RWBY-The Recidivist: Chapter 14 *Rewritten* (Original Version Released 1st of January, 2014)
Reminder: DISCLAIMER/AUTHOR'S NOTES
NOTE: I am aware that the entire series is not finished yet. Due to the huge number of changes in the canon and the other project being done in Japan, this story will be an AU (Alternate Universe) that takes place between Volume 2 and 3, while adopting some actual elements from the canon.
RWBY along with its characters DOESN'T belong to me. The series respectively belongs to RoosterTeeth and its creator, Monty Oum. The plot in this Fan Fiction and some characters you'll know who are OCs (Original Characters) are original from me. If any ideas or characters sound similar to another story written by somebody else, it is purely coincidental. I refuse to blatantly steal somebody's idea and claim that it was mine. If you have any concerns, you are always welcome to message me.
If there is anybody outside of this site posting this Fan Fiction without giving proper credit or impersonating me, please let me know.
Chapter 14: Search and Extract, Part 1
The package is considered important and dangerous. And small…
-(Undisclosed Airspace, Unknown White Fang Stealth Airship)-
(Third-Person POV)
"Time on target: Three minutes."
"Copy that. Prepping all units." Adam said before checking his sword and putting on his mask after.
"Mask is still trying to hide that mark, isn't it?" A man asked from behind him.
Turning around, Adam saw Ahriman who was stretching both of his arms while approaching him. "Maybe. But it's also showing my loyalty to our cause."
"I have to ask, Taurus." Ahriman said before unsheathing his weapon to examine it. "Would you continue to blindly follow the cause for the White Fang even if it was being led down the path you don't want?"
Adam folded his arms and gave a small smirk. "I'd much prefer to lead than follow if you didn't already realize. Why do you think I have this position in the Venom Brigade? Once I reach even higher, I will help the White Fang reach at that same level too."
"I see." He chortled and sheathed his bade back after inspecting it. "Don't get too close to the sun, Taurus. You might get burned and fall back down to the bottom to your grave."
"I'll keep that in mind." Adam said, with him rolling his eyes behind the mask. He turned around behind him to have a look at the White Fang insertion teams, most of them wearing casual attire due to the nature of this mission. Not catching as much attention was not an option in the Drahën Empire lands. "Attention!" He shouted to his men.
All agents stood up and held onto the handles above them while paying attention to their leader. They all removed their masks and kept them in a hidden bag underneath their second layer of clothing.
"Brothers and sisters. Our objective is to search for and claim a rogue agent of the Venom Brigade who has left the path of our cause. In pursuit of her own personal gain. Her name is Amelie. Inside your bags is a photo of her when she was last seen. Remember and identify that face as soon as you reach the ground." Adam said before pointing at the pilot. "For whatever reason if we've been compromised, we will have limited air support to watch overhead, or extract all agents in the rally point you've been given. BUT! I expect to leave the capital with our objective. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" They all answered.
Ahriman stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. "For my purpose, I will be accompanying you folks just in case you need any back up. Basically, if things go ugly, you know who to call."
"I'll remain on station onboard this bird relaying orders and other information to all of you. Anything else you'd like to know?" Adam asked for last minute questions.
"Rules on handling Amelie, sir?" One of the agents asked.
"Dead or alive. Doesn't matter. If the latter, we'll make sure she's being made an example of." Adam smirked and went over near the ramp to open it. As soon as he pressed it, the fresh air blasted inside the cabin. "One minute! Chutes ready!"
"Doraegon. It's been a long time…" Ahriman smiled nostalgically while taking in the fresh breeze. Suddenly, his scroll/phone started to ring in his pocket. "Hello?"
"Dad? It's me."
"Somnus. Did you need something before we get deployed?"
"I heard you're being directly inserted into the capital, right? It's about…you know,…the spot."
Ahriman sighed and slightly nodded his head to himself. "Did you want me to keep searching?"
"If possible. I know you don't have too much free time when Adam is involved. But it would mean a lot if you gave it a visit and find what you can." Somnus said, somewhat saddened.
"Hey, I'll do anything I can to help my boy out. Even if that means I'm in the middle of something."
"Thanks, dad."
"We're about to deploy shortly. For now, just relax and enjoy your day off. That mission in Menagerie clearly tired you out."
"Got it. Take care. I'll have some food ready when you get back."
"Much appreciated. Take care, son." Ahriman smiled shortly before hanging up and looking over at Adam. "Ready to roll?"
"More than." Adam nodded and lifted up his radio. "All Venom elements. Commence operation." He declared.
-(25 Miles Near "The Crown's Gem"; Heiragon Province, Doraegon)-
"Sooo…are you still mad at me…?"
Yang sighed and remained silent.
Wyvern smiled dryly and tried to keep the conversation going to avoid awkward silence. "It was an accident. Really. Not like I was intentionally trying to get a glimpse of you like that."
"It's not that." She told him. "It's just both awkward and embarrassing to think about."
"Maybe I shouldn't talk about it next time…?" Wyvern asked.
"That would be best."
Taking that request, Wyvern leaned back and looked out the window, which was still a sea of mountains and trees of nature. He turned his head back to Yang and asked, "Is there anything you know about the capital city of the Empire?"
She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Not much. Hell, I don't even remember its name."
"Actually, the capital city doesn't really have a name you would expect. We just call it "The Crown's Gem" out here." He explained.
"Really? Why do you call it that instead of how towns and cities are named?"
"To put it short, "The Crown's Gem" was given based on its location's history before the Drahën Empire was established. It was a massive mining town rich with materials like gold, gemstones, and such. The first two especially, since those are what makes a crown. As for the other reason, you'll have to see for yourself once we're above the capital."
"Speaking of which, we're almost there, Wyvern. You two better put your seatbelts back on." A female voice said from the cockpit, which was obviously the pilot. Her appearance was most shrouded due to the flight suit and helmet.
Wyvern nodded and made sure he tightened his seatbelt and looked over at Yang. "Ready to set foot in the capital city for the first time?"
Yang nodded excitedly and buckled her seatbelt properly. "All green. Think I can bring souvenirs back to Vale if we have some time?"
"If we do, then by all means, go ahead." Wyvern nodded. "As an apology for…you know, I'll handle the payments for whatever you want to purchase."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and formed a small smirk. "So, if I wanted a new bike, you would pay for it straight up?"
He just gave her a puzzled look and shrugged his shoulders. "I can afford it. But I'm not sure why exactly you need one after already owning one back at Vale."
"Relax. I'm just pulling your leg." Yang chuckled. "I'm not the kind of girl who would easily go on an expensive shopping spree like that while using your finances."
"Thanks. But if you're still hungry, let me know and we can find a bite to eat."
"I'm curious on what Drahënese food is like. Sure!"
"Wyvern~? Is that a date~?" The pilot asked while peeking back at them, clearly smirking behind the flight mask. "Should I start calling blondie back there "Princess" too?"
He rolled his eyes and blushed lightly just the same as Yang did. "Eyes on the sky, Marina. Wouldn't want you to crash into anything."
"Okay, okay. But…you're right. The weather doesn't really look too bright. Pretty bad overcast over the capital, it seems."
Hearing that, Wyvern and Yang both looked out the window and confirmed what Marina was seeing. Below them was covered with pretty thick clouds with some columns sticking out that blocked some visibility across the skies. The military Bullhead they were onboard was about 13,700 feet (4,175 meters) above ground level. But as they were continuing their descent, they started to pick up low-level turbulence that was making their approach shaky. And with that, Marina banked the aircraft left in order to avoid it as best as she could. But she only ran into another wave of turbulence that seemed like it was putting them off course.
Frustratingly, Marina increased the aircraft's speed to abort the descent as it was starting to grow even worse by the second. "Damn it. With this kind of weather, we're going to have to wait until it's clear enough of any turbulence."
"With what we're here for, I don't think we have a generous amount of time before Amelie gets found by the White Fang." Wyvern said.
"Afraid I can't do that, sir. Unless you're okay with jumping out of the aircraft." Marina told him while sounding a bit nervous, as she wouldn't advise him to do that.
"….Can we?"
"Oh my God, are you really considering that?"
"Can we though?" Yang added herself to the conversation.
"Not you too!" She groaned. "To answer your question, yes. But Wyvern, I don't think flying using your zhulong wings is a good idea."
"Wait, you know he's a zhulong too?" Yang asked, surprised.
"Long story. But I still wouldn't advise that."
Wyvern sighed and looked out the window. "Very well. Hopefully conditions get better in a few minutes."
"They should be. Just hang in there."
…
…
…
(A Few Minutes Later)
"I can't believe those two…" Marina sighed.
As it turns out, Wyvern and Yang took the faster option by jumping out of her aircraft to dive towards the capital city. Still at a high enough altitude, Yang cheerfully shouted while doing a few skydiving tricks she learned herself. As for Wyvern, he didn't spread his wings just yet as he kept an eye on his blonde friend due to her not having wings or a parachute. When he senses they're approaching the ground even closer, that's when he'll go to Yang.
Wyvern chuckled at Yang's clear enjoyment. "This is not safe at all!"
"Hey! You were the one that suggested it~!" Yang laughed.
"I meant for you! You don't even have anything to soften your landing!"
Yang rolled her eyes and raised both of her gauntlets near her face. "I got it covered already."
"Yeeeeah. Making the recoil slow your freefall by firing shotgun shells over a heavily populated city. That doesn't sound dangerous for the people below." He said sarcastically.
"Oh…well…what do I do now?" Yang nervously grinned.
"Don't worry. I got you." Wyvern gave a thumbs up and pointed down. "As soon as we're about to go through the clouds, grab my hand."
"Uhhhh…oookay! Got it!" Yang bit her lip as she was a bit hesitant on grabbing his hand. But considering she had no other options, she prepared herself.
As soon as Wyvern and Yang dived into the clouds, they were met with low visibility along with a cool and somewhat wet layer experience before coming out to see the big city. Yang looked at the capital in awe as she never really seen a city this massive and busy compared to the other kingdoms. Due to the overcast, lights and neon signs shined throughout the capital where it seemed like it was sparkling. Remembering what Wyvern said about why it was called "The Crown's Diamond", visually, it was like looking at the table and crown top of a diamond itself. The polish lines that connect each other seem to have a major hotspot of activity due to the lights. However, Yang was unable to see what was there clearly. Instead, she was snapped out of her state as Wyvern grabbed a hold of her hand to pull her towards him.
Yang was a bit embarrassed by him grabbing her like this. But allowed him to as he then pulled her onto his back before suddenly spreading his zhulong wings. That was when Wyvern leveled himself for flight as he descended to a forty-five-degree angle towards the city. It was a bit intense even for Yang while flying in pretty rough weather conditions. But she managed after a few seconds.
Wyvern looked back at her and grinned with a thumbs up. "Hang tight and enjoy the ride!"
Descending till they reached the same heigh as the buildings, Yang watched as Wyvern flew fast enough to remain unclearly seen from people below or inside the buildings. Every turn was sharp and precise as if he has done this before. This only made Yang's arms tighten around him even more as Wyvern noticed this and looked back at her once again after swooping past the last set of buildings.
"You okay?" He asked while gliding.
She nodded as she let out a huff as if she was releasing tension. "All good. That was…wow." She chuckled afterwards.
He chuckled back and nodded. "Rides not over yet. Let's find a clear place to land."
"Where to?" Yang asked while looking around herself.
"I know a spot where it's clear and nobody will see us." He said before banking towards a hill that had a good chunk of trees instead of lights.
It was a memorial hill that was currently closed due to bad weather. Wyvern let out a noticeable sigh as he approached the landing zone much closer, much to Yang's curiosity. The moment she got off of him, the ground was excessively wet due to the previous rainfall. But the current weather was just a drizzle.
"That was a nice ride." Yang chuckled while fixing her bangs.
"I'll be sure to let Marina know."
"Well, that too. But I was mostly talking about riding on yo-…" Yang suddenly stopped the last word from her sentence upon realizing how wrong that sounded out of context.
Wyvern snickered and nudged her side. "Don't say it like that. What if there's children around?"
"I think the only child here is you for laughing at it." She rolled her eyes.
"Okay, I'm sorry. Just don't tell Schnell."
Looking around, Yang noticed the large structure in front of her where it was overgrown with vegetation to the point where she couldn't tell what this building was. So, she turned over to Wyvern and asked, "Is this…a mansion or something?" She made the first assumption just by how it looked.
"Remember when me and my dad talked about the Dragconis Family estate? Well…you're looking at it." Wyvern frowned as he was clearly saddened to see it once again.
"Oh…" Yang stood there silently, not knowing what else to say.
"Well, while we're here, do you mind if I pay some respects to them for a minute or two?" Wyvern asked.
"Of course. I'm sure we have enough time to spare."
With that decision, Wyvern walked inside the front door, which was suspiciously open. But he continued down to the center of the atrium where it smelled nothing but rotting wood and some burned charcoal that seemed to stay behind since the incident. Yang didn't do anything but followed and stayed close while remaining silent, since she knew better not to disturb a memorial site. Especially if Wyvern was this acting like this.
As soon as they reached near the two-way splitting stairwell of the atrium, Wyvern kneeled down and clasped his hands together to begin a prayer in a language Yang couldn't understand. Either it was Drahënese or in Zhulong tongue. Regardless, Yang decided to do the same thing and prayed quietly in her mind to ensure the Dragconis Family rests peacefully. After a minute has passed, Wyvern stood back up on his feet and turned over to Yang, who was already finished praying and looking around the ruined area in wonder of what it was like before the incident.
"Yang, thank you for being patient." Wyvern smiled. "May not seem like much, but it means a lot to me."
She smiled lightly while her cheeks tinted pink. "No problem~! I may not know too much about them. But…the least I can do is offer some peace to them too."
"That's good. Well, now would be the time to-…" Wyvern stopped mid-sentence and turned his head around to look behind his back. "Hold on. Somebody's here."
"What?" Yang whispered upon hearing him say that. "Isn't this place closed for tourists and others for today?"
"It is. Stay sharp." Wyvern said while grabbing the handle of one of his swords while walking up the stairs where he could sense the presence.
"Hey…uhhh…you don't think this place is haunted…right…?" Yang smiled nervously.
He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. "What if it is?"
She let out a dry chuckle. "O-Okay, no. Stop. You don't have to scare me like that."
"I'm not trying to scare you. There has been reports of paranormal activity upstairs where the family stayed."
"…you serious…?"
"No. I'm just pulling your leg." He showed his smirk and chuckled.
Yang glared and whacked his back lightly. "Not cool."
"Alright. Shh…" Wyvern stopped where he was to listen to one pair of footsteps coming from one of the rooms near the central exterior garden.
Hearing it too, Yang cocked a piece of her gauntlet back to check if it was loaded before staying close behind Wyvern. "What if it's just a civilian?"
"We're about to find out." He said while reaching one of the bedroom doors and saw it belonged to one of the family members, where only an "S" was visible on the name plaque. "Ready?"
Yang nodded and raised both of her gauntlets while standing on the opposite side of the entrance.
Wyvern twisted the knob and kicked the door while drawing one of his swords, now standing inside of the room. "Huntsman! Nobody move!" He shouted while stating who they were first, without mentioning they were students.
As expected, inside of the room wasn't empty at all. There was one man sitting near the fireplace one his knees while seemingly meditating. Both Wyvern and Yang were unable to identify more features of this man due to him wearing a hood and cloak that seemed to conceal himself entirely while using it for warmth or the rain. It was soaked a little, after all. But he didn't seem to be a threat at all. He just remained where he was while allowing both of them to keep their weapons drawn as if he had no intention of fighting or causing any trouble.
The man opened his eyes and looked up at the two of them. He just gave a warm smile and said, "Greetings. Are you here to pay your respects too?"
Wyvern nodded his head and lowered his blade a bit. "We are. But we didn't expect anybody to be inside the ruins after we heard you."
"What are you doing in here?" Yang asked. "Isn't this memorial closed for today?"
"Forgive me. I…I really needed to come back here to pay my respects to the Dragconis Family. As today is very special." The man bowed after standing up. "I can leave now if that's what you wish. I am just about finished here for today."
"Well…it's fine. You're not really in trouble. As long as you weren't here to vandalize or scavenge this place." Wyvern said as he looked around, doubting there was still anything left to take.
"Believe me. I would not be able to forgive myself for doing that." The man sighed. "Hell, I probably would've taught someone doing that a lesson they'll learn the hard way."
"Hmm. You and me both." Yang nodded as she could relate to past experience.
For Wyvern, he seemed to agree too. "You come here often?"
"On rare occasions. But I have definitely been here for more than a few times." He answered. "You?"
"Usually with my parents since I don't know too much about the Dragconis Family personally. They worked closely with Vulcan and Dante Dragconis years back." Wyvern told him and unintentionally revealed his influence on a stranger. "By the way, I'm Wyvern. This lady right here is Yang." He said while sheathing his sword away.
Yang waved and gave a small wink. "Sup."
"A pleasure to meet the both of you. Just call me…'Eric'." The man chuckled and bowed his head.
"Alright then, Eric. Should we just leave you to it then?" Wyvern asked while giving a respectful smile.
'Eric' shook his head. "Like I said, I was just about done with my visit here in the Dragconis Estate. I should probably return home before my little one starts getting worried sick."
"Oh. Well, you are free to leave then. Sorry for drawing our weapons out on you." Wyvern chuckled sheepishly. "Again, we just thought you were trespassing to scavenge the place."
"Relax. No need to worry about me being offended in any way. I completely understand your concern." He chuckled back to make him feel comfortable.
When 'Eric' turned towards the door, Yang stepped out of his way and asked, "Since you know this family well, do you live nearby?"
"Not at all. Let's just say I always come a long way visiting this place." He shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, come back anytime! Maybe next time when the memorial is open, we might see each other." Wyvern said.
"Sounds grand. Thank you. And take care of yourselves." He waved while exiting the room.
After Eric departed from Wyvern and Yang, leaving both of them in the room while exiting the same way they came in, Wyvern took out his scroll/phone and realized he received a message from Schnell. He opened it and read it.
'You made it to the capital already, right?' -Schnell texted.
'Yup. Just paid my respects to the Dragconis Family with Yang. Oddly enough, we ran into a guy named "Eric" inside the estate while the area was closed. He didn't mean any harm or any sort of trouble though.' -Wyvern replied.
'Weird. Did he say why he was there?' -She asked.
'Some special occasion. He told me he was close to the family in some way. Seemed pretty protective of the ruins too.' -He sent.
'I don't know too much about the family's history with other specific people. Was he a Zhulong?' -Schnell asked, seemingly suspicious.
'I doubt it. Didn't really sense anything, I guess.' -Wyvern texted.
'For now, I'll look into it to see if that guy was really legit about his reasons.' -She said.
'Sounds like a good idea. Better safe than sorry.' -He agreed.
'Anyway, back on topic. Amelie just called me via payphone…yes, they still exist…and confirmed White Fang agents are on the ground looking for her.' -Schnell warned.
'Is she certain?' -Wyvern asked.
'We're talking about an ex-Venom Brigade agent. She can tell you're a White Fang member just by seeing your tactics and how you're dressed. Maybe even with her sense of smell, due to her being a feline faunus.' -She noted. 'Advise you get back to searching for her before those uncivilized animals find her.'
Upon hearing about White Fang agents being confirmed inside the capital, Wyvern looked at the spot where 'Eric' was seated and wondered if he was possibly one of these agents searching for Amelie. This was a pretty vacant area and a good hiding spot for fugitives. So maybe…
'Alright. We'll keep looking. Did she say where she was at or where she was going next?' -Wyvern asked Schnell.
'Her payphone call happened near Adler Park.' -She replied.
'That's literally near us! We'll let you know if we run into her.' -He sent while leading Yang out of the estate.
'Nice. Good luck. And stay safe. PS: Watch over your date just in case. :3' -Schnell teased.
'-_-;' -Wyvern replied with a single emoji.
Yang followed Wyvern down the steps and asked, "So, what now?"
"Schnell texted me that Amelie should be nearby. Keep your eyes peeled for a small feline faunus." Wyvern said while opening the front door for her after reaching it.
"Soooo, basically a smaller version of Blake?" Yang joked.
"Maybe." He chuckled back before sending a message to Schnell for a photo of Amelie if she had one to easily identify her if spotted. In an instant, Schnell responded with a picture of her with Amelie taken a year ago, which should be accurate enough to finding her. "Just got a photo of her." He said while showing Yang.
As stated by Schnell earlier before they left, she was short-statured. Almost reaching to the height of five feet (152 centimeters). In regard to appearance, Amelie had fair skin, short ponytailed two-tone hair with the top being grey and the bottom being white; with one of her cat ears had a piercing with a small bell on it. Her eyes were sharp and purple with a mole underneath her left one. As for her clothing, Wyvern and Yang decided to ignore it as she surely would've been wearing something else besides a fancy dress like in the photo. Especially under this weather.
"Aww. She's so cute~." Yang chortled.
"All the more reason to save her and get her back to safety." He nodded with a small chuckle before looking down the path. "Hold on. Did you see that?"
"See what? Is this another prank about the paranormal? Because it better not be." Yang folded her arms while glaring at him.
"No, no. I thought I saw somebody running out of the path in front of us."
Yang tilted and peeked in front of me to scan the area herself. But she didn't see anybody. "Maybe that guy we met up with inside the estate?"
He shook his head. "No. Too small to be him." Wyvern moved forward and began to walk off the stone path to search through the bushes and trees. "Hello?!" He called out.
"Anyone out here?" Yang called out too. "This place is closed. You shouldn't be around here." She added while pushing some bushes out of her way.
"Be careful." Wyvern remained cautious just in case something happened, since there were White Fang agents roaming around the capital.
Not even more than fifteen steps in, Wyvern and Yang peeked over one of the trees towards a small opening with no bushes to see someone on the ground. It was a girl. She was partially wet and dirty from the weather while she was dressed in slightly oversized overcoat with it reaching beneath her waist, pantyhose that were ripped in some parts, and casual footwear that was clearly rundown. No pun intended.
But what was clear for the two of them was the appearance of this girl. She almost looked completely similar to the photo of Amelie that Schnell sent them. After a few seconds of verifying without her noticing them yet, it was clear. They fortunately found her first before the White Fang agents were able to reach her.
"Excuse me?"
Immediately, the girl turned around and drawn out a set of two tessen blades, hand fans that were bladed to have a dangerously lethal effect for close quarters combat. However, that was shot out the window as she tossed one of the fans over towards Wyvern. He was able to dodge it. But was grazed on his ear as some blood tricked down the small wound. Unexpectedly, the fan began to spin back towards him, which he was barely able to avoid another scratch. After passing by, it landed back to the girl's hand as she went in a more defensive stance, expecting Wyvern or Yang to attack after making the first move.
But the two of them didn't fight back as they already knew this was the girl they were looking for.
"Are you Amelie?" Wyvern asked while correcting his eyepatch.
"Who's asking?" She glared while readying one of her war fans again, ready to throw it.
"We're here to get you out."
Amelie growled prepared herself in a more defensive stance. "Like Hell I'm going back to be in the same presence with you bastards! If you have orders to take me in, you're going to have to survive against me!"
"We're not with the White Fang! Schnell sent us." Yang told her while raising both her hands up to show she wasn't a threat.
"Schnell who?" She raised an eyebrow.
"White hair? Violet eyes? Wields a huge katana? Excessively pervy?" Wyvern pointed out the traits of her.
Upon hearing him say the details, Amelie lowered her war fans and let out a sigh of relief. "So, you two really are the ones here to get me out of here. Yang and Wyvern, correct?"
"Yeah." They both answered.
"Schnell told me about you two lovebirds. Just be sure not to act so lovey in my presence…"
Yang blushed hard as she looked over at Wyvern and back at Amelie. "We're not…like that…!"
"What the hell did Schnell tell you about us?!" Wyvern blushed as well. "Damn it! She's laughing at us right now, I bet!"
(Happy Valentine's Day! For those single out there, look on the bright side. You don't have to worry too much about gifts and plans while you have your finances to yourself. Regardless, take care out there!)
*You may Favorite or Follow the story, if you like what you see so far.
Reviewing/Comments for this story is optional.