What a fun morning this has been. I got home from work last night to a call from my mother – apparently someone walked to their farm (down a long lane a distance away from village) and told her he was an ex-con looking to turn his life around by doing sales work, and he wanted to sell her stuff from his backpack that was quite clearly stolen – laptops, iPhones, car radios. When she said no, he started swearing and shouting at her and said that her dog (mine, because Kali stays with my parents while I'm at work) wouldn't protect her if he wanted to cause shit, and she's lucky because he's trying to turn his life around. He then stomped off.
Turns out he's been threatening a lot of people in the village if the facebook group they're in is anything to go by, so I say I'm coming over to spend the night at hers and make sure nothing happens. Do so, hear my car alarm go off in the night and go rushing out to see the dick running away.
I have a slashed tyre.
He didn't come back since, but I've reported it and I'm stuck here today while I have a person come down to fix my tyre. Luckily, I can write just fine from here. Been up from four since I obviously didn't go back to bed after that lol. I'm going to be so tired tonight. xD
Cover Art: Curbizzle
Chapter 25
Knight found himself subtly enjoying the small similarities between this Vale and his own. The differences were more obvious, from the tall buildings, the cars whooshing by and the stench that resulted from all the traffic. The clothing and the overall attitude of the people too, who rushed about as if they only had minutes left to live. Those were all there and very remarkable, but it was the ways in which their world was the same that amused him more – from the odd landmark that featured in both their worlds, to streets and store corners that, while not having the same store, were of the same construction. It made him wonder if this Vale had been identical to his in the past, that his world might not only be alternate, but hundreds or thousands of years ago. If so, this might be a sign of the development his world would experience long after his time.
"Report."
The voice in his ear was a less pleasurable factor of this technological advancement. He raised his hand to push the button beneath the earpiece. "All clear. Nothing to report."
"Continue route."
If Ironwood expected a "yes sir" he was going to be disappointed. This was the compromise they had worked on. Or, more realistically, the compromise he had allowed them. They were under no illusions he could walk out and they wouldn't be able to stop him, but in the interests of some small cooperation he allowed them the chance to work with and not against him. He was sure Ironwood and Ozpin didn't see it that way – they must have thought he was being unreasonable.
It didn't much matter what they thought. That Ruby was so hurt by his actions was more unfortunate. He wished it could be any other way, and his refusal to let her come along today only upset her more, but she had to understand that he was in far less danger than she. Sometimes you had to trust your team, gang back and have faith in them despite your wishes. That was a lesson he'd taken a while to learn. Ruby was still young and, despite her competence, an inexperienced Hero. Or Huntress, as this world called it.
Knight picked his way through the crowds drawing his fair share of attention. It would have been more if he were in armour, but even without it he stood tall and imposing, his posture and poise carrying him atop most people. When you spent your time standing in ceremonial armour at public events, you tended to end up that way, and his cute little apprentice was such a stickler for making sure he looked his best. That had ended up with him having a pathological fear of slouching or pure posture, usually because she'd tell him off whenever he showed it. A king could not slouch or looked bored or lazy. He had to stand tall and proud at all times.
"No movement on scanners or drones." Ironwood reported. "They're not taking the bait."
"Of course they're not," Knight said softly. "I've been out here not one hour; it will take time for them to realise, let alone plan an appropriate response." They would also prefer to strike when he was away from so many people, less out of concern for innocent lives and more because a chaotic crowd would shield him. "I'm going to make sure they know I'm out here."
"Don't do anything reckless."
He didn't have much of a choice. If he wanted to draw their attention, he had to be reckless. Still, that didn't mean he had to let his guard down or shout at the top of his lungs. Knight instead turned away from the busy streets and down a road lined with closed nightclubs and liquor stores. There was litter here, cans tossed aside along with cigarette butts and discarded street food, and a few annoyed city workers sweeping it all up. Knight approached the tallest building and knocked loudly upon the red door.
"We're closed," a voice eventually came from within.
"I'm here to speak with Xiong."
There was silence for a moment, and then, "I said we're closed."
Distressing. Knight hummed and placed a hand on the door, closed his eyes and Stoked the Forge. His hand glowed cherry red as his Passive took force, instantly super-heating the metal hinges and latches and turning them to runny slag.
The door dipped inward without warning, but Knight caught it, steadying the whole thing by the handle with hardly any effort. The suited man on the other side backed up, fear writ plain across his face. "We-We don't want no trouble," he said.
Smiling, Knight set the door on the wall next to him. "I trust Xiong is inside?"
He was. Knight approached the door he was signalled toward, letting himself in to see the man, suited and with a red tie, sat behind a desk looking over some files. The mob boss did not look nearly as bothered to see him or have his base broken into. He simply raised an eyebrow, set the papers down, reached for a bottle and poured each of them a glass.
"It's too early to drink for me." Knight said politely. "Sorry about your front door."
"If you were sorry, you would not have done it."
"I can fix it on the way out."
"Hmm." Xiong poured himself a glass of amber liquid, swirled it around the inside of the glass and took a slow drink. "See that you do. So, what brings Ozpin's most favoured champion to – and through – my door? I doubt you're here with his approval."
"Knight – this is not authorised-"
Knight reached up to click off he device. "Their approval isn't entirely necessary. I am an ambassador of a sovereign nation. I require your services."
"I had assumed." Xiong set the glass down. "What do you need?"
"Do you deal in missing persons?"
"I've dealt in many things. That is not primary, but I can provide information for a fee. Who is it you want found?"
"Me."
Xiong raised another eyebrow. "I know where you are."
"I know. I'd like that someone else know where I am as well, and how to find me."
"Ahhh. I see. And you believe I can do this?"
"You styled yourself as independent before. Ruby and the rest were happy to assume that meant you wanted to stay out of the battle and not be involved."
"And you believe I lied?"
"It's not a lie when they assumed wrong. Independent doesn't mean staying out of the competition, does it? It just means you want to operate free of both sides and for your own benefit." Knight watched the man, impressed by the complete lack of fear Xiong showed. They both knew that if things got violent, Xiong would not survive the encounter. Even so, he was calm. Even relaxed. "Refusing to work for either side takes courage," Knight said. "Ironwood would call it reckless."
"Reckless is a word used by those who are afraid to lose something."
Knight nodded. "I agree. Our lives don't exist here, so even if we die it doesn't mean much. According to Jinn, we'll go back to our worlds without even remembering this."
"Precisely. Why fear death when it will be neither final nor memorable?"
"You're a very frank man, Xiong."
"I prefer to think of it as honest," the crime lord said. "I don't see the point of pretending to be loyal to one side or the other. I would like the wish. I'm not so desperate as to bow and scrape for Cinder or Ozpin, however."
"And you're not afraid of me?"
"What would be the point? You will kill me or you will not." He shrugged. "There is little I can do to stop you either way, so why bother being afraid? I prefer to focus my time and effort on the things I can change."
"Not a bad idea. I'm not here to kill you."
"I figured." Xiong took another drink. "Waste of effort on your part. I'm more useful alive than dead."
"For now."
"For now," he conceded. "Cinder's crew are more a threat, I would imagine. I'm not against setting you up to be ambushed by them if that's what you want. It benefits me just as much as it does you. I'll have to go through Headmaster. I prefer to keep my interactions with Cinder non-existent."
"That's probably for the best."
/-/
Ashari was the only one to not outwardly react when Headmaster burst his way into their abode in his usual flamboyant manner. He moved like Roman sometimes, swinging his cane and smiling like the world's greatest con-artist. He was also exempt from any harm Null, Emerald or Mercury might wish upon him. In Cinder's own words, he was invaluable. And yet again, he somehow managed to prove it.
"Knight is out on his own?" Cinder asked, stunned. Her shock morphed into satisfaction far too quickly. "Oh my, that's quite the oversight. Ozpin's strongest champion and he just lets him wander the streets of Vale alone. It's almost too good an opportunity to be true."
"Probably because it is." Ashari said. "It's obviously a trap."
"Obviously." Headmaster agreed. "I don't have to be a time traveller to figure that one out. However, the trap appears to be rooted in the belief that Knight can handle you all on his own. Atlas isn't with him and my sources tell me Fate is locked in the infirmary after nearly being killed in an explosion."
"Your work?" Cinder asked.
"No. And I assume from your query that it was not yours either."
"No. Then we have another rogue around."
Headmaster smiled enigmatically. "Perhaps. Or maybe it's but a ruse. Either way, the most they can bring to bear is Knight, Magnis and Warchief, and the latter was kept away from direct combat before."
"And Taurus'." Mercury said. "The one he lost."
"True, true, but he's easily dealt with, no?" Headmaster smiled. "Null just shoots Adam in the back if that one proves a problem."
Cinder laughed at the casual talk of betrayal and murder. It wasn't even that in her eyes since she had no loyalty to Adam. No loyalty to any of them as far as Ashari was concerned. That wouldn't have been such a problem if Emerald wasn't hanging off her every word and laughing with her at the idea of Adam's death. Did it not even occur to her that she might one day be cast aside in the same manner? Of course it didn't. His Emmy just wanted to be loved and accepted. Ashari's hands tightened into fists.
"Trap or not, we can choose the manner of the ambush. Adam is keen to strike back at Beacon, so we'll have the White Fang's aid." Cinder looked to Headmaster. "Can we count on Roman's?"
"I'd rather keep him away from the fighting if you catch my meaning."
Ashari frowned. Information on his anchor given so freely? He very much doubted it.
Cinder, however, looked intrigued. "Really? Well, as long as you're there I won't complain."
"We're doing this, then?" Null asked. "Even if we know it's a trap?"
"Ozpin and Ironwood have been hiding their champions in Beacon and demanding we fight them there. Trap or no, this is an opportunity we cannot afford to ignore."
It was nothing they didn't already know, and Ashari couldn't fault the plan, even if Cinder had been planning ways to draw them out for over a day now. If Knight hadn't made this move, she would have plotted a massacre under the guise of a White Fang attack. Anything to draw them into the open. With that horrible idea still on the cards, it was little surprise when he and Grimm didn't speak out against this plan.
Anything was better than what Cinder plotted.
/-/
"I can have the Ace-Ops there in five minutes." Ironwood insisted. "Along with Magnis, myself, Winter and Warchief."
"Do that and they'll never show." Knight said. The man was a General, so he knew how ambushes worked. None of this should have been new to him, but he supposed the man was dealing with world-ending consequences. "The Gods wanted this to be a spectacle between different versions of myself. I don't see the point in refusing them that. Unless you want them to decide we didn't play by the rules and start another war for the fate of Remnant?"
He was alone in a stretch of land set aside for construction – far in the commercial district, among business parks and warehouses, away from where people lived. Xiong knew where he was, which meant Headmaster and hopefully Cinder would as well. The few discarded giant monoliths that Ruby called `cranes` stood nearby, standing behind the half-constructed shells of new buildings. It was a nice, quiet spot far away from public habitation where he could let loose without fear of harming innocents.
"Knight? Knight, answer me, damn it!"
"I'm here." His eyes took in the people approaching, more than he expected. The masks told of who hey were, and he had to congratulate Cinder for bringing allies. "And so are they. The White Fang too."
"Damn it! I'll dispatch my men."
"Don't."
"This isn't about fairness, Knight. This is war – whatever we can do to win, we shall do. I don't care how things are done on your world. This is our Remnant."
"And I am asking you not to send your people here," Knight replied calmly. He looked to Ashari, Grimm and Null. "I can't go all-out if I constantly have to watch myself around your people."
Ironwood sounded stunned. "What?"
"Put simply." His eyes began to glow. "You'll only get in my way."
/-/
"He's alone." Ashari said. He scanned the nearby buildings, all abandoned, and frowned. "It'll be hard for Atlas to move Bullheads with all these cranes around. If bringing support to ambush is their plan, they couldn't have picked a worse location."
"Is he that confident?" Cinder wondered out loud. "If so, we shouldn't discount it. Adam?"
The masked man, whose snarl could be seen under his mask, nodded once and waved his hand, signalling to the White Fang to approach the lone person. He was a dark spot in the gloom of the construction yard, though the oddity was both the name above his head and the fact his eyes were glowing pale blue, like tiny fires set in his face. Maiden fire? No, that wasn't possible. It was more likely some quirk or aspect of his world.
Faunus spread out and approached slowly, fanning out in that way people that didn't really want to be the first into combat did, trying to take as much time as they could in the hopes the other party would give up or run, or that one of their own would attack first and take the brunt of the assault. Eventually, one did. A large man charged forward with a chainsaw revving, howled like a wolf and brought it down atop Knight's head.
Knight was fast.
Deadly fast.
His hand came up, fingers catching either side of whirling teeth. He twisted, little more than a flick of his right ninety-degrees to the side, and the chainsaw blade snapped like dry wood. In the same motion, he swept the small piece of it held down and across. The faunus' head rolled off his shoulders, his body toppling to the side. It was so sudden that the chainsaw was still buzzing and rumbling away. Chainsaw teeth were not razor sharp, or even all that sharp at all, so the strength necessary to decapitate a man must have been incredible. Mercury summed it up in one word.
"Shit-"
Gravel and concrete shot out behind Knight as if fired from a cannon. He darted forward, slammed a foot down and then blurred left faster than Ashari could track. Six White Fang were bisected, cut in half across their stomachs or chests by a single swing. Their bodies had not hit the floor before Knight was in motion again, ducking under a clumsy swing and grabbing the faunus' outstretched arm with one hand. He twisted, spinning a small pirouette before throwing the faunus away.
Ashari had thrown people before. They tended to go down if you threw them down, but otherwise travel a short arc – a foot and a half, maybe more if they were light or you really put your back into it. They'd roll with the impact, the whole idea being more to put your enemy in a bad position than to actually remove them from the fight.
The faunus was removed from the fight.
Fuck, he was removed from the city, shooting off at a forty-five degree angle like a bullet straight out of Crescent Rose. He went right up and over the walls, screaming until his voice was too distant to be heard. There was little chance he'd survive the landing.
"He isn't bait!" Mercury shouted. "He's the trap!"
Knight looked to them.
Ashari cursed. "SCATTER!"
It wasn't a moment too soon. There was only a brief moment between Knight's eyes narrowing and him appearing in the midst of where they'd been, his jacket flapping behind him. His sword caught Adam's, and instead of a ring of steel on steel there was one not unlike metal on glass, as Adam's crimson blade exploded into little pieces. That would have been his skull if he hadn't already been diving away.
Landing in a roll, Ashari's first thought was for Emerald. He saw her trying to regroup with Cinder – a bad idea – and chased after her. His instincts screamed at him as he did and never one to ignore them Ashari threw himself away, preventing the loss of his head by mere fractions of a second.
He was in motion as well however, loosing two flash bangs from his coat. It had worked before, blinding Knight and removing him from the fight, but even he knew it was hopeful at best to expect a foe to fall for the same trick twice. The second Knight saw them, he closed his eyes and even shielded them with one arm, kicking back and clearing a crazy distance before the canisters exploded in white light with a loud blast. Ashari hit down, eyes clenched shut, ears focused. Over the screams and shouted orders from the White Fang trying to rally, he picked up Cinder shouting for Grimm to fill the area with his namesake. Not a bad plan, though if she expected them to beat Knight, she probably had another thing coming. At best they would buy them a few seconds.
I'd take that right about now.
"Ashari, blind him!" Cinder ordered, summoning a wave of fire that Knight slammed through without a hint of damage. "Null, now!"
Ashari felt the uncomfortable dip that was his aura vanishing out from under him, then heard the shots. Two gunshots, two impacts landing directly on Knight's chest. They pierced through his clothing with ease, and even slammed into his body. Blood splattered out of him. A tiny, tiny amount of blood. Nine millimetre rounds fired at such close range should have gone deeper. These looked like they'd done superficial damage at best, as if Knight's skin itself was so thick it took most of the momentum.
For all he knew, it had. This was a guy who according to Headmaster ran off RPG logic – and where was that knowledgeable fuck when they needed him? Headmaster batted a Beowolf aside, caught an Ursa by its snout and lifted the whole thing up over his head in one hand. He aimed, grunted and hurled the thing like a speeding bullet at Null, who only had time to let his Semblance go and return aura to everyone before he was swept off his feet by the now-airborne Grimm.
RPG meant, what, health points? Constitution? Ashari opened fire from a distance and watched the bullets plink away at Knight. He didn't seem to have aura, or it wasn't the same, but his endurance was flat-out miles above theirs.
It made sense. Given how fast the man moved and struck, and assuming others in his world were the same, a punch could have the velocity as a cannonball. He didn't much fancy the chances his aura would do a thing if that version of Crocea Mors hit him. Some hits were so powerful they tore right through aura. Knight's were so powerful that his missed swings carved up concrete.
Cinder had chosen to fall back on fire. Lots of it. The flames engulfed Knight and two White Fang grunts at the same time, the latter screaming fitfully while Knight bounded out of it and toward her swinging his sword.
For a moment, Ashari dared to hope she'd be killed.
"No!" Emerald wailed and ran in.
"No!" Ashari echoed, sprinting after her. "Emerald, no! Fuck!"
Panic gave him speed, allowing him to shoulder Emerald out the way just as Knight turned to face the new threat. His daughter hit the gravel with a gasp, and Ashari got Crocea Mors up before him with a gasp of his own. Time enough to catch Knight's blade as it swung diagonally upward.
Shards of metal flew slowly before Ashari's eyes. That, along with blood and his right arm, spiralling over and over as Knight's sword continued upward without the slightest loss in momentum.
Oh, Ashari thought dully, that's not good.
Gritting his teeth, Ashari dumped a full bandolier of grenades at Knight's feet, stooped to grab Emerald with one arm and haul her over his shoulder, then kicked back. Knight, like the last time, fled from his grenades before they could have any effect. Fortunate since he hadn't primed or pulled the pin from any of them. Bleeding terribly, Ashari pushed aura to his arm, as amused as he was terrified about the fact he still had aura left. The attack had been so swift and so powerful it hadn't even drained his aura. It had just bypassed it.
Knight was swarmed immediately with Grimm – Beowolves, Ursa and Nevermore piling onto him like angry bees trying to ball their queen to death. Teeth and claws ripped and rent, but it was Knight's bare hands that proved victorious. He tore heads off the Grimm, battered the rest aside with their own allies and even kicked one so hard it smashed through a nearby building, shattering brickwork like plaster.
"Mercury is dead!" Cinder rasped.
"What? When!?"
Cinder shook her head angrily. It must have been too quick for them to track, and likely as one-sided as Ashari imagined. "Retreat," she snapped. "We underestimated him. He's slaughtering us."
"There's no beating that." Ashari hissed. "He's not human."
"He'll be removed." Cinder said. "He has to be or we're all of us dead. His anchor, or we can draw him out – something." Cinder looked to his arm, and Ashari wondered if she would take the chance to try and kill him. He couldn't do much with Emerald over his shoulder. Of course, that would leave her one Jaune down against this monster. Cinder made the right choice. "Grimm! Keep him busy – we're leaving. Now!"
"Where's Headmaster?" Grimm asked.
"What does it matter? He'd be no more use here than we are."
Cinder rushed over to an unconscious Null, still beneath an Ursa and bleeding from his lips. She touched his neck, gasped in relief and hauled him out. Behind, Knight was wading toward them, each step taken through bodies of Grimm that continued to try and drag him down. His eyes remained locked on them, glowing blue in the night. Ashari cast down his last canisters – smoke grenades. Thick, pungent smoke began to belch out as the metal cylinder span like a toy on the ground.
Ashari hoped Ruby knew what she was doing showing this much strength early on. After this, she was going to become a target.
/-/
"By the Brother Gods," Ozpin gasped as the single Atlesian drone hovered helplessly over the battlefield. Though, one might struggle to call what they'd seen a battle. It was hard to even call it a massacre. "James. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Ashari down an arm, Null taken out the fight, Grimm helpless." Ironwood slumped back, pale. "I knew he was strong but… that? That's not even possible. Was he always this powerful? Is everyone in his world this powerful?"
"Different world; different rules. What we've seen here might be normal there. Or it is we who are significantly weaker than the people of their world."
"What do we do if he does go rogue?" Warchief asked. "Because we can't fight him."
"We let him." Ozpin answered. "We let him do what he wants and trust that he has our, or Miss Rose's, best interests at heart."
"Or we could use her." Ironwood pointed out. "She's still his anchor."
"No way." Warchief said. "He'd kill us. We wouldn't stand a chance."
/-/
"What do you think?"
"One-sided." Headmaster curled a finger against his chin as he said it. His eyes were locked on the battle below. "About as one-sided as I expected. There's something to be said for a fully levelled and kitted-out fantasy character, hm?"
The suited man sighed. "I wouldn't know."
"Come now, Xiong, we had the same upbringing. We played the same games."
"Perhaps." Jaune Xiong Arc stood with arms crossed, his suit caught briefly in the wind. He looked up. "We're not the only ones watching. General Ironwood and Ozpin must be rather pleased with themselves right now. They have the strongest of us in this little war by far."
"And yet you don't sound worried, my criminal friend."
"Strength isn't everything. If it was, I'd have been killed a long time ago. Still, it's good to have disarmed Cinder's group a little." He smiled at his little pun there, and Headmaster chuckled along. "It will buy us time. It'll also teach her to be a little more cautious."
"Happy that Null won't be hunting for you?"
"It's a small relief, yes. I won't be lowering the guard on the club anytime soon, however."
"And the gangs?"
Xiong nodded. "Under control."
"Then we're moving onto the next stage of the plan," Headmaster said. He looked out over the battlefield and smiled. "That ought to be interesting."
"Those heavy hitters will need to be dealt with before we do. It just won't be possible to get past Knight. And take him out and Cinder has the advantage. They need to be roughly on the same level." Xiong paused, noticing Headmaster's smile. "You have something planned."
"I do."
"Will it work?"
"That's the question, isn't it?"
Knight OP!
Well, yeah, he does come from a world where feats like that are pretty normal, so he's going to seem very op compared to normal people. That's a world where people can double in strength after just a few levels, and then keep on getting stronger and stronger as long as they fight. He couldn't last time because a) he was blinded and b) he knew that if he went all out, it would give carte blanche for Ashari to go all out, all over Team RWBY and JNPR.
Well, the tyre fixers haven't arrived yet but neither has the asshole come back down the lane so that's good. Already reported this, but it's a minor crime right now as you might imagine. I expect someone will come around at some point to ask questions. I've taken photographs of the damage anyway. Not going to claim it on insurance as a new tyre costs less than savings I get from not making any claims.
Next Chapter: 14th May
Like my work? Please consider supporting me, even if it's only a little a month or even for a whole year, so I can keep writing so many stories as often as I do. Even a little means a lot and helps me dedicate more time and resources to my work.
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
