Strange Ones: Volume 3

Warn The Leader!

~~~~~

Meanwhile, Qrow and Carly were standing in an empty hallway. Both were exhausted after running, but Carly was the most tired of the two. After all, she did have her hands on her knees and her face was red with tiredness.

"Who was that guy?!" The redheaded girl exclaimed as she tried to regain her breath. "One moment, I discover that Amber Lightvale is actually an artificial life form named Betty and next thing you know it, we're running from a supervillain!"

"Carly, calm down!" Qrow said, grabbing her shoulders firmly. "We both don't know who that was, but we both know that he's bad news. We're gonna have to evacuate the entire coliseum if Delta is to face this guy."

"Isn't that disrupting tradition?" Carly asked. "You guys enjoy this event like your life depends on it. It will be a disappointment if the games end early." She added.

"True," He agreed. "But we can deal with tradition another time. We have a dangerous man wandering in this building and we can't just sit down and let someone else get hurt or killed by him. Knowing that he is dangerous, he has to be stopped."

"But you're not even a part of Delta yourself."

"I only know Asgore and Toriel because of Ruby and Yang. If it weren't for Yang's accident, none of us would be where we are now."

"Well, what are you thinking?" Carly asked.

"For starters, we have to get to Asgore and Toriel first. They'll call everyone at Delta over and they will take care of this guy. Hopefully, Atlas will assist us with getting everyone out of the building unharmed." Qrow answered.

"And what should I do after that?" She asked.

"I want you to get to safety as well."

"That's it?" Carly's eyes widen. "You don't want me to regroup every Youth Member I can find here?"

"You're not a Youth Member from Delta, Carly." The crow Morpher said firmly. "I respect you for being a human, but you need to get to safety as soon as we get to Asgore and Toriel. Sure, most of your race's population are intelligent, but all of you are vulnerable to what us Strange Ones deal with every day."

"You're right," The girl nodded. "I'm human and I'm smart, but I'm not physically strong enough to deal with what Delta has to deal with. It's simple, right? Just go to Asgore and Toriel to warn them and evacuate the entire building. It's that easy, right?"

"It won't be simple." Qrow shook his head, and Carly groaned in response. "There's going to be a chance that no one will believe us due to how vague our evidence will be."

"Then, how are we going to be specific then?"

Before he could answer, a voice behind him said, "Qrow Branwen?"

With that, Qrow flinched and turned around to find Thorax and Nat standing behind him. The changeling appeared to be confused, but the light blue Inkling was looking up at him with folded arms and a stoic expression on her face. Meanwhile, Carly looked over the man's shoulder before readjusting her glasses to see the other two Youth Members clearly.

"What are you doing here?" Thorax asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And why aren't you your usual drunk self yet?" Nat asked before she was jabbed in the arm by the changeling.

"Uh, it's a long story, but-" Qrow was disrupted by the sound of an explosion in another hallway.

The four turned around to find something yellow smash through the wall before rolling on the ground. As soon as it stopped, it was revealed to be a violently beaten Yang whose hair was a ruffled mess and her skin and clothes were filthy with dust and ash. In response, Qrow, Thorax, and Nat pulled out their weapons as Carly hid behind the trio. But before any of them could approach her, another figure hovered through the hole in the wall. Carly gasped in shock and Qrow's red eyes widen, for it was him.

The four watched as Nox's shadow hovered over Yang. The masked man hummed before going down on one knee and putting his hand over her chest. A yellow heart-shaped soul that shined bright as gold appeared.

"Hmm..." Nox tilted his head before chuckling. "Impressive." He said. "Your soul has plenty of strength. It is powerful enough for the harvest."

"Harvest?" Qrow whispered before he gasped in realization: he was going to take her soul!

"I'll take that if you don't mind." With that, he lifted his right arm and an inky spear formed from the palm.

Meanwhile, Qrow growled before pointing his sword at him and saying, "I don't think so..."

Nox hummed in confusion. But when he turned around, he found the four standing at the other side of the hallway. He flinched in surprise, but he chuckled again and said, "Ah, I see. Qrow Branwen..."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Qrow demanded.

"Who I am is not important to you." Nox said. "I have come here to vanquish every hero of Delta. That way, my people will finally get what they want and the weak will bow down to them."

"What the heck is he talking about?" Nat whispered, raising an eyebrow.

"Did he say something about a harvest?" Thorax whispered.

"Alright, Mr. Anonymous," Qrow growled slightly before pointing his free hand at Yang. "What do you want with my niece?"

"Oh?" Nox raised an eyebrow, pointing his spear at the blonde. "This girl is one of your relatives, I see. To answer your question, she is one of the many Youth Members at Delta and she must be destroyed. But after looking into her soul, I realized she has proven to be a perfect candidate for the harvest."

There was that word again.

"What do you mean 'harvest'?!" Nat snarled, pointing her ink gun at him.

"My colleagues hired me to collect seven souls for a special project." The man in the mask explained. "Of course, it will be a surprise for only the entire world to see. It involves the power from seven soul-strong Strange Ones and a test subject for the one infected by the dark gifts of the most forbidden substance known to our kind."

"If that's so," Qrow squinted at him before his grip on his weapon became tight. "Then I won't let you kill my niece in front of me!"

"So, you're willing to risk your life to protect this fiery beauty?" Nox gestured to Yang again, then gave off his signature shady chuckle. "Very well. I'd like to put you to the test, but I can't do that with children in the way."

With a grunt, the man turned around to face the others. "Get Carly out of here. Go to Asgore and inform him of this. Even if he believes you or not, evacuate the building."

"Okay." Thorax nodded without a second thought.

Qrow watched as the three teenagers marched away from the two men. As soon as they were gone, he turned his face back to the masked man, who lifted the spear in his hand. Then, his weapon shifted to a shiny black sword, which he spun around before going into a battle stance.

"Now," Nox said, smirking below his mask. "Let's dance, old man."