And we're back. Bit of a longer wait for this update since I want to keep updating on Saturdays but eh here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for that.
Also, YAY over 100 followers and nearly 100 Favorites! Thanks so much for the support everyone!
Now I seem to have forgotten to put a disclaimer in the past chapters so here it is just to be safe.
...
I do not own Destiny, RWBY, or any songs I make use of in this story. (Yes there will be music) That honor goes to Bungie, Roosterteeth, and the respective artists of whatever songs I use.
Now that that is out of the way onto the reviews!
…
Potato man the semi omnipotent- Glad you're ok with it. I plan to have more in the future! Also, I love your username.
Artyom-Dreizehn- Don't worry about the last name bit. All will be revealed in latter chapters!
The Crimson Commando- Like I have said in previous chapters. The pairing is entirely up to you guys. Initially I had planned to write this without one but I figured why not ask everyone if they would like to see one. If there is one it's going to sort of be a kind of fluff filler deal. It's there but not the main focus.
Guest- Fear not. I have plans for all that so expect your concerns about yang and ruby's other family to be answered.
…
Now! On to the Story!
Chapter 5: Partners in Crime
-Mason's Home-
~Cinder Age: 7, Ruby Age: 2, Mason Age: Unknown- Estimated at 29~
"I'm home!" Mason shouted as he closed the door to his house.
"DAD!" Cinder said as she ran and gave Mason a hug.
"Hey there kiddo! How are you? You been behaving?"
Cinder let go. "Yup!"
"Good." Mason patted her head. "How's little Rubes doing?"
As if on cue Ruby's small figure waddled through the door. "Daddy!"
"Ruby!" Mason smiled as he stood up and walked over and picked her up. "How's my little cookie monster doing.
His response was Ruby's happy giggling and laughter.
"I'm going to guess that means you're doing good then." Mason bopped Ruby's nose before setting her down.
Mason turned around and found Cinder staring into the case he had brought home.
"Ooo dad what did you get this time?" Cinder asked. "Was it more of those pretty dust crystals?"
Mason picked up the case and set it on a nearby table.
"Yep. Got some big ones as payment this time too." Mason said as he opened the case.
Inside was an assortment of crystals with colors from brown to red to deep blue to black to even pink. Next to the crystals were four vials of a glowing black powder.
"Oh cool! What's that stuff?" Cinder pointed to the vials of black powder.
"That" Mason said picking up a vial. "Is some gravity dust. It makes things float."
"Woah that's so cool!" Cinder said.
"Watch and learn." Mason smiled.
Mason uncorked the vial and sprinkled some of the dust on a fork that had been lying on the table. A moment later the fork began to float off of the table. Cinder stared wide eyed at the floating piece of silverware. After roughly five seconds of floating aimlessly the fork clattered back onto the table, the effect of the dust having worn off.
"Woah…" Cinder gaped. "Can it make me float?"
Mason laughed. "Yes, it can but you would need more than what we have. Gravity dust only lifts the part it touches, so we would need to cover you in the stuff. Not to mention the dust has a tendency to stain clothing when it touches it."
"Awe…" Cinder looked down dejected.
Mason patted her shoulder "Sorry kid."
Mason recorked the vial of gravity dust and put it back in the case. As he did he noticed Ruby siting on the floor swinging something around. Turning to look he found Ruby swing one of the larger red dust crystals he had brought home.
Mason let out a chuckle before scooping up the girl. "Hey now, having fun?"
Ruby giggled in response, hitting Mason in the face with the crystal.
"Ow." Mason grimaced. "Ok, no more sword for you. Can't have you hitting people with something that might explode."
Mason took the crystal, much to Ruby's dismay as she exclaimed that she wanted the pretty rock back, and put it back in the case. As Mason closed the case he paused.
"Hmmm… A sword… I wonder…" Mason flipped the clips closed on the case. "Neir. Remind me sometime about applying some focused light to dust crystals. I have an idea that is either going to blow me up or I am about to make every single pre-golden age movie nerd back at the tower very jealous."
Neir appeared above the case. "Mason. You're not going to build a lightsaber."
"Oh come on. Why not?" Mason whined.
"Because." Neir bobbed in the air "Not even the best technicians back at the foundries could create one."
"But they didn't have Dust!" Mason said. "You've seen what it can do. It might just be what we need to make one!"
"No Mason. Even if Dust could act as a focusing crystal, it's far too unstable for it. It would only serve to blow up in your face. Besides how would you even get the light beam to stop at some predetermined length or be hot enough to cut through things?" Neir shook his fins in a sign of disagreement.
"I don't know! That's why I want to try! What do I have to lose? Some materials I can easily replace? My life? You can just revive me!" Mason said as he waved his arms around.
"It's NOT going to work Mason. Not even Omolon could get one to work and their specialty is energy weapons!"
Mason just silently stared at his ghost.
"You're still going to try aren't you." Neir said.
Mason nodded.
"And nothing I say will get you to not try?"
Mason nodded again.
"Even if I said it would be a massive waste of time, lien, and resources?"
Mason nodded a third time.
Neir sighed "Fine… but when it doesn't work, I'll be there to say I told you so."
"I know you will." Mason mockingly patted his ghost. "Always are and always will be."
Neir let out a ghost equivalent of a huff before floating off.
"By the way I invited Tukson over for drinks later so expect some company!" Mason shouted towards the ghost.
"I know you idiot! You used me to call him!" Neir shouted back.
"Just making sure you knew!" Mason said before disappearing into the kitchen to make lunch.
…
Several hours later
…
Mason sat on the couch reading the local Vale newspaper when there was a knock on the front door.
"Come on in! It's open!" Mason said without getting off the couch.
The front door opened and in strode the owner and manager of Tukson's Book Trade.
"Tukson! Good to see yah man!" Mason smiled up from his newspaper. "I trust you got here in one piece?"
"Pfft I did but my car didn't. You're paying for the new tires I'm going to need after this." Tukson grumbled.
Mason set his paper down and stood up to shake his friends hand. "Good to see you too."
"Good to see you too Mason." Tukson smiled.
"Come on." Mason waved for Tukson to follow. "The kids probably want to-"
"UNCLE TUKSON!" A black-haired blur flew out of the dining room and tackled the burly Faunus.
"GAH!" Tukson shouted as he soon found himself on the floor with a very happy Cinder on his chest. "What the?!"
"Hi Uncle Tuk!" Cinder smiled. "Did you bring me any books?"
"Wha?" Tukson turned confused towards Mason who was busy howling with laughter.
"Dammit Mason." Tukson sighed closing his eyes. "Cinder can you get off of me please? And no, I don't have any books for you."
"Awe…" Cinder said as she got off of the faunus's chest.
"And what are you laughing at?" Tukson said as he stood up.
Mason took a minute to regain his composure. "Oh traveler! You should have seen your face! It was priceless! You just went down and looked so confused! And that's not even getting into how funny it was watching you get tackled by a four-foot ten child!"
"Oh shut up. You'd have looked the same if it had happened to you." Tukson said.
"Yeah, yeah but it didn't so I'm laughing." Mason patted Tukson on the shoulder. "Cinder go finish your dinner. You can come play with your uncle later."
"Okay." Cinder said as she ran back into the dining room.
Tukson sighed. "She does know that I'm not her uncle, right?"
"Oh I have no doubt that she knows." Mason said. "I just don't think she cares. She chose you as her uncle and I doubt she's going to change that choice."
"Great…" Tukson facepalmed. "Do you have any idea how difficult that that is going to be to explain to my family back in Menagerie?"
"Nope." Mason said as he grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge in the kitchen.
"Of course you don't." Tukson shook his head as he accepted a beer.
The two made their way onto the porch and sat down looking over the ocean through the forest. The two sat in comfortable silence for a time as they nursed their beers. The cold drinks offering a refreshing cool to the warm night.
After some time had passed Mason spoke up. "So. How's the book store doing?"
Tukson took a sip from his bottle. "Can't complain. Business is steady but that might change soon."
"Oh?" Mason quirked an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"Remember when you told me that the White Fang had the potential to form violent splinter groups?"
"Yeah. I've heard that some have formed. What does that have to do with your book store?" Mason said.
Tukson let out a frustrated sigh. "Well apparently, they exist and they've united, to a degree at least. They have started approaching me trying to get me to join their cause. They want me to manage a part of the organization for them. They say it's because I have combat experience, know how to manage people, and some business experience."
"Ok hold on." Mason held up a hand. "The business experience I get, but you have combat experience? And I thought you were the only one who ran your book shop."
"I am. I used to have a girl named Sadie run the register for me before she left for a better job." Tukson said. "As for combat experience, I grew up in Menagerie. The wild life isn't very friendly so we were all taught how to defend ourselves to some degree. I also happened to join my local militia when I turned 18. We would patrol a bit of the border near where I grew up so I got some fighting experience from them as well."
"Huh. Never would have pegged you for a soldier." Mason sipped his beer.
"Hah." Tukson laughed "I would hardly consider us soldiers. More like the local tough guys decided to help out."
"Still… Experience is experience." Mason said.
"Fair point."
"So the violent White Fang have been approaching you to try and recruit you?" Mason said.
"Yeah. They've come and talked to me several times now. I've been able to turn them down so far but I get the feeling that they're going to force me to close my store and force me to rely on the White Fang payroll more so I'll have to listen to them."
"So you've been rejecting them then?" Mason asked.
"Yes, I just said that." Tukson said.
"Have you tried banning them from your store and reporting them?"
"Do you honestly think that would work?" Tukson raised an eyebrow.
"Just a suggestion." Mason waved him off. "But things are getting tough. At least for people like you. The underworld is having one hell of a crime boom right now. Robberies, kidnappings, smuggling, you name it. I've been so busy I can't even find time to do most of the requests."
"But don't you spend most of your time raising your kids?" Tukson asked.
Mason nodded. "I do."
"So why don't you take more time to do jobs then?"
"I've told you before Tuk. I'm a father first, criminal second." Mason finished his beer and set it on the ground. "Besides. With the jobs I do do, I have enough money to send the kids to whatever school they want to attend in the future, assuming they even want to attend in the first place."
"Mmm. Must be hard though, raising your kids around criminals." Tukson said.
"Heh. You'd be surprised. Ruby is the only one who gives me trouble since she is a baby, but Cinder loves it. Just the other day she pulled off her first successful pickpocket." Mason said with pride in his voice.
"I don't think that's something to be proud of." Tukson sweat dropped.
"Sure it is. Any accomplishment you do that required some conscious effort is something you can be proud of."
Tukson shook his head. "And the people? I would think they wouldn't take to kindly to having kids running around their illegal operations."
"Actually, most don't care. That's the thing with the criminal underworld. Nobody cares, so long as you do your job and don't screw with other criminals. Hell, aside from the declining Mistral slave market, the place is more tolerant towards faunus than just about anywhere."
"You're kidding." Tukson didn't believe him.
"Nope. The only thing being discriminatory does in the underworld is limit your clients. Less clients means less business. Less business means less money, and money is what the underworld is after."
Tukson was silent. He could hardly believe that a place inhabited entirely by criminals was more tolerant than what was considered the 'civilized' world.
The two sat in silence again. Watching the moon slowly reflect off the ocean through the trees.
"Mason?"
"Mmm?"
"Why do you live out here?" Tukson gestured to the woods. "You live several miles from Vale in an area notoriously known for its Grimm population and to top it off you're raising kids out here. So why?"
Mason chuckled. "Heh. Cause its quiet out here."
Tukson raised an eyebrow.
Mason looked back to Tukson. "Ok fine. Because One: I'm a wanted criminal so the city would be a bad place for me to live, Two: I have lived in the wilds for as long as I can remember so it just feels natural to me, and Three: The kids will be stronger for it. At least Cinder will be. I'm still looking for Ruby's real father so it will depend on when I find him."
"You haven't found him yet?" Tukson asked.
"No. If the kingdoms kept DNA records instead of Aura frequencies I would be able to find him, but they don't so I'm forced to look for him the old fashion way. Now, granted, I'm not looking particularly hard since I've grown attached to the little monster, but something in my gut tells me her dad is out there alive somewhere. I just have to find him. Even if I still don't know if I'll give her back." Mason put his hands behind his head.
"You realize that this makes you a kidnapper, right?" Tukson said.
"Not really. I saved her from certain death and am raising her until I can find her real father. Besides I'm also a murderer, womanizer, thief, arsonist, assassin, and general menace to society." Mason listed the titles of on his fingers. "Why not add kidnapper to that list."
"If I didn't know you personally I'd call you a psycho for being so nonchalant about all those things." Tukson sighed.
"No, not a psycho, just severely desensitized to the horrors of life and a sufferer of probably the most severe case of PTSD anyone has ever seen." Mason said without any concern in his voice.
Tukson went to say voice his concern for Masons metal health but was cut off by a voice from inside the house.
"Hey Dad?" Cinder said from inside. "Can I have some ice cream?"
"Sure." Mason said back. "It's on the top shelf in the freezer. Just make sure to put it back when you're done."
"Yay!" Cinder shouted with glee. "Thank You!"
"Look Tuk. I understand what you're trying to say but I don't know if I even can give her back." Mason said.
"And why's that?"
Mason cocked an eyebrow. "Well for one I am one of Vale's most wanted so-"
"Wrong. Your alias Phantom is. You could show up as a normal person and give her back." Tukson cut Mason off.
Mason scoffed. "Even if I could say that, how am I supposed to explain her dead mother. Which I might add after some digging I've found out was Summer fucking Rose. There aren't even any records of her having a kid! How the hell am I going to explain that? 'Oh, hey Ruby's dad. Here's your and your dead wife's supposedly dead daughter after I've raised her for a year and a half.' Yeah, because that would go well."
"You don't know that Mason." Tukson countered.
"'You don't know that Mason.' Please, how would you react to some stranger coming up to you, two years after your supposed kid's death and said that?" Mason said mockingly. "Let's say I could do all that. Say I could give Ruby back without any problems. How would she feel. She sees me as her dad Tukson. How would you feel if your dad gave you away as a kid?"
"She's two Mason. She wouldn't remember."
"You're seriously underestimating peoples' memory." Mason scowled. "Then there is how I feel. I told you earlier, I see her as a daughter now. As a father, I can't just give my kid away like that in good conscious."
"Coming from the man who openly admits that he murders people and is mentally unstable." Tukson rolled his eyes.
Mason's grip around his bottle tightened. "I may be a criminal Tukson, but I have standards. I may be a monster but I'll be dammed to hell before someone touches my kids. Those kids, are one of the main reasons I haven't gone catatonic, haven't gone and offed myself, haven't gone and institutionalized myself. I need them Tuk, just as much as they need me. I'm their father and they're my therapy."
Tukson sighed dropping the topic, while Mason pounded back another beer.
As soon as he finished, Mason said something.
"You know…" Mason said. "I could always use a partner."
Tukson turned to him. "Where's this coming from."
"We need a new subject. Something not so depressing, so I'm asking you if you want to be my partner."
"But you already have one." Tukson said. "Cinder is your partner."
Mason shook his head. "No, she's not. She's still way to young before I can even think about taking her on a proper mission. Not to mention I haven't even begun to teach her how to properly protect herself."
"Then why tell me?"
Mason let out a light laugh. "Well I figured I'd ask you if you would be interested in it."
"You want me." Tukson pointed to himself. "To help you." He pointed to Mason. "become one of the most notorious criminals and assassins in Vale?" Tukson was baffled. "Even after I just called you insane two minutes ago and was telling you to give up your kid?"
"Well yeah. I mean I already am one of the most notorious, but you're a good friend and someone I can trust, so I figured it would be good to have each other watch each other's back." Mason said. "As for that bit about calling me a psycho and whatnot, that's all the more reason I could use you as a partner. You speak your mind and I respect you for it."
"Do you even know what you're asking me?!"
Mason sighed. "Look Tuk. I won't force you to join me but just know that my offer stands so long as we are friends. You're a smart guy, you can make your own decisions."
Tukson shook his head. "Hypothetically, if I did join you what would I even do? I mean you seem perfectly capable of doing everything on your own thus far."
"Well going by your reaction to my offer you won't be doing any kill- "
"Killing isn't the issue Mason." Tukson said. "I had to do enough of that back in the borderlands of Menagerie. The problem is becoming wanted by the Vale police department. I have no intention of spending my life behind bars in a prison cell."
"Oh. Well either way I'd be doing the killing since, frankly, I don't trust anyone else to actually complete those missions, but you would be primarily helping Neir filter requests, gathering information on clients, and running the books for the operations. Depending on the mission you might be used as some extra muscle or the getaway driver if needed."
"So you just want me as an assistant?" Tukson said.
"Basically." Mason waved his hand in acknowledgement.
"Why me?"
"Because I can trust you." Mason said. "As much as the underworld is built on trust, people are always looking to stab you in the back for their own personal gain."
"And what would I stand to get out of such a partnership?" Tukson asked.
"Well for starters you would obviously be getting a cut of the payment from any jobs, which would be enough to remove your reliance on the White Fangs payroll. I'd train you to fight properly myself so that you're capable of going on missions if need be. I'd give you a weapon, which I'd give you some training in so you can further protect yourself. And naturally you'd get to spend more time with your adoptive niece." Mason smirked at Tukson.
"Ha-ha" Tukson rolled his eyes.
"And finally you would be able to back out whenever you want and be guaranteed a clean record when you leave. Now that I think about it, it would also get those violent White Fang members to stop trying to recruit you." Mason finished. "And that's just from me. Not including all the other stuff, you can get in the underworld. Did you know they offer dental plans for criminals? I know I didn't."
"Riiiight… And how could you possibly guarantee that?" Tukson asked genuinely curious.
"Pfft." Mason huffed. "That's easy. Neir has access to the entirety of the CCTS. Removing information and inserting false data is child's play for him."
Tukson's jaw dropped. "He has access to everything?! How is that even possible!? And how hasn't he found anything on Ruby's father."
Mason waved his hand again. "Well not everything per say but anything hooked up to the CCTS he has access to. Anything on a private closed network he needs a direct terminal to get to. But like I said, there are no records of her being born."
"Dam dude. That's amazing! It sounds like you two make quite the team."
"We've been together for as long as I can remember." Mason smiled wistfully.
"Think I could meet him?" Tukson asked.
"I don't have a problem with it. I'd have to ask him. He's rather shy around people he doesn't know." Mason shrugged. "So, you interested in my offer or you going to stick to your guns and try to survive?"
Tukson sat quietly mulling it over. Mason had given him a lot to think about. Enough that it had shaken his initial out right refusal. And the idea of having a stable dental plan was very tempting…
"Alright fine…" Tukson said. "I'll bite. One mission to test the waters and that's it. If it's fine and everything you've said is true I'll join you but just like how you're a father first, I'm putting my life first."
"That's all I can ask for." Mason stood up and stretched. "Come on. We should go inside looks like the kids want a turn with their uncle." Tukson turned his head to look behind him. Sure enough there was Cinder and Ruby pressed against the glass door.
Tukson just shook his head. "I'm not their uncle!"
AN
And there we have it Chapter 5 is done and posted. Sorry for that 2 week update delay but the first week of college tends to throw a wrench in a person's schedule.
So Tukson is an unofficial uncle now. That's a thing but I'm glad I was able to flesh out Tukson's character a bit more. I feel like he had a lot more potential as a character than he was given credit for so I'm quite happy with how he's coming along.
Also I'm probably going to reread all my previous chapters and fix up any continuity, and grammar issues so look out for that.
Mason has a partner in crime and he's looking for Ruby's real dad. Will he ever be found? Will Mason be able to part with his beloved youngest daughter? You'll have to read to find out.
Regular update services resume next Saturday!
That's all. Hope everyone is enjoying everything so far!
Have a good one everyone!
-Zeak-
