Strange Ones: Volume 3

Outdoor Brawl

Betty sighed nervously as she slipped her blue wig back on her head. She and Qrow were currently heading to Strange Coliseum to begin their investigation. The short Construct was nervous, and even though she would admit it, she still felt as if her self-appointed mission was an urgent one. Kumu was capable of agreeing with his master. After all, both Construct and companion had a bond with one another.

It didn't take long for the two to finally reached the coliseum. Upon arrival, Qrow was surprised to see a group of Atlas soldiers marching around the building, two of them standing beside the entrance. He was even held aback by the sight of Kuro being petted by Fluttershy, who was accompanied by Steven and Connie. The forty-something-year-old man looked at the artificial girl with a raised eyebrow.

"I forgot to tell you about that..." Betty said with a shrug.

"Doesn't matter..." Qrow sighed in response. "We're already here. Let's go."

With that, the two stepped out of the car and made their way to the coliseum, Qrow stuffing his hands into the pockets of his shirt as he walked. But as soon as they got closer to the building, five of the Atlas soldiers turned their heads at them and began to march. It made Betty and Qrow stop moving as soon as the soldiers surrounded them, pointing their silver guns at them in defense.

"Identify yourselves!" One of the soldiers ordered.

"It's alright, men!" A voice of a woman called. "It's just a few acquaintances of ours."

The soldiers in white immediately stepped away from the duo, who were later met by the sound of high heels approaching them. When Betty and Qrow turned their heads to where the sound was coming from, they found themselves staring at the face of a familiar snow-haired woman dressed in a white coat that exposed her upper arms and a blue buttoned-up sweetheart neckline shirt with white pants and black gloves and boots. It was the face of Winter Schnee, who walked up to them with her hands behind her back.

"Winter..." Qrow said, giving the woman a stoic glare.

"Qrow..." Winter replied, exchanging the same expression.

"You two know each other?" Betty asked, perplexed of the adults' familiarity with each other. She suddenly grabbed the attention of the Atlas specialist.

Qrow, noticing the woman's gaze on the disguised Construct, he said, "Winter, I have a big explanation of this." He made a gesture at Betty. "This is-"

"Amber Lightvale, a student at Delta Heroes Academy." Winter suddenly disrupted. "We've met."

"Actually, I was going to say-" He was interrupted again when Kumu shushed him from his master's shoulder, giving him a look as if to say, "Play along!"

"Ms. Schnee," Betty said with a formal bow. "You may be wondering why a grizzled man like Qrow is here during the Strange Games and I can explain everything if you-"

"I'm not expecting an explanation from you, child." Winter said before turning her blue gaze to the older man. "I'm expecting one from you."

"It's a long story, Ice Queen." Qrow replied with a shrug. "But to shorten it, little "Amber" and I came to investigate something."

That was when Betty froze. Has he gone mad?! She screamed in her mind. Is he really exposing our plan to an Atlas specialist?! What an idiot!

From her shoulder, Kumu gave out a quiet growl of disappointment and rolled his eyes. Luckily, Winter didn't detect it, nor did she bother to. Her eyes were primarily focused on Qrow at the moment.

"What is there to investigate?" The specialist questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"There has been a list of suspicious activity happening around the coliseum." Qrow explained before pointing his red eyes at Betty. "Amber here was one of those people who have been detecting it lately. She's the reason why I'm here."