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I am making no money from this.
Chapter 103: Party Time
It was the dead of night and the sound of rain pattering gently against windows would have been soothing to anyone who sought much needed and deserved sleep; Qrow Branwen however was not one such person. The basement below his currently empty home was silent save for the slight creaking of the veteran Hunter's chair as he stretched and made himself as comfortable as possible in front of the multiple displays of his supercomputer and monitoring system. He disregarded the images on the various screens for the moment, knowing that there had been no developments in the last few hours and that the two Maidens that he had been able to locate since assuming his mantle were safe despite whatever else may be going wrong on Remnant; after a while he closed the camera feeds and took a sip of strong coffee, a gift from Bartholomew Oobleck as he waited for video calls that he knew would be starting shortly.
He didn't have long to wait.
"Good evening Qrow" Glynda Goodwitch's stern voice greeted, perhaps a fraction softer than the tone she usually took with her students; Qrow noticed that whilst the Headmistress of Halo Academy wore a dressing gown the room in which she sat was clearly her office
"Busy night?"
"First years started a food fight….I believe I have Team RWBY to thank for making that a tradition" despite her apparent irritation with the situation the corners of her mouth gave a faint twitch which Qrow returned
"I'll tell Yang and Ruby, although I expect that they'll offer to referee or captain the teams instead of apologise" Goodwitch gave an exaggerated shudder at the thought
"Am I late?" a new voice enquired, a moment before the tired face of Antonia Arc flickered into view on another of Qrow's screens
"Right on time" Qrow assured her "We're expecting our final two people any second now" he was proven correct when within moments another pair of screens flickered into life, revealing the equally weary faces of Gangrel Slate and Winter Schnee
"Good everyone's here" Winter observed "Let's begin; who has developments to report?"
"More of a lack of developments" Antonia admitted "I've been attempting to find a way to track and locate Project Legacy but it seems that any master or remote controls were either removed entirely or that Ozymandias has transferred them to himself….I suppose it was too much to hope for that he might simply forget the remote self destruct control, we could have ended this whole situation with no complications"
"Remote self destruct?" Qrow's crimson eyes widened, though Antonia seemed to sense what his concerns were
"Penny's self destruct system was disabled years ago at her own request. She is at no risk"
"I still think that Penny and Ruby need to be told about this" Qrow growled
"And I agree" Antonia shot back testily "But let me be the one to break this to them….Penny sees me as a sister"
"And I see her as one of my nieces-"
"Qrow-"
"I just can't help noticing how similar this is to what you said to me about telling Eagle I'm her father….and we both remember how that played out-"
"ENOUGH!" all present focused on Winter who had struck her desk in frustration, a Glyph forming beneath her fist from which several miniature Grimm escaped and scuttled along the surface of the desk before disintegrating. "Project Legacy is thus far unable to be located. Does anyone else have anything that they would like to report?"
"Syneffo Nikos, the Silver eyed Warrior" Qrow began "Her training is continuing….we're not making as much progress as we'd hoped for but honestly we never had any real frame of reference for this"
"Understood" Winter nodded, accepting that Ruby and Penny were certainly doing everything the could in that regard "Do you have any leads on the target for Project Snare"
"None" Qrow admitted with an annoyed scowl "A few reports of disappearances but nothing I can draw any conclusions from; just a few Hunters with patchy records"
"There were spikes of Grimm activity on the edges of New Vale's territory" Goodwitch added, her place on the Kingdom's council giving her access to a great deal of information that it would otherwise have taken Qrow some time to locate "Several small settlements and supply caravans were attacked, though local defence forces have seen to the problem and no signs of intelligent Grimm were found"
"My operative in New Vale is focusing on targeting Ozymandias's business partner and taking away his financial aid, manpower and resources" Gangrel explained, the Bear Faunus letting a slow sigh before continuing "She has a contact in the Kingdom who is willing to help, though I'm expecting this to lead to violent retaliation from Torchwick….and possibly Project Legacy. Both my former operatives in Team GORE and my son and nephew's team are aware of the situation and have been told to distance themselves from it"
"And naturally with Team FADE being who they are they will no doubt endeavour to the opposite" Glynda noted, lowering her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose as she did so "I'll have them discreetly watched to ensure that they're not endangering themselves or the mission"
"Thank you" Glynda merely nodded and continued speaking
"Also our fourth year teams are preparing for their final mission before sitting their licensing exams; after which point I'll prepare a final shortlist of potential candidates for our group….though naturally Team CLIR's place is already a given"
"Even though Corvid turned down a spot in the specialist branch" Gangrel grumbled with a slight hint of bitterness, he would have enjoyed welcoming his niece into the ranks of his department and hearing from Winter that she had declined had admittedly stung a little.
"I'll have Ciel compile a similar list, ensure that our counterparts at Haven and Shade do the same"
"And anyone who doesn't quite make the cut" Qrow drawled out before shrugging "Keep tabs on 'em for a few years and let Team CFVY see their resumes….they'll need teachers at their academy"
"My people are in the planning stages and working closely with Coco" Winter assured him "But that's a matter for a different time….unless anyone has anything else to add then I suggest we conclude this meeting; a chorus of agreements came from the various screens and soon after Qrow was left alone in his basement with his thoughts.
They had no leads, the rogue Wizard was still at large with one of the most dangerous weapons of war that the Kingdom of Atlas had ever dared to create at his disposal whilst a sentient Grimm remained at large, being sought by both parties. In the face of such a harsh reality Qrow was forced to hope that their best efforts would somehow be enough.
The rain fell gently on the campus of Halo Academy as the enormous anti-gravity platform hung over the Kingdom of New Vale, keeping watch for any creatures of Grimm that may attempt to escape the exclusion zone. The rain left the roof slates of the academy itself, whose classical design was somewhat at odds with the advanced technology which kept it afloat, slick and allowed little purchase whilst the wind made the already cold night air even more bitingly unpleasant than it already was. Felix Xiao Long however was undeterred and sat on the portion of the roof that something of a regular hang out spot for himself and his friends, his dirty blonde curls protected from the weather by a hood which had been pulled low over his face though his hooded vest lacked sleeves and his arms were bare as he sat in a hunched position, hugging his own knees; the rain soaking into his clothes
"CAW!" Felix turned sharply, only to raise an eyebrow in mild confusion at a sight that would have utterly baffled a less experienced individual; an ivory feathered bird of prey with crimson eyes, squawking angrily at him as it carried a blanket in its' talons which it had carried with it as it had flown out of Team FADE's dormitory window.
"Hey Eagle" the bird dropped the blanket squarely on top of Felix's head, the Lion Faunus saw a flash of pure white light through the fabric and was promptly joined by Eagle Arc in her true form, his partner treating him to a pout as she sat beside him and pulled the blanket over herself so that it covered them both
"Oh my Oum Fluffy, it's almost three in the morning what are you doing out here? It's freezing, it's raining you're gonna catch a cold? Actually can you catch a cold, maybe your Semblance just burns it out and-"
"Yeah I can catch a cold" Felix nodded, unable to keep a smile from tugging at his lips as Eagle's signature hyperactive rambling began to pick up speed; Eagle responded to this admission with an exasperated groan
"Then why are you out here? You're gonna get sick"
"Couldn't sleep" Felix mumbled, seeing Eagle's concerned expression he elaborated; voice dropping to a barely audible whisper as he did so "Nightmares….they're not as bad as they used to be but…." he trailed off with a shrug
"Atlas?" Eagle asked gently
"Yeah"
"I get 'em too" she admitted softly "I think everyone who was at the Vytal Tournament does Felix, it's nothing to be ashamed of-"
"I just needed some air, I didn't wanna wake anyone up" Felix pointedly avoided making eye contact with his partner
"You could set a Dust charge off right next to Arctus's ears and he wouldn't wake up" Eagle giggled, Felix chuckling along with her; as the nights grew longer and the weather grew colder Arctus's nature as a Bear Faunus grew more pronounced and whilst he didn't truly hibernate he did find concentrating and staying awake far more difficult.
"Fair point" Felix beamed, a thought occurring to him a moment later "Wait….if it's three in the morning then it's technically tomorrow, so happy birthday"
"Thanks" Eagle smiled brightly, she and her friends had plans to celebrate that night; the fact that her twentieth birthday had fallen on a Saturday seemingly too fortuitous to allow things such as assignments to interfere, her expression quickly reverted back to her previous concerned stare "But you're trying to change the subject….Are you okay? You're my best friend Fluffy, tell me if there's something wrong"
"I'm fine" Felix assured her, his tone sullen "Just nightmares about Atlas….nothing's been the same since we came home, it's never really gonna be the same again is it?"
"I don't think so" Eagle admitted in a tense whisper, Felix seemed not to hear her
"Fuck it's stupid anyway; so I don't sleep some nights and I keep coughing and dry heaving every time I go Balrog….it'll be fine, even this fucking stump it'll all be fine" he gestured angrily at the remains of his severed tail, accidentally pulling the blanket off of them both as he did so
"It hurts?" Eagle enquired
"The cap gets cold, it just aches all the time" Felix admitted finally, after remaining silent for several moments "It's nothing, honestly"
"Why did you never get a prosthetic tail?" Eagle asked, needing to take a deep breath to steady herself before the question in anticipation of a furious reaction that never came, she added "You know it can actually help with the-"
"I know Eagle" Felix growled "I just….it didn't feel right, Celeste had cybernetics-"
"Your Mum has a cybernetic arm" Eagle countered "So does Arctus's Dad, and Iris, Diamond's dad has cybernetic legs-"
"Alright I get it Eagle" Felix huffed "Why are you so bothered by this though?"
"Because you're my best friend and you're clearly not okay you idiot!" Eagle shot back, voice rising with her temper; Felix looked at her in stunned confusion for a brief seconds before chuckling softly and wrapping an arm around her shoulders
"Thanks Eagle, no really thanks"
"I don't want to force you into anything" she quickly clarified "But it's an option that's there and not looking at it because of Celeste is dumb, she took something away from you but why should she get to stop you from healing?...She can't hurt anyone else Felix, you stopped her"
"We stopped her...But yeah when you say it like that it makes sense" Felix admitted
"And besides" Eagle's crimson eyes became mischievous "If you get a cybernetic tail from Poly-Tech I can get the designs and work some new features into it" her obvious enthusiasm and almost singsong tone was enough to make Felix laugh out loud
"Okay, okay I'll think about it" he promised "Now come on, let's get out of this rain….I'm done moping for tonight" Eagle stood up, collecting the blanket she'd brought with her with one hand whilst fishing a key out of her pocket with the other
"Cool….Aunt Nora gave me her key to the kitchens, wanna go raid the pancakes and hot chocolate" Felix took a long look at his partner and simply sighed
"Eagle….never change"
It was still early in the morning and the first workers were starting to leave their homes to start their shifts in nearby factories and warehouses, a fact that caused Rhodium to keep his face covered by a baseball cap pulled low and a hood obscuring his vibrant hair; the sweatsuits he had been wearing lately a far cry from the luxury he had allowed himself to grow accustomed to. It was still dark outside of the interconnected monoliths that formed the Hive City of New Vale's capital and though the day and night cycle of the hive complexes was constant all year round, poor maintenance and vandalism in addition to the extensive damage done to the poorest and worst affected areas of the city during the breach had left several places without proper lighting or infrastructure that was damaged in other ways. The sickly and flickering lights above Rhodium threatened to give out at any moment as he made his way towards a destination that he was becoming a frequent visitor at, passing workers and homeless addicts until he finally found himself knocking on the door of the apartment he had found for Corona
"Seriously?" the Mantis Shrimp Faunus demanded, looking thoroughly unimpressed as she answered the door "Let's get this straight, if you start thinking I'm a booty call I'll break your teeth"
"It's been a long few days, I needed somewhere to crash" Rhodium groaned in utter exhaustion, though he made no effort to enter until he was offered; Corona stepped back from the doorway and quickly ushered him inside, seeing the bone deep weariness plainly written on his face
"What happened?"
"No one's dead" Rhodium answered quickly and robotically, quietly adding "At least I don't think so"
"What happened Rhodey?" Corona repeated, gently guiding him towards the sofa with her remaining hand on his upper arm
"We've been getting hit everywhere" the mobster finally lowered his hood and removed his cap as he sat down "I'm telling you it's those Hunters and cops that trashed the club….they just….fuck, I'll have to tell Silvertongue I'm gonna need more lawyers, shit that's gonna cost me"
"That many people got arrested?" Corona asked, eyebrows raising in surprise
"A bunch of our corners got hit, so did a few trap houses" Rhodium confirmed, leaning back and exhaling slowly "But it's not just that, one of my people parks up to go to the store and by the time they come back their car has a broken tail light and a ticket, my bookies just got closed until I can have builders and electricians in because of some regulations or whatever, the studio Vert records at has been hit with a few dozen noise complaints; health inspectors and shit are just showing up everywhere and I can't just have my guys shoot 'em in the head….someone is fucking with me Corona, I went back to my place tonight and my car had its' tires slashed; so they know where I live" Corona couldn't help a pang of amusement at just how irritable Rhodium looked at that last nugget of information.
"Think maybe it's time we got out of here?" Corona offered
"We?" Rhodium turned to her in surprise
"Well if you get caught I'm pretty much screwed anyway" she pointed out
"Relax I'm not gonna give you up for a shorter sentence" his tone was far softer than either of them had expected it be and the redhead quickly cleared his throat "Look a few of my people haven't turned up at any police stations yet, something is going on and I don't know enough to send Oz's heavy hitter after people yet but someone is obviously snitching and I need somewhere to stay" Corona looked at him, seeing that the confident and composed man who seemed to effortlessly control his surroundings that he had presented himself as when he had first hired her was all but gone, replaced by an exhausted husk who desperately clung to his freedom and position with all the tenacity and skill that they had, the fact that her own fate seemed to be tied to his for at least the immediate future was more than a little worrying and she quickly decided that she needed the redhead at his best
"Sure, I was gonna get up and make breakfast in an hour or so anyway….get some sleep if you want, make yourself at home"
"Thanks" Rhodium flashed her the ghost of his former confident smirk, taking the invitation to make himself at home as permission he rose to his feet and placed his hands on Corona's hips, pulling her into a slow kiss which she happily returned, taking his lower lip between her teeth and tangling her remaining hand in his hair
"I told you I'm not a booty call" she pointed out before breaking away from him and sauntering away, Rhodium stared after her for a moment in a contented daze before finally asking
"Want a hand with breakfast" the moment the words left his lips he regretted them, Corona merely turned and glowered
"I'm gonna forget you said that….idiot" Rhodium quickly decided to avoid putting his foot in his mouth again and returned to the sofa, sleep was undeniably appealing yet relaxing with the Huntress who obviously meant more to him than the hired gun he had initially been looking for was somehow more so. Before he could ponder his feelings in his beleaguered state for too long he was distracted by the sensation of his Scroll vibrating, he frantically dug the device out of his pocket and opened it whilst mentally bracing himself for another deluge of bad news; instead his deep blue eyes widened as he read Vert's text message, the delinquent finally seeming to have done something of enough use to justify the position that Rhodium had placed him in
'We've got a few names of people that snitched; one of them works at a club up town. I can round up some of the crew after a few other jobs tonight….you want in?'
"Something important?" Corona asked as she returned to the main room of the admittedly tiny apartment and placing a steaming mug of coffee in front of him "I didn't think any of your crew would be awake so early"
"Probably hasn't slept yet" Rhodium noted casually "Looks like Vert might know who's been talking to the cops"
"And now you're gonna go down there all guns blazing and taking fingers and toes off with bolt cutters?" Corona huffed, hand on her hip. Rhodium thought for a moment and decided that his own undeniable urge for some form revenge could wait, at least until he was sure that this wasn't some kind of set up. He quickly typed a reply whilst answering Corona
"Nah I'm gonna let Vert handle it, he's a big boy….the bolt-cutters are a nice idea though I'll pass that on"
"You're a scumbag" Corona laughed softly
"And you love it" she rolled her eyes at the response
"Yeah I'm here because I've got a thing bad boys and you're just here for my looks" the brutally self deprecating joke made Rhodium wince
"You're beautiful" the murmured compliment made Corona pause; the two of them had had sex a number of times but it had always been a simple need to find release, the sudden tenderness from the redhead was inexplicable if not unwelcome
"I'm missing an arm and I'm covered in plasma burns" she pointed out, slipping out of her dressing gown and gesturing at her scarred form; Rhodium leaned over a gently kissed the scarred and reddened skin of her right cheek
"You're beautiful" he repeated, giving her another of his smirks before adding "You're a bad-ass and it's sexy as hell" Corona merely purred in pleasure as he kissed her, before moaning softly as his lips trailed down the scarred and burned areas of neck neck and shoulder, kissing each of them in turn until she found herself pushed backwards; Rhodium's body positioned between her thighs whilst his hands roughly tugged the t-shirt that she slept in over her head, allowing him to turn his attention to breasts; tongue ghosting over a sensitive nipple despite the scar tissue around it and drawing a breathy gasp from the Faunus who writhed beneath him and locked her legs around his waist; deciding that she wanted to control the pace Corona used her left had to push them both off of the sofa and rotated so that she was straddling Rhodium's hips as they landed on the floor, she debated taking his hoodie and shirt off but decided that she simply wanted to be satisfied and instead fumbled with his pants, pushing her own underwear to the side the moment Rhodium decided to assist her; she used her hand for balance and Rhodium held her upper thighs firmly as he lowered her down onto him, groans of pleasure escaping them both as Corona gave a few tentative rolls of her hips only for the redhead to surprise her by taking back control, holding her in place he braced himself and thrust up into her whilst leaning up to kiss every available inch of her skin until her back arched and her thighs trembled as he sent her over the edge.
It was a satisfied if dishevelled and slightly sore Corona who took one look at her burnt and forgotten breakfast some time later and decided that perhaps returning to bed would be a good idea.
It was mid afternoon Felix made his way down to the workshop and forge that was located a little below Halo Academy's main campus, yet was still situated above its' parking lot and the gargantuan and maze like workings of its' Dust powered anti-gravity systems. The workshop was filled with roughly a dozen students, each minding their own business as they attended to their own tasks; whilst workshop classes were part of the curriculum the opportunity to work on ones' own weapon without time constraints or the need to stop and take notes, photographs and diagrams for the sake of a professors' records was something that was incalculably valuable to the students and as such even on a weekend there was almost always a steady influx of teens and young adults seeking to use the tools and raw materials that were freely provided; though amassing ones' own toolkit was something that every student was unofficially expected to do before their graduation.
It took Felix only a few moments to find who he was looking for, Corvid Xiao Long was uniquely among the students in the workshop not making any modifications to or performing maintenance on her weapon; in fact the Omega Wing was nowhere in sight and she was simply sat at a workbench whilst poring over a stack of monumentally dense books whilst occasionally making notes to the latest page of what appeared to be a rough draft of the largest assignment that Felix had ever seen.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Felix asked as he sat beside her, genuinely curious
"Thesis on Grimm mass migration patterns" she answered distractedly, steely eyes never leaving her work, though a hint of pride filled her voice "This is gonna be something that gets quoted by other students in ten years"
"Y'know the library's upstairs right?"
"No I found these in the street and adopted them" she gestured at the stack of books "I just concentrate better down here….so what's up?" Felix looked again at how hard Corvid was applying herself to her studies and knew what the answer would be to his question before he had asked it
"It's Eagle's birthday tonight, a few of us are going to a club….you wanna come?"
"Sorry I'm….booked" Corvid lazily finger gunned with one hand whilst hastily scribbling some notes in the margin of her rough draft with the other "But tell her I said happy birthday though"
"Yeah will do" Felix shuffled nervously on the spot, unsure if he wanted to push the issue before finally speaking up "You sure….I mean, you graduate in a few months Corey we might not get to hang out again for a long time; I know something happened with you and Onyx so-"
"Okay, Onyx-ly that's none of your business" Corvid snarled, firmly setting down her pencil as she finally turned to face Felix; giving him her full attention "We were never dating it….things just got out of hand"
"Wanna talk about it?" Corvid visibly sagged under the questioning
"There's nothing to say really" she sighed "The moron told me he loved me and I think I might love him too; but I can't give him what he wants so I ended it before we both get hurt"
"And it hurts anyway" Felix surmised
"Oh yeah" Corvid admitted, eyes watery "So nah bro, I'm not coming out tonight….I'm gonna stay here and focus on making this the best damn paper I've ever written, something so brilliant that Blake frames a copy; because if I don't then I'm gonna end up in his bed again and I'm gonna hate myself in the morning for letting him hope"
"Corey-"
"But I promise when Team CLIR graduate I'm gonna take you out clubbing with us to celebrate in style"
"You know I'm proud of you right?" Felix murmured "I mean Blake and Yang are too but I want you to know that I've always looked up to you and I'm proud of you Corey, you're gonna be an amazing Huntress"
"What's brought this on?" Corvid asked, surprised yet unspeakably grateful for the support of her brother
"It's just…." Felix trailed off as he struggled to find the words "We've been through a lot lately y'know, Atlas and me finding out about Myrtle and Astra and we've said some things-"
"I didn't mean-" Corvid's hasty explanations were waved off before they could begin
"I know, I know" Felix assured her, wiping his own eyes which were suspiciously beginning to sting "It's just….I don't wanna have to say it but you getting ready to leave feels like goodbye and I don't want it to be, but if it is then I need to know that we're okay and it's not anything I said" Felix gave out a strangled sob as Corvid all but tackled him out his chair with the force of the hug she wrapped him up in
"Bro I love you but you're an idiot sometimes" she gave a watery chuckle "I'm twenty one and I'm graduating….yeah I'm moving out and I won't be around as much but Patch will always be home and wherever I am, anywhere on Remnant I will find a way to help you if you need me….I promise this isn't a goodbye"
"Promise?" Felix wiped his eyes his eyes again, Corvid silently and solemnly held out her pinkie finger; the Faunus took it and smiled, deciding that the atmosphere had gotten far too heavy for a semi-public place and with his worries abated he winked and broke the tension with a joke
"Well damn….I've already got buyers for half of your stuff" Corvid doubled over laughing as she gently shoved him away
"Ah the terrible jokes" Corvid snorted before returning to her work "Comedy puns in the family"
Vert and his crew of fellow gang members were dressed for the cold, the fur lines hoods of parkas pulled low over faces that were hidden behind balaclavas, masks and scarves whilst their hands were covered with leather gloves to lessen the risk of leaving fingerprints; a little over a dozen angry young men clad in tracksuits worn just loose enough to discreetly hide several weapons apiece stalking through the streets of the sprawling city that they called home.
"This the last one for tonight?" one of the criminals following Vert demanded "I'm trying to get to my girls' place at some point tonight" the reason for his eagerness to leave made him the subject of several taunts and jeers from his fellow gang members until another of their number spoke up
"Yo fam let's hurry this up, I've got fiends to serve and I need to grab a fresh pack from Oz"
"This is the last job" Vert growled, hands in his pockets and tightly clutching his weapons "Rhodey wants this handled. One of the bartenders at this place lives across the road from one of our trap houses that got raided….we're making an example"
"We're killing someone in a club?" another thug demanded, suddenly openly concerned by the escalation in the violent tactics that they were employing
"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it" Vert spat coldly "Quit bitching" eager to re-assert his position as one of Rhodium Torchwick's most trusted and reliable lieutenants, a position that he felt had been waning ever since the arrival of the Atlesian scientist whom Vert was sure was holding back some important information, he had been leading his close knit crew of miscreants around the city all day, causing a crime wave and wreaking havoc in every district they visited. Businesses who owed protection money had been visited and compelled to pay their dues, any vandals or rowdy and threatening customers would soon find themselves visited; drugs had been supplied to every corner of the city and smaller crews whose operations were so unimportant that Rhodium had never bothered to bring them into the fold of his ever expanding empire were moved from any street corner that they dared occupy, there had been more than one stabbing already today in addition to several beatings.
Now Vert was preparing to deliver the final stroke and execute the individual who had dared call the police and cost Torchwick's crime family Lien, real estate and several valuable people; as he neared the location one of his crew scoffed behind him
"This is the place? Figures"
"What's that supposed to mean" another snarled venomously, the club the suspected informant worked at was named 'Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club' and was known as the premier gay club in all of New Vale; Vert looked over his shoulder and saw that the second of the two men that had spoken was one who had been raised by two mothers
"Hey, none of that bullshit here man" he snapped at the first, and obviously less accepting of the two before parroting something that Rhodium had often said "Yeah we're gangsters….but we've got standards man"
"Right, now let's go kill a mother fucker" another thug cackled, the absurdity of the situation clearly unmissable. Vert merely muttered several choice insults under his breath before leading the gang along the street and directly to the door of the nightclub, ignoring the line of people waiting to get in entirely and focusing their attention on a pair of bouncers who immediately barred their way despite being vastly outnumbered
"Not a chance" one of them stated flatly "You have somehow managed to break every single rule of our dress code in one night, no way are you coming in"
"Relax I'm not looking to party, just need to talk to one of your bar staff; I'll be in and out in five minutes" Vert assured the bouncer, attempting to be diplomatic whilst at the same time angling his head so that his face would be almost entirely hidden from view
"Uh huh, sure you do honey" the other bouncer snorted "You must think we were born yesterday"
"Fuck it" Vert sighed "I tried being nice" faster than either employee could halt him he withdrew an oversized handgun and instead of firing swung the grip of the weapon into the first bouncers' nose and then their temple, leaving them crumpled on the ground unconscious and bleeding freely; the second frantically attempted to radio for backup only to find themselves staring down the barrel of a pistol
"Don't shoot!" they pleaded, voice rising over the sound of screaming and panicked crowds as they fled the scene. Vert merely nodded before silently gesturing to his gang who promptly dragged the bouncer to the ground and unleashed a deluge of kicks, punches and stamps to their face and chest until it was clear that they would offer no more resistance.
"Police are gonna be here any minute now" one of the thugs pointed out urgently; Vert instinctively tucked his pistol in the waistband of his sweatpants and drew his distinctive spiral-bladed knife, deciding that a snitch needed to be dealt with in a way that dissuaded others.
"Then let's make this quick" with nothing more to be said the gang entered the nightclub, prepared to cause as much carnage as they needed to.
Lights shifted through every colour of the rainbow, pulsing in time with the deep thumping bass of the music, whose hum could be felt in the diaphragms of all present; the various sensations combined with a press of countless bodies and far more alcohol than was wise had conspired to create a psychedelic and almost surreal atmosphere that threatened to overwhelm the senses.
Frankly Eagle Arc needed to sit down and drink water before she collapsed, which is exactly what Felix and Hellion were attempting to convince her to do as they gently but insistently ushered her away from the overcrowded dance floor
"I'm fine, guys really I'm fine….Come Hellion dance with me some more"
"Little Canary I would love to, but I fear for the bones in your ankles if you try" the Dragonfly Faunus replied; Felix merely laughed at his partners' antics, having drunk a little too much already himself
"How….how much have you had to drink?" he enquired
"I don't know, I wasn't counting" Eagle replied in an uncharacteristic whine, her voice sounding as though her usual rapid chattering had been slowed "So many people gave me drinks….I didn't realise I had so many friends"
"Well you've got plenty, you're cool" Felix assured her, unable to shake a sudden pang of sadness as he remembered just how isolated and friendless his partner had been before enrolling at Halo Academy. As it was Team FADE had been joined in their celebrations of the ever-enthusiastic blondes' birthday by the entirety of Team NEON; Felix having watched in faint horror as Helios offered Eagle a sample of Nikosi brew and half of Team GORE, Onyx was somewhere in the club whilst Carcharodon had declined the invitation and Raffia had simply not been offered the chance to join them; on top of this it so happened that several other students of Halo Academy were present and several drinks from classmates she Eagle was barely on first name terms with had been thrust into her hands, along with those from fans of Team FADE's performance in the Vytal Tournament.
"Yeah….I just never thought I would have" Eagle admitted, words slurring slightly as she pulled Felix into a bone crushing hug "I just….I love you guys so much"
"Come on, we love you too" Felix soothed her whilst silently communicating with Hellion through a series of glances and gestures and conveying that they desperately needed to get Eagle somewhere quiet; eventually they succeeded in finding mercifully empty seats in a back corner of the nightclub, Felix surreptitiously looking around before casually standing on his tiptoes to unscrew several of the flashing lights in their immediate vicinity, their heat of no consequence to him. By the time he had sat down again Hellion had managed to convince Eagle to sit, though the blonde was all but draped over her girlfriend; seemingly on the verge of passing out
"Sleep" Hellion instructed, fingers running through Eagle's spiky and undercut hair "I'll see that nobody empties your pockets whilst you rest"
"But I wanna spend tonight with you" Eagle answered drunkenly, kissing Hellion's cheek before her voice dropped to a whisper and her tone became serious in the way that someone who had drunk far too much could manage "I wanna spend the rest of my life with you" at this point what ever control or inhibitions Hellion had faltered, her gossamer wings fluttering as she cupped Eagle's cheeks and kissed her slowly. Felix rose to his feet, legs a little less steady than he would like and said his goodbyes despite the fact that it was an obviously wasted effort
"Okay, you two stay here have fun, whatever….I'm gonna go get a glass of water, maybe get some air and then find everyone else; no point trying to call 'em in here they won't hear it" he had already started walking before he finished speaking and at least half of his explanation had been offered to nobody in particular. He slipped through the crowds, being subjected to the same seemingly endless amount of strangers trying to give him drinks or dance with him as Eagle had been; he refused the drinks and removed peoples' hands from his body as politely as he could manage whilst stating that he was looking for his boyfriend until he felt a grip that was far stronger than the others on his shoulder
"Who the f-Hey man" the last words were bellowed loud enough for Arctus to hear him, his cousin and Diamond had stopped him and Diamond broke away from dancing with Arctus so that she could speak directly into Felix's ear, allowing her to be heard
"I think Heely went to the bar if you're looking for him"
"Thanks!" Felix called back before turning back towards the bar that he had already been making his way to, peering through the sea of dancing bodies as best as possible and bemoaning his lack of height as he did so; eventually however he caught glimpse of a flash of gold as the flashing lights struck it. Assuming that the golden surface was one of Helios's bracers the Lion Faunus made a beeline towards it, finally escaping the dance floor only to come to a halt and stare in confusion as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing in his inebriated state
The flash of gold had been a chunky and heavy ring, worn by one of a group of several hooded and masked individuals that had clustered around a single point of the nightclubs' bar; it took Felix a second to realise that a young woman was in the process of being dragged over the bar by the group, whilst one of their number stood back brandishing a knife.
A knife with a spiralling blade that Felix immediately recognised
"HEY!" Felix's furious bark drowned out even the pounding music for a moment, causing Vert and his gang of thugs to turn and face the Faunus that was marching towards them with clenched fists; Vert himself lowering his hood and removing his balaclava as if that would somehow change what he was seeing, a dejected sigh finally escaping him
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me….You again?" Felix gave no reply, simply stalking ever closer until Vert decided that executing an informant would pale in comparison to presenting Felix Xiao Long as a prisoner to Rhodium; with a nod and a few hand gestures the bartender was released and the gang of thugs rushed towards the Faunus.
The first one to reach Felix hit the ground suffering from a crushed larynx, the Faunus's vicious right hook being fuelled by the heat which he had absorbed from the lightbulbs he had unscrewed and hitting the young man square in the throat.
From there pure pandemonium ensued; gang members were laid low with unspeakable ferocity before many of them could reach Felix, his friends and fellow students bursting from the now fleeing crowd.
A chair collided with a head with such pinpoint accuracy that it could only have been thrown by Nyanza; Helios waded into the fray and caught the fist of a thug wearing brass knuckles, breaking their wrist with casual ease whilst Arctus and Diamond made their presence known as they appeared from behind Felix, a man drawing a sawn off shotgun from his coat found the barrel of the weapon blocked by a Glyph and as it exploded Diamond ran along the ceiling of the club before dropping down to deliver a brutal kick to the gangsters' face. Out of the corner of his eye Felix saw a thug that had broken away from the main group attempt to threaten Eagle with a knife only for Hellion to break a glass bottle over his head, following up by using the jagged remains of the glass to inflict a horrific wound on the mans' face before Eagle could drag her away; Ether and Olivine escorted party-goes to safety out of a fire exit whilst Onyx could be seen in a dimly lit corner inflicting unspeakable damage on the skull of a young man whom he'd singled out and was currently beating to near death with a chair leg; streaks of crimson blood that had flown from their shattered jaw spattered several feet across the wall.
A bullet whizzing past his ear was enough to force Felix to focus on the task at hand and simply charge through the battlefield that the nightclub had become and tackle Vert, who had drawn his handgun, to the ground before delivering a bone cracking headbutt and several wild and uncoordinated but immensely powerful punches to the gangsters' face, quickly prising the knife from his grip and returning to his feet to deliver a flurry of kicks to his opponents' chest; honourable or fair combat forgotten in the heat of the moment.
"FELIX BEHIND YOU!" Eagle's warning would have come a second too late and Felix would have turned just in time for the knife his latest attacker carried to slip between his ribs and puncture his right lung; were it not for the blade suddenly falling from the hooded mans' grasp as their body violently convulsed and thrashed as they collapsed, the spines of a high powered taser embedded in his side and connected to a pair of thick cables.
The police had arrived, in full riot gear no less
"EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND!"
"We're Hunters!" Arctus countered, stepping in front of Felix and preparing to shield his cousin with his own body if needs be; Helios discarded his beaten opponent to follow suit
"Oh shit they are, I saw these guys on TV" an officer interjected from somewhere behind the wall of riot shields
"We're just here for the gang bangers" the officer in charge grunted
"You got here fast" Arctus noted, suddenly suspicious; though he still stood aside and allowed the police to begin handcuffing and placing Aura Dampening collars on the criminals
"They're wanted in connection with a stabbing down town" one of the officers answered, seemingly happy to share information with even a student Hunter "We got a tip off that they were coming this way….sorry you had to hold the line for us but we wanted to come prepared, these guys are dangerous"
"Well take this as evidence" Felix offered, casually throwing Vert's knife to an officer who caught before adding
"I'd tell you to enjoy the rest of your night but….damn this looks like it was a real mood killer" they caught sight of the bloodied and clearly critically injured gang member that Onyx had been bludgeoning and then the one whose face Hellion had slashed "Fucking Oum, get an ambulance for these bastards….Okay kids, in case these guys try and say excessive force was used; I'm not gonna ask for any of your names. They were like that when we got here, we weren't complaining" Diamond made a sound of utter disgust and the casual dismissal of the law, however convenient it may have been for them. The police began to march, drag and carry the beaten forms of Vert and his crew out of the club and Arctus turned to Diamond; the two of them locking eyes and the suspicions they shared being suddenly magnified.
"Wait here" the Bear Faunus silently mouthed as he followed the last of the officers to the main entrance of the now emptied nightclub, where a pair of bouncers were receiving medical attention for minor injuries. Several riot vans were already present to take the gang to the nearest police station for processing, yet Arctus was immediately aware that not all of them would find their way there as sat in the driving seat of the van which Vert himself was being loaded into, clad in a police officers' uniform was the unmistakable scarlet haired and golden eyed, respirator clad form of Specialist Kafsi Asteri.
Junior had been waiting, a condition that the largely retired Mafioso had allowed himself to grow unaccustomed to over the years; his transition into the realm of politics having afforded him a wealth and comfort that had been forever out of reach for even the most capable of organised criminals, though in his mind 'The most organised criminals' was all politicians had ever been. The reason for his current predicament however was more than enough justification for him; it had been the point where late night began to fade into early morning when he had received word from the Atlesian Specialist that his old enemy turned grudging ally during the Fall of Vale Gangrel Slate had sent to the Kingdom. Kafsi Asteri had an air of calculating ruthlessness about her that Junior would freely admit frightened him, she seemed to be focused on her goals to the exclusion or detriment of all else to an extent that he hadn't seen in even the most bloodthirsty bounty hunters and contract killers that he'd employed over the years and when she had told him that the criminal by the name of Vert had been apprehended the former Mob Boss had almost found him asking just how many people had died in his capture, soon deciding instead that it would be a matter to deal with in the morning.
When Kafsi and her entourage finally made an appearance Junior was waiting for them in one of the few rooms in his manor within the upper reaches of the Hive Tower it occupied that lacked any expensive furnishings, though he had still decided to cover the floor and walls with plastic sheets as he knew just how difficult to remove certain stains tended to be; he sat in a thin metal framed chain with shackles attached to its' arms and took slow drags on his cigar and when the door to the room finally opened a savage grin formed on his face
"Well damn, it's not my birthday for another two months but you all chipped in and got me a gift anyway" Vert was being held in place by Fawn Bordeaux and Kafsi, who threw him to the ground at Junior's feet with more force than was strictly needed whilst Artemis watched with open distaste
"No Rover tonight?" Junior enquired conversationally, Artemis remained silent though her eyes darted to Vert's prone but conscious form. The former gangster understanding her to mean that her husband was currently at home with their daughter and that she didn't want to discuss family in front of their prisoner; a decision that Junior understood and chose to respect
"So….to business then" Junior reached down and with a strength that belied his age and hefted Vert from the ground with a single hand then deposited him in the chair, shackling his wrists
"I don't like this" Artemis stated boldly "There's holding information here and then there's whatever this is….a makeshift black site? Straight up kidnapping? This is way dirtier than we signed up for"
"Thank you!" Vert exclaimed, the apparent support of the Huntress enough for him to at least momentarily overcome the terror that had paralysed him.
"And where do you think the information is gonna come from?" Junior chuckled darkly
"I aint snitching!" Vert all but screamed, his attempt at bravado only highlighting just how far out of his control the situation was
"Oh we'll see about that" Junior replied with disturbing calmness before taking his cigar and stubbing out on the younger mans' face, screams echoing in the small and empty room as the skin at the corner of his right eye was burned until the sound of several weapons being drawn and readied in rapid succession piqued Junior's curiosity enough for him to stop and turn around to see exactly what was going on.
"Got a little Vaccuan stand off here have we?" he noted with faint amusement at the sight that greeted him. Artemis had deployed Hakai Suru at the back in its' sniper rifle form and the barrel had been aimed squarely at the back of his head; in turn Kafsi had drawn Aegis Thunder, oversized handgun whose shells deployed a forcefield with each discharge and levelled the gun at Artemis's temple only for Fawn Bordeaux to aim her shotgun at the workings of the respirator that the Specialist wore
"Sorry Ma'am, can't let you fire on a Huntress" the Mastiff Faunus explained, Kafsi remained silent though Artemis spoke with a voice that trembled with fury
"We are not torturing him!"
"We're extracting information" Kafsi replied coldly whilst Junior merely shrugged, adding
"It's the mob way, a few pulled teeth usually-"
"I'm not the mob!" Artemis spat before rounding of Kafsi "And you! You are an Oum damned Huntress! You tell me Gang okayed this, go on tell me that my old team leader sent you here and gave you the go ahead for this kind of shit; do it with a straight face!" Kafsi stiffened and eventually lowered her weapon
"Specialist Commander Slate's refusal to consider every option when dealing with high priority matters is one of his many shortcomings" Artemis visibly twitched, clearly fighting the urge to strike the heartless monster before her who stood as a cruel parody of everything a Hunter was supposed to be
"He's a scumbag and I want him off the street….and I want Torchwick dead" Fawn growled "But we're not gonna stoop to certain things. No torture, or I spread the word around the cops that the deal's off"
"Fine, your way it is" Junior lamented "Kafsi come back and interrogate him tomorrow….in fact, so Artemis doesn't get suspicious how about you contact Gang and the two of you can do a good cop bad cop routine"
"I'll contact Commander Slate as soon as possible" Kafsi nodded "I have reports to write" with that she turned and stalked out of the room, which had thus far remained without bloodstains, glowering at Artemis as she left. A moment later Artemis and Fawn made to follow suit; Junior cleared his throat
"Fawn, something I wanna discuss" the Mastiff Faunus nodded and raised a finger to her lips, silently bidding that Junior stay silent until she could be sure that Artemis was out of earshot
"What is it?" she asked simply
"You know they're not in it for Torchwick" Junior stated "They want the Atlesian and they'll do anything to get him….even cut deals with your brothers' killer"
"If you've got a point then make it" Fawn ground out, trying to deny just how disgustingly plausible the notion sounded to her
"I don't care about Atlas or their little mad scientist" Junior laughed "All I want is the son of a bitch who killed my niece, face down in a ditch with his throat cut….I've got a lot of contacts in the police; just 'cos I'm not having evidence go missing any more doesn't mean I can't still pick up the Scroll and tell 'em I want an up and coming officer promoted, especially not when she takes down a wanted criminal who already broke out of prison once"
"You're asking me to-"
"I'm asking you to think about it" he interrupted "About what's best for your career, your family and your own peace of mind….are you really gonna sleep at night if Torchwick gets taken to Atlas, serves five years and then gets a new identity?" Fawn merely scowled, fingers massaging the trigger of her shotgun before she turned on her heel, the idea of Torchwick escaping justice enough to make her blood boil
"I'll think about it" Junior waited for her to leave, measuring out each second until he was sure that even Faunus hearing wouldn't pick up what happened next; then he reached behind the door for his signature baseball bat and loomed ominously over a trembling and whimpering Vert
"Come on man you don't have to do this" the thug begged
"No, but I want to" he laughed "Normally with something like this I'd start with the knees….all things considered I'm gonna take my time with you though; now where to start, where to start"
Junior trailed off and a few moments later the first sickening crack of breaking bones punctuated with agonised screaming made it clear that Junior had made a decision.
Author's Notes:
So, got another chapter done and I've got solid plans for the next few; all I'll say is we've got at least one more 'Boss battle' Grimm (Plus others being mentioned in passing) as well as Pantheon….and someone is gonna have to fight Nickel and live.
Also I've been reading the Boom Comics Power Rangers series, their original ranger team 'The Solar Rangers' are great; a rag-tag bunch of underrated characters, newbies and alternate versions of major characters that survived a multiverse wide battle. It made think about doing something with my RWBY: Power Rangers AU again….Probably won't though.
Anyway let's summarise:
God I wish I had rain while I was sleeping….I just have humidity.
The Vol.2 food fight passed into legend.
So, Oz can detonate Nickel (Provided he wasn't lying about having a remote control to it) but Antonia can't, because Oz knew where to look for it and any trackers after helping Antonia perform check ups on Penny.
Ah the family secrets….this couldn't possibly go wrong.
Also, Winter's little temper flare-up was a fun touch to add.
So Qrow knows that Dove and some of the other Hunters have 'Vanished' or died in 'Car crashes' but doesn't suspect anything….that'll change.
Keeping tabs on Team FADE is basically a case of sit back and wait for the fireworks to start.
So, not only was Corey offered a chance to join the Atlesian Freelancers, Qrow wants to bring in the whole of Team CLIR.
Eagle is the Mum friend.
So, Felix will most likely have a robot tail at some point.
And Eagle has a key to the campus kitchens….if Raffia ever finds out he will definitely try and steal it.
"No one's dead" yeah when you have to preface explanations with that, things have gone wrong.
Rover and Artemis are responsible adults, upstanding members of society and role models for their daughter….so naturally they slashed Rhodium's tires.
Rhodey has the sense to wait and see if it's a set up….Vert, not so much.
So yeah….that happened.
Seriously, if you work with tools then buy your own kit and never let your work-mates borrow your shit. The company will always be cheap.
So Corey studies in the workshop 'cos she can get comfy there….also, Grimm mass migration definitely not foreshadowing anything there.
The Corvid and Felix scene was honestly catharsis for me; goodbyes suck.
I remember being one of those angry young men with clothes just baggy enough to hide the weapons….I don't miss it; it doesn't end well.
Tricky dying should have meant that Vert became Rhodium's right hand….but Oz has kinda ruined things for him; and now he's pissed off and doing dumb shit.
The nightclub is both a reference and a call back to Vol.2; it's the same club Eagle went to on her eighteenth birthday.
Even thieves, drug dealers and gangsters don't time for that homophobic bullshit; but the juxtaposition of "We've got standards" and "Let's go stab someone in public" was too funny to pass up.
Pistol whipping, ouch.
"I didn't realise I had so many friends" is kinda sad when I think about it, but it's also great because Eagle's gone from being lonely to being one of the most well liked people at Halo.
Headcanon that Felix can dance, but he only really dances with Heely.
"You again" yeah, pretty much sums it up.
Vert's crew got fucked up….Onyx just smashing that guy's head open with a chair leg felt like it might have been a little too far; but then again Onyx has literally cut people in half at the waist with his axe.
Fuck honourable combat, win.
In case it hasn't shown plainly enough in my writing, I don't like the police.
I'll go one step further here and say that the informants were paid to inform by Kafsi, so that when Vert and his people came looking for her Kafsi could use that as a pretext to have him and his crew arrested.
Also in case there was any doubt, I don't like politicians much either.
Seriously Rover and Artemis will not be party to torture; it's personal for Junior and Fawn and Kafsi is just the worst parts of Atlas.
Kafsi also knows damn well that if Gangrel got wind of her using torture he would have her executed.
Junior and Fawn making a little side deal, let's see how that plays out.
You didn't really think Junior was gonna play nice did you?
Thank you to SumoSnipe, DizzyDwarf and Ferrous for their reviews on the last chapter.
Well, we'll get into more of what Redwood's problem is next chapter.
Seeing Syneffo try and interact with the average Signal student is a hilarious idea.
As you can see, I took your idea about Junior using the law as a blunt tool with which to beat Rhodium.
Oh Nickel will be around for a while, she hasn't reached peak fucked up yet.
Okay the idea of Pantheon jacking a mech is great….but not the direction I'm going in.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.