"Ugh.. like, why do we have to be here, Mom? Beatrix should be enough, right?" Melanie Malachite, along with her twin groaned as they set a screen up on a large roundtable.
On that screen, the infamous leader of the Spiders 'Lil Miss Malachite was seen. Currently smoking from a pipe with an unbothered expression.
"This is an opportunity, girls. Your first sit-in at an important meeting. You're also Beatrix and Junior's muscle too. I'm fairly sure the Atlesians are changing their game plan this time around." 'Lil Miss Malachite answered before taking a drag of her pipe.
The twins looked at each other in confusion before turning back to their Mother. Seeing her daughters' reactions, 'Lil Miss Malachite sighed and flicked away some ash.
"It seems you don't know. How has this not been looked into? You live in Vale.." She sighed in disappointment again and explained. "Hatter's Estate was attacked by them. Something they've never done before until now. Their last leader? Rouen? He wasn't nearly so ballsy. He knew that doing something like that would only push the other families against him."
"So.. there's a new leader, you're saying? Wow.. They must be.. like.. retarded or something. With how we'd all ally against them like this, that doesn't seem too smart~." Miltia snickered.
"If you think that, then you're not paying attention." Junior chimed in as he walked in with Beatrix and two other Mistralian gang leaders. From the Tiger and Crane clan, two older men sat with Junior near 'Lil Miss Malachite's screen.
"He's right. I've been seeing some concerning patterns from the Atlesians via our network. It was a bold move but it was likely made with specific intentions. Ah, but we'll go over that when the rest arrive. Here come the Faunus gang now." Beatrix announced as she sat next to Junior and watched as White masked Faunus in light armor entered with two bodyguards.
The leader didn't even bother looking at them. He simply took a seat on one side of the table with his hand rested on the hilt of his katana and sat there with an ever-present scowl while his two bodyguards stood behind him quietly.
"Adam Taurus? So it was you who took over the Faunus gangs in Vale?" 'Lil Miss Malachite asked, her tone dripping with amusement.
"As if you hadn't known this already. Stop with the useless chatter, human. I only came here because of my hatred of the people of Atlas. I have no interest in you besides ensuring their violent deaths." Adam answered curtly, his fingers tapping away at the hilt of his blade.
"How cold. I was just making conversation. But as long as you're cooperative, I suppose I won't complain." 'Lil Miss Malachite replied with a half-hearted shrug.
Adam simply grunted, opting to ignore the older woman. His eyes darting to the new figures walking into the room. Hatter, who strut in with two bodyguards wearing white masks and tophats smiled at Adam and sat on one end of the table. He was followed by two minor Valean gang leaders. A Faunus man in a leather jacket, gauntlets, a spiked choker and long silver hair. He had a few green scales on his face and curved back horns.
"Sieg. Still advocating for 'equality'?" Adam called out, voice dripping with disdain.
Sieg, the silver haired Faunus smirked and sat next to Hatter and shrugged.
"Hey Adam. Still a Faunus supremacist?" His retort made Adam scowl.
"Well hello. Hatter of the Hatters, Sieg of the.. what was the new name you came up with? Dragonslayers? And Reid, of the Executors." 'Lil Miss Malachite greeted, looking at Hatter, Sieg and a brunette man in a slick black suit and sunglasses.
"Hmph. We're all here. Let's just start this meeting and-" Hatter, Junior and Beatrix raised their hands in unison, silencing Adam.
"We have three more guests." Hatter added with a smirk. Hearing him, Beatrix and Junior nodded. The rest, other than 'Lil Miss Malachite seemed confused.
"🎵I'm in the thick of it, everybody knows! 🗣
They know me where it snows!! 🗣🗣 I skied in and they froze-" A rather terrible song started playing on the scroll of the shortstack girl. It was paused before the chorus finished but the look of immeasurable disappointment on Ryuko's face made Neo panic.
|･д･)ﾉ 'B-Boss I swear! I was trying to play the other one!!' Neo panicked and hid behind Roman.
"Which one exactly..?" Ryuko asked with a smile that promised pain.
Neo quickly tapped her scroll and another song came on.
"🎵Kill 'em all! Kill 'em all!
No way that you can hide from the best
I'm a mess
I'll body anything that takes a breath🎵"
Ryuko nodded and ruffled the top of her head. "Just don't play that dogshit song anymore~."
The gang leaders stared at the spectacle in total confusion as they came in while talking about music. That confusion only lasted until Ryuko and Roman walked in and took a seat while Neo stood behind Ryuko and flipped off Miltia and Melanie with a particularly malicious smirk. Adam's jaw set in frustration and he nearly stood up to protest but one good look at Ryuko and he felt a strange, overwhelming urge to sit back down and look away. He fought through his instincts, yet stayed in his seat as he voiced his disapproval.
"The thieves? Are we really going to hold this meeting between gang leaders with.." Adam gestured to Ryuko and Roman as they sat down.
"The prerequisite for joining this meeting is strength, no? Personal power, influential power, political power.. In all these things, I am qualified to attend~." Ryuko answered, looking at Adam with an amused gleam in her eyes.
The Bull Faunus had seen her fight Carmilla. As a Faunus, he was happy to see a Chrollo get humbled. By all means, he shouldn't feel so hostile toward her. But for some reason, he just couldn't shake the feeling that she had wronged him somehow.
The Tiger and Crane gang leaders simply looked at each other and silently came to an agreement. Junior and 'Lil Miss seemed to expect the two, so they weren't going to complain. Sieg only gave Ryuko an interested smirk and Reid hadn't seemed to react at all. With nobody backing him, Adam reluctantly acquiesced.
"Wonderful! We're all in agreement that dear Ryuko and Roman should be here? Great! Now, let's get this nice, productive meeting underway. Here here!" Hatter enthusiastically stated before pulling out a plastic toy mallet and hit the table, both amusing and annoying those present.
Melanie and Miltia both snickered to each other before looking at Ryuko and Roman, who already seemed well acquainted with Hatter.
"Now. During our past turf wars we all met to discuss how we'd deal with the Atlesian incursion. We all agreed to stay put of each other's way and deal with them on our own. That won't suffice anymore. I believe we need a united front this time." Hatter tossed the toy mallet away and quickly became serious.
"Because your Estate was bombed? Please. I'd hardly call that a justifiable enough excuse for all of us to set our differences aside and exterminate them. The White Fang will be enough." Adam spoke confidently, already irritating the other gang members.
"Ahaha~" Though before anyone could refute him, Ryuko laughed. It was a deeply amused, melodious sounding laugh that sent a few tingles up Adam's spine.
"Is something funny, thief?" The Bull Faunus asked, his jaw set as he leaned forward.
"It's just funny. The White Fang is merely a gang now. No support from Menagerie, your Faunus sympathy is quickly draining and you're clinging to power. Yet you say you can handle them by yourself? There's ego, then there's stupidity." Ryuko chastised with a soft smirk. That seemed to send Adam over the edge.
*SHIIING*
Adam unsheathed his blade and stared at Ryuko with a scowl.
"Care to repeat that? What do you know about us? We're not so weak as to-" *Cough*
Adam's spiel was cut off shortly after it began by a voice coming from the entrance of the meeting hall. A polite-sounding yet arrogant clearing of the throat. Followed by the appearance of a young man with black and white hair in an expensive suit and coat. He walked in alone, casting a disdainful glance at Adam before looking at the leaders of the round table.
"Apologies for interrupting. It just seemed opportune, given it was only the mining equipment talking." The young man greeted while simultaneously insulting Adam. The insult pissed Adam off immensely and made Sieg's expression darken.
"That's the most casual way I've ever heard someone be racist.. Bravo." Roman, oddly enough seemed to respect it.
The rest of the leaders looked at the young man with disdain yet hadn't made a move yet. The confidence to walk into a gang meeting by himself intrigued many of them.
"I've come to give you all an offer. As the new leader of the Atlesian mob, I've decided to do things differently this time around. We're taking Vale. Whether it be through all-out warfare, subterfuge or rallying the public against you all, I won't hesitate to do so. Why tell you, you might ask? I'm that confident, for one. Second, I want to extend an olive branch here. Anyone who decides to side with us will get more of the other gang's territories for themselves and will be allowed to exist peacefully alongside us. I'm only offering this chance once though. I'd give it some deep thought if I were you." The young man stated casually, as if he were asking about the weather.
"My what a bold man you are. I suppose that comes with being young. Bold and audacious.." 'Lil Miss Malachite said before chuckling to herself.
Adam stood up and pointed his blade at him. A more composed, cold hatred shown on his masked face.
"What is your name, Atlesian? I'll need to know who to ship your severed head to after I cleave it from your neck."
The young man shook his head with a derisive smirk.
"William Gele. It seems I expected too much from mining equipment. The rest of them knew my identity before I even stepped in. Isn't that right?" William asked, looking over at Ryuko, who was leaning back in her chair with her legs folded.
"Of course~. You attacked us three days ago. I'd be a fool not to look into who had the balls to try and kill Hatter and I. Though.. I'm afraid you'll need something more substantial next time." Ryuko replied with an oddly dangerous yet seductive smile that pulled William's attention in.
He had known a day after the attack that Ryuko and Roman, the rising criminals of Vale were within the Estate. Though in all honesty, he had no intention of going against them. But seeing as how his actions have already led making Ryuko and Roman his enemy, he would stack the odds in his favor. After all, not all the gangs were united against him. The Faunus? He was always going to destroy them. The Spiders? The Bears? They'd give in when he proved it wouldn't be profitable to go against him. The rest would fall in line. Or so he believed, until now.
Looking around, besides the blatant hositility of Adam, almost all of the leaders were openly hostile toward him. The only ones who weren't, were Reid and Roman.
"It seems I won't be getting much of an answer today. Very well. My offer stands to all but the mining equipment. You have three days." William stated before turning to leave.
*CLAAAAANG!!!*
That's when Adam made his move. His blade was unsheathed faster than most in the room could see. The red hue of his blade blurred and struck at William. Though his blade was met with William's gauntlet. The force was enough to crack the concrete beneath them and unleash a gust of wind that knocked Roman's hat off.
"Are you so eager to die, animal?" William coldly asked before his gauntlet flashed white and a blast of bone chilling cold battered the room.
*Ksssh!*
Adam moved away just in time to avoid being frozen solid. The whole room was partially frosted over from just one attack. William sneered and turned around, making his way out.
"How dramatic~. He certainly made a point though. We're dealing with a capable enemy." Ryuko stated, smirking as Roman cursed and picked up his hat while Neo snuggled into her lap for warmth.
The leaders looked at each other, noticing Adam pulling his partially frozen shoes off the ground with a fierce scowl.
"So now.. Let's discuss the details of our alliance~"
[AN: Sorry about my absence. Took a week off work for my birthday on the first. Needed to think and stuff. Now I'm back babeh]