(Next day)[Mistral] Pyrrha's house - 9:05AM
Sleeping wasn't exactly easy for the team. Mainly Evie who apparently is being hunted down by a crazed and rogue former gangster.
The two agents from the hospital had explained everything to Evie that they knew so far. Neo was sent to Mistrals prison when she was apprehended back in Vale, then days later she somehow escaped, but not before killing half a dozen prison guards and writing "Your next Evie Frye" on the wall with the guards blood. That of course was the part only Evie knew about and made sure the rest of her team didn't find that out. They say Neo must've gotten a hold of the same Bullhead that Evie would've been on and planted an ignition bomb inside, which they also explained to her that the Bullhead would've exploded once it was turned on... A deadly tool she noticed in case the engine vehicles ever become a bigger attraction back in London. As glad as Everybody was that nobody was killed or harmed, they can't help but realize that Neo doesn't care about killing the rest of JNPR to get to Evie. Of course, this was mostly Evie thinking this.
Currently, Evie and the rest of the team were all brought back to Pyrrhas house and all put into protective custody inside, with round the clock security, which must've been a courtesy from the Nikos family. They had to notify Ozpin about the situation which he understood, and made to sure to not tell any of JNPR's friends... Evie however was talking to Jacob on the phone since he was notified.
"How long do you think you'll be in mistral?" Jacob asked.
Evie sighed as she was in one of the guest rooms alone, peaking her eyes over the blinds on the window. "Hard to say... they say a week maybe. It's hard to know until they catch Neo" She said.
"God damn bitch... I should've killed her along with Roman" He said.
"She was already arrested by the time you got to Roman. It's not like you could've stuck a blade in her throat in the open"
"Why not? I do it all the time in London? You think those idiot bystanders ever cared when I killed a few Blighters on the sidewalks? No! They watched and did nothing!" Jacob said. "I let that bitch live, she threatened to murder me and now she's after my sister!" He said.
"Calm down Jacob... What's going on in Vale?" She asked.
All he did was sigh on the other end. "It's not great... My only lead on this damn spy was murdered last night" He said.
Meanwhile in Vale...
Jacob looked up from his phone and looked at the dead body that was still in the book store. He waited to tell the cops about anything just so he can have the chance to find the killer on his own. "Now I'm left with more questions and... god, I don't even know where to start. With all this going on and now knowing that you're being hunted, I can't think straight" He said.
"Take your time Jacob. And don't worry about me of all people" Evie said. "I can handle Neo... I just need to get out of this house and deal with this on my own" She said. "And don't let David anywhere near your investigation! remember what I said about trusting any Shade student?"
Jacob groaned and stood up on his feet. "What kind of person do you think I am to let a guy like David get involved? Of course I didn't talk about any of this with him!" He said when David walked in from the back door. David held his hand up, motioning him to be quiet. "I'll speak to you in a bit Evie. I need to examine the body... Good luck in Mistral" He said and hung up.
"Does your sister not know I'm helping you?" David asked and walked over.
"Of course not. She wouldn't understand. Even if I tell her that you were all the way in Beacon passed out while Donny was killed, she still wouldn't approve" He said, which was true about David. Last night, Jacob quickly went to Beacon to make sure it wasn't David, and thanks to a quick visit to Edwards lab he took a look at the security cameras in Davids floor hall, as well as a camera that got a view of his window, and he was glad to find out that he never left, and he can bring him along. "What did you find in the back?"
"Not much. The back door lock was broken so that could've been where the killer escaped. So that's something..." He said.
"Yeah I guess... He was killed last night so that about a 12 hour gap" Jacob said.
"Man this is crazy... So if this was your spy, who do you think it was?" David asked.
"Hard to say... Besides you, I didn't have enough time to check the others. Edward is still going through all security footage confirm every Shade students whereabouts last night" Jacob said. "But David... one of those people he's checking is Arthur you know" He said.
"What? You don't actually think he could've done this. Do you?" He asked.
"IF he could be the spy... are you gonna be ready for whatever happens next?" Jacob asked.
David rubbed his forehead and sighed. "I don't know... I can't imagine that Arthur is evil. I mean he always has moments where he loses it but I'm used to it" David said. "Come on man. We can go out to the back alley and keep trying to find the killer on our own. I'll prove to you that it isn't Arthur" He said.
Jacob watched him walk out the back door, frowning as he could tell that David got very emotional during that. It's clear that David and Arthur are good friends, and good partners as well. Jacob was sure he'd get defensive too if he found out that Evie, his own twin sister, were to be, say, a Templar. What would he do? Would he kill her? Would he have her turned in? Would he let her go? The same questions can be asked for David and Arthur... At least, IF Arthur is the bad guy.
[Mistral] Pyrrha's house - 12:00PM
Evie walked around the backyard gardens of the Nikos residence, to try and calm her mind a bit. It would've helped however if their weren't two of Mistrals soldiers with guns following her around.
"You know, this would be more fun without you around" She said.
"Sorry mam. Our orders are to be by your side whenever you leave the house" The one guard said.
All Evie did was sigh, not wanting to make it a bigger deal than it already is. She walked past the garden over to a white wooden gazebo with benches. She went inside and sat on said bench and looked around the area. It was sunny, a calming breeze and can also hear faint sounds of birds and such. Evie knows of the different social classes within the kingdom, where the high class is funny enough positioned at the top of the Mistral mountains, but the classes get lower, the lower you go down the Kingdom. She knows she wouldn't be able to get quiet calming moments like this in the lower parts of Mistral which is a real bummer.
Speaking of the Lower Mistral districts, Evie began to overhear 2 other guards talking as they were doing a patrol around the backyard. Evie began to listen in as she used her Eagle Vision to listen better from the gazebo she was in.
"Man, this sucks... all this security for one student? Just seems stupid" The first guard said.
"Oh? Would you rather have to deal with complaints in Lower Mistral about Lil' Miss Malachite?" The other guard asked.
"Of course not! That chick is crazy. That whole damn Swarm gang is crazy" He said back.
"Exactly. We'd have to go down there into her tavern and ask her questions about possible hit-man connections. I'll take walking around Pyrrha Nikos's house looking for some pink haired lady any day" The other said.
"Good call"
Evie blinked a few times as she went back to normal. 'Lil' Miss Malachite... Swarm... Jacob said the Swarm gang is scattered in every Kingdom. She must be the Lieutenant here in Mistral. And from the sound of it, alot scarier if she doesn't mind being in the open in a tavern... And hit-man connections? It's almost TOO good to be true. I can pay her to hunt down Neo for me and we can finally get out of here' She thought to herself so the 2 guards who were next to her didn't hear any of what she was saying. Speaking of which, she'll need to escape the house undetected before she can do anything.
She got back up and walked back to the house, this time the guards didn't follow her inside thankfully. She walked down one of the hallways of the house and saw Pyrrha walking up to her. "Hello there Evie. Are you doing oka-" Pyrrha yelped as Evie quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty closet. She closed the door then turned the lights on. "Evie? What's going on?" She asked.
"I can't go into detail but I need a way to escape the house" Evie said. "I appreciate all of you guys standing by me during this, and I appreciate your parents even more for allowing us to stay for longer-"
"Evie?"
"I know that we're a team and will always have each others backs but this is different from Grimm. This a person who tried to destroy a whole city with her boss Roman Torchwick and almost got away with killing Nora-"
"Evie?"
"I would never allow you or anyone to be harmed while a crazed lunatic wants me dead, and has not a care in the world who she takes with me. I'm asking as not a teammate, but a friend to-"
"Evie!" Pyrrha yelled this time to get Evie's attention. Evie stopped talking and looked at her. "Do you promise to be careful wherever you're going?" She asked.
Evie smiled a bit and nodded. "I need to see someone who should be able to help. All I need from you is a less flashy outfit then the one I have on, as well as help distracting the guards so I can get out of here" She said.
Pyrrha nodded and pat her shoulder. "It's a deal... but you need to do one thing... Say goodbye to the rest of the team" She said. "I won't be able to stop all of them once word gets out you're gone. Best you tell the others whats going on so we can all keep the security from getting suspicious"
"Good idea" She said and sighed. "How's Nora?"
"Better" Pyrrha said. "Well... She's acting like she's still in pain. But she told me that's so she can get more attention from Ren and force him to make more pancakes" She said
"Oh Nora" Evie said back and laughed a bit. "It's good to know she's alright... Had I known she would come after the people I care about, I would have dealt with her alot sooner"
"Whatever you're planning, make sure you come back in one piece please?" Pyrrha asked.
Evie nodded, gave her a hug, then left to tell the others what's going on.
First up was Nora, Evies very nice and very active friend in JNPR. She nearly blew up in that Bullhead but was thankfully fine. Evie held a bit of guilt over the whole thing between her and Nora, so she wasn't sure how to talk to her about it since last night. Right now she's just resting in one of the guest rooms eating another stack of Rens pancakes. And by "resting" as Pyrrha puts it, Nora's really just making Ren make more pancakes. Not that Ren clearly doesn't mind keeping Nora happy.
Evie knocked on her door and slowly opened the door. "Nora... Hey there" She said.
"Hey Evie!" Nora said with pancakes in her mouth then swallowed. "What's up?" She asked in her usual happy tone.
Evie however just sighed and scratched the back of her neck. "Well... I never had the chance to say this in the hospital, but I'm very sorry for what happened. That you almost died in that-"
"Oh that? Pfft! Don't worry about it" Nora said and waved her hand off as she kept eating. "You know how many times I've accidentally set some of my grenades off when they were in my pocket? Like a dozen times!" She said with a laugh. "That bullhead explosion was pretty crazy but they say I survived because the blast from where the bomb was positioned pushed me out of the door behind me just in time. And even still my Aura just saved me"
"Ah... well that's good" Evie said and sighed. "I just... I don't want you to hate me for what happened" She said.
Nora frowned a bit, and pulled Evie in for a hug. "It's impossible to hate you Evie... In fact it's impossible to hate any of you in like... Ever!" She said. "You're like the family I never got to have... Besides. I have Ren making me some great pancakes whenever I ask for it now. I'll milk this for as long as I can!" She said giggling.
Evie smiled even more at that, and let go. "That's good to hear from you. Because I have some news to tell" She said. "I have to see someone in Lower Mistral. Someone there should help me. I just... wanted to say goodbye before I head out"
Nora looked at her confused. "You're leaving? But what If that Neo girl finds you?" She asked.
"If she does, it's better to find me in the open than here where all my friends are hiding as well" She said. "Don't worry. I'll keep watch in the city if she does come for me"
Nora nodded. "Alright then... Good luck Evie" She said.
Evie waved her off as she left for the Kitchen. Next up was Ren, Evies more relaxed friend in JNPR. Evie could clearly tell that Ren really cares about Nora, even if his blank and meditative expressions never show it. Compared to how Evie felt earlier with how Nora might feel about her, now she has to see if Ren has a grudge against her for almost getting Nora killed.
Currently, Ren was making some more of his famously good pancakes. He was given permission from Pyrrhas parents to use the kitchen as much as he needs to so long as he cleans up after all his cooking. Myrrine and Nikolaos both were aware that Nora was faking it, but decided not to tell Ren.
"Ren... Can we talk?" Evie asked.
Ren looked back at Evie, then put down a frying pan and turned to her. "Of course... Everything alright?"
"Yeah I just... I wanted to tell you how sorry I am. With what's going on and causing Nora to get hurt" She said.
Ren just sighed and lean on the counter. "I know that you couldn't see the future. I wish I could too sometimes" Ren said. "This girl Neo is an awful woman"
"That's true... I just wish I saw this happening sooner. I feel so ashamed for not anticipating something like this happening. I'm usually good at stuff like this. Nora says that she forgives me for what happened to her but I'll never stop thinking about it" She said and looked down.
All Ren did was chuckle. "I know exactly what you mean Evie... I know that Nora isn't hurt anymore" He said.
Evie looked back up with a raised brow. "What? You know she's faking it? But... Why are you still making her pancakes?"
"It makes her happy... And after yesterdays mission with those crazy Grimm in the cave, how she accidentally got you trapped inside, and then seeing her inside that Bullhead, I feel like I'm just doing this now to make myself happy more than her" He said.
"Well... If you say so" She said. "Thanks for understanding"
"You too Evie... But... Something tells me your here for something else" He said.
"Yeah" She said. "I have to leave the house. Get into the city and see someone who should help me"
"It's not safe out there you know"
"I know... But I'd rather take this woman on when I'm ready instead of wait around here"
Ren sighed. "If you need to do this then I'm sure you can handle yourself. But you know how Jaune will be about this"
"Yeah I know. He's the next person I need to tell about this before sneaking out" Evie said.
"What do you think he'll say?"
"Hm... Hard to say. He might insist on coming along, or he may forbid me from leaving. But I'm sure I can convince him either way" She said.
"Well just don't be afraid to call us if you need help. You know we'll be right there for you if anything goes wrong"
"Thanks Ren... And thanks for being... Well you" Evie said. "Whenever I see you and Nora together, I think of me and my own brother... Never boring" She said.
Ren smiled a bit as she said that. He went back to pancake making, and Evie walked out the kitchen to see one last person in JNPR... Jaune. The leader. He has alot of potential that he never knew he had prior to Beacon, and thanks to the whole teams help, he's improved greatly and is only getting better. An issue that Evie's expected to face with Jaune is him wanting to keep his whole team safe, especially Evie after last night. Hopefully she can convince him... hopefully.
Evie knocked on Jaunes guest room and waited for a response. "Jaune? Can I come in?"
"Of course" Jaune said. When Evie opened the door she saw Jaune polishing his sword. "Everything ok?"
"Well... As good as it'll ever get right now" Evie said. "I just got back from talking with the rest of the team. Everyone's alright and everyone's calmed down"
"Well that's good. Maybe we'll be able to leave Mistral soon" Jaune said.
"Yeah... Maybe we can also leave the house and go into town..." Evie said and smiled nervously.
Jaune looked up at her with a raised brow. "What? Why would you wanna go out there when that girl is out... there..." Jaune widened his eyes thinking about it in his head. "You wanna go after her? Are you crazy?"
Evie sighed. "No. I'm being rational. Neo won't stop until I'm dead, and then she'll go after my brother, and then... Who's knows what she'll do next" She said. "This won't be any different from hunting down a Grimm"
"This is COMPLETELY different from hunting Grimm. This is a human being! An evil one who nearly killed Nora" Jaune said and stood up. "You can't just go out there. Not alone, that's for sure"
Evie didn't react, since she predicted that Jaune would say that. "Jaune... I promise you. I can handle myself. This is a problem that I should've dealt with when I had the chance... And right now I have to get her before she hurts anybody else I care about"
"Well yeah but... What if something happens to you again? What if I lose you? Like yesterday in the cave..." He said and frowned as he looked down.
"The Apathy Grimm?" Evie asked. She raised her hands up and put them on Jaunes shoulders. "Jaune. Look at me... Nobody could've predicted what we would've found inside that cave. The important thing is is that we all got out of there alive. And THAT is what matters" She said. "Right now I need to fix this problem. Alone. But I need you and the rest of the team to keep the security from figuring out where I am. Can I count on you Jaune?" She asked and smiled.
All that was going through Jaunes head were bad thoughts. No matter how much Evie talked of being safe and needing to do this, he's still the leader and doesn't want anything bad to happen to her. But he also has to admit that Evie is very skilled, and can handle one crazy lady. The question is... does he want to risk letting her go?
In the end, Jaune just let out a sigh. "Ok... I trust you that you can take her on" He said and nodded. "We're gonna keep watch on the aura meters though. If it ever goes low for whatever reason, we're going to find you" He said.
"Fair enough" Evie took out her scroll, and showed a map of Mistral. "You see the lower part of Mistral down here? I'll most likely be down there. Just so you know" She said. "And Jaune... Thanks again for understanding. I don't know what else I can say to get you to be relaxed"
"Shhh..." Jaune said. "You don't need to say anything else. Just... Make sure Neo pays for what she did to Nora"
Evie smiled and nodded. "You got it" She gave him a long hug, before letting go and leaving. Now she has to get out of the house.
10 minutes later...
Evie had to do a quick wardrobe change. She got out of her white First Civilization outfit and changed into a pair of jeans, a black t shirt, and over that was an extra large hoodie that said "Sanctum Academy" on it. They were all old clothes that Pyrrha lended Evie to lay low while out in Mistral. Evie walked out the bedroom, and saw Pyrrha come out of the other room. "How do I look?" Evie asked.
"Hm... You look good" Pyrrha said smiling a bit. "It'll work when you're out there"
"Good. I don't have the protection from my outfit anymore so I have to rely on Aura" Evie said, which wasn't all a bad thing. The two walked into the living room and saw the front door. "Two guards are on the other side of that door. If you make a distraction that causes them to come inside, I can go invisible and walk out the front door and down the driveway"
"Sounds easy enough. I'll make sure you get out of here" Pyrrha said. Evie was about to get ready by the wall, but then Pyrrha grabbed her hand. "And Evie? Thanks by the way" She said.
Evie looked back at her, still holding hands. "Thanks... For what?"
"...For being you" She let out and then pulled Evie in to kiss her. Evie had widened eyes as she was being kissed by Pyrrha again. Only this time was different because she wasn't drunk. She genuinely wanted to do this. And that... was pretty cool. Evie slowly closed her eyes and returned the kiss before they backed up. The two looked at each other blushing a bit.
"W-Wow... that was... Unexpected" Evie said. She quickly shook her head to focus. "Ok... You ready?" She asked, and got a nod from Pyrrha.
Evie ran over to the wall by the door, and went invisible. In that time, Pyrrha walked over to a glass coffee table that was in the living room. She took a deep breath, then tipped her body over and fell right on top of the glass coffee table, shattering the whole thing in less than a second. Evie watched her do what she just did and she nearly got up and went to see if she was alright, but had to remember to keep her cool as the front door opened up. The two guards ran inside and gasped seeing Pyrrha on the ground and groaning in pain.
"Ms. Nikos!" They both said and ran to her to help her up. "Are you ok? What happened?"
Pyrrha just fake groaned some more. "I don't know... I just tripped and... fell" She said. She was acting of course, and did't mention to them that her aura protected her from any and all serious injuries.
As they were helping her up, more guards came over and so did the rest of the team, which the team was also in on it so they acted surprised that she was hurt. Meanwhile Evie took the opportunity to sneak out the open front door. She went all the way down the driveway, making sure to avoid the guards at the road, and continued further down until she hid in a bush. She went visible again and got out of the bush, now in casual clothing to disguise herself through the town. "Now to pay a visit to this Lil' Miss Malachite. If I'm unable to track Neo down, I'm sure she can" Evie said to herself, as she put her hood over her head.
[Vale] Industrial district - 1:15PM
Jacob and Davids tracking didn't go far for them. They found fresh tire tracks in the back alley of he bookshop, which could mean that the killer didn't act alone. With no actual leads to go on, Jacob decided they need to go investigate the same factory that Jacob had previously checked out a while back that was a secret fighting ring. It's all Jacob has to go with so hopes are that he'll find something here helpful. He and David climbed their way on the side of the factory to avoid the White Fang that was currently inside, and also to get a better view of the crowd inside. David got to the top first, and Jacob was gonna get up over the ledge next but his scroll began to vibrate. So he picked it up and answered it while holding onto the wall of the factory.
"Jacob. Hey listen, I just finished looking through the security footage of last night and looked around for every Shade student like you asked" Edward said.
"Oh great. What did you find?" Jacob asked.
"Well... uh... Based on all the footage I could find and tracking down every Shade students movements, the only person who left Beacon last night was Arthur White. David Kules partner" He said.
Jacob had a slightly shocked face. Well, very slightly. He wasn't sure who to suspect but he always had the feeling that it was Arthur. Too edgy for a guy from Shade. "Is that so... Well... I guess I have to tell David the news" He said.
"You alright?"
"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. I just wish you said someone I wasn't very friendly with" I said. "I should go Edward. I'll see you later" He said and hung up. He got up to the roof and saw David looked down at a ceiling window. "Bad news David... Sorry I have to say this but Edward said that the only person who left Beacon last night was-"
"Arthur?" David asked. "I kinda already figured that out..." He said and pointed to he window. Jacob walked over next to him and saw that there were a few dozen Faunus wearing Red Gorilla outfits, and one of those people who stood out of the crowd was fucking Arthur.
"Oh no..." Jacob said. "stay back from the window David. I'll try to get a better listen" He said. As David walked away, Jacob got on a knee to listen in better with his eagle vision.
Arthur was watching, amused as the other Faunus were yelling. "Calm down you idiots! My job is to keep people like Donny from running his fucking mouth. Your job is to do be good boys and do as your told" Arthur said.
"Excuse me? Screw you you little prick!" One of the soldiers said.
"Who am I? I'm the spy who has alot more worth to your boss than your life ever will have" He said back. "Check that. I have alot more worth to your bosses boss. Now I didn't just come here to deal with a rat- or... wolf I should say. I'm here with a list of names... 20 of you lucky guys are coming with me back to Beacon"
"Are you fucking crazy?! We'll never get into Beacon undetected" Another Faunus said.
"Well too bad. I'm in charge and what I say go-"
"Who put you in charge of us? It's bad enough Adam takes orders from a human now, but we won't stand around and take orders from one" The one from before said. All Arthur did was glare at the disrespectful Faunus. "Oh what? not the big bad Huntsman anymore? You're outnumbered here human! I suggest that if you know what's good for you, you'll turn your ass back around before we ring up by your fucking neck and send you back to mommy in a body ba-"
Suddenly Arthur pulled out a pistol from his back pocket, and emptied the entire clip into the guys chest. The others gasped shocked as the guy backed up alot while being shot, until he fell on his back, dead and in a pool of blood. Arthur looked around casually at all the others pulling their weapons out.
"Relax... I'm on your side. Even if I dont... Show it very well" He said and put it away. Then he reached up to his red hair, proceeded to move some of the hair to the side, to reveal something that nobody was expecting... Scars. 2 large scars across his scalp. To anyone who doesn't understand, it just looks weird when you see it. But to other Faunus, especially White Fang, they know exactly what used to be on his head before he had those scars. He fixed his hair after that and started walking around the shocked crowd who all stayed quiet. "Now I could go on a whole monologue about how awful Humans are, but the hard and honest truth is that I equally hate everyone. Humans AND Faunus... However, I pose a great amount of value to the same people who own your leader Adam, and these people have offered me a hefty reward for selling out my school and posing as a spy for them. Why? Because I'm more fucking important than you" Arthur pointed to a random Faunus. "Or you" He pointed to another one. "Or you" And another one. "... Or even this one" He stepped on the dead Faunus who he just shot not 5 minutes ago, as he walked by him. "Now... If there's no more interruptions, I still have a list of names" He said and pulled out the paper of names.
There was a long silence inside the factory when Arthur was done speaking. Some were afraid of him while others still didn't like him. Then finally there was one Faunus who walked over to him and took the paper. "We'll uh... we'll make sure everyone's ready to head back with you" The Faunus said.
"Good" Arthur said. "The people in charge told me to tell you guys that this is the last step to getting the map. After today, everything will be worth it" He soon walked away through the factory with an evil smirk on his face.
Jacob blinked a few times going back to his normal vision, after witnessing all of that. Arthur murdering a guy casually and showing off his Faunus ear scars. "So he really is the spy..." He said. David walked back over to Jacob, and Jacob looked at him. "David..."
"What the hell is going on Jacob?" David asked. "Arthur isn't actually a bad guy right? Please tell me its not true..." He said concerned.
All Jacob could do was sigh. "It is David... I'm sorry to tell you" He said. "But look. Right now we need to get back to Beacon and check your room for any clues of his next plan. We need to beat him and the White Fang back to Beacon and prevent them from doing anything to the school" He said.
"What?! J-Jacob, this is insane! Arthur wouldn't go evil and work with the White Fang. Hes a god damn Human for gods sa-"
"Listen to me David!" Jacob said. "Arthur is a Faunus in secret. Nobody can tell that because his ears were cut off. He doesn't care if any one of us dies, especially you" He said. "Now I know this isn't easy to take in because you two are good friends but you need to understand... Arthur is evil. You don't know him as well as you think you do but Arthur has been the spy all along. Got it?"
"Well I... I..." He sighed. "I-I guess..."
"Good... now lets go David. I'll explain on the way" He said and the two made there way off the factory roof.
[With Evie] (Mistral) Lower District - 1:25PM
Evie made her way through the lower district part of Mistral. She could tell that the atmosphere changed around her as she went further down, just like people have said would happen. Shady dealings and thugish looking individuals and such, it would make some people scared to walk around these parts but not Evie... or at least, not while there's a crazed ice cream themed lunatic after her. Any other time this wouldn't mind her. But She's heard rumors that Neo's semblance is shape-shifting, so it's impossible to tell who she could be, or if she's even watching her this very second. Another issue is that Evie doesn't have her protective gear. Not even her gauntlet or her weapons. Only her pistol tucked in the back of her jeans waistband, a limited number of throwing knives in various pockets, and her right Assassin wrist blade. But compared to her Gauntlet blade, the regular right one is too fragile to be used in combat so she can only use it in assassinations. She didn't want to attract too much attention in these parts if she was decked out in weaponry, making sure nobody had the wrong ideas of her.
And this strategy, despite the fact she was less armed than she wanted to be, proved well because she made it to Lil' Miss Malachite's bar in one piece and didn't get noticed by anyone in particular. The outside of the bar looked like a regular shady tavern you'd find in London with god knows who or what's inside. Though Evie was a bit reluctant of going inside the place, she eventually mustered the courage and went inside anyway. The inside looked like any other clean wooden bar in town. So what was so spooky about the place? Every table had thugish looking people and bandits inside, and a couple of said thugs had green attire on with various ones wearing bandannas around their mouths. Jacob mentioned to her that green was the Swarms gang color, so Evie assumed they were gang members.
Evies focus on the bar and its people were ended when one woman called out to her. "You lost?" A woman with an interesting accent to her asked. Evie looked in front of her seeing one blonde hair woman sat at a table alone. Well not completely alone with 2 Swarm members on both sides of her, acting as bodyguards most likely. The woman in question was wearing a white and light green dress as she looked at Evie dead in the eyes. It was clear to anyone that this was Lil' Miss Malachite.
"Yes... I'm actually here to see you" Evie said as she went up to her table.
"Apapap! That's far enough" She said when Evie took 2 steps toward her. The 2 guards walked in front of the desk, glaring at Evie. "You wanna talk to me? It'll cost ya" She said. Evie wasted no time taking out a pouch of Lien and tossed it on the table for her to see. Lil' Miss smirked and took it. "Now you're talkin" She said and motioned the guards to move out the way. And they did, letting Evie sit down at the chair across from her.
"Lil Miss Malachite... My name is Evie Frye" She said.
"Aaah... well isn't that fascinating. Too bad I didn't ask" She said. "Now what do ya want?"
"I've been told you have a specialty for tracking people down and... killing them" Evie said. "Have you been hearing the news? About the woman who escaped from prison?"
"Ah yeah. The lil psycho girl..." She said and tapped her fingernails together.
"She wants me dead. And I can't leave Mistral until she's dealt with... Can I count on you to hunt her down?" Evie asked.
"Hmmm... Shouldn't be too hard. Convicts with her level of notoriety will have limited places to hide" Lil' Miss said. "Give us a week. We'll have something by then"
"No. I don't have a week" Evie said. "I need her dealt with TODAY" Evie said, raising her tone of voice and getting the attention of a few of the people in the bar.
Lil' Miss glared at her. "Girl I'd watch who you're talkin to. Cause I'm gonna be Lil' Miss Gon'-Skin-You-Alive if you ever take that tone with me again!" She said as she flicked a paper fan out. "Now look here. Mistral is a big place. We just don't have the manpower to search through the whole city without getting the attention of the police... All for one little girl"
The next thing Evie did was sudden, but clearly she needed to show she's serious. So she dropped all the Lien she had onto the table. Which was a large amount for anyone to drop on Lil' Miss's table, and it sure as she got the attention of the whole bar. That was all the money that Evie had in London which was over 50,000$, that got converted to Lien automatically when she was sent to Remnant. "With respect Lil' Miss... I don't care how much manpower it takes. Because between you and me, I know just how connected the Swarm is all across Remnant. I need this woman Neopolitian hunted down by the end of the day. And if even then this amount of Lien isn't enough for you to work so fast, you have my word I'll have another large amount sent to you when the job is done" She said with a stern look.
Lil' Miss, in return, smirked at Evie. "My my... You must really want her dead" She said back. "Very well. You come back to the bar in an hour and we should have some news about this Neo lady you want dealt with" She said.
Evie nodded and stood up. "Thank you..." She said and walked out of the bar.
When Evie left, the body guard on the left of Lil' Miss looked at her. "Lil' Miss... We already know where that Neopolitian is-"
"I KNOW that we know" Lil' Miss said and raised her hand up to her. "But... As much as I appreciate the amount of Lien that girl just stupidly gave to us, I owe that same Neo girl a favor to the family. And it oh so happens to involve her" She said, giving off an evil smirk.
[With Jacob] (Beacon) David's Dorm room - 2:05PM
The first thing Jacob and David did when they got back to Beacon was trash Davids room, trying to find any and all leads that Arthur may have left behind.
"Why aeren't we following Arthur and the White Fang?" David asked
"That's what he wants. He's probably expecting us to follow him into some sort of trap. Trust me it's been done before" Jacob said as he went though Arthurs drawer and tossing his clothes out trying to search for anything inside. "Besides. I have Dr. Peaches checking the live cameras for any sign of Arthur. If he tries to come back into Beacon we'll know"
"I can't believe Arthur is a Faunus... Why didn't he tell me? Him and I are good friends" David said as he was checking Arthurs bed. Under the bed and even in the mattress itself with his machete.
"Most Faunus are too ashamed to admit they're Faunus. I can't imagine he's happy about the scars on his head and would want anyone to know" Jacob said back. while he kept searching the drawer, he got annoyed and pushed the drawer over on the ground. "Dammit! What is this asshole planning?! He has mining equipment. he's bringing 20 soldiers into Beacon. What the hell does this guy plan on digging through without being caught?!"
"Holy shit... I think I found out what that is" David pulled out some papers from Arthurs binder that was on his desk. "Of all the places to hide bad guy documents, its out in the open"
"Fucking cocky asshole" Jacob walked over as David put the papers out on the desk. Jacob picked one up that was mining schematics. "Look here. He plans to have explosives all on the edge of this wall at the end of the mine. What is he planning to blow up?"
"I think it's something under the school... check this out" David picked up another paper. This one was blueprints of a structure under Beacon Academy. Jacob recognized the blueprints almost instantly as the underground bunker the Fall Maiden was in. "What's so special in here that they're gonna blow a hole inside?"
"Oh god... They found out about the bunker" Jacob said with widened eyes. "That's what they're trying to break into... But where the hell are they bringing all this mining equipment? They'd set off a ton of alarms trying to sneak in" Jacob took a look at the rest of the papers, and found a map of Vale with some markings on it. "Son of a bitch! These guys aren't going straight into Beacon. They're crossing through Forever Fall and straight into the Emerald Forest"
"That's why They've gotten away with this mining for as long as they have. They've been circling AROUND Beacon and mining in the back of the school. They'd never set off a single alarm this way" David said. "Pretty smart if you ask me"
"And Edward isn't going to catch Arthur or any of the White Fang on the cameras because they're going through the forests where there's nothing but Grimm. A perfect cover for these assholes" Jacob said. "We need to go into the Emerald Forest NOW! I gotta warn Ozpin to lock the bunker down, and I gotta call Ironwood and tell him to send as many Robots as he can to kill everyone in that fucking mine" Jacob took his scroll out and was going to start dialing, but then David grabbed the phone.
"Wait wait wait! We can't do that. We can't kill Arthur" David said.
Jacob scoffed. "David have you not been listening to me?"
"I have! And Arthur is more misguided than evil" David said. "He's my best friend... I can't let him die. Please Jacob... Lets just deal with this together. We can bring Arthur back alive"
Jacob looked at David, sighing as he couldn't find any way to explain to him that Arthur needs to die. On one hand he knows too much about The Apple of Eden and the map. But on the other... David definitely isn't wrong about how Arthur clearly isn't right mentally. Cant really blame him too, for who knows what happened to him and his ears. "I'll... I'll TRY to take him alive. But everyone else dies"
"Deal" David said.
"I'm serious David. It is very crucial that they never get into that bunker. There's something else in there that they can never get their hands on compared to what they're actually after" Jacob said. the two got their gear and headed out of the door. It might be wrong to not tell anyone else about Arthur and the mining job, and probably just plain stupid to go without backup... But that's a typical Jacob thing to do then again.
30 minutes later...
The location of the mine entrance was tough find at first for the two. It was pretty far from the school grounds, deep in the forest to prevent anyone from Beacon from locating it. And even then it was still not easy to find. But thanks to Jacobs keen senses, he found the entrance was in a cave built into a rocky cliff.
"This is it" Jacob said. "Now it's gonna be a long walk through the mines if they're all the way at the bunker... David. you need to stay out here in case any White Fang try to get into the cave, or escape"
"Can do Jacob... But..." David sighed. "I gotta be honest man. This is all still confusing. I mean if these guys are after some sort of map, and it's not in this bunker then why-"
"It's a very long and complicated story David. Trust me" Jacob said to him. "But the point is that the map they're after isn't in this bunker at all. It's in my room safe and sound... But what's actually inside this bunker? They can never get inside whatsoever. All I'll say about it"
"Wait... You've had this map in your room of all places" David asked. "Jeez... never would've guessed" He said.
"Exactly" Jacob pat his back. "I'll be back soon. Just stay put" He said before going into the cave.
[With Evie] (Mistral) Lower District - 3:35PM
Evie walked back into the bar, after an hour went by and she was scouting the whole area. It's not easy to get familiarized with a whole new area, especially for an Assassin like Evie. It took her a while to memorize all of Beacon and its locations but she eventually got it all down very well. But in Mistral, she didn't know the place like at all so she was just exploring as much as she could for an hour. But now she's back and hopefully she'll get what she wanted now.
"I'm back Lil' Miss" Evie said and walked up to her table.
"You sure are" Lil Miss said and smirked. "Good news is we know where Neo is..."
Evie raised a brow. "Bad news...?"
"Well Evie... Neo helped out my two nieces with some issues involving the police and a nightclub. And for that I always said I owed her a-"
"You fucking bitch..." Evie said and backed away from her table, now looking around at the other gang members glaring at her and two of them walked in front of the door. "I gave you a fortune to kill her!"
"Yes I know..." Lil' Miss said. "But... my debt to her is worth alot more"
And that's when she heard some hard footsteps in the floor above her. She slowly turned around, and there she was. Neo was walking on the railing of the top floor, swinging her parasol around and glaring down at Evie. Her outfit was all the same but now she was wearing Romans fedora. "I'll take it from here Lil' Miss"
"Neo... You you fucking MONSTER!" Evie pulled her pistol out her jeans and began shooting rapidly at her. Neo blocked all the shots with her parasol and then dived down to attack her. Evie rolled out of the way, and just barely dodged Neo's next attack with her parasol blade. Evie quickly countered the next attack by grabbing her arm and throwing her into a wooden table, breaking it in pieces. Neo jumped back up as Evie threw a throwing knife at her, but then was disappointing that when the throwing knife made contact with her chest, Neo's body shattered like glass and the knife hit the wall behind her instead. Evie raised a brow but then quickly blocked another hit from Neo when she came from behind and pushed her back. Neo then grabbed her by her sweat shirt and threw her into the bar area with strong force. Evie groaned as she held her stomach, and as Neo walked up to her but then got surprised with a sudden beer bottle to the face by Evie as she got back into the fight. Evie shoved her into a wooden pillar and tried stabbing Neo in the neck with a shard of glass from the broken bottle, but Neo held onto her wrist trying to get it away. Evie was about to win too before they were stopped by Lil' Miss getting their attention by clearing her throat loudly.
"Now now you two... As fun as it is to watch you two, I think it's time you took this outside and stop wrecking my bar" Lil' Miss said. Evie and Neo looked around to the other gang members glaring at the two and reaching for their weapons. Evie and Neo looked back at each other glaring.
Next thing they knew, they jumped through the glass window and continued to fight each other. Neo pulled her parasol out with the blade and went to stab Evie, who dodged the first few stabs but then stomped on the parasol with her left foot, and then kicked the parasol out her hands with the other foot. "You tried to murder my whole team!" Evie shouted and punched her.
Neo grunted and backed up. She put her hand on the wall to keep up as she wiped some blood off her face and chuckled. "I was trying to kill you... Your team just got in the way" She said. "But after I'm through with you, your brother will know how he felt when he took Roman from me... and THEN I'll kill him next!" She said and punched her back when she said then. Evie grunted and backed away from her too.
"You'll never win! I'll make sure of it!" Evie shouted and ran up to Neo to keep fighting through the streets.
[With Jacob] (Beacon) Underneath the school - 3:45PM
Since Jacob knew where he was going through the mines, he got to finding Arthur and the other White Fang quicker. While navigating the mines, he killed a total of 12 White Fang soldiers so now there was only 8 left. And when Jacob got to the end of the mines, he was in a large caved out area where there were explosives everywhere, and Arthur was rubbing his hand on some part of the wall that wasn't stone. It was a greenish metal instead. 'The bunker wall... I don't have much time before they blow it open' He thought.
"Lets go people! I want the bombs ready for detonation any day now!" Arthur yelled at the White Fang workers. And then one of then ran up to Arthur. "What is it?"
"Scouting teams haven't got back to me. I think something happened to them" The Faunus told him.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Arthur asked. Jacob quickly climbed up to the top walls to avoid being spotted, as another soldier ran inside from behind him. 'Shit. I missed one on my way inside' He thought.
"Arthur! Bad news... All the scouts out in the outer mines are dead. Somebody is in here with us" The guy told him, which got every other soldier and worker in the areas attention. They all were murmuring to them self and get their weapons out.
Arthur looked around narrowing his eyes. "He's here..." He said as he retracted his Grimm claws out and walked around as he kept looking for Jacob. "Jacob... I know you're in here. I'm sure this must come as a shock to you that I'm the spy... Or maybe it doesn't. Maybe you've already known for a while. I mean how else could you be here if you didn't spy on my conversation at the factory?" He asked.
Jacob frowned a bit as he was up in the ceiling still. "You knew I was listening?"
"I do now" Arthur said and smirked, trying to figure out where the voice came from since there was alot of echos. "I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I play off the illusion of one to undermine people like you... That's why your here now. Cornered in an underground cave ready to die" He motioned the soldiers to head to the only exit out of the this cave area they were all in.
"Why would you do this Arthur? What you're doing will eventually lead to hundreds to die. Maybe even more" Jacob said.
"I know... And I'm perfectly fine with that" Arthur said.
"Think about your mother and father... What would they think if they-"
Arthur just laughed. "Oh Jacob... You believed that shit about my parents? The fancy rich people who gave me a stupid name?" He asked as he walked around. "That was a lie... 18 years ago my real mother was raped by a Faunus, then when I was born she died in childbirth. Leaving me, a little rabbit Faunus, with my Human father who despised me whenever he looked at me... And then when I was 5, he got a bit more drunk than usual and takes his anger out on me... With a hacksaw to my ears" He said and rubbed his head a bit. "The police took him away and I was thrown away in an orphanage for the rest of my life. THAT is why I don't care what happens to... well anyone. I equally hate both Humans and Faunus alike and I have not a single bit of empathy for any of the people I fuck over for riches beyond my belief" He said.
All Jacob could do was react to his life story. He cringed as he heard the dark things about the loss of his mother, and even more at what his father did. "I... I'm sorry to hear that..." He said. He could only half understand his anger, but the other half already knows that theirs no saving Arthur like he promised to David. "But what you're doing? I can't just let you get away with this. All the lives you plan on ruining... all for a prize that you'll never get"
"I know all about the map that leads to the Relic of Gods" He said. "I've been promised to be by the side of those who hired me"
"Those who hired you aren't going to deliver on their promise. If it's not me who kills you, they'll kill you the second you hand over the map" Jacob said back.
Arthur smirked. "Trust me Jacob... They'll keep their word. I wouldn't have agreed to do something so fucking crazy if I didn't trust them"
"Then have it your way..." Jacob said as he was moving across the wall during the whole conversation getting in position to strike. Jacob Jumped off the wall and landed on top of one soldiers and stabbed him in the back of the neck with his gauntlet. Before the soldier next to him could attack, Jacob shot the other in the face with his pistol without even looking. "I'll take you down, and then your new found friends are next" He said tossed a voltaic bomb on the ground as the soldiers behind him were coming up to him. Jacob then turned back and began to attack the remaining 6 soldiers with his brass knuckles. He started with 3 who were electrocuted and not attacking. He uppercut one hard in the jaw, then punched one in the rib cage even harder, managing to break a rib or 2. Then he retracted both his hidden blades and cut the thirds soldiers throat with both blades and kicked him back into a pit that was next to the platform. He went back to the soldier who was holding his side and trying to back away, Jacob grabbed hold of his head, pulled him back, and slammed his head into the other soldiers head who's jaw he fucked up. Now both their skulls were fucked up but then they died when Jacob stabbed both of them into their necks upwards.
Jacob blocked a machete slash from one more soldier as the last 3 surrounded Jacob as they got their weapons out. Jacob narrowed his eyes and kept on blocking and dodging constant attacks from the enemies? Jacob had to get the enemies to all move in a certain order in order to perform a final move. Took some maneuvering but when they were all lined up in a straight line, one soldier in front of Jacob and 2 behind him, He managed to do a flip in the air. He got his pistol out while in the air, and when he aimed it at the soldiers, he charged up this bullet shot with a hefty amount of Aura. He shot the bullet out which was glowing white with Aura. The bullet hit all 3 of the soldiers and penetrated all of them in the heads. By the time Jacob landed on his feet, all 3 of the soldiers fell on the ground dead. As he put his hands on his knees and panted a bit but then quickly got back up when he heard Arthur speak again.
"Nicely done Jacob. You ALMOST got me to see the error of my ways and change sides" Arthur said. "Almost..."
"Quit your fucking talking and come out to fight asshole!" Jacob said.
Suddenly Jacob backed away as Arthur landed in front of him. "Fight? This isn't a fight... This is a slaughter" He said as he pulled out a Fire Dust crystal. He crushed it into his fist as his hand began to catch fire. "Did nice guy David ever tell you about my fire semblance? Learned it while in a house fire... One that I caused of course" He said and smirked and clapped his hands. Both his Grimm claws caught fire around the claws. "Fun fact, fire mixed with Grimm claws has the unnatural effect of burning right through Aura... You're so fucked Jacob. And I cant wait to show off your dead body to everyone at Beacon when I'm done here" He said as the two narrowed their eyes at each other, waiting for the other to attack.
[With Evie] (Mistral) Lower District - 3:57PM
The fighting between Evie and Neo continued in the streets, with no sign of it stopping until either one dies. Both of them lost their weapons during the fight and are both using fists.
Evie swept both of Neo's legs and as she fell over, Evie grabbed hold of her head and put her in a tight choke hold. "You put my teammate in the hospital you fucking bitch!" She said to her as she gasped for air. "I'd say this isn't personal but you made it very personal..."
Neo managed to move her foot out and drag a 2 by 4 wooden plank over to her. She had to pick it up with both her feet which caused her to hang a bit by her neck while in the choke hold, but the strategy was effective when she grabbed hold of it with her hands and hit Evie with it, making Evie grunt and back away holding her head. Neo panted and breathed heavy as she turned around, still holding the plank. "Well THIS is extremely personal. And I'm not afraid to admit it" She said and swung it around, hitting Evie twice in the head.
The second hit caused Evie to fall on the ground, and after all the fighting between the two, Evie's Aura has been depleted. Evie was now in incredible pain from head damage. She managed to get on her feet, but was now wobbling around, trying to stay on her feet as one hand held her head. The other one was hugging the wall as she tried to slowly get away from the fight. Neo just smirked and casually walked up to Evie with the plank. "When I'm through with you,I'm sending your dead body back to your team. That'll be a good message to send back to your brother... And I hope he gets mad and comes to find me. It'll save me the time and I won't have so many assholes to kill between me and him"
Evie's response was just to breathe heavy as she slowly looked at her. Her vision beginning to become blurry. "I won't... Let you... Let you..." She mumbled trying to speak properly.
"Won't let me what? Win?" She asked and pushed Evie onto the ground. The impact caused Evie to faint finally from all the damage. "... I already have" She said and raised the plank up over her head. Ready to finally take her revenge and bash Evie's head in...
Or would have. She was stopped by a red and gold spear hitting the plank and impaling it into a wall.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Jaune shouted as he and the rest of JNPR all ran up to Neo from different directions. Neo growled as she was so close, but now has to take her leave. When Jaune ran up to her and swung his sword to hit her, Neo's boy shattered like glass again, making her escape. "Shit! Where did she go..."
"Jaune!" Pyrrha got Jaunes attention as she ran to Evie on the ground. He quickly ran over as well as Nora and Ren and all 4 of them carefully rolled Evie onto her back. Pyrrha lowered her head down to her head. "She's still breathing. Thank god"
"Evie? Evie wake up!" Nora said. "Oh god... I-Is she gonna be alright?"
"Her Aura was depleted before she fainted. We need to get her to a hospital now" Pyrrha said.
"I'll call an ambulance" Ren said.
"No don't bother. We need to take her now" Jaune said. He carefully picked Evie up and carried her bridal style. "Lets get out of here. Hurry"
All of them left to get Evie some help. Neo was long gone at this point, but they all know that this wasn't over. Not by a longshot
[With Jacob] (Beacon) Underneath the school - 4:00PM
The fighting between Arthur and Jacob went on for a few minutes so far. Jacob had to be extra careful with this fight because due to Arthurs heated up claws, they could really damage him. He had to keep his distance and avoid his claw swipes. But at the same time he had to take the offensive as well.
Arthur shoved Jacob into the wall, and went to swipe like crazy. Jacob dodged all of the swipes as he moved down the wall. This caused Arthur to instead leave a ton of burning scratch marks on the wall as he tried to scratch Jacobs skin. "Hold still you fuck! I'll make it quick!" Arthur yelled and got Jacob cornered into the wall. He went for a swipe to Jacobs head.
This is where Jacob had to fight back. He quickly ducked from the swipe, and then kicked Arthur in the knee. Arthur shouted as he was about to fall on one knee until Jacob, charging his brass knuckles with Aura, uppercut Arthur hard. Making him go up in the air and slammed his back on the ground below him. Jacob got back up and ran over to Arthur with his gauntlet blade out ready to kill him. But then Arthur got back into focus and quickly absorbed the flames from his claws and attempted to blast Jacob with a fireball from all the flames that he had left. Attempted because Jacob quickly slid on the ground, avoiding the flames before he could get burnt.
Jacob then jumped up in the air as he got up from the ground. Before Arthur could get back up, Jacob landed back on the ground and slammed his foot on Arthurs hand. Arthur shouted from having his hand crushed, and didn't have enough time to use his other hand as Jacob slammed his other knee into his gut, getting into a one knee position. Then Jacob performed a final move on him as he retracted his blade out again and stabbed Arthur deep into his chest.
Confession
Arthur was on the ground, dying and coughing up a bit of blood and putting his hands on his bleeding chest, while Jacob got off of him and crouched down next to him. "Oh man... This is it? This is how my life ends? In a fucking cave?! Bullshit..." Arthur said.
Jacob sighed and looked down at him. "It's over Arthur... I'm sorry it had to come to this. But I knew the second I saw you in that factory that there's no saving you" He said. "I promised David I'd try to take you in alive when we came into the forest but I knew-"
"W-W-Wait... David?" He asked and slowly raised his head up. "What does DAVID know about this?! Did he... did he lead you to me?"
"Yeah. He helped me find you. He found your papers on your desk" Jacob said.
"Papers? What..." Arthur slowly widen his eyes and lat back on the ground. "That mother fucking bastard... That! Fucking! Traitor!"
"He's no traitor. He may be your partner but that doesn't mean he needs to be by your side as you try to murder everyone and destroy all of society"
"You dumb fucking idiot Jacob... You don't understand" Arthur said and rolled his eyes on the ground.
"No YOU don't understand! David has alot more respect for life than you! And he'd never sell out everyone in Beacon for a fucking map" Jacob said.
"You are so fucking stupid Jacob! David sold ME out! Wanna know how Jacob? Wanna know why 'nice guy David' and 'super innocent David' is actually a real evil asshole? Because DAVID! is the one who HIRED ME!" Arthur shouted.
Jacob widened her eyes not expecting that. He was so shocked he skipped a heart beet from the shock. "What are you talking about?" He grabbed Arthur by his shirt. "Answer me!"
"I thought he was my friend. I thought... I thought he cared! I thought I could trust him but... b-but... He purposely lead you to me..." He let out a tear as he breathes heavy again and then finally died.
Jacob let go of Arthur and stood up on his feet. His mind was flooding with thoughts of what Arthur just told him. "Was he telling the truth...? Is David the true spy...? N-No. No there's no way. He couldn't be the spy... It's just not possible" He said to himself.
Just when he thought things couldn't be worse, he turned around and his heart sank when he saw a certain individual walk inside the cave and glare at him.
"Yes... It is possible. Because it's true" David said.