"Alright, kids, no messing around today!" Coco declared as she adjusted her hat. "We are going to make a quick trip into town, look for Mallory, and follow him back to their lair, base, wherever the hell they are holed up at."
"So this is a stealth mission then?" Titus asked.
"Yes, keep your weapons concealed and do your best to blend in," Coco told them. Eliana packed up a few of her things and looked at Coco.
"How do we blend in once we leave the village? Won't we stick out like a sore thumb if we're just following along behind him? And if he doesn't take a main road, we'll be given away for sure," Eliana pointed out.
"I'm sure that I can think of something, I normally do," Coco told her.
"We could do the old Titus-Ilia love-struck couple bit," Ilia offered. Titus chuckled.
"I think you enjoy that a bit too much," Titus replied.
"I enjoy it because you hate it so much," Ilia told him.
"Sounds about right," Titus said as he stood and slung his bag over his shoulder.
"Alright you two," Coco said as they all finished preparing to head out. "Stop flirting and let's get on our way, I'm thinking that Mallory will be arriving in town at any moment." They made the short walk over to Shion village and split up at a comfortable distance from each other, spending a considerable amount of time at each stall and showing the items to each other, Ilia and Titus had paired off together and Eliana stayed close to Coco. Titus coughed loudly to draw their attention, Coco glanced over to note the larger man, his grip was loose on his machete. Eliana nodded without making eye contact with the man.
"I can see his reflection in the mirror there," Eliana motioned with her head. "He's the guy." Coco walked across to the meat vendor who had just leapt to his feet, his face flush though she was unsure if it was from her own approach or Mallory's.
"Excuse me," Coco said. "How long ago did this shipment of venison come in? I just want to make sure that it's fresh, you know?" Mallory seemed annoyed and he looked at her.
"I'm the vendor ma'am and I can assure you that the meat was less than a day old when I delivered it two days ago," Mallory told her. "Can I have just a moment with the shop owner?" Coco looked over her sunglasses at him.
"It can't wait a couple of minutes?" Coco asked. "I'm planning on making a purchase. If anything, giving me a couple more seconds is going to benefit both of you. He'll make a sale and in turn, he'll be able to purchase from you once again."
"Listen, lady, I might not look like the smartest guy around, but I am more than well aware of how economics work," Mallory replied. "Just buy your meat and let us get on with our business." Coco rolled her eyes, picking up a package of meat and examining it.
"What's his rush?" Coco asked. "I'm a bit on the skeptical side. How does somebody acquire Grimm meat? I mean, they dissolve as soon as you kill them, so I'm not entirely sure how authentic this meat can be, right? I mean, this could be Faunus meat for all I know, right?" Mallory slammed his blade down, it stuck in the top of the stand and looked at Coco with eyes that seemed a bit wild.
"I'm losing my patience," Mallory said.
"You didn't deny that it could be Faunus though," Coco pointed out. Titus glanced over at Eliana who shrugged. Coco was calling an audible and none of them were entirely sure of what she was planning. "So then, it is?" The man pulled his blade free and swung it for Coco who blocked it with her purse, she had ample time to spare and she slid back, the market suddenly coming alive and everyone had their eyes on the two of them.
"Pissing me off isn't something that anyone in the square would recommend to you!" Mallory declared. "Who sent you here Coco?" Coco laughed, the sun glaring off of her glasses as she smirked devilishly and prepared to transform her weapon.
"It sounds like my reputation precedes me," Coco told him. "Maybe you shouldn't have glossed over the fact that the meat might be Faunus, but I guess that wouldn't have bothered anyone here since most of you in Mistral don't see them as any more than animals."
"They aren't," Mallory told her. "I'm only going to ask one more time, who sent you Adel?"
"I still can't get over the fact that you somehow know my name. Was it the priest, or the mayor, or this guy here that told you what it was? Or maybe I am just that well known from my work," Coco said. He moved quickly and closed the gap between them, his body tensing as he reached her and he swung again, his blade meeting her purse once more but this time she was thrown back with uncanny force and crashed into one of the buildings nearby, the suddenness had caught Eliana off guard and she wasn't able to stop her with a forcefield.
"What was that?" Ilia asked Titus. Mallory turned to face them, his toothy grin growing as he took a few steps towards them, people had begun evacuating the area in a frenzy to get out of the way.
"You must be a few of the students that she brought with her, is that right?" The thug asked.
"And you must be Mallory Akeldama, though I really don't get what it is your semblance does," Titus replied stepping between Ilia and the madman.
"I can turn all of the fat on my body into muscle in an instant," he explained. "It makes it easier to dispatch punks like you." Titus looked over Mallory's shoulder and chuckled prompting the man to glance back.
"Is that what just happened?" Titus asked. Mallory rushed forward the rest of the way, Titus's blades met the man's and he dug his feet in as he took the impact, sliding back instead of being thrown away and Ilia leapt out of his body for a follow-up. She tried two quick swipes which the man blocked swiftly before she fired off a couple of gravity rounds and sent him reeling back. He slid to a stop, looking at his feet before looking at her in confusion.
"I'll give credit where it's due, but don't think that you'll get so lucky again!" Mallory announced. Titus rushed forward with Ilia just ahead of him, her blades meeting a prepared attacker this time and she crashed into Titus who was unfazed and hesitated, waiting to see the outcome of Eliana coming up behind him and trying to electrocute him with her prods. He chuckled as he swung back, though he missed her and she opened fire into his back. A few shots that undoubtedly damaged his Aura before he was able to separate himself from all of them again, Coco rejoined her students as she brushed herself off.
"It's not so much luck as it is skill, these kids are the best of the best that Beacon has to offer Remnant, the cream of the crop if you will," Coco told him. "There are two ways that we can do this. You can either tell us where to find Zilla and we'll gladly be on our way, or you can refuse, put up a fight for a while, and probably get your ass kicked, but the choice is all yours."
"Overconfidence can get you killed out here," Mallory informed them as he looked each of them in the eyes, waiting for them to strike.
"No, underestimating your opponent can," Coco corrected him. "Which is something I assure you we won't do."
"We'll see about that," he told her as he turned to Titus and Ilia, taking off with speed that Titus could hardly keep up with. Titus managed to block a split second before the man's strike reached him, time seemed to slow as Titus attempted to read the man, he could feel Ilia attempting a strike to his left as Mallory grinned and swept to his right, blocking the first swing from Ilia and redirecting the second towards Titus, forcing him to move back. Mallory kicked Ilia in the chest, sending her reeling and before he could even look back the brute was sprinting for Eliana and Coco. Eliana leapt in between Coco and Mallory, something that took Coco off guard and she watched Eliana block the blow with both of her electrical rods.
A force field behind Eliana prevented her from being thrown back, she knocked down the man's swing to his surprise and landed a few shots in his gut, damaging his aura once more before he gathered himself and swung again with even more might, this time shattering a forcefield she didn't have enough time to fully form between them. She slid past Coco, watching her teacher strut up to the man.
"Maybe you're underestimating my students," Coco told him.
"Easy to say when you have me outnumbered," he replied. She set down her purse, smirking as he tried to attack, she bounced on her left foot as she kicked the attack away with her right, bringing it up to nearly head level as she drew back her leg quickly and kicked again, nailing him in the torso. He didn't budge, instead attempting to hit her again, this time she kicked his hand to the right, landing on the foot and roundhouse kicking him in the side of the head with her left. He stumbled away and she sauntered over, her hands on her hips as she peered over her sunglasses.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked. He tried to sweep her legs out from under her but she backflipped repeatedly until reaching her purse and swinging it around into its gun form. "Lesson number one kids, don't underestimate your opponent like this joker."
"This fight isn't over!" He exclaimed as he made a run for Coco and she opened fire. Somehow he managed to block her bullets using his blade, reaching her as she formed her purse again and pulled back. She smacked his hand away with her left, swinging around with her right, the combat tote smashing into his chest but leaving him unmoved. He spun quick, Coco's eyes wide as she was left with no choice but to release her purse at the risk of broken fingers, ducking under his follow through but sliding back as his boot met her head. Her aura wavered, close to cracking as she tumbled over a few times and came to a stop in a heap, Eliana glancing back at her with wide eyes.
"It will be in a moment!" Titus declared immediately behind him. He spun quickly, prepared for Titus but not for the extra body that leapt out, Ilia grabbing the man and taking his body. There was a visual struggle and Eliana came up short of hitting him.
"I told you that you wouldn't get lucky again!" He shouted, Ilia leapt from his body, stumbling away and falling to the ground. Mallory ignored Eliana for the time being and focused on Titus, his attacks were calculated and swift, enough that Titus was having difficulty keeping up. The man knocked Titus's hands away, slicing down through his chest, tearing his uniform and dealing damage to his aura.
"Titus!" Eliana yelled at him with a nod. He nodded back, blocking a second attack with a single blade, the attacker's hand was instantly coated in stone and he tried to free it as Titus planted his right foot beneath him and kicked Mallory hard enough to launch him. However, Eliana had a barrier behind him and his aura took the entirety of the blow as his body had nowhere to go, giving Titus time to enclose his opponent in an earthen dome as he was dazed. A single fist punched through the top and the man emerged with a laugh, Titus took a few steps back, unsure of how to proceed.
"I'm going to take her on last since she seems like she'll pose the most trouble," Mallory said about Eliana as he rushed for Titus. Titus was once again unmatched in speed, Eliana racing in to assist him but Mallory had managed to grapple her teammate and throw him into a building, Titus's body crashed through several stone walls before coming to a stop. He turned to face Eliana, Ilia was struggling to find her feet and Coco found herself in pain.
"You can give up, it won't affect your grade," Coco informed her.
"You heard the lady, walk away and I let you live and you'll still get a passing grade," the man taunted. "Seems about right for a bunch of softies from Vale…"
"No," Eliana said. She glanced back at Coco. "It's not right for us to let him get away, as long as I can still fight, I will." She looked back at the man who was already moving towards her, she used her force fields and hands to deflect his blows, his onslaught relentless until he found a hole in her defense and knocked the air out of her, swinging back around and elbowing her in the back, sending her to the ground. Coco leapt up and moved as quickly as possible to step into the way, taking a kick meant for Eliana. She was thrown off of her feet and the man gripped her neck, tossing her away.
"Fight me!" Came a voice from above Eliana. Eliana glanced up at them, reaching up and allowing them to help her up.
"Dad, you're too much stronger than me," Eliana said. Alexander crouched down, his eyes level with Eliana as he rustled the top of her head and she laughed. "I can't beat you."
"Sure you can," Alexander told her with a knowing smile.
"How?!" She asked, her eyes lighting up as she leapt up and down. "Tell me how dad?" He laughed and put his hand out, holding hers as he began walking down the path with her.
"You know how I always fight bad guys and lock them up?" Alex asked.
"It's because you're the strongest!" Eliana replied with a smile. Alex chuckled under his breath.
"I wish that was always the case sweetie, but a lot of times I face men that are twice my size and could easily flatten me," Alex told her. "The catch is, everyone has a weak spot."
"Really?" Eliana asked.
"Quake was weaker without his blade, and Irving was a sucker for pretty women," Alex said.
"Like mommy?" Eliana asked.
"Just like mommy, but thankfully, not mommy," Alex told her. "Mommy has a special weakness for daddy when he blows in her ear."
"Hey!" Violet protested joining them. Alex kissed her and wrapped his free arm around her.
"What's your weakness dad?" Eliana asked.
"Warm hugs," he said with a wink. Eliana let go of his hand and jumped at him, holding him tightly. "No! I've been rendered helpless by this little girl! How did she know?"
"Dad!" She complained. He let her go and she swayed back and forth. "When I get older, I'm going to be just like you!"
"I hope so El," he told her. "Just remember what I do, but in the end, fighting all comes down to skill, luck, and know how."
"Come on then," Mallory said above Eliana. "You can still fight can't you?" Eliana glanced up at him, the only weakness that she could qualify at the moment was his need for close combat and as he reached down to grab her she formed a barrier between them, preparing to roll out of the way. What was it? What was his tell? She rolled away as he shattered the barrier, leaping to her feet and opening fire but he blocked all of them with his machete, swinging with his right arm and Eliana was able to block. His lips curled down on the corner for just a moment before throwing his follow up. She ducked it, noting his lips again, but this time he leapt back as she aimed and opened fire, getting in a few hits before he was able to deflect once again.
It wasn't a tell for a follow-up attack. This time she rushed him, he swung once more and she easily dodged, immediately planting her rods into his chest and electrocuting him, throwing him off of his feet and he landed on his back. Titus walked over, his body completely stone as he stopped above the man. He looked up at Eliana, nodding with a smirk.
"How did you do it?" Titus asked. Titus knelt, pinning Mallory to the ground by his neck.
"It was just a hunch, but he made a slight face after his attacks that I didn't notice until the end. Considering the nature of his semblance it would have caused him significant strain to use it constantly. He tried staggering it by deactivating it momentarily after each attack, assuming we'd try to block instead of attack, though he didn't do so with Coco, knowing that she has way more experience than us," Eliana said.
"I'm impressed," Ilia managed as she stood.
"Is that right?" Eliana asked Mallory.
"Like I'd tell you," Mallory replied.
"Sounds like a yes to me," Coco said spitting as she staggered over. She removed her glasses, looking at the crack across them and tossing them away. "Great job, Elli." She kicked Mallory hard in the side of the head, causing him to lose consciousness. "That's for my sunglasses."
"Well that could have gone better," Ilia said.
"You get what we needed?" Coco asked her. Ilia nodded.
"I wasn't in there long, but luckily I didn't need long," Ilia told her.
"You would've had my back if I hadn't taken him down, right?" Eliana asked. Coco chuckled as she patted her on the back, they restrained Mallory and Titus transformed back after a few minutes, dragging the bandit through the town, the people watching on as if the group from Beacon was in a parade.
"Get out of here you Faunus lovers!" Someone yelled. Coco looked in their direction and pointed.
"What have the Faunus ever done to you?!" She asked.
"It's not natural!" Someone else added. Eliana's fists balled up.
"This is a world full of magic and monsters, who's to say what's natural or not?" Eliana asked.
"They've caused us nothing but trouble," added another.
"When Zilla finds out, the four of you are going to pay," shouted one more. Titus dropped Mallory, slamming his kopides into the ground and creating a barrier between them and the people.
"What's wrong with these people?" Ilia asked.
"They're ignorant, hateful, and they don't even know why," Coco explained. "Though I'm guessing it stemmed from a fear of Zilla and her men." She shook her head, her body aching with anxiety. She didn't know that there were so many people out there that still felt this way. Her mind drifted to her son and wife before returning to the matter at hand. She looked at Eliana and smirked as she slugged her in the shoulder. "Pretty perceptive of you to notice that this guy had a tell."
"I just remembered what my dad taught me," Eliana said. "It was as if I could feel his strength and intelligence filling me as I fought." Eliana was glad that she'd done well and was sure that her father was proud of her, but now the matter of meeting back up with Neela weighed on her. What if the bandits ran into her before they did? What if they already had?
"You okay kid?" Coco asked her.
"Yeah, just worried about Neela," Eliana replied.
"Neela's more capable than a lot of first years I've ever met, and I mean a lot," Coco reassured her with a smile. "Nothing to worry about with that girl, she is going to be just fine."
"Where are we heading then?" Titus asked.
"Their camp is east of here, it'll take us a few hours to walk there," Ilia told him.
"Are we heading there straight away?" Titus asked.
"Actually we need to make a quick visit first," Coco told him.
"You think that threatening me is going to get me to talk?!" Mayor Rivers yelled at Coco as she had instructed Titus to slide his desk out of the way and cracked her knuckles. "Your accusations are outlandish and you have absolutely no proof that I'm working with the bandits."
"He's right," Coco admitted. "Bring him in." Ilia left the room for a moment and Rivers peered past her, wondering what they were planning, his eyes wide as they dragged Mallory in and sat him up in the chair in the middle of the room. "Let's play a game, shall we? He should be awake any minute now. You can either tell me the truth and tell me what I need to know about Zilla, or if he wakes up and verifies my assumption that you've sided with the bandits, then I guess you're expendable. Your choice."
"Don't be crazy, I don't know anything about the bandits," Rivers protested again. Coco nodded and looked back at Eliana.
"Can you lock the door, this will only take a couple more moments," Coco told her. Eliana complied, locking it and standing in front of it, Rivers glanced between the huntsmen in his office.
"Sterling is going to hear about this and when he does…" Rivers began.
"When he does I'm going to tell him what a bang up job you've been doing letting these guys run amok instead of contacting Haven," Coco told him. She gently slapped Mallory's face, he groaned a bit, beginning to wake up. "Looks like the fun is about to begin."
"This is madness!" Rivers shouted.
"Looks like you're finally coming to," Coco told Mallory. "That's good, your aura should repair itself shortly but in the meantime, I need to ask you a question." A gunshot rang out, Rivers stood at his desk holding the gun out, his eyes wild as he stared at the bullet hole in Mallory's head. Coco glanced back at Rivers, wiping the blood from her face as she took a step towards him. He looked at the gun, meeting all of their eyes before placing it to his temple.
"Zilla is going to purify the world of the Faunus. Everything will be as it should be after that," Rivers told them before pulling the trigger. Coco stopped short, she'd ran towards him as soon as he finished speaking but it wasn't enough time. She looked back at her students, Titus shook his head.
"That was unexpected," Ilia responded dryly. Eliana came closer and looked the two men over, prodding Mallory with her finger.
"Now what?" Eliana asked. She'd seen a dead body or two in her day, it was nothing new.
"We start heading east towards the bandit camp," Coco told them.
"You said it'll take a few hours to get there?" Eliana asked.
"Yeah, why?" Ilia asked.
"I was just wondering," Eliana replied. They headed out and began down the path to the bandits, Eliana hoped that they would meet up with Neela sooner than later, something felt off the further they went, but only Eliana knew why. Titus and Ilia talked to each other, Coco laughing as she listened but anxiety was starting to build in Eliana's chest, she watched as a shadow of her younger self and her mother ran by. It was growing closer.
"Mom!" Yelled young Eliana who was backpedaling down the path quickly.
"I'm coming, Elli, I'm coming," her mother called out after her.
"You're not coming fast enough!" Eliana exclaimed as she stopped to wait. "Dad's probably starving waiting for us to get back."
"I'm sure your father will be fine if he has to wait a couple more minutes," Violet told Eliana
. "He's probably starving from all of the criminals he caught today," Eliana announced. "Nobody works harder you know!"
"I know honey," Violet told Eliana. The girl rounded the corner, standing in front of the present Eliana. They both stared down the pathway that diverted off the main road.
"Elli, is everything okay?" Violet and Coco asked in unison. Eliana stumbled down the path, unable to reply as she watched the child race in front of her, the house was destroyed, half of the building had collapsed, claw marks against the walls visible as Eliana raced closer.
"Dad!" Eliana screamed. She spotted her father in the middle of a few officers that glanced back at her, letting her rush in past them and she threw herself on top of him.
"Alexander!" Violet yelled as she rushed past the current Eliana who still moved slowly down the path, her heart pounding hard against her chest.
"Elli?" Coco asked again watching her move towards the building, or what was left of it.
"What happened?!" Violet asked.
"Some kind of freak accident," one of the officers informed her. Eliana sobbed violently on top of her father's body, shaking him gently. "He tried to call for help, by the time we picked up the only thing that could be heard over the scroll was roaring."
"Our forensics expert gathers that there were many different kinds of Grimm that attacked the house all at once, probably twenty of them, maybe more," the other officer told her. "We're not sure what would have prompted an attack like that. Normally we don't even see that kind of activity during bandit attacks on villages." Violet turned away.
"No!" Eliana screamed. "No!" Her screeches echoed as the scene faded, Eliana slipped in under the doorway that was collapsed.
"Elli," Coco said one more time laying her hand on Eliana's shoulder. Eliana looked back at her, her eyes wet as she choked back sobs.
"This is… this is where my…" Eliana tried to get out. Titus and Ilia stood behind Coco and Coco nodded at her.
"This is where you used to live, right?" Coco asked. Eliana nodded and looked the room back over. Before her eyes, the home was reconstructed. She ran from out of the hallway and leapt onto her chair. Violet setting her plate at the table.
"Where is your father?" Violet asked Eliana. Eliana smiled and chewed happily.
"We were outside, he was teaching me how to aim his guns," Eliana confessed. Alexander laughed as he kissed the top of Eliana's head, kissing Violet before taking his seat.
"Alex," Violet said with a stern tone.
"What?" He asked. "She'll have to start training soon if she's going to get into Haven. Not to mention, she can't fire my guns anyway. Fingerprint lock, remember?" Violet shook her head and held out her hands, Eliana and Alex each taking one. "Eliana, would you like to say the prayer?" Eliana nodded and squinted her eyes shut.
"We'd like to thank the gods for our food, our family, and cool Grimm to shoot at," Eliana said. Alex squeezed her hand.
"Amen," he said. He smiled at the two of them and the scene faded once again. Eliana walked across the kitchen, peering out at the backyard which was overgrown.
"Neela, where are you?" Eliana asked. Her hands shook. What was this overwhelming fear? She knew it was normal to be distraught over what took place here, but why was she so worried about Neela? It was normal to miss her, and she knew that Neela could take care of herself, but then what was this? Why was she so afraid?
"We'll meet up with her by the end of the day, sooner than expected actually, we're heading towards her and she's coming back this way," Coco told her. Eliana nodded. She glanced about the room once more for anything that might give her an idea of why or how it happened, but it was outside the realm of her ability. Even if she could, the crime scene was over five years old and the Mistral Police would have done everything in their power to determine the root cause.
Eliana can certainly hold her own in a fight. Next week we check in on the White Fang in Chapter 81 - In the Works!
A big thank you to Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
We've also added two new artists, Helihi, and Cadhla182! These images should be up on Deviantart and added to the album soon!
Until next week, stay classy!