Qrow Branwen looked around in his cell. He marked another line of chalk into the wall, revealing a total of sixteen tally marks.
Today's the day. Sixteen days I've been here stuck in one of Mensonge's recently built prisons, and now they're going to put me on trial. Any minute now they're going to take me to court.
He heard footsteps approaching from his right. They're coming. He breathed in to steady himself. It's time. Here's hoping the plan works.
Two guards, both male, showed up at Qrow's glass boxed cell. The first one opened the door and the second one walked right in with a pair of plastic handcuffs in his hand. Qrow enclosed his hands and allowed himself to be handcuffed, groaning when the officer tightened them. With his hands in front of him, the guard who handcuffed him took his right arm and the one who unlocked his cell door took his left.
These plastic handcuffs are tighter than I thought they'd be. Who's bright idea was this? He internally groaned as they started moving forward. We're moving. The courthouse is connected to the Glass Box Prison, albeit it's about a mile or two away from where my glass box was located. My items should be in the warden's office, which we'll pass on the way to the court room. But if I try to escape when we're too close to the office, the guards will quickly subdue me. Not to mention that they could have tranquilizer darts. That's how they got me in the first place- overwhelmed me with sheer numbers then fired at me while I was distracted fighting the mob.
Qrow noticed the large podium up ahead a few hundred feet in front of him.
Alright, we're nearby the front of the building. It's almost time to make my escape.
The distance between them and the next room started to decrease.
Four hundred feet. Qrow closed his eyes, focusing on his semblance.
Three hundred feet. Alright, Misfortune. Two hundred feet. You got me into this mess and now you must get me out.
One hundred feet. The second guard started feeling wheezy. "Ah... ah..."
"Are you alright?" the first guard asked.
"Ah-choo!"
At the exact moment his eyes shut from the sneeze, Qrow kicked the sneezing guard away from him, causing a grunted scream to be heard. He followed by jamming the other one into a nearby glass wall, catching the attention of the nearby prisoner eating her meal. The unfortunate huntsman started to run away from his guards.
The second guard lifted his head up from the ground. "He's getting away!"
The first one quickly regained his coordination as the second one got up. "We must stop him!"
Qrow ran through the hallway corridors past the podium, catching the attention of the front officer, who was reading a magazine. He put it down and chased after him.
I could easily break the handcuffs if these guards weren't on my back. I gotcha ditch em!
He took a left and made his way down the hall with multiple doors, likely offices for the officers or more interrogation rooms. He went through the dark grey hallway to a hallway with the walls made entirely out of glass, much like a greenhouse. The area also had lightly-colored carpet as opposed to a cold, grey stone floor. After making it that hall, he found himself at a two way crossroads in a light blue hallway and quickly went right. The guards chasing after him however, were far enough behind that they didn't see the direction he went off in.
"Split up! He couldn't have gotten far!"
The guy at the front desk and the sneezy officer went right as the other guard went left.
Darn it. Only one of em shaken off. I need to work smarter or this plan will surely fail.
He went down the blue hallway, which was lined with paintings of various police officers and the years that they had served in the force. Eventually the hallway split into two again, and he went left. The guy at the front desk went right and the sneezy officer went left.
"Stop right there!" the sneezy officer yelled, quickening his pace.
Qrow didn't stop. He continued running.
Alright, just one left, now if I recall correctly, there should be another section where the hallway splits.
He went down another corridor, making a right turn. As he ran down the hallway, there were a few varying documents lined up against the wall. He made another right turn, only to find the warden at the other end of the hallway he had just turned into.
"And where do you think you're going?" the warden asked.
Aw crap.
Qrow turned around only to find the sneezy guard hot on his heels. He looked at the guard and the warden both coming in his direction. As the guard leapt at him, the warden threw a tranquilizer dart at Qrow, but unfortunately, it missed... and hit the sneezy guard. The warden, horrified at what he had done, didn't register that the prisoner ran past him. The warden ran as the sneezy guard fell backward onto the floor.
"Did you see him?" the first guard asked as he approached the warden.
"Damn it! He got away!" the warden exclaimed. "And that was my only tranquilizer dart!"
Meanwhile Qrow was in a conference room, which he had taken care to lock. Concentrating his aura, he soon broke free of his handcuffs. He smiled.
Alright. That's part one. Now for part two- retrieving my weapon and everyone else these lunatics stole from me!
Through the window, he noticed the warden looking around for him. He backed away from the door and noticed the security camera in the form of an black-orb like shape on the lower right corner of the room. He took a chair, stood atop it and punched the camera, destroying it.
"He has to be in here somewhere!" he heard the warden say.
He quickly hid himself under the table and hoped that the chairs would help to conceal his presence. Just to be sure he wasn't seen, he turned into a bird to camofluge with the chair as they opened the door.
"Nowhere in plain sight. Check the tables, maybe he's hiding somewhere." He heard them moving the chairs, but not the chair that he blended in with.
The first guard confirmed, "He's not here."
"But wait... The security camera was damaged." another guard noted.
"Is it possible that Qrow was here?"
"Not possible, if he was, we would have seen him run away." the warden responded.
Qrow flew out the room and as he made his way through the halls, pecked hardly at the cameras with his beak to destroy them. He went forward and went back the way he came, stopping to damage the cameras and eventually he made his way back to the grey area. After destroying the last security camera, he checked the coast and turned back into his human form. Then he kicked the door down and entered the warden's office.
There was no one there, so he closed the door and started looking for where his belongings where kept. He saw a box labeled, "Garfield R. Port Items"
So they continued to use the alias I gave them. Nice.
He opened the box and sure enough, he found Harbinger, his wallet (with everything still in it), Scroll, water canteen, energy bars and even his flask. Curiosity overriding him, he opened the cap of the flask, smelled the contents and immediately took a sip of alcohol.
"There he is!" a man cried out.
The door burst open as the cops from earlier (minus the sleepy-sneezy one) and the warden entered the office as he stopped drinking.
"Okay, enough with the drinking." the warden ordered. "Surrender and maybe the judge will go easy on you."
Qrow closed the flask, pocketed the rest of items and answered, "Fat chance."
He got out Harbinger and proceeded to fight all of them, they all threw and fired their tranquilizer darts, but he dodged each and every one either through slightly drunken reflexes or having them hit his sword. He swung his sword out, knocking all of them down one by one and then he ran out of the office.
"Don't just stand there, do something!" the warden exclaimed.
Qrow continued his run through the jail and ran out the doors of the Glass Box Prison.
"Stop him!" the guard cried out.
"You'll never take me alive, coppers!" Qrow laughed as he ran.
He ran for about a hundred feet or so, passing by Hematite as he darted into an alley. Then he transformed into a bird and took off into the sky. The guards looked around but couldn't find him.
"He's gone!" one of the guards cried.
"How can this be?!" the warden asked angrily. "No one is supposed to escape the Glass Box! Not Pyrrha Nikos or anyone else! Noooo!"
I did it! I'm free as a bird! He chuckled to himself. Quite literally. Now hopefully I can find Ruby, and quickly.
A female guard roamed the halls of the local jail. Her platinum blonde locks were loose, her pale skin and light blue eyes seen as she walked the halls. She wore the blue police officer's uniform like everyone else, but she walked with an air of confidence to her. There weren't many guards there, and those who were there didn't really notice her, which worked out in her favor. In her left hand she held a set of prison keys. She stopped, her shadow being seen as the camera shifted to the cell she stood in front of. Tyrian looked up as the door was unlocked.
"You're coming with me." she spoke.
Tyrian frowned. "Oh boy, have they come to take me to court?"
She frowned in response to his query. "No." The guard handcuffed Tyrian with his hands forward. "Now get moving."
He obeyed her instruction with the female guard not too far from him. As they silently walked through the halls, they also gained the attention of nearby prisoners. Some were surprised, many were curious. A few were giving him nasty looks, but they didn't faze him.
Another guard, a male, soon encountered the first guard and asked her, "Hey, hey, you! Where do you think you're going?"
But she was prepared for this. She pulled out a document. "I have orders from the warden to have this inmate transferred to the most secure prison down in Aldwy."
He looked over the document, but found nothing wrong with it. "Very well then."
"You are also to give back all of his items."
"What?!" He groaned. "Fine."
She handed Tyrian off to the other arm. "If you would be so kind, take the prisoner outside of the front entrance and wait for me there while I retrieve his things."
"Very well then."
The second guard took Tyrian and led him away.
The scene transitioned to the female guard taking a box and holding it in her hands. As she made her way through the halls, she smirked before exiting the building. Above the building was a sign that read, Rotten Creek Low Security Prison.
She descended down the white stone steps, stopping before a purple horse-drawn carriage, enclosed on all sides to ensure no one would see the occupants. The second guard stood nearby the carriage, holding the prisoner by the arms so that he wouldn't run away. The first guard put the box down on the ground, sliding it in, and then took one of Tyrian's arms.
"Thank you for standing watch. You may go."
The second guard left and the first guard led Tyrian into the carriage, with him sitting on the left side. She shut the door and handed some Lien to the driver, a man dressed in a purple casual business suit with black shoes. He accepted the offer as the guard went back to the carriage, sitting across from him. Once she pulled the door shut, the driver whipped the reins gently and the horse took off at a gallop.
As the carriage rode off into the village, reconstruction efforts were seen, with Apollo, Atum and Surya helping the engineers and architects.
Tyrian stood silent, yet calm as they moved forth. The guard observed his facial expressions. For the first minute or two, he seemed to remain calm even as the first guard glared slightly at him.
Once the carriage left Aletheia, the coachman whipped the reins faster and they starting going faster.
Neither of the occupants were bothered or startled by the change in speed. But as they dashed through the forests of eastern Sanus, Tyrian looked directly into the guard's eyes. The guard noticed and gave him a glare. "What are you looking at?"
"My lady, that was the show you put on there."
Salem smirked upon Tyrian admitting he saw through her disguise. "Why thank you, Tyrian."
"It seems you have many tricks up your sleeve." He chuckled briefly. "I didn't realize it was you at first, but when I saw those eyes, I could see your anger in them."
"You're certainly right." She glared at him once again. "And you also know why I'm angry, don't you?
He looked at her with a look of nervousness. "I'm still in trouble, aren't I?"
"I'm afraid so." She folded her arms. "What happened?"
Tyrian explained to Salem the events that occurred over the last few weeks and how he had captured Ruby, but failed in keeping her captive. By the time he was done, Salem's human cop disguise was still in place.
"So let me see if I've got this right-" Salem began. "You used the Scarlatti Alliance's ignorance and anger to manipulate team SOLR into fighting team JNPR while you fought Ruby. But Apollo Legolas, one of team SOLR's members, saw that Pyrrha was telling the truth, helped her tell everyone else and ended the fight. And when they confronted you, you had to use your smoke bombs and made a run for it. However, Orville Odur, with Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, tracked you down, forcing you to hide her in closet and beat them up, to which you defeated them all with no problems until Pyrrha came. You tried to break her by using her shattered lie against her, broke her weapon and her mask, and then attempted to kill her only for her to use Penny Polendina's swords against you resulting in your defeat and second arrest?"
"Pretty much. I can tell you're upset. If I might ask, how upset are you?"
She sighed. "I'm very upset. This was supposed to be a simple task. You manipulated team SOLR perfectly, even taking out Orville Odur permanently. But what's inexcusable is that you had an easy opportunity to take Ruby and run and you blew it, all because you wanted to torment and kill Pyrrha Nikos." She groaned. "And because of this, you not only lost your acquired target, but I had to bail you out of prison. Again. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Tyrian bowed his head in sorrow. "I'm sorry I displeased you, my queen."
"As you should be. Fortunately, there is still time to correct this error." She took the box from earlier, looking over its contents. Inside were Tyrian's weapons, the Grimm Talisman, his Lien, a small canteen of water, and some dried, salted meat rationed out in plastic bags. "Looks like everything is still there." The Grimm Goddess handed the scorpion the box. "Is anything missing?"
"Nope, everything is here." He took all its contents, rearming himself and letting his weapons rest on his arm before putting the supplies in his pockets and the canteen on his hip. "Thank you, my lady."
"Don't thank me yet." She gave a dry, sultry chuckle. "I have payed this coachman to take you to the village of Aldwy. At the rate we're going, you should be arriving in a matter of hours. However, I have intel that they are traveling towards Omega, which is a four day trip on foot, quite rapidly. If they get on a ferry to some city in Mistral or village in Anima, it will become a lot harder to find them."
Tyrian looked a little alarmed, but quickly regained his composure. "So in other words, I have to find them, and fast or I'll be in deep water."
"Precisely. Once you arrive to Aldwy, you will have to work quickly and you will have to find Ruby alone, without relying on powerful pawns that may turn on you if they realize they're fighting for the wrong reasons. Do not disappoint me again."
He bowed his head in respect to his mistress. "Yes, my lady." He looked at her with an insane look of curiosity. "Since I still have time before we reach Aldwy, I have two questions for you. If you would be willing to answer them."
"And what might those be?"
"First question, how did you manage to disguise yourself as a normal human cop?"
"That is my own little secret." She smirked. "A magician never reveals her secrets."
"Keeping me on my toes I see." He chuckled. "How clever. Second question, my lady- how is the massacre of Mistral's huntsmen and huntresses going?"
"Things are going according to plan. Hazel and Watts have both been doing their part quite well. The former even took out all four members of team CUBB (Cubeb) and took their prize money they received from turning in Maura Celandine."
"Ms. Celandine..." Tyrian mused to himself. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't she Mistral's White Fang leader?"
"She was, but now a newer, hungrier faunus has taken her place. Whether she realizes it or not, Athena Bruna will help me bring Mistral to its knees. And to an extent, High Leader Sienna Khan will have an important role to play as well."
At that moment, a split-screen appeared with Athena standing on top of the skyscraper in Wind Path on the left and Sienna roaming through the forest at a slow, almost leisurely pace on the right.
"And what role will Sienna play in your grand act of taking Mistral by storm?" Tyrian inquired off-screen.
"Oh, you'll see." She chuckled off-screen. "You'll see the end results soon enough."