Some venting over ages for my own sanity.
Just found out they've now established Neo's age as 21 in volume 2 and mid 20s in the current volumes. I'm upset at this. Found this out with a casual popping by the wiki. Just kill my attempts to be even someone possibly canon compliance. She's four years older than Yang. Boo.
Maybe hypocritical, having changed Glynda's age for my story by a good deal, but Glynda's age was never really specified but implied. I'm just a bit winded figuring out they made Neo's age significantly older than what seems like everyone thinks/wanted. Slightly unhappy with this.
So, I enjoy things being something that COULD have happened. Like, tweak one or two things and just go from there what if sort of scenarios. Obviously, the fact that this story stars an OC breaks that, but I try to base a lot of world building on previous things.
So, while I did hand wave Glynda's age since it was never important enough to be stated, I'm still moderately irritated that, in the middle of my story, my Roman and Neo are both now both five years younger than their confirmed canon counterparts. I think I also recently discovered I was off by two years with Cinder's age by two years. (I have her as 20 by RWBY, but her canon age then is 22.)
Boo. All the boo.
(Bit of a shorter chapter. enjoy!)
Chapter Fifty Nine: Howling Cold
The lands of Mantle spread wide over the great expansive continent. In spite of its Northern geographic location, much of the continent holds a variety of natural phenomenon. The far North's secrets lie coated and covered in a sea of snow. Mountain ranges scale along great distances, where the tops of some mountains are more snow than rock. Alternatively, the Southern mountains can show clear tops.
Tundras of the North form into long plains in the South. Several gigantic lakes and landmarks dot the maps. One such location shows at the lower ends of the Ragna Mountains in the Eastern side of Mantle. A city there is built directly into the mountains. Sandwiched by dozens of mountains is the city of Verniay.
Peaks and valleys off for miles can see the dark smoke burned into the skies. The smoggy haze dulling the blue skies into a gray. This city is the capitol of mine exports. Smoke stacks of factories are built into the upper levels of mountains, automated and manual means litter the slopes transporting raw materials.
The further down one goes, the more the true culture of the city is shown. This single city is home to no less than thirteen separate mines. All are owned and enshrined in the Schnee Dust Company, that crystalline snow flake emblem sits pretty as each marker.
Streets and urban living locations across the mountain range are connected by a system of elevated highways. Although, nearly every other long stretch of road has some form of road damage and work being done. The cement is dotted with different shades, signs of filled potholes. Then, of course, there are the actual potholes.
The general upkeep of the town pathetic when stacked to its importance. The streets are populated with many less than savory individuals. People with warm clothing, but worn down and just a step above tattered.
Moving through alleys, some mixed individuals subtly view their surroundings. A cop car is parked at a cafe, its pair of officers move to enter, ignoring that the cars around their own are at spent parking meters. No reason to invest time. It's going to happen forever.
The individuals nod and move across the streets and make their way to a residential street running along the property of a manufacturing plant. The men move into a boarded up three level building. One of its openings is loose, allowing the men to shift the wood aside and enter.
Inside finds a large number of similarly dressed thugs shuffling about. Two thirds if them are faunus. The rooms are lined tables and almost chemistry setups. Half heart projects of linked tubes and connections with burners mix sprinkles of materials into water before bringing it to a boil.
Different rooms yielded different setups. A cook operation. Some of the thugs had clothe wrapping over their mouths and noses. The odd few actually had safety glasses. Not chemical safety glasses, though, but welding goggles and welding face shields.
One of the newcomer group carries a bag up the stairs to the upper floors. Much of the upper floors were kept shut, which is why he pauses. All of them are open.
The man shakes his head, beginning to walk to the hall. He spares a glance in two of the doors, but finds nothing. Then he keeps a brisk pace...
Missing that one of the rooms has three unconscious men on the floor with a small framed figure sitting cross legged between them.
The man continues to the only closed door in the hall. He enters, turning and shutting the door to reveal a sort of office. Soon as the door clicks, the figure in the room gives a lazy wave.
"Sup, bitch."
Carmine's voice sends the man flinching as he draws a gun from his waistband. He aims up at the boy sitting directly on the only furniture, a desk. The boy has black pants with blue lined stitching and blue pockets. His shoes are silver boots with black soles. Heulin Noon is at his left thigh, its red wolf sigil has now scraped almost fully white.
He wears black gloves and a designed white high collar jacket with no hood. His Zero armor is worn under the jacket, visible from the open collar also showing a white shirt underneath the armor. The interior of the jacket is a matching blue to his eyes. A silver neckerchief matching his hair tips is tied warmly around his neck.
"Who the hell are you?" The panicked thug calls out.
Carmine holds his hands up, but still appears calm. "Whoa there." The door behind the thug opens. "Don't be so violent. You need to be all like-" CRACK! An impact on the man's skull drops him like a lead weight. He hits the ground. Carmine remains unfazed. "-... knocked out. Thanks Neo." He grins up for her.
Neo smiles back. Neo wears a white cropped wide, broad tailed jacket with a pink interior, collar, a single pink button and large pink cuffs. She wears brown pants with a dark belt that has a gray buckle and an additional narrow belt under it.
Under her jacket is a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also wears a multitude of black beaded necklaces, which hang haphazardly around her neck. Neo also wears black and white spat styled under the knee boots alongside black gloves.
Neo winks and gives a thumbs up. "I think I heard something." A voice calls from down stairs.
Both CRBN members snap looks down the hall. Carmine snorts. "Surely, they aren't talking about us."
"I think it came from upstairs!" Another voice calls up as footsteps begin sounding closer and closer.
Carmine and Neo share a glance. "Only took them forty five minutes to notice us." He grumbles. Smirking, he stands off the desk and draws Heulin Noon. "Pop a text to Roman. Fun's starting." Neo smiles and pulls out her scroll. As Carmine disappears down the stairs, she hears a chorus of faster movement. Men shout as Carmine's gun blasts off!
. . .
The boarded up building blows out several covered windows, shouts of pain and chaos reigning. Several of the men burst out from the entrance! Rushing over to an object covered by weather wrapping. Ripping it off, they reveal a van, the men loading their latest product into it and piling in.
Two more men produce motorcycles, drawing guns out. "Go! Go!" Gun shots sound like a war zone inside the building, several shots chipping out walls from the inside.
The van revs and roars onto the road, the two motorcycles moving in an escort pattern behind it. However, as it rounds into the road, Carmine bursts out from the second floor of the building. "Jager!" His armor flashes and boosts him further through the air. "Schneider!" Flipping, he comes down on the van's roof!
His Schneider blades dig into the inner van, spooking the four men in the back. "AH! What is he?! Step on it, man!"
The van screeches as it begins a serpentine pattern, attempting to shake the boy off. The freezing Mantle cold stings his face, teeth clattering! "Cold. Cold. Cold. Bad idea! Frick!"
Neo exits the building, looking to find the boy getting further away on the gang's getaway van. She sighs, adding an addendum to her previous text.
. . .
Bzzt.
Roman looks at his scroll with disgust. "Silver Streak is about to cause a traffic pile up." He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. "As usual." All around him are unconscious men and wrecked ruins of a ratty house. The area is littered with garbage, disused tools, stolen items, and most importantly drugs. "Typical. Leave him in one place and trouble follows him."
The man, like Carmine and Neo, is in his own new outfit. Roman wears a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. His accessories included a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and his black bowler hat with a newly added small feather tucked into its red band.
"Go help grab him before the cops do. I'll finish up here." Blair states as she enters the room as well. She wears a white cropped jacket barely covering her chest with violet interior and gold pockets, black gloves, a black corset over a white undershirt. Her violet sash remains tied around her hips, holding Fluorescent to her side. Black tight pants with gold lined pockets trail down to white high boots with violet trim and gold soles. A small amber gold ascot is tied around her neck.
Roman flicks a wave. "Don't YOU get caught by the cops, now. I don't need pulling off two rescues in one day." As he walks for the door, he smirks, getting her attention.
Rolling her eyes, Blair takes a step closer, a short kiss shared between them before she pushes him along. "There. Good luck and all."
Roman snorts exiting. "Oh, I don't need luck, but I'll take the excuse for more of that." He exits, heading towards the CRBN van parked down the street.
Left alone, Blair allows an appreciative smile for herself. She enjoys their games quite a lot. Her attention returns to the men scattered about as she frowns. Between this house and the abandoned building, the team should have covered both meth labs.
Drugs mixed with dust was something the group thought might trace to AZRL after they arrived in Verniay. However, it appeared these meth heads simply got the idea from rumors of other drugs, Meren Zann's most likely, and decided to try dozens of mixtures until one didn't kill them. Seriously, meth by itself is dangerous. Why add MORE to it?
Granted, she understood the culture of drug trade, having learned enough at Beacon. They even found out about it following urban intel gathering strategies she'd learned back in school. CRBN has been in the city for almost a month now, and no one from Cinder's organization has yet to approach them.
So... they began taking jobs. People were still paying them up front for the odd Grimm kill, and even the current drug bust was part of a request from a parenting group for a nearby school. The money was steady, if a little lackluster to what they're usually used to.
Blair closes her eyes, sensing out around them-
Her eyes snap open. A power upstairs.
It's about time.
Blair moves upstairs and opens the door into a grimy bedroom. Sitting on a chair by the window is... Cinder Fall. "Hello again..." Her sultry tone drags as she smirks at the blonde. "Your group couldn't sit still, could you?"
The blonde narrows her gaze on the woman. "Telling us to just be in the city, you'll find us, is not very helpful when we've been here three weeks and three days." Blair crosses her arms. "Also, if you continue only appearing to me, I'll begin to think you're a poor imaginary friend."
"A friend nonetheless." Cinder's smirk widens. Though, Blair can tell 'friend' means 'pawn' to this woman. She stands, meeting Blair's eyes. "Now that we know you're here, we have... an issue we would like your team to clear up before we give our intel on AZRL."
An edge to Blair's aura pulses, Cinder momentarily wavering. The blonde speaks. "We came here as an agreement to take down AZRL. That in and of itself is a net benefit to us both. Attempt to string us along to do your other work, and we'll simply bring you down as well."
The open threat hangs for a moment, Cinder seeming to heed it. "An understandable standard. However... my current supervising boss is the only one with the information that you seek, and he is indisposed precisely because of this current... predicament." Cinder tilts her head graciously for Blair. "Solve this problem, and we will not only provide you a location for AZRL's corruption to be found, but also arrange a way for you to meet exactly who is affiliated with them."
The pause hangs for a moment, but Blair relents. "Again, I cannot force my team to do anything as I am not their leader. Tell me the details, and if I think it's worthy, I will pass it along..." Cinder smiles back and nods, not alleviating Blair's mood in the slightest.
. . .
"They want us... to hunt a Grimm?" Carmine repeats, unimpressed.
The four were regrouped by their van, parked in front of a local school. Roman and Neo were each counting Lien by hand inside the back seats while Carmine, for once, was seated in the driver seat. Blair had arrived and taken the passenger seat.
Blair raises a brow. "Yes... I was skeptical of the idea, but ultimately it's not my call." She looks to Roman with a quick glance. "We've already been playing Hunters for three weeks. Speaking of, did they pay in full?"
Roman snorts, holding up some of the cash. "And then some. Apparently, they didn't mind Silver Streak ripping up the roads when he made that getaway van crash."
Neo bobs her brow up then down before signing. "Probably would have fixed the roads more than break them." That was true, considering the amount of road disrepair in the region. Carmine had caused the van to crash off the main highway and impact a lower level road. Besides the road damage, everything else was fine. Roman even managed to grab Carmine before the police showed to arrest the gang members.
Carmine sarcastically drawls. "Yes. One week, we handle the meth heads that got too into selling to kids. This week, we got for Grimm. Seriously, Atlas has a military. They can't spare hunters for this?"
"That is actually part of the equation." Blair nods. "To the North west, one of the extension cities tied into Verniay has reportedly expanded a future mine into a hidden underground cavern. The expansion was shut down due to the appearance of a Grimm inside the cavern. Local authorities have requested hunter support, but have yet to receive it."
Roman cuts in with a hum. "Ah, there it is!" At Carmine and Neo's attention, Roman snaps his finger and smirks. "Our... ahem, employer wishes to muscle in and gain protection rights over the area. If authorities can't hack it, the locals have to turn to less than reputable means of protection. If we succeed, we basically secure a section of a city expansion for them to extort for the foreseeable future."
"So, we tell them to fuck off?" Carmine cuts back, heated, only to be swatted in the head by Blair. "Ow!"
"Language." Blair chastises. "The problem with that answer is dangers to the locals. The Grimm... it's a rare type. Humanoid. Rare type Grimm have influence on other Grimm and are usually at the center of hordes." She glares at nothing in particular. "We say no, and Atlas continues to drag their feet, then people here will start getting attacked and hit with more serious Grimm incursions."
Neo takes in Carmine's unhappy grimace. His grip on the steering wheel tightens. She nudges him and conjures a sign for him. 'Alive and extorted dead'
He growls at the logic of it, ending in a scoff. "Whatever... And they won't give us the promised intel until we do this?"
The blonde nods. "They did advise that on top of the intel, they will utilize their resources to more directly place us where we need to find out AZRL's man in the SDC." Her tone lifts ever slightly. "I do not like it one bit, but..."
"But it's the lesser of two evils." Carmine agrees, lightly pounding his fist into the wheel. "Great... Guess we'll hunting a depressing Grimm in this depressing town." He shifts the ignition to start the van and begins driving for the group.
Instinctively, Roman and Blair grip the nearest handles, but remain calm. Now that they were fully allowing Carmine to drive, a sudden anxiety made itself known the the two. Neo is still learning... and always jacks the seat up to the wheel to Roman's annoyance.
"At the very least, can we grab food before we head off to play hero?" Roman grumbles. "Preferably a place that I can be assured what the ingredients are." Neo purses her lips and nods.
During their stay, they managed to find that the best restaurants were well away from the mines, typically in the central areas of the mountains. Carmine gets them onto the highway. However, his eye catches sight of several of the run down parts of the neighborhood. Kids moved about after school hours, but each one had their head in a swivel.
All of them were alert at all times, keeping their heads down and laying low... And all the children matching this situation were faunus. Grimacing, Carmine moves away from the location as quickly as street legal.
He finds a diner, an all day breakfast and dinner type restaurant. He parks in its lot, hoping that the loving tender taste of a chicken bacon sandwich can bring warm feelings to him. The four exit the van, Carmine taking the lead to the diner with a small smile...
Then he freezes and glares at the diner window.
'No Faunus. Faunus location is on...'
He didn't bother reading the address for the faunus receptive establishment. His fists clench as Roman holds the door open for Blair, then spares a look to him. "Kid, you can't change it, and we're hungry. Come on." He moves into the diner, leaving the two teens outside.
Neo bumps his side, earning a look. She gives a grimace and shrugs before signing with a slight smirk. "Wanna cause a scene in there?"
Carmine snorts at that. "No... We have more than enough going on right now." Sparing another glare at the sign. "Even if I would love to." He opens the door for Neo, smirking. "But, my treat today. It's been a week since I've noticed you steal something."
Neo beams a smile, though Carmine notices her hand move behind her back. Blinking, Carmine looks at the hand. Suddenly wincing, the girl reveals a gold chain necklace wound tight around her wrist.
He blinks twice, then gives a glower. "... Is it from a criminal?" Neo nods, honest admission. "Then I won't count it..." He grumbles as the girl happily enters the diner ahead of him. She gives his cheek a peck kiss, momentarily stopping him, but he shakes himself off, blushing and following her.
Inside, the four take a booth, Carmine and Roman on one side opposite Neo and Blair. The waiter takes their orders as Roman spares a watch of the diner television. "One thing about Atlas I'm not impressed by is their news crews." He watches as the on screen male personality forces an energy into the broadcast. "If they want real life to be a life time show, they could at least just send news crews along with every single military transport."
"They actually do that." Blair mutters. "According to Rowa, it is something they do to... 'spice up' the news for views."
Neo nods, the three looking at her. She signs. "Always been that way. Celebrity gossip is the most reported, though. Crime is bottom of the list."
"You watched the news as a child?" Carmine asks, incredulous.
Neo grins wide, lighting up. "The best story was a famous actor being exposed as a cuckold letting others have fun with their wife. Soon as I found out what cuckold meant, my eyes were glued."
"You were like 10!" Carmine looks shocked that the girl would have known something that scandalous.
Neo bobs her head back and forth before pointing downward. Younger?! Carmine hums and takes a glance at the news to see what this so called gossip could be.
The white suited man on screen is paired with the SDC logo and a picture of a grand theater. "...known that after numerous complications and scandals by management, officials advise that the CCT Music Charity Ball is still set to go this June. Management has yet to announce all performances, but we hear rumor that the Schnee Dust Company's Heiress, Weiss Schnee, will be performing! This will be the first public presentation of one of Jacques Schnee's children since his first born forfeited her right to the company in favor of a military career."
He continues. "Beyond the surprise entry of Miss Schnee, we know now that a orchestral performance from the Billiams Orchestra will be present. Of course, this year's performances will be hard pressed to garner more attention than last year's ball, when a faunus worker linked to the White Fang attempted to poison the champagne for the VIP guests! As such, Faunus are banned from the event this year!"
Carmine narrows his gaze on the program, huffing. On the one hand, he could tell the White Fang was rapidly becoming a more pressing issue. Ever since their visit to Menagerie years ago now, it was clear that a full blown race war was something of an inevitability with the current players pulling strings on each side.
Still, the very idea that he would be allowed somewhere that his mother wouldn't be... burned him. The entire time he'd been here thus far, all he can picture is his dog faunus mother. No wonder she refused to live here...
The group's food arrives. Carmine's chicken and bacon sandwich, Neo's strawberry waffles, Blair's crepes, and Roman's steak meal. "Shall we partake in that grand charity ball? All parties could use a fun crashing." Roman muses. "All sorts of millionaires looking for good PR."
Neo grimaces. Blair notices, raising a brow. "You've... been to one, Neo?"
The girl nods, signing. "I was six, and M-" She pauses annoyed. "My birther thought she could cozy up to someone and dirty them with my family's business. Wrap them into it and force them to help us." She jabs her fork into her food with a thoughtful look. "Never learned if it worked or not. Didn't care."
Carmine raises his brows. "How was the show?" The girl sends a dull glower. "That boring, huh?" Neo snickers and nods. "Lemme guess. You then tortured... what was his name? George?" Neo flashes teeth in a grin at that and nods more vigorously. Still smiling, Carmine held a chastising tone. "Aw, what did you do to him?"
Neo rolls her eyes and signs back. "Nothing to him. Just started a slap fight with a white haired girl my age and made it hard for him to separate us."
"White haired girl your age-" Roman purses his lips, a snort coming out. "Oh, gods." Carmine and Blair either don't pick up the implication, or don't engage it.
Smiles abound as the four pay their meals, a few good laughs at the antics. However, the mood sours for Carmine the moment the bus boy comes to clear their plates. The slightly pudgy man coming out was a bull faunus, two horns poking out of his hair and out of his small kitchen hairnet.
The man flinches when he sees Carmine almost glaring at him. His eyes drop, but pause when he sees Carmine reach out for him. "Aye... You got a supervisor or manager on duty?"
The man's demeanor shifts to confused as Carmine's tone held nothing but kindness. Soft. "Uh. There is? But, is there an issue?"
Carmine smiles wide and shakes his head. "No, noooo, just- Wanna complement the cooking is all. Just, higher the command chain the better, please. Also-" Carmine takes one plate from the bus boy's carrier. "-make sure you come with since your job's not done, k?"
Soon as the guy leaves confused, Neo grins wide, clapping. Blair deflates looking at him with narrowed eyed. "Is this really the time for-"
"I'll find a fly to put in the plate if need be." Roman speaks up before pausing. "Wait, is this a boy scout thing or a chaos thing?"
"Yes." Carmine answers to both options, irritation seeping out. "Either."Roman frowns, losing his wind at the teen.
"Oh, then we don't have time." He responds, earning an indignant look from Blair.
"Oh, so NOW you're on my side?" Blair directs at the conman as Neo is snickering.
Before the quipping continues, a man with a name tag comes out with the faunus bus boy. "Hello there, my name is Winston. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Oh, lots of things." Carmine says, immediately hostile. The biting tone causes the faunus to flinch at the difference from before.
"Carmine." Blair warns.
Ignoring her, Carmine immediately nods to the back. "Before going further, is there anyone above you in the back? Owner would be best."
The man double takes to Roman and Blair before looking to the teen who seemed to be the main party. "I'm the on duty manager, sir." He maintains a smile. "Anything you need, I can accommodate-"
Carmine finger points to the front windows before setting a calm look on him. "Oh, trust me. I'm not the one needing accommodation or whatever." The boy turns fully to the manager. "So... when the sign excludes people from entering, but said excluded people are able to work here, what kind of bull shit message are you enforcing?"
The manager raises a brow, confused. The underling pales, attempting to turn away, but Carmine sets a look and points for him to stay there. As Blair face palms, the manager tries again. "Sir, I'm afraid I do not follow."
The CRBN leader points at the bus boy, eyes widening. "So, he can work here..." He then points to the backs of the signs posted for the customers. "But, he can't come in and eat when not working?"
Still, the manager simply blinks and recovers. "Why, we offer full services to employees-"
"You know exactly what I mean, god damn it!" He snaps.
Blair gets up. "We apologize, sir." She says curtly before placing a tip on the table. "For the trouble." Carmine opens his mouth to talk back, but the blonde sends a storming gaze down upon him! Still, while he would typically flinch, he merely glares back.
"Whatever." He pulls Lien from his pocket, placing it on the plate he kept from the bus boy. Handing it back, there's a hundred Lien on it, making the faunus man's eyes widen considerably. "Any of that goes in anyone else's hands, I'm burning the place to the ground." He glares at the manager before Roman jerks him from the table.
Seconds later, Blair jerks Carmine from the diner as he perpetually glares at the world around him. As they leave, he notes that Neo is interacting with her scroll. Did she just record that? Whatever. The irritation was just good to get out.
. . .
Roman now drove, Neo in the front seat re-watching Carmine try to start an argument with the manager. The four were driving to the Northern city expansions, taking the highways. While Neo was certainly amused, the two adults were anything but. Roman was just annoyed the boy would potentially get cops called on them if they let it play out.
Blair on the other hand...
"Do you have any idea how foolish what you were doing was?" The blonde was livid.
Carmine grumbles. "Yes, yes... We have more important things to do than causing problems with some assholes-"
"No! Not even just that!" Blair takes after Roman as she holds her hands up to speak like the boy is the child he is. "We aren't talking about some singular man who makes that rule just for his place. Which, he would have the right to do, foolish as that would be. We're talking about actual laws that force these behaviors. Even worse, you antagonize someone that may very think exactly as you do!"
The boy recoils at that. "What? That garbage manager pretending not to know what I was talking about? How would be on my side of things?"
Groaning, Roman speaks up. "Because assuming customers agree with those laws, then they would also be upset with the faunus being there. They wouldn't want the bus boy to be there at all, instead wanting them to be working at the other, likely significantly less funded and paid location."
Blair jabs a finger at the man in the driver seat. "Exactly! Having that person hired at that location at all only brings poor feedback. Both from racist customers who dislike the faunus and from those like you that despise those laws. But, you know who does benefit from working there?"
Carmine glowers back at her, wondering where she's going- His eyes widen... Shit... "The faunus himself-"
"Give him a damned medal!" Roman mocks from the front.
"That manager would likely have a large say in the location's hiring processes. If he didn't want a faunus there, he could damn well make that happen. Instead, he took on potential bad PR to offer an opportunity to that man. Roman, help me out here." Blair ends in a groan.
"Spending money for two locations, one for humans and one for faunus, is horrible for business. Especially all the wasted facility payments and functionality that employers have to do." The conman snorts. "Not only does it increase business costs, but you're still earning money from the same local population. Small business owners, particularly those struggling, hate discriminatory laws like these." Roman educates in a bored tone. "The only businesses that can get by with it are those too big to fail. Enter the Schnees."
The boy's mouth parts, but he can only breath for a moment before grumbling. "So, I'm just supposed to be okay with it?"
"No, you fool." Blair narrows her gaze on him. "This exact reason is why people vote in elections to bring about change. In fact..." She pulls out her scroll, rapidly tapping away at information. Before long she pulls up the diner's name. "Ah, here." She turns it for Carmine to read. Seren's Shack, business. Numerous corporate donations to faunus rights candidates in Mantle.
He slouches back, brow furrowed. "But... bullshit?" He weakly defends.
She thwacks him over the head, earning a pained yelp before continuing. "It's practical change. Not destructive change like the current White Fang."
"See? Money can be a motivator for good!" Roman cheekily adds. Neo smiles brightly at that.
Carmine sends a dull glare forward. "See, when YOU say that, I feel like you're lying."
Blair snorts. "But, he's not wrong. After all, Roman, what's the only color that matters to you-?"
Before she can finish, he sing songs his answer. "Green, green, green~!" He shifts the van into another lane of the highway. "I don't care whose hands it comes from."
"I can just feel to warm, benevolent tolerance from you back here." Carmine sarcastically drawls. He shakes it off before sending another scowl out the window. "Just pisses me off. Half the people here are literally second class citizens. I can't possibly imagine my Mom tolerating such a thing back when she was a Huntress, ya know?"
Blair cools off, settling. "Yes, well. Hunters, especially foreign ones, often have privileges obtained through their jobs. You did say she was originally from Menagerie, so I can see why she chose to settle down in Vale of all places. Being a faunus huntress likely didn't disqualify her from all..." She grimaces in thought of the word. "... formalities, as it were."
The boy huffs. He looks up at Neo. "What about George? You remember him being treated badly?"
Neo shakes her head. She conjures a shatter sign. 'Live in butler/driver. Bad example to pull from.'
Carmine slumps in his seat. "Well, that just takes the wind out of the sails." He grumbles under his breath. "Whatever. Let's just get this hunt over and go to a city where hopefully laws aren't as strict."
"That your way of saying you'll blow up on any place we eat at?" Roman mocks him from the front. "I'd prefer you not to threaten arson each time, or else no restaurants will be left standing."
"Ha. Ha." Came the sarcastic response.
. . .
After one experiences Mountain Glenn, one would think nothing would match the ghost town feel. Well, that one person would be right, but that didn't stop Carmine's neck hairs rising on end as they halt at the end of a highway construction. The elevated road way comes to a blocked end with cement barriers in place. Just beyond it is the drop off. A two hundred foot drop that looks over badly constructed neighborhoods below.
Carmine exits the van, walking to the edge to look around. While many of the homes below were only half constructed, that didn't stop people from taking them. Likely cheaper to buy a home half made than to buy a full home. He grimaces at the people's terrible amenities.
From the high perch, he can see large sections of the city expansion boarded up with hastily made wood walls. Many buildings further in were mere skeleton constructs. It left enough room to spot the constructed mine in the next mountain. Near its entrance is a large sink hole into a dark pit.
"Sink hole into caverns near new mine." Carmine points out as Blair approaches. "Should we expect a lot of other Grimm?"
"See for yourself. Right side mountain, two o'clock. Near the tower." The blonde points out. Following her finger, Carmine spots moving shadows by a mildly deformed radio tower. He can't tell how many, or what kind they are. But, he can be certain they aren't human.
"Well, crap baskets." Carmine mutters. "Would probably be better to make a few passes and cut down the numbers. You said the humanoid Grimm like to pull together hordes, so better to curb that." Looking up in thought, he raises a brow. "We might save time if two of use rampage through the construction to kill the adds, the other two go kill the Grimm?"
"Such a strategy can bode unwell depending on just what kind of Grimm we're dealing with. All four of us together would be best."
"Was afraid of that." He turns to the van to find Roman loading the drum magazine of Velvet. "How you feel bout parking the van up here while we go do this?"
"Like hell that's a good idea!" Roman irritably snaps. "In this town, leaving anything anywhere is asking to find needles in it later." Roman looks to Neo as she pokes her head out of the van. "All money comes with us." The girl pats her pockets with a grin, so he matches. "Good girl."
Carmine grimaces. "Just more time to waste. Yay."
"Don't get impatient." Blair warns. "Moving too fast will put us into a trap."
. . .
Having driven back the lock way, Roman directs the van into the lesser levels. The neighborhood progressively gets more filthy, littered with discarded garbage. Carmine's gaze lingers upon a collection of faunus near a pile of burning wood, having a small fire get together. Each member of the party appeared at ease, but on closer inspection, Carmine notes scanning glances they direct around themselves.
Head in a swivel. Always. And these are civilians.
Roman slows the van to a stop as the road ends. A tall wall of wood covered with grotesque amounts of graffiti faces them. Large smeared paintings and messages left by locals. However, the newest top layer of paint was a sloppy green stating 'Grimm Zone. Stay Strapped'
"Well, that's welcoming." Roman cheerfully evaluates. "Glad to know the locals reach out in some manner or another." He looks to Carmine and Blair. "You two wanna shift the wall for the van?"
Getting out, Carmine shoves his hands in his pocket for warmth as he and Blair approach the wall. Grips show on lower sections of the wood, the bottom of the walls made of stands that anchor the wood in place. They quickly set about moving sections of the wall over about a minute before a gap large enough is made.
Entering the van, Roman drives them through. He then tips his head for Carmine. "Now, Silver Streak!"
Carmine huffs, using his aura. Behind them, the barriers flash, mixed with the boy's aura, as they recall back to their previous positions to form the wall.
Heading deeper into the expansion city, the lighting greatly dies down. Night time has come, setting a hazed darkness above. Neo peers into the dark around them. Doing this at night is going to be frustrating. Doing this at night in a smoggy city blocking star light just makes it worse. The dying light outside will come pretty close to pitch blackness.
Blair eyes Roman. "Activate the side lights."
"Beasties are gonna be all the more eager to jump in." He answers.
"That's the point. We eliminate the small fry getting them to come to us. We can take out the big bad once dawn comes in." Carmine orders. "Find an intersection with lots of room. More open the better." Neo perks up, offering a physical map. The three look at the girl and blink. "Okay, where and when did you take that?"
She merely smiles in response. Meaning she's held onto this for quite some time.
Roman snorts. "Lemme guess, from one of the millions of construction areas constantly running repair around here?" Neo nods. "Good call." Roman quips with a light smirk.
He turns forward, driving the van off into the darkness. Twin beams of light from the transport's headlights slice in the darkness. Roman then activates a switch. A click sounds before line lights shine out from the upper portion of the van, illuminating the sides out for twenty feet clearly. Another light lines the top of the rear, lighting the back.
The van moves through the ghost town, minutes ticking by. As they move through, the group spots three hooded civilians making a sprint back the way the group came. Carmine eyes them as they pass the van. He makes out long animal ears poking out under one of the hoods, but no faces. The group seemed undaunted by CRBN, given the circumstances and light offered, but also wanted nothing to do with them.
Neo glances in the direction they ran from. So far, nothing. Roman takes a ramp onto another level of the mountain, soon finding himself at a three way intersection. One road that they came from slants down the mountain. The next slopes upward along the mountain. The side more drastically goes directly uphill.
It isn't exactly well lit, but plenty more is visible here with Roman putting the van in park. "Satisfied?"
"That depends." Blair looks to Carmine. The boy shrugs, getting out of the vehicle. The boy moves out ten paces in front of the van, right hand fishing in his pocket. He produces a bright red dust bullet. Popping Heulin Noon's cylinder out, he swaps one round for the special shot.
He spares a look right. Then, he spares a look left. Nothing sticks out in the darkness. So, he shrugs and fires the special round. A flare! The bright flashing shot arcs into the sky, burning a light over the nearby areas. Casually, Carmine pops the cylinder back out and replaces the original shot that was in it, discarding the spent flare cartridge.
Seconds tick by, and Carmine stands alone in the intersection. He sends a dull look over the area surrounding him. Still, nothing. A minute is passed. Several minutes. He shifts his posture one way, then the other as he starts to fidget.
Inside the van, Blair narrows her gaze around. Neo pouts, looking with a raised brow at the adults. Blair nods. "It would seem this area of town is not overly infest-"
"Yes it is." Roman cuts in. His green eyes serious as he eyes the unfinished construction of the corner building. No windows and some walls missing from the building, at least part of its floors are illuminated by the van's lights.
Blair narrows her gaze on it as well before nodding. Neo follows the gaze... a shadow moves. Her unspoken question is heard, the blonde huffing.
In the street, a shift in the air catches Carmine's attention. Eyes hardening, he looks up at the building. A hard stare forward, he begins taking calm steps towards the building. He stops at the very edge of the viable light. His blue eyes look almost into blackness as he simply waits.
Crack.
"Schneider!" He shouts! His armor flashes over his gloves and jacket sleeves, forming blades in a blink!
Exactly as black jaws come out from the darkness and snap! The slicing cut of flesh sounds, bone cracking, as Carmine's entire right arm is angled up in the beast's mouth. The Schneider elbow blade juts through the Grimm's jaw. The Schneider mounted bladed pierces up out of the animal's skull!
It lets out a cry as Carmine rips his arm free, slicing its show in two and leaving a large slash in the roof of its mouth out through its nose! He uses his left arm to stab into its head, brain shot, letting it crumple.
Another movement comes from above!
Carmine flickers away, recall! The beast lands. Bare scale skin, two bipedal clawed legs hold it aloft, the Grimm has no forelimbs and instead has a large teethed stubby head! The boy flashes into place a few paces back from it, so it charges into an ostrich sprint, jaws coming open and unhinged!
"Zero!" His armor flashes under his jacket, and Carmine uppercuts his right armored arm up! The Grimm's jaw is smashed back into place, teeth cracking. His right arm flashes Heulin Noon up and fires! One shot is all it needs hitting its unarmored bottom side!
The creature flails for balance, unable to get it as its guts spill back. It slips and hits the ground, bleeding out. Carmine raises a brow. He's never seen this Grimm before. He spares a look into the darkness. The feeling is there.
More are around him. Waiting.
He backs up towards the van, his team exiting the vehicle. "Blair?"
The blonde spares a quick look of the two corpses left by the boy. "Creeps. Subterranean Grimm likely from the same underground caverns the rare type Grimm came from. Above ground, they aren't much of a threat. Their balance can be easily shifted, making them clumsy. However, they are quite muscular. When they strike, they strike quite harder than most other Grimm of similar size."
Carmine snorts. "Right. Neo, take the van roof for over watch. Any of us need help, save us. Roman, take the front. Blair, the back. I got the side." As his team moves into position, he cups his mouth and shouts. "Bitches say 'REEE'!"
"REEEEEE!" The Grimm screeching howl comes as movement sounds around them.
The boy can't help a snort. Neo snickers, though Blair and Roman both roll their eyes. "Ha! We have fun here."
We're actually here. In Atlas! The place Monty based on the US of A. . . That used to be a cool thing before we got it in real life.
Note: Roman and Neo are now in their Volume 1-3 outfits. Carmine and Blair's Atlas outfits are supposed to follow a similar scheme. That is: Black pants, white jacket top, all trim and extras are made in the color that's unique to their clothing. Roman's color being red, Neo's pink and brown, Carmine's blue and silver, and Blair's violet and gold.
Notice to readers obsessed with canon...:
I have not watched RWBY volumes 6 and onward. Everything I am aware of about the Atlas arcs in canon have to do with my own observations from clips and notices of things they've revealed. Or just outright spoilers.
So, expect my Atlas to function differently in social circumstances as well as the social commentary of Atlas as a whole. This is because I am well aware that RoosterTeeth changed their messaging with what Atlas was going to be about. So, expect more deviations from canon here than anywhere, both intentional and unintentional.
Where, before Volume 4, it was made out that the faunus issues and social political climate of Atlas was based very much on the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Blake's backstory, the White Fang, and Ghira Belladonna all made for excellent allegories both to that era as well as many political issues that actually can inspire intelligent thought.
Instead, they made the primary character against Atlas establishment a human named Robyn, turned the race issues into class issues (Hence robinhood inspiration), and a number of other very badly done, poorly thought out, and badly made political messaging effects on the world building.
In short:
I will be keeping the racism motif because it's actually something that teaches underlying morals, and will be basing many dynamics socially in Atlas around this political situation with the faunus. If you expect me to showcase Robyn or do any of the other poor takes? Allow me to dash those immediately than let you speculate and be disappointed later.
References:
Verniay, Mantle, as a city is based loosely off the economic location of the state of West Virginia in the United States. Where in real life, the power in its location is its coal mining industry, I am making this city one of the important sources of dust mines for the SDC. A few cultural quirks in the area are also thrown in, but most everything else is original and not based off anything in real life.
Join next time in chapter sixty: Hunt for Ghosts