"Mr. Xiong. You're free to go. Bail's been paid in full." The officer called as he unlocked the cell door.
"About damn time. You boys have a lot of nerve holding me all night. You'll be lucky I don't sue every last one of you." Junior grabbed his coat and put on his cracked pair of red shades. As he walked out the cell, he stopped and whispered to the officer, "Really you'll be lucky that's the worst I'll do, Mr. Polizist."
The cop's eyes went wide and he inhaled sharply. Junior just went on his merry way, grinning. He had dirt on everyone. If someone dared cross him, they'd find themselves broke, imprisoned, and just about anything Junior could do to ruin their lives. Never kill, oh no, that'd be too obvious. And really, why take someone's life when you can just smash it?
Junior walked past holding cell after holding cell full of his men. That blonde bitch busted up his personal boys bad. All of them were some of his best fighters, but they were also some of Junior's best friends too. He'd have to remember to come back for all of them.
"Uncle Junior! Get us out of here already!" Two familiar voices rang.
Okay, remember to come back for most of them.
Junior stopped in front of one of the last cells before checkout. Two bruised up and angry looking teenagers were standing at the door. The girl in the white dress was missing her shoes, and the girl in the red dress was missing her claws. Both of their dresses were burned and shredded in different places.
The bearded mobster went into a fit of laughter at the sight. And he thought he was in bad shape, but it's always comforting to see someone else is always worse off. He knew, oh God he knew, how much the twins cared for their outfits. So seeing them like this, hilarious!
"This is not funny!" Melanie shouted and stomped her bare foot in frustration.
"Please Uncle… We've been here for hours." Miltia whined.
Junior wiped away a tear, still chuckling a bit. "And how's that my problem?"
Melanie shouted in frustration, trying to pull the cell door down. Steam blowing out her ears, and a angry mark began pulsing on her forehead.
"You son of a bitch! Get us out of here already!"
Miltia decided to go with a different routine. She picked up the whine in her voice, started fake sniffling, and showed off watery eyes.
"Please Uncle. Me and Melanie just wanna go home. We're tired and super sore." Real tears now started to form. "And...and...Just look at my dreesssss!" She started weeping. A stream of tears flooded out.
The sight looked like something out of a cartoon. But Junior wasn't laughing this time. Even if their last names were Malachite and not Xiong, people knew well that these two idiots were related to him. Besides confirming once and for all his brother-in-law was completely good for nothing, people would associate this performance with Junior.
And Junior had a reputation to keep.
"Oh, SHUT UP!" Junior yelled out, causing the twins to stop their acts and jump back in surprise. Junior recovered, adjusting his tie.
"Now look," He said in a more calming demeanor. "I have someone to meet. I'll call your mother and she'll come and pick you two up in a few hours. Deal with it."
Junior started to walk off when he heard the two go off again.
"Uncle! What the hell?! Come on! Uncle!" This time Melanie sounded more upset then angry.
"He doesn't care about us! Not even our uncle cares about us!" More cries and whimpers came from Miltia.
Junior had just finished up with the desk worker for the release signing. He stepped outside when he suddenly stopped. He looked up to the sky, giving a heavy sigh.
He'd never tell anyone, but he hated his new life. Hated what it turned him into. His grandfather was nothing but a con artist. Meanwhile Junior's father had taken on the scum of Vale, taking control of the animals. He brought honor, family, and respect into the criminal world.
That's who Junior wanted to be, and for awhile, that's who he was! He was respected, had standards, and was close with his family. He spent time with his nieces, supporting his sister, and tolerating his brother-in-law. Then gramps died, handing all his assets and business partners to Junior.
And at first, Junior thought it was great. Powerful weapons at his disposal, knights and cops on his payroll, money beyond his wildest dreams, and women to buy and sell however he saw fit. He had everything and more.
Only, he wasn't respected anymore. He didn't seem to have standards or honor. He abandoned his family ties…
Another sigh. "I just know I'm going to regret doing this." He then turned around, and went back inside.
Later he was showered with love and thanks. He played it off harshly saying that he only felt sorry for them, and that he could use them for meat shields, or that it would look bad if he left his own blood in jail.
Though really, he had to hold back the urge to tell his nieces how much he wanted to go buy them new dresses to make up for things.
Course, he also wanted to promise them he'd give Blondie a nice new pair of concrete shoes and some swimming lessons.
WWWWWWWW
Ruby was starting to regret not getting any sleep. By the time she and Blake had made it off the wall, Ruby was yawning every two seconds. The only thing really keeping her up was getting the chance to learn about her new friend.
After their talk atop the wall, along with the second great battle between Blake and the stairs, the two began to wander along the wall. Not Blake's first choice, but Ruby assured her that the morning Knights were never that alert. It relaxed Blake some, though she kept looking over her shoulder every so often and she kept her head down when they passed anyone.
Blake had been eager to talk right then and there, but Ruby wanted to talk somewhere specific. The best part was they're open this early, and they had coffee. COFFEE!
Oh how Ruby would kill for something sweet and sugary. Things have never been them same since Yang had gone around town on her crusade to make sure Ruby would never have access to anything with sugar. But with Blake here, she could talk and get her fix!
"Here we are! Best café in town!"
It was an older place. "Upon a Time" used to be regarded as the best place around to spend an afternoon. Ruby could remember coming here often with Yang when she first became a bounty hunter. Even after Yang stopped bringing her, Ruby would often come here in her school years to work on a school project or even to design and work on a new weapon.
Though...They've kinda let the place go a bit. Boards had been placed on some of the windows, tiles on the roof were falling off, and... was that a tumble weed leaving out the door?
Now that I think about, I haven't been here in awhile... Ruby suddenly thought to herself.
She was about to apologize, feeling rather embarrassed that this was her choice. She could really feel the sweet drop forming on her head.
But before she could speak, she noticed Blake's bow twitch and a huge grin forming.
"Wow! It's still here. I remember my brother taking me here when we first came to visit Vale. I've only been in once, and that was on their opening day." Blake started making here way inside, looking uncharacteristically giddy.
"Yes!" Ruby tried to play it off. "I totally planned... wait, opening day? That was at least a hundred something years ago!" Ruby followed after Blake. "How old are you!?"
Oh yeah. This was the good stuff.
Ruby drank cup after cup of the over sweetened black liquid. The owners gave it to her on the house, saying it was well deserved since she won that outstanding citizen award a week back. Meanwhile Blake was drinking tea, unsure if it was hilarious or completely frightening how Ruby just chugged her drinks. And the complementary cookies...well, let's just say they never stood a chance.
"So," Blake started. "You wanna know who I am? Truly?"
Ruby gulped the last of her coffee. She set the cup down and gave Blake a comforting smile. Moment of truth. She'd find out who the "prodigy assassin of the White Fang" really was.
She nodded, signaling for Blake to go on.
"Well... I guess I should start with why I'm here..." She started.
Ruby was listening intently to Blake as she went off. But she was also able to notice something was off. Someone else was listening in.
In fact he's been following them for some time.
He was sitting in the far corner of the cafe. He acted like he was reading a newspaper, which Ruby could tell he wasn't since his eyes weren't moving and the page never turned. He had a mug of coffee always in hand, taking regular sips. He seemed to be about thirty-ish. His gray hair seemingly his natural hair color since it's darker and not white with age.
His thin brown eyes locked with hers for only moment, darting quickly back to his paper.
Ruby could tell this guy was trouble. Perhaps he had sent those muggers? Well, either way; after Blake finishes up, Ruby would have some questions for him.
Like for instance, why does he seem so familiar?
WWWWWWWW
Pain. She was in so much pain. She must have hit her head. The world filled with odd colors. Everything kept slanting back and forth. She thought she was hearing voices.
Was she going to die? Was this the end?
She'd been stumbling for awhile. If getting to her feet earlier was hard, walking has become impossible.
She fell to her knees. She looked at her right arm, bent at an unnatural angle. Bone was pushing up under the skin at different places.
She felt cold. So tired. Yet she had a stream of warmth flowing down her back, pulsing from her head.
Oh her head. This pain wouldn't stop. Pain. Pain. Pain.
Yes. Die. She was to die. Die and die. Die.
Wait. some, person. Not far. Yes. That lady may help. Get up. Get up!
She stood, shaky and wobbly. She limped over to the woman. She was kneeling by some vehicle.
Please. Please help she tried to call. Wait, did she? How talk again?
Speak. Yell. Scream!
She made her way over. The world slanting over and over again. Odd colors. Shimmering.
She stopped again. The shimmering wasn't there before.
"...Run away...you poor child."
Her breathing became rapid. Her pulsing head beated faster.
Snow started to fall. Trees were slowly fading into existence. Whistling rang out.
No. Not. Him.
It hurt to think. It hurt all over. Hurt. Pain. Pain.
The sound of armored footsteps echoed out behind her.
She limped toward the girl full speed. She was still here in the snowy forest. She was a light. Like the flicker of a candle.
"Heeelp..." She tried to scream. But it came out choked.
The footsteps were getting louder. His voice coming from all directions. The voice was deep, distorted, demonic even.
"Snoooowww Aaannggeellll! Wheeeere are youuu?"
Girl. So. Close.
Girl. Pain.
Her. Huntsman. Schnee.
Die. Always. Dies.
"Help...me..."
WWWWWWWW
Yang opened one of the storage units on her bike, rummaging through it to find a first-aid kit.
She couldn't taste blood in her mouth anymore, and most of her cuts have long since scabbed. She could just let her aura deal with it. But, better to save what was left of her strength for later.
When she found the kit and started going through it, she sneezed twice and began sniffling. The early morning cold was starting to get to her, and before she knew it, she was shivering.
I can't believe they ruined my vest. Actually I can't believe I just left. I should've just beaten Pippi to a pulp just outa spite.
Instead though, after Pippi confessed, Yang did something she hasn't done in years. She let it go.
Be it fight, argument, or just simply a grudge she has against someone, she's always fought. She fought, and she won. Simple as that.
Only this time, she walked away. When it got down to it, Ruby takes priority over her pride.
After Yang finished applying medicine and bandages, she kept looking for a spare jacket. It's really is too cold to be running around in this light of a shirt. Although the same could be said about having shorts, but hey, her legs are always moving. Plus she just loves how she looks in them.
Speaking of her looks, while looking for something warmer to wear, Yang found an old mini mirror. She opened it up, flinching for a second. She didn't recognize herself with all the bruises, band-aids, and... her hair.
Yang's hair was a nightmare. It was just as she feared, though not as bad as she originally thought. Only a few places had been shortened, but it still looked like a bad trimming. At least everyone else would think it just looked messier then usual. Though, it's not other people's opinions that mattered.
Suddenly Yang thought she heard something. Footsteps. In the mini mirror, Yang could see someone was slowly walking towards her. Yang figured it was either some chick wanting money for a ride, to get a ride, or maybe even some brave mugger.
Well Yang has things to do and places to be. She didn't bother looking. She closed the mini mirror and shouted loud enough so that the girl would hear. "Scram lady. Whatever you want, find it somewhere else." She then started repacking everything.
"...ee...pp..." Yang thought she heard.
Yang was starting to loose her patience.
"I said beat it!" She shouted more loudly.
"He...me..." A croaked voice called.
Yang gave a cross between a groan and a yell. "What's your problem la- OH MY GOD!"
Yang had turned to maybe shoot a warning shot when she got a good look at the stranger. She was wearing a white dress of some kind. Blood was drenched around the back and around the skirt; the source of it coming from her still bleeding head. She was limping, and she held her shattered and bent arm tightly. A sword of some kind was at her belt. Her long white hair was soaked in blood. Tears poured from her eyes, showing full hysteria.
"Don... le... im... fin...me..." She croaked. The girl then collapsed to the ground right in front of Yang.