"Pain." That was Crue's first thought. His second was, "Why am I in pain?" And his third and final thought, was "WHY THE FUCK AM I STUCK UNDER A ROCK!"
…
Sirens blared through the city of Vale, as Grimm poured out from the explosion the train had caused. Team RWBY gathered together on a raised platform in the centre of a plaza, where Grimm had surrounded them.
Any and all civilians that had been there previously had fled at the first flash of black and white. It was as the four girls looked at the creatures surrounding them, that their leader came to a realisation.
"Where's Crue?" She asked slowly, her eyes widening in fear. Before any of them could actually contemplate the meaning of his disappearance, a King Taijitu let out a roar to indicate the other Grimm to attack.
However, the snake-like Grimm's roar was cut off by an even louder one, coming from under a pile of rubble. The huntresses in training, as well as some of the Grimm, watched, as a large rock began to rise up.
"I." The boulder was lifted up further, showing a pair of legs clad in black fabric. "Hate." The rock was lifted as high as it could go, and the person under it was revealed. "TRAINS!" Crue shouted. The outfit he had stolen from the White Fang was in tatters. The sleeveless white jacket was almost completely destroyed.
Crue roared, jumping into the air with the rock he was trapped under, and hurling it back down towards the ground, where it crushed several Beowulfs.
Crue landed on the piece of debris on all fours, before standing and look to RWBY. "Come on! We've got a city to save!" The girls all smiled, before dashing off and attacking their own Grimm.
Crue turned away from their battle to look at the Grimm circling him. His thumbs roved over the button to activate his claws, but he decided against it. "They don't know I use claws. Ruby knows The Wolf uses claws."
Instead, he slipped the sawn-off from his back and loaded it with shells he had stolen. "Pay attention you fucks." He aimed his gun at the Grimm. "Cause this is gonna be the last thing you ever hear." A Beowulf lunged at him, only to have the barrel of the shotgun shoved into its mouth, halting its movement.
Crue stared up at the Beowulf, his glasses lost in the explosion. The Grimm stared back, it's yellow eyes shrinking in fear upon meeting the cold, steely blue of the Faunus'. Crue smiled widely as his finger came to rest on the trigger.
"Welcome to the Jungle."
[Welcome To The Jungle – Guns n' Roses]
The Beowulf's head exploded as Crue pulled the trigger, black blood spurting everywhere, a splash of it getting on his cheek. The rest of the Grimm growled at Crue for killing one their own. The Wolf Faunus growled back, firing off his shotgun again.
Another Beowulf fell to the raw power of the weapon, and Crue switched it out for Setanta after that. A Grimm with only two legs lunged at him, but Crue swung his hurl before it could make contact. "Haven't killed a Creep before."
He slashed at the two legged creature, before ducking under the swing of a Beowulf's claw and slicing its head off.
He cut and shot and crushed any Grimm he came across, somehow ending up back to the point where he was trapped under the rock. He blocked a blow from a Beowulf, and bent down to pick up his glasses as the Grimm strained against his metallic hurl.
"Man, these are made of tough shit." Crue mused, placing his glasses back on his face, nary a scratch on them. "Now." He turned to the Beowulf. "Where were we?" The Faunus wrenched the weapon out from the Grimm's grasp.
He jumped up, spinning horizontally as he slammed it down onto the beast's skull, crushing it into the ground. He heard a hissing growl, and looked up to see the black head of a King Taijitu staring down at Ruby.
Before he could take action, an explosion sounded. Crue looked to the skies, and saw a Valkyrie flying towards them, riding on the hammer of Thor. He may have been hallucinating slightly, as the flying person began to scream.
"NORAAAA SMASH!" She let out a battle cry, swinging the hammer around and smashing it down on the Grimm's head, before pulling the trigger of the device and causing an explosion that sent the Taijitu crashing into the ground.
"Great entrance Nora!" Crue shouted after her as she used to explosion to gain distance from the Grimm.
The ginger landed back with her team, saluting Crue enthusiastically. "How am I gonna top that?" He thought jokingly, running off again to fight more Grimm. As he fought, he saw Jaune face off against an Ursa.
"He's got this. I think?" Just to be safe, he rushed along the street nearest to where the Knight and the Grimm were battling. Thankfully, Jaune did not require any assistance. However, the fact that it was Jaune that took down the Ursa made him realise something.
"I have, no training for this, whatsoever. How the fuck am I still alive?" He stared down at his hurl. "Right. Don't feel like dying, and I'm a fucking Gary Stu. So of course I'm brilliant at fucking everything."
Crue grabbed the pistol from his side and aimed it down a Creeps open mouth. "I can't believe I'm complaining about being good at something." He thought as he pulled the trigger. The Creep collapsed to the ground, and Crue heard voices speak.
"Nobody move, Junior Detectives!" A blonde monkey Faunus exclaimed, thrusting out his honorary police badge.
"We have badges, so you know it's official." Neptune said, standing next to Sun. The two shared a brief knuckle touch, before Crue walked up behind them and smacked their heads together.
"Can you stop playing police for a minute and maybe HELP!?" He berated the two of them. Before either of the two Haven students could respond, a loud whirring could be heard. The three looked up, seeing an Atlesian Airship flying over them, as well as several Atlesian Dropships.
The boys jaws dropped, and so did Sun's badge. It was at that point, Crue realised that Atlas droids would be dropping from the sky, and killing any Grimm, along with White Fang members. "SHIT!" Crue cursed, ripping the grunts white uniform off of him, and stamping the insignia into the ground.
"Dude, why were you wearing that?" Sun asked cautiously.
"Undercover." Crue replied quickly. "Now stop fucking around, and fight!" He ran off, prompting Sun and Neptune to glance at each other, before doing the same.
Crue saw Atlesian Knights fall to the ground, shooting at Grimm as they fell. He ran past a road, where two of them were shooting ineffectively at a Boarbotusk. Crue flipped round Setanta, grabbing it by its handle and swinging it low.
He ran in between the robots, causing them to cease fire automatically in order to not harm a civilian. He swung his hurl, connecting it with the spinning Grimm, and sending it flying. He turned back to the Atlesian Knights, and gave them a thumbs up.
The robots looked at each other, before outstretching their hands and repeating the gesture. Crue laughed lightly, and rested his hurl on his shoulder. "Man, you guys are pretty human. Maybe you can give Penny some tips."
With that, Crue dashed back into the battle, swinging Setanta, now in its sword form. He slashed at a Beowulf, backing up to gain more distance. As he did so, he felt his back bump something. Acting on instinct, he spun round, sword at head height.
As he turned, he saw raven hair, and amber eyes doing the same. "Keep going." He thought menacingly, but ultimately decided against it, stopping the blade a hairs breadth from Cinder's throat.
"Why, hello Crue." She smirked, eyes attempting to meet his.
"Cinder." He said in a monotone voice, pulling the handgun from his hip and blasting off the head of a nearby Creep. Cinder noticed his new firearm.
"Where ever did you get that?" She asked, stepping forward. Crue did not back down, instead, his eyes were focused beyond the woman in front of him.
"Well, it's not like I was leaving there empty handed." He nodded his head back to the blown up plaza, indicating he meant the White Fangs hideout.
"I see." She seethed. "Perhaps, you would do me a favour." Crue checked the rounds in his gun, seeing he still had almost a full clip. "And tell me how you learned about that location."
Crue shoved the clip back in, and shook his head. "No." Cinder frowned at this. "But, maybe you can do me a favour." He placed the gun against her forehead, amber eyes widening in shock. "And duck."
Cinder realised what he was instructing, and did so begrudgingly, spinning on her heel as she performed the action. Three shots later, and the Beowulf that had been about to claw her slumped to the ground.
Cinder growled, recognising the fact that Crue had technically saved her life. She stood slowly, and turned, glaring at the Faunus. His smirk did nothing to lessen that look of rage.
"Looks like I saved your life." He shrugged, holstering his gun. "What a strange turn of events."
"I hope you don't expect anything from this." Cinder snarled.
"Oh, my dear I wouldn't dream of it." Crue said sarcastically. "Just, remember my earlier warning." He placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling the heat from her anger. "And try to stay out of trouble, Cindy."
As if he could not be more infuriating to the half maiden, the nickname he gave her only served to worsen her mood. She fumed, watching as the boy walked away from her. With fire in her eyes, she considered using her powers to create an 'accidental explosion' too close for comfort for the Faunus.
Luckily, she did not have to. "Cullen!" She shouted after him, causing the dirty blonde to turn around confusedly. Cinder said nothing, but pointed to her right. Crue turned his head, following the direction.
His eyes widened as he saw an Ursa Major charging towards him. "Well… I'm about to make a bad decision." Crue did not make to stop the Grimm, rather, the turned back to face Cinder, and raised his middle finger.
Cinder's brow twitched, but felt oh so satisfied when the bearlike Grimm sent Crue flying with a swing of its enormous paw. "Worth it." Crue thought as he soared through the sky. He landed on the pavement with a sickening crack.
"Less worth it." Crue groaned, standing up. "I took a full frontal hit from a fucking Ursa Major, just to flip off Cinder. By Jaysus I am petty." He wavered slightly, and threw out his hands, finding something to grab onto.
He looked up, and saw Grimm running down the street towards him. "Fucking hell." He cursed, beginning to reach around for Setanta. He stopped, however, when he realised what he had grabbed onto to help him up.
A wide smile broke across his face, as he took out his scroll, turned up the volume, and played a song.
…
"That, is how you make an entrance." Coco Adel said, folding up her mini-gun and turning it back into a handbag. Behind her lay two halves of a Nevermore, split cleanly in two.
"No way!" Nora exclaimed. "We totally had the better entrance! I flew in and blew up the head of a King Taijitu!"
"Um, about that…" Jaune tried to say.
"And my cutie Fox here punched an Ursa Major to death, and then made it explode!" Coco countered.
"Guys…" Velvet spoke softly.
"Well Pyrrha stuck the hero landing!" Nora exclaimed
"GUYS!" Velvet and Jaune both shouted, prompting the two bickering females to turn and look at them. The other members of their team were pointing to the wreckage of what used to be a bakery, where the train had crashed through.
While Nora was correct in saying she blew up the head of a King Taijitu, one must always remember that this beast in particular takes the saying 'two heads are better than one' literally.
A white coloured head rose up, hissing at them, two large fangs glistening in its maw. "Whoever kills it claims best entrance!" Nora wagered, readying her hammer. Coco grinned, and began to transform her bag once more.
"Wait." Velvet instructed, ears twitching. "Do you hear that?"
Everyone stopped, including the Grimm, trying to find the source of the sound. "It sounds like… music."
[He's A Pirate - Hans Zimmer]
The sound of a revving engine could also be heard, and the source of the music was revealed. Speeding from a cloud of smoke, Crue appeared, riding a solid black cruising motorbike with blue highlights, holding Setanta in its sword form out to his side as music blared from the machine.
The King Taijitu roared at the newcomer, but Crue was unphased. Instead, he seemed to smile, as he swerved to the side, using a piece of rubble as a ramp, and shooting off it. While in the air he brought his weapon up high.
In a flash, he sliced his sword down, an arc of blue projecting from it, and separating the King Taijitu's head from its neck. The head fell with a bloody thump, and Crue hit the ground not too soon after, the tires squealing on the asphalt, before zooming forward.
"THAT WAS FUCKING AMAZING!" The Faunus exclaimed, laughing as he pulled the bike into a wheelie and sped off, hacking and slicing at all Grimm he passed.
"Did that just happen?" Coco asked in disbelief.
"If by that you mean, Crue riding in on a motorbike like some kind weird maniacal angel, decapitating a King Taijitu in one hit, and riding off swinging his sword around like a madman, then yeah, that just happened." Blake deadpanned.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Nora, Yang and Ruby all exclaimed, eyes shining like stars.
"Crue totally wins! And whatever music that was totally fit!" Nora said, pumping her fists in the air.
"Does anyone else notice that sometimes, whenever Crue does something, Crue-y, music from his scroll plays automatically?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah. It's totally awesome!" Yang laughed. "His music taste is amazing. I'm totally gonna grab his scroll later and check it out."
"Maybe it's voice activated." Blake suggested.
They all shrugged, before hearing the music playing again, and seeing Crue driving along the other side of the plaza, smacking a Creep that was in his way.
"We should probably stop him before he gets hurt." Velvet worried.
"Too late." Ruby groaned, as Crue disappeared around a corner, and a shrill squealing of tires on asphalt was heard, followed by a crash.
Everyone winced, as they saw a hubcap roll from the corner. "I'm ok!" Crue's voice shouted at them. That was a lie, in fact, Crue was not ok. One could say he was the complete opposite of ok, close to being ko'd.
The reason he crashed was the avoid someone in front of him. A person, not a Grimm, was standing in the middle of the road before him. He stood from the crash, staring at the cold, white eyes of Neopolitan.
"Neo…" Crue spoke softly. Her eyes were tinged red, but it was in no part of her semblance that caused that. Crue had broken their deal. Betrayed Roman. Betrayed her. Crue took a step towards her, and she snapped.
She swung her parasol, Crue's eyes widening as he brought up Setanta to block it. The two weapons collided, but Neo brought the pink umbrella downward, catching Crue's hurl with the handle. Crue was jerked downwards, and Neo brought her leg up, connecting it with the Faunus' head and sending him bouncing into an alley.
Crue groaned, standing up, and seeing Neo trailing her parasol along the ground, the blade poking out of the tip sparking off the ground. "Neo. Let me exp-" The small psycho did not allow the boy to finish, dashing forward, tears stinging at the edges of her eyes.
Crue made to raise his hurl, but realised it was no longer in his possession. Neo began jabbing her rapier at him forcing him to backpedal. "I don't want to fight you!" He pleaded.
Neo remained quiet, a show of her complete and utter rage at Crue. To the Faunus, the silence was the worst part. Neo always spoke to him, always felt comfortable enough to let her guard down around him.
And he had broken that trust.
Crue popped his claws, the noise of them unsheathing sounding through the alley. He only did that in order to block the rapier that was currently being thrust at him. "Will you just listen!" Crue shouted at her.
Neo did not abide by the request, instead retracting the blade, and smacking Crue with the butt of her parasol. Crue went staggering back, his back hitting a wall. The Faunus' eyes went wide, and Neo slid the sword from her parasol, the rasp of steel echoing against the walls.
Crue closed his eyes briefly, and retracted his claws. "I'm not fighting you, Neo." He stared down at the ground, hearing her step forward. "Can you please just listen?" His response was a blade piercing through his shoulder.
Crue cried out in pain, briefly wondering when his Aura had been depleted. He felt the blade begin to retract, and reached up to grab it. The cold steel slit his palm, but he held on. "Neo! Please!"
The diminutive girl glared at Crue, and cracked the side of his head with her parasol, causing blood to flow. Crue's glasses went flying from his face, and he stumbled against the side wall of the alley, landing on his knees. "I said I don't want to fight you."
Neo rested the tip of the sword on Crue's chin, and angled his head upwards. She met his eyes, and hers turned white out of fear. "That doesn't mean I'm afraid to do it." He pushed the blade away with a wave of his backhand, and connected his head with Neo's.
The ice cream themed girl flinched, and suddenly found herself being pushed back. The back of her head hit the wall of the alley, and her vision blurred. Her sword fell from her grasp, and she felt something push against her throat, forcing her up the wall.
She managed to open her eyes, and saw Crue pressing his elbow against her throat, cutting off her air. She gasped, clawing at Crue's arm. She looked up to meet his eyes. Eyes that burned with a rage like none she had seen.
She had always wanted that intensity to be directed at her, but not like this. "End her." Crue pushed her further against the wall. Neo choked, trying to make some form of noise. Something. Anything. "Kill her. She will only cause more trouble in the future."
Tears flowed from Neo's eyes as she began to lose consciousness. "She will die. Just like the rest of them."
"Crue!" Neo managed to choke out. Crue blinked once, and stumbled back, eyes wide with fear. Neo fell to the ground, coughing and spluttering.
"N-Neo! I-I don't know what happened!" Crue said, looking at his hands as though they weren't his own.
As the girl regained her oxygen, her hand slid over to her sword. Crue placed a foot down on the blade, preventing her from using it. "Can you just let me explain first?!" Crue growled. Neo glared up at him, still coughing.
"It was going to happen anyway!" He told her, causing the girl to go from glaring to slight confusion. "They would have found the base without me. They did, find it without me, because I didn't tell them anything!"
"The plan still would gone balls up. The train still would have crashed. And Torchwick still would've been captured." Crue told her. Neo's glare turned feral as she lunged at him. The Wolf Faunus stuck out a hand, grabbing her by the neck.
Neo lifted her legs up, locking them around Crue's neck and pulled him down, flipping him over her and slamming him against the ground. Crue's wind was knocked out from him, as he tightened his grip on Neo's neck and reversed the position.
He smacked Neo's head against the ground, and grabbed both of her hands, pressing them together above her head. "This isn't going to change anything!" He yelled at her. "Torchwick is still in jail, killing me won't bring him back."
Tears brimmed in Neo's eyes. "I know that!" She screamed, her voice cracking, as she kicked Crue off her, sending him further back into the alley. "I know! The only hope I have now is to do what Cinder says!"
Crue said nothing, knowing that she spoke the truth. "I can help…" He told her. Neo obviously didn't believe him, as her glare only increased in intensity. "Well, I can't. But The Wolf can."
"I don't believe you. I can't believe you anymore." She looked away, staring at the ground. She picked up her sword and parasol, and Crue tensed, his muscles ready to act.
Instead of attacking once more, she sheathed her blade, and stared at Crue with watery eyes. "We're through."
"W-What?" Crue asked.
"We are through. You and me, you and Polly." She repeated. "I don't care what Cinder says about that. We're finished."
"N-Neo." Crue pleaded. "Don't do this. You can't tell Cinder. She'll kill me, she'll kill you for keeping the secret."
"I'm not telling her you're The Wolf." Neo spat. "I can't trust you anymore, but that doesn't mean I want you dead." She turned away from him, walking towards the entrance of the alley.
"I'll save Roman. I promise." Crue told her.
Neo froze, just before the entrance, her fists clenching around the handle of her umbrella. She did not turn to look back at Crue, for if she did, she wasn't sure if she could say the next sentence without screaming.
"Go to Hell."
And like that, Neo had disappeared in a blink. The last words she spoke to Crue repeating on an endless loop inside his mind. He clutched his head with his hands, and fell to his knees, resting his forehead against the cold concrete.
"Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't fucking-" *drip* "cry. God fucking damn it." Crue let out a strangled cry, as his insides tore at him, making him feel nauseous.
He smacked one hand against his head, and forced himself to stand. "I'm not going to fucking cry." He wiped his eyes, ignoring the stinging sensation. He reached down and grabbed his glasses, hiding the redness of his eyes.
He walked out from the alley, stumbling every second step. Whether it be from the physical pain he just endured, or the emotional, unknown.
"Crue! There you are!" Crue looked up, his ears flicking in the direction of a high pitched voice. Ruby sped over to him, before stopping halfway, gazing at his battered body. "What happened?!"
"Well, this sorta happens when you crash a bike." Crue told her, laughing.
The reaper sensed something off about his words, and his laugh. She shook it off. "Well, we're heading back to Beacon now, come on." She waved her hand and walked off, before noticing Crue wasn't following.
"Actually, Ruby. I'm gonna hang back a bit. See if I can't find who owns the bike." The Faunus told her. Ruby squinted her eyes at Crue, noting that his smile seemed forced.
"Crue… is everything ok?" She asked him softly. Crue recognised the same tone of voice that she used the night she found him on the ledge of the building. And at the current moment and time, that ledge was looking rather promising.
"I-" Crue cut himself off, staring down. "No…"
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked kindly.
"...Not now." He told her. "When I get back." He began to turn, before stopping, and placing a hand on her head, ruffling her hair slightly. "I promise."
If Ruby saw any form of liquid trickling down from under Crue's glasses, she did not comment on it. "Alright, I'll see you back at Beacon. Oh! And here's your bag." She handed Crue the green bag.
He checked it quickly, seeing that both of his outfits were still inside, along with the sanitary items. "Thanks Ruby." He smiled at her, a more genuine smile, and walked over to the motorcycle, picking it up and wheeling it away.
Ruby lingered, watching the boy walk away. She wondered what could be causing him such pain, aside from the obvious physical pain he was in, judging from the dried blood on his head and chest. "But, he doesn't cry when he's actually hurt." She thought.
She shook her head, and walked over to where her team were waiting by the bullhead. "Hey, where's Crue going?" Yang asked her sister.
"He said he was gonna find the owner of the bike, and then he'll be back." Ruby informed them.
"Aww, that bike was so cool." The blonde complained.
"Yang! It belongs to someone else!" Weiss berated.
"Well, yeah, but maybe it belonged to a bad guy." She theorised. "So, then him keeping it wouldn't be so bad."
The others rolled their eyes. "You just want someone to race Bumblebee with you." Ruby accused.
Yang put a hand against her chest and gave a mock gasp. "What!? How could you accuse me of such a thing." She placed her wrist against her forehead dramatically. "My own sister!"
The group laughed as the Bullhead took off, leaving Crue watching it go, and several Atlesian Knights cleaning up the scene. He also noticed Professor Goodwitch using her semblance to rebuild structures, and decided to get out of there before he was noticed by her.
He inspected the bike for damages. Nothing more than a few scratches and a missing hubcap. He threw a leg over the seat, feeling the cool leather on his legs. He revved the engine twice, sending vibrations up his spine.
Through all of this, his face remained as though it had been carved in stone, not a single emotion playing on his face. With everything in check, he drove off, a destination in mind, if only he could find it.
...
"You don't look overage." A large man with a red tie and black beard said. Crue looked up to him, and took off his sunglasses.
"Do I look like I care?" He asked. The man gulped once, before nodding.
"So, what'll it be?" Junior asked. It had taken Crue the better half of an hour to find the club, having to ask for directions a few times. And even then, the entrance was well hidden.
"A Guinness." Crue replied, looking around the large and empty room. The place was almost completely deserted, save for a few men in black suits and red ties, a man up in the DJ booth wearing a bear mask, and two twins in white and red.
"The Hell's a Guinness?" Junior asked. Crue blanked, and his forehead hit the bar with a groan.
"Of course you wouldn't know what Guinness is." He muttered, then sighed. "Whiskey. Strong."
Junior nodded, turning back and grabbing a bottle of 'Beowulf Brew' and pouring it into a shot glass. He slid it the drink over to Crue, who upended it in one and grabbed his wallet with the other hand.
"You call that strong?" The Faunus complained, idly looking at the reflection of the club in the mirror above the bar. "Why isn't anyone else here?" He asked.
"Everyone got out when the siren went off. You're about the only person who's come through those doors since then." Junior told him.
"Yeah, well I was helping out with that, so that's why I need another." He tapped the glass, and Junior took the hint, and poured him another shot.
"What happened?" Junior asked, as Crue slammed the drink, the rough whiskey burning the back of his throat.
"Grimm. White Fang. Torchwick. One big ass explosion." Crue explained shortly. "A train breached Vale from old tracks that went to Mountain Glenn."
"And you fought in this, Breach?" Junior asked. He noticed that his customer's eye twitched lightly when he called it that.
"I'm the one that found out about the damn plot." He flicked his glass once more, and Junior poured again. "Well, me and a few others."
"Ok, you fought a lot of Grimm after coming from a place where you were fighting terrorists." Junior looked on in surprise as Crue downed another drink. "But that isn't usually cause enough to drink, celebration or failure."
Crue slammed the glass back down onto the bar, Junior's henchmen looking at him with a raised eyebrow, and the two twins glancing at each other before shrugging. "That's because when I came back from that shithole, my girlfriend broke up with me."
Junior's eyes widened noticeably. The bear of a man poured another shot silently. Crue nodded in thanks, and swallowed it, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt after he was finished.
He changed into his regular outfit before entering the club, slinking into a random alleyway. His weapons, which currently consisted of Setanta, an automatic rifle, a sawn off shotgun and a handgun were all on his person.
Needless to say, that caused a few stares. "I know that as a bartender I probably shouldn't say this, but alcohol won't solve all your problems."
"Yeah, well neither will feckin' milk." Crue shot back, before sighing and rubbing his head with his hand. "It's not like this'll get me drunk." Junior noticed that what he said was true. He glanced at the bottle in his hand, making sure he got the right drink.
"You've had four shots of Beo whiskey. How are you not stumbling out the door?" He asked incredulously.
Crue smirked as he answered. "Easy. I've got green in my veins."
"That doesn't sound healthy." Junior said concerningly. Crue rolled his eyes, but explained.
"What I mean is that I'm Iri-" He was cut off by the sound of club doors being swung open.
"This establishment is now under control of the White Fang." A voice shouted, and guns were cocked. Crue looked in the mirror above the bar, seeing several Faunus in uniform aiming guns at all of Juniors men.
"Of course… My day could only get worse." He shoved his glass towards Junior, who looked at him in surprise. He didn't know how this kid could see all this and remain unphased. "I'll handle this."
"You will follow our command! You will tell no one of this!" One of the White Fang members said, as the group moved forward into the club. There were more than Juniors men, but only just. This was obviously whatever remained of the Breach.
"Any weapons you have will be confiscated! And all-" "WOULD YA SHUT THE FUCK UP!?" Crue yelled, silence falling across the club. "I'M TRYING TO FUCKING DRINK HERE!"
The White Fang members looked astonished, but the one who had exclaimed their presence, a tall man with horns sticking out of his forehead, curving upward. "You dare to challenge the White Fang?!"
"Get me a bigger glass." Crue requested Junior, ignoring the outraged Goat Faunus. Junior looked between Crue and the White Fang member, and reached under the counter for a rocks glass. He poured the same whiskey into the glass, and added a few ice cubes.
The Faunus who had called out was now shaking with rage. He began to stomp over towards Crue, before noticing the different weapons strapped to his back. "Those are our weapons! You stole from us!"
"Congratu-fuckin-lations, you have eyesight that could rival a two year old. Good for you." Crue mocked, sipping from his glass. He did not notice the Faunus reach for his own rifle, and smack the butt of it against Crue's head.
The pain was not great, but the action caused Crue to drop his glass in surprise. The glass did not shatter, but it bounced, expelling its contents onto the bars surface. "You will return what you stole from us at once! Or suffer the consequences!"
Crue said nothing, watching as the golden liquid dripped from the counter top and onto the floor. He slowly stood, the barstool scraping against the hard floor from under him. "If you ever follow only two pieces of advice in your life, let it be this." He told the Faunus slowly.
The Goat Faunus looked confused, before he felt something hard shatter against the side of his head. "Number one." Crue said, the remnants of the glass now clutched in his hand. "Never mess with a man's drink."
"Number two." The White Fang member tried to stand, and aimed his rifle at Crue. It was knocked away by a barstool, the feet of which was being held by Crue. "Never, ever, start a bar fight with an Irishman."
Crue gripped the stool with both hands, and swung. It connected with the man's stomach, and sent him flying back towards the group of terrorists, some of them catching him. Crue marched over a glare on his features that would send any man running for the hills, unless they're only way to do so was currently being blocked by Junior's henchmen.
As Crue made his way over, he did a quick headcount, and noted that almost all of the Faunus there were male. "Now, I'm giving you this chance to walk away. Cause let me tell you, I have had, a really shitty day."
"I had to deal with your bullshit for one, then I had to deal with the Breach, and then, after all of that shit, during which at many points I almost died, my girlfriend broke up with me." He dropped the stool, and stood tall in front of the terrorist group.
"And you are all going to leave…" Claws shot out of his hands, making the White Fang flinch. "OR I'LL PEEL YOUR DICKS LIKE FUCKING BANANAS!" The Faunus screeched, many of them protecting their groins with their hands.
"NOW GET THE FUCK OUT!" Crue roared, slamming his foot against the ground, as Junior's men opened the doors behind the terrorists. The group stampeded out of the establishment all too happily, the Goat Faunus that had tried to attack Crue being dragged by his legs due to his unconsciousness.
Once the screaming had died down, and all of the Faunus had left, the silence in the club came back in full force. Only to be broken by cries of joy that came from Junior's men. Crue let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
Sure, intimidating a bunch of terrorists by threatening to do unspeakable things to their genetallia sounds easy, but in practice it took a strong will. And if there was anything Crue had in surplus, aside from satirical remarks, it was willpower. Though it could easily be confused for stubbornness.
"Nice claws." A voice called to him. Crue turned, seeing the twin in red looking at his hands. Crue glanced down, flexing his hands and roving his thumbs over the device.
"Thanks." He said, sheathing them. "Yours aren't so bad either." The girls claws were vastly different from Crue's. Where the Faunus had three prongs, hers had two, and were much longer, as well as being a mixture of red and black in colour.
"Thank you. I'm Miltia." She nodded politely.
"Crue." He told her, cracking the joints in his neck, and turning away from her. "Pleasure to meet you."
He began to walk back over to the bar, where Junior stood, jaw slightly slack. "Yo." Crue waved a hand in front of the bartenders face, snapping him back to reality. "Don't suppose I could get a refill?"
…
"My head is killing me." The Wolf complained. Once he had decided he had enough self-depreciating drinks of an alien alcohol, he left Junior's bar, promising to return at some point. The weapons he had, 'acquired' during the Breach, as well as his own weapon, were safely hidden beneath his cloak.
He was going to drive the motorbike back to Beacon, but realised two things. One, Beacon was situated on a cliff. Unless his Semblance applied to vehicles, there was no easy way to get there. Two, he had been drinking.
If he had come all that way just to die at the hands of something as avoidable as drunk driving, he would not be pleased. So, he decided to get into his Wolf outfit and hop across the buildings of Vale. "Is drunk parkouring as dangerous as drunk driving?"
Apparently it was, as the moment Wolf landed on a building rooftop, he slipped, and fell flat on his face. "Of course this would happen to me." He thought, groaning as rose from the ground.
"YOU!" A voice exclaimed. The Wolf turned, seeing a sight that surprised him. Standing atop the same rooftop as him, granted at the other end of it, was none other than Cinder Fall, along with three other antagonists. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"
She was taking no liberties with being silent this time, lacking her disguise, and already having been defeated by the vigilante once before. To her surprise, the Wolf did not answer. Instead, he rose a hand to rest it against the slit of his helmet, groaning out.
"I literally do not have to put up with this shit." He complained, continuing to walk the way he had been before he had fallen. He walked out of frame, behind a series of tall vents, hiding him from their view.
"That was 'The Wolf'?" Mercury asked confusedly. "The same guy who managed to stop you from hacking the CCT?"
"Damn right!" The Wolf called from behind the vents, laughing all the while. Cinder growled, but her face grew a strange expression, as the sound of her enemy laughing was replaced with a violent gargling.
"Ugh. I just threw up in my helmet." The Wolf complained, stumbling back around the vents and into the view of the four.
"Ew." Emerald shuddered.
There was only one person who had no idea what was going on. "What is going on?" A tall Faunus with bull horns and brown hair questioned.
Wolf redirected his gaze to the man who spoke, and he saw red. Literally and figuratively. The Bull Faunus stiffened, feeling a wave of peril wash over him. "You…" Wolf growled out, taking a step forward. His memories flashed before him, watching the Faunus stab Blake, and then dismember Yang.
His hand instantly rested on the handle of his katana, his instincts screaming at him to run. "You know him, Taurus?" Cinder seethed.
"I have never seen this… beast, before in my life." Adam Taurus responded, but he still kept his weapon at the ready.
"Then why does he act like he knows you?" Cinder interrogated. Her question was answered by an echoing laugh from The Wolf.
"Oh, I know him, but he doesn't know me. Adam Taurus." He spoke his full name, and the White Fang member increased the tightness of his grip. "White Fang leader. Orchestrated a Dust robbery on a train a few months back, at which point his girlfriend broke up with him because he realised what a monster he had become."
Cinder, Emerald and Mercury all looked to Adam, whose expression of rage showed that his words were true. "But let me tell you something Taurus…" The Wolf took another step forward, claws shooting out from his hands. "I'm a much bigger monster than you."
Adam began to shiver, but not from the cool night air of Vale. Going against your instincts was always troublesome for humans, but for a Faunus? It was like trying to go against the very fabric of your being. And the Bull's instincts had always come through for him, but never before had they sent such warning signals from a single man.
"But I don't just know you." The Wolf changed his gaze back to Cinder, who prepared herself to meet his wrathful eyes once more, but to her surprise she could not see them. "I know about all of you."
"Cinder Fall." He spoke, and the half-maidens fists clenched. "Currently in disguise at Beacon, under the ruse you are from Haven. Attempted to hack the CCT. Skilled with Dust, and Dust manipulation."
"Mercury Black." He changed his attention to the assassin, and in that instant, the grey haired boy could understand everything that Cinder had told him and Emerald about the intruder. "Son of Marcus Black. Killed his father, but lost his legs in the process. Terrible with women."
Mercury would have rebuttled, were it not for the current situation. Finally, The Wolf's head turned to Emerald, who froze upon being stared at. "Emerald Su-" He stopped. The antagonists glanced at the girl in question from the corners of their eyes, wondering why he stopped on Emerald.
"Emerald Sus- Su- Susta-." He sighed. "Ok look, being perfectly honest here, I haven't a fucking clue how to pronounce your second name." The Wolf told her. The mint haired girl looked mildly offended, before realising that the fact he couldn't pronounce it could prove beneficial.
"Anyway. Emerald. Thief. Liar. Semblance, ability to give a person mental hallucinations." At this, all three of the infiltrators froze. "Now, you might be wondering how I know that."
"There is an answer to that. But I'm not going to give it to you." The Wolf mocked. Cinder's nails were biting into her palms, only her Aura preventing them from drawing blood. "Instead, because I'm a nice guy, I'll give you a piece of advice."
"What are you?" Cinder growled. "You fight me, you mock me, you have information on us, and yet you aid us? What in the Hell are you!?"
"Have you ever heard of the term, 'chaotic neutral'?" Wolf asked her. Cinder frowned, wondering if this was some form of code.
"That's a 'Grotto's and Grimm' alignment, isn't it?" Mercury spoke. Everyone looked to him in confusion. "What? I have hobbies."
"That's what it's called here?" Wolf muttered, before shaking his head. "Well, yeah, the nerd is right." "Hey!" "Long story short, I'm in this for me. And only me. I don't care about society's restrictions, or a do-gooders zeal. I do what I feel like."
"And right now? I feel like testing something." The Wolf cracked his neck, joints popping. "So, Emerald." The dark skinned girl tensed. "Would you kindly, use your Semblance on me."
The wind blew, leaving the statement hanging in the air. "W-What?" Emerald stuttered.
"Would you kindly, use your Semblance, on me." Wolf repeated. "I wish to prove something."
Emerald, unsure as to how to handle the situation, turned to Cinder. "Do it." She said instantly. "Make him suffer." Flames lit behind the raven haired woman's eyes, as Emerald nodded, and activated her Semblance.
There was nothing but silence for a moment, before Emerald spoke. "I-It's not… I can't…" She concentrated harder, her blood red eyes straining in effort. "Why isn't it working!?" She finally snapped.
The Wolf seemed to laugh at her anger. "Well, here's the thing my little gem." He halted, and shuddered. "Ugh. That sounds like something Mr. Edgelord over there would say." He gestured to Adam, who blinked behind his mask.
"Forget I said that. But, anyway, your Semblance has a weakness." He told her. Emerald actually leaned in, almost eager to discover her downfall. "The person needs to have unbroken line of sight. As in, if the person has something covering their eyes, you won't be able to use it on them until you get rid of whatever is covering them."
"For example, I stole a pair of shades from, some random Faunus guy, I don't know who he was." The Wolf shrugged. "And because my eyes are obstructed, it won't work."
"You stole them from someone?" Cinder said quickly, only knowing one Faunus that wore sunglasses. "Who was it? What did they look like?"
"I don't fucking know!" The Wolf exclaimed. "The guy had sunglasses, that's all I was interested in. I think he was, blonde, or something." He said dismissively. "Why? Is he important? Is he your boyfriend or something?"
Cinder let out a noise that no one in the vicinity would have expected her to. It was a sound that was more akin to a squawk from a rather perturbed bird more than anything. "No! I am not dating that idiotic Faunus!"
"What has him being a Faunus go to do with it?!" Adam suddenly exclaimed. "Do you think yourself better than him?"
"Yes I think myself better than that fool! But not because he is a Faunus!" Cinder retorted.
"Uh… Cinder." Emerald tried.
"The kindly explain why you do not believe this Faunus to be worth your time!" Adam countered.
"Guys…" Mercury attempted.
"Because he is an annoying, arrogant, aggressive, aggravating, asshole of a Faunus, whom I wish to end painfully!" Cinder alliterated.
"HEY!" Emerald and Mercury both shouted.
"WHAT!?" Cinder and Adam both yelled. The two lackey's gestured their arms to where The Wolf was. Key word, was.
"He left while you two were arguing. And I'm pretty sure he took a picture before he did." Mercury told them. Cinder growled, the temperature around her heating up to near boiling, prompting the others to take precautionary steps back.
A scream rose up in Cinder's throat, and the other three ducked behind cover as she let it loose.
…
"DAMN YOU WOLF!"
Crue sniggered, currently on a bullhead back to Beacon, his Wolf outfit safely stored away in his bag. "Looks like my headcanon was right." Crue mused. "I always thought it was weird she only used her semblance on Coco after she broke her glasses."
Luckily, there was no one else on the bullhead to witness the Faunus talking to himself. Once the elation from enraging Cinder had passed, he recalled his reasoning for being on the bullhead. Why he was only getting on now.
"Neo…" Crue breathed out. He shook his head, trying to shake away those thoughts. "Even though it was supposed to be a fake relationship… doesn't make the hurt any less fake."
The bullhead arrived, Crue stepping off it and seeing the shattered moon of Remnant high in the sky. He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets with his head held down low as he walked towards Beacon. He glanced up momentarily, seeing a mane of blonde hair in front of the Beacon statue.
"Hey Yang." Crue greeted, walking past the brawler, who seemed to freeze upon being addressed. He glanced up again, seeing a woman with dark raven hair and red eyes. "Hey Evil Yang."
He walked a bit further, before slowing to a stop. He glanced behind him, seeing both 'Yangs' looking at him. "Man. I am really drunk." He shook his head, walking towards the first year dorms. It was only after he had closed the door to the dorms that he had come to a realisation.
"That was fucking Raven!" He exclaimed silently. "I could've fucking died!" He blinked once, before realising that fact wasn't true. "Wait… No I wouldn't have. You're too trying to keep me alive for, something, and I'm too fucking stubborn to die."
He sighed, making his way to team RWBY's dorm, trying to forget about everything. The alcohol certainly helped with that, but no matter what, he could not dissuade the memories he had shared with Neo.
Even ignoring those of a sexual nature, they had spent a lot of time together as Crue and Polly. He recalled one such memory, where they had fallen asleep on a bench in Beacon, and Crue awoke to find her curled up on his lap, her hands draped around his neck, sleeping peacefully-
"Damn it!" Crue cursed, smacking his head. "Stop remembering!" He took out his scroll, having made it to the dorm. He opened the door, peeking through to check if the others were asleep. When no one reacted to him entering, he sighed silently.
He closed the door with a quiet 'click', and shrugged off his bag. He caught it one handed before it fell to the floor, and walked over to his dresser. He opened his bag, retrieving his weapons. He placed those stolen from the White Fang in the bottom drawer.
He then took that drawer out from the dresser entirely, and hid his Wolf outfit on the ground, under the dresser itself. He placed the drawer back where it belonged, and let out a long, shuddering breath. He barely began to undress, only able to get off his waistcoat and tie before the fatigue became too much.
He did not even make it to under Weiss' bed, instead, falling onto the floor next to it, and laying there, letting the events of the day wash over him. "I went to Mountain Glenn. I infiltrated a White Fang base. I fought said White Fang several times over. I got caught up in a train crash, with no protection. I fought Grimm. I got nailed by an Ursa Major and sent flying. I fought Neo… I broke up with Neo… And I got drunk."
Despite the fact Crue was facing the ground, his eyes looked in the direction he would consider skyward. With the 'Author' on his mind, he let him know exactly how he was feeling about the matter.
"I fucking hate you."
Well, isn't that just a kick in the teeth for Crue. Neo broke up with him. A man can only take so much pain, losing his loved ones, being sent to another world, and now losing his girlfriend. What will be the next thing Crue loses? Hell if I know.
Also, the temptation to put the RvB Warthog music on for when Crue was riding the motorbike was so great. But eventually, I decided Crue wasn't that much of a nerd. Hope you enjoyed, let me know if you did, and as always
Until Next Time
-Friday