This chapter was kind of awkward to write up, since my wifi was in and out the past few days. I wasn't ever really sure if anything was saved, but here I am with it. So, it's great that I never had to rewrite any parts.
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 29: Bigger Motions
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.(Chapter Start)
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September 6th
Friday
Clear
Azura had been thinking about Penny's words from that night while in the library, wondering why she seemed so surprised and even happy that he compared her to Nora, when he got dragged from his thoughts.
"Azura."
He looked up from staring at the desk and saw Blake standing there, looking at him. "Oh, hey. What's up, Blake?"
"Well...I have a lead." She said quietly, leaning forward to whisper. "On the White Fang."
Azura scanned the library, sending Luna to keep an eye on the area, before motioning for Blake to sit down next to him and whispering back. "What kind of lead? Nothing dangerous for you, right?"
Blake frowned, shaking her head. "No, not as far as I know. But that's why I came to you."
"Came to me?" Azura asked. "What about Yang? Or your team, for that matter?"
"I know you can at least sneak around." Blake explained. "Yang and weiss can't, and I doubt Ruby is that good at stealth."
Azura shook his head. "Right. Well, what's the big lead you're talking about?"
Blake glanced around the library for a few moments before turning back and quietly answering. "Some White Fang members that want out. I promised to help them if they gave information about their plans and why they are working out of the southeast."
"So, you want me to tag along just in case something happens and to sneak in or out?" Azura asked, thinking of her words. "And, if so...why are we being stealthy?"
"Yes." Blake responded. "As for the stealth...that's just a precaution. We'll be meeting them in a warehouse, and we need to make sure no one sees us come in or out if anyone else happens to be around."
"Hey, I like whispering too." A voice whispered behind them, arms hanging around their shoulders.
Azura and Blake jumped at the touch, turning to see Yang grinning with amusement.
"Yang, what are you doing here?" Blake said, surprised.
"Don't think I didn't see ya sneak off." Yang said, chuckling. "Besides, I didn't overhear too much between the two of you."
"Other than exactly what we are doing." Azura said, rolling his eyes.
"Yep." Yang replied.
Blake sighed. "Well, before you ask, you can't come. You...well, you're you."
Yang shrugged. "Figured as much when you said something about sneaking around."
Azura glanced at Blake. "And now that you know what we're doing, what are you going to do?"
Yang pulled one of her arms back to her pocket, pulling out a set of keys and dropping them in front of Azura. "Offer you Bumblebee, obviously."
"Er...what?" Blake said, blinking in confusion.
"I'm letting you two do your thing, duh." Yang said. "And cause I know Azura can drive it." She looked at him sharply. "I'm trusting you with my prized bike, Azura. You better not wreck it."
Azura licked his lips nervously. "Will do, ma'am."
Blake sighed. "I guess we have no reason to turn it down. Why are you trying to help, though? Didn't you want me to slow down...wasn't that the reason you talked to me?"
Yang nodded. "Yes, I did tell you that. But you're rested and clearly more stable on your feet. And you aren't doing something all alone. I wouldn't be a great partner if I couldn't trust you, would I?"
"Yeah…" Blake said, looking down.
Azura spoke up in a joking tone. "So, you're just giving us Bumblebee to use? No catches?"
Yang clicked her tongue a few times, as if ashamed of his words. "Now, that's just not nice, Azura!" She laughed a few moments later, growing serious. "I'm honestly just making sure you and Blake remain safe. Mama Yang has to make sure her little chicks can make it back home safely, you know."
Blake gave a small smile, staying silent, so Azura spoke again.
"Well, to answer for the two of us, thanks." He smiles. "For taking care of us, that is."
Yang grinned, pushing off of them. "Of course. I'll be sure to keep it quiet and away from Weiss and Ruby." She glances at Azura. "I really don't need to deal with a worried sister and a frigid cold heiress, so try to come back in one piece, ya hear?"
"Of course." Blake said quietly, nodding.
Once Yang left, Blake sighed.
"That went better than expected for you, huh?" Azura asked, playing with Yang's keys in one hand, spinning them with his fingers.
"Yes. She was more hands-on and angry last time." Blake responded.
"It got you to dance, though. With her while me and Ruby were gone, if I had to guess." Azura teased.
Blake's light blush told him all he needed to know. He chuckled, standing up from his chair.
"Come on, Blake. Before I fry your brain anymore, we should get everything we need."
"Shut up." Blake groaned.
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.(Line Break)
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Azura was leaning on Bumblebee in the Beacon garages/workshop while waiting for Blake to return from what she had to grab. She had been gone for several minutes now, so he resorted to talking to Summer.
"What do you think about this new escapade we're on?"
"I'm not sure. I feel...almost uncaring for it." Summer replied slowly, then sighed. "Sorry. I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff."
Azura frowned. "Anything that you want to talk about?"
"No, it's fine. It's just that I don't have much to do outside of viewing from your vision and your thoughts, stuff like that." Summer said.
Azura sighed, but noticed Blake approaching him and Luna. He really wished he could talk to Summer about what was bothering her, and had to ignore the slight guilt mixed with gratitude from Summer once Blake got close and spoke.
"You ready?"
"As ready as you are, Blake." Azura responded.
Azura turned and got on Bumblebee, waiting for Blake to get on behind him and bring her arms around his stomach to get a good grip.
"Where am I driving?" Azura asked as Bumblebee started, the engine roaring to life.
"Towards the slums, near the docks. I'll tell you from there." Blake said.
Azura nodded. "Right. You got a good grip?"
"Yes. Let's get going."
Azura nodded again, then kicked off the ground and started driving off. The sound of the engine echoed off of the walls of the tunnel as they went, and they were quickly greeted by the fresh scenery and cool wind blowing at them. Azura smiled at the feeling, already feeling accustomed to driving Yang's bike. It was easy to see why Yang loved this thing.
The sun was already setting on Azura's left, and he flicked on Bumblebee's front light as a precaution before it got too dark. It seemed that they would be entering Vale as the the sun set, Azura thought to himself. The winding road was captured between a cliffside and a stone wall, with the cliffside being an open and rather beautiful scenery of the Emerald Forest in the background, and an open field below it. An airship was slowly flying down towards Vale, the slight shape of students being seen from a glance, and Azura focused fully on the road again.
They made it onto the roads that ended up leading directly into Vale after ten minutes, and he felt Blake tighten her grip a little, her hair whipping up slightly. He slowed up a bit to adjust with the slight traffic on the roads, but they were able to keep their progress. He took a right, and followed the roads from there, the smell of the docks filling his nostrils as they got closer.
He took another right turn, away from the docks. Just another corner and they found a small garage building, and Azura turned into it, finding the furthest parking spot in a shaded corner and parked it.
"What are we here for?" Blake asked as he turned the key and took them out, loosening her grip and leaning back.
Azura turned his head to her. "Nothing in specific, other than a safer spot to put Bumblebee. Plus, it's very close to the docks. Not too far from where we'll be, right?"
Blake looked around, then to her scroll for a moment. "No, it isn't. It's a small warehouse, so it'll be closer to the waterfront, but not that far of a walk to get here...or to run to."
Azura shook his head, taking in the surroundings. "We'll be fine, Blake. Unless it's not just those White Fang members who want to leave that will be there?"
"Only way that would be the case is in an ambush." Blake responded, getting off of Bumblebee. "Either way, I'll be the one talking."
Azura got off of the bike as well, stretching his legs. "You will?"
"Yes. I did agree to come alone." Blake responded, as if it was obvious.
Azura frowned. "Well, I'm glad you didn't decide to actually do that."
She smiled at that. "Well, want to know why I brought you?"
"Obviously. What am I doing while you talk?" He asked.
"While I talk to them, I want you to be on the second floor and going through the office. It's possible that something could be up there, and I need someone who can sneak to be up there." Blake explained, then pointed to the small warehouse on the right side. "That's the building we'll be in, and the police haven't actually gone through it, since it was considered a Huntsman investigation for a while."
Azura glanced at her. "Right. And am I looking for anything in particular?"
Blake tilted her head, keeping her eyes on the warehouse. "Any information that would help me to piece together how involved Torchwick is with the White Fang. If that's not seen anywhere, then maybe data or something on what they're doing in the southeast."
Azura smirked. "Then let's get going. Am I directly following you, or is there some easier way in?"
Blake nodded, walking off. "Well, I'd look for a different entrance. It's likely that you could make it to the roof and slip in from the top entrance or the catwalk."
Azura nodded in return, walking next to her. "Got it. Be safe in there, Blake."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course."
Azura jogged off to the right, moving along the fenced in area as Blake herself simply snuck through the entrance and moved within the shadows. As she made her way towards a door he could spot in the distance, Azura turned the corner and kept moving along the fence. He drew his hood up, and looked around him once before climbing over the fence, dropping down from one shadow to another.
He kept to the wall, looking for an easy way to make it up the warehouse to where Blake had assumed he could get in without notice. As he drew closer, a ladder was easy to see, and he picked up the pace to the edge of the crate that hid him. A few moments of looking out into the open space between where he was and the wall of the warehouse, and he semi-ran across after seeing no movement.
He stopped at the ladder, quickly climbing up it. He paused for a moment about halfway up to peek through a window besides the ladder, and he could see Blake speaking to someone, cautiously looking around. He could see a smaller group of White Fang members also talking to each other away from the main group. There seemed to be around twenty people total, not including Blake, in the warehouse, and around six of them were close to Blake and the woman talking to her.
This was a lot more dangerous than Blake had made it out to be. If any of them were caught speaking to Blake, they would easily be out-numbered. He was confident in Blake's ability to escape, but he also doubted she would leave the White Fang members who wanted out to whatever fate would befall them. He shook his head, moving past the window and up onto the roof of the building.
A door was to his right, and Azura walked up to it, slowly opening it. It barely creaked open, and Azura slipped in and shut the door behind him gently. He crouched down, creeping his way down the metal stairs, careful to not make much noise. He made it down to the metal scaffolding, just above most of the lights, when a voice yelled out.
"Come on, we don't have much longer to clear out this place. He wanted all traces of us in the docks gone, and he'll know if we don't."
Azura kept to the shadows, unable to really know who said it, but he was able to figure out that it came from the other side of the warehouse on the first floor, away from the small group that Blake was talking to. He frowned, still not liking just how dangerous the reality of this situation was. They were a breath away from getting caught if they misstepped. Blake better have had a good reason to do this outside of how she feels.
Azura made his way towards the side with Blake and where the office room was. As he slowly walked by, pieces of her conversation were caught by Azura.
"Safety...only for the info…" Blake's voice faintly said. "Southeast...Torchwick…"
Azura kept his snail's pace, staying as close to the darkest parts of the shadows as he could. Another voice could be heard, female. Likely the same one Blake had spoken to originally.
"Can't...here." There was a pause. "Take us...safety. Away…"
It clicked for Azura a moment later, though he kept moving despite his thoughts. So Blake promised them a way out for whatever info she needed. Likely the very same info that she asked him to look for. With that in mind, he made it to the office itself after several long moments of taking a peek to see everyone who could still possibly spot him distracted by Blake.
With that, he slipped through the open door into the dimly lit office. Papers were scattered throughout the room, but it didn't seem like much had been done in the room itself. He took note of the window on the wall facing out into the warehouse, deciding to stay crouched down as he looked throughout the room. Some desks were cluttered by each other, and Azura looked on them and through the drawers, not really seeing much outside of some notes and other such things. A map of the city of Vale here and there, as well as a larger map of the entire region on another desk.
He sighed quietly, looking through a pile of paperwork and scrapped sticky notes beside the desks. After he thought he would find nothing, he ended up seeing an envelope. He picked it up, noticing that it had something inside of it, and opened it. It had already been opened, which dampened his hopes, but he unfolded the paper inside anyways.
The sight he was greeted with was enough to make him grin. It was a letter from the master thief himself, Roman Torchwick, his signed name at the bottom an obvious give away. It wasn't even that long, just about a few sentences, but he nodded to himself and read it.
"Be sure to clean up real good. I want the places we've been at spotless, as if we were never here. Good guy Junior has kindly done his part already, so I want no mistakes. And remember, you're being watched by little miss volcano, so anyone who seems suspicious among the groups will be dealt with accordingly."
"What mess did you get into this time, Junior?" Azura whispered.
He continued his search, wondering if he would find anything else. Though the silence was interrupted by yells and screaming, and Azura looked up and moved to the window. Flames were roaring at the other end of the warehouse, and the sounds of small explosions went off, with more screaming joining it.
He looked down, seeing Blake having the fight the very same group she had been trying to help.
"Damn it!" He cursed, running out of the office.
He drew his dagger, shooting out lightning dust shots towards the group, and shocking two of them. As Blake spun around and snapped her foot right into one of their faces, Azura shot ice dust at the one that was trying to hit her as she attacked another, and the man tripped and fell onto the ground.
Boxes were falling down all over the place on the main floor of the warehouse, the hungry flames licking as it slowly made its way towards them. He saw that the entrances were also seemingly blocked, the one near Blake covered by flames. He saw some White Fang members at the other door, having no luck with opening it. A set of boxes crashed down near them, and Azura yelled out.
"Blake! Blake!"
Blake looked to him, and he waved an arm wildly. "We have to go out from up here!"
She raced forward, and gambol shroud shot out, the black ribbon shooting up and over the small wall that blocked Azura from sight before. He grabbed it, pulling back while slamming a foot on the small wall and pulling. Blake quickly appeared above him, landing with a crouch and placing her hands on the ground.
The ribbon slipped from his grip as she quickly brought it back. She grabbed his wrist, running without a word. Azura let it happen, simply running with her. They sprinted up the stairs, Blake bracing a shoulder and slamming the door open. Flames were still crackling outside, and sirens could be heard in the distance.
"We have to go!" Blake said loudly.
She let go of Azura's wrist, running forward across the roof. She called out again as they raced along the roof.
"Just jump and brace your aura!"
Azura saw her jump from the roof, joining after her a moment later. He brought his arms in front of his face, his orange aura coming up as he fell. He landed and rolled a few times, grunting. He scrambled up, barely behind Blake as she went off running. He glanced back as he ran forward, seeing no one coming out of the warehouse as it burned. Sparing no second thought about it right now, Azura kept running as the sirens started to grow closer, making it past the fence line and across the empty and dark street to where Bumblebee waited for them.
He grabbed the keys from his pocket, using Summer's semblance to shoot past Blake and next to the bike, quickly jumping on and turning the key into the ignition. Blake sat down behind him, gripping tightly.
"Just get us out of here!"
Azura obliged, the engine roaring to life with as the light came on, and let his driving take over. They quickly turned onto the road, turning left and racing down the road. He was just glad it was empty, but the sirens closing in were not good. He revved the engine, the extra speed making Bumblebee's engine almost purr, and turned down a road and away from the docks.
To the side, on another road that could be seen through the alleyways, a firetruck and some police cars raced by. Azura ignored them to keep speeding down the road, taking several more turns to create as much distance from the docks as possible. The sirens started to fade after another minute, and Azura started to slow up as other cars and more people were around. A few minutes after that, Azura pulled over to the side and into a parking lot that seemed to be next to a mall.
He turned the key and Bumblebee turned off. He leaned the bike slightly to the side, placing a foot down, sighing heavily.
"What...was that? What happened in that warehouse?" He asked aloud, not really talking to anyone.
Blake leaned back, running her hands over her face and through her hair. Several moments passed by in silence before she spoke. "Something bad...something very bad."
"Yeah." Azura said, looking down. "Those people...the White Fang members...do you think they got out?"
"...No." Blake responded quietly.
Azura grimaced, not wanting to agree.
"Something about it all seemed...wrong, didn't it?" Summer asked.
Azura nodded. "True." He turned his head, speaking to Blake. "Blake, will you be okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine." Blake replied.
Azura gave her a few moments before speaking again. "Summer says something was off about it all. Did you notice anything?"
Blake frowned, thinking. "Not until the fire started. They weren't handling dangerous things, such as dust or anything...so a fire of that magnitude starting is suspicious. The explosions were even more suspicious...small as they were. Those were from fire dust for sure."
"And the entrances were barred or blocked…" Azura added, trailing off as he thought on it.
"Did you find anything worthwhile, at least?" Blake asked.
"Yeah. A letter from Torchwick." Azura said. "It has a set of orders to clean out places, erase any traces. Junior was involved, supposedly."
"Anything else?"
Azura frowned, recalling one last detail. "Suspicious members are being 'dealt with', as it was put. Oddly specific, you think?"
Blake nodded, some energy coming back to her. "Yes. Let's talk to Junior, then."
Azura nodded in agreement, turning Bumblebee back on without a word.
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.(Line Break)
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They pulled up and parked on the side of the road, getting off. They quickly walked towards the entrance to Junior's club, and Azura nodded to the bouncer who was outside. The bouncer was quick to step to the side and eye him warily as he walked by, and through the entrance.
Summer murmured something that Azura couldn't hear over the noise of the music as they entered the club itself.
"They always let you in, at this point?" Blake asked from behind him.
Azura shrugged. "Well, when you're known as 'Yang's friend', you seem to get some easy access to this place."
"Convenient." Blake said sarcastically.
As they walked through the club, stepping around people who were lingering off of the dance floor, he could see Junior look at them from behind the bar. Azura bumped into someone, muttering an apology, and finally made it through the small crowd and over to the bar. Two people were to his left, sitting in chairs, talking to each other while holding drinks. Azura made sure to keep a few seats in between the two of them.
"Well, no need for the small talk, I can tell." Junior said, glancing at Azura and Blake. "You two look like you just ran from danger. You smell of fish and fire."
"Something like that." Summer commented.
"Well, yeah. But, you know me. Or, I mean, you know Yang and Yang knows me." Azura responded, smiling tiredly.
Junior grunted, putting a bottle he had in hand away. "Get on with it, then. What do ya need?"
"We need a place to start." Azura said, leaning an arm on the bar as Blake watched from behind.
He felt Luna place a hand on his shoulder, as if trying to remind him of something. He turned his head to her, his eyes widening at the envelope in her hand. He took it swiftly, making sure no one saw the envelope that would look like it was floating, then turned to Junior.
The man was looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "What's that you got there, the source of your desire to have some 'place to start'?"
Azura frowned, holding it out to him. "You'll know why we came here, at least."
Junior took it cautiously, opening it and taking the letter out. He glanced around, opening it after a few moments. He frowned deeply, looking at Azura, then looking over to Blake, whispering to himself. "Smelling of the docks...fire...I see." His frown seemed to deepen further. "One moment."
He sighed, holding a finger to his ear, where a communications device could be seen.
"Terry, you're taking over for now. Get to the bar." He put his hand down, looking at Azura again. "You two, come with me. I can't exactly not tell you if you've seen this."
He moved to the side, stepping out of the bar. Azura moved to join him, Blake shortly behind Azura, and Junior nodded and started to move off. They swiftly walked along the wall, until Junior stopped and opened a door, walking through it. Azura and Blake stepped through the door as well, and the familiar back halls entered their vision.
"Two for three on being back here because of something related to death." Summer said darkly.
Azura did wish he could argue against that, but he couldn't. Simply following Junior as they turned another corner, they eventually entered another room, an office. It was simple and not at all like what the club itself looked like. It had dark blue walls, and a painting of a suited man was on the left wall, a cold expression on his face as he held a glass of wine in his hand. It looked like an older version of Junior to Azura, and it kind of creeped him out.
"Wait here." Junior said, stepping behind a desk.
He opened up a drawer, and the shuffling of papers could be heard. Azura glanced around the office again, seeing stacks of paper and a screen on the wall in front of him, and not much else. Luna was reading the tops of the stacks of paper one by one, while Blake studied Junior and his movements.
"You were at that warehouse, weren't you?" Junior asked. "The one that still had some White Fang members in it. Why?"
Azura looked at Blake, waiting to see if she would say anything. She frowned, but nodded and made to speak.
"We were following a lead on the White Fang. Some members wanted to get out and promised to give information on what they are doing and planning to do. Things went wrong...and we had to make our own escape."
Junior sighed, putting the letter he still had in hand away and taking out a small note. Closing the drawer, he walked up to Azura and Blake and showed it to them. The only thing it had was a symbol of the White Fang on it, and Blake gasped.
"A warning note...they're using those now…?" She said, almost shocked.
Junior nodded. "I run the risk of them coming here for talking, but it's nothing we wouldn't be able to handle." He sighed. "Anyone who dares to spread and leak information on the White Fang and their movements will have everything they love destroyed, is all I really know that happens."
"Wait, happens?" Azura asked.
"Correct. This isn't actually the first arson case Vale's had. Did the police or fire department even show up to that warehouse?" Junior asked.
"Yes, they started to show up once we got out." Blake answered.
Junior sighed heavily. "Of course they show up fast for that one."
Azura looked at Blake, who shrugged at him. Neither of them knew much of the workings of Vale, it seemed.
"And I'm likely a bit outdated on it." Summer said, making that count three.
"Did they not show up to the others? Fast, that is." Azura asked.
"No, not until after. Those are in the less financed areas, and the police rarely patrol there, let alone take it seriously. And the fire department is all over the place, and it somehow takes them too long to get there." Junior said, anger in his voice.
Azura frowned. "You've kept track of these cases?"
Junior breathed out, calming himself, and nodded. "Yes, I have. My men have been on the lookout for this stuff, and luckily without much incident." He coughed. "Anyways, there have been four other cases before tonight. And I haven't seen a single one reported on at all."
Blake frowned. "But...how?"
"Only guess would be because of where they happened. If they report on the arson from tonight, then I would say that it's true." Junior responded. "I'd keep a close eye on the lesser financed areas, since White Fang activity has been coming from there in small bursts, as well as the arsons themselves."
Blake sighed, looking more tired than she already seemed. "Right."
Junior turned away and slowly walked to his desk and placed the note with the symbol on it down. Without looking at them, Junior spoke. "Further down the hall to the right and around the corner, there's a small bathroom with a shower. I suggest you two clean up before heading back to, since you're students, Beacon. Get the smell off you."
Azura looked at Blake, smiling at her upon seeing her distrusting look. She relaxed slightly, and Azura turned back to Junior. "Stay safe, Junior. Tell Melanie and Militia the same, as well. Thanks for your help today."
Junior nodded, and Azura and Blake left his office. Azura sighed, looking at Blake.
"We should accept the hospitality. We'll only draw attention to what we were doing to our teams if we don't." Azura said.
"Right." Blake said in response.
They walked through the hall and around the corner they were told about, and a door could be seen at the end of it. As they drew near it, Blake paused, bringing her feet close together, and spoke.
"Azura."
The boy paused, looking at her, and waited for her to continue.
"I'm sorry. For all of the death and terribleness that the White Fang is causing." She said, heavy emotion hinted throughout her words. "You don't deserve to have seen such darkness. None of you guys deserved it."
Azura felt his heart clench from her words, and it grew worse as he thought of Ruby crying in that gazebo. He wondered if that moment would ever be brought up again, but shook his head to clear his head.
"Blake…" He softly replied, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Please, don't talk." She said, silencing him. They stood in silence for a few seconds, then she spoke again. "Just give me some time to think, please."
Azura frowned, worried. "Okay…" He sighed. "Just go and shower. I'll be out here waiting."
Blake nodded, striding forward and entering the bathroom. She spared him one last glance, then closed the door. Azura leaned on the wall, running a hand down his face.
"She came from the White Fang, so it must be...confusing for her. Hurtful, even. To see them like this." Summer said softly. "I pity her...the poor girl."
Azura didn't respond, simply closing his eyes and letting the sound of the running water fill the silence.
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.(Line Break)
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The rumbling of Bumblebee's engine and the wheels on the road was the only noise on the somber trip back to Beacon. Azura simply focused on driving, trying to not think about the night, lest he get distracted, but it was hard to ignore Blake's tight grip. Not that he blamed her.
The moon was the only other light on the road, raised high to their side, framed by the stars that hung around it. It reminded him to talk to Penny at some point, maybe invite her to stargaze again since she seemed to like it. He turned with the bend, seeing the tunnel leading to the Beacon garage grow in the distance, and he smiled to himself. Something about knowing that the school was there just made him feel happy.
"Azura, pull over."
He was surprised to hear Blake talk at all, but slowed down and pulled over to an pull off area of the road when he could, the dirt kicking up. He kicked the bike stand down, keeping the bike on, and watched Blake slide off and walk to the edge of the cliffside. He got off as well, moving to stand just behind Blake.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Blake looked up at the sky. "Just a thought that's been bugging me recently."
"About the White Fang?"
She nodded. " I just...I think I was avoiding the idea that the White Fang are worse than I hoped." She sighed heavily, placing a hand on her waist and shifting her weight. "I had this hopeful idea that they weren't more violent than before I fled them and came to Beacon."
Azura moved forward again, standing next to Blake and looking at her. "And now?"
Blake frowned. "I'm worried. And afraid." She glanced at Azura from the side. "Some of my family are tied to the White Fang, Azura. Retired before the peaceful protests ended, but still tied to them. What if they are forced into this violence?"
"Oh." Azura said softly. "Then, we need to do something about that."
"Azura?" Blake asked, curious.
He crossed his hands behind his head, looking out across the dark fields that the airships flew above. "Well, if you are worried and afraid for your family, then we should do what we can to help them." He nodded, as if affirming it for himself. "And, it just doesn't sit right with me to stand by while they get more and more radical."
"I agree." Blake said. "I do not think I can blindly defend them anymore. It hurts me to know that they have gone to such drastic measures."
"Well, how about it, Miss Belladonna? Where shall we begin?" Azura asked, growing serious.
Blake looked down, closing her eyes. "The arsons. I think we'll find some answers there."
"Right. Will we tell Ruby, Weiss, and Yang about this?"
Blake shook her head. "We will, soon. But not right now, please."
Azura nodded. "Of course."
"Thank you." Blake said, turning to face him. "For offering your help, Azura. But let's just keep it small, and not family-saving, okay?"
He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, okay."
Blake breathed in deeply, exhaling a moment later. "Let's get back. Can't keep our poor teams waiting too long now, can we?"
Azura shook his head, amused, and made his way back to Bumblebee. "True enough."
Sitting back on it and feeling Blake sit behind him, Azura kicked Bumblebee's stand up and started driving back onto the road towards Beacon again. They had work to do, and Azura knew Blake wouldn't stop until she got it done.
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.(Chapter End)
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So, I actually have something to discuss here. A pretty long review was put up on this story by Sinastra, and I felt like I should respond to it.
However if you would rather just not read it, you can stop here. I'd completely understand, because I want it to be detailed and that means it will go on for a while. Have a nice day/evening! Chapter 30 will be getting worked on very soon. :)
Response to the review by Sinastra below (Apologies for the super long (Just about 4 pages) response, I had a lot to say ;-;):
First of all, thanks for giving the write up on Azura, or rather, Azura's "strengths and weaknesses". It's wonderful to me that you took your time to write it up, making me look back upon the story and Azura's involvement within it. I really do appreciate the fact that you went out of your way to give reasons for why you think and feel that Azura is super weak and, to you, lacks individuality in a fighting sense (Which, kinda sorta depends on how one views the idea of fighting, but that's not what I'm here for). So, with that in mind, I have written a long response back that I hope you read with an open mind, as I'm trying to be with your review, since you are voicing your thoughts on it with (what I see as) constructive criticism. Anywho, I'm just going to go through this one piece at a time, so let's get going. (Yes, a TL;DR will exist, but it lacks the full context of what I think.)
I'm not actually sure why you say Azura is 'on the back foot' in every fight, but I hope you hear me out on my thoughts on all of this. He has lost fights, yes. He lost to Ruby the first time, which was due to the fact that Ruby is indeed a superior fighter, as well as having the speed and range advantage.
His next loss, which as far as I saw, was to Neo. I actually have a really reasonable reason for him to lose to her, that being the skill gap. Neo, as of Volume 2 of RWBY, took down V2 Yang with ease, and I can tell you with confidence that Yang has been one of the strongest fighters of team RWBY (in the canon) for a long while. Azura won't win a 1v1 against Yang unless he catches her off her game or somehow doesn't make her semblance hit back too hard.
And then there's Azura v. Weiss, the most recent spar of the story. Weiss has always had the potential to be the strongest and most powerful member of team RWBY, and I intend to keep in mind the fact that Weiss is crazy powerful if she used her kit and semblance to their fullest potential, depending on the aura cost per glyph, which I would assume to be pretty small given how much she uses them. I 100% agree that Weiss has her OP hacks, which is why he lost in the first place, really. He got greedy and tried to do something on low aura, Weiss punished it by using her glyphs nearly constantly.
He has, however, won against Blake in a spar. Though, yes, one could argue that was only because of a bit of luck and and a good use of trading aura. There was also his victory against Ruby, where he forced her to forfeit because she had no other way out, while he had her weapon against her. And the CCT fight, though you could argue that him being on the defensive and only attacking in unison with Ruby (with Petal Swap) was bad, did not end up with him beat up and losing. So, it's a bit unfair to say he has always lost and always been on the back foot, though I do agree that I have tended to keep him on the uphill battle against opponents who I believe would do better than him. I'll show you a little bit of how I have power-scaled the main cast (OCs included, for obvious reasons), which is based upon canon events and the level of training I have had them do within the story. (Keep in mind this is only going up to Volume 2 and as of Chapter 29 of the story)
Strongest on the list is Pyrrha Nikos herself. She is clearly the most trained and gifted member of JNPR and RWBY, and we have several examples in canon to show for that. Her semblance will always have a use, no matter how it is used, and considering the fact that she is nearly invincible and unable to be touched in battle, her semblance will often be up and ready to use. Her "individuality" in a fight is her semblance and natural skill.
Her runner up is Yang Xiao Long. As of Volume 2, she is a force to be reckoned with, and is able to rip a mech apart just from taking a hefty hit and sending it back through her semblance. She can basically win any 1v1, short of Pyrrha, and is known for her tenacity and will to keep the fight up. Her individuality in a fight is her brute force nature and crazy strong attacks mixed with momentum.
Weiss Schnee falls here for two reasons. She's clearly OP and nearly unstoppable if written that way, but with how canon events go, she falls short of Yang. Her greatest weakness has always been how she ends up fighting in her fight scenes, examples being her 1v1 on the train in V2, and the infamous V5 finale fight. However, the other reason she's #3 is because she is stupidly strong and I wish to keep it in mind. Weiss's individuality in a fight is her elegant fighting style and because time dilation glyphs DO exist, let's be real, she's OP.
Nora Valkyrie, queen of the castle, falls here for one reason and one reason alone. Brute power. She can, and will, easily match Yang's strength consistently. Not only that, but if she decided to carry lightning dust on her (Cough cough), she would actually be even more immensely and brutally powerful more than once. Her individuality in a fight is her immense body strength and actually her ability to outrange some melee fighters who rely on speed.
Ruby Rose is 5th here, but honestly, the top 5 are the people I consider the most likely to win against their opponent, so don't let this tell you that I think Ruby is weak. With full use of her semblance, she can engage in close range battle and be untouchable. Using her semblance to stay out of range, she had long-range advantage simply due to the sniper of Crescent Rose. Medium range is covered without her semblance because of how a scythe would be used, not similar, but like a spear. Ruby's individuality in a fight is directly based on her speed and quick use of a weapon bigger, and clearly heavier, than her, as well as her excellent use of momentum similar to Yang.
Pyra Sol lands here, mainly because of her semblance. She has mastered the fire portion of it before even coming to Beacon, and the lightning part (while I have only used it once, which is my fault) is something she's been working on outside of Azura's sight. However, her weakness against close range opponents will kill almost all of her chance of victory if she let's up with the range. Ruby or Yang would destroy her in a 1v1. The individuality that she possesses is based upon one reason, she's almost purely a ranged fighter, even more so than Ruby.
Blake Belladonna should technically be above Ruby and Pyra, but falls down here because of how, in a 1v1, she tends to actually fall off. Pair her with a close range fighter that she can combo with, however, and she's actually one of the best fighters in the show. (Bias aside, you cannot say Blake and Yang aren't one of the best duo fighters within the show.) Individuality of our cat Faunus here is from her unique weapon and the fact that she is the only one with a legit "get out of jail free" card as a semblance. She has a safeguard on top of speed, agility, and a knack for teamwork.
Azura Heart himself will actually be above Ren, but not because of combat capability or agility, or even because he specializes in dual wielding better than him. Yes, I agree with you, Azura's semblance relies upon ghosts being there, but the fact is that he would beat Ren in a 1v1 because of the fact that he is attached to Summer, and because of Luna existing as a separate entity. His entire purpose in a fight is to be the jack of all trades, master of none guy. And he's actually all the stronger for it. Considering his semblance, if he only focused on sword and gun training, he would be a great 1v1 fighter, but have horrible coordination and teamwork with others and Luna. And if he only focused on his semblance, he would be worthless as a fighter and not even be a Huntsman in the first place. He'll fight however he decides to and not be forced into a corner where he could potentially lose in rapid fashion because he can only fight in one manner (a la, Ruby having almost no training outside of Crescent Rose in canon RWBY). His individuality in a fight is the very fact that he is versatile and able to fight in several manners, and because his semblance actually allows him to call for aid on the outside, while also having Summer's capabilities and semblance (that yes, he borrowed, as I keep mentioning in the story itself).
Keep in mind that Azura's semblance (and this story, for that matter) was not built for the fighting and insane battle ideas. His semblance is an offensively supportive one, opposite to Jaune's defensively supportive semblance. Jaune's semblance helps others, Azura's semblance helps him. That doesn't mean Azura is physically weak (Sword fighting actually takes a lot of upper body strength and balance or that he isn't fast (Yes, Summer's semblance is "not his own", but does anyone really care if something was borrowed or stolen in a fight if it doesn't deny the fact that he is fast?). I haven't gone through the level of who has the most aura out of everyone, but I can confirm that it's not tanky (though his semblance and Summer's barely drains his aura either way). He excels in close range combat, even more so now with Summer's semblance, but that doesn't say much when the people around him are clearly more effective in that sense.
One more thing to say about him. Just because he doesn't stand out as an individual fighter at this moment, that does not mean he will always rely on others. Though, that's for me to keep in mind as the writer.
Lie Ren is placed 9th, but honestly, given he controls the battlefield, he could easily go against Nora and Weiss. However, given that his semblance is only good in a panicked situation or against Grimm, he gets knocked down several pegs. His skill in aura control and amazing agility paired with dual wielding and small firearm use easily make him one of the best 1v1 fighters in the show. His individuality comes from his excellent use of agility and ability to keep up the pace in most ranges outside of long range.
Poor poor Jaune Arc. Yes, I do agree that he is just "Jaune", the damsel in distress by this point in V2. However, he is not without merit. By this point in time, Jaune can kill a large Ursa (Proven within the last episode of V2), even if he does so with frenzied slashes. He is the definition of an underdog for sure, but that doesn't devalue his excellent tactical potential and leadership skills. His individuality comes from his wonderful mind and ability to keep a team flow going (despite canon events wanting him to seem...less than that.
TL;DR here!: Pyrrha, Yang, and Weiss are terrifying opponents who should never be underestimated. Azura, Ren, and Jaune can be considered the weakest, but Ren and Jaune have other traits that make up their weak points and Azura fights better when he uses everything at his disposal. Agree on how he may seem weak, but disagree that he does not have anything special to his fighting ability. (end of review)
Seriously, again, thank you so much for such a detailed review! Even if I disagree with a few things, it's good to have people talk about things and maybe how I as a writer could improve from things they feel might be bad or not that great. For example, look at CRWBY. They always receive criticism, and while it cannot always be addressed, they do put effort into improving things where they can. And the same could be said for me!
Your review made me look back upon the story and to carefully look at every fight I have written so far, and I believe that it is important to have this kind of back and forth in order for improvement to be made. That goes for anything, really. Without being told what is done wrong, can someone ever do right?
Anywho, I hope I didn't seem defensive of my character or overly critical of the points you brought up, since that was not my intention. Moving forward, I will be sure to keep an eye on if I am writing Azura under or above his current skill level. It's unfair to him and even unfair to his opponents if I do either of those.