Big Issues
AN: Sorry for the wait, I really hope this chapter makes up for that. And thanks to Solstice1309 for the fave and follow of this series. Not too much to say beyond that I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
War for Menagerie- Part 2
Red blade crashed against a red staff with a small burst of sparks. Then it happened again. And again. And a dozen more times in quick succession before the men who held the weapons backed off.
Adam had targeted Sun first after witnessing the degree of trust the younger man has with Blake. Meanwhile the Albain brothers had gone after Ghira and Sienna, Trifa went for Itazura, and Yuma took on Blake.
It didn't take long for the paired fighters to separate so they would have room to maneuver and fight freely.
In the case of Blake and Yuma, they had taken to the rooftops where the bat man leapt from point to point and glides with his wings. His advantage was clear as he could swoop, turn, and spin through the air to avoid Blake's attacks.
Yet while he held the advantage in the air, that didn't hold true once he was forced to land. Blake held the weight category and more direct combat experience, while her Shadow helped her shift positions quickly.
Gambol Shroud's blades locked with the steel scimitars as they glared at each other. "What do you think you'll get out of this?" Blake asks as she pushes the taller man down the roof a short distance.
"Ha! Me?" Yuma laughs as he breaks the lock and his flurry of slashes were blocked and deflected. "I get good fights with permission to kill."
"You want to kill?!"
"Are you kidding? Why would someone fight if it wasn't to kill your target?" He punctuates that with a scissor slash aimed at her neck only to cut through a Shadow and take a kick to his right ribs in return.
Yuma stumbled across the roof before jumping and taking to the air where he glided three houses down the street.
"You're sick!" Blake shouts as she jumps after the bat.
"Nah, I just apply my skills to the logical conclusion!" Yuma shouts with a smile as he jumps at the cat, his wings beating the air for an extra boost of speed.
Once again, they clashed in midair, though Blake's greater mass meant that they landed on a roof rather than falling in the alley.
—-
Corsac spun around a strike from Mufasa that left a small crater in the road and stabbed at Ghira's ribs with Inferno, only for a large hand the clamp down on his arm. A moment later, that hand threw the fox away.
"Are you afraid to kill, Ghira Belladonna?" Corsac sneers.
"The ability to fight does not give someone the right to force others to their will." The panther man kept his tone even as he walked towards his opponent. "Nor does having a position of authority."
"Oh, but you are wrong. Power in any form is a gift that shouldn't be squandered with acts of humility!" The tall man flicks his tail before dashing at Ghira, the spiral pattern on his sai glowing red from the Fire Dust inside.
"And I suppose that everything you've done was nothing but an act!?" Ghira's weapon swung through the air and forced the fox to roll out of the path or risk losing his head.
"Hmm… you really did go for a killing blow on that one. Perhaps there is a bit of the old you buried deep inside." Corsac's surprise morphed into satisfaction. "Let's draw him out and show the world how much of a hypocrite you really are!" With that declaration, the fox wove around the powerful attacks and struck back with quick strikes of his own that left searing wounds, though minor.
—-
"We should have removed you sooner!" Fennec yells as he blocks the blades on the whip with Cyclone.
"Is that so?" Sienna forced herself to remain calm. If the smaller fox was going to run his mouth, she would let him. She didn't think he'd be as cooperative if he was captured and interrogated, so this was her best shot to see how deep the divide was within her organization.
"If that letter from Ghira had come any later, Adam would have disposed of you back then!" Fennec screams before using his sai to send a powerful gust of wind at the tiger, ending her attacks and pushing her back until sprawling across the stone steps leading to the front door of the Belladonna mansion.
Fennec took the chance to close the distance and stab at Sienna as she was picking herself up. But she was a practiced warrior and dodged the attack that left a crack in the step.
It was unfortunate that the roofed entryway didn't give her the space needed to use Cerberus Whip to its fullest but she knew her weapon well. A quick kick aimed at Fennec's head connected with his shoulder instead as she wrapped the chain around her right arm.
"So, you think that I'd go down that easily? It was Adam who had to be carried away the last time we fought." Sienna mocks before jumping off the steps with a blade from her whip in hand, clashing against the golden sai and following that up with a knee to his gut.
—-
Compared to the other fights, the one between Itazura and Trifa was quiet. That was partly due to when the fox lifted her weapons to shoot, the spider sealed the barrels with webs. That left them to duel with their blades and martial arts skills.
Trifa caught the kama blade of Lagh with her knife as the weapon was jabbed at her followed by Loki swinging for her head. That was stopped as Trifa caught the barrel in her hand.
When they separated, a line of webbing stuck to the gun and led back to Trifa who wore a victorious smirk as she yanked Loki from Itazura's hand and made sure to throw it behind herself a fair distance.
"One toy down, one to go." Trifa grins as she rushes at Itazura with a knife in each hand.
The spider stabbed and slashed at the fox who flowed like water around the attacks, once or twice needing to block the blades with her own. One stab at her face let her have a good look at the blade to see that part of it was given small serrations and there was a dark purple liquid coating the metal.
"You may be an assassin but you don't have much experience in direct combat, do you?"
"What's that matter to you? One scratch and you're dead. And if I don't get you, Adam will."
"Hmm… sounds like a fun time but I have someone to meet later tonight. You kinda interrupted our party."
"Then it will be your last!" Trifa moved in close and stabbed at the shorter girl's stomach only for her thin knife to strike metal. Looking down, she saw that her blade had been inserted into the barrel of a rather familiar shotgun and had cut through the thick webbing. "Uh-oh."
—-
Sun had been in better positions before and he was really wishing that he could be back to fighting Torchwick on the Vale docks again. That was a fairer fight, even if he had been held at gunpoint due to bad luck.
Since the fight had begun, he'd been on the defensive and was putting all of his skill with the staff to use keeping the red blade away. While he was sure that his aura could take a few attacks, he knew that he wasn't at one hundred percent due to earlier fighting and use of his Semblance not long ago.
But he was reading Adam and how he fought as they went. The taller man was fast, really fast, but he knew that from the last time… he just happened to be going solo this time. At the same time, he was lucky that there was a greater emphasis on speed rather than strength.
There were a few openings that he could exploit but he needed a moment to get off the back foot.
Adam sheathed Wilt for a second and swung for Sun's feet, the monkey back flipping away and over the blade while his staff struck the bull on the chin, snapping his head back from the unexpected attack. That bought Sun a bit more time to put some distance between them.
"You're going to pay for that." Adam rubs his jaw with his gloved hand.
"You're already planning to kill us and enslave the town. What's worse than that?" Sun holds his staff in a ready position.
Adam didn't have anything to say for that but his grip on his hilt tightened.
"Yeah, you're just that kind kid who has to have things go their way or they'll throw a tantrum and break things until they get what they want." Sun shrugs. "Dealt with them before."
"Everything I do is for the good of the Faunus! We will show the humans that we are the superior species on Remnant as we rule over them and make them pay for their sins against us!"
"Yeah, not buying it dude. Attacking the people you claim to be protecting? Helping to ruin a Kingdom and slaughtering humans and Faunus? You are simply justifying the critics with your actions and driving the people who want to live in peace away."
"Hmm… you may be right about having killed our own but they are martyrs for our cause!"
"You put them in the crossfire intentionally in the best-case scenario!"
"Sacrifices will have to be made until we establish our rule."
"Ha! We? There is no 'we' with you, just yourself and people to be your tools."
"Perhaps, but it will be my rule that ascends the Faunus!"
"Do you even listen to yourself? You're just a power-hungry creep with a vendetta against the world. You talk like you are going to help us but you show that we don't matter to you at all!" Sun's tail thrashed to show his anger despite the rest of his body remaining ready to fight.
But to his surprise, Adam began to laugh softly. "Oh, you are good." Adam covers his face with his hand as he chuckles, watching as the blonde grows more confused. "But tell me, did Blake promise to stay by your side as she did to me? What did she tell you about… me?"
His hand lowered at the final word, with his mask in his grip. But seeing his eyes for the first time gave Sun a shock. His right eye is a brilliant blue that contrasts sharply with his red-brown hair and black and red clothes. But it was the left that drew attention seeing that the Iris was faded and dulled, surrounded by red sclera. And the cause of that was clear by the SDC brand that had removed the eyebrow and blinded the eye, the mark a red scar on his face.
"This is what humans do to us. To them, we are but slaves in need of service to a master!" He pauses to put the mask back on his face. "And Blake… she used to be so beautiful… and she was mine. She had made a promise to stay with me forever, you know. She tore out my heart when she left."
"From what I've seen, you've been heartless the whole time. Blake is nothing but an object to you and if you can't have her, then nobody else should." Sun glares at the older man who seemed surprisingly calm and the silence drew to an uncomfortable length.
"You claimed that you don't matter to me, did you not?" Adam finally spoke. "The thing is, you do matter to me."
That caught Sun's attention.
"You matter because she wants to be with no one but you!" That shout was punctuated by Adam surging forward and Wilt flashed from its sheath. A flurry of motion made it look as if there were multiple copies of Adam attacking Sun.
The staff managed to block all of the attacks, barely, but Sun was driven backwards until his back slammed into a house.
Then the red on Adam from his hair to his shoes began to glow.
—-
Ghira grabbed hold of Corsac by the neck and lifted him from the ground. Despite that, the fox was smiling, only irritating the panther further to where he extended his claws and drew blood. Meanwhile, Ghira's weapon lay on the ground some distance away and smoking slightly from an earlier fireball that removed it from his grip.
"The Bloody Panther is coming back. Hehe." Corsac laughs only to gag as the hand around his throat tightens slightly. "Gah! Just a little more to break that cage you trapped him in. Or will the deaths of your loved ones be the key?"
That was the only warning Ghira had before Inferno was stabbed into his arm through a gap in the armor. The resulting roar of pain and anger was deafening, more than enough to blow the hood off the fox.
The sai twisted in the wound and seared the flesh until the fox was dropped. "Ha! That semblance of yours is a hindrance. A weak defense to compensate for the strength boost granted by your Blood Rage."
"GRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!"
The roar made Corsac freeze in place from primal fear, eyes wide and breath caught in his throat. In a flash, a massive arm was slammed into the smaller man's chest, emptying his lungs and he could swear that some of his ribs cracked with his aura. And that pain was just the beginning: Ghira picking up Corsac by the leg and swinging him overhead and down into the ground. Then he did it thrice more leaving two small craters in the road, though one was filled by the fox himself.
"Puny fox." Ghira scoffs as he stalks off to another fight, leaving Corsac to lay in his crater covered in some rubble and groaning in pain.
—-
Sienna heard the roar from Ghira and felt excitement run through her. The fact that the beast was unleashed from within reminded her of why she had joined the White Fang early on; the leader being a gentle giant but having the ability to fight back when pressed.
She may have been a bit too heavy on use of violence since taking over the White Fang from Ghira but everything had been specifically planned for maximum effect with minimal harm. Of course, not everything went as planned but the worst result had come from within the organization itself. The taste of violence had become addictive to some and soon it had grown out of control.
Thus leading to this situation they were in.
"Blood Rage is now free and my Grudge is growing." Sienna grins as Fennec was distracted by seeing his brother slammed into the ground, though the twitch of his ears let her know he heard her.
"No… You are all dying tonight." The fox declares quietly but sharp tiger ears heard him clearly.
In a flash, Cyclone blasted Sienna back towards the Belladonna home where she slammed into the wall, though she was able to twist so she landed with her feet.
From there, she leapt back at Fennec who was sprinting to meet her halfway. Sienna twisted in the air before landing on the ground, Cerberus Whip fully extended and moving.
The clash was furious and fast, Fennec spurred on by his rage and desperation while Sienna's Grudge semblance increased her speed and strength as the auras of the fighters around them took damage.
Steel flashed in the lights of the night along with the sparks created from metal-to-metal contact. It seemed as though neither fighter was gaining any ground until the chain wrapped around Fennec's right arm and yanked him off balance. From there, Sienna rushed in and punched his face with a left hook and followed that with a kick to the ribs.
That left the shorter man stumbling backwards until Sienna wrapped her whip around his waist and began to spin, taking the fox for a ride around the street several times before he was thrown, coming to a stop near his brother. Fennec tried to sit up but his aura shattered and his arms buckled, leaving him to flop back to the ground in exhausted pain.
Seeing Ghira marching off as a few of the White Fang grunts backed out of an alley, Sienna followed after him in hopes of turning his strength to a bigger target.
—-
Back with Itazura and Trifa, the fox pulled the trigger on Lagh and the Dust round burned off the webbing and shattered the knife. The spider may have been fast enough to let go of the blade so her hand wasn't shot off, but the shards were scattered in all directions in front of Itazura.
"Agh!" Apparently, some of those shards struck her and her aura flashed in response.
"You're lucky that your aura held out for that. Would have been embarrassing if you were taken down by your own poison." Itazura mocks the other girl, still keeping an eye on the other blade.
"Garr." Trifa growls as she tries to find a way to reverse the situation as she brushes off her clothes. Then something came to mind. "Try this for embarrassing!" She lifts her free hand and releases her web, sticking the fox's feet to the ground and shooting a line that connects the shotgun to the ground so it couldn't be lifted.
"Meh, I need new shoes anyway." The fox shrugs before her free hand lifted with blue flames already dancing in her palm. "Now this? This is how you do it."
Trifa yelped as she dove to the side to avoid the fireball only to find another on its way as soon as she looked up with yet another ready to be thrown.
She got so busy dodging the fireballs while also trying to avoid the burning ground that she missed Itazura slipping out of her footwear and leaving her weapon behind. At least she didn't notice until a hand trapped her wrist and wrenched it so the knife was dropped. From there, her world was full of pain as she dealt with several punches to her face and body that broke her aura and was sent unceremoniously to the ground thanks to a spinning roundhouse kick to the head.
With Trifa down, she let the flames around them fade away and retrieved Loki, using it to free Lagh. Her shoes were cut free as well and tossed close to the Belladonna steps for later disposal.
As for Trifa, she was hogtied with her own webs and left in the open.
—-
Blake used Shadow to dodge an attack from Yuma after he made a twisting dive and turn that nearly took her head. In response, the use of her semblance launched her just aside of the bat where she slashed and nicked his left wing.
But their battle was still a contest of agility where one would try to outmaneuver in an attempt to hit the other. So far, they had proven rather even in that regard, any damage during those times being minor so the real deciding factor was their stamina. But when they fought face to face, they both used their paired blades to great effect to slash, stab, block, and parry.
"You're not going to win tonight! You know that, don't you?" Yuma boasts as he lands on the other end of the house they were on.
"Against you? How's that jaw?" Blake grins, channeling a bit of Sun's cockiness. The result was as expected, Yuma's face soured and he launched himself at her in a rage.
At that moment, Blake decided to try out the upgrade she made to Gambol Shroud. She used her fingers to press on the cleaver/sheath and a section the size of her hand popped out and she quickly attached the larger weapon to her back. The new piece was attached to the end of the ribbon on the katana half and from there it opened up to reveal itself to be a four-pointed shuriken.
And Blake only needed to twist her wrist to get it moving and the sharp blades spinning in the air made Yuma veer off. He didn't get far when the whirling shuriken dragged the black ribbon over and around his leg.
By the time he noticed, it was too late and the heavier cat held her ground as the ribbon drew taut. Yuma came to an abrupt halt and slammed down onto the clay tiled roof with a grunt, the shock making him drop one of his scimitars and it slid over the edge.
Yuma rolled over and shook the tether off only to see the shuriken to be immediately pulled back to its owner. The owner who was running at full speed and jumped to drive a thick leg into his chest, the raised heel only focusing the impact damage.
Yuma's aura flickered as it barely held on but he was sent off the roof to the ground where he landed with a thud.
As Blake looked down at her opponent, she caught the familiar flash of red just in time to watch as Adam slashed the air.
A streak of blazing red aura ripped through the air, cutting a thin and shallow trench through the dirt road. And Yuma was in its path with his aura broken, his world becoming filled with red and pain.
—-
Sun watched as the world turned red just after his earlier attacker fell in front of him. There was nothing that he could do as the Moonslice tore into Yuma and the man screamed as his lower half was torn apart. The screams were silenced as the semblance claimed the rest of him, scattering what was left into rose petal looking flakes.
He was no stranger to death; growing up in Vacuo gave him several opportunities to watch as people he knew were taken by the desert but there were few times that there was a body left to actually watch die. More often than not, they would simply be gone and the shifting sands would quickly hide any traces that someone was ever there.
But what he just witnessed… that was another thing entirely.
He was shaken from his brief shock by Blake dropping down next to him. "Are you alright?"
"At the moment, yeah." The blonde looks back at Adam who didn't look concerned at all that he had just killed one of his most loyal followers, just simply sheathing Wilt as he watched the couple. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, for now."
"Good, 'cause I really hope that our friends are doing better than we are right now."
—-
Back in Mistral, Jaune was dressed in a pair of black slacks with matching shoes and a pale blue button-down shirt. He wasn't quite sure if he should wear the tie in his hand.
"Hmmm..., even Sun wore a tie to the dance for Blake and he barely ever buttons his shirt." He mutters as he holds the strip of cloth up to his chest to see how the blue contrasts with the lighter shade of the shirt.
"Just put the thing on, kid. She can always take it off later." Qrow smirks from the couch where he was watching the television.
The phrasing and implication hit the blonde like a truck. "H-h-hey! We're just going for dinner!"
"And you'd be surprised as to where that can lead. I hope you make her happy, no matter what happens."
"He is correct, Jaune." Ren supports his friend. Qrow glances at the younger man to see if he'd say anything more but his attention was back to the trivia game show they were watching.
"Fine, I'll put it on." Jaune grumbles as he works the knot and adjusts it. A glance at his scroll for the time revealed that they still had fifteen minutes to spare but it would be best to leave early.
Upstairs, the girls were watching as Pyrrha gave her hair a final brushing. It was no surprise that neither Nora or Ruby had much input on how things were going to happen; neither of them had any experience with dates nor were they the types for stereotypical girly things like makeup. Neither of them bothered with anything more than keeping clean, brushing the knots out of their hair, and wearing the clothes they liked… and then fighting.
So Pyrrha was left on her own to apply her usual green eye shadow and a touch of concealer. Adding in a golden ribbon to tie back her hair accented the red locks well.
Standing up, she brushes off her legs and slips her shoes on for the night with her friends following to see how everything begins. It did worry Pyrrha a bit that the girls were surprisingly quiet but her own worries about the date overshadowed that.
"You'll be fine." Nora pats the taller redhead on the back as they reached the stairs.
"But you may want to remember this." Ruby hands the older girl a small pouch with a long ribbon.
"Thank you, both of you." Pyrrha smiles as she takes the purse and ties it around her waist.
"Now, let's knock Jaune dead!" Nora declares with a wide grin.
The shout was more than sufficient to garner the attention of the boy's downstairs and they saw the girls walk down the final steps. Since Ruby and Nora had no plans but to play some games tonight, they were still in their usual combat gear.
But it was Pyrrha who caught the attention of a certain blonde with ease. The young woman is wearing a red tube top with black stripes down her sides of a different material that was glossy. A black skirt was made of the same thing, though it looked like leather, and it included red stripes down the sides of the knee-length skirt that turned out to be stretchy and the same as the top. A simple pair of red pumps adorned her feet while her shoulders were covered by a black shrug with some red patterns.
She had left her usual headpiece in her room in exchange for a golden ribbon that tied her hair back so it flowed down her back and not in its usual ponytail. On her waist, she had tied a gold-colored pouch with its matching strap, presumably to hold her scroll and wallet.
And Jaune was stunned.
Likewise, Pyrrha was as well upon seeing him.
Both of them needed a small nudge from their teammates to do anything more than stare at each other.
"Oh! Um… hi." Jaune's voice cracked, further embarrassing him. "Y-you're looking g-good tonight." He tries to recover with a smile.
Pyrrha was simply used to the spotlight more and rolled with it. "You're looking quite well yourself."
Click Click Click Click
The sounds of the cameras on the girls' scrolls filled the air as Nora and Ruby captured the moment. "Come on! Get together!"
"Yeah! We can try to send these to Professor Goodwitch to let her know how we're doing." Ruby adds as the pair move to the door for the pictures. "Oh! I bet Yang would be happy to see them too!"
"Unfortunately, communication between kingdoms is still limited until Beacon Tower is fully operational." Ren reminds them.
Qrow sat on the couch to watch the kids. It was going better than Yang's first date, easily. Granted, Jaune had yet to empty his bladder in any way, but the poor sap who had come to go with his niece had soiled himself just from seeing her punch out a Beowolf barehanded. Ruby had finished it off with her own prototype scythe. "Haha, good times."
It didn't take long for the couple to leave once the photographers had their fill and they were walking down the streets of Mistral side by side. Within ten minutes, they were in the restaurant standing at the desk.
"Reservation for Nikos?" The attendant asks and receives a confirmation nod from both. "Very well, follow me please."
"Wow, this food is kind of expensive, isn't it?" Jaune comments as he looks through the menu.
"You haven't been somewhere like this before?" Pyrrha was curious.
"Well… my family lives in a small town, at least most of us. But we never had somewhere like this nearby and with ten of us there would be no way my parents could handle that bill often. Usually, we just went to a small place or cooked for ourselves."
"I see. And you said most of your family lives together?"
"Yeah, my sister Saphron and her wife Terra moved to Argus about two years ago. Terra works there as a technician for the communications relay there. Saphron… last I heard she was working at a diner." Jaune shrugs as he can't remember.
"You said they live in Argus?"
"Umm… yeah. Why?"
"Because that's where I'm from!"
"Wait, did we really go this long without really knowing some of the basics about each other?" That question prompted both of them to laugh at how something so simple slipped their minds for so long. Such a mistake was humbling and amusing.
"To be fair, Jaune, we were rather preoccupied with many things over the last… year and a half, nearly two years."
"We have a few months left until the two-year mark since we met. It's only September."
"Jaune, you might want to check the date again, it's October now."
A quick glance at his scroll revealed that she was correct. "I think we really need this break between missions if it's hard to tell what month it is."
"We did spend most of the year on foot crossing the continent." She reminds them both of the journey with a small smile and a shrug.
"Excuse me." A man says as he stands by their table dressed in a proper suit and tie. "I'm the owner of this establishment and I would like to ask, are you Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc?"
The fledgling couple shared a glance. "We are. Why?" Jaune answered.
"Ah, excellent! As for why I'm asking, there have been talk going around about the two of you destroying the Nuckelavee."
"We had a lot of help from our team." Pyrrha was well rehearsed in humility and she was being honest.
"Yes, I recently saw the video myself. Now, on behalf of our fair city I offer your meal to be on the house, this time."
"Oh, um… thank you." Jaune replies, surprised that he was getting any special treatment.
"You're quite welcome. Now, have you decided on what you'd like to order yet?"
"Not yet, we could use a few minutes."
"Very well, I'll get your drinks while you make your selection."
—-
"Oh, come on Nora! How did you beat me!?" Ruby screeches.
They were using their downtime to play some games, in this case, they were playing Ancient Tomes. They hadn't played since they were at Beacon and they both needed a bit of quest time to get used to their characters again and remind themselves of their skill sets.
"I told you before, just because your armor makes you fast at running it doesn't mean much in a head-to-head fight."
"But I can outrun the horses!"
"And my armor makes me stronger when my health gets lowered."
"But my bow!"
"Poisoned me and made me stronger as it did damage. Not my fault that your character can't take a hit."
"Argh! All you do is make your character stronger!"
"She's got enough speed to keep up and can take a few good hits."
"And don't get me started on those mortars!"
"Hehehe, they are so much fun!"
Qrow watched with some amusement as the girls bickered, Ren sitting on a nearby chair doing the same. It was a bit irritating that Leo had yet to call him or stop by with the paperwork as promised but he figured that the man was a bit busy and got distracted by another task.
"Rematch!" Ruby declares as she sends Nora an invitation to duel.
"You're on!" Within seconds, the match began and the girls on the screen began their dance of death. This time Ruby kept moving as she fired powerful enchanted arrows with poison into Nora who was struggling to keep up at first but kept growing slower after every hit.
"I lost?" Nora squeaks the words as her character drops to the ground and the poison kill animation reduced her fighter from a proud warrior woman to a festering pile of green slime.
"Finally! I won!" Ruby cheers, tossing her scroll onto the couch as she celebrates.
"Alright, that's enough." Qrow grabs his niece's arm after nearly being hit in the head. "Now it's my turn."
—-
"This is really good!" Jaune comments as he takes a bite of steak. The pair had decided on getting samplers of many of the dishes and splitting them. That led to them giving reviews to each other and having a good time of it.
But it was just how much they could both eat that surprised everyone else who was watching. Few really knew how much a Huntsman needed to eat to maintain their level of activity. Worse yet, at least for the restaurant's ledgers, they are teenagers which meant that their appetites were already large to start with. It didn't help that both of them were still craving for real food after months of rations on the road.
With all of that going for them, they had gone through enough to feed a small family and showed no signs of slowing down. And the towers of empty plates and bowls grew taller.
"The pork cutlets almost cut themselves." Pyrrha was loving the meat dipped in a tangy sauce and served over rice.
Jaune spotted something in the back corner that made him pause. "Hey Pyrrha? Aren't they the guys from Sun and Neptune's team?"
The girl follows his fork to see the young men eating their own meal together, though she shouldn't have been surprised that they were both dressed similarly to her own date, just in different colors.
"They look like they are having their own time. Perhaps it would be best to let Sage and Scarlet enjoy their time. We can find them tomorrow, maybe."
"You're right, I guess we all deserve to have our time."
"Jaune?"
"Hmm?" He couldn't speak with a mouthful of garlic roasted potatoes.
"I'd like to see if I could call my mother tomorrow. Would you come with me?"
That made his mouth suddenly lock up as his eyes went wide. A few seconds later, his eyes widened further as he tried to swallow the half-chewed food.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized as she pats his back and hands him a cup of water to help wash down the obstruction.
"Gah!" He set down the glass after draining it dry. "Sorry, I- I just wasn't expecting that."
"But?"
Blue eyes locked onto green and were sucked in. "I'll go with you. Just don't be surprised if I'm really, really nervous."
Pyrrha put her hand on his and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me."
"Hehehe, yeah. First time meeting your mom… what can go wrong with that?" He wore an unsure grin with a touch of fear.
"Relax, you'll be fine." She squeezed his hand again and smiled as he returned the gesture. The owner walking by caught her attention and she waved him over.
"Y-yes, Miss Nikos?" The man was worried about how much was eaten and he wasn't about to say anything about his customer being on the larger size.
"We'd like you to pass our compliments to the chefs. The food was all excellent and we'd come here again." She says with a bright smile, the blonde man next to her nodding in agreement.
The owner blinked for a moment before returning the smile with a bow. "I'll ensure that the message is passed along immediately. Is there anything else I could help you with?"
"Yes, we're ready for dessert. Do you have any suggestions?"
On the inside, the man cringed. He was simply hoping that the publicity of these Huntsmen who destroyed the Nuckelavee were eating here and having nothing but compliments would bring in additional customers, partially to help offset the financial losses of giving away so much to the bottomless pits that these two called stomachs.
—-
Outside of Mistral, a pair of vehicles raced through the night. One is a yellow and black motorcycle with some orange detailing and the other is a much larger and jeep-like with a large outer roll cage. But they were both moving at high speed through the dark because of what was following them.
And what was following them was a large pack of Grimm filled with the usual Beowolves, Ursa, Creeps, and a few Nevermore of various sizes.
"Yang! Stay on the road and take the left fork!" Talon shouts over their scroll communications, thankful that the blonde had an earpiece in her helmet.
It didn't take more than a few seconds for the slight turn to come up and they kept to the left, following the map that was leading them to the main gates of Mistral. Yet while Talon was giving directions, Anya was driving. From the back seat, Denko operated the rear turret as Weiss and Raven kept an eye on their sides, at least two Boarbatusk's had tried crashing into the Scarab and they were sure that others had tried as well but missed.
RATATATATATA!
The turret fired another burst and Denko watched his screen as two more Grimm fell before adjusting the aim to shoot another burst at an Alpha that was getting uncomfortably close.
"Denko! Coming from above!" Raven shouts and the blonde changed targets to a Nevermore the size of the car and let the gun rip into its feathered hide, making it back off to deal with the injuries it sustained.
"How much farther!?" Yang shouts. "We can't keep this up all night!"
"Won't have to! Five minutes and we'll be in the valley that makes the main entrance into Mistral! We can let the defenses handle our problem!"
"Better be! Some of these are getting too close for comfort and I don't want to think of the damage that could be done to my baby if we crash!"
"Really Yang? You're worried about your bikes paint job?!" Raven replies.
"You have no idea." Weiss comments as she sticks Myrtenaster out her window and produces a trio of fireballs to launch at the pursuing horde.
True as Talon said, the main entrance to Mistral was just ahead and if they had time to look, they would have been awed by the landscape.
The twin mountains formed a deep valley with steep sides. Sides that had been built into terraces over the years and the levels enforced with stone blocks. But it was what was on those terraces that really drew attention; dozens of large statues on each level of various Huntsmen and heroes of Mistral set on pedestals. This gallery formed a funnel to a very large stone wall that also held more statues on either side of the ramp that led up to the archway that granted access into the city. Yet more statues lined the top of that wall as well and each statue in the valley had several lights to illuminate them in the darkness but the sheer quantity lit the road down the valley well enough that headlights weren't truly needed to see.
"Damn! I remember seeing pictures of this back at Signal!"
"Yeah? Wait until you see what it looks like in the daytime." Denko replies as he keeps up the suppressive fire. "Or what will happen in a few seconds." He adds cryptically.
"What do you mean?"
Yang got her answer in a few moments as the walls shone spotlights down onto the road taking it from dusk to noon, nearly blinding the drivers with how sudden it was. But that wasn't all as all of the pedestals holding the statues rose and a pair of large guns extended and telescoped from either side before they adjusted their aim towards the road. Specialized lights produced the symbol of Mistral, a stylized lamp, onto the road ahead of Yang and Anya and kept pace as guides towards the gate.
"Follow the lights! That will be the only safe path!" Talon tells Yang as they race towards safety.
"Got it!" The hefty blonde responds as she spares a glance over her shoulder to see the Grimm still hot on their tails.
Then the guns began firing from all sides. Those guns shot shells twice the size and power of Crescent Rose and they rarely missed their targets, most of the Grimm being taken down in a single hit or two. The large Nevermore took more guns to be brought down but few survived the onslaught as large bullets flew at them from nearly all sides and the Grimm were killed in half a minute.
With the Grimm killed, the guns retracted and the statues lowered themselves back to normal position. And the lights stayed on until the vehicles entered the gate.
Pulling to a stop within the small courtyard that was surrounded by walls and the gate on the other side was closed. The bright lights ensured that there was nothing going unseen by the dozens of soldiers who manned the checkpoint.
"Well, this is a great greeting." Yang looks around to see the men around her pointing rifles at the new entrees. "Is it a bad thing that this seems a bit familiar?"
"Yeah, I guess they don't like it that we brought them some target practice." Denko replies as he steps out of the Scarab, leaving his weapon inside.
"State your business! And don't try anything funny!" The apparent commanding officer shouts.
Denko, Anya, and Talon pull out their scrolls and display their Huntsman licenses. That began to make the soldiers relax as the CO came down to meet them face to face.
—-
By the time Jaune and Pyrrha left, the chefs were glad to see them leave and the waiters who had to clear the table were counting their luck to not be on dishwashing duty.
As for the happy couple, their stomachs were full as evidenced by the slight bulge on Jaune and the much larger one on Pyrrha. The strap for her wallet used to be loose when they had arrived and now it was tight on her waist.
"Up for a moonlit walk?" Jaune offers his hand as they leave the restaurant.
"I thought you'd never ask." Pyrrha says softly with a smile, taking his arm in hers and they begin to wander the streets to simply enjoy the company of the other.
—-
"Yeah… I'm pretty sure that our friends are having a much better time than we are." Sun answers himself with a shrug, trying to focus on anything but having just seen a man destroyed in front of him.
"And we still have to deal with him." Blake glares at Adam.
"I'm getting the feeling that he doesn't know that real romance is earned."
"He only understands force. You? You earned mine." Blake offers her boyfriend a small smile, inwardly taking a bit of pleasure at the digs at Adam.
"I guess we'll have to keep him busy until the others get here."
"Are you kidding? I've been trying to lose his attention." Blake scoffs as she adjusts her grip on her ribbon so the shuriken would be ready for use.
—-
Across the road, the White Fang soldiers were being caught in a vice. On one side, they had the Menagerie Guards hounding them and they knew every path through the town so the grunts could rarely get away for a minute before they were attacked again. Their far superior weaponry was of little use if they were constantly being outflanked.
Then there was the other side, Ghira was on a warpath and smashing through whatever defenses the White Fang could put up. They scrambled in fear as the man used their rifles as clubs against them, threw others down the streets and through walls, and his roars were petrifying.
At the same time, Sienna was flipping through the streets and slicing into limbs and destroying their weapons with her whip or simply beating them senseless with martial arts.
It didn't matter if they got reinforcements from the ship out in the bay, they were taken out just as quickly as they arrived.
Soon, the Fang made the decision to rejoin Adam as he was the only one who could compete with the cats.
No one seemed to notice that Itazura seemed to have disappeared.
AN: And here we have it! Team DAYT, Weiss, and Raven have finally made it to Mistral, Jaune and Pyrrha have a date, and the battle for Menagerie is still going strong. We'll have to see the conclusion of that fight next time in part three of the War for Menagerie.
And for the big news of Volume 9... I have not been enjoying it. There are a few moments that made me smile but overall, I do not have a positive opinion of it. I'm not going to give my full thoughts here but don't be surprised if references pop up in coming chapters.
