Chapter 8: To Catch a Cat
As the sun slowly peeked over the mountain ridge of New Rushland, Mikhail Kashtonovy woke up and silently crept out of bed without disturbing his wife. To start off his day, he changed out of his pajamas and into a track suit for a brisk three-mile jog around the countryside. After his cool-down stretches, he tended to the farm's animals and harvested enough eggs from the chicken coop to go along with the steak he was serving his family for breakfast.
Later, after kissing Svetlana as she went off to work at Crimson Enterprises and kissing Cyan as she went off to school, Mikhail prepared to tend to his usual farmwork of plowing the field and tending to the crops. If things went as planned, he'd be finished in time to prepare dinner for when Svetlana and Cyan got home. But just as he got out of the shower, his scroll started ringing.
"Hello?"
"Uh, M-Mickey? Is that you?" The voice asked.
Mikhail's brow furrowed in annoyance. "This is Mikhail Kashtonovy-Crimsonoff, yes. Who is this?"
"Mickey, it's me. Josie Ink. Do you remember?"
Mikhail's eyes widened in shock. "Josephine? Y-yes, of course I remember you. How have you-?"
"I-I'm sorry to contact you like this, Mickey, and I hate to ask this of you on such short notice, but there's been an emergency." Josephine explained. "The girls and I need you to come home. It's urgent."
"O-okay. Okay, Josephine. I'll be right there. I promise." With that, Mikhail hung up his scroll and hastily went about packing a suitcase. Wearing his Cat Burglar suit with his whip wrapped around his waist underneath his best business-casual suit, he proceeded to write a note which he left in the kitchen for his wife and foster child. With that out of the way, he headed straight for the airport to catch the next flight to Vacuo
Hours later, Svetlana returned from the office to find that none of the farmwork had been finished. Thinking that Mikhail was feeling unwell, she went inside to check on him in their bedroom, but he was nowhere to be found. Just then, she heard the front door open again and made her way to greet her husband, only to find that it was just Cyan returning from school with Boris.
"What's wrong, Svetlana?" The robin Faunus asked. "You look worried."
"Cyan, have you seen Mikhail, today? I can't-" She stopped herself once she finally noticed the note lying on the kitchen counter. She picked it up and began to read out loud. "'Dear Svetlana and Cyan, I have to leave the city for a little while. I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly, but a friend I met after we were separated has contacted me and needs my help. Love Mikhail.'"
"So, are we going to go after her?" Cyan couldn't help but ask.
"Not yet: not until we figured out who exactly this friend was who supposedly called her," Svetlana declared. "After all, something tells me that this isn't the sort of thing that we can just charge into all willy nilly."
Just then, Boris' scroll rang, and he fished it out of his pocket to answer. "Hello? Oh, hey, mom. What's up? What? Yeah, I'm with her right now… wait, are you serious? Oh, my gods."
"What? What's wrong?" Cyan asked.
"My mom says she just got a call from the hotel in Vacuo that Mikhail checked into." Boris explained in a worried tone. "They said some of the people staying in rooms next to his were complaining about a disturbance, but when they checked his room there was no one there."
Cyan's eyes widened in fear. "What does that mean?"
"My mom thinks someone abducted him, but there was no sign of a struggle." Boris went on. "She says they found his scroll and suitcase on the bed."
"Well, that doesn't mean anything." Svetlana reasoned, trying to stay calm.
"And… an unopened bottle of Fire Dust Vodka." Boris added.
"My husband's been kidnapped!" Svetlana shrieked, distraught.
Two Hours Ago, in Vacuo
Mikhail checked into the hotel and set his belongings down on the bed. His nose crinkled in disgust; the building was just as bad as he remembered before he and the others moved to Vale. But if Josephine or any of the other girls needed his help, he would endure it. Hoping to steel his nerves, Mikhail unzipped his suitcase and pulled out a fresh bottle of his family's Fire Dust Vodka and was just about to uncork it when he heard a knock at the door. Unfortunately, there was no peephole on the door, so he called out.
"Hello?"
"Uh, Mickey?" A voice called out. "We're a couple of old pals of Josie. She sent us to bring you to her."
Mikhail set the bottle down and slowly unbuttoned his shirt to reach for the whip wrapped around his waist. "Come in!" He shouted back. "The door's unlocked!"
Once the door was opened, two masked men stepped inside with pistols at the ready. Luckily, Mikhail quickly cracked his whip forward, wrapping it around one of the pistols and yanking it out of the intruder's hand. He caught the weapon and threw it back at its owner's head before cracking the whip once more at the other intruder's hand, forcing him to drop his pistol. Mikhail then took advantage of the way the duo were standing side by side and wrapped his whip around their ankles to trip them up. While they were still disoriented, he walked over and pulled off their masks.
"Well, well, Dice and Domino." Mikhail chortled as he took a few steps back. "How awful to see you again. You're both looking grotesque as always."
"How did you know it was us?" Domino grunted.
"You clearly underestimated Josephine." Mikhail sneered as he cracked his whip. "She knows that I hate being called 'Mickey.' Almost as much as she hates 'Josie.'"
"Live and learn," Dice said with a shrug before giving a smug grin. "Still, this doesn't change things, as she was still able to bring you to our doorstep."
"You might end up regretting that." Mikhail growled out as he got into a fighting stance. "Now you're face-to-face with me."
But before the thugs could land a single punch, someone else had snuck up behind Mikhail and hit him in the back of the head. The last thing he saw before blacking out was a white mask. As he slipped into unconsciousness, his mind went back to how this all got started.
Several Years Ago, in Vacuo
Mikahil Kashtonovy shivered as the snow relentlessly fell onto the boat he rode in on. Just two weeks ago, his entire home and family had been burned to the ground by the White Fang in a senseless act of mass murder. The only reason he had survived was because his semblance had somehow revived him after the White Fang left. His body had been in pain, but his heart hurt the worst. It was bad enough to lose both of his parents, but to lose the love of his life had been almost too much to bear. At last, the boat docked and he got off to find refuge. The only belongings he had with him were the clothes on his back, his father's fishing pole, and his mother's locket.
For the next three hours, Mikhail tried to get a job as a fisherman to support himself, but he was turned down by everyone he spoke to. Eventually, he resorted to fishing for himself with little success. He finally decided to give it a rest and try to find shelter for the night. He was just heading down an alley when he heard something akin to a cat purring. He followed the noise until he looked up and stumbled backwards in shock; resting on the fire escape was a middle-aged cat Faunus woman looking down at him with eyes that sparkled like emeralds.
"Now, what's a little boy like you doing in a hovel like this?" She asked. Due to the fact that his home had been destroyed by the White Fang, Mikhail was understandably wary of the Faunus. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" She chuckled at her own joke.
Still, Mikhail didn't say anything.
"Ah, I get it." She nodded. "Your parents were smart. Probably told you not to talk to strangers, right? Luckily, I have a solution to that problem." She sat up, cleared her throat and placed a hand on her chest. "My name is Celena Noir. And you are?"
"... Mikhail Kashtonovy." He replied, reluctantly.
"Wonderful!" She clapped. "Mikhail, meet Celena. Celena, Mikhail. Welp, now we're not strangers."
"That's… not how that works." Mikhail replied.
"Well, let's get a second opinion on that." She went on. "Where are your parents?"
Mikhail sadly looked down at the locket. "They're both dead." He sighed. "I came here looking for a fresh start, but none of the fishermen are hiring. And I'm so hungry… I don't know what to do."
Celena hopped down from her perch to look the boy in the eyes. "Hey, hey, it'll be okay." She promised. "Let me tell you something, Vacuo is a den of thieves these days. If you want to survive, you have to be willing to take what you need. You get me?"
"I suppose so," Mikhail declared, before looking at the guard from earlier before turning to his new companion. "Hey, any chance that you're good in a fight?"
"I'd like to think that I can hold my own," Celena answered with a shrug. "Why: do you have something in mind for how to get those fish?"
"Yeah, and if you help me out, I'll be more than willing to split the take." Mikhail remarked with a smirk.
Celena merely smiled in response. "I'm listening."
A few minutes later, Mikhail had recovered his fishing pole and cleaned himself up before heading back towards the docks. As he'd hoped, a new fishing ship sailed in and set anchor.
"This will be easy," Mikhail remarked as he made a move to walk forward…only for Celena to pull him back with a raised eyebrow.
"First lesson about dealing with people in Vacuo, or anywhere in Remnant, for that matter," the cat Faunus declared with a deadpan expression. "If it looks easy, always assume that the opposite might be true and plan accordingly."
"So… what do we do?"
"Well, most of these ships keep their hauls locked below deck. And the only one who is certain to have the key on them is the captain."
"So, I just need to find him or her, knock them out, grab the keys, and we're home free."
"Sounds like a good plan, but don't get too cocky," Celena warned. "After all, another lesson for dealing with people in Vacuo - and Remnant in general - is that no plan survives contact with the enemy."
Mikhail merely nodded as his hand slipped to grip his locket. "I already know that lesson far too well."
"Just wanted to be sure."
Ten minutes later, Mikhail had identified the captain and snuck aboard to try and get his keys. He was about three feet away from him when a firm hand grabbed the hood of his jacket and threw him back towards the deck. The teen internally kicked himself for getting caught so easily, but focused on standing back up to get a good look at his assailant.
Mikhail huffed to himself as the tall guard approached him. "You're a big fellow. Fought bigger, though."
"I doubt that." The guard chortled as he reached out to grab Mikhail again. Suddenly, the boy grabbed his thumb and twisted his entire arm away. "OW! OW, OW, OW, OW, OW!"
Mikhail smirked to himself as he remembered the self-defense techniques his mother and father had taught him. As he heard another set of footprints coming from behind him, he twisted the guard towards the others and used that to make his getaway. Realizing he wouldn't be able to get the key, he decided to escape the boat and rendezvous with Celena.
"I couldn't get the keys," Mikhail grumbled out.
"Don't feel too bad. It was obviously your first time trying something like this," Celena remarked. "Besides, I've got you covered."
Mikhail blinked in surprise as Celena pulled some keys from her pocket. "How did you…?"
"Snatched these from one of the other workers while their attention was on you," Celena explained with a smile. "Consider this your next lesson: always have a backup plan."
Another few minutes later, Mikhail threw a rock at one of the guards. Angered, the guards chased after him while Celena snuck aboard their boat to steal a basket of fresh fish. By the time they gave up the chase and returned, it was too late.
"Well, that takes care of that." Mikhail declared after he and his new companion had gotten away from the guards chasing them. "Guess it's time that we divide the fish between us."
"Perhaps," Celena said with a smile, "but first, I have one last thing to teach you."
"Is now really the time?" Mikhail asked with a deadpan expression, gesturing in the direction they had run from, indicating the guards they had just avoided in the process might still be looking for them.
"Don't worry: this won't take too long," Celena remarked as she placed her hand on Mikhail's shoulder…before pushing him over the railing, grabbing his locket as he fell. "The lesson is this: never trust someone you just met in Vacuo."
Mikhail managed to grab onto the bottom rail before landing in the water and watched in anger as Celena ran off. "HEY!" He shouted and pulled himself back up before giving chase. "Hey! Get back here! That's mine!" He didn't even care about the fish anymore; no one was going to take his mother's locket from him.
What Mikhail didn't know was that he was following the thief towards a condemned apartment building on the outskirts of the city. It was here that Celena Noir managed her operations with the three younger cat Faunus she had taken under her wing. Among them were Lily Sparrow, the youngest of the trio who was small enough to crawl into places the others couldn't; Josephine Ink, an aspiring actress who often acted as a distraction to guards for the others; and Angela Textile, the eldest of the orphans who also took up prostitution to help Celena collect the money they needed. Currently, the group was saving up enough money to pay off a vicious crime boss who had formerly employed Celena. Once they were free, they would escape to a new home and start over.
Josephine was watching one of her soap operas when one of Angela's regular clients walked out of her room. As he opened the door to leave, a lively calico cat Faunus ran past him with a satchel slung over her shoulder. Lily's tail coiled around the doorknob and slammed the door shut on her way in. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Whatcha watchin', Josie?! How's it end?! Does he get the girl, or what?!"
"Pipe down, you pint-sized pipsqueak!" Josephine growled. "I'm trying to enjoy this. Where have you been, anyway? We're expecting Ivory Masque in less than three hours. I almost thought you'd abandoned us."
"What?! Hey, no way! You've insulted my pride!" Lily took off her satchel and dumped its contents out onto the floor. "If you must know, I was out pickin' up your slack! Check this out."
Josephine snorted at her sister's lackluster haul. "Huh, smashed gold. Worthless."
"'Worthless?!' Man, you need to get your eyes checked, Jo! This is a primo gold watch!" Lily hissed. "Well, what'd you bring in for the pot, Josie?"
"My name is Josephine." The thespian thief corrected, irritably. "Not 'Jo.' Not 'Josie.' Josephine."
Just then, Angela tiredly stumbled out of her room, wearing nothing but an oversized hoodie and panties; a stack of bills tucked into the front of said undergarments. After popping a morning-after pill into her mouth, she counted the money she had earned and went over to add it to the gang's stash.
"Will you two keep it down?" She muttered. "I've got a bitch of a headache."
"Sorry, Angela." Lily whispered.
Angela continued counting the money with a worrisome gleam in her mismatched eyes. "Hopefully this is enough to get that rat off of our backs." She sighed. Angela closed the cashbox, brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and turned to her adoptive sister. "So, Josephine, you got our breakfast, right?"
Josephine nervously bit her lip as her cat ears drooped. "Uh, w-well, no, I didn't give myself time to-"
"AUGH!" Lily groaned. "C'mon!"
"Josie!" Angela pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "It was your turn to get the food!"
"Hey, hey, hey. Cool it, kittens." The trio looked up towards the studio's moonroof at the sound of their mentor's voice. Celena Noir dropped down and presented a basket of fresh salmon. "Breakfast is served."
"Aw, yeah! You're the best, Celena!" Lily cheered as she ran to heat up the stove.
"Mmm, what'd we do to deserve this, boss?" Angela purred, happily, as she eyed the juicy fish.
"Just consider it a 'thank you' for all the hard work you've been putting in lately, kittens." Celena smiled as she got herself a bottle of milk from the fridge.
While Josephine and Celena set the table and Angela and Lily cooked, the group of thieves failed to notice a young man sneaking into their apartment. Mikhail held his breath so that they wouldn't hear him as he searched for his mother's locket. While he looked, he couldn't help overhear what the cat Faunus said to each other.
"How did you come across this banquet, Celena?" Josephine asked.
"Well, it wasn't easy, let me tell you." Celena smirked as Lily and Angela pulled the smoked fish out of the oven. "There I was; out on the docks among the cutthroat fishermen who risked their lives to bring in these juicy bad boys. I snuck aboard one of the ships, following the scent of freshly caught salmon when I found this glorious harvest, when I encountered… opposition. Standing in the way of myself and the only exit was one of the scariest sea-goers I've ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on; standing at seven feet tall, wielding a hook for a hand, and looking into my soul with burning eyes. I feared for my life, but I had a responsibility to get back to you kittens. I steeled my nerves, readied my claws, and with lightning speed, I-"
Celena's tall tale was cut off when Mikhail slipped from the rafters and crashed down on the table. Startled, the thieves scattered about the apartment trying to find cover. At first, they thought Masque and his men had arrived early and barred their claws, only to find a fourteen-year-old boy lying on their dining room table. Angela angrily approached him and held one claw under his chin while Josephine and Lily stood beside her.
"You get a good look, you little perv?!" She sneered. "You've got ten seconds to explain what you're doing here, or me and my girls have just found a new scratching post!"
"I-I-I'm sorry!" Mikhail stammered, fearfully. "I was just trying to get my locket and fish back from a cat Faunus who stole them! H-her! It was her! She took them!"
The trio looked over to see Celena leaning back in her armchair, nibbling on a piece of grilled salmon as if nothing had happened. "Oh, uh, hey, Mikhail." She nodded. "Long time, no see. Uh, thanks for the fish. The girls really appreciate it."
Angela, Josephine, and Lily shared glances with each other before they burst out laughing. Mikhail watched in confusion as they circled around their caretaker and began teasing her.
"Aw, Celena's scared of a little boy?!" Lily laughed. "What was it you said? Somethin' 'bout seven feet tall?"
"'A hook for a hand,' I believe was in the description." Josephine chortled.
"Hmm, he looks kinda cute with those burning eyes." Angela giggled, batting her own eyelashes.
"Oh, that reminds me: thanks for helping me get away from that creep," Mikhail declared, remembering what had happened on the ship before gaining a glare. "Though I believe that we had agreed to split the fish between us…and no, you tossing me into the ocean and then taking everything doesn't count. Plus that locket you stole means a lot to me, so…"
"Well, that depends," Celena called out, having managed to calm down a bit as she held up the locket. "How much is this worth to you?"
"I don't have any money!" Mikhail huffed. "C'mon, please. That necklace is the only thing I have left."
Celena's smile faltered, slightly, but she still held it tight in her grip. "Sorry, kid. But my girls and I could use the cash."
Mikhail was about to argue further until an idea crept into his mind. With a sly smile, he headed for the door. "Okay, I understand." He shrugged. "I guess I'll just leave."
"Good." Celena nodded.
Just as his hand landed on the doorknob, Mikhail turned back to the group, grinning from ear-to-ear now. "And tell all of those fishermen where you are."
"Don't you dare…" Celena began to growl out before she caught onto Mikhail's meaning, nodding and tossing his locket to him soon afterwards. "Message received. Not bad, kid: why don't you stick around for a bit? You certainly look like you could use the food and rest."
"If you think I'm going to…" …and that was as far as Mikhail got before his stomach growled, causing him to blush. "...okay, maybe just a quick bite and a short nap."
One hour later, Mikhail woke up to find someone hovering over him. He yelped in shock and immediately backed away to see Lily collapse on the couch cushion in front of him. Angela and Josephine laughed at their friend's misfortune, but Lily was not amused.
"Hey, no fair! That don't count! He didn't wake up on any of your turns!" She snapped.
"'Turns?!'" Mikhail sneered and gripped the locket around his neck. "Were you trying to take this from me again?!"
"No offense, handsome, but you're the one who decided to sleep in a stranger's house." Angela teased. "Look, sorry Celena took your necklace. But we needed a few more valuables to pawn if we wanna get out of trouble."
Mikhail glanced over to see a pile of gold watches and jewelry sitting atop the fireplace. "This is how you guys make all your money? You just steal everything from other people?" He asked, concerned.
Celena sat up from her chair, seemingly hurt by his words. "'Steal?'" She clicked her tongue, shook her head, and wagged a finger at her unexpected guest. "Mikhail, that's a filthy word. We never steal. We just, you know… borrow a bit from those who can afford it."
"'Borrow?'" Angela chortled at her mentor's choice of words before turning to Lily and Josephine. "If that's what we've been doing, we're in worse debt than I thought."
Suddenly, a car horn echoed from downstairs and two dog Faunus broke down the door. Angela, Josephine, and Lily huddled in front of Mikhail while Celena collected the cashbox and a handful of jewelry and headed towards the door. "The boss is waiting for you, Noir." One of them growled.
"I'll be right there, Dice." Celena hissed. "Nice to see you, too, Domino."
The dog Faunus growled as Celena left to speak with their boss before turning their attention to her protegees. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she took a deep breath in preparation for what she prayed would be her final meeting with the crime boss. Ivory Masque; not a single crime took place in Vacuo that he didn't know about. No one had ever seen his real face or knew his real name, as he always concealed his identity with a clean white mask decorated as a skull. But what he lacked in appearances, he made up for in ruthlessness.
Celena reluctantly entered his limo to sit next to him. She handed him the box and he wasted no time opening it up and counting the money. "Oh, boy. Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, Noir…" He shook his head in disappointment. "By my count, you're one thousand lien short."
"I-I know, Masque." Celena reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a handful of jewelry. "But my girls and I got this for you. It should be more than enough to-"
"I don't want your garbage, Noir." Ivory Masque sneered. "Now, I lent you money, and I want it back. And if I don't see my money, people get hurt. Maybe if your little kittens can't get me cash, they'd be better off working in my club."
Celena hissed. "If you lay a finger on them, I'll-!"
Masque drew a gun in defense. "You're in no position to make threats. Now, I've always been fond of you, Noir. But since this is the third time you've been late to pay, on top of the fact that this isn't enough, your debt just went up another ten thousand. Three sunrises. Three sunsets. Three days, Noir. Otherwise, I'm gonna start getting rough."
Meanwhile, back in the studio, Dice and Domino were having the time of their lives tormenting the girls.
"You know, Angela, I can't understand why such a lovely lady like you would waste your time in a hovel like this, when you could be uptown with a class-act like myself."
Josephine rolled her eyes. "Isn't it rather dangerous to use one's entire vocabulary in a single sentence?" She snarked.
"Ha, ha, ha, hey! Josie, my woman!" Lily gave her adoptive sister a proud high-five. "Gimme some skin girl!"
Josephine was quite proud, herself, until Dice pulled out a switchblade and got in her face. "You got something to say, fatass?!"
Josephine spluttered, trying to defend herself. Even though they had stolen from him, Mikhail hated seeing these criminals harass the girls. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" He huffed.
In response, Domino grabbed Mikhail by the scruff of his shirt and hoisted him into the air. "Like you, small fry?" He growled.
"Whoa, hey, easy there, Domino." Angela held up her hands, trying to defuse the situation. "Don't tell me you've lost your sense of humor."
"Naw. I ain't lost my sense of humor." Domino snorted as he threw Mikhail into the television set, smashing it to pieces. "See? I find that funny."
"Now that wasn't very nice," Mikhail declared as he got back up. "Now we'll have to use the TV we were intending to give to you to replace this one."
"Oh, a wise guy, eh?" Domino growled out as he got up into Mikhail's face. "Though now that I think about it, I haven't seen you around here before, which makes me wonder: what exactly has Celena told you about me? Genuinely asking, as anything she's said should have told you that messing with me is a bad idea."
"She didn't have to tell me anything," Mikhail honestly replied. "One look at you was all that I needed to know what an idiotic coward you are."
"Choose your next words very carefully," Domino said with a snarl, bringing his knife to Mikhail's throat…only for Mikhail to grab his wrist and twist it around before ripping the knife out of his hand and punching Domino in the face, sending him flying back into a wall while giving the man a black eye.
"Like I said, an idiotic coward," Mikhail remarked, waving his sore hand.
"You son of a bitch!" Domino drew his gun and his brother followed suit, aiming directly at Mikhail's head. However, they hesitated once Angela leapt in front of her new friend. "Get out of my way, slut." Dice growled.
"Back off!" Lily shouted as she and Josephine joined their adoptive sister in defending Mikhail. Suddenly, the limo's horn rang out once more, signaling that Ivory Masque was finished with his business.
"Better run along, boys." Angela smirked. "Your master is calling."
Dice sneered and holstered his gun and pulled his brother towards the door. "We'll be back soon, bitches." He growled. "And next time, we'll tear you all to shreds. Starting with that brat."
Once the thugs left, Lily ran up to the doorway just to salvage her pride. "Oh, yeah?! Hey, come back here, and I'll shred your dicks with my claws! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"
Angela rolled her eyes at her little sister before noticing Mikhail shaking the hand he'd used to punch Domino. Making her way to the kitchen, she grabbed an ice bag and gingerly placed it on his knuckles. "Why'd you do that?"
"You mean why did I defend you?" Mikhail called out before giving a shrug. "Just instinct, I guess. Besides, whatever you did, I highly doubt that any of you deserved to die."
The girl before him could only give a slight smile in response. "Well, whatever your reason, know that I appreciate the assistance."
"Indeed." Josephine smiled. "Who says chivalry is dead?"
"Yeah, we got ourselves a stud in this house!" Lily teased, playfully. "You gonna steal a girl's heart someday, boy."
Angela noticed Mikhail's sad frown. "Do you already have a girl's heart?"
"... I had one." He sighed, sadly. "... she died in the fire that destroyed my entire home."
Before the girls could respond, Celena rushed inside with a panicked expression, much to the unease of her litter. "Three days…" She whimpered as she grabbed a suitcase and began packing clothes. "We need to pack. Now! We need to get out of the city, run as far away as we can… but it's hopeless. I'll never get out from under that crook…"
Celena collapsed from despair, sobbing into her hand. Mikhail silently watched as the younger cat Faunus helped their mentor onto her feet and led her over to her armchair to rest. Angela draped a blanket over her, Josephine leaned her chair back, and Lily gingerly placed another piece of salmon into her mouth. Celena chewed on the fish and looked around as her wards waited for her to speak. A single tear slid down her cheek as she wondered what she had done to deserve their love. Swallowing her fish, she released a shaky breath and managed to smile.
"Thanks, girls."
The trio happily hugged Celena, purring as they all nuzzled each other. "That reminds me; I saw Domino's eye. Who did that?" Angela beckoned Mikhail forward with a proud smile, letting Celena get a clear view of his bruised knuckles. Celena took his hand into her own, impressed with his bravery. "You? You! Ha ha ha! That took a lot of guts, kid."
"Aw, you should've seen him, Celena!" Lily praised, enthusiastically. "He was like a living fire! Wham! Bam! Boom!"
"It was rather impressive." Josephine nodded.
Celena looked into Mikhail's eyes with a soft smile. Remembering what he had told her about his parents, she removed the scarf from her neck and wrapped it around his injured hand as she made him an offer. "Y'know, we've never had a boy in our litter before. Heh-heh, we could use all the help we can get. What do you say? You wanna stick with us for a while?"
"I… I don't want to be a burden." Mikhail replied, meekly.
However, this only enticed an amused chuckle from Celena's throat as she motioned towards the rest of her gang. "Haven't you noticed, kid? I have a soft spot for strays."
Back in New Rushland
Meanwhile, while Mikhail was sleeping off his surprise attack, Svetlana and Cyan were still trying to deal with the fact that a valuable part of their family was missing. By the time Captain Maroon and Detective Cash arrived to question her for details, Svetlana had already been brought to tears. She wondered to herself why the gods would allow her to be separated from her true love once again. She managed to answer their questions, and Boris decided to stay to keep Cyan company even after his mom and Cash left. Once the police officers were gone, Svetlana finally broke down.
"This can't be happening." She sobbed, softly. "I can't do this. Not again."
"Svetlava, you should sit down. You're clearly upset." Cyan remarked as she led her distraught foster mother to a chair. The robin Faunus steadied herself and made her way over to her friend. "As the second woman of the household, I'd better handle things that are too emotionally taxing for you. Now, Boris."
"Yes?" Boris sat up straight, ready to help in any way he could.
Cyan's lips suddenly began to tremble, her eyes watered, and she collapsed into Boris' arms. "What're we gonna do if my daddy doesn't come home?!" She wailed, sadly.
Boris simply rubbed his friend's back with a sigh. "He will: if he survived Loki, this shouldn't be any problem for him."
"You really think so?" Cyan asked with a hopeful expression.
"I know so," Boris declared. "Besides, you know Mikhail: he wouldn't do this if he truly thought that he'd risk leaving his 'kitten' all on her own."
Cyan nodded. "Yeah, that does sound like Mikhail."
"Exactly," Boris remarked. "Just try and have faith in him."
Cyan smiled. "Thanks. I needed that."
"We both did." Svetana said with a more relaxed expression, having heard everything. Without exposing her and Cyan's secret identities to Boris, she turned to the boy and pointed to his backpack. "Your mother tells me you're good with computers." She stated, bluntly.
"I have a system." Boris nodded, taking his laptop out of his backpack.
"I need you to look up a name for me." Svetlana instructed.
"What for?" Cyan asked, drying her eyes.
"During the Menagerie War, Mikhail mentioned to me that he was taken in by a woman named 'Celena Noir' after the original Rushland was destroyed. I have a feeling she's that friend he mentioned in the note. Or, at least, she knows who-"
"Found her!" Boris called out, proud of his tech-skills. He swiveled his laptop around in his lap, giving the women a clear view of his screen. Svetlana and Cyan saw multiple images of a black-haired cat Faunus ranging from mugshots to personal profile pictures. According to a police record that Boris had found, Celena Noir was a former burglar and exotic dancer who was once under the employ of a mysterious club owner named Ivory Masque. After three years in prison, she left Vacuo and set up a boutique business in Vale.
"I suppose that would explain his lockpicking skills," Svetlana noted. "Still, even if she were involved, I don't think she'd have any ill intent: not really. I can't quite explain it, but something about her makes me think that she's not the type to play assassin all willy nilly."
"You'd be right about that," Boris said with a nod. "According to her profile, she actually took in quite a few 'strays' while under the employ of Miss Masque. All cat Faunus, if you can believe it."
"Wait, like this?" Cyan suddenly called out as she pulled out a copy of the photo that she'd seen Mikhail with earlier.
"Exactly like that, actually."
"So that's why Mikhail likes cats so much!" Cyan snapped her fingers as if she had just solved a major case even as she put the photo away. "He was raised by cat Faunus!"
"Oh, so that's the only reason that someone can like cats." Boris called out with an unimpressed tone.
"What? No, no that's not what I'm saying at all! I was just…" Cyan declared with a nervous expression before noting the teasing grin that Boris was gaining. "...you were messing with me, weren't you?"
"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't," Boris replied while never losing her smile. "But it got you to stop worrying about Mikhail, didn't it?"
"Oh, you little sneak."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Boris readily remarked.
"Well, in any case, I appreciate you doing this," Svetlana said with a nod. "I'll be sure to pass this information along to someone who can make use of it."
"Glad I could help," Boris declared.
"So what's the plan now, boss?" Cyan asked after Boris had left sometime later.
"I think we'll be going on a little trip for a little while."
"Uh… d-do you think…" Cyan blushed as she twiddled her thumbs. "Do you think… we should ask Magenta to come with us?"
Svetlana rolled her eyes. "This is a family matter, Cyan. Magenta isn't family."
"Not yet, anyways."
"What was that?"
"NOTHING!"
Vale
One hour later, Svetlana had fabricated an excuse to the board of directors that required her to take Cyan to Vale, and the duo were now well on their way.
"So… how long have you and Mikhail been married?" Cyan asked, trying to distract herself and Svetlana from the possible danger Mikhail was in. "I mean, I know that the legal marrying age in Vale is eighteen."
"Well, we've only been married for two years, but Mikhail proposed to me when we were fourteen."
"FOURTEEN?!" Cyan's eyes went wide as saucers.
"Before Rushland was destroyed, yes." Svetlana smiled, fondly, at the memory. "He even had his father teach him how to forge a ring so he could do it properly."
Cyan was still slightly shocked. "So why didn't you get married then?"
Svetlana chuckled. "My father's fault. He said we had to wait until we were both sixteen."
"Well, I bet you were ecstatic to recite your vows after being reunited," Cyan declared.
"You have no idea," Svetlana said with a smile.
Cyan was glad to see her foster mother feeling better. "I don't think you ever told me how you two met. Was it romantic?"
"It was very romantic." Svetlana nodded as she proceeded to tell the tale.
Years Ago…
A thirteen-year-old Svetlana Crimsonoff hastily ran down the streets of Rushland, carrying a three-hundred pound bear she had killed over her shoulder. Her parents had trusted her to catch something that would keep them fed for at least a week. But they had also forbidden her from staying out after sundown, and she was almost late. The sun was almost completely out of sight, and her farm was fifteen minutes away.
"Augh!" She cried in frustration. "Why does our farm have to be so far from the hunting woods?!"
Suddenly, she crashed into someone leaving the blacksmith's forge. Both her bear, and the stranger's materials had spilled onto the sidewalk. She was fully prepared to scold them with all of the fury of the Maidens until she got a better look at who she had bumped into. It was a boy around her age, with lean muscles, dark hair, and fair skin covered in ash and soot. Svetlana's heart fluttered at the sight of him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" He apologized as he rose to his feet. "I was just carrying out a delivery for my father, I wasn't paying attention! Are you alright?"
Svetlana jumped to her feet, blushing slightly. "Oh, no! I'm sorry! I was in a hurry and didn't see where I was going. Well, I should get going." She was memorizing the sign of the forge on her way past the boy when he called out to her.
"Oh, miss! Wait!" She turned back around and saw him holding up the animal she had killed. "You dropped your bear."
"Oh! Thank you. Where is my mind, today?" As she reached out to take back her kill, her hand brushed over his, making them both blush and lock eyes with one another. And thus was the beginning of Svetlana and Mikhail's love.
Present
Cyan stared at her foster mother with a perturbed expression. "... Svetlana, I think you and I have different ideas on what 'romantic' means."
Half an hour later, the dynamic duo arrived at Vale's airport terminal and drove to Noir's Boutique. Once they were in an alley, they changed into their costumes and snuck inside. The store was closed for the day, but there were still a few employees finishing up, so they had to be quiet while looking for Noir's office. As they made their way through the attic, Azure couldn't help but stop and look at the unique dresses surrounding them.
"Hey, Krasnaya…" She whispered, earning her mentor's attention as she held a blue dress in front of her costume. "How does this look on me?"
Krasnaya irritably grabbed the dress and tossed it aside. "Focus." She scolded, quietly.
Azure cleared her throat. "Yes, ma'am."
At last, the dynamic duo made their way into Celena Noir's office. Krasnaya sat at the desk to look at the computer, sparing a glance at a photograph sitting on the corner. A smile spread over her lips at seeing Mikhail so young. At the same time, Azure dug through the filing cabinet for anything that mentioned her foster father. But all she found in the first drawer was a collection of adult magazines Celena had posed for when she was younger. Azure stuck out her tongue in disgust and slammed it shut… only to peak back inside out of curiosity.
Meanwhile, Celena was designing her latest line of summer wear with her assistant, only to pause as she looked towards the doorway with a frown on her face.
"Something wrong, Miss Noir?"
Celena merely waved a calming gesture towards her assistant. "Nothing you need to worry about: I just sensed that I have some surprise guests that I'll be needing to entertain in a little while. Why don't you go ahead and head home for today?"
"Oh! Why thank you, Miss Noir!"
Back up in the office, Krasnaya couldn't find anything in Celena's computer that would suggest she had contacted Mikhail or any of the other cat faunus she'd cared for.
"Y'know, I usually ask that new clients set up an appointment before entering my office." A voice called out.
Krasnaya and Azure pivoted on their heels to see the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was none other than the boutique's owner, Celena Noir, herself. "Impossible." Krasnaya thought to herself. "No one can sneak up on me."
"That's a big belt for a lady, don't you think?" Celena remarked.
Krasnaya reflexively patted her waist, shocked to feel nothing there. She looked down and saw that her utility belt with all of her tools, weapons, and gadgets were missing. She looked back up and frowned to see Celena holding up her belt with a cocky grin.
"Wow, you are good!" Azure smiled in awe, until Celena drew a gun.
"Now, why don't you tell me what you're doing in my office?" She hissed.
Krasnaya raised her hands, defensively. "We're looking for Mikhail Kashtonovy." She explained.
At the sound of that name, Celena lowered her gun. Thirty minutes later, Krasnaya convinced her host to give back her belt and explained the situation. In response, Celena made her way over to her desk to pour herself a glass of wine. She took a sip before telling the duo her own tale of who Mikhail's kidnappers were and what they wanted.
"Masque gave us three days to get her the money or my girls and Mikhail would have become dog chow." Celena took another sip of wine before continuing her story. "Most people would have felt threatened, but nobody threatens my kittens, so instead we planned a heist. We broke into Ivory Masque's club and stole back everything we'd ever paid her plus a little extra. Heh, Mikhail turned out to be a pretty quick learner, let me tell you. Then we escaped to Vale and set up this very shop to continue our operations."
"So what happened?"
"They grew up, that's what happened." Celena sighed. "They didn't need an old cat burglar to look after them anymore. Angela went on to set up her own textile store, Josephine finally joined a local theater, Lily made her own gang, and Mikhail joined a mercenary outfit."
"You must be proud," Krasnaya remarked with a nod, finding that this matched with what she knew regarding her reunion with her then-future husband back at Beacon.
"Like you wouldn't believe," Celena declared with a smile.
"Still with your line of work, you must have had some enemies: maybe one of them took our mutual acquaintance?" Azure pointed out with a shrug.
"Sounds about right, though only one person would be bold enough to try something like this: Ivory Masque," Celena said with a growl.
"Who's that?" Azure asked.
"No-good son of a bitch, that's who." Celena huffed. "Not a single crime takes place in Vacuo without his say-so. He's got every crook in one pocket and every cop in the other. It took everything in my power to keep my girls out of his filthy grasp."
"Sounds to me that you and this 'Masque' character had a difference of opinion," Krasnaya remarked.
"Oh, we did…and not without good reason either. See, my own father raised me on his own." Celena explained with a melancholy frown. "He taught me everything he knew about robbing folks, picking locks, and cracking safes. But he also raised me on his principles; he never stole credit cards, social security information, or bank account info. We were out for cash, not identities. It was bad enough they lost their money, there was no reason to kick them while they were down. And another thing, he believed in looking out for your crew. Mikhail, Angela, Josephine, and Lily were my crew. My kids. My litter. And you don't throw away your litter."
Azure lifted a finger. "Uh-"
"Different kind of litter." Krasnaya explained as she lowered her side-kick's hand.
"Yeah, don't worry: I make sure to recycle when I can," Celena said with a snort. "Just because I'm a thief doesn't mean that I don't care about our environment. In any case, if you want to take down the one who took Mikhail, you'll have to get in line…Svetlana."
Krasnaya's eyes widened beneath her mask. "I don't know what you're…"
"Save it, I know," Celena said with a smile, taking out a newspaper clipping showing Mikhail and Svetlana standing together in New Rushland. "I've been keeping a close eye on all of my kids to see how they were doing, so I know all about how you and my boy tied the knot. Not that I'm surprised: he always spoke so highly of you, so I know that only you would be bold enough to approach me like this to save him."
"Well, that makes things easier," Azure/Cyan declared with a smirk before running forward and pulling Celena in for a hug. "It's nice to meet you, Grandma."
Celena was taken off guard by this, but nonetheless returned the grin and the hug. "Nice to meet you too."
"Not that this isn't nice, but we've got a job to do," Krasnaya/Svetlana deadpanned. "We need to get to Vacuo."
"Right, who knows what sort of trouble Mikhail and the others have gotten themselves into." Celena said with a serious expression.
Meanwhile in Vacuo…
Mikhail woke up with a splitting headache. What's worse, he found that his wrists had been bound together behind his back, with another rope keeping them bound to his ankles. As his vision began to clear, he could see that he was also hanging upside down. Remembering what Celena taught him, he tried to dislocate one of his wrists so that he could slip his hand through the rope.
"I already tried that." A voice called out. "These creeps know how to tie a knot."
Mikhail looked to his left and gasped at the sight of a familiar face. "Angela? Is that really you?"
"Hey, handsome." The eldest of Mikhail's adoptive sisters smiled, weakly. "Nice to see you again, although I was hoping you'd be coming to save us. Josephine tried her best to signal you."
Mikhail looked to his right and saw his other two sisters dangling next to him. "Josephine! Lily!
"Hello, old boy." Josephine sighed. "I'm so sorry for dragging you into this. But they were going to kill Lily right in front of us."
"It's fine, I understand," Mikhail honestly declared. "And besides, you know I'd do this again in a heartbeat if it meant I could protect you guys."
Josephine merely gave a bitter chuckle in reply. "Yeah, I do."
"Real shame that you got caught before you could rescue us though," Lily declared with a frown.
"Yeah, real shame," Mikhail remarked with a teasing grin. "Not like my captors haven't brought me right to my sisters like I had wanted them to."
"So wait, you wanted to get caught?!" Angela couldn't help but ask.
"Well, yeah: I figured that you girls were in trouble, but I wouldn't be able to save you without knowing where they took you." Mikhail replied.
"Nice," Lily remarked with a smile. "So, what's the next step in your master plan?"
Mikhail opened his mouth to reply, but furrowed his brow in frustration. "Huh… okay, there are a few gaps in my plan." Needless to say, his foster sisters all looked at him like they'd be facepalming if they could.
Just then, a bright light flooded into the room, blinding the former thieves. Once their vision adjusted, the group could see a woman in a white skull-mask accompanied by two Doberman Faunus henchmen. Ivory Masque gripped Mikhail's chin and pulled him close.
"So…" She sniffed. "You are the last little bastard Noir picked up off the streets before ripping me off. I'm not impressed."
Mikhail spat on what he assumed was a very expensive coat. "And you're just as ugly as Celena told me." He chuckled.
"I'm wearing a mask, dipshit." Masque replied, flatly.
"And thank the godsfor that." Mikhail snorted, prompting his sisters to giggle.
"Keep laughing, you little shit. I'm gonna make you, your friends, and that fucking whore regret you were ever born." Masque threatened. "I've got friends who're on their way. With special tools that're gonna make the next few hours very interesting. Oh, and just in case you're thinking of doing something cute…" …and that was all the warning Mikhail got before Dice and Domino lifted him up into some magnetic restraints before placing him on a barrel. "Well, I wouldn't advise it," Masque finished with a grin before tying a rope around Mikhail's neck and placing something on his chest. "I have big plans for you and the other brats, and since your restraints are linked to this heart monitor, you won't be going anywhere unless you want to be fit for your coffin."
Dice and Domino allowed one last glare at their soon-to-be victims before following their boss out the door. The quartet of criminal apprentices shared a feeling of dread between them. "So, we either stay put and wait to be tortured, or die." Josephine sighed. "Not much of a choice, is it?"
Lily, being just as stubborn as she ever was, tried chewing through her restraints, but with no luck. "Man, this fucking sucks!" She bemoaned. "If my crew were here, they'd all be dead by now, and we'd be going home!"
"Hey, wait a minute…" Mikhail called out as he thought about what Josephine had said. "Okay, I have a plan, but I need you all to trust me. Just… don't freak out. Oh! Actually, freak out as much as you want. It'll help draw them in."
Angela looked nervous. "Uh, okay? What's the plan?"
Much to her and her sisters' shock, Mikhail willingly kicked the barrel out from his feet. The noose tightened around his neck, suffocating him until he passed away. His sisters screamed and cried in horror and despair at the sight of their adoptive brother killing himself. The heart monitor on his chest flatlined, deactivating the magnetic restraints that were holding him up and he dropped to the floor. Alerted of this event, Ivory and her henchmen returned to inspect his body. Ivory was disappointed that Mikhail had taken the easy way out, but decided she could still cut up his corpse for fun. But just as she knelt down to turn him over, his aura flashed and the seven tally marks on his wrist went down to six. And then the heart monitor started back up again.
With lightning reflexes, Mikhail snatched the knife from Masque, cut her eye, snatched his whip from Dice, somersaulted backwards while wrapping the end of the whip around the knife, and used it to cut down his sisters.
"SCATTER!" He shouted, and the cat burglars rushed out of the building.
"B-boss?" Domino cautiously approached his master. "Are you okay?"
In response, Ivory grabbed her minion by the throat and pulled him so close that he could see the seams of her blood-stained white mask. "I want… every fucking cop… in this fucking city… after… those… FUCKING CATS!"
Meanwhile, Mikhail and the others were hastily running along the rooftops to get away from their captors. "That was your plan?!" Angela spluttered as she ran. "Snap your own neck and hope your semblance fixes it?!"
"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Mikhail shrugged.
"I take back what I said earlier…!" Josephine huffed as she struggled to keep up. "You're all mad!"
"Hey, I'm just as upset at Mikhail's stupidity as the rest of you are, but in the meantime, I'd like to remind everyone that we're not out of the woods just yet," Lily piped up. "Masque will likely be coming for us soon, so we'll need a place to hide out for a while. Any ideas?"
"If I remember this area correctly, I think that there might be a warehouse nearby that we can hide out in for the time being." Josephine declared as she looked around the area.
"About as good an idea as any, I suppose: let's go." Angela shrugged, and the group took off once more.
At that very moment, Svetlana, Cyan, and Celena arrived at Vacuo's airport and made their way to the shadiest part of town. Cyan wanted to run ahead to search, but Svetlana instinctively held her back, refusing to let the girl out of her sight in an unfamiliar city. Celena bumped into a man as she walked. She apologized and dusted off his clothing before stepping out of his way, only to reveal she had stolen the man's wallet in the confusion.
"We're supposed to be looking for Mikhail." Svetlana huffed. "Not picking pockets."
"It's called 'multitasking.'" Celena smirked as she emptied the wallet of lien and threw it away.
"Wait, actually, she might have been onto something there," Cyan suddenly declared as she picked the wallet back up and pulled out a card from within said wallet, having spotted it when the wallet was tossed aside. "I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that whoever owned this wallet wasn't Mikhail, so why was he carrying Mikhail's credit card?"
"How do you know it's Mikhail's card?" Celena couldn't help but ask.
"Only Mikhail would have a card that looks like this," Cyan declared before showing the artwork on said card. Sure enough, the card depicted a cartoon tabby cat winking and holding up a peace sign.
"I'd bet all the money I got from that wallet that he was one of Masque's men," Celena growled out.
"Alright, keep an eye on him while Cyan and I slip into something more comfortable." Svetlana asked.
A few minutes later, the henchman had made his way back to his apartment and locked the door behind him. He tried turning on the lights, but the switch wouldn't work; he cursed himself for forgetting to pay the electric bill once again. He headed into the kitchen for a flashlight, but instead found a pair of glowing red eyes waiting for him. Before he could even scream, he found himself up on the roof at the mercy of Rushland's Crimson Crusader, her side-kick, and an old lady.
"Franklin Smith." Krasnaya sneered. "We're looking for Ivory Masque."
"You're a long way from home." Franklin remarked.
"With good reason. After all, you have some information for us." Azure called out.
"Even if you were right, you won't find me to be the talkative sort," the man called out before crying out as Krasnaya grabbed him and hung him over the side of the building.
"Where's Masque keeping Mikhail Kashtonovy and his companions? My arm's getting tired." Krasnaya called out.
"Wow, you are green." Celena declared before grabbing the man and throwing him back onto the roof. "This is how you interrogate someone."
A Few Minutes Later…
"...and we have over 9000 other men all divided up into smaller groups." the man called out. "I don't know where Masque is. He contacts us! That's all I know, I swear!"
"Everything?" Celena growled out.
"...I wet my bed until I was 12."
"Losing my patience!" Celena snarled, only backing up when she felt Krasnaya's hand on her shoulder.
"I can't control my friend here much longer: you'd better give us something we can use," the Crimson Crusader remarked.
"His office! I know where his main office is supposed to be."
"Wow: Krasnaya playing good cop." Azure couldn't help but call out.
"Everything's relative." Celena shrugged.
Meanwhile, Mikhail and his sisters arrived at the warehouse and barricaded the door behind them. As they searched for something to defend themselves with, the faint roar of sirens came from the horizon. Angela scowled as she peaked through the boards covering the windows. Everyone with a brain knew that all the cops in Vacuo were under Ivory Masque's thumb, so it was totally unlikely that these cops were coming to help them.
"Good news, guys!" Lily called out as she managed to pry a crate open with a crowbar. Inside, the group found it full of vials of dust of different varieties. Josephine managed to find four rifles with which to load the dust into.
"Okay, we're going to form a perimeter inside this warehouse." Mikhail said, calmly. "Take positions at the windows, but do not shoot to kill."
"What? Why?" Lily scoffed.
"Well, first of all, if we kill cops they can twist the story around to turn us into fugitives." Mikhail reasoned as he loaded his own gun. "And second, my wife doesn't much care for murderers."
"'Wife?'" Josephine blinked in surprise, as did her sisters. "You are married?"
"Yeah, it's a long story, but, uh… it turns out Svetlana wasn't dead."
"You married Svetlana?!" Angela gasped, happily. "That's great!"
Suddenly, a shot rang out and a hole appeared in one of the boards on the window.
"Less talky-talky! More shooty-shooty!" Lily yelped and the group split up to take their positions.
Mikhail merely nodded before he and the others continued to put down Ivory's goons…although he couldn't help but wince as one of the goons was soon shot in the area between his legs. "You can be pretty sadistic sometimes, sis."
"I know," Josephine declared with an all too proud smile.
"Worry about it later, bro: just keep backing them up!" Angela growled out.
"I know: we'll need to turn the tide of the battle and fast," Mikhail admitted.
"Don't worry: I've got a shot lined up that should take out most of these guys right now," Lily declared.
As if on cue, a shot ran out that hit the side of a nearby water tower. Said shot caused the leg of the tower to buckle before it tipped over and fell onto the goons before, taking them all out with metal and water.
"Nice shot, sis," Mikhail called out.
"Uh, that wasn't me." Lily admitted.
"Then who…?"
"Looks like you could use some help," a very familiar voice suddenly declared.
"Svetlana?" Mikhail couldn't help but ask as his wife approached them. "What are you…?"
"Mikhail!" Cyan shouted as she ran at her foster father, interrupting his train of thought in the process..
"Cyan?!" Mikhail gasped as he caught the robin Faunus as she jumped up to hug him.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" They both shouted at each other as Mikhail held her out at arm's length.
"Do you have any idea how worried me and Svetlana were?!" Cyan angrily went on before Mikhail could vent his own frustrations. "Don't you ever run off like that again!"
Mikhail closed his mouth to just glare at his adopted daughter in silence. The last thing he wanted was for her or his wife to become involved with the horrors of his past. But after the near-death experience he and his sisters had just lived through and hearing her worried tone, he could only embrace her, lovingly.
"I won't." He promised, softly.
Cyan smiled and hugged him back.
"So this is your family, right?" declared the voice of a familiar woman as she approached the group.
Mikhail simply nodded at his foster mother. "Yeah, Svetlana is the woman I told you about, and Cyan…well, long story short, she's to me what I'm pretty sure I was to you."
"Well, I'm happy for you, really," Celena said with a grin. "It's not often that folks like us gain genuine joy, so I'm glad that you were able to find some."
"And the fact that this technically means that you're a grandmother now probably doesn't hurt matters either," Mikhail said with a teasing grin.
"You know me too well."
"Uh, not to interrupt the reunion, but we still have some psychos trying to kill us right now!" Angela snapped as she ducked at the sound of another gunshot.
While Lily and Angela laid down suppressing fire, Cyan followed Celena around to the other exit to ambush their attackers, Mikhail and Josephine reloaded the weapons for future use, and Krasnaya grappled up to a higher vantage point, firing off multiple shots that took out several goons.
"I can see why you like her," Josephine said with a sensual growl.
"Yeah, but just remember, she's all mine," Mikhail called back with a glare.
"Oh, I know, but you can't blame me for enjoying the view, can you?"
Mikhail just chuckled. "No, no I cannot."
Just then, two familiar dog Faunus burst into the building. Dice charged at Josephine with his jaws agape. She managed to lift her rifle up in time, forcing her opponent to bite down around the gun. Mikhail instinctively threw fire dust in Dice's eyes to help before unfurling his whip and cracking it behind him.
"Ach, you broke my nose!" Domino cried out.
"It's sad, really. After all these years, you're still an idiotic coward," Mikhail couldn't help but declare even as Domino held his face in pain from being hit by the young man's whip.
At the same time, Krasnaya was using her own fearful influence to make short work of the criminals' reinforcements. Those that weren't knocked unconscious immediately ran away at the sight of the Crimson Crusader. Azure soon joined the fray, putting her acrobatic skills to good use before she spotted the ring-leader.
"There's Masque!" She shouted and grappled up to confront the fleeing crime boss. "Stop right there, you-!"
"Out of my way, kid!" Ivory growled as she knocked the side-kick over the railing.
Azure screamed as she fell, but focused on her aura and managed to activate her semblance just in time. "Phew… glad that still works." She gasped, tiredly.
Meanwhile, Ivory was about to step into her limousine when she felt something wrap around her leg and trip her up.
"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Celena declared with a low growl.
"You think you've won?" Ivory barked out. "Lock me up, and I'll be out in less than a week…and then I'll be coming for you and everyone you care about."
"You won't get the chance," Celena remarked before she extended her claws.
"Wha…what are you doing?" Ivory asked with a touch of fear in her voice as she attempted to get away even as Celena approached her like a predator approaching their prey.
"For such a smart guy, Masque, you made a pretty stupid mistake…" That was all the warning Celena gave before slashing her claws along Masque's throat, killing him. "... you messed with my litter."
With that, Celena kicked her life-long tormentor into the raging river. All that was left of the vile gangster was a blood-stained white mask which slowly followed her body. Celena finally allowed herself a sigh of relief as she made her way back to her family.
"I'm getting too old for this." She gripped to herself, cracking her back.
"Where's Masque?" Krasnaya asked, her eyes narrowing in judgment sometime later as she watched the older woman approach the group.
Celena simply gave an unreadable expression in reply. "She won't be a problem. I'm just glad you're all safe."
"Well, not gonna lie, we'd all be six feet under if it weren't for Mikhail." Lily smirked, playfully elbowing him in the ribs.
"More specifically his semblance." Josephine added. "And quite a fortuitous semblance it is; granting him inexplicable immortality."
"Well…" Mikhail looked down at his wrist. "Immortal for six more lives."
"HUH?!" Angela shared the same dumbfounded expression as the rest of Mikhail's loved ones. "How many lives did you start out with?!"
"Nine." Mikhail replied, as if it were obvious.
Cyan and Svetlana shared a glance. "Talk about your matches made in Heaven." The side-kick couldn't help but remark.
"Well, seeing how it helped me to trick my captors into letting us go, you won't hear me complaining, even if my neck is still feeling a bit sore," Mikhail said with a shrug…only to frown upon noticing Svetlana's glare. "...I'm sorry, love. But don't act like you've never worried me like that before."
"... I suppose that's fair." Svetlana sighed before pointing at her husband, sternly. "But don't. Ever. Scare me like that again."
Cyan couldn't help but laugh at the groan Mikhail gave as a response…only to blink as the three older cat Faunus approached her, an unreadable expression on their faces. "Um, hi?"
"Oh…"
"...my…"
"...gods." Angela finished the thought of her two sisters before they all smiled as one. "She's so CUTE!"
Needless to say, Cyan was not prepared for when she suddenly found herself being glomped on by the three women in question. "I need an adult! I need an adult!"
"Oh, my dear niece, don't you know? We are adults." Josephine giggled.
"Alright, alright, leave her be for now," Mikhail called out with a small grin. "We'll have plenty to tease her later."
"So, you all know the same tricks that Mikhail does?" Cyan found herself asking, hoping to distract herself from what happened earlier even while holding back a groan at her foster father's words.
"Well, not all of the same tricks." Lily said with a teasing grin. "After all, there was this one time in Menagerie when he-OW!" Lily was cut off by a sudden slap upside the head by Angela.
Cyan blinked in shock. "Wh-what happened in Menagerie?"
Angela let out an embarrassed huff and scratched the back of her neck. "Well, I'm not so sure Mikhail's gonna want you to hear that story." She explained. "What with all the stealing, swearing, and fucking involved."
"In other words, Lily seems to have forgotten that the Menagerie Heist is a wholly inappropriate story for young and innocent ears." Josephine added, glaring at her youngest sister.
"Not to mention that I'm not exactly proud of what I did back then," Mikhail solemnly declared, nodding in appreciation when Josephine placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"So, it's true?" Cyan went on. "You stole money from people to live?"
Angela nodded.
"And… you guys only stole from people who deserved it, right?" Cyan asked, innocently.
Mikhail turned away in shame. "... yes." He said at last.
"Ah…" Josephine mused with dramatic flair. "But who is worthy enough to judge?"
"Aw, quit your thespian yappin', Josie!" Lily gripped. "Nobody's in the mood."
"Josephine. Josephine. JOSEPHINE!" Josephine irritably hissed through clenched teeth at her sister.
"Is there a reason that you're so insistent on that?" Cyan couldn't help but ask.
Josephine held her chin high with pride. "All the greatest actresses go by their full names to be taken seriously. Shortening your name can be a sign of disrespect."
Svetlana looked down at her watch and grabbed Cyan's hand. "Well, it's been nice meeting you all, but my daughter has school tomorrow. And we have to get her home, right, Cyan?"
"Huh?" Cyan blinked in confusion before she understood what her foster mother was suggesting. "Oooooh, yeah. Right. We need to go home."
"Aaaaaaw!" Angela, Josephine, and Lily whined.
"Don't pout." Mikhail lightly scolded. "Don't you all have your own jobs to get back to?"
"Yeah, I suppose that's true," Angela said with a shrug. "Just promise that you'll visit us from time to time."
"Will do, and don't be afraid to do the same with us…preferably without any crime bosses present." Cyan declared, adding a teasing grin to the end as she did.
Lily just laughed in response. "I think I'm going to like being an aunt."
"You aren't the only one," Angela said with a smile, with Josephine nodding in agreement.
One hour later, Svetlana and Cyan left to buy tickets back to New Rushland while Mikhail hugged his sisters goodbye as they each went home. At last, only Celena remained. "I take it that Cyan met your sisters." She remarked.
"Yeah, I think she got along quite nicely with her aunts, all things considered," Mikhail said with a slight chuckle.
"I'm glad to hear that." Celena smiled as she hugged her former protege. "I'm very happy for you, Mikhail. You finally have your own family. And now, you need to go back and protect them."
"I take it you won't be staying then," Mikhail remarked as he broke the hug.
"Nah, I've got some business back home to take care of, but don't worry: I'll be sure to pop up every now and then now that I have a grandchild to spoil." Celena declared.
"Be seeing you, Celena… after you give me my whip back."
Mikhail's foster mother merely smirked as she held it just out of reach. "I'll give it back to you for fifty lien." Celena teased.
Mikhail smirked and held up the Faunus' coin purse. "How 'bout a trade instead?"
Celena chuckled and handed the whip back to her former protege as he gave her back her purse. "You crafty bastard. I taught you too well." She remarked, proudly. She and Mikhail shared one final genuine hug before she prepared to jump onto the oncoming train. "And, uh, confidentially; in case you ever need a break from your happy little slice of life, I'll keep a spot open for you in my operation. Vice-president, or something."
"You're a good woman, Celena." Mikhail smiled just as she jumped onto the moving train. "But not too good."
To Be Continued
Epilogue:
Back at Crimson Enterprises, Dr. Oobleck had just received word - via a scroll call from Svetlana - that Mikhail was safe and sound and the family would be home by tomorrow. Relieved, he promised to continue to keep the company safe until she returned. He was just about to get up to prepare himself another pot of coffee when he heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." He beckoned.
In stepped Dr. Indigo Quinn, a brilliant scientist who had been turned down from Crimson Enterprise due to her unethical experiments. "Good evening, Dr. Oobleck."
Dr. Oobleck sighed. "Dr. Quinn, Mrs. Crimsonoff and I made it quite clear that we have no interest in your aggressive research in behavioral modifications. People should improve their minds through hard work, not chemical enhancement."
"Actually, I'm not here to discuss my work, Doctor." Indigo replied as she sat down in front of his desk. "I'm here to discuss Mrs. Crimsonoff's."
Oobleck arched an eyebrow. "I don't understand."
"Well, allow me to elaborate. I intended to come here tonight so that I could retrieve my original thesis I submitted to you, as it was some of my finest work. But after I snuck past your embarrassingly inefficient security, and hacked into your disgustingly outdated computer system's firewalls, I stumbled upon what appeared to be blueprints for a tactical suit in Svetlana Crimsonoff's body size… a tactical suit that resembles the description of the infamous 'Red Woman' who has been terrorizing this city." Indigo placed said blueprints on the desk before leaning back in her seat, grinning from ear-to-ear. "I want ten million lien every year for the rest of my life."
In response, Dr. Oobleck simply took off his glasses and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Let me see if I understand this, correctly; you believe that my CEO - one of the most powerful and influential people in all of Remnant - is secretly a dangerous vigilante who dresses up as a red demon and routinely beats criminals with her bare hands… and your plan is to blackmail this person?" Oobleck smiled as all of the smugness disappeared from Dr. Quinn's face. "Good luck." He chortled, sarcastically.
Indigo bit her lip and slid the blueprints towards the retired huntsman. "I'll just… let you keep this…"
With that, Dr. Oobleck gave himself a proud pat on the back as Quinn left his office in defeat.
