Hey, everyone. WaterDragonMaverick here with the second part of Team SLVR's bounty hunting mission in "Sideline: Another Story". Last time, the four rookie Hunters met Ventus and they managed to catch two of their targets and turn them over to the police. However, the other three criminals soon found out that they were being targeted and they begin to set up for the 'visitors'. Will Team SLVR be able to succeed? How good is this Huntsman that's helping them? Are the five of them walking into a trap? Find out now on "Sideline: Another Story" and enjoy the chapter.
Target Sighted.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (R.I.P)
I only own my personal Original Characters in this story.
After handing Redd Stone and Duncan Upaz over to the Vale Police Department, Ventus and Team SLVR were paid for the two bounties and went on the find the other three wanted criminals. "Not a bad amount," Ven said as he counted the Lien he earned. "After this mission's over, let's get something to eat. All this work builds up an appetite," he told the teenagers.
"That would be great," Silver said. "Let's just try to deal with those last three people. Who are they again?"
"Lucas Lloyd, Nicole Blade, and Clay Crimson," Lapis reminded. "The last known location according to Junior's list was an old warehouse near the docks I believe."
Ventus looked at the list given to them before replying to the more studious member of Team SLVR. "You'd be right, Lapis. Clay Crimson is supposed to be the leader of their little group because he comes up with all the strategies for them and has the fighting skills to back them up."
"Sounds dangerous," Vixen said with a smile. "I think it'll be fun to deal with him."
"Vixen, don't even think about it," Rua told the prankster of the team. "We're bounty hunting."
"Let's just head off to the warehouse," Silver told his team. Listening to their leader, Team SLVR focused and went on their way while Ventus grinned at the teenagers.
At the docks, Nicole Blade and Lucas Lloyd were patrolling their hideout to keep an eye out for the Huntsman and Beacon Academy students that were going to arrive. With nothing in sight at the moment, the two began to talk with each other. "I really didn't want today to be like this," Lucas said to Nicole as they walked by some shipping containers.
"Neither of us did," Nicole replied. "But then again, you know Clay. He always thinks that he can do whatever he wants thanks to his skills."
"Yeah, he scares me," Lucas admitted.
"Same here," Nicole agreed. "He can turn whatever he touches into a bomb as long as it isn't alive or has anyone's Aura channeled through it. That's a terrifying Semblance. And he's the only one in our gang that has an ability of any sort, too."
Lucas only nodded before the two decided to climb on top of the shipping containers for a better view. When they reached the top, they continued their conversation. "At least we can fight, Nicole. If we couldn't hold our own against the cops, I think Clay would've killed us by turning our clothes into explosives a long time ago."
"Yeah," Nicole agreed. Soon, the black-haired girl saw something approaching the docks and she pulled out a pocket-sized telescope to get a better look. She soon saw that five people with weapons and armor were walking into the dockyard. "Looks like our Huntsmen guests have arrived," Nicole told Lucas.
"I'll go warn Clay," Lucas said as he began climbing down the shipping containers and headed for the warehouse. As for Nicole Blade, she pulled out a short sword and got ready to fight against the first person that came her way when she saw each of the arrivals splitting up to cover more ground.
When Ventus and Team SLVR arrived at the dockyard, they decided that splitting up and searching the area was the best option. Vixen was soon on her own as she tried to find any sign of the fugitives they were after. As she checked every corner and possible hiding spot, she had the strangest feeling that somebody or something was following her. Turning around, the Fox Faunus saw that a black-haired girl of average height was attacking her with a short sword. Quickly backflipping out of the way, Vixen pulled out her fans to try and counter against the girl. "Hey, what's up," Vixen asked as she saw the girl stare her down.
The girl didn't reply and only began to attack Vixen again with her sword. Blocking the slashes with her fans, Vixen countered by kicking at her opponent's legs before following up with a few strikes from her fans. Finishing her attack combination with a strong kick to the girl's gut, Vixen used her Semblance to create an illusionary swarm of beetles that distracted the girl long enough for the Faunus to pull out her Scroll. "Hey, I think I found that Nicole girl we were after," Vixen told her Team as she kept up her illusion. "Look for the giant swarm of bugs and you'll find me."
"Got it. Rua, head over there and help Vixen out," Silver's voice instructed.
Vixen soon saw a flash of light and saw that Rua Amaranth had arrived at her location. "Already there," Rua told her team and put away her Scroll. Preparing her shield as soon as Vixen's illusion stopped, Rua charged at Nicole and smashed the black-haired girl into a shipping container. After Nicole recoiled in pain, Vixen placed a pair of handcuffs on her. "Don't worry. I didn't hurt you that much," Rua told Nicole. "Now before I take you to the cops, tell us where the other two are."
"Clay! They're here," Lucas Lloyd called out as he found Clay Crimson. "I think that they might have caught Nicole."
"A shame," Clay stated without any sort of emotion in his voice.
Lucas wasn't all that surprised when he heard what Clay said, but it still hurt him to think of what Clay truly thought of his associates. "They'll be after us soon enough," Lucas reminded as his voice became more panicked. "We need to do something!"
"I already have, Lloyd," Clay said as he pointed to all the planks of wood, empty metal barrels, and other objects scattered around the room. "And if those don't cut it, I have these," he added while pulling out a handful of coins from his pocket. "I already have the advantage," Clay told his subordinate with a smug smile.
"Are you really sure that you can take on five people at once," Lucas asked out of concern.
"Do you doubt me," Clay asked back with an annoyed expression on his face as he walked toward Lucas. The gray-haired male backed away slowly in fear as Clay crept closer to him, but the latter managed to grab him by the collar of his shirt. "I was responsible for giving you what you wanted for months. If you're doubting my abilities and the idea, no... the fact that I can take out some worthless teenage wannabe heroes, then I'll make it that it will be easier for them to find you," Clay threatened as he began to position his thumb over his index finger.
"I'm not! I'M NOT," Lucas cried out in fear as he looked at Clay.
"...Good," Clay said as he released Lucas from his grip. "Now, get out of my sight." Hearing the order, Lucas ran away from Clay as fast as he could. When Clay was alone, he looked at his hand and pondered something to himself. "I think he's served his purpose," Clay said and pressed his thumb against his index finger like he was activating a detonator. When he did, a small click was heard before an explosion sounded off and a pained scream echoed through the docks. After hearing Lucas Lloyd's voice call out in pain, Clay smirked to himself before he went to an old table and picked up a large revolver to load it with the bullets he needed.
"What was that," Lapis asked as she, Team SLVR, and Ventus regrouped after hearing the explosion and scream. Searching the location where the sounds came from, the Huntsman and the teenagers saw one of their targets, Lucas Lloyd, badly injured and his shirt burned to ashes. "What happened to him?!"
Ventus kneeled down and checked Lucas' vitals. "He's still breathing, but he needs to get medical attention. A hospital won't cut it, though," he said as he pulled out his Scroll and selected a specific contact. "It's me, Sis. I need you to help somebody we found injured at the docks. I'm sending one of the students that are shadowing me with them. Okay, see you then," he told the person on the other line before hanging up. "Rua, you need to take him to Beacon Academy."
"What?! Why take him there," Rua asked.
"Because there's somebody waiting at the courtyard who can help this guy faster than any hospital can," Ven explained. "Just do it." Listening to Ventus, Rua grabbed Lucas and teleported to Beacon Academy with him. The rest of Team SLVR was still confused before Ven spoke to them. "We still need to deal with Clay Crimson. I feel like he was responsible for this," Ven said. "Come on." Obeying their mentor, Silver, Lapis, and Vixen followed Ven until they reached the warehouse that Nicole Blade told them that Clay was hiding out at.
As they approached the door, a broken piece of wood was thrown out of the door's window and a small click was heard before the wood suddenly exploded. The blast sent burning splinters and nails flying at the group, but Lapis was quick to act and created a wall of ice to defend everyone. The heat from the explosion melted most of the ice wall, but everyone was safe and unharmed from whatever kind of shrapnel flew at them. "Since when does wood explode," Silver exclaimed in shock as a barrel rolled close to them from the blast.
"Simple," a male's voice called out from the warehouse. "I make it explode on command. Just like this will," they stated with a smug tone before another click was heard. Thinking of what the man said, Ventus kicked the barrel into the air and the metal container exploded a little after the Huntsman got it out of range. "I suppose that one of you isn't so clueless after all," the man said as he stepped into view, juggling some pebbles in his right hand while holding a revolver in his left hand.
"And I suppose that you're Clay Crimson," Ventus replied with an angry tone in his voice. "Why did you do that to Lucas Lloyd?"
"Him," Clay questioned as he stopped juggling the pebbles in his hand and turned to look at Ventus. "He did what I expected him to do and I dealt with him accordingly. It's not like he was actually going to fight any of you. Although now that I think about it, letting him find you would have been much easier for me to deal with every single one of you," the criminal stated.
Ventus and Silver glared at Clay's callous behavior toward his subordinate, but Ventus was angrier and Team SLVR could tell. "He helped you in the past, didn't he," Ven exclaimed to Clay.
"By playing lookout like he did earlier," Clay replied while holstering his gun. "However, he's only good for that and while he could defend himself in a fight, he was doubting my strengths," he told the bounty hunters in front of him. "I can easily take on all of you," Crimson stated as he threw the pebbles he carried at Team SLVR and activated his Semblance. With a press of his thumb and the sound of a detonator clicking, the pebbles effectively became firecrackers that distracted everyone so that he could attack Team SLVR.
Leaping at Vixen, Clay Crimson hit her in the face with a flying knee strike before kicking her in the ribs to knock her over. Seeing their teammate in trouble, Silver and Lapis rushed to help as they pulled out their weapons. Attempting to slash at Clay, Silver and Lapis didn't react in time when he pulled out his revolver and fired a bullet at them. Immediately when he did, Clay activated his Semblance to make to the bullet explode and damage the students. As Lapis went skidding onto the pavement from the blast, her Aura prevented her from being too injured by the shrapnel and fire, but still was recoiling in pain when she ended up crashing into Vixen. "You'll pay for that," Silver growled as he glared at Clay Crimson and used his chainsaw's whip mode to try and strike at the criminal. However, Clay countered by grabbing at a plank of wood and throwing it so that Silver's chain caught it. When Silver saw what he was doing, Crimson had a smug smile on his face as he used his Semblance again to create another explosion.
"Perhaps you children should stay in school and learn to stay out of fights that you can't win," Clay taunted as Silver went flying from the blast and skinned his arm against the ground. "Then again, wannabe heroes tend to die rather young," he added as he pulled out his revolver again and aimed at the downed Wolf Faunus. Before he could pull the trigger, Lapis let out a sonic scream directly at Clay and made him recoil in pain from the excruciatingly loud noise. Turning to the girl, Clay saw that dozens of copies of Team SLVR were staring him down as the Lapis clones all screamed at him. "Nice try, brats," Clay said as he fired his gun at the crowd of copies and activated his Semblance once more. With explosions enveloping the illusions that Vixen created, she and Lapis ended up getting knocked back into a shipping container, which broke their Auras and made their bodies flash a reddish-orange and silvery-blue respectively. "Now where was I," Clay rhetorically asked as he turned back to the struggling Silver.
Aiming his revolver at Silver again, Clay prepared to kill Team SLVR's leader and shot at the Wolf Faunus while pressing his free hand's thumb over his index finger again. When the explosion enveloped the area that he aimed at, Clay smirked at his apparent victory until he saw the smoke and flames clear. Seeing that no charred corpse was in the center of the blast zone, Crimson looked around until he saw Silver with Vixen and Lapis. But before he could try to shoot at them again, he was suddenly attacked and his chest was slashed at. Seeing the cut on his body and shirt, Clay investigated as to where the attack came from before he heard Ventus speak. "Your fight is with me now," the Falcon Faunus said as he floated down to the ground like an angel descending from the heavens. When he landed, Ventus placed his goggles over his eyes and held his knife in a reverse grip in front of his belt buckle as a ready stance.
Clay just laughed smugly at Ventus as he reloaded his revolver. "Hahahaha! You really think that I can't deal with you after what I did to those three?" As Clay finished loading his weapon, Ven rushed the criminal at blinding speeds and slashed at him with his knife from several angles. During the onslaught of slashes, Clay's shirt was tattered and he had to remove it. "Eat this," Crimson exclaimed as he threw his tank top in Ven's direction when he saw the Faunus stop moving. Detonating the article of torn cloth with his Semblance, Clay tried to deal some damage to Ventus after the attacks that he took.
"I'm not hungry," Ven retorted as he swung his knife in front of him and his weapon unleashed a gust of wind. The sudden wind blew Clay's tank top back toward the fugitive as it exploded and managed to injure him. As Clay Crimson rolled back onto his feet from his Semblance being used against himself, he aimed and fired his revolver at Ventus. The Huntsman saw the attack coming easily and kicked again to fire his own bullets from his greaves. With precise aim from Ven, the bullets collided in midair which surprised Clay and Team SLVR before the criminal continued to shoot at the Falcon Faunus. "Too slow," Ventus said as he flew out of the way of the shots before grabbing at Crimson with his talons.
With Ven's talons digging into his shoulders, Clay cried out in pain before Ventus flipped and slammed him onto the ground hard enough to crack the pavement. Following through with his attack, Ven lifted Clay into the air and kicked at him to send the criminal flying with the force of his kick. When Clay recovered from the attack, he snarled at the Huntsman before getting into a fighting stance and charged at his opponent. Throwing a punch at Ventus, Clay's attack was deflected by the Faunus before Ven countered with a kick to the fugitive's kidneys. Ventus dealt a few more kicks to Clay before the latter figured out enough of Ven's way of fighting to block with his forearms or shins. "Not so tough now that I know how you fight," Crimson told Ventus as he hit the Huntsman in the face with an elbow strike that followed into a backhand.
Ven only replied by pushing Clay back with a kick and flying above him. With some room to breathe, Ven made it so that his greaves opened up to change what kind of ammunition he used and pulled a pair of Fire Dust crystals from a holder he kept in his jacket pocket. After placing the crystals in his greaves, Ventus lowered himself back to the ground and got into a kickboxing stance. As Clay approached Ventus with his arms raised for defense, the Falcon Faunus attacked with a fiery kick that Clay attempted to block, but the flames still dealt damage to his Aura. Kicking at Clay more, Ven managed to disarm him of his revolver when Crimson tried to shoot at him again. As Clay growled in anger at his opponent winning, he tried to punch Ventus again only for the Falcon Faunus to grab him by the arm and throw him to the ground. While the criminal tried to pick himself up, Ventus ascended into the sky and dived back down toward Clay like a real falcon attempting to catch its prey. Falling at high speeds, Ven flipped himself around in order to land an extremely powerful burning kick directly at Clay Crimson. The attack connected and the fugitive's Aura broke on contact before he was send flying into the water.
While Ventus went to collect his bounty, Silver and the girls were shocked at what they just witnessed. "That... was... awesome," Silver managed to say as he was helped to his feet by Lapis and Vixen.
"Yeah, it was," Vixen agreed.
"Okay, let's bring this guy to the cops and make sure to keep him in a small holding cell," Lapis stated. "His Semblance can still work on himself, so he likely wouldn't want to be injured in any possible escape he attempts."
"Good call," Ventus said as he carried Clay Crimson by his legs.
When they brought Clay to the police, Team SLVR saw that Rua and Ivy were waiting for them with Lucas Lloyd now apparently back to full health and being taken to a holding cell by an officer. "Hey, guys. What did I miss," Rua asked as she saw her team enter with a handcuffed Clay Crimson.
"While you were helping out that Lucas guy, Ven kicked ass," Silver exclaimed before pointing at Clay. "He was dealing with that bomber guy who was beating us like a cheap drum so easily that it didn't even seem like a fair fight!"
"That's Ventus for you," Ivy said as she turned to the Falcon Faunus. Ven saw her and just began to stammer and blush like a teenager.
"Hey, why are you even here, Ivy," Vixen asked as she turned to the Cow Faunus.
"I think this will help explain," Ivy said as she walked toward Silver and placed her hand on his injured arm. With a green glow coming from her hand, Ivy seemed to heal Silver's arm as the scrape started to vanish as if it was naturally healing at a much faster rate. "Terracotta taught me about Aura when we started dating and he even unlocked my own Aura for me. I soon found out that I could heal others through skin contact with my Semblance," Ivy explained as she removed her hand from Silver. "When Ventus called me about an injured man, he wanted me to help as soon as possible."
"That's why he wanted me to get Lucas to Beacon," Rua told her team.
"Wait, he said 'Sis' in his call," Lapis remembered. "Then..."
"Oh, right. My full name is Ventus Gaia," the Falcon Faunus said. "I'm Ivy's younger brother-in-law." The teenagers were confused as they processed the knowledge that Ventus was Terracotta's brother, but they looked nothing alike. "I was adopted," Ven bluntly stated to answer the question that was on Team SLVR's minds. Soon, the police chief came by to thank Ventus and Team SLVR for their hard work apprehending Clay Crimson and his gang. Receiving the payment for the job and declaring the mission a success, Ventus, Ivy, and Team SLVR all left the station. "Alright! I think that this calls for dinner," Ventus exclaimed and everyone agreed.
"I wonder how the others are doing," Lapis asked as she pulled out her Scroll and looked at a picture of Fragment Hunter altogether.
FINISHED! I wanted to get this chapter done in order to show off Ventus' fighting style and to get started with the next mission that I'm going to cover. I hope that you enjoyed the action in this chapter because the next mission is going to have plenty more and I'm introducing a new type of Grimm. As for Clay Crimson in this chapter, I always thought that the ability of "Killer Queen" from "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" was awesome enough to be a Semblance in RWBY. So, there you go.
Ventus' battle style is something that I picture being a slightly superior version of Mercury's fighting style by adding Dust-enhanced kicks, the ability to grab things with his feet, a Dust knife for hit-and-run tactics, and the power to fly without wasting Dust or ammo. The main downside of it though is that Ventus doesn't have the same defensive strengths as Mercury does. During his battle with Clay Crimson, I'd like you to listen to any of the following songs from "Kamen Rider OOO" for the fight scene. "Reverse/Re:Birth", "Regret Nothing ~Tighten Up~", or "Time Judged All". And yes, Ven did end the battle with his own personal 'Rider Kick', I've been watching several Kamen Rider shows recently and I've become a fan.
Until next time, WaterDragonMaverick out!