Vale at night was a far different contrast compared to what it was during the day. The shattered moon in the sky shining brightly down upon the city below, dust powered lamps lining the streets and allowing for better illumination for the citizens that were out and about enjoying their evening.
Rios stepped out of the small diner he found a few blocks from the hotel, a couple of medium-rare burgers filling him up well enough without bringing down the little lien he had in his pockets too much.
Running a hand through his dark hair between his wolf-ears, the Faunus started walking casually down the sidewalk in a random direction. Taking in the fresh night air as he headed farther into Vale.
Forgoing his tattered cloak, he only wore his thermal shirt and cargo pants, Leviathan strapped to his back and ready in the small chance he would need it for one reason or another. Though given the status of things around Vale that he had learned on his way down from the Northern Frontier, hardly anything really bad happened in the kingdom.
But that wasn't a reason for him to lower his guard, not by a long shot.
Hands in his pockets while he walked, Rios started thinking about what he was going to do for the next two weeks while he waited for the first day at Beacon. He could get the general layout of the city in a couple of days, though the rest of the time he would spend before going to the academy was foggy at best.
He did intend on spending a little more time talking to Pyrrha. Getting to know the Mistralian and letting her get to know him a bit had a lot of benefits for them both when the year started. At the very least they each would know a fellow classmate and ally in the future.
Time slipped by quietly, the wolf-Faunus blended in with the few people who were out and about. A couple of whom had not so subtly avoided him either because of his ears, the weapon he carried, or both. Either way, he paid little attention to them as he continued his aimless trek, turning another corner in the street when his ears twitched.
A low pitched beat, techno music most likely, thumped from somewhere close-by. At the end of the street, beneath a freeway overpass, was a building with a large neon sign that read 'Junior's' in flashing letters.
Rios stood observing the building for a moment or two, knowing right away that it was a club from the sounds emitting from within the walls alone. He'd been to a couple of them in the past on his rare trips to Atlas, they weren't usually what he would call a 'hangout' but they were known to have pretty good drinks on tap despite all of the noise, smells and flashing lights.
And at the moment, since he had a pretty decent meal, a good drink sounded like the best way to end his night out before heading back to the hotel.
With a shrug, he headed toward the front entrance, the bouncer standing guard giving him a harsh look but saying nothing as he stepped inside and into a long corridor lined with neon lights to mark the way.
When the door closed behind him, a motorcycle pulled up to the curb outside. The female driver getting off and removing their helmet to reveal a head of long, golden-blonde hair that flowed past her shoulders. Her clothes consisting of tight pair of black shorts and a yellow tank top that showed off her curvey figure beneath a small brown jacket.
A pair of lilac eyes set in a beautiful heart-shaped face flicked toward the nightclub while she set her helmet down and shook her hair out a bit. Her knee-length combat boots echoing off the asphalt as she headed toward the entrance with long, meaningful strides.
X
The club looked very high-classed despite where it was located, although places like these were known to be in discreet places making them hard to find at times.
Rios looked around the wide open space before him, several dozen people dominated the middle of the dance floor while the DJ played the tunes and controlled the lights from his raised position on the other side of the room.
A handful of tables and booths were scattered along the outside of the dance floor for patrons to rest at, and a large bar was set up along the back wall across from the entrance the wolf-Faunus had just stepped through.
Wanting to avoid the mob of bodies, the Rios walked down the steps and walked along the outside of the main floor, his ears twitching a bit from the rhythmic thumping emitting from the speakers as he headed toward the bar.
His sharp eyes taking in the few people that were already there, one of them was a man in a suit minus the jacket with dark hair and a chin-strap beard sitting between two identical girls, one dressed in red, the other white.
Moving a a handful of seats down, Rios took one of the empty stools as the bartender came up to him.
"Anything I can get ya?"
"Beer, don't matter what it is as long as it's cold." replied the Faunus. The bartender nodded and reached under the counter, producing a bottle of Anima Ale and popping it open before sliding it toward the younger man.
Nodding his thanks, Rios took a sip from the beverage, relishing the cool bite that went down his throat. Keeping to himself as he sat quietly in his own space while drowning out the sights and sounds around him.
Despite the music pounding the air, he picked up the duo approaching him long before they appeared on either side of him. Looking up, the wolf-Faunus found himself flanked by the two girls he had seen near the older man when he first sat down.
"You look lonely, stranger." said the one in white, elbow on the bar with her chin in her palm, her green eyes locked on his face.
"Want some company?" asked the one in red, her position and her looks mirroring that of the other girl. Meaning that they weren't only related, but twins as well.
Flicking his gaze between the two briefly, Rios finished his beer and signaled for another one, "I'm good, thanks." he said when the bartender handed him another drink. Given what was happening, any man would love to be in the position he was, two pretty women showing him attention and wanting to be around him.
But those men didn't have the skill of seeing beneath the surface. Even though the girls looked interested in keeping him company, the look in their eyes spoke another story.
They worked for the club, and were checking what level of a threat he would pose in the off-chance he started trouble. Bodyguards or bouncers hiding in plain sight, a good tactic as long as no one figured out their role.
"You sure we can't make your night interesting?" asked the white twin, putting a hand on his arm with a slight glint in her eyes.
Taking a swig from the bottle in his hand, Rios kept his gaze forward, keeping both girls in his peripheral. "I'm not here to cause trouble for you or your boss, just enjoying a drink to tie off the evening." he said bluntly, letting them know that he knew what they were doing and his intentions in the establishment.
The expression on both girls changed into serious ones in a blink, watching him for another minute or two before glancing at one another and nodding. The unspoken message read clearly between them before they leaned off the bar and headed off to parts unknown.
Alone again, Rios went back to his drink just as someone else approached the bar beside him. "Strawberry sunrise, no ice. Oh! And one of those little umbrellas." spoke another woman's voice.
Chancing a look, the wolf-Faunus was met with the sight of a tall blonde girl around the same age as him, her outfit showing off her toned and curvy form as she leaned against the bar while addressing the bartender.
The man Rios had seen with the twins when he first arrived turned to the blonde and grunted, "Aren't you a little young to be in this club, blondie?"
A smirk spreading across her pretty face, the girl turned to him with a hand on her hip. "Aren't you a little old to have a name like 'Junior'?" she asked back.
Junior hummed lightly, "So, you know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?"
"Yes, Junior, I have several." the blonde replied, running a hand slowly down his arm. "Only, instead of 'sweetheart'..." the hand went down his chest, "You can just call me SIR!" her hand went below his belt and Junior squealed while doubling over.
Rios paused, beer an inch from his mouth as he witnessed the blonde bombshell clench her fist around the club owner's balls in a vice grip. A little surprised that she was bold enough to do that in a very public setting.
"People say you know everything," the blonde said, her voice now deadly serious compared to her laid back demeanor before, producing a scroll with an image displayed on the screen. "Tell me where she is and I'll let you go."
Junior looked at the photo, doing his best not to move too much or risk bringing about more pain. "I-I've never seen her before, I swear!" he managed to grunt out.
"Excuse me?" the woman asked, clenching tighter and making her victim squeak.
"I swear, sir!"
The commotion happening at the bar ended up attracting a great deal of attention, nearly every thug on Junior's payroll came running up, surrounding the two and looking ready to protect their boss.
However, the blonde didn't look at all threatened as she smirked, "Looks like we've got an audience. This must be kinda embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward."
Despite the situation he found himself in, Junior managed to grit his teeth and glare at the one threatening him, "Listen, blondie-SIR!" he amended when she gripped him again, "If you wanna make it outta this club alive, I suggest you let me go...Now!"
Looking to think it over, the young woman released her hold on him, allowing the man to stumble away gasping. His gaze turning murderous as he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, doing his best to salvage what dignity he had left. "You'll pay for that." he all but growled out as he stomped farther into the club with his men in tow.
"Oh, Junior, I was just playing with you! Don't be so sensitive!" the blonde said, all but skipping after him. "Com'mon! Let's kiss and make up, okay?" the last statement made the man pause, looking at the young woman questionably while she giggled into her hand.
A moment later he seemed to agree, thinking about getting the chance to kiss a pretty girl.
From his place at the bar, Rios watched the exchange, his sharp eyes picking up the blonde girl's right arm tense as she leaned forward to kiss the club owner. And given her stance in addition, he had a pretty good idea where things were heading.
In the next split second, he wasn't disappointed when Junior was sent flying from a straight punch to the face. His body crashing through one of the glass pillars set up around the dance floor. The loud crash being enough to send all of the club patrons running for the exit while the black and red suited men converged on the woman who attacked their boss.
The blonde grinned as the bracelets she had on her wrists mecha-shifted into a pair of yellow gauntlets that went from her fists to her elbows. Swinging her right fist forward, she cocked her arm back, a component sliding back with the movement and ejecting a shell casing from the weapon.
When the thugs all reached her, she suddenly launched herself into the air, flipping around with her fist brought back, flames licking around her body as she came back down. Striking the floor with the power of a small meteor and sending all of the armed men flying backwards from the shockwave the impact created.
The speakers around the club continued to pump out a loud beat as the blonde went on the attack, flipping forward and bringing her heel down on a man's head and taking him out before spinning in every-which direction and punching out every gunman that charged her, her gauntlets firing a blast that caused additional damage to her enemies.
Leaning his back against the bar, drink in hand, Rios watched the brawl unfold. Ducking to the side when a thug was sent flying overhead and smashing into the shelves of alcohol behind the counter.
A door on the other end of the club burst open and two dozen more men came running in, weapons ranging from small firearms, to axes and swords brandished as they went to join their friends in trying to take down the blonde brawler.
Seeing the sudden rise in numbers and an unfair advantage, the wolf-Faunus finished his beer and sat the bottle down, tossing a lien card down next to it as he took Leviathan off his back and throwing it at the incoming thugs. The dust crystal in the blade flared to life as it impacted the ground in front of the group, the weapon sending out a a sheet of ice along the ground where it was sticking out.
The gunmen saw this at the last minute and couldn't stop in time as they slipped on the hazard and crashed into the tables, booths and walls around them. While they staggered back to their feet, the ice dissipated as Rios crossed the room and pulled his axe from the floor.
"You have the home field advantage, I see." he said laying the weapon on his shoulder as he looked upon his opposition. "Allow me to even the odds."
The men gritted their teeth and charged, the wolf-Faunus easily blocked a few swings from their weapons before lunging forward. Shoulder tackling one of the men and taking him down, swinging his axe in a wide arc and striking three others with the blunt side of the blade, sending flying into the wall and out of the fight.
Flipping the weapon around, Rios threw it at a larger group, the dust-enchanted axe hitting the ground among them and blasting out a wave of ice that froze the gunmen where they stood. A flick of the wrist and a pulse of aura had the axe flying back to the owner's hand in time for him to cleave a shotgun another thug was about to fire in half.
The gunman barely had a chance to gape before a heavy boot impacted his chest and sending him through an undamaged table. A spin and an uppercut had another thug sent airborne where the Faunus grabbed his foot and smashed him face-first into the floor.
A few feet away, four of the men drew their firearms and started shooting, Rios dropped low and ran left, the rounds missing him as he moved quickly. The moment they stopped firing he struck, charging the the dust crystal with his aura and slashing it through the air, a small shockwave of cold air and fist-sized ice shards launching forth and hitting all four targets taking them out.
The remaining thugs looked at the hunter with hesitation, one of them growing enough courage to brandish his sword and charge with a weak battlecry.
Rios grinned ferally as he met the charge head on. Grabbing the man's sword arm and breaking it at the elbow effortlessly, silencing his screams with a hard blow to the stomach before grabbing him by his neck and suit. The hunter lifted him off the ground and ran toward the others, using the gunman as a battering ram and plowing through his comrades before coming to an abrupt end when he implanted him in the wall.
Letting the thug drop to the floor, Rios looked at his handiwork before turning to see how the blonde woman was doing. Finding said brawler looking back at him, hands on her hips with just as many knocked out thugs surrounding her.
"Nice moves." she said, impressed at the display she had witnessed.
"Same to you." the Faunus replied just as a hail of bullets rained down from the DJ's booth. The man running it was wearing a black and red suit like everyone else with the addition of a large bear head covering his own, a machine gun in hand that rattled as he fired on the teens below.
Rios slammed his axe into the floor, slicing upward and creating a barrier of ice that absorbed the rounds fired at him while the blonde launched herself toward their attacker. Jumping and weaving around the bullets before leaping up onto the booth. Delivering several blows to the DJ, then slamming his head into the mix-board before using her gauntlets to blast him off the platform.
When the man's body hit the floor, the twin girls from before came strutting forward. "Melanie, who do these guys think they are?" asked the one in red.
"I don't know Miltia, but they need to be taught a serious lesson." answered the one in white.
The blonde jumped down from the DJ booth, her gauntlets opening and expelling spent ammo shells while she pulled out a pair of small ammo bands and reloaded them. Rios shattered the ice wall he had made, spinning his axe around his hand while holding it at the ready.
Both sides circled one another twice before lunging at each other. The brawler at Melanie, the hunter at Miltia, blows trading back and forth with the echoing ring of metal on metal filled the air as the two sides fought.
Rios brought his weapon up and deflected several strikes, the club enforcer slashing and stabbing with a pair of wrist blades the same color as her outfit. "We knew you were trouble the moment you stepped in here." she said while swiping her weapons downward.
"I wasn't the one that started fighting." he replied while avoiding the attack, "Though I'm more than willing to put an end to it." Another strike was aimed for his side, but he caught the arm before it could make contact, twisting it behind the woman's back and kicking her forward.
Miltia stumbled, but regained her footing and went after the Faunus once again. This turned out to be a mistake since he was expecting retaliation and was prepared. Dropping to the ground, he kicked the enforcer's feet out from under her, springing back to his feet and slamming his elbow into her midsection and sending her crashing to the floor.
Leviathan glowed a light blue as he brought the ice-element weapon down and froze the woman where she laid, incapacitating her.
With his opponent out of the fight, Rios looked up to see the blonde fighter trading kicks with the other twin. The two of them shuffling back and forth trying to find a weakness in the other's stance. When Melanie attempted a wide kick, it gave the blonde a perfect opening as she ducked under the attack, elbowing her opponent in the stomach and stunning her.
Grabbing the white-clad girl's arm, the brawler spun her in a wide circle around her before delivering a devastating kick to her face that sprawled her out on the dance floor out cold.
The victory was short lived, however. The lights around the club dimmed with a couple centering on a single point where Junior stepped out into the open. A rocket launcher resting on his shoulder as he glared at the two who were wrecking his club.
"You're going to pay for this." he growled, bringing his weapon to bare and letting loose a barrage of missiles at the teens.
Rios lept out of the blast zone, slashing his axe through the air and sending a wave of ice shards at the club owner who was forced to avoid it while the blonde fired her gauntlets and destroyed the rockets before they could reach their targets.
Junior charged them, weapon shifting into a large baseball bat that he used to strike the brawler and send her flying. Spinning left in time to block a swing from Rios' axe, the hunter following up with a straight punch that nailed the older man in the jaw and staggering him.
The distraction being perfect as the blonde brawler barreled into the club owner's side and delivered blow after powerful blow. Each hit doing serious damage before she planted her foot, her lilac eyes bleeding to a bright-red as she swung one more punch that shattered the man's weapon and sent him flying.
Now on the other side of the club, Junior managed to drag himself back to his feet. Broken weapon in one hand, a couple strands of golden-blonde hair clutched in the other.
Rios felt the temperature of the room start to rise quickly, turning to the brawler, he was surprised to find fire covering her from head to toe. Her hair a bright-yellow blaze with her eyes burning with uncontrollable fury as she looked upon the lost pieces of her hair.
In the next moment, she literally exploded before flying toward the man with he power of a meteor in orbit. A furious battlecry pulling from her throat as she punched Junior hard enough to shatter all the glass around them and send him blasting out of his club and into the street outside.
As the blonde lept out after him, Rios remained where he was. Wolf-ears flicking a bit as he slipped Leviathan over his shoulder onto his back. "Didn't think tonight would get this interesting." he said to himself before going out the main door, leaving the shattered club behind him as he stepped out into the cool night air to find the blonde brawler standing over the unconscious club owner.
A couple feet away stood a younger girl with a long flowing red cloak, a pair of bright silver eyes peering out beneath a head of short, red-tipped dark hair that had an aura of innocence in them.
"Yang?" the girl asked. "Is that you?"
The blonde, Yang, regarded the girl with a smile, "Oh! Hey sis!"
"What are you doing here?" the younger girl asked with her hands on her hips.
Her sister sighed. "It's a long story, Ruby." Yang looked over in time to see Rios approaching them. "Oh, hey! Sorry about all the trouble in there. I could have handled it, though."
The Faunus shrugged, "Perhaps. But I don't like seeing someone out numbered." he held his hand out to her, "We weren't introduced, Soterios. Rios for short."
"Yang Xiao Long, this is my little sister Ruby." the brawler replied shaking his hand, "So what brings you out here this time of night, handsome?" she asked with a teasing tone in her voice.
"Was just out for a stroll when I got thirsty," said Rios. "Didn't expect to get caught up in a bar brawl, but stranger things can happen I suppose." he checked the time and saw how late it was getting. "I have to get going, despite everything, it was nice to meet you, Yang. Ruby."
Giving a nod to the two girls, he began making his way back to the hotel. Hands slipping into his pockets while he reflected on the evening's events.
It didn't turn out like he had expected, but if Rios was honest, it had its good points. One of which was meeting the beautiful, strong blonde fighter who tore a club apart.
And he had to admit, if things kept going like this, then his time at Beacon would prove to be far more interesting that he first believed.
In the end, only time would tell.
X
A/N: Looks like Rios is making an impression on several more characters on his way to Beacon, and there are still many more to come. With some of the questions being asked, I can't give any definitive answers without spoiling too much. But I will say that there will be no disappointments in the near future.
I got more updates ready to go that'll be posted within the next few days. Keep the support coming folks!