Stepping between trees the following morning, Kagami narrowed her eyes ahead of her. Pushing herself forward with a hand on the side of a tree, she came out into a very large and cleared out opening. The walls of Mantle visible in the distance and... Atlas above. She stopped walking, her eyes widening as her shoulders dropped. "Holy..." She trailed off, her eyes locked on the magnificent floating city. "I heard stories and saw pictures but..." She inhaled slowly. "Whoa."
"Holy shit! That's Atlas!" A voice shouted in the distance.
Blinking, she shook her head with a small chuckle before reaching up to rub her eyes. There was no mistaking that voice. That overly exaggerated and excited voice. Looking towards her left, she spotted her hunting friend. "Elise!" She called out, sliding her hands into her pockets as she began to make her way towards her.
"Hmm?" The brunet glanced over before her eyes widened a bit. "Kagami!" Stumbling in the snow, she quickly ran over. "Do you know how early Baren woke me up this morning? The sun wasn't even awake yet!"
"Yeah." She nodded with a grin. "Yeah, she's like that. Sometimes I don't even think she sleeps."
She sighed softly back, shaking her head before looking back at the city in the sky. "It's... impressive. And amazing. And a lot of other words." Her voice began to soften. "It's incredible..."
"Hey! I hear voices up ahead!" Kris' voice came from the trees. A few seconds later, both she and Cheyenne came out of it into the open. Opening her mouth, she went to say something else only to stop and look up. "Damn... is that..." Her arms both fell to her sides as her eyes widened.
"That's Atlas..." Cheyenne blinked several times, breathing softly. "It's huge and... just floating." Her shoulders slowly fell. "Atlas technology really is astonishing."
"Even I have to agree with that." Kagami mumbled, staring back up at the Kingdom's capital. "We actually made it here..." She softly scoffed with a smile.
"Yeah... all the way from Mistral too." Elise slowly nodded.
The team stood in silence for a little, simply staring up at the sky before the redhead quickly stepped behind Elise. "Now you give me these back! I can't stand your slow rifle!" She shouted, breaking the peaceful silence while snatching her weapons back.
"Slow?" The farm girl eyed her while raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean slow?" She grunted softly, catching her weapon in her arms.
"It's terribly slow! Reloading after every shot!" She twirled her weapons around. "And reloading takes so long too!"
"No it doesn't!" She shot back. "You're just not used to it!"
"No." She held out her weapons. "I could reload all eight of my shots before you finish reloading your one dart."
"Wait, you only have eight shots?" Cheyenne eyed her. "You fire so often I thought you had more."
"Yeah. Just eight." She nodded back. "I designed them with four breechloaders that pop out in each so I could keep them slim and durable. And also fast. Plus I practiced a lot to make sure I could reload even faster."
"There's still no way you can reload all eight before I reload once." Elise crossed her arms while narrowing her eyes.
"Do you want to bet?" Her eyebrows rose.
"Sure!" She held her weapon in front of her. "Let's do this."
"I guess they're still not over their bickering..." The Faunus blinked before exhaling and looking over at her leader. "Baren has your sword. I made this to practice with." She eyed the war club on her hip. "Sorry."
"Don't worry." Kagami smiled back, reaching behind her and pulling out the modified rifle. "She'll give it back eventually. You might want to clean this up a bit though. It's gaining some wear and scratches." She held it out towards her.
"Yeah, we've been too busy for me to take care of it." She slid it onto her back with a chuckle as the sound of reloading was heard behind them. "Baren has a very strange way of teaching though. Yet it's rather effective."
"Try training with her for four years." She shook her head. "It was-" She was cut off, the sound of eight rounds firing echoing.
Blinking just as her air compressed rifle clicked, Elise slowly glanced up to eye Kris who was already in the middle of reloading once again.
"Told you." She huffed out, slowly putting her dual canes onto her back. "It. Is. Slow." She crossed her arms while blowing a few strands of hair from her face.
Frozen in defeat, the brunet quietly thought to herself while staring down at her weapon. "Damn..." She uttered under her breath before sighing softly as she put it away.
"Hey, I know what will cheer you up." Cheyenne quickly stepped over with a smile. "Since I took the wolf hood, I made you this." She reached into her pocket, pulling out an obsidian stone dagger with the jaw of the wolf as the handle. The teeth filed down from being sharp. The blade and handle tied together by a brown string. "I can make a sheath from leather once we're in Mantle." She smiled brightly.
"Whoa..." The hunter reached out, taking it before closely examining it. "Okay, this is pretty cool. You made this while out here with nothing but nature?"
"Yep." She nodded.
"Even cooler..." She trailed off before putting it behind her. "Thanks."
"Well if you four are done catching up," Barren jumped down from the trees while tossing Kagami her sword and sheath as she walked between them. "We still have a fair amount to walk before reaching the Kingdom. We should keep going."
Catching her weapon, the jadette quickly fastened it onto her back before looking at her friends. "You guys ready?"
"Always." Cheyenne began to walk ahead.
"You know what we should do while here? Just for a quick relaxing break?" Kris grinned as she followed. "New clothes. I need something else. Something new. And warmer. And more makeup"
Letting out a small sigh, Elise did the same. "I guess I should have expected that from you. You really do love your shopping."
She flashed her teeth, chuckling as she glanced back. "You know it."
Leaning against the window of a clothing store in the middle of Mantle, Baren kept her arm over her chest as she watched the people of the city tiringly walking past her. All she could think about was how much of a living nightmare this place was. And how much she missed the quiet and peaceful surroundings of nowhere. While watching several people walk by and flash her strange looks, she sighed in relief at the sound of the shop's door opening. "Took you long enough." She grumbled, glancing over at the four girls who stepped out.
Smiling with pure enjoyment, Kris placed both her hands on her hips. Ditching her trench coat, she now had on a red waxed cotton jacket with a belt wrapped around her sides. The inside of the jacket lined with the soft and warm wolf fur. The belt buckle and buttons on it a glimmering pearl white. Underneath on her chest her under armor was just barely visible. Her pants were plain green snow pants with zipper pockets on the sides. She wasn't that worried with their design, more so that they were windproof and waterproof. The same went for her female winter boots. They were waterproof with red detailing on the top and bottom and green shoelaces. Holding up her pants was a dark green belt with a few pouches that had red snaps on them. Both Dust and regular bullets tucked inside them. The inside of her jacket hiding her small assortment of toys as well. Her dual candy cane weapons crossed on her back while around her neck was a pair of green and red headphones that were styled like earmuffs.
Elise chuckled softly, crossing her arms as her shoulders bounced. She wore a light brown and old military bomber jacket with a few patches sewn onto the shoulders and fur inside. The jacket was halfway zipped up, revealing a thick and heavy duty green flannel long sleeve shirt underneath. Over her shoulders a pair dark green camouflage overalls with bronze buttons. Underneath them, though they were hidden, was a pair of black athletic shorts for when she was out of the cold and could easily take off her pants to be more relaxed. The bottoms of her overalls were tucked into eight inch high insulted brown winter boots. The laces tightly pulled. Her feet kept warm by fluffy green wool socks that had neon orange on the toes, heels and tops. The knife Cheyenne had made her strapped to her right leg. Her baton was attached to the back of her waist by a belt with pouches that held ammo while her now slightly modified rifle was strapped to her back.
Cheyenne rolled her eyes, moving her hands behind her back. Still wearing Kagami's hoodie and her wolf hood vest, she now had leather bracers and elbow pads with dark bronze buckles. The leather imprinted with several shapes and lines as well as small animal designs. Her light brown female cargo pants had short strings sticking out at both the bottom and near the pockets. Her boots were brown and handmade from leather. Fur sticking out at the top as string tightly wrapped around them to keep them firmly on her. Attached to a string on each shoe was the four beads she had given to her friends and a few wolf teeth. Small specks of torques squeezing through the mass amount of brown. A dark brown belt with pouches holding up her pants. The pouches filled with Dust ammo while her war club was attached to her left hip by the belt. Her modified rifle, no once again cleaned and polished, resting on her back.
Flashing a grin, Kagami slowly slid her hands into her pockets. She had on a black long sleeve turtleneck with tight cuffs around the wrist. Over it, a green fleece racer jacket that was fully undone and open with two zipper pockets on the chest. The shoulders of the jacket were colored black as well as the wrist, collar and the line down where the zipper was. Switching out her gloves, she had velcro strapped gloves with silver metal on both the knuckles and the back of the hand. Her black tactical pants now with two green lines going down her right leg as a nylon green belt held them up. With green socks and ankle high steel toed work boots with green laces, she felt ready for almost anything. Both her rings still on her ring fingers with her sword strapped onto her back. "You know, you could have come in too? Maybe get something new."
"Please." The pinkette inhaled, slowly pushing herself off the building while standing up straight. "You know I'm happy with what I have." She turned on her heels and began to walk. "Now, let's find a place to rest." She eyed the setting sun. "We can continue our way to Vytal tomorrow."
"Right... Vytal." Taking a deep breath, she slowly nodded.
Snickering quietly, Kris flashed a grin. "I can't believe you actually got a turtleneck of all things."
"What do you mean?" The jadette raised an eyebrow back at her. "What's wrong with it? It feels nice."
"What's wrong with it? Oh boy, you're a lost cause..." She reached up, placing her hand on her forehead while shaking her head.
"Oh, ignore her." Cheyenne shook her head. "If you like it, then it's perfect."
"Agreed." Elise nodded with a smile. "Plus it suits."
"Nooo, don't encourage her." The redhead groaned with a heavy sigh.
Quietly chuckling, Kagami softly shook her head with a smile. She, her friends and even Baren all unaware of the chaos brewing in Mantle's underground.
Slowly growing restless in his bed, a man with long rainbow hair slowly shifted awake as the light from the rising sun. Pulling his blanket over him a little more, he glanced around his dimly lit single room apartment. "Hmm..." He rolled onto his back, tossing his blanket aside. Wearing nothing but white boxers, his well toned body shivered a bit at the cold air. "Heh." Flashing a smile, he held up his left hand. "Be My Baby by The Ronettes- actually hmm wait no." He rubbed his chin before raising his hand again. "Good Morning Baltimore by Nikki Blonsky." He snapped his fingers as a smile form. It was an unusual snap that seemed to echo quietly. The mood around him suddenly rose as the faint sound of a music beat appeared out of nowhere.
Jumping from the bed, he grabbed a pair of white dress paints before sliding them on and fastening the white belt. Quietly, he began to hum in time with the invisible music playing. And then he began to sing.
"Oh, oh, oh
Started the day
Feeling as smooth as I always do," He spun around, pulling on a white dress shirt before sliding on a matching suit with a flick of his shoulders. As he grabbed a rainbow tie and started to put it on, he continued.
"Oh, oh, oh
Craving for something
That I don't know
Then I see that glow
From my scroll around," He held up a finger, spotting his scroll as he picked it up. Swiping through a few things, he began to grin with a low chuckle. Sliding it away, he began to tie six bandanas down each of his arms. Each of them a different color and in order of the rainbow.
"He's calling me down
Like a small seed that has
Finally grown
Oh, oh, oh
Pulling me out
To the people and the
Streets that I scout," Sliding towards his bed, he quickly sits on it as he pulls a pair of white socks on. Leaning forward more, he began to put on white dress shoes and tie them on tight.
"Good morning, Mantle!" He jumped up, heading towards the door while grabbing a black metal dancing stick with white rubber tips on the bottom and top.
"Every day's like a gamble
Every night is a classic heist
Every sound's so perfectly spiced," Pushing his door open, he jumped out and began to walk down the sidewalk. He didn't even bother with locking the door to his place.
"Good morning, Mantle
And when that General is strangled
You're all going to wake up and see
Sweet Mantle and me," He chuckles softly, peeking around a corner with a raised eyebrow. Seeing a man walk past, he grabbed him. One arm going around his neck as his free hand grabbed his chin. In a single and swift motion, he twisted. A loud snap made him smile as he twirled away and continued to walk down the sidewalk. Eventually, he comes to a small coffee shop and pauses to stare at his reflection while shaking his head.
"Oh, oh, oh
Do you hear my voice?
You don't compare, you don't have a choice," He grinned and nodded to himself before continuing on.
"Oh, oh, oh
I've got my bandanas and Dust
I'm ready for chaos," His grin began to grow as he watched a Sabyr sprint down the street after a few civilians.
"The Grimm on the street
All cower at my feet
They seem to say
'Rey, it's up to you!'" He twirled his cane around, casually walking towards the beast before forcing the blunt object straight through its body. Jerking it away as a black smoke formed, he quickly pushed his way in between several AK-200s that rushed over.
"So, oh, oh
Don't you hold back
'Cause I will not hesitate to kill all of you," He forced himself away from everyone as he gripped his cane tight and kept his pace forward.
"Good morning, Mantle
There's the bastard that owes me lien
There's the poor man by the heating vent
They wish they would never see me again," He narrowed his eyes at the man who owed him money. As he quickly rushed away, the homeless man quickly looked away with wide eyes.
"Good morning, Mantle
And when that General is strangled
You're all going to wake up and see
Sweet Mantle and me!" He triumphantly held up his clenched right fist in victory.
"I know every place
I know every street," He swung around a few lamp posts before jumping forward in a lunge.
"I know there's always a way find a good beat
I see all the Atlas lights shining up above
So someone invite me
Before I start to shove," He snarled slightly, topping his walk before sighing. He shook his head, grinning as he continued.
"But, oh, oh
I know it won't come
'Cause I was born way down here, down below," He exhaled softly, twirling his cane between his fingers as he watched his footsteps.
"Oh, oh, oh
Something inside of me makes me rage
Every time I see his face
My father told me no
But that voice died long ago
As the cold and winter froze his heart," He stopped in his walk, blinking a few times as he saw an Atlas military truck transporting items. Slowly, he began to smile as he chased after it.
"Oh, oh, oh
Don't make me laugh
This was already choreographed!" He launched himself into the air, landing on top of the moving vehicle with a chuckle.
"I love you, Mantle
Every day's like a gamble
Every night is a classic heist
Every sound's so perfectly spiced," He drove his cane straight through the roof, impaling the driver as the van began to swerve.
"And I promise Mantle," He pulled his cane free, sliding in through the driver's side window while kicking out the driver through the door. Pulling himself into the driver's seat, he slammed the door shut as he quickly began to speed off.
"And when that General is strangled
You're all going to wake up and see," Driving several blocks, he soon pulled into an old factory building. Parking the van, he chuckled softly.
"Going to wake up and see," Kicking the door open, he jumped out with a smile. He fixed his suit, nodding to himself.
"My fair Dion and me." He turned on his heels, giving a bow before waving his arms out. As he did so, the invisible music seemed to stop. Standing up straight, he smiled towards the purple haired criminal and nodded.
"Well someone still likes to make an entrance." Dion let out a small laugh, his shoulders bouncing slightly. Now in a colder temperature, he had on a pair of ripped black jeans with a skin tight purple shirt and black tennis shoes. A purple tinted metal chain on his right side. "These are also so much better than the prototypes you stole." He held up his gloved hands, wiggling his fingers around. The metallic functions on the back of them different than before. "And I don't mean my magical fingers." He chuckled.
"Gag me with a damn spoon." A raven haired Faunus stepped in with a disgusted look on her face. Her hair was shoulder length and straight. It was cut unevenly like she did it herself and had several split ends. She had a black choker on along with a black hoodie with a few scuffs and tears that was halfway unzipped. Under it a tight black shirt with a few tears. Her pants black, once again with a few tears, and a short diagonally cut skirt over them. Her boots were cheap, the laces falling apart. Over her shins she had silver metal guards held onto her body by black duct tape. On her forearms and made from the same silver metal, she had a pair of gauntlets.
"I don't get it, Ebony." A young woman who looked near identical to her but with white hair and snow leopard ears blinked in confusion. Her expression neutral. Her hair tied into a low ponytail as her bangs wrapped around her face. She had on a frilled white blouse, the fabric around her forearms tight. A pair of cream colored suspenders holding up a matching frilled skirt as similar stockings with small rips and flower designs went to the middle of her thighs. Over the stockings a pair of knee high pale brown boots. Strapped to her back she had a silver metal spear with a trigger near the middle of it.
"I know, I know, Ivory." Ebony softly sighed, reaching up to scratch her head. "Are you done goofing off and singing again? Can we just get to work, Rey? Our electric bill is due soon." She glanced towards the rainbow criminal.
"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his black eyes, waving his hand before twirling his cane. "Let's get back to business, folks." He flashed a toothy grin.
*coughs* This is Regen Bogen Mehr Farbig Gaye The Third. Rey for short. *nods* Enjoy the insanity that is my brain. He is the result of staying awake for over twenty-four hours and being awake at seven in the morning.
I'm also going to try and get back into weekly updates again. I just really wanted to get these three chapters out. They've been stuck in my head and I had to wait till I had a new laptop to finish them.