Reviews
SolSparda369/buzzsaw935: You know it. Indeed it will be worse. Now I admit, the Uncle part of me didn't want to include that but my 'dark side' told me it would really push Qrow off the edge if something like that happened to Ruby and Yang. I know it would for me as an uncle myself.
Aleucard: My thoughts exactly. Rest assured that won't happen. Vigo may be a mob boss but I'm sure he would know where to draw a line.
Essitter1987: I'll consider it.
Guest: Indeed.
Now on with the story
Chapter 4: We call him Baba Yaga.
Ruby cried and shook as she hugged Yang. This had to be a dream. A bad dream. She and Yang will wake in bed and Luna will be there with Uncle Qrow and they'll be okay. As soon as the Sun rose however, Ruby had accepted the truth.
She and Yang were taken by bad people that broke into Uncle Qrow's house, they beat Qrow, killed Luna, stole Qrow's car and. . . touched them.
When they were done having their 'fun,' Ruby and Yang were tossed into the trunk. They had tried calling for help until one of the men banged on the wall and told them to be quiet. Or they'd have worse trouble. Shortly after, she and Yang heard the horn of a boat blowing. The ferry, Ruby realized. They were now on the ferry and leaving Patch.
Please, Uncle Qrow, anyone, help us.
An hour of leaving the ferry, Iosef sped through the streets of Vale before driving up to the gate of a private mechanic shop. He honked on the horn five times before leaning out the window and flipping his middle finger at the security camera. Shortly after, the gate opened.
Iosef drove into the mechanic shop. He and Eric laughed as they got out of the mustang. Victor remained silent and stayed next to the car. Probably to make sure the girls don't try anything.
"I think I'll keep this motherfucker!" Iosef chortled in Animan. "And those little bitches aren't too bad either."
He looked toward the chief mechanic that was working on the engine of another car. "Hey, Aureilo." he gestures to the car. "I want new VN numbers and clean papers."
Aureilo glances at him for second and turned back to work before stiffening and glancing back Wto the car. He stands straight and walks over slowly. Blinking his eyes to be sure he's looking at a different car. Unfortunately, he isn't. "Where did you get that car?"
The mechanics nearby hear that question and glance over to Iosef out of curiosity. Then their eyes widen. The other mechanics take notice too and stop their work and watch the scene unfold with tense expressions.
Qrow walked to the garage and stopped in his tracks. Apparently Iosef saw fit to vandalize Lydia's car. The car windows were shattered and there was a baseball bat imbedded in the wind shield. Qrow's breathing quickened in angry. His shoulders shook before he marched back inside and grabbed his dress coat and Harbinger. One detail that was noticeable is that he still wore his blood stained shirt.
Apparently his anger was drawing the attention of Grimm native to Patch. Nothing too dangerous. Just a handful of Beowolves.
Without breaking his stride, Qrow swung Harbinger and sliced three Grimm's head clean off. A fourth Beowulf tried to pounce on him from the side but Qrow caught it by the throat and slammed it down on the ground. He raised his sword over his head and stabbed the Grimm in the mouth.
Later, Qrow exits off a public bus in front of the Mechanic shop. He walks into the building, ignoring the looks of fear from the workers and towards Aureilo and-he paused. Standing in front of him and Aureilo was one of the thugs that was with Iosef at the Dust fuel station. His vision practically turned red like blood.
Faster than a blink, Qrow grabbed the young man and slammed him against the side of a car. He reeled back his fist and began to punch the thug in the face.
"Qrow! Qrow, wait!" Aureilo exclaimed as he grabbed Qrow by the arm. The veteran Huntsman ignored him and kept on punching the bastard in the face before hitting him in the chest, making his Aura shatter. When the thug tried to raise his hand, Qrow grabbed it and then twisted the arm until there was a sickening CRUNCH!
Qrow's lips curled ever so slightly in sadistic glee. He pushed Aureilo away again and reached and grabbed a wench from a nearby toolbox. He may have Harbinger but that would too merciful. He held it above his head when-"Uncle Qrow!"
He froze in mid swing and turned his head to the side. From across the room, Ruby and Yang ran to their uncle. Dropping the thug and wench, Qrow ran to them as well and dropped to his knees.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang cried out again as they collided with Qrow and hugged him tightly. The fire in Qrow's crimson eyes cooled down ever so slightly as he sighed in relief. He pulled back slightly and looked at them. Ruby had a swollen eye and Yang's lip was bloody. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked after a moment of staring at them.
The joy and relief faded from their iliac and silver eyes. Ruby just started crying and hugged Qrow again. "H-He. . . They-W-We-" Yang said in between her own sobs before she hugged Qrow.
Slowly, Qrow turned his head to Aureilo and the thug who was sitting against the car and looking down ashamed.
"Start talking." Was what he said after Aureilo poured him a drink of bourbon.
"I asked you where the Hell did you get it?" Aureilo demanded with hands on his hips. Iosef shrugged impassively. "Who gives a shit?"
"It was Iosef Tarasov."
.
.
.
"Vigo's son." Qrow narrowed his eyes. That explained why the bastard looked familiar. Aureilo nodded grimly.
"Okay, just get out." Aureilo declared with a wave of his hand. "Get out of my shop. Right now." He begins to walk away.
"Did you just lose your shit, Aureilo?" Iosef asked angrily. "Cause we own you." Aureilo paused and walked right up to the man. "Was that? What did you say to me?"
"We own you." Iosef said slowly with emphasis. Aureilo stared at him for a moment before bluntly saying, "You don't own me, punk. I work with your father, alright." He then nods to the mustang. "The owner of the car, did you kill him or what?"
Iosef looked briefly confused before dismissing it. So what that Aureilo knew the last owner. "No, sure as Hell fucked up his dog." he said with a laugh.
"Fucked up his dog, that's what you did?" Aureilo let an ironic laugh. Yeah, he's looking at a dead man walking. "That's crazy shit, man." He shook his head with a sigh before one of Iosef's friends suddenly opened the trunk and pulled out two young girls out. One with black and red hair and the other with blonde hair.
Aureilo's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates upon seeing the girls. Okay, scratch that. Aureilo was looking at a future pile of ash. "The Hell are you doing, Victor?" Iosef asked.
"Letting them go," Victor said as he placed the girls down. The young girls scrambled to their feet and ran to hide. Aureilo recovered from his shock and grabbed Iosef by the shoulder, making the young man face him and punched him in the face twice and then gave him an uppercut to the jaw, knocking Iosef off his feet.
Eric looked between Victor and Aureilo before pulling out a pistol and aiming it directly at Aureilo's face. The mechanic wasn't bothered and let out a chuckle. "Oh look at you. You're going to come into my shop and pull a gun on me? That's great." He then grabbed Eric's gun. "Come on. Either you kill me right now or get the fuck out of my shop."
A gun barrel pressed against Eric's head from the side. Turning to the side, Aureilo and Eric saw a young man with ginger hair with bangs that covered one of his green eyes and a black bowler hat and holding a red and black cane at Eric's head that had the gun barrel at the end. Behind Roman Torchwick every mechanic held their tools as weapons in a threatening manner.
Eric lowered his gun and help Iosef to his feet and Roman stepped back. "Vigo is not going to like this," he said to Aureilo.
"How do you know what Vigo likes or doesn't like?" Aureilo asked in response. "Tell you something, he's going to understand."
He walks back to the car he was working on and closes the hood. "You got a fucking pair on you, old man!" Iosef shouted. "I guess we'll be taking our business somewhere else."
Roman and a short woman with pink and brown hair walked over to where Ruby and Yang hid. The sisters huddled together against a corner. Yang had gotten her hands on a tool box while holding Ruby close. Acting on fear, she began throwing the weapons at Roman and Neo.
Neo dodged and ducked from each tool thrown her way while Roman only got hit once in between the eyes. Neo held her hands up in a peaceful gesture. "We're not going to hurt either of you," Roman said soothingly. Yang hesitated for a long moment before she and Ruby stood up and walked to Neo and hugged her tightly. Neo sighed silently and closed her eyes as she placed a hand on Ruby's head.
Qrow turned his gaze to Victor who had a makeshift cast and sling on his arm and wasn't meeting his gaze. "You may have freed them," he spoke sternly. "but you also didn't stop Iosef from laying his hands on them."
Victor didn't say anything and kept his head down. "When the time comes, you will make the ultimate sacrifice for them." Qrow continued. "Until then, I don't want to see you at Patch again."
Victor nodded his head solemnly and walked out of the mechanic shop without another word. "What are you going to do?" Aureilo asked, despite having a hunch what the answer was. Qrow picked up his glass and took a drink before saying, "I need a ride."
Aureilo nodded and tossed him a set of keys. "On the house," he stated. Qrow nodded in thanks. He turned to Roman and Neo with a meaningful gaze and nodded to them. The two returned the nod as Ruby and Yang walked their side and gave Neo two empty bowls. Neo smiled at them softly and waved them goodbye. The sisters returned the wave before running over to Qrow who opened the door for them.
Qrow then drove a mustang similar to his own out of the gate. Ruby and Yang sat in the front seat, sharing the seatbelt. Ruby then leans over to Qrow and laid her head against his side. Qrow instantly wrapped his arm around the two as he drove. Briefly, he closed his eyes feeling tears threatening to spill. So close. He came so close to losing them if Victor didn't have a conscious.
As they got onto the ferry, Qrow pulled out his Scroll as Ruby and Yang slept. "Ozpin, it's Qrow." he said in a serious tone. "I need you and Glynda to pick up Ruby and Yang at my house. It's important. Just you two, with Tai on a mission, you two are the only ones I can trust on this side of Remnant. Oz, please. Look, I'll explain the situation in person. You and Glynda have an hour." With that said, he hang up.
Roughly thirty minutes after Aureilo closed up shop, his Scroll rang. He let it ring for a second before answering. "Aureilo speaking," he said formally.
"I heard you attacked my son."
"Yes sir, I did." he nodded his head.
"And may I ask why?"
"Because he stole Qrow Branwen's car, killed his dog and molested his nieces." Aureilo said firmly and bluntly.
.
.
.
". . . Oh." With that one word, the caller Vigo Tarasov hung up. Aureilo sighed as he placed his Scroll down and picked up his drink.
Vigo walked down a flight of stairs from the roof to a private meeting room. His second in command Avi walked to his side. "Vigo, they agreed to your terms," he whispered gesturing to the rich people in the other room. Vigo silently nodded still shaken from what he was told. "I mean it wasn't like you gave them much of a choice, right?" he said in a joking manner.
Instead his boss remained silent, much to his confusion. "Congratulations. . . sir?"
"Have you seen my son?" Vigo asked after another moment of silence.
Qrow entered the house, holding his nieces in his arms. He sat on the sofa and they all remained silent for who knows how long. "I'm sorry," he whispered. The tears that threatened to spill earlier were now streaming down his cheeks.
He felt the sisters shift in his grip. "Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.
"I'm so sorry." Qrow said more audibly. He bowed his head, trying to focus that his nieces were back. Safe in his arms.
"N-No! Uncle Qrow, we're sorry!" Yang shouted. "If we didn't go down stairs, you would have beaten those-those bad guys and send them out the door crying."
"But it is my fault! For once my gods damned Semblance acted at the worse possible time!" Qrow shouted angrily.
". . . What is your Semblance?" Ruby asked meekly. "Misfortune. Bad luck. That's what I bring." Qrow spat angrily but then his anger burned away and replaced self loathing. "It's not something I do. It's always there, whether I like it or not. It comes handy in a fight most of the time against enemies, but it's bad for friends. . . and family."
Maybe that's why Raven left. Maybe she finally grew tired of living with a bad luck charm. Maybe Summer died because his luck rubbed off on her. . . No, Summer wouldn't let Qrow ever think like that and neither would Lydia.
He shook his head. "I'm going to make it right, girls." he declared. "I'll make those bad men pay for touching you two, I promise." He kissed them both on the heads. "Go pack for three days at most. I'm having a couple of friends come pick you up."
"Okay," they complied. Yang paused at the top of the stairs. "Uncle Caw-Caw," she says, getting Qrow to turn to her. Yang hadn't called him that in a long time. "Yes, Fire Cracker?"
"I'm sorry about your car." she said apologetically. Qrow stared at her before he gave a light hearted chuckle. "Yang, I can get another car." he says as he walks over to her and kneels down in front of her. "What I can't get is another Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose."
Tears formed in Yang's eyes as she smiled up at him before hugging him. "I love you, Uncle Caw-Caw."
"And I love you, Fire Cracker. You and Pipsqueak. In this world and the next five million worlds." He said, hugging her back.
Roughly fifty minutes later, Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch arrived at his doorstep. "Ozpin. Glynda." he greeted and gestured them to come inside.
"Qrow, it's great to see you," Ozpin greeted back.
"Though the explanation better be valid to come here near this late hour," Glynda says drily. Qrow sighed as he says, "You two may want to sit down for this." He then recounted the events of the past day. From when he received Luna as a final gift from Lydia the night before and then meeting Iosef at the Dust fuel station and then his nieces getting taken by Iosef and his thugs followed by his dog getting killed and his car getting stolen in the middle of the night and with a cherry on top, his nieces were molested. Thankfully one of his friends let them go when he saw the chance at Aurelio's car shop.
"What else do you need?" Ozpin asked, gripping his cane tightly and frowned. Qrow knew what was going on beneath Ozpin's mask. He was angry and disgusted with what had happened. Glynda leaned forward in her seat, her eyes holding barely restrained anger. In another life, Qrow would make a jab at her protective 'mother bear' nature, but in this life, he is going through the same thing.
"Just watch over Ruby and Yang," Qrow said as he walks up the stairs. He looks into their room. "You girls ready?" he asked. Yang nodded and walked up to him while Ruby fumbled with a large book. "Can I bring this with me, Uncle Qrow?" she asked with a smile. Qrow smiled slightly. "I don't see why not."
"Yay!" Ruby cheered. As the girls got into Ozpin's car, Qrow walked over to his tool shed and grabbed a sledgehammer. He walked over to the car and leaned to the window and looked to Ruby and Yang. "Be on your best behavior," he said sternly. The two girls nodded solemnly. They were sad, he could tell. He sighed. "It's just for three days at best." he said and reached in and patted them both on the head. "Plus, maybe you can have a tour there. It's the school your parents and I went to."
"Really?" Ruby asked eagerly. "Then I want to stay in the room you stayed in!" she declared. "Me too!" Yang said.
"I'm sure we can arrange that," Glynda said before Qrow could say anything. She nodded to Qrow simply, her expression telling him that she wasn't joking. He nodded back before walking over to Ozpin.
"Look, I know this would put a dent in your schedules, Oz." he said. "I'll pay you two back when this is all-" Ozpin held up a hand.
"Qrow, with what you told us, Glynda and I will watch over your nieces for free." he said firmly. "The only thing I ask of you, is to kill as many as possible."
Qrow smirked slightly and nodded to them both. "Ozpin. Glynda."
"Qrow," the two nodded back in reply before they began to drive away. He could see Ruby and Yang turn around in the back window and wave at him. Qrow smiled and waved back before mouthing 'I love you' as they disappeared from view.
Iosef walked out of the SUV that had picked him up. He paused to smooth out his hair using the window as a reflection before walking into the office building that was the secret head quarters of the Tarasov mob. When he walked into the room he was in, he saw his father standing behind his private bar. His second in command Avi stood at the bar.
"How's your trip, kid?" Avi asked, referring to Iosef's task of taking care of a gang that was rising to make a name for themselves. "We won't be hearing from them anytime soon, or ever." Iosef said confidently.
Vigo poured some expensive vodka into two glasses and held them in his hands. He walks to Iosef with a stern expression. Iosef stepped back a little intimidated by his father's expression. He glances to Avi before looking back to Vigo. The older Tarasov gave him one of the glasses and clinked one of them with his own.
Iosef smirked and raised his glass up before he began to drink the vodka. Vigo however placed his glass down on the counter. "That's a nice jacket, son." he complimented. "Thank you."
"Yeah," Vigo drawled. He glanced over to Avi, placing a hand on Iosef's shoulder before he punched the younger Tarasov in the stomach. Iosef instantly fell to his knees and vomitted the vodka he just drank on the floor. The vile left a burning feeling in his throat. Then Vigo kicked him in the stomach before tossing him a rag.
"Clean that up," Vigo commanded in Animan. Avi shifted uncomfortable. "Should I go?" he asked nervously.
"No," Vigo said as he took off his coat and spoke in Animan. Unfortunately, Avi couldn't understand his boss when he spoke in Animan. "Viggo, English please?" he asked.
"STAY, OUM DAMN IT!" Vigo roared at him angrily. Avi nodded rapidly and held up his arms. "W-What did I do?" Iosef stammered from where he was sitting.
"You fucked up. Big time." Vigo said angrily in Animan as he rolled up his sleeves. "We did what you asked! No one saw shit!" Iosef protested.
Vigo grabbed him by his arms and pulled him roughly to his feet. "I'm not talking about Mountain Glenn." he said.
"What then? You mean Aureilo's? So I stole a fucking car?!" Iosef said in anger and confusion. Vigo pulled him closely. "And?" he asked lowly. "What else did you do?" A part of him was hoping that it wasn't what Aurelio said. Otherwise they were all fucked.
"I just took a couple of sluts," Iosef just confirmed what Vigo was fearing. He punched Iosef in the stomach again before punching him in the face.
"Fuck, Vigo!" Avi exclaimed and moved to the door. "That's it, I'm going."
"You stay!" Vigo barked, pointing his finger at him. Avi nodded nervously as Iosef looked up at his father, holding his stomach in pain. Vigo sighed deeply as he put his coat back on. He reached and grabbed a different drink and poured it in a glass.
"It's not what you did, son, that angers me so." Vigo explained. "It's who you did it too. Not just the girls, but their uncle."
"Who? The fucking nobody?" Iosef wanted to laugh but his father's expression told him this wasn't a laughing matter.
"That 'fucking nobody'. . . is Qrow Branwen." he said before taking a drink. Avi's eyes widened upon hearing that name. Oh shit.
Qrow opened the door of his basement and began to walk down the stairs with the sledgehammer in hand. He may be a Huntsman but what he's going to do won't be as a Huntsman. And what he'll need is buried beneath the concrete of his basement.
"Before he became a Huntsman, he was once an associate of ours," Vigo said as he walked around the counter to face Iosef. "The students and teachers called him the Harbinger, we had another name for him. We call him Baba Yaga."
"The Boogeyman?" Iosef asked as he stood to his full height.
"Qrow wasn't exactly the Boogeyman," Vigo shook his head lightly. "He was the one you sent to kill the fucking Boogeyman."
Qrow moved furniture away from the center and pulled the rug to the side. He placed the sledgehammer on the floor before lifting it over his head and slamming it down on the concrete.
SLAM!
"Oh," Iosef said, now understanding where he had fucked up. "Qrow is a man of focus," Vigo said as he walked towards where Iosef stood. "Commitment. Sheer will. Something you know very little about."
"I once saw him kill three men in a bar," Vigo states, looking at his son dead in the eye. Iosef momentary looks unimpressed. A lot of Huntsmen can kill three men. Sometimes without effort because of their Semblances. "With a pencil." Now that got Iosef to feel worried. "With a fucking pencil." Vigo repeats. He walks over to Avi who was rubbing his forehead. Vigo glances back to Iosef and does a gesture of stabbing Avi with a pencil who flinches.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
In his basement, Qrow begins to shout in both rage and grief as he hammers away on the concrete floor. Like earlier this morning, visions of the past events played in his head. In another life, if it was just Luna dying Qrow may have been more reasonable. The dog was a final gift from his dying wife to help grieve over her passing. But in this life it wasn't just Luna. Ruby and Yang were like his daughters and they were kidnapped and molested and knowing that the bastards who did it were still walking angers him further.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
Tossing the hammer to the side, Qrow gets on his knees and begins to dig through the debris. He brushes the rubble and dust away, revealing a box he buried years ago. A testament that he made a promise to never enter that world and life again. He pulls back the lid and revealed weapons on one side of the box and gold coins on the other.
"Suddenly one day after he graduated from Beacon," Vigo says as he serves himself another drink. "He asked to leave. It was over a woman of course."
"So I made a deal with him," he continues. "I gave him an impossible task. A job no one could have pulled off." He takes a deep sip of his drink. "The bodies he buried that day. . . laid the foundation of what we are now."
Vigo steps to face his son again. "And then my son, seven years after his sister is declared MIA, a few months after his team leader is KIA and a few days after his wife died," he said. "Not only do you steal his car, kill his dog but you fucking molested his nieces." He turns away but Iosef stops him.
"Father, I can make this right!" he declared stepping forward.
"Oh? How do you plan that?" asked Vigo. He clearly doesn't believe Iosef has an actual plan. He even doubts that his son understands the severity of the situation he had put himself in.
"By finishing what I started."
This only angers Vigo who turns to Avi and points to Iosef. "Didn't hear a fucking word I said!"
"Father, please!" Iosef spoke in Animan. "I can do this!" Then Vigo did something that surprises and horrified the younger Tarasov. Vigo hugged him. "Iosef, listen."
"Qrow will come for you," Vigo whispered into his son's ear. "And you will do nothing because you can do nothing. So get the fuck out of my sight." he ordered before pushing Iosef back who runs out of the room, leaving Vigo alone with Avi.
Five minutes later, Vigo walked to his safe in the wall of his office. He pulls out an old contact book. The book holds the names and Scroll numbers of every one of his clients and associates, including former ones. After finding the right one, he calls Qrow Branwen. Hoping to sort the whole mess before it could get out of hand.
Qrow turns to the desk next to him and sees his Tele Scroll ringing. Unlike his normal Scroll, this Tele Scroll was only used for people who had his work number. Expecting this call, he walks over and answers it, holding the Tele Scroll to his ear.
"Hello Qrow," Vigo said. "I heard about your wife. I'm sorry, my condolences."
.
.
.
"It seems to be fate or happenstance or just bad fucking luck that our paths have crossed once again." Vigo paused realizing he just had to mention bad luck to who he was talking to. "Qrow?"
Qrow remained silent. "Qrow what happened last night were the actions of a spoiled child." While Vigo sounded professional and stoic, Qrow knew this was the closest form of begging from the mob boss. "Let us not resort to our baser instincts and handle this like civilized men to move on-"
Qrow hung up after that.
Vigo heard the line disconnect and placed his Scroll down on the table in front of him. He let out a shuddering breath as he comes to terms with the situation his son had put them in.
"What did he say?" asked Avi.
". . . Enough."
"Oh gods," Avi muttered in fear. Gathering his composure, Vigo turns to Avi. "Task a crew."
"H-How many?" Avi asked in surprise but not one to ignore his boss's orders.
"How many do you have?"
So what do you think?
Good?
Yeah, I had Iosef's friend Victor let Ruby and Yang go the chance he got. He was the one who protested in the last chapter.
I added a Roman Torchwick and Neo cameo. I thought it felt right and I did a good job. Would this change what happens in Volume 1 to 3? Yeah, probably don't ya think?
The bright side is Ruby and Yang are safe and Ozpin and Glynda are going to be watching over them while Qrow deeps back into the underworld he worked so hard to get out. I got to admit, Qrow's words make me think of the ending of Volume 8. Anyone remember Qrow's face near the end?
Review and follow.
Next chapter: . . . You, uh, you working again?
Take care.
GojiraFan455516 out.
Peace.