Strange Ones: Volume 3

The Man in the Mask

"So," Alex said with crossed arms as she and Twilight sat down with Pinkie, who was slurping a milkshake. "You have no idea who Harumi is?"

"Mm-mmm." Pinkie shook her head and shrugged. "I just met the girl hours ago when Weiss came to retrieve me and Lloyd. I didn't know Lloyd had an ex-girlfriend and Weiss had a rival."

"So, you know nothing of Harumi, then?" Twilight asked uncertainly.

"Nada." The pink-haired Rogue shook her head again. "Not one bit. I don't even know her, but she does look like someone who feeds on trouble."

Meanwhile, the sleeping Kumu, who rested on Alex's right shoulder, jolted awake when he felt a twinge through his entire form. With a gasp, his eyes shot open. He knew what that violent pulse meant: Betty was in grave danger. Luckily, he knew where she was due to their connection, so he got off the blue-haired girl's shoulder before flying off to his destination. Alex felt this and turned her head to the left where the pink blob flew. She raised an eyebrow at him but as soon as he disappeared from her sight, she shrugged and turned her head back to Pinkie to continue their investigation.

~~~~~

Betty jumped to evade a swipe from the masked being's ax, which struck the floor. The disguised Construct landed on the ground and summoned another pink spear. It was the only thing she could do in defense since she didn't have Kumu with her. When she usually had him as a companion in combat, she felt stronger. Without him, all she could do was dodge, jump, and throw spears. Meanwhile, Carly and Qrow watched the match. While the crow Morpher witnessed the fight with a scowl, the teen watched in horror.

When the being in black finally pulled his ax out of the ground, Betty turned to Qrow and yelled, "Qrow, get Carly out of here!" After that, she threw her spear at her opponent, missing him by the left shoulder.

"Betty!" Carly shouted before Qrow grabbed her shoulders and ran off with her.

As the two ran, the artificial girl stared at the enemy, scowling at him before the ax in his grasp faded to dust. Their brawl came to a pause with that.

"What a touching moment, I should say..." The masked one said in a dark and sly tone. His voice sounded as if two criminals were both talking in sync.

"Who are you?!" Betty demanded, forming another pink rod.

"Who I am is not important." He said. "I'm here to help finish a friend's business."

"That doesn't excuse you to-"

"I was sent here to take down a certain someone." The anonymous man disrupted her sentence. "But if I wanted to, I have to kill all of his allies, starting from the weakest ones. But a Construct associated with Delta? What a day..."

"I don't think you realize who I am," Betty growled, giving her weapon a tight grip.

In response, the masked one chuckled. "Oh, dear child. I know exactly who you are."

"Like you know anything about-"

"You're Bete Noire."

The girl gasped, her eyes widening as soon as her ears heard his dark and distorted words. How? She thought, baffled. How does he know who I am? Wait, could it be...? "Who do you serve?" She demanded to know.

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." The unknown figure chuckled again before his ax reappeared in his hand. "Now, that will be enough talk."

"I'm not done asking you questions!" Betty snarled, but she didn't get the reply she expected.

The shadowy figure spun his ax around before lunging at the girl, who immediately performed a backflip to evade a swipe from his weapon. Knowing that she wouldn't stand a chance against him, she began to run.