One of the first things a Huntsman-in-training is taught is how to get ready in the least amount of time possible, it wasn't the kind of lesson that most people would associate with the Academies but it was easily one of the most valuable. It was partially thanks to that lesson that the Breach wasn't as bad as it easily could have been since the students at Beacon were able to make themselves combat-ready within a minute of the alarm going off. It was a lesson that once again was paying dividends as Team JNPR ran towards the sparing fields still dressed in their uniforms and unarmed but not unprepared. The lockers containing their weapon had been sent on ahead and were already at the sparring fields awaiting them, Team RWBY had already been contacted and were on their way, they even remembered to call Tock's other crewmates and warn them to stay away from Beacon. They did everything right but when they arrived it was too late, the fight had already begun, a crowd had formed around the ring, and a Hard Light Shield was in place.
They would not be able to reach her, they would not be able to help her, and it was frustrating.
"We have to find a way to turn off that shield, we won't be able to do anything as long as it's up," said Jaune, fully aware that he was stating the obvious but he wasn't doing it for the others, he was doing it for himself. Stating the problem out loud helped him focus, it helped him think of solutions. Right now he couldn't see a path through the crowd but he did spot his team's lockers nearby and began walking towards them as the others followed. Shortly afterward everyone was armed and ready for action, as soon as they could decide what those actions should be.
During this time Nora had been giving a bit of thought to Jaune's suggested step-one and had become soured to the idea, "I'm not sure turning off the shield is a good idea," she said to his surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's say that we get through the crowd and turn off the shield, then what?"
"Then what?!" Her question confused him, "Then we help, what else would we do?"
She looked him dead in the eye and crossed her arms, "How?"
He was taken back by her attitude, "W-what do you mean how? We're going to… to…," his first thought had been to help Tock fight against Maria but he quickly realized what a bad idea that was. I'm sure she'll be quite happy to sit down and listen to a bunch of strangers who showed up out of nowhere and ganged up on her, that definitely won't remind her of how she lost her eyes in the mountains.
He sighed, "Okay, you've made a good point. Let me think about this." He then began to pace around to help straighten out his thoughts, as he did so eyes drifted over to Ren, and the beginning of an idea formed in his head, "Well maybe Ren can-"
Ren cut him off, "Using my Semblance would be a good idea in most cases but this situation is different. Maria was a top-ranked Huntress, there is no way she wouldn't notice a Semblance being used on her. And when she does, she'll assume that it's one of Tock's crewmates and do everything in her power to break free. If she does and let's be honest, she will, then it will become impossible to calm her down again. The situation is already tenuous, I'd rather avoid any action that tips it over into unsalvageable."
That was not the answer Jaune wanted to hear and he tried to respond but couldn't think of anything to say, Ren was right and he knew it. But not knowing what to do was frustrating, it made him feel worthless and angry at himself, "So what are we supposed to do? Twiddle our thumbs as we trust in her to somehow make it out okay!?"
Pyrrha saw what was happening and was not about to let him go down that road, not again. So she grabbed him by the shoulders and made him look at the crowd, "There is something that we can do to help her right now, we can make sure that no one interferes."
At first, he had no idea what she was talking about, "Interfere? Pyrrha what are you…," Then he remembered, he remembered that the Lost Boys were just disposable pawns and that the actual masterminds were still free and unknown. This is dangerous, this entire situation might as well have the mother of all bullseyes painted on its hull! We got to keep anyone from interfering. "Okay, Tock is safe from outside interference as long as the Hard Light Shield is up so what we need to do is… We need to reach the counsel and make sure no one can tinker with it! Nora, can you-"
"Way ahead of you captain!" She walked into the crowd and began pushing people out of the way while politely apologizing as she did so, "Sorry Emerald, but we're in a bit of a hurry!"
"No, wait!" Emerald meekly protested while a small but growing blush crept into her face as Nora picked her right off the ground and planted her to the side. Meanwhile her partener Mercury watched in amusement and was about to deliver some of his patented snark when Nora grabbed him by waist.
"No, wait! What are you doing!?"
Oh, hi Mercury how are you doing? Sorry about this but we need you out of the way as well!" Nora then picked him up just like she did with his partner and moved him out of the way before letting go and repeating the process with the next person in the crowd.
Progress was being made but it was slow, thanks to the Vytal Festival there were far more people present at the sparing fields than normal and many of the spectators were also competitors. Unsurprisingly more than a few people refused to be so easily shoved aside, they had come for information on their potential opponents and some random bubbly ginger wasn't about to put a stop to that. It was fortunately then that Nora was more than capable but it was still taking longer than Jaune would have liked.
Eventually, Pyrrha looked over to her captain and saw that he was slowly growing anxious due to how far the computer counsel still was and the undeniable ringing sound of metal hitting metal. The look on his face told her exactly what he was thinking so she leaned in close and whispered into his ears what he needed to hear, "Tock will be fine. She's an incredible fighter and while Maria is a legend, she is also blind. I don't want to come off as an ableist but I don't think we need to worry about what she can do."
Had Tock been fighting almost anyone else under almost any other circumstances, then Pyrrha would have been right but every rule had an exception. Maria Calavera was an exceptional Huntress who despite never once attending an academy was able to pass the license exam with one of the highest scores ever recorded. She was a woman who had spent every day thinking about what had happened to her that day on the mountains, dreaming about all the ways she'd make Tock pay and she had the perfect Semblance to make it happen. It was called Preflexes and it was an appropriate name as it allowed her to react so quickly that to untrained eyes it almost looked like she was reacting to things that hadn't happened yet. Now she couldn't actually see the future, no one could. The secret behind Preflexes was that it took the basic skill of using Aura to enhance the senses, elevated it to its logical extreme, and did it at a negligible cost to the user. But all it ultimately did was give her information on her surroundings, everything else after that was just the fruit of Maria's training and it shone through despite her lack of eyes.
"Och, that's pumpin' bullshit!" Cried Tock as she used Pyrrha's shield to block a brutal vertical swing from Maria. "Yer Semblance is tot bullshit!"
"My Semblance is bullshit!? The Scaly Wanna-be-Pirate is complaining about My Semblance being unfair when she's got one that makes her literally Invincible! Where the fuck you get off calling my Semblance bullshit!?" Maria angrily retorted while delivering a roundhouse kick that forced Tock to take several steps backward in order to avoid getting knocked down.
Tock was able to regain her footing but chose to take several more steps backward not out of necessity but as an attempt to put some distance between herself and her former victim. "Fur 60 seconds 'n' then leaves me wi'oot ony Aura! Sae tis perfectly fair 'n' balanced unlike yers whilk costs virtually hee haw 'n' is aye oan-!"
Maria could hear the retreating footsteps and quickly realized what Tock was doing but not why she was doing it. She's getting further from me, is she running or is she trying to lead me into a trap or maybe she's got a ranged weapon of some kind? Despite how powerful Preflexes could be, there was a limit of just how much it could compensate for the lack of sight. Therefore the safest option for her was to assume the worst, which meant acting under the belief that Tock had a ranged weapon. I can't afford to let her do as she pleases but how do I stop her without leaving myself open to counterattack?
Her first thought was to shoot Tock first with the hidden guns built into both of her Scythes. However, ammo was limited since that feature was meant as a last resort against an unaware foe, and Tock knew about the guns. But that didn't necessarily mean that it wouldn't work, it just meant that she would have to try a bit harder to make it work. I know that Tock is right in front of me but it is hard to pin down where exactly she is. There is also the issue of her weapon, it doesn't feel like the swords she used back then. The first thing I need to do is figure out what it is but how? An idea then popped into her head, it was a long shot that depended on taking advantage of Tock's remorse but frankly, she didn't care about the feelings of that scaly bitch. "Hey! If you are really sorry about what happened then tell me what it is that you're carrying!" There's no way this will work…
Tock winced not feeling comfortable with what felt like emotional blackmail but she answered anyway, "Tis a shield 'n' afore ye ask, ah'ament carrying ony ither weapon oan me. Nae even mah swords."
"A shield!? You didn't have one of those when you attacked me back then." She's not moving right now… I can throw my scythe at her, that will save me ammo and I can easily get it back. It's not likely to hit her but I can make sure that it will force her to react and make it easier to pin her down. The problem is that if I throw it now she'll see it coming, I'll have to distract her but how?
"In case ye wur wondering, this isnae mah shield. A mukker o' mines is letting me mooch her shield sae ah kin safely blether tae ye."
"A mukker?" Maria repeated that word with an exaggerated mockery of an accent, "When you say mukker I assume you're trying to say friend but I can't be too sure. I can't imagine anyone wanting to be friends with a cold-blooded bitch like you."
"That's a pure mean thing tae say tae someone wha's trying tae apologize tae ye."
"I told you to fuck off with your fake apology!" Maria could feel her blood beginning to boil, This isn't how it was supposed to go, she's running everything! This moment was something that Maria had imagined over and over again ever since she became confident enough to walk around without needing an escort. Then out of nowhere, Qrow came into her life, sympathized with her plight, and even promised to help make that desire for justice a reality and he delivered! He brought her to Vale as he promised and what was one of the very first things they found? They found Tock in the flesh and now her dreams of payback were so close to becoming a reality and all it cost her was the promise to tutor the guy's niece! It was as if the Brothers handcrafted this entire situation for her and wrapped it up in a neat little bow!
But everything was wrong.
This wasn't a deadly fight to achieve retribution, it wasn't even a curb stomp, and Tock wasn't on her knees begging for mercy in between the sobs. Instead that reptilian whore wasn't even fighting back or trying to downplay what had happened or even trying to bargain for her own life. Instead, Tock was owning up to what she had done; She was apologizing! It's a trick, it has to be a trick, it needs to be a trick, it is a trick, and I won't fall for it!
"Urr ye okay? Dae yi''ll need tae tak' a break?"
That was the straw that broke the camel's back, Maria snapped and her body began to move on its own. Before she could even understand what she was doing, she threw one of her scythes as hard as she could in a fit of anger. The deadly weapon flew towards Tock with tremendous force… that accomplished nothing as it flew harmlessly past her. However, Maria's sense returned almost as soon as the weapon left her hand, Shit! What is wrong with me? Calm down, you know how to turn this around, you've practiced this move so often that you can do it even blinded as you are!
Maria quickly pressed a button located on the back of her other scythe which activated the Gravity Dust contained inside of both weapons. This created a gravitational pull between the Scythe still in her hand and Scythe that she had thrown, a pull that resulted in the thrown weapon suddenly halting its flight and start hovering in mid-air for a scant few moments. Then without warning, it began to move again but this time it was going back to where its journey began and Tock was standing in between it and its final destination. Had Maria been fighting almost anyone else then this would have resulted in a decisive blow that would have swung the fight in her favor but Tock had seen this move before and knew how to avoid it, even then it had come dangerously close.
"That's a neat trick, howfur lang di-!" She never had a chance to finish asking her question as Maria had effortlessly caught the weapon, used some Aura to close the distance, and was now unleashing a flurry of heavy blows. So heavy that Tock had to use some Aura to strengthen herself to the point where she wouldn't be knocked over but it was little compared to how much Aura Maria was using. "Ye'r aff tae puggle yersel' oot at this rate!" Though that likelie isnae a ill thing, wid defiantly mak' it easier tae blether hings oot wi' her…
"Stop it," Maria whispered as she felt the pressure in her head rise again.
"Stoap whit? Is thare something wrong?"
"STOP IT WITH THAT FAKE CONCERN!" With a sudden burst of anger-fueled strength, Maria was able to shove Tock off-balance and then swing so hard that she knocked the shield right out of the pirate's hands and she didn't stop there. She was so angry and her desire to end the fight right then and there was so strong, that she forgot all her training and discipline and went in for a killing blow.
Fortunately for Tock, Maria's fury had gone straight into her head and dulled her senses to the point where she had committed the amateurish mistake of pulling her arm too far back making her intentions for an overhead swing all too clear. Sure the wind-up would result in a thunderous force that would do serious damage even if blocked but that only mattered if the attack connected and that wasn't a possibility. Tock was too alert to ever be taken off guard by something so telegraphed and too experienced to try deflecting or blocking the blow. Instead, she allowed herself to fall to the floor and then used the momentum to roll away before the Scythe came even close to touching her. That one simple movement rendered all of that power impotent but that wasn't the end, Maria had put too much force into the swing and now couldn't stop the swing or even redirect it. The blind Huntress was powerless to do anything as her precious weapon hit and cut right into the concrete floor becoming stuck and leaving her completely exposed.
Maria held her breath as she waited for a counterattack that didn't come, At least this will prove that Tock was lying. But instead, she heard footsteps walking away from her and toward the spot where the shield had landed, She's going for her weapon! I need to get out of this mess and I need to do it now! She tried pulling her Scythe out but it refused to budge, a couple more attempts later and she quickly realized that it was stuck there and would remain stuck unless she put in a serious effort. Should I just abandon it here? No, I'm already at a huge disadvantage without my sight, and losing a weapon would tilt this even further into her favor! She gritted her teeth and used her Aura to empower her body, granting her the strength needed to yank the weapon right out of the concrete with a cry, "AAAAARRRRRRGGGHHH! WHY IS THIS SO HARD!?" A small voice in the back of Maria's head was screaming at her, telling her that she was acting irrationally and that if Tock was really trying to hurt her then she would have struck when she had the chance. That voice was drowned out by the desire to avoid losing more than just her eyes and right now it was telling her to pursue her attacker and fight for survival.
Tock ran over to where Pyrrha's shield was laying on the ground and picked it up just as Maria freed her own weapon while screaming bloody murder and that was when it hit her, This wis a mistake. Attempting to explain herself to Maria was not going to work, not today or tomorrow or this week, month, or year, from now and it maybe it would never work. The woman was too angry to listen to anything that she might say, the wounds that Tock had inflicted were still too fresh to be ignored. Whit did ah think wis aff tae happen if confronted her 'ere? Did ah pure think that we'd hae a hert tae hert juist fur ah said sorry? Did ah pure think that she'd care aboot whit ah hud tae say? C'moan Tock, ye'r smarter than this!
Tock felt like a damn fool but even a fool can learn from their mistakes and the first step was getting out of there. Looking around her she could see the small crowd that had gathered to watch the fight, further away she could see the members of Team JNPR pushing through the crowd trying to get to her and a plan started to form in her head. A'm needin' tae git oot o' 'ere 'n' th' best wey tae dae it's thro' th' crowd, that wey Maria's semblance wilnae be able tae keep track o' me. Bit howfur dae ah caw aff th' solid light projector? She knew that there had to be a way to turn it off that didn't involve being beaten within an inch of her life but she didn't know how.
"If you really want to prove to me how sorry you are-," Maria's voice caused Tock to turn around just in time to see the woman getting into position to rush her down, "-then keep standing right where you are." That was the only warning Tock got before Maria used up some more of her dwindling Aura supply to empower her legs and then charge.
Many people would have tried to move out of the way, they would have failed and they would have been struck. However, Tock had been in this position before and realized that it was already too late to try and get away, the only real option was to brace herself. So she held up the shield and used her own Aura to enforce her spine, legs, and arms to better absorb the impact of the blow and it worked; For the first hit. More followed and it became increasingly more difficult to defend against the onslaught. Unlike before Maira wasn't just focused on brute strength, this time she was trying to use speed to overwhelm Tock resulting in a parade of wild cuts that seemed to be random which made it very difficult to predict just where the next strike was going to go. Tock did her best to keep up but despite her best efforts, more than once she felt the touch of cold steel brushing up against her scales. Fortunately, the hits she did receive were all light cuts that were blocked by her Aura at little cost to herself but it was going to eventually pile up, and more importantly, it would only be a matter of time before Tock miscalculated or was a bit too slow and received a clean blow that takes a sizable chunk out of her Aura.
A've git tae break awa' fae her 'n' fleet bit she's nae giein' me ony room! Tock under similar situations would normally activate her Semblance and then overwhelm her opponent with an all-out offensive, that wouldn't work here. She no longer had enough Aura to activate her Semblance. As far as she could tell there was only one good way to escape her current predicament and that was to fight fire with fire and overpower Maira. If ah strike back lik' this then she micht assume that everything a've said up tae noo wis a lie. Bit a've git tae worry aboot masell foremaist! She didn't like it but knew that she needed to worry about herself first, so she bent her knees, held out the shield, and dashed forward ramming Maria right in the chest and knocking her to the ground.
The blind reaper was momentarily stunned for a few seconds and just laid on the floor as Tock attempted to walk past her. But those few seconds were not enough, Maria was back on her feet before Tock could get very far. "I knew you'd show your true colors if I pushed you far enough," Maria was smiling as she said this because in her mind that shove was proof of Tock's insincerity. "Is there anything else you'd like to say to me, bitch?"
"Ye wur pumpin' trying tae murdurr me, o' coorse a'm aff tae pumpin' defend masell! Ah said ah wis sorry nae suicidal ye goddamned psychopath!"
"I'm the psychopath!? Are you fuc-"
Suddenly an alarm blared and at the same time, the Hard Light Shield changed color turning into a bright red that was impossible not to notice before deactivating, Whit's gaun oan? It mist be Jaune, he 'n' his crew mist hae figured oot a wey tae halt th' match. Tock looked towards where the counsel was but neither Jaune nor were any of his teammates there, Huh? She then looked into the crowd and spotted him and the others still trying to push their way over to her, Bit if it wasn't thaim... hauld yer horses, whit ur thay daein'? Team JNPR was shouting something but she couldn't hear them due to the crowd and distance between them but she could see that they were also pointing at something behind her.
When she turned around, she saw a man standing next to Maria and helping her up while also holding her back. He was tall, a bit scruffy looking but in an oddly handsome way, and he was carrying on his back a large sword with visible gears that marked it as a mechashift weapon and him as a Huntsman. But the most striking thing about him was the fact that she recognized him, he was the man who came into Ozpin's office with Maria. Juist whit ah wantit, anither body wha wants tae cave mah coupon in. 'n' he doesn't even hae th' courtesy tae be someone that a've wronged. At least he seems mair concerned wi' her than he is wi' me, mibbie ah kin slip by wi'oot him noticing me.
She began taking slowly carefully measured steps towards JNPR and what she hoped was an exit out of this train wreck of a situation, Dinnae rush it, juist focus oan putting yin foot fernent th' ither. Soon ye'll be oot o' this 'n' then whin ye'r far awa' fae that mental wifie, ye kin decide whit tae dae neist.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" The man suddenly asked with a voice as gruff as his appearance would suggest.
For a moment Tock just stood there frozen on the spot, she wasn't scared but she was silently praying that he was speaking to literally anyone else but her. That hope was quickly dashed when she noticed that he was undeniably looking straight at her. "Um…Guid day, whit dae yi'll waant?"
"All I want is to t-!" He never got to finish that sentence because at that exact moment a bean bag flew from the crowd and struck him squarely in the face knocking him to the floor.
"Got 'em!" Nora proudly exclaimed while shouldering Manghild which was now in its grenade launcher form.
Tock realized that this was the best chance she was ever going to get and ran off to the side of the stage before leaping right off. For a moment she was worried that she might crash into someone and accidentally hurt them, and she was just a little scared of the possibility that Maria would catch up while she was untangling herself from a mess of bodies. Had she been in any other part of Vale then her fears might have come true but she was in Beacon and that meant that the crowd was made up of Huntsmen-in-training who all saw what she was going to do and moved right out of the way. The ground was clear and she hit the floor running as both Maria and the man shouted something at her that she couldn't make out. A few seconds later she was joined by Team JNPR who wasted no time in helping her work through the crowd.
"All you alright?" Jaune asked the moment he could.
Maybe it was because she had just gotten out of a stressful situation and was happy to have a friendly face around or maybe it was because she had a type but there was something incredibly cute about how worried her husband was being. Fortunately, Tock was smart enough to realize that saying something like that out loud would be rather inappropriate right now so instead she said, "Maria wis a bawherr rougher than ah expected bit a'm braw, she didnae break mah Aura."
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as the rest of his team also seemed to calm down, "That's good but now what?"
"Weel, th' foremaist thing a'm needin' tae dae is tae return this." Tock held up the shield that she borrowed from Pyrrha when she suddenly felt what could only be described as some kind of invisible force trying to gently pull the shield out of her hand, "Whit th'?!"
Pyrrha was quick to apologize and explain, "Sorry, I should have warned you before trying to use my Semblance. You can let go of the shield if you want."
Tock wasn't sure that was a good idea but was in too much of a rush to really question the spartan so she let go. She then watched in awe as the shield floated through the air and into Pyrrha's waiting hands, "That's a neat trick."
"It's nothing really, it just so-"
Ren cut Pyrrha off, "I don't want to interrupt but what are we going to do next?"
"Tak' me tae th' bullhead station," as soon as the words left her mouth a worried look came into JNPR's and especially Jaune's eyes but they didn't say anything, they didn't have to. "Ah'ament skipping oot o' toun, ah coudnae even if ah wanted tae. Bit ah cannae bade 'ere, nae while Maria is oot fur mah scouk. Sae, instead, mah crew 'n' ah ur aff tae hing oot in Vale fur noo."
The ride back to Vale felt bad and this wasn't a surprise to Tock, she's had things blow up in her face before and was therefore already acquainted with this feeling of failure. But this time was worse than any other time she could remember, this time everything was objectively her fault. She took the job, she cut out Maira's eyes, she left the woman to the mercy of the cold mountains of Mistral, and she was the one who decided that it would be a good idea to confront the rightfully angry woman instead of continuing to run away…, "Brothers, ah kin hae wanted a lee o' excitement bit a' this drama is aff tae git me murdurred."
She laughed at her own little joke but it was insincere, done more out of reflex than any actual enjoyment. The knowledge of how fake it was left a nasty taste in her mouth, it made her regret even trying to cheer herself up which made her feel emotionally drained and physically exhausted, "'N' this day stairted sae weel…"
She spent the rest of the ride staring out the window.
When the Bullhead finally landed in Vale the very first thing she saw when she stepped out was her crew waiting for her. They didn't say anything as they approached her nor did they say anything as they pulled her in for a group hug, they didn't need to say anything. They knew that Tock would talk when she was ready and that the best thing that they could do for her right now was to make her feel comfortable and the first step to do that was to just start walking. The destination was going to be an apartment that had been provided to them by Ozpin as a way to thank them for their cooperation but they weren't going to go straight there. Instead, they would just follow closely by Tock's side as she wandered around the city until her head was clear.
"A fankle, th' hail thing wis a goddamned fankle."
Mason recognized that now was a good time to start talking, "Your heart was in the right place but your timing was shit."
"But at least she got the message across, even if Maria wasn't in a listening mood but that's something that'll hopefully change in the future," Cecco quickly pointed out.
"Ye think sae?"
"I'm sure of it!"
"Ye'r juist saying that tae mak' me cop better."
Cecco smiled, "It worked."
"Actually I think you have a point even if you didn't realize it," said Turley while scratching his chin. "Ozpin has put in far too much work just to let this one unexpected encounter ruin everything especially with the Vytal Festival just around the corner." He shook his head, "There are just too many unanswered questions and not enough people to figure out what's really going on."
"Whit aboot Maria? She'll ne'er gree tae wirk wi' me, she micht even lea fur o' me."
For a couple of minutes, no one said anything, Maria was a massive problem that they had absolutely no idea where they could even begin to tackle… "Maybe we don't need to do anything about her?" Mason suggested.
"Ye cannae be serious, she's nae aff tae wake up th'morra 'n' decide that she's suddenly okay wi' me juist cause ah said sorry!"
"You're right, she won't forgive you just because you said sorry but you don't have to forgive someone to agree to work with them."
"Mason, what are you talking about?" asked Cecco.
Mason then turned around and pointed a figure towards Beacon Academy, "Ozpin and his group are going to vouch for us, or at least I think that's what they are going to do."
"Howfur kin ye be sure?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't, not for sure anyway. But, what I do know is that we've proven our innocence to the beyond a shadow of a doubt, we've helped them both in catching the Lost Boys and in catching up to what was going on around here." He then turned around and pointed right at Tock, "The connections you've made with JNPR, RWBY, and Ozpin aren't going to disappear just because Maira showed up, on the contrary! I believe that they will stand up for you."
Tock thought back to earlier in the day, back when she was in Ozpin's office having a pleasant discussion about her future plans. Ozpin promised her that when everything was over he'd help her and her crew start over, they were about to shake on it when Maria suddenly burst into the room alongside the other guy. Back then Ozpin helped me tae git oot o' that affice 'n' even tried tae buy me some time, though that yin wirk oot sae weel. She then thought about when she was fighting Maira back at Beacon and how the guy who was with her in the office suddenly appeared again, Can I talk to you for a second? An overly cautious part of her wanted to say that the man was lying, that it was an attempt to get her to lower her guard. Bit if he wanted tae attack me, how come nae juist attack me? how come wid he fash revealing his-sel, staun atween me 'n' maira, 'n' then ask if we kin blether? it mak's na sense, unless... he meant it.
Tock was not generally an optimistic person, she wasn't a pessimist either but she had learned a long time ago that it was best to temper her expectations. Ne'er assume th' best 'n' aye be duin fur th' wirst, that was one of the very first lessons that her grandmother had taught her but right now she felt hopeful. She didn't expect Maria to forgive her or even agree to be in the same room with her but they didn't have to, they could work towards the same goal without ever being in the same room and they didn't even have to ever see each other again! Thing ur aff tae be raucle fur a while bit, Mason is richt! we juist git tae patient 'n' hauld yer horses fur thaim tae smooth hings ower wi' Maira.
Cecco then raised his hand, "Hey captain, can ask a question?"
"Gang richt ahead."
"Where are we?"
"Huh? whit dae ye mean ye dinnae ken whaur yer? ah wis follaein ye!"
"I was following you."
"Me too," said Mason and Turley together.
For the first time ever since they began their walk, Tock took a good look at her surroundings. She didn't recognize the buildings or the street names, even the way the people around them were dressed was a bit different from what they usually saw in Vale, not to mention there was an odd but not unpleasant smell in the air. What she didn't see however was anything that would help them find their bearings, "I jalouse we ought tae stravaig aroond 'til we kin fin' something familiar."
Cecco pulled out his scroll," Or we could use the GPS."
"Or we could call a cab," added Mason.
"I'm feeling pretty hungry, there's a food truck nearby that's got some good reviews. Anyone wants to hit it up?" Turley asked, knowing that they would all agree with him.
"That's an idea that ah kin git behind!" Tock's worries and fear didn't disappear but they were much smaller than they were before and she had no doubt in her mind that it would continue to shrink.
"What the hell was that!" Maria Calavera angrily demanded.
"What happened was that I kept you from making a mistake!" answered Qrow.
"A mistake? What mistake? Are you going to tell me that it wasn't Tock I was fighting back there? Because that bitch confessed to what she did, that was Tock and I was so close to having my revenge!"
Qrow felt an urge to groan but was able to quell it, This is going to be difficult. "Did she apologize as well?"
Maria did not answer right away, instead, she started to pace around in the empty dorm room that Ozpin had provided for her until something more permanent could be arranged, Assuming I stay here... but then again, I did promise Qrow to train his niece, and it's not like it would take very long.
"She did apologize, didn't she?" he asked again.
"Yes, she did."
"I thought so… did she fight back?"
Maria's first inclination was to say yes, Tock did technically fight back when she rammed into her with the shield but even she would begrudgingly admit that, Technically, was the keyword. The truth was that if Tock had really fought back, then Maira would be lying unconscious on the floor rather than pacing around in a dorm room…, "No, she didn't. She stayed on defense the entire fight, there was even a moment when my Scythe got stuck on the floor leaving me wide open. She could have ended the fight right then and there but instead chose to grab her shield… why would she do that?"
Qrow scratched his head, "I don't know all the details myself, luckily Ozpin is going to come by later to answer your questions. But what I can say for sure right now is that it was no coincidence that Tock thought you were the rouge Huntsmen."
Maria thought back to the many conversations she had with Qrow during their journey to Beacon, conversations that made her realize just how much of the world was still completely unknown, "It all comes right back to my silver eyes… I get why they are special but that's all I know for sure. I don't even know why they have this power, do you?"
"I don't know but, I'd bet Oz knows."
She frowned and sat down on what she assumed was going to be a bed, it was actually a deck but she decided that it was comfortable enough, "You certainly have faith in that guy but, why does he know so much?" Truth be told she was only half curious about Qrow's boss, what she really wanted was to shift the conversation away from Tock.
Qrow saw what she was doing and chuckled, "The guy has been around for a long time, in fact, he was the headmaster back when I was a student here. Even his right-hand woman, Glynda, was once a student of his."
"That's kind of weird, how old is he?"
"I don't know, what I do know is that he became the headmaster at an unusually young age, the youngest ever to receive the position and he's been there ever since."
That raised a couple of questions in Maria's mind and right now she was more than sick of questions, thinking was the last thing that she wanted to do. "Hey, would Ozpin mind if I met with him tomorrow? Today has left me a bit exhausted and I just want to get some rest and I'm sure you want to check on your nieces."
Qrow chuckled again, "You're right on both, just promise that if you need any help with anything at all you'll give me a call. Also just to give you a heads up, a friend of mine and Ozpin is working to get you a pair of artificial eyes, you won't be able to use your silver eye powers anymore bu-!"
Maria got up from the desk, moved across the room, and pulled Qrow into a hug, "Thank you."
"Any time," He hugged her back.
"I'm not angry, just disappointed," Cinder said while looking at both Emerald and Mercury who shriveled under her gaze as Neo sat in the corner and silently laughed at them both. "At first I was impressed by how the two of you responded so quickly to the news of Maria's arrival. I loved the initiative you took to get to the arena where you found the perfect setting… everything was in your favor."
Cinder began to pace a circle around her two minions, it was an intimidation tactic and it was working wonders as Emerald and Mercury winced at the knowledge of what was coming and at their inability to say anything to their defense. The worst part was that there was nothing actually stopping them from speaking, they just couldn't think of any explanation to excuse their failure! Well, there was one excuse they could honestly claim but neither felt that it would suffice.
Cinder then stopped and stared at the two of them for a few uncomfortable seconds before asking the question they were dreading, "What happened?"
Mercury was the first to answer, "It was Emerald's fault! She was the one who was supposed to use her Semblance but she didn't!"
"You Bastard! You were supposed to make sure that no one interrupted me but instead, you stood by as Nora picked me up like a goddamned barbarian with her… strong arms and firm hands!"
"She took me by surprise! I can't predict the future! Mercury protested in his defense.
Emerald however ignored him and kept going, "Seriously! She just lifted me up into the air, and carried me away like she was a barbarian claiming me as their prize!"
"That's… a really weird way to describe what happened," Mercury commented, becoming rather confused by his partner as their boss raised an incredulous eyebrow.
"I… Felt so helpless in her arms, unable to do anything but wonder how she'd take me!" Emerald began to bite her lips, "F-for a moment I thought that she'd drag me away somewhere where no one would interrupt as sh-!"
Cinder decided to put a stop to this, "Shut up."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Cinder groaned as she rubbed the temples of her head in frustration, "Brothers be damned, this is why I hate working with bottoms… no matter. Your screw-ups today do not undo all the work we've put in to get to this point, in fact, it's probably better that you failed."
"It is?" Emerald asked rather surprised.
"I didn't give you permission to speak yet."
"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am."
"Don't you mean Mistress?" asked Mercury with a mocking smile as Emerald glared at him.
"I didn't give you permission to speak either."
"Sorry, Ma'am."
Out of the corner of her eye, Cinder could see Neo laughing while typing out something on her scroll. She's probably texting Nora to let her know that Emerald now has a crush on her… well that's not my problem. "Now, I do have good news, I've managed to secure some additional aid for the big day." She paused waiting for her subordinates to ask her questions but then remembered that they didn't have her permission to speak, I like them better when they're quiet. "To keep it brief, we will be getting extra mileage out of the Lost Boys. To be more accurate, I've managed to secure the fealty of the only member worth a damn in that entire group of misfits; The sometimes bounty hunter, sometimes mercenary, part-time bandit and according to his resume he is also a licensed nurse."
"What's his name?"
"Rufio."
Author's Notes: Not much to say except that writing this chapter was a bit rough at the start, even now the fight is something that I feel could have been done much better. However writing this was fun, also the joke about Emerald discovering a new fetish was something I came up with at the last moment. I said it before and I'll say it until I die, stories have a way of coming to life and writing themselves.