Holy fuck, I'm so glad to be done with this chapter. Seriously, writer's block is a bitch; this would have been out like 5 days after the second chapter but nooooo, my brain has to be a pain in the arse and stop me half way through.

My track record isn't great so far, but I'm doing my best to try and get these out as quickly as possible; mainly because I want to get through this particular part of the story and onto the actual thick plotty stuff, y'know, the good bit.

A sudden yawn coming from beside him brought Quacey back into the realm of the living, blinking his eyes open in a drowsy stupor, squinting and holding up his arm as the light of the evening sun shone through the window of the airship right into his eyes. The yawn that woke him came from Xia, who had just returned to the booth after an extensive session on the firing range, obviously exhausted from the training; throwing herself onto the opposite side of the booth, he slumped down and threw her head back, letting out another long yawn.

"You up now?" Xia said, still hanging her head back and stretching out her arms, the still half-asleep Quacey replied with a meek nod as he slowly pulled himself up and slid back into a sitting position. "You've been out a while, we'll be landing in Vale in about fifteen minutes, give or take." She added, leaning forward again and resting her arms on the table; Quacey blinked rapidly and let out a long yawn before facing her with a concerned expression on his face.

"I didn't do anything weird, did I?" He asked, eyeing up his partner looking for any hint that might give away that she was lying.

"Nope, not that I know of. Why?" Xia replied, answering with her own question wearing a curious expression; wondering why he seemed so wary about sleeping.

"No reason, just not the best sleeper." Quacey said absentmindedly, pulling himself up and wobbling a little on his feet before gaining his balance; adjusting his scarf and coat to make sure they were comfortable. "I'll be back momentarily; nothing like a blast of cold water to wake you up." His usual apathetic tone returning, he wandered off towards the deck's washrooms; barely missing the corner of a wall by dodging to the side at the last moment; the sight drew Xia into a brief smirk.

Nothing, na-da, I can't remember the last time I slept and there was nothing. Quacey splashed the cold water in his face as he thought, snapping him back into full lucidity; bringing his head up he looked into the mirror at the two grey eyes he was so acquainted with, the dull spheres a familiar and comforting sight to the wary man. No red, thank goodness. As if to scorn him, he could have sworn he saw them flash to the bright scarlet for a split-second; for that brief moment everything rushed back to him again, the blood, the seething anger, and the eerie sense of companionship from something he didn't want there; he winced almost in pain at the memory, forcing it back down and out of his mind.

Throwing another handful of cold water into his face, he felt his nerves to begin to calm down somewhat, allowing him to regain some of his composure and wipe the resentful expression from his face. Well, better not keep Xia waiting, we have a busy day ahead of us. With that last thought, he turned and made his way out of the pristine white room. As he made his way back, he took out his scroll and pulled up a map of an area on the suburbs of Vale's capital; the Burgundy Dale, the name of both of the city and the expansive valley it was housed in. Bordered in the north by the Emerald Forest and Beacon Cliffs, the city was a bastion of humanity, a true jewel of the world of Remnant.

Before he know it, he had found his way back to the booth where Xia stood waiting, spinning a small lanyard with some miscellaneous keys and utilities clipped on as well as the dark red card identifying her as a huntress; noticing her partner arrive, she released the lanyard from her finger allowing it to go up into the air, falling right into her hand.

"Ready? We'll be docking any second now. I don't want to have to wait around any longer than I have to." Xia asked, starting to walk out of the bar while looking expectantly at Quacey for him to follow; taking the cue and nodding, he started with a brisk pace to catch up. The two headed back to the main lobby as they felt the drag of the airship descending and the sharp noise of metal against metal as the docking braces moved to hold the vessel in place, ending with a violent tremor as the braces locked. The doors allowing for exit off the airship opened, and people began flocking off and heading out into the gate.

"Let's get going." Quacey said, after most of the people had vacated the hall; the duo made their way out into the airport and started towards the exit out into the Kingdom of Vale. Unlike the building they departed from, this port was much more alive and breathing; there were such thick crowds moving between gates and terminals that it was fairly difficult to notice anybody out of the ordinary, such as a suspicious man who had been watching their particular exit in wait. Upon noticing the duo make their exit, he pulled out a small scroll and opened up a messaging page.

Visual conformation of the Lightbringer and the blood-traitor, the tip-off was good.

A brief wait, then;

Understood. Meet up with Beo 2 and continue as planned. Pulling himself up from the café table he had been sitting at, the man made for one of the back exits in a brisk manner.

Reaching the gateway of the airport, Xia and Quacey made their way out and set their first step into Vale, vehicles of all kinds sprawled out over the complex of car-parks, hotels and other faculties; among the crowds in front of them was a glossy black limousine, a single figure leaning on it. The man wore a faded black suit jacket with a slightly tattered white shirt underneath, untucked and with several buttons undone at the collar; he also had on a pair of casual slacks in the same colour as the jacket, ending with a pair of extremely out-of-place baseball boots. Upon noticing the two approaching, a mischievous grin formed on his face as he threw himself up into a standing position with inhuman dexterity.

"Hey, 's been a long time since I've seen ya in the flesh Q" He said, holding his arms apart as he approaches Quacey, embracing him with one and patting him on the back with the other.

"It sure has been, Olivir; just wish this'd all be under more light-hearted circumstances." Quacey replied, reciprocating the gesture back at the faunus; pulling back and standing upright, he turned his head to look at Xia. "This is her, the one I was telling you about."

"So you're the Lightbringer, huh? 'tis a pleasure." Olivir said, smiling as he gave a respectful nod to the blonde and holding out his hand, met with an apprehensive one of her own; the two exchanged a brief handshake before Olivir turned and jerked his head in the direction of the car behind them. "We should probably be goin' now, not the best kinda place for our business." Ushering Quacey and Xia into the back of the limousine, he followed them in afterwards and sat facing them; with a quick tap on the divider between the driver's seat and the sitting area, they set off.

"Anyway, you guys wanted to know what Grimm Shadow are up to in Vale." Olivir asked, pulling off his trilby to reveal two light-grey fox ears which flinched at the sudden exposure.

"Yeah. You said you'd heard something." Quacey replied, leaning back into his seat and cracking his knuckles.

"Not much I'm 'fraid. They ain't been around long so all I've heard is whispers and rumours mostly, might be enough to send you on your way though." Olivir leant back and thought to himself for a moment. "There was one thing though, caught a couple'a grunts of theirs tryin' to hi-jack a small freighter doin' mafia business. Didn' take long for us to work out who they were workin' for, take a guess."

"Grimm Shadow?" Xia's answer was met with a quick nod by the fox.

"Grimm Shadow. 'n do ya wanna know what they were after? Red dust; and lemme get somethin' clear, the folks upstairs don't mess around, we only bring in the proper pure stuff; we were shippin' enough to light up a bleedin' city block." Olivir stretched his arms out and yawned before continuing; "Now, some'a them got away with a good bit of the stuff; the boss wasn't 'appy 'bout that one, I can tell ya."

Quacey's face turned from apathetic to curious in a heartbeat, turning to look at Xia. "What would they want with so much explosive?"

"Blow something up maybe?" Her answer was met with an irritated sigh from Quacey.

"Way to state the obvious; I 'magine he meant it as in 'what are they going to make go kablooey?'" Olivir interjected, speaking before Quacey had the chance.

"Well, not quite the wording I would have chosen, but that was the general gist." Xia rolled her eyes.

"Why would I know that? If anybody would it'd be one of you two." Came her reply, followed by her crossing her arms in mock aloofness.

"I don't know anythin', but once we get back to the Fox 'ole I'll give some of our guys a bell, see if they've heard anythin' new." Olivir shrugged, he simply had nothing else to tell them at the time being.

"Speaking of which, how's the old place been? Can't remember the last time I paid it a visit." Quacey asked, veering the conversation away from business and onto small talk and catching up as they made their way into a market area of the Burgandy Dale's suburbs. So engrossed in the conversation, none of them noticed the jet black vans following them.

We are following the quarry, Beo 1, 2 and 3 awaiting orders.

Continue following. Once they reach the destination, create a perimeter and conduct the plan as instructed.

Understood.

The drive didn't take long, before they knew it they found themselves pulling into a side alley which led to the small market area, devoid of activity thanks to the midnight moon looking over it; one of the shops surrounding the square was still bustling though, a small tavern with cheering and singing and all sorts emanating from it. Above the door there was a slightly tattered sign which read 'The Fox Hole'; the Fox Hole was a small bar operated by the Faunus Mafia, and served as one of the hubs for their informants.

The limousine pulled up outside of it, and the three passengers made their way out. "Welcome to m'little slice of heaven." Olivir pushed open the door and beckoned the other two in, an instruction they promptly followed; inside was a warm and cosy style pub, rather than the modern styled and sleek bars that one would find downtown in many of Vale's cities, it held a more old-fashioned interior; wood, leather and stone made up much of the interior, and there were various paintings on the wall depicting some of the proudest parts of Faunus history.

Waving to the many patrons and the bartenders, Olivir guided Quacey and Xia to an empty booth at the back; as they sat down, he gave a nod to one of the bartenders, who quickly went into the back room and came out moments later with a scroll, handing it over the counter to him before he made his way back to sit down with them.

"I'll ask some of the other informants if they've had any luck." The fox said, expanding the screen and opening various tabs; a girl with wolf ears came over holding a tray with three pints of golden cider, she smiled at them, showing her sharp canines unintentionally; Olivir looked up, smiled back and she scurried off to attend to another table.

"Waitresses too, huh? You must be doing well for yourself here." Quacey commented, taking one of the glasses and taking a brief sip.

"Yep, all the staff are Faunus from the community, I try to give the young adults among 'em opportunities to work. We've got to look after each other, y'know?" Olivir replied, turning his attention back to his scroll.

Each of the three black vans parked in one of the many side alleys that branched off of the square, their doors opened and each vehicle had seven or eight figures step out, all clad in black. One of them eyed up the Fox Hole, before turning to the others and motioning for them to move into pre-designated positions.

"Stick to the plan, we burn them out. Kill the blood-traitor on sight, capture the Lightbringer alive. All the Faunus are open season." The gruff tone whispered the orders, the figures nodded to confirm their understanding before scurrying to their positions.

Xia eyed up Quacey, they were sitting opposite each other in the booth with her back to the front windows; he was looking in her direction, but over her shoulder, a quizzical expression on this face. "What's up?"

"I don't know, I thought I saw something."

The group surrounded the outside of the bar, various clicks came from the guns they were holding as the safeties were turned off; the leader and two others beside him held flamethrowers, all of the weapons were pointed at the front. One approached the door, reaching for the handle but not opening it; the leader drew out a small incendiary grenade, smirking to himself.

Olivir's ears shot upwards at the faint sound of the clicks, even with the noise of the bar he noticed the noise. "No way." He had barely finished his statement when Quacey's eyes went wide and he turned to the two sitting with him. "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" He shouted.

"Light 'em up." The gruff voice called out, the door opening as he threw in the explosive he held; hearing a yell as he did so, only to be drowned out as machine gun fire sprayed through the windows and countless Faunus were shot dead, fire bellowing through the door and setting the interior ablaze.

The three inside reacted immediately to Quacey's warning, ducking down behind the walls of the booth as projectiles flew all around them, the room getting torn up from the multitude of shots and the rapidly blooming fire. Olivir scowled as he watched the bar getting destroyed, two clicks coming from his wrists as metal plating slid down over them to form gauntlets; he winced as he heard the screams of the dying patrons.

"I didn't think they'd find us this quickly."

"Well, they fucking did and my stuff's all wrecked."

Xia cleared her throat as she pulled out Dawn and Noon, looking at the two. "Then we have to stop them wrecking your stuff; simple." Glancing around the ruined interior, she nodded to herself before turning back to Quacey. "Q, get as close to the door as you can without getting yourself killed. Fox-boy, stay put with me." They nodded at their instructions as they heard the gunfire begin to cease and the amount of bullets flying at them went down, Xia used the opportunity to pull herself up and begin spraying bursts of static energy at the front, Quacey used the covering fire to move up to the booth closest to the door. "Hey Q, these guys are Shades, right?"

"Yeah, obviously."

"Time to do something I haven't done in a while then." Xia pressed buttons on both Dawn and Noon, the barrels flipping to a horizontal position. "You don't want to get caught in the crossfire, this shit'll hurt you, a lot." She yelled, met with a single thumb-up from Quacey ahead of her. No sooner after he pulled his hand down did she began unleashing a hail of concentrated beams of light, her arms glowing with aura from the elbow down. Outside she saw several of the attackers fall almost instantaneously, another two getting caught before they could make it to cover. Taking their confusion, she pulls her and Olivir up and start running up to the door, on the opposite side as Quacey; the room beginning to get uncomfortably hot from the raging fire.

Quacey took charge from here, holding his hand up, counting down with three fingers, then two, then one. Xia stood up and fired a shock blast out of the window, Olivir and Quacey using the distraction to open the door and run outside to enter melee range. Olivir charged straight into the right wing of attackers, who had resumed firing at the now-approaching Faunus; tackling one straight to the ground, an action met with a satisfying crack of a skull fracturing. Doing a front roll to get back onto his feet, he turned and ran at another, smashing his fist into the figure's gut to wind him before grabbing the man by the collar, throwing him into the third. Dodging bullets from the fourth, he started running to close the gap and swung a punch, the attacker made a quick instinctive sidestep to dodge the clenched fist; however Olivir's right hand glove began to glow a faint lilac as he pulled it away, the man jerking forward from his sidestep violently and tripping towards Olivir's extended knee, which he brought up to meet the face which ended in several sickly cracking noises.

Meanwhile, Quacey charged the left flank of attackers, blades extending out from his sleeves as he briefly faded into a shadow as he leapt into the small group, passing through them before reappearing on the other side, impaling his left blade through the heart of one of the attackers; as he retracted it he brought up another to block bullets coming from one of the others, dashing in his direction and bringing the left blade up in a single slash, tearing right through the man's armour and leaving a deep, fatal cut along his torso. Without hesitation he spun around to parry the machete of a third assailant behind him, using the foot-long blades to repel the strikes from the large knife; using the blades to twist it out of his grip, Quacey grabbed the machete and stabbed the man through the chest.

Xia continued to unleash a flurry of light and static bursts on any remaining enemies, as well as the stragglers from Olivir and Quacey's sides. The searing light energy released from the two guns ripped through the armour and flesh of the numerous assailants, causing hallowing screams of pain to ring out throughout the square; even amongst the violence.

Quacey turned to face the last of the attackers in his vicinity, someone who was now quivering in fear and trying to back away from the Shade; Quacey dashed up to him, using a deft kick to knock the machine gun from his hands and picking up the man by the collar. Sizing him up for a brief moment, Quacey relaxed his grip slightly only for him to then slit the man's throat.

Meanwhile, Olivir had just finished with his group, the bodies of injured, comatose and dead assailants lying around him. He gave a brief nod to Quacey and Xia, whom had just moved outside of the flaming bar; running into the Fox Hole towards a fire extinguisher near the counter.

The only people left outside were Quacey, Xia and the apparent leader of the group; panning his head slowly to look at the numerous bodies of dead goons and sighing with resignation. "Fucking incompetents." He muttered to himself, eventually turning to face the duo in front of him. "You gonna kill me now, huh? Who's gonna do it? Bet you'd like to get some blood on your teeth, blood-traitor." Glancing at Quacey. "And I'm sure you're eager for one less of us in the world, Lightbringer." Smirking at Xia; he moved in the blink of an eye, pulling out a bowie knife and rushing Quacey, who brought up his blades to block the attack. The leader merely used that to his advantage, bashing them using the handle of the knife with animalistic force, causing the blades to fragment into many small metallic diamonds; before he could react, Quacey was pulled into a hostage position, the bowie knife now at his throat.

"Why not make it two, you bitch." A vicious grin on his face, obviously enjoying watching a shadow of doubt creep onto Xia's face, both Dawn and Noon pointed in his direction.

"If he's one of you, why throw him under the bridge too?" She snarled, tightening her grip once again.

"Why do you care?" Came the reply, Xia lowered her guns slightly as her face turned into one of shock more than anger; taking advantage of the moment of weakness, he swung the knife-holding hand round into a headlock, reaching for a tomahawk folded at his waist with the other. Realising what the man was doing, Quacey snapped back into focus having been slightly dazed by the unexpected assault; clenching his fists and pulling them inwards towards his chest, the scattered fragments of his blade began to rise off the ground, with a click of his fingers they zipped through the air and eventually the man's back, twisting mid-journey to increase the impact they had. Quacey felt the headlock loosen, using it to pull free and step away, bringing his left hand back and causing the small swarm of blades to hover slightly further in front of his fist. Throwing his hand forward, they flew right into the man's throat, slicing at the flesh causing blood to spurt from the various arteries and veins found there; he didn't last much longer, bleeding out on the ground.

"You alright?" Came the concerned voice of Xia, who stepped up to his side, looking down on the dead man.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It seemed like he said something that got to you, I didn't really gather what because I was slightly out-of-it." Quacey rolled up his sleeves, the small flying diamond shapes sliding onto the brace over his forearms and sliding into position, forming blades the same shape as before they were broken.

"Yeah, it was nothing. More importantly, how the hell did you do that?" Xia asked, her voice dripping with curiosity.

"I don't know, I just can I guess. I put it down to aura, but I really have no clue." Came the answer in Quacey's usual roundabout manner. The two heard a loud curse come from the direction of the Fox Hole, turning to see the fire extinguished and Olivir sitting slumped on the ground next to the entrance.

"4 years it took me to get this place how it was, 4 fuckin' years and a lot of money. Then some assholes come and blow the place to smithereens." The disgruntled Fox could have continued ranting, had a loud beep not come from one of his jacket's pockets, pulling out the scroll his grimace got slightly deeper, before turning into a resigned frown as he looked up towards Quacey and Xia. "The other informants ain't got nothin' to help you. Sorry." Olivir sighed, pulling himself to stand upright and dialling a number in the scroll's call directory, presumably to message his superiors.

"Search the body of the leader there, see if you find anything useful." After giving the order, Xia headed off to one of the vehicles parked in an alley to see if she could find anything of relevance in there. Quacey began patting down the body to feel for any sort of scroll that he may have used to communicate, not disappointed after feeling a small device in one of the interior pockets. Pulling it open revealed the conversation between him and some kind of superior, clearly in the build up to the attack; trawling through the conversation, he came across one line that piqued his interest.

Your pick-up after the operation will be the Grimm Cordelia, Blueheart Dock.

"Xia! I found something!" Quacey called out, within seconds he saw the familiar blonde mane climb out of the second van and come running towards him, he stood up to meet her, highlighting the line in question and showing it to her as she got near.

"Blueheart?"

"Yeah. Some small class freighter port if my memory serves me well." Quacey went over to the scroll's navigation function and opened up a map of the Burgundy Dale, finding the port along its populated coastline.

"That would mean this 'Grimm Cordelia' is a boat. Don't see them for anything other than cargo and luxury nowadays." Xia made the apathetic comment before bending down and starting to look through the leader's pockets, eventually grinning when she found what she was looking for. The metallic clang of keys rung out as she withdrew them, nodding her head towards the closest black van. "Looks like we have a small road trip."

"So it seems. Go get it warmed up and I'll be along with you shortly." Quacey replied, turning and walking towards Olivir, who was hanging his head with his scroll dangling in his hand; Quacey grabbed it before it fell and patted the Fox on the back. "Are you alright?"

"No, how the fuck would I be? I put my life and soul in this place only to have it burned to the ground, the family's low on funds as it is so I can't get much help from them, and fourteen patrons and three staff died under my care." A long exhale was met with him slowly raising his head. "Quacey. Do me a favour mate."

"Anything."

"Kill those fucks."

"Was planning on it."

"Good man. Anyway, lassy's waiting." Olivir ended the statement with a brief nod of the head in the direction of Xia, who was standing next to the driver's seat of the van waiting for Quacey.

"Yeah. Let me know if anything else comes up, alright?" His question was met with a nod from Olivir, who began walking back into the now wrecked bar. Quacey walked up to the van and took in its form, a simple non-descript vehicle designed to be as inconspicuous as possible; a way of hiding the true intent of those inside.

"I assume he was asking you to spill some blood as a favour?" Xia asked as the two climbed in, her in the driving seat and him in the passenger one to her left; pulling open her scroll, she marked the location on her map. Noticing a solemn nod from Quacey, she gave him a quick smile before kicking the car into gear. "The Faunus tend to be very protective of their own, and we were the only non-Faunus in that place."

"Yeah. Protective." Quacey had a look in his eye, indicating he was lost in thought over something; Xia didn't press further, no doubt something in the past didn't sit too well with the mention of protection.

"Well, let's get going, we have a boat to catch." Xia pressed on the accelerator and the van drove out of the corner, onto the next step of the bloody trail.

Well, they've got a convenient plot device to lead them on their way now. Also, I like Olivir, hopefully I can find a way to work him in to something later down the line, maybe even his own fic at some point. Anyway, favourites and follows are appreciated as always, and I'm always welcoming constructive criticism; hope you enjoyed The Bloody Trail, look forward to Thrill of the Hunt.