Chapter 4: Wardrobe change
Do what we do best
"Right, time for our first order of business. We are getting you some new clothes."
Trifa looked down at herself. She was in need of a serious change. Her current ones were all ripped and torn, and she didn't even want to imagine the state her hair was in.
"Okay, so where are we going then?"
"To a clothes store."
"But we're criminals. We can't exactly just walk into a clothes store."
"I'm a criminal? That's news to my ears. I thought I was a slightly dangerous wanted man."
Trifa rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help smiling. "So, what are we going to do?"
"I have a old contact. He made my coat and my hat for me. We can go to him."
"And where would he be located?"
"About twenty miles that direction." He pointed in front of him with his finger. Trifa's eyes widened.
"No, we're not walking it."
"Where are we going to get a ride?"
"We are going to steal one."
"Where from?"
Roman shrugged. "Anywhere we can find one."
"Anywhere?"
"Yep. If we need to run into the car park of a supermarket, we run into the car park of a supermarket."
"And how do you plan on stealing one?"
Roman grinned. "Using some good old lockpicking."
They renentered Vale.
"Right, we're going to have to hangout about the outskirts, if we walk right into the main city, we'll be recognised. There might be some Grimm lurking about thanks to the Fall of Beacon, so keep your eyes peeled."
Trifa nodded and they began to walk about. It wouldn't be too hard to find a car, they were literally everywhere.
They walked through a narrow alley, and came to a small set of houses.
Parked outside one of them, was a nice black car, like it had only been bought yesterday.
"Rich brats flashing the cash. Let's steal that."
They walked across the street. Luckily, no one seemed to be around. Roman got to work picking the car lock.
Trifa looked around her. There wasn't a single soul in sight, Faunus or human. It was kind of scary. The Grimm had killed so many people.
She noticed a light come on in a upstairs window.
"Roman..."
He began to work faster. "Bloody thing, why won't it come out?"
Growling in frustration, Roman smashed the window with his cane. The car alarm was set off. "Get in, now!"
Trifa jumped through the window, her smaller stature allowing her to slip in.
Someone threw open the door, and began yelling at them. He drew a sword from his belt.
"Great, a huntsman! Just what we need!"
He drew out his cane and shot him, knocking him back. If he was a huntsman, he was a very incompetent one, as the shot had knocked him out.
The car alarm was still blaring. Roman fumbled through the man's pocket, and found a keychain.
He jumped into the car.
A few Grimm had been drawn to the sound of the car alarm.
Roman began trying the different keys.
"Not that one, not that one..."
"Wicky!"
"What?!"
"Roman!"
"No, Wicky is fi-"
"A GRIMM IS ABOUT TO JUMP ONTO THE CAR!"
"Got it!"
The car started and Roman ran over the Grimm.
"Now, let's hope we don't encounter anything, Grimm or otherwise."
They continued on.
Trifa looked out the window. She hadn't realised the damage the Grimm caused. There were houses lying in ruins, people lying dead in the streets and she even saw a mother crying over her dead kid.
And that was before they had even got to Beacon...
Why do I care? I never went to Beacon.
She cared because so many people had died, humans included.
Human's...
The one's who had discriminated against them for so long. The one's who she was supposed to be killing. Yet here she was, sat with one. Wasn't this going against everything she had been taught? She shouldn't care. In fact, she should be happy.
But she wasn't like Adam. Once, she had agreed in the violence. Relished it. But after seeing what Adam had become...
She couldn't go on. She still wanted equality, but she wasn't willing to slaughter a entire race to make that happen.
Adam was. He was delusional, how did he think they were supposed to win a war against the human's? The Faunus may have the advantage naturally thanks to their Faunus traits, but the human's outnumbered them and they also had far superior weapons. There was no hope in hell that they would be able to win. Not to mention, not all human's were discriminatory towards Faunus. She knew that first hand.
And it wasn't like every human deserved to die. Some humans were non racist.
She was pretty sure that Roman wasn't racist. He would have done something by now, said something.
What if he's roping you in? Pretending to care before discarding you.
But then why would he be offering to buy her new clothes? If he really didn't care, he would have left her the moment they got to the bottom of the cliff. It was strange, and Trifa couldn't figure it out.
She was so lost in thought, that she didn't even realise Roman was speaking to her.
"- and he's a nice enough guy, we shouldn't be too far from his place now."
"What?"
Roman looked at her. "Have you been listening to a word I just said?"
"No, sorry. I was lost in thought."
He sighed. "What I was saying, was that after we get you your clothes, we'll need to start thinking about how we're going to leave Vale. We can't stay here, with all these Grimm and the Atlas military potentially lurking about."
"Where would we go?"
"I wouldn't want to go to Vacuo, too sandy, too hot. Mistral would probably be our best option. We could sneak onto a boat or a plane."
"Alright."
"We're not too far now. I'd guess about five miles."
Do what we do best
"Thank you everyone for gathering here today."
Adam had managed to arrange a meeting in a remote part of their hideout. With Sienna Khan out to talk to the Lieutenant, this was a good opportunity.
"Now, you are all probably wondering why I have called you here today. Well, allow me to explain. Sienna Khan has lead our people well. She was here in their time of need. But, there always comes a point where a leader has to step down, to allow a new one to take over."
"But the problem is, she won't step down. She believes that even after all this time, she is still capable of leading our people. I have tried my best to convince her otherwise, but she is stubborn. She won't listen."
"Which is why, if she won't step down, we'll have to make her. We'll need to lead our own revolution. We need to overthrow her. The humans have discriminated against us for far too long. It's time we take what is ours."
"I believe that I am the true leader of the White Fang. And lots of our people believe that too. But if we are too overthrow Sienna Khan, we need more support. We need your support. So, are you ready to strike back against the humans?"
A couple of Faunus began to cheer, but some remained quiet.
"I am sure there are those among with with your doubts. But trust me, we can win a war against the humans. We have what they have and more."
Adam took a step forward.
"Humans shouldn't just fear the Faunus, they should serve us."
There were still murmurs amongst the crowd.
That's when Adam revealed his trump card. He took off his mask, exposing the brand scarred onto his face. Gasps could be heard.
"Do you see this? This is what they did to me! This is the work of the humans! This is the fate of so many Faunus! I'm sure you've heard of the rumours circling around, that there is still Faunus labour going on in Atlas. We need to stop that. We need to put a end to it. And the only way we are going to do that is to slaughter as many humans as possible."
More Faunus began to cheer.
"Do you see now? Do you see how they've tortured us for so long? Do you now stand with me?"
The cheers grew louder, they were chanting Adam's name.
"Now, allow me to introduce my second hand personnel, who will be assisting with this alongside the Lieutenant."
He motioned to the side.
A women walked on. She was a crocodile Faunus, and she had green scales all over her body and face. She smiled, and she had sharp metal teeth with two metal screws in them. She carried a large stopwatch.
"Alright there Adam?"
"This is Tock. She is a bounty hunter that comes from Vacuo. She will be assisting us in our quest for equality. I believe that she will be a great addition to the new White Fang."
"I must say, those outfits your all wearing are awfully boring. Haven't you ever considered sprucing things up a little?"
"So," Adam said, ignoring Tock's comment. "I think that about concludes everything. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to gather support, and soon, I will take my rightful position as the leader of the White Fang."
People began to leave the room. Adam turned to Tock.
"I need you to lie low. Sienna can't know your here."
"Don't worry about it Adam dear. I know what I need to do."
She smiled at him and walked away.
Do what we do best
Roman was talking to his contact, called Greg, at the front. Trifa was browsing through the different clothes.
"People are assuming your dead." Greg said.
"I'm that annoying cockroach who just won't die."
Greg laughed. "True, very true."
Trifa wasn't a big fan of any of the clothes on sale, and wondered if he would do a custom design, and if Roman would be willing to pay the extra.
She walked over to the counter. "Hey, do you do like, custom outfits?"
"Sure, I do. Have a idea in mind?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, come on then."
Roman took out a cigar and began to smoke.
Greg took her into a room with all sorts of fabric, and sowing machines and stuff like that.
"So, what are you thinking?"
Trifa described the outfit to him.
"I can do that. First, you'll need to pick a fabric."
Do what we do best
Roman couldn't help admiring the clothes that Greg had made. He now remembered why he had came to him for his outfit.
Browsing through a few of his clothes, he remembered the day he had brought Neo here to get her outfit made. She had wanted a outfit similar to his, but he had encouraged her to get something different.
He wondered what Neo would think of Trifa. She would have a fun time with her.
Speaking of Trifa, Roman was glad that she had come with him. It gave him someone to talk to, at least he wasn't alone now that Neo was dead.
Roman wasn't particularly known for forming close relationships with the people he worked for, but Neo had been different. He had taken her off the streets and given her a home, like adopting a child.
He would never be as close to Trifa as he had been to Neo, since she would probably ultimately leave in the end when she didn't need him anymore, but they could at the very least establish some form of friendship.
That would be nice. Regardless of the fact she was a Faunus.
He had been quite surprised when she asked for a custom outfit, he had just expected her to pick something up, and be done with it. Maybe she had better taste than he originally thought.
So long as it didn't cost far too much, he was willing to pay.
Do what we do best
Greg had retreated back into his room to make it, after taking a few measurements of her, claiming that he didn't like people watching him while he worked, which she supposed was fair enough.
She could hear the whir of the machines as he worked, and hoped that it would look good on her.
Roman poked his head in to find her sitting there. "Has he started?"
"Yeah."
"Alright." He walked in.
"When did you meet Greg?"
"Years ago. I heard of him when I was gaining fame as a criminal, and decided to come to him, expecting to have to threaten him, but apparently he was cool with working with criminals. He claimed that criminals usually had men, meaning several outfits would have to be made, and he would get more money as a result."
"I wasn't a big fan of those clothes outside, but they were well made."
"He told me that he's been doing this since he was a child. It's his passion."
"Cool."
They sat there, waiting for him to finish.
A few hours later:
"Right, it's done. Come on in and try it on."
Trifa walked in. Roman wondered what she had chosen.
A few minutes later, she walked in.
Trifa was now wearing a grey jacket, underneath it was a black shirt with the image of a blue spider on it, surrounded by webs. On the back of the jacket was the same symbol. She also was now wearing black pants with silver accents and a pair of boots with the same colour scheme.
"Looking pretty spiffy Archane." Roman grinned. "Now that your out of the White Fang, your fashion sense shows."
"That's some of my finest work yet." Greg commented.
"Roman said you were good, but I didn't realise how good."
They walked through to the counter.
"How much will it be?" Roman asked. He pulled out his wallet, still somehow intact after everything that had happened.
"That'll be about…"
Trifa honestly couldn't have been happier with it. It was made of tougher stuff than her White Fang uniform, and it had zip up pockets! How bad could a piece of clothing really be if it had zip up pockets? No more worrying about her stuff falling out!
Once Roman had paid, they bid farewell to Greg and headed out.
Do what we do best
Tick Tock Feed the Croc.
Thanks for reading and have a good day!