Kali closed her eyes and let out a low, pained groan as she leaned back into the white metal lattice of her chair. She barely budged as she felt a head that she knew to be Summer's lean up against her and make a similar noise.
"Can't… function. Food… coma…" the brunette whined as she mashed her face into the white leather sleeve of Kali's jacket.
"Mmph," Kali replied, before letting out a tiny belch and opening one eye. "Raven and Willow, this is all your fault. You two just sat there and watched us. You two let this happen. You know what we're like when food is around. You're both awful friends, full stop."
Willow smirked softly from her place across the outdoor table, and folded her arms. "If you say so. I will admit, it was rather impressive, if horrifying, to watch the two of you. You know, in the same way that it's impressive to watch a snake dislodge its jaw and stuff an entire animal into its throat."
"Gods forbid either of you take responsibility. Is 'vacuum cleaner' a faunus trait that Summer could possibly have?" Raven remarked as she looked over at her two overstuffed friends.
"These cat ears are just attached to a headband. I'm actually part garbage disposal," Kali joked with a toothy grin at Raven as she picked up her last curly fry and popped it into her mouth.
"I suppose that would explain how you maintain your figure," Willow replied. "Really, your training regimen must be something else in order to eat the way you do and still look toned."
"You could say that, yeah," Kali agreed. "I've been slipping lately, though, thanks to all of the enablers and free food in the cafeteria."
"And I do nothing but slip," Summer complained as she grabbed at her stomach and sat up. A small, gentle roll of fat was visible through her shirt as she pinched her fingers around it with a grimace. "You guys are all gorgeous and slim, and I'm all… doughy."
"So train," Raven said simply while shaking her head and shrugging. "You don't burn fat by wishing it away, Summer."
The statement was met with a whine of protest from the smaller girl, until Willow put her hand atop Summer's. The noise abruptly stopped as the heiress leaned forward across the table and gave her friend a meaningful look.
"I think you're very attractive in your own way, and your body is quite fine the way it is," Willow reassured while lightly rubbing at Summer's knuckles. "While it wouldn't… hurt to train more rigorously, you're far from 'fat', and what imperfections you do have now simply add to your charm. Regardless, we all love you for who you are, and you shouldn't feel pressured to change yourself because of us."
"Amen to that," Kali agreed. "The fact that someone your size can tear through two burgers at lunch is impressive, more than anything. Keep at it, girl."
"Aw, you guys are sweet," Summer cooed as she sat up straight, seeming reinvigorated. "In that case, anyone else up for ice cr-"
"No," Raven spat as she rose from her seat and began to gather up her shopping bags from beneath her chair. "We need to start making our way back to Beacon, and one stomach roll is your limit before it stops being cute."
"Besides, we have a delivery to make," Kali mused as she gave Willow a meaningful look and picked up her own bags. The other girl nodded and clutched her solitary, small plastic bag in her left hand. In her right, she carried her scroll, and tapped away at the screen as she began composing a text.
"Indeed we do. Does anyone know the most efficient route back to Beacon from this café? I hate to admit it, but I'm not much for directions. I'm usually chauffeured everywhere I go…"
"I know Vale. Follow me," Raven replied immediately. Kali and Summer gave her a pair of uncertain looks, to which Raven merely blinked in reply as she kept her composure. "I had an aunt who lived in the city, and I got familiar with the streets over time. Trust me."
"…I do," Kali said flatly as she fell in behind Raven. "It just seems like there's more and more we're learning about you that seems surprising, is all."
Raven opened her mouth to reply, only for Summer to cut her off by dancing around in front of her and wiggling her fingers.
"Because Raven is mysterious and sexy, like some sort of action-vixen anti-heroine that all of the boys love, but none of them are brave enough to approach," Summer lilted.
Raven paused momentarily as the rest of the group assembled beside her on the sidewalk. "I liked you better when you were a whiny, overfed blob in a chair."
"But is she wrong?" Willow chimed in as she slipped her scroll back into her purse.
Despite her efforts, Raven failed to fight back the soft smirk that overcame her features. With a quick exhale, she shook her head softly, and set out again along the cobblestone.
"I hate all of you."
"What a moody, anti-heroine thing to say," Kali replied with a mischievous grin as the group rounded a corner. "We hate you, too, Raves."
Raven turned her head to glare at Kali, only to become unbalanced and nearly tumble to the sidewalk as she felt a harsh grip upon her shoulder. She whipped her head back the other way to find Willow clutching her with a vicelike hold.
"…not this way," Willow said quietly as she looked up at the street sign reading Lily Way. "Please."
Summer and Kali stopped in their tracks and stood awkwardly on either side of their pair of friends.
"What's going on?" Kali asked as her ears twitched and swiveled. "Willow, what happened?"
"…please, just listen to me. Do not keep going. We need to find another way back to the school," the heiress pleaded as she kept her eyes locked with Raven's. "I don't want any trouble, for any of us."
Raven reached up to her shoulder and gripped Willow's fingers with her own, before giving the girl's hand a light squeeze and lowering it. "Whatever's on your mind, you can tell us. You don't have to hide anything f-"
"Robbery!" Summer blurted from her position facing down the foreboding street. Wisps of aura trailed up from her eyes as she looked back over her shoulder at her friends. "Three minutes or so from now, there's going to be a robbery!"
Willow's cheeks turned even whiter, and the girl bristled. "At the… at my…?"
"Yes!" Summer insisted as she drew her long mace and held it in both hands while letting her bag drop to the sidewalk. "And we need to get there now, or people are going to get hurt! This is our job as hun-"
"Then shut up, and move!" Raven barked as she sprinted past Summer and led the charge, her hand firmly on the hilt of her katana as her own bag dropped. Summer followed shortly thereafter, while Willow unstrapped her high heels and kicked them off into the wall of a nearby building as Kali drew her lugers and added her purchased items to the pile.
"Wil, your shoes…"
"Forget the shoes! People need us!" Willow replied as she began to run barefoot down the cobblestone. Kali followed at a full sprint, and her ears wilted as she watched her friend draw Myrtenaster from her side.
"I'm sorry. Hopefully they're still there when we get back."
"No, Kali," Willow said as she kept her eyes forward. "I'm sorry. I wanted to avoid this for you, but now, it can't be helped."
"Avoid what? The robbery?" Kali asked incredulously as Willow reached the spot where Raven and Summer stood in an alleyway beside a massive, bright white building amidst the other dingy, earth-toned shops.
"No. The location in which it's taking place," Willow corrected as she looked up at the giant illuminated letters above the entrance reading 'S.D.C.'. Kali's heart sank as she realized where they were, and she pressed up against the wall of the alley while giving Summer an uncertain glance. The girl had her eyes closed, and lazy trails of aura seeped out from beneath her eyelids as she squinted.
"Summer, what do you see? And how sure are you that this is going to happen?" Kali asked as she pressed a feline ear up to the wall.
"Absolutely positive!" Summer insisted. "Fighting inside of a dust shop with so much explosive material around could get us or the shopkeepers injured, so we need to wait for the robbers to come out. One… one group of two are going to leave out the back of the place, into an adjacent alleyway. There's a getaway car parked over near a sandwich shop on Maple Lane that they're going to make a break for. Another one is going to come right out the front entrance, and book it back toward the way we came. I can't tell if… I don't know…"
"Save your energy," Raven commanded as she began to walk deeper into the alley at a brisk pace. "Willow, with me, to go after the duo. Kali and Summer, the one at the front entrance is your responsibility."
"Yes," Summer agreed. "If we follow that plan, it looks like you'll both be able to intercept, but I can't… I'm having trouble…"
Suddenly, the girl's aura fizzled and broke entirely as a sheet of iridescent energy rippled down her body and dissipated into the floor of the alley. Beads of sweat rolled down Summer's forehead as she leaned back into the wall of the Schnee Dust Company building, and she clutched at her temples with a soft moan.
"Hey, you did great," Kali reassured as she patted Summer on the shoulder. "Call the cops and alert them that there's a robbery taking place. They don't need to know that it hasn't technically happened yet. We'll wait for them to try to leave and give chase, and you follow me a few minutes later, if and when your aura is back. Got it?"
"Got it," Summer replied with a nod.
"And try to keep this safe, please," Willow instructed as she passed her small bag over to Summer before turning and heading out to catch up to Raven. Summer stuffed the small parcel into a pocket on the side of her combat dress, and nodded.
"Good luck," Summer offered, only to be cut off by the sounds of screaming through the walls of the dust shop. All four of the girls tensed as several muffled yelling voices became audible, amidst the sounds of breaking glass.
"Almost show time," Kali remarked as she leaned up against the wall near to the front end of the alley and began checking her guns. "Your future sight is incredible, Summer. You might be saving lives, right now."
"Let's hope," Summer replied before raising her scroll up to the side of her face and wiping a sweaty lock of hair out of the way. "Yes, Central Vale Police Department? I'm reporting a robbery at the Schnee Dust Company Shop on Li-"
Kali stopped listening to the conversation as her ears naturally swiveled toward the sound of the front door of the dust shop being flung open. A woman screamed in terror before a second louder, yet equally feminine voice rang out from around the corner.
"Get the fuck out of my way!"
Kali listened intently as heavy footfalls began to hit the sidewalk, and she summoned her spectral arms to extend out from the small of her back. She thrust the left arm forward to summon up a swirling pocket of compressed air farther down the sidewalk, and grinned to herself as she watched a figure in black sprint past the entrance of the alley. Within seconds, the criminal was mere feet from the trap, and Kali brought up her ghostly right arm to ready for a snap.
"What in the hell is th-"
The criminal's question turned into a scream not unlike the one of the person she had nearly run into while leaving the shop as Kali's trap exploded outward, pushing them backward to tumble onto the sidewalk. Kali emerged from the alleyway with guns drawn, and immediately trained them on the grounded figure. Her target appeared to be a woman just a bit shorter than her, clad in all black with a wool cap and a bandanna covering her face and mouth. In one hand, she had a tan sack filled with glittering refined dust crystals and pre-made ammunition cartridges, a few of which had spilled out onto the sidewalk and street.
"Stay down!" Kali commanded as she began a brisk approach. "Make this easy, and I won't have to shoot."
The figure looked at Kali upside-down from their position on the sidewalk. A knee of their black pants was torn, with the flesh beneath bleeding from the force of the explosion and subsequent impact with the ground. The woman let out a hiss while clutching her side, before suddenly raising the hand to reveal a worn, rusted pistol of her own. She let several rounds fly as Kali ducked behind a lamp post, and several pedestrians in the area began to yell and flee from the scene.
"Gods damn it!" Kali barked as she spun out from behind the lamp and opened fire. Her target had already gotten up off the sidewalk and begun to sprint off into the crowd, leaving behind a few dust crystals and magazines in their wake. Kali holstered a pistol and scooped them up as she broke into a run and began weaving through the people trying to make it out of the way of the chase.
"Move!" she commanded as she shoved an unfamiliar man off to the side, only for a bullet to narrowly miss them both. Kali cursed under her breath as she looked ahead and found her prey rounding the very same corner she and her friends had taken to approach the dust shop. She leveled her pistol toward the disappearing robber, only to find far too many civilians potentially in her line of fire.
"Fuck!" she seethed, before turning and sprinting into a nearby alley. With catlike grace, she holstered her remaining pistol and stuffed the dust crystals and ammunition into her pockets before leaping for a nearby fire escape and grabbing the sides with her summoned arms. She pulled herself up and over one of the side railings, before beginning a frantic sprint up the switchback staircases.
"Come on, come on, come on," the faunus girl repeated to herself as she made the tight corners while ascending. "If I lose her, then we've all failed…"
After what seemed like an eternity of repetitive cornering, Kali managed to make her way up to the roof of the building at the corner with one final leap from the upper platform of the fire escape. She pulled herself up onto the flat surface as quickly as she could, and began a frantic dash toward the edge of the rooftop. Far below, she could see a figure clad in all black running not far up ahead, and she set out to follow the path immediately while drawing her scroll and dialing Summer's number. The girl picked up after a single ring, and Kali did her best to keep her voice understandable as she continued to run.
"Summer! I'm tailing the target! I need you to send the cops t-"
"I see her!" the girl replied over the scroll. "I left the alley right after you did, and ducked into another one. I'm in pursuit, and we can corner her together!"
Kali sucked in a breath as she leaped a gap between two rooftops and stumbled slightly upon landing, as the one on the far side was a few feet lower.
"Are you okay? Where are you?"
"I'm on the rooftops!" Kali replied as she hissed in pain. "I've got eyes on her, too. Is your aura back up? I don't want you putting your life in danger, Summer."
There was a pause just long enough to be suspicious, before Summer put on her best reassuring tone.
"I'll be alright!"
"Summer!" Kali chided, before skidding to a stop near the edge of the roof of the new building. She watched with fury as the criminal crossed the street, and sprinted far out of her potential range. "We have a new problem."
"I'll keep up pursuit! Get off the roof, and I'll try to direct you!" Summer yelled over the line. Kali watched as her friend emerged from behind the wall of the same building she stood atop, and began to run across the street after the criminal. The faunus snorted as she eyed the gap between buildings on either side of the street, and nodded softly to herself.
"No. I've got an idea. I'll meet you over there."
"Kali, what are you pl-"
Kali ended the call before putting her scroll away and cracking the knuckles of her spectral hands in front of herself. Once again, she raised the left arm, and summoned up several points of concentrated, swirling force. The three primed spheres appeared in a line between the rooftops high over the street and a few feet below the edge of the roof. Kali took one last deep breath before walking backward away from the road and doing a few small jumps in place.
"Well," she mused to herself. "Here goes literally everything."
Without hesitation, Kali broke into a sprint and leaped off the building. With a ghostly snap, the first point of concentrated aura exploded with a rush of force and rocketed the faunus back upward and forward, above the street. A second snap and explosion increased her velocity, and with a third, Kali ended up clearing the target roof entirely and soaring to the next building over. She gasped in surprise at the miscalculation and hit the surface of the rooftop hard while tucking into a roll. Kali immediately sprang back up and began to run, albeit with a shooting pain in her right side. Her scroll buzzed in her pocket as she followed the edge of the roof and looked into the alleyway below, and she fished it out before pressing it to her face and connecting the call.
"And you're telling me to be careful!?" Summer yelled across the line. Kali held the phone farther from her face as she winced at the volume.
"I got across, didn't I?" Kali asked, a little annoyed.
"Yeah, and it was wicked cool!" Summer praised. "Can you see her from up there? Direct me!"
"I can, yeah, and I can see you, too," Kali confirmed as she continued along the raised lip of the roof. "Head straight ahead and hook a right into the alley in front of the tan sporting goods store. I'll funnel her down there, and you can jump her. Be ready at the corner."
"Gotcha. I'll call the cops again and direct 'em this way. I'm assuming you've got a plan, and it isn't as ridiculous as your last one?"
"…debatable," Kali replied before ending the call. As she put her scroll away once again, she leapt another gap between rooftops and pulled ahead of the fleeing criminal. Upon reaching her destination above yet another alleyway, she ejected the clips from the bottoms of both of her pistols, and loaded them instead with bright blue cartridges marked with the letters S.D.C. along the sides.
The moment she saw the figure in black enter the alleyway, Kali opened fire near the only exit, raining ice down upon the fleeing woman. The criminal stopped in her tracks and ducked behind a dumpster before raising her pistol over the edge and returning fire, while Kali gripped a raw crystal of ice dust in one of her ghostly hands. Quite suddenly, swirling traps of ice formed a diagonal line in the air between the buildings, and just as quickly, she snapped and detonated the arrangement, resulting in a large, steep ramp of ice extending from the roof to the ground. Kali vaulted the edge of the roof and rode the ice ramp down into the alleyway, raining razor sharp ice shards down upon the dumpster all the while.
"Give it up! We've got you cornered!" the feline faunus yelled as she approached the giant trash receptacle. "You shouldn't take things that aren't yours!"
"Don't talk to me about what's mine!" the figure in black roared, before ducking low and running back the way she came. Kali let out a frustrated groan as she gave chase, and redirected her aim to the ground in front of her target. She fired a volley of ice rounds once again, coating the ground with slippery shards that spread out into a glistening sheet. The robber began to slip and stumble as she neared the corner and attempted to windmill her arms to regain balance, only to cry out in surprise as a figure appeared before her.
Summer Rose emerged from around the corner, swinging Pearl Phoenix in a wide and speedy arc. The crystalline orb at the top of the weapon crashed into the criminal's chest with a sickening crack, and the woman went down hard. Her head slammed into the icy ground below, and the sack of dust spilled open, resulting into crystals and clips rolling and sliding all throughout the alley as the gun tumbled end over end to land at Summer's feet.
"Nice," Kali quipped as she slid along the ice, her pistols trained downward at the fallen woman. She eventually came to a stop next to Summer, who aimed the flamethrower nozzle at the top of the orb down into the robber's face.
"Thank you. Now, stay still, and don't try anything stupid. We're professional huntresses, you know," Summer threatened as the prone figure stared up into the barrel of the weapon.
"Professional assholes is more like it," the woman replied with a soft groan. "Especially you," she said with a venomous look at Kali.
Kali fired an ice shard down next to the woman's covered face, and the criminal flinched hard at the sudden, noisy impact. "Next one goes in your mouth," the faunus warned as she holstered her pistols and disengaged her semblance. She lowered herself to straddle the other woman's chest, and gripped their wool cap and mask in her hands. As Kali pulled them back to reveal the identity of her target, her heart sank, and her blood turned to ice. Summer let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her spare hand, while Kali merely froze in place, holding the articles of clothing.
The woman was young, though perhaps a bit older than Kali and Summer. Messy strands of deep red, shoulder length hair framed her face and helped to bring out her piercing blue eyes. Her cheeks were pocked with a smattering of light freckles, though the rest of her face was quite plain, lacking any makeup. The only other distinguishing feature of the woman was a pair of tawny feline ears poking up through her hair, much like Kali's own. The left ear had a chunk taken out of it, while the right flicked softly in annoyance.
"Surprised?" the grounded faunus spat as she glared hatefully up at Kali. "Or are you smarter than you look? Let me go. You know that this dust is rightfully ours, and I can't pay rent without it. Get off my chest, and go back to your fancy academy."
For all of a few seconds, Kali hesitated. It was time enough for Summer to lower her weapon and move her hand from her mouth down to Kali's shoulder.
"Kal… if… if you want to let her go, I'll understand. We can tell the others, and the cops, that we couldn't catch up. Maybe give her a few crystals, and let her just g-"
"No," Kali interrupted as her face twisted into a mask of rage. Her ears flattened back against her skull as she dropped the hat and mask to grip the collar of the other faunus. She pulled the other girl upward to put their faces mere inches apart, and flashed her teeth in a low growl. "She isn't going anywhere."
"Race traitor," the redhead accused with a snarl. "The Schnees deserve what's coming to th-"
"The Schnees might deserve to get knocked down a peg, but you don't 'deserve' this dust any more than a paying customer!" Kali shouted as she shook the other faunus. "Do you even realize what you're doing, by stealing dust? By stealing weapons to sell, for rent money? You're the one dragging our entire fucking race down and making our image that much harder to repair just so you can get by for another few weeks!"
"So I don't deserve to get by?" the woman countered as she gripped at Kali's hands. "What else am I supposed to do? No shops in Vale are going to hire an unskilled faunus!"
"Then learn a fucking skill!" Kali roared as she shoved the other girl back down against the ground to let the back of her head smack into the ice.
"Kali!" Summer cried as she dropped her weapon and put both hands on her friend's shoulders. "Don't hurt her!"
"I'll stop hurting her when she stops hurting all of us," Kali spat as she pressed her knee into the other girl's ribcage. "How long did the three of you spend doing reconnaissance in that shop? How many hours did you pour into planning this stupid heist? How much time at a firing range, to almost be able to hit me from that distance through a crowded street? You could have been doing something, anything else to better yourself, and instead, you're just doing damage that far outweighs a month's rent! Leave us, Summer!" she finished as she glared up at her friend.
Summer backed off and stepped over the sheet of ice. With one last look back at the pair of grounded felines, she quietly walked forward toward the ice ramp that Kali had created. Summer raised Pearl Phoenix and began to engage the flamethrower to melt the unnatural structure down as she listened in to the conversation between faunus, feeling awful all the while.
"You don't get it," the redhead said softly. "I've applied for jobs. I can't afford a decent weapon, let alone tuition to get into Beacon, and my parents wouldn't let me go, anyway. My entire family is made up of thieves! I'm just doing what I know works, and you have no right to judge me from your privileged position at an Academy!"
"No more excuses out of you," Kali threatened as her lip twitched. "Blindly following people who do shitty things just because they occasionally get temporary results isn't justifiable. If you had gone to Headmaster Ozpin and pleaded your case, he would have let you in, with aim like yours! You could be something more than a thief!"
"Ozpin's a human!" the other faunus snarled.
"And some humans are good, and give a shit! Some humans care, and are making more progress toward faunus equality than you are, pulling this shit! Stop being a blind follower and doing what your family tells you, and think. What do you think the headlines are going to be tomorrow, while you're sitting in a jail cell? How many more shops in Vale are going to have No Faunus Allowed signs in their windows, after what you and your family did today?" Kali questioned in an accusatory tone.
The grounded girl fell silent as she pulled a face and looked off to the side. Kali merely kept up her glare.
"When you're done serving whatever time you get for this, you need to start thinking for yourself. The only one who can make a change, or start down a different path is you. If you want help, then look me up, when you get out. My name's Kali Moonglove. I know it's hard, and I know you feel like you don't have any other options, but you do. For now, though, you have to deal with the cons-"
"Don't move!"
Kali bristled and looked over her shoulder a moment too late as a group of uniformed men with riot shields formed a barrier at the entrance of the alleyway. A speeding, mechanical projectile crashed into Kali's back and latched onto the leather surface of her jacket before a painful jolt rippled up her body and made her double over. The device sapped her aura immediately, and she found herself staring up at several guns and swords as officers surrounded her while she lay twitching upon the ground, next to the fallen criminal.
Willow hurried along as quickly as she could, trailing behind Raven and their targets in the alleyway. Her feet ached and her lungs were on fire, but she was determined not to let their targets escape. At the head of the pack was a tall, muscular man in all black with a large sack of stolen dust slung up and over his shoulder. Slightly behind was a far slimmer figure wearing a torn, long-sleeved white shirt and black pants with some sort of corded belt. His hair was slicked backward, and he had no mask or other clothing to conceal his identity.
"Nearing a three-way junction," Raven warned. Willow pushed herself even harder to catch up to her friend, and nodded. "Be ready for anything."
"Perhaps, but they're unlikely to split up, as Summer said the getaway car is closer to the left branch!" Willow offered as the men reached the intersection. "Get ready t-"
A maniacal cackle interrupted Willow's suggestion as the thinner man lagging behind spun in place and charged the two girls without warning. Glittering katars extended out from beneath his long sleeves, and he thrust them outward as he spun into a raking vertical slash. Willow just barely managed to dip to the side and avoid the whirling blow as Raven leaped out of the way in the opposite direction. The taller criminal turned left into the alleyway, and both women turned to face their assailant as he hunched over and began to laugh once again. Willow and Raven raised their weapons to the man as his shoulders quaked, and he turned with a hand covering the majority of his face while he continued to snicker.
"Don't even try to split up and go after him," the gaunt figure warned. His cheeks were pale and sallow, while his short hair appeared oily under the dim lighting of the alleyway. "The three of us are going to play… unless, of course, you wise up and decide to let me just… go away," he practically sang, before breaking out into another fit of laughter.
"Raven," Willow said cautiously. "Go after the big one."
"I'm not leaving you," the Branwen girl replied while shaking her head. "You're not ready for a fight like this. Not alone."
"A huntress not ready for a real fight?" the man asked as he dropped his hand from his face. He balled his fists and raised his arms to show off his katars once again, as his 'corded belt' began to unfurl on its own. A jet black scorpion's tail unwound from around his waist, its deadly stinger pointed straight at Willow as his yellow, crazed eyes widened. "Then you must be ready to die!"
Author's Note:
So much for a pleasant and relaxing weekend. Shocking that the time skips won't actually start after this chapter, I know. I'm going to stop predicting pacing of anything. I should have learned after What You Stole.
-RD