The Burning Rose

Chapter 25: Bull's charge

Qrow gripped his blade tighter as the two thieves charged him. The one with a shield was in the front, hiding the other behind his massive bulk. He knew that the redhead would try to blindside him from behind the shield, but didn't know what angle they'd try.

Sure enough, as soon as the charging man got close, the redhead kept over him soaring high above the huntsman. Qrow watched him fly closer, waiting for a attack, but to his surprise, the Faunus flew over his head, well out of attack range, and landed behind him without making any attack at all.

Smirking at the bemused huntsman, Adam planted his feet as if he was getting ready for an attack, but In reality all he had to do was keep Qrow's attention so Eric could land a knockout blow. They had used this move before in the forest to great effect, so it was natural their fall back.

However, Qrow was no novice.

Immediately he jumped into the air spinning around so his feet were facing Eric when he rammed him. Bending his knees to weaken the impact, Qrow let himself be carried a few feet before kicking off Eric's shield launching himself towards Adam.

Caught off guard, Adam fumbled to counter, but before he could draw his sword, Qrow had landed two power slashes to his chest before knocking him into the side of the tunnel.

"Gah!" Adam cried as he slammed into the wall, winding him.

With one opponent stunned, Qrow turned his attention to the other. Eric wasted no time swinging at him with the side of his shield, the thing was heavy enough to crush concrete! Let alone bone. One good hit was all Eric needed!

But Qrow dodged easily and slammed the hilt of his blade into the back of his neck, causing him to lose balance and go crashing to the ground.

Recovering quickly, Eric leapt to his feet, legs spinning around him in a dangerous hurricane, Forcing Qrow to keep away. Once he was out of attack range, Eric somersaulted back onto his feet where he slammed his shield into the ground just in time to block the bullet Qrow had fired.

"Shit, he's too good." Eric thought as he peered around his shield. "We can't beat him, not at our level. We need to create an opening to escape." He glanced over to Adam, who had gotten back on his feet. And he smirked to himself.

They had the advantage of Qrow not knowing what their semblances were. If they could catch him off guard, they might have a chance to stun him long enough to make a quick getaway! But they'd have to time it perfectly. And if Qrow figured out what it was, they'd be-!"

"Aaarrhhh!" Adam roared as the silhouette of his hair and masked turned red. Grabbing both his sword and scabbard with both hands, and in one swift movement, he launched a powerful red energy at Qrow that completely obscured his vision.

As Adma charged forward to take advantage of his attack, Eric stood as still as a statue, eyebrow twitching as he watched the reckless Faunus charge.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Qrow throws himself out of the way of the blast, only to find Adam already waiting for him. Immediately the two began striking and parrying each other. And despite his momentum, Adam found himself quickly on the defensive. The older huntsman was so damn fast! He just couldn't keep up!

Suddenly, Qrow stopped mid swing to duck as Eric tried to decapitate him from behind. Seeing an opening, Adam landed a quick uppercut with his sword, staggering the huntsman.

Immediately both huntsmen in training begin attacking with all their ferocity, kicking Qrow around from both sides. Yet try as they might, they couldn't land any serious blow to the older huntsman.

But that quickly changed.

As Eric swung from the back while Adam clashed blades from the front, Qrow enacted his plan.

Immediately the handle of his sword shot out, slamming Eric in the stomach. At the same time, his blade curled around Adam's as it transformed into a scythe. Now with his opponent hooked. He pulled the Faunus in and slammed his fist into his face.

Before the redhead could recover, Qrow released a volley of lightning fast attacks. Each one landing with painful accuracy. Each one left him too stunned to counter and Qrow seemed to have no intention of stopping.

Suddenly, the sound of splashing water caught their attention as Eric charged towards them. Immediately, Qrow spun, kicking Adam in the side sending him flying towards his partner.

Acting on instinct, Eric smacks Adam out of the way with his shield, sending the Faunus crashing onto the ground where he rolled into a grate, his dark red aura flickering.

"Sorry!" Eric yelled as he began swinging wildly at Qrow, who dodged every attack.

As they danced around each other. Qrow was fast and skilled enough to land several blows on the younger man, but couldn't break through his aura and armor. That gave Adam a chance to stagger back onto his feet and charge back into the fray.

However, as Eric planted his boot for another strike, the ground below him gave way under natural wear and tear. Immediately the heavy huntsman lost his footing giving Qrow his chance.

Immediately, he hooked his scythe onto the handle of Eric's shield and swung him through the air before sending him flying towards Adam.

The redhead immediately tried to duck under the screaming ball of metal, but his foot slipped on the wet surface causing him to skate forward forcing him to his balance upright to avoid falling.

Bang!

Eric smashed into Adam, sending them both toppling into the wall.

"Ugh!" They both groaned as they crawled onto their hands and knees.

"He's too strong. We need to retreat." Eric said, as he struggled to his feet. "Much as I hate to say it, we're out classed, by a large margin. But if we get out now, we might have a chance to bullshit our way out of this."

He glanced over at Adam, who had also gotten up.

But when their eyes met, all Eric saw was rampant fury.

"Run away? From a human? Never!" He snapped. "I'm done licking their boots to survive! If you want to run, go ahead! I'm not leaving until he's begging for mercy!"

Before Eric could say anything, Adam was already charging at Qrow, blade in his scabbard charging his semblance.

Qrow let out a sigh as he watched the redhead running at him. "Dumb little idiot. Should have listened to your partner. But I guess that just makes things easier for me."

Adam discharged a blast of energy from his blade, but Qrow effortlessly deflected it with his bare hand. Grinding his teeth, the Faunus lunged forward, locking blades together with the older huntsman, but try as he might, he couldn't even get him to take a step back.

As they came face to face, Qrow's eyes widened as he saw Adam's mask.

"What is that mask? It doesn't look like any Enlightened Seraph design. Are you not with them?" Qrow pushed Adam back as he asked, sending the Faunus skidding back several feet.

"Enlightened Seraph? Those losers who think Atlas should be destroyed?" Eric asked. "No! We were just investigating an abandoned building when we found a few homeless people. Next thing we know, we're being shot at with RPGs!" Adam glanced behind him in annoyance. Was Eric seriously trying to bluff their way out of this? Hadn't he learned humans didn't change opinions?

"And you just happen to have some masks on your person?" Qrow asked skeptically. "That sounds oddly convenient given the situation."

"The homeless guys gave it to us. Said something else too, but my ears were ringing so I couldn't make out what it was." Eric said without missing a beat. "And technically, this is my helmet. So I hope you're happy given the amount of time I'm going to have to spend cleaning this."

Adam clenched his fist as he listened to this embarrassing exchange. This didn't feel right. No matter how much Eric talked, Qrow was a human. As such, he'd never listen. And if he did, both of them would still be sent to prison as humans didn't care about what was right and wrong. They just wanted to control the Faunus by any means necessary. It would be better if he-!

Suddenly, a sickle appeared in front of Adam, barely giving him enough to dodge! The next second, another huntsman dropped from the ceiling, swinging the sickle around by a chain attached at the base.

Adam made to cut the man, but he dodge and swung the other side of the chain at his legs. Immediately a weight at the end wrapped around his leg and with a rough pull, the man toppled Adam. He was using a Kusarigama!

With his opponent on the ground, the man lunged forward, blade posed to strike his neck. Adam just barely rolled out of the way in time, but was kicked in the stomach and sent flying before he could counter.

Adam crawled to his hands and knees, but before he could move, his opponent was above him, swinging the sickle like a pendulum towards his neck.

"Aaaahhh!" Eric yelled as he charged towards the huntsman, who turned to look at him with complete disinterest. Despite that, the Atlesians was still able to slam his shield into the huntsman and knock him back where he skated across the ground before stopping next to Qrow.

Immediately, Eric turned and helped Adam to his feet. As they turned, they got a good look at the huntsman who had joined the fray.

The man was in his mid to late twenties. He was lean yet still muscular, with green eyes and short hair that was an unusual shade of purple. He was wearing a white tank top that was stained with dried blood and black pants. A tattoo of two horns were one he back of his left hand. One set was white, shaped like elk antlers. The other was black, and held a similar shape, but twisted and and growing in all different directions, like an overgrown forest.

"What are you doing here, Igor?" Qrow asked, not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice. "How'd you even get here? I thought you were still in prison after the mess you always make."

The man, Igor, turned to Qrow, an ear shut grin spread across his face. "Got out early as my skills were needed." He replied, stepping forward and running his hand under Qrow's chin, causing the older huntsman to push his hand away. "As for how I found you, well. Let's say you're not the only one who can put two and two together. And seeing as I've been cooped up for so long, I thought a fight would do me some good. Besides, what's the problem? You don't like fighting anyway. And seeing as there's two of them, we can split them equally."

"Go away." Qrow said with repressed annoyance. "I don't need someone like you getting in my way. Every time you get involved, things become more complicated than they need to be."

Igor frowned at Qrow, then turned back to Adam and Eric. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not under any obligation to listen to you." He said as a crazed smile spread across his face. "I'll just stay here and take out a few misguided fools for a bit of fun, instead of helping an old friend."

"We're not friends."

"This is bad." Eric thought to himself. "As if one wasn't bad enough, now there are two. And one of them is a deranged murder who won't listen to reason." He took a step back and glanced behind him. The sewer had several branching tunnels throughout the network. If they could just brake line of sight long enough to lose themselves in the maze, maybe they could-.

Eric was broken out of his thoughts as Adam charged at the two huntsmen. "Don't mock me!" The Faunus yelled as he charged, drawing his sword in the moment. Cursing his partner under his breath, the young knight ran after him.

Igor let out a laugh as he charged to meet them head on.

As Adam and Igor clashed blades, Eric swung to the right, aiming to hit the huntsman in his blind spot. But was brought to a screeching hold as Qrow landed a kick to his stomach, knocking him back.

As his partner became entangled with Qrow, Adam turned his focus to the man in front of him. Igor had a massive grin on his face, the man was loving this.

But Adam had a plan to wipe that grin off his face.

As they traded blows, Adam waited for an opportunity as his semblance began to charge. All he needed was one good hit and victory was hi-!"

Suddenly, Adam felt a sharp pain in his arm. Looking down, he saw Igor had grabbed it and a purple energy was seeping onto his red aura. Forcing it to become visible and even causing it to disappear.

Immediately Adam kicked Igor's hand off him and leapt back, putting as much distance between himself and his opponent. But when he landed, he lost his foot and fell as the pain in his arm began to spread.

He looked down and saw the purple energy spreading across his body from the point of…infection? This energy was eating away at his aura like a termite. No. This wasn't energy he created, it was Igor's own aura! He had somehow detached it and formed his own body and onto Adam's!

"Hehehe!" Adam looked up at Igor as he laughed. "Nice knowing ya!" He said, then he snapped his fingers.

Immediately the purple aura shot up Adam's arm and made its way to his neck. The next second an unbearable pain shot through his entire body. It covered him from head to toe causing him to collapse onto the ground, writhing in agony.

Adam lost all sense of his surroundings as he flailed helplessly on the ground. He could hear sounds all around him, but could place it. Laughing, screaming, clashing metal. He could hear all of it, yet he was struggling to put it together.

Spots were approaching in his vision and he was foaming at the mouth. At this point, the purple aura had coved half his face and spread a good way down his chest, causing one of his lungs to stop working properly!

Igor grunted in disgust as he walked over to Adam's twitching form. "A man's screams lack the charms of a girl's. What a shame." He lamented as he rolled Adam onto his back, then crouched down next to him. "Too bad, but I guess you can't have everything. I'll savor what I can from your pain, then have some more fun with your friend."

Despite him being so close, Adam could barely hear him. Darkness blurred the edges of his vision as his eyes started to roll back into his head. His screams stopped as he began choking on his own spit. As the purple aura extended to his heart, it gave a few irregular beats, then came to a stop.

"Huh? Poor bastard." Qrow muttered as he glanced over. "Igor really overdosed it. That sadist shouldn't even be a huntsman."

"Aaahhh!"

Qrow turned just in time to see Eric lunging forward. His green aura traveling across his body until it reached his right fist, which was pulled back for a punch.

Reacting immediately, Qrow leapt out of the way, dodging the attack and causing Eric to punch the ground.

But that was all he needed.

As soon as his fist slammed into the ground, he released a power green shockwave that ripped through the area blasting Qrow in the wall, smashing him with so much force the older huntsman found himself embedded in it.

The blast caused Igor to look over just in time to see Eric charging him. With a shrill laugh, he dodged the knight's attacks and quickly entangled his arm with his chain.

With his prey caught, the sadist lunged at Eric, sickle at the ready. The young knight gritted his teeth. He had already used so much aura already, he was running out of juice! But he had no choice. Both of his opponents outclassed him by a mile, if he couldn't put distance between them and him, it was all over.

With a deep breath, Eric activates his semblance. Igniting his aura. He saw Igor's eyes widened as he moved his shield between them, then he poured all his aura into it. Storing it all as close to the huntsman as possible, he released it, causing another shockwave that blasted Igor back. The force ripped his gauntlet off his arm as well as a good chunk of his skin, but he had freed himself from his opponent, meaning he might still have a chance.

Bang!

"Gah!" Eric cried as a bullet ripped into his armor and sunk into his stomach. Qrow had freed his arm, and was making quick progress with the rest of his body. Meanwhile, Igor slid on his hands and feet, digging his sickle into the ground to slow himself. The blast Eric had used on him was noticeably weaker than the one he used on Qrow. And going off the insane grin across the huntsman's face, he knew it.

"Damn it!" Eric snarled. He immediately slammed his shield on the ground, turning it into a wall to keep them away temporarily. He glanced down at Adam as saw that Faunus was struggling to breath. Whatever Igor had done to him, it had really messed him up.

"Don't worry, I got ya." Eric said as he grabbed Adam and slung him under his arm. "We need to go. You can yell at me later, so don't you dare go and die on me!"

A chuckle caught Eric's attention and he peered out from behind his shield. Igor was slowly walking towards him, a grin spread across his face.

"Don't die on you?" He mocked. "That's quite presumptuous of you. Do you honestly think you can escape me? Surely you can't be that stupid. What on Remnant can a brat like you do against me? Just give up and I might not tear your limbs off your body."

In response, Eric pushed a button on the base of his handle. Immediately there was loud groaning from his shield as the four plates separated and a short tube extended from the center. A glass window opened let the knight see what was in front of him and Qrow saw there were crosshairs on it as well.

"I'd like to see you try!" Eric bellowed, then he turned the handle of his shield.

Immediately a rocket shot from the tube, flying straight at Igor.

But the huntsman just threw his head back with a laugh. "Do you honestly think you'll hit me with that!? In your dreams kid!" He yelled as he ran towards them. Behind his shield, Eric grinned at the man.

"It's not meant for you."

As the huntsman ran at them, he effortlessly sidestepped the rocket, and as he did, Qrow saw it's trajectory.

"Hey! Look out you idiot!" He yelled, causing Igor to turn and look over his shoulder just in time to see the rocket smash into the ceiling and exploded.

Immediately debris rained down on top of them. Igor let out a cry of surprise and threw himself down one of the many tunnels. Meanwhile, Eric heaved Adam across the ground and down a different tunnel, keeping his shield above his head, protecting both of them.

As Qrow began retreating towards the exit, he turned one final time to look at his opponents. Going off their height and voices, Igor had been right, they were probably kids. But what were they doing stealing dust for?

He didn't know, but he guessed there was more going on then he knew. If he had been younger and more naïve, he might have felt pity for them. But he knew he still had a responsibility to arrest them.

In times like these, he couldn't afford to be soft, even on a few kids.

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First things first, I want to take this time to explain Eric's semblance. Originally, he was supposed to explain it himself next chapter, but I'm going to do it here instead to save myself some time and a couple hundred words.

His semblance is called aura focus. It let's him move all of his aura to any part of his body or anything it's touching. So he can make his fist into a super punch to rival Hazel's or turn a part completely indestructible to the point not even Adam could blast through it. Alternatively, he can push it into another person to heal them or power someone up. Overall, it's probably the most versatile semblance of team AACE.

And unfortunately for him, it comes with a huge weakness.

Notice how I said "all of his aura"? Well I meant all. Using it in any capacity leave every part of his body vulnerable except the part he's focusing it. And no, he can't move just bits and pieces where he wants, it's an all or nothing type of ability.

What's more, it doesn't go back right away. So he's completely vulnerable for several seconds after using it. That's why he wears heavy armor, to keep himself safe after using his semblance.

And that about dose it for this chapter. I hope to see everyone here next chapter. Bye!