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Chapter 32: Friday
A week had passed since Antonia Arc had made a decision that still troubled her in the moments she was alone, her conscience whispering to her that this was a mistake, though since Carcharodon Gore had agreed to her conditions and she had in turn promised to make his stolen weapons operational she had spent a lot less time alone; the Shark Faunus had put her to work alongside the Shadow Cadre's resident engineer and jack of all trades. Antonia continuously tried to chastise herself, warn herself that she was beginning to show signs of Stockholm Syndrome every time she found herself laughing along with one of the Puma Faunus's admittedly poor taste jokes, it was to no avail. After so long in near total isolation, to be working with an inquisitive, if not educated mind was refreshing to say the least. She'd learned that Onyx had been the only member of the Shadow Cadre currently aboard to build their own weapon, Raffia having allegedly won his and Carcharodon's arm mounted blades being a gift from the elders of the tribe. Progress had been slow however, the first obstacle to overcome was the sheer age of the weapons and the state of disrepair they'd been allowed to fall into.
BOOM
Antonia reflexively ducked beneath the workbench, as the small workshop aboard the stolen ship was rocked by the force of an explosion. As the ringing in her ears subsided she became aware of another sound, that of Onyx coughing and sputtering. Opening the door to the workshop to let some of the thick smoke produced in the mishap out she turned to what she supposed was her current colleague and treated him to a derisive snort
"You touched the overflow capacitor didn't you? What did I specifically tell you not to do?"
"Don't talk to me like a child" Onyx growled as he clambered to his feet, the blast having hurled him back several feet
"You are a child" Antonia countered flatly "I have a daughter your age and I'll be honest, if I had her working with me this job would have been done by now"
"Then maybe we should go and find-" Onyx never got to finish the sentence as Antonia had strode around the workbench and slapped him with as much force as she could muster; as someone who'd never been trained as a Huntress it admittedly wasn't much and Onyx merely laughed
"I think you're getting comfortable on this ship, perhaps when we let you go you won't want to leave. You're turning into a savage"
"Don't be ridiculous" Antonia snapped before turning her attention to the weapon they'd been working on, the first of the four gargantuan cannons each larger than the people repairing them and spread across several work stations. Her expression remained neutral as she surveyed the damage, the metal was even more warped and blackened than it had been before and the vital component Onyx had been attempting to work on had been reduced to an unrecognisable mess. Before she could chastise Onyx further for the mistake the sound of footsteps, clanging on the metal surface of the corridor outside could be heard drawing closer. Carcharodon arrived in the workshop, surveying the smoke filled room in silence while Raffia slunk in behind him wearing a mischievous smirk directed at his crew mate
"I take it things are going well" Carcharodon's deadpan delivery was too much for Raffia, the Axolotl Faunus breaking down in hysterical laughter, gesturing at Onyx wildly who in turn cracked a reluctant smile
"Well I think I've managed to identify the problem" Antonia explained
"Do your years of experience tell you that it's a smoking fucking wreck?" Raffia cackled. Antonia chose to ignore him, remaining as businesslike as possible in her current situation
"The problem is the power supply. You have enough Dust stockpiled but no way to regulate the power output. The fact that the overflow just exploded doesn't help matters"
"I don't know some of the words you use" Carcharodon admitted with a shake of the head "Answer me plainly, are you telling me that you can't honour our agreement?" Antonia tried her hardest not audibly gulp in fear; she'd realised that the Shadow Cadre were violent pillagers and proud of it, but they had something of a code of honour in which she could tell failing to honour ones' word would have consequences
"I'm telling you that if you try to fire that weapon now that it will tear your ship in half and you will die in the blast. I can make the laser batteries work if you can get me the parts to repair it"
"I think she's lying to us" Raffia hissed, eyeing her suspiciously. Antonia was slowly coming to realise that a blunt response would always be more effective and appreciated than excuses to her captors
"I think that if you stole weapons from people who trade in antiques and expected this to be easy then you're an idiot" Onyx snorted and gave what Antonia was a little surprised to realise was an approving nod at the response. Carcharodon hissed in frustration before rasping out his solution
"Then you'll show me on a map of New Vale where I can find what you need"
"Remember our agreement" Antonia warned, forcing herself to sound assertive. Carcharodon's pure black eyes allowed just enough expression for to know that he'd rolled them at her
"Nobody will be harmed unless they raise a weapon against us. Beyond that their fate is in their own hands" he turned to Raffia "Prepare yourself, you're coming with me….My patience for this Kingdom is wearing thin, we strike tonight"
Felix noticed that the sun seemed to be setting somewhat later than it had been, a sign that winters' freezing grasp on the Kingdom of New Vale was slowly being released. He was currently sat in the bleachers around the academies' outdoor training area, a pungent aroma hanging in the air around him as he finished off the last of his bags of weed; privately deciding that after meeting Melanie Malachite, Amethyst Wukong's supplier, that he would be kicking the habit if for no other reason that spite. He'd finished his classes for the day on a high note, a spectacular victory in a two on two match alongside Eagle against Aqua and Quartz of Team AQUA; a brief session with Neptune wherein the councillor had told him that he was happy to see Felix making progress at containing his temper under pressure. In all honesty, the end of Team FADE's first year was looming in the near future and despite the abduction of Antonia Arc and the complications that it had brought, Felix felt good about they way things were going. Even being in debt to Melanie Malachite could be overlooked right now
"Sweet fucking Oum I'm high" the Lion Faunus muttered to himself as that last thought crossed his mind, tail swishing lazily he put out the joint and flicked it somewhere it wouldn't be noticed. Rising to his feet and stretching out he pondered what to do with his Friday night, in truth he hadn't explored nearly as much of the gargantuan city below as he had intended to when he first arrived at Halo; then he caught sight of someone jogging below
"You've gotta be kidding me" he muttered to himself before whistling to get the attention of the jogger. Easily distinguishable by his heavily tattooed skin, spiked scarlet hair and the gleaming golden bracers which he never seemed to remove even when the rest of his armour was absent, was Helios Nikos. Hearing Felix's attempt to get his attention the redhead made his way upwards through the rows of the bleachers seats and made himself comfortable, as if the jog hadn't taxed him in the slightest
"Do you ever get tired?" Felix enquired with a teasing edge to his voice, in truth he was genuinely impressed as Helios had participated in combat training earlier that day as well
"My stamina has been commented on before" he shrugged
"I'll bet it has" Felix snorted before pausing and burying his head in his hands at the realisation of how his words could be interpreted. After looking up and seeing that Helios was reclining peacefully in his seat Felix found himself somewhat mesmerised by his arms, left on display by the tank-top he was training in the intricate designs whose meanings he could only guess at ranged from below his bulging biceps to his shoulder blades and collarbones, laid over them was a web of scar tissue in various sizes
"Something wrong?" Helios murmured "You started looking at my tattoos and went quiet" Felix sputtered, desperately trying to think of a response that would save him from embarrassment
"Just wondering how you're not freezing, Diamond's from Mistral and she's been complaining about the cold for months" he paused and gestured to the stylised lion head tattoo on his upper arm and added "Besides I've been thinking about getting some more ink myself-"
"Just please no more cheap imitations of Anima tribal styles" Helios snorted "I'd be offended if it wasn't so funny" the Lion Faunus was reduced to grumbling barely coherently under his breath
"I mean it" Helios gesticulated "Each of my markings has a distinct meaning behind it, they're not just to be copied because they look 'cool'"
"So….If I knew the meanings?" Felix trailed off, allowing the sentence to hang in the air. Helios smiled, green eyes shining in the setting sun
"I will teach you them myself" he paused for a moment "But not tonight. I was outvoted and Team NEON are heading out to experience some more of the Kingdoms' nightlife. No doubt I'll end up dealing with the consequences of them being unable to hold their liquor"
"Well we can't all casually drink Nikosi paint stripper" Felix chuckled, remembering his single brief experience with the brew that Helios still continued to swig in class, unknown to the teachers
"Why not join us?" Helios asked, seeming to falter for a moment, the rare look of uncertainty seeming as though it had no business on his face "I mean, your Team are welcome to come as well"
"Definitely" Felix nodded, his words sounding a little too eager in his own ears "I mean, I can get in touch with the others and see who's free tonight. But yeah, I'll meet you later" Helios nodded as he rose to his feet
"Well, I'm going to finish my jog; meet us at the Bull-Head terminals in two hours Fluffy" as the redhead left Felix was left staring vacantly after him, the buzz of the weed slowly leaving him allowing him groan wordlessly to himself as it dawned on him that he'd been acting like an idiot for some reason.
He realised with a start that he reminded himself of Arctus, before his cousin and Diamond had finally started dating and then dismissed the notion immediately. He did not have a crush on Helios….That would just be ridiculous.
Corvid Xiao Long roamed through New Vale's streets alone, the breathlessness afflicted her during the flight from Halo Academies' campus abating. She'd been forced to rush from the workshop where she'd lingered a little too long after class back to her dormitory to shower and change before running for her flight. Her current surroundings were something she was still not quite used to, far more affluent and modern than either her home in Patch, which while comfortable was still far from the metropolis that was New Vale, or her usual haunts in the capital which were almost exclusively dive bars and seedy clubs in the lower levels of the hive complexes. Corvid took a deep breath and closed her steely grey eyes for a moment to steady herself before continuing onwards, only to be halted by the sound of her Scroll. Pulling the device from her pocket she saw her brothers' name and answered
"Hey Fluffy, what's up?"
"Just wanted to know if you're free tonight, Team NEON are heading into the city and were looking for people to come with"
"So you needed an Omega Wingman?" Corvid snorted, giving a knowing glance at the device in her hand despite the call being audio only, Felix made a noise that sounded as though it were masking a slew of curses directed at her before speaking again
"Really sis, really? That's what I get for trying to hang out"
"Oh come on it was too good to pass up" Corvid chuckled, leaning against the wall of a small business as she spoke "Because we both know exactly who you're thinking of now you've said it"
"For Oum's sake Corey-"
"Alright, alright I'll drop it" she sighed "Even though it's obvious, like a big NEON sign"
"Are you coming or not?" Felix grumbled
"Nah, sorry Team CLIR are all busy tonight-"
"I was hoping we'd have chance to hang out before your next mission" Corvid's expression softened
"I promise we will, it's still a couple of weeks"
"Alright fine….just don't slink off without saying anything like you did last time" Corvid tried to ignore the somewhat hurt tone in her brothers' voice
"Fluffy. We'll hang out, promise….I miss having my awkward brother with a crush around"
"Oh fuck off-"
"Bye Fluffy" Corvid ended the call, satisfied grin on her face at the sound of her younger sibling laughing in response to her teasing. Pocketing her Scroll she continued towards her destination; she'd been telling the truth when she said that Team CLIR all had previous engagements that evening. It was Lux and Rusty's one year anniversary and the couple would most likely not be returning to the campus until the next morning at the earliest. Iris had told Corvid excitedly that her father was in New Vale, considering that he had stayed on Menagerie after her parents divorce Iris saw very little of the man and wanted to make up for lost time. Corvid herself also had plans that brought a confident smile to her lips as she adjusted her hair a little, using her reflection in the window of the coffee shop door as a mirror before stepping inside. It was the same coffee shop the meeting with the Scavenger Guild had taken place in; Corvid spotted her just leaving a table, the waitress who she'd since learned over the course of her increasingly frequent visits to the establishment was named Celadon, a small hickey visible just above the collar of her uniform from their last rendezvous. Corvid waited, leaning against the counter and trying to project a feeling of calmness. Eventually the waitress caught sight of her and seemed to light up at the sight of the Huntress, blowing her a kiss and mouthing silently
"I'll get off soon" Corvid winked and mouthed out a response that left a blush creeping across her date for the nights' face
"Yeah you will"
"Will you focus, please" Diamond sighed with a roll of her eyes, the illusion of annoyance shattered by the soft smile tugging at her lips
"I am focusing" Arctus answered distractedly, his attention consumed by the small Glyph rotating in his left palm as he crushed a fire Dust crystal in his right, slowly his Semblance took on the blazing red hues of the Dust and the Bear Faunus focused, slowly a shape began to rise from the surface of the Glyph; forelimbs first, followed by a snout which sniffed the air curiously. Within moments Arctus had summoned a miniature Beowolf in his palm, the whole construct glowed with the same fiery light as the Dust powered Glyph it had been conjured from, which had been the purpose of the experiment, though far smaller than his few previous successful attempts at summoning it was also far more highly detailed and without the particular properties of his mothers' patented Eco-Dust could be considered a breakthrough
"Holy Oum it worked!" he fought to keep his voice down, Diamond kissed his cheek gently
"Great now can you stop playing with Fire Dust in the library before you blow something up" Arctus watched the Beowolf, seemingly made of condensed fire for a few more moments before allowing the Glyph to shatter into countless dissipating embers, his pride at the achievement still evident
"Okay fine" he chuckled "Admit it's cool though"
"It's cool" Diamond laughed "How're you gonna use it though?"
"I'll find a use for it" He shrugged, somewhat defensively before Diamond took his hands in hers and pulled him towards the shelf that housed the books they needed
"Well maybe you'll find something in these books" she suggested, they had a Grimm studies assignment to be handed in soon that both Eagle and Felix had already finished, between volunteering at the Mercy Foundation and the fact that Arctus had been quietly trying to develop more applications of his Semblance he'd neglected the task. Diamond was embarrassed to admit it but she'd intended to finish the paper the previous night only to get roped into a video game tournament against Eagle, not only had she made no progress, she'd been utterly thrashed by her team-mate who seemed to develop an unimaginably ruthless streak when a controller was in her hands, much to Felix's amusement.
"Thanks" Arctus smiled, taking the books Diamond wanted; she tried to hide it but he'd realised how much the small gestures like carrying her books or bag between classes made her smile and privately decided make as many such gestures as possible. Diamond's response was to cup his cheeks and pull him down into a kiss, only to halt things as they began to head in a more heated direction
"Big guy not here, I don't want us to be 'that' couple" she laughed, arms looping around his shoulders "Come on, we're not Ether and Ollie" that got a snort from Arctus, the members of Team NEON were notorious for the extremity of their public displays of affection, allegedly having been disciplined by Goodwitch personally after she caught them in a compromising position. Arctus was left with his own thoughts for a moment as Diamond led him by the hand back to the table they were working at in a quiet corner of the library, which was already less crowded than usual owing to it being a Friday evening. After his conversation weeks ago with Aunt Blake he was more sure than ever that he was in fact, utterly in love with Diamond Sustrai-Black. The problem he was having was telling her, he wanted to make the moment something special and no such opportunities had presented themselves; he also had the sneaking suspicion that he'd fumble his words and make an idiot of himself.
"You okay babe?" Diamond's voice snapped him back to reality "You zoned out for a sec"
"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Sorry" he took the seat next to Diamond only to be distracted by his Scroll before he could open the first book from the small stack they'd brought with them
"It's Felix" he told Diamond "Wants to know if we're working tonight, He's going into the city with Team NEON in a couple hours, asking us to come with"
"I mean we could probably get a really rough outline done in an hour or so" Diamond mused, seemingly giving the offer serious consideration
"Yeah but we'll only end up doing this all weekend if we don't do it now….As much as I enjoy watching you dance" Arctus answered
"True" Diamond sighed "Tell him we'll pass….Hey I wonder if he's managed to persuade Eagle into going?" a hopeful smile crossed her face as she voiced the afterthought
"Still salty about losing….what was it eighteen matches in a row?" Arctus chuckled
"Dude shut up" Diamond replied with a snort and a playful shove "I'm just saying if Eagle goes with him then that means we'll have the dorm to ourselves for the night" Arctus's pale blue eyes widened in understanding, face splitting into a toothy grin as he whispered conspiratorially in his girlfriends' ear
"Professor Bronzewing would take a half finished essay and be understanding about it right?" Diamond tried desperately to cover her mouth to muffle her laughter before slapping his shoulder. In truth it was a sentiment she shared, the two of them hadn't had any opportunities for any kind of intimacy lately, either or physical or just each others' company without an assignment or volunteer work being part of the equation. Leaning into the Bear Faunus she whispered in his ear
"Dude you're a dork, but I like the way you think"
Hellion exhaled slowly, still clad in the orange jumpsuit she'd been given at New Vale Correctional Facility; though she knew her own clothes and knives were somewhere on the campus. The upper half of the jumpsuit had been removed, exposing the scar where the slash to her collarbone and shoulder during her fight with Torchwick's goons. She wore the wound with pride, another trophy from another battle. The Dragonfly Faunus ran through familiar motions as best she could in the limited space of her cell, performing each series of strikes against an imagined opponent with practised efficiency; a downward elbow strike intended to break a collarbone and separate a shoulder followed by her left hand moving to hold the enemies' head secure while she delivered a palm strike with her right that would force the cartilage of the nose upwards with lethal effects. She did all of this with her eyes closed; she and the rest of the Shadow Cadre had been taught by the elders of the Frost River tribe and since being given command of their ship, Carcharodon's sister Mizu had ensured that they kept to the regimen strictly; it was said by other members of the tribe that it was impossible to catch a member of the cadre off guard, their skills had been honed to the point they could dispose of an adversary with a single well placed strike without needing to see them. It was hyperbole of course, as Hellion's reaction to the sound of the bars of her cell being rattled proved. Jade eyes opened in a flash and she turned, ducked and reached for one of her throwing knives in a single motion; only to find it absent, the Dragonfly Faunus's wings fluttered in embarrassment, she knew her weapons had been taken but her instincts remained
"Little Canary" her silky voice gave her an aura of collected calmness she hadn't truly felt since her capture
"Hey" Eagle smiled at her, the freckled blonde wore a departure from the pristine armour that Hellion now associated with her, clad instead in a pair of grey sweatpants and a form fitting black tank-top with a bag hanging from her shoulder "I promised I'd come back and I'm sorry it took me so long, I haven't asked if I'm allowed but since I'm not even supposed to know you're here I doubt I would be. I'm gonna stay on this side of the bars today if that's okay? And I'm rambling aren't I?"
"It's not as though I have any other company" Hellion noted, making herself comfortable in a cross legged position on her bed. She distrusted those not of her tribe out of habit, on some level she knew that Eagle wanted something from her but frankly she'd take what companionship she could find in her current situation; the fact that said company had a pretty face and the physique of a warrior just sweetened the deal
"So erm, what were you doing?" Eagle tried to find a way to start an actual conversation with the captured raider "Just practising?"
"Exactly" Hellion's smile was somewhat cruel despite her best efforts for it be otherwise "I will leave this cage eventually, my people are going to need me to still be able to fight"
"I'm not going to argue with you about it" Eagle sighed "I brought you a book, I don't know how often I'll be able to visit you like this….I thought you might enjoy it" rummaging in her bag she failed to notice the way Hellion's expression became one of sadness for the briefest of moments before she hid it
"What's the book about?"
"It's the stories of the first ever team of Hunters….They say it's based on the true stories but I think they took some liberties"
"Hunters" Hellion snorted "Trying to convert me to your cause little canary?"
"No I- I mean it's just….Why do you call me that?" Hellion's eyes twinkled in the lighting of her cell, expression equal parts mischief and satisfaction at the sight of the blush colouring Eagle's freckled cheeks
"Because you're yellow and adorable and I like the way it makes you blush" Hellion answered simply, hopping from her uncomfortable bed and sauntering over to the bars of her cell as she continued "And I wouldn't have earned the title 'Queen of a thousand ports' if I couldn't make make even a Huntress come back for more….though 'thousand' is more of an exaggeration than your book" her hand slipped through the bars and plucked the book in question from Eagle's grip while the blonde was distracted, her face flushed almost the same deep red as her eyes. The art of driving the unsuspecting to distraction and capitalising on the opportunity was something she thoroughly enjoyed; though the current object of her interest seemed so innocent it was almost unfair. Eagle squirmed under Hellion's gaze, she was sure that the Dragonfly Faunus was flirting with her despite the fact that it was the first time she'd been the subject of such advances; and frankly she had no idea how to respond to it, her confusion was only worsened by the knowledge that Hellion had played a part in her mothers' abduction. Thankfully she was given a distraction in the form of her Scroll vibrating audibly in her gym bag. Retrieving it she saw the text message from her partner and smiled at its' contents. Her first and only experience with nightclubs had given her a positive outlook on them and despite his many glaring character flaws Felix's friend Nyanza was fun to hang out with, something she suspected she'd be doing tonight as the only people who didn't seem to realise that Felix and Helios were fond of each other were Felix and Helios themselves.
"Trouble?" Hellion asked, wings twitching agitatedly at her back
"No, the opposite" Eagle grinned "But I'm gonna have to go. I still had some energy to burn after combat class so I went to the gym, now I need to shower and change….I'll try and visit again soon" Hellion nodded silently in understanding as Eagle turned away and stretched, working out a crick in her shoulder. The action caused Hellion's wings to abruptly still and her eyes to widen, she lacked the words to fairly describe the sculpted muscles of Eagle's back and shoulders; they were simply a work of art. Watching the Huntress leave Hellion slowly shook her head and forced herself to focus on the present, giving the book Eagle had given her a single annoyed scowl before placing it on her bed and returning to the techniques she'd been practising before Eagle Arc had managed to thoroughly distract her.
Carcharodon Gore unknowingly found himself mirroring his captured crew mates' training regimen as he brought his first down against the collarbone of a rough looking man in overalls trying to swing a crowbar at his chest, the man had evidently never had his Aura unlocked, a fact evidenced by the audible shattering of bone and agonised scream as the crowbar flew from his grip, his arm left dangling limp. Carcharodon gripped his would be attacker by the back of the head and brought his arm back, preparing to deliver a fatal follow up strike; a sibilant hiss escaping his lips as he remembered his promise to Antonia Arc. Clenching his fist he simply punched the worker attempting to defend the premises in the throat and hurled their limp form into a pile of cars that had been stripped for anything useful and then crushed. Antonia had told them that this was a scrapyard, apparently the people living under the protection of the Kingdoms' protection had so many resources at their disposal and so few real threats that they could simply throw away whole vehicles without concern, it was a notion that had baffled the members of the Shadow Cadre to whom the news seemed almost too far-fetched to be believed. Another fool attempted to halt his advance only to be easily disposed of, he'd promised the scientist that no harm would come to the people here unless they attacked first; he was almost thankful that so many of them had chosen to fight and give him the justification he sought, in his mind taking something of as much value as the parts he sought without fighting for them seemed cowardly. They'd attacked the scrapyard at night Raffia had approached directly pretending to be lost as he made his way through the main gate, Carcharodon's Semblance had allowed him to enter quietly and make his way towards the small building that contained the administrative office, a light inside confirming that there would be at least one person present who could expedite the search. As he'd made his way through the maze of rusted steel, tires and broken and discarded furniture the sound of Raffia's ruse failing had reached his ears; shouting followed by screams of pain and calls for help. It was then that the Shark Faunus had decided that fair combat with the workers wouldn't be breaking his promises.
Stalking through corridors of compacted and otherwise ruined cars, which Carcharodon was disgusted at as he realised there was enough steel going to waste here to build at least one new ship, he strained his senses for any clue as to which direction the next attack would come from; his lips peeled back into a cruel smile that was all fangs as he picked up the sound of laboured breathing ahead. There was a blind corner formed by walls of wreckage, they attempted to catch him unawares; continuing at his previous pace he moved forwards giving no indication that he'd discovered them but mentally prepared himself, in the darkness human eyes would fail to see the faintest rippling of the edges of his form as Carcharodon prepared his Semblance to be used at a moments' notice
"NOW!" Announcing themselves like imbeciles the attackers, surprising Carcharodon with the fact that there were two of them leapt from the hiding place and gave up their advantage, sawn-off shotguns at the ready. Carcharodon activated his Semblance a moment before their weapons discharged; buckshot passed through his body as it rippled like murky water, the Shark Faunus winced slightly with the knowledge that he would most likely be coughing up residue for days. He continued forwards, forcing himself to keep somewhat calm and not deploy the Red Waves as he knew that if he did he was lose himself in the bloodlust
"Stop right there freak!" one of the gunmen bellowed, voice wavering as he did so; Carcharodon's blood felt as though it were boiling in his veins with rage at the coward who had the nerve to threaten him. Before he could charge the two of them a furious roar of a challenge sounded out and the gunmen turned, before either could fire the diminutive form of Raffia Dirge lunged at them; the Axolotl Faunus had obviously used the piles of scrap metal as a springboard to hurl himself into the air, Hydra Macabre in its' flail form plucking the shotgun and several fingers from the hands of the first attacker, while his knee collided with the skull of the second, catching the second mans' weapon by the barrel he turned and swung it at the temple of the first, leaving the man who'd been clutching at his ruined hand laid unconscious on the ground; the second man tried to rise only for Raffia to, in a single fluid movement, discard the shotgun sheathe his weapon across his back and perform a somersault that saw him landing with his knee crashing against his victims' sternum. Then the rain of punches to the mans' face began, the air filled with dull thuds and demented cackling until Carcharodon placed a hand on the smaller Faunus's shoulder; Raffia rose to his feet, panting to catch his breath and surveying his handiwork, blood and broken teeth coated the ground around his victims' head.
"These weaklings aren't our target" Carcharodon reminded him, pointing at the admin office "They are" with no further resistance against them the pair stalked towards the building in question, the door being removed with a single kick. The single occupied office wasn't hard to find, the panicked whimpering of the person cowering within clearly audible to the Faunus's senses
"These people are worse cowards than the Mistrali" Raffia spat viscously "It would be a kindness to the world to remove them from it"
"I gave my word" Carcharodon answered bluntly, ending the discussion "Wait here" without further hesitation he activated his Semblance and rippled through the door of the office and cast his eyes around, finding nothing. He was forced to silently agree with Raffia as the realisation that the manager was hiding behind the desk hit him
"Get out and face me"
"Do you know who you're messing with?" a terrified voice demanded "You're gonna die for this! We're protected!" Carcharodon didn't respond verbally, he simply strode forwards and grabbed the desk before hurling it across the room, revealing the coward
"Your protectors have failed you, your life is in my hands" the Shark Faunus smiled, showing his fags "Now tell me, will I leave here tonight with what I came for, or will I leave here with your scalp?" the incoherent whimpering was all the answer he needed.
It was the early hours of the morning and Melanie Malachite was predictably located in her office above her club, the dull thud of bass from below ensuring her that though it may be winding down for the night, the establishment was still open and making her money. The raven haired Mafioso was currently double checking the books to ensure that none of her accountants or captains were on the take, naturally the accounts were written in code but ever since learning that the upstart Rhodium Torchwick had had a narcotics officer working in his drug business she'd been meticulous to the point of obsessive; the fact she was somewhat inebriated didn't help the situation.
"Can't trust any of 'em" she muttered to herself, slurring slightly as she debated pouring another glass of vodka; even Uncle Hie would leave soon, she could sense it. The gangster turned politicians' constant pleas for her to leave this life behind and find a more respectable way to live were a clear warning sign. She was mercifully distracted from her slowly festering drunken anger by a knock at the door of her office followed by the nervous voice of one of her underlings
"Boss, I know you said not to be bothered but this is important" Melanie frowned, adjusting her feet beneath her desk and deploying the blades mounted in her stilettos before pausing and thinking better of the idea. She was against physically punishing members of her own crew for their mistakes, it lowered morale
"Come in" the young woman that entered wore the sharp business suit and red tinted sunglasses of the Black Bear Syndicate, a holdover from when Uncle Hie, known to most as Junior, ran things. Her face was pale and etched with dread; Melanie's eyes narrowed, it was bad news then
"We just had a call from our breakers yard….They've, they've just been attacked" Melanie took a moment to digest the information, of all of the Syndicates' front businesses the scrapyard seemed one of the least likely to be attacked, it was used mainly disposing of evidence and acquiring cars for jobs that had already been written off. Her Jade eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her
"Is this Torchwick's idea of getting brave? 'Cos if this is his way of sending a warning shot he's gonna get a wake up slap…." she trailed off allowing her underling to speak
"I don't know boss, the guy running the night shift there was in shock. Most of the guys were beaten half to death, he said they threatened to scalp him if they didn't get what they want"
"Scalping, that's a new one" Melanie noted, Rhodium had been known to have his goons remove fingers from people who didn't pay debts but this was either an escalation or something else entirely. Pondering for a few moments she eventually settled on a course of action
"Have the police showed up?"
"They don't have a warrant yet" the underling answered, Melanie nodded "Good. You have a blank cheque, make sure they don't search anything"
"And Torchwick's crew?" Melanie treated her to a truly vicious smile
"I'll deal with that in the morning. I've got a few people I can call"
Authors Notes:
Okay so this chapter was mainly filler, but the ending sets up a few things for the next few chapter and hey, who doesn't love the occasional bit of fluff.
I think I'm finding my way out of the creative bottle neck I was stuck in, I know where the start and end points are and the line between them isn't fuzzy.
Anyway, let's summarise:
I like the idea of Antonia slowly integrating into the Shadow Cadre before her inevitable return to normal society though I doubt she'll be getting tribal tats like theirs.
Also, I only mentioned the crew members currently aboard but Hellion makes her own knives, her and Onyx are the only two members of the Cadre to make their own weapons.
Raffia in this scene was a pleasure to write.
Felix is kicking his weed habit….just to deprive Melanie Malachite of maybe twenty Lien a month.
"My stamina has been commented on before" Damn Helios.
Helios looking at Felix's tattoo and just rolling his eyes and sighing is hilarious to me.
Helios still gets shit-faced in class and nobody has noticed.
Battle Cat Shippers, you may begin squealing now.
Corvid puns, we've all missed them.
Corvid went back to the coffee shop from a couple chapters ago and hooked up with the waitress; because she can.
Arctus has a new trick….That'll have some fun uses.
Diamond Dust is and will always be cute.
Hellion just being casually bad-ass.
Hellion flustering Eagle just for fun is great to write.
And all Eagle had to do to turn the tables was stretch.
You'll find out why Hellion seems annoyed by the book.
I love the idea of the Shadow Cadre hearing about things like Scrapyards and Food banks and being stunned, because the ports and coastal towns that they raid are far from rich everything there gets reused. The idea that some places have so much of the things they need that they can afford to just throw things out is amazing to them.
Raffia is a beast when he gets started.
Melanie is a lot more vulnerable in private.
You know exactly who Melanie is going to call.
Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, TigerRose, Arkanes Shippou, FleetOfWarships, Ferrous, Unstoppable Cyborg, FluffyFirefly and ShadowAlex2000 for their reviews on the last chapter.
Funnily enough if anyone was intended to have a Captain America homage in their fighting style it's Arctus, he can actually bounce his Glyphs off of surfaces into an opponent.
Kafsi is going to turn up again, don't you worry about that.
I'm glad everyone seems to like the backstory for the Shadow Cadre.
Spoilers but don't worry; they're not a big bad and will continue to be part of the story for its' duration.
Also, to the people who ship Eagle and Hellion….Same.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.