Chapter 9: Best Served Cold
"Did I miss anything?"
Blake turned over her shoulder with a small sigh, before returning her gaze forwards. "Not really. They've unloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just standing there."
"…Cool." There was a shifting of fabric beside her before her companion plopped down next to the prone huntress; he was sun-tanned, the hair on his head ruffled and gold, matching the monkey-like tail twisting behind him, otherwise dressed casually, jeans rolled up, his collared shirt unbuttoned. He offered her an apple, several bundled in his arms. "I stole us some food."
She glared at him questioningly. "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"
"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?"
Her eyes narrowed in warning. "Sun."
"Alright, too soon."
A spotlight washed over the shipyard down below, illuminating the otherwise dark docks, several well-dressed men mingling about, looking up as a dual-rotor bullhead began to descend, wind whipping up around the individuals already below, the duo far enough away from the operations to remain incognito.
The bay door on the ship slid to the side, more men and woman climbing out, marching towards the crates beyond; all dressed in the white, silver and black of the White Fang.
"Oh no." Blake whispered, slumping in her spot, gold gaze softening.
"Is that them?"
"Yes… that's them."
One of the faunus below swung his arm out in a command, others appearing with tow cables, moving towards the crates beyond, beginning the process of hooking the shipping containers to the bullheads.
"You really didn't think it was them, did you?"
"…No. I think I knew deep down, but… I just didn't want to be right…" She trailed off for a moment, then opened her mouth to continue-
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"
Both huntsmen jolted, Sun leaping to his feet, nunchaku in hand, Blake turning onto her back, gun raised towards the opposite side of the building.
Rainier stood with a coy expression, eyebrow cocked- his coffee and donuts still held comfortably in hand.
"Rainier?!" Blake asked in shock, lowering her weapon.
"You know this guy?" Sun asked, looking between the two of them in confusion. "He part of the White Fang?"
"What? No, no- he goes to Beacon."
"Indeed I do! And you must be the Vacuoan that lovely barista mentioned," Rainier said, marching forwards casually to join the duo at the edge of the rooftop. He extended the box of pastries to the duo. "Donuts?"
"Don't mind if I do!" The monkey said, eagerly reaching in to snatch one.
Blake waved him off, scooting into a sitting position, still in shock. "How did you find us?"
"Oh. Yes," Rainier muttered sourly. "I've been looking for you all bloody day, Miss Belladonna. Your friends are worried sick."
"I- I'm sorry, I didn't… mean to worry anyone, I just-"
"-Now, now, it's a little too late to apologize. My duty is done. Ah, where are my manners!" He turned to Sun, dropping his box, dipping low in a curtsy. "My name is Rainier Platina of Vacuo, formerly of Oasis Academy, son of Leonardo and Camilla Platina, brother to the White Wolf and formerly a well renowned bachelor of Tear's Fall," He took a sip of his coffee. "And you are?"
The other faunus stared at him blankly in pure shock for a moment, mouth gaping. "…You're a Platina?!" He turned down to Blake. "You know a Platina?!"
"I-" She began.
"That's so awesome! I've always wanted to visit Tear's Fall!" He took Rainier's hand, shaking it excitedly. "Sun Wukong. Wow. This is the coolest! I've heard so much about your brother- and your sister! I'm shaking your hand way too long; this is getting awkward. What are you doing here? Platinas never leave Vacuo!"
Rainier pulled away from his fellow Vacuoan, placing his drink down onto the rooftop. "I've asked myself the same question repeatedly over the course of the last few weeks. Currently finding myself," He peeked over the edge of the building, looking down to the hubbub of activity down below. "May I ask why you two lovely individuals are currently staking out on a beautiful Saturday night? It's hardly romantic, yes?"
Blake rolled her eyes. "We got a lead on the people who have been raiding the Dust shops and vendors… looks like our lead paid off."
"…And why were you looking for a lead on the people who have been raiding the Dust shops and vendors?"
"It's… we… we found out that that Torchwick guy has been leading these… we also heard that the White Fang were involved. I didn't want to think so, but… here we are."
The Vacuoan began to frown in suspicion, before suddenly stiffening, his eyes brightening like fire. A grin slowly claimed his face, tilting almost manically. "Fantastic."
"Rainier-"
The trio came to another stop as a loud gasp cut through the air, their gazes yet again turning around.
There was a moment of silence before a hand dramatically swung into view, grasping onto the edge of the roof. Lance let out a groan as he pushed himself up and onto the building, rolling away from the edge, his head flopping down as he came to a stop, the swordsman laying for a beat of silence. His head turned towards the trio across from him, face pulled in disbelief. "How the hell did you guys get up here so quickly?"
The three huntsmen shared looks before Sun shrugged. "I dunno? I think we're just lighter than you are."
"Ah… yeah… you a ninja too? Yeah. That's cool. You guys multiply like rabbits," He pushed himself up, arcing his back with a series of satisfying pops. "Some of us gotta be heavy hitters."
Rainier gestured between the two blondes. "Lance Zaffre, Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong, Lance Zaffre."
"Yeah," The swordsman said, joining them at the edge of the building. "Nice to meet you."
"Hey, you too, man. Nice sword."
"Yeah, yeah. What am I looking at here?"
Rainier gestured broadly out towards the shipyard. "Criminals and terrorists. I'm very much looking forwards to this next part."
Blake shook her head. "I don't want to have to fight if we don't have to. There has to be some sort of explanation for this."
"Hey! What's the hold up?! We're not exactly the most inconspicuous buncha thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try and pick up the pace, huh?!" Roman Torchwick barked as he marched out of one of the bullheads, waving his cane irritatedly. The White Fang around him gave him sour looks, but did as he requested, picking up the speed of their operations.
Blake's face fell in disbelief. "This isn't right. The Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that."
"…You know quite a bit about them, then?" Rainier asked, voice lowering, eyes narrowing.
She didn't respond for a moment, head bowed as she rose to her feet. She flipped her gun back into its default katana-like shape. "…Enough."
"Hey!" Sun hissed. "What are you doing?!"
She looked to him- and then dropped off the side of the roof, disappearing in a blur of shadow.
The trio jolted in surprise, searching for the vanished huntress in the darkness below.
"What is her deal!" Sun called, throwing his hands in the air.
"I dunno," Lance said, stepping up to crouch on the lip of the building. "But I like her a whole lot more than I did five minutes ago."
"I can never get a read on her."
Rainier stared off into the shipyard, eyes still narrowed, muttering. "…My thoughts exactly."
There was a whir of movement in the spotlight bathed docks as another shadow rushed through the light, coming to a stop behind Roman. Blake congealed, katana raised to his throat, the White Fang and gangsters spinning in their spots, guns and weapons raised to the huntress.
The combatants froze for a moment in a stand-off, Blake saying something to the men and women around her.
Boom- Roman fired his cane at their feet, a not inconsiderable explosion going off, separating the two, a column of smoke rising into the air.
"That's our cue!" Sun yelled as he leapt from the rooftop, another golden copy of himself appearing in the air, hands gripping before the copy hurled him away from the building, flying towards the shipyard.
Rainier and Lance met eyes- and dual pairs of grins spread across their faces.
"I'll be counting." The swordsman said, drawing his cannon, turning to aim it away from the docks.
"Oh, I'm not worried."
"Compare scores at the end?"
"Absolutely. Good luck."
Rainier leapt, his cannon firing in conjunction with Lance's own, the two huntsmen hurtling towards the ensuing battle swiftly, the wind rushing past them- as two more bullheads rushed into the battlefield, making haste to land, the distant sounds of more filling the night air, Roman firing his cane after Blake haphazardly, explosions lighting up the shipyard, debris flying through the air.
Lance landed first, boots sliding across the paved ground, greatsword immediately swinging wide, catching two mobsters in the midsections, hurling them into the air to crash into an elevated crate, massive dents appearing in the red metal, the massive Schnee Dust Company logo emblazoned on the side distorting with the impact.
Rainier only hit the ground for a moment, Wolf's Claws firing to send him speeding away from his friend- directly towards Roman, the mob boss holding his cane high, aimed directly at the distracted Sun.
The faunus lashed out for the gangster's face, Roman quickly bringing his cane down onto the huntsman's leg, sending him back down to the asphalt below. Rainier didn't waste time striking out again, spinning low in an attempt to kick Roman's legs out from under him.
The mob boss leapt the attack, his cane raised, and fired, a small missile colliding with the huntsman, an explosion sending both combatants flying from each other; Roman landing jovially in a clipped march, a smirk sent Rainier's way as he landed more roughly, claws and hands digging into the ground to slow his momentum with a shower of sparks.
"Oh, I don't like you." The faunus growled under his breath.
"He's mine!" Blake spat, a dart of shadows shooting from behind one of the crates towards the mob boss, beginning to blur around him with dual blades, trying in vain to land a hit on the well-trained criminal.
Rainier took a step to join her, before a yell called from his side, the butt of a gun nearly crashing into his head before he quickly side-stepped. The White Fang over-extended, immediately meeting the silver of Wolf's Claws, head whiplashing from the impact.
The Vacuoan struck out again, sweeping the criminal's feet out from under him, then lashed out with a brutal kick to the side of the Fang's head, a cannon shot sending the criminal pinwheeling away, crashing against the pavement hard.
Rainier's grin returned to his face, cocking his head to the side with a satisfying crunch. "Now this… is more like it." He rushed forwards into the fray wildly, like a silver blur, kicking the downed faunus hard as he went, another shot sending him flying through the air.
Lance ducked low at the last moment, narrowly missing the flying body, sending his momentary companion an irritated glance- the faunus, though, had already moved on in a flurry of violence, tearing through the ranks of the White Fang with glee, almost entirely ignoring the other gangsters around them.
The swordsman rolled his eyes as his greatsword buried itself into the pavement, the sound of something crashing into its steel ringing out around him. He lashed out in a punch, still clutching the handle of the sword, again bashing the criminal's face against Iron Maw. He twirled with a swift motion, tearing it free from the ground, the blade swinging out in a wide arc, the flat of the greatsword impacting into the gangster's face, sending him hurtling away.
Lance took off at a jog into the fray, sword dragging through the asphalt. A group of White Fang turned to him as he charged towards them, readying for combat. With a grunt, he slashed upwards with Iron Maw, splitting the small group, dodging as one took a swing at him. He lashed out with an elbow to the faunus' nose, sending him reeling backwards, before bringing his blade back down, crushing another of the criminals under its considerable size, the Fang sent face first into the ground. The swordsman reached a hand up as the others lunged towards him, weapons raised.
With a squeeze of his fist, a blue explosion went up around him, the group going flying away from him, with the exception of the faunus still under the full weight of Iron Maw. Lance stepped back, scooping out with his blade to lift the Fang into the air, precariously balancing the groaning body on his sword- and then swung downwards, slamming him into the pavement below with enough force to make him bounce back into the air.
The huntsman pivoted quickly, the flat of his blade impacting against the faunus to send him flying. He didn't get a moment to breathe, as a flurry of gunshots filled the air, his gaze swiftly turning towards Blake and Sun, the duo pushing Roman back with a flurry of offense; Sun and Roman both near blurs of movement, the faunus' nunchucks twirling through the air, gunshot after gunshot following his movements; Roman's cane rapidly spinning and striking out, blocking each shot masterfully-
Until he over extended, Blake leaping over her companion's body to slice across his chest with her katana, sending the mob boss tumbling backwards, stumbling to his feet angrily.
His cane raised to the huntsman; and then rose higher, a missile flying through the air towards an elevated container held by a crane. The shot found its mark, ripping through the heavy equipment and coil, sending the crate crashing down towards the battlefield, Blake and Sun narrowly dodging away from it.
Sun, though, crashed hard in front of Roman, his gaze rising too slowly as the mob boss aimed his cane down towards the faunus, his eyes widening.
A cannon shot beat the criminal to the punch, a blue explosion sending him hurtling backwards. Sun turned towards Lance; the swordsman's gun held aloft with a satisfied grin.
"Hey, thanks!"
"Don't- dude, heads!"
Sun spun on his back as a trio of White Fang rushed towards him, blades arcing down; his legs lashed out to trip them up before they could make impact, the faunus kipping back up to his feet, turning back towards Roman- and ate a solid cane strike to the head, the impact sending him flying away.
The mob boss grit his teeth together with a growl of frustration, turning towards Lance- before his eye widened at the sight of Iron Maw hurtling towards his head, a flash of the huntsman's coat filling his vision as narrowly ducking the blade.
The swordsman grinned as he pushed off of his sword, stalling his momentum in the air. He twirled, the massive edge of the blade carving down towards Roman, missing as he rolled away, popping back up to his feet quickly.
The combatants wasted no time rushing towards each other, Lance lashing out with a wide, wild swing, the gangster dodging backwards before going on the offensive, a lightning-fast flurry of strikes arcing out towards the huntsman, Iron Maw's massive width working overtime to block the overwhelming offense, the blonde slowly being pushed back with a grimace.
"Why is everyone so gods damned fast!" Lance hissed from behind his sword.
"Maybe you're just so gods damned slow, kid!" Roman barked back, his strikes gaining intensity, frustration and anger slowly claiming his face.
The mob boss' gaze shifted past his opponent, to the rapidly approaching shipping crate behind him, grin reappearing as he raised his cane high.
Faster than he could pull the trigger, a silver blur shot from the side, crashing into the cane, sending the missile flying wide. Rainier hit the ground sliding, throwing the groaning White Fang in his grasp at Roman, the gangster immediately bashing his henchman into the pavement with his cane.
The two huntsmen quickly exchanged glances, Lance lashing out with Iron Maw widely, again missing as Roman backstepped- this time, however, Rainier planted a foot onto the greatsword, leaping up with a knee strike to the mob boss' face, sending him stumbling back.
The swordsman leapt over his companion, blade raised high, bringing its full weight crashing down towards Roman, catching him on the back of the head on its way to the pavement below, the collision throwing debris into the air. Rainier was beside the duo in a heartbeat, Wolf's Claws kicking Iron Maw back up into the air, the back of the sword bashing under the mob boss' chin, lifting his head back into the air, another well-placed side kick finding the same spot as the greatsword, a cannon shot sending Roman hurtling away.
Rainier and Lance stood vigilantly, watching as the mob boss rolled across the asphalt before popping back up to his feet, holding his chin with a grimace. The swordsman himself shook his free arm out, wincing.
"That dude hits hard." He muttered.
The Vacuoan turned to him. "Well, perhaps don't let him hit you. Also, I'm at six."
"…Ha, nine!"
"Shall we, then?"
Roman glared at the duo, his cane raising again. "I think I've just about had it up to here with you brats getting involved in my business!"
"Well, then, perhaps it's time to take up a new business!" Rainier called back, the two huntsmen slowly beginning to march towards him, slinking away from each other cautiously, watching the mob boss' every move.
"That's…" Roman trailed off, a grin finding its way to his face. He relaxed his form, hands in the air. "I believe this is where our dance ends, boys,"
The sound of metal hitting metal loudly echoed out over the shipyard, the huntsmen turning to watch the shipping container behind them careening wildly towards them, bashing both across their torsos, sending them crashing down as it continued to rush across the battlefield, narrowly missing Roman as he leapt into the air to land atop it.
"It took you long enough, Quinn!" He barked angrily.
The two downed combatants groaned as they pushed themselves to their feet, turning to where the crate had formerly been-
A massive figure marched through the rubble, craning his neck to the side with a crunch, dressed in the White Fang's white and black, his face covered in an ornate white grimm-like mask, red designs swirling over it, his hair wild and dark, a lion's tail flicking out behind him.
He lifted his oversized hammer in one hand, swinging it loosely and with ease, chuckling lowly. "I get paid by the hour, Torchwick."
"Well- kill these two, I'm going to go deal with the other brats. Make it quick, chop chop!" The mob boss called as he dropped to the ground, casually marching off towards the rest of the melee beyond, Blake and Sun still fighting off the White Fang and gangsters in the distance.
The trio stared down uneasily, Lance and Rainier exchanging glances, Quinn continuing to calmly walk towards them, hammer slung over his shoulder.
"I don't suppose we could just go get some drinks instead?" Lance asked as he and Rainier began to split again, the hulking faunus none too concerned as the huntsmen began to flank him.
"Heh. Not gonna happen. Orders are orders. I'll pour one out for you tonight, though. How's that sound?" Quinn said huskily, swinging his hammer as he looked between the two of them.
"I'll pass, thanks."
"'Nough talk!" the White Fang called. "Time to die."