Raymond faked an attack to see Vermillion's reaction. The masked warrior did not stop his advance, and Ray was forced to pivot to the side. He tried again to feign a slash, but it seemed the opponent saw through him and attacked. The fist of the giant fighter crashed into Ray's head, pushing him few feet back. The assault continued, and the one-eyed warrior raised his sword to block the blows. He jumped back to gain some distance. His sword had greater range than Vermillion's fists, and he wanted to use this advantage.

For the size, Raddock was relatively nimble and reacted to Raymond's attacks with surprising efficiency. It was almost like he could read his mind. They both exchanged blows in silence, blocking, parrying, avoiding one another. The sounds of the fighting outside were clashing with the racket of destroyed stools and tables from the inside.

Raymond backflipped on one of the tables to avoid a mighty fist swing from the opponent. His semblance was taxing on his aura, but the fight's progression made him realize how vital it is against Raddock. Mainly because just a few hours earlier, he was operated on. He jumped over the enemy, grabbing him by his neck on the way down and forcing him to the ground. Still, the giant didn't fall, and all Ray had in his arms was his mask. He tossed it aside and rolled away to avoid the attacker's foot.

In the brief moment of pause, Raymond saw Vermillion's face. Grayish skin spotted with darker shades and eyes of almost pure red. Eyes that resembled those of a Grimm. However, one thing that raised his interest more than the ghastly appearance of the King was a slight golden hew around his eyes. The same as when he uses his semblance. His eyebrows narrowed as he connected the facts.

"So you use semblances of others against them," he stated, looking at the mountain of a man. "Cleaver, but not enough."

He dashed forward with his sword raised. No bluffs this time. With a slash with his full force behind it, the attack connected with Vermillion's raised arm. The opponent's aura flickered, signifying serious damage, but he used that moment to kick Ray in his legs. The strength of the attack made him lose his balance, and he fell face-first onto the floor. Then, Raddock grabbed and raised him above his head.

"This will be the end," he stated calmly and thrust Raymond onto his knee.

The one-eyed warrior was still holding his sword. He grabbed the edge, and just before he was dropped, he stopped the momentum by having the blade behind Raddock's neck. This reduced the velocity of the attack significantly, but Ray still felt the force on his spine. His sword flew away under one of the tables.

Vermillion grunted with anger and staggered forward. When he stood up, Raymond was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you running?" The hybrid beast-warrior shouted, mocking his opponent. "I thought of you more highly than this!"

The scuffle outside was slowly dying out. Raymond hid behind the counter, trying to catch some breath. His aura was dangerously low, and he could no longer safely use his semblance. He listened to the footsteps of the hulking fighter, slowly making his rounds around the place in search of him.

"Are you really playing cat and mouse?" The loud voice of Vermillion could be heard in the whole establishment. "I can still feel your presence, you know."

Raymond's head was spinning, and the pain in his back made him move more slowly. Still, he noticed the sword that landed under a table nearby. He braced himself and dashed towards his weapon.

"There," Vermillion smirked and ran towards the enemy.

Ray slid across the floor and grabbed his sword. He blindly slashed behind in hopes of hitting his opponent. However, the blade stopped in flight. Raddock grabbed it with his left hand, and with his right, he delivered a devastating blow to Ray's face. The one-eyed warrior wanted to raise his hand, but another blow rattled him. Then came another one, and another. His mind started to slowly slip away from him as his aura broke, and the force of the impacts was more for him to handle. After a few more hits, the assault stopped.

"I want to say you fought well," Vermillion started to talk, panting. "However, you're nothing special."

He grabbed the almost unconscious enemy by his neck and raised him up to have his head eye-level. His grasp started to tighten, and Raymond grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. Struggling, grasping for air, life slowly started to leave his body.

A sudden ruckus near the entrance to the bar surprised Vermillion. Considering the situation, he dropped Raymond and dashed towards the back.

Raymond was lying on the ground, his breath shallow. A sudden cough made him turn to his side. Blood. His head was spinning, and he could barely comprehend what was going on around him. Someone bursted through the door. A lot of people were then walking around, doing something he couldn't really see. A familiar silhouette before him made him strangely nostalgic. The black hair was recognizable. However, mist reached his eyes, and all he could see was red and white as his consciousness decided to take a break.


The police force with Gran and Nina was the first group to notice the fighting in the streets. Both Hana and Black Sheep members were wailing at each other all over the path to the Top Dog Bar. Granola was first to jump into the fray, but a few punches to his head made him far less optimistic about the whole situation. He was still pretty woozy but eager to help in whatever way he could. Nina didn't feel comfortable in a battle of this scale. It was not much a battle as a street brawl as much of the folk were just using punches and makeshift weaponry they could find around. She focused on protecting the police officers and, most of all, Gran, who had the tendency to go wild in fights like this one. However, to her surprise, he wasn't as wild as she thought he would be.

As the force slowly moved up the city, the fighting was getting further away from the civilians, and they focused on apprehending the battling parties. Few of the officers got too deep and got injured, but the force managed most of the riff-raff. At the gates of the bar, the fight was the most intense. Amethyst, Vivian, and Neil moved to the front when the redhead noticed Hunter Ash, the leader of Hana.

"Cerulean! You wanted a confrontation; you have one!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as his henchmen fend off the Black Sheep assailants.

"Let Gran and the officers handle the fights around here while we handle the big fish," Neil stated, and the trio moved towards Hunter.

"Sending out an assassin to take me out was a low blow!" Hunter continued his monologue as the fighters around him tried to take him down.

Vivian moved first, activating her semblance and smacking a few of the goons around. Amethyst jumped in just after her and dashed straight towards the leader of the gang. A few of his bodyguards were trying to stop her but were no match for her brute force. Neil followed his partner, and when he was close enough to Ash, he jumped out and forced him to the ground.

"What? Who the hell are you?" He was confused, trying to break free from Neil's grasp.

"Hunter Ash, you're under arrest," the redhead stated as both Vivian and Ame were fending off attackers around.

"At what charges?"

"Inciting a fight for one," he cuffed him, "and probably more if we look hard enough."

Getting him off the ground, Vivian quickly used her aura appendages to move above the battlefield to tie him down just at the outskirts of it. Many more Black Sheep members ran out of the bar when she came back and started another riot.

The fight continued, and Neil noticed that the area of the battlefield was getting smaller. More and more combatants were out of commission, and the police force circle was getting closer. Many officers were wounded or had to retreat, but they did everything in their power to secure the location. Then, a sudden human flying out of the window from the bar startled him. Was there more fighting inside? They needed to secure this location first before they could move inside.

It took quite a significant amount of time before everything died down, and the fighters from both gangs were taken into custody. Tired, the leftover officers moved towards Neil.

"What are the orders, sir?" It was Jet, whose eye was bulging out and with bleeding lip.

Many of his companions were in similar condition, if not worse. They all saluted Neil and awaited his command. Surprised, he chuckled. "Stand down; no need to be this formal."

The men relaxed but still waited for orders. "Is the area secured?" He asked.

"As much as we're capable off," Jet stated.

"Good," Neil smiled, amused. He never knew how well he felt in the role of a leader. "We'll be moving inside the Top Dog Bar and secure that location as well. Anyone saw Cerulean?" He addressed the rest of the force. Everyone shook their head. "So prepare to face him inside."

The small remaining police force led by Neil, with Ame, Vivian, Gran, and Nina right behind him, prepared to enter.

"I have a strange feeling," Ame finally stated. Her Grimm arm was trembling. Annoyed, she smacked it into a nearby wooden beam, reducing it to splinters.

"What's going on?" Neil was concerned.

"Mind if I move around and see the back of the bar?"

Confused at the request, Neil simply nodded.

When she moved around, the rest of the group busted inside the bar. Nina gasped, seeing a huge headless body and a picture of carnage all around. Tables, stools, and the bar counter in shambles, bodies all around, and some unconscious members of the Black Sheep.

"What happened here?" Vivian was the first to ask out loud.

"Check how many survived," Neil addressed the officers.

They all moved around, investigating every single body. Vivian noticed a sword lying nearby, which she recognized. It was Ray's. She looked around and finally caught a silhouette that belonged to him. It indeed was Raymond. He was on the ground, unconscious, with his hands bloodied and many bruises on his face and arms. She checked for his pulse, and her heart almost skipped a beat.

"What is it?" Neil asked, noticing her near a body.

She slowly turned her head to face the redhead. "He's dead."


Amethyst moved to the backside of the bar. Her arm was still tingling, uncomfortable. A feeling that slowly got under her skin. A sight of a familiar man exiting through the back exit made her blood boil.

"Vermillion!" She shouted and started running in his direction.

"Not this again," the man sighed, and their hands clasped together.

"This time, I won't let you get away," Ame was furious.

They both struggled for a brief moment when Vermillion suddenly headbutted the Faunus girl. She didn't want to release the villain, but his grasp was too formidable for her to handle, and he pushed her back. His fist headed straight towards her, but the woman deflected the blow. She wanted to attack with her right arm, but it didn't move. The bewilderment at the fact made her hesitate what to do next, and a spinning back fist to her face made her fall to the ground. She wanted to get up, but her Grimm arm started moving on its own. The creature didn't want to be in this situation.

Vermillion looked amused by the scene. "Come and fight me when you can control your beast." He spat nearby and moved away.

As he was getting further away, the more control over the Grimm Amethyst was getting back. Anger started brewing inside her, but she knew she wasn't ready to fight him. We'll have a lot to talk about, she scolded the beast in her mind. After composing herself, she entered the bar.

Inside, Neil was already working full force, cuffing the surviving combatants and coordinating the officer's efforts. The scene was brutal.

"Was there anything outside?" Neil asked, noticing she came inside.

"Vermillion, but I was unable to capture him," she stated with her head down.

Neil nodded, deep in thought. "So this all was his doing?" He stated, blankly looking at the bar.

"No way… I don't believe that." Ame shook her head.

Granola was helping Vivian getting Raymond's body on a stretcher.

"I know I wanted to kill him, but…" He took a deep breath. "Seeing him actually gone feels so different."

"He got what he deserved," Nina suddenly chimed in, completely surprising Gran and Vivian.

"You can't honestly think that," The Faunus man stared at her, confused.

"Well, I don't. He was our friend after all…"

They all fell silent for a moment before returning to securing the scene.

After all was done, the team stood together.

"So, what's next?" Amethyst asked.

"It seems they already see me as the new sheriff," Neil answered first. "And, to be honest, I kind of like it."

"I might help you out," The lizard Faunus said. "Vermillion needs to be stopped."

"Police work seems really fun," Vivian added. "Might consider joining you two. How about you two?" She addressed Gran and Nina.

They both looked at each other before Gran started to speak. "This isn't our city. People still need Huntsmen outside, and that's where we belong."

"That's so like you," Ame stated, looking at the two lovebirds with a smile on her lips.

"So that's that," Neil concluded. "We three have a lot of work to do. Vermillion's still at large."

Gran and Nina hugged out with everyone and left on their own adventure, while Neil, Ame, and Vivian came back to the precinct and prepared their own crusade against the King of Kuchinashi.


I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who read through all my stories. That was my first venture into the world of fan fiction and it was a blast, but it also was a tiring effort. This will probably be the last story that'll come from me. Once again many thanks to all of you who have been able to go through my stories, you're the real MVPs.

Cheers!