Heroes saved people. Friends, family, strangers. The homeless, the working, the police. It didn't matter who it was, you rescued them if you could. Whether powerful or not, even trying gave you a sliver of heroism in spirit. Most gave verbal thanks. Some old ladies gave hugs. One man sent her a firm nod.
So why did the cop slap some cuffs on her?
Ruby blinked, looked up, and recognised the downtrodden expression flapped against his face. A deep sigh fell out; the only thing of note besides her friends being slack-jawed.
"Sorry, but I don't have a choice." He nodded over to another set of cops some streets away, who appeared to give glances before tending to their own groups of civilians.
Weiss got all up in his face, the "what is the meaning of this?" and "how dare you" flew out to rattle the air. Soon the others crowded around, and even the civilians further back muttered rumors within their scatters, but the guy just kept talking about how she shouldn't have been down in Vale.
Ruby lifted her hands. The cuffs seemed a touch large. She knew they could be tighter, but as they were, a swift flick would be enough to tug them off. Besides, they weren't specialty grade either. Just regular old cuffs for regular old people.
"It's okay."
"Excuse me?!" Weiss spun back with a noticeable tick over her brow. "It is not okay! We're out here saving lives, and he has the gall to-"
"He's right." Like in the movies, Ruby tried to capture that solemn, accepting slump their bodies mimicked. "I wasn't supposed to leave Beacon, even if it is to help people." Play up the pity, a small part of her whispered. "The headmaster will probably have more than a little detention thrown my way."
"You want me to take you back?" The cop stepped past her friends swiftly, his voice mellow. "I can put in a good word for you."
She nodded and turned to Blake: the only one not super furious in some way, and the only one who recognised how intentionally flimsy her capture was. She would have liked to have told them outright, but then the regular people would hear.
"You guys can take care of this, right?"
Blake swallowed.
"Yeah..."
.
.
About ten minutes cautiously down the only intact road, they pulled off on the side. Mister cop took off his hat and exhaled loudly. His turn to slump loosely against his seat came, he flipped an eye over.
"You're not in trouble... but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."
"What's going on?" Ruby appreciated having her stress blown away with some good news, but getting into cars with strangers had to be the stupidest thing she'd ever done.
Well, maybe not the stupidest, but pretty darn close. But this guy... He seemed a little different than most other police she'd seen, and the way he cuffed her when previous groups hadn't made her curious as to why. On top of that, his badge looked wrong. Vale's police force, as far as she'd come across them, wore shiny ovals with their names and ranks.
This guy had a dull rectangle.
"You're familiar with Qrow Branwen, right?"
"Yeah. He's my uncle."
"That makes this easier to explain."
"Explain what?"
Before continuing, the man reached over for her cuffs, but Ruby saved him the trouble herself by squeezing her hands free before she tossed them into his hand, where he pocketed them. The chill left her wrists in an odd state. She wanted to rub them, again like on T.V, but they didn't really ache.
"Put bluntly, he wants you off the streets; your headmaster feels the same too." Mister not-actually-a-cop fitted his hat right back on his head, and slowly started back on the road. "I guess you can say it's my job to get you back to school."
Cool, Cool... Ruby had a few reservations about that.
"Did you really need to arrest me?" To add to the effect, she let her frown of flat disbelief droop. "You could have just asked."
"Had to make it look good for the crowd." Humor slipped into his voice. She figured that, but huffed anyway. "Besides, that little act will force the council and heads of investigation to give a statement condemning "a rogue officer's" actions. I'd give it a day before people start complaining."
A swell of excitement spread across her face as she realized it also made her and Beacon look good in the eyes of the crowd. Sure, she wasn't supposed to want praise as a hero, but her uncle's friend had essentially just put her on a pedestal with bright lights and glitter.
Unfortunately, the good time faded as she settled on the mention of investigations.
"Too bad that won't help me out later." Without Jay, they had no proof of her innocence. Alongside that came the guilt of what obtaining that proof would take. She didn't want to throw her friend under the bus.
"It might." That jolted her attention awake. "If given an opening and a good amount of distrust, the headmaster might just be able to request a look into the city's "evidence" against you. Of course, trying to deny that with so much bad faith will have them slammed on all sides; even the inside if we assume everyone starts trying to save face."
"That sounds like cheating." Not that she minded in this particular instance, what with her being totally innocent and all.
"Sometimes a little cheating is what it takes to get to the truth." Even from the passenger seat - another thing that should have tipped her off about his true nature - Ruby could see half a grin. "Look at it like this. We're not the ones who'll be cheating. That's just what happens when desperate people want to cover their own butts."
Yep. He was her uncle's friend alright. On that note, she realised something.
"You didn't tell me your name." Only to blush. "U-unless that's not allowed."
"My real name?" His cheeks rolled and rounded as he trudged through uncertainty. "I probably can't say. Just call me Clover."
Clover...
"Like a lucky charm?"
"Yeah." He chuckled briefly. "Just like a lucky charm."
.
.
"It's sketchy as heck is what."
Sure it was; not like they could have done anything about it. Attacking the cops openly? Melanie would rather avoid unnecessary attention. Not that they'd be sailing smoothly anytime soon. Yang, having voiced most of her ire uselessly, found a small smidge of solace in Miltia's rationalization.
"We can check on her in an hour. How does that sound?" Blondie spat out a grumble, but Miltia went undeterred. A soft shake of her head helped the peace-keeper relax. "Ruby will be fine. It's just the police. We can check in with your headmaster too. If Vale's pulling anything screwy, he'll handle it."
"Why do you always hog all the sense?" Yang wandered over to flop right onto a stool, followed by the Miltia. "I swear, you're like a little gummy bear; mushy and sweet - certainly not like this place."
"Someone has to be." A small chortle helped ease the tension, and that show of calmness appeared to quell some of the kids' tremors too. "Let's relax for a bit. We can get the scoop from Junior once he gets back from wherever he is."
"Where is he, anyway?" By this point, Melanie was just about ready to clock out of eavesdropping, until she spied something which scribbled over her lips a grin. "I thought he always manned the bar."
"Even I've gotta shit from time to time." Yang bounced, Miltia slapped her with that sly face whispering 'got you,' and Junior rounded to the other side of the bar. "So how'd it go? I don't see the kid with you."
Junior certainly picked a crude excuse. Melanie rolled her eyes and fully dropped the trio from her mind. Her sis would give him a good enough rundown, and Yang could do enough yapping for the lot of them. Her eyes tip-toed through the small huddle of kids and staff alike, until she spotted Tulip stiff at one of the tables; arms crossed and sporting a scowl most fierce.
Best go deal with that, she decided.
"What's crawled up your ass?" Dropping her rear into the spot across from Tulip, Melanie hit her with that 'I can't be bothered' face.
"We got held up."
"And?" News flash: Vale woke up to the White Fang popping its pecker against her rear; ain't nobody taking that easy, not even a city like theirs.
"They should be here already." Oh... crap. Melanie didn't linger long on the scuffed nonsense that could have caused this, and instead honed her ears. "Fifteen minutes after we showed: that was the plan. And judging by that clock." Tulip's head swiveled, only to reverse and drop onto the table a second time. "We're late by twenty."
"If we got caught up, then so did they." Melanie could only guess how shit things might have become, but she couldn't well say that, now could she? "Give 'em another ten and I'm sure they'll pop through the front door."
"Out there?" Sharp eyes lifted to lock with her own. "In that tide of claws?"
"You said he took the skilled ones, right?" Tulip nodded, and Melanie leaned back. "Well then, fancy this. Even if they can't hold their own, we ran into multiple extra guns. I can bet you a crisp twenty right now that says they walk right into the front door in less than five."
Whipping out said twenty to put her money where her mouth is, she tossed it across the table. Tulip jerked, hesitant, and Melanie nodded for her to pick it up, to which she did.
"You probably won't be getting it back."
Probably, huh? Melanie smirked and shrugged.
"Save the trash talk until after the clock counts down."
Seven minutes... What a time. The five minute mark passed without a word, but by minute seven some action came in the form of a shuffle. From the entrance, a blob entered, who Junior greeted at first casually, until that fell into the grinder and a few guys rushed over. Curious as to who would require the full battalion, Melanie strolled over just in time to spot the crumpled man with an arm painted in gashes.
His familiarity ended up no mere coincidence, as Tulip had joined her and spotted first someone else within the mess of men.
All she could see past the bundle of worry who dropped to her knees to grab the youngster was a set of fluffy ears. Beige sat there and took it, the too tight tackle which may or may not have been super uncomfortable - based entirely on his clenched jaw once she walked around to get a better look. People trickled in the door at an even pace, breaking the tempo from time to time depending on injury.
Their little club bloated with irregulars and regulars alike, to the point Melanie assumed anyone who knew of it fancied dropping by for safety.
Her own criticisms of the people's collective intellect aside, she found herself gravitating towards that first injured man. Messed up beyond belief, his very skin sported stains of blood; although she wasn't entirely sure it all belonged to him. If it did, that made him a hell of a fighter, especially since he seemed fully conscious.
Midway through some stitching provided by Miltia, Melanie experienced the urge to coax a few words from him. She couldn't put her finger on it; he interested her for some bizarre reason.
"Hmm..." Crossing her arms, Melanie stepped over to his other side and observed. "I'm pretty sure when people say "paint the town red," they don't mean it so literally. I'll hand it to you though: with all of that, I'd say you got pretty close."
He coughed up some gruff laughs, and sputtered a weasley sigh.
"Never been all that good with a brush, honestly. Looks pretty bad, don't it?"
"Ugly shit... But I've seen worse stumble in here with gals; you're not screwed yet."
He looked ready to retort, but Miltia beat him to it.
"What did you run into to get... this." She scoffed, her brow tilted with her eyes as she both wiped away blood and drew more of it while tightening the thread. "I've never seen anyone today with gashes this big."
Alive. They hadn't seen anyone this fucked alive - not that those technicalities mattered at the moment.
"Nothing special. An alpha beowolf did the nasty here, but the rest were small fry."
Oh ho ho. No no no. Melanie wasn't letting that bullshit slide. Mustering up a hefty wad of sass, she spat it at him while pointing at the worst looking - recently closed in stitches - wound.
"You meant to say a single pack of biters did this?"
"Yeah, as pathetic as that sounds." And there was: a heavy pitiful sigh. "But in my defense, the bastards chewed through my aura, and my semblance can't operate without it."
An aura based semblance; made sense. Still, that didn't cut off all the avenues she could take.
"How many were there?"
"Around four or five when I broke. Ten to twelve before."
"That's just sad." A Beacon graduate could slam that many effortlessly alone. But for the sake of fairness, she wouldn't brush him off just yet. "What? Where you stuck playing shield for a group of civs?"
"Yeah, and with my semblance, it didn't last long."
Melanie narrowed her eyes.
"Why?"
"Put bluntly, it's got a nasty side effect of burning away my aura like a jackhammer does Gravity Dust. The only benefit is I don't lose aura from eating hits." A goofy grin filled out his mouth as his relatively okay hand moved and beat his chest, earning him some whispered growls from Miltia which he promptly ignored. " I'm indestructible most days."
"But not today."
"No..." And just like that, he flipped back to the tired sulking. "Not today."
A few moments later Miltia released him.
"There," she said, wiping her hands in a "muddy" cloth. "You won't be bleeding out any time soon."
"Thanks."
He rubbed a few fingers along the stitches, at which point Miltia told him his aura should kick them out automatically as it returns and heals the tears. He verbally estimated half an hour.
"Hey." He drew back Miltia's face just as she got ready to stand and leave, and by proximity, hers too. "You're Junior's girl, right?"
"One of them." Her sis nodded.
"Thought so. I didn't recognise you at first, but looking at her." He glanced up, and Melanie lifted a brow. The guy apparently refused to specify, and turned back to Miltia. "I can see the resemblance."
So could everyone else. Their status as twins, even if it hadn't been well known due to their rep, would have been found out quickly either way. Barring color choice and personality, both of them could mirror one another down to the letter if they wanted - and they had, a few times before.
Out of nowhere, he put on this stupid sort of grin.
"You know, the kid says you ain't so bad, and I didn't see you at the raid either."
Raid?
It took the little wolf boy barging in before she connected the dots - embarrassingly, as they might as well have been glowing. The tike froze when he spotted the arm, but lost his stiffness when a hand fell atop his head and ruffled the kid's hair.
"Glad to see you're alright."
"Everyone else is too," Beige said, surprisingly deep and serious. "Will you be okay?"
"A couple drinks and a nap will have me right as rain."
He wiped away his playful smirk when Tulip kneeled down to his level. She hit him with a stony glare first and foremost, and when he refused to budge, even bouncing it back, she clarified her intentions.
"You're the one called Blanco, right?" He nodded, and Melanie suddenly saw it. To be honest, he didn't look all that different without his jacket, but the blood coated most of him, and so she'd use that as her excuse for not catching on faster.
"Yeah. I suppose Beige told you what I'm all about already, otherwise this would be a beating and not a chat."
Tulip nodded.
"I have a lot of things I want to ask you: a lot of things I need to know. Give it to me straight: are you up for it, or will this get difficult?"
Blanco leaned his head back for a second, eyes shut and rolling his shoulders before he opened them up before her again. Even from her weird angle, Melanie could spot the fatigue in his glazed expression.
"If you're willing to listen, I guess I won't mind."
"I am."
"A lot of people say they are. Few mean it."
"A lot of people are dumb."
Blanco snorted no better than a hog.
"Yeah, that's true. Alright fine. Give me a few minutes and a room, and I'll toss you your stack. I can't tell you all of it, but I can get the point across."
Tulip didn't even need to say it; practically all of them knew she'd take the deal. It didn't bother Melanie one bit; she'd gotten sick and tired being in the dark. Some solid answers would wet her appetite. And if push comes to shove, they had Yang and Josh's testimony to fall back on if any lies were thrown out.
Such reasoning had her mind taped to Josh, and all the annoyance to come with it.
Author's note
…
A little mellow this time, besides Clover's reappearance disguised as a cop this time.
Apparently, it isn't only Vale who likes to play dirty, but that's hardly a shock. Blanco's back, and Tulip's got questions.
Not much to say this time, nor any reviews that aren't bots and scams.
Until next time.