RWBY: Light Extinguished
Chapter 4
oxoxoxo
The sun was setting, and the Last Stop bar was slowly emptying. The night was much less busy than the bartender expected. Where is everyone? He mused, polishing a glass. He put the glass down and looked around his bar. There were maybe ten patrons in tonight, what happened? Did everyone over drinking age start going to AA meetings? He shrugged his burly shoulders and picked up another glass. The night was still young, anything could happen.
And, sure enough, in a few seconds, his night did get more exciting, as his door was suddenly kicked open, and in stepped a familiar young man in a long, blue coat and fedora, a blue haired boy in a red jacket following him in nervously, eyeing his patrons. "You know, lad." The bartender said, acknowledging the boy's presence. "As much fun as I'm sure kicking my door in is, if you break it, I'm going to charge you for it."
The nobleman shrugged. "I can probably afford it."
The bartender gave a barking laugh. "Ha! That's what I like about you, lad! You come around to my bar, and give me some good entertainment. Speaking of entertainment, who's the pop star?"
Francois turned to look at Neptune who was busy chatting up a few girls. "He's not important."
"I could tell by the tight pants. What can I get you this time, boyo?"
"Something unlikely to kill me." The nobleman said.
"And here I thought you were exciting." The bartender said, pouring Francois a glass of water. "So, what are you doing here tonight? It's certainly not for a good glass of whiskey."
"You catch on quickly, mon ami."
"Please, call me Aedan. After helping that girl out of her jam last time, I think you can call me by name." The bartender said.
"Merci beaucoup, Aedan." Francois said. "Although, I'm interested to know just how you knew I helped her."
"After what happened at the docks that night, you can bet more than one sorry fellow came here to whine over some wine and drown his sorrows." Aedan said. "When you run a bar as successful as mine, you hear things."
Francois looked around the bar, noting its noticeable lack of patrons. "This is success?"
Aedan glared. "Too much talk like that, and you're out of here."
"Je m'excuse." Francois said, taking his water from Aedan. "Although I didn't just come here to trade pleasantries. I am in need of some information."
"I tend to hear things." Aedan replied in a soft tone. "What do you need to know, lad?"
Francois' response was a single word. "Torchwick."
Aedan gave the nobleman a narrow eyed glare. "You two seem to have a similar sense of dress."
"That is likely the only thing the two of us share." The marksman said.
"I'll take your word for it." Aedan said, picking up another glass to dry. "And just what do you want to know about him?"
"Not too much." Francois said. "Just a few things, beginning with, where is he?"
"I might know a thing or two about that." The bartender said, putting down the glass and picking up a receipt and a pen. "For example, he might be in town tonight, and he might just be at this address. I'd suggest you stay away from there, however." Francois took the slip of paper and read the address to himself, eyes widening as he did. "I take it from your reaction, you recognize that address."
"I just might." Francois said. "And I just might need to make a quick phone call. Francois leapt to his feet from the chair, but Aedan grasped his shoulder as he tried to leave.
"Wait, lad." He said, pulling the nobleman back to him. "You didn't hear any of this from me. Understood?" Francois' only response was a nod. "Good, now, you might want to get your friend out of here before he gets hurt." Aedan said, pointing to the other side of the bar, where a few angry and drunk patrons were giving him unpleasant glares.
"I'll take care of that. Merci, mon ami."
Aedan nodded as Francois walked off to help his friend. The bartender hoped he wouldn't notice the little gift he left in his pocket while he talked to him. Taking one last look at the low volume of customers, Aedan quietly slunk into his bar's storage room and pulled out his scroll. Entering a number, the bartender made his call, a voice on the other end filtered through a voice changer spoke back to him. "Hello?"
"Lad, it's Aedan."
"Aedan! Hey! What's up?"
"No time for small talk, lad. I've got another job for you."
"Sounds like fun. Do tell."
oxoxoxo
With a roar of engines and the screech of tires and brakes, Yang and Thatch pulled their bikes to a halt before a large nightclub, Yang pulling off her helmet and pointing at Thatch. "Hah! Told you I'd beat you here!"
Alison and Thatch stepped off their bike, removed their helmets and exchanged a glance before turning to Yang. "We were racing here?" Alison asked.
"Uh, yeah." Yang replied.
Thatch and Alison exchanged another glance before Thatch spoke. "You never mentioned-"
"Anyway," Yang interrupted "Come on, my friend's right in here." She said, pointing to the nightclub and walking toward it before anyone else could speak. Thatch and Alison exchanged one last, confused glance before following the brawler.
"I swear, this place looks familiar." Thatch muttered.
"Why is that?" Alison asked.
The renegade shrugged. "Not sure."
Meanwhile, inside the nightclub, Junior stood behind his bar, fixing his tie as he watched his men set everything up. Records were spinning, drinks were flowing, music was blaring, and most importantly, the club was FINALLY repaired from Blondie's visit... That was a nightmare, he'd had to shut the club down for months just to fix the burn damage, not to mention the broken windows, hospitalized staff, explosive force, ruined decor...
Junior was distracted from his musings over why he continued to run his business after that hit, by a pair of his men desperately trying to seal the front doors. Those idiots. "What are you idiots doing?" He demanded. Both of the men began screaming at him, neither one able to be heard over the other and the music in the background. Junior was about to tell the morons to shut up and explain it one at a time, when the door flew open in a burst of fire that shook the club, knocking the next record improperly onto the turn table. Through the smoke, Junior could see three figures walking into the club. The two flankers he didn't recognize, but the one in the middle... how could he forget?
"Guess who's back!" Yang declared as she cheerfully marched into the club, striking a pose with a massive smile on her face. She didn't even flinch as everyone in the club simultaneously pointed a weapon at her. Remaining completely unfazed, Yang soon lost patience with the skipping music on the improperly placed record, glaring up at the DJ booth until he stopped the music.
From behind her, Alison stared, open mouthed at the crowd of gun toting thugs in front of Yang, while Thatch facepalmed and muttered "God dammit Yang. What did you do this time?"
"Stop! Stop!" Junior said, pushing his way through the crowd of his men. The last thing he needed was to shut down the club for more repairs. He'd go bankrupt if he did. "Blondie. You're here. Why?" He asked, voice cracking in nervousness at the last word.
Yang smirked and walked up to the gangster. "You still owe me a drink." She said, dragging him off toward the bar.
Alison and Thatch watched as the brawler dragged the gangster away. Thatch looked at the guards then back at his teammate. "Go make sure Yang doesn't break Junior, I'll keep these gents busy." Alison nodded and walked off after Yang. As the artist left, Thatch took one more look around the night club. "I swear this place looks familiar..." He muttered. "When was I here before?"
"Didn't you once work security here?" One of the guards asked.
Thatch scratched his chin. "Oh yeah... I don't remember any of that, must not have been that great a job."
"That's because you quit one night before Blondie over there showed up." Another guard supplied.
"Seriously?" Thatch asked. Every guard nodded. "I have the greatest timing in the world." He muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Alison managed to catch up to Yang and Junior as they got to the bar. "So," Yang began "Let's start with that drink you owe me." Junior sighed and began to pour Yang her strawberry sunrise and search for a little umbrella. Yang turned to the artist as her drink was made. "Care for a drink, Alison?"
"Uh, sure." Alison mumbled, clearly uncomfortable being in such a loud and crowded environment.
"Hey Junior! Another drink for my friend here!" Yang called. Junior groaned and got to work on another sunrise. "You alright?" the brawler asked, noticing the artist's shifting eyes looking around the club.
"Just nerves." Alison answered. "Beacon was one thing, but somewhere like this... It's just a bit overwhelming."
"Don't worry, Alison." Yang said, putting an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders. "You came in here with me. No one in their right mind would bother you."
Taking a quick look around the club, Alison could see that Yang was right. All of the nightclub's patrons were giving Yang a wide berth as though she were an active landmine. The artist could only wonder just what she had done to inspire this awe and fear. "You seem to have the whole club running scared."
Yang shrugged. "I guess I just have a certain charm to me."
"I guess so." Said Alison. "Wait, why did you bring me and Thatch in that case?"
Yang shrugged. "Two reasons, really. The first is that it never hurts to have a bit of backup on this side of town. The other is that I'm sure you would like a chance to have a bit of time with our favourite swordsman." Alison's face turned a light shade of red at the blonde's words. "Why don't you go see if you can have a drink with him, I can handle Junior. Speaking of which, Junior, one more drink for my other friend."
Alison opened her mouth to protest, but Yang cut her off before she could speak. "Look, I can handle Junior, you just find a nice, empty section of the bar and enjoy your drinks."
The artist was about to reply and decline again, when Maria's voice rang out in her ear. "She's got a point, Alison. The two of you will be ready if anything goes wrong, but until that happens, I think the two of you can enjoy a drink."
"Maria, I-"
"See, even your fearless leader agrees with me." Yang boasted.
"You know I can still hear you, right?"
Alison gave a small smile as their drinks arrived. "Just promise me you'll try not to break anything while I'm gone."
"No promises." Yang said.
Alison sighed. "I think that might be the best I'll get from you." With that, she picked up a pair of drinks and brought them to the renegade. She smiled as she handed him one of the drinks. He raised it to her and she responded in kind, their glasses meeting with a 'clink.'
oxoxoxo
Blake and Sun, both wearing the Grimm masks of the White Fang, stuck to the crowds of faunus as they entered the White Fang meeting. Trying to be just two more faces, they did all they could to not be noticed, barely speaking, keeping their heads down and turning their scrolls onto silent mode. The meeting was in a massive warehouse in the old industrial district, barely seen by anyone other than vagrants. The perfect place for a covert extremist meeting. In the warehouse was a crowd of hardened White Fang operatives in full robes and masks, along with a large group of faunus ranging from average street children to professionals in suits. In the midst of all of them, Blake and Sun were barely noticed.
On a stage erected at the back of one of the warehouse was a large curtain with the blood red symbol of the White Fang emblazoned on it. Standing on the stage before it were three people. Two of them, she had never seen before, but the one they flanked was infamous among the White Fang. She stood taller than any of the other faunus present, and her long, blue, gold trimmed coat and tricorne hat stood far apart from anyone else in the room. It was clear that a covert operation was not what she specialized in. No, she was all about shock and awe. This was Caroline Leon, one of the White Fang's most notorious field commanders. Flanking her were a pair of girls in snake pattern robes, one of them about six feet tall and carrying a large axe over her shoulders while the other was about Ruby's height with a pair of crossbows mounted on her wrists. They weren't familiar to Blake, but she knew they were trouble.
"Thank you all for coming out tonight to join us." Caroline began, her voice echoing throughout the building. "For those of you joining us for the first time tonight, I would like to introduce you to a... colleague of ours." The slight noise of footsteps could be heard along the side of the stage, accompanied by the clacking of a cane on the floor. "This... human..." Caroline hissed "has agreed to help to support our cause. Unless he gives you reason to do so, treat him with respect."
Blake could only growl under her breath. It was Torchwick.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Torchwick gloated as he walked on stage to cries of disbelief and jeers. "Please, hold your applause."
"What's a human doing here?" One member of the crowd with small antlers on her head cried out.
"I'm glad you asked deerie." Roman answered. "Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans are the worst. Case and point." He said, gesturing to himself and giving a salute. "So, I understand why you would love to see us all locked away, or better yet, killed."
"Stop giving me ideas and get to the point." Caroline growled.
Roman rolled his eyes and continued speaking. Blake and Sun watched as Torchwick riled up the crowd with a speech against the powerful in the kingdoms, the humans in control. "They're all pests that need to be dealt with." Torchwick said, clenching a fist. "Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around. No offense to any rodents in the room." He added hastily. He then grinned and snapped his fingers. The curtain on the stage fell away, revealing what was behind it.
Blake gaped in awe. Behind the curtain was a massive, bipedal machine. Blake instantly recognized it from a text she got from Ruby earlier that day. It was the new Atlesian Paladin battle tank. "That's a big robot." Sun muttered nervously.
"How did he get that?" Blake muttered. As Torchwick continued to regale the new members of the White Fang about his employer's plans for the south east of the kingdom, Blake was blissfully unaware of her scroll, set on silent, ringing in her pocket.
oxoxoxo
Alison and Thatch were enjoying their drinks at Junior's club when Thatch's scroll alerted him of an incoming call. Groaning to himself, he pulled the communicator out of his pocket. "This is Thatch."
"We have a problem." Francois said from the other end. "Gather the rest of your group outside the club, I'll explain it to you when you have them together."
It took a matter of seconds for Thatch to retrieve Yang from the bar and get her and Alison outside to their bikes. "Alright, Noble Boy, I got the group together, what's the problem?"
"Torchwick is in the city. My contact tells me he's speaking at the White Fang meeting Blake and Sun are infiltrating." Francois explained.
"We need to get them out of there!" said Yang.
"Neptune and I are on our way to her location," the nobleman replied "We'll go in together when you arrive."
"Got it. We'll meet you there." Thatch said, closing his scroll and climbing on his Stallion, Alison getting on behind him. Yang mimicked them from her bike, both of them revving their engines and speeding off to catch themselves a criminal. The city of Vale sped past them as they drove to the old industrial district. "Maria, can you still hear us?" Thatch asked.
"Loud and clear." Maria replied through their earpieces. "I'll monitor your positions from here by tracking your scrolls. You're on the right path."
"Understood." Thatch replied, gunning his engines.
"Francois, you're almost there." Said Maria. "I want you and Neptune to set up on top of one of the nearby buildings and wait for the others. You'll be their covering fire when they go after Blake and Sun."
"Oui madam." The nobleman answered.
"If you can see through a window, give me some idea of the numbers inside. As for the rest of you, if Francois can get those numbers, I'll make you a plan of attack."
It only took a few minutes for Thatch Alison and Yang to arrive at Blake and Sun's location. Neptune met them next to the building Francois had set up atop. "What took you guys so long?" He asked.
No one responded to him. "Francois, what can you see through the windows?" Thatch asked into his scroll.
"I can see that they need to be cleaned." Francois responded. "The windows are covered in dust and grime, Nothing is visible through them."
"Damn." Maria said through their earpieces. "Looks like you're going in blind."
"Eh, charging in without thinking is what I do best." Yang quipped, activating Ember Celica.
"Uh, I'm not that much of a fan." Neptune said. Again, he was ignored as the others drew their weapons.
Suddenly, the warehouse went dark. Before anyone could speak, Blake and Sun crashed through one of the building's windows. Seconds later, the wall beneath that window shattered as a massive machine sped after the two faunus. As the machine began its rampage, the doors of the warehouse were flung open, two massive APCs driving out, driving away from the remains of the warehouse.
"The White Fang is running!" Thatch called out.
"What about Blake and Sun?" Yang demanded.
"Yang, take Neptune and save your team." Maria replied. "Alison, Thatch, Francois, the three of you chase down the White Fang."
"You can't expect us to take that thing on our own!" Neptune blurted.
"Get the rest of Team RWBY to help you." Maria said. "Hurry, they're getting away."
"Right." Said Yang, getting on her bike. "Come on, Neptune." The blue haired spearman nodded and got on behind her. The second Neptune touched the seat, Yang sped off, leaving dust and burned rubber behind her.
(Author's Note: you didn't think I'd forget the music, did you? Music begins here. Song: Highway Star by Deep Purple)
By the time Yang left, Francois had reached the ground, the three members of Team EMAD mounting up quickly, engines revving as they set out after the White Fang's APCs. The trucks were not hard to find, with the chaos left in their wake and the superior speed of the Stallions, Team EMAD soon began gaining on the terrorists. That was when Maria began giving commands. "Thatch, when you get closer, I want you to board one of the trucks and enter through the top hatch. Alison, you'll take over the driving when he does."
"How do you know there's even a rooftop hatch on that thing?" Thatch asked.
"I recognize the make. Those are standard Atlesian Army APCs, Tortoise model."
"How do you know this much about Atlesian APCs?" Francois asked.
"As you saw with my sister, my family is very militaristic. Ever since we were little Julia and I were taught all about generalship and the technology of the Atlesian army. I'd tell you more, but we're in the middle of a mission, and I'd like you to survive it."
"Got it." Said Thatch, gunning the engines on his bike, pulling up closer to the APC. "Alison, get ready to take the wheel!" He said, drawing nearer to the truck. Alison nodded and readied herself. Once he was convinced he was close enough, Thatch made an aura fuelled leap onto the roof, his boots hitting the truck with a 'clang' as he hit the deck on all fours. Soon after he landed, Alison leapt up to the handlebars and took control of the bike.
When Thatch landed, he instantly spotted the roof hatch. As he approached it, the hatch opened, and an angry member of the White Fang emerged and aimed his rifle at the renegade. Thatch surged forward and grabbed the rifle in one hand, hooking the terrorist in the jaw with the other. The faunus recovered quickly though and threw his gun away, knocking Thatch off balance as he drew a pistol. The renegade, however, was crowing annoyed, and with an angry snarl he activated his semblance, sending chills down the terrorist's spine. While he was distracted, Thatch smashed his fist into the man's jaw, sending him crumpling down into the APC. Thatch was about to follow, when a bullet slammed into the hatch, nearly tunnelling through his head. The renegade looked up to see a tall girl in a white, snake pattern hooded robe, a smoking axe/rifle in her hand standing atop the other APC. She aimed and was about to fire when a bolt of lightning soared past her. Thatch looked down to see Alison on her Stallion, her zhua held under her arm with one hand, the claw end still crackling with lightning.
The snake robed girl raised her axe again, this time aiming for Alison. Before she could pull the trigger, however, a black blur slammed into her as it screamed "YEE HAW!" Both she and the blur tumbled off the vehicle, landing on the side of the road with a roll.
Realizing this was his best shot, Thatch grinned, eyes glowing red as he jumped down into the carrier. The words "Get out!" could be heard from within, the White Fang giving a collective scream before they opened the rear hatch to the APC and scrambled out in a panic. Thatch chortled from within as he took the wheel. "Alright mates," Thatch said into his earpiece "The back of this thing should be big enough for your bikes." After a quick confirmation from his teammates, Thatch slowed down the APC enough so they could drive their Stallions in.
"Good work you three." Maria praised. "Now, time to take down the other one. Francois, you think you can shoot out their tires from the roof hatch?"
"But of course, madam." Francois said, readying his rifle. He unlatched the upper hatch and pushed it open, ready to fire. Before he could even raise his rifle, he was forced to duck out of the way as the snake girl he had duelled at the docks leapt onto their truck and thrust at him with one of her wriest blades. Francois' armour saved his life, but he was in a bad spot, half his body still in the APC while the girl loaded up another thrust. A strike with the butt of his rifle knocked her back long enough for him to climb out of the vehicle and rise to his feet just as she did. "It would be you again, wouldn't it?" He asked rhetorically.
"Only the best for you." She replied, readying her blades for combat. Francois raised his blade in response. She struck first, firing a bolt from one of her crossbows at Francois, the bolt, though deflected by his armour, knocked the nobleman off his balance, giving her a chance to strike, surging forward, blades raised to strike. Francois sidestepped the attack, nearly falling off the truck as he did, but managed to regain his footing and thrust with Mademoiselle, forcing his foe to jump back and giving him room to work.
Unfortunately for the nobleman, Thatch was forced to swerve the APC around a tight corner, causing him to stumble and nearly fall off the truck, managing to grab the edge and hold on as he hung off the side of the APC. His foe, on the other hand, landed right in front of him. She managed to rise, and raised a blade to finish him off. Another sharp turn in the other direction, however, threw her to the other end of the APC, allowing Francois time to climb back on and raise his weapon in rifle form. As the snake girl tried to get back on the truck, he fired, hitting her in the shoulder and knocking her off the APC.
Sighing in relief, the marksman turned his sights back to the vehicle in front of them, however, the sound of a massive engine overhead caught his attention. Looking up, Francois saw a massive Bullhead pulling in over the other APC. He suddenly realized the White Fang's plan: they were now on an open road, nothing overhead and plenty of space. They were trying to fly the truck out. The nobleman opened fire, but his bullets did little to no damage against the armoured hull of the dropship. The ship pulled in close over the APC, the magnets on the bottom of the hull activating and latching onto the APC. Within seconds, the ship was hoisted off the road and in less than a minute it was out of reach.
In the driver's seat of the other truck, Caroline Leon sighed in relief. That had been a difficult escape, apparently hunters in Vale were a force to be reckoned with.
"Is anyone out there?" said a familiar voice over her communicator. "This is Cobra to any White Fang in range."
"Wun, this is Caroline. Are you alright?" The commander asked.
"Good to hear you're still alive, commander." Wun said "I was wounded by the hunters in the other truck, and Micca is still missing. We need a transport now."
"We had another Bullhead to pick up the other truck, but seeing as the men in that one jumped ship, I'll send it to pick up you and your sister."
"Acknowledged, Commander Leon. Thank you."
"Sending them out now, Wun. Hurry back, I need all the loyal fighters I can get, especially with that Torchwick guy still hanging around." Said Caroline.
"You don't trust him, commander?"
"No, Wun, I don't. I don't trust him, I don't trust his silent tramp, I don't trust those two kids, and I really don't trust that Cinder woman."
"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"
"Permission granted."
"Why not? They've given us a lot of money and weaponry."
Caroline growled slightly before she replied. "There's just something I don't like about them. They just showed up out of nowhere, bearing money and guns for our troops. Then they started giving orders to the men, having them rob dust shops, any shops they could reach. Even the ones that served faunus. And what do they need all that dust for? They still haven't told us."
"Ma'am, forgive the questioning, but I feel as though there's something more to this."
"You're right, there is. I told you I need all the loyal troops I can get to follow me, and that's because so many of them are now blindly following Cinder and her lackeys." Neither one spoke for some time before Caroline continued. "Stay where you are, Wun. We'll find you and Micca by tracking your scrolls."
"Are we heading down to the southeast?"
"No, we're not. Cinder said she wants the two of us and your sister to begin operations on an island in the northeast." Caroline frowned. "She said we're 'meeting another one of her contacts on an island that doesn't exist.'"
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know, but I intend to find out." With that, the lion faunus disconnected the call.
oxoxoxo
Micca and her attacker rolled along the side of the road and into an alley after he tackled her off the lead APC. As the snake faunus rose to her feet, she got a better look at what hit her. It was a boy, shorter than her, wearing a long, black trenchcoat and fedora with a black mask covering his face and a simple single bladed axe in his hand. "And just who are you supposed to be?" She hissed, readying her own axe.
The masked boy smirked. "You're tougher than you look. Most White Fang members I hit that hard pass out after I hit them."
"You didn't answer my question." Micca replied.
"Fair enough." He said. "I suppose you can call me 'The Axman.'"
"Not even going to give me a real name?"
"I don't think you need that just yet."
"Well then, I suppose you can call me 'Taipan.'"
"I'm sure I'll get more out of you once I turn you in to the police." The Axman said, readying his axe.
"You can try." Taipan responded. With that, she fired the rifle in her axe, but the masked boy dodged the shot and charged, running along a wall of the alley, and swinging his axe with surprising speed. The snake managed to dodge it and come back with a swing of her own, but the vigilante blocked it. Before he could do anything, however, she kicked him in the chest, knocking him back and giving her room to fire, but as she raised her axe to fire again, the Axman reached into his coat and lobbed a knife at her, forcing her to duck it and giving him time to attack.
The Axman made an aura fuelled leap into the air and swung his weapon in a downward chop as he fell, and although Micca rolled out of the way of the strike, the force he hit the ground was felt as he landed. She tried another attack with her axe, but he ripped his out of the ground in a single pull and used the shaft to block her attack. With a shove, he pushed her back and began his attack anew, the two of them beginning to exchange blows in rapid succession, using the weight of their head heavy weapons to build momentum in their attacks and recover from blocks.
Micca glowered as she blocked another attack from her foe, a crazed grin plastered onto his face as he fought, their deadlock refusing to break as their eyes locked from behind his mask and underneath her hood. That was when a voice spoke into her ear. "Taipan, this is Cobra. Lioness has sent a Bullhead to pick you up, I need you to get to somewhere open."
"Understood, Cobra, will do." Micca muttered. Before her foe could ask what she meant, Taipan kicked him in the stomach and leapt onto the outside of the fire escape of one of the nearby buildings. The Axman soon recovered and made to follow, holstering his axe and climbing the outside of the fire escape after her.
That was when a voice spoke in his ear. "Lad, I've been monitoring this girl's communications during your fight. She's making a break for it. Her ship will be here in less than a minute."
"Damn, I was just starting to enjoy this." He muttered, still climbing. "Why are you running? Come on, I can still be a gentleman, I swear."
Micca stopped in her tracks as she climbed onto the roof, looking back down at her opponent. "What is wrong with you?" she cried.
"Many things!" He shouted, making an aura fuelled leap onto the roof. It seemed as though their fight would resume any second, but the roar of engines dashed that thought, as a Bullhead emblazoned with the White Fang emblem began its descent to the roof, the side door opening to reveal a shorter girl in identical robes to Taipan.
She raised her arm and fired a crossbow off her wrist, the bolt hitting the Axman in the shoulder. "Taipan, let's go!" she yelled over the ship as it lowered.
Micca nodded and made a running jump into the ship. The Axman stood up and watched as the ship began to rise. Before the doors closed he yelled out. "How about a second date some time?"
The last thing he saw before the doors shut was a glare from the shorter girl and a look of utter confusion from the taller one. He chortled as the ship flew off into the night. "Did you get the job done, lad?" Said the same voice as before.
"You know it." The Axman said with a grin. "I dropped a tracer on her during our fight. Wherever they set down, we'll know it."
"Good work, boyo. Now come on home. Someone in the area just called the police."
"Ugh, again? Really?" The Axman shook his head with a chuckle. "I try to fight off terrorists and criminals and all people can focus on is that I'm not the police."
"With the skills you have, you could easily be a huntsman."
"You and I both know that's not an option." The Axman sighed. "I'm on my way back. We'll have a round to celebrate." With those words, he broke into a run across the city's rooftops.
"I don't care how many White Fang members you take down, if you want a drink from my bar, I'll need to see some ID."
oxoxoxo
Team EMAD pulled the APC to a stop at Team RWBY's location, the three members stepping out to meet the girls as well as Sun and Neptune. Alison pulled out her scroll to video call Maria as she stepped out of the truck. "What did you guys find out?" Ruby asked.
"Roman mentioned that their operation was somewhere in the southeast." Blake said, recalling everything the criminal had said to the people she once called family. "He didn't mention exactly what they were doing, but they had a lot of weapons heading there, including more paladins."
"C'est tres bizarre." Said Francois "We searched the truck we stole and found a map that marks off an island in the northwest."
"Maybe they've divided their forces." Weiss said. "According to my family's company records, they've definitely stolen enough dust for more than one operation."
"Junior hasn't heard from the group of men he leant out to Torchwick." Yang said. "Obviously, he's not hiring from him anymore."
"So all we have is where they might be?" Ruby asked.
"That's at least something." Maria replied. "And we also took their truck and cost them one of their mechs, so that's something. There's just one thing we need to find out."
"What's that?" Asked Sun.
"The island marked on the map you found. I'm looking at an image of it, as well as a map of the kingdom, and the island doesn't appear on it."
"Why is that?" Ruby wondered aloud.
"I'm not sure, but it's been a long night, so you should probably get back here soon. You deserve some rest after tonight."
"We should probably stash the truck somewhere so Beacon doesn't question where we picked something like that up." Said Thatch. "And I think I know where we can put it."
"I won't even ask how you know, just stash it and get back here as soon as you can." Maria said.