Howdy folks, how's it going?
So, real talk here, guys. I'd been working hard at finishing this chapter, and am feeling really tired, so, shout out to Chaos, and let's get this going.
/
It was the middle of the night in the ravaged Ashenwood, and the pale light of the fragmented moon found the trapped huntsmen taking turns in holding watch as the others tried to get what little rest they could. It was high in the sky when Tristard had come to replace Blake, but the girl found herself too high strung for sleep, and thus stood by his side for a while longer, her night vision and his magical abilities proving to be the best combination to ensure the bandits wouldn't try anything during the night. So far, they didn't seem inclined to do so, but that was far from a comforting thought for the black-haired girl, when she could easily see the movement in distance, of forms shuffling in between the ruins, indicating they were being watched in return.
"You think they'll try anything?" She voiced these concerns to her companion, not really looking forward to an early start of the hostilities that loomed over them.
"Nay, it's unlikely." The archmage grunted. "Kron is so sure of our helplessness that he'll see no need to break his word. And his goons fear him too much to go against his orders. We were given 'till tomorrow, and we'll have that time."
"How do you figure that?" Blake inquired, curious of how he'd be so sure.
"The battle earlier today. The men we faced all seemed… frenzied in their actions, desperate even. It seemed to me then that they feared whatever was at their backs more than they feared us or the consequences of the struggle. After seeing that man, it became clear why… I've seen that look before. Never on good people."
Tristard did not elaborate, and silence fell between them once again for a good while. Eventually, Blake took a glance at her teammate and friend. The mage stood straight, shoulders squared, and hands resting on the pummel of his weapon, blade-end to the ground, his golden mask giving away little more than faint tilts one way or another as he quietly surveyed their surroundings. He cut quite an imposing figure like this, the girl found, looking almost akin to some stalwart guardian of those old fantasy books she used to read in her younger years, before her tastes moved to more… exotic subjects.
Still, there was a certain tension to him, and Blake did not miss it.
"A lien for your thoughts?" She offered, making the dragonborn turn to look at her, to which she tried to give her best encouraging smile. Silence ensued for a little bit longer before Tristard gave a soft sigh and removed the mask, revealing the pensive look on his face underneath.
"I am… disappointed, I suppose." He ultimately replied. Blake couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the admission, silently urging him to elaborate. "At this whole situation, and my own part in it."
"What do you mean? You couldn't have known what happened here."
"Nay." The archmage concurred gravely. "Saving this place was beyond me, but the aftermath… I have dealt with this kind of people before. Repeatedly. I should have seen the signs. I should've listened to the feeling something was amiss. It rankles that I've grown complacent, and that my complacency has put us all in a difficult position."
Blake didn't know what she had been expecting, but this had certainly not been it. For as long as she had known him, the man from another world had always been a pillar of jovial confidence, calm, collected, friendly, and always with a trick up his sleeve for the situation at hand. Was he honestly blaming himself for the whole mess that they had found themselves in?
A small part of the Faunus' mind also noted, as she saw shame flit through her companion's features, that this did not suit him at all…
"What are you talking about?" The girl said. "Complacent? You were the reason we even got out of that ambush in the first place. If you hadn't realized what was about to happen, I don't even want to think about how things would've turned out. You saved us, and if not that, at the very worst you gave us a fighting chance. Maybe you should be less hung up on what you could've done, and more on what you did accomplish."
As she voiced her thoughts, Blake realized there was a rising level of heat in her words, that seemed to draw the Dragonborn's surprise. Her own as well, if the girl was being honest, suddenly very aware of how he was staring at her and unable to stop herself from fidgeting nervously.
"You know." Tristard eventually said, a bemused smile on his face. "You can show remarkable wisdom when you're not trying to hold the weight of the world on your shoulders."
The girl blanched at the words, once again having not expected such a reaction.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" She asked defensively.
"Why, Milady," The Dragonborn replied, his voice one of mock politeness. "It was merely an observation, that maybe I would be remiss to not heed the advice of someone who so clearly understands what they're talking about from personal experience."
"… That's a lot of words for saying "Pot, meet Kettle."" Blake deadpanned, not overly pleased with the teasing, made all the worse by knowing she couldn't really deny it.
"Your words, not mine." Was the reply, a downright cheeky grin on his face.
"Jerk." She grumbled, with no real bite. "See if I ever try to be a supportive teammate again."
"For what is worth." Tristard chuckled. "I do appreciate the sentiment."
The dark-haired girl turned her face, both to keep her watch, and to try to mask her own pleased smile from him, letting another bout of silence fall between them, this time a companionable one.
And this time, it was Tristard who broke it.
"Come to take the watch, Ruby?" He asked, not turning.
Surprised, Blake looked back, and sure enough, there stood her team leader, Crescent Rose in hand. The Faunus had ended up pulling a double shift, it would seem.
"Yeah." The younger girl answered, her tone quiet.
"Very well, we will leave you to it. There's been no activity from them, and I have no reason to think-"
"Before you go." Ruby interrupted. "…Can we talk? In private."
The odd request had the faunus and the archmage briefly glancing at each other in surprise, the former seeing the seriousness returning to the latter's features.
"Aye." He replied simply. "You go get some rest, Blake, you need it more than I."
The dark-haired girl did not do so immediately, concern for how subdued the younger girl sounded making her hesitate, but ultimately, seeing the looks on both their faces, she decided it was probably best to trust Tristard with this, and left to let them have their privacy.
"So," The Dragonborn began once he and the red-cloaked girl were alone, still not turning from his vigil. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Was it that obvious?" Ruby asked sheepishly.
"You are a great many things, Ruby. Subtle is not one of them." Was the amused reply.
"Fair enough…" The girl conceded, before falling silent. Even without a direct line of sight to his team leader, Tristard could imagine the uncertainty that the girl was exuding, as she slowly walked into the ruined division to stand by his side.
"So, what's on your mind, Ruby?" The dragonborn asked, despite knowing full well what this was about, and again, the girl did not immediately answer, obviously hesitant and uncertain of how to go about voicing her concerns.
"You killed that guy…" She ultimately said, uncertainly.
"Aye, I did." The archmage replied honestly, if not a bit wearily, and his concern for the girl only increased when even the blunt admission did not seem to draw much of a reaction from her. "I apologize, Ruby, but in the heat of the moment, I saw you being threatened and I reacted accordingly-"
"I'm not mad about it." Came the young girl's interruption, and the soft words turning the Archmage's gaze upon her so far his neck almost suffered whiplash. For her part, Ruby went silent once again, looking upwards to contemplate the darkness of the night sky and the soft glow of the shattered moon.
"I have wanted to be a Huntress all my life." She eventually started, her expression on of fond, longing reminiscence. "Even before my mother died, I wanted to be like her. To fight the Grimm, stop criminals, to help people, keep them safe and happy… It has always just, seemed like the right thing to do for me, you know?"
Tristard said nothing, opting to let her speak at her own pace.
"A lot of people seem to think I'm trying to live a fairy tale because I want to achieve this, to always save the day." The girl's words turned rueful. "But regardless of what anyone may think, I am not that naïve. I know the world is not a fairy tale, that the good guys don't always win, that bad things can happen. I… wasn't blind to the fact that at some point, I'd have to confront death. I just… Didn't expect it to be so soon."
The girl sighed then, a sad, tired sound.
"I am not happy that you did it." She confessed. "But I can understand why you did it, just like that time at the docks. And like I was glad you saved Blake, I appreciate you saving my life."
Tristard, not for the first time, was left dumbstruck at the girl's words, and feeling his respect for her swell all the more. This kind, cheery, delicate girl… It was about time, the archmage found, that he'd learned that Ruby Rose was a lot stronger, a lot more mature, than most people seemed to realize…
"You're welcome, of course." The dragonborn replied, before giving her a long, searching look. "But that is not the full scope of the matter, is it?"
The girl seemed to briefly squirm under the attention, clearly not wanting to delve into this complicated topic much further, but then she steadied herself, and looked up to him with uncertain eyes.
"…I couldn't sleep." She said softly.
"Ah…" Was all he could really say, immediately realizing what the real problem was. Even if one of the consequences he'd feared seemed to have been avoided, the other had happened in full…
"Every time I close my eyes… I see him. I see him over me, about to swing down… And then I see him dead, impaled to the wall. I see the life leaving his eyes…" She shuddered, and her big, silver eyes fell once again on the archmage, all but begging for comfort or reassurance, tears beginning to gleam in the corners of her eyes. "This was a criminal that was trying to kill me… And it's haunting me. And I know, much as I don't want to, that it's not gonna be the last time. So, please, Tristard, tell me…" She lowered her head. "Does it get any easier…?"
Heavy silence followed the question, the red-cloaked girl not daring to look up and see what her teammate and friend could be thinking…
…Silence that was swiftly broken when Tristard moved, walking towards her, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Ruby looked up, to see him smiling ruefully at her.
"…It doesn't, Ruby." Was his answer. "And believe me, it shouldn't."
"U-uh?" Was the girl's eloquent, uncomprehending reply, as she witnessed her teammate adopt a distant, pondering expression of his own.
"I killed my first man before I was ten." He stated, in a tone that spoke of a weariness beyond his years. "And it didn't stop there. I killed a lot more since. I have a lot of blood on my hands, Ruby, and not all of it was shed for what could be considered a righteous cause… Back home, I may be respected and revered by many as a hero, but there are also those that fear me, with good reason. Entire armies have fallen to my sorcery and my blade."
Ruby took this in silently, and as she did she recalled what Tristard had told her once before on the nature of heroes. To be the hero in the hearts of some, and the monster in the nightmares of others… A lesson taught by experience, she realized.
"But in all that time." The archmage continued, in a tone that requested belief in one's sincerity. "All the lives I have claimed… Never once did I enjoy it. Never once did it grow less heavy on my conscience. Even when I stood face to face with monsters, people who deserved everything I did to them and so much more… That is a very slippery slope, one I nearly fell into once… And I refuse to let it happen again. Because the moment it starts getting easier… it's the moment you begin not caring for life, any life, and that, that makes you no better than the worst amongst those you face."
As she processed these words, Ruby lowered her head.
"Is it bad, that I'd like it to get easier-Ow!" Her question was interrupted by the Dragonborn bopping her lightly on the head, the girl shooting him a confused, betrayed glare as she rubbed the struck area.
"Of course not." He rebuked immediately, stern frown giving way to an apologetic smile. "It just means that you're human like everyone else. There's absolutely nothing wrong with what you're going through. I'd be more concerned if you weren't. But you know what? You are a strong girl, Ruby. I have seen it, time and again. You understand that you should never seek the loss of life, which in and of itself is admirable, but you have the strength to bear its burden when it becomes an inevitability. And that's not even counting the fact that there's not a snow flake's chance in Oblivion, that your sister, your teammates, your friends, would let you carry it alone."
"…You mean it?" She asked quietly.
"Every word."
"…Thank you, Tristard."
"Always a pleasure to help a friend in need." The Dragonborn replied with a friendly, genuine smile.
"Would you care to help some more?" She inquired, earning her a raised eyebrow.
"How so?" The dragonborn replied curiously.
"You've said it yourself. This is not the first time you've dealt with something like this." Ruby said, her voice still quiet, but no longer hesitant, the silver in her eyes now akin to steel. "I think it's time we put those skills to use."
Times like this, he understood more and more what Ozpin saw in this girl.
/
"The scouts are back, Boss." Strix informed dutifully from the entrance of the tent, as the sun began to peak over the edge of the valley. Time was about to be up for the kids.
"Very well." The Boss grunted from his seat. "Let them in."
With a nod, the owl faunus disappeared briefly, and 6 of his men filled in, all looking rather haggard. Little wonder, the boss had them up all night keeping watch of the huntsmen.
"Report." The man ordered, his piercing eyes and stern expression leaving the designated scouts rather nervous. Not that Strix could blame them, the Boss had that effect on people.
"Well, Boss." One of them, guy by the name of Tony, stepped up to the plate, when the nervous silence began to stretch a bit more than what was healthy when it came to their chief. "The huntsmen kids didn't leave that building all night."
"Are you absolutely certain of this?" Was the reply, spoken with the eerie calm only the man seemed capable of pulling, which ramped up the nervousness of those present a magnitude or two.
"S-s-sure, Boss." Tony answered quickly, a bead of sweat beginning to trail down the side of his face. "We've seen them taking turns keeping watch all night long, b-but at no point did any of them try to get out."
A tense, nervous silence followed, as the Boss seemed to consider the words. If Strix were a gambling man, he'd have guessed the only thing that kept the scouts from fidgeting nervously was justified fear of the Boss'… disapproval.
"Very well." The man in question replied curtly. "Dismissed."
It was a bunch of very relieved men that very quickly walked out the room. Strix kinda whished he could've joined them but…
"Mr. Lenoir."
…His part here wasn't done yet.
"Yes, Boss?" The owl asked, from his position near the entrance of the tent, not really inclined to approach any further.
"Gather up the men." Came the order. "We are moving out."
"Sure thing, Boss." Strix made to turn and leave… and then stopped in his tracks, much as he knew it was probably a bad idea. "Hherm, Boss?"
"Is there a problem, Mr. Lenoir?"
"No, no, no, not at all, Boss!" The scrawnier, grey-haired man was quick to deny. "It's just… I was wondering. I mean, I know I'm the one who pointed out the Schnee and the masked guy in that huntsman crew but… aren't we risking an awful lot, sticking around for so long just to get them? Vale has gotta muster some form of response to this sometime…"
For a long, terrifying minute, Strix was left to stew on the idea that he may have overstepped his bounds…
"You make a fair point." Came the reply, letting him breathe just a tiny bit easier. "We are on a bit of a time crunch here. However, it would be foolish of us to not make use of the boon that fell on our laps. If these children can be broken into service… Between the Schnee's ransom, the boy's supposed power, and, if my suspicions are correct, the younger girl's… special abilities, we stand to gain the ability to abandon this backwater place and return to Mystral, to claim our rightful territory from… her." A word hissed like so much venom. "I have deemed the reward well worth the risk."
Ah, suddenly it all made sense to Strix. Of course the Boss wouldn't have taken well to that particular defeat…
"If that would be all, Mr. Lenoir, you have your orders."
"Sure thing, Boss." With a nod, the faunus made to leave…
"And Mr. Lenoir?"
… Only to freeze in place.
"Y-yes, Boss?"
"Do not question me again."
Strix couldn't rush out the tent fast enough.
/
"Everyone's in place?" Kron asked, a number of his men standing besides him a little past Ashenwood's ruined gate.
"Yeah, Boss." Connie confirmed for him, a nasty grin widening at the prospect of what was to come. "Half the guys're staying behind as a second wave. Them hunties won't know wat hit'em."
"Very good, Miss Russet." The bandit leader nodded approvingly. "Everyone, move out. I trust you al know your part."
Nothing more needed to be said, and with a wave of their leaders black, mechanical hand, the bandit group moved forward. Pretty soon, they were at the large, rubble filled courtyard a respectful distance from the young huntsmen's chosen redoubt. A silence, so quiet as to almost be stifling, had fallen over the area, and for once, the brigand knew it wasn't the work of his faunus lieutenant, standing slightly behind him alongside Miss Russet. Taking a glance upwards, to see the sun rising in the sky, it was clear that the time for action was now.
"Good morning!" Kron called out boomingly, breaking the silence. He paused briefly, waiting for any sort of answer or visible reactions from within the building, then continued when it was clear that none would be forthcoming. "I am afraid that the time I have given you children in good faith is at an end. So, I would hear your answer. What's it going to be?"
Again, no answer was forth coming, and the quiet once again settled over the ruins, a long enough time passing that Kron's polite, open expression began sliding down his face like water.
"My good faith does have limits, children." The warning was plain to hear in the words, the pretense of friendliness fading fast. "Last chance, what is your answer?"
This time, a response was given. From the shadow of the ruined upper floor of the building, a spike of ice flew, gunning straight for the bandit leader. Quick reflexes, allowed him to bring his black arm to bear, the frozen javelin shattering on impact, but leaving a small, if noticeable dent.
"That enough of an answer to you?" Came the cheery, taunting reply.
And the last of Kron's façade dropped.
"Very well then." He hissed, in a voice that promised repercussions, as he rose his spear into to air, then aimed it forward. "Everyone, forward. Drag them out."
At his prompting, half the men with him moved forward, parting around him and his lieutenants to get at the building, some them moving at the front, bearing large, ramshackle shields, as a precaution against enemy fire, allowing the company to approach in relative safety. A measure that, to the confusion and wonderment of a few of their number, though they knew better than to voice it, proved unnecessary, as they were allowed to march forward completely unopposed. Such was the lack of response, in fact, that upon reaching a halfway point to the redoubt's threshold, some of the most inpatient, most reckless of the lot decided to eschew safety and begun rushing forward, shouldering past their shield-bearing companions and roaring challenges as they began running in.
The first of these bandits, however, a gruff, spiked club wielding woman, briefly stopped in her tracks when something caught her attention, a glow from the corner of her eye. Glancing down, she saw that amidst the wreckage beneath her feet, lines of a fiery orange begun spreading, forming an ornate circle around her.
"What the-?"
She didn't get to finish her confused question, as the weird circle sparked and a large explosion of flames engulfed her, launching her flying backwards.
Shouts of surprise and disorientation quickly followed, as a tight mesh of the odd circular symbols, in a variety of different marks and colors, came to life right beneath the attackers' feet, who now found themselves caught in fiery bursts, blown high into the sky by miniature tornadoes, frozen in place by freezing blasts, and painfully electrocuted by arcing electricity with the barest of missteps into a symbol.
Confusion and panic were quick to settle in, the surprising discipline with which they had advanced cracking very quickly before the unexpected trap. The bravest or more violent of them still tried pushing forward, taking advantage of the gaps left by the vanished circles already triggered by their more unfortunate companions, but it quickly became clear that they simply did not have enough bodies to break through the odd minefield, a problem which was exacerbated when a number of them broke and turned, panickedly turning around to fall back and in some cases even pushing others of their number out of their way and into yet to activate traps.
Kron witnessed it all, initially with a surprised widening of his eyes, and then with a dispassionate blankness to his expression.
"It would seem Mr. Lenoir's reports of the huntsmen's strange power rang more true than I'd first imagined." He commented, then turned back, staring with glacial eyes at one of the second wave's men, a suddenly very nervous Tony. Connie grinned nastily at the hapless man, while Strix lowered his head, the rim of his hat hiding his eyes, for he knew what came next.
"Your report, on the other hand, Mr. Tony, seems wildly inaccurate."
"S-sir." The man stammered out, trying to defend himself. "I swear, n-none of us saw anyone l-leavi-Gaaghk!"
The man did not get to finish, as the metallic claw of the chief clamped down around his throat, and did not get to struggle before a sickening crack signalled the snapping of his neck and the crushing of his windpipe.
"I do not need such incompetence in my ranks." Kron said plainly, not even sparing the body falling from his grip a glance as he turned to his remaining underlings. "Everyone with working ordnance, concentrate it on the building. I want those brats smoked out!"
While a few of them privately considered the fact that the whole crew had been running very low on ammunition because of the recent rough patches they'd been going through, and following this order would just about deplete it, the dead body of poor Tony made made sure nobody was going to voice such thoughts, lest they end up like him. Sure enough, besides the owl lieutenant, those who could took aim with their guns, riffles, cannons and assorted ranged weapons, and opened fire upon the upper floor of the build, a deluge of firepower that thundered across the ruins, and continued until the very last gun had spent its final bullet. Kron and his bandits stood in quiet anticipation, waiting for the cloud of dust and smoke that resulted from their onslaught to dissipate, which revealed that the building's walls, already somewhat unstable, had not managed to withstand the volume of the attack and collapsed, leaving the whole building a crumbled ruin like so many others around it.
Of the huntsmen themselves, however, there was no sign.
"Uuuuh…" Connie voiced out, sounding confused and more than a little bit disappointed. "Did the hunties get buried in the rubble or sumthin'?"
"No." Kron growled out in anger, as he seemed to realize the deception. "We've been tricked. They weren't even in there."
"Took you long enough to figure it out!"
Many of the bandits present recoiled at the unexpected voice calling out. Many even more so the unmistakable sound of roaring guns rang out over Ashenwood again, some of their numbers suddenly screaming out in pain as they toppled over with bullet holes on their arms or legs. After some confused shouting and searching for the origin of this attack, it was Strix who noticed.
"Boss, look! To either side of the courtyard!"
And indeed, on top of a building to their left, and at the entrance of an alley to their right, stood the young, red-haired girl, and the black-haired one, the barrels of their riffle and pistol still smoking. Many eyes widened briefly in alarm, as a fair number of the bandits realized they had practically marched into a kill zone.
"Catch us if you can!" The younger brat singsonged tauntingly, before blowing a raspberry and disappearing from the building's roof, the other black-haired girl only smirking tauntingly as she vanished too.
It honestly took Kron a fair few moments to process such childish provocations… When he did, however, the man's temper was quick to flare, the usually calm, emotionless expression he bore crumbling like so much shattered glass, giving way to a wrathful sneer.
"They're making us looks like fools." He ground out, disbelief of the sheer gall the brats were displaying plain to hear. "After them!"
"But Boss, they're just trying to lu-"
Strix didn't manage to finish his protest before he found the tip of the man's barbed spear point at his throat.
"Do you have something you wish to say, Mr. Lenoir?" The question was hissed, not even affect the air of detached calmness the man tried to cultivate.
"N-no, Boss." The Faunus denied nervously, raising his hands in a placating and pleading gesture. "N-not at all."
"Good." The bandit leader grunted. "As I was saying, everyone still capable of holding a weapon, after them!"
"And what should we do with' dem hunties when we catch'em, Boss?" Connie asked, sounding as if she was genuinely curious more than she was asking for clarification.
"The Schnee, the cloaked brat, and the one with a mask, capture alive if you can and bring them to me. The others," His sneer turned downright hateful. "Do as you will."
A wide, hungry grin bloomed on the towering woman's face at those words, and she was the first among the present bandits to rush out, chasing in the direction of the black-haired brat. As if on cue, the remaining bandits spread out in both directions, leaving behind only those too injured to move, and Strix, who hesitated.
"Should-should I go too, Boss?" He asked, with understandable reluctance.
"No, Mr. Lenoir." The reply was more calm, as if the man had quickly calmed down, but the owl was not fooled one bit. "Your part in this remains the same. You are to remain close to me."
Strix didn't reply, feeling that he was on thin ice, and settled for standing quietly, not too close to the volatile man, but not too far either, both waiting for the others to return with the brats or what was left of them.
"You know, you could to stand to gain something from actually listening to this one." A masculine voice called out. "He seems to be the only reasonable person in your entire group."
The bandits present once more recoiled at the unexpected intrusion, and the the injured barely had time to react as a soft, ethereal glow suffused them, knocking them out cold one by one until only Kron and his lieutenant remained, both turning in surprise towards the source of the strange occurrence, incidentally the same direction the voice had come from, and seeing there the kid in the odd robes and golden mask, wicked-looking axe resting on his shoulder, standing calmly where the odd minefield had been, as if he'd been standing there the entire time.
"You." Kron grunted accusingly.
"Indeed, it is I." The boy replied, in a tone of calm politeness that was just on the verge of mocking. "Before this inevitably degenerates into a battle, I feel the need to ask, what even was your goal here?"
"What?" Was all that Kron could muster in return, the brat's nonchalance clearly catching him off-guard. Strix, for his part, wondered if the guy had a death wish…
" I mean," He went on, undaunted by the lack of an intelligent reply. "What was it that you sought to accomplish here? I could understand trying to bring down the tower, it'd create a blind spot in Vale's defences that your merry crew could exploit to push further into the kingdom, and get properly entrenched inside the borders before the issue was properly addressed. But burning this village to the ground? That shortened the time you had before a response considerably, trying to take us out even more so. So, again, I must wonder, why?"
The boy tilted his head slightly as he made the question, the ominous mask leaving few clues as to what he might be thinking as he quietly gazed over the bandit leader and his only still standing underling, affecting an air of almost detached curiosity as he waiting a response, not even reacting as the Boss glared at him. If looks could kill, the kid would be dust by now…
"Ah, I see." To the duo's confusion, the boy seemed to suddenly have an epiphany from the Boss's silence alone, nodding as if suddenly everything made sense. "So that is the type of spineless scum you are. There wasn't really a plan for this attack, was there? You just saw an easy target and couldn't really help yourself, isn't it?"
Strix did not fail to notice the sudden and very sharp edge that entered the guy's voice at the question, and at that point he had a gut feeling, something that was screaming at him that he should run for the hills… an instinct that went unheard in the face of the much more honed instinct screaming much louder that he was far too close to the boss to do such a thing safely.
"I will admit that you children have been an unexpected torn on my side." Kron started, pointedly ignoring the huntsmen rant, though it was clear that was done with great difficulty by the way he was gritting his teeth, before he once more tried to assemble a polite façade. "But that defiance means little in the end. My men will be rounding up your little friends soon. In the meantime, tell me, were these," His mechanical hand gesticulated to the area around the boy's feet. "your doing? How did you come across such power? How did you manage to break the rules of the Maidens?"
Underneath the mask, Tristard blinked in confusion, not having expected this development in turn. He knew what the man was referring to, he'd read that about particular folktale in his research of Remnant's legends, but how was any of that relevant to the situation at hand…?
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Was his blunt reply. "And as for my friends, I would not overmuch worry…"
/
"There's the brat! Get her!" The voices came behind her, followed by a lot of rushed footsteps. The suckers had taken the bait, and were following her into the ruined alleyways. Good.
Ruby made a turn right, another left, then stopped when she had reached a dead end, where she turned around and waited for her pursuers to catch up. It didn't take too long, a concentration of them gathering at the other end of the alley, cutting off her only way out, and slowly making their way in, feeling confident that their quarry had no means of escape, much less to defend herself, as she'd never be able to use her scythe effectively in such narrow quarters.
"Allright, ya brat." The impromptu leader of this particular group grumbled out. "Ya got nowhere to run. Boss said he wanted you alive, but he never specified how alive, so I suggest you come with us quietly."
Ruby for her part, just smiled cheerily, leaving a few of the bandits questioning whether they truly had the advantage, as she aimed the massive blade of her weapon down.
"Nowhere to run?" The girl asked, looking for all the word like the revelation surprised her. "Really?"
Then she pulled the trigger, letting Crescent Rose's recoil carry her upwards, leaving the bandits gaping as she used the momentum to leap between the walls until she had once again hit the roofs.
"Seems to me that's more a you guys problem." She cheerily commented down at the motley crew, much to their confusion… until they felt a sudden chill running down their spines. Literally, as it turned out, the thugs noticed far too late the layers of hoarfrost that had been creeping up from behind them, freezing their legs in place.
Then they heard the tell tale click of a gun, and turned to find the Schnee girl at the entry of the alley, the tip of her rapier on the ground causing the ice… and the chick with the hat and glasses standing by her side, an unimpressed look on her face as her gigantic gatling gun was trained on them.
"Yo."
/
"C'mon Huntie! Ya can run, but ya can't hide! Not for long!" Came the taunting bellows from the woman at the forefront of her pursuers. Now didn't that sound like such a charming person, Blake couldn't help but think sarcastically as she left behind a clone to goad them into keeping up, then headed towards an area which, according to Tawny's input, had once been a storage for things needed in the CCT tower's maintenance. Like much of Ashenwood, it had not survived the fire, and left behind a fairly wide, open expanse of ruins. Perfect.
She stopped, and waited.
Out from the alleys, the burly redhead appeared, glancing around before her eyes fell on the Faunus, something passing through them that Blake did not like at all.
"There ya are." The woman said, advancing towards her with a grin that was nothing short of bloodthirsty, as more bandits began arriving, all of them keeping a certain distance from their apparent leader, Blake couldn't imagine why. "That was quite the little chase, lass, but are ya ready to put up a proper fight now? Ain't gon be much fun otherwise."
"Something like that." Blake answered flatly, then she glanced up. A few of the confused thugs followed her example… and those were the one that managed to barely get out of the wait as Yang, Yatsu and Fox leapt from their places in the surrounding roofs into their midst, sending the unfortunate ones flying on impact.
The female bandit barely had time to turn to see what was going on before Yang was upon her, fist cocked back. The blow connected to her axe, brought up to parry, her grin widening all the more.
"Now that's more like-woah!"
In turning around, she had left herself open to Blake, who threw the ribbon of Gambol Shroud around her legs. The bandit literally found her legs being pulled from under her…
…Which in turn left her vulnerable to Yang's second blow, the buckshot-enhanced punch sending her flying through a wall of the surrounding area.
As the boys of Team CVFY handily dealt with the remaining crooks, the girls of RWBY allowed each other a satisfied smile.
Which vanished as they heard a loud, boisterous laughter.
From the smoke and rubble, the woman walked forward, looking no worse for wear. In fact, she looked and sounded downright ecstatic.
"As I was sayin', that's more like it!" She said as she laughed, eyeing the girls like a predator that was toying with her prey. "I love it when they fight back. An' just my luck, none of Boss's targets around, meaning I can take my time doin' what I love." Her eyes feel on Yang's, and her grin turned downright nasty as the chainsaw blade of her axe begun revving up. "Imma enjoy carving up those pretty little faces."
"Bring it, bitch." The blonde growled, eyes going red as she took a fighting stance.
The woman obliged, charging at them with a challenging bellow, and Yang rushed to meet her head on.
/
"…You're not the only one who knows how to do an ambush." Tristard finished glibly, and then added: "Seriously, I've met my fair share of bandits. Invariably, they are braggarts and cowards. You wouldn't believe how many of them displayed a frankly mind-boggling lack of self preservation. But you and your crew? You've gone past all that and crossed straight into incompetence."
The man was growing visibly more and more angry at his words, which was just as the Dragonborn intended. Angry enemies were terribly prone to making mistakes.
"Congratulations." He drawled sarcastically, to seal the deal. "T'is quite an achievement to be the most sorry excuse for bandits that I've ever seen."
Beneath the mask, Tristard allowed himself a small satisfied smirk. He could practically hear the scum's patience snapping.
"I will enjoy breaking you." He growled, twirling his spear as he took a combat stance.
"You will try." The Dragonborn replied, lowering his axe from its rest, all traces of mirth and mockery vanished from his voice, leaving behind only an eerie calm. "You're not the first. You will not be the last."
Gurahyol burst into flames, and the battle was joined.
/
"Come on." Velvet told the young racoon faunus softly, as they approached the entrance of the village. "We have to keep moving."
"Are…" The girl hesitated, before timidly whispering. "Are they going to be ok…?"
"Of course." The rabbit girl tried an encouraging smile, for her own sake as much as the kid's in all honesty. "Don't worry, my friends know what they're doing. My team's been on missions before, and RWBYS are all really strong. I know they'll be fine."
Honestly, Velvet was not happy that she wasn't back there helping them, but all of them had agreed that Tawny had no place anywhere near the fighting. Someone had to keep an eye on her, and besides Tristard and Blake, the kid seemed the most comfortable around her fellow faunus.
"…Tristard is really strong." Tawny agreed quietly, hugging her tail closer. "You're right, he can beat the bad guys."
"…Yeah." Velvet's smile turned a bit more genuine, a bit more fond. "He can. But we should keep moving, give him the space for that."
The girl nodded, and the duo proceeded towards the gates, the forest around the ruins being ironically the safest place while the fighting was going down. If the bandits had intended to stay, they most likely cleared out the Grimm after letting them finish off the village.
It was at that point however, as they crossed the threshold out of the place, that Velvet's ears began to twitch, her sensitive hearing picking up…
… There were people out in the woods. Crap, if the bandits had left back up here, she'd just walked into a-!
"Well, well, well." Someone drawled curiously. "What have we here?"
/
I tried, folks.
I tried really hard to wrap everything up in this chapter, but it ultimately proved beyond my capabilities.
The ending of Ashenwood and the return to canon matters will happen next chapter. For what is worth, as an apology and compensation, that chapter will hit sooner than the rotation I've started would imply, as I'll likely do multiple updates during some of the summer months.
For May, however, you can expect the second chapter of 'Ere we go, Pluz Ultra!
Cya all on the next one.