Red Axe, Take Warning
Author's Note; FFN's alerts appear to be working intermittently, if at all, even if you opt-in to the new setting. This story is also available on AO3 for anyone who would rather follow it there.
The Club was absolutely massive, incredibly loud even at a distance, and the line ran down the street from the entrance.
Blake didn't seem to care, and simply walked straight for the door, a dark haired Pyrrha walking beside her.
"Are you sure they'll let us in?" She asked, tugging at her vest. Dressing up was necessary for a place like this, but she hadn't exactly brought anything fit for a nightclub. Her tightest pair of jeans, her tall boots, and her combat top would have to be good enough. To add to the look, her bandanna was now secure around one bicep as a fashion statement, though she dearly wished she could wear it around her nose and lips instead.
I hope the makeup is enough...
The store they'd stopped hadn't anything that would have worked as a fake tattoo, and Blake had shot down just using a marker as being too obviously cheap. So it was back to dark makeup and hoping no one looked too closely.
I look like Pyrrha Nikos with dark but short hair... no, no. Blake's right. I don't look that much like me. I just have to relax.
"If we make it clear we're huntresses, I doubt they'll stop us." Her friend adjusted her own coat a little. It didn't quite cover the same outfit she'd been wearing when they'd first met, but it matched well with it.
And said coat was doing a good job of hiding their weapons on Blake's back and belt, which was the real reason Blake was wearing it in the summer heat.
"If you say so." Pyrrha murmured. "I don't think the line is very happy with us."
"Probably not." She had no idea how Blake sounded so utterly calm about the glares being thrown at them. "Once we're inside, this should be pretty fast. We find this Xiong, we get Roman's location or territory out of him, and then we leave. We don't let him keep us there or let him distract us."
Pyrrha nodded. "That sounds ideal. And I'm playing bodyguard again."
"If you could." Blake gave her an almost sheepish look. "I'm sorry for making you do it so often, but I don't think your... temperament is right for this kind of conversation."
It's hardly an insult when it's the truth.
"Don't worry about it, I'm happy to help and keep you safe. Should I have Milo in hand once we go in?"
"It's tempting, but I think that would be too aggressive. Are you comfortable using your semblance instead?"
Pyrrha bit her lip. Keeping her semblance as reasonably low-key as possible had been something her parents had pounded into her from the moment she'd unlocked it. The last thing they'd wanted was for people to decry her wins for cheating, to make her fights anything less than glorious spectacles.
Which makes it very tempting to be open with it...
But... if she was being honest with herself, she'd never really gotten much practice with it on its own. As part of fighting style she could use it wonderfully, but using it more generally tended to be... well, rather hit or miss. Moving big things, like the crates at the warehouse, was difficult but doable so long as she had time to focus.
She wasn't sure she'd be able to concentrate in a place like this, but... well, she had to start working on it sooner or later.
It may as well be tonight.
"I'll do my best." She said finally. "I can at least disarm anyone who tries to draw on us, though it may be a little... dramatic."
Blake nodded once. "Dramatic will work. Help us make the right statement while still being reasonable."
Which you aren't. At all.
A part of her, a large part of her, was very worried what might happen if this criminal didn't tell Blake what she wanted to know. What her friend might be willing to do if she didn't get her answers quickly enough.
There wasn't much time to worry about that; they were nearing the building and the front of the line. Blake straightened up a bit as they approach, her quick steps turning into an arrogant strut as if she wanted to dare the bouncers to get in the way.
One of them did, stepping up to block their path.
"There's a line, ladies." He held a hand up in warning. "Please do not cut."
Pyrrha slowed on reflex, but Blake didn't so much as break stride. His strange sunglasses made it hard to tell, but she thought his expression turned annoyed. He moved again, hand coming out to land on Blake's shoulder.
...and for a brief moment there were two Blakes, one with a surprised man shoving his fingers through her entire body, and another glaring at him from a foot to his right.
He and the other two bouncers jerked their attention from the already fading clone to where Blake was now standing, arms crossing haughtily below her breasts.
"...huntress?" The word was an almost nervous question.
"What do you think?" Blake replied, sounding bored. "We're here for information and a drink, then we're out."
Keeping her own chin up, Pyrrha recovered, striding up to stand beside the shorter girl. The bouncer shifted his weight at her approach, but it was a surrendering motion rather than a preparatory one.
"...fine, he'll be at the bar." He tilted his head to the doors. "He'll be expecting you."
"Thanks." Blake was already turning, leaving Pyrrha to match her strides as they went through the outer doors.
Inside proved to be a dimly lit hallway, colored lights pulsing in time to the heavy beat from farther ahead. Another bouncer smoothly opened a second doorway, waving them into an even longer hallway filled with benches and potted plants. Customers were seated in many of those, chatting loudly while drinking water.
These must be the ones who started the night early...
They certainly smelled like they had. She'd never enjoyed the scent of alcohol, and the hallway absolutely reeked of booze and sweat.
"It's not even that late yet." She muttered as they walked to yet another door, this one a rather large one that slid open when the two of them approached.
Inside was... a club. Bigger than the last one she'd been dragged to, louder, and more crowded, but more or less the same despite that. People were dancing wildly amid more shifting colors, others were drinking at a bar, and yet more were eating or drinking at various tables and booths. There had to be a few hundred packed in all told.
"The bar!" Blake had to shout to be heard. "Let's get to that corner!"
"Got it!" She shouted back, taking one last look at the crowd. For a brief moment she thought she saw a flash of orange hair near a wall, but a quick double-check revealed nothing there.
Now I'm seeing things...
She tried to be polite as she followed Blake down a stairwell, heading towards their objective. After realizing that her third apology hadn't done anything, she shut up and focused on staying right behind Blake. Her friend was far more willing to use her elbows and glares to clear a path through the tables, fighting their way closer.
"Drinks!?" The bartender all but screamed when they finally made it.
"No!" Blake shouted back. "Xiong!"
Rather than trying to say anything in reply, the young man pointed to his right. A glance over let her see a much larger man in a vest and tie, though lacking the coat that all of his employees were wearing.
He noticed her looking, and brought a hand up to beckon them over.
"Is he there?" It wasn't until Blake shouted into her ear that she realized the other girl couldn't see him over the men between them.
"Yes! This way!"
Another fairly miserable walk got them through the even thicker crowd trying to order drinks, the criminal they were here to meet moving out from behind the bar. Rather than greet them, he instead walked to a nearby entrance, stepping inside without looking their way again.
Not sure what else to do, Pyrrha followed to find a small, almost hidden room tucked away. It was filled with comfortable booths along each wall, small tables, and the volume blessedly dropped the moment she stepped inside.
Oh thank the gods. I can hear again.
Blake looked just as relieved, "How do you business in a place like this?"
"In rooms like this." Xiong replied, sitting down near the back wall. Pyrrha was tempted to find a seat as well, but something in Blake's posture told her that she was planning on remaining standing.
Guessing that was smarter that sitting down in a crime lord's den, she followed her lead.
"I know the name and face of every registered Hunter in Vale, and I don't recognize either of you." He announced, looking them both over.
Pyrrha shifted a half step back to be closer to the door, trying a low pulse of her semblance to get a feel for any weapons he may have had. There was... something in his left boot, a knife maybe. Nothing else. Was that strange for a crime lord? It seemed strange.
"We're out of Mistral." Blake returned, and it was a little worrying how easily she seemed able to lie. "We're looking for someone that you know."
Xiong nodded very slightly. "She send you after him, or her?"
What? Does he think... oh. He thinks someone sent us. That could be good, I think.
"We're here for him." Blake answered at once, apparently ready to go along with whatever was being said. "Where is Roman?"
The man tapped a finger slowly on his knee, then slowly spread his arms out to rest them on along the booth's back. "Are you here to punish him, or drag him back so that she can handle it herself?"
"All we want is to ask a few questions." Blake crossed her arms. "What happens to him after will be up to him, and the answers that he gives. It will only get ugly if he tries to keep his mouth shut."
He grunted. "Always about information, that woman. What are you offering to me?"
Blake tipped her own head. "You tell us where he is, and we will forget that the two of you worked together in the past."
Xiong's eyes narrowed at once. "That's not good business, girl. Or how the Spider handles her affairs."
Oh dear.
Her friend kept her composure, "It isn't, but we're in a hurry and don't have time for the niceties. A location, please."
"Why don't you tell me who you actually are instead?" He countered, leaning forwards. "I thought you looked a bit young, and now that we're in here you're definitely not someone who should be sent on a job like this. Who are you, and how did you hear about me?"
"...Petra?" Blake said quietly. "Could you demonstrate why he should answer me?"
Demonstrate what? Oh, I think I see.
Glancing around the room, she focused on one of the tables. It was made entirely out of steel, making it look rather nice in her opinion.
Well, until she reached out with her mind, and her semblance began to warp it.
Xiong twitched sharply when the metal screamed in protest, the little table rising a few feet into the air as she focused. His eyes locked onto its floating form as Pyrrha worked her talent, twisting it, folding it, seeing just how strange of a shape she could work it into. A bit of sweat began to stick to her neck, her aura fluctuating as she strained elements of it she rarely exercised.
It didn't matter. Within ten or twenty seconds, what was left of the table was a horribly warped bit of metal twisted in on itself in front of Xiong's feet.
"Is that enough, or should we start on something more expensive?" Blake asked.
His jaw clenched tightly for several seconds before he very slowly settled back into his seat. "This is not good business, but I'm not about to throw down with two huntresses in the middle of rush hour. Plus Roman's become a pain in the ass lately."
"So where is he?"
"You want him?" Xiong waved a hand dismissively. "Follow the Dust."
"Dust." Blake's feline ears perked up. "Ah. He and his new employers are behind the robberies then?"
"Yes. Are we done here?"
Blake nodded once. "Yes. Thank you, and enjoy your new piece of modern art."
"Cute. Get the hell out of my club."
She waited until Blake moved past before turning as well, following her back out into the club proper.
"Talk outside!" Pyrrha nodded at Blake's shout.
It was another struggle to get back to the doors. Thankfully no one seemed eager to stop them, and the staff kept giving them a wide berth. They made it back to the strange entrance without any problems, and quickly headed outdoors.
Vale's humid summer felt positively cool on her skin when they stepped outside.
"That was... unpleasant." She said once they were a bit away from the bouncers, walking back towards the bus station they'd arrived from. "Thank you for not staying."
"Not my thing either, and we got what we needed."
Pyrrha nodded. "Dust robberies then? There's something going on?"
"Yes." Blake stretched out her arms a little as they walked, tugging her coat open to cool herself. "I've been following some of the local news while you did your exercises. There's been a huge spike in dust prices over the past few months, all caused by dust robberies. Local stores, warehouses, doesn't matter. It's being taken."
"So we just need to look for where he might steal dust from next?"
"Assuming Xiong was telling us the truth, yes."
She bit her lip for a moment. "How do we do that? Vale has a lot of people There has to be quite a few dust shops."
Blake patted the pocket holding her scroll. "Research. There has to be a pattern, or at least places that have so much dust that he'll have to hit them sooner or later. We find his most likely target, we wait nearby, and then we move in."
"And then we arrest him?"
"And then we arrest him." Blake confirmed. "And we get him to tell us where the White Fang's base is. We get that, I burgle it for evidence while you keep watch, and then I send that evidence home. Then we're done."
Pyrrha nodded. "Done as in we relax until Beacon starts?"
"Exactly."
Oh good. I was... no. I was being silly.
"So we got back to the hotel?"
"Yes." Blake confirmed. "We do our training routine in the morning, and then we do research all afternoon until we find the most likely store, or warehouse, or wherever it seems like Torchwick might hit."
Good. That sounded like a grand plan.
We arrest a known criminal, help shut down a terrorist cell, and then we can attend the grandest of Huntsman Academies. Maybe I'm not so terrible at this after all.
She smiled as they walked along, Blake pulling out her scroll to start tapping away. Within a minute she was reading what looked like a news website, and not quite walking in a straight line. Pyrrha quickly took her elbow, gently steering her away from the street when a yellow motorcycle rumbled past them, and earned a distracted smile and a muttered thanks in reply.
Cute.
Pyrrha almost stumbled at the thought. Where had that come from? Well herself, obviously. And Blake was... well, cute when she stopped to think about it, but when had she decided that? Was that a bad thing? It didn't seem like a bad thing, so much as it was a... startling thing.
Yes. Startling. That's the word. She's startlingly...
She shook her head to try and clear it. When that didn't work, she did it again.
That failed too, but the sight of a man stepping out from behind the bus stop rather focused things.
Her fingers tightened around Blake's arm, pulling her back before she could protest. The surprised sound from her friend cut into silence when she looked up to see Roman Torchwick smirking at them from twenty paces ahead.
"Well hello there, kitty cat." His cane was spinning around one of his wrists, and a quick look didn't reveal the little girl who'd been with him before. "Going to need a new nickname for you, copper-top. Don't worry, I'll figure one out soon."
"Torchwick." Blake growled, scroll vanishing into a pocket while her other hand pulled Milo out from beneath her cut. "What are you doing working for the White Fang?"
He didn't look bothered when Pyrrha took her weapon, or when Blake drew her own. "Well now, they're certainly not paying me to tell you their secrets. Let's just say we're going in on a joint business venture together."
Hefting her weapon in its sword form, Pyrrha advanced one step to keep herself between Blake and the criminal. She rose her own voice, "Where are they working from?"
"Vale." Torchwick replied at once.
"The city or the country?" Pyrrha asked politely.
That seemed to take him aback. "...you don't get sarcasm all that well, do you kid?"
"You don't seem to either." Another step forwards made him stop spinning his weapon, steadying it in one hand. "Please answer the question."
He actually chuckled. "Oh you two are just adorable, ain't ya? Look. I'm not here to fight, or to have nice little stand off in public. Just here to pick up a stray and take her back home."
Blake's waspish voice snapped back from behind her. "He'd have never sent you."
"True, true. He's a stubborn ox about that kind of thing." From the sound Blake made, and the smirk on his face, that must have been some kind of insult. "But he'll find out you're here sooner or later. Best come along now, kitten."
Blake was quiet for a moment, then her voice lowered to a whisper. "Can you take him?"
"Yes." Pyrrha replied confidently. "Stay back, please. And watch for his companion."
Before her friend could reply, she kicked off with her back foot, charging straight at her enemy.
Torchwick's smirk grew, cane spinning around to a defensive position a moment before her first slash came crashing down into his guard. The crowd waiting to enter The Club let out a chorus of excited yells when her blade met his cane, an echo of the roars she was so used to hearing in the arena.
Matching his smirk with an excited grin of her own, she pressed in... and their battle truly began.
Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."
Thanks, Kat