7
"Blaaaaake!" Yang called out walking down the street. It was starting to get late in the evening, the sun hanging low and starting to disappear behind the skyline of Vale.
"Blake!" Weiss called out with far less enthusiasm. For the last few days the girl had hardly been helping and Yang had had enough.
"What's your problem!" The angry girl whirled around and addressed the heiress, "For the last few days you've been anything but helpful!"
"Well excuse me for not wanting to help a criminal!" She answered, and it was the wrong one as Yang grasped her forearm and dragged her into a nearby alleyway, nearly throwing her against the wall of a building as she confronted her.
"Blake isn't just some criminal, she's a part of this team! My partner!" The blonde's eyes were crimson and she blocked her teammate's attempts to push past her.
"Your partner," Weiss hissed, "is a terrorist. A terrorist organization that has dedicated themselves to murdering me and my family!"
"Was." Yang countered moving in closer and forcing Weiss to back up until her back hit the wall, "Was a terrorist."
"You don't know that for sure." Weiss was many things but meek was not one of them. Squaring she shoulders she stood up to Yang, eyes blazing and meeting the angry gaze with just as much fire, "She could still be a part of them."
The blonde scoffed, "If she was a spy for the White Fang she did a poor job of it, outing herself and all."
"Who knows what a psychopathic terrorist thinks, the problem is she once wanted me dead and probably still does."
She didn't flinch as a fist passed by her head and impacted the wall, spider webbing cracks out from the point of contact. Yang leaned in close and growled in a low voice, "Don't go painting her with that brush without at least giving her a chance."
"I refuse to let my guard down around her." Weiss stuck her chin out defiantly, their faces only inches apart now.
Click.
Both girls froze at the sound of a shutter and looked to the entrance of the alleyway where the sound had come from. Standing there, smirking, was Coco Adel and behind her with her brown rabbit ears standing up and head tilted to the side was Velvet Scarlatina.
"Nice to see the freshmen getting along so well, though I'd advise getting a room before this goes further." Coco tilted her head and glasses down and looked out at them with a salacious smile from behind the shades.
The two girls looked back at each other and their noses almost touched right before Weiss' palmed impacted and pushed Yang's face away from her, "We were doing nothing of the sort! I wouldn't be caught dead with this… this brute!"
Grabbing the girl's wrist and extricating her face from her palm, Yang rolled her eyes, "Oh you wound me Weiss-cream."
"And you!" The girl in question howled, "Stop it with that insipid nickname!"
"Sure thing Weiss-cream." She promptly ignored the heiress to turn to their seniors, "Hey guys, what brings you here?"
"Shopping." Coco said as if it explained everything, though it kind of did.
"Shopping date? Sounds nice." Yang smiled back viciously, trying to get her own back at the girl.
"Heh, Vel and I aren't like that." Her smile grew, "Yet."
Velvet's face turned crimson and by Coco's laugh that was the intent.
"Oh yeah." Yang pointed a finger up like she only just remembered, "We're looking for my partner. You seen her out somewhere in Vale?"
Her finger tapped her chin in thought, "Can't say I've seen her. Vel?"
The rabbit faunus nodded, "She was in a cafe near the docks."
"Wait, really?!" Yang exclaimed.
"Yeah. It looked like she was on a date with some monkey faunus boy."
"And you didn't tell me about this juicy tidbit?" Coco frowned at her teammate to which she got a roll of the eyes.
"If I told you, you would have probably interrupted them like you did Yang and Weiss." Coco's mouth opened to argue before she thought about it for a moment then close her mouth and shrugged, "Anyways I thought it was weird that she'd be on a date with the boy because I assumed was interest in someone else."
"Well if I get a chance it's one of the many things I'll ask her. C'mon Weiss." Yang pushed past eh two CFVY members a pulled her teammate along, ignoring her protestations.
"Unhand me, Yang!" Weiss pulled her hand away and massaged the wrist with her other, "Do you really think she's still there?"
"It's the best lead we've got. You promised to hear her out." Yang turned to her.
"And I will, though I'm not sure what she can say to make up for what she was a part of."
"Tsk." Yang looked to the side for a moment before looking back, "If she really couldn't be trusted do you think Carmine would have stayed quiet?"
"What?"
"Carmine." Yang looked around to make sure nobody was around. The streets of Vale tended to bustle even well into the night but none of the many walking the sidewalks were paying attention to them but nevertheless she leaned in and lowered her voice, "Carmine is from over ten years into the future, yet she never once batted an eye at Blake. If my partner was going to harm us or was anything but sincere, don't you think she would have done something about it? She said she came back to change things."
"I see. I guess you do have a point." Weiss looked Yang in the eyes, "When the Professor returns I shall have a talk with her. After we find Blake."
The smile that dawned on Yang's face was nothing short of radiant but was wiped a moment later as a rumbling sound echoed off the buildings. It was a sound neither of them could mistake. An explosion. A dark plume rose high into the sky and a feeling of dread settled in the pits of their stomachs.
"Isn't that..?" Weiss began.
Yang nodded, "That's towards the docks."
-SY-
Carmine's eye opened and blinked the blurriness from her vision. With a yawn she stretched her hands above her head, feeling the satisfying tautness of her muscles as they strained. Qrow was standing in the cockpit over Foehammer's shoulder, staring out at something in the distance as he conversed with the pilot. Instantly she knew something was wrong from his expression and she shot her father, who had shaken her awake, a questioning look.
"Something's up in Vale. We were just about to start our approach for Beacon but…"
Carmine got up and stood next to her uncle, looking out over Vale from high up she could see a dark plume of smoke. It was on the complete opposite side of Vale from Beacon and from this high up they could see the waterfront. It was the Vale docks, something had happened.
A fire? Something was tugging at the back of her memories but she couldn't quite place it.
"Early reports are saying there was some kind of explosion." Foehammer said out loud, no doubt listening in on the emergency channel.
Explosion? At the docks? Carmine gasped, the memory came flooding back as she cursed at herself for forgetting something like that.
"Shit. Foehammer we need to get there now!" Carmine gripped onto the back of the headrest and when the pilot looked back she must have seen her panicked expression because she didn't question it at all as she turned back to the controls.
"This is Beacon 1-1," Foehammer called into the radio, "I've got a huntsman team to respond to the site of the explosion. ETA four minutes."
A pause came over the radio and then, "Roger that Beacon 1-1, be advised hostile aircraft have been reported in the vicinity."
"Acknowledged." Foehammer pushed a lever forward and the bullhead accelerated hard, tilting on a heading toward the docks.
"What's wrong?" Taiyang asked.
Carmine moved back into the hold and banged her fist against the wall, angry at herself, "Something I forgot about. Torchwick is in the middle of stealing dust."
"By blowing it up?" Qrow asked.
Carmine shook her head, "No. The explosion is because a teammate of mine got involved."
"Team RWBY?" Her father asked, standing up with worry on his face. He was no doubt thinking of his daughters.
"Yang's partner, Blake."
"Well won't they be fine, then? They survived for a long time afterwards, right?" Qrow strapped Harbinger back onto the small of his back.
"In my timeline, yeah. But there's no telling what I've changed. I'm not going to take any chances with my team's safety." The one eyed huntress bit her lip, "Besides, Torchwick is working for the enemy. If we can remove him…"
"Isn't that interfering in Oz's plan?" Taiyang asked while Qrow grimaced at the mention of the headmaster.
"Letting him go would be suspicious." Was all Carmine would say. The cabin switched to the red lights, they were approaching the target zone and the huntress picked Bloom and Scatter from the seat where she'd left them.
Torchwick. She'd really almost forgotten him and his ignoble end at the hands of the very Grimm he'd helped attack Beacon and Vale. Looking back, he seemed so insignificant in the grand scheme of things but at the time she hadn't been able to let him get away with it. Now he was just a flamboyant, petty, thief.
"Approaching the target zone! Get ready!" Foehammer called back.
Carmine steeled herself as she pushed the button to open the bay door, the wind tearing at her hair as the turbulence filled the cabin. With a calm gaze she stepped out into the air.
-SY-
Roman Torchwick wasn't a man of faith, but if he was, he'd say he'd pissed of some higher power. It was the only explanation for the circus his life had become. For the umpteenth time he blocked an overhead slash with the crook of his cane, drawing the blade away with a sweep and backhanding the cat eared girl and sending her careening into her monkey boyfriend. Sighing when they stood up again.
The girl charged him again as the boy stayed back to fend off the grunts, really it took a dozen of them to slow the kid down. So useless.
The head of his cane smashed through the cat's collarbone and she disappeared in a blur, appearing to his right. He'd seen her use the trick enough to not be surprised and swept low, hooking her ankle with Melodic Cudgel. With a yank he pulled her foot out from under her and 'helped' her along by planting his left fist into her stomach and smashing the girl into the ground. A flash and her dark purple aura shattered, flickering for a moment before giving out. Before she could move his foot stomped on her stomach, causing her to cry out in pain. The tip of his can pushed into her face, the barrel hovering just in front of her eyes.
"Hey Monkey!" Roman yelled out, not taking his eyes off the cat.
"Blake! Let go of her!" The blond kid yelled.
Roman rolled his eyes, "How about you stop resisting or your girlfriend dies."
Both kids froze, the cat with her hands coiled around his ankle but nothing she could do could get her out of this predicament. The White Fang surrounded the monkey and pulled his staff out of his hands before grabbing his arms though the boy's glare never left Torchwick.
"Listen kid, don't blame me for this." Torchwick pointed at the girl, "It was you who stuck your nose into our business."
"Sir!" A voice came over the small comm earbud he had, "There's another bullhead on approach, it's coming in fast!"
"Then shoot it down!" Roman turned to the others, "Get everything loaded up. Kill the kids. We need to be gone before the hunters show up!"
"Too late Roman!" The voice came from the sky as a red blur shot through the air at an alarming rate, the figure not so much fall as tear forward like a round from a canon. Behind her in the sky, for the voice was female, the intruding bullhead could be seen rapidly approaching their location. It was too early for any huntsman to drop but apparently this one had a semblance that let her bloody fly.
He was cursed.
Melodic Cudgel came up and a fire round screamed out to meet the incoming huntress, dodging midair was hard, especially at that speed. Or at least it was supposed to be. Torchwick's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as the red blur split into three and went around the shot, barely managed to get his weapon up to guard as the huntress slammed into him with the power of a freight train, combat boots planted firmly on his cane in a flying dropkick that drove him back ten feet.
Jumping off with fluid grace the woman flipped back into a combat stance, her one silver eye staring him down. There was a moment of silence until everyone exploded into action. The White Fang bullheads he had opened fire on the incoming aircraft that peeled off but not before disgorging two more huntsman making Roman groan internal.
He'd like the kids back, please.
He didn't have time for thinking anything else as the huntress suddenly filled his vision in a flash of… rose petals? Why was that so familiar?
In a panic Melodic Cudgel came up to block the twin hand scythes that came in for his throat, the blades hooked around his cane and the huntress pulled, attempting to disarm him but he saw through that and pulled his weapon to the side, letting them slide off his cane. It was his turn to try and disarm her, the hook of his weapon came down to her wrist but, to his mounting horror, passed through them as they turned into rose petals.
Red filled his vision as the weapons came up to eye level faster than he could blinked and it was only instincts he'd learned from streetfighting that had him tilting his head to the side, narrowly dodging the shots that came from the barrels of the two weapons.
If he'd been any slower that would have ended the fight right there.
Melodic Cudgel came up again and instead of trying anything fancy he aimed for her face but she turned into petals again and surged towards him. He braced for impact but none came until he felt heavy, stinging pain in his back. His aura had been up so the rounds hadn't penetrated but damn did they smart, the woman had unloaded whatever high caliber into his back.
It wasn't over, however, as one of her scythes hooked his ankle and pulled from behind off balance he was prepared for her foot that she planted into the back of his knee that caused it to crack painfully onto the cement, eliciting a grunt of pain from him and another when his face joined it a moment later. The huntress bounced his head off the ground once again and kept stomping on it until he felt his aura shatter in a flicker of orange.
The preparation for blissful unconsciousness was short lived as he was kicked over to face his tormentor. Her lone silver eye bored into his and showed little emotion as she straddled him. Normally he would be quite happy at a pretty girl assuming such a position but having a gun barrel shoved into his face put a damper on things.
At least things can't get worse. Roman thought.
Roman thought wrong.
There was an explosion in the distance as one of his bullheads crashed into the bay in a flaming wreck, the other two fleeing like the cowards they were. The last of the White Fang grunts slumped to the ground, having been mopped up by the other two huntsmen, one using his bare fists.
"Roman." The voice was cold and caused a shiver down his spine. He was well and truly screwed. He'd not only failed the job but been caught in the process. The only bright side was that a few of the animals had escaped with a container of dust. Cinder would flay his skin for this. She wouldn't kill him, oh no, she still needed him for now. Instead he would be threatened and he would be cowed because she was very able, and willing, to carry out her threats.
"You have me at a disadvantage." The thief put on his best winning smile. At least Neo would spring him from whatever cell this woman put him in.
"Torchwick." The eye didn't even flinch at his smile but looked on him coldly, "Hear those sirens?" Indeed the sirens were off in the distance and coming closer, "You have two options and you have until those officers get here to decide."
She had his undivided attention.
"I'm not here for you. You're a small fish compared to what I want to catch. I. Want. Your. Boss." The huntress leaned in close.
"Lady, you've got no idea-"
"Cinder Fall." She growled, cutting him off and the scythe that wasn't pointed at his head had its tip buried inches from his head into the concrete.
"Or maybe you do." His eyes hardened, "But if you know that much you know I can't just turn her over. She's powerful, the kind of powerful you don't just say no to."
"I'm aware, Roman. But leave her to me. I know who she is, I know who her boss is and I know who she's working with. I even know what you have planned, even the parts she hasn't told you yet."
Torchwick blinked in confusion, "How? She plays so close to the chest in might as well be in her ribcage."
"Don't worry about how, Roman, the only thing you need to know is that Cinder Fall will die by my hand." The huntress glared at him and in that moment he knew. This woman was just as, if not more dangerous than Cinder. It wasn't just the skill, though she had that in spades, it was the look in her eye. The utter conviction that things would go her way, a confidence born of having the ability to make things reality. A confidence that rivaled Cinder's. The cold steel of her weapon pressed up against his chin and given the look she gave him he knew she wouldn't give a second thought about executing him there.
"Time's up. Work with me to take down Cinder or die here. Either way Cinder can't have you."
His heart beat at a thousand times a minute and his mind raced but there was no solution to this predicament. Or maybe this was the solution to his previous one? Cinder's offer never came with a no option either but with her he knew she'd kill him at the end. Fall wasn't the type to leave loose ends and he was a big one. But this woman? She was an unknown and possibly able to kill his current employer, like she said she would. Even if she didn't manage it it would be a distraction he could use to escape. The one-eyed huntress had said it himself. He was a small fry, if he got away chances were she wouldn't care as long as she got Fall.
"You make it hard to say no." Roman smirked.
"I'll take that as a compliment." She smiled ferally, "You can call me Carmine."
A/N: So Displaced is back and with everyone's favorite thief. Roman and Neo are delights to write, so much fun dialogue. Well one of them has fun dialogue. This chapter was originally going to be a lot more bloody but I decided against it because it just didn't fit in, at least not yet.