The heat of the shower poured down onto Lumi from the showerhead, the constant stream of water flowing through her hair and along her back and shoulders, washing the sweat and grime off her flawless skin. Well, mostly flawless, a single diagonal scar now ran down the expanse of her back, an ugly reminder of Scarle- No, no she couldn't think like that, however, it was easier said than done, letting go of that grudge. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Lumi knew that she played just as much of a part as Scarlet did in that unfortunate incident, but it didn't erase the pain, the now permanent reminder of her folly etched into her skin by her partner's sword. In truth, despite doing her best to pretend otherwise, she wasn't over it, which was why she was so thankful when Scarlet left the room to put away her weapons. They'd been given the day off from classes, or more accurately, were instructed to take the day off from classes, probably due to the insistence from her father, leaving her and Scarlet confined to the dorm together in a bout of awkwardness. Scarlet had been strangely quiet, looking over her blades, Wilt especially. Lumi didn't think about it much, secretly just being happy for the silence. In fact, she'd been so nerve-wracked that she'd neglected to take a shower until roughly noon, an embarrassing oversight that she corrected the moment she realized it. Finally shutting off the water, she stepped out and began the process of drying herself off and changing into her spare clothes. Typically, her post shower ritual would have involved far more self care, but for now, they weren't a priority, even letting her still damp hair remain unbound rather than tie it back into a low ponytail as she usually would. The room was still empty as she sat down, and with a glance over at the clock, she saw that her shower had taken a little over an hour. Scarlet absolutely should have been back by now, right? As she did the mental math of just how long it should take for Scarlet to head down to the locker room and then return, the door opened up, Jet and Jin standing there with two trays of food each.
"Guess who brought food!" Jin announced proudly, holding his trays up for the room to see as he and Jet entered, each taking their seat on the bed as if they had no concept of decorum. They slept there for heaven's sake, why would they want crumbs in their beds!?
"Where's Scarlet, the bathroom?" Jet asked casually, as if he hadn't just sat down to eat where he slept when there was a perfectly good desk off to the side. That could wait however, as his question meant they hadn't seen her either, which they certainly should have if Scarlet had gone to the lockers.
"No, you guys haven't seen her?" She tried to keep the confusion out of her voice, after all she'd probably just been overthinking it, but Jin and Jet both looked as perplexed as she was by the question.
"Why would we have seen her? Wait, you lost her?" Jet asked.
"Well, no one told me I was her keeper!" Now having to defend herself from her teammate's frankly unfair accusation, Lumi huffed and rolled her eyes. Scarlet was a big girl, in fact, she was the oldest member of SJJL, even if they were all born within a few months of each other. "She just left to put her swords up, I thought she'd have been back by now."
Jet fidgeted on his bed at that, tapping his foot against the floor. In any other case, she'd have brushed it off as him being paranoid, but after the other day, him being nervous was understandable. Grimm were one thing, just mindless beasts driven by the need to cause wanton destruction, but someone going out of their way to make an attempt on someone's life? Even if they hadn't yet told the boys on their team that the Faunus had been there for the both of them rather than just herself, it was clear the attack weighed heavily on his mind. Shooting a glance over to Jin, the boy bit his lip, similarly looking worried, though he'd never had much of a poker face to begin with.
"Well, did she say anything that might tell us where she went?" Jin asked, worry creeping into his voice.
"No, nothing…" Maybe it was just how the boys were reacting, after all she couldn't really claim that she knew Scarlet well enough to say that this wasn't normal, but now that the thought was in her mind, she couldn't help but wonder why Scarlet would lie in the first place. Glancing over to her leader's bed, she-
"Is that-"
"Her scroll." Lumi said, cutting Jin off and activating the device, prompting her to enter a password. Crap, she had no clue what the redhead used as her password, maybe her birthday? That was common, right? Oh, but she was sure her password started with an eight, and if her memory served her correctly from the small talk she and Scarlet had before their fight, that number wouldn't correlate with her birth month. As Lumi agonized over what to guess, Jet wordlessly reached out and punched in 8008135… of course it would be that. She didn't have time to be disappointed in Scarlet's immense immaturity as the blue and white of the scroll's lock screen gave way to an honest to gods snuff film, archived security footage of a man dressed in the security outfit of her company being beheaded.
"Oh god, I think I'm gonna-" Lumi dropped the device and wretched into her hand, fighting to keep the contents of her stomach from spilling out. She'd never seen death before, she knew that she would at some point considering her career choice, but this was far from how she'd expected it to happen, and she never expected it to hit so close to home. What was worse is that she immediately recognized Scarlet's father, and the red blade of Wilt in his hand.
"Jet, is that…" The disturbed voice of Jin was barely above a whisper in volume, he had to look away as the video looped back around, unable to watch it again. Jet, however, reamined locked to the video, his crimson eyes unmoving from their place at the screen, and once the video looped, he only flinched as the video showed the man he'd known his entire life, who was like an uncle to him, happily murder an innocent man begging for his life.
"Her dad." The dark skinned boy confirmed sullenly, picking up the scroll and backing out of the video to see a news article from a sensationalist news site, one notably shameless in its use of graphic imagery within articles to generate traction and revenue. Along with what was dozens of other tabs that they had to assume contained similar content.
"She saw that? Why would she… oh no." Lumi's heart sank as the thought that this could be her doing set in, even if unintentionally. As far as she knew, she'd been the only one who'd brought up Adam's past. She'd even called Scarlet sheltered because of it. "This is my fault. Damn it, I didn't think she'd… We have to find her."
"We don't know where she is, she could be anywhere on campus." Jin said, racking his brain trying to think where Scarlet would go. He wanted to say the gym, that's where he'd go if he was in a bad mood and needed to work it off, but he wasn't Scarlet, which made things a bit complicated.
"She isn't on campus." Lumi muttered, her and Jet locking eyes as they both knew where the girl was headed. Jet swallowed the lump in his throat and started thinking of a plan, Scarlet had a head start, they needed to be quick about this.
"We need to get to Patch." Jet said, trying to remain calm even as his mind went to the worst possible scenarios despite knowing better. The girl that attacked them could come back for revenge, she could get hurt when she confronted her dad, or worse, she could actually hurt him.
"Well, first we need to get to Vale. The airships are still going automatically, right?" Jin asked, turning to Lumi, only for his eyes to go wide as she started to summon something outside their window.
"Those will take too long." The petite girl said casually as Jet and Jin piled around her at the window, looking outside at the newly formed beast. Jin smiled at the familiar sight as Jet swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Are we… riding that?" He was sure Lumi knew what she was doing, or, at least, she believed that she did, but honestly, the fact that the Griffon bowed at them from its place on the grass didn't ease his feelings on it one bit
"I give my sisters rides on Alphonse all the time, and I have plenty of practice catching a certain someone who thinks it's fun to activate their Semblance on it out of the air." Jin chuckled guiltily as Lumi shot him a dirty look, meanwhile Jet swallowed and accepted that this was a part of his life now, sneaking out to go home not even halfway through their first semester, all while riding a summoned Grimm named Alphonse…
"This is it." Steele said, parking the car in front of an old run down building. Romeo looked out the window, only to be absolutely disappointed by the building, partially because the territory the eyesore sat on belonged to him. The building was easily older than he was, an old brick laid apartment building, four stories high, and clearly condemned, but obviously lived in. Steele looked in the rearview mirror back at his boss, the man's fingers wrapped impatiently against the handle of Melodic Cudgel as he stared out the window, uncertainty on his face, which made him feel uneasy in turn. It wasn't how he was used to seeing his boss, typically he was so sure of every move he made. Was this girl really that much of a threat? Steele assumed she had to be, since Romeo was still on edge over her appearance.
"It looks like a drug den." the boss muttered, disgust clear on his face.
"That's because it is, well, it was. According to Verde, all the junkies suddenly decided to shoot up somewhere else once the girl settled in." Hearing his underling's confirmation that it was the very thing he didn't want it to be, Romeo's face scrunched up. He'd never liked this part of the job, the planning, the heists, running from the cops, and making a mockery of the law, that was the stuff he lived for. Getting down in the filth with the human trash who chose to destroy themselves rather than live with their own problems? He could do without that shit. Had the circumstances been any different, he wouldn't have even considered stepping foot in a place like this, but this time he didn't have a choice.
The hard gray eyes of Torchwick's most loyal enforcer watched their surroundings as they sat in silence. There were several parked cars on both sides of the street with people just sitting and talking within, each one just so happening to be occupied by a pair of middle aged men wearing baggy clothes and sunglasses. His eyes could have fallen out of their sockets from how hard they rolled, it was if they weren't even trying to hide, and these pigs weren't even on their payroll.
"Shit." Steele grumbled, catching the attention of the flamboyant man in the backseat.
"There a problem?" It was a rhetorical question, Romeo knew his enforcer well enough to know that he wouldn't have said anything if things were going according to plan.
"Cops, I see at least three unmarked cars." Raising an eyebrow, the young boss leaned forward to look out the front window, immediately seeing what Steele saw. He made his displeasure known with an only slightly exaggerated groan.
"Seriously? I know we're by the west side, but that can't be a coincidence." he muttered, sounding genuinely disappointed. Lots of things could happen based on chance, but he'd been around long enough to recognise the difference, and the timing on this was just too good. Why not get eyes on this place the week before? Or a week later? No, it just so happened to need people watching it after a wanted criminal moved in, it was like they didn't know the meaning of the word subtle.
"Verde found her using their network, chances are they found her too." It made sense, the girl was a wanted criminal, but for some reason they were keeping it off the news, probably just to keep panic from spreading, the cops clearly knew about it though. They knew this side of town well enough, the cops hated calling in Huntsmen, which was ironic considering that the head of their department was a retired Huntress herself. It was a double edged sword, on one hand, cops were far easier to deal with than Huntsmen, but on the other, they were far more eager to prove themselves because of it. "If you want I could make a call, we'll have twenty guys ready to roll down o-"
"No, I'll handle it." The boss didn't wait for him to finish, opening the door and stepping out into the street, taking a deep inhale of the stench from the industrial district just across the river.
"Sir?"
"This is my mess Steele, I'm cleaning it up. If you hear gunshots, drive a few blocks down and wait for my call." he said, turning back to the building before him with a deep sigh. Welp, no more putting it off he supposed. With an innocent whistle, the crime lord made his way across the street, shooting a knowing glance at the unmarked cars. Once again, it was like they weren't even trying to hide that they were watching his every move. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if there was already a gun trained on him. One of the pigs was staring at him like the slack-jawed idiot he was. Romeo smiled at the man and waved, enjoying how the pudgy man's eyes went wide and he quickly went to look at something on his scroll. That lifted his spirits somewhat, walking up to the door and walking in as though he owned the place, because he may as well have.
The interior was even more decrepit and off putting than the outside. The ceiling was partially caved in, trash was piled up in the corners, and the noxious stench of rot and unwashed vagrants hit his nose all at once, making him gag. Somehow, he suspected that the place was less of a mess than before, there had clearly been a fight based on the large indents in the wall and the knocked over barrel that likely once served as a trash bin or fire pit. Considering that he'd expected to walk into a picture of carnage and bloodshed, the signs of a mere scuffle were a pleasant surprise. Clearly, she'd decided to spare the previous occupants, which was a relief all things considered. Making his way over to the stairway just off to the side, he nearly fell over as the wood broke under his weight, only managing to save himself by grabbing the banister and pulling himself back, letting out a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding in. Somehow, this place was in even worse shape than it looked, he was surprised it hadn't crumbled apart already. Once he was sure no one was coming to investigate the sound, he started looking around for another way up. Coming back to the hole in the ceiling, he squinted upwards, taking a closer look at the opening. Most of it looked just as structurally sound as wet tissue paper, but there seemed to be a single support beam still intact. Carefully aiming his cane's grappling hook, he shot the curved handle out and ensnared the wood, giving it a tug to make sure that it wouldn't fall over. Once satisfied, he hoisted himself up through the hole, narrowly avoiding the rotted floorboards until he found a place that looked safe enough to stand.
Dropping down, he was somehow met with even more filth, the piles far larger now, deliberately gathered about in the space. Pushing his way through, he soon learned why, as the room next to it almost looked clean in comparison to the rest of this place. Someone had gone through great lengths to empty the room of trash, but it wasn't spotless, in fact, it seemed like someone had left in a hurry. At the room's center, a purple trench coat, small enough to be worn by a young teen or someone of similar stature, lay discarded, a hole blown into the shoulder and some bloodied bandages thrown on the floor. He felt a pit in his stomach at the sight of the torn fabric, but did his best to ignore it, instead digging through the pockets, finding a scroll still open. She'd been here, very recently if the still lit scroll was anything to go by. Okay, that was good, it meant he could lay in wait until she came back. Picking up the scroll, Romeo glanced down at it. There was a message in the middle of being written, an apology to someone named Henna for taking off so suddenly. His eyes narrowed at the string of messages beforehand, "Henna" demanding to know where the girl was. He'd come back to that later though, wanting to know who exactly this "Henna" was, but for now, he backed out of the scroll's messages and opened the photos. There were only a few, and all the photos were of assorted screens and what lay upon them. Apparently, she either forgot what a screenshot was, or didn't know how to take one. One was an article on Adam Taurus, Scarlet's father. There were pictures of his head and a series of closeups of his black horns, his signature crimson blade, and his personal emblem, a wilting rose. There was also a wedding photo of Weiss Schnee and her beloved husband, Jaune Arc. Romeo didn't care for Atlesian politics, in his eyes they were just a bunch of snooty corpos roleplaying as nobility, but even he recognised such figures. The last of the photos was of the man's ancient blade, which he knew very little about, aside from the fact that it now belonged to the couple's eldest daughter.
The scroll had given him disappointingly little information really, it was nothing he hadn't already assumed or outright known. Still, he had the element of surprise on his side, or so he believed, but that belief was quickly smothered by the sudden creaking of something above. He spun around and raised his cane, just in time to block a strike from a massive, jet black stinger. The blow was stronger than he'd anticipated, throwing him off balance and making him stumble back. His attacker wasted no time, slamming her feet into his chest and sending the mobster right through the wall. Groaning in a pile of rotted wood and filth, the ginger looked up at his attacker as she dropped from the ceiling, her tail curling around her as she stepped through the hole she'd created.
"Well… that's one hell of a welcome."
Read: 1 day ago
That was the closest thing to a reply Cinder had gotten from her daughter in a month. It was… something she supposed, proof of life if nothing else, but it wasn't enough. She knew her little girl, it wasn't like her to just bottle up her feelings and brood while giving the cold shoulder. Thankfully, that was one of the areas where she didn't take after her father. Knowing that something was going on with Scarlet and having no way of talking to her filled her with a sense of powerlessness, a feeling she knew all too well. Her cybernetic hand suddenly clenched shut, shattering the thin alloy that made up her scroll, letting the sparking remains fall to the floor. Just as soon as the rage flared up, it subsided, and she found that she was unable to even take satisfaction in crushing the object, leaving her with just the crumbled pieces, reminding her that she'd lost control once more, even if just for a moment.
"That was a rather expensive mistake." the voice of Adam reminded her dryly from behind. She was always aware of when he came and went, a consequence of living her entire life on the run from something, always laying low and worrying about every unfamiliar noise. These days, he couldn't even slink out of her arms to get up in the morning without waking her, something that had been happening much more often as of late. Since Scarlet had cut contact with them, it seemed like her husband had done nothing but work, leaving her alone and longing most of the day, yet she'd been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him come in.
"It seems like mistakes are all I'm capable of making at the moment." the Mistrali woman muttered to herself, crossing her arms over her chest and looking down at the fragments of her device on the floor. Adam watched her closely, and as much as he wished simple words would ease his lover's longing for their daughter to even acknowledge her, hell, he wished he could fix the hole in his own heart himself, he knew well enough that they just had to wait. Wordlessly, he walked over and grabbed the broom and dustpan, sweeping up the tens of thousands of lien worth of broken metal and unceremoniously dumping it into the trash.
"Scarlet will come back to us when she's ready." Adam reassured her, and truth be told himself as well. The idea of his Scarlet hating him forever… it made him sick. His reassurance worked somewhat, or at least, that's what Cinder sighing and fixing her slouched posture seemed to communicate. Although, a familiar scowl did make its appearance on her scarred face.
"I know, I just… I hate this. I just wish I could talk to her." Cinder said, gesturing to the air in front of her in frustration. Adam nodded in agreement, he didn't know what bothered him more, that Scarlet wanted nothing to do with him or that it was all his fault, that, unlike his justifiable anger that led him to joining the White Fang, there was no one to blame but himself, and unlike when he was younger, he wasn't able to convince himself that anyone else but him was at fault.
"I'm sorry." By the Brothers he sounded pitiful like that, and she didn't like it. Reaching over, she cupped his cheek, pulling him to look at her, their one good eye each meeting as she rested her forehead against his own.
"Stop that, you aren't more responsible just because she found out about you first." Adam just blinked back in response, mulling her comment over. No, that wasn't right, he was far less secretive about his life as a terrorist than she was.
"Isn't that exactly what it means?" His question caused her look of warmth to give way to one that was far more unimpressed, eye narrowed and eyebrow raised.
"I'm trying to make you feel better." There was an awkward silence that followed as Adam realized as much only after it was spelled out for him.
"Ah." Cinder chuckled and leaned in, kissing him briefly before pulling back. For someone who was always so direct, he was so dense.
"I think I'm going to train." Cinder said, turning and walking towards the back door with a familiar and tantalizing sway to her hips. She looked over her right shoulder to catch his eye glancing downward. "You're free to join me if you wish."
Adam wanted to, Gods above did he want to. Not only had he been feeling rusty as of late, not that he'd ever admit it, but when a Beowulf had even managed to scratch him, he knew it was time to get back into form. It was clear Cinder had a little more in mind than combat practice though, but it would no doubt leave him tired and sweaty regardless. But, working alone these last few weeks had left this body exhausted, and as loath as he was to admit it, he needed all the rest he could get.
"Next time, long day tomorrow." For a brief moment, Cinder looked as disappointed as he felt with the refusal, but she accepted it. They shared a bed after all, she'd get the better of him sooner or later. Cinder stepped out into the backyard as Adam made his way to the living room and rested his tired body on the soft red chair Cinder had insisted on getting a few years back. It was an uncomfortably comfortable reminder of his age, when he was younger he'd have had no problems getting up at five and fighting Grimm until sundown, but nowadays he'd have to cut it at eight hours. He knew he could push himself further if he worked at it, there were traveling Huntsmen still operating in their fifties and sixties while he was just forty one after all, so there was no reason for him to be feeling this way while still in his prime. It was complacency, there was no excuse for it, and with everything happening as it was… he'd need to correct it. Maybe he would take Cinder up on that training after all.
Before he could force himself up off the recliner though, his scroll rang, probably Emerald trying to get ahold of Cinder, or if he was lucky, Mercury inviting them over for dinner, as he had a feeling neither him nor his wife would have the energy to make dinner later. To his surprise, it was neither of them, but rather Jet calling. That was unexpected, a part of him had assumed Jet would've given them the silent treatment alongside Scarlet, did that mean this was important? His mind once again racing, Adam accepted the call, being greeted by the distinct howling of wind, the heavy "fwhumps" that indicated something large flapping its wings, along wi-
"Adam!"
Along with Jet yelling in his ear. Flinching back with a growl at the unexpected volume, he almost missed how Jet said his name, his real name. It wasn't a shock, considering what had come out recently, but it certainly didn't feel right coming from the boy. Regardless, he figured the least he could do was not insult his intelligence, he clearly already knew beforehand.
"Jet?" Reluctantly he placed his ear next to the speaker once more, more wind and feathers flapping. Was he flying? What on Remnant would he be flying on? "Where are you?"
"No time, Scarlet's coming home!" That gave him… mixed feelings. Obviously he'd give anything to talk to his daughter just about now, and it seemed like he was going to get exactly what he wanted, but he also knew that there was something very wrong with how Jet said it, like he was worried, and it was hardly three in the afternoon. He knew Beacon would be different from Signal regarding hours and scheduling, but he doubted Scarlet would have been out of class long enough to get to Patch already.
"What? You should be in class why wou-" Jet didn't let him finish, another bad sign, Jet was never this jumpy unless something was very wrong.
"She saw- shit-" Adam's ears were once again assaulted by louder than needed sounds, there was some sort of commotion before it settled down again, giving Jet the chance to finish. "She saw a video, she knows!"
The bull's blood ran cold. A video, she saw? His daughter saw him in action? That… damn it.
"What did she see Jet?"
"You, at your worst." The sullen tone from the boy said everything for him. Whatever it was, it was bad. Not that it narrowed down what she could have seen… "Look, just stay inside and act like you aren't home, we'll be there soon."
"No." He spoke before even thinking, the silence on the other end from a presumably stunned Jet. The sound of some sort of tussle returned.
"What!?" an unfamiliar and shill voice shouted from the other end, once again hurting his extra sensitive ears. "We're trying to help you, you-"
Adam didn't pay the voice any more mind, he'd made his decision, and even if it was a knee jerk reaction, he had no intention of hiding anymore.
"I'm done running from my own daughter." and, without giving the other end a chance to argue, he hung up. Setting the scroll to silent, he sighed and started to mentally prepare himself for the confrontation he now knew was coming. She'd have questions, she'd probably scream, cry, and cuss him and her mother out in the most creative ways she could think of. He'd have to be patient, reminding himself that she was going through a lot at the moment. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he'd have far less time to prepare than he'd hoped, as three loud bangs came from the door as someone, he assumed Scarlet, slammed on the door quickly. Bracing himself, he walked over and opened it. He was indeed greeted by Scarlet, but not how he had expected her. There was so much blood, it flowed up off of her body, dripping out of her hair, her clothes, and even her mouth. She was so mad she was using her Semblance without even realizing it. "Scarlet? Is that-"
She didn't let him finish, grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him out into the front yard with one hand. He flew for a brief moment before his back slammed into an old chest high tree stump, one that he'd been meaning to get removed for a while now. Groaning, he looked up at her, unsure of what to think. She'd just attacked him, yes, but it was clear she wasn't thinking straight, and had she really wanted to hurt him, she'd have used Wilt, it was already in her hand after all, her fist shaking as it clenched around the crimson sword's grip. Using the stump to balance himself as he got to his feet, he glanced over at it. The aged wood was a bitter reminder of the first time he'd had to defend his family, it was where he'd been forced to cut down his friend and most trusted lieutenant the day Scarlet was born. Looking back at his daughter now, he opened his mouth, only for her to immediately cut him off.
"Shut up, shut the FUCK up Adam!" His blood ran cold. At any other time, he'd have been enraged at Scarlet speaking that way to him, but the way that she said his real name… it was like she was speaking to a monster, each syllable filled with hate and vitriol. "I know, I know everything!"
"Lavender." Romeo said, raising his hand up to appear less threatening to the girl in question. It didn't seem to work as she grimaced down at him as he said her name. After a brief moment of silence, she clenched her fists, causing the blades attached to her gauntlets to activate. In the blink of an eye she leapt at him, blades aimed right at his neck and aiming to take him out, and only by raising his foot did he manage to intercept the attack, landing a kick on her gut, rolling with her momentum, and subsequently throwing her back through the wall as he rolled to his feet. Now back in the original room, Lavender caught herself via digging into the floorboards with her gauntlets, remaining hunched over on all fours. Her eyes darted to her opponent's cane as he let it slide in his grasp, using the curved handle like a handguard as he wielded it like a baton. "Any chance we could talk this out?"
Her eyes left the cane and met his own, her wild, almost golden eyes peering into his green and pink ones with a hatred that made him flinch, but for some reason she couldn't even take satisfaction in that. She knew why, but she didn't like it, he didn't get to get under her skin, he wasn't special to her! She couldn't think straight, she just needed to see him bleed, lashing out with her father's blades in a flurry of slashes that required all of his attention to keep from landing. He kept his cane close to his chest and watched closely as each strike came in, she was ferocious, there was no denying that, but he could tell that there was almost no forethought that went into how she attacked, just doing what she thought would work in the moment. Good, he could use that. He bided his time, parrying and blocking with Melodic Cudgel until she slashed downwards, aiming to cut his chest open. Expecting the strike, he leaned back and thrusted, threading the needle between the gap in her pincer-like blades and landing a jab that struck her knee, forcing her to kneel as the joint buckled under the impact. However, in her rage, she had no intention of letting the pain stop her. She tried to move her arm, but quickly found herself unable to move with the cane lodged in between her blades, so instead she lashed out with her tail in a painfully predictable attempt to stab into him. Anticipating this, Romeo leaned back, narrowly avoiding the venom filled stinger and holding onto Melodic Cudgel with both hands, ripped his cane free and knocked her legs out from under her in one swing, knocking the girl onto her back. Lavender snarled, rage starting to bubble up more than she could handle, and moving to sit up from her splayed position, she was greeted by the barrel of his weapon aimed right at her face.
"Stay down. I don't want to fight you." His tone was firm, it was a convincing bluff, she almost believed that he'd actually pull the trigger. However, she knew him like the back of her hand, and he was an idiot if he really thought that she couldn't read him as well as he read her. Reaching out, she grabbed Melodic Cudgel's shaft and pressed the barrel against her forehead, and just as she thought, Romeo's face went pale and the finger that hadn't even been on the trigger in the first place extended out like it burned to the touch. His hesitation gave her the opportunity to strike, her tail lashing out and sweeping across his knees, giving the man a taste of his own medicine and knocking him down. Romeo hit his head on the floor as he landed, vision blurring to the point where he could hardly tell Lavender apart from her dark purple stinger as it came down with her, barely managing to move his head to the side as the stinger hit the floor hard enough to put a hole through it. Lavender landed on top of him a moment later, and despite her short stature and petite frame, the wood under them bent and cracked as though it was moments from giving way. Lavender didn't care, the unstable building that served as their arena was the farthest thing from her mind, she just wanted to see him hurt, and she knew exactly where to start. Those mismatching eyes, those damn eyes that reminded Lavender of her. She reached down and raked her fingernails against his pink eye, causing him to cry out in pain, his matching Aura glowing as it protected the sensitive organ. He needed to get her off of him quickly before she broke through his meager defenses and turned him into a cyclops, suddenly realizing the still healing wound on her shoulder was a promising angle of attack. A particularly strong punch sent her reeling, her entire arm flaring up in pain and making her wince just long enough for Romeo to kick her back. She stumbled, barely staying on two feet as she held her shoulder, feeling the blood start to leak from the wound once more. The arm was done, the pain too bad to flex, let alone throw a strike at the flamboyant mobster before her.
"Like I give a damn about what you want!" she snarled, sounding rabid in her rage. Romeo, for his part, ignored her anger, already swallowing the fact that he'd have to do this the hard way. Looking down, he pulled his hand away from his still sore eye and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked down and saw no blood on his hand. However, when he saw the state of the girl before him, he couldn't help but feel regret. He'd made her bleed, and even if he'd only been defending himself and her Aura had already sutured the wound back into its healing state, his heart ached knowing he'd been the one to do it. Lavender had no such apprehensions, Aura constructs of her arms and a pair of tails springing from her body as she once again flung herself at him with reckless abandon. The extra limbs complicated things, as while Romeo was used to scuffles that devolved into a mess of limbs, he'd been in enough bar fights and territory disputes for that, it was very different when all the fists were coming his way and from the same person. He was forced to play completely defensively, swatting away the stingers and being forced to choose which hits were acceptable, as a fist to the gut he could handle, but a pair of blades through his heart, not so much. He needed a moment, just one opening to create some space, but instead he barely had the room to breathe as she was close enough to smell his breath. Between taking hits and blocking what he had to, his mind was too preoccupied to see an Aura tail sneak around and wrap itself around his ankle, and before he could react, he'd been pulled off of his feet and swung over the girl's head, the phantom tail slamming him down into the floor. The dilapidated wood cracked from the impact, and with an ugly chorus of groans from the destitute building gave way, the floor collapsing under the pair as they fell to the floor below, the trash somewhat cushioning their falls, at least enough to not fall through multiple floors. Lavender got to her feet first, realizing rather quickly that this was mostly because Romeo was looking through the debris for his oh so beloved cane. It was a gratifying sight to see the golden boy literally digging through trash, one she wished she could take in longer, but alas, it was time to put this bitter chapter of her life behind her for good.
Lavender rushed in to wring his skinny little neck, however, something slammed into her chest before she could reach him, sending the girl into a coughing fit as the air was knocked out of her, looking up to see him twirling that accursed cane. Lavender wasn't down for long, her limbs, both flesh and construct, springing to life as she tried to get in close, but barely moving an inch before she had to duck under the handle of his cane suddenly being shot at her. She smirked as it missed her, but quickly felt her stomach sink as she saw him give her a matching grin as he was pressing the button on Melodic Cudgel. The hook immediately retracted, catching on her shirt and pulling her forward, the sudden boost in momentum causing her to stumble, and by the time she saved herself from face planting, Romeo landed a powerful kick to her gut, causing her Aura to flicker from the unexpected blow. Romeo hardened himself for what came next, he had to take this, as there was no way in hell she was going to give him another opening. Pulling back, he thrusted his weapon into her wounded shoulder, landing with a sickening crack. The hit had the intended effect, as Lavender, already rocked from the kick, fell over, crying out in pain as she hit the floor, clutching her wound and her now broken clavicle. Romeo immediately felt regret swell up within him, instinct told him to end the fight, to just cane her in the temple and drag her unconscious body out to the car, but he just couldn't, seeing her in pain like this, he wasn't ready for it, he at least had to try to talk her down.
"Lavender, please! We can still-" She wasn't listening, turning around and aiming right at his face with the guns attached to the gauntlet on her good arm, but the limb was shaking so badly he was certain she wouldn't actually be able to hit him.
"SHUT UP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She didn't want to hear it, not from him. "We? What we? There was only ever you! You're the only one she ever saw, I'm just the mistake…"
Romeo's heart broke as he saw her rage turn into pain. He could handle her being furious with him, even hating him, but hurting because of him? That was enough to make him look away. He was used to that face showing misery, after all, she looked so much like their mother that it hurt.
"This isn't about her." Even as the words left his mouth, he knew it wasn't true, and his half sister laughed in his face for it, a dry, broken laugh that dismissed his lie better than words ever could.
"Of course it is." Romeo felt his blood pressure rise as she looked up at him. Neo had already gotten between them once, he wasn't going to let her do it when she wasn't even with them.
"I'm not having this argument! Fuck Mom, is she here right now? Because I don't see her!" Lavender winced as he raised his voice, unable to maintain eye contact. Damn it, he was letting her get under his skin when she wasn't even around. Sighing, he walked forward and knelt down, stopping once he was at her eye level. "I'm here for my sister, and I'm not leaving without her."
Silence lingered between them, there was more he wanted to say, and he was certain she felt the same, but neither of them could find the words... The vibrations of his scroll in his pocket then caught his attention, opening it up to see a message from Steele.
Swat team, front door. The Chief is with them.
Shit, that was bad. Heading over to the window, he caught a glimpse of a van parked down by the front of the alleyway as armored cops poured out, all heavily armed. Maaaybe walking in like that wasn't his smartest move…
"Perfect timing." Romeo muttered, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he turned around to tell Lavender the bad news, only to be greeted with her tail trailing behind her as she ran out of the ruined room. Without a second thought he followed her, cursing under his breath as she made him chase her once again.
Tears welled up in Scarlet's eyes as she pointed Wilt's blade towards Adam, the same sword he'd given her as a reward when she'd been accepted into Signal, a day she could remember in vivid detail. She and Jet had gotten their admission confirmation mere minutes apart, and like most things, it had been a joint celebration between their families. Like most days, she'd spent it with Jet, running around by the lake. She even remembered him getting mad at her over some comment she'd made about him being scrawny and cute compared to the other guys they'd been going to school with. But what she remembered the most clearly was her Dad pulling her aside, away from the others, so that it was just the two of them. He'd recently gotten a new sword that he'd been bringing along on missions, which was similar in design to Wilt, but lacked the dust infused metal that made up the blade. She'd assumed it was for her, that he was simply testing it to make sure it met his standards just as Bleed did. So when he presented his own sword to her instead, her eyes bulged out of their sockets in awe.
"When I was no older than you, I used this weapon to forge my own path…now it's your turn to do the same." She admittedly didn't think much of his words at the time, too busy thinking about how the cool red sword that her dad always had at his side now belonged to her. For all the shit she'd given Lumi about taking pride in her legacy weapons, she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel her chest swell up with joy as he passed Wilt down onto her. She didn't care that instead of receiving Blush as well she was given her own far more boring scabbard, already lost in the shiny red metal of Wilt. "Just promise me you'll do the right thing instead of repeating my mistakes."
Those words, that entire day… they rang differently now. If she'd known he was passing down a murder weapon she'd have- Gods above, she didn't even know what to do with it now that she knew the truth about her father and the bloody history his sword carried! Adam could feel his anger starting to boil, Scarlet didn't deserve the turmoil she was currently going through. And why, because some Schnee brat couldn't leave her alone? He did his best to try to bury the feeling and stay calm, the last thing that he needed was to provoke Scarlet further.
"Listen to me, I-" Scarlet had no intention of letting him finish, cutting him off by yelling over him. Something was off about her, Adam felt it was something familiar, yet it was unusual on Scarlet.
"You can explain? Explain what? How you killed countless people with no remorse? Or how you thought being a fucking terrorist was okay?" With his only other option being to wrestle Wilt out of her hand and pray neither of them got hurt in the struggle, Adam listened to her list off his sins. It should have made him angry, he'd gone to great lengths to keep his past from her, and now that she knew what he did he could see how it was tearing her up inside, Scarlet didn't seem to even realize that she was crying as she continued to shout. It should have enraged him to know that someone had exposed his little girl to the truth that he'd hoped to keep from her, but instead, he could feel each recall of his past beating the fire within him down, reminding him that this was his doing, it was nobody's fault but his own. He could blame the Schnee girl for bringing it up all he wanted, but it didn't change the fact that the only reason there was something for her to find was because of him, the only reason Scarlet was so blindsided in the first place was because he and Cinder didn't want her to know what they'd done in the past. It exposed him to a truth that he didn't want to admit, for as much as he wanted to hide Scarlet from the truth to protect her, he was even more afraid of her rightfully hating him for his actions, the pain he felt from her glare being proof enough of that. "How about how you maimed my teammate's mom for the crime of defending her girlfriend from you!?"
"What? Scarlet, I've never even met Weiss." He was already dealing with her hating him for the parts of his past that were true, the last thing that he needed was her hating him for things that never even happened.
"Jinzi Belladonna-Xiao-Long." Xiao-Long… now that was a name Adam hadn't heard in a long time. It brought him back to the fall of Beacon, reminding him of how blind with rage he'd been back then. It was the lowest he'd ever fallen, he'd been so hateful in those days, using his pain and his cause to do whatever he pleased, it was all he'd known in the months between him driving Blake away and realizing that his and Cinder's mutual arrangement had some unexpected consequences. He reveled in the pain he had caused, savoring Blake's cries of pain when his sword pierced her stomach, being so blind that he couldn't see the tragedy of how far he'd fallen, that he enjoyed ruining a Human girl's life for defending a Faunus from him. He had plenty of time to reflect on that day, of how he ruined Yang's life. Or how he'd thought he had, now he was learning that she and Blake had a son. He was genuinely happy for them, despite the well earned vitriol being flung his way, he was able to find a small bit of comfort in the fact that some of the people he'd wronged had moved on from the scars he left.
"You're on a team with her son?"
"Oh! While we're at it, thanks for the warning about how your victims' kids would try to kill me, you asshole!" Scarlet didn't care about his introspection, which all things considered was fair, her own life was flipped upside down, she didn't really owe him the time to be able to ponder how his victims were doing after he'd irreversibly changed their lives for the worse.
"You were attacked!? By who?"
"Yeah, I bet you're having trouble figuring it out. Here's a hint, the one who's kid had a scorpion tail that poisoned my partner!"
"Callows…" Another name he hadn't heard in ages, not since Scarlet was three and he'd caught word from Dr. Pine that Tyrian was tracking them down per Salem's orders, and he'd put a stop to it before Scarlet or Cinder got hurt. Of course, he should have known it was going to come back to haunt him.
"Do you have anything to say? Let me guess, this is the part where you say it's all bullshit right? That I don't know what I'm talking about and that it's an adult thing!?" As she shouted, the familiar feeling suddenly clicked. She reminded him of himself at her age, angry and confused. He was proud of her, she could have been like him, lashed out at the world for her misfortune, but instead she had the sense to lay the blame on him where it belonged. But still, she needed to understand how to harness that anger, how to turn it into something useful instead of letting it destroy her.
"It's all true." Her eyes widened and she went slack-jawed, she clearly wasn't expecting that. Adam didn't want to make excuses or try to downplay his actions, she deserved better than that. He walked over and picked up the training sword he used against her countless times growing up. He had never been good with words, so instead he'd teach her through action. Reaching up, he pulled off the eyepatch he'd adopted ever since leaving the White Fang behind. It was another ugly truth that he hid from her, that there were people who'd treat them like cattle simply for being different, another mistake in hindsight, but when she was a child, looking up at him with those innocent amber eyes, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Those same eyes now looked at him with pity, her face pale and for a brief moment, her shock overtook her anger, and she took a step back on instinct, but just as soon it returned. Good, he didn't want her to see it as an excuse. He just needed her to understand why he did what he did, and why she can never follow his path of being led by anger. "What are you going to do about it?"
Scarlet didn't give him an answer, and he knew that was because deep down she didn't have one, she was just lashing out. And lash out she did, screaming at the top of her lungs, she ran, closed the distance, and started swinging her swords, her semblance still out of control, blood trying to coat her blades but remaining too unstable to have any effect. As he deflected each strike, he took note of how she was going out of her way to swing at his chest, not his face, neck, or even his legs. Even now with all her anger, she had enough self control to not try and kill him, which was a good step in the right direction, but she still lashed out with the intent to hurt with no purpose or thought behind her swings, and that was unacceptable. He understood emotions ran high in combat, he'd lost count of the amount of times he'd flown into a rage over the sudden death of a comrade, but she had to learn that she couldn't let her emotions control her. Effortlessly, he parried a blow, redirecting her momentum and side-stepping her. As he passed by, he smacked the base of her skull with the kendo stick, hard, and she recoiled from the strike and spun on her heels, an amount of blood frothing from the mouth that would be worrying if he didn't know about her semblance.
"You mother fu-" He ignored the irony of her of all people calling him that in favor of driving the butt of the handle into her solar plexus, knocking her onto her back. Frustration was clear on her face, it occurred to Adam that he'd never shown Scarlet what it looked like when he didn't hold back. She might have actually been under the impression that she was within his level of skill, and if so, then it was time to clear up that little misconception.
"You wanted a fight, right? Now fight like I taught you." He didn't expect her to fall in line, it would take him giving a few painful examples before she was fully reigned in, but what he didn't expect was for her blood to start taking shape behind her. It was almost in the shape of a person, just unstable and made of blood. It was acting as though it came to stand behind her, but then collapsed into a blob at her side. Whatever she'd been trying to do, be it on instinct or a genuine attempt she couldn't control enough, it didn't work, and she was now having it take the shape of a horned, four legged beast about the size of an average sized dog, and it was still unstable and blood dripped onto the grass from its gaping maw. It ran forward, its claws tearing apart the grass as it ran in. While an unexpected development, it wasn't something he couldn't handle. The construct leaped at him predictively and as a result, he swatted it to the side, but to his shock it remained as a solid being rather than splattering apart like he expected. A moment later, Scarlet landed a cut across his chest, using the opening created by the beast to land a blow. Good, she was actually thinking again. She then brought both swords down, something Adam was able to block. The energy he'd been storing was starting to glow in the red of his hair, and thinking of how she'd probably go about this, he reached out and grabbed her, spinning them around and switching positions as the creature leaped for him but ended up slamming its horns into her back, predictable. Before she could recover, he landed a swift jab to her forehead, right in between her horns. She was still thinking too simply, he'd make her use her head or he'd show her why fighting this way was futile. Either way, she'd learn the lesson. "Do it RIGHT!"
His instructions just brought more aggression from her. She wasn't thinking, her strikes were sloppy, and he didn't even have to look at the creature to predict where it would strike from. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he'd have to teach her the hard way. He let her force him into a blade lock just long enough for her creature to start moving in, using just a bit of Moonslice to push her back, his foot sweeping her legs out from under her, causing her to fall onto her side. In the same motion, he spun around and thrusted his wooden sword into the mouth of the construct's mouth and out through the top of its head. Then turning around he cut loose, a swing of his kendo stick carrying the power he'd built up over the fight, transferring the energy into the stump nearby and reducing it to splinters with one strike. Scarlet shook as the red glow faded, scrambling back on her hands as she crawled away, her heart beating out of her chest. Adam stood still, finching as he saw the fear in her eyes.
Shit, he'd overdone it…
Lavender ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She didn't know where she was going, having only claimed the place for herself in the early hours of the morning. She just knew she had to get away from Romeo, it was a trick, it had to be. There was no way he actually wanted her back, that just… it wasn't possible. Still, she could hear him hot on her heels, he probably just wanted to drag her back to Neo so that she could give her half hearted excuses like always. No, she wouldn't have it, she was never going back to that woman! As soon as she turned the corner, she came face to face with a mountain of a man in riot gear who slammed her into the wall hard enough to send a spiderweb of cracks throughout it. He picked her up easily, he was rather tall especially compared to her, then again most people were, but the mountain that hit her was around JJ's height. She lashed out on instinct, kicking and punching at the cop, even managing to knock his helmet off, which was the opening she needed. She raised a gauntlet of The Queen's Servants and leveled the blades right at his exposed face… and then she hesitated. She hadn't taken a life yet, not from lack of trying, but regardless, this was just some guy, he hadn't wronged her, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The brief hesitation was all the man needed to grab her gauntlet and pin it to the wall, holding her up with one arm as he reached down for his cuffs. The next thing Lavender knew, blood hit her face and right after the gunshot to her side registered from where she'd been a moment ago. Her feet hit the ground, and soon after the cop slumped over, a pool of blood quickly spilling out from the exit wound. Suddenly, another set of hands were on her, smaller and gentler as her brother looked her over for wounds.
"Are you okay? Did he hur-" She snatched her arm out of his grasp before he could finish asking his question, wiping the blood off of her face. By the Goddess, why was he so stupid? What part of how she'd been acting made him think that she wanted him to help, let alone touch, her?
"I said leave me alone!" Romeo rolled his eyes, that was one hell of a thank you. Before he could open his mouth to sass her, the sounds of a gun being cocked caught his attention, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a pair of armored cops aiming down at him. Thinking quickly, Lavender pushed him back through the doorway before doing a handspring back into the adjacent one, and not a moment too soon as bullets suddenly began slamming into the wall they'd been standing at. She breathed a sigh of relief as he got up without any added holes. Romeo, for his part, was just happy that she seemed to have reconsidered the whole killing him thing, which just left the cops. As he tried to hatch a plan, he had to stop himself from screaming as Lavender exited cover, opening fire with her gauntlets. The frankly stupid plan actually seemed to work, which almost made him madder than the fact that she did it in the first place, but gift horses and all that. As the cops dove for cover he glanced out, taking note of how the hallway was less than sound structurally, taking aim at the ceiling with his cane he charged a shot, the extra dust collecting before he opened fire, making the shot far more powerful than the one that killed the officer, causing the already weakened wood to collapse, closing them off from the Vale police for the time being.
"Are you okay?" Lavender asked, looking back at her brother, trying her best to avoid looking at the dead body on the floor behind him. She understood that blood needed to be spilled, oh what she'd do for another chance at Scarlet, but this was different. The man dead at their feet was… just some guy, sure he was an enemy, but he had done nothing to wrong them but get in their way. Yet, he didn't seem bothered, twirling that damn cane in one hand, the other resting on his hip.
"I get right back up after you put me through a wall and the floor and then you think those clowns are gonna put a scratch on me? Have some faith in your big brother." As he spoke, he looked around, searching for a way out. He realized that he may have sealed them off at the end of the hall, so unless they wanted to backtrack to her weird little lair… but that was an exposed entrance. Crap, they'd probably need to make their own exit at this rate.
"No, I-I mean I'm glad you're not hurt but… you killed someone." Lavender wasn't even thinking about their way out, glancing back at the body for a moment. She wasn't as disturbed as she thought she'd be, but at the same time, there was no rush like Henna described, she didn't really know how to feel about him dying like that.
"Of course I did, he had his hands on you." And as far as he was concerned, that was the end of it. Besides, he had better things to worry about. "Alright, Steele got out in time, we just got to lose the cops and then I'll have him come get us."
As Romeo started to consider just blowing a hole in the wall and taking their chances with however many cops were watching for them, Lavender sighed, apparently she'd actually have to spell this out to him.
"I'm not going back." An annoyed sigh escaped Romeo, who pinched the bridge of his nose as he turned back around to face her.
"Lav, for the love of- can we please do this when there aren't armored goons coming for us?" Before either of them could even think the collapsed ceiling was blown apart, knocking them both to the ground. As his ears rang, Romeo saw an older woman with short pink hair wearing an armored police uniform that was standard aside from the fact that instead of a gun, she was wielding a measly slingshot. Miss Floss, failed Huntress and the hardass chief in charge of the VPD West side. Lavender couldn't care less about the woman, seeing a new opening she scampered to her feet and fled just in time to avoid another shot from the Dust flinging weapon, the smaller explosion resulting in flames erupting from the pile of debris.
"Oh for fu- seriously!?" Well, that was one hell of a thank you. As much as he wanted to run after her, the fire was spreading fast, and he doubted the hardass before him would just let him get away. Putting on his best smile, he leaned on his cane, doing his best to ignore the rapidly increasing heat around them. "Oookay then, so what's your name again? Normally, we'd be on a first name basis, but you keep literally shooting my messengers soooo."
"Shut the hell up, like I'd work for Roman's little bastard!" As the young man soon found out, she wasn't much for banter, aiming at him and releasing yet another specialized dust crystal which he ducked under. The explosion rocked the building once more, causing the floor to collapse under them. Managing to land on his feet, the crime boss was suddenly made aware of just how quickly fire could spread in an old run down building filled with flammable trash. It was hard to see more than a few feet in front of him, which is probably why he didn't see the punch coming from the side as Floss sucker punched him, undeterred by the flames around them. Romeo struck back, swinging his cane towards her face only for her to grab it mid swing, the Aura on her hand flashing the same hot pink as her hair as they started to struggle for the weapon.
"Really? This is because of my old man? Come on, most people tell me that he was a delight." His words had the desired effect as she growled and tried to throw him into the fire, but Romeo knew how to handle brute force, turning with her and sending a knee into her gut, reflexively taking a nice deep breath of the smoke rising.
"You -ack- think this is funny!? He and that little imp you call a mother killed my partner!"
"Actually, in spite of the circumstances, I'm already bored of this conversation." Romeo said, rolling his eyes. "If you're going to join one of the dozens of people who want to have me wacked because of my folks, the least you could do is come up with some original material."
"You son of a bitch!" She lunged for him, only to get struck in the jaw with the curved steel of Melodic Cudgel's handle.
"Well, I'll give you that one, but unless you're going to make this interesting, just shut up and hit m-" In the middle of his taunting, Floss suddenly punched him in the gut, making him double over in pain. She used that to her advantage, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down, using his own cane to press down onto his windpipe, cutting off the air to his lungs. He struggled and pushed against her, but found himself unable to make her budge, his back was burning on the floor, and while he tried to hide it, Lavender had done a number on him in their fight, those factors along with the lack of oxygen all were working against him. His vision was starting to go hazy, and panic set in, he couldn't die yet, not when he'd just found Lavender! The moment that thought crossed his mind, Floss screamed as something unexpectedly stabbed into her side, Lavender retracted and the girl dropped down, her Gauntlets ready to rip the former Huntress apart. But instinct allowed her to catch the girl out of the air, and she threw her attacker to the floor and into the flames that burned at her ankles. She suddenly felt woozy, and things started to blend together. She tried to figure out why when suddenly she was met with a sight that made her do a double take. It was like she was looking at Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan, just as they'd been almost two decades ago before he died. That was the last coherent thought to go through her mind before the shot from Melodic Cudgel ripped through her gut and she fell over, clutching the wound. Romeo paid the woman no more attention after that, because if the wound didn't do her in, the fire would. Turning back to Lavender, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her patting down a small flame that traveled up her pant leg but was otherwise okay. Right, now to get the hell out of here. Getting to his feet, he reoriented himself, turning around and aiming at the wall he was certain had a window on the floor above, charging a shot and blowing a hole right through it. The hole led right into the alleyway in the back, good, his luck wasn't running out just yet. Grabbing his sister, he aimed the grapple at a nearby roof and waited just long enough for Lavender to latch on and let the line carry them up. They continued to run across several rooftops until the sirens grew quiet. Only then did Romeo call Steele, and the moment he pulled up the pair piled into the car. The ride was silent, Steele was watching the new girl from the rearview mirror but said nothing.
"So what now? Back home?" She would have ran, but she didn't have the energy. She was too tired, too sore, and she had a feeling that even in his current state, Romeo would still jump out and drag her back into the car, so she resigned herself to her fate.
"One of them at least. Uncle Junior has a room for me at the club, we can stay there until the heat dies down." He said, reaching into his pocket for a cigar only to reconsider, he'd had enough smoke in his lungs for today. The casualness of his answer caught her off guard, so much so that she almost missed that he said they were going to Junior's, not Vanille Manor.
"Wait…we aren't going to Neo?" Romeo would have laughed, but his throat was already sore enough so he just shook his head and leaned back closing his eyes. Lavender remembered the club, how she and her brother would run around it with Melodias, Maverick, and JJ… Goddess that felt like so long ago now. He could have been lying of course, but for some reason she wanted to trust him, so she did. Allowing herself to relax, fatigue quickly took over as she found herself resting on his shoulder as her eyes started to droop. She didn't fight the slumber as it whisked her away, she felt safe, safer than she had in a long time.
"D-d-ad?" Scarlet almost didn't recognize the man in front of her, her perception of him had already been altered by the revelation from Ruby and, Gods above, those videos. She wasn't ready to be on the receiving end of Moonslice, even if just as an example that didn't even hit her. Adam took a deep breath, terrifying her was the last thing he'd wanted, but it didn't change the fact that she had to learn this lesson for her own good.
"You need to control yourself, Scarlet. The next time you lose control, chances are you won't be fighting me." Scarlet scowled up at him, but it was half hearted. His words were finally sinking in and he decided to give her a moment to process things, she clearly hadn't stopped to think since she left Beacon to confront him.
"WHOOOO-" Adam's thoughts were interrupted by a boot firmly being planted in his face, and then another, and then another. "AKAKAKAKAK!"
A flurry of kicks from a giant of a man who defied gravity itself as he remained in the exact same spot in the air, a spot that was perfect for bicycle kicks to the face. He only caught glimpses of between the blows he was subjected to, and eventually one particularly hard kick sent him flying back towards the house, slamming into the doorframe and taking off a chunk of it with him.
"WHHHaaaa!" Adam stared up at the ceiling, the exaggerated martial arts yell fading a bit once he was inside, as he was still processing what exactly just happened. Slowly getting back to his feet, he immediately went back outside, the red glow of his semblance betraying the calm facade he had on as he glared down at the monkey man who'd attacked him.
"Jin! What the fuck!?" The voice of Jet wasn't what Adam had expected, and soon after, the familiar sound of feathers was audible as an ethereal Griffon landed in his yard. On it were two people, Jet with his hands on his head in exasperation over the events he'd just witnessed, aand a girl, none other than Lumi Arc-Schnee. Even if he wasn't already familiar enough with the family to recognise her at a glance, the summoned Grimm was a dead give away. He met her eyes for a moment, and her eyes went wide with shock as soon as she saw him and the SDC brand across his left eye. Jin, however, was just looking back from Adam to his teammates, and it finally clicked in his head that maybe he'd been a bit hasty.
"Huh? But he attacked her?" Before Adam could step off the porch and show Jin what it looked like when he actually attacked someone, Scarlet got in between the two of them, holding her arms out to keep them apart.
"No, nonono. I started it, it was me." She said, taking control and doing her best to explain the situation, which helped Jin relax. If Scarlet wasn't worried over her dad, then he didn't see a reason to make a bigger fuss over it than he already had.
"See! I told you to wait yo- you know what, forget it." Lumi said, not seeing the point in berating him when she already knew he'd just do the same thing next time a situation like this occurred. Instead, she just shuffled over, finally joining the others, although she made sure she stayed behind Jin for the moment. Scarlet scowled at her team, had they all just skipped half a day of Beacon and ran off without telling anyone? Sure, she'd done the same thing, but she had an actual good reason!
"Why did you guys follow me!?" Scarlet demanded in her best stern sounding voice, however, her demeanor soon dropped as Lumi marched right on up to her and jabbed a finger into her face angrily.
"Why? Do you really have the gall to ask that you dens- We were worried about you!"
"You were worried about me?" Scarlet, while touched, was in disbelief, having assumed Lumi still didn't really care for her. This caused all five feet of the girl to bristle even harder in indignation at the statement, causing her to try and backtrack. "But- I was just gonna kick… my Dad's… ass."
Yeah… no that actually sounded worse. Before she could dig herself into a deeper hole, Jet stepped up to speak.
"Believe it or not, we weren't worried about Adam doing something stupid." Jet said, pausing to look in-between Jin and the visible boot prints on Adam's shirt and face. "Well, at least I wasn't."
Scarlet looked away, feeling more than a little embarrassed at being called out like that by Jet, even if she couldn't deny that this was far from her finest moment. Meanwhile, Jin started walking up to Adam, the man raising an eyebrow as the boy held out his hand sheepishly, thinking about how strange it was to see a boy that big look so embarrassed.
"Uh, sorry about that Sir. I just kinda jumped down when I saw you standing over her…" Adam nodded, still a bit miffed by the fact that he'd been put through his own door over a misunderstanding, but the feeling subsided.
"It's fine." It wasn't, but he'd get over it, taking Jin's hand and shaking it rather than making a fuss, and he couldn't really be mad about someone stepping in to help her. "I'm just glad she has people looking out for her."
"Jinzi Belladonna-Xiao-Long, my friends call me Jin." Adam's face went pale at the name, so this was him, Blake and Yang's child, though that certainly didn't explain the tail. He didn't act as though he knew who's hand he was shaking, what Adam had done to his grandfather's organization, to Blake or Yang. But… he had to know, right?
"Jinzi, I take it you know who I am." As Adam just came out and asked, he noticed the rest of Scarlet's team going stiff behind them, it was clear that they seemed to know.
"You're Scarlet's dad, I can tell by the horns, and the hair, and the edgy clothes." Adam looked down at his outfit, taking genuine offense at the boy's comment, it wasn't his fault black and red looked good on him.
"Well, this is quite the surprise." Before Adam could think of a rebuttal, the voice of Cinder echoed through the room as she stared down the students. She was happy to see Scarlet, ecstatic in fact, but the state of her husband had her less than pleased. "Well Scarlet, aren't you going to take a break from attacking your father and invite your friends in?"
Scarlet froze, immediately recognizing from her mom's tone that she was not asking. To Lumi and Jin's shock, their leader didn't react with the usual attitude or the anger they'd expected from her. She clearly wasn't happy, but there was a clear lack of fight from her as she addressed her team.
"Right, you guys wanna come in?" Jet was already on his way in, being nearly as familiar with the Taurus-Fall house as he was his own, casually greeting Cinder as he walked in. Scarlet then led Jin and a reluctant Lumi inside, the smaller girl sticking close to Jin the whole way in. Now alone, Cinder turned to Adam as he followed suit, taking a moment to stop him, licking her thumb before wiping off as much of the dirt left from Jin's boots as she could.
"So, what happened?" Cinder asked in a more gentle tone, looking her husband over to see if there was anything more than dirt, pleased to see that there wasn't even a cut on him. Adam scowled, doing his best to act like he didn't enjoy her fretting over him like she was.
"I'm out of practice." he grumbled and stepped back, looking through the door as Scarlet was giving her team a quick tour of the house. This was going to be a long conversation.