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Chapter 03: Go Raiders
Sun Wukong approached the site of the suspected break in, an irritated sigh escaping his lips at the sight of a door torn free of its' hinges; closer inspection revealing that part of the wall had been ripped away along with it. The Simian Faunus's eyes narrowed as he raised his Aura and mentally prepared himself.
"No attempt to bypass the alarms" he mumbled to himself as he leapt into the air and scrambled onto the roof of the small SDC subsidiary company that served the island located near the docks, he had no intention of simply following whoever it was that he was seeking. He privately wished he had Yang to take point, the two of them had worked together countless times over the years and his fellow blonde would have made a great distraction while he crept through the rafters of the building and attacked from above but the issue arising at his wife's bar took precedence in his mind, he knew Miltia could handle herself but after hearing from his daughter about a fight almost breaking out something seemed off about everything happening tonight. Crouching low he made his way across the roof taking care to make as little sound as possible, gradually reaching a door that allowed staff inside the building access to the roof and checking the lock, finding it to be secure
"Piece of cake" he chuckled to himself as he put skills honed over the course of a misspent youth to work, picking the lock within seconds and gently slid the door open before slinking inside, greater than human senses adapting to the dark with ease. He ghosted down a rickety flight of stairs that thankfully didn't rattle or creak onto a gangway that doubled as a balcony from which managers would presumably be able to oversee the somewhat disorganised warehouse floor below. Eyes narrowing hoping to take in every detail he scanned the ground below him, no intruders were visible in the warehouse racking and he didn't now many of the empty shelves were due to business as opposed to theft, his eyes lingered over a pile of dirty rags and tarpaulin near an empty crate as he struggled to decide if it was simple messiness or worth investigating. Deciding that laziness would not be rewarded he leapt over the balcony briefly activating his Semblance, a light clone forming on the balcony and grabbing his ankle to slow his fall, Sun called the technique the 'Monkey Chain'. Landing with a little more noise on the hard ground than he would have liked Sun bit back a muttered curse and rose to his feet extending his staff. He had little warning, a split second of rustling from the pile of rags before it surged forwards revealing itself to be a figure wearing a hooded cloak; Sun had a momentary glimpse of grey-tinged flesh and a mouth filled with countless, impossibly sharp teeth before he was tackled to the ground. Sun allowed himself to be knocked backwards before using the momentum to haul his attacker over him and springing back to his feet, turning to face his opponent to see them rising
"You're getting brought in, only question is whether or not I have to use excessive force" the only response from his still obscured assailant was a low rasping snarl before the hooded man lunged forward, seemingly aiming to tackle Sun again; the blonde Faunus's decision to block was proven to be a mistake when his opponent simply used his crossed arms as a surface from which to leap onto the railing Sun had descended from and throw something down as he fled. Sun's eyes widened as he saw the poorly refined and purposefully fractured Fire Dust crystal and recognised it instantly as an improvised explosive. Realising what would happen if the crystal interacted with Dust currently stored in the warehouse when it exploded he picked it from the ground and sprinted as fast as his Aura would carry him towards the destroyed doorway had entered through and hurled it moments before it burst into a fleeting supernova. He let out a curse before realising that the decoy had been successful as he would need to contact Patch's fire department before he could resume his search.
"I'm just saying this was not your most well thought out idea" Arctus wheezed as he kept pace with Felix, the Bear Faunus was relying solely on physical strength as he wanted to save his Aura for whatever havoc his cousin caused; that and Felix was admittedly just fitter than he was
"You're welcome to turn round at any time" the Lion Faunus pointed out as the pair jogged through the streets of Patch, getting nearer to the centre; where Yang would be
"No chance" Arctus countered with a grin "Aunt Yang might kill us both for running into a crime scene, Aunt Blake will definitely kill me if I just left you to it" the reply earned him a derisive snort. After a few moments Felix skidded to a halt and motioned for Arctus to do the same, the larger Faunus was grateful to do so, clutching a stitch in his side a taking several deep breaths while Felix's expression became one of sheer menace
"What?" Arctus gasped out
"Look" he nodded to the right, Arctus followed his gaze; in the distance away from the residential areas of the island stood Signal Academy. Both of them were concerned to see that one of its' lights was currently on
"Wanna go check?" Arctus asked. Felix took a few moments to consider. Before grunting out
"Yeah, if it that freak from earlier at the bar then Mum can handle him….if her and Sun are both on call then someone needs to see who that is"
Yang climbed off of the Bumblebee, the engine of the motorcycle now old enough to be considered vintage still purring. She gave a low whistle at the sight of the bar, glass from several shattered windows littered the ground and it was unnaturally quiet for a Saturday night, though a few patrons could be heard inside apparently unperturbed by whatever had happened here. Stepping inside Yang saw even more destruction, the bar itself had several prominent cracks running across its' surface and several chairs and tables were overturned. Looking around she found who she sought, Miltia Wukong; the pun she intended to greet her long time friend died on her lips as closer inspection revealed that she was wiping blood away from her daughter's face
"Oh my Oum" Yang gasped out, shock and rage fighting for dominance. This kind of crime simply did not happen on her island "Who did this?" Miltia made no effort to respond immediately, concentrating on gently removing what thankfully appeared to be the last of the shattered glass from the gash in Amethyst's eyebrow
"That's all of it, are you gonna be okay" the girl nodded shakily, Miltia continued "Okay, go on. There's some painkillers upstairs, I'll check on you soon" Yang watched as Amethyst left, heading to the apartment above the bar through a door marked as 'Staff only' before Miltia finally turned her attention to the Huntress
"Some fucking ass-hole came in here looking for trouble, it turned into a brawl. I swear if I ever find out who threw the pint glass that hit Amethyst I'll rip their fucking balls off, I dread to think what Sun's gonna do" a truly cruel smile passed across Miltia's lips at the thought. Not that Yang could blame her at all.
"What did they look like?" I'll have Patch searched from end to end and send word to the mainland"
"Faunus" Miltia breathed out "Some kind of big cat"
"What like a Puma?" Yang asked, Miltia merely nodded before continuing
"Looked like he was in his late teens, I couldn't tell where the whiskers ended and the really bad attempt at a beard started. About six foot six and built like a tank, tribal tats on both forearms….might be a student Hunter?"
"You think?" Yang raised an eyebrow at that
"The double bladed axe he was carrying looked like something a Hunter would use, thank Oum he didn't start swinging that around" Yang winced at the thought, a student Hunter might not be a problem to her specifically but in a bar fall of drunk civilians it could potentially spell disaster, as the state of the establishment was currently a testament to
"Right" Yang massaged her temples thinking how best to tackle the problem "This guy sounds like they'll be easy to find if they stay on the island. Patch's Faunus community isn't that big and Blake knows pretty much everyone by sight at least, new people tend to stand out. I'm assuming most of your patrons are unwilling or unable to give witness statements?"
"They won't talk to you but they'll talk to me when you've left" Miltia nodded as she surveyed her customers, many of them sported bloody knuckles and criminal records of their own. There was an understanding amongst the limited criminal element that existed on Patch; nobody spoke directly to Yang or Sun but in return for the considerable leniancy the two hunters showed Miltia would often find herself 'overhearing' things
"Let me know if you hear anything useful. Tell Sun to get in touch, we'll bring 'em in I promise" Yang was distracted by her Scroll vibrating and withdrew it in case it was the Monkey Faunus himself checking in; in reality the call was from Blake
"Hey, what's up?"
"THEY DID WHAT?"
"No they're not here…..Okay tell her to let me know when she finds 'em. They are in so much trouble" Yang ended the call and saw Miltia looking at her expectantly
"I'm sorry Mil but I've gotta go.
Felix and Arctus had managed to find their way inside Signal Academy with little trouble; Felix having until recently been a student of the school knew of a window that didn't lock properly and could be opened from the outside situated on the ground floor which the pair had managed to climb through
"I still think we should have split up" Arctus murmured as he unslung Gefroren-Erbe from over his shoulder and held the sword at the ready. Felix already had Hack and Slash drawn, the chainsaw blades remained unmoving
"You don't know your way around, it wouldn't really achieve anything" the Lion Faunus countered as they made their way towards the room with its' lights currently on. Eventually they reached their destination opening the door of the classroom only to find that is was completely deserted
"What the…." Felix trailed off
"Well" a vaguely familiar voice cooed behind them. They turned to face the Axolotl Faunus from earlier that day, Raffia Dirge had apparently heard their approach and hidden out of sight until they reached the classroom
"This is going to be entertaining" he chuckled as he drew his sword "But I can't stay long, so we'll make this brief" with no warning the diminutive fighter had launched himself at the wall of the corridor they were situated in and vaulted off of it, thrusting his sword at Felix's gut only to be halted by a glowing white glyph that appeared between them and rolling back to avoid a downwards slash from Arctus
"Such I shame I can't savour this" Raffia cackled as he watched the pale Bear Faunus trigger his Semblance, forming a Glyph on his left forearm like a shield before charging forwards. Raffia readied his own blade, as the swords met with a resounding clang the smaller Faunus relaxed and allowed the momentum to move him aside and send Arctus staggering passed him as he followed his spin through shifting his sword to its' secondary mode when Felix rushed him; the blade of the sword breaking into several smaller sections with serrated hooked tips. The flail shot forwards between the Lion Faunus's crossed blade and striking his face.
"Son of a bitch!" Felix spat as he launched himself back to his feet at the sound of shattering glass, he and Arctus watched as their opponent rolled to a stop on the ground below
"I've got him" Arctus growled shifting Gefroren-Erbe to its' ranged mode, the blade collapsing and making way for the barrel of a restored antique plasma weapon which his Aunt Winter had needed to bend some rules in order for him to acquire. The ground was scorched by the report of the weapon as Raffia leapt aside
"I was hoping he'd take this outside, pass me a Fire Dust crystal" as soon as received the Dust in question the Lion Faunus leapt to the ground
"You've just fucked up, now I've got some room" Raffia positively beamed at the news
"Show me what you're-" he was halted by what appeared to be a crimson comet striking him, the miniscule Faunus was flung from his feet with earth shattering force flying through the air until impacting against a wall three gunshots in rapid succession ensured he stayed down. The source of the attack lowered her hood, revealing herself to be Ruby Rose
"Get away from my nephews" Felix gave an irritated huff, muttering under his breath
"Is nobody gonna let me kick this guys' ass?"
"Aunt Ruby" Arctus sounded concerned "I think you killed him" the trio turned their attention to where Raffia lay slumped against the wall, blood tickling from its' surface where he had impacted, skull misshapen from the force of the veteran Huntresses' attack
"But, he was fighting you" Ruby gasped "Surely he had an unlocked Aura?" in answer the Axolotl gave a wet, hacking and disturbingly crazed laugh
"That's impressive, but not as impressive as my Semblance" his Aura became visible, a pale pink light bubbling to the surface of his flesh; Ruby, Arctus and Felix's eyes widened as the bullets from Crescent Rose were ejected from Raffia's chest and partially collapsed skull reformed itself
"I am unstoppable!"
"Let's test that"
SCREEECH! They were halted by the sound of a large bird overhead, the sound brought an annoyed expression to Raffia's face; eyes following the bird as it soared away
"It seems this is going to have to be shorter than I expected" hearing this Felix's eyes narrowed and he charged forwards, Hack and Slash roaring into life. The Axolotl Faunus reached within the folds of his clothing and threw a handful of small capsules and tiny fragments of Fire Dust crystals forwards. The capsules were revealed to be smoke bombs when they detonated, the Fire Dust burst into flame a moment later; the combination creating a barrier that Faunus's enhanced senses could not pierce
"He got away!" Felix spat as the flames and smog subsided, revealing that his opponent had vanished
"So" Arctus turned nervously to Ruby "How much trouble are we in?" Ruby merely grinned
"With me? None, I'd have done the same thing at your age….Heh, I'd actually done it when I was younger"
"Well that's something at least"
"As for Yang….well, I'll call her now and let her know I found you"
Raffia Dirge had followed the bird of prey towards its' destination; this had led him to leaping into the frigid seawater that surrounded Patch; thankfully he was a more than capable swimmer and the cold was home to him. Moving through the water with even greater grace and fluidity than he had on land he eventually found his destination. He was currently climbing up the chain of an anchor, attached to a ship that was not the same one that he and his people had arrived at the island on. Before he could climb onto the deck under his own power he found himself grabbed by strong arms and hauled upwards, landing on his rear he fixed the three figures in front of him with a broad smile
"So I see all went well?" he gestured around to the ship that would be their new home. Before him Hellion stroked Marauder before turning and leaving, wings fluttering in agitation; the eyes and ears of his group had been acting as a scout
"I see you've returned empty handed" a drunken voice snorted, Raffia hissed in response. The speaker was a six foot six Puma Faunus with an unkempt mane of black hair, a less than respectable attempt at a beard and greenish yellow eyes, he was clad in the mix of armour and loose fitting clothing common to their group and sported a double bladed battleaxe slung over his shoulder. The larger Faunus merely snorted as he held out a hand to his long time friend, revealing him to have feline pads on his palms and fingers that had often been referred to by outsiders as 'Toe-beans'. He was Onyx Ursabane, a warrior whose honorifics and titles included 'Lord of Ale' 'Mountain breaker' 'Thunder-fist' 'Speaker to Gods' and 'Husband to Grimm' as Raffia returned to his feet the final member of their group stepped forwards, a six foot two mass of muscle shrouded in a dark cloak, the hood of which the young man wearing it lowered to reveal a completely hairless skull, pale skin which took on a greyish tinge around the back and sides of the head, countless sharp teeth and eyes that were pools of liquid darkness. The left side of his face bore tribal tattoos similar to Raffia's own though more intricate and stylised to resemble a shark
"You were playing with the locals. I didn't send you to play with the locals" Raffia fidgeted nervously under the ire of the only man or woman he would ever willingly take orders from
"Car come on-"
"Silence" Carcharodon Gore rasped out as he stepped forwards "I don't want your excuses, you were making a spectacle of yourself. I have Onyx for that" the Puma Faunus merely shrugged and grunted drunkenly, unable to argue as his role had indeed been to create a distraction and allow Carcharodon and Raffia to take what they needed
"They had nothing anyway" the Axolotl Faunus muttered "I spent all day trying to find a supply of weapons on that island and even the place they trained their fighters had nothing….It baffles me that they haven't been raided out of existence"
"The Kingdom protects them" Carcharodon explained "They're nothing but vassals to the rulers of the mainland"
"So the mainland will have the power we need?"
"Precisely" the Shark Faunus hissed "I took enough Dust from the island to last us a while; this ship will be noticed missing before too long. We set sail as soon as Onyx is capable" Raffia nodded, a cruel grin spreading across his face at the thought of the havoc he could wreak across the Kingdom of New Vale.
It was the early hours of the morning and Felix was currently laying awake on his bed. His mothers' anger had been short lived, they both accepted that while taking off after Yang without saying anything had been irresponsible they were Hunters in training who had chosen to respond to a crime, any punishment for that would have been hypocritical; opting instead to give the pair their first official debriefing as Huntsmen and using it as an opportunity to teach
"Hey, you awake?" Felix murmured as he leaned over his bed, looking down at the spare mattress on the floor where Arctus was sleeping
"Unfortunately" came the grumbled reply
"Think it was connected?" Felix asked
"What?"
"The little weirdo who's seemingly immune to a beating. He didn't chase after a bird in the middle of a fight for no reason. You think it's connected to whoever started something at the bar and that fire someone tried to start?"
"Fluffy it's three in the morning, go to sleep. Bother me with conspiracy theories when I wake up" Felix merely shook his head and sighed rolling over. The brief quiet was interrupted by Felix's scroll vibrating followed by Arctus's muttered cursing at the noise
"It's from Corvid" Felix told him as he opened the text message, shielding his eyes from the light of his Scroll's screen in the dark room
'Hey, I tried to get a late night ferry back but police are saying Patch is locked down until morning. Is everyone okay?' He typed out his response
'Yeah, someone started a bar fight, someone broke into Signal and someone tried to set one of the warehouses on fire but everyone's fine' he only had to wait a few moments for a reply
'Thank Oum for that. I'm with my team right now so I'll probably just crash at Lux's or something. I'm not gonna see you until after your initiation. Good luck'
"Apparently they're not letting anyone leave Patch until tomorrow morning" Felix told his cousin "So ya never know, we might get another crack at that little ass-hole at the docks tomorrow. Nice little warm up for initiation" Arctus merely groaned with his pillow over his head
"Go to fucking sleep!"
Authors Notes:
So here's Chapter three. I promise we'll meet the other half of Team FADE next Chapter.
I wish I could update this the way I updated The Downward Spiral when I first started that, I finished the Vol.1 Arc in two weeks, I'm averaging a chapter a week here.
It's a combination of me being back in regular work now and this story requiring more exposition and world building due to the passage of twenty years changing a lot of what we know whereas Downward Spiral started right at where Vol.1 picked up.
Anyway let's summarise:
I make no apologies for the title of this chapter.
Say hello to the main antagonist of this arc of the story, a pile of rags.
I mean Felix is impulsive and looking for a fight, but he's not actually wrong.
Bumblebee is vintage now.
Yeah Yang loves puns but I think that at 37/38 years old she knows there's a time and a place.
"What like a Puma?" yes, it's exactly what you think it is.
So Raffia wasn't starting a bar fight.
Raffia was breaking into the school….Because plot convenience.
Arctus has the Schnee family Semblance.
Raffia has a sword/flail
Yes at this point I'm teasing what Felix's Semblance is with the tip….Don't worry you'll see soon.
Ruby ex Machina.
Raffia's Semblance is called 'Unstoppable' he doesn't have an Aura that actively protects him like most people, instead it sits just under his skin and allows him to regenerate from almost anything, because the idea of an Axolotl Faunus who regenerates is cool and it turns him from a five foot dick with a sword into a real problem to deal with.
Ruby probably encourages all of her nieces and nephews anytime they want to do something heroic (Dumb).
Onyx Ursabane is a Game of Thrones reference and I'm going to enjoy writing him.
HE HAS TOEBEANS.
Here's the real first look at the antagonists of this arc, a Shark Faunus, a Puma Faunus, a Dragonfly Faunus and an Axolotl Faunus who have no direct connection to the White Fang.
Also note the fact that they have a stolen ship, they think of their ships as home and all of their explosives and weapons are home made.
Felix is on the right track at least.
Thank you to Ferrous and Shadowalex2000 for their reviews on the last chapter.
The Feels will never stop (I've got more for ya next chapter actually)
The dynamics are going to be a lot more fun when we meet some of the other new (And old) characters.
Yeah the Rose twins are basically test tube babies made with Ruby's egg and the sperm off one of Penny's Fathers' relatives.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.