Long break for me, yay! How's my readers doing?
Since no one reviewed, I decided to check my own work, and found some mistakes, which I already fixed.
Weiss: You wouldn't need to fix them if you actually proofread the story right after.
Ah, well I do my best work at night, and by the time I'm done, I post it. Not the best way to do things.
Yang: Lighten up, he did fix it.
Weiss: ...Dolt.
TAT Here's your Chapter!
An old tavern in Mistral, 2 days before Glynda's mission
"Is that the sellsword? The shaggy cloak guy?"
"It has to be. Look at his sword, all covered in bandages."
A room full of thugs and crooks murmured as they watched a figure in a ragged brown cloak. Silver-gray leather gloves and gray boots, a blade in it's bandaged sheath held in the figure's hands. The blade was long, almost five feet long, and a foot wide. A huge thug walked up to the figure, a large club in his hand.
"That sword doesn't fit a beggar like you, scraggy. Give it up and I'll let you die quickly."
The room became quiet, waiting for something to happen. When all of a sudden, snoring filled the bar.
"That sellsword really chose a bad time to nap..."
"Really? This isn't an inn or anything."
The huge thug was livid. He made one of his generous offers, and this beggar-swordsman was ignoring him, even going so far as to nap? It was time he knocked him down a few pegs.
Or, at least, he planned to, if the door wasn't kicked open. They all turned towards the sound, the snoring still going strong. A hooded woman walked in, her black dress squeezing her suggestive figure. She walked over to the figure.
"...Are you the mercenary I hired?"
Silence, then a feminine yawn.
"You're finally here? I was waiting forever..."
The thug raised his club, about to smash both of them.
"I'll teach you to ignore Jimmy the Smashe..."
Until the mercenary smashed the still sheathed blade against his head, knocking him out. The mercenary ripped the ragged cloak off, revealing a pale, lean woman. Her long brown hair reached her hips, and her bangs were silver. A silver vest covered her torso, chain armor underneath and covering her arms. Loose gray pants tucked into her boots, she would've made for an intimidating figure...
If she wasn't shorter than everyone there.
She turned towards the group, eyes narrowed slightly. She swung her blade upward, and let it land gently on her right shoulder.
"Anyone else wanna try?"
"Yeah, Johnny the Slashe..." was all the other guy could say before his axe clanged above her head. She turned to look and saw a peculiar sword blocking an axe as big as she was. The large man was straining, trying to finish the slash, when the sword cut through the wooden handle. The axe head stayed in place, held up by a small red circle. The sword then flew up to the man's neck, scaring him into fleeing.
"Mr. Kitari, I would suggest that you should put your weapon away."
She turned to see an older looking man with gray hair, a pink haired bunny faunus sipping on a cup of tea, and a hooded, red-robed figure, who was standing. He made a tch sound, and the sword flew back to him. The axe head moved from above the female merc to the ground a few feet away, and dropped, cleaving the ground it landed on.
She turned back towards her client, only to see her surrounded by red runes. She picked up her sword and was about to smash the runes when the pink haired faunus jumped between them.
"I wouldn't do that, dear. This woman, called 'Lady Lust', was the one who arranged the attack on you." The faunus turned around, and walked towards her client.
"And she also has links to recent 'Souless' attacks..." Was all she could get out when the red-robed figure grabbed her client by the neck, moving faster than she could see.
"..." After looking closer, she saw it was a young man under the hood, glasses just visble enough to see on his nose. She turned back towards the man, who just sipping a mug of what seemed to be coffee.
"Yeah, I know. Why do you think I'm here?"
"I see, you were trying to get the reward for her arrest. The hunter becomes the hunted, indeed."
The man sitting at the table had offered her any drink she wanted, so who was she to turn him down.
"So, what is this 'Souless' thing you guys were talking about?"
The red-robed man, who had just sat back down next to the faunus, pulled out a scroll, and showed her a picture. The picture had a man and woman next to each other, both of which had the skin of Grimm on them.
"These people are Souless? I thought we were talking Grimm here."
"We are." The man took a sip. "Perhaps you heard of me. Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon. With me is Professor Peach, certified huntress and teacher of my school, and..."
He would've continued, if the red-robed man didn't tch. She turned towards him, eyeing him. "Not really polite, huh Red?"
He simply tch'ed again, and Ozpin just shook his head.
"Forgive him, he's had a rough week. And then some. So tell me, miss...?"
"Zeta. Zeta Jones, mercenary extraordinaire, at your service."
Peach giggled. Ozpin sighed, and started again.
"Miss Jones, your former client was, as was stated before, a scientist who helped make the Souless. We want her back at Beacon, where we will interrogate her for more info. We would appreciate it if..."
"Sure, take her. This wasn't a job for me, just something to flush out the rats." Zeta waved towards the other patrons, making them flinch.
"We appreciate your cooperation. Is there anything you need? We do plan on compensation."
"No need for anything for me. My younger brother and I have our things covered."
"I see. Then onto our next topic." Ozpin gestured towards her sword. "I noticed you didn't take your sword out. Why?"
"I may be a merc, but I don't kill. Besides, ol' Jimmy there ain't worth the mess."
"And yet you were. If I may ask, what else could make you a target if you haven't killed, Miss Jones?"
She was about to answer when the red-robed man stood up suddenly, slamming his hands on the table. He moved over their bound captive, and grabbed her face. Zeta moved to stop him, but Peach stopped her.
"He needs to do this. Don't worry, he'll just rough her up a bit."
"A bit?" The red-robed man said, his voice so cold it sent shivers down her spine. He turned slightly, his eyes glowing a fearsome orange.
"Heh, if I did to her what the Souless have done, it wouldn't be a bit. Oh no, not at all." A demonic smile appeared on his face.
Empty room of the tavern
"Did you know that a Souless has the ability of whatever Grimm it wears? And the victim's semblance and aura? In order to do that, lots of testing had to have been done." His hand released her face, revealing her tear-soaked face, pleading for mercy.
"A lot of testing. A lot of pain. A lot of... Sacrifices." His finger traced her nose, and then it moved on downward.
"Which means more victims..." His finger moved past her lips.
"...and more pain for their families..." Grazing over her chin.
"...and all for what? Manufactured Grimm? And I thought we already had enough..." the finger soon became a hand, gripping her chin.
"...Well you know what?" The other hand came around and slapped her hard, leaving a red mark on her right cheek.
"If you want some Grimm, I can take you as you are and leave you in Forever Fall, at the mercy of any Beowulf, Ursa, or even Deathclaws." The captive shook, her eyes wide in fear.
"But that's too bad. You won't be fed to Grimm." Relief showed on her face, only to be replaced by fear when he grabbed her neck.
"Oh no. That wouldn't be cruel enough for one of creators of Souless. No, you will find out..." He lifted her off the ground, and pulled her close to his face. "That Grimm aren't the thing you should worry about. Once I'm done with you..." His eyes glowed a demonic orange.
"You will run into Death's arm, grateful that he came for you." He threw her into the wall, where she stayed, thanks to the sword he pulled out and stuck between her left arm and chest. He ripped off her gag, and grabbed her forehead.
"But for now, you will answer my questions, and when your usefulness ends, you will answer for your crimes."
His lips moved, and she found herself bound to a black circle, indecipherable letters all around her.
"Now, let's begin." His words drowned out by her screams.
Tavern's Main Room
"Is Red going to kill that woman? I thought you needed her."
Peach patted Zeta's head. "Oh, don't worry dear. He may want to, but he won't. He wants this info more than we do."
"Why?" Zeta asked, pushing Peach's hand away.
Ozpin sighed. "Half his team were... involuntarily involved with the Souless."
"So these Souless are really dangerous? I'm just asking since I never saw one."
Ozpin nodded. "Very much so. There are several reports where several Grimm get wiped out to just one, which is why this is so strange. Grimm don't attack themselves, there is no point to. We believe it has to do with the Souless human host, a hunter or huntress. Hence, why we have tried to capture a live Souless. However, all previous attempts failed because the Grimm part disappears after death, and something in them makes them suicide."
Zeta shook her head and sighed.
'This isn't really what I thought it would be. Seriously, an easy capture and then a few days of relaxation. Ah well, this seems more fun anyway.'
Ozpin cleared his throat, getting Zeta's attention. "If I may ask, would you like to come to my..."
When the captive was thrown onto the floor with a loud thump. The red-robed man had walked back in, only this time his hood was down, revealing a man younger than she thought he was. He was stretching, his glasses pushed up in such a way to hide his eyes.
"How'd it go, dear?" Peach asked while sipping her tea.
"As well as any dead end does." His voice seemed calm, at least compared to earlier. He plopped down into the seat next to Peach, and pulled out a canned drink from his robe.
"Where do you find the space to have things in your robe, Mr. Kitari?"
The red-robed man grinned. "A wizard never reveals his secrets, Oz."
"That's a magician's rule, dear." Peach said while giggling
He waved it off. "Whatever. Either way, this trip failed in us getting any actual info. Shall we head on back?"
"Just a moment, Mr. Kitari." Ozpin turned back to Zeta. "As I was saying, Miss Jones, would you like to come to my school?"
Zeta choked on her drink, Peach patting her back. "Are you serious? I have a good thing going here, not to mention my little brother..."
"Yeah, it's so good here, what with schemes being made and attempts on your life? Soooooooooo much better than Beacon." Dan sarcastically interrupted. Zeta turned to him, seeing a grin on his face, and scowled.
"As I was saying, I can't up and leave my brother like that!"
"No worries, Miss Jones. The tournament your brother went to happens to be at the Mistralian School of Hunters and Huntresses. After causing such a ruckus, they will keep him there, safe and sound."
Dan laughed. "I heard about that. He got signed up for the tournament, only to realize after the final match that this was a student tournament. Still won, though." He laughed again. "It's funny to think that he can beat the champion's school. It wouldn't happen at Beacon.
Zeta then realized what he meant. "Wait, you called him Mr. Kitari. You don't mean he's..."
"He is Dan Kitari, an orphan of Beacon. He lost his parent long ago, and he followed their footsteps. He does them proud, make no mistake. Now, do you want to come to my school? I really can't let talent like yours get away."
She sighed. "Well, if my brother is really safe with the school here, then I'll go. Just let me get my things. Oh, and I suggest taking care of her." She pointed at the unconscious woman, and left the tavern.
Ozpin sighed. "So this was a dead end, and I have to tell Glynda to do the mission herself. This just keeps getting better."
Dan laughed. "Now we can go home, anyway. I'm starving anyway."
They got up, Peach giggling. "Don't worry, I make you something to eat, Dan."
"I can hardly wait."
So yeah, long break. I will make up for it though. And I let them read the four chapters about Team DMNZ. And they have full access to future chapters, too. As long as they don't spoil the story. Where are they, you ask? Busy reading these chapters. No Bio for Zeta, I kinda don't care for them. And I kinda described her. Except for height. She's 4'11" (I think, not too sure how to type it)and she is 16. Mal is 5'7", and N'than is 6 ft even. Yeah, I forgot to post their heights too. So sue me (pls don't, I don't want any trouble). That's all for now.
~DarkJester420