Adam had felt murderous rage before, but never on the same scale as he did while sitting on one of the benches outside of the Land of Darkness exhibit. At first, he had considered going back through the entrance tunnel and leaving the museum, but the influx of people had made it too inconvenient. There was also the fact that he was genuinely afraid of what he might do if he bumped into someone and they reacted badly. Instead, Adam had chosen to take off, walking briskly through the rest of the rooms and hallways ahead to reach the exit. The exhibit had proved far larger than he'd imagined, and somewhere in the process, he had lost his friends in the crowd.
As he passed the other patrons, he couldn't help but seethe more and more with each and every human around him. None of them seemed to be talking about the God of Darkness. None of them even realized that they were looking at a faunus deity nor did they think it significant, if their fixation on the other, far less important displays was any indication. They were looking at crumbling weapons, broken statuary, and grimm skeletons pulled from the fetid tar pits in the photos surrounding them. They were looking at textual descriptions of other things as they discussed how cool the forbidden island looked. They were looking at Adam himself as he stomped through the masses, giving him distance and wary expressions as though he, too, was one of the monsters on display.
It was enough to make him feel physically sick. He had sat heavily upon the bench, hyperventilating and clenching his teeth as he kept his hands on his head. His fingernails were digging into his skull, and all he could see was red as the blood vessels in his head threatened to burst from the pressure brought on by his anger alone. He had no idea if the other boys had managed to follow him, and he didn't care. There was a part of him that wanted to draw his katana and run at the nearest human, but he knew that such a thing would be starting down a path he could never return from.
What scared him was that despite knowing he shouldn't, he couldn't put into words why not.
"…are you alright?" an inquisitive and unfamiliar female voice asked. "It's quite overwhelming, isn't it?"
"Leave me alone," Adam demanded, not bothering to look up at the speaker. "I'm in no mood to talk."
"I can see that, yes," the woman said calmly. Adam was vaguely aware from his limited peripheral vision that she had sat down beside him on the bench, and it only served to make him angrier. "But running from the truth does nothing to unmake it. If what you saw in there disturbed you, I would be happy to discuss the reasons why. The goal of all of this is education, and to make the people of Remnant question everything they thought they knew about the gods and grimm."
"Then you're not meeting it," Adam snapped as he stood up, still refusing to look at whoever had joined him. "No difference is being made with this in anything but bank accounts."
"Then help me to change that."
Adam finally turned around to see whoever had intruded upon his brooding, only to find a refined woman quite unlike any he had seen in the city of Vale. She was a human with olive skin and appeared to be in her mid-30s by Adam's estimation- certainly younger than Professor Calavera, but far older than him. Her hair was a deep midnight blue with light periwinkle highlights, and all of it save for her chin-length bangs was pulled back into a high ponytail that dangled down to her shoulders. As she stood up, Adam saw that she was taller than him by several inches, and her outfit was an odd mismatch of materials and accoutrements that gave her a strangely specific personal style.
Despite being in a very public and seemingly safe setting, she wore a black tactical vest with obvious armor plates and a green, short-sleeved shirt beneath it that showed off her impressively muscular arms. Her hands were clad in driving gloves of brown leather that matched her knee-high combat boots, into which she tucked her torn jeans. Additional armor was over her kneecaps and elbows, and at her waist was a dark brown lopsided sarong that ended at her mid-thigh with a golden pattern threaded into it. The final notable feature of her outfit was her prominent collection of weaponry- a set of four revolvers strapped to her vest with another two in holsters at her sides, and a sheathed longsword strapped to her back.
"…who are you?" Adam asked with a skeptical look before he could stop himself.
"Porella Oaks," the woman answered as she put her hands into her pockets. "Owner and proprietor, as well as the one who secured these artifacts. Come with me to my office, so we can discuss your reaction to the exhibit. Please?"
Despite the fact that she was heavily armed, Adam found Porella's voice quite disarming. There was no judgment in her face, and she seemed more curious than anything. The faunus stole a quick glance back at the exit tunnel of the exhibit before giving his host a sharp nod and moving closer to her.
"…fine. Lead the way."
Cerise continued to listen as she leaned over the table, her arms folded atop it and her chest directly in Sage's view. She knew that her flirtatiousness irked him, and every disgusted glance he afforded her gave her nothing but satisfaction. Cerise was also keenly aware that Velvet kept stealing glances down her shirt, but Ghira seemed immune to her charms. It was quite like any other day talking to Team BASS at the tavern, though the conversation was far more interesting than usual. They had spoken of a Team STRQ and Team OKRA, as well as the heiress to the Schnee fortune visiting town. Ghira had recounted their trip to the Academy, as well as the mysterious suitcase that Team OKRA had been carrying. One by one, her friends had taken her through each member of the teams between Cerise's trips to various tables, and she had absorbed the information like a sponge for future use.
"So, you've mentioned Willow, Qrow, Raven, Taiyang, Summer, Kali, Adam, and Bartholomew," Cerise said as she counted off on her fingers while holding them up. "By my count, you're missing one."
"Roman Torchwick," Fox replied before taking a bite of his sandwich and continuing to speak through a mouthful of bread and meat. "Last one on Team OKRA."
"Hell of a name," Cerise said as she swiped the sandwich from the boy's hands. She took a generous bite before returning it, though Fox made no move to stop her. "Tell me about him."
"Pasty little bastard," Sage grumbled. "Lean redhead with a fringe, wears a lot of leopard print and eyeliner. He seems smug most of the time. I don't like him."
"So, you're saying he's a perfect match for Cerise," Fox joked, earning a grunt of both annoyance and affirmation from the larger man. "Is that really what he looks like, though? I never would've guessed makeup…"
"….what did you do?" Ghira asked with a pointed look at Cerise. "That's the hand-in-the-cookie-jar expression."
Cerise was so stunned by the description that she hadn't remembered to maintain her usual confident façade. She knew that it was too late to correct the surprise written all over her face, and even Sage was looking at her expectantly. Without a word, she pulled a wallet from beneath her apron and placed it upon the table. With one smooth motion, she opened the small leather package, showing off Roman's Hunter's License on the inside flap.
"…oh for the love of…" Sage began.
"Shit," Velvet interrupted. "He's not going to like that… and if he knows you're associated with the team, he's not going to like us, either. This is bad."
"We can work through this," Ghira said calmly. "Give me a moment to think..."
"What's going on?" Fox asked, somewhat annoyed that no one had bothered to explain just yet.
"She stole Roman's wallet," Velvet answered. "And it's got… quite a bit of lien stuffed inside…"
"…Torchwick family's a low-level Atlesian elite name," Sage informed. "Can't remember what they're famous for, but they're known. I've seen it in writing, and he might've mentioned it to us before. I wasn't really paying attention."
"In any other situation, that'd be music to my ears," Cerise replied as she pouted.
"Cerise!" came a bellowing call from behind the bar. "Customers!"
"…that isn't," the woman sighed as she stood up straight and smoothed out her skirt. "Be right back."
Fox waited a moment as he listened to the clack of Cerise's heels on the wooden floor of the establishment, getting a feel for her distance from the table before leaning in.
"Ghira, what's the play?" Fox asked. "You were just waiting for her to leave before telling us the plan you already had, right?"
"Correct," Ghira praised with a nod. "Call Roman."
"…what?" Fox asked. "But…"
"Is that really the best idea?" Velvet added. "It's going to piss off Cerise."
"Yes, it is the best idea," Sage insisted. "And not just for that reason. We need to clear the air as quickly as possible. STRQ, OKRA, and even Willow are better allies than Cerise, and even if we need to do some recon on them, there are better options."
"Oh, bullshit," Velvet snapped as she gave Sage a glare. "The nine of them will leave Vacuo in a matter of weeks. Cerise has been our friend for far longer and will be here with us long after. This is just another of your personal grudges!"
"Can't you call Roman?" Fox whined at Ghira. "I don't like this kind of awkward stuff…"
"I cannot," Ghira denied as he picked up his mug and swirled the liquid inside. "If Cerise comes back to the table, I'll need to explain the next steps to her while you're on your scroll. I need to be available to defuse any situation that might arise."
"Damn it," Fox cursed as he took out his scroll. "Fine…"
Velvet ruffled her hair as she let out a small growl in frustration.
"There's got to be a way to resolve this that keeps everyone happy…"
"That's the goal," Ghira reassured. "Leave it to me, Velvet. You trust me, don't you?"
"…I hate that I do," Velvet replied as she leaned back and folded her arms over her chest. "How are you always so damned calm in a crisis?"
"Because our leader thinks before he acts," Sage answered. "And he's quick at doing so."
"Not as quick as me," Cerise chimed in as she slid back into place between Fox and Velvet. She spun a chair from another table around and put her arms over the backrest, leaning in. "What'd I miss?"
"…yeah, Roman?" Fox asked into his scroll as he turned away from the table. "Hi, I've got something you might want to hear…"
"…Ghira, what the fuck?" Cerise asked as she narrowed her eyes at the faunus. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Ghira replied coolly. "You're going to make a new friend, and we're going to teach the newcomers how to protect themselves in Vacuo."
"Ugh," Cerise replied as she hung her head. "Well, at least he's cute, I guess…"
"He's a 7," Sage said flatly.
"So, you think he's out of my league?" Cerise asked as she looked up at Sage with a grin.
The young man couldn't help but return it, against his better judgment.
"…alright, I'll give you that one. Good callback."
"Roman's on his way," Fox announced as he disconnected the call and turned around. "And he's not happy. He sounded a little… hysterical."
"He is a pretty dramatic individual," Velvet considered. "I wouldn't be surprised to see theatrics from him over something like a stolen wallet."
"His license is here," Ghira rationalized. "It's understandable. Cut him some slack."
"I will, if he does the same for me," Cerise offered. "Maybe I'll offer to be his bodyguard at the festival."
"If he even wants to go, after all this," Sage groused.
"Oh, he will," Cerise replied. "I could see it in his eyes when I told him about it. The man likes a good time, especially when it's loud and very public."
"What a coincidence- so do we," Velvet said with a grin.
"Speak for yourself," Sage remarked. "But I'll end up there anyway, protecting your drunk asses. I just hope I don't have to protect you from Roman."
"We'll get it all sorted out," Ghira reassured. "We always do."
"And I'll get him to come around," Cerise added. "I always get my way."
Author's Note:
This is the chapter for the week of 6/13, being posted a bit early so I can focus on WYS 200. There are only two other new characters to introduce in Volume 2- Porella's husband, and the Watcher. Both will be making appearances very, very soon…
-RD
