you direct, Yatsu and Sage the pair of you are willing to steer?"

The thick set huntsmen nodded and with that Harry set out to wash up and headed down to the engines. Harry opened the hatch of the fuel store as Yatsuhashi turned the engine over. "Harry! We're going to need fire dust."

Harry grinned as fire spluttered into his hand he thrust it into the engine. There was the unmistakable sound of the engines picking up speed as the skiff began to race across the sand.

(Ruby et al.)

To say the silence could be cut with a knife was an understatement. The last time Ruby had seen the brunette, she'd attempted to abduct her brother.

"Neville, please, explain why you've brought HER back?"

Hermione bristled slightly at the addressal but Harry's sister did have a point. When they'd met she had tried to force Harry to heel and follow her much like establishing dominance over a dog. "I came back as Harry made me realise that without him, I've got no-one. I'm more surprised that he even let me."

"Hermione, you and Harry go way back. Aye you pissed him off but then again you did piss everyone off at one point or another, the last thing we need to worry about is you having a pity party about what you did and did not do. You're here, you have the basics of being a huntsperson and you're willing to join Harry on this particular mission." Seamus chipped in.

"Now, would someone introduce us? Because having a private conversation in public is a little…" Weiss began.

Hermione looked at Neville, Dean and Seamus "Was I…"

"Yes, yes you were. Weiss, these are Hermione, Dean and Seamus; you three these good people are: Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose, the one in the bed is Qrow Branwen and…" Neville almost seamlessly introduced everyone.

"Er hi...I'm Oscar. Oscar Pine."

"Mind telling me how you found us, Oscar? Because none of us…"

Oscar sighed "What do I tell them?" He thought as he murmured "A voice in my head told me to head here."

"A voice in your head?"

Oscar nodded as his eyes glowed.