Thanks for all the support! Glad you guys liked it - and as for whatever happens next, and how exactly did Jaune managed to kill Salem, that remains to be seen...

Enjoy!

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

Fleeting Dreams

Chapter 3: In Full Blast

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

"Qrow Branwen." Sun tapped a stick to the man's photo, his mugshot one of the many plastered on the Huntsman Killer investigation board. "Late 40's. Accomplished Huntsman and currently a combat instructor at Signal Academy. Noted for his high completion rate in dangerous missions outside the Kingdoms. Former member of Team STRQ, and… I'm sure I don't need to mention this, but I might as well- Uncle to Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long."

"STRQ…" Jaune tapped his fingers on the table. "I feel like we've heard that name before."

"You'd be right about that." Sun said. "Remember Raven?"

"…Oh." Jaune made sure to note that down. "We should get back to that later. But for now, does he have any history in Mistral?"

"No recent history." Sun plainly stated. "Some missions here and there over the past eight years, but they all went smoothly."

"Then it's kind of weird that he stumbled on to the scene in the first place." Jaune sighed. He leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at Sun. "What exactly made you so convinced he was the guy?"

Sun, too, sighed audibly. "We've been creating a profile on who the killer might be; what their motivations and goals are." Sun sauntered to his own chair and slumped. "Might have been my personal bias too…"

"Then why don't we go over that together?" Jaune placed his hands on the table. "Tell me what you think."

"…" Sun mulled over his thoughts for a long time. He stared off into space, lost in his mind, before finally pushing his chair away and flipping the board.

"Here's the all-to-know." Sun stated. His eyes were dead-set on the board, cold and determined more than anything in the world. "First things first, all of the killer's victims have been in Mistral."

Jaune nodded in the seat across from him, and so the detective continued. "We've cross-checked with police departments in all the other Kingdoms; there weren't any matching cases."

"Secondly, the age of the victims all hover around the same age." Sun said. "35'ish – prime ages for Huntsmen, with a fair balance of experience, skill, and youth."

"Thirdly, the corpses all have a signature mark – a stab wound right on their throats." Sun pulled out a file and spread it out in front of Jaune, showing him all pictures of the victims and the crime sites. "Look here – the murders were all done in discrete places, so the time of discovery all varied. But the state of decay on all bodies looked the same, even down to Alba, who was just hours away from the predicted time of death."

"Something else must be going on here…" Jaune muttered as he looked over the intel. "A Semblance must be involved. I'm sure of it."

"That's what we thought of as well. We ran through all the possibilities, combed through the police's Huntsmen registry, but we couldn't find a hit."

Jaune looked back up to Sun. "You've still got those?"

Sun sighed. "They're outdated as hell… slow to use too. These days there aren't that many Huntsmen that dare stir up trouble in broad daylight so the higher-ups decided to… erhm, reallocate resources to other departments more in need of funding."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. He could still remember the story of how exactly Ruby got into Beacon in the first place, and not to mention how Yang supposedly raided a nightclub all by herself even before the first day of Beacon.

"So then. How does everything here go back to that profile you were building?"

"The evidence shows that whoever's doing this has a clear agenda against the Huntsmen. That much's certain. However," Sun paused. "Look closer at what these victims have in common."

Tap! "All in their primes." Tap! "All done in Mistral." Tap! "All renowned for their success rate. These people were no joke, but they were killed like roaches."

"And look at the state they were found in as well." Sun flipped the board and tapped on photos of the crime scenes. "You're telling me someone who kills Huntsmen as easy as this doesn't know how to dispose of a body? Going so far as to make a point and kill them with the exact same wounds? No, he's making a point here, Jin."

"He wants the attention. He wants the chase." Sun stressed. "I've done my best to contact the departments of other Kingdoms but they don't have anything even close to a match. This is a Mistral-exclusive problem."

"That means that there is something the killer wants here." Sun tapped his finger on the table. "And if closing in on downtown means one thing, then that means that it's going to get more and more volatile."

"The question is…" Sun asked. "What is he after?"

Silence reigned, and Sun went back down to sit.

"And so you think Qrow fits those characteristics?" Jaune asked. Sun shrugged.

"He's always had a reputation of being a wild card; and you know how many Huntsmen aren't satisfied with how their lives are going." Sun sighed. "And he's a loner too; I'm guessing you remember about how exactly STRQ turned out. I thought that maybe he might've lashed out. Jealousy, maybe? Or can't accept the change, so he has to take it out on his own people?"

"Call it a reach, call it whatever. But that's what we got nonetheless." Sun shook his head. "And you know what? Maybe it was a little premature. But we're grasping at straws nonetheless, and until we get a more comprehensive form of intel…"

"Then we need to circle back to what we know." Jaune finally said. Sun deftly nodded his head, and without any other choice Jaune went back to the board.

"To your credit, I don't think it's fully out of reach, but…" Jaune trailed off, shaking his head, before going to another point.

"We need another angle. What about the crime scenes? Have anything new there?"

"We've packed up on the older ones… but you can visit some of the more recent ones if you'd like." Sun pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'll come with you. Make sure no one asks any funny questions."

"Hm." Jaune put his glasses back on – felt his hair and eyes turn dark once more – and gave Sun a firm nod. "Let's make this quick."

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

"So this is the place." Jaune stepped into the Alba murder crime scene. There were still several police officers around, some taking photos, some securing the evidence, and some standing guard just outside the alley. And with the presence of Sun right behind him, Jaune had not been asked any questions and was allowed immediate access to see the situation for himself.

"We've marked out some of the more important parts." Sun began from behind, "but with all this trash around it's hard to get conclusive evidence."

Jaune hummed and took a knee beside the now-marked former corpse marker. "How about the body?"

"We've already gone through everything we could with it." Sun said. "The family – your student particularly – didn't allow anything too invasive so we've already sent it back to them."

"Hm. Should've expected as much…" Jaune muttered to himself. "But there's got to be something here."

Jaune's head shot up to the walls encasing the alley and spotted a CCTV pointed right where he was. "Do you have any footage from that camera over there?"

"Sure." Sun pulled out his Scroll and quickly showed Jaune the video. The knight rubbed his chin as he analyzed – from the moment Qrow entered, found the body, and then when he was arrested by the police.

But then, what about footage of the murder act itself?"

"Is this really all you could get from it?" Jaune asked incredulously. "Does this not go back any further?"

"If it did then we wouldn't be standing here, Jin." Sun sighed. "Rest of the footage was corrupted – all the way back to the beginning of the week."

"What about any of the earlier victims? Any chance a CCTV might have caught them then?"

"Every other murder was done in a place without cameras." Sun said. "No witnesses either, not even any civilians that might've lived or wandered nearby. Wide open desolate fields, run down roads, abandoned buildings – places like that were the most common."

"This." Sun pointed his Scroll to the CCTV camera and scowled. "Was a first – the first done in the Kingdom's downtown. The bastard's clearly mocking us; testing the waters and all that."

"… But to erase a week of footage…" Jaune muttered. He took another glance around and noticed something off. "You said this guy was a Huntsman – was he carrying his weapon by any chance?"

"He didn't." Sun said. "We didn't find one on him when we took his body in." Sun gave a glance around the crime scene. "And, well, with all the bags so far…"

"There's a chance that he wasn't bringing one either too." Sun added. "Give it a 50/50. You know how people look and treat Huntsmen whenever they strut around these days, and if stashing your weapons means making you less obvious, then well…"

Jaune grunted. "But there's still a chance he brought it and you just haven't found it yet." He sighed. "We don't have a choice – like it or not we're going to have to mess this around." Jaune pulled out a pair of gloves and began putting the bags. He heard a sigh and then Sun soon joined in as well.

A bag, three, and then five, the stench of trash was overwhelming, but Jaune pushed through anyways. He couldn't imagine how it must've felt for Sun with his enhanced senses, but then…

"I've found something." Jaune said. Sun peered over from his side, and indeed, saw the barest hint of metal beneath the mountain of bags yet to be moved.

The two quickly moved all remains aside, and just like that a piece of missing evidence was revealed – Alba's weapon, a mechashift shotgun-axe that neatly folded into a carry-on box.

"Well would you look at that." Sun exclaimed, "looks like you were right on the money after all."

"It's still in its carry form." Jaune noted. He looked, observed the position of the weapon – far away from the marked corpse position on the alley – and drew his conclusion.

"Alba died from a surprise attack." Jaune coldly stated. "Someone knocked his weapon away before he could defend himself – after that his death was quick."

"Maybe, maybe." Sun stated. He himself looked around again. "Our suspect could've come down from the roof, or he could've blocked the alley as soon as our victim here got inside. Either way, based on where Alba died and where his weapon was, and the state we found him in… didn't seem like he put up much of a fight."

"What about the state of the bodies' decay? I know Alba's didn't get the go ahead, but what about the other bodies?" Jaune asked.

"Labs still haven't gotten back to me yet." Sun shook his head sadly. "All we know is that something entered the bloodstream before they died."

"That doesn't really give us much." Jaune sighed. It could be a Semblance that shoots acid out, poured directly into the hole in their throats; it could be a Faunus' natural poison at work; it could even just be a plain-old poison slipped into their drinks prior. But considering the victims' literal only match was that they were Huntsmen and Huntresses…

Jaune's eyes went to the weapon, and he decided to take another look at it. "Make sure you get this on video," he said to Sun. "I don't want anyone thinking we messed with the evidence more than we already have – put it on record that we found it in its carry-on form."

"Gotcha." As Sun did as he was asked, Jaune opened the weapon to its shotgun form and unloaded its chamber.

Srk-chack!

He caught the ejecting shell with his gloved hand and inspected it. "12-gauge." Jaune muttered, "Dust-infused…"

"Any idea what brand?" Sun asked from behind him.

"Seems like SDC. Costs a fortune nowadays." Indeed, the Schnee's logo was printed right on the shell. Asking a knife from Sun, Jaune carefully opened the shell and took out its contents.

The Dust from the shell fell to his hand gently – the ice kind, in fact - and the knight took a moment to inspect it closely.

"Still fresh." He could still feel the slight chill emanating from the refined element, a sign that it was still relatively newly off the shelf. The length of time keeping any form of Dust didn't affect its potency, but newer ones do tend to leak some of their properties out – as a sort of proof of quality, if one would; and this one was still leaking frost into his palm.

Jaune dumped the contents into a bag and handed it off to Sun just as he turned off the video. "I think you're gonna need a run for recent Dust ammo purchases; find the place where he bought this, and we can run from there." Jaune said.

"And what good would that do exactly?"

"I've got a theory – looking at the way this whole thing probably went down… a lot of planning must've gone into it." Jaune said. "We need to retrace Alba's footsteps and find out if there was anything off, right up until his death."

"Then why not go to his family directly?"

"That'd be way too obvious. If anything, that's the one place the killer would likely still be keeping an eye out for." Jaune turned around and faced Sun eye-to-eye.

"Nobody buys fresh Dust rounds just for the sake of it – no one. Without the Grimm around they have limited use, they're bound with stricter laws each year, and they're expensive as hell." Jaune took another glance at the deceased's weapon. "And while he seemingly hadn't put up much of a fight… I'm guessing that fell down to how strong the killer must've been."

"…Alright." Sun bagged the evidence and ordered the other officers in the area to assist him. He waved the bagged shotgun shell to Jaune. "I'll get these examined under forensics. That should take around… hm, let's say 12 hours give or take."

"You do that." Jaune nodded. "I'll try to visit some of the other crime scenes while you're at it. Keep me informed."

"Gotcha."

With mutual nods, the two then soon separated to do each of their own tasks.

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

The scene Jaune decided to visit was the murder scene within an abandoned building – the place was once more located in the middle of the ghettos, the slums he had visited just a few hours earlier. And while he couldn't remember the name of the victim off the top of his head, it didn't really matter. The place had long been cleared out by the police, and the news had become stale enough, desaturated enough with the increasing number of victims, that it became just another statistic.

A tragic statistical reality, but just a number nonetheless.

Jaune looked around – as abandoned buildings often were, the place was dark and damp, with the concrete walls and cracked floors showing common signs of decay from long periods of unuse.

Amidst it all Jaune could still see the traces of chalk on the floor, once used to mark the death scene. And while the building was uncared for, he could still see the destruction that was there, holes and cracks and broken walls that didn't match natural wear at all.

It seemed this particular victim put up much more of a fight than Alba ever did.

Jaune walked around the empty floor – dank, dark, and his footsteps echoing off each wall – and looked around with a keen eye. Indeed, there were signs of a battle here; there were several bullet holes, some slash and stab marks on the floor that couldn't have come from the victim themselves, and of course the structural damage around him from the victims' fight.

He had briefly read the file for this victim – named Magneta Shay; 32 years old, a graduate of Haven, and moderately-skilled. He had been registered as using a longsword-sniper combo, but was supposedly noted for his agility in spite of the fact.

"Hm…" Considering the size of a weapon like that, then the destruction around here made sense. But then, how did this one manage to put up a fight, when Alba never could have?

Jaune looked around again. The damage marks were from high-caliber rounds and long slashes, the telltale marks of the victims' weapon. That meant two possibilities; either the victim was abducted and brought here, yet somehow managed to bring along their weapon to defend themselves, or the Huntsman Killer didn't remove their weapons when they brought their victim here.

Either way, it didn't make sense. There was no way a killer that skilled could have possibly been that sloppy, nor was there any possibility of sneaking a weapon that big on one's person while they were being dragged out here.

That meant the Magneta must have gone here of their own free will before their death – a setup. By the killer, perhaps? But a comb through of the man's contacts through previous investigations had revealed no suspects; all had good and verified alibis, and none held any malice to the man whatsoever.

But Jaune's mind was made up – he was lured here, Jaune was sure of it. And with no suspects of the killer found within Magneta's circle, that meant that the killer must have had accomplices. Either within that circle or not, it was enough to persuade Magneta here, to the place he died.

And presumably Alba, and then the other victims as well.

"But that's something I still need to prove…" Jaune looked to the ceiling of the building. It was cracked fully open, and if the scorch marks around the edges were to be considered, had been presumably shot open by an explosive Dust sniper round.

But more than that, Jaune could see the moon rising high in the sky, a source of brightness despite the dark night sky. It was captivating, he thought, almost beautiful-

Click!

Jaune heard steel boots hitting concrete, and then heard a snarky, familiar voice enter his ear.

"Night's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mercury." Jaune turned away from his sightseeing and faced his old teammate. "What brings you around here?"

"Got a tip. About you, I mean. Figured I should check up." Mercury rolled his eyes. "What, can't a guy drop in unannounced once in a while?"

They didn't need to say who sent him. The knight's employer often acted on her concern before speaking on it.

"…You surprised me, that's all." Jaune said.

The knight shoved his pockets and approached his friend. "I'm in the middle of something here. Can't this wait?"

"No. No it can't." Mercury insisted. He stepped close to Jaune and slung his arms over the knight's shoulder. "Look, you've been inactive for a long time. Why start now? Why… all of this?"

"Because this is important to me. Somebody needs to catch this guy before things get worse."

"Ah ah, but I've heard you throwing your name around, beating up thugs and making sure people know that it was you who did it. And so people have been starting to whisper about the Disgraced Knight again, and I just gotta wonder…" Mercury tilted his head. "Is that really all there is to it?"

"…"

"I don't think so. I think…" Mercury tapped a finger to Jaune's chest. "I think there's something else. Some stuff in the basement."

"…Stuff in the basement?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. "What basement?"

"Pft. This is going nowhere. Dense idiot… Just keep it in your head, okay?" Mercury backed off and rolled his shoulders.

"Anyways. I keep my ear to the ground, always; not much mercenary work for me if I don't keep tabs. But you gotta understand, doing this." Mercury waved his hand around the entire crime scene.

"This gets people talking, Jin. And I thought that was the last thing you wanted for us."

"…Then we'll deal with it when the time comes." Jaune brushed Mercury off and headed for the exit. "It's not like we can just stand by when our people get killed, you know."

"Your people, not mine." Mercury was quick to correct, swiftly following behind Jaune. "Just make sure to keep your eye out. My advice."

"Noted." Jaune stepped out of the building and was immediately greeted with the sight of Mercury's car, parked right across the road.

"What, you think I got here on foot?" Mercury piped up behind him. A beep and a flash of lights, and Mercury opened the door for Jaune.

Click!

Upon Jaune's incredulous look, Mercury sighed loudly. "Look, let me give you a ride back to Emerald's place at least. Not like I'm gonna let you walk across the city alone at this time of night."

"…"

"Come on, don't be a hardass."

"…Fine." Jaune stepped in alongside Mercury and felt the rumble of the engine as the car turned on. Moments later, they took off, going along the slums surrounding the crime scene and making their way to the center of the city.

Several minutes passed in total silence, streetlights being the only source of brightness as they went through the dark slum roads.

But Mercury never did like a totally silent atmosphere.

"So. Heard you're still giving out guest lectures in Haven." Mercury started. "How's that going along?"

"Well enough." Jaune stated. He had his arm up against the window, peering out the car emptily. "The students are learning well so far."

"Hmph. I hope so; they're learning from the best, after all." Mercury smirked. "But then what gives with this whole thing? I thought you were happy doing just that."

"One of my students' family members was killed in this case. The latest victim." Jaune said. "Can't just stand by and watch."

"Mmhmm." Mercury nodded along. "Lotta people have been talking around in my spaces too. No one likes a wild card, and people are starting to hire more and more personal security to make sure they're safe."

Jaune's eyes widened. "I thought the Huntsman Killer only targeted people like me." He said in surprise.

"That's true. But people are worried about the implications." Mercury said. They stopped at a red light and Mercury turned on his blinkers to turn right. They should be nearing the edges of the slums now; not much longer and then Jaune can finally crash on his sweet sweet bed and call it a day.

But as they were yet to be there, Mercury continued. "Think about it, man. Huntsmen were some of the strongest people in Remnant for a long while, but now someone's managed to kill almost a dozen of them without being caught – and make it all look easy too. People are fearing the trickle-down; if not even the Huntsmen are safe, then surely the lower-rung areas of crime are going to skyrocket. And with that…"

"People are going to be asking for more safety. That can be through regulations, police crackdown… or hiring your personal one-man-army." Jaune finished for Mercury. He couldn't believe his ears, even as the lights turned green and they began to move once more.

"I… I actually hadn't thought about that." Jaune stammered. "Do you think the killer might have figured that out?"

"I don't know. But that's the word that's been going around." Mercury said. "That's why I said to keep an ear out. I've been getting some more serious job offers recently, and I'm sure Huntsmen around the place have been too; not a lot, but it's there in the details. An unintended side-effect."

"But of course, people are still dying." Jaune was quick to remind him. "Let's say there's eight victims right now, and they're all Huntsmen. What's to say they won't expand? Who's next? Police officers? Politicians? Random civilians? And is the job uptick really that worth it?"

"That's why I haven't taken any of those jobs I mentioned. This whole thing smells, and then I heard about you smacking around some random gang so I connected the dots and figured you must think the same too." Mercury sighed. "The Disgraced Knight's name getting thrown around… these past 24 hours have been the biggest shakeup in the underground for years. Jin."

"…. I understand." Jaune shook his head. "Then you have to agree with me; this whole murderer thing doesn't sound like it's just one guy, right? I feel like there are too many moving parts…."

"…Can't argue with you there…" Mercury muttered. He gripped his wheel tight as both his and Jaune's mind churned, trying to figure out the whole scope of this ordeal, when-

Flash!

Mercury's eyes locked on to an incoming set of headlights on his back mirror. And yet, the moment he noticed them, they disappeared as soon as his eyes flickered on them. In this kind of slump, at this time of night? Another car wasn't anything out of the ordinary, the road was a public one after all.

But he still noted that the car was a suspiciously safe distance away from his car, much farther than a normal driver would take it, and yet they were still following their every turn and moved with their headlights just peeking out of whatever following maneuver they did.

Flash!

There it was again; the headlights blinking in and out of his back mirror view.

Mercury's mind was made up. And while it seemed that while there was no outward reaction, Jaune had noticed it as well. "We're being followed, Merc."

"Yeah." Mercury grit his teeth. "I'm on it, J."

Slam!

Screeeech!

Mercury pushed his pedal to the metal and swiftly sped through the streets. Jaune could see the lights behind them quickly following suit, and yet Mercury was slowly but surely pulling away.

The chase was on. Jaune felt the Gs force into him as Mercury turned left and right, making random changes to shake their pursuer off. The chaser was good, managing to keep up even as they only hung on by threads, but Jaune had faith in his old teammate that-

"Shit." Mercury muttered. And as he said that, Jaune noticed more headlights pursuing them. Coming from dead-end turns and alleys and every nook and cranny in these slums, coming straight for their tails like no tomorrow.

Jaune clenched his teeth. "Got any new ideas?"

"Not really." Mercury growled. "Just hold on."

VROOOM!

Mercury shifted a gear and sped forth. The cars followed in their tracks, but this time Jaune noted a definite change in Mercury's paths.

They were heading straight for the highway.

Screeech! Mercury drifted around a sharp turn, tires smoking and engines roaring. Without skipping a beat he swiftly moved them to the highway entrance, speeding and wading through the emerging traffic as best he could.

Jaune felt his breath shorten. It was like a whole army was after them, and even with their best efforts they managed to follow them through the slums like no one's business. In panic and needing to know more, Jaune lowered the car's windows and looked behind them.

And yet, even through the howl of the wind passing through his head, even with the ear-splitting traffic noise and blurs of lights barely registering in his eyes, Jaune could still recognize…

"They're still at us!" The knight shouted, "they're hanging on even with the traffic!"

Mercury growled. "But at least they're thinning out, right?!"

"A bit! But not by much!" Jaune raised the windows again and felt the weight of his sword press heavy on his back.

Damn it. This wasn't how he was planning on spending his night.

Jaune turned to his teammate. "Shit. Just who the hell did you piss of, Merc?"

"Probably a few people here and there; you know how the job goes." Mercury yanked the steering wheel and sped past a particularly slow driver. "But what makes you think this is my fault, eh? I'm pretty sure all of my problems were either swearing my name in hospital beds or fucking dead. You sure this isn't something on your end?"

"…The Bulls don't have the guts nor the resources to pull this off." Jaune muttered. "I was pretty sure this was yours, but now…"

"Smells fishy." Mercury nodded in agreement. "In any case we need to get these guys off our tails-!"

VROOOOOM!

BAM! CRASH!

"AGH!" Jaune and Mercury recoiled as a large unmarked van appeared out of nowhere and slammed them on their side. It used its heavy body against Mercury's lighter car to force it to the edge of the road, slamming it into the guardrail and then pushing and pushing-!

CLANG!

The guardrail gave way and Mercury's car promptly fell off the highway. Flakes of metal accompanied their fall as they cut through the empty night sky, before falling to the ground in a heap of broken metal.

BAM!

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

His ears were ringing.

Something liquid was flowing down his face. It was getting into his eyes, and for some reason made it harder for him to think.

"Argh…"

Stupid him, not getting his Aura up in time.

Jaune shook his head and tried his best to focus. The car had fallen upside-down, he realized. With a grunt, Jaune took the seat belt off and crawled out of the crashed car. He felt his hands being assisted by familiar hands and pulled up, all as he struggled to stand back up. Taking a breath, Jaune leaned against the wreck and adjusted his glasses.

"Thanks, Merc." looked to his side. "Glad to see you're off better."

"The hit was on your side. Got a split to react a bit more to- well…" Mercury breathed and motioned to his body, now leaning more heavily on the wreck than Jaune did before. "B-But… heh, I wouldn't call myself better off than you."

Jaune looked at where Mercury was motioning and soon saw what he had meant. His teammate's prosthetic legs, while still working, were slightly bent and clearly emitting sparks.

Concern etched Jaune's face. "How long will that hold out?"

"E-enough." Mercury forced himself on his own feet.

Before the two could get more words in, they heard the sound of a fleet of cars – vans, sedans, SUVs, and everything in between – that soon closed in on their position. They arrived from every direction imaginable, shining their headlights on the wreck and on the vulnerable two.

Click! The doors opened and out stepped their aggressors. They were uniformed, Jaune recognized first. White hoodies with red stripes going down the middle, ripped jeans paired down to partly covering their shoes, and lastly black digital masks with red neon slits for eyes.

And after that, Jaune noticed that they all bore the same symbols printed on their hoodies' chests.

"The Bulls…"

"Heh. Still sure this is on my end?" Mercury snarked and stumbled to his stance as their threats closed in on all angles. Jaune scanned the area for any way out but was quickly disheartened when he found no easy way for them to take.

For they were back in the slums, right where they started. Trapped under the bridge, no lights other than those of their enemies, no people for miles on end, and certainly a far cry from any form of help.

But then, the Bulls did something unexpected.

They unsheathed their weapons, and Jaune could distinctly see them shift from carry-on to melee, and then from melee to ranged.

Clackclackclack!

"Mechashift. Just great." Mercury planted his heel – or what was left of it, anyway – and grit his teeth. "Just what kind of gang did you choose to piss of?"

"They didn't have those before." Jaune snapped back. And what's more, the way they carried themselves was different too – no longer were they disorganized and driven purely by misguided spirit and rage, the way they moved now was much more coordinated.

And those mechashift weapons were odd to say the least; oftentimes they were personalized, brightly colored and decorated with trinkets unique to the Huntsman or Huntress wielding them. And yet these ones were all the same shade of black, all seemed similar even with the different builds, and all seemed somewhat uniformed.

'What kind of factory hands out uniform mechashift gear to gangs?' Jaune thought wildly.

And more so, the knight could see it now as his blue-turned-dark eyes followed their every move. They were clearly separating between ranged and melee groups, covering each other's flanks, and taking each forward step with caution. Ready to move in at the drop of a pin.

They were coordinated – but who exactly were they? A hidden group, some sort of paramilitary division? And why didn't he encounter them before, even in their home base? This wasn't making any sense…

Step! The impact of boots on asphalt – louder than all the others – drew Jaune and Mercury's attention. What seemed like a leader stepped forth from their men, the way they carried themselves and the way the others parted ways painted a clear mark of the difference. In their hands was a mechashift rifle-sword, still in its carry on form even as they inched closer and closer.

Clackclackclack!

And then the weapon switched to its melee form, its sword tip glinting menacingly in the night, and the so-called leader pointed it straight at Jaune's throat.

Then it was now or never.

Jaune took a steadying breath.

"Hah…"

With Aura flashing around him and sealing his head wound, Jaune entered his own stance; knees deep, hands outstretched, and fingers curled into a fist ready for a fight.

He felt his back rub with Mercury's. "It's me they're after." Jaune said. "I'll make an opening. And then, you run."

Jaune felt Mercury's nod. "I'll try to come back and get some help."

"Hm." The Bulls were getting closer now, and their weapons were ready to shed blood.

"Alright…" Jaune breathed out, his lips turning to a grim line. "Let's dance."

Mysterious Assailants

The Bulls began their charge, melee mechashift weapons rushing in from all sides. Jaune stepped forward and intercepted the first blow – an axe's downward swing straight for his head – and backhanded the attacker away, following with a kick that sent him down to the street. Another attacker came at him with a swinging sword straight for his neck. Jaune caught their arm, twisting it and then throwing it to the other quickly approaching threats.

Crash!

But that didn't deter them; no, if anything it made them much more energized, even without shouts or yells. A group of 3 jumped him from above and Jaune ducked every single attack, in turn enhancing his fist with Aura and then taking them down with punches to their livers. A pair of them tried to smash him down with hammers and Jaune used their weapons' slow nature to hit them before they could even swing them down, smashing their faces in and making sure they didn't get back up.

But even he knew that these men were much more powerful than before – evidenced by the fact that they kept getting back up.

"Tch." Jaune clenched his fist and drove it straight into a Bulls' head. And even as his fist went through, Jaune followed up with a knee to the side and then a kick to the chest. "HAH!"

Slam!

The attacker was sent flying away and crashing into one of their cars. But alas, when one was down and out, two more took their place.

And more than that, it seemed that that one attack knocked their other members back to their senses.

Clickclickclick! Jaune heard the mechashift guns that were on standby just before now ready to fire right at them both. From handguns to assault rifles to shotguns and anything in between, they had an arsenal aiming right for their heads the moment an opportunity showed itself.

Jaune clicked his tongue. His movements – every punch, every kick, every strike on the enemy's weak points – were strokes of overwhelming strength and speed. And yet still…

"They won't stop coming…" Jaune muttered.

"Hyah!" Mercury's movements in comparison were much more dynamic, even with his damaged prosthetics. Fluid kicks that flowed into one another, chaining from one enemy to the next without ever missing a beat in the rhythm of combat. Where Jaune's stance was deep and emphasized power and speed, his was more freestyle and maximized on the psychological factor – one hit became three, three became ten, and the next thing the Bulls knew they were flat on their asses.

But even so, he too had his own limitations.

Clang!

"Grk!" Mercury stumbled back as his overhead kick was parried by a Bulls' wakizashi. Mercury quickly improvised and swept low with the momentum, taking the enemy by surprise – the next thing they knew, Mercury had already stomped on their face firmly with his boots.

"Damn it." Mercury stepped back and felt his back hit Jaune's. There was a lull in attacks, the ocean of aggressors seemingly moving to the side and regaining their forms; however, before he could say anything more, the ranged squad began firing at the two.

RATATATATATATA!

"GET DOWN!" Jaune pushed his friend down as the shots reined down right where their head was just a moment ago. They hailed harder than a rainstorm past their prone bodies and instead went straight to the wreckage.

CliangclangclangBOOM!

The car exploded behind them just as the guns ran out of bullets. Jaune and Mercury could hear the Bulls scrambling to reload, and the knight took the moment to grab Mercury's shoulder tight.

"Now." Jaune said firmly. His eyes were stone cold, his tone not giving any room for argument. "I'll hold out. You go get Sun."

"R-right." Mercury kept prone as Jaune stood up first. With a roar, the knight channeled a significant portion of Aura into his fist. A brilliant white surrounded him, an ethereal flame lit from the bottom of his soul then centering on his fist.

"RARGH!"

SLAM!

Jaune brought his fist down to the asphalt, shaking the entire street and knocking everyone off their feet. He turned his head back to his teammate, blue eyes beginning to overpower their disguise.

"GO!"

"Gotcha." Mercury clenched his teeth and loaded a shotgun shell into his prosthetics' systems, jumping and then using a shot to propel himself to the nearest free rooftop. Jaune watched his friend disappear into the night, a weight being lifted from his heart.

He saw his enemies begin to regain their footing; particularly the leader, his gaze scanning the surroundings for the situation and swiftly noting that the mercenary was gone.

And it seemed that he didn't waste any time – his head snapped to one of his many accomplices, and for the first time, Jaune heard one of them speak.

"Hana." The leader spoke. It came out garbled, processed through multiple filters and voice changers, but the commanding tone was clear even to him. "Go after the runner."

The Bulls' member being addressed nodded their head and swiftly followed suit. Jaune noted the way they moved, the way they jumped and followed after Mercury with surprising speed, and deduced that they must've been of similar build and fighting style.

All he had now were two things. The hope that Mercury's head start would be enough…

Jaune refocused his attention to the leader, who had stood back up along with others not yet eliminated and their resolve tripled to take him down.

…And his own ability to survive the onslaught; at least, until help arrived.

Jaune steadied his breathing and re-entered his stance. Opening a palm, the knight directed it straight towards their leader and beckoned them forth.

"Bring it on." Jaune growled.

The leader took a step forward.

Jaune bent his knees and sunk deep into his stance. The leader took another step, and now his followers were following him bit by bit.

And then, as if from an unspoken signal, all hell broke loose.

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD! The veritable army marched and rushed straight for Jaune, melee or ranged be damned. Jaune sprung from his stance and met them head on, no longer waiting for them to attack first.

"RARGH!" Jaune planted a fist into one of the Bulls' faces. The man stumbled back and Jaune quickly followed with an explosive kick to his sides. And as the man began to crumple, Jaune finished with a kick straight to the head.

Shing! Another came at him, this time Jaune saw with a dagger. Faster than he'd liked the blade came at him for his lungs. Jaune parried the blade away and pushed the enemy back, striking back with a spinning kick to the enemy's chest.

BAM! But even as the grunt skidded back, Jaune saw him transform the blade into a pistol, and without a moment's hesitation, aimed dead-on for his forehead.

BANG!

Jaune dropped low, the bullet just barely grazing his hair and instead hitting another grunt behind him. Others used the brief lull to rush in on Jaune, weapons raised to kill.

Jaune rebounded and swept his feet across. He knocked the approaching enemies down and stood back up, only to be met by guns pointing at him from all directions.

BANGBANGBANGBANG!

Jaune grabbed one of the prone bodies and used them as a human shield. He felt the body jolt as bullets met contact, even though Jaune channeled his own Aura to the body to prevent any unwanted damage.

"Tch." The gunfire died down once more – ammo was never infinite. Jaune dropped the body and rushed to the closest gunman with flowing white Aura coating his legs.

"ORA!" SLAM! Jaune kicked the man right at the throat, the single blow sending him flying back and smashing to a wall. The sound of footsteps could be heard, and the gunman's compatriots rushed at him with their guns transformed into swords and maces and everything in between.

This was the main advantage of mechashift weaponry – flexibility, designed to increase the survival rate of anyone who used it.

But for Jaune it didn't matter; he'd tackle any challenge head on.

The first attacker came, wielding a two-handed sword. Jaune stepped to the side and let the attacker's weapon miss. The knight saw in slow-motion how the attacker changed the sword back into a rifle form as soon as he missed.

Click! BANG!

Jaune dove under the barrel and struck the man on the chin right as the gun fired. With a roar Jaune elbowed the man, knocking the wind out of him and ripping his weapon away. For good measure, Jaune flipped him over his shoulder and stomped on his gut.

"Hah…" Jaune turned the weapon back into a rifle and aimed at the approaching enemies. He grit his teeth and fired. BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG! Hittingthe shots as accurately as he could and quickly emptying the clip.

Some fell, his shots hitting their knees, sides, and other painful points even through their Auras that forced them out of commission. But there were still others yet to be handled, though the numbers were finally beginning to thin; and those remainders were now charging him head-on.

And Jaune could finally see the desperation in their steps, the way their chests breathed just a bit more out-of-rhythm. Their resolve was quickly being doubted.

Jaune clenched his fist and met the remaining Bulls head on. "ORA!" With a supernova for a fist, he slammed his knuckles into an enemy's gut. He grabbed their weapon – a mechashift shotgun-baton – and slammed it on the back of their head. He heard an audible crack and the man fell to the ground; blacked out.

"Hmph." Jaune tossed the baton away and swiftly rushed to the next enemy. And then the next, and the next, and the next, his Aura overflowing as he paved his way through.

In the end, they stood no chance. For with his now-renewed vigor, Jaune had struck them with more force than they had ever expected. It was the basis of his fighting style – whereas others tended to be more fluid, his was solid – the principle of overwhelming the enemy with uncontestable force.

"RARGH!" A glowing white fist to the face and a grunt fell down. "ORA!" A punch to the chest and another grunt crumpled, finished with a kick to send him away.

"HYAHHH!"

BAM!

And then a haymaker straight to the head and the last grunt was knocked down on their ass, blood flying even with Aura protection; down and out.

"Hah. Hah. Hah…." Jaune settled back into his stance, though his shoulders began to close in as his breathing became more rapid. His eyes scanned his surroundings; all those petty grunts were finally out of the question.

Thud!

But now…

Jaune's eyes fell to the leader. And it occurred to him that he hadn't fought him, not even once.

And then the leader raised their hands and began to meet their two palms.

Clap! Clap! Clap! "That was quite the show you put on." Jaune could feel the condescendence behind the mask. "Certainly expected of someone that took down our main base so easily!"

'So it is them.' Jaune realized. 'But why didn't they come out back then?'

"Tch. I don't give a shit what upstarts like you think." Jaune growled. Even if he were inclined to figure out more details regarding this new group, he felt an overpowering second wind coming; he felt his shoulders opening up and both adrenaline and Aura flowing through his veins - the reason was clear.

"But target my friends and you're dead."

"That remains to be seen." Theleader said, his voice gaining a cold edge.. "Note that this is nothing personal. You were simply in our way. And those who are will be eliminated."

"We'll see about that." Jaune growled. With a roar, Jaune leapt from his stance and rushed straight for the leader. And the knight felt like he could see the ghost of a smirk forming on the masked leader's face, even if he didn't show any of his facial features.

Shing!

"ORA!"

"RARGH!"

Jaune's fist flew forward. At the same time, the Leader pulled out his mechashift sword and swung for the knight.

Mysterious Assailant Leader

SLAM! Jaune's fist met the enemy's cheek first and sent him skidding back. The leader looked back up, his digital mask cracked and red LED slits meeting Jaune's eyes. And then, those eyes shifted as if digital text.

"Cocky bastard." Jaune drew his fist back and attacked again. He went for a clean jab to the Leader's face. The Leader dodged and brought his sword up from under Jaune. The Disgraced Knight tilted his body back, the sword's tip missing his chin by mere inches.

"GRAH!" But the Leaderdidn'tlet up. He shifted his grip and swung at Jaune's chest, and then his shoulders, and then his arms. Jaune ducked and weaved through every single blow, keeping his footing stable and firm while not giving too much room for the Leader to widen his gap.

"HAH!" TheLeader yelled in frustration and went for a big overhead swing. Jaune's eyes narrowed and he punched straight at the enemy's jugular.

"Hng!" TheLeader stepped back in shock and Jaune seized his chance. With a yell he punched Jaune gave a heavy punch to the Leader's chest; he didn't give them any time to react and followed it up with a punch to the gut, and then a kick to the side, and then finally-

ORA!

A glowing, Aura-filled spinning kick to the side.

"AHHH!" Jauneheard the Leader scream in pain – just as many had before him – and then skid back as their own Aura flashed.

"Still feeling cocky now?" Jaune beckoned them forth. The Leader roared and transformed his weapon into its rifle form, aiming without a second thought.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!

Jaune deftly dodged each of the bullets, whizzing past his ears as he took one step forward at a time.

BANGBANGBANGclickclickclick! The gun ran empty, and the Leader swore. They noticed Jaune coming up on them and swiftly switched back to melee.

"RARGH!"

"Ora!" Jaune's fist and the Leader's blade met head-on, Jaune pushing back the blade with his Aura-coated knuckles. The metal didn't even pierce his skin; instead, the blade was slowly being pushed back bit by bit.

Jaune could feel the Leader's strength waning – not only due to his own strength, but their own resolve waning as well. Jaune smirked and gave one final push, going past the blade with his overwhelming strength.

"HYAH!"

Crack!

The blade shattered in two, flakes and pieces of metal falling littering the street. Jaune saw the leader's digital face change, their grip loosening as shock took over, and seized his chance.

"ORA! ORAORAORA!" Jaune gave the leader a haymaker to the face. And then a jab to the chest, and then an uncountable amount of uppercuts that pushed his fist through their defenses with ease.

"HYAHHH!" Jaune stepped back and then lunged his entire body forwards, giving the Leader one final Aura-burning punch to the head.

BOOOM!

The Leader was out instantly; sent crashing to a wall with cracks spreading like spider webs. And as they fell to the street in a heap, the wall behind them crumbled as well, not even a scream heard as they were buried in a concrete coffin.

"H-Hah… Hah!" Jaune fell to one knee and saw his vision flickering. He grit his teeth and stood back up, stumbling a step and two as he tried to stay tall. He checked up on his Aura reserves.

For the first time in almost a decade, he was well in the yellow.

"Damn it…" Jaune felt his chest tighten and did his best to control his breathing – contrary to popular belief, just because one had Aura did not mean that they had infinite stamina so long as it was up. No, the two worked in conjunction: Aura can give stamina but it didn't mean jack shit if you didn't have the baseline for it, if you didn't have the body to push that tank to the limit.

And it seemed that Sun was right – can't stand only from this, that late Aura activation that had his head bleeding – he was way out of practice.

BANG!

A distant gunshot brought Jaune's attention back to the present. Judging from the sheer distance it could only mean-!

"Mercury." Jaune whispered. Jaune quickly took note of the place they were in, nabbed one of the many leftover weapons in the area for evidence, and dashed towards the direction of the gunshot.

BANGBANGBANG! Several more rang out, even as Jaune pushed himself to the limit.

'Please… don't let it be too late!'

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

"Gah!" Mercury stumbled back as shots peppered his prosthetics. They held strong – for now – but he couldn't keep blocking bullets with his boots forever lest they break soon.

Mercury cursed as he stared down his assigned assassin; he hadn't managed to make it far, only a couple of blocks away, and this guy was nothing if not persistent.

Click! The assassin assigned to him – Hana, he remembered – reloaded their dual pistols and Mercury took that as his chance. He lunged forward with a side kick at his assassin, heel cutting through air like knife through butter.

Thud!

"Grk!" Mercury scowled and held his position as the assassin parried his kick with their own. Their feet crossed each other, and soon they both fell back down to their stances.

'And this bastard's pretty good too, isn't he? Fucker.' Mercury spat to the side and moved in his position. If it came down to a fight…

And come down to a fight it did. The assassin silently burst at him with the butt of his pistol aimed right for his temple. Mercury ducked just in time and slipped through the attack, elbowing the assassin's back and following it up with a high kick.

But alas, his metal feet hit nothing but air. The assassin ducked under the blow and slammed an open palm to Mercury's lungs, knocking the air out of his lungs and sending him skidding back.

"G-Gah…!" Mercury shook his head and refocused on his enemy. And to his immense surprise, they were already right in front of him, a fist lashing out for his nose.

SLAM!

"Ah!" Mercury fell to the ground as the last of his Aura protected his face, shattering as soon as he fell to the floor.

Click!

Mercury looked up from his prone position and noticed the akimbo pistols aimed directly for his body.

The mercenary made to move but could only clench his teeth when he found his prosthetics were jammed.

"Fuck-!"

The gun fired.

BANGBANGBANGBANG!

But to his shock, the bullets never landed.

"W-what…?!" Mercury could only gape as what was sure to be his death was stopped by a figure standing in front of him, pushing the assassin's grip high into the air and forcing the gun to have aimed at nothing but the empty sky.

"M-Merc…. You okay…?" He heard a familiar voice pant. The mercenary recognized it instantly.

"Yeah. I'm good." As Mercury crawled away, Jaune yelled and moved his fist to the assassins' gut.

Thud! The move was silently blocked, and the assassin went for a chop to his neck. Jaune grabbed the assassins' hand and kept it firmly in place. A true deadlock.

And then Jaune felt his rage bubble up, his Aura overflowing and slowly but surely overcoming his disguise.

"You dare try to kill my friend?" Jaune growled. He pushed their open palm away, staring straight into their red LEDs and enjoying the moment as the assassin squirmed.

Jaune clenched his teeth and forced the enemy's arms the wrong way around. He could feelthe assassins' fear even through the mask, feel the doubt at being fast but not fast enough; and of course, nowhere near strong enough.

Jaune's voice dropped an octave, his blue eyes staring right through the red LED.

"Just who do you think you are…?"

That seemed to snap the assassin out of their reverie. They scrambled and broke free of Jaune's grip, firing a shot right between Jaune's feet.

BANG!

The shot did no damage, but it was enough to make Jaune take a step back into his deep stance.

But the assassin did not attack. Jaune barely had time to hear their panic-filled breaths filter through their mask, barely registering the sudden ocean of uncertainty sweeping through their body as their confidence was turned to ashes, before the assassin turned tail and ran like their world depended on it.

"T-Tch! Hah…" Jaune lowered his fist and fell to the ground, right beside Mercury. "That's the last of 'em…"

"T-thankfully so, eh?" Mercury let out a weak chuckle. "You sure spooked 'im."

"Y-yeah." Even though Jaune knew he could take… whoever that was, just like he did before, he wasn't really up to risking it. Not when another life was in the line.

"I've already called Sun, by the way. Organized Crime should be here soon." Mercury said, referring to the PD. "ETA… Argh, 10 minutes, give or take."

"Hah… good, good…" Jaune took a deep breath and collected his thoughts. He didn't know what had happened to the Bulls to make them so strong all of a sudden, so well-equipped, but all it did was make their lives all the harder.

After what felt like hours, they could hear police sirens approach their position. A moment later, and Mercury's scroll rang with Sun's number.

The mercenary picked it up without a moment's hesitation. "Yello."

"It's Sun." The detective said. "…They're all gone."

"They're WHAT?!" Mercury sat up in denial. "The fuck you mean they're gone?!"

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

"I meant exactly what I said." Sun said from ground zero. There was the car wreck, sure, but any signs of combat, or even just a struggle, was nowhere to be found. He had officers combing the area, covering every inch he could see, and yet no results could be found.

Zip. Nada. No bullet holes, no shattered asphalt, and no cracked walls of concrete.

There was simply nothing there other than a crashed car and its otherwise pristine surroundings.

Sun's note turned just a bit frantic. "Please tell me you managed to nab some evidence, at least."

A shuffling of feet could be heard from the other end of the call, and Jaune's voice spoke through next. "I've got something. A weapon by one of the assailants."

"Then bring it here as soon as possible. We'll cross-examine what you have." Sun said. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least there was something….

"Sure thing. But it was the Bulls, make note of that. And…" A pause, and was Jaune exhausted?! "…And make sure to have your officers be more ready for tomorrow."

伝説・・伝説・・伝説

Jaune held Mercury's Scroll on one hand as the other examined the weapon he managed to nab.

It could be said that he was contaminating the evidence, but Jaune begged to differ – this was a matter that was time sensitive. He examined the weapon closely, noting its characteristics, its build, its weight, everything he could imagine.

Just like before, it seemed mass-produced. But even so it was still a high-quality mechashift weapon, reserved only for the likes of elite Huntsmen and Huntresses. A kind of weapon that was never commonly found. And to see them in a collective like tonight…

"I've got a feeling we're dealing with a lot more than what we ever thought, guys." Jaune muttered.

伝説・・伝説・・伝説
Done! Next chapter should be Qrow's bit.
Thanks for reading, and review!