A/n: Thanks for the follows and favorites. Means a lot.
To answer a review from a guest: I think AQW has a huge potential for storytelling. The writers have been making great strides in that area, beyond all the silliness. Darkon's saga was so good it made me want to have more of those stories. Even the more recent parts of the Shadowflame War saga had great serious moments to them.
I do not own RWBY or AdventureQuest Worlds.
In the midst of the inferno in the industrial district, a capped figure was dragging a woman from beneath a pile of debris.
Johnny heaved and threw the steel rebar currently covering Neo's body to the side. The woman herself was knocked out, with some burns around her body. Her parasol lay beside them, ruined and torn apart.
"Why did you have to go and do that?!" Johnny yelled at the still sleeping Neo. He sighed, and with a grunt of effort lifted Neo and her ruined parasol and started to make his way out of the wreck of a warehouse.
Placing her body on a wall nearby, Johnny looked around. Stuff was still exploding. He could faintly hear screams from over the blasts and crackling of flames.
Darn it! Some people might be trapped under all these! He thought.
[Good] He should save people trapped as quickly as he could, but there's no guarantee that he would be able to save everyone.
[Evil] He could just…leave. It was Neo's fault anyway. And now that he thought about it, the people trapped here might also be part of the same group as Neo.
[Neutral] If he won't interfere, maybe he could call someone who could? He could call the authorities with his scroll. They'd be able to do something.
He grit his teeth and straightened his cap. He knew what he would do. He took out his scroll and called for emergency services. After calling the authorities, he dashed into the roaring inferno.
Neo, just waking up, still weak from her wounds, barely just saw the back of her opponent as he dashed away into the fire. She lay there unmoving, too tired to stay awake and went back to sleep as the world burned around her.
]|[
Johnny dashed into the wrecked warehouses. He was tracking the screams he heard. He barely dodged the still falling debris from the buildings on fire, and the dust still exploding.
"Arrrgh!" He heard from inside one of the buildings. He quickly ran inside. "Hello!? Anyone in here?!"
"Help me please! My leg's caught up!" He heard a man screaming. Johnny coughed through the smoke. With a wave of his hand, he felt through his connection to the four elements, and produced a Gale that blew away the smoke, helping him see clearly. He found the man with his left leg trapped underneath some rubble. He ran to him, kneeling by the downed man's side. He was one of the White Fang.
Shaking his thoughts away, he felt through himself, to the connection he has with the earth. "Hold on to me." He said to the man, who grabbed on to his arm. Concentrating, he punched the ground, opening up a Fissure below the area where the leg was trapped under. The White Fang member screamed as he felt the land under them open up, with the rubble sliding over his leg, and falling away to the hole below. The faunus began to fall but Johnny held on to the arm tightly and pulled him back to solid ground.
"Sorry. Can't blow the rubble up, might get you too." Johnny said, muttering a healing spell under his breath, healing the man's leg. The White Fang member watched as his leg correct itself, and the wounds close. He felt warm, an energy washing over him. "Can you stand?" Johnny said holding up a hand. The White Fang member nodded and stood with the help of the adventurer.
"Run." Johnny told him. "Help the other people on your way." He commanded. The White Fang member stared at him for a moment, and nodded, running away from the building.
"Well, that's one of 'em." Johnny said. "Oh man, I hope some of the other people saved themselves!"
Running after the person he saved, he dove back into the inferno.
]|[
Running around the area, carrying two unconscious faunus in his shoulders as he returned to where he left Neo, Johnny was actively shouting around in hopes of other people hearing him. He had already helped three others, who ran away, promising to help others if they saw someone. Others he found knocked out, he carried back to the safe place he left Neo behind in.
"Hello?! Anyone still here?!" He didn't hear anyone else. He placed the two near the wall beside Neo and he slumped beside them, exhausted. All in all, he looked at the group of still sleeping criminals, lined up near the wall. Just about a dozen of 'em, including these two. He thought tiredly.
"By Sepulchure's sweaty sack, I haven't used this much mana since the timestream war!" Johnny whined to no one in particular. He groaned. He would be feeling this in the morning, he knew. He felt his reserves of mana quickly filling back up. With a small prayer, a Hymn of Light, he felt a small light bathe him and all the other knocked out crooks, healing them all and energizing them a bit. He shook his head and stood back up, walking towards Neo.
He knelt down again, inspecting the two toned woman still blissfully unaware. Neo was breathing slowly, not choking anymore. The Archpaladin prayer healed most of her burns already. He did it again to the other White Fang members, inspecting if they're still alive and breathing. After Xan's bullshit and Akriloth AND Darkonnan burning villages, I've become quite the expert on checking for burn injuries. He mused to himself.
He was already hearing the sirens of the firefighters no doubt was already coming here. He had no plans being seen here. I can only pray everyone got away in time. He thought.
Shaking a bit of ash from his shirt and cap, he quickly walked towards the shadows, melting away unseen.
]|[
Well, unseen by anyone except Neo that is. Wincing a bit, still feeling the phantom pains of the burns from the Dark Fire that man blasted her with, she patted herself down for ash. She was surprised to see Hush, her weapon, beside her. She looked sad as she picked it up; the parasol was practically in pieces. The canopy was torn apart and the tube in the middle was melted almost to slag. She tried to activate the mechanism to bring out the blade at the end, to no avail. She sighed, Hush was useless, but she wasn't about to throw it away. She carried it with her as she made her escape, her image breaking to tiny pieces of glass.
]|[
"—estimated to be up to a few millions of Lien in damages. And that's just for the Dust!
Exactly, Violetta. The amount of property damage here is, certainly not unheard of, but still surprising as it was caused by something other than the Grimm. Mountain Glenn was one thing, but this was just purely a terrorist attack!
Speaking of damages, experts are concerned over the damage this would cause to the ecosystem of our bay and underground water, as they have stated that some of the Dust and pollution had seeped deep into the water aquifers. People are concerned if the water is even safe to drink.
No doubt, this is certainly the worst of the disasters we have experienced, and people are looking to the Valean council for answers and justice. Word is, the council is keeping mum on what happened, and just announced a citywide work holiday today.
Worse than all the damages combined; 35 people were killed in the attack, according to the reports. Some of the guards and other civilians at the 'ground zero' of the attack, unfortunately, have lost their lives. Which brings us to the alleged masterminds behind this: the White Fang.
Some of the White Fang died in the explosion. However, all of the survivors of the incident were all White Fang. Curiously, they were all found in one same area, sleeping lying on a wall.
Do you think this is somehow connected to the robberies by Roman Torchwick?
Oh, I've no doubt. Some of the family members of those we have lost are already calling for his head, and a swift investigation by the authorities. The Vale Police Department had released a statement that they are already working on escalating their investigation, and with the capture of the suspects from what the media are calling now the Valean Dust Disaster they are positive that they would be able to make great strides in investigation.
I don't think the police by themselves are going to be able to handle Torchwick by themselves. He's a dangerous rogue element.
There lies another issue: Beacon Academy has not issued a statement yet. People are crying out: where are the huntsmen during the disaster?
Well, Violetta, I think-"
Ozpin shut off the news, and turned to the people in his office. Ironwood was staring out the window. Glynda Goodwitch, was grimacing at the news. Her grip on her riding crop tightened, until her knuckles were turning white from the pressure.
"Was this her, Ozpin? Is she moving her pawns right now as we speak?" Ironwood spoke, breaking the silence.
"I've no doubt that the Queen is on the move, however, jury's still out if…this is her work." Ozpin answered evenly. The only hint of emotion in him is the slight twitch of his eyebrows. Glynda looked at her boss. Ozpin is angry. She thought.
"What's clear is this," The Headmaster of Beacon Academy stood up from his chair. "It has happened in a most inopportune time. The Vytal festival draws near, and this…attack has caused racial tensions among our people to be rekindled. Our enemy will certainly use this to their advantage. We must be cautious."
"Then it is a good thing I brought my men with me." Ironwood faced the two. Behind him, by the window, an airship of Atlas origin flies by. "We can round up the people behind this attack. Vale has arrested some members of the White Fang at the area, right? Hand them over to me, and I can get information on why this has happened. One less thing on Vale's plate."
"Round up, James?" Glynda questioned. "That is not going to go over well with the Faunus, AND the people of Vale. Imagine the Atlas soldiers moving about in Vale, and rounding up a single group of people. That does not paint a good picture."
Before Ironwood can answer, Ozpin cut him off. "You have a point Glynda, however, I think we have passed the point where people would care about foreign soldiers marching in their country. With this disaster, most would certainly be more interested in security, rather than their freedoms."
Ozpin sighed. "People would give up their security, in exchange for liberty."
"Come now." Ironwood shook his head. "It's not as if Atlas is occupying Vale permanently. It's just an ally providing what it can to another. We need this bit of unity, especially when terrorists would agree to divide the population."
Glynda conceded, pinching the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stop her migraine. "What would be the plan then?" She asked.
"We let Ironwood's forces help Vale's own in security and in the investigation of the incident. After all, Atlas is interested what happened to their dust, right?" Ozpin sent Ironwood a look. Ironwood nodded and sighed. "Yes. Jacques Schnee is throwing a fit over his products getting intercepted and used by terrorists. Criticisms of him had always been bad, but this incident had revived them. He claims his stocks are dropping after what happened." He said as he look through his scroll at the opinion articles of the news. 'Schnee Dust Company Partly to Blame at Valean Dust Disaster?' 'Old Racial Tensions on the Rise After Schnee Dust Blown Up by Freedom Fighters.' Ironwood scoffed at the media attention the incident was getting. Someone was always going to want to make money out of other people's misfortunes. Starting race riots be damned.
"We must move quickly. The festival draws near, and I'm afraid unity and peace will be the last thing the people would want if this escalates futher." Ozpin said resolutely. "I'm recalling Qrow back to Vale. This needs someone who can investigate discreetly."
"I'll send for Winter as well. Her services might be required in the organization of the joint forces of Vale and Atlas."
"And the children?" Glynda said. "Team RWBY would most certainly be nipping at the heels of the White Fang. At least, Miss Belladonna wouldn't resist investigating this further. Her grades," Glynda frowned here. "Has been slipping since after Team RWBY's involvement at the docks. She is distracted."
"Belladonna? Like the chieftain in Menagerie?" Ironwood said. Glynda nodded. "Wouldn't that mean she-!" "No James." Ozpin cut the general off. "Miss Belladonna had quit the White Fang. I am certain of this." The headmaster said. Glynda nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't let potential terrorists in my school, you know." He chuckled.
"Quite the combination, Team RWBY." Ozpin mused. "The Heiress of the SDC, a former White Fang member, and the daughters of Raven and Summer. I am quite sure they will interfere again in the investigation regarding the White Fang."
"Should I confine them to the campus?" Glynda asked. "We could say that because of the incident, visiting Vale would be limited until further notice."
Ozpin shook his head. "No. I imagine that would challenge the students to just try and break curfew more. What I propose is this: we let them do what they have to do."
Glynda looked at Ozpin like he had just sworn off hot cocoa for the rest of his life. "Of all the irresponsible-!"
Uh oh. Here we go. Ironwood watched Glynda begin to go off at his old friend, who just stood there taking it. Some things just never change.
"—and what would happen if they get hurt. Or worse?!" The blonde professor screamed at her boss.
Ozpin raised a hand, attempting to placate Glynda. "That is why we are here. And why Ironwood is helping secure Vale. As teachers, we shall continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can, so they are able to handle their own on the field."
"I don't know Ozpin, I think I'm on Glynda's side on this one." Ironwood interjected. "Ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?"
"I hope they never have to." The headmaster said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.
]|[
Team RWBY sat in silence in their room. Their recent fight with Torchwick at the docks, the dust robberies, the White Fang; everything just felt overwhelming right now. The disaster had threatened the peace between the faunus and humans, and now they are feeling it. Especially the black-haired cat faunus staring wide-eyed at her scroll, watching the flames at the industrial district getting put out by firefighters, and the White Fang members getting arrested. It was blurred, but it showed burned corpses being carted away by emergency personnel.
Torchwick's mugshot was shown, as various footages of robberies, done by both thugs and the White Fang flash across various news networks.
Blake was eerily quiet. Weiss was pacing wall to wall. Ruby and Yang stared at their two teammates in concern. Yang wanted to joke, to at least break the uncomfortable tension in the air, but words failed her as she watched Blake's hand clench into a fist.
"This…I was worrying what Torchwick and the White Fang were going to do next…But this…" Blake said slowly. "We have to do something."
"C'mon Blake. Ozpin told us not to worry." Even as she said that, Yang felt like the words were ashes in her mouth. Even she didn't fully believe what she was saying. "Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it." She winced as she finished.
Blake didn't miss Yang's hesitation. "Really Yang, you really believe that?" She quickly searched through her scroll for something. She brought it up for her blonde partner to see. "Look at this article."
"'Can the Huntsmen Really Protect Us: The Non-Action Policy of the Huntsmen of Vale'? That is such bullshit! We were there! We tried to stop them!" Yang exploded.
Weiss shook her head. "Calm down a bit Yang. This—," She snatched the scroll from Blake's hands. "is an opinion hitpiece. No doubt written by someone who hates huntsmen. You have to learn to ignore these." The white haired girl tossed the scroll back to Blake. "Yang is right. The police are doing something. Besides, what can we even do? We're just students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation!"
Weiss sat back down on the bed, sighing as she did so. "But I must admit, I do want to do at least try something. My family is being attacked and robbed, and there's nothing I can do about it. I feel…useless."
Blake's eyes softened at Weiss' admission. "We may never be ready. What we feared might happened already happened, and people died for it." She said. Weiss' eyes closed in pain, remembering her childhood. "But we're here. We can do something. We can at least investigate on what they're plotting to do next. And maybe we can even stop them from hurting people!"
Ruby nodded to herself. "Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye."
Weiss stands resolutely. "I'm in. I'm putting a stop to Torchwick stealing MY dust. And stop him from hurting other people!"
Yang stood excitedly and pumps her fist. "Yeah! I love it when your this feisty, Weissy!"
"None of you said aye!" Ruby screamed in the background as Blake stood up. "Alright then, we're all in this together!" The ex-White Fang said.
Ruby zipped across to everyone else. "Let's hatch a plan!" She announced. The other members of the team cheered with her in agreement.
]|[
In a basement somewhere, a few people where gathered. Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury on one side, Roman and Neo on the other. Neo looked like she'd been beaten like a dog: clothes covered in soot, eyes heavy, and exhausted. She leaned against her partner Roman, the crime lord with orange hair and a bowler hat. He was chewing on his cigar nervously.
Emerald and Mercury eyed Cinder warily. Cinder was furious. Her hands were close into fists, and she was barely holding back a snarl.
"What. Happened?" She asked. Roman sighed, and jerked Neo awake. Neo shook her head, and stood. "Tell us what happened Neo." He said. Neo nodded, and went off in a fast paced motions of her hands, talking to Roman in sign language. Roman closed his eyes as he realized what Neo was saying. He turned to Emerald and Mercury.
"Your 'huntsman' has snuck in to our warehouse. Neo found him creeping along the dust containers. They fought. The dust in the containers detonated." Roman summarized what his mute assassin said, who nodded in agreement beside him.
Of course, I can't tell them that I was the one that detonated the dust in the first place… Neo thought, trying not to grin.
She tugged at Roman's sleeves, and she signed something again. Roman's eyes widened. Cinder kept quiet, but her hands were already flickering with a small flame. Emerald and Mercury gulped in terror.
"She said…that the 'huntsman' probably followed us back to the warehouse, when we rescued your two backup dancers." Roman said to Cinder, who growled in frustration. With a flick of her hand, she launched a small fireball to the wall of the basement. The master thief wasn't finished however. "Neo said that the reason why the kids were tied up outside the city was because they were bait." Roman sighed, rubbing his face. "And we took the bait, like schmucks. The 'huntsman' followed us back after that."
"Mercury. Emerald. The both of you are confined at Beacon to continue our work there, and find out about our other problem. You are not allowed to interfere with Roman's operations. If you have to go somewhere, you will report to me first. Am I understood?" Cinder said in an even voice, trying to calm down, but failing. She turned to the two, grabbing them both by the throats, and slammed them to the wall. Her hands burning with Maiden Magic. Emerald yelped in pain, grasping at Cinder's hands, her eyes tearing up. Mercury grunted in pain, legs still not present, flailing in the air.
"If you both fail," Cinder hissed. "I will going to make you regret ever daring to survive your 'failure'." She dropped the two to the floor and turned away.
"Roman." She addressed the thief. "Find out who did this. Bring him to me."
Roman nodded. Neo narrowed her eyes.
"Don't worry gorgeous, I will." Roman turned away. Neo held on to his arm as he walked off. "No one gets one over Roman Torchwick." He tapped his cane, taking out his scroll. "Guess I'll have to see Junior again."
