Heyo, what's up. It's your average gigachad back with a general disreguard for humanity. On an unrelated note, here's chapter 8.
This morning's air had been brisk, but now that cold had left for a very pleasant warmth.
Anna still carried what felt like the equivalent to a black hole in her stomach.
Ever since she'd taken the money, ever since she'd turned a blind eye to what they did, Anna had felt less than human. She felt like a bug crawling through a piece of mud. Perhaps more like a piece of mud with bugs crawling through it. It was complete and utter self-loathing.
Maybe that was why she hurried towards Beacon's CCT relay so quickly. There she'd be free from her teammate's gazes. She could breathe easily, and talk to someone whom she loved. Her father.
Anna, much like Yossif, loved her father. They'd been close pretty much since her birth. Anna's mother always had some type of work or business summit to leave for. That would leave her within the care of the multitudes of servants their family employed. But Anna's father would never let them do all the work. He'd always be there for her. He'd even go so far as to shirk some of his work in order to care for her. You could say that the fact he'd shirk work for his own business doesn't matter. But Anna respected him for it all the same.
But just as she finished her pleasant thought, the sour one that had been tormenting her for a week or so reared its ugly head. Team LYAR, and their lack of morals. Anna was no stranger to somewhat grey morality. All her life she watched as her mother, figuratively, put people on chopping blocks. There were deals no one would want a light shone on, official pockets lined with a fine amount of weight in Lien, and the odd and purely accidental disappearances. But what she saw now. The way they beat Cardin and then enslaved him. The hypocrisy of Luka's choice disgusted her. Even if you fully demonize Cardin as a soulless racist, wouldn't it have been better to just put him down?
Her team's immorality had seeped into her own mind. Put him down? Was she mad? She was a Huntress in training, not a killer. The fact that she'd even entertain the idea of killing a person was proof of the corrupting of not only her morals, but her team's as well.
But in the stories of old Hunters, they always used the bad guys to their own advantage. In the weeks following the Forever Forest, Anna had ripped a swath straight through the school library. She tore through the mountains of books and the pages of electronic articles for a sign. A sign that they were still in the right. Or a sign that they had strayed from the course. In her search she found confliction after confliction. A story about a hunter that enslaved the slavers in order to free the slaves the slavers kept. A story about a huntress who showed a corrupt tax collector the folly of his ways by putting him in permanent indentured servitude. Stories about headmasters who turned out entire armies of slave labor in order to build institutions which would prevent slaves from ever being utilized again.
Perhaps it was the cause which put them in the right, not the actions.
Gods, this was so complicated.
Anna stepped out of the midday sun and into the cool shade of the CCT relay lobby. The building was situated slightly off campus so that non-hunters could also use it. Thanks to this fact, the building was filled with all kinds of people. There were your fully fledged huntsmen, students of the academy, regular people, kids, security, and a couple of businessmen. But this had little to no effect on the atmosphere. Everyone spoke as if they were in a library. She figured it was as good a building as any to do that. THis place did look like a big library.
Anna calmly made her way to an open terminal. It was situated in the corner of the building, just out of sight to anyone who didn't know it was there. Her terminal, as she called it, was where she always called her family. The seclusion of it made her feel safe to fully speak to her family. Anna sat at a chair and started to tap away at the keyboard. In a few seconds she had punched in her account and numbers. And a few seconds after that, the terminal began to ring quietly as the call reached out to Mistral. Anna took this time to stretch out and release all the tension the school day had brought. Even though it was a half day, this Friday seemed longer than all the rest.
The look in Cardin's eyes flashed through her mind. The absolute terror, the shock, the hatred, the understanding. Rexus had him on a chain much tighter than what Cardin could ever have put on Jaune. And Luka authorized… Hell, Authored it. All while Anna stood idly by. No, she wasn't an observer to this. She had given CRDL an order. She wasn't just an accomplice now; she was a perpetrator. What was she supposed to do?
"Hello? Is this thing muted?" A voice captured Anna's attention.
"Hello?" She asked as she looked around for the source.
"Down here, Anna." She recognized the voice as one she was very accustomed to.
Anna looked down at the screen to see her father, "Dad! I'm sorry. I-."
"Oh no, it's alright. I didn't mean to pull you from your thoughts." Her father said with a very kind and forgiving tone.
And that was the type of man Anna's dad was, kind and forgiving. He was a 5'11", average build, young looking but in his 40s, dyed green hair, color contact wearing, kind and forgiving man. And that was what made Anna love him so much. He, like few others, was just normal. He was your average father. Harsh when he needed to be, soft when he didn't, and full of love for his family. And much to Anna's displeasure, the type of dad who loved to embarrass his daughter.
She couldn't have wished for someone better to be her family. "Hi Dad."
"Oh, you're not addressing me as Mr. Castellen?" I suppose that means it's just us?" Her father poked fun at how serious Anna was sometimes.
"Dad, you know I only do that because it's what you taught me." Anna said back.
"Course, and you know I only taught you that so your mother wouldn't tear my head off." He said with a wide smile. They both shared a light chuckle.
"How is Mom?" Anna inquired.
"Out of town. And to think she just told me "You spend too much time not working, Pax!" Her father said while imitating her mother.
Oh, yes, her father's name. Pax Castellen, formerly Pax Prociv before he married into the family. The son of the second biggest company in Mistral. While the name of said company escapes her, the story doesn't. Anna's mother's parents controlled the MTC while Anna's mother was still a child. Pax's parents controlled the other company. In one of the weirdest company mergers ever conceived in the history of Remnant, Pax's company went into the MTC through his marriage to Anna's mom. Something about her mother's parents not being able to find a suitor outside of Pax. Now this would usually be a good thing, except for the fact that Pax's company was in debt. So, the MTC inherited a big bill, and another member of the Castellen family.
This, sometimes, puts a strain on Anna's parents' relationship. Arranged marriages aren't known for being stable. But they were all still together to this day. "Hm, sounds about right."
Pax cocked his head to the side a bit, "Wait, are you agreeing with her or me?"
Anna just smiled in response, an action which caused Pax to throw his arms up in an exasperated manner. "How have you been, Dad?"
Pax regained the small bit of composure he lost and looked back at the screen. "I've been fine. Business is, thankfully, very slow right now. I only had two reports to fill out today."
"Good, good." Anna said.
"But that's more than enough about me. What about you? How's…" Pax went on to list out the normal parent student questioning sesion. How was your day today, and yesterday, and exactly 3 days ago at 5:30? He asked if she was doing good in school, and if she'd failed any tests yet. How her teachers graded her work, and if they understood her intelligence correctly.
And interjected at random intervals within this questioning were questions about her. Was she eating right? Did she like her classes? Was she okay? He added that personal aspect that made every other question he'd asked before bearable.
But she couldn't give him her full attention. She was still so fixated on her team. It was all she could think about.
It appears she was a bit too fixated on it. Pax picked up on her wandering mind. "Anna, are you alright?"
"What?" She refocused on the screen, "Yes, I already said that." She tried to play it off.
"Anna, I know that face. What's wrong?" Pax gently said.
"I…" Anna searched her mind for a smokescreen. Something to say or put up in order to divert the conversation. But a look at her father's face stopped her. He sat there like always, patiently waiting for her. "Dad, I don't think this is for me."
"What do you mean, honey?"
Anna once again searched her mind for the right words. "Beacon... And my team." Anna said with an unsure tone.
"Are they mean to you?" Pax asked with a great amount of concern.
"No, no!" Anna waved her hands in a denying manner. "It's just…" Anna trailed off as she once again searched for words.
Pax let her sit in silence for a second before he offered an option, "Would you...Like to come home?" He asked quietly.
"No! Not at all…" Anna responded. She didn't seem to know much anymore, except for the fact that she did not want to leave. "My team is just...Not normal."
Pax sat in silence for a moment, a deeply thoughtful look on his face. "Not...Normal? How's that, honey?" Pax once again asked in his trademark gentle voice.
Anna was tempted to blurt out what they had done in its entirety. But that would most likely cause her to be pulled home regardless of what she wanted. Her second idea was to get defensive and tell her father that it wasn't "His business," but that would be stupid since she brought him into it in the first place. So, after a few seconds of collecting her thoughts, she said, "We aren't heroes. We've done nothing heroic. If anything, we're the exact opposite of heroic. And I looked into all the stories about Hunters to see if I could find something about what we were doing wrong. But they're just as bad, if not worse than us! I just don't understand!" She yelled a bit louder than she should've, which earned a few dirty looks from those around her. Anna didn't care.
Pax nodded, the thoughtful look never leaving his face. He looked away for a moment before gazing back at the screen with sympathetic eyes. "You know, kids aren't always the apex of character. You guys are afforded more leniency when compared to the greats of the past. Anna, you may be of stellar character, but that doesn't always have to extend to your peers. Not everyone has the same morals as you. What's important is that you, regardless of any circumstance, keep your own morals." Pax explained in a very logical way. Anna was almost shocked by how relevant the little talk was.
That was, until he inevitably tried to figure out the reason for her feelings. "Now, regardless of how many homework assignments they missed, tests they cheated on, or teachers they mouthed off to, your friends aren't bad. Perhaps they are a bit on the wrong side. Perhaps they would rather be somewhere else, but they made it here. All they need is someone to show them the way. Perhaps that person is named...Anna?"
The person in question wanted to yell at her father, perhaps she'd say something along the lines of 'NO! You've got it all wrong! They're criminals!' But she didn't. All Anna did was say, " Yeah, I suppose that's right." She would've faked a smile if she wasn't sure it would've caused her father to catch onto his mistake. And in the spirit of deception, she talked cordially with her father for a few minutes longer.
"Goodbye, Anna. I love you." Pax said kindly.
"Bye, Dad. Love you." Anna replied as kindly as she could.
"Love you, bye." Her father said again.
"Love you." Anna again stated.
"Bye bye!" Pax said with a louder tone.
"Dad, I love you, bye." Anna got tired of playing chicken with her father and ended the call. He'd hold that over her head at a later date.
Anna loved her dad, but she wasn't sure if he'd ever understand what she was facing right now. Her team's degeneracy was something more than just missed assignments and bad attitude. It was slavery, criminal activities, ego, and unbridled anger.
She sat in silence and reflected on her companions. On Luka's hate of nothing. On Yossif's turn from confidence into pride and ego. On Rexus' descent into the criminal underworld.
Luka had vanquished her evil. No, she had literally leashed it. You'd think that an action like that would bring an almost Zen like peace. But it didn't. Luka seemed almost aimless and angrier than she ever was with Cardin in the picture. She often lashed out at her team. An action that worried Anna.
Yossif was too busy looking into the mirror to be worried by anything. He'd grown self-confident. It was a trait Anna would normally see as good, when expressed in moderation. Yossif seemed to be the next Narcissus. He'd lord the smallest accomplishments over everyone, and deny any help from others. He was wholly unbearable to be around.
Where her other two teammates had a somewhat slow and reversible descent into petty flaws, Rexus seemed to jump down three stories and straight into his shortcoming. He was a criminal. He did not hide it, or mask it, he just was. He'd work on papers not for school, but still containing numbers and heavy amounts of writing. He'd answer phone calls and talk in a very stereotypical code to the other end, reminiscent of the mobster movies everyone has seen. But the most damning piece of evidence was how he'd go out for periods of time to "See a friend," and come back with rolls of lien for everyone. They all took it.
Now that she was thinking about it again, he was out doing that today.
Anna hoped she could resist the urge to take more money.
An exercise in vanity.
Man, this was a nice change of pace. Out with the boys getting funds.
Of course, the funds were amassed through legit means. Anyone who said otherwise was clearly lying. Protection money? No, the businesses were just paying them for their security services. They had made the streets safer, after all. But some people didn't see it quite like that. Some thought they were better off when criminals and gangs roamed the streets of Vale unharried. And sure, they might have been better off financially. But you could never put a price on safety.
So was the dilemma Rexus faced now. Well, the dilemma the man whose head Rexus had pinned against a counter faced. "Come on, brotha. You gotta pay up. We agreed to this, what, forever ago?"
The older man tried to look up at Rexus, an action made harder through his bloodied face, "I'm done negotiating with criminals!"
Rexus chuckled and looked around at his men. "Oh, that's a shame. After all, I'm the one negotiating with a criminal. Aside from your stupid high prices for gum…" Rexus picked up a stick of bland bubblegum and passed it to one of his mobsters. The man quickly ripped it open and began to chew loudly, much to the old man's chagrin. "You killed a man."
"No!" The man yelled.
"Yessss. You remember Jimmy, the businessman across the street? It was such a shame that he was tragically shot right before we started business with you. Him and his family. It really was a tragedy. But it was great for you, since you got all his business." Rexus bent down to whisper into the old man's ear. "You know, anyone with half a brain could see how well that went for you. If they were of the assuming nature, they might start asking some questions."
The old man got quiet for a moment, before letting out an angry yell, "Blackmail me if you want! You and your devil family can all go to hell!"
Rexus gritted his teeth and growled at the slight to his family. "Bad choice of words." He quickly pulled up the face of the man and slammed it into the table again. A satisfying crack echoed through the store as the man's nose shattered. Rexus then proceeded to pull the man over the counter and throw him into a shelf. Shoddily made toys tumbled to the ground around the broken old man. "See, we will go to hell, old man." Rexus motioned to all of his men and then stomped the man's foot for emphasis, crushing toes. "But you first!"
The man gave a terrified and pained look as Rexus motioned to his men. Two rose to the occasion and dragged the old man off into the back screaming. "Now, Jackson. Can I trust you to find another suitable store owner?"
The mobster gave a quick salute, "Aye, Sir."
Rexus shook his head, "Come on. This isn't the atlesian army. Call me Rexus, and for the love of the gods stop saluting people."
Jackson gave another salute, "Yes, Sir!"
Rexus shook his head, "We'll work on it. Here-." Rexus handed over a stack of Lien, "This is from the register. See that everyone here today gets an even cut." The man gave yet another salute before sauntering off to make a few calls and count out some money. Rexus rolled his eyes.
You know, Rexus had almost forgotten how good this all felt after being trapped in that school. Course it always felt better when he was beating up an able-bodied man. But there were always old men that needed the business, or other such people most would find objectionable to put in a full body cast. Rexus had no such objections. Problem children needed to be corrected so that no one would question the strength of the family. Wasn't their fault that most of those people who tried to fuck around were those who thought themselves untouchable due to a deformity, handicap, or some such other less than fortunate event.
Now don't misunderstand, Rexus wasn't proud of the fact that he beat up cripples and old men. But he was raised all his life to be an enforcer for the mob, and by the Gods he'd be good at it. He wanted to make the men who raised him proud, after all.
"Rexus." A very familiar voice came from the doorway.
"Joey?" Rexus turned to see who it was. "Joey!" Rexus rushed his old friend and entered into a hug. "Dude, how's it been? I haven't seen you in forever!"
"Sup, kid. Whatcha doing?" Joey asked as he broke the hug.
"Oh, nothing special, just working." Rexus motioned to the rest of the store. Mobsters crowded around Jackson, who was handing out a cut, another man wiped the blood off of the counter where Rexus had slammed the man's head, and muffled yelling could be heard from somewhere deep within the establishment.
"Oh…" Joey seemed a bit put off. "No school, today?"
"Nah, half day." Rexus explained.
"For?"
"Uhuh." Rexus shrugged. "Hey you wanna go for a late lunch? We can catch up."
Joey nodded grimly, "Yeah, I think we should."
Joey and Rexus sat at an open air table, surrounded by gangsters in more tables to act as a sort of early warning system. It was something they had all learned. It was much harder to whack someone when they're surrounded by loyal men.
Rexus raised a glass filled with some unknown alcoholic beverage. Joey did the same. They clinked the drinks together and both took a swig. "While I always enjoy a drink with you Rexus, should you really be drinking now? You still have to go back to Beacon."
"Eh, it'll be alright. I could stumble in half naked and hammered and the teachers wouldn't do so much as bat an eye." Rexus tilted his drink towards his old friend and raised an eyebrow, "You wouldn't believe what they don't seem to notice." He took another swig.
"That sounds like it has a bit of history to it." Joey drank as his younger did.
Rexus put his drink on the table and gestured towards his friend, "Ight, so you know how I called you last week about the Winchesters?"
"Yeah, it took me a couple of days to get the info on them. What did you even use it for?" Joey asked.
"Cardin Winchester goes to Beacon." Rexus paused for dramatic effect. Joey shook his head expectantly. "Right, you don't know him. He's the son of Winchester senior. And he was a flaming racist."
"Was?" Joey asked with interest.
"Yeah, kinda hard to go on being a racist with no teeth and no more immunity." Rexus laughed to himself and downed more of his drink. He snapped at the nearby waiter and pointed to his half full glass. The man immediately ran off to fetch him more without even questioning.
Joey frowned at the display, but more so at the story. "Rexus. You assaulted a kid because he was a "flaming racist?" Joey shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did you even give any thought to the ramifications of this action?"
"By the gods, you sound like Anna. Yes, it was all taken care of beforehand. We have Cardin on a leash so tight he can't move without our permission. We have Winchester senior funneling his illicit funds to both the school and us, and the teachers don't care because that means they can avoid a news scandal about a racist at their academy." Rexus finally drained his first glass around the time the waiter came back with the second. With a small smile at the man, Rexus took a swig of his new drink.
"Anna, that's one of your teammates, right?"
"Yup. She's gotten a bit weird as of late. Now that I think of it, so has everyone else." Rexus shrugged to himself. Joey said nothing. "Yeah, Yossif's full of himself now. I have no idea where he got that from. Luka used to be hellishly angry at Cardin, but now she's hellishly angry at literally anything that walks into her sight. I would've thought she'd be better after she made Cardin her personal servant...Slave...Something. And Anna's just distant. It's weird, but she just kinda closed herself off for no reason after that whole thing finished."
Joey took a small sip of his drink and nodded. "Well, I can't speak for the other two, but I might know why Anna is how she is."
"Oh, please share. The looks she gives us are starting to grate even more than Luka's daily anger management sessions." Rexus replied in a half sarcastic, half serious manner.
"You." Joey said with a flat tone.
Rexus stopped halfway through a drink and choked on what he had in his mouth. "Well that was unexpected." He eventually said between coughs.
"You're leaning back into the Mob too hard, Rexus. If you aren't careful, you'll make your team resent you. That would make four years of living with them quite un-bearable."
"Hey, man's gotta make a living." Rexus replied after another drink.
"You're in an academy, with a full ride scholarship, and more money than most kids your age. You can take a couple days off."
"No, cause then I'll come back and have no idea what's going on anymore. You can't just leave the mob for four years and know what's going on." Joey looked at Rexus with a sad look in his eyes. "No. Joey, not this again." Rexus said with a groan.
"Rexus, we sent you so you could get out of this life." Joey tried to convince Rexus for the hundredth time.
"Bullshit, you guys raised me for this life. Only reason I took this, or that Atlas spot for that matter, was so I could better work in the Mob." Rexus responded the same way he always did.
No matter how many times Joey heard that response, he was always shocked. To hear such conviction in the voice of a kid his age. In most instances it would be inspiring, but not this one. "Rexus, you don't need to be a criminal like me and Don."
"That's all I ever wanted to be." Rexus replied simply and started to drain the rest of his glass.
"Rexus, please take this seriously!" Joey pleaded. Rexus paid him no mind and finished his drink. He then scooped up Joey's and began to drink that just to spite his old friend. "Don't be like your father!"
Rexus slammed the glass onto the table. Cracks spiderwebbed around the entire thing as the glass threatened to powderize from the pressure Rexus' hand put on it. It was deathly quiet. "I love you, Joey." The mobsters around them stopped their own conversations in order to listen in to theirs. "I love you like blood." Rexus' eyes had shut tightly when he slammed the table, but they opened now to reveal a deathly mad stare. "So, I'll give you a pass now. But if you ever compare me to my father again!" Rexus stood quickly and threw his broken glass against a wall. "I will turn you inside out." He said that last part quietly, his voice carrying a bit of uncertainty and sadness.
And with that, he turned and walked away. Half of the mobsters got up and left with him, one left money on the table. The rest reorganized themselves around Joey in a tight circle.
As for Joey, he placed his head in his hands and sighed heavily. Rexus would probably go to another bar and get wasted…
Just like his father would.
Joey hoped Rexus wouldn't turn out like his father had.
Joey hoped Rexus didn't turn out like him or Don.
Joey hoped.
Luka and Rexus took a small stroll to RWBY's dorm.
Why? Well there was homework for the weekend, and both of them were betting that Weiss had already gotten it done.
Sure, JNPR's dorm was closer. Sure, Ren almost certainly had it done. But Ren didn't give homework to people, he taught it to them. The two really didn't want to learn right now.
"So…" Luka made idle conversation. "Why'd you brush your teeth when you got back?"
"Oh...uh." Rexus was taken off guard by the sudden question, not helped by his pounding headache. "I ate something smelly for lunch."
"What?" Luka asked, intrigued.
"Don't know."
"You...Don't know what you had for lunch?"
"Nope, it was in Menagin. You might've known what it was, seeing as you speak the language.
"Ooh, ooh. I love this game! Describe the characters!" But before Rexus had to make up words in a language he didn't know, some loud yelling saved him. Luka looked at RWBY's door, still a fair distance away from it. "They've been at it for a while."
Team RWBY had seemingly been arguing since they got back from Vale. Well, really only Weiss and Blake had been. Ruby and Yang seemed sick of it, and that was hours ago. Rexus was amazed that the sisters hadn't already strangled the heiress and the...Blake didn't really have any descriptors other than angsty, did she? "Yup. I'm surprised the teachers haven't come a runnin' yet.
"Of course they haven't. They'd miss an army right under their noses!" Luka said with anger.
"And yet they can hear me talking in the middle of a loud class and single ME out for it." Rexus recalled the reason for his latest detention. Luka chortled. Rexus gave her a flat look "I'm glad you find it so funny."
"You kinda brought that on yourself. It was Mr. P's class, and he's a Faunus." Luka said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, bear Faunus," Rexus gave his leader's wolf ears a light tap. "Not dog like a certain someone." Rexus joked.
Luka grabbed at her head defensively. "Hey, wolf."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Now just as Luka was about to get angry, Blake crashed through her team's door and took off.
Rexus' shoulders relaxed, "Oh thank gods, they're done." Luka punched him in said shoulders and motioned towards the now open dorm. They quickly made their way over.
RWY was floored. They all sat with dumb looks on their faces. Ruby didn't even react as Rexus waved a hand in her face. "Uhhh. I think she's dead." Luka walked over to the leader and shooed Rexus. He, in turn, made his way over to Weiss and tried to wake her from the trance.
"Ruby. Ruby. Ruby!" Luka shook her with some force.
"Ahh!" Ruby was brought out of whatever trance she was in. "Luka? Blake! Where's Blake?" She said, her voice clearly distressed.
"She booked it." Rexus said as he shook Weiss out of her own trance.
"Luka! Please go find her!" Ruby pleaded.
"Why? She can take care of herself."
"Please!" Ruby continued to plead with Luka. "I'd go now, but I'm wearing my pajamas! Please help!" She was becoming hysterical.
"Oi, slow it down riding hood. What happened in the first place?" Rexus asked as he helped Weiss sit down on the bed.
Yang interjected, "Weiss!" Both Luka and Rexus refocused on Yang. "Weiss caused this!"
"Be nice. She's about as shaken up as the rest of you." Rexus defended his friend.
"It's still her fault!" Yang said again, much to Rexus' annoyance.
"Yang…" Ruby said.
"No, no! This is all because of that stupid argument you've been having all day! You couldn't have just left it alone, could you Ice Queen?" Yang yelled.
"Watch your mouth!" Rexus yelled back while he moved to stand between the two.
"Yeah! Now, because of Weiss, Blake's a member of the W-." Yang yelled.
Ruby cut her off, "Winter Alliance for Faunus! She's just an activist!"
Yang faltered and looked over to her sister, who motioned for her to play along. "Yeah…And now she's gone."
Weiss did not care about protecting the image of the newly discovered terrorist from Rexus and Luka. "Blake's a member of the White Fang." She said quietly.
Rexus immediately wheeled around to stare at his friend. "What?" He said with anger.
Luka's eyes snapped to the Heiress with a sparkle of curiosity. "What?" She asked with interest.
"Weiss…" Ruby said.
"What's wrong with you?" Asked Yang with fury.
"What? Are we just supposed to hide that fact from everyone? She's a terrorist!" Weiss demanded.
"Maybe she misspoke?" Ruby tried to defend her teammate.
"Then she wouldn't have run!" Weiss yelled. "I can't believe that I've been with one of those…" She trailed off, an angry look in her eye.
Rexus noticed this and quickly bent down at her side, "Are you alright? Did she do anything?" She said no, which didn't even get close to easing his concern.
Luka looked at Ruby with poorly masked excitement, "We'll find her, Ruby! You can count on us!" Luka said with childish amounts of glee.
Not seeing any alternatives, and not wanting to risk losing track of her teammate, Ruby nodded.
"Come on, Rexus!" Luka yelled as she set out in the direction of the newly revealed Faunus.
Rexus shared an angry look with Weiss, "Coming!" He stomped off in the same direction while pulling out his scroll.
With a couple of calls, he'd be able to track her clear to Atlas.
For a Faunus with a head start, Blake wasn't very hard to find.
Seeing as the campus was rather big, Luka and Rexus had split up. Luka had set off in the direction opposite the bullheads, since they weren't supposed to ferry kids from school to Vale after curfew. You were only supposed to get trips from the city to Beacon. Kids couldn't be trusted to get back on time or not leave at night and all that. Luckily for the runaway terrorist standing by that statue over there, Rexus had put in a call. Two Bullheads stood ready, one for her to flee on, and one for him to follow her.
Rexus didn't plan on bringing her back, but rather seeing where she went. If he was lucky, she'd go to a White Fang hideout. Then he'd call in the cavalry and send them all to hell in one fell swoop.
That was the plan, until Blake picked up a plus one.
Another Faunus from what Rexus could tell, hanging off of the statue.
The two shared a heartfelt moment where Blake took off her bow and revealed another pair of ears. Rexus couldn't tell what type of ears they were at this distance. Really it was like the start of an old romance novel. A girl runs away from a family, only to meet a bad boy and fall in love over the course of a weekend.
Only departure was that the girl was a terrorist and that the boy was a vagabond.
That's what he assessed anyway. From Weiss and Blake's screaming earlier, he'd picked up the description of a vagabond monkey man. This guy seemed to fit the bill. How he got onto the campus was a mystery.
Luka was right about the teachers not caring.
"Blakeeeeee!" Speaking of Luka, she rounded a corner and caught sight of the two.
The two Faunus spied the third running towards them, and mistook Rexus' leader as a threat. They bolted towards the landing pads.
Rexus figured he'd done enough sitting around and jumped from the roof he was on, landing right in front of Luka. "Rexus? You were here the whole time and you didn't tell me?"
"Figured you'd show eventually." He stood and turned towards the fleeing pair.
"Well get out of my way! I need to catch up to them!" She tried to rush past him.
An outstretched hand stopped her. "We won't lose them, trust me. But let them tire themselves out first." Rexus strolled in their direction, followed closely by Luka.
Luka stopped following and burst into a sprint when a bullhead took off. "They took a bullhead! Come on or we'll lose them." She made a desperate sprint towards the vehicles. Rexus just shook his head and calmly walked over.
About a minute or so later of Luka screaming at him to go faster, Rexus reached the other bullhead he ordered. "Where are you guys off to?" The pilot asked, already punching in the coordinates.
"Gotta go find a couple of strays." Rexus replied as he slowly buckled up.
The two had watched that little tea parlor for a while now. At first, the two Faunus had sat in the open-air seating, but had moved inside as the nip of nightly cold bit through their clothes. Luka impatiently waited, wondering why they were sitting on a roof and not going in. Rexus counted each man who walked in, waiting for the right amount to make a move. "Come on! We've waited for forever now! Can't we just go?" Luka asked as she bounced back and forth in her spot.
"...Bit short…whatcha want?" Rexus asked as he tore his mind from counting.
"We're waiting for nothing. Can't we just go in?" Luka asked impatiently.
"Bit excited to meet a terrorist, ain't ya?" Rexus leaned over the edge of the roof and refocused back onto the tea place.
"Freedom fighter, and friend." Luka said, her excited voice replaced with a cold one.
Rexus coldly glared at her when "Freedom fighter" left her lips, but chose to ignore it for now. "Friend? Ha, you've barely spoken with her. Sure, you wanna go in, go."
Without missing a beat, she hopped the ledge and used a fire escape to slow herself as she fell two stories to the ground. Rexus followed her example and lagged behind.
As Luka walked through the door and out of the cold night, she hit a wall of warmth. The atmosphere here was extremely welcoming. She could smell tea, fluffy pastries, and other sweet scents. There were rugs on the floor, lanterns giving very gentle light, waiters and waitresses slowly walking from table to table, and the place even had their very own band. A group of old men and women sat on a stage in the back with traditional Menageriean instruments, singing an old Menageriean folk song. She was no connoisseur, so she couldn't name anything in there, but it all came together to create a homely feel.
And at odds with this bright and homely place was a girl in black and white. Blake sulked at a table with another Faunus. Luka had connected him to the Faunus in the argument Blake and Weiss had earlier. She also noted how he could be confused for a vagabond. He was a bit dirty and had that air to him.
Rexus brushed past her and made his way to the front of the establishment, just close enough to hear the runaways, but far enough not to be spotted. He sat at a little bar type counter and began making hand signals to the man on the other side.
"So... Have you told your friends about any of this?" The second Faunus asked Blake.
Blake looked down in shame.
Luka hated watching that, "Tell us about what?" She asked as she stepped into Blake's view.
"Luka?" Blake asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
Luka stepped forwards with a gentle smile. She drew in a breath and met the Faunus' eyes with her own.
There was no mistaking it from this distance, Blake was one hundred percent Faunus. A pair of cat ears protruded from her head, and a tail swayed from side to side behind her. Luka was surprised she had hidden it from everyone for so long. Even being a Faunus herself, Luka found no indication to doubt Blake's humanity. But it seemed so obvious now. A fear of vacuum cleaners that Ruby loved to talk about, an obnoxious attraction to fish, and a piece of yarn always proudly sitting on her nightstand. Looking back, it seemed like she wanted to be found out.
"We're looking for you! Your team is worried!" Luka walked closer to the two, still keeping a comfortable distance just in case they tried to escape again.
The other Faunus turned to get a look at Luka, "Who's Luka?"
"Who else is with you?" Blake looked around the establishment with piercing eyes.
"Me." Rexus said from behind.
Blake wheeled around to face him, a hand inching slightly towards her weapon.
Rexus had turned away from the bar and faced the group. The hand motions Luka had seen earlier appeared to be orders, as he now had a cup of tea in his hand. "What? Did you think I'd let her go somewhere by herself?"
From this brief interaction, the homely atmosphere of the tea shop had gone. There was a tenseness that fell over everything. Even the music, which had once been about the purity of childhood, was now about corruption. "You two need to leave." Blake quietly stated.
"What?" Luka asked.
"I don't need...Want your help. Especially not his help." Blake had venom in her voice. If a voice could portray such a thing, you could even say that the tone was violent.
"Ohhh, scary." Rexus leaned against the bar and sipped from his tea.
"Wait, why?" Luka looked at Rexus. "Well, I realize he's not a Faunus, but he's my teammate. He's helped me before."
"It's not that. Rexus is a-."
The second Faunus finally decided to enter the conversation. "Should I go?"
Blake looked at him with an annoyed expression for interrupting her. "It's fine, Sun."
"No really, I'm cool with just leaving if you wan-."
"Oi, Sun was it?" Rexus said with an equal amount of annoyance as Blake. "Shut the fuck up and sit tight. The terrorist was just about to get to the good part."
Blake glared at Rexus for insulting her new compatriot, but begrudgingly nodded at his words, "Rexus is with the SDC."
"Wooooh! That's always my favorite part. Nothing better than someone handing over evidence of their crimes!" Rexus' face held an expression of pure cathartic glee.
Rexus was with the SDC? He had always been close to Weiss, but to be so far gone as to actually be in her business? Luka had never had a lower opinion of her teammate. And on the subject of Blake, she'd never had a higher opinion of the feline Faunus. The only way she could ever know about Rexus' involvement in the SDC is if she'd fought him before.
Blake really was a White Fang freedom fighter.
"Yeah, I was wondering why you looked so damn familiar. You were the one on the train." Rexus had a sly tone, like he just single handedly solved a mystery.
Blake stared at him for a second, a dark glare on her face. "Yeah, I was."
Blake cut the connection of the train car Adam was standing on and watched as he slowly receded into the distance.
"Hands!" She heard the thunderous footsteps of soldiers running up behind her and stopping a few feet away. Blake slowly turned in order to not cause them to shoot.
There were five of them. Figures decked out with heavy ballistic armor and riot type headgear. Strange protrusions hung out from their left shoulders and over their bodies. The weapons they held, large rifles, were glowing with violent intent and strips of technological blue light. They stood in an arrow pattern, with the man at the front most likely being the leader. His faceplate had been lifted so he could get a good look at her. The only thing that obscured her view was the pistol he leveled at her head. "Put your hands up, I won't ask again."
"Sir, she has explosive charges!" The figure right of the leader said with barely controlled rage. That was Rexus, she knew it. Even with the muffle from the helmet, she recognized his voice once she looked back.
Blake realized what business these men were from. They were a part of ARES Group, a highly financed PMC which recruited very angry ex-soldiers and criminals. In layman's terms, they didn't take prisoners.
The leader looked to Rexus, and then back to her. He did this a couple times more before settling on her. But she wouldn't let him get her. She wouldn't let any of them get her. With speed only afforded to a feline, Blake jumped back and to the right while quickly jerking gambol shroud up. A single bullet loosed from the barrel and struck the leader in the chest, making him stumble back and fall.
The merc's strange protrusions burst into life. A blue shield of hardlight dust created an impermeable barrier. The men shouldered their weapons and let loose a withering volley of fire. If not for Blake's sudden attack, her sudden movement, and the velocity of the train, she'd have been ripped to shreds. She escaped with only a few flesh wounds where bullets had grazed her. That and a healthy respect for firearms.
And as she fell, Blake heard a cry of desperation. "Joeyyyyy!"
"Yeah, I remember," Rexus said with a very neutral expression, "I remember when you shot the man that raised me." Rexus gently placed the tea cup on the bar and let his hands slowly float towards his Blackcat Blades. Everyone in the place watched him, a quiet tense-ness replacing every last holdout of homely feeling.
As much as she didn't want to talk to Rexus anymore, Luka had to try and stop this. "Rexus...Don't d-."
"Luka, quiet please. Adults are talking." Rexus said, his neutral expression slowly changing to one of hate. His eyes were still locked with Blake's. The only thing that stopped Luka from beating Rexus to a pulp was Sun. He'd moved away from the table and towards her to escape the brawl he saw as inevitable. All he had to do was put an arm in front of her and shake his head in her direction. "You're lucky that he only had a bruise, or I'd have burnt that forest down in order to get you. Anyway, you're only half right about the SDC. I was on their payroll that day, but I wasn't with them."
"ARES Group." Blake said with a poker face the likes of which you've never seen. On the inside, she was furious and fearful. She had hoped from the first day of Beacon that he had been SDC. Maybe then he could be reasoned with.
"Bingo." Rexus' hands finally reached his weapons.
Blake made her move.
Both Luka and Rexus were, at most, wearing half of their clothes due to the rushed manner of their search party. For Luka, that meant a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt. For Rexus, that meant no ballistic vest, a severe lack of knives, and a lack of ammo for his weapons. Judging from her spot, she had a decent chance of controlling the situation.
Before Rexus could react, Blake had drawn Gambol Shroud and leveled the pistol mode at his chest. "Don't move." She said with a calm and collected manner.
But Rexus didn't so much as blink twice. He rested his hands on the hilt of his Blackcats. "Don't need to."
And that's when she heard it, the cacophony of clicks and clacks. Chairs scratched across the floor, benches creaked, and a glass smashed against the ground. "Blakeee. I don't think your friend came alone." Sun said with a very worried tone. Blake slowly tore her gaze away from Rexus in order to look around. There were eleven mob types with their weapons drawn on her left, four more in plain clothes with holsters proudly presented and weapons ready to be drawn, and a few others who had stood up with bats and other improvised weapons.
On her right side, two more mobsters with guns, seven plain clothes guys with their weapons also drawn, and a few more with melee weapons. There were even two cops. But they just sat at their booth and did nothing. "Officers?"
Rexus laughed, "Oh, they won't help. Not in their best interest to do so." Rexus stood and walked over towards the cops. "You see, I own these men. I pay their bills, finance their homes, and put food on their table. Hell, I even had some of my guys take little Grace to the doctor's last week, ain't that right deputy?"
"Yes sir." The cop said while taking a sip from his drink.
"Yup, and even if he wanted to help you, he'd have to fight thirty or so more people who want to help me." Rexus walked back to his spot. "And that's just in this place. You mess with me and an army will come for ya. I guarantee that." Blake still had her weapon drawn. "For the love of the gods would you put that down before it goes off and hurts someone?"
Blake let a grimace take over her face and slowly lowered her weapon. Every other gangster who had drawn also holstered their piece and sat down. "Who are you?" Blake asked, still standing as an act of mild defiance.
"Aside from the second most powerful person in this city next to the headmaster…" Rexus put a hand to his chin as he created the right sentence. "You can say that I'm a member of a very influential family, or that I'm a criminal, or the grim reaper, whatever grabs you." He replied in an extremely casual manner. "And since Luka tried the diplomacy route with you and failed, I'll try my hand. I don't care if you don't want help."
Rexus stood up from his spot at the bar and walked over to the table where Blake and Sun had once sat. He beckoned them all back to it. "To be honest, I should really just beat you into a pink paste for what you've done to both Weiss and me, but I won't. That'd be far too much hassle." He sat at the table. With a single wave of his hand, every person in the establishment turned away from them and back to their own conversations and drinks. "So, me and Luka here are gonna be your guys' chaperones." Luka stared at him angrily for mentioning her and himself in the same sentence. "And don't think of trying to run away. Anywhere you go, any person you speak to, any breath you take, my men will see it, and I'll find out about it."
Tense seconds passed. No one took a single step.
Trying to chip away at some of the tension, Sun was the first to walk over and sit. "Well, it's not like we have any choice." He said with as upbeat a tone he could manage after meeting a powerful criminal.
"You know, I think Weiss misjudged you. You seem to be pretty damn smart." Rexus laughed to himself as a waiter came around with another tea for him.
"Gee, thanks." Sun said. After a few more tense seconds, Luka and Blake followed suit. Luka sat next to Sun and across from Rexus, basically frothing at the mouth with anger. Blake sat next to Rexus and across from Sun, a dark and contemplative look on her face.
"Alright, let's take this from the top. Tell us exactly what you are, Blake."
Luka, Rexus, Blake, and Sun all stood around in an alley. "As much as I like the whole clandestine ops thing we got going, we could just go to a restaurant to talk about this." Rexus said, an unamused look stuck to his face as he leaned against the wall.
Sun stood in the middle of the alley, hands behind his head. "According to your friend "White," I'm a vagabond. I'm at home in an alley."
Rexus crossed his arms, "Whoopty doo, you can translate basic words."
"Shut up, Rexus!" Luka snapped at the Atlesian, which caused Sun to shrug and Rexus to scowl.
"Bite me, puppy."
Luka stomped up to him, "You piece of-!"
"Quiet." Blake said while sitting on a cardboard box and attempting to rub away her headache. Luka stepped back with a growl. Rexus stuck his tongue out at her.
But after another moment of silence between the four, Sun couldn't handle it. "So, what's the plan now?"
Luka glared at him, but immediately stopped as Blake began to speak. "I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before." The old cardboard she sat on had become her little planning spot over the weekend.
"I have several shop owners with dental bills courtesy of some very angry Faunus that would disagree with you." Rexus mumbled.
"Still, it's never something they've never done before." Blake said with quiet contemplation.
"I agree with Blake. Why would they need that much?" Luka mused.
"Well what if they did do it?" Sun walked over to Blake and crouched in front of Blake, Luka giving him a disapproving look. "I mean, the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"
"That's a pretty big assumption." Rexus stated.
"Go with me for a second." Sun looked over his shoulder at Rexus.
Blake nodded to herself for a moment before realizing the flaw in the plan. "The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."
"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of dust coming in from Atlas." Sun recalled.
Rexus' face turned contemplative before he also recalled. "Fuck." He tore his scroll from his pocket and began frantically tapping away on it.
The other three watched for a second before returning to their conversation. "How huge?" Blake asked.
"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter." Sun confirmed.
"You're sure?" Blake asked.
Sun nodded with a smile.
But Luka wasn't a part of this conversation. She instead watched Rexus as he brought his scroll to his ear. She heard it ring once, twice, three times, and then a voice picked up. It was Atlesian. "Oh no, you're not calling your little gang for this!" She moved towards him in an effort to grab the device.
Rexus was looking away from her, but as he heard her little exclamation he stomped his left foot towards her and drew his left Blackcat halfway out of its sheath in a reverse grip. No words were exchanged between them, but neither moved any farther.
Rexus spoke to the other man on the phone in exclusively Atlesian for a minute or so before hanging up. As he slid his phone back into his pocket, he re-sheathed his weapon and stepped away from Luka. "It's rude to yell when someone is on the phone, Luka." He said with annoyance.
"Oh, but you can just call up your little criminal scumbag friends to butt into our business?" She spat.
"Luka…" He spoke through gritted teeth, "I told them to prevent the rest of our teams from going near the docks. I don't want them hurt."
"To be fair to Luka, it seems like you talked about more than just that." Sun interjected.
Blake glared at him, but the words had already been said. "Yeah, what did you tell them?" Luka screamed and stomped towards her teammate. "I bet you told those insects you call friends to-." She pushed him after saying insects and barely made it through the word "friends" before a fist collided with her jaw. She staggered back and grabbed at her face.
"You fuck!" Rexus flew into a fury and followed up his first strike with a bone crushing kick to her chest.
She managed to block the attack with her arms at the final moment, her aura the only thing responsible for those limbs not splintering on impact. She felt a trickle of blood on her face and a burning in her forearms. Rexus hit like a truck.
She could hit like a train. Luka rushed at her teammate with rabid eyes and punched at his stomach. It landed, and Rexus felt his acute lack of armor at that moment. He gasped, and was unprepared for the additional punch to his right side.
But just as she gained the advantage, he roughly pushed her away from him. There was a gap of about two feet between them when she finally stopped sliding.
Both took this time to recover. Rexus groped at his side and attempted to steady his breathing. Luka touched her face in an effort to find the source of the red liquid dripping down it. Both of them failed in their activity, and so refocused on each other. Anger flared, eyes burned hot with rage, and fists clenched in anticipation.
Thankfully, Blake and Sun stopped Luka and Rexus respectively. "OH-. CALM DOWN!" Sun cried, barely able to hold back Rexus' raging fury.
Blake had a bit more success with holding Luka, but it was negligible. "Luka! Stop!" She struggled against the violent weight of Luka's reprisal.
Rexus reached past Sun and angrily pointed, "You ever talk about them like that again and you'll eat out of a tube for the rest of your miserable life!"
Luka stepped back and spit a red glob onto the ground, "Say that to my face, tough guy!"
With that, Rexus once again attempted to surge past Sun. For his part, Sun held him with much effort. "Dude take it easy!"
Blake saw how Luka had stepped back and took it as an end to her aggression. She left the faunus and positioned herself between the two teammates. "What's wrong with you guys? You've been at each other's throats since friday."
Sun finally managed to shove Rexus off of him and took a breath. "Yeah, that's two days worth of headaches, and I thought you guys were going to be our chaperones."
Rexus was fuming, "Wrong with me? You fucki-." He threw his hands up, turned away, and took a long and heavy breath. "You know what, fuck it. Let's go find your White Fang." With that he started walking away.
"Lets." Luka said with a great deal of enjoyment at "winning" the fight.
But Sun and Blake gave each other a worried gaze.
Because she was still running on the high of chasing off Rexus, the climb up to the roof was easy.
She really had chased Rexus off. None of them had seen him since the fight. Maybe he had finally run back to Beacon and left the three faunus to do the job. Wouldn't be the first time someone connected with the SDC would let faunus do their job for them.
No, that wasn't right. Rexus wasn't SDC, just a criminal.
Course those two things went hand in hand.
Luka was less than surprised at her teammate's criminal history. He was the one that came up with the plan for Cardin. He was the one who so coldly took money from him. Rexus was the one who was bad. She wouldn't be surprised if had been in cahoots with Cardin before she had even thought about him.
Maybe she had been angry at the wrong person all along.
"Did I miss anything?" Sun asked from behind before dropping down to the left to Blake.
Blake lay flat on her stomach, overlooking the docks with a pair of binoculars. "Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there." And they have been for thirty or so minutes. It had been so long, that the very slim line of orange sunset they had when the crews finished had completely given way to blackness.
"Cool, I stole you some food!" Sun declared with a happy tone as green apples fell out of his arms. He was talking mainly to Blake, but tossed an apple to Luka as well. A single growl from her stomach was the only sound she made in thanks before Luka bit into it.
"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun defended his own activities, which only caused both girls to angrily glare at him. "Okay, too soon!"
Luka wanted to add a cutting insult so that he'd never do that again. Thankfully for Sun, a bullhead swept over their roof so closely that they could read the warnings on it's engines. It took all three of them their complete focus to not be thrown from the roof by the gust of wind it kicked up. Luka covered her ears and turned away until both the sound and wind died down,
"Oh no..." Blake's voice came through just as the rest of the noise died down.
Luka looked back at her. "What?" Blake pointed towards the docks.
The bullhead had descended and was currently offloading it's own cargo. ""Is that them?" Sun asked.
Luka looked at the figures clad in balck and white, and then back to the cat, "Yes... It's them." Blake said.
"The White Fang." Luka said with awe. This was the first time she'd ever seen them in the middle of their operations. They were going to show the SDC who was boss by taking their wealth. She wanted to just watch and take in the work of her heroes. It wasn't often that you got to watch freedom fighters do their thing.
"All right, grab the tow cables!" The leader of the group yelled. In response, multiple men ran around the bullhead and pulled steel cables from its many compartments. They then set about tying the cables to a few shipping containers.
"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked with a gentle tone.
"No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." Blake replied. She closed her eyes as a look of hopelessness washed over her face. Why was she sad? She had said that she was a member of the White Fang. Wasn't sticking it to the SDC what they fought to do? Luka was confused.
But then she heard it.
"Hey! What's the holdup?" Screamed a new and familiar man, not dressed like the rest of the White Fang. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?" Animals? Luka peered down at the man. After a moment, she realized why he was familiar. Roman Torchwick stood among the freedom fighters like a SDC overseer would stand among the dust miners, barking out orders and threatening those who did not comply.
"Him! Why is he here?" Luka demanded with quiet fury.
Blake was shocked. "I don't know, the White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that. This isn't right." She drew Gambol Shroud and leaped from the roof.
"Hey, wait!" Sun whispered loudly. He watched as Luka drew her weapon and moved to follow. "Aren't we going to wait for your human friend?"
Luka looked back with a serious expression. "What friend?" She jumped into the darkness.
Luka hit the ground and scanned the area for where Blake had gone. She was hiding behind a shipping container a few steps away, motioning for Luka to make her way over. As Luka stood from her crouched position, the bullhead that had touched down earlier flew overhead with a shipping container dangling from cables below it. The dust it kicked up made for perfect ambush conditions. That was something Blake sought to capitalize on. Luka watched as Blake left her hiding spot and snuck up on the criminal.
"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" Roman screamed at a poor man holding heavy tow cables. Blake utilized this moment to place her blade to his neck and take him hostage. "What the- Oh, for f-"
Luka quickly ran to Blake's side and hunkered down behind her shield. She didn't ready her weapon, however. "Nobody move!" Blake yelled. The White Fang moved. The group of 6 closed in on them.
"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Roman tried to control the situation for his own safety.
The group inched closer to Blake and Luka. In response, the cat removed the bow she wore and revealed her hidden ears. "Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" Said members of the White Fang stopped approaching. They lowered their weapons and shared looks of confusion.
Luka took the moment of standstill to inspect the men more closely. They all wore the traditional White Fang outfit. Grimm masks, black undershirts and hoods, white protective vests, red markings on the back. They were also equipped with old Atlesian rifles and swords. She hunkered down further; those would hurt.
"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" Roman laughed.
Both Luka and Blake glared at him, "What are you talking about?" Blake demanded.
"The White Fang and I are going on a joint business venture together!" Roman declared with a grin.
Luka was sure he was lying, "You and the White Fang! Ha, they'd never work with humans!" She yelled; a small amount of worry interlaced with utmost confidence.
"Oh, not with…" A bullhead flew over and turned to face them before stopping to hover a few feet from the ground. More men rushed out of it. And as if to truly hammer home the servitude of the White Fang, more bullheads hovered around, waiting to disgorge their complement of troops. "For." Both Blake and Luka looked around with horrified expressions.
Luka carefully slotted her sword into its place and readied Hero for a fight. Blake pressed the blade of Gambol shroud into Roman's neck with more pressure in an effort to keep her brothers at bay. The legion of men bearing down on them was almost too much to comprehend. They would almost certainly not win this.
Three figures slammed into the ground on the other side of the dockyard, shadows obscuring their forms. Some of the White Fang turned their heads in order to glance at this new threat. "What's this? More friends of yours?" Roman asked with a tired voice. "Three more won't save you. You had all better just surrender. I can assure you; I'll pick out the best collars for you all personally." He sarcastically threatened.
The three got up from the crouching positions they landed in and strutted forward in a horizontal line. A voice called out a single foreign word with harshness. Two of the men, the ones on the sides, mounted bayonets onto their guns in response. "Oh, scary! Are the three tough men going to skewer us al-." Roman immediately shut up as the three stepped into the light and stooped.
Two heavily armored men flanking a lightly armored one. The two on the sides looked like how Blake had described ARES Group days earlier. Heavy Ballistic equipment, heavy rifles, metal protrusions poking out from their shoulders, the whole nine yards. But Blake had left out their color palette. The protective gear they wore was completely black, the only color being the thrumming strips of technology on their rifles, a light blue glow coming from the tips of their metal protrusions, and two little red dots placed on their faceplates where their eyes would be.
And in the middle of these two behemoths stood a very familiar face. A man still lacking his usual vest, knives, and other assorted equipment. A man with three large knives. "Rexus!" Luka yelled with anger.
She looked over to Blake and was about to tell her that they should fight with the White Fang and end this mobster, but that's when she noticed their faces. Both Roman and Blake gazed on with horror in their eyes. Luka was, for the millionth time since Friday, confused. Sure, Rexus and his little soldiers had impressive tech. But there were still only three of them. They could take them far more easily than the White Fang.
The three new arrivals stood perfectly still as a large amount of White Fang surrounded them. And as the group finished their encircling operation, the two unnamed mercs got back-to-back. Their weapons were still lowered. Rexus stood by himself, facing down a group of at least 20 sword wielding Faunus. Wind whistled through the area, accompanied by a harsh and cold bite.
There was fear, and hate, and uncertainty. The White Fang had no idea what was going on, but they were ready to defend their ideals. Roman easily broke free from Blake and screamed, "Don't just stand there you animals! Get them," before taking off towards a bullhead.
Rexus drew his Blackcat Blades and charged towards the White Fang with silent fury. The two soldiers shouldered their weapons and activated their shields. The White Fang charged, a warcry echoing through the night.
Luka felt her semblance kick on and let her nerves steel. She'd help the White Fang.
The soldiers pulled their triggers and let loose a wall of hate. Bullets tore through the lightly armored freedom fighters and struck those behind the initial targets. Blood exploded from wounds, chunks were torn from bodies, and men died at an incredible rate. But the White Fang had yet to realize how outclassed they were and continued their charge.
They played directly into the soldiers' hands.
The bayonets they had fixed earlier came in handy. They powered down the shields and met the Faunus with ferocity. Each slash from the sword wielders was expertly blocked, parried, or precisely deflected back into another Faunus. Each slice, cut, and stab from the mercs found purchase in every Faunus it was directed at. The White Fang could not defend from the blades of the two and were ripped to bloody shreds. After a few moments, they had cut the White Fang down to a fourth of their original numbers and were shooting and stabbing the stragglers. A bloody paint washed over everything.
Rexus, even though he had no help and was completely surrounded, fared the same. Great fountains of life essence sprayed over everything with each movement of his cold metal. He dual wielded his Blackcat Blades with brutal efficiency. Each strike flowed violently into another. Each cut throat showered him in viscera and seemed to lubricate his movements. Each jab directed at him was deflected or turned back on the assailant. Each stab directed at the White Fang found a skull, or throat, or eye, or anything. Watching him was like watching a grenade go off in someone's enclosed fist. Nothing survived. And unlike the two soldiers, Rexus let no one even turn to run. A bloody ocean drowned everything.
Luka watched in utter horror. She heard each bone break, each blade sink into flesh, each shell hit the floor, each bullet erase a life. She heard Blake puke, sun breathing rapidly in panic, and nothing from the three in front of her. For the first time in her life, she truly wished she was just human. Then she wouldn't have to deal with her Faunus attributes enhancing her perception of this atrocity.
The semblance she depended on failed from the wave of stress these sights and sounds caused. Her calm and collected head dissipated into a primal and overwhelming fear. She cried and huddled behind her shield, refusing to watch anymore of the slaughter. But she heard it all. Each squelch and snap. Each cry of desperation and death rattle. The White Fang may have had an immortal ideal, but they were anything but.
Her heroes were butchered right in front of her, and she could do nothing.
She heard the White Fang retreat past her, only to be cut down a few steps away by volleys of fire. She heard Faunus beg for their life, only to be silenced by a metal shard piercing their hearts. She heard... Death.
She began to cry, unable to stifle her own voice or wipe away her tears. Luka looked to the left at Blake in a final act of desperation. Maybe she'd know what to do.
But Blake didn't. She sat on her knees and stared ahead with a hopeless expression. Her complexion was pale, her eyes dead, and her weapon was on the ground in front of her.
Luka slowly turned her head forwards and peered through the shield's glass, the same hopeless feeling that had washed over Blake now coming for her. In the middle of a pile of corpses stood Rexus, a single White Fang freedom fighter kneeling in front of him. One of his Blackcats was embedded in the man's abdomen. The mercs walked around behind him, dripping with blood as they finished off the dying.
Rexus' head slowly turned towards her. He was drenched with Faunus viscera, just like his friends. Their eyes met, hers teary and red, and his were focused and dark.
But as soon as they locked gazes, his eyes lit up hot with hate. With a single motion, he ripped the blade from the man's chest and cut off his head.
Luka fell backwards and didn't stop her shield as it came tumbling down onto her. She let it hide her form and curled up into a ball.
She could no longer attempt to stifle her tears.
Team RWY arrived to collect B. By that time, everything had been cleaned by a legion of first responders and Mobsters working in suspiciously close concert. Luka knew why, but she supposed everyone who needed to know at this moment already knew why. Anna and Yossif had arrived just behind them and were standing around. Blake sat in the back of an ambulance while everyone else huddled around her. She looked horrible but refused to tell them why. She just said that the night hadn't gone as planned.
They had asked her what was wrong, but Luka couldn't answer. They took her puffy eyes and wet face as a testament to Blake's words.
And they all gave Rexus a wide berth.
For everyone else, it was because he stood in a group with heavily armed SWAT, ARES Group PMCs, and assorted mob types. He really gave off a threatening vibe, even without being covered in blood.
But Luka did so because she knew who Rexus really was. He was a killer, a bloody psychopath.
He was a villain.
So she sat against a shipping container, alone, and watched him retreat into the dark of the night. Her head spun, her breathing was heavy, but her eyes.
They were hot with rage.
Alrighty, that's a wrap. Big thanks to SwagMagusSupreme for being cool and a great beta.
...
What else do I say?
Uh...Ch.9 is coming. It's a shorter one so prepare yourselves.
What else? Oh yeah, Space Marine 2 was announced.
...Uh.
Ah screw it. I'm just gonna leave it here.
As always, have a good day!
Don't die!
Peace!