The Chirpless Bird [RWBY]

Shattered Vale [Part 1]

(This takes place mere seconds after Ruby makes Neo fly off of the airship in Volume 3!)

No...

This can't be happening- it shouldn't be!

Little Red is supposed to be taken care of. Not... Not battling Torchwick while he's alone! Neo was gliding down, dodging Grimm as best as she could- Griffon wings constantly hitting her parasol... Soon spinning out of control.

She was now uncontrollably gliding into Vale. Once she finally gained control of where she was gliding... It was too late! She saw an incoming window and had almost no time to brace herself for the impact.

CRASH!

Neo rolled across the floor, shards of glass piercing and cutting the criminal. She winched as she hit the ground, the shards going deeper into the new wounds as she rolled. Once she stopped her roll, she wasted no time scanning herself over. Inspecting and noting her injuries with little care. Beginning to hastily pull the largest shards out and tossing them to the side. She turned her head, looking for her parasol, Hush. She saw the handle of it nearby, under a fallen shelf. Quickly grabbing it and dragged it into view... She frowned as she saw it was damaged by the glass and crash. The once beautiful parasol now shredded and stained with little red specks of... She needs to find a medkit. Fast.

Looking around, she realized it was a shop, a Dust shop. Crawling across the floor, finding it was raided of it's worth by low level scum and panicking civilians. She soon lifts Hush's handle onto the counter, pulling herself up, quickly spinning it and using it as a cane. She was hoping that who ever raided the shop was kind enough to atleast leave a medkit... Spying the white box she tapped it over with her shoe, seeing inside... And it was already half empty...

After a short while she limped out, with very badly patched wounds, still some smaller shards under the loose bandages. Turning her head up to the sign, reading the name in her head... of all the damned places in Vale... "From Dust Till Dawn." Of course it had to be this store... Neo turns away and limps into the street. Admiring the handiwork of the Grimm, Knights, and White Fang... Her foot stops halted once she heard a voice call out to her... It was scruffy and gravelly...

"'Ey kid!"

She turned, dragging Hush's tip across the ground as she looks to see who it was. That scruffy voice belonged to someone Neo did not want to see... "Whatta ya doin' here?" He said, before turning on his heels, slicing an Atlesian bot in two with a floral ornate sword... Neo slowly lift Hush, pointed to him. She recognized him. One of the people Cinder had on her list...

Qrow Branwen.

She tried to unsheath the blade from Hush, but it was damaged in the crash, locking it as a handle. She scowled at the huntsman, slowly limping to him. Her pace picking up as adrenaline surged through her, suppressing the pain. Making her charge at the Huntsman in fury...

But she would stop!

When gunfire filled the air, a bullet whizzing pass her head, just an inch from her ear. It flew towards Qrow and made contact with the Harbinger! The flattened bullet landed on the ground as Neo turned to see who was firing. Seeing a line of Atlesian Knights aiming at her, and solely at her! Another fireteam of them were approaching Qrow aswell, drawing his attention away from Neo.

What is going on? What is happening!? They shouldn't be aiming at her... She's one of Cinder's allies! Unless... Neo had no time to run it through her mind. A pink shimmer lifted from her shoes to her head, a familiar face grimacing to the Knights, as if offended by them. A face they shouldn't attack. The form reached up to grab the cigar in their lips, taking it out to tap it twice and return. The cane it held was no longer a broken parasol, now a cane, named Melodic Cudgel. Belonging an ally of Cinder... to the one and only... Roman Torchwick.