Chapter 60
"So… heading off to Vacuo then?" Adam asked with a raised brow.
Sun nodded with a grin. "Yup. You don't need any help and Ghira seems to be doing fine. We aren't needed here so we'll just head off to Vacuo."
"Not going to stay here, rebuild and train?"
"Nah. A new Headmaster will be chosen sure but… well a few other teams are already prepared to transfer to Shade. Plus with all this weird 'cult' stuff going on with Cinder… well if she goes to Vacuo you guys won't know for a while. I'll try to get things ready for if they do." Sun sighed and scratched his head.
Adam nodded along. I believe it was a good choice to tell them. They won't spurt it out to everyone and they are competent. They'll keep Vacuo safe. Hopefully. As long as Shade's Headmaster is still on our side… Adam had never met Theodore before, so he had to rely on Ozpin's word for that.
"Good luck Sun. Keep growing. I'll be harsh on you all if you haven't made much progress when we next meet."
"'Course! Now that we know where we were failing we can fix it! We'll be a powerful team by the next time you see us!" Sun grinned with confidence.
Sun held up a fist and waited. Adam rolled his eyes and returned the fist bump. Sun let out a whoop. "See ya, Adam! No dying now, okay?"
"Ha. As if I'll ever let Atlas be my grave!"
Sun laughed and ran off, waving as he went. Adam waved back with a laugh. Sun could really take the edge off sometimes. A valuable skill. I hope he cultivates it.
The large train station was filled with people. To the point that even the bright and showy Sun eventually became invisible. Adam took his leave from the bridge they'd used for their goodbye and made his way down to the seating his friends were occupying.
"All done?" Ruby asked as he arrived.
"Yes. They're heading to Vacuo, so we don't need to worry about there."
"Awesome!" Ruby replied with a smile. "Oh hey, didn't Coco and her team go there after Beacon?"
Yang answered. "Yeah. They got tired of fighting a losing battle to retake Beacon I guess. I… didn't talk to them about it. Just heard of it. Heard of a lot of teams who left to go to other schools."
"I heard the same." Pyrrha added. "Most went to Shade I think, but some went to Haven. I believe only a couple went to Atlas. I didn't catch which teams though."
Adam shrugged. "If any did we might see them there."
"Oh, I can't wait to see Atlas!" Ruby exclaimed.
Weiss sighed. "I'm perfectly fine with taking our time." She glared at Ruby and her excitement as she pulled on her new scarf.
"But Weeeeeeiisss!" Ruby whined.
"Don't worry little ladies," a new voice boasted from behind Adam, "we'll be on guard for the whole trip!" They all turned to look at the newcomers.
Weak. Adam scanned them up and down. All he could see was a pair of weaklings, pretending to be strong. He turned fully around and folded his arms. "Can we help you?"
The pair, who looked like twins, glanced at Adam's horns for a brief moment before looking into his eye. "We're the guards for the Argus Limited. Dee."
"And I'm Dudley."
"And if you're worried about the trip well… we offer an exclusive package where we'll ensure that your safety is our top priority. It's only a little bit extra, so how about it?" Dee asked with a confident but sleazy grin.
Great. They're idiots too. Qrow groaned and made to stand up but Adam held out a hand to stop him. He put a cocky grin onto his face and stared the pair down.
"Tell me, Dee and Dudley. Have you ever battled against a man who felt no pain and could battle for longer than anyone else? Or a woman whose power over fire is so commanding that she could kill a Headmaster? Or perhaps have you duelled against a mass-murdering psychopath who worships Grimm? Any of that ring a bell?"
The twins looked at each other. "Nah." Dudley replied, obviously thinking Adam was making things up.
"Well, we have. And we've beaten all of them back. If anyone should be hired for protection, it's us. But we don't want to take your jobs, so how about you go back to bullshitting some hapless civilians?" Adam's eye was cold as it stared into their souls.
"Y-yeah. Sure." Dee's hesitation betrayed his feelings. Adam's smile grew cruel. The twins backed away and then ran.
"Hmph. Pathetic." Adam said as he turned back to the others. They all looked like they'd just seen something foolish.
"Really Adam? Did you need to go and threaten them like that?" Yang asked, exasperated.
"Need? No. Want? Yes." His team groaned. Adam shrugged. "What? They were fools without an ounce of proper strength! They couldn't even realize that we, a group of ten that are heavily armed, are Huntsmen."
"Trainee Huntsmen." Weiss corrected with a sigh.
Qrow stood. "Alright alright. Let's just get a move on. The trains boarding now." He pointed to one of the few trains that were in the building at the moment and, as he said, it was now boarding. A sign above it said in bright lights: Argus Limited; Boarding Now.
Adam shrugged again. They just pissed me off. We aren't so weak that we need guards! They thought we were though. They were making fun of us. He didn't voice that thought. Really he was annoyed that they looked at his team and thought they were so weak as to need protection. They aren't weak!
He just didn't want people to treat his friends like they couldn't handle themselves. Though maybe doing it himself had sent that message himself. Ah. Shit. He sighed.
Just calm down. It's been months since we've all been together. We're still getting the hang of things again. It'll work out. I know it.
Yang had been on a few trains in her life, but never one this well off. They had bunk beds despite that they probably wouldn't need them at all. Plenty of storage too. Though when she went to put her bag away she could have sworn Adam was watching in case she needed help. She was fine of course.
He's just unsure of what I can and can't do with the whole arm situation. He'll get over it soon. It annoyed her, but whatever he thought he hadn't acted on it. He hadn't treated her like she was made of glass. Though he was always watching her arm. Every so often he drifted to look at it.
It made things a little tense sometimes, but she ignored it. This uncertainty was just what happened after so far apart. And such a… eventful parting. Plus if he was going to stare at her, could it be something other than her arm?
Yang sighed internally, took that thought and threw it out the window. I'm still mad at him. He has to work for me to forgive him damn it!
Soon enough Qrow, Oscar and JNPR arrived into their now very cramped room. Qrow and Oscar reported on everything they'd gotten from Leonardo Lionheart.
"So basically: Cinder used to be his point of contact to Salem, but then some guy named Watts took over after Beacon? And Leo is the reason why Cinder so easily infiltrated?"
Qrow downed another drink. "Yep. Plus he was making fake missions to lure Huntsmen into traps for Hazel and Tyrian to ambush and kill them. For some time too. Even before Beacon fell."
Ren clenched his fists. "Is… is that why?" He whispered to himself. Yang almost hadn't heard him, but Nora had too because she grabbed his hand. Does he mean his old town? The one where they fought that fused Grimm?
It was an interesting thought. That was about a decade ago. Had Lionheart been cutting down his own Huntsmen for that long? Or was it just happenstance? It didn't sound like the former Headmaster had given any real numbers for how long he's been a traitor, but it sounded like only a few years so it likely wasn't his fault. Still, that's gotta hurt. Thinking your parents are only dead because of a Headmaster and his games.
She snuck a look at Oscar. The boy was in charge right now, with Ozpin nowhere in sight. Not that you would know unless you really paid attention. She still wasn't good enough for that, but Oz typically announced whenever he took over.
"Arthur Watts…" Weiss whispered to herself.
"Got an idea?" Adam asked.
"No, not really. I feel like I've heard the name before but I have no idea where."
"Lionheart said he was an Atlesian Scientist." Qrow added.
"Hm. He likely had some acclaim then. Not enough to be very memorable though." Weiss concluded.
"Might be why he joined Salem." Yang said.
"Wanting to be known for his abilities?" Adam asked aloud. "Would fit the other motivations we've heard. They all seem extremely selfish."
"Makes sense for people who willingly aid the queen of all monsters." Qrow nodded along.
"I guess we'll just pass this on and Atlas can get ready for him. Or hunt him down or whatever." Ruby said with a shrug.
"Sounds like a plan. Speaking of, once we get to-" Qrow was cut off by the train shaking and a distant scream. They all jumped to their feet and grabbed their weapons.
Something had happened.
"Well, I can tell you that she's left town. Ran through the forest I hear. Took off in a stolen airship." The woman answered, taking the Lien from the table. "The other girl… well we can find out. But our investigations cost more."
The figure in front of her clicked her tongue in annoyance as she produced more cards. Lil' Miss Malachite smiled and took the money. "We'll find her. Ruby Rose was it?" The figure nodded. "Come back in a couple of days."
The figure left. The older woman smirked. What an interesting little thing. "Find out what you can about her. Someone may want to know." She told her aides. They immediately passed on the orders.
Lil' Miss Malachite was a woman with a lot of power in Mistral. She'd spent her life building it up. Taking more and more and putting her hands in every pie she could. Such was how she claimed the most powerful information network. It only took an hour for her to know everything about Ruby Rose.
Her visitor took longer, however. It wasn't until minutes before she returned that Malachite knew who she was. When she saw the name cross her desk her blood went cold. Few could produce that effect, such was just how strong her customer was. One of the most feared killers in the underworld, but her appearance hadn't really gotten out of Vale much yet.
Malachite was lucky she had stumbled onto this information. It could have been her death otherwise.
The customer returned and Malachite produced her best tea for her. "Welcome back. I have to admit I never expected the personal assassin of Roman Torchwick to turn up in my tavern."
"..." Neo stared at her. Malachite gulped and slip over the information she had.
"She's gone up to Argus. Likely heading to Atlas. I doubt you'll catch her in Argus, so heading straight to Atlas is your best bet. I've included everything I have been able to find on the girl. If you need an airship I would be happy to provide one for a modest fee."
Neo produced more Lien like it was nothing. Malachite took it and ordered her aides to give Neo the best ship they had. They all understood how deadly Neopolitan was, so they would not trick her.
Death would be a mercy if they had tried.
Neo took what Malachite had given her and left. Lil' Miss collapsed in her seat afterwards. It wasn't the image she strived to uphold, but none could blame her. For looking like a little girl, Neopolitan had a death count that eclipsed some of the greatest in the business. Even the one time best assassin, Marcus Black, wouldn't have been able to take on Neo.
She had killed more in her few years around the underworld than Marcus had in over a decade. His count was larger, for now at least. With Roman dead, the girl was free to kill anyone she wanted.
Which meant everyone was in danger.
I dodged quite the bullet there.
So close. Neo thought as she took her new airship into the air. She'd used her Semblance to make it look like an Atlesian Manta.
Ruby Rose had been so close. If she'd just gotten here a few days earlier she could be basking in the girl's death by now. But alas, she had failed to arrive fast enough. But now she knew where the girl was going.
And more about her. The file contained pretty much everything. Quite the achievement, with the CCT down. Birthday, family, school, fighting style, friends, team, likes and dislikes. Everything. Lil' Miss Malachite was the best info broker she'd ever met.
Better than Junior. She thought derisively. That man was pathetic in comparison. His gang couldn't do anything right. It had caused Roman no end of trouble. Roman… Her thoughts always came back to him. And why wouldn't they?
He was the one thing she cared for in this world and now he was gone. Because of one woman's insane plans and a girls absurd desire to be a hero. She'd lost everything because of the actions of two selfish idiots.
She'd make them pay. Cinder had vanished again, but she knew where Ruby was. She almost licked her lips in anticipation.
I'll enjoy hearing your screams, Ruby Rose.
A/N: V6 starting with chapter 60. If only it was intentional. Train battle will be next. Wanted to be able to focus on it a bit more I guess. Instead, we get Sun's departure, Dee and Dudley being weak and annoying Adam, talking about Watts and Leo's betrayal and then Neo. Neo's really fun to write. Love that little murder goblin. Also loved writing her out as a bogey man in the underworld. Fun times.
I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!