Leaving behind a village where he had just completed a mission, Qrow began to walk away. The inhabitants were waving goodbye to him, and calling out well-wishes, especially a young lady in particular who had given a sly wink as he continued to walk; Qrow waited with eager anticipation until he was finally out of sight to pull out his flask, and took a long whiff from it before he downed whatever was left in one gulp.
Once the mouthpiece left his lips, he tilted the flask upside down and gave it a little shake, frowning upon seeing just one drop sprinkle out, and wished that he had imbibed it, rather than letting it fall uselessly to the ground below.
"Time for a refill," Qrow thought to himself. "Then again, I need a place to stay, and to get some stuff for Taiyang."
He let out a sigh before he slipped the flask back into its hiding place, and put his hands in his pockets before he continued forward, with the lights from the village slowly growing dim as the distance grew between them. The sounds of people happily working were instead replaced by grass crunching underneath his feet, and he seemed to go into a trance; it was quiet all around after he dispatched a few roaming Grimm in the area; he had been hired for the job since the village's local Huntsmen were occupied with another mission.
Everything was calm; besides his footsteps, the only other sounds were the birds chirping, and the wind blowing through the trees. It should bring the village some peace, the dead Grimm should serve as a reminder to any other ones that might menace the village not to leave the safety of their own roaming grounds, but they were always watching, even when Qrow just simply ignored them. His disposition wasn't really the best at the moment, as the alcohol made his mouth dry again, and he hoped for another drink.
"Do my eyes deceive me?"
Qrow heard the voice, barely audible from the soft roar of the wind, and stopped immediately, his face showing no outward emotion, even though the newcomer did startle him slightly. Grimm were simple creatures to deal with, but a random person in the wilderness was something else entirely. He waited for another sound, a simple twig breaking, leaves crunching, anything that would give him any idea of where this voice came from.
"For once in your life, you aren't a drunken mess?"
Now Qrow was curious, most would immediately recognize that he was drunk, but to have someone refer to him directly made him wonder who this person was. However, it was the flippant tone in the man's voice that tipped Qrow off, and he immediately realized who it was.
"Are you going to show yourself?" Qrow asked in a gruff voice, which was tinged with annoyance. "Or are we going to keep playing games?"
"Awww, come now… Qrow." Qrow's eyes narrowed as he heard rustling from a tree to his left, and turned to see something fall behind some bushes; his tilted his head to the side, his hands were free, but he flexed them as he mentally prepared himself when Ash emerged from the bushes.
"Ah, I see you put your collar and leash back on," Qrow said with a smirk as he attempted to bait Ash. Although he had been strictly ordered not to engage, he had been hunting him for a long time and to finally see Qrow in front of him made him wish for a fight.
"Qrow, you wound me; I thought we were friends!" Ash responded with an insincere frown.
"I believe 'were' is the key word here, Ash," Qrow responded, to which Ash simply shrugged and began to circle Qrow. Qrow remained calm however, standing in place as he listened intently to the sounds of grass being crushed underneath Ash's feet. For Ash to come would only mean that he was next among his friends to be killed, although the idea of dying didn't seem so bad, he thought that he didn't want to die just yet. There was much more fun to be had, more ladies to meet and more time to get drunk.
But then the thoughts of his nieces flooded his mind.
"Look at us: we are all alone, in the woods, far enough away from any form of civilization for anyone to help you," Ash said as he attempted to shake Qrow, but he kept his gaze with no emotion tainting his expression.
"Don't worry; I am not here to kill you, Qrow," Ash said, his hands folded in front of him as if he was proud of actually showing mercy to someone.
"I doubt you'd be able to kill me, no matter how hard you tried," Qrow quipped.
"Maybe, I was never able to beat you in a fair spar," Ash replied, and looked down at the grass as if in thought. "However, that was a long time ago, and today, things would be far less fair."
There was silence between the two, as Qrow kept his eyes glued on Ash, while the other continued to look down at the ground; Qrow's hand slowly reaching towards the handle of his sword that he kept on a belt behind him, not knowing that Ash was hiding a grin as his own hand inched towards the handle of his own blade. A buzz interrupted them, and Ash's head shot up, genuine surprise in his eyes as he watched Qrow pull out his Scroll, and sighed as he read the message on it.
"I guess I am not the only one who's being kept on a tight leash," Ash remarked; every inch of Qrow wanted to crush the Scroll and attack, but he sighed in resignation and returned the device to his pocket while his hand let go of his blade and he turned away from Ash.
"You would really turn your back to an enemy?" Ash asked.
"I know you aren't so cowardly that you would attack a man from behind," Qrow responded, not turning to face Ash.
"Then you don't know me at all," Ash said with a smirk as he also turned away from Qrow. "I remember a scene just like this. Do you?"
Qrow stood silently as he waited for Ash; it wasn't normal for him to feel anger, or to be ticked off so easily, but Ash's constant cryptic talks were getting the better of him, especially since he knew what he was talking about.
"Ah you remember what happened last time you turned your back to me," Ash said, the smirk on his face grew. "How is your sister, Raven?"
With a quick, and fluid motion, Qrow turned as he reached for his blade, and with the momentum from his spin, he swung his sword while holding it with a reverse grip; when he opened his eyes, he saw nothing, only the groaning as the tree he had just cut down fell towards the ground.
Ash was gone.
Team CFVY and the remaining members of team HAVC waved goodnight to one another, as they split up to return to their respective dormrooms. Vaughn walked with a suit that he had bought that kept hung over the crook of his finger, and draped it over his shoulder; his outfit wrapped in a protective plastic covering while Velvet walked away with Haiiden's.
"Don't worry; I'll get it nice and tailored for you before the dance," Velvet said with a smile.
"Its okay, that isn't necessary," Haiiden said, wondering if all this was really required.
"We took all that time to find a nice outfit for you, and we will not let you go unless it's perfect," Coco said, and flashed a glare at him as she lowered her sunglasses; Haiiden swallowed nervously.
"Have a good night!" Velvet said as she turned to catch up with the rest of her team, while HAVC waved goodbye again.
T hey walked quietly down the halls, careful to not wake anyone who might be sleeping at this late hour; although some were probably out during the break. Haiiden then noticed a small bag that Cecilia held in her hand, but ignored it as they came up to their room.
They opened the door slowly, remembering that Zed had already gone back but then noticed a bright light in the room; it came from Zed's nightstand, and upon closer inspection, they noticed that he had fallen asleep reading something and all around him were the many pages from the invoices they had taken from Mistral.
The next morning, Zed was biting his thumb as he eyed Vaughn occasionally while he looked over the contents of the invoices. The dorm was dead silent, with Haiiden sitting on his bed, and Cecilia standing beside her brother. Vaughn stared intently at the pages, as he would occasionally flip them, and his eyes would then start to move from side to side again.
Zed then swallowed nervously, as he turned over to Haiiden, who looked back at him for a moment, before Vaughn stacked the papers on top of one another, and set them on the table.
"Well?" Zed asked.
"I think I can help," Vaughn said as he nodded to Zed.
"Oh thank you – so will you help me?" Zed asked with a hopeful smile, but faded as Vaughn continued to stare at him silently.
"Zed, I get that you want to catch this guy," Vaughn said as he began to frown and look down.
"More than anything!" Zed exclaimed, his breath quickening.
"But this is not our fight," Vaughn continued, his sister not looking up at Zed, who was now becoming worried; his eyes flashing between orange and green.
"Aren't we a team, though?" Zed asked.
"We are," Vaughn replied. "But that doesn't mean I have to get into business that isn't mine. I came here to become a Huntsman, not to fight the White Fang. I have done that before, and I have had enough of that, were I to be honest."
Zed nodded and sat down at the chair next to the team's desk, and the room was about to settle into silence again, before Haiiden had a thought.
"Why didn't you just leave the invoices with Mistral Intelligence?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure they would have found him by now."
"Because I wanted to find him myself," Zed replied.
"Since you feel like you are to blame for what the White Fang has become," Vaughn interjected, and Zed shot a glare at Vaughn, not expecting this from him. "Am I right?"
Zed took in a deep breath, ready to respond, but instead bit back his tongue. The tension between the two began to grow, but it was Vaughn who relieved it, as he was the first to exhale.
"Zed, you are not to blame for what has happened, in fact, it was bound to happen even if you weren't there. They were the ones to choose that path, while you chose to walk away from it," Vaugh continued, with Zed recoiling at each point he made, the fact that he rarely spoke unless he had to also add to the sting. "You have done the best you can, and now it has nothing to do with you, but this obsession is not healthy; as a friend, I beg that you drop this."
"I'm sorry, but I can't," Zed replied.
"So you would risk us all on some attempt at redemption, or revenge," Vaughn said, gravely, while Cecilia and Haiiden watched with silent frowns. "We have no stakes in this, Zed, you do realize that?"
"Yes, but you said so yourself; you are my friend, and I ask you as a friend," Zed replied. "Please help, even if it's just to decode the invoices. You don't have to come with me to find Torchwick."
The room went silent again as everyone thought to themselves, with Vaughn feeling a hint of guilt.
"Okay, I'll help decode," Vaughn said, as he turned and reached for the pile of invoices and picked them up again as he began to flip the pages. "I believe… that it should take be about a couple days to decode this."
"Thanks, mate!" Zed said joyfully, as he ran up and bear-hugged Vaughn, who responded with a nervous laugh.
"Well then, we better get started, we only have a week left in the break," Vaughn said, as Zed set him back down onto the floor; who wobbled slightly before he regained his balance.
Over the next few hours, Zed and Vaughn worked meticulously on the invoices, with Haiiden and Cecilia watching as Vaughn performed his task. Although there were some minor hiccups where Vaughn didn't make any progress, he worked even harder to make up for lost time.
With his gauntlet lying on the counter, Haiiden undressed in the bathroom, as it was it time to remove the bandages around his waist, as ordered by the nurse who had him patched; the wound had healed completely, although there were still some aches in that side, but the pain was mild enough that he was able to forget about it.
Cecilia, meanwhile, had changed from her military uniform and into what she called 'civilian' clothes; mostly comprised of jeans and a sleeveless vest that exposed her arms, which were toned from carrying and swinging her claymore. She wanted to freshen up just a little, so she headed for her dorm's bathroom, then opened the door and immediately recoiled upon seeing Haiiden, who hid himself by turning his back to her.
"Oh! Sorry, sir," she exclaimed immediately while Zed laughed loudly. "Shut up, Zed!"
"Its fine; just shut the door," Haiiden replied, and Cecilia quickly closed the door and turned around to notice the smile on Zed's face grow wider when he noticed.
"Like what you saw?" Zed asked coyly, to which Cecilia responded by rushing towards him and began to beat him down.
"Hey, hey! It was just a joke! We all live together; heck, I've seen you in your underwear!" Zed exclaimed, but still couldn't help but laugh while Cecilia began to beat him down harder and harder.
Haiiden could hear the commotion from the other side of the door, and sighed with relief as he looked down at his left arm and was glad that Cecilia did not notice the amalgamation of different mechanical parts that comprised his bionic limb that he worked so hard to hide; it looked almost skeletal, he thought as he scanned it again as he did his routine diagnostics on it.
He then quickly grabbed the shirt which sat on the counter, and put it on, pulling down on the sleeves to cover as much of his arms as he could before he then put on a pair of thin woolen gloves. The roughhousing ended once Haiiden emerged from the bathroom, and Cecilia stood at attention while Zed was lying on his bed; holding his sides while still giggling to himself.
He took a moment to tighten the gloves on his hands before looking up to Zed, who looked back and nodded, then Haiiden motioned for Cecilia to follow him out the dorm; once they both were outside, Haiiden closed it shut and crossed his arms as he looked towards her.
"So, what are we gonna do?" he asked.
"I don't understand, sir," Cecilia responded, and quirked a brow at him.
"It's going to take a while for them to decode the invoices, and we wouldn't be of much help; we would just be a distraction to them," Haiiden said with a shrug. "Come on."
He waved, and Cecilia followed behind him, eventually making their way to the school's docks to call in a transport into Vale. The ride over was quiet, as neither of the teammates spoke to one another; this was the first time they had been alone with one another since the school year began, and it felt awkward, considering what had happened earlier in the year. Although they agreed to put it behind him, there were some things still bugging her.
She then brushed the feeling aside as they finally landed in Vale, and she stepped off before following Haiiden, who almost left her behind as he continued to walk down the street. They both stopped in front of some old garage, but then he knocked on the door, which then opened to reveal a bear-Faunus marred by grease and oil, who seemed surprised to see Haiiden.
"Oh hey, Haiiden, what's up?" the man said as he cleaned his wrench with a piece of cloth.
"Hey, Smudge. Was just wondering if you still got my bike," Haiiden said with a shrug, and peered around the man's shoulder and into the garage; he looked behind him, then back to Haiiden before stepping to the side to let him in.
"Should be just in there," he replied, while pointing to the back of the shop with his thumb. Haiiden nodded and stepped into the garage, with Cecilia following behind him and she examined everything of interest inside the garage. It looked a lot smaller from the outside, but once she was actually in, she saw the full depth and breadth of the garage; inside were cars, many of which were shined and polished to a gleam, but were kept separate from the other vehicles that seemed to be either broken or were being worked on by Smudge.
Parts lay around in piles, old tires stacked on top of one another, even Haiiden took interest in a particular dirt bike which Cecilia had ignored, as it looked broken down. However, he began to pull it out towards the exit, but not before stopping in front of Smudge.
"Thanks for keeping it for me," Haiiden said, as he dropped some Lien into Smudge's open and dirty palm.
"My pleasure; I did tweak it just a tad," Smudge replied and stuffed the Lien into his pocket, noticing the disbelief on Cecilia's face as she finally realized that the bike belonged to Haiiden. "Doesn't look like much, but it has a strong engine. It should be good for another couple more years before you'll notice it starting to break down."
"Yeah? That's great; thanks again, Smudge," Haiiden said enthusiastically and pulled the bike out onto the street and started it up. The engine came to life immediately, and Cecilia saw a single puff of black smoke exit out of the exhaust before everything seemed normal. Haiiden then turned to Cecilia, and looked back to her, and waved for her to join; she hesitated for a moment before she climbed onto the seat of the bike and wondered as to what she would hold on to; she finally decided to just put her hands on his shoulders.
She then heard a little laugh escape Haiiden, to which her response was to punch him in the back of the head.
"Hey, don't forget these," they both heard, and turned to see Smudge holding up two helmets before he handed them to Haiiden and Cecilia. "Safety first."
Haiiden put on his helmet, and gave it a little knock for good measure before waving farewell to Smudge, then he sped off with Cecilia. Finally leaving the industrial district, they drove around the city of Vale to take in its many sights before stopping near the farmer's market.
Meanwhile, back at HAVC's dorm room, Zed and Vaughn sat together as they scanned over the contents of the invoices, which could potentially lead them to the whereabouts of Roman Torchwick.
"Anything?" Zed asked, mostly out of concern and hoping that he could still get to Roman.
"Zed, we just started," Vaughn replied with a hint of exasperation.
"Sorry," Zed said and swallowed as he looked over the invoices.
Vaughn smiled, and refocused his attention; he required silence and concentration, and he knew that Zed would not be able to help him with this endeavor. As he continued to scan the contents, he wrote down some drafts which displayed different placements of words and numbers, trying to figure out what kind of cipher it was.
"How does this work, exactly?" Zed asked, breaking Vaughn's concentration.
"Ummm, well, that is what I am trying to figure out, first of all," Vaughn answered.
"I thought you recognized the code," Zed pointed out.
"No, I said I could help," Vaughn replied. "There are different types of ciphers, a virtually infinite number of methods for disguising information, and I am trying out every cipher I know of so I can guess which one the White Fang might be using; I recognize the cipher in a broad sense, but every attempt I make at deciphering it does not work."
Zed looked down at the paper once again, and noticed the word placements in the sentences shown; though the only thing that was legible in the invoice was what was being transported, and in what amount; most of the phrases and sentences that were formed after it did not make sense on their own, nor did the header, where the address was likely to be found.
"Zed, I have to ask: are you sure these are invoices?" Vaughn asked.
"I think so," Zed replied and winced as he thought he had made a mistake. "Why, does it not look like them?"
"I don't know for sure; I still need to look it over carefully," Vaughn said with a shrug. "Whatever it is though, it's important enough that they would use cryptography to try and hide whatever it is."
Zed nodded, and sat silently as he watched Vaughn do his work; his eyes sometimes going up, then furrowing into frustration, which was almost amusing to Zed, but also worrisome.
Haiiden parked his bike outside of the market, and stepped off it before he made his way inside; the farmer's market being mostly comprised of wooden stalls which supported cloth canopies to shelter people from the summer sun.
All around, stalls were filled with produce that had been grown and brought in from outside of Vale, where many farmers also applied at the mission board to find Huntsman and Huntresses to defend them while they worked.
Cecilia watched in wonder, but also out of curiosity as she wondered what she might get as a snack, while Haiiden made his way towards a stall that sold a variety of fruits, and his eye caught a particular bunch of apples; just as he reached down to pick one up, he heard a familiar voice.
"As I live and breathe." Cecilia had finally caught up with Haiiden and they both looked up to see an elderly woman with green hair which was turning lighter at the roots due to her old age.
She squinted her eyes and leaned in towards Haiiden, who replied with a smile and looked down at the apples again before picking one up and tearing off a plastic bag that hung over the stall; he then began stuffing apples inside of it.
"Haiiden, is that you?" The woman asked, as she reeled back and clasped her hands over her mouth while Haiiden continued to look over the apples.
"Hello Ivy," Haiiden replied and smiled in return as he filled the bag with a few more apples and tied the end into a knot before handing it to her carefully with both hands.
"The last time I saw you, you were just a small boy still holding his mama's hand," Ivy said and took the bag from Haiiden and weighed them on a scale while Haiiden scratched the back of his head. Just like with Smudge, Cecilia watched curiously as Ivy and Haiiden spoke to one another, unable to add to the back and forth, as she was the outsider, until Ivy finally told Haiiden the total price.
As Haiiden reached for some money, Ivy's gaze then turned to Cecilia and she tilted her head as she examined her.
"Haiiden, who is this? A girlfriend?" Ivy asked sweetly, to which Haiiden jolted his head up and turned to Cecilia, and his eyes widened as he turned to Ivy and raised his hands defensively.
"Woah, no!" Haiiden said, and realized that Cecilia also had spoken up, and just like him, she had her hands raised up in defense. Ivy let out a giggle, as she reached her hand over her stall, her palm open to receive the Lien from Haiiden.
He gave her the money, completing the transaction and he turned to leave, but not without waving goodbye as he went back to his parked bike.
With Cecilia sitting behind him, Haiiden drove his bike on the roads along the cliff-side of the mountains which acted as a natural barrier for the Kingdom of Vale. It was mostly used for sightseeing now, as any other roads that lead to the other side of the mountains had been closed off for many years.
They made a stop at the highest point, with hundreds of feet of mountain left until they reached the top, but they were high enough to look down at Vale. Many of the tourists that were visiting were all up here with tour guides as they took photos of the Kingdom, while Cecilia and Haiiden sat near the edge of a cliff, with their legs dangling in the air as they enjoyed the snacks that Haiiden had bought.
"You seem to know quite a few people," Cecilia suddenly said, and Haiiden turned to her with a quirked brow. "Smudge and Ivy, I mean."
"I don't know them that well, they were friends of my mom when she worked as a Huntress," Haiiden replied.
"You know them enough to know their names, know them on sight," Cecilia pointed out. "I don't think you're just acquaintances."
"Well, I care about people. Although, I do feel bad for not having visited Ivy as often as I do Smudge; I haven't seen her since before my mother died. I guess I need to put some more time into it," Haiiden said with a shrug.
"Well, okay then," Cecilia said. "How did your mom know them?"
"Well, after my mom's original team went their separate ways, she worked with Smudge for a bit on some missions," Haiiden replied, and took a drink from a bottle of water.
"So he was a Huntsman?" She asked in disbelief.
"I know he doesn't look like much, but my mom was confident enough to entrust her life to him," Haiiden said. "He was pretty good with mechanical weapons, but now he uses that knowledge to help with vehicle maintenance."
Cecilia nodded, impressed by how many years of experience as a Huntsman could easily carry over to civilian life.
"Okay, what about Ivy?" Cecilia continued.
"My mom used to work by protecting her orchard; not many Grimm get too close to the Kingdom's walls, but some do get too brave, or stupid, and attempt to attack farms," Haiiden replied.
"And people need food, which warrants admission to the mission boards, especially since most farms are outside of the walls" Cecilia pointed out. "Back in Atlas, these missions were even paid by the military, although payment was relatively low."
"Like you said, people do need food," Haiiden agreed.
"Did Ivy pay your mom?" Cecilia asked.
"In apples," Haiiden said with a smile and bit into another apple, as he threw the core over the cliff. Cecilia chuckled and finished the rest of her snack then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black box and presented it to Haiiden; who stared at it for a moment and the first thought that came into mind was how it looked like one of those boxes that contained engagement rings.
"Oh Cecilia, I think it's a bit too soon, don't you?" Haiiden quipped; some of Zed's mannerisms were rubbing off on him, and Cecilia responded by punching him in the arm.
"It's for me, and for Vaughn," she exclaimed and opened the box to reveal two necklaces and both of them had charms at the end of them. One was a Star Cross, and the other a small dove in flight.
"They look pretty, but I have to ask about the charms though," Haiiden pointed out, and leaned in to get a closer look.
"It's to remember our upbringing, the Star Cross is for the medal given to me before my discharge, while the dove is a symbol of peace for Vaughn," Cecilia answered, and Haiiden nodded his head; the logic did make sense but it still felt wrong to him.
"So it is to remember your time in the military, then," Haiiden pointed out.
"Exactly," Cecilia replied, smiling all the while. "Do you think he'd like it?"
Haiiden swallowed nervously as he tried to formulate an answer, and Cecilia noticed his hesitation, and the smile on her face faltered.
"What? Too cheesy?" She asked.
"It's not that. I do get the idea of peace for Vaughn, but I don't think he would like to be reminded of his time in the military," Haiiden said, shaking his head as he looked back up at her.
"Why not?" Cecilia asked.
"Well, from what he told us, it sounded like hell to him," Haiiden replied.
"But it is also what made us who we are," Cecilia replied, defensively.
"Perhaps that is the problem," Haiiden muttered softly, just enough for Cecilia to not be able to hear him.
"What was that?" Cecilia demanded.
"How about this: what do you think a military signifies?" Haiiden asked and Cecilia said nothing as she waited to hear his point. "War and strife. Do you think he fights for that?"
Cecilia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out and instead let out a heavy sigh and looked down at her feet as they dangled from the cliffside.
"The dove charm works; it is supposed to signify peace, but if it's used to remember his time in the military, then it kind of defeats the purpose; if anything, those necklaces should be used to signify you two leaving that life behind," Haiiden replied, and frowned. "I'm sorry, but that's just my opinion, and I'm sure he, as well as some other people, would rather forget moments like those."
Cecilia then took a moment to think over what he said, especially on his point about forgetting.
"What about you?" Cecilia asked in reply trying to change the subject and revert the point to him in anger, while Haiiden raised his bottle to drink from it and finished before starring off into Vale.
"What about me?" He replied.
"Is there something you want to forget?" she asked, and for a moment, he did not answer.
"No. At least nothing in particular," Haiiden replied.
"What about your mom?" Cecilia asked but Haiiden continued to stare as he debated on whether or not not to respond to that question, lest they get to another argument for touching a sensitive subject.
"Let me just say that her passing is what made me who I am now," and that was all that Haiiden said, and the two continued to sit together but in silence.
The day had passed, and the sun was beginning to set, and the orange, yellows and reds of the last remaining sunlight shone through the window and into HAVC's dorm. Out of boredom, Zed was lying on his bed after realizing that he was of no help to Vaughn, who was working on decoding the invoices, meticulously.
"Okay, I think I am getting something," Vaughn said as he squinted his eyes while he replayed the ciphers in his mind, making sure that they were correct.
"Finally!" Zed said excitedly as he jumped off his bed and leaned over Vaughn to look at what he had found, although he needed Vaughn to explain what it was he was looking at. "What is it?"
In reply, Vaughn began to write down sentences while he looked back and forth between the pages and a blank slate of paper; with another page of possible cipher codes on top.
"If I am using the correct cipher, and if I am translating it correctly, then from what I am reading they are sending shipments to Vale, as well as receiving some materials and weapons in return," Vaughn said.
"Yes! I can finally get him," Zed said with a wide grin but then Vaughn leaned back in his chair and turned to Zed.
"Zed, I seriously suggest handing these over to the authorities," Vaughn said with concern.
"Why? You agreed to help, didn't you?" Zed asked.
"I did, but I am starting to believe that they can make much better use of this than we can," Vaughn replied. "They can catch him."
"Mate, you have seen the news, Torchwick is the most wanted man in Vale," Zed responded. "With all of their resources, they still have not managed to catch him."
Vaughn sat in silence, his face turning crestfallen as he thought over this and he looked back at the invoices, but only to avoid eye contact with Zed. For the first time, Zed noticed clear emotion coming from Vaughn, besides smiles and chuckles, he never showed anything so distinct.
"Mate, what is it?" Zed asked, and pulled up another chair to sit with him.
"I don't want to end up killing anyone if we go to meet Torchwick," Vaughn replied.
"Who says we will be killing anyone?" Zed remarked. "And 'we?'"
"Of course, we are a team after all," Vaughn said with a slight smile, but it quickly disappeared.
"I see, but you are also worried about who we are fighting," Zed replied.
"Exactly; they are still people," Vaughn replied. "Zed, although I only had one real battle with my father against the White Fang, seeing the death caused by people made me decide I wanted no part of it."
Vaughn then remembered the mission he had with his father before he disappeared, and before they were discharged from the military; he remembered how he looked down at the bodies of the White Fang prisoners that were murdered by the Lieutenant of another platoon, and how his sister plunged her sword into his chest.
"Yet, I still find myself getting pulled into these battles that have nothing to do with me," Vaughn finished.
Zed sat in silence and scratched the back of his head nervously.
"I'm sorry. I thought as teammates you would have my back, but I didn't think that I would actually be forcing you into a conflict that doesn't concern you. My revenge doesn't involve you either," Zed responded.
"It is fine, Zed. Honestly, I know that you would help me if I ever needed it, so in return I will follow you into battle; on the front lines or in the back as support," Vaughn said and smiled.
"Thank you," Zed replied. "I promise, if we take out Torchwick, it should deal a lethal blow to the White Fang's support, and we won't have to worry about them anymore."
"I hope so," Vaughn replied, and at that moment, the door to their dorm opened behind them, and Cecilia and Haiiden stepped into the dorm. Although they were out in the sun all day, instead of being cooped up in the room out of boredom, they did not look well and they immediately headed for their respective beds.
Zed and Vaughn looked back to one another, and shrugged as they each decided that it was best to call it a night as well.
The next morning, with renewed energy, but also with a strange sense of determination, Vaughn went back to working on the invoices again. Zed and Haiiden went with JNPR to eat together, while Cecilia slept in as she had been unable to sleep during the night, as she thought about the discussion she had had with Haiiden the day before.
When she finally got up, she freshened herself for the day, and sat next to her brother; she tried to banish the thoughts of what Haiiden had said the day before but the thought still lingered in her mind.
"Hey Vaughn, you know what today is?" she asked him, in an attempt to get his thoughts on the subject, but Vaughn was so engrossed on his work that he didn't realize that Cecilia was talking to him until she nudged him.
"Hmm? What?" he responded, his eyes blinking when he finally became aware of her presence.
"It's the day that dad took us in," Cecilia said and smiled while Vaughn thought for a moment before turning back to his work, a smile appearing on his face.
"Is it really today?" he asked, his hands moved as he began to write down sentences after deciphering them.
"Mhm, I was hoping to visit our home in Atlas, but I don't think we would have the time to go there and come back before the next semester starts," Cecilia responded. "So instead, I was hoping to commemorate that day in another way."
"The day we were also brought into the military," Vaughn thought, but kept silent as he knew how much she respected their father; although he respected him too, sometimes he felt he hated him.
"Yeah, sure," Vaughn replied, after he turned his head to face Cecilia, to which he saw an excitement flood over her as she reached into her pocket and presented a box to him. When she opened it, he saw that inside were two necklaces, each with its own charm at the end, and she quickly grabbed the one with a charm that he recognized; it was the Star Cross that she received when they were discharged.
"This one is for you," she said and she handed the second necklace with what looked like a dove. Vaughn stared at it for a few moments as he didn't know what to say.
"A little cheesy, don't you think?" Vaughn asked, although it came out as a joke, it wasn't to him. She nudged him in the shoulder lightly and waited with anticipation as she watched Vaughn intently; before long he finally placed the necklace around his head but tucked it into his shirt while Cecilia wore hers proudly above her clothing.
HAVC all sat in a circle once the afternoon had hit, and Vaughn decided to take a quick break from his work. He was close to deciphering the invoices, but now some tensions grew inside the dorm as Zed revealed that Vaughn would be helping him, and he had asked Cecilia and Haiiden to come along.
"Is it true, Vaughn?" Cecilia asked.
"Yes, as much as I don't want to," he replied. "But he is our teammate."
Cecilia looked down and scratched the back of her head in response, then let out a sigh.
"So that means two votes on the side of catching this guy," Haiiden responded.
"I'd understand if you don't want to," Zed replied. "I have pulled you guys along enough as it is."
"Yeah, well," Haiiden interrupted. "I already went with you twice; what is one more time?"
Zed grinned upon hearing this and saw that Cecilia got up from her bed and joined Vaughn at his side.
"Vaughn and I have always fought together; I don't like this, but it is better than sitting here and worrying that he'll end up hurt," Cecilia said, and Vaughn then felt a little warm inside.
"Well, it won't matter unless I find out where they are hiding!" Vaughn exclaimed as he got up to turn his chair to his desk and sat down; everyone agreed and all sat down on their beds and waited silently for Vaughn to finish his work, which was nearly done.
A couple more minutes passed by, as Vaughn quickly wrote down the remaining ciphers and did a final read of the information to make sure it is coherent and that it had no mistakes.
"Got it," Vaughn announced and everyone sat up on the edge of their seats as they waited to hear where Torchwick is located. "7918 South 3rd Street, Warehouse B1, in the industrial district."
"What are we waiting for?" Zed asked and immediately jumped to his feet.
"We need to come up with a plan of attack first," Cecilia interjected.
"What plan do we need? Just go in there and kick some arse," Zed replied.
"Torchwick has managed to evade the authorities for this long, Zed," Haiiden joined. "I agree that we need to plan this carefully before going at him."
Zed relented and sat down on his bed as the team huddled together to form a plan; agreeing that it would be best to go at night before all sitting down to prepare their weapons.
Roman Torchwick twirled his cane in his hand as he strode back and forth inside Warehouse B1, where over a couple dozen White Fang were helping to clear the warehouse and to move it all to a new location, and a goodly portion of it to their staging area in Mountain Glenn. Roman urged that the number of soldiers sent be low, as to not attract too much attention.
However, it was obvious to everyone around that he was not in the best mood.
"You'll know what you need to know, when you need to know," he remembered Cinder say to him, when he expressed his concern for the plan he was partaking in. Almost frustrated that he wasn't let in on whatever it was she was planning, and was left to only follow orders.
"Do I LOOK like these dogs?" Roman asked Neo, who stared at him with a soft smile, her eyes showing concern for him, but then a loud bang rang throughout the warehouse; Torchwick rolled his eyes and turned to see that one of the soldiers had dropped a rather large crate he had been carrying with another soldier, with some of the Dust jars spilling out, a few shattered on the concrete. "That is coming out of your paycheck!"
The soldier groaned, not only since his pay was going to be cut, but because he had to follow the orders of a human. He salvaged whatever Dust remained and left the rest to blow away in the breeze.
"I mean, seriously, you'd think that I would be let into this master plan considering how hard I have had to work," Torchwick continued as if the interruption never happened, and Neo responded by changing her heterochromic eyes from green to one pink eye, and one brown.
"Then her kiddies have the gall to come in here and act like they run the show, and to do my work for me," he continued and twirled his cane again. "I didn't forget, you know, I was going to ice Tukson eventually."
Neo's only response was an apathetic nod of her head, and a mocking smile.
"You little punk," Roman replied and chuckled before he turned to continue watching the soldiers work. "Come on! We need to move this Dust this century!"
Just a few blocks away, HAVC slowly made their way to the general area of Warehouse B1; there weren't as many patrols as any soldiers that the White Fang had were quickly working on clearing the warehouse. Haiiden poked around the corner and examined the area until he noticed one of the outlying buildings had their lights on and had the markings 'B1' at the top of the door.
"There it is," Haiiden said and he leaned back into cover. Everyone did a final check of their weaponry, with Zed punching his fist into his open palm, and Vaughn checking his stock of Dust cartridges for his rifle and Cecilia checking the sharpness of her blade.
"Same plan as before: don't kill anyone unless you have to," Haiiden reiterated.
"And leave Torchwick to me," Zed growled and everyone nodded in acknowledgement and went to their positions.
Vaughn split off from the rest of his team, as his role was to be their spotter while also being the support sniper, so that no one uninvited showed up to complicate the situation; he peeked around the corner and saw that the rest of the team were already running before he examined the area around them.
There weren't many good vantage points for him to choose, as spots were either too low or were too open, or didn't give him a good view of the interior of the warehouse. He then backed away from the wall and turned to survey the area around him, finally spotting a large chimney where the steam from used Dust were exhausted from a nearby factory. Around the top of the chimney, there was a platform used for repairs and maintenance, with a ladder leading up to the top.
He made his way to the chimney and quietly climbed up the ladder; once he was up, he had a good view of the warehouse, although he was more than a fifty yards away. He looked through the scope of his rifle and began to survey the area before training it on his teammates, who had just finished dealing with guards outside.
Roman heard the commotion outside, and he and Neo turned to see what was going on, observing a group of three young adults entering the warehouse.
"I'm sorry, are you lost?" Torchwick asked with a quirked brow as White Fang soldiers began to assemble, most tired from the non-stop work. Zed stood speechless for a moment, realizing that the object of his obsession was finally in front of him.
Haiiden and Cecilia stood with their weapons drawn, but silently waited and looked over to Zed. Torchwick then snapped his fingers, which made Zed jump back into reality.
"I'm talking to you," Torchwick said, his voice a little gruff as he started to get slightly annoyed.
"I finally found you," Zed said quietly, but just loud enough for Torchwick to hear him.
"Yep, you finally did find me; who are you?" Torchwick asked as he spun his cane again before setting it down and placing both hands on top of it; whoever this person was, it piqued his curiosity.
"Every chance I got to look you, I looked, and now I've finally found you," Zed said again, lowering his head to look down at his hands and he tightened the gloves that he wore over them.
"Again, who are you? Did I rob you? Kill your family?" Torchwick asked again, finding slight amusement from this exchange.
"You really don't remember me?" Zed asked. "I was with the White Fang."
"Ummm," Torchwick replied, placing a finger on his chin to mock someone in thought then his spreads his arms to signal towards the dozens of White Fang soldiers around them. "Sorry kid, you'll have to be more specific, I am surrounded by these animals, you know."
Vaughn watched through the scope of his rifle, the exchange between Roman and his teammates; so far, nobody made a move, but his finger was on the trigger in case anyone made any sudden movements. He had offered to just knock out Torchwick with a non-lethal round, but Zed specifically mentioned that he wanted to catch him by himself.
"I'm going to take you down, Torchwick," Zed threatened, and his fox ears appeared from the top of his head, which made something ping in Torchwick's mind, which intrigued him even more. The threat made the White Fang soldiers raise their weapons, but Roman raised a hand and they lowered them.
"Really? I'd like to see you try," Torchwick said, letting his guard down for just a moment as he expected Zed to just wait but instead, Zed rushed in at the opportunity.
He kicked immediately, catching Torchwick off guard, at which point Neo strategically placed her parasol in front of Zed's head, who ducked underneath and continued towards Torchwick.
"It's okay, Neo, I've got him," Torchwick said, just after he stepped out of the way of Zed's initial rush; readying his cane as Zed quickly turned around and went for a punch, his eyes turning bright orange as he started throwing one punch after another.
Neo then turned to face Haiiden and Cecilia, who shrugged at them, and they too rushed in to attack. Haiiden was the first to swing, but missed as Neo just stepped to the side and used the crook of her parasol to guide Haiiden's sword arm; then Cecilia completed the combo by winding up for an attack and swung. Neo, for her part, gracefully ducked underneath her attack and spun around before kicking Cecilia in the back, which sent her sprawling to the concrete floor, while Haiiden spun around to gain momentum and swung for Neo's chest, forcing her to lean back to dodge and back-flipped before landing on her feet again.
Haiiden waited, his sword up, and his gauntlet raised and ready for another attack, but he waited for Cecilia to get up, while Neo only shrugged and beckoned them to attack.
While they fought, Vaughn watched and was wondering why the White Fang weren't joining in the attack; the situation didn't feel right to him, and his trigger finger itched a little as he began to feel useless, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself, remembering what he had been told.
One punch after another, Torchwick either managed to dodge, or knock the strike away with his cane but they began to a bit too much as Zed continued his assault. He was too accustomed to people with either ranged or melee weapons, but for someone to use his own fists meant he had to adjust his own stance and style but to do so in the midst of battle, while also dodging attack was not easy.
Eventually, the strikes got close enough for Torchwick to feel the displaced air against his skin, which served as a distraction until finally Zed got one good hit and sent Torchwick reeling to the right; Torchwick then used that momentum to spin and he stepped back to give himself enough room to use his cane and like a bat, he struck it onto the side of Zed's temple. Due to Zed's rage, he shrugged off the strike and continued to press his attack.
A blade then appeared from the top of Neo's parasol as she then swatted away Haiiden's assault, which caused sparks to fly in the air. Despite going against two opponents, she was able to hold her own against them without so much as breaking a sweat, and Cecilia was the first to notice that it looked like Neo was having fun.
Haiiden's and Cecilia's carefully coordinated attack, with which they would alternate between one rushing in for an assault while the other prepared to follow up, was then ruined as she got angry and rushed in to fight her instead of waiting for an opening. She wound up her strike, but Neo foresaw it and dodged just as it started to come down; when she thrust her parasol, Haiiden blocked it by pushing his sword in front of it.
"Neo, I might need some help after all," Torchwick called out, and she quickly jumped back, only to be replaced by Torchwick, who sighed in relief upon seeing two sword wielders. "Ah, this will be easy."
Haiiden got ready by getting low, ready to counter Torchwick's attack but realized Cecilia already went in again and groaned in frustration.
"Don't let them get the better of you!" Haiiden thought, and he went in to help as he twirled his sword to build up speed and momentum and swing his sword, which scrapped along the length of Torchwick's cane as he blocked it.
Zed wanted to ignore Neo and just go for Torchwick but she kept blocking him no matter which way he went. Angered that he would not be able to get to Torchwick, his eyes continued to blaze orange, and he put up his fists to attack Neo, but unlike Torchwick, who blocked his attacks, she shrugged them off by re-directing his fists away.
After a few moments, they both froze and Zed pulled out his karambit, which made Neo nod her approval and smile as she beckoned for him to attack once more. He went in, swinging his blade at her to which she re-directed his lunge away, but when she counterattacked, he likewise re-directed her thrust.
First, Neo would catch his elbow with her hand and pushed him away, but when she tried to strike back at him, he used the curved edge of his karambit to hook around her wrist and guided it aside as well. Finally, they were both left in a dance where neither of them were able to land a hit on one another, as they kept re-directing one another's attacks and counterattacks.
Although he wasn't showing it, Torchwick was having quite a bit of fun, but something kept lingering in his mind the moment he saw the fox ears appear on Zed. He then fired an incendiary shot at Haiiden, who blocked it by reflecting it into the air with his sword, while Cecilia pressed forward again. Torchwick then spun his cane on the crook of his finger as he waited the split second it took for his cane to reload, in a show of bravado; when Cecilia swung her blade, Torchwick blocked it, but the weight of the sword forced him to slide against the floor just a bit before his foot finally built up enough friction with the concrete to stop him, and he pushed her away easily.
When Cecilia regained her footing, Torchwick was already aiming his cane at her again for another shot, and with a mere fraction of a second left, her claymore went up in a blaze of blue fire as she created an ice wall just before he fired. Although, the wall did block in the shot, it was too thin, there being too short a span in which to build up an effective barrier to an explosive round, and the blast forced her back nonetheless.
Haiiden caught her with a puff as she flew back into him, and he pushed her roughly back up onto her feet, to which she turned back and nodded. Something finally connected inside Torchwick's mind, and he lifted a finger into the air so as to make his point.
"I remember you now!" He said out loud, which made everyone freeze, especially Neo, as she looked back at him in confusion. Even Zed looked back with his eyes were narrowed at Torchwick.
"You were that little pup back in the White Fang all those years ago! You do know, Adam is really cross about your leaving?" Torchwick said with a grin.
"So now you know why I am after you?" Zed asked, still keeping low as he expected Neo to take advantage of the distraction, but she sat on a crate with her parasol open as she stared at the two.
"Hmmm, not really, no," Torchwick replied.
"I am here to make you pay for what you did to the White Fang!" Zed exclaimed.
"What did I do?" Torchwick asked, with a confused look.
"You ruined everything! Poisoned everyone, especially Adam with your promises of Faunus supremacy!" Zed yelled out.
"You think that was me?" Torchwick asked, almost amused at the idea. "Kid, you probably did not know him as well as you thought. All I did was just gave him that tiny. Little. Push."
Zed growled as he rushed towards Torchwick again, his karambit raised to shoulder height as he then swung for Torchwick's neck, but missed as his target dodged out of the way. When he turned for a follow up attack, he saw Neo advancing towards him and she had already closed the distance between the two.
Her arm was pulled back, ready to thrust her blade at Zed, but she was blocked by Haiiden with an underhanded swing of his sword, the two blades grinding against each other; Haiiden guided the blade over his head, before bringing his sword arm in close and spinning to swing at her, which she blocked with her parasol and guided the blow away, but Zed finished the attack by taking advantage of her opening and swinging his karambit.
Like glass shattering, her body broke into pieces, which caught Zed and Haiiden by surprise, until a flash of pink struck them and sent them slamming onto the floor. Haiiden was the first to get up, but was quickly knocked away again by an explosive shot from Torchwick, who took advantage between Cecilia's swings.
As Zed tried to get up, a foot pressed against his chest and kept him on the floor, and the blade from Neo's parasol aimed at his throat. Cecilia and Haiiden froze, not wanting to give her any prompting to run it through his neck while Torchwick clapped his hands and walked towards Zed.
"Well, that was fun, but there has been more than enough excitement for me for tonight," Torchwick said, smiling as he knew he had Zed where he wanted him, and if anyone tried to move, he would be dead.
"I wonder how glad Adam would be if he knew that I had killed you," Torchwick muttered, loud enough for only Zed to hear him and Neo pulled her arm back, ready to thrust.
"No!" Haiiden yelled and was just about to run, until a loud crack rang through the air and sparks flew as something hit Neo's parasol, sending it spinning to the ground.
Everyone was left frozen in place, except for Neo, who stepped off Zed, wondering who it was, but HAVC already knew what had happened.
Fifty yards away, Vaughn felt, more than saw, the steam expelled from the ejection breach in the side of his rifle, and heard the spent cartridge ping against the railing upon which he was resting his rifle. The next round was automatically loaded, and Vaughn was careful not to make too much movement, lest he be spotted, even from this distance.
Neo quickly went to reach for her parasol, but another crack rang through the air again, and with a loud whistle as a Dust round flew past her and hit her parasol again, sending it tumbling even farther away.
Upon realizing an outside interference was at work, some of the White Fang soldiers jumped down from the catwalks, ready to attack the team, until they were quickly taken out by non-lethal gunfire in burst mode, which knocked them down, the pyralis coating the rock-salt tips leaving them unconscious on the ground.
Taking advantage of this distraction, Zed kicked Neo in the shins, which forced her onto the ground and he quickly got up; knowing that this was his final opportunity to catch him, Zed rushed in towards Torchwick, but was tripped by Neo as he ran past her.
"Catch!" Torchwick exclaimed, as he kicked up her parasol and she caught it and she leapt from the ground, high into the air, and used the hook of her weapon to catch Torchwick's arm, and they teleported away.
"No!" Zed exclaimed, his eyes widened in surprise and fear as he realized that his target was now gone.
"Zed, we have to go, now!" Haiiden yelled out, as gunfire began to rain down on them from above but was blocked by Cecilia's ice walls, which allowed them to escape.
Anyone who was foolish enough to chase the trio was immediately knocked out by Vaughn, who was panting as he kept firing round after round, and taking quick shots at the pursuers. Once they were in the clear, Vaughn quickly got up and went for the ladder, sliding down it before he too made his escape.
Once they were far enough away, HAVC stopped to take a breath, Haiiden calling the police, while Zed fell to his knees.
"We had him…" Zed muttered.
"Zed, I am sorry," Cecilia replied, with Haiiden nodding as he waited for the dispatch operator to pick up. Then Zed leaned back a bit, took a deep breath, and screamed as his eyes burned orange again as he started to punch down into the concrete; first it cracked, then it turned into a hole, then into a crater and only grew larger with each punch.
"WE HAD HIM!" Zed screamed.
(Also, sorry if the fight scenes seemed a bit rushed too; its not easy to write fight scenes that have more than one participant at a time, while also keeping it detailed. Too detailed, and it would just be walls of texts, details is better saved for one on one fights. :))