Small Issues
AN: Heya folks! Been a few months since I updated this part of the Issues series but with Big Issues finally completed at 94 chapters, I was able to focus more on this and get it done! At the same time, I'll let you all know that updates going forward will be once or twice a month as I'll be working on Larger Issues, the direct continuation of Big Issues just as Big Issues is the direct continuation of what Small Issues will be once its completed.
But for now, enjoy!
Getting Up
While getting the airship to her Mistresses castle was easy enough, it was the welcoming party that grated on Cinder's nerves.
One was the doctor she had called to be ready for Mercury, and thankfully he seemed prepared with a gurney and medical bag by his side. Beside the tall, thin doctor stood a much larger form of a man, easily dwarfing everyone around him and his body rippled with muscles. His biceps alone are thicker than her hips.
The final one was crouched to the side, staying out of the way but clearly was here to look at the fresh recruits. His beady golden eyes strongly hinted at the psychopathic nature of the man and the giggles at the bloody bandages and bruises only sealed the conclusion about his mental state.
A glance at the castle revealed that their Mistress was not out where she could be seen, but Cinder was sure that she saw her watching from a window.
"Hmmm… this is quite serious. Hazel, would you mind helping me take him to the operating room?" The Doctor requests as he places several sensors on Mercury to help monitor his condition. The large man didn't say anything but complied, easily pushing the gurney to the stairs and lifting it smoothly to the top where the patient was rolled inside.
"Ready for a little nap time, Dear Cinder?" The insane man asks. While the words were nice, his tone made it seem like a threat.
"Shut it, Tyrian. We'll be gone once Mercury is fixed up." The young woman nearly growled at him.
"Then perhaps some 'play time' with her?" Once again, his tone was dangerous and Emerald stepped to the side to keep Cinder between them.
"Another time, if you're lucky. We'll be training while we wait." Cinder spoke with finality and began walking up the stairs with the goal of reaching her room within the castle and giving her team the empty rooms nearby.
"Hmm, farewell for now. Let's hope that our Firefly chose her helpers well." Tyrian grins widely and waves to Emerald as she followed Cinder who refused to look back at him.
"Ah, glad to see you are awake."
"Ugh, where am I?" Mercury groaned as he looked around and saw that he was in some sort of hospital, judging by the equipment around him.
"Somewhere to get your wounds treated." The Doctor informs him, easily anticipating the question. "Now, while I have treated most of your injuries, the most serious are your legs and I have some questions for you."
"Like what?" Mercury glanced at his body and saw the numerous bandages covering him as well as the bruises that they couldn't conceal. He also found that he wasn't feeling too much discomfort or pain, more than likely thanks to the IV connected to his arm. But more importantly, he couldn't feel his legs.
"While I am a Doctor and can help with most ailments, the intensive surgery that your legs require to function as they used to is beyond my skills." Those words made a flash of fear and anger pass over the younger man's face. "However, I could use my expertise to gift you new legs."
"Hmm… prosthetics?"
"Precisely. And they wouldn't be just the run of the mill ones either." Arthur smiled when he saw the curiosity.
"You have my attention." The Doctor brought up a holographic image of the legs he had designed while waiting for the young man to wake up.
Across the room, Hazel leaned on the wall and watched silently. Admittedly, he was rather curious as to why Cinder made sure to bring the boy back with her, though the fact that he had killed a highly skilled assassin by himself spoke of his abilities.
"Alright Doc, think we could make some weapons to hide that?"
"I think we could find something that suits you."
Finals were coming up in just a few weeks at Signal and everyone was preparing for it in their own ways. Those in their senior year of the Huntsman courses like Yang and Iris were training their bodies when they could and reviewing their books and notes as they rested. Ruby was two years behind them doing the same but she didn't have the added pressure of entrance exams into Beacon shortly afterwards as her sister did.
Ruby was at the desk in the room she shared with her sister doing some homework when Yang popped her head through the open door. The elder girl wore little more than a pair of short black shorts and an orange tank top with her burning heart emblem in red across the front. The younger sibling was donned in white pajama pants with pink roses printed all over while a black tank top covered her chest with a stylized pink Beowolf head.
"Hey Ruby!"
"…"
"Ruby?"
"…"
"Really?" The blonde grumbles as she walks up behind her sister and yanks the headphones off her head, immediately filling their room with music and scaring the younger girl.
"Ah! Yang! What are you doing?!"
"I was trying to ask what you wanted for dinner." She teases a bit, turning off the music as she spoke. "Something came up at school so Dad has to work late today."
"What happened?"
"Dunno, he didn't say." Yang shrugs. It wasn't exactly a common occurrence that their father had to stay late at work- being a teacher at Signal- but it happened enough that the girls weren't surprised. "Still, what do you want for dinner?"
Ruby tapped her chin as she thought it over. "Chicky nuggies!"
The response just made the elder sister deadpan. "Really?"
"With Mac and cheese!"
"Now you are just acting like a little kid."
"I could've asked for cookies!"
"Yeah… what was I thinking? You'll never grow up." Yang shook her head as she walked back to the door.
"I demand cookies!" Ruby giggles.
"You'll eat whatever I make." Yang states with a mix of humor and finality.
"Yeah yeah." Ruby waves her off before turning back to her homework and answers a few questions before the silence began to wear on her. Absently, her right hand reaches for where she normally keeps her headphones on the desk only to come up empty.
"Huh?" Now she was looking around the desk, the floor, the beds. "Nononono!"
Downstairs in the kitchen, Yang began cooking some chicken strips in a pan as a pot boiled noodles and alfredo sauce heated up. She was humming a tune as she did a little dance in front of the stove, Ruby's headphones in use.
The music abruptly ended when the device was yanked off her head. "Yang! These are mine!"
"I was wondering how long it would take you to notice!" Obviously, the blonde had been expecting this, if her smile was anything to go by. "Just in time to set the table as I finish things up here."
Ruby just stood there and glared at her sister and her antics before her rumbling belly made her choice for her.
Just as they sat down to eat their rather generous portions- a necessary part of trying to keep up their metabolisms and intense training- the front door opened as their father walked in.
Easily taller than his daughters with blonde hair and blue eyes and a small soul patch on his chin, Taiyang Xiao along is a well built man who took his training seriously, even if his job as a teacher made him more sedentary than he used to be and a single father of two didn't help.
He wears a tan button down shirt with a brown vest over that. Khaki cargo shorts adorn his legs with brown shoes, with low socks. On his right arm, he wears a metal pauldron and a leather bracer while the left simply has a red bandanna tied around his bicep. His right arm also has a tattoo of his emblem in dark red on the bicep.
"Hey girls!"
"Hey Dad!" Ruby waves at him with her fork as he drops his briefcase on the floor.
"You're home early." Yang comments as she starts to dish out the meal on the three plates, tossing some spare chicken into the family dog bowl.
"Yeah, well Laurel exaggerated how much help she needed."
"Again?" Ruby let her hand dangle under her chair as Zwei the dark brown and grey corgi, ran by and her fingers trailed through his fur.
"She's still new to teaching." Tai shrugs as his plate was set in front of him. "I needed help when I started too and so did everyone else when they started."
The girls shared a glance at that last statement. It wasn't a secret in the family that Taiyang hadn't been in the best shape before he began teaching and still had episodes now and then, though they were less frequent over time. It was actually their Uncle who got their father into teaching, having had a job himself at Signal to help support the fractured family while going through hard times.
"Ah, don't worry about it." Tai waves off their concern. "I'm here now and we're eating dinner. So… need any help with your homework or getting ready for finals?"
"Dad." Yang narrowed her eyes. "We know you won't really help us with any of the answers on tests."
"And the problem with that is…?"
"Nothing. 'We won't learn anything if you just give us the answers to everything.'" Ruby chimes in with his often used quote.
"Good girls. Now, if you need some help training, that I will help with, no problem." Tai smiles proudly.
"I'm boooooooooorrrrreeeddd!"
"I've noticed."
"How can you keep reading? It's been hours!"
"It's both necessary and interesting."
"It's just a bunch of ink on paper! What's so interesting about that!"
Ren kept reading through his textbook as he listened to his best friend ramble.
"Do you really think you're ready for the tests?"
"What do you mean? I can handle any Grimm they throw at me!"
"How about history? Or math?"
"Ummm… hehehe…. Yeah, I'm totally ready for them." Ren didn't need to look up to know she broke out into a nervous sweat as she laughed awkwardly.
Ren reached over and began to slowly slide her books towards him.
"O-on a second thought!" Nora snatched the books back and sat back down. "Maybe another refresher would be good. Hehehe."
"Still aiming to go to Haven?"
"Yeah, Star, I am. It'll be good to see more of the world than just the sands around here."
"Really? And it has nothing to do with that fascination of a wondrous tree you claim you saw as a kid?"
The boy sat his book on the floor and stood up, proving to be tall and blonde with tanned skin in a white, open shirt and jeans. Most notable about him was the golden furred tail swaying behind him.
Star herself was barely shorter than her younger cousin, but easily recognizable as family with her own tan and similar features but with green eyes compared to his blue and her own hair and tail more strawberry blonde. Beyond that, both cousins are notably fit with defined muscles and dressing to show off their abs.
Star wears a white gi that had seen better days, not from lack of care but from sheer usage given by the sweat stains around the collar and the sleeves and pants well worn and having been mended several times over. But she wore the top loose, often like now having shrugged it off to hang by her belt like a skirt behind her and revealing her black sports top that did little more than contain her chest.
"I know what I saw back then. And you know that it's what helps me focus."
"That may be true, Sun, maybe you had a glimpse through a massive illusion?" Star grins, only half joking.
"Haha."
"Alright, you had your book time, let's make sure you're in shape." Star's grin turned to one of challenge as she put her gi on correctly before assuming her ready stance.
"You're on!" Sun was hyped to be moving again but he was also wary of Star- she had been his primary teacher when it came to combat and she wasn't one to pull her punches. Then again, what better instructor could he get than from one who ran her own dojo in Vacuo.
Pyrrha jogged through the streets of Argus, her breath coming in visible clouds thanks to the cold weather that the northern city was known for. Her training earlier had gone well after her five mile jog that morning and she now she 'cooled off' with a three mile jog home.
She may have been born and raised in this town and was largely used to the cold but there was no way she was willing to shed the sweatsuit she's wearing without very good reason given that she was hot and sweaty. The sheer temperature difference would be quite the shock that she'd rather avoid.
She turned at a particular house and jumped the steps to the door where she withdrew a key from her pocket and let herself in.
Inside the house, she took a deep breath to fill her lungs with warm air and she felt her body relax almost instantly. That also meant that she got a full whiff of dinner being made, a hearty beef stew that her mother was fond of making and Pyrrha almost could never get enough of it.
"Welcome back dear!"
"Hello mom!"
"Dinner will be ready by the time you're done cleaning up."
"Okay!" She quickly removed her boots and made her way upstairs to have a hot shower.
Half an hour later, Pyrrha was walking by the numerous trophies and medals on the wall on her way to the table where her mother was setting their first bowls down on the wood. The awards weren't all Pyrrha's, only most of the newest ones such as the Mistral Regional Tournament a few weeks back. A fair number were from her parents and most of them from her mother, though most as of late were now for cooking rather than combat like her younger years.
"Think you're ready? You've been really pushing your training and studies more than normal." Her mother asks with some concern. She stood shorter than her daughter by a fair margin, only reaching up her daughter's nose but their hair and eyes are the same, though Pyrrha's was long enough to trail all the way down her back compared to her mothers bob cut.
Beyond that, while Pyrrha resembled the ideal of a warrior woman, tall, surprisingly broad shoulders and decently wide hips and wrapped in well honed muscles that weren't bulky but well defined, her mother is more… sturdy-looking, to put simply. Her shorter stature only seemed to emphasize her slightly heavier build, especially her hips and legs. And her arms… there was a reason that an iron frying pan hung among the trophies and not because of cooking. The indent was prominent after she had used it to crush the skull of an Ursa.
"I believe I'm ready but a little extra preparation never hurt." Pyrrha responds before popping a large chunk of dough she'd been saving for the end in her mouth.
"Then I want you to ensure you get your rest before the tests. You may have Sanctum's exams in the bag but your aspirations to go to Beacon are a big step up."
"I will." Then she held out her bowl. "May I have some more?"
"Ha! I swear, half our income goes straight into your stomach." Joking aside, she refilled the large bowl with more stew and served herself a second round as well.
Emerald rested in her room after a few days of training. Though to call it training was being generous, more like torture.
Yet she was with Cinder the whole time and there was notable improvement in that time. Not that the thief was a pushover before but Cinder was on an entirely another level. This was her one day off from training so she could recover.
The door to her room opened and when she turned to see who it was, she was shocked that it wasn't Cinder but Mercury. She hadn't seen the assassin since Doctor Watts took him away to be treated for his injuries and quite honestly, she didn't have the energy to spare to see him either… or desire.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just getting to know the place." He shrugs, though it looked to be something that taxed him. Even standing there looking like he was struggling to remain upright reminded her of when they had first spoken to each other.
"How are you up? Your legs were barely holding together when we brought you here a few days ago!" The girl stood from her bed to confront him face to face.
"Heh, what can I say? The Doctor is good at what he does." He walks in further, the brighter lights revealing that he was wearing black shorts that match the tank top on his torso.
The attire did little to hide that the young man's skin was covered in bandages and what little was exposed is discolored by bruising. But that was nothing compared to his legs as they were no longer there.
To be specific, from just above the knee and down, there was no more flesh, just metal. Cups for his stumps ended with stiff hinges, steel rods reached down until another stiff hinge that served as an ankle over a very basic piece that was a foot at the end of each leg.
The sight of his legs made the girl gasp and cover her mouth, but her wide eyes gave her away.
Mercury hobbled in, struggling to walk a straight line but it was unclear if it was more due to his prior injuries or that he just lost his legs. "Ha! It looks worse than it is." He waves off her worry.
"But your legs? How are you going to fight?"
"I'm not going with these things, if that's what's got your panties in a twist." He scoffs before dropping into a nearby chair. "The Doc is making me some much better ones. They'll make my old legs look like a joke."
"But… Cinder wants to leave soon to recruit more for her plan."
"More huh?" Mercury didn't seem surprised. "I told her that since she's going after one of the cities, she better gain control of the rats."
"What do you mean by that?" Her red eyes narrowed, not liking what she believed he was insinuating.
"The rats." He repeats. "You know… the thieves, the homeless, the guys with the shitty jobs. They are the ones who nobody really pays attention to and they see and hear everything. If they don't, they know who to direct you to for the answers you're looking for. All you gotta do is remember to pay them well so they will be honest with you AND will do their best for you for future jobs."
"Where'd you learn that?" Her curiosity was overriding her feelings of being insulted, yet she had lived that life until Cinder took her in.
That question turned his face from relaxed to sour. "The bastard you saw when we first met."
"Will you be ready?" Cinder asks as she watched her newest recruit train.
"Oh-hohoho… yeah. I'll be ready whenever you are." Mercury grins, ready to get into some action. The training room around him littered with training bags that were spilling sand from massive tears and holes in them, a few laying on the floor after the chains were broken.
"Then we leave now."
"Thought we'd never leave." He smirks as he follows the woman out.
It had taken a few days to track the man down and confront him. The biggest snag was the fact that he was far from defenseless. Not only was he highly skilled in combat himself but he had a partner who matched up to him despite her diminutive size.
"Easy, easy! I told you that I'm not interested." A tall, red-headed man in a white jacket and dark brown pants and lighter brown shoes. His cane and black bowler hat lying on the floor out of reach.
Nearby, his partner was pinned to the floor by the pair who fought her. Granted, those two were on their last legs and he had given his own opponent her own beating in the process that led to their current situation: he and his partner were pinned with blades at their necks after a scuffle that had followed after a brief discussion.
"But now you are interested to save your lives… aren't you?" Cinder leaned in close, wary that he might try some underhanded trick again.
"I'm sure you'd be as well if you were in my position." The man's green eyes glared back at amber.
"Then do as I say if you'd like to stay alive."
"And what do you really want?"
"Just a little rebalancing of the power structure here in Vale. And from what I've heard, you are the best man for the job to make it happen."
"Hmmm…I certainly don't mind the flattery but there are a few things that must be addressed first."
"And what would that be?"
"For one, you're too young for me and I'm not one for this kind of kink even if you were old enough." He flicks one of the swords that were crossed over his neck to pin him against a wooden crate. Yet he got the reaction he was hoping for, a flash of disgust that resulted in the red dress wearing woman backing off and freeing him.
"Should I mention that it's much better to negotiate a business relation when a sword isn't at the other party's throat?" He flipped the cane into his hand with his foot before using said cane to retrieve his hat, all while keeping an eye on the others.
Without warning, the girl pinned by the other two shattered like glass, only to reappear standing next to her partner.
"Ya know, we don't often get to kill those around us… Kinda bad for business." The man still seemed unfazed that he had just lost a fight. Either he didn't care or they still had tricks up his sleeves as was just demonstrated. "But for you three… it seems that killing you would be good for business."
"Do you really think we were trying to kill you?" Glass heels clacked on the cement floor.
"Look lady, I've been around and dealt with Huntsmen before. Coming at me to kill is about the only way to catch me." He walks over to a nearby table that had been overturned and flipped it upright, the short girl picking up a pair of chairs for them both.
They sat down but kept their weapons in hand. "That being said… you do have my attention. What do you really need?"
Back in the Emerald Forest, an airship touched down in a clearing so that the three passengers could disembark. They weren't here to sight see the mostly pristine and rarely touched natural landscape. Nor were they here to hunt for food. Not even trophy hunting of the various wildlife.
They hiked through the woods until they reached a large campsite with dozens of white tents erected and the night was lit up by fires between clusters. People moved around from group to group having conversations or moving supplies. Others were by the fires as they cooked.
It was an overall peaceful sight until one noticed that many of the people wore matching uniforms- black long sleeved shirts with a hood and matching pants, black boots with steel toes, a white tunic worn over the shirt and held to the body by a black belt. Rather simplistic but easily identifiable.
But it was the symbol on the backs of their tunics that drew attention, all in red with a snarling cat head with a circle around it and three claw marks that seem to run under the head and across the circle. If more colors were used, it would be quite dramatic.
But the trio's approach to the camp had an immediate effect on the people- guards with masks to obscure their upper faces had found them and drew weapons.
"We're here to speak to Adam Taurus, nothing more." Their apparent leader tells the guards, both she and the other woman making sure that their hands are raised away from their swords and pistols, respectively. The boy with them looked unarmed but lifted his hands as well.
The guards glance at each other before one of them speaks. "Call the Commander. Let him know we're coming."
As the trio were guided through the camp, everyone seemed to be armed, even the cooks who attended to their pots had pistols and swords on them or nearby. And everyone donned a mask to conceal their identities.
Soon they arrived at the largest tent that is colored tan and several times larger than the personal tents used by the others. The procession stopped well outside of the tent.
"Kneel humans." The lead guard orders, the three complying without protest.
The flap to the tent was thrown open to reveal a tall man dressed in a black suit with red trim and detailing, a more intricate mask on his face than the others, and a sword on his open to reveal a tall man dressed in a black suit with red trim and detailing, a more intricate mask on his face than the others.
A single glance to see that everyone was there, the man waved them in. The tents floor was the same as the walls and the structure itself had a large map of Remnant in the back. In the corner wearing a mask that covered his full face, a man who stood taller than anyone in the camp with a physique that was enviable for most men, choosing to go sleeveless to show off the massive arms that were only adorned by tattoos on the left arm and bracers.
Another pair of guards stood at the ready to the sides, armed with swords and rifles. Around the tent, there were a few odd items, a crate, some barrels, a few folding chairs, making the tent resemble a meeting place that doubled as an extra storage area. Candles inside the tent provided light as torches did outside.
Once inside, the three humans knelt with their hands on their knees as the man who beckoned them in slowly paced in front of them. Outside, their escort waited and watched, a silent reminder that the trio had better be on their best behavior.
"What do you want with me?"
"We wish to speak to you of an alliance. My name is Cinder Fall and these are my associates Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black."
"I don't particularly care for your names. Get to the point." Adam states, making it clear that his patience was running thin.
Cinder complied, though her brief frown showed that she didn't appreciate being spoken down to so easily."I wish for you to join me in bringing down the Kingdom of Vale. My… employer… can compensate you handsomely."
"So let me get this straight…" Adam began to slowly walk around as he spoke, his black horns among his red-brown hair glinting in the candlelight. "You could have gone to anyone for help. You could have made a deal with a gang leader, paid off some Huntsmen who have strayed from their… righteous path. But instead you chose to seek an audience with me."
Cinder put on a small smile as she spoke to gain some favor with the man. "You're the one we need." There was a small emphasis on the last word. "Your skill, your ability to lead those beneath you. You're an exceptionally valuable man, Adam. We've put a lot of thought into who'd be best for-"
"Then you're clearly not thinking straight!" Adam interrupts her with a slight raise of his voice. "If you truly understood me, then you'd know that coming here was a mistake. The White Fang isn't an organization for hire, some band of amoral mercenaries! We're a force of revolution!" He finished with his right hand raised and clenched in a fist, the black gloved extremity showing the red detailing on the back of the hand that matched the pattern on his mask.
Emerald and Mercury said nothing, simply glancing at each other in silent communication, their raised eyebrows saying plenty. 'That speech sounded rehearsed but he may actually believe it.'
Cinder rose to her feet but made sure that her hands stayed away from her weapons. "I believe that my plan will be beneficial to all parties involved." She watched as Adam began to pace, the grip on his sword tight. "I have… an associate in Vale, he and I are working on a revolution of our own but we can't do it without your forces. We need-"
"What you need…" Adam spoke but it was strained because he was holding back his frustration and anger. "… is to leave. You're asking my men to die for your cause- a human cause." His right hand gripped the hilt of his sword ready to draw at a moment's notice. "THAT is not an idea I'm willing to entertain."
Cinder didn't bother to hide her frown of displeasure yet remained courteous, bowing as she spoke. "Very well."
The trio were escorted back out of the camp the way they came. Though as they left, another girl arrived at the tent where the meeting had taken place. Dressed in black and white with a bow in her black hair, she put a hand on her hip. "What was that about?"
Adam turned to her from where he had watched the humans leave. "Nothing. Now we need to prepare for tomorrow, the train will be here at dawn." He walks off to another part of the camp.
Meanwhile, the girl glances at where the three had vanished into the forest and back to Adam before following him.
"We found her."
"Follow the plan to the letter. Not one foot out of place."
"Heh! You got it boss."
"Okay."
The sky is overcast over the farmland that had been recently harvested and there were only a few trees along the dirt road, a simple wooden fence serving as a property line between the road and fields.
A young woman rode a horse at a leisurely pace, obviously having no hurry to be anywhere and confident that she had time before it might rain. Despite that, she wore a dark green traveling cloak with the hood up as a precaution.
Most of what the woman wore could be considered practical yet attention grabbing. A white shirt with a low neckline with a small trim of ruffles across the low cut that otherwise exposed her upper chest. The straps of the shirt only covered the ends of her shoulders and the tops of her arms had longer ruffles over them with short sleeves under the ruffles.. The shirt is long enough to form a sort of skirt with a split in the front to allow ease of movement and is accentuated by the brown corset around her waist that had some gold piping on the upper edge under her bust.
It was interesting that the corset reached up along her ribs and over her shoulders and upper chest to create a small collar while also creating a small chest window. Like the lower half, it had gold piping along the lower edges but the material is a lighter brown. There is also a small belt that reached across her chest from the right lower edge of the top portion to wrap around her waist to her back over the lower portion. The belt even had a pair of small pouches on it at her ribs where they were easily accessible.
On the left side of her chest is a small round gold pin with three small feathers of different colors sticking out of it while her right shoulder has a gold pauldron strapped to her shoulder and hiding the ruffles on that side. She also has a small golden bracelet on her right wrist while the left arm has a leather bracer with a gold plate over the outer part of her forearm.
She wears dark green pants, like her cloak, but much of them are hidden under brown boots that rise over her knees to end at mid-thigh where they are partly rolled over to reveal the lighter inner lining. But even those boots had armor put over them to cover everything below the knee in golden metal. From toe to the raised heels, they were solid aside from the flex needed for the toes, a ring protected the joints at the ankle before the smooth length up her calves and shins, the knees having a sharp spike to protect that joint.
The woman wearing the outfit appeared to be in her early twenties, her rich brown hair in a chin length bob cut that matched her similarly colored eyes and mocha skin tone. All with a slim athletic build.
She traveled down the road until she came across a sight that she didn't expects a young girl sitting in the dirt with a small bicycle laying nearby and her knee is scuffed up.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that she must have fallen. And it certainly didn't help that the girl was too far from the nearest homes which were just out of sight from her vantage point on horseback, meaning the girl had also strayed too far while having fun.
It would be difficult for anyone to not give the girl some attention and help. And the woman dismounted to do so, reaching inside a saddlebag for something.
"Hello little one. Are you alone?" The woman asks as she kneels in front of the girl with a soft smile to comfort her.
The girls sobs slowed as she looked up at the woman, revealing her red eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll help you. I even have this for you." The woman holds out a ripe red apple.
The girl stopped crying and reached for the fruit but then something strange happened- a few feet behind the young girl the dirt road suddenly scuffed up a small patch, as if an invisible person had a small stone roll out under their foot.
And the woman had seen it, setting her on edge. And as if to prove her caution correct, the girl and bike vanished as if they never existed.
Now, back where the road had been scuffed, a woman who looked like an older version of the crying girl - right down to the red eyes, darker skin, and green hair in a similar cut- appeared with pistols halfway drawn from the holsters on her back.
In a flash, the elder woman jumped back and flipped, undoing her cloak in the process. Upon landing, she reached to the belt and pulled out from behind her a pair of large Dust crystals connected by a short, leather wrapped shaft and held on by vine-like tendrils of the bronze metal.
A flick of her thumb hit a hidden button that made the shaft telescope out until it was nearly as long as she is tall. The Fire and Ice Dust crystals gleamed at either end with wickedly sharp points.
The green haired woman drew her pistols and opened fire several times only for each bullet to be blocked by the staff. The older woman countered by launching a fireball from the corresponding crystal and forcing her to back off with a few backflips down the road to avoid being hit.
But being focused on the girl left the woman to nearly miss a young man running from a field just out her line of sight but hearing his footsteps allowed her to react and deflect his leaping axe kick with her staff. The man easily rolled out of the fall and was on the attack immediately, lashing out with a series of kicks that forced her back as she blocked each of them.
The man made one final kick combo that lifted the woman off the ground, leaving her open for the first girl to stomp down from the high jump she had performed, slamming the staff-wielding woman into the dirt road under her weight.
Both assailants jumped back to regroup, still ready to keep fighting, the girl flicking out the sickle blades on the underside of her pistols.
The injured woman rose from the dirt slowly, obviously feeling the blow to her back the most but adrenaline was washing the pain away quickly.
With a grimace on her face, the woman swept her staff in front of her from where she knelt, the Ice Dust glowing to send out a freezing wind and the damp air crystallized to pelt the pair with small hail.
The man rushed in but the woman was ready for him this time, countering his kicks with a few of her own and used her staff to block until a pinch hit her cheek. The woman stumbled back from the blow and as he rushed in to press his advantage, she retaliated in kind. Her own punch slipped through his guard and hit him squarely in the jaw.
As the man stumbled back in a daze, his partner rushed in with her blades swinging. But her attacks lacked the power and speed of the man's, only made more dangerous due to the sharp edges concentrating the force. It didn't take more than a few seconds for the staff woman to create an opening to deliver a pump kick straight into the other girls chest, not just driving the air from her lungs but sending her tumbling onto the ground.
The man leapt back to attack but was instantly repelled by a fireball to the chest. The flames threw him back but his aura took the worst of the damage, leaving him only a little singed.
The girl began to raise her pistols and she too was hit by a fireball… only to fade away like a mirage and for the girl to suddenly appear a few steps to the side. She seemed surprised that the hallucination had been so violently broken and that made her an easy target for another fireball that blew her down the road.
Then there was the sound of running feet from behind. The woman turned to see another woman in a short red dress and black short shorts to protect her modesty, with shoulder length black hair and black heels on her feet. And she carried a pair of scimitar in her hands with her golden eyes locked onto the wowing the staff.
In a few seconds, the pair clashed, the swords unable to get past the staff and their feet struck at the other in a furious display of skill. At least until the targeted woman landed a palm strike to the swordswoman's sternum.
But she had no time to rest as the man engaged her once more and the pistol girl moved in from the side.
Acting quickly, the woman swept her free hand out, the motion creating a massive gust of wind that blew back her immediate assailants. Curiously, her eyes lit up with red-orange flames that did nothing to impede her vision, only drawing more attention to her face full of anger.
Yet as that happened, the swords struck at the horse who had attacked the last woman, only having gotten a lucky hit or two by surprising her. But now the animal bore several slashes to its flanks and limbs, forced to retreat.
"I've been looking for you, Amber." The woman smirks, her eyes flicking down to where the apple had rolled to her feet. "And you're going to give me what I want." And the fruit was crushed under her foot as emphasis.
"You are making a big mistake." Amber responds before dashing in to attack faster than before, her eyes still burning brightly.
The illusion girl was the first to go down, a solid strike to her shoulder from the staff sent her into the dirt. The boy jumped at her only to be quickly countered and thrown away with a reverse heel kick to the head. The last woman then found herself fighting alone and completely on the defensive before a sword was kicked from her hand and the Fire Dust released it's potent potential straight into her gut, hurling the woman down the road leaving a trail of smoke.
But the woman didn't seem to be bothered much by the heat, if her rapid reaction was anything to go by. As she landed on the ground, she trailed her left hand along the dirt and it superheated, evaporating all of the water, burning away the organic matter, and fusing the minerals that were left into what resembles volcanic glass. The shards floated briefly before the right hand thrust forth, directing the shards at Amber as if they were fired from a shotgun.
None of the shards hit Amber, the woman thrusting her staff at the attack with the Ice Dust activated and raising a gust of wind, creating a gale that belonged to a blizzard and stopping the obsidian shards midway. The woman was obscured by the sudden white out and left chilled.
Upon seeing the other two rising to their feet and ready to attack, Amber drew in more wind to swirl around her and lift her from the ground. Meanwhile, the overcast sky turned dark and agitated, a thunderstorm being brewed rapidly and causing winds to sweep over the fields as rain threatened to fall.
The girl hefted her pistols and opened fire as the boy kicked up, revealing that he had shotguns along his heels.
None of the rounds hit Amber, the power that allowed her to control the elements seemed to grant her a shield that protected her no matter where as she hovered.
Yet the pair on the ground had to move as Amber raised her right hand to the clouds above and pointed down at one of them, a bolt of lightning striking where she had directed it.
That led to the pair jumping around to make themselves moving targets, just fast enough to dodge the strikes aimed at them though the thunder still rocked them.
Then Amber began to get creative, stripping the leaves off a nearby tree with wind, she held up the thousands in the air as they frosted over, turning them into blades of ice.
Then those blades were blown down the road like arrows, swirling in a tornado turned sideways.
The gun girl let out a scream of pain as she was bombarded by dozens every second all over her body, her vain attempt to escape the path of the attack only left her open to be struck without any guard.
The boy fared best as he jumped to allow the wind to carry him back as he tucked into a ball to take the blades with his legs. Interestingly, the impacts sounded like they struck metal and the pants he wore were torn to shreds to reveal that to be true.
The other woman had more time to ready herself thanks to the distance between them, allowing her to flash-forge a small shield to hide behind as it took the worst of the damage.
When the whirlwind ended, the road and the fences along it were filled with the razor sharp leaves, so much that one could mistake it for being frosted with how it glimmered in the faint light. Yet the horse had been spared, not a leaf had struck within a yard of it.
Amber surveyed the battlefield, seeing as the one girl who had messed with her senses was now curled up on the ground. The boy was injured but looked ready to continue, even if he was exhausted. The other woman rose from her cover, wary of further attacks.
Amber raised her hand and directed lightning at the furthest target, causing her to flee her hiding spot. The boy moved and Amber set her sights on him as she floated back to dodge the shots from his boots.
A moment later, she flew down and kicked him in the chest. Though now that she was on the ground, the other woman ran up to fight her close up again, retrieving her fallen sword as she did.
Staff and blade struck and repelled each other at a rapid pace for nearly a minute before Amber overpowered her opponent, using her staff to disarm the woman and follow that up by throwing her down the road.
However that turned to be a mistake as the woman once again dragged her hand along the ground and forged a bow complete with a trio of arrows notched on the string. The arrowheads glowed bright orange as she drew back and fired, the projectiles missing Amber but lodged themselves into the road around her.
Amber's eyes widened as she saw the real tactic right before it happened, the arrows superheated the ground so much that it erupted into a fireball, from each arrow. Try as she might, she was both unprepared and too close to the blasts to raise any real defense as it tore through her aura.
As the smoke cleared, Amber was laying on the ground with her weapon nearby. Between her and the trio that attacked her, a shallow trench had been torn from the road.
"Pick her up." The woman commanded, the boy and girl moving to comply.
Yet Amber wasn't done fighting as she swept her hands out once more to create a massive gust that ripped all three off their feet and pelted them with the debris from the explosions.
The youngest looking of the trio, the first girl who had created the illusions and led Amber into the trap, had landed the closest to her and thus had become a prime target. Eliminating one would allow her to focus on the others, maybe distract the other two so she could escape.
With that in mind, Amber retrieved her weapon and hobbled her way to the girl, the earlier blast having made her leg hurt, the Ice Dust crystal accumulating frozen vapors to create a large blade over it.
The girl looked up, her weapons out of reach to defend herself as Amber loomed over her. Her hands raised in a feeble defense as the freezing spear was lifted over her.
The boy ran to attack Amber, the woman quickly aimed the other end at him and released a gout of flames that threw him back to slam into a fence post, his aura just barely keeping him from being burned yet he smoldered from the heat.
Amber's face was one of determination to end the fight, permanently, though it was also clear that she took no pleasure in the act.
She aimed the icy blade once more and thrust down… the spear burying itself into the dirt.
But she had missed due to an arrow shot into her shoulder by the last woman. The obsidian lodged itself deep into the flesh and bone after tearing through the remains of her aura.
To her credit, Amber stayed standing, though the boy was quick to stand and walk over. The girl at her feet scrambled upright, the cold blade having barely missed her chest, close enough that she could feel the cold.
The pair quickly stripped Amber of her staff, grabbed her arms and her knees were kicked so she was forced to kneel and watch as the other woman sauntered to her, pulling a white glove from a small pouch on her hip and putting it on her right hand.
"No. D-do you have any idea what you are doing?" Amber asks them but the haughty smirks on their faces told her everything.
"Of course I do. I wouldn't have gone through all of this trouble if I didn't." The woman answered as she stops right in front of the captive. Then she addressed her accomplices. "Make sure she holds still."
The grip on her arms grew tighter, the boy going as far as to grab the back of her head as well. The woman raised her gloved hand to reveal a glyph marked in red on the palm.
What came next frightened Amber to her core, the glyph flashed as it activated and a small swirling black and red portal appeared that allowed an equally small Grimm to emerge.
It fit in the woman's palm and it resembled a large beetle, though it hooked its legs into the glove as the portal faded away.
"No!" Amber tried to thrash but the hold combined with her injuries and inability to concentrate made her efforts fruitless.
The Grimm leaned back so it could look straight at the woman and spat a thick, black, web-like fluid onto her face, eliciting a scream as the substance burned her skin on contact.
Yet that wasn't everything… Amber began to go slack as the pain began to overwhelm her and as the mysterious power she had wielded earlier was forced to manifest itself, her left eye erupting into the 'flame' once more as the right was covered by the acidic goo.
And then that power began to be siphoned through the web and into the woman holding the Grimm, soon her own eyes became alight with the 'flames' as Amber's began to fade.
The three were so caught up in their victory and watching the forced transfer of power that they missed a new entry to the battlefield- a man with black sacks and shoes, a grey button down shirt, and a tattered ted cape wielding a large sword.
A sword that was cutting through the web connecting the women before anyone noticed that he was there. The small Grimm burst into ash once the strand was severed.
With his surprising arrival, the two holding Amber let her drop limply to the ground as they jumped back to give themselves some space. At the same time, the man slashed sideways at the red dressed woman, narrowly missing her as she too leapt away.
Upon landing, she called up the power that she had stolen to throw a fireball between herself and the man, the resulting explosion serving as a smokescreen for her and the others to escape.
The man was able to catch Amber before her head could hit the ground, and importantly the arrow still in her shoulder.
But her trackers had gotten away, it wasn't long before he saw a Bullhead taking off just over a small rise. The sight of them leaving made him scowl deeper than he already had been but that turned to worry as he looked at the woman in his arm, taking note of her injuries and burning what he had witnessed of the attack into his memory.
Setting his sword next to him, he reached into his pocket and withdrew his Scroll, opening the device and calling someone. "Lock onto my position and send a medical team now. Amber was attacked and she's hurt bad."
He paused as he listened to the person on the other end. "I'll tell you what details I have when we meet in person. I'll tell you now, it wasn't good."
"Yeah, they got away. Couldn't just leave her when she's still breathing."
"Our meeting never happened, caught sight of the storm she made from where she was supposed to check in with me and got over as quick as I could. I… I just wish I had been faster. Even just a few seconds would have helped."
"Alright, I'll do what I can to keep her stable but she's in bad shape. Not sure exactly what they did but… it looks like they hurt her in ways that they shouldn't be able to."
"Hmm… maybe this is just the first move in the open from Her. After this I'll do what I can to track them down." With that, he ended the call and pocketed the Scroll to turn his attention back to Amber.
The first thing he did was examine the arrow and decided to cut the shaft just above her skin. Trying to remove it would have only agitated the wound and make it worse, more than likely tearing the flesh and ensuring massive blood loss.
It took half an hour for the Bullhead to arrive, marked with the emblem of Vale and medical transport. Half a dozen personnel rushed over as soon as it landed a short distance away, doing any on the spot treatments that they needed to before taking the young woman back to the VTOL.
"Need a ride back?" The lead medic asks, jabbing her thumb to the craft.
"I'll get back to Vale soon. I'm going to investigate who did this."
"Good luck then." She gives him a thumbs up before boarding and they lifted off, flying as fast as possible to the hospital.
Watching the craft leave, the man stood there and scoffed. "Good luck? Ha!" Sarcasm dripped from his mouth but he did as he said he would, searching for clues that may help point the way to the perpetrators.
AN: Ha! Didn't think that something this serious would be popping up so soon, huh? But it looks like Cinder is a busy woman and Merc is one to jump back onto his feet no matter what happens. But we get a little home life for a few of the people we love, more will come. And how did you like the tweaks to the big fight compared to RT's version?
But yeah, this chapter ran longer than I had estimated (I have repeatedly found that I am horrible at estimating how long a chapter or even a single scene would be) and combine that with events in life that have delayed finishing this chapter.
Just as a reminder, this segment of the overall Issues series will be updated once or twice a month as I will be working on Larger Issues at the same time. There may be a rewrite of the DC crossover movies coming this way as well, so keep an eye out for that (I'm still brainstorming but have about an entire chapter worth of plans now without writing anything yet). I'm optimistic that I'll have the first chapter for Larger Issues ready for the 19th, so be ready.
As always, reviews are welcome.