Giving a very long and heavy sigh, Kris let her head rest on top of the kitchen table as she tossed a crumpled up piece of paper behind her and into a rather large pile of paper balls. "Ugh... so what letter comes after Plan Z?" She mumbled under her breath as she glanced up.
"Yeah, this is harder than I thought it would be." Officer Keegan rolled her eyes while leaning back in her chair, her hands behind her head. "We have thirty-six hours, maybe if we're lucky forty-two or forty-eight, to recruit enough Huntsmen and officers to set up defences. Not to mention positioning incase Grimm are drawn to all of this. I'm sure negative emotions will fill the air."
"We might want to have more Huntsmen over by Forever Fall in the commercial area rather than all the police that are over there in that case." Elise raised a finger. "Maybe move the police from there and have them go to the industrial district?"
"The cops in the industrial district are pretty dumb." Thanaton mumbled with a chuckle and a bit of a smirk. "You can pick them off one at a time pretty easily."
As her brother elbowed her, the dog Faunus blinked a bit while staring before looking at the four girls. "How exactly did you say you met these two?"
Elise froze as she sat up straight. "Uh, there dropouts from Beacon!"
"A distant cousin's friend's niece and nephew!" Kris smiled.
"They um," Cheyenne blinked. "They work in retail and hear a lot of things!"
Kagami blinked slowly, staring at her teammates before facepalming. "Oum, how do we ever get anything done?" She asked herself before faceplanting onto the table.
"Uhh..." Keegan stared blankly before looking over at the two twins. Nihilus keeping his hands in his pockets with a neutral glare as Thanaton grinned, waving her hand slightly. "I..." She shook her head some before shrugging. "Okay."
Sighing and rolling his eyes. The dark haired brother pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms. "Well if the BBB are smart, they won't touch the upper class. Sanguine wouldn't dare fight over there. She has too many assets who live there and damaging their property would mean losing out on deals. Not to mention the top notch security they have."
"So we'll mostly need Huntsmen and Huntresses along the border of Forever Fall and the southern part of Vale near the agriculture district." Kagami sat up straight. "Maybe near Beacon too. Not for holding the BBB back, but just in case any Grimm come from there into the residential area."
"There's also these two new guys Shinrin's bringing into the battle as his right hands." Some guy named Cheng and this other who they call Madder. They'll definitely be strong." Elise shifted around a bit. "They're going to be with him along with Jade. We'll have to split them up somehow if we even want to hold a chance against them."
"Easy." The jade haired girl smiled a bit as she glanced over. "I can lure them away from the group as long as someone is on the other end to keep them busy after that."
"We'll handle it, don't worry." Kris smiled with a nod.
"I call dibs on this Madder guy!" Thanaton grinned while raising her hand. Seeing her brother glare at her, she rolled her eyes. "What?" She whined. "He sounds crazy and destructive. I like that."
"That'll leave Sanguine and her higher ups to deal with." Nihilus spoke up, his facial expression unchanging. "Though you guys seemed to have met them already."
"Yeah..." Cheyenne gave a small sigh. "But this time we'll be ready. All of us will be." She glanced up, confidently smiling.
"Okay, let's try this one more time." Officer Keegan skimmed over a few files before taking out a blank piece of paper along with a pen. "The boss won't let me run this unless it's full proof."
Staring up at the broken moon along with several scattered stars, Jade let out a faint sigh as she flipped a butterfly knife in her hand. Her gaze slowly trailing to the flickering and crackling fire she was sitting by. She flashed a faint smile, closing the blade and sliding it into her boot. She reached down by her feet, grabbing a few acorns before tossing them into the flames. She crossed her legs, leaning back as she patiently waited for the pop of the acorns bursting.
"We'll come up through this small river in the south." Shinrin said a bit aways, his left arm that was covered in scars outstretched and pointing at a battered map. "We'll separate and scatter as we float down. Before the river splits in two, I want everyone on land. We'll stick to the south side. Once we're done it will be easier to escape."
"Are you sure about that?" Cheng raised an eyebrow, running his hands through his orange hair. "If our forces get stuck at the water edge we won't be able to work our way inside Vale itself."
"It will work. We'll work silently and swiftly. We'll snag a few fishing ships and make our way up throughout the evening. No one will suspect a thing. Things will run as smoothly as they possibly can." He reassured as he brought his arm in and crossed them underneath his cloak. "All we will have to do is catch a few fish along the way and have our guys take some of them as they go to shore on smaller boats."
"Hmm, I suppose." He pulled the unlit cigar from his mouth, twirling it a bit before placing it back in his mouth. "It seems like a doable plan."
"Of course it is." He muttered before raising his eyebrows at a few popping sounds behind him. Turning his head, he glared back at his daughter. "Jade."
"What?" She held her hands up as she leaned forward, twirling a throwing star on her finger. "You're not letting me help you plan this raid. I have to entertain myself somehow. Even though I have a lot of input-"
"Quiet." His voice roared as he looked away. "The adults are talking."
"I am an adult." She grumbled, tossing the throwing star into the ground at her feet with a thud. "I've been an adult for several years." She heavily inhaled before lowering her head as she exhaled. "The fishing ships probably have some sort of alarm or communication in case aqua Grimm attack... I'm sure they would see it against bandit raids too..." She quietly spoke to herself. "But whatever my input isn't needed here..." She groaned, rolling her eyes as she took out a karambit and began to toss it.
"Hehehe... right, adults, Shinrin." A man chuckled from the shadows, slowly stepping out as he stumbled. His voice hoarse.
Sighing, the leader of the Bad Blood Bandits reached up and pinched his nose as he lowered brittle and nearly broke apart at touch. The tips of his black hair dyed a dark pink mixed with red. His pink eyes had several bag underneath them, not to mention they were bloodshot.
He had on a skin tight red shirt, the front tucked behind his belt buckle, and a black leather jacket over it with several rips and tears along with a few spikes on the shoulders. He had on leather fingerless gloves, a single spike on each knuckle along with several black and red rubber bracelets across his a pair of black leather chaps over red jeans, he had a pair of black boots on that went up his shins with several straps wrapping around.
And strapped on his back was an electric guitar. Both sides of it with an axe blade attached. Madder licked his, his tongue long and pointy as it slid back inside his mouth. "I was finishing up a few more songs for the attack..." He chuckled more, groaning a bit as he scratched at his throat. "Damn... I need more cough drops..."
Sighing, Shinrin shook his head. "I'll never understand how you're one of the strongest people I've met."
In the far back room of her club, Sanguine paced back and forth as she watched several bartenders empty out bottles of vodka into a large container before refilling the bottles with a mix of vodka and water. They would then reseal the bottle, dipping the neck into wax and stamping the top of it like it had never been opened.
"Come on, come on. Hurry up. We don't have all night." The crime boss urged her workers on. "All of you want to get paid right? Or would you prefer minimum wage out in the city?"
"No ma'am." One of them spoke up, his hands moving quicker.
"Good." She gave a nod, stepping towards the door as the handle turned. She quickly placed her foot by it, stopping it from opening more than an inch. She peered through the crack, taking a single step back as she let the door open. "What is it?"
Keeping his hands at his sides, Tohopka flashed at gentle smile and nodded. "Your friends from the military came through. We have enough rifles for everyone and enough ammo to flatten twenty corn fields."
"Perfect." She smiled, nodding to her workers. "Continue. I need this finished tonight." She motioned her head towards the door, following behind her brute of a man as she closed the door behind her. "Any news on our scouts?"
"Nothing ma'am. I worry some of them may have been caught in the range of fire." He crossed his arms and glanced back.
"Hmm. Things should still be fine. They know not to snitch." She brushed her hair behind her ear with her left hand. "What about the blacksmith? How's my saber and dagger? Sharp enough to cut through steel yet?"
"He's working on it. He says it should be done before the day ends tomorrow. He swears." He opened a door, side stepping to hold it for her as she walked past.
"Good, good." She inhaled slowly then exhaled as she stepped into her daughter's room. "Katie?" She glanced around.
"Yes mommy?" Katie popped her head from out of the closet she was in. "I was looking for something nice yet fierce to wear." She smiled and pointed at her dog who was laying on her bed. "And Coco is sharpening my weapons." The chihuahua glanced up for a moment, growling before he moved his head back down to gnaw at the serrated teeth on her blades. "And I'm also doing my hair. I want it nice and wavy." She pointed at her blonde hair wrapped up in curlers.
Sanguine blinked once, letting out a near silent sigh. "Are you sure you're ready for this, sweetheart? This won't be like you and I on regular missions. This will be much more dangerous."
"I know, I know, it'll be fine, mommy." She brushed her off and dove back into her closet. "But just think about all the plus points I'll get with Nihilus after this. Don't you like him, mommy?"
"Yes, I suppose. He's a very nice young man. But also a very silent and to himself type. You might want to be careful with him."
"Whatever mooooommy." Katie huffed from the inside and rolled her eyes.
Sighing softly, Sanguine glanced back at Tohopka. "Where's Eri at?"
"Taking care of some loose ends." He smirked a bit. "Says it's her way of relaxing and easing up. She's very on edge with that one red haired girl."
"Kris." She rubbed her chin. "I believe she said her name was Kris."
Time had come and gone, Vale anxiously awaiting a battle of mass proportions. The city had been put on a curfew. No one was allowed on the streets once night fell. And no one was. Well, aside from those trying to protect the innocent, the brave, the bold, the daring, the evil and the crazy.
With a wicked smiled, Eri pulled the blades of her weapon slowly out of a police officer on the streets of the northern part of the industrial district. Her blonde hair stained with splatters of red. "This is way to easy." She ran her finger across her bloody weaponed, letting her finger coat in crimson. She glanced around at several dead bodies, her head jerking upright as a bullet flew through the air, hitting a light post next to her. She chuckled, turning around on the balls of her feet. "I hope you know-" She stopped herself, her smile slowly fading as she glared.
"I hope you know what?" Kris had her arm outstretched with her weapon, slowly lowering it to her side. "You're the one that should have known I would be coming for you. We can't keep meeting like this. People are going to start talking."
Growling, the short blonde's hands balled up into tight fist. "You're right. It's time I put an end to you once and for all."
"Didn't you say that the last two times we met?" She smiled, her head cocking to the side. "Or were you just warming up then?"
"You're just a pest. A goddamn cockroach!" She shouted, taking a step towards her. "This time I really am going to kill you!"
"You've said that already." She spun her candy cane weapons around so it was like she was holding tonfas. "But I'm stronger than you now. Plus, I'm sure everyone is tired of these little fights between us. It's pretty repetitive. I'm bored of it myself." She flashed a smile and lowered her body into a more stable stance.
"Then let me put you out of your misery!" Eri shouted, her teeth flashing as she bolted forward, her brow twitching ever so slightly. Kris simply smiled back, pushing off with her back foot as she lunged forward.
In the commercial district near Forever Fall, both Elise and Keegan were taking down goon after goon. Elise knocking them out cold with her baton or shooting them back with her air compressed rifle and Keegan taking them down herself or pulling out her handgun from time to time.
"You know, you're not half bad with close combat." The Faunus said as she pulled a goon to his feet, his hands cuffed behind his back as she shoved him to another officer who took him into custody. She nodded to her comrade, looking back at the brunet who brought her baton around in her right hand while holding the gun down with her left. She scoffed, catching the goon as he fell limp.
She smiled slightly, though it was hesitant, and glanced back at the officer. "You think so?"
"Well you definitely have talent." She nodded back. "Now-" She stopped herself, hearing a voice chuckling behind her.
"Now we just need to send these guys off and keep the streets clear?" Tohopka mocked, stepping out of the shadows between two buildings.
Gulping, Keegan took the unconscious man from Elise, handing him to her fellow officer. "Go. Now."
"Scath are you sure?" He raised an eyebrow, holding out a hand.
"Yes." She nodded back to him as he slowly got into his car. "I'll get back up. Don't worry." He reassured.
"Don't worry. It's fine." She demanded as he drove off.
"Oh but it's not fine is it? I can hear what you really think." He chuckled, stepping further out as he cracked his knuckles. The weight of his body seemingly making the ground tremble below him. "And you know it's not fine."
"You really should have called for reinforcements." A female voice calmly spoke from behind. Elise turning around to see Sanguine and Katie standing on a rooftop not too far from the ground. She felt her heart sink as the older blonde brushed her hair behind her ear. "You two seemed out numbered. Where's the rest of your crew? Out of commision perhaps?"
"Try stopping all this mayhem you've caused." The farm girl's jaw tightened.
"Emphasis on try I suppose." She smirked.
Growly deeply, Keegan brought her red bandana from her pocket, her fingers clenched tight around it while glaring at Tohopka.
"Wait." Elise shakily grabbed her wrist, stopping her. Biting her lip as the officer glared down at her. "I've tried to fight for revenge before. It never works. And you know what happened last time you tried this."
"So what do you propose?" Her canine ears twitched as her eyes narrowed. But before the young girl could speak she was interrupted by Tohopka's laughter.
"You want to know what she thinks?" The brute rubbed his face. "She wants you to go after Miss Sanguine and her daughter and she'll handle me." He smirked. "Like she would even last a minute."
Gulping, the brunet took a deep breath. "If I'm fighting Katie or Zucchini I won't have my emotions in check. But I will with him. I might have a chance."
"Zucchini?" Sanguine raised an eyebrow, glancing over at her daughter who shrugged.
Groaning, the officer lowered her shoulders into a more relaxed position. "Well what's your plan?"
Bursting into laughter once again, the brute shook his head. "She doesn't have one!"
Elise's eyebrow twitched a bit as she reached over, snatching the red bandana. "Just trust me. And I'm taking this so you don't do anything stupid again." She heavily inhaled before taking a step back and disappearing into a mist.
"Wait! Elise!" Keegan's voice seemed to fill with panic as her hands brushed through the mist.
"Come get me you fat ass!" The brunet called from the side of a building on a fire escaping before jumping off onto another as she blurred into the shadows.
"Hrm." Tohopka grunted, looking up at Sanguine and Katie. Seeing his boss nod, he nodded back. His bare feet hammering into the concrete as he took off running.
"Well it seems like it's just us and you know." Katie chuckled, gently petting her dog in her arms. "Are you ready?"
Growling to herself as she felt every nerve in her body tremble, Keegan pulled out her metal baton in her right hand as she held up her arms.
In the southern part of Vale, Kagami was hidden in the woods on the east side of the river. She reached up, holding the earpiece she had in. "Are you sure the fishing ships didn't return for curfew?" She mumbled while eyeing the river for movement.
"Positive." A voice on the other end spoke back quickly.
"Hmm." She went silent, waiting a few more seconds as she saw ripples in the water. "Hold on..." She moved a little closer to the river bank as she crouched down. Seeing a ship moving forward down the river, she narrowed her eyes. She immediately spotted Jade, their eyes locking for a mere second. "Got them."
Blinking on the ship, Jade tilted her head to the side as she nudged her father. "Hey, dad?"
"What?" Shinrin asked, turning around as he paused from lowering down smaller boats.
"There's-" She stopped herself, jumping back as something jumped onto her ship. Her eyes widening as several more jumped aboard.
Smiling, six copies of Kagami each grinned, speaking in unison. "Better choose wisely!" They all shouted, jumping off the ship and propelling themselves onto the other side where they broke up into two groups of three. On the other side, two Kagami's stood. All eight grinning as they turned around and ran off into the treeline.
Shinrin glanced back and forth, glaring a bit before growling. "Cheng! Madder! You two take the left!" He threw his hands back, his cloak swaying behind him as he jumped onto the edge of the ship. "Jade! You're with me!" He jumped off, launching himself in the direction of the two as Jade quickly followed behind.
Madder raised an eyebrow, scratching his head a bit at the multiple figures. "I think I've been smoking too much..." He mumbled before grunting as Cheng nudged him.
"Come on! Orders are orders! Let's move it!" He shouted, jumping off the ship and onto land. He rolled as he landed, quickly jumping to his feet as he ran forward after a group of three towards the southern industrial district.
Eventually, he came to a few worn down factories he started to walk between. His pace slowed a bit as saw a shadow run behind him. He quickly turned around. Holding up his hands as an explosion shot off in front of him. He lowered his arms as dust cleared with a smile. "You are definitely no Monomane."
Sighing some, Thanton held her arms down and out with a rock in each. "And you're definitely no Madder."
"It seems we're both disappointed." He smiled some as he pulled the unlit cigar from his mouth. "I suppose you're the one I'm going to fight?" He pulled a lighter from his pocket and flicked it, lighting the cigar with the flame.
"You mean the person who's going to make your whole world explode?" She flashed and epic grin as she slammed the two rocks together as the erupted in a small shockwave.
"You can dream." He bend down on one knee, setting his cigar upright as a small trail of smoke washed away off it. "You have till this finishes burning to live." He stood up, taking off his black and orange trimmed jacket as he tossed it to the side. Showing off his orange vest and long sleeve white collar shirt.
Down a bit lower, Madder was stumbling around in search for the three green figures he was chasing. He stepped towards a fence, staring at it for a moment before he grabbed his guitar. Bringing it down, he shattered the fence. Putting his weapon away, he stepped through the rubble and continued to walk forward. "Come on out, green bean..." He coughed a bit, his voice still rough as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cough drop.
"Sorry, but she's not here." Walking out from behind a hay bale, Cheyenne had her rifle resting over her shoulder. He eyes locked and jaw tightened. "And you're not going anywhere aside from prison." She took aim with her rifle, the level set to a dark blue color of Dust.
Madder blinked several times, his head tilting. "You... there is a deer talking to me... I'm so lost..." He shook his head rapidly.
"Um, what?" She blinked back, lowering her arms a bit. "Seriously, what? I'm a deer Faunus, not a deer."
"Huh..." He blinked and narrowed his eyes some before they widened. "Ohh... you're one of those freaks..."
At that, the Faunus growled slightly, retaking aim and firing the blast of ice Dust without hesitation.
Panting softly as she ran through the residential district of Vale, Kagami stumbled a bit as the clone next to her shattered and disappeared into the night. She quickly exhaled, shaking her head as she continued to run forward. She only came to a skidding stop once she saw someone in front of her.
"You should have stayed out of the way." Jade narrowed her eyes, twirling a Bowie knife around in her left hand.
She took several deep breaths, quickly turning around to see Shinrin walking up with his body shrouded beneath his cloak. "You made a very poor decision here, girl. And now you're going to pay."
"Crap." The jadette bit her lip, glancing back and forth between the two. Both barely three meters from her on opposite sides. She swallowed thickly, shakily exhaling as she drew her sword. She then blinked, feeling a pressure on her back. She moved her head, suddenly seeing Nihilus standing back to back with her. His yellow Dust katana blade sparking.
"You look like you're in the need of some help." He smiled, facing Jade who seemed puzzled on how he appeared. "Care if I join?"
"Oh shut up." She rolled her eyes while facing Shinrin, raising her arms with a tight grip on her sword. "But thank you."
A while earlier, Eleanor slowly shut the front door to the apartment she and her husband were living in. Her daughter, Elise and her three friends had just left. With her palms still up against the door, she sighed softly, letting her head rest up against it. Elise had just told them what her team was doing tonight. What her only daughter was brave enough to try and stop.
"You can't seriously be letting her do this, right?" Klein mumbled, his brows furrowed as he held their three young sons in his arms with ease. "Roaming the farm and killing Grimm and animals is one thing, but trying to stop this fight is another. You can't just let her. She's just a girl!"
Taking a very deep breath, she stood up straight, her hands balling up into fist. "Elise is an adult. She can make her own decisions. She is a Huntress." She inhaled, pushing herself off the door as she turned around. "And so am I."
"Huh?" His head tilted as his three boys stirred a bit. He turned to follow behind quickly. "Eleanor. What are you doing?"
"Something I never should have stopped." She opened a closet, crouching down to pull out a set of mountain climber pick axes. One tinted an old silver and the other colored a faded gold with black paracord wrapped around the bottom of the handles.
He blinked, his brows furrowing. "I thought you said you left everything behind when we ran..."
"Some things, you just can't leave behind." She slowly stood up, holding an axe in each hand while staring at them. The weapons both covered in dust from years and years ago. "And some things, you can never let go of. You just have to keep pushing forward and learn to accept them." She flicked her wrist, the blades folding in on themselves as she placed them on her hip with the help of the paracord. "No matter how hard and useless it feels, you never stop. You keep fighting. Because that's what Huntress do."