The streets of Vale buzzed with energy as the residents went through their routines. The Vytal Festival was only days away, and the city was brimming with excitement. Banners were hung, shops were stocked, and spirits were high. Amidst the crowd, two teenagers walked against the flow of traffic, strolling at a much more sedate pace than the bustling people around them.
One of the teens, a boy with raven black hair, inhaled contentedly, taking in the smells wafting around the city.
"Boy, I've missed Vale! It's been quite some time since we were here. Hasn't it, Wisteria?" He inclined his head to the girl next to him as he spoke.
Wisteria hummed distantly. The short girl adjusted the twin tailed scarf around her neck, the long white cloth trailing in the wind with her violet hair. She certainly didn't feel like she missed this place.
"I suppose." she mumbled.
"Oh, cheer up," he replied with a chuckle, "Don't look so glum. We're almost done with all the prep work!" he declared. "And by the way, I love the new look! Very nice." Creed complimented, glancing over Wisteria's outfit.
The girl wore a long, purple cheongsam with detached black arm stockings and lilac colored boots. A leather belt rested securely around her waist, two long knives sheathed in it alongside various Dust containers interspersed snugly around the band.
She shrugged indifferently. "You're still wearing nothing but black." the girl noted, her pink eyes scanning the crowds dully.
"Haha! Sharp as ever. But what can I say?" Creed replied, theatrically flipping his long black coat dramatically. "The bold, beautiful color black just suits me!"
What he said was true; all his attire was pitch black, with the exception of a grey button up shirt, and purple vest under his coat.
"So you've told me." Wisteria replied flatly, indifferent to his theatrics.
Creed just laughed as they continued on their way at a leisurely pace. The crowd was much sparser here as they moved away from the friendlier parts of town. The streets around them grew narrower, more derelict. The air around them was darker, more foreboding, but it didn't seem to bother the duo in the slightest.
"Why are we even doing what they say, Creed?" Wisteria asked suddenly. The question had been on her mind for some time. "I thought that we-"
"Ah, ah, ah." Creed cut her off, wagging a finger in her direction. "Not yet, my dear. Should be soon, but not yet."
"But why?"
"Because," he began, halting and meeting Wisteria's gaze with a hard look, "if we did it now, with just the two of us and that other pair the higher ups saddled us with, we wouldn't get far. Not to mention, we still need one more to complete our trifecta..."
Creed resumed walking, and Wisteria felt a spark of emotion in her hollow mind, the emptiness in her eyes vanishing for a fleeting second. "You...you know he...isn't coming back," she whispered, a hint of pain in her voice. "You confirmed it."
"Oh, pfft." Creed huffed dismissively. "I know he'll come. He's our friend, right? Additionally, Vale is the only place left where he could be hiding. That's why we asked to come back here, right?"
Brooding silently for a minute, Wisteria eventually nodded, and Creed offered her a sickly sweet smile.
"That's the spirit!" he said happily, throwing an arm around her shoulder, "I know you want to see him just as badly as I do, so cheer up, little doll. We'll get him back."
After that exchange, the two of them didn't converse for the rest of the trip. They soon arrived at a dingy apartment, and Creed did a shoulder check before entering, quickly pulling the door shut behind them. They climbed up a flight of stairs, and entered the third room on the right once they'd reached the landing.
"Oh good. The gang's all here," Creed sneered, greeting the two people inside. "Glad that no one got lost."
The occupants of the apartment, two faunus, were unimpressed at the remark. One, a tall girl with prominent wolf ears, simply stared impassively at Creed with dark eyes. The other, a muscular boy with curved horns spiraling out on either side of his head, huffed and crossed his arms.
"Don't flatter yourself," the wolf girl said, voice impassive and onyx black eyes devoid of emotion. Her long white hair was braided down to her knees, and she wore a full black leather bodysuit.
"Oh! Our illustrious leader speaks! I didn't think I could get under your skin this easily, Starr. I must be getting better," Creed taunted snidely.
Starr didn't react, her expression blank. Creed wasn't discouraged, and redirected his efforts to the other teen. "Eh, maybe not. I'll get you eventually. Aries is so easy, it's no fun anymore." he sighed, feigning disappointment.
The ram faunus grit his teeth and glared at the cocky boy, subconsciously gripping his weapon, a compacted morningstar, with white knuckled fists. The boy wore an assortment of brown leather and metal armor, and his light brown hair was cut short, almost in a military style.
Wisteria cut short Creed's attempted jabs. "Now's not the time." the girl stated, and he fell silent, content.
"What're the orders?" Aries asked Starr.
Straightening up from her spot against the wall, the wolf girl answered plainly. "We're to infiltrate Beacon Academy. We'll be under the guise of students visiting for the festival, and gather intel."
The other three nodded, and Aries turned to look at Creed. "So then why did you tell us to come here?" he asked, the hostility in his voice clear.
Smiling maliciously, the boy in black responded happily. "Because I believe you're ready."
"Cut the crap and spit it out." Aries demanded shortly.
"Heh heh, so pushy. But you have a point. Let me go on..." Creed continued, choosing his words thoughtfully while closing the door behind him with a gentle push.
"*Yaaaaaaaawwwwwwnn...*"
"Woah, that was a big one," Rember remarked with a grin as she looked over to Azure, then took a bite out of her food. It was lunch time at Beacon, and KRME and AMBR were enjoying each other's company. The teams had spent the entire spring break as they pleased, not doing too much in the department of excitement. They'd caught up on school work, goofed off in their dorms, ventured into town on the odd day. Now it was the last day of freedom before classes resumed.
"Not my fault," Azure mumbled, rubbing at his eyes and he took a sip of grape soda.
"Why so tired?" Valerie inquired.
Sighing, Azure gestured to his partner. "Ask her," he replied dryly, earning a giggle from Rember.
The members of AMBR looked at the fox girl with questioning eyes.
"We took in a little kitten recently," Rember declared proudly.
"Whaaat?! You have a KITTY?" Sonara exclaimed, stars in her eyes. "I wanna see it! I wanna see it!" she squealed childishly, bouncing in her seat.
"What's its name?" Rosalie asked with interest, a sparkle in her purple eyes.
"Thistlebutt," Rember beamed, "but we just call him Thistle."
Sonara could barely contain herself, squealing with glee, but when Kyra spoke up her tone was flat.
"Um, sorry to be the wet blanket, but are you actually allowed to have him?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
The fox girl smiled. "Of course," she replied confidently. Kyra, still a little skeptical, and looked at Azure.
The boy nodded once, confirming his partner's answer.
"Well, that must be fun," Valerie added, "but why are you so tired?"
Sighing again, Azure began slowly. "Ever since Rem took him in, he's been sleeping on my bed and keeping me up." He took a swig of soda before continuing. "He won't leave me alone."
There was a collective 'awww' from Valerie, Sonara, and Rosalie, imagining a small, purring cat curled up next to the young man. Rember's grin kept growing in size.
"That just means he loves you," Rember said, and Azure let out an exasperated, albeit good natured, grumble.
"Oh! Hey Jad!" Rosalie called, catching the attention of the othet boy at the table. "Where's Gayle? I haven't seen her today at all."
"Yeah, Hatman, where's the lil' lizard?" Rember asked, as all eyes turned to the tall boy.
Jad swallowed his mouthful of bacon. "Beats me. She was bouncing off the walls after getting some message on her Scroll. Booked it out the door 'bout an hour ago and hasn't appeared since." he said, shrugging, and quickly returned his attention to his heaping plate, conspicuously guarding his steak with a free arm.
"That's weird," Valerie mumbled, surveying the dining hall. "Oh, hey! Isn't that her?" She pointed to a girl with a long braid and longer tail that was standing near the entrance.
KRME and AMBR all turned. Sure enough, it was Gayle. However, it wasn't her presence that immediately caught everyone's attention, but rather what she was doing.
"Heeeey..." Sonara began, squinting.
"Is she..." Rember said, fox ears attentive.
"Talking to a guy!?" Jad shouted in surprise, eyes comically wide.
Though a few of them weren't sure they believed their eyes, it was nonetheless true: Gayle was chatting up a boy none of them had ever seen before. The two were laughing and smiling, obviously having a riot. Needless to say, it was rather out of character for the introverted faunus. Gayle spotted her team and waved at them excitedly before linking arms with the mystery boy and dragging him along to the team's table.
"Hey guys!" Gayle chimed happily. Everyone nodded, dumbfounded. "I'd like to introduce you to someone!"
She motioned to the boy, who flashed a friendly smile and offered a small wave. He had silver hair and violet eyes, with a pair of dual-coloured glasses perched on his nose, and a shimmering purple scarf around his neck. At his waist hung an elegant and elaborately designed rapier.
There was no reaction, save Sonara asking eagerly, "Ooh! Who's this?"
"Remember that friend I mentioned a few times back during the Paper Menagerie Incident?" Gayle said with a widening smile and gesturing to her accomplice. "This is him!"
"Hullo," the silver haired boy greeted pleasantly.
Everyone (discluding Sonara) stared blankly at the lizard faunus and her companion. After a minute, Jad broke the silence.
"You had a friend before us?" he asked, astonished (and perhaps a little disappointed).
"Ceridwen Vi Ianthe," he proclaimed grandly, with a small bow. "It's a pleasure to meet Whiptail's new friends."
The silence stretched on. The other members of KRME did recall Gayle talking about a friend she'd had when she was little, but the reality of it had never really clicked in their heads. The young girl wasn't the greatest at socializing, so none of them had bothered to consider if she still had a relationship with this Ceridwen fellow. Regardless, it was unexpected.
"Ooooh! You have a super cool name!" Sonara commented.
Yeah...and he's quite the looker too! Valerie thought. Ceridwen was pretty easy on the eyes. If she wasn't already going after Azure, she'd definitely try getting to know him better.
"Mmm, gotta say, Gayle, you sure know how to pick 'em," the girl said with a wink.
"What do you mean?" Gayle asked with a confused smile.
She obviously hadn't caught the underlying meaning of Valerie's words.
"Just that Ceridwen seems nice." Rosalie interjected before Valerie could continue.
Hah! That's not what I got from Val... Kyra thought snidely. She saw the familiar glint in her partner's red eyes as Valerie looked Ceridwen up and down.
"Glad to hear I warrant your approval," Ceridwen responded charmingly. He caught the narrowed gaze of a certain fedora wearing redhead, and quirked an eyebrow in response to the intense stare. "For the most part." he amended with a good natured tone.
KRME all looked to their brawler.
"What's up, Jad?" Rember asked, fox ears forward.
Jad pursed his lips together as he studied Ceridwen. "This just hasn't really sunk in yet," he explained. "I'm probably gonna need a while to process this."
Azure shrugged indifferently. He had no problem with Gayle having other friends. "So what brings you here?" he asked the boy in glasses.
"May I?" Ceridwen asked politely, indicating an open seat at the table. At a nod from Azure, he sat. Gayle, still quivering with excitement, quickly followed suit, seating herself across the table next to her still-skeptical partner.
"Well," he explained, "as you all know, the Vytal Festival Tournament is being hosted here in Vale soon. I travelled here to compete."
"Ooh where are your teammates?! We should go meet them all!" Sonara chattered brightly.
Ceridwen laughed. "That may be a tad difficult."
At the girl's confused look, Gayle interjected, "Oh, Ceridwen doesn't have a team. He competes solo."
There was a surprised hum at the table. People going solo at what was meant to be a team oriented tournament was rare, almost unheard of.
"All by yourself? That's amazing," Rosalie complimented. "You must be pretty good."
"Well, I certainly try."
"Have you actually won any?" Kyra asked.
Ceridwen's mouth twitched into a sly half-smirk. "Now that would be telling, wouldn't it?"
Kyra inclined her head to the side, and Jad spoke up.
"Maybe we should tussle some time. See who's better," he challenged, a competitive smile on his face.
Ceridwen grinned impishly. "Sounds like fun."
You can almost see the sparks flying. Azure noted. Jad was always eager to pound someone, but this was different. Why he was so determined to brawl Gayle's friend, Azure didn't know.
"Alright, children, save it for later." Rember chuckled, and the two boys settled down.
"So what's everyone doing today?" Rosalie asked KRME, swiftly refocusing conversation onto a less hostile topic.
All four members looked at each other blankly, each waiting for the others to pitch an idea.
"Eh, not sure yet," Rember admitted finally.
"We have been going out a lot recently..." Gayle reflected, absently fidgeting with the end of her braid.
"So let's do something in the dorm!" Jad suggested. "Downtime is just as good as up time."
Rember suddenly lit up as she remembered something. "Oh! Our cookie stash is running low!" she told her partner, smiling expectantly.
Azure nodded. "I see..." he mumbled, "Guess Gayle and I need to make some more then."
"Yes!" Rember cheered happily, small fangs peeking out from her jubilant smile as she fist pumped.
"Sweet!" Gayle exclaimed. She always loved joining her leader when he baked; it had become one of her favorite things to do since arriving at Beacon, besides attending classes. Baking together was their exclusive activity, just for the two of them, although the others certainly took a keen interest as well.
"Ooooh! You're making cookies?!" Sonara asked Azure excitedly. "Could I have some?"
"Sure. If we somehow have extras." He sent a pointed glance to Jad and Rember, eliciting snickers from everyone at the table.
"YAY!"
Rosalie giggled. "Sonara and I were thinking of going to the CCT to make a call to Mistral later," she said cheerfully.
"Yeah! See how everyone is doing back home!" Sonara agreed.
Kyra sipped her iced tea nonchalantly. "You go ahead without me. I don't have anyone to call."
"Maybe I'll join you," Valerie told her two teammates. "I mean, I guess I could call home in Atlas. Although I doubt anyone would pick up..." she mumbled, a disappointed smile painted on her face as she shrugged. "On second thought, I think I'll stick with you, Kyra."
The white haired girl nodded, and silence returned to the table.
Suddenly, KRME, AMBR, and Ceridwen heard the beginnings of a commotion at one of the other tables. Apparently, a girl they recognised as Weiss Schnee had just received a pie to the face. Her partner Ruby Rose was laughing nervously, trying to keep the heiress from exploding in anger. It appeared Nora Valkyrie was the one who threw it, but she was hastily pointing to her partner Lie Ren, who facepalmed.
Without warning, chaos ensued.
Weiss grabbed the nearest food item and chucked it as hard as she could at Nora. She missed her intended target and hit a different person at the next table. Before anyone could intervene, the entire mess hall was in an uproar. Food was flying everywhere, and the students were getting pelted from all directions.
"Take cover!" Azure shouted. He and Ceridwen swiftly flipped the big table, and all of them scrambled to get behind it.
"Everyone alright? Rem?" Azure asked, brushing mashed potato off his uniform as he peeked over their barrier; as quick as they had been, they hadn't been spared the initial onslaught.
Beside him, Rember was having a blast.
"Hahahahaha! Eat THIS!" she cackled maniacally as she hit people with whatever ammo she could, ketchup and mustard war paint smeared on her face. Sonara was right beside her, backing her up with blueberry pie airstrikes and equally hysterical laughs.
"This is insane!" Kyra shouted over the commotion.
Jad shrugged happily and kept eating his food, catching whatever flew overhead and adding to his growing pile.
"I like it. Ooh! Bacon!" he exclaimed as he caught sight of some a few rows down. He crawled over to and brought it back to his plate, glowing with contentment.
"It would appear mealtime is over. Anyone have any bright ideas?" Ceridwen asked, deftly dodging several incoming bagels.
"Leave it to me!" Rosalie responded, activating her semblance. The air around her then began to swirl, creating a wind barrier around the rest of AMBR. Valerie and Kyra seized Sonara, the small brunette squirming with zeal.
"Awwww! C'mon! I wanna stay!" Sonara protested loudly.
"Not today," Kyra stated firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Valerie looked to Azure. "So, catch you later?"
Azure ducked again as a pineapple flew over his head. "Possibly. Just get going! Don't worry about us!"
"Yeah! We totally got this!" Jad agreed, still adding to his hoard. As the redhead continued to grab flying food, there was a loud warning shouted at KRME's cover. Together they peeked over the edge to investigate.
Like an impending meteor, a giant mass of mashed food was fast approaching the five teens in hiding. They all scrambled to get out of the way, and barely evaded the resulting explosion.
Azure, Gayle, Ceridwen, and Rember got back up rather quickly, the latter dashing away with a cackle.
"That was too close..." Azure mumbled.
"Anyone hurt?" Gayle asked. She looked to her partner, who was hunched over, his back to her. She quickly crawled over to him. "Jad?"
When Gayle saw Jad's face, her concern grew exponentially. The boy wore an expression of utter shock: the look of a man whose one true love had just been lost to him forever. A dark green glow emitted from his body, and his blue eyes were fixed directly on the floor in front of him. Following his gaze, Gayle saw that the food platter he had been so diligently guarding was now covered in disgusting goop.
"Hehe...Hahahaha..." Jad chuckled, a crazed air about him as his face slowly twisted into a deranged smile. "HahahahHAHAHA...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
"Uh, Jad?"
Without warning the tall redhead turned around, grabbed one of the corners of their barrier and threw it as hard as he could, sending the wooden table across the hall, laughing maniacally all the while.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Jad unleashed his wrath, snatching handfuls of anything he could find and pelting every unfortunate soul near enough to fall victim to his onslaught. He soon spotted the person who launched the goop that tainted his food; the guilty student stood shell shocked, scared stupid by the roars of hysteria.
"YOU! YOU RUINED MY STEAK! I HOPE YOU'RE HUNGRY CAUSE NOW YOU'RE GONNA EAT THIS! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jad shouted, pile driving his way through the battlefield.
"Yeah...totally got this..." Azure mumbled dryly. He gestured to AMBR to move. "Go! We'll be right out!"
Wasting no more time, Valerie, Kyra, Rosalie, and a captive Sonara ran out of dining hall, Rosalie's wind barrier protecting them and leaving the remaining team alone and exposed.
"What's the plan, bossman?" Gayle asked Azure, shielding herself as best she could from delicious debris.
"We'll just have to book it. I can get Rem no problem," Azure said, spotting the fox girl a little ways off in the thick of the fight. "Can you get Jad?"
"U-uh...I'm not sure if I-"
"Don't worry, we've got this," Ceridwen interjected, grinning sharply.
Gayle nodded with renewed determination, encouraged by her friend's confidence. "We'll get him, bossman," she affirmed, saluting the team leader.
Azure nodded. "Then let's go!" he ordered, and scrambled away to retrieve his partner.
Gayle and Ceridwen weaved through the dining hall as best they could, using food trays as shields as they hunted for Jad.
After a moment of searching, Gayle found her partner. Jad was standing over the person who ruined his steak, mercilessly shoving mashed food into their face, shouting "YOU WILL PAY! I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE!"
"You get one end, I'll get the other?" Ceridwen suggested lightly.
Gayle hummed in approval. "You take his legs!"
The pair leapt into action. In one fluid motion, Ceridwen hit the floor and swept Jad's legs out from under him with a skillful kick. In the same moment, Gayle flipped onto her partner's back, knocking him off-balance. The furious redhead came crashing down to his knees, away from his victim, and Gayle took advantage of his surprise to immobilize his torso with the combined might of her arms and tail.
"NOOOO! NOOOO! I MUST AVENGE IT! I MUST AVENGE MY STEAK!" Jad screamed, practically foaming at the mouth as he tried to get free.
Ceridwen quietly chuckled to himself. "Quite passionate about his food, huh Whiptail?" he remarked as he took hold of the boy's legs and they hoisted him up off the ground.
Jad looked on with enraged eyes as they precariously transported him from the room.
"LEMME GO, YOU HIPPIE!" he roared. "I'M NOT FINISHED!"
Ceridwen wisely let the comment slide, and the three of them successfully reached the entrance. Gayle frantically looked around for any sign of her other two teammates, but it was proving difficult until she caught sight of a flash of ochre hair amongst the flailing forms. She sighed in relief when she identified Rember still in the thick of it.
"There's Ber," Gayle muttered to herself, "but where's bossman?"
There was no sign of the team leader anywhere.
Suddenly, Azure manifested out of the crowd. He moved with precision and speed, impressively maneuvering through any empty spaces and using two food trays as cover. When he found his partner, Azure did a running slide under a nearby table, popped back onto his feet, grabbed the fox girl, and hoisted her over his shoulder.
"Wh-What?! Azure? Where did- lemme go! I gotta win!" Rember shouted, turning her head to try looking behind her. She tried grabbing tables as they moved past them, hoping to pull herself free and rejoin the battle. Azure ignored her struggles and he focused on finding an escape route.
"Leaving now!" Azure shouted to Gayle as he flew past her and the two boys. She and Ceridwen quickly followed after him. Their struggle to haul Jad away was made more difficult by the increasing traffic as more and more students got the same idea and fled the cafeteria, but they somehow managed to keep up with their leader. The moment they were a safe distance away from the mess hall, Azure put his partner down. Gayle and Ceridwen hesitantly released Jad, who continued scowling to himself, but otherwise calmed down.
"Hahaha! That was awesome!" Rember cheered, jumping up and fist bumping the air. She hadn't had that much fun in ages!
"Yeah, let's never do that again," Gayle laughed faintly. Only then did she notice how filthy her long braid had gotten. She groaned upon seeing the usual auburn interwoven with streaks and splotches of countless other hues.
"Agreed," Azure added, frowning slightly as he lifted a gross banana peel off his shoulder.
"Hehehe. Not your idea of fun, Zure?" Rember asked teasingly.
"Not really. Didn't help I had to carry you out of there."
"Oh puh-leeeeease. It couldn't have been that bad."
"Well you're not exactly a feather, Rem."
Rember scoffed, acting like she took offense. "How rude! Say what you want Zure, but I look good!" she quipped playfully, striking a model pose and enticing a giggle from Gayle at how silly it looked with her messy clothes.
Azure only rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, we need to go. One of the professors is probably on their way by now," he said forebodingly, checking the surrounding area for lurking authority authority figures.
"Oh, alright," Rember yielded with a cheeky grin, brushing off the worst of the food plastered on her uniform.
Helping a begrudging Jad to his feet, Gayle looked to her friend. "See you later?" she asked him hopefully, extending her free arm, hand closed in a fist.
Ceridwen gave a courteous bow. "Of course. Go get cleaned up," he said, returning the fist bump before heading off by himself without another word, and KRME swiftly headed back to their dorm.
"Soooooooo? Thoughts?" Creed asked, finished with explaining his idea. Aries was the first to respond.
"What are you saying, you snake? That we-" he growled, growing tired of Creed spouting off until he was abruptly cut off by the man clad in black.
"Oh, come ooooooon. Open your ears, Marshall," Creed taunted, putting on a frown. "I wouldn't toss this shining opportunity to just anyone, you know. At least pay attention."
The boy in black's expression returned to a friendly smile when he saw the goat wring the handle of his weapon. "I've watched you and Starr very, very closely. You want more than what those fools can give you. You can deny it all you want, but I know a sympathetic soul when I see one. So why not join forces and we can have some real fun? Any and all help is always appreciated..."
Neither Starr nor Aries said anything. While it was quite obvious on the goat's face that he was stewing over the proposition that Creed had spent sharing the last few minutes, the she-wolf was as still and stone cold as ever. Wisteria fiddled with her scarf off to the side.
"That's quite ambitious, serpent," Aries grumbled, "but I'll commit, if it can fix this mess."
Creed smiled with satisfaction. "Oh, it will."
He turned to Starr, eagerly awaiting her response.
Her dark eyes were closed, and she still leaned against the peeling wallpaper. After a moment, she spoke with the same disinterested tone she usually did.
"Fine."
"Excellent! Most excellent!" Creed crowed happily. He bounced over to the door and opened it in grand fashion. "Now off to Beacon! We need to keep up appearances, after all."
He made his exit, leaving the others in the dusty room to follow him.
Wisteria was the first to move.
"Guess we should go," she sighed, and followed after Creed.
Aries and Starr exchanged a fleeting glance before trailing behind her, leaving the room without a trace of it ever being occupied.