The Bird and the Garden 2: Restart!

Chapter 14: The Club

Drip... drip... drip...

Slowly Y/N's eyes opened, unadjusted to the darkness. He felt like he had been hit by a car. Groaning, he tried to stand up - only to find himself tied down to a chair.

"U-uhn... what...?"

"So you're finally awake..."

Y/N looked next to him to see Blake tied to her own chair. And when his eyes finally adjusted, he saw everyone with him. Sasha was the only one who wasn't tied with a rope - she was chained. Y/N assumed she kept breaking the ropes. The giant struggled, her enraged shouts muffled by the duct tape that had been stuck to her mouth. Weiss was muttering to herself.

"I swear, when I get my damned hands on him... I don't even know what I'll do..."

Yang was nearby, seated next to Blake. The blonde was quiet, horror in her lilac eyes. "Vao... Why would he do this...?"

No one had an answer. Y/N had thought he knew his brother. But now he felt like he knew nothing. This was completely unsuspected, a terrifying shock.

Light filled the basement as the door opened, three shadows filling the stairwell. And as they descended, Y/N saw his face for the first time since he woke up. Only this time, Vao didn't look like his usual self. He wasn't smiling, and his crimson eyes held no laughter, no jokes, and no stupidity. He was wearing a suit, the jacket unbuttoned to reveal a white collared shirt with a crimson tie.

"Ah... Finally awake..."

"Let. Us. Go." Weiss wasn't asking. She was demanding him. But Vao only shook his head, stepping into the room completely. Y/N looked at his two allies, unable to recognize their faces from anywhere. Both of them wore a similar suit to Vao, but with the jacket buttoned. They were wearing red sunglasses that reflected Y/N's face back at him, their short blonde hair covered by black fedoras.

Vao shrugged his shoulders. "I want to, I really do. But I can't. My orders were to keep you here until the Boss gets back."

Y/N looked around, trying to find anything, anything at all that he could use to escape. But there was nothing. Only leaking pipes and a cold overhead light. Vao sighed, pulling up an empty chair and sitting down. His flask was in his hand. He held out his arms, as if showing off the basement. "Welcome to where I work."

Cardin was trembling in his chair. He looked like he shit himself. "W-what is this place!?" He shrieked. He had just woken up.

"Work," Vao repeated. "Sorry about drugging you, bruv. But I couldn't risk getting the boss in trouble if someone snitched." He looked at Weiss when he said that last word. The heiress growled angrily, but didn't say anything. Y/N looked down at his bound ankles, his eyes growing wet. He felt like Vao had betrayed him. He wondered if Vao had been working for Ruby the entire time.

"... Who... are you, Vao...?" He croaked.

Vao frowned, a sympathetic expression crossing his girly face. "Wot do you mean? I'm the same old Vao. The same old, illiterate, amputee Vao." He smirked lightly, trying to ease the tension. "But you aren't asking about that, are ya mate?"

"Just answer the damned question," Weiss hissed. Vao looked annoyed before standing up, dusting off his jacket.

"... Don't have to be a cunt about it," he grumbled. With his hands in his pockets, Vao stopped smiling. "Look at wot I'm wearing here. Look at wot my pals are wearing. What do you think?"

Y/N didn't want to say it. But in a shaky voice, he answered. "Y-you're a criminal... An actual criminal..."

Vao clicked his tongue, pointing a finger gun at him. "Actually, I'm a mobster. Right hand man to the Boss."