"sorry bout the delay, thanks to hurricane Ida, i didnt have power. anyway, enjoy the story!"
Chapter Ten: a new challenger approaches
On Patch, the Xiaolong household was gripped in tension so thick Ruby could cut it with her scythe. Neo stared at Tai and Qrow, and the two veteran hunters stared back. Despite team RWBY's assurances of Neo's change of heart, the older men remained pessimistically pragmatic.
"So what do we do with her now?" Qrow asked.
"We do what the girls asked us to. Whether we want to or not." Tai said with a sigh.
Neo typed into her scroll, 'how much more do I have to prove to you guys? Need a blood test or something?"
"Cute. alright. Let's get you something to eat." Tai said dryly, and the three walked into the kitchen, Zwei waddling up behind them.
Neo sat down at the table as Tai began to cook. As Neo sipped on a juice box, Qrow kept an eye on her from a corner, staying strategically in the darkest part of the room. After taking a swig from his strategic flask, he spoke up to Tai.
"Odd coincidence huh? Send her here while they know a madman is hunting her down? Sounds like a lot of…" Qrow said slightly drunk, for him at least.
"Do you have to bring this up now? I'm trying to not think about it!" Tai snapped at his brother in law.
"Hey, you're normal…" Qrow tried to speak up, but Tai swung around and cut him off.
"What? The responsible one? Yes I am, and I'm not stealthing in the corner and getting drunk! Whether you like it or not, we are doing this! So either make yourself useful, or get out of the damn kitchen!" Tai snapped, letting the sudden stress and long time tension finally boil.
"Yeah… sure…" Qrow said, stunned off his ass as he slowly and kinda awkwardly went into the living room.
Neo however continued to sip her juice box, Zwei sitting in her lap cutely. She could tell something was up between them, but simply just assumed it was something they weren't ever gonna tell her. After a short, quiet and awkward dinner, mostly due to Qrow and Tai, they loaded the dishes into the sink. Tai got to work on cleanup while Qrow and Neo went to the living room. To try and distract himself from the situation, and not get too drunk too quickly in front of the "kid", Qrow put on the TV. However, they then heard a knock on the door.
'I got it.' Neo typed into her scroll and skipped her way to the door.
When she opened it, standing smack dab in the doorframe was the lanky and vicious frame of Tyrian. Without a second thought Neo slammed the door in front of him.
"How rude, the little minx." Tyrion said with a scowl.
Soon his scorpion stinger punched through the solid hardwood door, and with a mighty heave ripped the hinges off violently, throwing the door into the front yard. This immediately made both Tai and Qrow jump to attention as Neo backed meekly away, scared beyond belief.
"Well, hello gentlemen! I don't suppose you'd be so kind as to hand over that girl to me, would you? I'd oh so dislike having to make more of a mess of your lovely home!" Tyrian gleefully said, snickering madly as he prepared The Queen's Servants, his bracer-mounted blades, for combat.
"Not gonna happen!" Qrow replied, narrowing his eyes as he drew Harbinger and changed it into its sword form.
"Good, because I was lying!" Tyrian cackled as he leaped at the two Huntsmen.
However, before he could even swing with them to attack with, he was met with a powerful kick to the stomach that sent him flying through the open doorway and tumbling across the ground. There stood Tai, dropped into a fighting stance with his leg extended. Looking at each other, the two brother-in-laws nodded as Taiyang rushed outside with Qrow following behind him. Meanwhile, Tyrian cackle with glee as he coughed and got to his feet.
"Well then! This may be more fun than I thought! Try not to make it too boring for me!" Tyrian laughed out as he got to his feet, charging in at the two pro Huntsmen.
As the three ment met, Tyrian stabbed at Tai with his tail, forcing the blonde fighter to dodge the attack. Qrow then swung with Harbinger only for Tyrian to block it with his blades. Tai then attacked with a kick, forcing Tyrian to block as he was sent sliding back by the force of the kick. The two then charged in at the mad scorpion faunus, separating and attacking him from opposite sides.
Qrow turned Harbinger into its scythe form as he slashed at Tyrian, forcing him to dodge and break away. He then tried to stab at Qrow with his tail as he dodged, forcing Qrow to dodge to the side. However, this left him open to a kick to the back of the knee from Tai, bringing him down to one knee. Tai then kicked Tyrian in the face, sending him tumbling aside. Digging his bracer-mounted blades into the ground to stop himself, Tyrian looked up and quickly jumped aside as Tai came crashing down with a falling axe kick, cracking and cratering the ground where Tyrian had just been kneeling.
Grinning madly, Tyrian tried to stab at Tai with his stinger. However, Tai simply dodged and grabbed the scorpion faunus by the tail. Tai then began to swing Tyrian around, going faster and faster until the two became a tornado-like blur of movement. Throwing Tyrian into the air, Taiyang leaped above the mad assassin and kicked him back down towards the ground. This sent him down towards Qrow, who transformed Harbinger back into its sword form and swung, slashing at Tyrian and sending him skidding against the ground.
Rolling to his feet, Tyrian charged at the drunk old crow and slashed with his blades, forcing Qrow to block the strikes. This left Qrow open as Tyrian tried to stab him with his stinger once more. This time, the blow nearly landed as Qrow was forced to dodge. Tai then came in to back up his brother-in-law, coming down with a kick that forced Tyrian to dodge by rolling away. He then lashed out with his tail, forcing Taiyang to leap to the side to dodge.
Qrow then came up behind Tyrian with a horizontal slash from Harbinger's war scythe form, barely avoiding losing his tail. Tyrian stabbing down at Qrow with his tail, his stinger managing to stab Qrow in the shoulder as it bypassed his Aura.
"Gah! What the fuck!?" Qrow cried out in shock and pain, in disbelief at the fact that the scorpion faunus's stinger went straight through his Aura and hit him.
"Qrow!" Tai cried out in concern for his brother-in-law before glaring at Tyrian.
The blonde fighter then rushed in at Tyrian, trying to hit him with a barrage of punches and kicks. Right hook, left cross, left snap kick, right roundhouse kick, left uppercut. All blocked, deflected or dodged by Tyrian. Tyrian cackled madly during this exchange of blows.
"One down!" The faunus serial killer laughed with mad glee.
Meanwhile, as Tai fought with Tyrian, Qrow tried to get some feeling back into his shoulder as it made it more difficult to hold onto his weapon. Charging back in, more sluggishly now, Qrow slashed with his weapon in sword form. However, the venom from Tyrian's tail was starting to slow him down as Tyrian more easily dodged the blow before blocking a kick from Tai.
Qrow slashed at Tyrian only for the psychopath to block the blow. Tai then lashed out with a punch that was caught by Tyrian. Tai lashed out with a kick to the assassin's gut, forcing him to let go. The blonde fighter was then forced to dodge another stab from Tyrian's tail as he looked at his brother-in-law.
Qrow was beginning to sweat and pant, the poison obviously starting to affect him. However, the drunken Huntsman still looked determined to fight as he charged in and slashed with his weapon in war scythe form. Unleashing a barrage of slashes that were dodged by Tyrian, Qrow saw the mad scorpion faunus laugh maniacally as if he was enjoying this.
"That's it! Keep it up! Try to kill me if you can!" Tyrian cackled as he went on the attack, slashing at Qrow and forcing him to dodge.
Qrow tried to continue dodging, his movements becoming increasingly sluggish from the venom running through him. However, he refused to give up as he blocked and dodged Tyrian's strikes. However, Tyrian was then caught off guard by a roundhouse kick to the kidney that knocked the breath out of him. Turning around, he tried to slash at Tai only for the blonde fighter to dodge, taking a scratch to the cheek as the blade nicked him.
Tyrian smirked and licked Tai's blood off of his blade before giggling sadistically and going back on the attack. Tai was forced to dodge as Tyrian tried to sting him with tail, forcing him on the defensive as Qrow tried to attack Tyrian from behind with his scythe. Tyrian dodged and jumped aside, only to take a punch to the ribs from Taiyang. Tyrian gasped in pain and chuckled as he stabbed with his tail, forcing Tai to dodge.
Qrow then came up behind Tyrian and tried to slash him, only for Tyrian to block it with his blades. Pushing Qrow away, Tyrian slashed with his left bracer blades in an attempt to hit Qrow in the face, forcing him to dodge and leaving himself open. Lashing out with his tail ,Tyrian tried to stab Qrow with his stinger, forcing Qrow to dodge to the right. However, this was exactly what Tyrian wanted. Cackling with glee, Tyrian stabbed with the blades of his right bracer, stabbing Qrow in the eye.
"Gah!" Qrow cried out in pain as Tyrian stabbed into his eye.
Tyrian cackled and ripped his blades from Qrow's eye, Qrow winced as he clutched at his bleeding eye socket. Infuriated by what had just been done to his brother-in-law, Tai rushed in like an enraged bull and kneed Tyrian in the gut hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs. He then unleashed an uppercut to Tyrian's chin, rattling his brain as Taiyaing unleashed a barrage of punches to Tyrian's gut and chest before knocking him back with a vicious kick to the stomach.
Tyrian chuckled breathlessly as he tried to recover. He then dodged aside as Qrow tried to slash at him from behind with his scythe. However, before Tyrian could try to attack, He found himself grabbed in a full-nelson. Tyrian tried to struggle to get loose only for Tai to hold on with all his strength.
"Qrow! Do it now!" Taiyang called out, trying to hold tight onto Tyrian.
Qrow nodded and, using the last of his strength, rushed at Tyrian. He then slashed with all his remaining strength, cutting off Tyrian's head and sending it flying with a shower of blood. Tyrian's head then rolled across the ground, his typical maniacal grin still on the face of his severed head. Qrow then collapsed to the ground, dropping Harbinger and panting heavily as Tai dropped Tyrian's headless corpse.
"Okay, I don't think Patch is safe for her…" Qrow pants, in a lot of pain.
"For once I can agree…" Tai answered
Meekly, Neo pokes her head out, sipping her juicebox adorably, typing, 'Am i safe now?'
"Not here. Back to Beacon kiddo…" Tai said to her.
Neo, spotting the corpse of her would-be murderer, goes pale at the sight of him, slowly backing back into the house, where she is safe.
Later that week, Beacon Academy
Team RWBY rushed out into the courtyard as they saw Neo and a still injured Qrow arriving. Though bandaged and a eyepatch over his lost eye, it was clear to the three that whatever happened was serious.
"Uncle Qrow… are you okay?" Ruby said as she rushed up to her uncle.
"I've been better. Tyrian found us. He put up a fight, but we killed him. However both your father and I believe that Patch isn't the safest place for her. Most likely she'd be the most safe with you four from now on." Qrow explained surprisingly clearly, indicating to everyone this was serious enough for him to have sobered up… if temporarily.
"How's dad?" Yang asked as she held Neo in a reassuring hug.
"He made it out better than me. And the front door." Qrow answered.
"We understand. Thank you for making sure he didn't get her. We will keep her safe." Blake said to Qrow.
"Thank you. Now the old man's gonna want to hear this. I'll be off." Qrow says as he walks off.
As he left, the team of Huntresses looked at their charge, standing there still dazed, confused and scared. Without a word, the four all hug Neo, letting her know that they are there to protect her.
Meanwhile in a old warehouse in Vale
Junior along with a pair of guards get out of their limo, before entering. Inside was shockingly only a table with some refreshments… and a blindfolding Cinder sitting already. She smiles warmly at her guests.
"Come in come in. Make yourselves at home." Cinder said, trying to invite them in.
"You better not be wasting my time with this. I don't have time for small fry." Junior said as he walked up and sat down.
"I assure you it will be worth your time. Tea?" Cinder asked, and Junior gave her a curt nod.
Cinder then pours the tea to the mob boss, and gives a bag of chips to each of his guards. Once the guards took their posts and began munching, she turned her attention back to their boss. Then when he took a sip, she gained a wicked smile.
"Now what did you call me all the way to the ass crack of town for?" Junior asked, annoyed.
"About how I am going to take over the family business." Cinder answered.
"You've got some fucking nerve." Junior growled.
"On the contrary, it's already in motion. You could say… you're already dead." Cinder said.
Junior glared at her sternly, but then began to brutally cough. Covering his mouth, when he finally stopped he felt something odd in his hand. Looking down at it, he sees blood. His blood.
"You little…" Junior growled as he quickly rose.
Before he could reach for his pistol however, he froze. He felt his heart rate rise, and he wobbled on his feet. Then his eyes rolled back, and he fell forward towards the table. Unfortunately for Junior, the table was stronger than his neck, and it snapped, giving him a merciful death. Seeing this, his guards stopped eating the chips and quickly raised their guns, only to meet the same fate as their boss, but instead of a table, the concrete gave them the merciful favor.
"It appears this family is in need of some new management." Cinder said with a knowing smile.