Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 3, Chapter 18

An Unlikely Alliance

Quick upload. In this chapter, the main villain of this volume will be introduced.

Opening Music: https/youtu.be/jOz5mHKWaQ8 [GATE OP 1]

(Music starts)

(Note: Characters listed next show up at the same time as the letters in the video)

(Shows Yang)

(Shows Jim)

(Shows Irileth)

(Shows Kane)

(Shows Mars)

(Shows Damien)

(Shows Ruby)

(Shows Connor)

(Quickly shows the letters of the title)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor walking down the corridor of Beacon)

Toku ni nani mo nozomu koto (Connor looks behind him)

nante nai!

(Ruby is behind him)

Minihodo wa shite

(She smiles at him) iru sa!

(Yang comes out of her room) Sonna boku de sae mo

(She pretends to be grumpy but let's out a small smile)

oku no hou ni!

(Shows Irileth in the arena facing away)

Yuzuritakunai

(She spins around and faces forward)

ikou geedo wa

(Attacks with her dual energy whips)

arurashii!

(Shows Stephane walking away from the arena)

Mamorutte angai to

(He scowls angrily)

muzukashii ne!

(Shows Mars raising his fist into the air)

Aki-

(Shows Kane charging into battle) -ra-

(Shows Jim punching with his metal arm)

-meru

(Shows combat air ships leaving Beacon) wake ja nai kedo!

(The air ships arrive at the naval platform)

Aoi sora no hate

(Everyone jumps down from the air ships and lands on the naval platform)

tsunagatta machi no yukue

(They walk towards the soldiers) Kitto teki to wakari

(The soldiers fire at them)

aenai

(The team fires their semblances) dakedo

(Their semblances take out the soldiers)

iin ja nai!

(Shows Mars using Mystic State) Hirata tobira wa

(Shows Kane surrounded by dark clouds)

subete o kaete

(Shows Jim's muscles growing stronger)

yuku!

(Shows Daryl standing on the roof watching the battle)

Sora no akatsuki no you ni!

(Shows Michael in flying around in his dragon exo-suit)

Oh wow wow! (Shows Michelle teleport behind Irileth and Kane and swing her twin-blade at them) Oh wow wow!

(Shows Wolf slicing at Jim, Yang and Stephane with his claws)

Oh wow wow!

(Shows Jorge firing a chain gun at Mars and Damien)

Oh wow wow!

(Shows Mars, Connor, Jim and Kane trying to push a tank back) Oh wow wow!

(Shows Michael, Michelle, Wolf and Jorge)

(Shows Mars and Damien)

(Shows Yang, Jim and Stephane) (Shows Kane and Irileth)

(Shows Connor and Ruby)

(Shows them all cheering in a line)

Connor glared furiously at the familiar man stood in front of him, gritting his teeth angrily and clenching his fists. He trembled with aggravation, as the figure before him regarded him casually, seeming unthreatened by his hostile expression.

"I didn't think you'd be quite this angry." Damien commented dryly. "I mean I understand why but...I hoped we could overcome that."

"Bastard!" Connor exclaimed in response, stepping forward and raising a fist, wanting to punch Damien right in the face. He was surprised to be held back by Mars, who pulled his arms behind himself and stopped him from advancing further. "Mars, what the hell?!"

"Just hear him out Connor!" Mars told him, struggling to hold him back, surprised by his strength. "He's not here to cause any trouble, quite the opposite in fact!"

After trying to break free from Mars grip for a few seconds more, Connor accepted he wasn't going to be able to and calmed down, Mars still keeping a close eye on him from behind. He looked around at everyone else, finding them to be not as visibly angry as him, but most of them still scowling at Damien. Ruby stood next to Yang, looking nervous and confused. He then looked back at Mars at asked, "You knew about this didn't you?"

Sighing now that Connor knew, Mars admitted, "Yeah, I knew about it. Ozpin told me about it before any of you because he hoped I'd understand why Damien's here, and I do, so listen to him."

"What about you guys?" Connor then asked the others, his face turning back into an angry snarl as his thoughts went back to what Damien had done in the past. "Don't you want to rip this guys throat out for what he's done to all of us?"

Finding no answer in his friends' silence, Connor was responded to by Damien, prompting him to sharply turn back around. "I know I've done some bad stuff, Connor." Damien stated bluntly. "I hurt Kane a lot when he was younger, I killed people for the Kalos Crystal and I kidnapped Ruby. After what I've been through, I'm a changed man, trust me."

"Why should I?" Connor quickly snapped back, still very much on guard.

"What I've seen is enough to change any man, any criminal, and make them want to put a stop to it. I've seen true evil, proper messed up stuff, and that's just what I'm here for today." Damien answered.

"What are you going on about?" Connor questioned, forgetting his anger for a moment in sheer bewilderment.

Before responding to that question, Damien turned to face Ozpin and reached out a hand, picking up a tape from the desk. He brandished it in front of Connor and the others, showing he meant no harm, and then walked over to the old TV at the side of the room as Connor carefully watched him, then put the tape in the player. The screen fuzzed with static for a few moments as it booted up, Damien using that time to say, "This footage was taken from a CCTV camera at the Vale docks I set up to monitor the suspects movements, I'll warn you now it's pretty graphic so if you don't like that sort of stuff you should turn away."

Wondering who the suspect Damien was referring to was, Connor opened his mouth to inquire about it, but the static stopped and the video began to play before he could speak. The footage was in black and white, noiseless, and showed one man with guards standing among a large group of tied up men. Connor recognised one of them immediately, Roman Torchwick, leader of the White Fang and the last person Team Kalos had interrogated before heading back to Beacon.

In front of the restrained Roman Torchwick stood another, very tall man. He was dressed in a very official ooking brown trench coat, which was decorated with medals and symbols referring to government organisations, including one Connor didn't recognise. His hair was brown and messy, like Damien's, but longer like a mullet. The man also had a scraggy brown beard, short but thick. Despite his medals and symbols of indemnification, he didn't look like someone you'd expect to be a government official, more like a criminal.

"That's the suspect, or should I say the culprit, since we know it's him." Damien explained, pointing to the rough looking man on the screen. "His name is Daryl, he's my brother."

"Your brother?" Connor repeated, his surprise very evident in his voice. "Why is your brother the culprit?"

"Keep watching, you'll see." Damien stated simply, Connor putting his eyes back on the screen as he was told.

After a few seconds of what Connor assumed was him talking to Torchwick, unsure due to the silent nature of the footage, Daryl started to grow angry. Everyone could all see he had started yelling and pacing back and forth. They were all, except Damien, Mars and Ozpin, caught of guard however when Daryl grabbed a pistol from one of his guards and shot a White Fang member right in the head.

For a second everyone watching the video was silent, their eyes fixed to the screen, not understanding why he had shot a defenceless and restrained prisoner. Their shock grew when Daryl pointed the pistol and the heads of more White Fang members, shooting and killing all of them. He then put his pistol on Torchwick's head, said something that no one could make out, and then waited.

Words came out of Torchwick's mouth, not words anyone heard or were able to lip read, but they knew he must have said something bad after what happened next. Daryl backhanded Torchwick's cheek, knocking him to the ground, then fired the rest of the bullets in the clip into his skull. By the time the fun was empty, he had shot ten rounds into him, his brains scattered across the floor like junk.

Everyone was then silent for another moment, unsure how to react to what they had just seen. Ruby looked to Connor and saw he was shaking, perhaps scared or maybe angry. She knew which when she saw him tightly clench his fist. "He slaughtered them..." He muttered, gritting his teeth. "They were his prisoners...he'd already captured them...and he killed them all..."

"I hope now you see the problem." Damien said, switching off the TV screen. "It's not just him, there's a whole organisation working under him that have sworn their allegiance. They need to be dealt with before they kill more people who might not deserve it."

"How many other people has he killed like that?" Connor inquired, trying to calm himself down.

"Plenty." Damien replied simply and shortly. "Whatever job he's assigned to he leaves no one alive, even if they're just muggers or thieves. Every time, he kills them without remorse, it's the way he does things."

"Job? Who does he do jobs for?" Connor next asked, starting to wonder why no one else was asking any questions.

"He's an employee of the military section of the government." Damien explained. "They give him targets, criminals to bring in for trial, and he and his group 'The Enforcers' hunt them down. His superiors don't know however that he always kills them like he does, he tells them they leave him no choice, they attack him. The higher ups believe him because he's such a good soldier and they don't want to get rid of him, he even makes his troops swear silence on the matter and kills them if they try to leak information."

"Why does he do it?" Connor then questioned, after taking a second to process the information so far. "What makes him kill these people instead of arresting them?"

"From what I've heard from the very few traitorous soldiers that have ever spoken to me before he murdered them, it was all down to the previous General of the Enforcers." Damien answered, seeming affected by relieving the past memories of his brother. "Apparently he was a killer too, no one knew why, but he never showed mercy on anyone he captured. Daryl used to work under him, so I guess it left an imprint. When the General died and Daryl took his place, he upheld his way of doing things and eventually became just as bad."

"So...we take care of him, that's what you want from us?" Connor said, starting to grow angrier at the thought of working with Damien, but knowing taking down this Daryl guy was important.

"If someone doesn't stop him, he'll keep killing people, he's even killed innocent citizens for interrupting arrests." Damien replied. "I know you're interested in justice, in wiping the bad from humanity. Hell, we get enough trouble from the Grimm and it is. If you agree to help me out with this, not only will you be ridding our world of a psychotic, murderous bastard, I'd be willing to return the Kalos Crystal to you."

Connor stepped closer to Damien upon hearing that, looking at his face sternly. "You have it?"

In response, Damien locked eyes with Connor and reached a hand into his inner jacket pocket. When his hand reemerged, the brilliant purple Kalos Crystal was in his palm. Connor held out his hand cautiously, suspecting Damien might be up to something, but was surprised when the crystal was simply dropped into his metal hand. He immediately stepped back, watching as the crystal melted into the steel of his palm, feeling the energy emanating from it. "You actually gave it to me." He stated in confusion, not comprehending why Damien would so readily give away the object he had searched for for so long.

"I've put my trust in you, hoping you won't kill me and be done with it. Now it's your turn to put a little bit of trust in me." Damien monologued, hoping that he had earned a little bit of respect. "There was a time when all I thought about was getting that crystal by any means necessary, but now I've handed it to you. I do hope that says something about me, about how I've changed."

There was then a short and slightly frightening silence as Connor stared at the Kalos Crystal in his hand, still feeling the thrill of having it back in his possession. Ozpin loudly sipped coffee from his mug, drawing everyone's attention. He then looked up from his hot drink and raised an eyebrow at them all. "Well Connor? Do you trust him?" He asked.

Glancing again at the Kalos crystal in his hand and back at Damien, looking extremely troubled and conflicted, Connor gave in and replied, "I'm starting to...a little bit."

"Well that is good!" Damien exclaimed, showing off a surprisingly cheerful smile as he reached into his other jacket pocket and pulled out a clear plastic bag with tiny purple crystals in it. It didn't take Connor long to figure out they were tiny versions of the Kalos Crystals.

"Where did you get all those?" He questioned inquisitively, only having ever heard of there being one Kalos Crystal.

"These are copies." Damien began to explain as he unzipped the bag, and one by one handed the three crystals in it out to Mars, Kane and Jim. "After a lot of research around the original, I managed to come up with a way to create a basic mimic of the one and only Kalos Crystal. They're smaller, as you can see, and are only a one use version. They put you in contact with Kalos himself all the same though, meaning you can strike a deal with him and power up your semblances."

"I don't need this." Mars politely declined, handing the tiny crystal back to Damien without delay. "You saw me fight in the arena, I'm powerful enough already. You may as well keep it."

Music: http/youtu.be/2ISfifczkgM

[Naruto OST- Departure to the Front Line]

Accepting Mars' opinion, Damien nodded and placed the one remaining mimic crystal back in his pocket, saving it for later. He then looked directly at Connor and told him, "You know the mission now, the reason I came here. I want all of you to help me eliminate my brother and his posse before they kill more innocent people, I think I've already proven that I can be trusted by readily handing you the crystals. So Connor, I need a decision, will you join forces with me?"

Unsure of what to say to the radical proposal, Connor turned to his teammates for their opinion. Mars simply shrugged and looked unworried, having heard about this before the others had prepared him a lot better. Connor then looked to Jim, silently asking for his advice. "At the end of the day, it's all down to you, Connor." Jim told him respectfully. "For as long as we've been together, the members of our team have been equals, but I think you deserve to be leader. Whatever choice you make, we'll be behind you."

Connor couldn't but smile at Jim's opinion. He had hoped for advice in which direction he would take at this vital crossroad point, but he greatly appreciated how his friend had promised to support him no matter what and was glad to have him there. Next, he looked at Kane.

Sighing and looking his usual grumpy self, Kane spoke, "You know, I really don't like this guy, but he makes some good points. On top of that he practically gave away the crystals...I say we keep an eye on him, but go along with his plan."

"Always the grumps of the group, eh Kane?" Mars teased, Kane shooting him an annoyed scowl as Connor turned his gaze to the others.

"I revved up after seeing that video." Yang pitched in, looking more serious than anyone had ever seen her. "I say we go teach that asshole a lesson."

"I'm raring to go!" Irileth excitedly announced. "If Kane's going, I've got to have his back!"

"It's been a while since I participated in such a hearty battle, so I could use the workout." Stephane added, flexing his arm muscles.

"If we can stop people getting hurt, then we should!" Ruby declared, saying her fill as Connor gave her a loving look which then switched to a determined one as he nodded in agreement.

Turning back to face Damien, Connor proudly gave his answer, "I say...let's kick their asses!"

Putting his arms out to his sides dramatically, Damien grinned triumphantly and then declared, "It's settled then! Welcome to the Outlaws!"

Ending Music: https/youtu.be/KruXhNuindw [Naruto Shippuden OP 3 V2]

(Shows Damien on the left and Connor on the right)

Habata itara

(Shows Damien's flintlock pistol and Connor's Katana)

modoranai to itte!

(Shows Connor's eye, then Damien's eye, then Ruby's eye with a tear)

Mezashita no wa

(Shows Connor on his knees in front of a shadowy figure)

aoi aoi no sora!

OUTLAWS AND OUTLAWS

(Shows Connor falling through the sky towards the naval platform) Kanashimi wa mada obeorarezu! Setsunasa wa ima tsukami

(Shows Connor floating next to Damien)

hajimete! Anata e to daku kono kanjou mo!

(Shows Ruby holding her hands to her chest)

Ima kotoba ni kawatte iku!

(Shows Jim with Stephane and Yang)

Michi naru sekai

(Shows Kane with Irileth)

no yume kara

(Shows Mars with Damien) mezamete!

(Goes back to Connor falling through the sky)

Kono hane wo hiroge

(He straightens himself mid-air and his fists glow with the golden light of his semblance)

tobitatsu!

(Shows the four generals in a circle)

Habata itara modoranai to itte! (Shows Mars, Jim, Connor and Kane)

Mezashita no wa

(Shows Mars and Damien fighting Jorge)

aoi aoi no sora!

(Kane and Irileth fire their semblances at Isabella) Tsukinuketara

(Shows Jim, Stephane and Yang fighting Wolf)

mitsukara to shitte! Furikiri

(Connor throws a punch at Michael)

hodo

(Shows Connor fist fighting Michael)

aoi aoi ano sora!

(Shows the four generals together) Aoi aoi

(Shows Daryl with a shadowy figure)

ano sora!

(Shows Connor standing up)

Aoi aoi ano sora!

(Shows the Beacon team standing on the naval platform in front of Daryl, the shadowy figure, and the four generals)

END