Heyo! Here's the new chapter everyone, thanks for reading and I hope you will enjoy it. Also, I can't give spoilers hehe! Anyway, stay safe everyone, I will go back to work on the next chapter. Byeeeeeee!
The Worst Reincarnation Yet
Chapter 3: The New Criminal Syndicate
A couple of days went by after the deal between the Xiong and Schnee family was made, at first the thugs working under Junior weren't happy about abandoning their criminal ways since it was all they knew even if they were having a hard time making a profit. Nonetheless, they followed their boss's orders and stopped everything, except for the payments to the police, those continued because they couldn't afford to get on their bad side for now. Tons of new information was being acquired daily, as Whitley needed to know every single thing that transpired in Vale to get ahead of his competitors. "Information is power, and right now we need much more if we are to stand out in the eye of the public and make money."
"Easier said than done, little man." Junior rubbed his eyes due to the exhaustion of reading reports all day and hearing his boy's constant complaints. "My guys are out there every day gathering what they can, though some sources refuse to cooperate with us, we even try to bribe them, but they still refuse to talk." He scowled. "I swear this would be a lot more simple if we just beat it out of them like we did before, at least it would be more fun."
Whitley inclined his chair backward and stared at the colorful lights dancing in the ceiling. "And that got you real far, huh?" He then turned to his partner. "Using violence without gaining something truly worthwhile won't get us anything except a massive headache. Besides, what we need at the moment is to change the population's view of your family. They need to be able to trust you and know that whatever happens, you won't cast them aside." He smiled. "Having the public opinion on our side will make your reputation more stable and friendly in everyone's eyes."
Junior scratched his chin while pondering the boy's words, it was true the way he did things didn't gain him much power or wealth before actually, the family's strength just kept decreasing like always. So maybe trusting the young Schnee wasn't such a bad idea. "... You make a good point, I suppose." This was all new to him, though he couldn't understand most of the things he was being told, he still decided to follow his partner's suggestions. "This better work, otherwise they will find your body floating in the sea."
"Have no concern, my angry fellow, soon enough you will see a lot of funds coming in thanks to the new factory we bought." Said Whitley with great confidence. "The previous owners were fools to not realize the potential of transforming that place into a refinement center for crystallized dust. Here on Vale there is only one other factory that does the same, and they control the whole market, but now they will have quite the fierce competition." He was ready for corporate warfare.
"Huh?! But that's insane!" Junior was completely taken aback. "The reason no other center was built is that the owner is mister Coralion Lambent, founder of Lambent Industries, and he also belongs to the kingdom's council. There's no way we can compete against someone as powerful as that old fart."
The young man smirked. "Just because he has a seat in the council doesn't mean he has the support of the other councilors. In fact, from what your men have gathered, it seems the old man is hated by everyone since he charges a huge sum of lien to purify the dust." He continued. "Thanks to the shady deals he made with other nobles no one can do anything to stop him, but we will change that by charging less for our refinement service which will cripple him as his customers will flock to us because of our cheap prices."
Junior chuckled, he was impressed by Whitley's aggressive tactic. "Quite the bold move, brat, alright, let's see how much we can gain from this little plan of yours."
"Heh! We shall squeeze everything from that guy right to the very last penny."
"Yes?"
Holy crap! Whitley jolted out of his chair by the girl's sudden appearance, while Junior choked on his drink. "Ohhh! You really have to stop sneaking behind me like that." He composed himself, Penny giggled as she found his reaction amusing. "Anyway, glad you're back, I assume there weren't any problems at the docks regarding the White Fang?"
"Nope, they haven't been seen for a while now. My friends and I kicked their butts pretty hard last time, so I doubt they will ever show up again" She beamed with excitement as the memory of that lively fight meant so much to her. "The workers don't feel safe knowing the White Fang had an operation there, so the staff still refuses to work unless the police sends some officers to keep the place safe."
Understandable, but we still need the docks if my plan is to succeed in the long term. But this is also an opportunity to get all the workers on our side instead of just a few. "I apologize for making you go there to collect information on my behalf, you have my sincere gratitude." He bowed before the girl.
"Oh, no worries, I'm glad I could be useful."
Whitley knew Penny was trustworthy and could handle herself in battle, unfortunately, he couldn't rely too much on her on the account of General Ironwood. The man usually keeps close tabs on the girl so having her in the club was a danger to everyone there, but she did always give him the slip, so maybe things would be fine for now. "Still, I do appreciate what you did for me, thank you, friend." Hearing that brought a warm smile to Penny's lips, which made him a little embarrassed, as she looked really cute.
"Uh! Something I remembered just now wasn't that operation being led by Roman Torchwick?" Hei asked. "He will seek retribution sooner or later, little lady, so you probably shouldn't hang around here too much unless you are looking for a fight. And I can't afford another battle on my club since I'm still paying the repairs from the last one." God-damn blondie!
"He doesn't scare me." She replied with a serious tone. "If he tries to hurt my friends, then he will have to deal with me."
"HA! You got guts, girl, but I guess that's expected from a huntress after all."
Indeed! I think I know how to convince Roman not to harm us, and maybe even bring him to our side. The real problem is Neo, that woman is a loose cannon and I do not want to be skewered just for her amusement. "Don't worry, we will deal with Roman when the time comes, we have more pressing matters that require our attention at the moment." Both of them turned to the boy. "First things first, we need to secure our position at the docks, it's a crucial piece of my puzzle."
"BOSS! BOSS!" A member of the gang came shouting from the club's entrance. "T-There's trouble at the old district..." Sweat ran across his face along with blood as he was covered with bruises and wounds. He stumbled on his feet and almost fell to the floor, but Junior was quick to grab him. "... I-It's the M-Maelstorm Corps, they've sent their mercenaries to harass the F-Faunus living there...ah! ah!" He groaned in pain.
"Take it easy, you must calm down before it gets worse." The leader of the syndicate helped his subordinate get a seat, he then gestured to the others to come and assist the injured member. "... Those wretched dogs will pay for this!" Junior was beyond furious, this blatant show of disrespect to the Xiong family will not go unpunished. "Gather the rest of the boys! We are going to teach these Maelstorm dogs who's on top of the food chain in this city."
"No! Bad idea!" Whitley protested.
"YES, BOSS!" Many of the gang members shouted.
Everyone grabbed their weapons and regrouped at the exit, except for the malachite twins. "You both stay here and make sure nothing happens to the club, got it?" Both sisters simply nodded, they weren't much interested in getting involved anyway. "Good! The rest of you, let's go!"
Hei and his men stormed out of the nightclub wearing vicious expressions and armed to the teeth, they all wanted revenge for what happened. Whitley and Penny followed right behind them, quite worried things would escalate beyond control. "Listen! I am not saying we shouldn't fight back but showing up armed like this will only make things worse." He was speaking in vain as Junior was consumed by rage. "... A-At the least, let me talk to them first and see if we can clear this mess without any bloodshed. Remember the reason we are doing this."
"Fine! Fine!" He grumbled. "You talk with them, then, but I swear I will crack open their skulls if they so much look at me the wrong way."
Whitley sighed in relief. "Great! Now, tell me what's the deal with these guys?
"Oh! I can answer that!" Said Penny with enthusiasm. "Maelstrom Corps is a mercenary company with a bad reputation, they are made up of ex-soldiers and some Huntsmen, in addition, they have several Atlesian Knight-130 under their command." This piqued the boy's interest as to why would a private military group in Vale had access to this type of Atlesian technology. "Also, there are rumors they orchestrated the fall of Mountain Glenn's expansion by sabotaging its defenses, but it was never proven. Though I don't see what they would gain from the Grimm taking over that area."
"They are shady, that's for sure, but if they were really involved in that, then it means someone paid them to do it." The young man pondered for a moment. "Heh! It also means their client is a person with great influence like one of the strongest noble families in Vale or to make things worse maybe a councilor."
"W-What reason could they have to do something so horrible?" Penny didn't like the idea of someone powerful like a member of Vale's council running amok.
"Beats me, this is all just hypothetical anyway, like you said nothing was linked to them so no need to worry ourselves about that."
"Are you two finished?" Junior was somewhat annoyed by the kids constant chatter. "Look! There they are!" He pointed at a large crowd gathered in front of an old building.
Tensions were high as the Faunus were being forced out of their homes by the mercenary forces, and their belongings were confiscated as contraband. "What the hell are you bastards doing?! We have the right to live here like everyone else." Angrily shouted a man among the crowd with others following suit. "We haven't done anything wrong, you assholes keep extorting money from us simply because we are Faunus."
Several Atlesian Knights equipped with riot shields and shock batons menacingly walked toward them. The red highlights on their face glowed intensely and the sound of crackling came from the batons as they were activated to full power. "Citizens! You are in violation of Commander Huron's orders, this entire complex is Maelstorm property now, vacate the area immediately!" Although the group felt somewhat intimidated by the robots they still defied the orders they were given. "Lethal force authorized! Clear the sector of host-..." The bot was interrupted as its head flew into the air after being hit by a red club.
The rest of the AK's turned to the new arrivals. "That's for what you did to my henchman, you bucket of bolts!"
Well, there goes diplomacy out the window. But these idiots have actually given us a golden opportunity to gain the favor of the Faunus community if we help them take back their homes. Whitley approached the terrified families. "Please calm down everyone, Sir Hei, and his men are here to protect you all and make sure you get your stolen properties back to you, believe me. Every Faunus here will be able to live safely under the protection of the Xiong family." The Faunus were extremely confused by this turn of events, why would a crime boss help them? Worse even, what would they need to pay for this supposed 'help'?
Meanwhile, the Xiong crime syndicate's leader and his men charged at the Maelstrom forces and a battle ensued. Junior swung his club with such a strong force that two bots were sent flying against a wall, which they broke to pieces the moment they crashed on it. With another quick swing, he bashed the AK's head in and within a second the robot went offline falling to the ground. "Tch! Not so tough are you?!" He then proceeded to go help his boys, who were struggling a bit.
One of the AK's was beating down a henchman with its shock baton, but when it went for another blow, it was parried by Junior's club. "Now it's my turn!" The Atleasian Knight pushed him back and blocked the incoming attack with the riot shield, unfortunately for the bot the impact was so powerful that its arm was leaking lubricant. "Take this!" He kicked the metal humanoid to the ground, then brought his red club down with such force that when he smashed its chest, the floor underneath the bot cracked. "Don't stop men! Destroy all of these metal heads!" They all roared as the battle raged on.
A few bots had their attention turned to the crowd. The Faunus were completely defenseless against such a threat, they didn't have any weapons to protect themselves with. Whitley remained still with a smile on his lips. "Are you combat-ready?" With great enthusiasm, Penny saluted him, she was beaming with excitement to join the fight. "Then go ahead."
"With pleasure!" From her backpack, several blades came out. Penny dashed forward with inhuman speed, her Floating Array following right behind her. She leaped attempting to deliver a kick to the AK, but it was blocked by its riot shield, with the girl on top of it she smirked as the blades pierced the faces of two bots who were to her left and right. "Your next." A small flash of light was seen going across the Atlesian Knight's neck, right after the body went limp, and its head fell off to the ground, with lubricant gushing out all over the place.
Penny's swords hover beside her with a slightly green glow to them as they were charging up. She moved her hand forward this made the Floating Array fire several green beams that tore through the AK's ripping their bodies apart quite violently, some used their shields to block the attack, but it was of no use the sheer firepower of the Array was too powerful. Penny then made another gesture that prompted a few blades to go onward to pierce the chest of the last remaining robot. "That's all of them." She was proud of her total victory.
The sound of gun shoots quickly made the Floating Array form a ring and spin in front of her to block the incoming projectiles. Penny then took notice of a strange man accompanied by other soldiers, he seemed to be the leader and was holding two silver flintlock revolvers. "Now, now! What do we have here?" He looked at his surroundings and saw how all of his AK's had been annihilated by these newcomers. "Heh! Not bad, you have quite the talent, little miss." The man stomped the head of a bot. "And look here! If it isn't the self-proclaimed kingpin of Vale, sir Hei Xiong. Tell me, how's your old man doing these days?"
Junior gritted his teeth. "Say that again, Huron! You fucking bastard!"
"Tch, is that how you treat your old friend?" This man with grey hair and brown eyes had a scar on his left cheek. He wore body armor that fully covered his entire figure, it was grey in color, with several purple highlights along his arm and legs. On his chest was the symbol of the Maelstrom Corps, a king taijitu devouring another of its species. "And here I thought we were still buddies, but I guess you still hold a grudge over what happened years ago." He shrugged. "Still, none of you are leaving here alive after what you've done to my bots."
"You think you scare me?"
Commander Huron chuckled. "A moron to the end, but you are no threat to me, just a cockroach that needs a good stomping." He then looked at Penny. "How about I start with you, pretty flower? You seem too dangerous to leave about."
Penny changed her stance and got ready to fight again. At that moment, Whitley stepped in front of the girl and gained the attention of the Commander. "Threatening a lady is not gentlemen-like my good sir, you should carefully watch what you say to my friend." Huron raised an eyebrow as he was perplexed by this kid's attitude. "In case you don't know me, I'm the son of Jacques Schnee, Whitley Schnee. So, if you do not wish to start a war with my family, you will leave now." Fuck! I hope this works because I doubt that Penny and Junior can handle those many Huntsmen on their own.
"Hahaha! Haaaa! I like you boy, you're shaking like a twig, but you can still say such words." Huron found this amusing. "Schnee, huh? Well, I can't really kill someone important like you without an order from my superiors." He holstered his revolvers. "You fools can keep this filthy district, but you better keep those Faunus on a leash, they speak too much for their own good and one of these days something bad might happen."
"We will keep that in mind." He replied.
"Oh! And next time, your daddy's name will not save you, little man." The Commander winked before leaving the area.
Ah, fuck! The young boy sighed. "Guess we are in the clear...for now at least."
The Faunus celebrated as their homes were returned to them, they cheered the heroes who made this possible. Junior approached his partner with a regretful expression. "G-Good work kid." Whitley stared at him in awe. "D-Dont let it go to your head, but...shit, if you hadn't been here, that bastard and his boys would have killed everyone here. I let my anger get the better of me...s-sorry."
"Ah! No problem, we are in this together after all." Crap! I knew it! Even Penny would probably be overwhelmed by those assholes, I have to think of a way to get rid of these mercenaries before they become a genuine threat to my plans. "Still look on the bright side, these people now consider you a hero, which means your reputation will increase a lot."
"Hmm, I guess you're right." Hei replied.
Whitley turned to the crowd. "See! I told you all would be safe under the protection of the Xiong family." The Faunus cheered once again. "We will also provide you with money to help repair this old district and bring it back to its former glory. And for those who need work, come to Junior's nightclub, as we need people who are willing to work on our new factory here in the Industrial sector." This piqued the curiosity of many Faunus as some of them needed a job.
"We need to talk." Penny grabbed his hand and guided him to an area where they could talk without anyone listening. "... You must go to Beacon and stay there from now on for your own safety. Maelstrom Corps won't let you get away with messing up their business, they are ruthless, and being a Schnee doesn't seem to affect them much."
"I know but helping these families was more important, they were about to lose their homes and more. I can deal with the consequences later." I know what's like to lose everything, I saw my parents lose the home they worked so hard for because of bastards like them. For once, I just wanted to do something good...
"Stubborn just like your sister." Penny saw there was no point o argue with him, he had his mind made up and nothing was going to change that. "One thing I don't understand, the Faunus are treated like second-rate citizens in all kingdoms, and some are even used as slaves. What would you gain from making a safe place for them to live? The influential families of Vale don't care much about them so this won't help you with that plan of yours."
"For me personally nothing, so what? I only decided to help because they might become useful later on."
Penny's eyes widen, she knew he was lying since he was avoiding looking at her properly, but for what reason it was unknown. Not that it mattered, Whitley was willing to help these people and that was more than enough to her. "You're a bad liar, you know that?" Her gentle smile always caused him to blush a little. "Quite the strange person you are, I like that about you, hehe!" There was no denying the more she found out about him, the more interesting he was.
"Heh! We, weirdos, need to stick together." Whitley chuckled. You're a wonderful girl, Penny, it's awful what will happen to you...well in the end you... I-I don't care, I am doing this for myself, I have no intention of getting myself involved with the plot to s-save anyone... I-I don't...
