Rogue Huntsman

Quinn

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The woman pushed herself to her feet, stubbing out her cigarette before picking up her drink. With each step she made toward the booth, Ly's body flickered, her semblance wanting to activate involuntarily.

"Six years…" A cold, unfeeling voice spoke, hardly even muffled by the chatter of the bar, "Impressive."

She passed another table, plucking a chair from underneath some poor patron as she approached.

Ly's muscles tensed, hand clenching in Anoel's own with a terrified shake.

She was eager to run.

"Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me, didn't you?"

Lylac couldn't move, and yet every instinct told her to run as far away as she could.

When the woman reached their booth, she laid the chair backwards, sitting on it with her legs at either side of the backrest and resting her forearms against it.

Her dead, gray eyes never left Ly's own.

"I think it's about time we… caught up."

Anoel could tell just from the cold twitch in Ly's fingers that she wanted to be anywhere but here, and what was worse, the info-broker could tell this woman was digging up buried memories.

Repressed memories.

"Sorry hun," Anoel responded, the first voice to return fire as she eased up in the booth and tugged Ly toward her, away from the woman.

With a quick step, she swapped seats with the thief, nudging her over just enough to rest her in the seat she'd just had herself before slipping her left hand into the comfort of Ly's right.

"But who might you be?" Anoel asked simply, glancing toward the woman claiming a seat at their booth with feigned attention.

Her real attention was solely, and entirely, on Ly.

"A lot of people have asked that question, few know the answer," the woman replied, temporarily switching her gaze, "the one you seem to be fond of right there, is one of that very small handful."

The glass she held in her left hand touched her lips as she finished her drink, letting it slowly rest on the table before interlocking her fingers.

"After all, she was partially responsible for bringing that number down."

Anoel knew who played the other part of that partial responsibility, unfortunately, "Seems like you take great care in making sure only a select few know your name. There a reason why?"

"Those that do find out often find themselves flayed alive. No witnesses, no security footage, not even a note," the woman replied, "There is a reason, and I'm sure you're just dying to find out, but I have no business with the head of Vale's info network."

Anoel hummed proudly in response to that, if only to fill the silence, "So, you know of me. I'm afraid to say that I don't know you though… Would I get flayed alive too if I happened to make a few guesses about you?"

"Quinn…" Ly breathed, almost inaudibly, her fearful cerulean eyes staring fervently at the woman.

A smirk crossed the lips of the woman as her gaze returned to the blonde thief, "I see your memory hasn't decayed, well done."

Ano's eyes turned back to Ly for a moment, eyes taking back in the flushing of her skin and the cold sheen to her heat signature...

"Though, you still have that annoying tendency to spoil the fun… such a shame."

Despite Quinn's words, Anoel kept her eyes locked on Ly's, flicking them for just a moment to the door with a message in the gaze upon its return, 'We can leave, if you want.'

The phoenix's vision followed a slight twitch, and despite her eyes still remaining on Ly's own, she watched Ly's left hand hover over her revolver, ready… but Ano knew Ly couldn't bring herself to draw it.

Not out of reluctance… but intimidation.

And fear.

"Speaking of which…" started Dante as he placed his hand on the table, "You're starting to spoil our night. So do you mind?"

Quinn turned to face the white-haired boy, raising an eyebrow inquisitively, but her eyes still held the same level of disinterest as before, "Oh, and I suppose you expect me to apologize, do you?"

"Mmmmm… It might count if you get down on both knees and say sorry a few dozen times."

Anoel gave a light hum as she glanced to Dante across the table, then to Quinn, "A man who's quick to ask women to get on their knees. Normally I'd apologize for that, but… I do need you to leave if you don't have any business with us."

"I only said I had no business with you, info-broker, I didn't say I had no business with her…" Quinn's eyes flicked back toward Lylac, who subtly flinched out of intimidation.

Anoel's interlaced grasp with the thief's hand only tightened in response to that.

"You've done a good job of evading the information networks for quite some time, this comes as no surprise, given what I taught you," Quinn paused, inhaling slowly through her nose, "but to hide from me? That's certainly worth some credit."

"Some people just want to relax, hun. Nothing wrong with that," Anoel replied, nodding her head toward the door, "But I'm the only one conducting any business today. If you want Ly, you'll have to come by another time."

Quinn nodded, her black officer's cap staying firmly on her head, "You're right, some people do need to relax, however, there comes a time where we need to get back to work. Unfortunately, dear Lylac, you exhausted your usefulness a long time ago. Your bastard cousin however… he and I still have to bury a few hatchets, wouldn't you agree?"

Ly's eyes widened as she shook her head, "N-no! Please!"

An immediate bright flash of memories and images swept through the still air, Anoel's breath catching in her throat as she saw a shattering explosion… and sensed the overwhelming smell and bitter taste of gunpowder.

Ray… What did you do…?

"Annnd I'm gonna stop you there," started Dante as he raised up his hand, "Cousins and hatchets, oh my. Sounds like a good Sunday morning soap opera. I smell ratings through the roof. Unfortunately, I'm not one for soaps, so you know, there's the door," he said, waving his hand toward it.

"Your comic relief is annoying. Clearly, you do not understand the situation," Quinn deadpanned, eyes firmly locked on Ly's, "but since you're all so eager for me to leave, I'll just say this; No matter how deep of a hole you throw him into, Lylac, no matter how dark and hostile it is, I will find Ray, and when I do, I'll remind him exactly who I am."

A stray wing had slipped down out of sight from Anoel's jacket, wrapping tightly around Ly's waist beneath the table to feel her trembling in her seat.

"Oh, now I see!" said Dante in mock realization as he bopped the bottom of his fist against his palm, "This is about Ray. See, now I have to take you a bit more seriously." His attention quickly turned to Niro, "Hey, it's alright, right? So long as there's no mess?"

"If she breaks you first," Niro replied, "I'm fine with there being a mess."

"Heh… Got it boss," Dante replied with a smirk, snapping his fingers with a brief "Tadaaaa!"

About eight or so longswords of white and black aura suddenly phased into existence, each of them surrounding Quinn from different angles around her.

"Say the word boss-lady, and she's gone. You know, either sense of the word 'gone'."

Anoel's attention was more on Ly than it was on Dante and Quinn, but she glanced back over and frowned, "Those aren't exactly a threat to her…"

"How come?"

"Congratulations, you just wasted Aura creating toys," Quinn stated as she stood from her chair, her eyes glancing to the sword closest to her as her fingers wrapped around the razor-sharp blade, "you also need to work on your craftsmanship."

With a light squeeze, the blade shattered, disintegrating as she approached the door with burning amber eyes.

"I'll see you around."

The door slowly closed behind her as she left, leaving nothing in her wake but an empty glass, a misplaced chair, and a burnt out cigarette.

"Nullification or absorption, huh? Interesting…" Dante said as he snapped his fingers again, making the swords vanish out of the air.

"You have no idea…" Anoel muttered in a whisper, watching the woman go.

"So, who was the walking, talking shark?" asked Elisia as one of her rabbit ears flicked downwards, toward the empty chair by their booth.

Lylac held her head in her hands, staring blankly at the floor as she murmured to herself. Distress didn't even come close to what she was going through.

And it was clear from that touch alone that this woman was someone who left one of the deepest mental scars in Ly over her entire life.

However long that may have been, Anoel had no idea.

"Excuse us," Anoel said simply to the other three, sliding herself out of the booth while tugging Ly with her, "We'll only be a minute."

When Ly's own legs had reached the end of the booth, Anoel leaned forward to support the girl while resting her cheek lightly against Lylac's own, lowering her voice into a murmur.

"Can you walk?"

Slowly, Ly began to nod as she found her feet, her entire body numb from fear alone.

Anoel knew how numb the girl was, so she wasn't so sure about Ly's response. But she slowly pulled the thief to her feet and kept her arm and wing wrapped around Lylac's waist for support.

"Feel free to order a round of drinks while you wait," Anoel commented quietly to Dante and Elisia, eyes roaming over Inuba as she passed them with Ly at her side.

The two worked their way quietly to the back of the bar, Anoel pushing the door open to the women's bathroom and guiding Ly inside with her.

With the polished room free of heat signatures, Ano's eyes traced over the dark wood walls and dark gray stone-tiled floor to Ly, a dreading concern deep inside her gaze.

Tears were welling up in the corners of Ly's eyes, and as Anoel noticed them, the first were already starting to fall.

"I need you to be honest with me," Anoel spoke quietly, a soft sob racking Ly's frame just before the phoenix wrapped her in a tight embrace, lowering her voice even further, "How dangerous is she?"

Ly sobbed once more before replying, "She-" Lylac's throat closed in a pause, swallowing once, "She'll kill you for standing in her way…"

"She can try," Anoel replied softly, but she could feel the graveness and desperation in Ly's tone, "Would she enter Beacon for Ray?"

"M-more than likely," Ly's voice held no inflection to it, she was so emotionally torn that she had no mental capacity to express herself as she usually would, "she fears nothing, fears no one… he-"

She paused as another sob broke through her shattered shell.

"H-he wouldn't be able to beat her…"

Anoel sighed. She knew he'd try to. And if this was the case…

He'd lose for sure.

Ly turned her head to face Anoel directly, tear-filled eyes staring at her with a veil of desperation, "Which is why he can't know she's here, I-I hate to beg you for anything but… P-please Anoel…"

Her hands grasped at the phoenix's jacket as her voice broke.

"Don't let him fight her."

"I won't," Ano replied, closing her eyes as she rested her forehead against Ly's own, her delicate brow furrowing as she met the girl's gaze, "We won't. What do you want to do? I'm on board with anything. I got a slight read on her, but not enough to know what she's capable of. I… I need you to tell me everything you can."

Lylac rolled up the sleeves of her coat, revealing the scars on her arms, "I lied to you about these… they- they weren't accidents..."

Anoel's eyes flicked down to the scars she always kissed, but that gaze soon closed as she sighed, "They were from her… weren't they…?"

The phoenix's eyes opened to catch Ly's tiny nod, the response drilling a sense of sorrow and remorse into Anoel's being.

I should've been able to see that… "How far back?" Anoel asked softly, wanting to know how long Quinn's been doing this to her.

"Years…"

Anoel's voice grew even softer as she rested her head back into Ly's shoulder, "How many…?"

"I-I can't remember… five… six… too many…" her voice was barely audible, just over a whisper.

The response only tightened Anoel's hold on the girl, "We need to do something. I don't want you staying in your apartment right now, not alone. How easy would it be to pull Ray out of Beacon?"

"N-not easy… he's hellbent on that piece…"

"It won't be for too long… I'm sure we can find a way to force him away for a short while," Anoel replied, taking a deep breath before continuing, "She said she only wanted Ray, not you. But I want to stay with you for the time being, wherever you want to be. Especially while she's in town."

Anoel's eyes opened as she leveled a careful gaze back on Lylac's own.

"I assume she already knows where Ray is, so we need to work fast. Then we need to find a place to lay low while we deal with this. Do you think she'll go after him right away?"

"I-it's been years since we last saw her, she'll be onto us the moment we do something," Ly replied quickly, the panic in her voice evident, "she'll find him, I know she will, but…"

Anoel stayed quiet, letting Ly pull herself together just a tiny bit to speak. Even if Ano knew it wouldn't last into the night.

"I can't drag you and Niro into problems of my own… not now…" she whispered, "Quinn is more dangerous than you realize… and that scares me…"

"Lylac, I promised you that I'd be there for you whenever you're in danger," Anoel met Ly's gaze again, irises melting into dark green with specks of white and pink breaking through, "I'm not about to let you try to deal with this alone… not with how dangerous she is. And… not with what she's already done to you. I care about you too much to let something like that go."

"I know… but… with what's surfaced with Niro's father, I don't think he'll make time for us." Doubt shrouded Ly's softly spoken words as she shook her head.

"I can make him," Anoel muttered back, keeping her eyes locked with Ly's.

Lylac's eyes trailed down to the floor, their dark blue irises hinting at the further recession into her shell, "It doesn't feel right… I can't let him solve my problems any more than you…"

"This affects all of us… and I'm afraid I already made it my problem too by the way I interacted with her. I doubt she's very keen on an info-broker knowing her by name," Anoel let a breath leave her lips as she tried to keep Ly together in her arms, "He may not help, but I can get him to at least care. She's hurt you and Ray enough…"

"Even with your help, I still don't think it's enough… she trapped both of us in an endless cycle of grueling tasks. Reinforcing loyalty with fear… there's so many reasons why I couldn't tell you…"

"I know… Don't feel sorry about not telling me," Anoel brought Ly's head into her shoulder as she threaded her fingers through her hair, eyes glancing to the black marble vanity and large mirror just behind them, "I don't blame you… not for any of this."

The phoenix let out another light sigh as she glanced to the dark wood door, almost regretting what she was about to say.

"You may not like this… I don't even like this… But I know we'll need the help," Ano closed her eyes, resigning herself to her next words, "There's at least one person at that table that I know can help us… and he won't get hurt doing it."

"No… Anoel… The last thing we need is more people getting drag-"

"Then we can face her on our own. I'm with you in this no matter what you say. There's no turning me away. But… I know we aren't enough. You know this…"

"No one has to get involved if we leave…"

"Ray would never be able to complete his weapon if we leave…" Anoel muttered, "He won't stay away forever. That's the last piece he has that can connect him to his father."

Lylac turned her anxious gaze back to Anoel, "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Anoel shook her head at that, "It's Quinn… there isn't a choice in anything."

"Then why don't we get everyone in?" Ly muttered to herself as her left hand found its way to her pocket.

"Only anyone who can help…" Anoel said.

"Then I need to call my foster brother…"

"I'm telling you, that's exactly the case!" Elisia emphasized.

"No it's not!" Dante said before turning to Niro, "Dude, back me up here."

"It's mostly his looks, but it helps that he smells like a fish dipped in pheromones," Niro replied casually, cleaning a stray glass.

"See? Even he agrees!" Elisia exclaimed.

"Right, like he's a reliable and totally unbiased judge."

"Alright, how about this hot stuff?" Elisia started as she leaned in closer to Dante, "Next time we go out somewhere, we're going to find a bar that does one of those speed dating events. And I bet you right now you're going to get over twenty phone numbers. Maybe. But more than anything I bet you they'll be staring at you all like 'Oooo! He's so dreamy!' the entire time."

"You're just saying that," Dante replied, taking a large sip of his drink.

"Am I?" Elisia questioned with a wide grin.

"Unfortunately," Niro interjected, setting a third glass onto the shelf behind him, "I catch even guys gawking at him all the time too. So, she's right."

That definitely made Dante shiver and twitch with growing discomfort.

By the time Dante set back down his glass, the bathroom door at the back of the room opened and Anoel came out first, Ly trailing just behind her.

The phoenix's eyes met Niro's as she passed the few back tables lining the walls, their little talk after tonight now going to be much longer after what just happened…

And he seemed to recognize that fact too. At least he was willing.

Anoel eventually reached the table again, stepping aside to let Ly in first as she glanced to the other three already there, "Been talking about panty-dropping good looks while I was gone?"

"You know me so well," Dante cheekily replied, "Asking if she's alright is… well… pointless. But still, what was all that?"

Ly had slid silently into the booth with her gaze on the table, Anoel glancing to her for just a moment before sliding in after her and keeping close to her side.

"We all have our demons, honey… There's no need to ask about them. But… there is something you can do, if you're willing," Anoel said.

"Always willing and able," he returned, taking another large sip and placing his empty glass down on the table, "What would you have me do?"

"Whatever Ly asks of us…" Anoel spoke quietly, her tone turning serious for once, "As much as I hate to admit it, we can't handle Quinn on our own. So I'm asking for the both of us here on whether or not you're willing to help… even if it puts you and the people you care about in harm's way."

"My people can take care of themselves."

A small whine emerged from Inuba, currently attempting to shake off a powerful headache.

"For the most part."

"Then I suppose that's a yes…" Anoel drifted her gaze back to Ly, dropping her hand down to find Lylac's own again before glancing to Dante, "Did you order us drinks?"

"Yup." He slid a few glasses over, "Figured you'd need it after that."

Ly's broken glass was nowhere to be seen, which was good at least.

"More than you know," Anoel replied, taking the glasses and giving Lylac one of them, "Niro's probably going to keep yours topped off for the next month, so just take it easy… if you can."

Ly just took hers with numb fingers, a blank unresponsiveness still in her eyes.

The phoenix sighed and took a slow sip of her own glass, half the Lyra getting downed out of thirst and stress alone before she set it back onto the table.

"I… think this goes without saying," Anoel muttered out, her eyes still a little rattled despite her casual demeanor, "but don't take this woman lightly. None of us can risk doing that right now."

"Wouldn't dream of it. After that little 'magic trick' of hers, I've been racking my brain for what to do about her."

"Always the thinker this one," the rabbit faunus next to him declared as she rolled her eyes.

"Right, because we can definitely just headbutt each other until she dies. Good plan."

"We'll need some sort of plan eventually… but…" Anoel's eyes leveled on Ly again, watching a brief moment of her downing another large portion of her refilling glass, "We can't formulate it yet. Not until the shock of what happened goes away…"

The phoenix brought her eyes back across the table again to level with Dante's.

"I already know that you've met Ray before, and I know how stubborn he seems. But… he can't know about Quinn. None of you can tell him about her."

"Lips about this matter are permanently sealed. But… there is one thing I need to know before we can even get started," the immortal said, leveling a serious gaze at Anoel.

Anoel took another sip of her drink as she grazed the rim of her glass against her bottom lip, "Name it."

"What's the end goal we're going for here? Capture? Or erasure?" he asked without hesitation in his tone.

The phoenix's gaze switched to Ly after being asked that, Anoel slowly setting down her glass as she watched the girl continuously try to drown away what just happened.

There was only really one way to do this…

"We… have to find a permanent solution, whatever it is. I don't want her coming back into Lylac's life… not again," the info-broker spoke softly.

"Kill her…" Lylac murmured after setting her glass down to refill.

"It might be pointless to ask, but are you sur-?"

Glowing blue eyes shot up to meet Dante's, "Delete her from existence."

Dante chuckled softly to himself, "Then it's settled."

"Settled…" Anoel glanced over, finding the harshness in Ly's eyes and knowing how much she's always been against killing in its entirety, "We'll do whatever it takes."

"Talk about killing people, huh? Sounds like fun!" Elisia said.

"You really are a sadist, aren't you?"

"Only Monday's through Friday's," she spoke with a wink, earning an eye roll from Dante.

"What about you? Are you going to keep quiet about this?" Dante asked out of seriousness.

"And if I don't? Are you going to kidnap me and tie me up somewhere?"

"Not in this lifetime. Or any."

"An hour ago I would've taken you up on an offer like that," Anoel interjected, eyeing Elisia across the table before finishing off her drink.

"Don't encourage her."

"Honey, I love encouraging people," Ano replied, setting down her empty glass before turning her gaze back to Ly, "We can leave whenever you're ready."

"I'm ready to leave now," Ly replied in a low tone.

"Then we're leaving," Anoel replied, glancing to Dante and Elisia across the table with a small nod, "We'll… see you when we need you."

"You know where I am. And in case you can't reach me…" Dantes fingers pulled up a small holographic square that, when he tapped it, expanded into a large display with a generated code, "Call at any hour of the day."

Anoel withdrew her own black scroll to scan the code, storing his contact info into her contacts as her other hand lightly pulled Lylac from the booth, "I'll keep that in mind."

Her eyes once again switched back to Ly's, keeping careful watch of her movements as she slid out of the booth.

"Think you can stay conscious for long enough to walk back?" Ano asked, Ly nodding lightly in response to that, "Okay… we'll see the rest of you later, then."

"Stay safe."

The info-broker nodded to that, pulling Ly to her feet before turning her eyes to Niro behind the bar. She gave him an apologetic smile, letting him know they couldn't meet as soon as he wanted to.

'I'll just see you on her balcony.' He messaged, the letters catching Anoel's eye before pocketing her scroll and nodding again.

They had a lot to talk about…

'I'll be keeping a lookout around you on your way back too. Just get her home.'

The followup message was an unexpected courtesy, but Anoel smiled thankfully at it as she led their way to the door, 'Thank you.'

They pushed their way out into the cold night soon after, the air drawing thin in its cloudless visage and shattered sky.

It only seemed to grow colder the further they got from Niro's bar.

Anoel's never dropped her playfulness before, let along the fronts she puts up for just about everyone. This was a bit of a defining moment for her and Ly here, hopefully its impact holds as the chapters progress.

Meet Quinn, HydraFlow's main antagonist for his perspective of the story. A brutal woman with an even more violent past… one that forced Ly and Ray into helping her with at very young ages.

A lot of misfortune just aligned, so let's see how thing's will start unfolding as the personal plots go on. Niro and Anoel need to have a little chat next chapter.

They actually do have a bit to talk about, especially with what Niro found out about Kitsuki's own past and what happened during initiation. Her original partner died... he knows that wasn't an accident. But I wonder if Anoel can get him to help.

For now, Favorite and Follow.

I look forward to seeing REVIEWS for this. You'll be introduced to a LOT of concepts of mine. Feel free to give me your thoughts.

Cya XP