Chapter 6 – Fame and Infamy


- ASH -

Billy had a bit of a reputation now, the slayer of the Khalkotoroi. He was enjoying the positive feedback of his peers. It's not like they got much of it. They had a bit of a reputation for being a bit on the rough side. A lot of students didn't want to interact with them. Now they were in an odd state of being liked, at least somewhat through proxy of Billy. This didn't keep Ash from his rather somber mood. The forest seemed to fix a lot of the teams problems but it also introduced some new ones. Rust and Chakor seemed like a legitimate threat, he was noticing them now throughout the school. They were like Cardin and his gang, but a bit worse. They seemed to pick on anyone that happened to walk by them. Even Cardin wouldn't go after a strong opponent if he could help it. On top of this, Lyra told him about the girls he encountered, Saffron and Hilde. Just what he needed, more girls with bad attitudes, like he didn't have enough of that in his life right now. He nursed his bowl of soup, he wasn't feeling particularly hungry. Lyra and Morgana slid into their seats giggling. It was a bit unsettling.

"What's so funny?" Ash asked. They looked at each other and laughed. He felt a little left out, at the same time he didn't really want to know.

"Morgan was telling me about the time she met the Achieve Men." Lyra said giggling. Ash realized he walked into a conversation he probably didn't want to be a part of.

"Mouse, you would loved them. They were so funny." Morgana said twirling her hair with her index finger. Ash realized it was time to evacuate, this conversation was leaning a bit too far to the feminine side. He was just about to slide out of his seat when he realised something.

"Wait a minute. Morgan? Mouse?" Ash asked. He knew they had gotten chummy since the forest but nicknames and girl talk chummy? He wasn't sure what was happening but he was convinced they were possessed by some sort of horrible creatures. "Since when did you two start calling each other by nicknames, and gossip about celebrities?"

"What's with you today?" Lyra asked. Ash scowled. "No seriously, why are you being such a downer?"

"Maybe it's the fact that since I've joined this prestigious academy, I've gotten my ass kicked far too many times." Ash dropped his spoon, he accidentally bent it. "The amount of people who seem to be out to get us? Growing if you haven't noticed. How many teams hate us? Four?"

"CRDL, Rust and Chakor, Saffron's team?" Morgana listed. "Where's the fourth?"

"Weiss's team, RWBY." Ash said, he hung his head. "My bad on that one, sorry guys."

"I'm sure they'll forgive attempted murder." Morgana said with a broad grin. "They can't be that petty."

"That reminds me, the White Fang are taking their time killing me." Ash added. They both rolled their eyes. He frowned. "They'll probably attack when we least expect it."

"Great, first alcoholism and now conspiracy theories." Lyra said solemnly. She pushed her food away. "Intervention?"

"The last one went pretty well." Morgana said with a nod. Ash groaned.

"Well I hit him over the head first." Lyra nodded. "That really hammered the point in."

"Are you two done?" Ash asked.

"You're being paranoid Ash." Lyra said patting his hand. He really didn't like how condescending this conversation was becoming. "They've had months to get payback, they haven't tried. It might be safe to say they aren't coming."

"I wish I had your confidence, I really do." Ash said with an unconvincing smile. He climbed out of his seat and sighed. "Unfortunately, I know how they operate. They hate loose ends, they hate failures. I'm going to go clear my head, enjoy your girl talk or whatever."

Ash wandered the hallway. Students hurried by occasionally but for the most part, the halls were empty. It was pretty soothing, it brought back nostalgic memories of the manor. Wandering the mostly empty wings on a summer afternoon. He might have been acting rather ridiculous. It was a beautiful day, things were starting to go well for them and he was souring it up. He stepped into the gardens, it was bathed in a golden glow, the sun was shining bright in the sky. He found himself a tree to crawl under.

"Ash!" A voice called out, Leon was hurrying towards him, his friend Cheng was following.

"Leon, how are you today?" Ash asked.

"I'm trying to lay low, we got into a fight with some punks and may have broken a vase." Leon said with several shifty glances. "This is my friend Cheng by the way."

"Pleasure to meet you." Ash said holding his hand out, Cheng bowed.

"I don't shake hands." Cheng said bluntly. Ash lowered his hand a little awkwardly. Leon shrugged.

"So who were you fighting?" Ash asked.

"Some faunus prick by the name of Rust Daluna, you heard of him?" Leon asked. The list of people causing problems around Beacon seems to grow.

"I know him, he and his team ambushed mine out in the forest." Ash explained. Leon nodded knowingly. "I'd love to get back at him."

"Well he vanished before we could give him a piece of our minds." Leon said. He gave another shrug. "Almost left us with our pants down, that Glynda woman was seconds from catching us."

"He didn't leave." Cheng said. Leon turned in surprise. "He just hid in a corner when it happened."

"What do you mean he hid in a corner?" Leon asked. "He wasn't in any corners."

"His semblance, he seems to turn invisible when hiding in shadowy areas." Cheng explained. Leon scratched his head. "Judging by the fact he just stood there, it doesn't work when he's moving."

"How do you know that?" Ash asked. Cheng pointed to his eyes. Leon nodded as if everything clicked into place.

"It's hard to pull a fast one on Cheng." Leon explained. "Guess we can add invisibility to the list of things that don't work on him."

Ash nodded nervously. He was talking to someone who potentially could see through his semblance. And he's representing a rival school in the tournament. There is a very likely chance he'll face him in battle. That bothered him quite a bit. He heard the sound of Glynda's voice calling. He immediately jumped to his feet.

"Mr Gulaba, Mr Lei Hu, and Mr Gray." Glynda scowled. "I have a mess and I think You three might know what happened."

"No idea what you're talking about ma'am." Ash said, Glynda continued to scowl.

"I have an eye witness who says he saw you three smashing the vase." Glynda said. Leon and Cheng glanced nervously at each other. Ash was confused.

"Who?" Ash asked.

"Mr Daluna." Glynda said with a smile. Ash groaned audibly, he's going to skin that faunus the next time he sees him. "Now let's go clean up this mess."


- GWYN -

Gwyn relaxed in her usual spot in the gardens, the trickling of water seemed to drown out all other sounds. It was a perfectly lazy afternoon and she had no other plans. Her favorite kind of day. She heard a footstep approaching, she let out a sigh as a shadow blocked her light.

"Natasha?" Gwyn called out.

"Not even close." A familiar voice replied. Pearl, from the forest. "This is a nice place ya got here."

"What can I do for you?" Gwyn asked. She sat up, Pearl was in her school uniform. There was something about her that didn't look like it belonged in such a getup.

"Do for me?" Pearl asked. Her eyebrows shifted. "What am I royalty now?"

"Figure of speech, what do you want?" Gwyn asked. Pearl smiled.

"A friend of mine wanted to meetcha." Pearl said. "Care for a walk?"

"Might as well, I had no plans today." Gwyn replied, she hopped up to her feet and followed Pearl's lead.

Pearl led her back to her dormitory, a rather well decorated doorway leading into a far more lavish and surprisingly roomy dorm than her own. Inside were three girls, all in their school uniforms. One of them noticed her, she had a long side braid of a fiery orange. Her face was covered in freckles.

"Is this Gwyn?" She asked with a big smile. Pearl nodded. The girl has a slight accent in her voice, it sounded a bit like Natasha's. "Gwyn Rhosyn, I'm Saffron, Saffron Vasilisa at your service."

"You have a nice room." Gwyn said eyeing what looked like velvet drapes. Someone had to have rich parents.

"Oh I'm sure it's nothing compared to yours." Saffron said modestly. Gwyn hesitated, her room was a mess. Part of the reason why she liked the garden so much.

"So, you wanted to meet?" Gwyn asked. "May I ask why?"

"Oh how silly of me." Saffron said with a dramatic gasp. She really loved the sound of her own voice. "We are forming a sort of club. We're looking for girls with the most, potential. We think you would do well with us."

"A club? What kind of club?" Gwyn asked. There were a few clubs in this school but she has never really payed them any attention before now. She didn't expect to be singled out by any.

"It's not so much of a club, more of a sisterhood, a sorority if you will." Saffron said hopping from her bed. "You will join, right?"

Gwyn glanced around the room. She wasn't sure what to say, she really preferred to keep to herself. Then again, it could be fun and it's always good to have friends. She smiled and nodded. Saffron hopped up and down excitedly.

"This is going to be great!" Saffron said enthusiastically shaking Gwyn's hand. She regained her composure. "Welcome to the Huntress Society."

"The Huntress Society?" Gwyn asked. There were several glances around the room.

"It's a work in progress." Pearl said, she hopped into a chair and put her feet on the table. Saffron shoo'd her feet off and turned back with a smile.

"I like the name, makes us sound very sophisticated." She said with a slight roll of the eye.

"I still think we should call ourselves the Amazons." Pearl replied. Saffron let out a loud groan. "What, it's less prissy."

"It makes us sound like savages." Saffron frowned. Pearl started chuckling.

"I don't mind sounding a bit savage, it'd keep the boys off my back." She smirked. Saffron rolled her eyes again.

"Anyway, Gwyn. Allow me to introduce the rest of our society and my fellow teammates of team SPHR." Saffron said pointing to her teammates. There were two, one was a tough looking girl with toned muscles and heavily braided blonde hair. The other girl had narrow features with light brown hair that swooped over the left side of her face. Her eyes were darting up and down Gwyn's body as if taking in every detail. "Hilde is the beautiful blonde and Robina is the adorable brunette."

"Adorable?" Robina asked with a frown. Hilde ruffled her hair, she scooted away from her. "I hate you guys sometimes."

"Nice to meet you." Gwyn said with a slight curtsy. Pearl started chuckling again.

"We have much to talk about." Saffron said grabbing her hand and dragging her over to the nearest bed. Gwyn nervously laughed. She wasn't entirely sure about any of this but a little voice in the back of her mind told her it could be fun.


- LYRA -

The sun was shining and the coffee shop was getting crowded. They found a nice enough location to sit and talk. Morgan was telling Lyra plenty of stories about the shenanigans she got into in her youth.

"...so Arthur decided the guy said too much and punched the guy." Morgan said. Lyra sipped on her coffee. "Little did he know he had six friends twice Arthur's size."

"So what did he do?" Lyra asked. Morgan smirked.

"Well he narrowly avoided getting his ass kicked. Mikael came diving out of nowhere and somehow tackled all six of them like a bowling ball." Morgan said. She slowed down near the end of the sentence.

"Who's Mikael?" Lyra asked. Morgan went very still.

"My brother. My other brother. My twin actually." Morgan said in a largely more melancholic manner. "He's not really around anymore."

"What happened?" Lyra asked. Morgan took a deep breath.

"He got into a fight with my dad, he left. He never came back." She said. There was a catch in her voice as she said it. She shook her head and smiled. "If you don't mind, I'd like to change the subject."

"Alright. Happier topics. We beat those girls in the forest without any help from Billy and Ash. Think we have a shot at the Vytal tournament?" Lyra asked. Morgan gave a silent laugh.

"I think we're getting closer to adequate. So we might make it one round in." She said. "So long as Ash doesn't muck it up."

"He does seem to cause a lot of drama these days." Lyra said. Morgan started laughing.

"That's one hell of an understatement." She said. Lyra smirked.

"Am I interrupting anything?" A voice called out. Arthur slid into the chair next to Morgan and put his arm around her. She glared at him. "What?"

"Are you following me?" She asked. He smiled.

"Guilty as charged, I follow you all the time because I have nothing better to do. My entire life revolves around my sister." He said. "No, I was getting some coffee and I noticed you two cackling in the corner. What's the juicy gossip?"

"We we're discussing our odds in the Vytal tournament." Morgan said.

"Morgy, I say this because I love you. You're not going to make it very far." He said softly. She smacked him on the shoulder.

"You're only saying that because you got your ass kicked last time." Morgan sneered.

"I was in the finals." He said. She shook her head. "Alright, I have to get going. Lovely seeing you two again. We should do this more often."

He grabbed his coffee and left. Lyra watched him leave, he was dressed a lot more casually than she usually saw him. He was always either in bulky armor or a uniform, and seemed so strict. Kind of like Morgana now that she thought of it. At least personality-wise. She felt eyes staring at the back of her head. Her face went slightly red, maybe a bit purple. She turned back. Morgan was laughing.

"What?" Lyra asked.

"Were you checking out my brother?" Morgan asked. Lyra shook her head, now her face was definitely red.

"No!" She squeaked.

"You were checking him out." She said. Lyra buried her head in her hood. She could hear Morgan laughing at her. "Admit it."

"Never!" She squeaked.

"You like him." She teased. Lyra noticed she was chewing on her hair, she wasn't entirely sure when she started.

"Shut up!" She squeaked. Morgan started laughing hysterically.

"You're so adorable mouse." Morgan said.

"I really hate you sometimes." She replied. She watched several soldiers walk past the cafe. "Have you noticed the general police state vibe that's been going around lately?"

"Ironwood's troops? If you ask me it's a little suspicious." Morgan said. "Why did he decide to bring the entire Atlesian military for a tournament?"

"I don't know, but it makes me uncomfortable." Lyra said. "Apparently he's going to give a big presentation today."

"Yeah he's unveiling some fancy new tech or something." Morgan replied.

"Some sort of overcompensating war machine?" Lyra asked. Morgan laughed.

"Yeah that sounds about right. Maybe some robots saluting and some macho speech about saving the world." Morgan replied. "It's pure bull."

"Yeah." Lyra nodded.

"Want to go?" Morgan asked.

"I've got nothing better to do." Lyra replied.


- ASH -

Glynda had them clean the entire cafeteria as punishment for the vase. It didn't take too much time but there were still some really unusual stains that Ash couldn't quite explain. Like the entire back wall being sticky. They finished earlier than they thought they would. Cheng went back to his dorm. Ash and Leon decided they would try heading into town. It's not like they had anything else to do and they'd rather not have a repeat incident.

Vale was busier than the last time he had been there. The soldiers strolling the streets was something a little unsettling. They found crowds were gathering. General Ironwood was on a stage, well a hologram of him anyways. Ash met a couple times when he was younger, his father used to do business with him. Used to, he now has friends in the SDC. By the looks of it, he was showcasing some new security bots. They found themselves a cafe with a patio so they could watch the show.

"So, they finally upgrading?" Leon asked. "Those last models were pretty terrible."

"You sound as if you're talking from experience." Ash replied. Leon smirked.

"Fought a couple, they weren't too smart." He said with a smug grin. "Now the Barghest, that was some fine machinery. Why did the GDC stop producing those?"

"We ran out of money." Ash said bluntly. He frowned. "Also the AK-130 was more popular, the idea of your security having guns and sword arms trumped robotic attack dogs."

"But they were freaking robot attack dogs!" Leon shouted. Ash laughed. "Robot attack dogs are better than mook bots."

"They were more expensive to make." Ash said. He shrugged. "We almost had a contract with the Atlesian military. We were developing a prototype mark II. They were going to have spinal gun turrets capable of full three sixty degree targeting. Also they could breath fire."

"You're telling me that you were going to make them breath fire and shoot bullets?" Leon looked like someone had kicked his dog. He rested his head on the palm of his hand and sighed. "I can't think of anything more awesome."

"They were also supposed to shoot missiles." Ash added.

"Never mind, there it is." He said, shaking his head. He raised his coffee. "To capitalism and cheaper parts."

"I'll drink to that." Ash said. He turned back to Ironwood's presentation, the crowd was going wild. A massive mech was now center stage, he could here Ironwood calling it by name. The Atlesian Paladin. He could hear Leon choking. "Holy..."

"Okay, I take it all back." Leon said, he coughed hoarsely. "That is freaking badass."

"Think you can take one?" Ash asked. Leon laughed.

"I'd be lucky to go five minutes. Then again, it could be just as cheap as the mook bots underneath all that plating." Leon said with a shrug. "I'd love to see a couple of those in Vacuo, couple hours in the sand and you'd be lucky to find a piece of them."."

"What is Vacuo like?" Ash asked.

"Hot and dry." Leon said. "People are rough, streets are rougher. You gotta watch your back in a place like that."

"Really that bad?" Ash asked. Leon started chuckling.

"Not if you got friends." Leon said. "It's not like Vale or Mistral and definitely not Atlas. You have to expect to get a little dirty walking down the street. You'd fit in quite well."

"I doubt it." Ash said. Then again, given his recent track record, he could see his point.

The presentation ended in fireworks. They decided it was best to head back, it was starting to get late. Ash felt something a couple blocks down, something familiar. He followed it to it's source. O'Malley's tavern. He felt an involuntary twitch, he felt a little thirsty. Leon patted him on the shoulder.

"We heading back or what?" He asked. Ash took deep breaths. He wanted to go in, get a drink, maybe four. He knew he shouldn't. "Ash?"

"Yeah." Ash finally said. He looked over his shoulder as he walked. What is wrong with me, he thought. He felt terrible.


- GWYN -

Gwyn returned to her dorm, the sun was starting to set. She hopped onto her bed and sunk into it. Saffron was nice but a little draining. She went on and on about decorations for a planned sorority house. She stretched out on her bed, it felt softer than usual. She heard the door open. Natasha ducked in.

"Hey, I was looking for you." Natasha said. She sat down on her bed and sifted through her bags

"Oh, I was with some friends." Gwyn said. "Also I think I joined a sorority."

"A sorority?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah Saffron is starting it." Gwyn said. Natasha froze.

"Saffron?" Natasha asked. "Saffron Vasilisa?"

"You know her?" Gwyn asked. Natasha looked furious, if only for a moment. She regained composure.

"She's my step-sister." Natasha said in an almost grating way. "We're not exactly close."

"How bad is she?" Gwyn asked. Natasha laughed.

"You have no idea." She replied.

"I didn't know you had a sister..." Gwyn said, Natasha frowned. "...or a step-sister."

"My father married her mother a few years ago, gold digging harlot." Natasha was gritting her teeth as she said it. "I've had to put up with my 'sister' ever since, she used to follow me everywhere. She'd say we were going to be besties and go on about how much fun we'd have together then next thing I know I'm getting pinned for something she did. She has a habit of getting her way, at the expense of others usually."

"What did I sign up to?" Gwyn asked nervously. Natasha shook her head.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let you suffer this alone. Next time you go to this sorority, I'll come with." She said with a broad smile. "I'll pay my good sister a visit."


- CALICO -

O'Malley's tavern. It was a particular dump tonight and Calico was on his third round. The amount of soldiers wandering the streets was starting to bother the shadier people, as was the influx of huntsmen and huntresses. It was a bad time to break the law. That meant O'Malley was losing business. He'd be surprised if O'Malley had legit customers.

"Calico, you still here?" Rojo asked, sliding into the seat next to him. Calico raised his glass.

"Where else would I be?" Calico asked. Rojo gave him that look again, the one that implied things. He hated that look.

"Your friends in the Fang want you to finish that job, or else we are all screwed." Rojo said. He signaled the barkeep for a glass. Calico was starting to think he needed a stronger drink.

"The White Fang aren't my friends. If I had a way to turn this around on them I would." Calico finished his glass and ordered another. "Ash is a friend, I don't want to kill him for them."

"We don't exactly have a choice." Rojo said. He patted Calico on the shoulder. "Him or you."

"Thanks for the reminder." Calico stared into his glass, it was bubbling. "I'll let you know when I have a plan, you get the team together when I do."

"Fair enough." He said. He spun around in his chair. "I hear the twins are in town."

"Haven't seen them in months, what changed?" Calico asked. Rojo shrugged.

"Rumor has it something big is happening. Torchwick of all people is calling in some seriously big names." Rojo said. Calico took a big gulp from his glass. He didn't like the sound of this. "Some major operation is happening soon."

"Hopefully it's a step up from dust shop robberies." Calico smirked. "So we're talking about the Malachite twins right?"

"No actually, well yes they're in town but I was talking about the Narzisse twins." Rojo said. Calico froze for a moment. It has been quite a while since he last heard of them.

"God no, those two were crazy." He said. Rojo laughed. "Seriously, they almost killed me."

"Maybe we should just skip town." Rojo suggested. Calico felt his ears twitch. Not a bad idea.

"I wish we could." He said holding his drink at eye level. "I really wish we could."

"So what could Torchwick be doing?" Rojo asked. "Why would he be calling the big names in?"

"Well, if I had to guess. He's going to steal something." Calico said with a smirk. Rojo frowned. "I mean, something bigger than a couple boxes of dust."

"Then what could it be?" Rojo asked. Calico shrugged. He turned his attention back to his glass.

His ears began to twitch. He turned to the television, Lisa Lavender reporting on Ironwood's big presentation. Then it came into view, the Paladin. It all was making sense. He tapped Rojo on the shoulder and pointed to the screen. Torchwick was the kind of thief that likes to show off. Stealing Ironwoods latest machinery before it's even on the shelf would be an impressive feat. Still, he didn't have any proof. He needed to find some.

"I have places to be." Calico said, he hopped out of his stool and hurried out the door.

Torchwick was working with the White Fang, that was clear with their meeting on the pier. If he's working for the White Fang then he'll probably be giving the Paladin to them. Which means if the White Fang still were operating out of the same place, then he could find the mech. Why was he doing this? The thought ran through his head a number of times. What good would finding proof of Torchwick's latest heist do him. The White Fang are still out for his head. He'd still have to kill Ash. None of this would help.

He shook the thought out of his head. He found the place easy enough. He pulled his old mask out from one of his bags and put it on. He hoped that nobody would recognize him. He was certainly walking into the dragon's den here. He slipped in with the rest of the new recruits. How familiar this all seemed. It was as if it were just yesterday, a young Calico enthusiastically donning the mask. How naive he was. He honestly thought he was fighting the good fight.

He scanned the crowd, the newcomers were diverse enough. He wondered how many faunus the White Fang has poisoned, tricked into believing their bull. He noticed a pretty girl with dark hair, cat ears like his. Well not exactly like his. He felt his hand along the cut, he never got over how weird it feels. She seemed oddly familiar to him, he couldn't place it. She also seemed a little out of place. He turned his attention to the main stage. Everyone did. Roman had stepped onto the stage. The reaction was what you could expect from a human strolling into a White Fang gathering. If he hadn't heard of Torchwick's impressive reputation he'd wonder himself why they'd tolerate him. He gave a speech about how humans were terrible and various other garbage. That was when he revealed it. He wasn't planning on stealing a Paladin. He had already stolen one.

He noticed several of the White Fang's thugs were now hurrying towards the recruits. Did they spot him. He noticed the girl with cat ears pulling out a gun and firing a shot. The lights went out. Calico took this as his time to leave. He hurried through the crowd, thankfully like a lot of faunus, he had good night vision. He throat checked a guard on the way out. It was a bit cathartic.

He was almost in the clear when he felt something grab hold of his leg. He flipped off his feet. He spun around, a long cord was tied to his leg. A girl in a white hood was holding the other end of the cord. She had a pair of antlers. Calico slowly slid his hand towards Ranger. This was all too familiar to him. She smirked slightly, his brain finally caught up.

"Oh crap." He said. She was now beaming.

"So you do remember me." She said. She tugged on the rope hard, he skidded slightly along the pavement. She tossed the cord over a street light. This part of town was so rough it actually had physical street lights. She tugged hard and he was suddenly upside down. "I mean, it hasn't been that long."

"Well, a good six years and a healthy diet of booze and head trauma could rattle the memory." He said. There was a loud smack and his cheek was burning. She grabbed his head and pulled him in close. She kissed him, a little bit forceful, and a bit too much tongue. She let out a soft moan and their lips parted. "Nice to see you too Ivory."

"You left me!" She said. There was another loud smack, now his other cheek was burning. "You promised me we'd be together forever."

"Well, life has a way of making me break my promises." He replied. She started crying. He rolled his eyes. She always was a whirlwind of emotions. "Listen, Ivory, I just want you to know that you are very special and..."

"You broke my heart!" She shouted. She slapped him again. He was now spinning. Upside down, and spinning. "I hate you so much right now!"

"Listen, I'm sorry honest." He said, she kissed him again, even more forceful than last time.

"I can't stay mad at you." She said. She was now smiling, and crying. He sighed. He was starting to remember why he never called.

"Listen, I gotta go. It's been fun but can you let me down?" He asked.

"I don't think I will." She said. "I think you are just going to leave me and never come back."

"Listen Ivory it's not like that I promise." He said. Who was he kidding, he was ready to swim back to Vacuo. "I just have someplace I have to be. I gotta meet a friend."

"A friend? What's her name." She shouted. Oh boy, back to the rage. He shuddered slightly.

"He's actually a guy." He said. She started crying. "It isn't like that. He's a friend, you know like guy friends and..."

"Why don't you love me anymore?" She sobbed. He hesitated. She seemed to notice. She cracked him right in the nose, closed fist and everything. Blood was pouring down his face. He felt his nose clogging up with blood. He leaned his head back as best he could. He watched blood splatter against the pavement.

"I'm so sorry!" She shouted. She kissed him, all over his face was now blood on her chin. He noticed several white fang thugs were leaving the building behind them. Most of them were casually chatting, one noticed him and reached for a weapon. He remembered he was still technically within the dragon's den and he was upside down and bleeding. "I love you."

"Sorry babe." He said. He headbutted her, she fell over instantly. He flicked out ranger and flicked it onto the street lamp and pulled himself up. He perched on the lamp and cut himself free. The thugs were now rushing his way. They had weapons. He hopped down, wrapping Ranger all around himself. He glanced down at Ivory. "You are a bit too much for me to handle right now."

He jumped into a flip, he launched Ranger out. It flung into the first white fang thug's face. The man went flying backwards. With a flick of the wrist, he managed to hook another thugs sword and pull it from his hand. He back flipped and sent Ranger flying. He clicked a button and a small harpoon shot out of the end of it. The harpoon had a small flashbang attached to the end, it detonated in the center of the crowd. There was a bright light and Calico's head was ringing. He almost keeled over. Just a bad hangover. He sprinted down the street, the white fang thugs tried to follow. He lost them after the first block.

He found himself sliding back into his seat at O'Malley's. Rojo was still there and had a drink saved for him. He chugged it down and savored the burn. He almost let himself go sober. Couldn't have that. He glanced over at Rojo, Rojo was giving him a weird look.

"What?" He asked. Rojo started laughing.

"What happened to your face?" He asked. Calico looked at his reflection in the dusty mirror behind the counter. There was a streak of dried blood running up his forehead and into his hair. There were also red lips all over his neck.

"Long story." He said. "Tell you all about it later."

"So what did you learn?" Rojo asked.

"Torchwick already got a Paladin, he says he has a few actually." Calico said. Rojo looked conflicted.

"I want to say I'm surprised but I honestly can't." Rojo said. He shook his head and went back to his drink. Calico looked back to the news, he swore loudly. Rojo turned in surprise. "What?"

Footage of wrecked cars and a shot up highway. Not only had he already stolen a Paladin or two but he already decided to take one out for a joyride. The destruction was pretty immense but judging from the remains of the Paladin, somebody dealt with it. Pilot of the machine is still at large. Why wasn't he surprised. He wouldn't get that lucky.