Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 55: Faith and Trust
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.(Chapter Start)
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October 14th (Same night)
Monday
Clear
Azura trudged into the hideout that Avis and her group were using, catching some gazes as he carried the injured Croc inside. The room was not silent, but the sound of conversation was low and the atmosphere of the place told Azura that it wasn't just him and Croc that had troubling news with them.
Hood had been discussing with someone dressed in dark clothing when he turned his covered face to find Avis and everyone walking through the center of the room. Avis stopped where she was, holding a hand out for Azura and Neo to stop walking as well. Hood approached them, taking in Croc's current situation before looking to Avis.
"All things considered, we came out well. No one died, no one found either. Fires should be taken care of, or in the process of it." Hood explained. "But that is on the purely logistical side. I can tell things moving forward won't be pretty."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Avis muttered, shaking her head as she looked around her at everyone and looking back at Hood. "We should have known it would be a trap. I don't know how they got everything past us, though. Entire place was cleared out or was just about to be finished in the process of clearing out."
Avis sighs quietly, then moves to stand on top of a crate and call for everyone's attention with a raised voice.
"Keep low profiles, everyone! No one goes out scouting or any of our regular activities until I give the say so!" She called out, voice firm and still confident. "We are not at a total loss here! I'll have our plan moving forward ready in a few days time."
The stressful atmosphere lessened into a tense gloom, as if they were ready for the worst. Given the kind of group that they were, hunted by their former allies and likely still labeled as White Fang criminals by the governments of the four kingdoms, Azura could not blame them.
Avis stepped down from the table, nodding to Hood. "Keep everyone busy while they're here. We have to keep an eye on city news and anything else if we want a low profile following this."
Hood nods back, walking off and whistling for some people to follow him. Azura didn't have time to watch them as Avis patted his arm to gain his attention. Her eyes reflected the tiredness that he felt within his own body, though her smile brought a sense of relief to it. He barely knew the woman, but she had a sense of trust about her.
"Let's get Croc some medical attention. Come with me, we'll bring her to our medbay."
"Yes, please." Croc said. "No offense, Azura."
"None taken." He replies back lightly as they exited into a hall with Avis in front and Neo in the back. "Besides, I'd prefer if you got those burns checked out. Don't want to be the cause for you to…"
"We can talk later. " Croc said, rolling her eyes. "For now, shut up and follow Avis."
Azura listened to her, following after Avis as she turned a corner. He could feel Summer stirring within, likely active to keep an eye on things. Her mind was abuzz with questions, similar to the one's in his own mind. With no leads or any idea of who that man was, what could they possibly assume? He also didn't see any weapon, so he couldn't say if this was the person Blake told him to run from.
"But it is best to not discount any and all possibilities." Summer said, her voice conveying wisdom. "It'd be best to ask everyone who was there, and even Neo, if they know him at all. He was very clearly dangerous, or was, at the very least, very good at intimidation."
"Which tells us what, exactly?" He asked her, wanting to hear her thoughts.
"Hrm…" She hummed, thinking the question over. "It tells us that he has power. Over the White Fang, I mean. That alone poses a massive threat."
"Does it mean that things going on here are...worse and more dangerous than thought?"
"I'm afraid that might be the case, yes. Ozpin should be told."
"Which would lead to explaining this, right?" Azura asked, feeling rather unsure of how good of an idea it would be. "I don't think he'd push me out or anything, but trying to tell him of an incoming danger that he already knows of when we don't even have a face or a name would be rather difficult."
"Just means that we have to find that out." Summer states, confidence exuding from her words. "It's not just you, Luna, and I now. It's us three, Avis, Croc, Hood, everyone in this fight, and much as I might not like it, Neo too. I think we can do it together."
Their conversation falls silent as they enter into a hidden area, the entire basement of the building turned into a medical wing of sorts. It was cleaner than anticipated, showing a sense of both talent and hard work to sterilize a discreet location in a building that couldn't be compromised. More expectedly, no one was wearing medical getup or scrubs, though a white bandana was tied around their arms like an indicator of their role.
Most of the raised metal frames had beds to rest in and some had a chair next to it, and few of those had anyone in them. The injuries or wounds being nursed ranged from a bad cut to electrical burns, even one with bandages wrapped around their head. Looks like the type of work they found here in the crime-filled parts of the city with the White Fang about was not the prettiest thing.
"You can set her down on this bed here." Avis said, breaking their silent walk. "Neo and I will find someone more equipped to deal with burns."
Azura shoots a glance at Neo, giving the girl a smirk. She acknowledged it with a raise of her eyebrows, not seeming smug or enthused for once. It was an odd look for her, he admitted to himself, but he said nothing about it. As the two of them walked away, Azura set to putting Croc down on the bed slowly. He saw her flinch slightly as her foot touched the fabric, but otherwise sit down on it painlessly as she laid her tail in her lap
"You two seem close. Never would have thought that the killer with ice cream colors would be friends with a Huntsman-in-training." Croc said, gazing up at him.
He drags the chair next to him over and sits in it as he answers. "Well, friends might be a stretch...but I do try to treat her as one."
"You know she'll try to kill you at some point, right?"
"Already tried to. Almost accomplished it, even."
Croc blinks, her mouth slightly agape. "You are the luckiest idiot I've met, I think."
"You think so? I've been told that I am just too trusting and kind." Azura responds with a dry laugh, though his words are humorless. "But I wouldn't have saved you if I wasn't, so I think it's worth being this way."
"Right, that." Croc says then, her lips pursing before her yellowish-green eyes locked on to him. "Thank you, Azura. I know we haven't been around each other much, kinda met the other night even, but I appreciate what you've done for me."
"It's the least I could do for you. Everyone deserves a chance at life, and I intend to keep my mindset like that." He replies, giving her a small smile. "I'm still sorry, just to say. You don't deserve what happened."
"Deserve what? The burns?"
"Yes. I wouldn't want to cause more permanent…" He begins to answer, trailing off once he thought over his words.
"More permanent damage to the cripple?" Croc finishes, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "You can talk about it, it isn't a sensitive topic, I've lived with a limp leg for some time now, so once the burns recede and I can use my tail on it, I'll be walking like normal again. Pays off to have a tail."
Azura opened his mouth to speak again, feeling apologetic, but was quickly silenced by Croc.
"Shush." She said sharply, then rolled her eyes. "Enough apologies. We lived, and I'll likely just be held here for not even two days. I have aura too, you know. Just didn't expect that stranger to suddenly burn and electrocute me...at the same time, no less. I swear, the more I fight this fight, the stranger and stranger fighters get."
"Fine, fine. No apologies for it, then." Azura responded to her first statement, raising his hands up in defeat. "And, well...I think it's a competition at this point to see who has the strangest way to fight."
The joking words get a smile out of the tech wizard, who even laughs quietly. "You're not a bad guy, you know. I think I see why Avis wanted you to help now."
"I don't blame you for not believing until now. Never saw me in a situation where things matter."
"I was curious, though. You didn't seem like someone who knew the streets, let alone a situation where the only law is to not be caught."
"It's that easy to tell, huh?"
"When you tell me the truth right after I say that? Definitely."
Azura blinks, feeling embarrassment wash over him momentarily. "Well...okay, you got me there."
"No reason to exploit you over it, I think you'd be more than willing to help us either way." Croc said, her smile turning into a smirk as she looked away. "It'll be our secret."
In a way, Croc reminded him of Blake. Way too smart for their own good and much friendlier than expected. Only difference is that one warmed up much faster than the other.
"Then I'll be sure to keep it secret that you're quite the grappler."
She exhales through her nose with the beginnings of a laugh. "I hardly have the build or muscle for that. But, I will take it as a compliment."
"That was the idea." Azura said, laughing quietly. "I do try to keep my friends in high spirits."
"Oh, we're friends now?"
"Well...you saved me, I saved you. I'd argue, despite it just being the good thing to do, that such a thing would make us friends. Something to do with shared experiences."
"Well, Azura," Croc starts, looking back at him. "I'd be willing to let you be a friend, on one condition."
"And that is?"
"When this is over, tell me what your semblance really is. You've broken all of my theories thus far."
Azura smiles. "It's a deal...friend."
"Oh, please never say that again. It's just Croc."
"Then it's just Azura for me."
A third voice joins their conversation right as a silence falls over it, coughing to make themselves known.
"I see that you two are rather buddy-buddy with each other after surviving an explosion and fire." Avis' matured voice said. "Croc, I've brought you your healer. I think it's time we left you with that, while I take Azura and Neo up to their living quarters for the night."
Azura looked at Neo, who shook her head and gave what looked like a look that said that she would explain later. He nodded, then turned back to Croc with a smile back on his face.
"Recover well, Croc."
"Ha, I'll be up and at 'em by morning. Just watch me, Azura."
"I'll be sure to see you before I leave for Beacon, then."
With that said, Azura turned back to Avis and Neo and stood to join them. The three walked off then, making way for where both he and Neo would end up sleeping for the night.
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.(Line Break)
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"You two won't be under watch here, but...just don't leave it until morning breaks."
Avis' last words were spoken with only traces of guilt of having to do it that way, but Azura waved her off without worry as she closed the door. Despite their actions tonight, it was still going to be a bit of time before their trust was fully earned and he was aware of that.
Turning to face the room, Azura took in the windowless walls that were painted a dark red, a few lights strewn about of various sizes and brightness with a futon just thrown down on the floor. It was just as rundown as ever, but the modicum of effort to turn the entire building into a base of operations for everyone involved was certainly impressive. It did go to show what was considered more worth spending resources on, and Azura did not blame them for focusing on how they could better combat the White Fang.
"Cozy."
His comment drifts into the lukewarm air of the room, fading into silence as Neo nods while inspecting the room herself. Eventually, her eyes linger to the door behind Azura, bringing the boy to speak again.
"No, Neo. We can't risk something like that." He says in a hushed tone. "We need to build trust."
She frowns, shrugging as she turns away from the door. A near silent sigh comes through her lips moments later, sitting down on the futon. Azura watched her as Luna tilted her head from a few feet in front of Neo, the two family members both somewhat surprised to see the normally smug and scheming girl look both so tired and so down.
He walks forward to her side, bending down to inspect her face with a reasonable distance. "You okay there, Neo?"
He knew that she wouldn't like the question, thinking back on when he had tried to form that connection with her, but he couldn't sit by if he could help. It wouldn't be right if he didn't.
What he didn't expect, however, was for her to give a tired smile as an answer to the question. He paused, then smiled back. Sitting down next to her on the futon, he sighed in a tired manner, feeling the aches of combat and falling off a building come to him. Only reason he didn't have more than aches was because of Summer, though, so he would never complain about it.
"Do you know that man? The one who was talking to me." Azura asked, speaking hastily after. "I don't mean to accuse you, but I figured I should ask."
Neo shakes her head, pulling her scroll out to reply.
"No idea who he is. Never saw the man in my life." She typed out. "If I did, I would tell you."
"Hm." He hummed, thinking. "Maybe someone your boss knows?"
Neo shook her head again. "Not sure."
Their conversation fell to silence, but Azura had a question burning at the back of his mind and on the tip of his tongue. He just hoped that he would get an answer.
"Your boss, Neo...who are they?"
Her eyes flick to his own before looking away. For a brief moment, Azura saw shame in her eyes, like she wanted to tell him.
"I can't tell you."
Azura wasn't quick to assume or accuse, so he tried to keep a calm tone for Neo.
"Why is that?"
"They'd know, they would definitely know. You would get killed for it."
"Is she afraid?" Summer asked, curious.
Azura pushed Summer's question to the side for now, watching Neo curiously. He had never seen herserious before, a frown on her face and her face scrunched up as she looked at him.
"You…" He started, picking his words carefully. "You think it's too dangerous a risk."
Neo nods.
"Yet you continue to fight against it for Torchwick."
She nods again.
"Why?" He asks then, continuing it when he sees her hesitate. "If you are…" He pauses himself, licking his lips nervously. "If you think it's too dangerous, why go through the trouble of getting my help if you won't tell me more."
Neo looks away then, an uncomfortably tense atmosphere coming over the room. Azura sighs then, putting his next words into a gentle tone, not wishing to push Neo away in a moment where he might actually get to reach out to her as more than a partner with mutual goals in mind. If that meant luring the truth out, then maybe that would be how he would have to do it.
"Neo...I want you to trust me." He started, not caring that she still didn't look at him. "I know tensions are rising and things that neither of us know about are being set in motion, but if we constantly tiptoe information with each other, then I don't think things will go as we plan them to."
He waits for any response to come from the young woman to his side, rather unsure of what else he could say. Honesty was his best policy, even if it was growing hypocritical of him to say that as time went on and secrets arose in his life.
Eventually, she turns back to him and shows him a new message on her scroll.
"I don't trust anyone, even Torchwick. Some teenage student who doesn't know the world the way I do won't change that."
"Not if you don't try, Neo." He replied back, feeling Summer's disagreement within himself. "I know that you don't want to discuss this with me, given that you pinned me to a wall last time, but isn't it important to trust the people you work with?"
Neo shook her head, not elaborating further via text as she stood up and began turning the makeshift lighting off, one by one. Azura watched her do so, the intent obvious to him. He sighs standing and moving to get the lights on the other side of the room, stopping at the last light once Neo returns to the other side of the futon. Their eyes meet, and Azura says his next words compulsively.
"I do trust you, Neo. Even if you aren't telling me things that could make things easier in the long run."
She keeps her eyes locked on him for several moments before laying down on the futon, intent on not answering him in his eyes. Azura sighs quietly, turning the final light off and picking his side of the futon to lay down on. There was plenty of space between them and not even a single covering between the two of them, a palpable divide between them.
"Why trust someone who can't trust you, Azura?" Summer asked. "Not to antagonize her right now, Azura, but she's not taking your trust."
"If I have to keep trying, then so be it. Trust can be earned."
"You sound like Ruby."
"And you sound like Qrow."
Summer's response goes through his mind, but he was broken from the conversation between them as a shuffling noise reaches his ears and an object touches against the boy's arm. As Luna chooses her place to sit next to him, tail slowly swaying against her legs, Azura looks over to see Neo facing away, picking up the scroll to see that she had written a message.
"I'm sorry I can't put my faith in you."
Azura puts the scroll between them again, sighing silently as he stared into the darkness of the room. He wished he was able to just say that she could put faith in him, but how could he say that when he couldn't even put faith into his friends about what he was doing out here?
He would have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow about tonight's events.
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.(Line Break)
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October 14th (morning)
Clear
Seeing the morning activity of Avis' group was interesting to Azura. Everyone was moving and active, either preparing for daily activities or jobs that they'd have to do. He imagined that a secretive group hiding from what might as well be two differing organizations would have a lot to do, but he hadn't expected it to be an effort from everyone across the board. Perhaps there were fewer people fighting with them than it seemed.
"It's always this busy in the morning." Avis said, walking up to him. "You sure you didn't want her to stay around us for now? Or even you, in disguise?"
Azura turned from watching everyone move about to the older woman now next to him. "Neo can handle herself, she knows to lay low for at least a day or two. If she has to take a risk, I bet she'll take it safely."
"You seem to trust her a lot."
"I have to." He responds, looking down momentarily. "It's the right thing to do."
"It is." Avis agreed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good kid, Azura. I wish we met under better circumstances."
Azura looked back over to her, remembering that she had wanted to talk and explain things to him. "Better to have met now, then. You said that you wanted to talk with me when we first met."
"And we will, when the time is right." She replies. "For now, I think it would be best if you remained around those you trust the most. There's a chance we've painted a target on our backs."
He nods slowly, wishing he didn't have to agree. "I'll be careful."
"I imagine everyone will put you on house arrest, too. You're just lucky that none of the wounds or bruising are visible. They ache horribly, though."
Avis watches him carefully. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head? You seem mighty calm for being in a possibly life-threatening situation."
"Well, I've got people watching my back. Maybe some in this very building. I think I can afford to not be tense all the time."
"You sure do put a lot of faith in trust, it's likely to g-" She begins to speak, likely about to give advice before looking up with a smirk. "For being the reclusive tech girl, you seem to hate sitting still."
"I said that I'd be walking when the morning hit, so that is what I intended to show."
Azura turned his body to find that Croc was partially limping towards them. Her left leg was bandaged, but her tail was once again wrapped around her leg, gently this time. Her green-yellow eyes were bright, but did not hide the discomfort of walking on burns. Perhaps the safety of their location relaxed her normally tight expressions, Azura thought.
"Well, you've proved it to me." He said with a smile on his face. "It's good to see you at least on your feet. But, don't you think it'd be better to rest?"
"I don't need the boy who fell off a building to tell me when to rest." Croc bit back, brushing her hair out of her face. "I wanted to see you off, much like Avis."
"Hood would have joined, but he's been exceptionally busy since last night. I'll be sure to take over his duties soon." Avis said. "Been busy trying to keep as many of us out of the news, pulling some strings. He gives his regards, though."
Azura hadn't even realized that Hood had considered him to be even a simple acquaintance. It felt nice to know that all it took to get some sort of help here was to simply offer aid, since he would have done the same for them.
"That's nice of him." He said after a moment more of thought to the help he was given. "Are you two sure things will be fine without the extra help?"
"Of course we'll be fine, Azura." Croc answered, crossing her arms. "I think you have bigger things to worry about, since you seemingly have a double life of sorts."
"Such as your friends likely wanting to know where you are. You have thirty minutes before the first airship back to Beacon starts making its way to Vale." Avis offered, gesturing with a hand towards the entrance. "I suggest you start making your way there."
Azura sighs, beginning to walk off as he speaks. "Don't remind me. They'll flay me alive for this."
As he walked past others crossing his path, he noticed that he was being given nods or some variation of acknowledgement. He wondered if making sure Croc had gotten out had anything to do with that, but he didn't want to dwell on it for long. As Avis and Croc had said, he had bigger things to worry about beyond gaining some sort of respect or trust with the people here.
The morning air was wet and brought a chill to the air, the sun still barely risen. The remnants of stars and overhanging moon began to fade and vanish as light began to reclaim the land, and Azura paused for a moment to simply take it in with closed eyes. When he opened them again, he walked forward and began to open the gate to gain access to the streets, stopping when the sound of the door he had exited from opened again and unsynced footsteps walked towards.
"Something wrong, Croc?" Azura asked as he let go of the gate and turned around.
"No, but I wanted you to have something."
From her pocket, she produced a device and extended her arm out for him to take it. Azura grabbed onto it to take it, but found that she wouldn't let go of it.
"This is a modified tech that was...well, it was stolen from Atlas by the White Fang and then stolen by us, I'll be honest." She begins to explain. "It's supposed to be a tracker, but I've modified it to be two-way. Avis, Hood, and myself all have one. Consider this a gift for...earning my trust. Our trust, really."
"Thank you, Croc. It feels nice to know the trust goes both ways."
"Unlike you and the murder girl?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, letting him accept the tracker now.
Azura examines it for a moment before pocketing it. He would have time to take a look at it later.
"It's a work in progress."
"Hm." She hums, clearly disagreeing. "I'll be sure to give you more of a heads up when you are needed, if you don't come back on your own."
"Wait, how?"
"Scroll number." She said, like it was obvious.
"That…" Azura begins trailing off with a blink. "How'd you even get that?"
"Avis got it from Neo, if through a little persuasion. She passed it on to me."
"Not sure how she pulled that off, but it works with me."
Seconds tick as they grow quiet, with Azura not entirely sure how to converse with someone who he got to know through a dangerous situation.
"Well," Croc says, brushing her short swamp green hair behind her ear. "You better get going. I've given you the only thing I needed to give."
"And thank you for it. I'll be sure to repay the favor when I can."
"Just make sure you stay safe out there. That's the only payment I need this time."
"This time?" He asks, then quickly shakes his head. "Never mind, I do need to leave. I'll see you around, Croc."
"Until next time then, Azura."
They part ways and Azura finally exits the gate and closes it behind him after a moment of looking around himself. The street was empty, much like the night hours, telling him that it was still late enough to run into trouble if he went the wrong way. Couldn't risk using Summer's semblance either, if only to keep attention off of himself. He started to jog towards the general direction of Beacon, deciding it would be best to keep it low profile.
Alone with his thoughts as he went block to block, Summer struck up conversation.
"Seems you've earned some trust with Croc and Avis. Everything from last night being considered, that's a positive."
"When you put trust in them, people tend to want to trust you in return."
"Or abuse the trust that you give."
"Maybe so...but it's always worth a chance." Azura says confidently to the woman in his head before switching the topic. "There's something bugging me about last night, though."
"Not Neo or that intimidating man...our masked foe?" Summer deduced, prodding at his thoughts. "I am also concerned with the reason for why she was there. It does confirm something, though…"
"What is that?" He asked, wanting to just let her talk aloud.
"The flash drive obviously downloaded something from the old police building...but shouldn't every file from there have been transferred? The chance of any traces still existing wouldn't be very high, nor would the information help that much." She said, rambling slightly. "Meaning that there had to be something big enough that downloading it would be worth not just going there to try, but sneaking past layers of security just for it. It was only caught by Croc's scan for Dust residue. But what could be worth such a heist?"
"Secrets, perhaps? To the current police department systems?" He offered, stoking the fires of Summer's thought process.
"Maybe...but then...could they be planning a hack against the current police department? That would be in line with what the White Fang likely want with Vale. But she actively avoided contact with everyone...were those two masked women actually going against the White Fang? But then, what was the CCT infiltration for?" Her sigh echoes gently in his head. "I'm afraid that every situation we're in right now has more questions than answers."
"Like the Nightmare Grimm." Azura said.
"Or Neo and this White Fang situation."
"Roman's capture."
"Mysterious figures trying to do something."
"Whatever the situation between us is, with this 'mind state'. Whatever that means."
Summer laughs quietly. "We've got our work cut out for us."
"We certainly do."
The wordless thought of the silver eyes and what exactly they meant crossed his mind, and he knew that Summer knew that it had done so. Despite everything between them, even she held secrets. Even so, the silence that descended upon them was heavy because of the growing pressure of the events constantly knocking the world around them down.
Azura and Summer could only hope that they had it within themselves to help where they could to the best of their ability.
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.(Line Break)
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Neo watched him from the rooftops, feeling a sense of pensive tension come over her as she did so. She disliked the feeling, it made her feel like she had some attachment to anything not Torchwick or her own survival. Azura was a means to an end for her, a way to lure certain people around and have a puppet of her own.
So why did she expose herself last night?
She had no answer to the question, or perhaps she refused to answer it.
"I'm sorry I can't put my faith into you."
Neo was almost sickened with herself, even if a small part of her did enjoy not spelling out yet another lie to the boy. It was better that way, too, to weave some truths between the lies to keep him enticed with her and keep him on that string of blind trust.
The other issue is that not even she knew the answer. There was no way she could tell him that she just 'didn't know', not unless she wanted to lose him to the newfound group that she was starting to have second thoughts about siding with. She did not like how that Avis woman was likely pushing him away from her on purpose, sharp distrust for the woman bubbling beneath the surface just by thinking of her. It certainly didn't help that the lizard faunus girl was trying to butter Azura up to the idea of working closely with them, but that was a different problem for her to work around.
She would make sure her plans did not fall apart, because she didn't know what she would do if they did.
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.(Chapter End)
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And there we are, lots of stuff happening in the span of a night and one morning.
Have a great day/evening!