Chapter 18: Psych-Part 2
I'm back with part two people. I hope you enjoy the rest of this chapter, sponsored by Nacom23 who did their best in writing down all the details. Speaking of him though, I should tell you guys that due to his/her circumstances, they won't be able to beta-read this chapter for a long while. Such a shame but after this, we won't be seeing our good friend for a while. But hey, they'll be back eventually, so no tears.
Until then, on with the show.
"Alright folks, part two begins now." The entity known as Mayden said as suddenly the entire screen lit up.
"Oh man, this is gonna be entertaining!" Yang was very excited to see how the rest of this episode will turn out.
"You bet!" Ruby agreed while eating a plate of cookies. "I bet dad with Whitley and Oscar will totally prove themselves. Isn't that right Oscar!" She then shouted at her travel buddy who just gave a small smile.
"I hope so." He said a bit nervously.
"Don't worry Oscar, I'm sure you'll do fine." The soul of Ozpin told his current vessel, believing that Oscar alongside Whitley could do fine things. "You should believe in yourself more."
"I-I guess I can try." Oscar said. While he didn't have much confidence, after seeing his dimensional counterpart, a part of him felt he could do it. He just had to have faith.
"Hopefully someone will get hurt." Mercury chuckled. The laps part was okay, but Mercury prefered more action.
"Uh, battle addict." Emerald roller her eyes while Cinder simply just ignored her followers and began drinking some fine. While she didn't care much about this episode, as it lacked things she herself actually liked, she did enjoy the ability to conjure food and drinks.
'Imagine, if I had this power I can crush all my enemies.' Cinder thought as she took a long sip. She then gazed at her empty glass cup and 'willed' more of the wine to come back. 'That...and the power to materialize my favorite drinks and meals will be a nice bonus.' Just because she would have immense powers, didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy such a fine dish now and then.
Glynda and Ironwood could attest to that. Both eating extravagant dishes.
In any case, the screen soon started up again with everybody now watching to see what happens next. And what it showed first was this.
Dew saw her boyfriend's raised hand and asked, "Yes, Mr. Schnee?"
"..." Whitley had some respect for his counterparts higher than average intelligence...but he got the feeling that this might not end well. In terms of making him look good.
Whitley smiled internally. It's not every day that one got to reenact a scene from one of their favorite movies. Whitley was gonna enjoy every minute of it.
Making sure to keep a straight face, Whitley asked. "Have you ever seen a small, blue vehicle swing out in front of a twin Mack truck, pull a 180 spin, and then continue in reverse?"
Dew shook her head, "No. And why would someone do something so stupid?"
"I think it sounds interesting." Mercury though with Yang internally agreeing.
"Yeah! I don't get much of what was said, but that sounds awesome!" Nora replied with vigour, Ren trying to calm her down and eat her pancakes.
"Uh." Whitley just slapped his face as Winter and Weiss just looked at him with amusement in their eyes. It isn't often they see their little brother act like this.
It appeared that his girlfriend was not playing along. He caught himself before looking over to Oscar. The two friends stared at one another, holding a brief mental discussion on whether to continue with this stunt. They both agreed in a second. Again, when did anyone get a chance to live out one of their favorite movie?
Whitley looked back at his girlfriend and said, "To communicate."
Oscar joined in, quoting Rooster, "You know, to keep up international relations."
Dew was not amused. She asked the two cadets. "Do you have any real questions, or would you rather keep wasting our time?"
Deciding to end his small flight into fantasy, the Schnee thought now might be the best time to ask a question he'd been keeping in. "Let's say there's a guy knocking off check-cashing places in order to gather-"
Dew caught on to him and said, "That's not hypothetical. That is a real and current case we are not discussing in this class."
"Understood," Whitley spoke.
"It's like seeing the students acting like fools." Glynda moaned. The worst part being that this version of the young Schnee is technically a grown man. A man child, both him and Oscar.
"I can only hope those two are disciplined." Ironwood said with Glynda giving him a knowing look. "Huh. Yeah, never mind." A certain faunus back at Atlas with colorful skates proved to not change, so why would these two.
He kept silent for a few seconds before raising his hand again. Dew saw this and, despite her hesitation, called on him again. "Yes, Mr. Schnee?"
"Let's say there's a lady, and she has sticky fingers, and she's knocking off those joints that give you, like, a cash advance on your paycheck in case you want to go to a club."
Dew checked her watch and decided that now was the right time to end class. She then raised her voice and announced to all the gathered cadets. "Okay, you know what? That's it for today."
"Love problems." Blake said knowing that even if those two-surprisingly-were dating, considering this Whitley, it must be tough dealing with his antics. She should know, Yang was like this sometimes.
Whitley and Oscar looked on in surprise, wondering just how the former's bluff had worked. As the other cadets left, Dew told them as they left the classroom that they will continue discussing the PIT maneuver on Friday. Within seconds, the only souls left in the classroom were the three of them. She then called out Whitley. "Mr. Schnee, a word?"
"Haha! Someone's in trouble I bet." Cardin laughed with Whitley glaring at the man. Even Adam found himself chuckling a bit.
Oscar leaned in and told his friend, "I think you might be in trouble with the teacher."
Whitley smiled and replied, "I sure hope so."
The white-haired psychic detective rose from his seat and approached his instructor/girlfriend. As soon as the two were face to face, Dew reprimanded her lover. "You know, you should be taking this training more seriously. It might help you."
Whitley scoffed and replied, "Oh, come on, we both know this is some crazy idea dreamt by my uncle and the chief."
"It wasn't their idea, Whit. It was mine." He stopped himself at his girlfriend's words. He blinked in surprise. All this time, he thought it was them, but it was her idea?
"Did not see that coming." Mayden then said sounding surprised.
"What! How could you not know?" Jaune asked figuring the Keeper here must have known everything about that world.
"Dude, I have powers but that doesn't make me omniscient." Besides, if he did know everything, that would just ruin the fun of surprises and plot twists. That, and he's never seen this world before. Never even heard of it up until a while ago. "Now then, continue watching."
"I suggested the academy to protect you from being killed." Dew confessed, hoping she'll get through to her dense boyfriend.
Whitley immediately felt like an ass once he heard that. He hadn't put Dew's feelings into consideration when he went out and broke police protocol. Sure, there were moments in the past when he nearly got hurt, including that time when he was shot in the shoulder and had to endure it for nearly a day, but he always came out alive. Why hadn't she told him earlier about how worried she was?
"Wait, I got shot!" Whitley then said, Oscar also wondering if he got injuries of his own.
"If anything love, that isn't exactly important." Tock said in a surprising look of some interest. "What's important is that you were being a blow-harder jerk in not considering your relationship with that girl."
Whitley wasn't sure what to think. That he got shot, or that he was being told off for his other worlder relationship by a faunus of all people. It didn't help matters that this one is rather violent, considering what she did when she first showed up.
As for Blake, she suddenly began feeling some guilt recalling her own problems. Oe mainly, how she always ran from them without thinking of the other person. Yang groaning a bit at her own thing. The two feeling uncomfortable with the rest of team RWBY just looking away. Though they weren't the only ones to feel off.
Even Adam actually took a second look over of what was said, and slowly began reviewing his and Blake's old relationship.
It would be a while before he discovered what went wrong.
A sudden ring from Dew's scroll interrupted his musings. She looked at the caller ID and then answered, "Hey, Carlton."
"David Arnold's car was just spotted near Rose Valley on Harris Street. This is the real deal, Gayl." She heard her partner say. She swore he could hear the victorious smile in his voice when he told her, "Hop in a black-and-white, and let's bust this guy!"
"I'm on my way." She told him before ending the call. She then told Whitley, "I got to go."
Whitley sighed and swallowed his pride as he began to plead, "Dew... Look, I know that Oz and I are not supposed to get involved in this investigation, but I have to be honest with you. That's gonna be very difficult for us."
Dew clicked her tongue and said. "Yeah, I can see that... Why don't you come with me?"
Whitley asked in disbelief, "Really?"
She grinned, "Yeah."
She walked for the exit. Whitley turned on his heel and addressed his best friend. "Snowman, we're in."
Snowman angrily reminded his friend, "The Tan Rooster, Whit; The TAN ROOSTER!"
"Man these guys are weird." Qrow said as he took a nice drink. "But in a good way."
The two cadets promptly followed the detective out of the classroom. As they left, Whit told him his opinion of that name, "That has no ring to it at all."
The screen shifted over to a view of a police car driving down a street. The Dispatcher's voice is heard as she spoke over the radio, "Harris Street at Rose Valley, Unit 21 En route. Suspect named in check-cashing robberies detained, awaiting backup. License plate confirmed. Registrant: David Arnold."
The cruiser pulled over to the side of the street, parking right behind the car of Detective Carlton Lassiter, who had arrived only minutes before they had. The detective stood defensively behind his car, service weapon at the ready, waiting for his partner to join him. Parked in front of his own car was an orange SUV, the suspect's vehicle. Dew exited the police vehicle, shutting the door behind her, leaving the two cadets in the backseats. Whitley and Oscar, eager to join in, attempt to exit the vehicle as well, only to find that their doors were locked. Using all the strength they could muster, the two friends try to force the doors, but to no avail.
"She locked us in the car!" Oscar stated the obvious.
Whitley frowned as realization dawned on him. "That's why she let us come... so she could keep tabs."
Whitley jokingly lamented, "That crafty little doodle pumpkin."
"Huh. I have to remember that trick." Winter could see the good uses of doing that. She once worked with two young a bit out of control but good hearted students as an assignment one time. One held a musical instrument and the other just wore clothing that was out of order. The two had good marks, strong, but more than likely to break the rules and get themselves hurt.
'A bit strange but I can see this working.' Ironwood also having the same thoughts. Sure it was a bit...immature, but hey, it worked.
Oscar could only raise a brow as he heard his friend's pet name for his girlfriend. Then he sighed, choosing to ignore it. People can say what they want, but they had to admit Dew and Whitley made quite the cute, if very odd couple.
"Ph." Weiss nearly giggled, ignoring the stare that Whitley gave her.
Dew joined with Lassie, the two of them slowly approaching the suspect's vehicle. Their weapons were raised, aiming at the vehicle. They were not going to take any chances with this one. Who knew what could be up his sleeve?
"Arnold," Lassie called out, "Get out of that vehicle with your hands in the air!"
"DO IT!"
Seconds passed as the two officers, and the two cadets in the cruiser, waited for Arnold to exit the vehicle. The door of the SUV's driver seat opened, and a figure emerged. However, it wasn't David Arnold, as Lassiter and Gayl had hoped.
The one who had emerged was a frightened and very confused old, Kuchinashian woman. The two detectives lowered their weapons, wondering just how they could have screwed up. That's when Lassie felt something stir within him. It felt as though somebody was laughing at him. Turning his hear around, he looked back at the police car. Inside, the two idiots were laughing their heads off, with Oscar laughing so hard he rolled on his side.
He then asked his partner, "You locked 'em in the cruiser, right?"
"Yes." Dew confirmed.
"I appreciate that."
"No problem."
After getting all the information they could out of the woman, the two detectives let her go. The four then returned to the police station. As the detectives spoke with Chief Goodwitch regarding the bad lead, the two cadets took advantage of the situation by commandeering a police computer. Whitley typed in the name of the suspect and then pressed the search button. The computer then went about pulling up David Arnold's police record from the criminal database.
"We are gonna be in so much hot water for this, Whit." Oscar said, worried that they'll get caught.
"Come on, Oz." Whitley retorted, looking around the station. None of the officers within their immediate vicinity were even looking in their direction. "The water is lukewarm, pee-warm at worst."
Again, Whitley respected the intelligence, but not those words coming out of 'his' mouth. That girl with the red hair laughing out loud with the green guy trying to calm her down. Even that gray haired kid and that fellow he beat up that blonde doofus were laughing it all up.
'I'm sooo gonna get back at them.' Whitley thought vengefully.
As for Oscar, he was just interested in seeing what else would happen. Ozpin inside him chuckling a bit thinking that those two men on screen were almost exactly like his students. Breaking the rules and law if only to help save the day.
He then opened the file on Arnold, "Bottom line is this is not sitting right with me."
"You say that for every case."
"Yeah, but this is like sitting on a chair covered with little wooden jacks that dig into the hunkers." Whitley explained, using a very strange analogy that Oscar didn't quite understand.
"Why would you choose that?" He asked, looking at the file on Arnold in full display on the computer.
"Look, we owe it to Tai to catch this clown." Whitley said, still feeling sore about letting the poor man down.
But not without shifting the blame onto Oscar, "It's your fault he got suspended."
Oscar glowered, "it's OUR fault."
"How come when something is my fault, it's mine exclusively, but when it's your fault, we share it equally." Whitley maturely shot back while looking over the file.
"Woah, that version of the Schnee is a jerk. I like it." Roman said chuckling. Neo just noddin with him at the spectacle.
At that, Oscar pulled off the gloves and just said, "Because I went to college."
"That's not cool." Whitley told him. That was a real low blow. While nursing his bruised pride, he noticed something odd about Arnold's license plate information. "Well, this is weird."
"What?"
"The license plate registered to David Arnold's car has been in the system for a year."
"So?"
"So that tiny Kuchinashian woman bought her car three weeks ago." Whitley explained, remembering what the old woman had told Dew and Lassie. He then realized why it had been so hard for the police to try and track Arnold down through his license registration.
Oscar than came to the same conclusion, "Which means prior to three weeks ago, the police were tracking a license plate number that hadn't even been created yet."
Whitley nodded, "Exactly. The question is; how did a bogus plate number make it on David Arnold's profile?"
He then pulled up a table scroll and quickly dialed in a number. Oscar asked, "Who are you calling?"
As he waited for an answer, Whitley replied, "His parole officer."
The call went through as the other side answered. A surprised Whitley then told Oscar, "It's an Ikea."
Why would the Scroll number of a furniture store be listed as a Parole officer's number? This warranted further inquiry as far as the Schnee was concerned.
Whitley then asked the store clerk on the other end, "Uh, question... Do you guys make those Swedish meatballs in house, or do you have them flown in frozen?"
Was Whitley really asking the only lead they had about Food? Yes, yes, he was. Unamused, Oscar pressed his finger on the Scrolls receiver, ending the call. Aghast, Whitley asked his friend, "Oscar, what if they're frozen? That's a huge game changer for us."
"We'll call them back later, Whitley."
Whitley chose to resume looking over Arnold's file. A phony license plate and a bogus parole officer's number, was there anything else on this guy's file that was fake? He looked it over again. He frowned. "I think all the information in David Arnold's police record in phony."
"What about his listed home address?"
Whitley looked it up and then scoffed, "Get this. It's in Mount Glenn."
"Someone must have put a lot of work in hiding this man's trail." Ironood said, not a stranger to false forms and identification.
"I can agree with that." Sometimes Huntsman worked with the police when trying to apprehend a dangerous rouge Huntsmen. So Glynda knew first hand that those rouges put good effort in hiding their trach while throwing false trails. Some of those trails being made by a backer.
"Hehehe." Roman chuckled further as the witch of Beacon glared at him. Neo smirking at the woman alongside him. What can he say, he's a good business partner when it came to helping those who've gone bad.
He then typed in the Address into the search engine. The result that came up was that of a country club known as the Wild Goose Lounge. Whitley was not amused as he realized the full gravity of the situation.
He then told his friend, "As in Wild-Goose chase. David Arnold doesn't exist, Oz. Somebody made him up. Like Kelly LeRock in Strange Science, minus that sweet, generous bosom and the seductive accent."
"So this fake guy's a red herring for the police to chase, while the real robbers are ripping off these check-cashing places." Oscar said, summing up exactly what was happening. Why did this case have to get so complicated?
He then asked aloud, "I mean, just who is capable of hacking into S.B.P.D database and planting a fake profile?"
As soon as Oscar asked that question, a thought occurred to Whitley. He had just remembered. Within his mind, he mentally retraced his steps throughout the day, picking apart everything that he had seen and picking up what he had missed.
...Oscar then noticed something about Arnold's path, "He'd headed towards the COLLEGE over there."...
...Whitley and Oscar had finally reached the SAN BARB INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY...
...Instead, they found a BLONDE-HAIRED MALE STUDENT, sitting on a chair and using a LAPTOP. The student pointed to his room's window and told the two with a frightful tone, "Uh, He-He went out there!"...
...The man was light-skinned, with a poorly groomed grunge MUSTACHE and a FULLY GROWN MULLET, over which he wore a green trucker hat...
...They watched as a young man pushed the sheets back. Whitley saw that he had flowing deep brown hair that reached to his neck, equally brown eyes, and that he had some POORLY-SHAVEN STUBBLE on his upper lip. It appeared the kid had ripped his MUSTACHE off rather than shaved it...
Whitley breathed deeply and stewed. He then spoke, "Those crafty little bastards."
"Huh, so he figured it out." Roman said.
"Wait, you knew!?" Ruby looked at her former enemy why just smiled.
"Yep." Roman grinned as he lit a smoke. "One doesn't do all sorts of crimes without knowing how to pull them off. Still, that Oscar kid in that world was quick in picking that up." Although, he knew that wasn't the entire story. Those brats were involved all right, but in another way.
He lightly banged his fist on the table and told his best friend, "We got to go back to college.
The screen shifted over to an overhead shot of the college, where Whitley and Oscar had returned to. After interviewing the Dean, who gave them the names of the students they were looking for, they returned to the same dormitory they had been earlier, with the two cadets walking toward the room of the two students who had put them through so much grief. As he had lost his radio, Whitley used Oscar's.
Speaking into it, he said, "Maverick to Charlie, over."
The radio blared to life, as Dew's exasperated voice came over the radio. "What, Whitley?"
"According to the dean of S.B.I.T., the kids are Chris Shepard and Dickie Hollenbrau. Apparently, they're both computer wunderkinds." The Schnee told her, hoping she'd be able to help.
"And you think they're the ones that hacked into the S.B.P.D. database?"
"That's a 10-4, Charlie. They disabled Longsdale's security system minutes before the hit." He replied, telling him his theory. However, right at the moment, the two friends just happened to walk near a room where a party was being thrown, the shouts and whoops of intoxicated college students muffled by a closed door.
Dew then told the two cadets, "Okay, listen, do not go any further with this, and by all means, do not go tracking them down at that school."
Just as Whitley was going to deny they would do such a thing, the drunk and excited partygoers chose to repeatedly and very loudly chant the word "Chug."
Whitley can imagine that his girlfriend was rolling her eyes right now. After the cheers had died down, he told his girlfriend, "Copy that."
"You are unbelievable. Look, backup is on the way. Just don't do what you normally do."
Whitley ended the conversation with a resounding, "Done."
"There not going to listen, are they?" Weiss asked with everybody giving a nod to that.
He then returned the receiver to Oscar and declared, "Let's do this. I'll go high. You go low."
Oz argued, "I'll go high. You go low."
Whitley was almost offended, complaining childishly, "I always go high."
"We only did high-low once." Oscar reminded his friend. They didn't do that particular move on every case.
"Yeah, and I went high." Whitley was not going to let this go.
"Let's mix it up. Go low." Oscar ordered as he pulled out his prop gun and walked toward the room they were searching for.
Whitley tried to argue further, but found that his friend left no room for negotiation. He quietly followed behind, raising his prop gun to his chest. They then pushed the door down. However, both decided they wanted to go high, and so poked their arms in, accidentally bumping into each other. They regained their footing in a second, aiming their fake firearms at their surroundings. To their shock, nobody was in the room.
"Looks like they cleared out of here," Oscar observed.
Whitley sarcastically retorted, "Yeah, I can see that, Oscar. You went high!"
"I know!" Oscar cried in protest.
"Hehe, these two seem fun to hang around." Yang said liking those versions a lot. Funny, rule breaking, and risk takers. What wasn't to like about them?
"They're definitely different from the ones we know." Blake says as she stares at Oscar, but not at Whitley since she didn't actually know him. Heck, she didn't even know Weiss had a sister.
The two friends stood in silence, upset that they had lost their lead suspects. Whitley was feeling dejected and when he felt like that he usually comforted himself with food. He looked over to see that the boys had a microwave, along with bags of popcorn ready to be popped. Putting his prop gun on the table, he picked up one of the bags and opened the appliance, depositing the small bag within it. He then turned it on. In about thirty seconds, he'll have some delicious popcorn.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Oscar asked in alarm. "We have, like, six minutes before Lassie gets here."
"We will be long duck gone by then, Oscar. Just snoop it up." Whitley said.
As the popcorn was being prepared, the two chose to examine the dorm room for clues. On a nearby desk, Whitley found a checkbook, which had a receipt serving as a bookmark. The name of the business printed upon the receipt read Bazo's Grocery. He heard of that that place before. From what he heard, the stores deli made some of the best tuna salads in the city.
Oscar found a stack of newspapers. Specifically they were the sports section, which held the schedules for upcoming games, as well as their stats for the games, showing who was expected to win said games. Several games have been marked by a red marker. Just why would a bunch of computer nerds be interested in sports?
"Hey, you think it's weird that these two have over 10,000 loyal shopper points from Bazo's Grocery, even though it's, like, 20 miles away?" Whitley asked his friend, who nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and the tuna salad is really mayonnaise-y." Oscar told him, before showing the newspaper pages, "Check this out."
"What do you got...? Ooh."
As they looked over their clues, they heard an unfamiliar voice speak from the hallway. "This is their room right here."
With no options left, the two friends chose to hide it out in the closet. As they settled into the small space, their hurried movements accidently caused some of the clothes to shake. They held their arms out to stop them before pulling them back into cover. From behind the cover of sliding closet doors, they watched through the small slits as two men, one very tall and the other slightly shorter, entered the dorm room.
As they hid in the closet, Whitley looked down. He then whispered to Oscar to look down, showing him what he had just found. Right on the floor, underneath all the clothes, was a mullet wig and a trucker hat. They had definitely found the people responsible.
"They found another clue!" Nora said as she gulped down some pancakes with syrup. "Now all they need is some kind of snack with a dog to lead the way."
"Why a snack?" Jaune asked.
"Duh. For the reward since the dog will probably be a coward.' Nora said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Jaune wisely decided not to ask any further clarification.
"Oh, we missed these puppies." They heard the shorter man say. Whitley immediately recognized the man as Devry Longsdale, the gangster that owned the cash-checking places that Dickie and Chris have been robbing. The two cadets suddenly got worried about the two students, wondering just how they knew someone like Longsdale.
"We're gonna find these guys, get my money, and shoot 'em in their faces like Marvin in Pulp Fiction..." Devry turned to face his goon with a cocky smile, adding, "Except we gonna do it on purpose."
Devry and his henchmen then exit the room, leaving the two hidden cadets to marvel at how just lucky they were that they hadn't noticed the popcorn or had checked the closet.
"How did these two idiots figure out it was Chris and Dickie who were robbing 'em?" Oscar asked in amazement.
"I don't know, Oz, but we better find those kids before Devry does."
With that said, the two cadets leave the room, but not before Whitley grabbed his popcorn. As they left the dormitory, Whitley couldn't help but wonder if he had forgotten something. It felt as though he had misplaced something important, a sort of item that he should have on his person at all times. He'll think about it later.
"Reminds me of good times." Qrow said knowing what it was like taking the law in your own hand. Team RWBY and JNPR could attest to that. Ozpin also remembering when the late Team STRQ did the same thing. Busting crime wherever they went.
Roman just groaned knowing how those brats like Red always found his operations despite doing his best to outwit the cops. Even Cinder had some negative feelings about that.
I mean, her planning went all the way to Haven, yet those children were there somehow at the right time. How irksome.
They returned to police station about an hour later. They arrived to find that Dew was there to meet them. She did not look happy in the slightest.
"Someone's busted." Yang teasingly said to both Oscar and Whitley. Neither of them looked happy with that.
She addressed them with an accusatory tone, "Look, I know you guys searched their dorm, because it reeked of popcorn."
The two men scoffed, with Whitley asking, "That's all you're going off of?"
"Plus, you left this." Dew said, bringing up a prop gun, Whitley's to be specific.
The Schnee sighed in disappointment. He knew he had forgotten something at the dorm. He then took the fake weapon from his girlfriend, with Oscar commenting disapprovingly, "You have a problem."
Dew walked around them, motioning them to follow as she spoke, "And one other thing. I have arranged for someone else to take you on your ride-along today."
Whitley protested, "What? Dew, you can't bail on us now."
Oscar chimed in and added, "Yeah, we're this close to catching Chris and Dickie."
"I just don't want to get implicated in any of this this." Dew said defensively.
"Well, that is disappointing." Whitley said.
"Okay, then who did you get to replace you?" Oscar asked, curious to find out who'll be their chaperone now.
As if the universe was listening, it chose to reveal the answer just as they turned toward the exit. Walking in with a goofy grin and a sunny disposition was none other than Officer Yatsuhashi Daichi, the resident station stooge and the duo's favorite cop. The thing they liked most about Yatsu was that he was so nice that he can be duped into doing just about anything. The officer then asked the two cadets with a grin, "You guy's ready to go?"
"Duped. I already feel bad for our version." Ren said feeling a bit sorry for the Yatsu of their world. To think in this world he wasn't the brightest bulb. Nora though seemed to like him.
"I guess Mr. Schnee's ...girlfriend," It was so weird saying that when the other and younger version was with her. "Is going to help them out."
"I don't know, doesn't feel right." Ironwood said.
"Please Jimmy." Qrow backhanded him with a hand motion. "This girl might be an officer, but at least she knows when to do the right thing. Not like some people." Ironwood had to restrain himself from hitting the man.
Whitley turned to his girlfriend and with a thankful smile, told her, "You rock my world."
The two then left the station with Yatsu. Several minutes later, the three found themselves inside a patrol car, cruising along one of the city's many busy streets. Sitting in the driver's seat, Yatsuhashi addressed his two charges, "So I thought we'd, uh, cruise across town and, uh, follow up on some reported vandalism."
Whitley lamely replied, "Sweet, sounds good, Yatsu."
Then he decided to put his plan into action. He then asked the office, "You mind if, uh, we stop at Bazo's Grocery first."
Yatsuhashi replied adamantly, "Uh, no. No can do. I was given strict orders not to stop for anything else but an emergency."
"Alright, but, uh, if Oscar here doesn't get some sugar into system ASAP, his foot's gonna fall off." Whitley said, hoping the gullible officer will fall for that; He then added, "See, he's got diabetes, Type "A' and Simplex 2."
Oscar nodded affirmatively, playing along with his friend's lead.
Yatsuhashi then moaned morosely, "Aw, Jeez. My grandmother had that."
He then asked urgently, "A-Are you sure it can't wait till later?"
Oscar immediately replied with a carefree tone, "Oh, no, it's fine; it's fine... as long as you don't mind having my foot pop off in your backseat."
Yatsuhashi immediately got worried, looking at Oscar with a very concerned face. He then told the two, "No way, not on my watch! Hang tight, boys."
"Hahaha! I like this version of you two!" Yang laughed with Ruby joining in. To see their classmate be tricked off this easily, pretty funny.
"Can't believe he actually bought something so stupid." Emerald said wondering how this guy even became an officer. Roman however has seen such officers back when he was alive. After all, most of the cops he met aside from a few were rather incompotent. Adam also facing such foolish soldiers when he faced Atlas troops that weren't robots.
The officer then turned on the sirens. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure that Oscar's foot stayed attached to his body. He will not let his friend go the way of his dearly-departed grandmother. He was going to get them to Bazo's, die trying.
But as he drove them to their destination, Whitley whispered to his friend. "It's like taking candy from an enormous baby."
Oscar nodded, "Right."
Soon, they pulled into the parking lot of Bazo's Grocery. Yatsu parked his car near the storefront, telling them he'll stay with it. He also asked the two cadets to bring him back some glazed doughnuts. Apparently, Yatsuhashi indulged in the stereotype that cops love the tasty treats. The cadets exit the vehicle, walking toward the store entrance. As they walked, Whitley noticed an expensive-looking sports coupe parked in a spot reserved for Bazo.
"Apparently, the grocery business has been good to Mr. Bazo." Whitley said, admiring the nice car.
After retrieving a small shopping cart, the two cadets found themselves at the bakery section, picking up the glazed doughnuts meant for Yatsuhashi. Oscar had been relegated the task of taking out the doughnuts, using a set of plastic tongs to place them into a cardboard box. They had also decided to get some themselves, with Oscar commenting jokingly, "I don't know if it's these uniforms, but I've never craved doughnuts more."
"We're gonna need another basket." Whitley affirmed. But as he and Oscar picked doughnuts, he noticed something strange happening behind a nearby countertop. A man was standing before a sliding door. Why would a grocery store need a concealed sliding door?
When the man walked past them, Whitley checked his surroundings to see if anyone was watching them. When he was satisfied that none of the customers were looking their way, he chose that moment to approach the sliding door. Oscar noticed this and asked, "Where are you going?"
Upon reaching the door, Whitley quietly slid the door open, but only slightly. He and Oscar peaked in and were surprised to find a hidden room. Inside the room, they saw a chalkboard with a betting pool written upon it, as well as some lien and a lien counting machine. But what really spooked them were the assault rifles resting on a gun rack on the wall. Taking what he saw into account, Whitley surmised that Bazo was some kind of bookie running an illegal betting pool from within his own grocery store. That's when he noticed the chalkboard. He noticed that some teams on the board, as well as their chances of winning, matched the ones marked down in the newspapers found at Dickie and Chris' dorm room.
He quickly slid the door shut. He then said aloud, "That's where all the money's coming from. Bazo's a bookie."
Oscar then added, "And a heavily armed one."
"I can appreciate such small but well crafted activity, huh Neo." Roman said to his number 2 who nodded.
'How else do you think I make money off those idiots you hire.' She then signed with Roman smiling.
"That's my girl!"
As they returned to Doughnut shelves, they noticed two men approaching them from behind an Aisle. The man upfront was a burly man dressed in a polo shirt and he did not look happy in the slightest. The other was a bald man dressed in a brown jacket, who had a very placid expression on his face. The two men approached Whitley and Oscar, with the burly one asking, "May I help you?"
"It's certainly possible." Whitley began before introducing himself, "I'm Officer Whitley Schnee," He then motioned to Oscar, "And this is my partner, Mission Figz."
Oscar paid no mind to the nickname, tapping the tongs in greeting. It wasn't the first time Whitley had introduced him with a nickname. Among the most memorable were Gee Buttersnaps, Hummingbird Saltalamacchia, Longbranch Pennywhistle and, of course, Magic Head.
"Don't even think about it Yang." Blake glared at her partner, who looked ready to try making up some new names for her and her team.
"Bu-"
"No!" Blake affirmed.
"What abo-"
"Not even!" Ruby butted in thinking the same thing.
"How c-"
"Yang Xia Long, if you give me such a ridiculous name, I will pour wine all over your hair!" That shut the blonde girl up. Though inside her mind, she was planning a few new nickname ideas anyway. They'll never see it coming.
Whitley continued addressing the burly man, "We're here to ask the tough questions. For starters, who are you?"
"Lester Bazo and that wasn't very tough." The burly man impatiently introduced himself, honestly believing that would've been obvious.
Whitley shrugged, "I like to ease my way in."
He then asked, "What's the capital of Liechtenstein?"
Oscar reprimanded his friend, wanting him to treat this more seriously. Oscar then asked, "We're looking for Chris Shepard and Dickie Hollenbrau. I believe they frequented this establishment?"
"Do I look like their mothers?" Bazo retorted, wondering when these nosy cadets will leave.
Whitley chose to snark back, "Hard to know. We haven't seen photos."
Bazo adopted a smug smile and said, "I don't have to answer any of your questions, seeing as you're just cadets."
Whitley and Oscar looked down at their uniforms and then the Schnee laughed, "Guilty as charged. Besides, we're not here to bust you, man. Figz and I have no problems with gambling. Matter of fact, we've been known to lay down a few wagers ourselves."
He then joked with a serious face, "For instance, the racing hot dogs on the Jumbotrons at ball games."
"Always bet on relish." Oscar said, finishing with the punchline.
And then Whitley decided to actually get serious, "The truth is, Chris and Dickie are friends of ours. Well, I'm tight with Chris, and Figz loves dickie."
"What?" Oscar stared incredulously at his friend, having not missed the word play. Whitley ignored him, telling Bazo with the most sincere tone he can use, "We're worried they might have gambling problems."
Bazo replied facetiously, "You think? They were into me for 250,000 Lien."
Oscar caught the choice of words and asked, "What do you mean they were?"
Bazo, losing his patience, stepped up to the two cadets menacingly and said, "Those pinhead paid me off in full last night. I don't from where they got the money nor do I care."
"Fantastic," Whitley said before asking, "One last question... Is this the only doughnut station in the store?"
"Get the hell out of here." Bazo told them irritably, having had enough of the two idiots.
The two cadets agree to do so, turning on their heels to head with the cash register with their doughnuts. As they walked away, Whitley and Oscar discussed what they had just learned. Whitley was the first to speak, "So Chris and Dickie get in over their heads with this goon, so they knock of Devry, grab the cash they need to pay him back."
Oscar then declared, "Which may be the dumbest plan two geniuses ever came up with."
"To think such young people would do idiotic things." Winter commented with Glynda in agreement. Even Qrow somewhat agreed with Winter. While he was no stranger to gambling-especially illegal ones-even he knew when to have fun, and when to bust a crime. Some kids just going way over their heads like those two.
'Still though, should be entertaining to see those two solve this case.' He thought.
Once they paid for their doughnuts, the two returned to the police car, giving Yatsuhashi the glazed ones he asked for. While on the road, Yatsu informed them that Lassie had called in while they were in the store, saying they got a reported sighting of the suspects in Mission Canyon. As such, Yatsuhashi was needed to patrol the area, meaning he had to drop the two off back at the station. That suited the two just fine, they had plans for after returning to the station. Whitley remembered that Mission Canyon was a pretty small area, about three square miles, and he knew just how to track them.
After returning to the police station, the two entered their and drove back to the police station. Entering the building where they had met Tai, they looked around for the instructor, calling his name out.
Whitley yelled, "Come on, Tai, up and at 'em!"
That's when they heard a tired voice tell them from above, "Go away."
Turning on their heels, they are surprised to see the instructor standing at the top of a flight stairs. They were even more surprised to see that he had changed out of his uniform and into a tee-shirt and flannel shorts. It seemed as though the man had just woken up from sleep. Whitley told the man, "Dude, I was kidding. What, did you sleep here last night?"
Tai shortly replied, "Maybe."
After what happened yesterday, he couldn't bear to go home. How can he look his family in in their eyes and tell them that he was suspended. He'd rather die than let his daughters learn he lost his job, ironically, for doing the exact work he had been training others for.
"Oh boy." Yang said with Ruby sighing. They recognized this behavior. It was the behavior when their father was feeling down or is upset. Especially when Raven had left and Summer had died off.
'Maybe Oscar and Whitley can change that.' Ruby hoped thinking those two detectives guys can help her dad. Even if he is from another dimension, he's still their dad, and wanted him happy. So Yang and Ruby both prayed Oscar and Whitley will help prove Tai's worth.
Oscar then told the dejected man, "Look, we can catch the guys responsible for those robberies."
Tai replied tiredly, "Good. You guys go. I'll just screw it up."
"I cannot believe what I am hearing! Do you know what the Taiyang Xiao-Long we know would do?!" Whitley yelled, upset by the man's utter lack of self-esteem.
Said man answered back, "No."
"Well, we don't know either, really, because our whole relationship with you only spans about a day. But, come on, don't you teach your cadets to tough it out when the chips are down?" Whitley asked, trying to raise the instructor's spirits.
Tai shrugged, "I don't know, maybe."
"Then you need to practice what you preach." Oscar lectured the man, "Now, you get dressed and help us bust these guys."
"What do you have to lose?" Whitley asked rhetorically.
"Nothing," Oscar reiterated.
Tai thought about their words. What did he have to lose? He's already lost his career, his dignity, and his self-respect. He's a joke among his colleagues, a washout to his students, and he's an utter disgrace to his family. He then acknowledged out loud, "You're right. I literally have nothing left to lose."
"Atta boy." Qrow smirked with his nieces and even Glynda and Ozpin happy for the man. Looks like they were going to see Tai in action.
Whitley smiled, "That's the spirit."
Tai then asked, "Alright, what do you need me to do?"
"Grab Walter Machtau." The Schnee ordered.
Confused by the man's word, Tai though about what the Schnee even meant that. That's when he remembered, "Fenway!"
He left to retrieve the scent dog. But not before getting dressed for police work. The screen immediately shifted over to Mission Canyon. Inside Oscar's Blue hybrid (Which Whitley had named the Blueberry), the three men drove slowly on the road, following closely behind Fenway, who was sniffing out the suspects, being held on a leash held by Tai, who sat in the passenger's seat. In the back seat, Whitley held the mullet wig and trucker hat, which he used to help Fenway track the scent.
Tai smiled, "A little fieldwork is exactly what Fenway needed to help get his self-esteem back."
Whitley knew the man was really talking about himself. It was actually kind of good helping the man regain his confidence.
"Worst idea ever," Oscar said from behind the steering wheel. Just why did they have to use his car for this? Did they know how much it cost to charge a hybrid car?
Suddenly, Fenway stopped at a house and started to bark. Being a scent dog, he would only do that for one reason. Oscar pulled up to the side of the curb and parked his car.
Tai then reported, "Okay, I think we've found our suspects... or he found a squirrel."
Whitley turned to Oscar and grinned, "Best idea ever. Let's do this!"
But before he could spring into action, Tai stopped him and said, "Hold on. We got to call for backup first."
He may not be their instructor anymore, but he was still a cop, and good cops follow procedure. Whitley asked in disbelief, "Really? We're off-duty and you've been suspended."
"I-I don't care. We're doing this the right way, end of story. So call it in, or I will." Tai retorted. Nothing the Schnee could say will change his mind.
Whitley groaned. He then sighed, asking. "I need somebody's thing."
Oscar glared at Whitley, knowing that he wanted to use his radio again. Whitley saw his friend's offended gaze and replied defensively. "What? Looking at me like that is not gonna make my walkie come back, Oz."
Tai chose to give his own radio over to the Schnee. The white-haired cadet thanked the man and then spoke into the receiver, "This is car number B-Loo-Berry."
Oscar rolled his eyes in exasperation. Why did his friend insists on calling his car that?
"Why, name sounds alright to me." Ruby just stared at her sister, knowing why she thought so. After all, her sister did call her motorcycle Bumblebee for crying out loud.
Whitley continued with his dispatch, "We have suspects Shepard and Hollenbrau in our sights; 1408 Airflight, requesting backup. Roger, over... Rinse, repeat."
Tai and Oscar looked back at the Schnee, wondering if he was taking this job as seriously as they were. A second passed before Lassie answered on the radio, "Schnee, I know that's you. Stay where you are. I'm twenty minutes out, don't you dare blow this!"
Following the detective's orders, the trio and dog stayed at their position. But as they sat, they heard what sounded like a struggle erupting inside the house. The sounds of glass breaking, punches being thrown, and a body hitting the floor was heard. Whitley then shouted distastefully, "That's what you get for following orders!"
"Amen." Qrow drunk to that. Mercury just glad something violent happening. Been to long since he saw someone get hurt.
He and Oscar promptly opened the car doors. Tai tried to resist, but chose to follow their lead. The three men rushed the house, leaving Fenway in the car. Upon entering the house, they came into the living room and found Dickie Hollenbrau, who writhing on the floor in pain, his nose bloody and a nasty bruise on his forehead. They also heard what sounded like tires squealing.
Whitley questioned the young student, "Ah, Dickie, what happened?"
"Some guy that looks like a fabulous Emmit Smith just kidnapped my friend." Dickie answered, despite the pain.
"Devry," Whitley realized.
Dickie continued speaking, "He says he's gonna kill Chris in 24 hours if we don't give him back the 250,000 lien we stole from him."
"Seriously, how does Devry keep showing up at places moments after we do?" Oscar asked aloud, having grown tired of being a step behind the bad guy. Really, it was almost like the guy knew where they were going.
A thought occurred to Whitley, "Uh-Oh. I think I know who has my walkie."
Tai and Oscar can only glare at the careless man. Of all the things he could've done, he just had to lose his radio, only for said radio to wind up in the hands of a murderous gangster. It was official, Whitley Schnee was quite possibly the worst police cadet ever, and he had been at the academy for only two days!
"...Sadly, I can't help but agree." Whitley said starting to wonder how his counterpart even survived against all these thugs.
"Taking the radio…" Roman said out loud. "Huh? Never thought of that."
"If I recall...isn't that how the CCT fell." Ironwood says to Glynda who then nodded.
After the fall, Glynda along with many others had to do some cleaning up. In doing so, they discovered some unknown virus inside the damaged CCT tower when they were finally able to enter it. According to one of the workers, it's the type that allowed control and capable of listening to others' conversations.
"Hahaha!" Qrow chuckled in glee. Many people made mistakes, but this Whitley person really screw up. I mean, two days!? That was rather funny.
"Is your uncle really laughing that a murderous man has a walkie?" Weiss asked her teammate Ruby.
"Uh, no." Ruby responded. "More like he's laughing because he's never seen someone making a bigger mistake than him."
"True that!" Qrow said.
After helping Dickie into a nearby chair, the student accusingly asked. "You told Devry where we were?"
"Inadvertently, okay? He has my walkie." Whitley tried to defend himself. If only he hadn't lost his radio.
"Because you left it at Devry's check-cashing place," Oscar said.
"Oz, it is difficult to hoof it around with a belt that's got all this business on it." Whitley argued. Really, how can anyone move around with all this stuff on their belt?
Tai, however, was not pleased. "What did I tell you about keeping your police possessions close to you?!"
"Tai, you're gonna blow a top, man? What have I lost, honestly? A measly radio and those big, pink cuffs that look like trash ties." Whitley told the man.
"Thus the reason why we have rules." Ironwood gave a glare at Qrow who just ignored him. Say what you will about the law, but it was made for a reason.
But as the three argued, they failed to notice Dickie pull out a gun from his pants. The frightened student aimed it at them. The trio promptly raised their hands.
"Now this got interesting!" Tock said with good old Mercury also nodding.
"True that man-uh-faunus."
Oscar angrily asked, "Dickie, what are you doing?!"
Hand still on the trigger; the student apologized as he moved toward the door. "I'm sorry, okay? I really am, but I cannot be taken in right now. They will kill Chris. He's my best friend. I got to go save him. Don't follow me."
He then fled, leaving the three men. Whitley knew that Lassie was not going to like this.
The scene shifted over to the police station, where Whitley and Instructor now stood in front of a fuming Chief Goodwitch. Behind them, Detective Carlton Lassiter watched the scene with crossed arms and an annoyed look.
"Wow, I am speechless." Glynda remarked.
Tai weakly replied, "Me too, Chief."
"You know, Tai, I have no idea what's going on inside that head of yours, but I have no choice but to extend your suspension for another month." She told the instructor. Tai didn't even bother replying.
She turned her attention to Whitley, "And you- Okay, Where is Mr. Pines?"
Whitley clapped his hands together and explained, "Uh, Chief, I'm afraid that we, uh, may be dealing with is an I.B.S. Situation. I don't know if you've seen the commercials."
"I've seen the commercials."
"Well, then you know it can be spotty."
Glynda nearly gagged at that. She then testily told him, "Oh, gods, please, just stop talking. Oh, I have received a lot of advice on how to discipline you guys, ranging from your Uncle's suggestion that merely extend your police training to having you pick up garbage on the beach wearing orange jumpsuits.
Adam's ears perked up on that. Now that's a show he wouldn't mind watching. Faunus abused everywhere would certainly love that.
"That one was mine." Lassie spoke up.
"Of course it is." Oscar moaned.
"I prefer my uncle's idea." Whitley told the chief.
Glynda was of another opinion, "Well, I don't. Enrolling you guys into the academy was a good idea gone horribly, horribly awry. At least when you screwed up as detectives, you'd somehow end up catching the bad guys."
"Seriously!?" Weiss said again looking toward Mayden for an answer.
He only said one thing. "Plot armor."
Lassie chose that moment to speak up. "Some people just aren't cut out for police work."
"With that said, Mr. Schnee," She began. Whitley dreaded what she was going to say next. Lassie was practically beaming.
And then she spoke, "You and Mr. Pines are hereby reinstated as consultants, effective immediately."
Whitley just stood there like a statue. Did he really just hear that?
Lassie laughed and then told Glynda, "That is a-a clever, well-timed quip, chief."
"It's not a quip, detective." She told him.
The detective's face fell, "You can't be serious."
"Yeah, they did screw up again, but they were able to track down our suspects before we did." She explained. Lassie winced at the harsh truth. Whitley smiled and patted Tai on the back encouragingly. The instructor smiled at his former student, glad that he had been able to do something right.
"And I'd prefer they screw up while they're not wearing our uniforms." Glynda reasoned.
Whitley beamed at the praise, "We won't let you down, chief."
Glynda chuckled, "Yes, you will."
"Ignoring that, congratulations Oscar and Whitley! You guys got your jobs back." Ruby told the duo who either gave a smile or just rolled his eyes.
"See Jimmy, doing things outside the law certainly helps." Ironwood didn't looked convinced. Though he was still curious on how those two will pull this off. That man had an advantage after all. Yet just maybe they can figure something to pull the cover over his head. Only one way to find out.
Whitley's grin fell at that. That was the most backhanded compliment he had ever heard. The chief then asked for him to turn over his cadet badge. Unsurprisingly, He had lost it. Tai rolled his eyes in exasperation. Just when he had thought the Schnee couldn't disappoint him further. Lassie could only smile as the Schnee searched his pockets for his badge.
It was thus Whitley finally admitted, "I-I really do have a problem."
With that, he left the office with Tai in tow. He saw Oscar approach and told him, "It's over."
He then patronizingly asked him, "You were in the Johnny can the whole time?"
Oscar retorted, "My belt is still intact, Whitley. It doesn't just slide off and on."
Choosing to ignore that, Whitley told his friend, "Here's the good news- We don't have to wear this ridiculous gear anymore. We are back."
Tai cut through and told them his plans, "I think I'm gonna go hit a bar and another bar and then another."
Whitley couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Tai, come on, man, you got to rally it up. Dickie's out there somewhere trying to wrangle-up the money to pay Devry back. We just got to find him."
"No, I'll pass. Besides, where in the world is he gonna come up with 250 grand within the next six hours?" Tai exclaimed, turning his back on the former cadets. He had just about enough for today and he needed a drink.
"Wait for it." Roman then said.
"Living with my dad...I can see where this will end up going." Mercury also had a good clue.
"Likewise." Winter said with Ironwood nodding Qrow, Glynda, and Ozpin also having figured it out with the students unsure what was going on. Good thing the other version of Whitley was about to show them. Because a flashback had just come in motion.
But his words jogged Whitley's memory. The Psychic detective began to recall the last several hours.
...Soon, they pulled into the parking lot of BAZO'S GROCERY...
...Inside the room, they saw a chalkboard with a betting pool written upon it, as well as some LIEN and a LIEN COUNTING MACHINE...
"I have a guess." He said aloud. He and Oscar immediately left the station, changing back into their clothes, and drove back to Bazo's store. In the parking lot, the two detectives discussed their plan of attack. But as they got closer, Oscar began to voice some doubts about this hunch.
"Do you honestly think Dickie would be so dumb as to rob from the crazy bookie he just paid off?" He asked.
"The kid's desperate, Oz." Whitley replied.
Just as they reached the sliding door entrance, the glass exploded, having been shot out by a bullet. The people in the parking lot ran back to their cars in fear, while Oscar and Whitley took cover near a container. From inside the store, Bazo shouted in anger, "Nobody steals from Lester Bazo!"
Whitley then declared, "Yes, I really think he's that dumb!"
"Damn! Should have made a betting pool." Qrow said getting disapproving stares from Glynda and Winter.
As they hid, Oscar noticed something about their place of cover. He then pointed out, "That's propane, Whitley."
That was not the best cover. Whitley then exclaimed, "We got to get in there and save Dickie."
"That's not what I was thinking!"
"Come on!"
The two men ran into store, crouching so as to ensure that they wouldn't be shot by stray bullets.
Behind the customer service counter, a kneeling Dickie poked his head out, only to duck as Bazo fired another shot his way. Bazo cocked his shotgun, only to find he was out. He then told his henchman to round the corner, so as to flank the student. Dickie took that moment to pull his pistol out, firing it away as his attackers moved out of sight. He then ducked again, only to find Whitley kneeling next to him, greeting him casually, "Hey, Dickie, what's the word?"
Dickie looked to his right and found Oscar kneeling over a bag with the stolen lien tucked inside. The man was honestly impressed, "Damn, you almost got this off."
"What are you guys doing here?" The frightened student asked.
Another gunshot sounded off, causing the three to slightly jump, but kept their cover.
"I simply can't imagine us getting ourselves into a worse situation." Oscar remarked, as though trying to tempt fate.
'Idiot.' Neo signed with many in agreement. Anyone who says such words, usually found themselves getting into trouble. That's just how life seemed to work sometimes.
That's when they heard a flamboyant voice shout out, "Yo, Dickie! Where you at, man? I know you in here."
'Called it' As a reward, Neo called upon some good ice cream. The real good kind to. Her partner Roman just rolled his eyes as he wondered if this realm prevented cavities or brain freeze.
"...!" Nope. Brain freeze can still happen.
The three looked up and saw on the Security monitors that Devry had entered the fray, his goon dragging Chris behind him. From behind an aisle, Bazo approaches the newest interlopes, cocking his shotgun. He then demanded, "Who the hell are you?"
"Who am I? I'm that cat you be seeing in your dreams and your nightmares." Devry replied, offended that this fool had the audacity to treat him like the common rabble.
Worried for his best friend, Dickie shouted out. "Devry, I got your money!"
The two detectives immediately shushed him, not wanting to have their cover blown.
"That money belongs to me." Bazo declared, determined to kill these punks who shot up his store.
Devry raised his eyebrows and asked, "Really? I don't think so."
Despite the tense situation, Whitley just had to make light of the situation. "You realize this is the end of True Romance?"
Having remembered how the movie ended, Oscar argued. "That was a massacre, Whitley. Everybody died."
"That's not true. Christian Stater and Patty Arrowette made it out." Whitley countered.
Dickie chose to contribute to the conversation, "And Michael Ratherport."
"That's a good point, Dickie. I forgot about that." Whitley complimented, honestly impressed the kid even knew about that movie.
Devry pulled out his golden pistol and aimed at Bazo. "I know you ain't you got no shells in that."
He then fired his pistol, causing Bazo to retreat as bullets sailed past him, hitting various products on their shelves. Back with the two detectives and student, Oscar cried out. "We are gonna die and die ugly, Whitley. They're gonna take us out!"
"Man, talk about a whiner. No offense Oscar, but that isn't manly." Yang told Oscar who looked a bit offended by that. Well excuse his other self, but it's not like that Oscar had aura to protect him.
Whitley knew the odds were stacked against them. If they sat here and waited for Devry and Bazo to finish each other off, there was a good chance that Chris will be killed off. If they chose to join the fray, then he, Oscar, and the boys will be killed in the crossfire. If only there was a way to cull the enemy's numbers.
That's when he noticed the Security monitors. He watched as Devry's goon walked slowly near the meat department, scanning his surroundings for enemies. The proverbial light bulb lit up in Whitley's mind. He knew what he can do. "Not if they take each other out first."
"Interesting. I wonder what kind of plan young Schnee will do." Ozpin mused.
He picked up a nearby mic and turned on the intercom. The feedback of the speakers whined throughout the store, stopping everyone in their tracks. Whitley then spoke into the mic, "Attention, Shoppers. All tubed meats are half off today, and for you Bloodsport fans out there, Polo Yeung is in aisle seven looking to get shot."
They watched as Polo Yeung turned at the aisle seven sign only to get shot in the leg by Bazo's henchman. The man fell in his butt, grabbing his wounded leg. The number of threats has been lowered to three.
"Huh, not a bad idea." Ren admitted.
"True, true. But I bet it would have been better if our fearless leader did it." Nora said with Jaune rubbing the back of his head embarrassingly.
"Oh stop." He said. Mayden of course stared at the Arc and sighed. There were many worlds featuring the young Arc, with many showing him going from stupid noob to a somewhat decent cool(?) dude or even a badass sometimes. So the Keeper is no stranger when seeing all the crazy plans Jaune has done. Some being impressive, others...not so much.
Whitley switched the camera feed, the monitor now showing Bazo's goon near a wooden stand, which had unopened boxes of soda can upon its shelves. Whitley then spoke again into the mic, "Over in produce, we have Jackie Earle Bailey on steroids toting a gun. Squash that melon!"
Through the monitor, they watched as the stand toppled over on top of the Jackie Earle Bailey, knocking him out. The one who shoved the stand was none other than Devry, who was now holding Chris hostage.
Oscar grinned, "Dude, Dude, all that's left is Bazo and Devry!"
Then they heard three gunshots and the sound of a body crumpling over, along with a very pained groan. They looked up back at the monitors and found Devry aiming his gun at something off-screen. They then heard the gangster laugh victoriously, "Ha-Ha, I just done shot Bazo three times! Now, I'm coming for you, Dickie!"
Whitley paled as he looked to Oscar. His friend then asked in fear, "What the hell are we gonna do, Whitley?"
"Ouch." Ruby said as they saw what had just happened. Looks like the two didn't plan on that happening.
"You know what? It's time for a trained officer of the law to step up and save the day." Whitley said, putting the Mic. He was going to try and save Dickie himself.
Oscar reminded him of the reality, "We have been at the academy for two days- TWO days, Whitley!"
"Cover me." Whitley ordered, ignoring what Oz had said.
Oscar confusedly asked, "With what?"
"Improvise." Whitley told him. He then grabbed Dickie's gun and stepped out of cover, taking a cardboard cutout of a juice bottle to use as a shield.
"I'm starting to question how my brother even survives these things." Winter said before looking at her brother. "No offense."
"None taken for once." Whitley agreed.
"Like I said, plot armor." Mayden told them.
"None of us get what that means!" Weiss shouted out.
"Actually," Jaune then went, knowing what plot armor is. Seeing this as his moment to shine. "What plot armor is-" Suddenly a watermelon slammed into his head, knocking him out.
"..." Everyone then looked at the one who through it. Cardin.
"What?" He said as if he were all innocent. "Jaune was getting annoying."
"Seriously, what happened to the rules." Glynda then said, directing her criticism to the one who should be upkeep their safety.
"Sorry, but food doesn't count." Mayden then said not even sounding guilty at all.
'We really are going to die by this loon.' Ironwood feared once more. Everyone else also feeling the same with Adam himself putting his guard up. He already died by a stupid fish, last thing he needed was death by a chicken nugget.
Covering himself with his makeshift shield, Whitley slowly approached Devry's position. He can't afford to make any mistakes this time, not when someone's life was hanging in the balance. He he turned a corner, finding himself staring at Devry's thug, who was still writhing on the floor clutching his leg. He then turned his head and looked ahead, finding Bazo's thug, still unconscious underneath the collapsed soda stand. He then turned another corner, only to find nobody there.
Where were Devry and Chris?
Suddenly, the sounds of rapid gunfire filled the air, frightening the Psychic, who leapt to cover. As he listened to the gunfire, he noticed something odd about it. It sounded like it was being played over the intercom, and that it sounded more like a sound effect than actual gunshots.
Poking his head over a counter, Whitley looked over to the customer service counter. To his relief, he saw Oz holding the mic to his lips. He then asked his best friend, "Dude, what was that?"
"It was me!" Oscar shouted.
"Are you kidding me? You've achieved pitch-perfect AK-47 mouth action." Whitley said in astonishment.
Oz yelled back in pride, "I know, I've been practicing!"
Whitley then raised his fist and said, "Air bump."
"Man these guys are good at improvising." Nora commented while Ren just positioned Jaune as best as he could.
"They certainly are creative." Winter admitted. Being resourceful like them had advantages. Using the environment around you and taking your opponents weakness against them was smart.
While they're methods were unorthodox, Winter could now see how they managed to get by. Still, even she believed it would take more than that to stop this man.
He then punched the air, which Oscar reciprocated before getting back into cover. Whitley rose to his feet, resuming his search. He passed two aisles before the sound of a gun cocking from behind him. He then heard his target mockingly ask, "You know Devry's right behind you, right?"
Whitley raised his hands in surrender. Devry than told him, "That's right. Turn around."
Turning on his heels, Whitley found himself face to face with Devry, who had his gun aimed at him, holding Chris by the neck with his arm. Devry than said in a forceful tone, "Things you need to do for me or you die- One, Drop your weapon."
Whitley did as he was told, kneeling down to rest the pistol on the linoleum floor. Satisfied, Devry made his second demand, "Two, get that Dickie out here with my money!"
"And three..."
Whitley steeled himself, preparing for whatever the gangster will ask of him next. He watched as Devry lowered his gaze to his feet and smiled, "Tell me where the heck you got them kicks, 'cause I'm feeling them in a nasty, silly way."
Whitley followed the man's gaze and saw that he was referring to his shoes. They were a pair of brand-new, dark-blue sneakers that he had bought a week ago. Whitley then asked unsurely, "These?"
Devry hummed, "Mm-Hmm."
"You like these, huh?" Whitley asked with a smile, hoping this'll buy him a few more minutes of life.
But it was to no avail, as Devry then demanded, "But, seriously though, kick that gun over here."
With a resigned sigh, Whitley kicked the pistol way away from him, which slid past Devry and then stopped behind him. But then a mysterious figure picked up the gun, unbeknownst to both Whitley and Devry.
Devry then shrugged, "I'm gonna kill anyway, I think, so..."
"Not on my watch!"
"Dad!" Both Ruby and Yang cheered glad to know their father was here. His voice giving it away as they saw their father pop out.
Suddenly, Taiyang Xiao-Long showed up behind Devry, aiming his newly acquired pistol at him. The man was also shaking in fear, but he was able to keep it together. The gangster turned to face the officer, still keeping a tight grip on Chris. Whitley shouted in glee at Tai's arrival, "Tai! I didn't know you shopped here."
Tai uneasily replied. "I Don't, too much mayonnaise in the tuna salad."
"Dad never did like mayonnaise." Ruby nodded.
Devry looked to Whitley, whom smirked victoriously. The gangster returned his focus on the cop, "I still got a hostage, fool, which means I still have the upper hand!"
He then noticed Tai's shaky grip on the pistol. "And speaking of hands, yours is shaking like crazy."
Taking a deep breath, Tai then pulled the trigger. The bullet sailed through the air, hitting Devry's gun. The gangster dropped his gun in shock, loosening his grip on Chris, whom promptly ran to Whitley's side. Oscar and Dickie join them, staring in awe at the officer who had just pulled off an impossible shot. Tai then aimed his weapon down and fired another shot at Devry's, causing the weapon to slide over to Whitley, whom promptly picked it up.
Tai then aimed the gun at the crook and said with a forced tone, "You are under arrest!"
"Awsome." Ruby said a bit surprised but feeling proud that her dad actually somehow shot the gun without any mistake.
"I bet I taught him that." Yang then boasted. After all, while Tai was good when it came to hand-to-hand combat, she totally conquered with her gauntlets. Which by the way, made bullet shot.
"Eh, he could have gone for the head." Mercury said rather have seen some blood. Seriously, where was the action? He could only hope the next world will be more fun.
Whitley then shouted excitedly, "Tai, you're amazing. You're a crack shot!"
The still shaking officer then asked, "Mr. Schnee, do you have this under control here?"
"I believe I do, how you doing over there?" Whitley asked, keeping a firm grip on Devry's pistol.
Taiyang Xiao-Long, proud academy instructor and veteran officer, then answered. "I-I-I think I'm going to barf!"
The proud instructor then ran out of the store, hoping to find a trash can to vomit. The men he saved wondered just how it was that this man was the one to have them. Devry was just wondering how he had been beaten by this fool.
"..." One second, Ruby, Yang, and Qrow were feeling proud. The next-uh-still proud but also rather disappointed with the man. He may have gotten the job done, but the end result was rather embarrassing with loss of dignity.
As for Roman himself, he felt some sympathy for Dervy. He to knew what it was like to somehow get beaten by some naive idiot. In this case Red.
Whitley remarked, "Ah, that's- that's unfortunate."
Later that evening, after Devry had been arrested and place into holding, Whitley, Oscar, and Tai once again found themselves in the presence of Chief Goodwitch. Detective Lassiter was present as well.
"Well, this case has had a lot of ups and downs, but you pulled it together in the end." Goodwitch said, commending the three on a job well done. "And on a separate note, Mr. Schnee and Mr. Pines, you will return the 11 bags of groceries that you procured while the crime scene at Bazo's was being processed."
"Well, chief, we planned on paying for those groceries, but, unfortunately, Mr. Bazo is dead." Whitley told her.
Glynda blinked, "He isn't dead. He's in the I.C.U."
"Oh," Was all he could say. He then asked Oscar, "Did you already put that giant ham in the oven?"
"You know I did." Oscar replied. Who would blame him? You do not get in between a man and a delicious roast ham.
"I agree with that." Nora nodded.
"Officer Xiao-Long," Glynda began, "In the end, you showed great bravery."
Tai nodded in thanks. But then Glynda told him, "But you may very well be the worst officer in the field I've ever seen."
"Ouch." Ruby said sadly with Yang also feeling the same. Guess their dad was about to get fired or something.
Tai didn't bother trying to refute that. The truth was the truth. But then Glynda turned to Lassie, "Detective Lassiter, go ahead."
Lassie cleared his throat and approached Tai. He then told him with what the man assumed was a sincere tone, "The cadets coming out of your classes at the academy are top-notch, Xiao-Long. I respect that, not very much, but enough to make it worth mentioning."
It wasn't the best compliment in the world, but Tai accepted it nonetheless. Then he heard the man tell him, "We are withdrawing your suspension. You can start back at the academy tomorrow."
"Woah! And here I thought that guy was a total hack!" Yang became happy to see her dad no longer at risk of getting fired along with Ruby.
"Guess he's a decent guy." Blake said.
Tai smiled as the detective handed him back his instructor's badge. Whitley and Oscar smiles, glad that the man had gotten his job back. Tai then told Lassie, "Well, thank you, Detective. And I'm glad that the cadets have a great role model such as you to look up to when they're out in the field, so..."
The two men nodded and moved to shake the other's hand. That's when the two decided to bury the hatchet with a hug. But it was very awkward, causing Whitley to speak up. "Fellas, I think we can probably afford to nip the love fest in the butt. What do you say?"
Lassiter promptly agreed and then exited the office. Tai followed, placing the badge back upon his chest. Glynda watched the two men leave with a smile.
Oscar then told his friend, "I think you meant to say "bud", Whitley."
"Well, I think "Butt" makes more sense."
"I'm starting to like this version of you kid." Yang told Whitley who just decided to take the compliment. Seriously though, how did this version of him accomplish all those goals? Was some mysterious force helping him or something, because it would make sense.
'Maybe it's that 'plot armor' ayden said.' It must mean something after all.
With that, they took their leave. They joined Tai in the station lobby. The man was practically beaming with pride, glad that he had regained his pride as a policeman and teacher.
Whitley smiled and told him, "You know, Tai, you can be my wingman anytime."
"You can be our wingman anytime." Oscar corrected, clapping the instructor on the back.
Tai chuckled, "Wingman? Like on dates? Sorry, boys, but I'm happily married."
He then smiled proudly, "And thanks to you two, I finally have a good story to tell my daughters."
"So long as he doesn't mention the throwing up part." Qrow gave a sly smile at that. Rule 101 when telling a kid a story: Always make yourself look good. That's how he got Yang and Ruby to love and respect him.
He then offered to the men, "But first, how about a beer?"
Taking up the man on his offer, Oscar gladly accepted. After the last two day, he definitely needed one. The two walked off, ready to hit a nearby bar. Before he could join them, Whitley saw Dew beckoning him over to her desk. For some reason, a gift bag was sitting upon the table. He approached his girlfriend.
She then asked. "Chief's gonna make you return the groceries, isn't she?"
He sighed, "Yeah."
"Well, I got something that way cooler than 23 boxes of Pumpkin Pete's, a honey-baked ham, and soy milk." Dew said with a smile.
Whitley scrunched his face in disgust, "Soy milk? Damn it, Oscar."
Dew then pulled out a jacket out of the gift bag, which she then showed to her boyfriend. Whitley blinked in surprise. He recognized this jacket. It may be a replica, but he knew what it was.
"Oh, my guchen," He said in awe, "That is an exact replica of Kelly MacGills' leather jacket from Top Guns."
She then leaned in and whispered lustfully. "I can wear it tonight."
Then Whitley asked with an excited grin. "How about I wear it tonight?"
Many just laughed at that part. Adam also enjoying the sight of the Schnee looking miserable as his sisters laughed at him. Such an enjoyable thing to see.
Dew's face immediately fell. Whitley saw this and said, "That's weird."
She then said in a normal voice, "Yeah."
"You wear it tonight." He said with a husky tone.
She then adamantly declared, "I'll wear it."
Whitley then smelled the jacket, inhaling the scent of leather. He then smiled, "Sorry, I couldn't resist. I mean the look on your face."
Dew smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Her boyfriend was no doubt one of the strangest men she had ever met. But she wouldn't have it any other way.
The Screen goes dark, ending the showing.
"And that's the end of this little two parter." Mayden then told the cast. "So, how'd you think."
"I thought it was fun." Nora said. "It felt like I was watching some kind of episode."
"I liked the jokes made. Even if I didn't get all of them." Yang states having enjoyed some of the humor.
"I suppose it wasn't bad." Glynda gives in her thoughts.
"Eh, could have been better." Tock states her low opinion on the show.
"Oh yeah. I'm in total agreement with Tock." Mercury said also having the same opinion. "I've seen better, and would rather see some action."
"In that case Mercury, better prepare for such action." Mayden then said getting their attention. "Because we're going right back to Remnant, an alternative world to boot."
"An alternative world." Oscar said a bit confused.
"Yep. A world where different choices were made, so different outcomes will be born. The choices resulting in something good or bad." That sounded...eerily uspicouse. "So enjoy."
Without letting them even make a sound, the next world began.
So ends this chapter, the first two-parter. I hope you enjoyed it, because Nancom23 put a lot of effort in writing down all these details. Which means don't expect something as long as this again for a long while. As for what world we'll see next, let's just say it involves gold being tarnished. With a woman who was thought to be dead is actually alive. With a big group of misfits gathered together to save the woman. Both the good and bad.
Figured it out? If not, then you can only wait until next time.