A Step too Far
Chapter 7
An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. He never regretted taking that step.
Blake smiled as she marvelled at the view from her seat. Said view being Beacon Academy, the school she, Yang and Ruby were attending starting today. Somehow, during a visit to Vale, Ruby managed to impress a teacher by stopping a robbery. She couldn't help but chuckle at Ruby being bear-hugged by her big sister.
The Faunus spared a glance at the nearby holo-projection. On it was a young-looking woman relaying events of the previous day. What caught her eye was the picture of White Fang symbol. Apparently the latest rally had turned violent and had to be broken up by police. Blake bit her lip in worry.
The White Fang had a drastic change of heart in the last few years. Moving openly from public disturbances to outright terrorism. The thought that if it weren't for Praetor, she might have been one of them suddenly shook her.
The picture fizzed out, being replaced by the visage of a woman.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected-" Blake tuned the woman out, she heard the 'privileged few' bit at her graduation at Signal. Then again, she wondered if Beacon really was as prestigious as claimed. Certainly a lot of people from Signal didn't make the cut, especially if the lack of familiar faces was any clue.
Any further thought was interrupted as the ship came to a halt and students began filing out. Yang gave her shoulder a nudge. Oddly enough, the immediate area also suddenly smelled of vomit.
Roman Torchwick twirled his cane as he walked into his hideout. An inconspicuous old warehouse that the pigs wouldn't look twice at. "Neo, I'm home!" he announced, his arms swept aside in a dramatic fashion.
From her place on the lounge, a short, pink and brown haired lady popped her head up, a decorative metal spoon sticking out from her mouth.
"Really, Neo?" Roman exasperated as he passed her. "Ice cream again? You're gonna get fat by eating that every day."
Neo's response was to stick her tongue out at him and kick her high-heeled boots up onto the coffee table, letting out a little squeal of delight as she took another bite. Her blissful expression changed when she heard the door creaking open.
Once more, the diminutive woman peeked over her shoulder to see who it was. Her eyes flashed pink as she hastily placed her ice cream down and rushed towards them. Despite being only as tall as his stomach, she latched onto their arm with a contented smile.
Praetor sighed at the tiny woman's affections. After he first confronted Torchwick a few years ago, the young lady pretty much smitten with him for whatever reason.
Back then, Roman was little more than an up-start who'd hire him on occasion. Praetor would do the job, no questions asked and they'd shake hands and exchange payment. Every so often, Roman would bring Neo along, 'Added insurance' he called it, but Praetor could tell that the man was paranoid.
Regardless, in the hand that wasn't being occupied by a small woman, he was carrying a heavy crate of Dust from Roman's latest armoured truck robbery.
Cinder had decided have Praetor keep an eye on Roman as insurance if the man was foolish enough to try and stab her in the back. Having a highly trained Huntsman assisting him was also likely to boost the rate at which they gathered the Dust needed for her plan. As far as she was concerned it was pretty much a win-win situation, with the only possible downside being that he'd be unable to assist her at her beck and call.
He drew his attention back to the small lady who was happily soaking in his presence. While he was glad that at least someone didn't treat him as inferior or a brainless idiot, her amorous actions were starting to bug him. He was about to say something along the lines of 'I'm busy' when his scroll chimed. After gently placing the crate down, he fished it out and read the message out loud.
"I missed you." His gaze returned to Neo as she looked up at him with a bright smile. He scratched his beard as he thought of how to let her down gently. "Look, Neo." He began, kneeling down to her level. "I appreciate what you're doing, but-" His scroll chimed again.
'I don't care about what you're going to say, I'm not going to let it go.' Neo gave him a stubborn look, Praetor had to remind himself that she had a sharp mind and wasn't easily shaken from her ideals.
"…That's not the issue… I have a daughter." Her expression shifted to surprise and then into conviction. His scroll chimed.
'I don't mind, I love children.' She now settled with a happy smile as she pantomimed cradling a baby. She was lying she absolutely hated children, but if it got him to like her it was fine.
"No, she's actually a little younger than yourself. She's even in a combat school now." A twinge of pride entering his voice.
Chime
'Then what's the problem? Am I not good enough?' Her expression was now rather angry, with her hands on her hips and giving him a smouldering look. Despite the fact that he had another woman in his life, Neo was glad that she wouldn't be a problem. Though the way he spoke about her was concerning…
Praetor couldn't help but sigh, Neo was too much for him. First the clinging, now this? Where does it end? He needed to cull this behaviour before it got out of hand.
"…Neo, I'm not interested in a relationship." He told her firmly.
There was a clatter as her scroll dropped onto the floor. Neo was trying to cover her mouth in an effort to contain her shock. Slowly, she began shaking her head, trying to deny it with all the willpower she had. The shaking was stopped when his large hands were placed comfortingly on her shoulders.
"It's ok, Neo. I'm not cutting you out of my life." He gave her a warm smile that calmed her down a little bit. "I kind of see you like I would a little sister or a good friend. You understand?" Though it hurt deep in her chest, she reluctantly nodded and sniffed back some tears. He picked up her scroll and placed it in her hands. "There you go. Now I have to get back to work, we'll talk afterwards, ok?"
This time she gave him a more affirmative nod. As he walked away, she couldn't help but imagine seeing him as a knight in shining armour. The image quickly evolved into having him carrying her like a princess. That sounded nice. One day, it'll happen.
A little fairy-tale ending. Just for her.
Often when recruiting for less than reputable reasons, one had to test the convictions of said recruit.
Cinder's test for Praetor involved raiding the base camp of the White Fang. He was to make his way to the command tent via the most heavily guarded areas, dealing with the members along the way as he pleased. Much to his credit, he remained professional about it.
Before he breached the outer perimeter, the Titan uttered a short repentance for what was about to occur. It was a little ritual he made for himself when the riots in the City began. People desperately scrambling for food and shelter escalated quickly. Before long they turned on the Guardians. It was mostly spearheaded by youths who had spent their entire lives under the Traveler, never knowing about the perils outside the walls. The amount of organised Guardians back then only numbered a few hundred, barely enough to keep the Fallen Houses at bay, let alone provide assistance to City Peacekeepers.
Praetor finished his rites and took a deep breath.
The guards didn't get any kind of warning when their gate basically disintegrated from one of Praetor's Magnetic grenades. The remaining guards, while dazed, knew that this would eventually happen and with trained efficiency opened fire on the newly breached gate.
When the dust settled, not one of the guards expected anything to still be alive, let alone be protected by a dome of shimmering energy. Scattered all around the dome were the fired bullets, now in heaps on the ground. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the mountain of a man within. With practiced ease the man opened reloaded a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun.
The Titan levelled his gaze at them and began to walk out of the bubble.
"Open Fire!" shouted one of the guards, a loud war cry joined him alongside the thunder of numerous rifles.
The bullets bounced off a thick, blue shroud that seemingly formed from the dome. If any damage to the barrier, it was quickly repaired. The guards were undeterred, keeping their triggers pressed until they ran out of ammo.
As he drew close, the Titan raised his shotgun with one hand and fired both barrels at a group of four soldiers. Three went down with pained screams and the fourth had his hand reduced to a stump.
"Scatter!" the commanding officer ordered. The men complied, moving out of their hasty formations and into cover. This did little to deter the Titan and he calmly reloaded the shotgun.
The gathered Faunus were quickly losing their morale, despite the officer's attempts to keep them in line. It didn't help when the Titan began picking up speed, making a beeline straight towards the shouting man.
The charge was interrupted by the sudden interference of a thrown chainsaw. Praetor saw it just in time to block but not avoid it. The force behind the throw was enough to make his barrier fade but not knock him down. The Titan looked to where it was thrown from and spotted a new combatant, a larger Faunus than his brethren. Standing almost seven feet in height and broad-shouldered with arms bare. Like the others he wore primarily white but sported a full face mask, rather than the half-mask the grunts tended to wear. He was shouting at the officer to regroup with his men.
"You're going to pay for hurting my Brothers, Human." He boasted, approaching with his arms wide, inviting the Titan to attack.
Not rising to the bait, Praetor simply fired his shotgun at the open Faunus. The masked Faunus was faster than he let on, rolling under the spread of pellets and reach his chainsaw. The machine revved to life as the large Faunus ripped it out of the ground with an upward slash towards the Titan, forcing him to drop his shotgun.
Reacting fast, Praetor blocked with his arms, angling his arm-guards so that the chainsaw didn't bite into it but slid off instead. He retaliated by grabbing hold of the Faunus' arms to prevent a downward slash, followed up with a head-butt that fractured the Grimm-like mask.
The White Fang's Lieutenant faltered, but managed to reorient himself in time to block a punch with the flat of his blade. Once again, the two men were locked when the Titan grabbed his opponent's wrists. The Lieutenant was tenacious however, kneeing his foe in the gut repeatedly. The stalemate was ended when the invader managed to swing the Faunus into a nearby tent.
The reprieve from the melee didn't last long, as the Lieutenant leap out from the tent, chainsaw high above him. The swing was easily dodged with a side step. The follow-up attack wasn't as easy as the chainsaw was swung parallel to the ground mere moments after the last. The Lieutenant smirked behind his mask as the swing connected, sending the Titan to the ground. The masked Faunus was quick to launch another offensive, swinging his chainsaw overhead towards the neck.
Praetor acted faster, in the matter of a few milliseconds, he gathered and the void energy required for the Ward of Dawn. Instantly, the two were encased in a bubble of bluish light and the chainsaw grinded against the ethereal barrier that surrounded Praetor.
The chainsaw was slapped away and the Lieutenant was dealt a disorienting uppercut. With his enemy properly stunned, the Titan got around him, grabbed his wrist and delivered a devastating elbow to the head, knocking him out cold.
With the Lieutenant dealt with, Praetor was free to advance towards the center of the camp. Hopefully with minimal resistance…
Adam considered himself a passionate man, one of action and sharp of mind. Not even in his most far-fetched thoughts did he think it was possible for a lone man to penetrate so far into his compound. Those with the capability to do such a thing were few and far between, with all the likely candidates being Huntsman.
Then a thought occurred. That woman from a few days ago, the one who was looking to hire the White Fang for her pathetic ambitions. Could it be possible that she actually took his words literally, enlisting a rogue Huntsman?
His question was answered as a member of his guard suddenly sailed passed him and into his strategy table. Adam turned to see the intruder, a beast of a man, taller than even his Lieutenant, clutching a shotgun, just beyond the edge of his tent. The man's stance reminded him of a high ranking guard, intimidating and indomitable. Yet the armour that he wore was thickly plated, it was a wonder the man could even move.
"So here you are, the Rogue Huntsman, who charges headfirst into battle despite being vastly outnumbered." Adam's grip on Wilt and Blush tightened. "Tell me, Human. What does it feel like to murder people whose only crime was suffering under Human boots and lash?"
"I always feel regret at having anyone die by my hand." he answered, his voice almost too quiet to hear. "After every battle in which a life was lost, I pray for forgiveness."
"I see." Adam took a slow inhale. "You grieve for them? Yet you continue on your chosen path." He gave Wilt a flick with his thumb, exposing a hint of the blood red blade to the intruder. "I've also made my choice. And I refuse to let it be for nothing!"
"Don't be hasty, Adam."
That voice, that insufferable harlot's voice that made his blood boil for just leaving her alive.
"Our offer from before still stands." Cinder slid into view, standing next to Praetor, her two subordinates, Emerald and Mercury he remembered their names to be, behind them with a suitcase each. "We could have gone to anyone for help. But we chose you."
Cheap words and empty threats. If that was all she had to offer he should cut her down right now.
"Our plan will be beneficial for both of us." She raised her arm at him and the pattern on her sleeve glowed as the ground right before Adam's feet burst into flames, making him instinctively retreat back from the sudden intense heat. "Or one of us."
The two behind Cinder placed their cases on the ground and opened them, revealing vials of Dust and stacks of Lien cards. "Which shall it be?"
With his life and the lives of his brothers and sisters at the mercy of a witch, a Titan and two others, Adam ceded sliding Wilt back into Blush and relaxing his stance.
Cinder smiled.
It would be obvious that from their first meeting onward, that there would be tension. But thankfully, there was a set of words that she felt could summarize the message.
Blake didn't like Weiss Schnee.
Normally Blake wouldn't get involved with such people. They tended to be a rather unfriendly sort, shooting distrustful looks when she wasn't looking and whispering behind her back. But since her good friend, Ruby, decided to make a poor first impression by crashing into the heiress and accidentally setting off some volatile Dust, she felt the need to intervene.
"You alright, Ruby?" Blake pulled younger girl up to her feet and brushed some dirt and soot off of her. "No bruises or lost hair? You know how Yang gets about unintentionally losing hair."
"I-I'm ok, just a little d-dizzy." Ruby assured, holding her head in a vain attempt to make the world stop spinning. "The Princess was a little rude though." She mumbled.
"Unbelievable!" came the indignant cry from Weiss. "This is exactly the kind of this I was talking about!"
"I'm sorry." Ruby squeaked, attempting to hide behind Blake.
"Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Weiss continued to chastise her, ignoring Blake. "We're here to fight Grimm, Monsters. This isn't a school for kids like you to play around in!"
"Hey, lay off." Blake barked, her yellow eyes burning. "She may be younger, but that doesn't mean she isn't any less talented."
To her credit, Weiss only took a fleeting glimpse at Blake's ears before levelling a cold stare at her.
"She also recognized her mistake." Blake continued. "And attempted to apologize. The least you could do is reciprocate." The cat-girl huffed and muttered. "Even if it's unlikely."
"What was that you cur!?"
Blake clucked her tongue and pulled Ruby towards the school by the arm. "Come on, Ruby. Seems that the Princess is angry."
Even with Blake's pulling, Ruby managed to shout out another 'I'm sorry!'
Arriving late to the party, a young lad named Jaune stopped next to the fuming heiress. "That was something, huh?" he commented, only having witnessed everything from afar and only hearing a few bits.
"...Shut it, you dolt."
Although Praetor disliked the notion of organised crime, he had to agree with a few of the benefits. The one he most agreed with, though it made him sound greedy, was the more than suitable payment.
He was no fool, he knew that getting involved with Cinder was a bad idea, a very bad idea. The woman practically exuded an aura of power and ruthlessness. In her exchanges with him, she was courteous, acknowledging him almost as an equal. Though equals in what regard he did not know, he knew enough to see that her ulterior motive was to keep him complacent, meaning that she did not want him to interfere with something.
As Qrow had warned him, Praetor was indeed being watched by people with influence. It was inevitably a matter of time before they took notice of his new occupation. He wasn't surprised when they had discreetly asked him to meet with them.
At the current time, Praetor was stood in an alleyway with only an inconspicuous door between him and his watchers. He had taken precautions beforehand, as Cinder would almost definitely have someone watching him. Wandering the city was quite boring to him, most of his outings usually had a defined goal and without one he ended up walking in a circle before heading to the meeting place.
Upon opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of a dark room with a simple wooden table and two chairs. A single light hung from the ceiling giving the room all the light that was required.
Already sitting at the table was Professor Ozpin, a mug of hot coffee in his hands. Praetor heard the door close behind him with a click, twisting his head, he caught sight of the second of the room's occupants. A middle aged woman with blonde curls and glasses, holding a riding crop and an open Scroll in her hands.
"Mister Praetor." Ozpin addressed him, inviting him to sit down with his hand. An invitation that Praetor took as the woman took her place standing beside Ozpin. "I take it you know why I called you here?"
"You're curious about my recent actions?" Praetor placed his elbows on the table and clasped his hands before him. "About my association with known criminals?"
"Indeed." Ozpin took a quick sip. "It is my understanding that you have dealings with the White Fang and known criminal Roman Torchwick, am I correct?"
"Yes."
"Praetor, you know me to be a careful man. It is not in my nature to act without a clear picture. So if you would be so kind, please enlighten me."
"… Long ago, I fought to protect everything I knew. Everything I did, was to keep people from a danger they couldn't face themselves. Eventually I grew tired of it. The people I protected were thankful, for a while. My fellow protectors grew fewer each year, each replaced by ones younger, more eager and bright-eyed than ourselves."
"I saw no more use for myself, so I left. I wandered, I fought, and then I found a little girl with no one to love her. I took her in, gave her a home and some warm food. Before I knew it, we were family and I had someone who needed my protection again."
"She may not be my flesh and blood, but I would give my life for her if need be." Praetor lowered his hands to look Ozpin in the eye. "She is everything to me now, if it means I have to do something questionable in order to see her safe. Then so be it."
Ozpin took another sip from his mug and mulled over his next question while the woman quirked her eyebrow at him in a disbelieving manner.
"What were the circumstances that prevented another course of action? Surely there were alternatives to crime?"
"Providing for two whilst on the straight and narrow, it tends to be harder than you may think. With people higher up having me on their suspect list getting better paying jobs was harder. Add in the loan sharks, the debt and my own dwindling funds, it was a precarious position."
Before Ozpin could weigh in, Praetor held up a hand. "I'm ashamed to say that I was played. They come across and give me an offer that I couldn't refuse during a time of need. But I'm not so blind to not see the advantages that such a position affords."
"I am listening." Ozpin leaned forward, intrigued.
"I can provide information and I will be in a good position to strike from when the time comes."
"What kind of information can you provide?"
"Unfortunately, it would be rather vague… The mastermind operates on a 'need to know' basis." Praetor deliberately withheld Cinder's name, he wanted to use it as a bargaining chip.
"'The mastermind'?" The woman asked, her expression beginning to show a scowl.
"I'll provide details if you promise me to look out for Blake."
Ozpin gulped down the rest of his coffee, it now being cooled down enough to not burn himself. He placed the empty mug to the side and held out a hand to the Titan.
"Mister Praetor, I find your offer to be with good intent and you have my word that young Blake will be sufficiently cared for. I accept your terms."
"You do right by me and I will be at your side when needed."
Their hands clasped.
Blake let her eyes scan the sight in front of her. Each target could be of vital importance to her current task. They were all clustered rather fairly tightly, roughly ten metres away from her position. She bit her lip, trying her best to make the correct decision.
The cute guy with the friendly smile and the book or his friend who was flexing his well-defined muscles. Which was more attractive?
The book meant that the guy liked to read, and if her eyes were true it was one of her favourites. But on the other hand, the muscly guy could probably fight better. But on the other other hand, book guy was at beacon so he had to a good fighter. Her thoughts went back and forth, in an attempt to rationalise her dilemma.
It was the evening to her first day at Beacon, which basically involved the headmaster speaking to them before leaving them to their devices for the rest of the day. Currently, all the new students had to sleep in the grand hall. Thinking of it as a big slumber party, Yang decided to pose the question that had Blake's head in a whirl.
Yang was giggling to herself as she watched her closest friend's inner turmoil from her question. Ruby was on the other side of Blake, writing a letter to her friends back at Signal. Finally, Blake caved and curled into herself with a groan.
"Ah, I can't decide." She cried, much to Yang's amusement. Ruby looked up from her letter to actually survey the boys herself and found them lacking.
"What's the big deal about boys?" She asked innocently. Suddenly Ruby found herself being hugged tightly by Yang. "Uh, Yang? What're you doing?"
"Oh, my sweet, darling little sister." Yang cooed. "Don't change."
"Umm…"
All three girls turned their attention to the new voice. Yang was the first to react by snickering, which soon erupted into laughter. The reason was because the speaker was a blonde haired lad named Jaune, who was currently dressed in a baby-blue onesie with matching bunny slippers.
"Well, that does wonders for my self-esteem." He muttered to himself, trying to hide his embarrassment. Thankfully Blake heard it and spoke up to control the damage.
"Ignore her, it takes courage to wear something like that in public. Besides, I think it's cute." Blake stood up and gave the boy a smile. "I'm Blake, that's Yang and the smaller one is Ruby."
"Thanks, I'm uh Jaune." He awkwardly introduced himself. "I never really got to introduce myself earlier. I, well, saw what happened at the courtyard."
"Oh, right." Blake was really unsure what to do now. "I guess, I left an impression, huh?" She tried to laugh it off, but it ended up being more awkward.
"You're telling me, Weiss is still fuming from what you said." At the mention of Schnee heiress, Blake clenched her teeth.
"Oh, really?" She managed to say.
"Yeah, I've been listening to her rant for a while now." He glanced behind him, to where the white-haired girl was stiffly brushing her hair. "Look, I can understand the distrust between you two. With you being a Faunus and her a Schnee. But please don't hold it against her."
"Why shouldn't I?" Blake began to frown, friendly guy or not, she didn't like to have her friends chosen for her. "You do know what her family has done to my people, right?"
"Yeah, I do." Jaune admitted. "But I also know what the White Fang has done to her." The look in his eyes said more than he did. Weiss was probably a lot more hurt than she was. "She came here to get away from her family. She doesn't want to end up like her father."
It was well known that the Schnee head wasn't popular with the Faunus and with good reason. He was, by a large margin, the biggest employer of Faunus labour with dust mines and quarries around the world being fuelled by their hard work.
Anyone who was against him earned a point in Blake's book. Even if it was his own daughter.
"Just keep what I said in mind okay?" Jaune asked, a genuine smile shining brightly at her. Blake was still staring at the Heiress, still trying to digest the information.
"…Ok."
"Thanks Blake. Have a good night."
With his piece said, Jaune returned to Weiss' side and began chatting with her.
Maybe Beacon will be more fun that I realised.
Edited 4/July/16