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Stigma Town Arc is the fifth arc of the Four Huntsmen storyline. The focus is soley on Team JORE protecting Stigma Town and the corrupt nature of Chief Ajax

Characters[]

Story[]

Chapter 54: The Story Revealed[]

Inside Beacon weapon studies classroom, Team JORE are sitting on the left side of the classroom with Professor Panner teaching the classroom. "Before I dismiss you all, please remember to complete the Wind dust essay." Professer Panner said. There was a small nod from some of the students. "Class dismissed." Professor Panner announced. There was a sudden rise from all the students as they made their way outside the class. Team JORE on the other hand felt slightly uneased. "Seriously, how is it possible for him to give us a large essay to do despite it being our first lesson with him?!" Onyx asked annoyed. "Maybe you're not smart enough to complete it." Jorey said. Onyx's vein buldged. This triggered him to immediately strike Jorey's head, knocking him down towards the ground. "Ow!" Jorey squirmed as he felt his head. Jorey slowly got up as he glared at Onyx. "Stop glaring you deserved it anyways." Onyx pointed out to Jorey. "To be honest, shouldn't we be more confused by the fact the guy who tried to kill us along with his group is now a Professor right now?" Rufus mentioned. Eli nodded in agreement as the team started making their way into the library. "You can tell the slight discomfort throughout the class. I think it's funny actually." Eli pointed out. The rest of the team had a look of shock at Eli. "How can you take that so casually?" Jorey noticed. Eli shrugged his shoulders.

As they entered Beacon's library, the team execpt from Rufus sat down to first table on their right. Rufus grabbed a book from the library and headed towards the table. Rufus took a seat down at the table as he wanted to complete the essay. "By the way Jorey, I overheard you saying that you gave up on Bridgette since she and Onyx might be getting in a relationship." Eli said. Jorey banged his left hand on the table. "Eli you-" "Oh yeah, she messaged me in my scroll about that." Onyx pointed out. Jorey raised his brow. "Oh so now she's messaging you?" Jorey asked full on envy. "Jorey, I don't care about your jealousy." Eli pointed out. Rufus slightly chuckled at Jorey. "Alright. So I can study in peace, could you guys get story out so everything stops being tense and I can study in peace?" Rufus requested. Onyx sighed. Jorey calmed down before getting in a rage. 

A few months ago in Vale's agricultural district, Jorey and Bridgette were signing up to a competition. "Are you sure about this Jorey?" Bridgette asked her friend. Jorey nodded. "Yeah. Of course I'm sure. I've been wanting to do this for ages." Jorey pointed out. On a banner, there was a sign that said  "Camp Hunt". Bridgette sighed. "I guess it's really good training for the both of us but I don't want you to get injured." Bridgette pointed out. Beside the two of them, there was a stage with a person wearing a sleeveless black hoodie and sunglasses talking on a microphone. "Welcome to the survival of the fittest!" She yelled. This caught the attention of everyone in the surrounding area. "I am your announcer for the day! To remind you all Camp Hunt is an intense outdoor survival competition that tests your skills in the wild. Another thing you should worry about is everyone else around you. Because anyone and anybody could take you out. Don't worry though, if your aura is found to be low then you'll be easily taken out of the competition. The competition will run for atleast four days so make sure you find food. However the competition can be ended if someone finds the golden axe. Got that?" The announcer informed. Everyone nodded understandingly. "Alright then, make your way through! You have a half an hour grace peroid that allows you to collect all the food and make a camp without being attacked! The winner gets 5 So good luck!" The announcer shouted as she opene the gates to allow the competitors to rush in. Jorey gawked at announcer with dreamy eyes until Bridgette slapped Jorey's head. "Get over yourself. She doesn't look interested in you. Just the money she gets." Bridgette pointed as she ran off without him. Jorey pouted at Bridgette as he ran after her. "Why would say that? You ruined my hopes." Jorey said dissappointed. As two ran off, Onyx emerged as he started slowly walking, trying to trail Jorey.

A day later, Jorey is on his own with his own camp fire after finding meat and having cooked it. He had finished eating the food. Behind him, there was a large cabin was fully wrecked. "Thank the maidens that guy accidentally burned down the cabin with all the people he's fighting." Jorey said as he finished eating his food. He had a lot stuff in his large bag.

"Jorey Diamond." A  known voice called as it began to emerge. Jorey looked up in shock as he took off his bag and drew out Emerald Stagger in it's nodachi form. "Onyx? You're in the competition?" Jorey asked still in shock. Onyx had a smirk on his face as he looked at his team mate. Readying Ironmen, Onyx charged at Jorey, throwing a punch towards his chest. Jorey parried the strike Emerald Stagger. Onyx continously threw punches at Jorey as the latter tried his best to parry them. Jorey and Onyx both jumped back far away from each other. Switching Emerald Stagger to it's bow form, Jorey was readying his arrow. Suddenly, Onyx was then struck by an axe towards his arm which sent him towards the ground. The attacker appeared to be Bridgette as she held Onyx on the ground. "Bridgette?" Jorey asked. "I'm trying to get as many people out of the competition! I'm basically saving you here! Now go!" Bridgette shouted. Jorey looked confused at the situation but decided to run off away from the two with his bag.

"Get off me you crazy girl!" Onyx shouted as he punched Bridgette in the face. This knocked her onto the ground. The two both got up. Onyx turned to go chase after Jorey but was stopped by Bridgette who pulled him down. "Nuh uh uh! I'm your opponent!" Bridgette shouted. Onyx grabbed her hand and attempted fight back but they both ended up falling on the floor. Onyx was on top of Bridgette as he had his fist raised. "Leave me alone!" Onyx shouted as he readied his fist to punch her. To distract Onyx, Bridgette quickly kissed Onyx on the lips which sent him in a state of shock. She then pushed him with Dobbelt Skapretteren as forcefully push Onyx off her. This lowered Onyx's aura, rendering him out of the competition. Bridgette smiled, seeing her work done. She got off the ground and noticed Jorey was still there in shock as he saw Bridgette and Onyx. "Jorey wait!" Bridgette called out. Jorey then ran off.

Back to the present with Team JORE, Rufus kept silent. "So it wasn't like she liked Onyx. She was doing it to put him off guard obviously. It's a good tactic." Eli explained. Jorey shook his head. "But you don't understand. I've known Bridgette for years. Trust me, she seems interested him. It's not out of jealously. I can't trust Onyx not to take advantage of her." Jorey pointed out. He sighed. Onyx shook his head. "I just don't care. I just wanna fight you." Onyx said. "Well, you'll have to hold that off Onyx! We have to choose our mission tommorow anyways. Ozpin is calling all second year students to do a mission." Rufus pointed out. Eli nodded at Rufus. "Anyways, let's just finish this essay." Jorey decided. He smiled seeing that Onyx wasn't thinking about Bridgette but instead fighting him. He looked more determined to fight Onyx soon.


Chapter 55: New Mission Given[]

The morning after appears as Jorey, Rufus and Eli are awake in their dorm fully dressed. The dorm is slightly messy with a few pizza boxes on the floor paired with socks scattered across the floor. Eli was sitting on his bed, reading a book titled "Muderous Axe Hero XI". Jorey and Rufus were holding two buckets of water: cold air oozing of the top. The two chuckled as they looked at a sleeping Onyx. "This is what happens when you don't get up in time to start our new mission." Jorey said, chuckling. Rufus smiled deviously with Jorey. "I hope likes this..." Rufus said. The both poured the buckets of water on top of Onyx. This sudden cold temperature made Onyx leap up immediately out of the bed. "Yeek!" Onyx yelped. He then landed on the carpet with his face down. Onyx looked at his team mates, enraged by their mischief. "You arseholes!" Onyx yelled as quickly decked a fist into Jorey's chest. "You....." Jorey squirmed. This sent Jorey onto the ground falling in immense pain. After, Onyx then pulled Rufus's ponytail and dragged him down. "Not the hair!" Rufus shouted. Eli closed his book and looked at Onyx. "So are you going to change or not?" Eli asked.

After Onyx had changed, Team JORE made their way towards the ampitheater, seeing Team WEST there as well. "Hey look it's Team JORE!" Emma shouted. Trond gave Emma a slight hit in the chest. Emma looked at Trond with slight annoyance. "Don't talk them obviously. They're our enemy now." Trond pointed out quiety as Team JORE started approaching them. Emma raise her brows. "Don't be silly! My boyfriend is on that team. I can't decide he's my enemy all of sudden!" Emma pointed out. "That's what he wants you to think. I say we kill them now." Trond reccomended as he stared at Rufus. This put the latter in a state of shock. "Could you two shut up? They're coming." Bridgette said in a solemly calm voice. Sigvard start to assess why everyone was acting so strangely to Team JORE's arrival. "Are you guys acting this way because Jorey said she gave up on Bridgette and now she feels upset as she feels like she hurt him?!" Sigvard asked in his usual loud voice. Trond facepalmed. "Sigvard!" exclaimed Bridgette and Emma at their team mates lack of awareness.

"Hi Team WEST." Eli greeted them. All the members of Team WEST found Eli greeting them to be strange. Trond and Sigvard gave a snide look at Eli, not trusting him because he has a secret. "Hi Team JORE. So you're ready for your missions?" Bridgette asked them. "Obviously I am! I'm ready for anything! I'll beat up any enemy that comes my way!" Onyx claimed confidently. "Sure you will." Bridgette said smilling. Jorey took note of Bridgette and Onyx's interaction, remembering it to be nothing like this. "Wouldn't Bridgette always call him an idiot. And Onyx wouldn't even bother answring a question like that. Something fishy...." Jorey thought to himself. 

The sound of a loud throat clear was heard. The students then paid attention to the center stage as Professor Ozpin stood on the stage looking upon the students. His assistant, Professor Goodwitch was standing right behind him with her scroll. "Today, you students embark on your first mission as second year students. Some of you will be doing defense work or some of you may be doing escort work. And there are some that could be possibly helping with farming. I hope you students do realise no matter how boring you think the mission is, it is not easy. These missions are far harder than what you've faced last year. And having our third year students lead you is a great way to get you to understand that. Not only do you gain, they gain too. They gain the ability to lead a group, a skill required for any huntsman or huntress. With that said, I hope you all try your hardest on your mission. No hard work done means nothing improves." Ozpin stated as he walked off the stage.

Team JORE left Team WEST and made their way towards a hologram screen. "So, defend a a small town on the outskirts of Vale. Sounds cool actually." Jorey said. Rufus looked really scared "Remember what happened the last time?" Rufus pointed out as felt frozen. Onyx and Jorey shrugged. Rufus looked at them in a state of shock. "They're acting like that never happened...." Rufus said sighing. Jorey picked the mission and confirmed it. "Alright guys..... to the airship wing!" Jorey shouted.

As the headed back, Team JORE suddenly crossed paths with the Diamond triplets. "Hey bro!" Carmen shouted slightly happy.  Cerise and Holly both waved at their brother. "Good day Jorey!" they greeted. Jorey sighed. "How is it they all managed to be on the same team together?" Jorey wondered. "Probably forced someone to be on their team." Rufus claimed. Onyx shook his head. "Poor sap." He added. 

"Carmen, Cerise and Holly, where are you going?!" One voice exclaims. "Have you forgotten that we're a team?" another one shouts. Team JORE and the triplets all turn at the voices. The two voices appear to be one body but with two heads. "Woah... They got a two headed person on their team?" Onyx asked. Both Jorey and Rufus facepalmed at Onyx's answer. "No Onyx... They're conjoined twins.... Basically it's two people but they share the same body....." Rufus explained. "Oh!" Onyx called out in realisation. As they approach the group, they look at the Diamond triplets slightly aggravated. "Why would you leave us?" The one with spiky hair asks. "Carmen and Cerise both accidentally set off the lockers to a certain location so I was helping them find it." Holly pointed out. "You could have called us... There's five of us, easily could have helped you looked around... Oh wait!" joked the top knot one. They both turned towards Team JORE and pointed at them. "Who are these guys?" They both asked. Cerise remembered that they hadn't met yet. "Oh! The jade one is my brother Jorey! The orange haired one is Onyx, he's tempermental. The scrawny looking one is Rufus and the scary one is Eli!" Cerise pointed out. Onyx looked at Jorey. "And where did she get that info from?" Onyx asked, his vein pulsating.  Eli walked up to the two and shaked both hands. "Good morning Oliver and Otter." Eli greeted. Everyone was immediately taken aback by Eli knowing their name. "Wait, you know their names?" Carmen asked. Eli smiled and looked at Carmen. "We've met before. That's all I have to say." Eli pointed out. Holly raised her brow at Eli. "Okay, then who's Otter and who's Oliver?" Holly asked. Eli pointed at the spiky haired one. "Oliver. And the other one is Otter." Eli said. Otter looked at Eli disappointed. "You should have said the "otter one". How can you miss chances like that?" Otter asked. "I don't take them..." Eli said. Rufus was rubbing his chin. "So what's your team name?" Rufus asked. Carmen and Cerise both pumped their fists at Rufus. "The first five person team! Team CHOCO!" They exclaimed. Holly sighed. "You two don't have to do that!" Holly complained. She thought that these two were messing around. "Seriously questioning why Ozpin made me leader..." Holly grumbled. Jorey approached Holly as he tapped her on the head. "Don't be like that lil sis'." Jorey said. Holly looked up. "You're the team leader! That's a great opportunity. Ozpin chose you because he knew you'd be capable. That type of attitude will bring your team chemistry down. So don't think like that okay?" Jorey said. He then turned on his hell, beginning to walk off. "Let's go to our mission!" Jorey called out.

As the headed towards the airship wing, they began to wait for their third year student. "Looks like I'm you're guide for the day huh'?" A voice claimed. Hearing this voice, Onyx started to boil hatred. He looked up and already knew who it was. The person appeared to be Shadey Cole. "Cole Shade but everyone calls me Shadey Cole. Hope none of you are weak." Cole smirked as he looked at Rufus and Onyx.

Chapter 56: Revolver[]

The airship was making it's way to the town in the southern direction. Inside the airship, Onyx was sitting down with an angry face. Next to him was a very troubled Rufus. Trying to reach his hand out for Onyx's shoulder, Rufus tried to smile to cheer him up. "Don't worry too much about it Onyx." Rufus said. Onyx had his eyes deadset on Cole Shade whom was sitting near the front of the airship. Jorey - sitting on the side opposite the two - noticed Onyx's anger. "Why are  yo- Why is he angry?" Jorey asked Rufus. "It's that guy..." Rufus pointed out. He pointed towards Cole who was sitting down sipping tea. "Why?" Jorey asked. "If I recall correctly, last year, an orange haired first year student tried to challenge Cole Shade to a fight and lost horribly." Eli said as he flipped a page from the book he was reading. Jorey and Rufus looked at Eli. Onyx gave a slight look to his blue haired team mate. "That sounds about right. Onyx would do something like that." Jorey assumed. Onyx punched Jorey in the head. "Ow!" Jorey groaned as he felt his head. "He tried mocking Rufus. No one does that to my friend. I'll beat him one day." Onyx said. Eli gave a loud sigh. "Anyone know any good spots to bury Onyx?" Eli asked jokingly. Onyx glared at Eli angrily. Eli fought back with a gleam in his eye. "What's that supposed to mean?" Onyx asked. "If you haven't noticed, he's a third year and we're only second years. He's had more experience than you. He's better than you." Eli pointed out. Onyx hissed at Eli. "Hmmph" Onyx grumbled. "Try not to think about it too hard Onyx. It's alright." Rufus reassured. Onyx sighed. "Fine. Alright. I'll try being nice for once." Onyx said as he stopped being angry.

After a whie, the airship made it's way to Stigma Town, starting to land. "Prepare to land grunts!" Cole ordered as he walked towards the doors of the airship. Team JORE made their way to Cole, waiting for the doors to open which they did. Everyone jumped off the airship and landed perfectly except Rufus, who fell on the floor. Cole turned to Rufus and looked at him angrily. "Get up you pansy! Stop slowing us down! If you do, I'll have to send your weak ass and your team back to Beacon!" Cole barked. This made Onyx's blood boil. "Leave him alone!" Onyx yelled as he started rushing to attack Cole. Onyx tried to punch him but Cole ducked under Onyx. Going for a counter attack, Cole grabbed Onyx by neck and sent him down the floor. "Don't test my patience tangerine! I've beaten your ass once and I'll gladly do it again." Cole threatened. Onyx started coughing as Cole released his grip on his neck. Jorey made his way to go pick Onyx up. Rufus rised from the ground, feeling quite worried for Onyx.

Making their way through the town, Team JORE felt a slight discomfort in this town. They walking through stone streets with a row of buildings made out of wood. There were no vehicles in sight but there were people out on the streets, almost dying of boredom. "This place doesn't feel safe." Jorey pointed out. He noticed that people were looking at them as they walked through the streets. "A warning probably went out that Grimm are coming. So, it could explain why they're not doing much." Rufus suggested. As the continued walking, they noticed stone building larger than a lot of the buildings. This one was built out of the combination of stone and metal. It also had two floors something that alll the other buildings didn't necessarily have.

Standing outside was a large faunus with racoon ears guarded by other faunus guards. The man approached the group and then shook hands with Cole. "You must be Cole and you guys must be Team JORE." The man said as he shook hands with all members of Team JORE. Both Jorey and Onyx gave him simple handshakes whereas Rufus gave a sloppy handshake and Eli gave a very gripping handshake. "I'm Chief Ajax. I hope that you guys do a very good job protecting us. Also, I do hope you enjoy yourselves here." The man stated. Team JORE nodded at Chief Ajax. He then smiled at them started to walk. "Come. Follow me to your cabin to where you'll be staying for for the next few days." Chief Ajax said. The group and the guards started to follow. Rufus looked at Chief Ajax, feeling relieved that the mayor is nice. He then noticed the golden revolver on in his pocket, now feeling slighty threatned by him.

Bringing them towards a building, Chief Ajax pointed it at. "Here you go. This the cabin that you're staying in. Sorry that it's nothing deluxe. It's just that we don't get enough funds from the kingdom so we can only do really good with wood." Chief Ajax said. The cabin was larger though it only had one floor like most houses in the town. Inside, the cabin had five beds, a kitchen a living space all in one room. "It's alright. Don't worry. We can make do." Cole said. "Yeah. We'll be fine." Jorey agreed. Onyx was also content with the town, it was similar to how he lived back Vexa. He then sighed as he had flashbacks towards his past and the town burning. Everyone started dropping their things inside. "Okay. Remember that you start your first patrol next morning so enjoy the town!" Chief Ajax said. Rufus noticed that the mayors revolver was missing. He then looked towards a civillian passing by and saw them holding the relvolver. "Chief Ajax! Someone stoe your revolver!" Rufus shouted as he started to chase the person. The thief noticed this and started running. Ajax looked at his holster and noticed it was gone. The guards drew their swords to chase the thief. 

Rufus - already having the head start - was running through the streets trying to chase the thief. Then, they rushed into an alley to which Rufus rushed in to. "This guy is skilled.." Rufus said as he rushed after them. The thief pushed a rubbish bin down to which Rufus jumped over. However, one of the guards who were at the front fell over. This caused the other guards to fall down too. Rufus continued to chase after the thief. However, the chase was stopped when the thief ran to into an alley that had a wall. "Come on! Don't you know it's bad to steal?" Rufus asked. The thief turned around looked at Rufus. The thief was a mildy dark skinned young boy. He looked at Rufus saddened as he had the mayors revolver. "You're just a kid... You shouldn't be stealing at all. Don't your parents teach you that?" Rufus asked as he approached the kid. Rufus knelt down to be on the kid's height. "Shut up!....... I need the money! My father.... is sick!" the thief shouted as he looked at Rufus. The latter was suprised by the boy's situation. He never knew how it felt to be poor and have a sick family member but he had sympathy for those going through hard times. Rufus looked down. "What's your name little boy?" Rufus asked. "Samir Zhi." The thief replied. "Samir, it's never good to steal. You'll get into trouble so how is that going to help your father? He'd be worried if he sees his son being branded a criminal." Rufus pointed out. "You know nothing of my situation! My father was the one who told me to!" Samir barked. Rufus was completly suprised. This made him completely stunned. "You'll never understand my situation...." Samir added. Rufus looked at the revolver and noticed that the White Fang logo appeared on the gun. Noticing that Rufus is distracted, Samir threw a smoke bomb which took the brown haired noble by surprise. The young boy had disappeared and Rufus sighed.

Heading back towards the cabin, Rufus saw Chief Ajax still there. His guards though ran past Rufus, probably looking for Samir. "Did you retirieve my revolver?" Ajax asked. Rufus shook his head. "No. The thief was really quick." Rufus said deciding to keep his identity secret. He felt sympathy for the boy so he didn't want to out him. "That was pretty brave of you twerp." Cole said as he leaned on the wall looking at Rufus. His team mates smiled at Rufus for his bravery. "You must have gotten really brave over the summer break Rufus!" Jorey shouted. "You did well. Would have never imagined you trying chase after a thief." Eli said. "That's all swell but he didn't get my revolver..." Chief Ajax mused saddened. "It could have been worse. He might not have even tried to chase after the thief. He was the first to spot it remember?" Jorey pointed out. Chief Ajax nodded. Rufus went towards Onyx as the latter raised his fist to nudge Rufus. The two both nudged each others fist and sat down.

Chapter 57: Mind the Gap[]

It was a new day. The sun rose slowly into the sky. There was no wind meaning that it was obviously very great weather however the fairly dark clouds suggested otherwise. Team JORE and Cole Shade had already made their way to the outskirts of Stigma Town for their patrol mission. 

"I don't get it. Isn't it best for us to defend the town when the Grimm gets here?" Rufus asked confused. Cole Shade turned to him as they walked through the surrounding forrest area. "Don'tchu get it? We're lessening the amount of Grimm that come in to the area. That means less work for us when they do." Cole pointed out. Rufus nodded, understanding Cole perfectly. Onyx was twisting his neck slightly. "It's been a while since I've fought. I'm ready to tear things apart." Onyx stated. "Yeah, definitely. I can't wait to show some new skills." Jorey said enthused. Eli grabbed the monocole goggles that were on Jorey's neck and pulled on them "Aah ah ah- Eli!" squeaked Jorey. "What is this?" Eli asked him. Jorey pushed Eli's hands away from the goggles. "Oh. These are my goggles that help me with aiming my bow and arrow obviously. That's mostly to do with shots that are far away." Jorey explained. Both Eli and Rufus were impressed by Jorey's new item.

As they moved into a clearing, the group found Grimm on their stop. There were lots quite far ahead but the closest to them was quite a large Ursa in front of them. Cole Shade had his cocky grin as he looked at it. So far, none of the Grimm had noticed them. "Let's play a short compeition. Whoever can kill the strongest Grimm they can find wins. But, don't go finding Grimm that are out of your league." Cole decided. Team JORE were already ready to go. Although, Rufus wasn't to interested in the idea of a competition. Therefore, Rufus decided to take out his newly forged Natura Orbis. Seeing Rufus's confidence, the rest of Team JORE looked ready to see him take on the Ursa. "Come on twerp! Don't fail us." Cole berated. This slightly made Rufus gulp as he went towards the Ursa. The Ursa major had seen Rufus's prescence, beggining to charge at the boy. The Ursa major attempted to maul Rufus by going for his lower torso. Rufus jumped thus avoiding the Ursa's attack. Having the weapon in it's katana form, Rufus had it raised ready to strike the Ursa. Rufus sliced the Ursa down with his sword as it cut it down to pieces. It then began to distengrate. As he landed, Rufus sighed. Onyx and Jorey both patted him on the back whereas Eli smiled. 

Storming through the skies were two Nevermores. The first Nevermore saw the groups prescene and decided to dive down as the group decided to split up to fight Grimm. Eli fired Bolzen at the bird Grimm and detonated it causing an explosion. This destroyed the Nevermore's wings, making it fly low but with causing it to crash a few tries as it still tried to fly. The bird Grimm made it's way towards Eli, trying to attack him. Though, Eli instead ducked and took out the knife compartment of Bolzen and cut of the birds legs. Eli then fired three explosives on to it's underside and detonated them thus killing the Grimm. Seeing how impressive Eli was with a Nevermore, Jorey decided to try his best. Though, he was having slight trouble with the bird Grimm. Using it's beak, the Nevermore managed to parry Jorey's attacks with Emerald Stagger. He then backed away from the Nevermore and switched his weapon in to it's bow form as he put the goggles on. Jorey then fired two arrows straight the Nevermore's eyes, blinding it completely. As it attempted to take flight to retreat, Jorey - with his weapon in nodachi form - rushed towards the Nevermore and completely sliced it before it take flight. The decapitated body of the Nevermore made a dull sound as it fell on the ground. It then began to disappear. 

Jorey saw a Griffon flying towards him, he had his nodachi ready to take it on but however, Onyx rushed in to uppercut the Griffon in the chin. This sent the Grimm towards the ground. Onyx decided to jump on the Grimm and repeatedly punch it's body. However, the Griffon got up and took flight with Onyx on top it. "Is that how you wanna play?" Onyx asked. He then activated the claws on Ironmen. Onyx jumped up and then raised his fist. He then repeatedly punched the Griffon as he landed back on it. This forced the Griffon downwards due to the sheer force of speed and strength Onyx was doing to it. Onyx managed tear straight through the Griffon's tough body, comming out the other side of it. The Griffon's body began to dissappear slowly. Onyx stood on the ground triumphantly. "I'm obviously the winner here guys! Just go home!" Onyx called out. Charging through the forest was a Deathstalker. It was taking out massive trees on it's way as it headed over towards the group. Onyx tried to make his way to the Grimm but Cole Shade beat him towards it. Jumping on to tree branch, Cole swung towards the Deathstalker. He then took out his weapon and used the rope to tie up the scorpion Grimm's tail. Then, the tail was cut. The tail landed on the Deathstalker, crushing some of it's armour. As Cole jumped on the Deathstalker, he grabbed the tail and pushed it further into it's body which killed it. The Grimm began to disintigrate. On Cole's weapon appeared to be blades on one side of the rope. Team JORE looked at Cole in awe. They were astonished with the amazing skill that he showed. This was more impactful on Onyx however. He could see the high gap between him Cole. This led to Onyx punching a tree out of anger. "Don't get your jeans soaking... I beat you obviously. I got the best prize. So I win." Cole denounced as he walked past Onyx. This made the latters temperature rise up exponetionally. 

As they headed back into Stigma Town, Cole looked at Team JORE. "Okay scrubs! For your next task, you need to talk with civillians." Cole informed. The team looked quite confused on why they needed to talking with the residents. "Wait what?" Jorey wondered, feeling very confused. Cole sighed, feeling as if they were stupid. "Okay babies.... We gain their trust by interacting with them. And it makes us seem like we aren't strangers here." Cole iterated. Jorey had already left them to go help an old lady who dropped her items. Cole pointed at Jorey with his thumb. "Yeah. So be nice." Cole pointed out.

Onyx and Rufus both headed straight towards a bar, where there were adults. They entered the bar and noticed that there were no seats except from the ones at the counter. "One thing we should get clear, don't drink alcohol now." Rufus pointed out. Onyx looked shocked at Rufus. "No way! I can finally drink!" Onyx shouted. Rufus sighed disappointedly at Onyx while shaking his head. "You'll be a liability to us if you can't concentrate when Grimm make their way." Rufus pointed out. "Wait... you guys huntsmen?" asked a husky voice. They both turned to husky voices and saw a group of men sitting around mat with their drinks. "Not techically. We're training to be one." Rufus explained. "That's cool. But, you should watch your back though. This place isn't exactly safe. You might get robbed." The voice said. The husky voice belonged to a bald man with a plain white tunic and black trousers. "We can take good care of ourselves don't worry." Rufus said. Onyx was feeling very suspicous of this place. "Hey. Could one of you explain why every building only has one floor and why you guys are sitting on the floor?" Onyx asked. He remembered his village being incredibly poor but they could afford furniture. "Well, we can't afford furniture. Because were our town is situated we pay a lot on protecting the town and fortification. Our houses are only one floor because trees work as really effective natural barrier against Grimm." One of the men explained. "Though, the mayor's building is two floors but that's so incase Grimm appear he can hold all the citizens of Stigma. But, I haven't seen the top floor of the building. Only the first." Another voice pointed out. Rufus was slightly intrigued by this. "Really weird...." Rufus thought to himself. Rufus decided to ask a question. "What do you think of Chief Ajax?" Rufus asked. "Chief Ajax is a good mayor. He cares about all of us. He's faunus aswell which means he's obviously doing pretty good. It's really amazing that a faunus could take on such a high honor." The same voice said. 

Jorey rushed in to the bar in a state of urgency. "Guys, help me quick! That old lady stole my weapon!" Jorey shouted. Onyx chuckled at Jorey as he started running with him to go find his weapon. "Idiot!" Onyx exclaimed. Rufus sighed disappointedly. He decided to run after the two to catch up to them. "How did you lose your weapon anyways?!" Rufus asked.

Chapter 58: Purple Executioner[]

Still chasing after the old woman, the three were having trouble. The old woman was incredibly athletic as she managed to head towards an alley and get over a wodden fence. Onyx, Jorey and Rufus were shocked at how skilled this old woman was. "Jeez! How come you get yourself robbed by a strong granny?!" Ony asked annoyed. Jorey shrugged as he ran. "How was I supposed to know an old woman could have possibly been a marathon runner?" Jorey pointed out. The three continued to run repeatedly after the very able bodied old woman.

It was starting to look like their efforts were in vain  however, the old woman had stopped which allowed the three to catch up to her. Jorey managed to take his things from the old lady. He then looked at Onyx and Rufus. "Don't worry guys. I've got things from here. I'll take her to the guards." Jorey said. Rufus and Onyx both shook their heads, resulting in a confused expresssion from Jorey. "Right. We're not helping you if she robs you a second time." Rufus said. Onyx nodded in agreement with Rufus. "Oh come on! I won't get robbed. She can't now." Jorey said as he grabbed the old womans arm as a precaution. Onyx rolled his eyes." Yeah. Good luck with that. See you Jorey." He said as him and Rufus left him. "From the way you're grabbing me, it sounds like you're in love with me." The old woman remark. This led to Jorey blushing as it was very unexpected. "Hey! Don't say that! You keep saying things like that I'll just take you to Chief Ajax instead. He'll be more than willing to deal with you." Jorey said. "Awh... that's so cute. You like sharing." The old woman mused jokingly. This made Jorey slightly frustrated. "I bet you there's a girl that you like. And she's probably interested in someone else that you probably don't like." The old woman assumed. This sent Jorey's temperature rising, making him feel angry. Though, Jorey didn't show his anger as he didn't want to take it out on an old woman. 

As Onyx and Rufus were walking through the streets, they found Eli just exiting a library. "Typical Eli." Rufus mused. He headed over towards his partner and waved towards him. "Hey Eli!" Rufus shouted as he greeted him. Onyx approached Eli after Rufus. "Hey." Eli replied. "You know Cole said we were supposed to interact with the people here right?" Rufus reminded him. Onyx sighed. "Whatever Cole says is complete rubbish anyways." Onyx said. Rufus smiled and chuckled at Onyx. "You're just mad because he took out a Deathstalker effortlessly." Rufus joked. Onyx's vein pulsated. "I've tried talking to these people. But, they're impossible. I've talked about what their favourite spiders are and the best ways of torture." Eli replied. These words sent shivers down Onyx and Rufus. "They wouldn't like those questions because you're weird!" Onyx shouted. Eli smiled and chuckled at Onyx's reaction. "So what have you been doing?" Rufus asked. Eli turned to the library and then looked back at Rufus and Onyx. "I was researching about why crime is so high here but then a fight happened. It's probably just the people here. No wonder Grimm are coming quick." Eli answered. "It's really weird though. I don't think it's Chief Ajax. Maybe, people are just plain crazy here." Rufus said. "Maybe the faunus aren't cut out to be good leaders." Onyx remarked. Rufus groaned at Onyx's plain racism towards faunus.

Jorey made his way towards the guards, having his dignity diminshed. "Take her. She was caught thieving my things." Jorey muttered with a dull voice. He released his grasp on the old woman  and then a guard attempted to handcuff her. However, the old woman took out a blade and stabbed the guard in the chest, killing it. "What the hell?" Jorey asked in shock as he saw the old woman try to kill someone. She then took of her wig and allowed her light purpler her to come out. "Lucretia?" Jorey asked. The other guards had their weapons out to take out Lucretia. "Hey handsome." Lucretia greeted as she took out her blade from from the dead guard. "Why are you here?" Jorey asked. Seeing a heated action take place, the townspeople all took shelter inside as they saw a battle was about to commence.

Chief Ajax made his way to the area noticed the dead guard on the ground. He saw Lucretia's blade with blood on it and Jorey about to fight her. Ajax had already understood what was going on. "Mercenary! Jorey quick! Take her out!" Ajax exclaimed. Hearing the voice of Chief Ajax, Lucretia shot at him. However, this shot was blocked by Cole Shade's weapon as he jumped to protect Chief Ajax. Quickly, more and more guards began to arrive on the scene intercept Lucretia. Also joining them was the rest of team JORE. They saw that Lucretia and Jorey were about to battle. Seeing as there was no way to fight her way out, Lucretia grabbed the dead guards body. She then threw the guard with extreme force which knocked the other guards including Jorey. This allowed for an opening for her as she made her way out.  "See ya handsome!" Lucretia exclaimed. She was slightly disgruntled that she didn't get to complete her mission but she had to leave. The force was not enough for her to take out.

After the situation had cleared, Team JORE were sitting in their cabin. Jorey had already told them how Lucretia managed to kill a guard. He was currently feeling sadened. "Very smart. Disguises work. She wanted to get herself captured to try and kill the mayor. Though, you sent her to the guards instead." Eli guessed. Rufus agreed with Elil. "Yeah. That makes sense. Though, I do wonder.... Why does Chief Ajax have some many enemies?" Jorey asked. "He's a faunus. They have loads of enemies. It's inevitable. Someone got jealous." Onyx suggested. This led to consecutive groans from Rufus and Jorey. 

Chapter 59: Not so Hardened Feelings[]

It was just turning afternoon just after the start of a new day. The group were on the outskirts of Stigma Town, having just finished with taking out Grimm. A few small trees were scattered on the ground possibly due to the recklessness of Grimm. Cole turned to Team JORE and sighed at them. A downed Boarbatusk behind him started to crumble away. "Alright. We're good for the day. Let's head back." Cole ordered. As he started making his way towards the town. Everyone else in Team JORE started to follow too. They were feeling slightly exhausted though they all wanted to their own things afterwards. "I'm hoping that when it comes to actually defending the town, there won't be any dangerous Grimm that'll appear." Jorey pondered. "Yeah. I think that'll make things easier." Rufus said. Cole started chuckling as he heard Jorey and Rufus's words. "You twerps are so naiive... Stop expecting things to come easy to you or else you'll fail." Cole berated. Onyx furrowed his eyebrows to Cole.

The group reached the town. "Here we are." Cole pointed out. Jorey quicky took off as he ran. "I'm gonna go look for a clothing store!" Jorey called out. Onyx was looking around and noticed a souvenir shop. "Rufus, let's go over there." Onyx suggested as he pointed to ther the souvenir shop. Rufus nodded. "Yeah sure." He replied. Cole looked at the shop that Onyx was observing. "I'm going to be at the shop right opposite that one. You make sure you behave yourselves. Especially you Onyx." Cole demanded strictly. This made Onyx due to the fact he targeted him. "What do you think I'll do?!" Onyx asked in a loud tone. "You seem to be prone to annoying the wrong people. I don't know how strong the people here are, so if you don't behave yourself you'll get your butt kicked again like I did to you." Cole explained. Onyx's vein started to pulsate. "How about I kick yours?" Onyx asked as he was about to ready himself for a fight. "You wanna lose again boy?" Cole asked. Rufus pulled Onyx back. "What about the souvenir store Onyx? Let's go there! That's what you wanted." Rufus recommened. Wanting to buy a souvenir, Onyx decided to calm down. He ignored Cole and headed to the souvenir store with Rufus. "Have fun with your noble's money!" Cole called out arrogantly as he left to go to the store opposite. Still standing was Eli, having finished muffin as he ate it throughout the tension between Onyx and Cole.

As Rufus and Onyx headed towards the souvenir store, Onyx sighed. "You really need to stop letting him get to you." Rufus said. Onyx shook his head at Rufus. "I can't. He provokes more often than Jorey does. And I'm sick of it. I don't like it when he diminished you for being rich too." Onyx said. It looked as if Onyx was not willing to let Cole's insults slide. Rufus sighed. "Just be calm." Rufus advised. Onyx opened the door to enter the souvenir store. Entering the store, Onyx and Rufus headed to the first row of items to observe the store. The items were displayed on a shelf and they noticed that it was mostly full of seeds. "Not into plants..." Onyx said, feeling displeaded. He knew this place wasn't exactly wealthy so he knew not to expect much anyways. Rufus took one packet of seeds. "It might look cool. I know Ashley is interested in plants." Rufus pointed out. Onyx raised his brow. "Your brother is weird. And that's not saying much. That guy can recite a whole book without getting one word wrong." Onyx pointed out. Rufus scratched his head. "That's because he has an eidetic memory. He can remember everything. I'm still suprised I'm being choosen to run the family buisness instead of him." Rufus said. Onyx smiled. "Don't doubt yourself." Onyx replied as they moved towards the second aisle. In this aisle, Onyx and Rufus both saw that the shelves were full of toys. Onyx found a toy battle axe and immediately grabbed it. "Woah there. You quickly took a liking to that." Rufus noticed. Onyx hesistantly shook his head. "No no no. That's not it. Thought it was cool. That's all." Onyx clarified. Turning around, Onyx noticed a necklace that had the letter B on it and grabbed it. "Letter B... I wonder who you're gifting it to?" Rufus asked. "Someone." Onyx said. Rufus could see that Onyx was keeping it secret so he decided to head to anothe aisle on his own. "I'll meet you at the counter." Rufus said.

After a while, Onyx had lined up at the counter, waiting for Rufus which he did. Rufus was holding a lamp that had a lightbulb in the shape of a dust crystal. "Woah that's amazing." Onyx said, feeling stunned at Rufus's souvenir. "It's for Emma. Added with a corny joke too." Rufus pointed out. Onyx smiled at Rufus, seeing that he wanted to make someone happy. "I admire that." Onyx complimented. Rufus smiled back as the two bumped fists. Since it was their turn to go up, Onyx handed their things to the clerk while Rufus paid for it. The clerk checked their items then gave it back to Onyx.

Suddenly, rushing into the store were four men who went towards the clerk. One of them had brushed past Onyx. "Hey you! You said you were gonna give us our money back! You still owe us." One of them said as he clenched his fists. The clerk feared for his life. "I thought you guys said I still had time! I haven't got your money now!" The clerk pointed out. Another one of the men walked over towards the clerk and grabbed the clerk. "You're gonna give us our stuff now.... or or..." The man said as he looked around the store. Everyone else in the store could not leave because the third man was blocking the exit. The man grabbing the clerk looked at the items. "We'll break your souvenirs." The man finished. The fourth man grabbed Onyx's souvenir, prompting Onyx into a rage. "Don't touch my stuff!" Onyx shouted as he punched the fourth man. Rufus slowly moved away. "Oh boy.. you've done it." Rufus said. He knew that there was no way for Onyx to stop. The first man rushed towards Onyx. "You bra-" Onyx had cut off the man from finishing his sentence as his fist was firmly planted into the man's stomach. The man fell down to the ground. The second man dropped the clerk down after seeing that Onyx had taken one of them out. He turned around to face Onyx but was immediately met with a devestating punch the jaw. This left a mark of Onyx's fist on his face. "What the heck man? All he did it touch your necklace!" The fourth man pointed out trying to reason with Onyx. "I don't want your damn filthy hands touching this. It's not for you. Someone else." Onyx said as he startted making his way to the fourth man. He pushed away a few of the other customers that were lining up. Suddenly, the fourth man was taken out. Cole appeared behind the fourth man looking at Onyx furiously. He stormed up towards the orange haired boy and punched him in the face. "Oh no! Cole is mad!" Rufus thought to himself. "What did I tell you? Behave yourself! Don't start causing a ruckus!" Cole shouted. Onyx had dropped the souvenirs as he fell back on the ground. "He tried to take my souvenirs from me..." Onyx squirmed. He was attempting to get up from the incredible punch that Cole had used on him. Cole looked at the souvenirs and picked them up. "They're mine!" Onyx shouted full of anger. "All for these? You've gotta be kidding me tangerine." Cole berated. Onyx stood up as his blood ignited full of fire and anger. "Shut up! They're for someone! You wouldn't know that! You obviously have no friends!" Onyx shouted. Cole laughed at Onyx. "Just for that.. I'll crush it!" Cole shouted as he tried to bend the souvenirs. This sent Onyx into a hot blooded anger as he rushed at Cole. His orange aura began to show. Cole tried to grab Onyx but he quickly dodged and punched Cole with both fists towards his wrists. The impact of this attack caused Cole to release his grip on the souvenirs. Onyx grabbed them before they fell and rushed out the store. "That damn tangerine!" Cole shouted. He sighed and decided to leave the store. Rufus gave off a sigh of relief seeing that the situation dissolved. He decided to head out to go find Onyx.

Onyx was sitting on a rock. Rufus noticed Onyx and rushed over towards him. He decided not to refer to what happened in the store. "So... Onyx.. who was that for?" Rufus asked. Onyx sighed as he held the the souvenirs. "Just guess. But you only get one." Onyx said in a dull tone of voice. Rufus quickly thought about it and when he came to his conclusion he was completely surprised. "It's Bridgette!" Rufus shouted in shock. Onyx slowly nodded. "Yup." Onyx said. "Jorey's gonna kill you!" Rufus pointed out. Onyx rolled his eyes at Rufus. "He better try... It's just that when she kissed me, I kinda felt like she had feelings for me. I thought she was interested so I started looking at her differently. I guess I started having feelings for her." Onyx explained. Rufus patted him on the back. "Well then! You've got to open up to her. You're not scared of Jorey so there's no problem." Rufus advised. Onyx nodded slowly. "I'm new to this stuff man. I've never felt love. You know me! All I get is random fangirls and even they don't try to kiss me! I just don't want to make things awkward..." Onyx said. "Don't worry I coach you." Rufus said. Onyx smiled as he bumped fists with Rufus. "Thanks." Onyx replied gratefully. Rufus then chuckled which caused Onyx to raise his eyebrows. "What's so funny?" Onyx asked. Rufus's laughther slowly died down. "It's just that... I'm the one teaching you something." Rufus said. Realising this, Onyx then started laughing as Rufus joined in.

Chapter 60: Unravelling[]

As the two best friends made thier way back towards the cabin, Chief Ajax was standing outside with his guards talking to the rest of the group. "What's going on?" Onyx asked. Everyone became aware of the presense of Onyx and Rufus and turned to them. "Mr.Rocker, I heard from Mr.Shade that you stopped a disruption and vandalism of a store. I congratulale you for your efforts." Ajax declared. Onyx nodded. "My pleasure?" Onyx replied, feeling slightly confused. "But, do remember to avoid causing violence. You are only adding to the crime rate here." Ajax mentioned. Onyx gave Chief Ajax a slow nod as he looked at him. Rufus then approached him. "Chief Ajax, could you explain to me why the crime rate is high?" Rufus asked. Chief Ajax and his guards all looked to Rufus. "It's simply because the people in here are poor so they try to steal. The main reason you are all being targeted is because you are simply travellers so it is a goldmine for loot. I have been constantly sending guards to certain areas but it's been hard. They are the reason why none of your possessions have been stolen." Ajax pointed out. Rufus understood, though he could tell it has been hard on some people. 

After Ajax and his guards left, Rufus and Onyx were relaxing in the cabin with Jorey and Eli whereas Cole had left with him. "This town hasn't made me feel safe at all." Rufus pointed out. "Same. And so does every citizen around here. The situation is really bad. But as Huntsmen we fix bad situations." Jorey encouraged, attempting to make things feel positive. Rufus nodded. "I did some research and I found out why Stigma Town was built." Eli said. Everyone turned to Eli, suprised, seeing as the blue haired boy hadn't talked often this whole mission. "Tell us Eli." Jorey ordered. "It was supposed to be used a trade route so travellers could pass through on foot without having to deal with Grimm too much. However, due to easily availability of airships, it was rendered useless. Despite this, families who could not afford one decided to settle here thus buiilding a community and later a town." Eli informed. The team looked surprised. "How did crime get so bad then? With a story like that, it shouldn't happen." Jorey wondered. "The White Fang got involved five years ago and stole lots of things Stigma had, especially destroying their fortifications. In that time, Chief Ajax became the Mayor, chasing the White Fang away. Certain sacrifices had to be made such as one floor buildings This hurt the morale of the people obviously so they had to resort to stealing, believing it was the only way." Eli pointed out. The rest of the team were feeling down from Eli's information. "I guess it makes sense why this was listed as a mission." Jorey said. Onyx punched the floor, feeling slightly annoyed. "The White Fang get on my nerves...." Onyx complained disgruntled. Jorey looked at Onyx, wondering why he was like this to faunus. He decided not to ask his partner incase he angers him. "According to Cole Shade, you were protecting a souvenir. It was for a person. Who is it?" Jorey asked. This led to Rufus and Onyx's eyes become wide from shock. They didn't want him to find out soon. Rufus rised from the floor quickly. "I'm going to go out for a while...." Rufus said. Onyx's mouth dropped as Rufus left him to fend for himself. As he left, Rufus gave Onyx a thumbs up for good luck as the latter replied with furrowed eyebrows.

Walking through the town, Rufus sighed. "I hope Onyx will be alright explaining things to Jorey." Rufus thought to himself. He continued walking as he looked at the people in the town. Rufus could feel their sullen eyes, looking as if they were begging him to help. "Over here!" A voice called out. Rufus turned to voice and noticed that it was Samir Zhi. Rufus was surprised to even see him again so he decided to head towards him. "Follow me." Samir said as he made his way. Rufus saw that he didn't have Chief Ajax's revolver so he followed him in hopes of returning it back to him. 

After a short while, Samir had led Rufus to his home. The house was like the others, one floor and no furniture. "Come inside." Samir said. Rufus followed Samir in and the brown haired boy was shocked at what he saw. He saw a man with bandages around his leg, constantly errupting a violent cough. Rufus turned and saw a woman with dark hair. "Who are you?" The woman asked. "This is Rufus. He sorta helped me with the guards. Despite seeing me, he didn't tell him who I was. I can trust him." Samir said. Rufus nodded. The woman smiled at Rufus. "Hi Rufus. I am Samir's mother." The woman greeted. Rufus smiled back. "It's nice to meet you." Rufus replied as he shook her hand. Samir made his way to a box and took out Chief Ajax's revolver. "It's the Mayors revolver. You should take it. No one would take the Mayor's revolver in fear of being killed." Samir said. Rufus was confused. "Chief Ajax has killed people before?" Rufus questioned. "Samir! Don't give it back! Don't you know what Chief Ajax did to your father? He was already sick! So he had to shoot him instead!" Samir's mother barked. Rufus was shocked to hear Samir's mother's views on Chief Ajax. Most townspeople didn't act this way however, Samir's mother was different. Rufus looked to injured man that was resting. "What did he do?" Rufus asked. "My husband wouldn't tell me what he was doing. But, I found out he was in some buisness with the mayor. My husband wanted to get out of the buisness. And so Chief Ajax shot my husband and took all our stuff. Because of the lack of medicine, my husband has caught an illness." Samir mother said. Rufus was completely confused. "I don't get it.... I've been hearing that Chief Ajax is a good person." Rufus replied. Samir's mother laughed. "That's because they are blind to what goes on." Samir's mother pointed out. Rufus looked doubtful. Samir's mother noticed this. "I see your having doubts on what I'm saying." Samir mother said. "You've gotta believe my mother! Him and his guards keep trying to harass us all the time!" Samir shouted. "How am I supposed to believe you..." Rufus said, saddened at their situation. 

"I can believe them." Eli said as he entered the house. Everyone in the room was shocked as they saw that Eli was eavesdropping. "Who are you?" Samir's mother asked, thinking him as hostile. "Eli? You followed me?" Rufus asked. Samir and his mother turned to Rufus. "You know him?" Samir asked. Rufus nodded. "He's my teammate." Rufus said. They then looked back at Eli. "You said you could believe us.. and how?" Samir's mother asked. Eli threw Grimm masks onto the floor and a notebook. Rufus looked at Eli confused. "Grimm masks... I don't get it." Rufus said. "Where did you find this?" Samir's mother asked. "Chief Ajax's office. I snuck inside. I couldn't trust that guy since I saw the shocking amount of crime here." Eli replied. He noticed the revolver that Samir was holding. "That weapon over there... It's not Chief Ajax's. He stole it from someone else. A very important relic." Eli explained. Rufus turned the revolver. "Chief Ajax is actually a member of the White Fang." Eli informd everyone. Rufus was shocked. "What?! You told us that he pushed the White Fang out!" Rufus mentioned. Eli nodded. "That's what the book said. Written by Ajax himself. Turns out I was wrong. Him and his guards are White Fang members. That's why their logo is marked on that revolver. Chief Ajax has been supporting them, all on that notebook there." Eli pointed out. Rufus looked at the notebook and started reading it. "Read it to us!" Samir called out. Rufus nodded. "He's been giving the White Fang 1 million lien and most of the people thieving are actually his guards." Rufus said with a dull tone of voice. "There were some humans too who assisted him however killed a few of those some." Eli relayed. Samir's mother took the book from Rufus. She flicked through pages of the notebook. "Oh no.... My husband was involved with his ochestrated thievery..." Samir's mother said distraught from this information. She finally understood why her husband was shoot by Chief Ajax. "Father!" Samir shouted. 

Suddenly, the door opened, it was Chief Ajax and his guards. "Madame Zhi... how your husband do-." Chief Ajax stopped mid sentence as he noticed his revolver in Samir's hands. "You thief! Mr.Sabbia! Mr.Leictreach! Take it fro-" Chief Ajax was interrupted by a punch from Rufus. "You're a snivelling toad!" Rufus shouted. This put all the guards on alert ready to fight Rufus. Chief Ajax stood up as he felt his punch. "Why you!" Ajax groaned. "I know the truth now! You're all White Fang members. I'll have to stop you here!" Rufus shouted as he pushed the guards away. He took out Natura Orbis ready to fight Chief Ajax. "Guards get him!" Ajax ordered. The guards attempted to chase after Rufus however they were immediately taken down. Chief Ajax noticed this and saw that they had been struck by Nevermore feathers. Eli and Samir looked up noticing a Nevermore screeching above. "The Grimm are here! You two make your way to the mayor's office!" Eli shouted. Rufus turned right and noticed the Grimm. Samir started running as his mother started carrying her husband out. There was an armada of Grimm rushing into Stigma. It was finally time.

Chapter 61: The Crumble[]

Rufus noticed that one by one dangerous Grimm started entering the town. He saw the Mayor's revolver on the floor, seeing that Samir had dropped it while running. Rufus picked up to make sure that it is in safe hands. Chief Ajax had ran off elsewhere whereas Rufus headed towards a few of the houses to evacuate people. Coming from one of the houses, there were two men inside. Rufus rushed inside. "You guys need to leave and head in to Chief Ajax's office!" Rufus shouted. "Why should we listen to you?! You attacked him!" The man shouted. Rufus was taken aback by their reply. He realised that the people didn't know about Chief Ajax thus it made them lose respect for them. "You must go! It's not safe here! There's Grimm outside! Your life depends on it!" Rufus shouted. Seeing that they had no choice, the two men proceeded to leave the house. Chasing them were four Beowolves, however, they were taken out by an explosion from Bolzen. "Just keep going!" Eli shouted to the people. 

As Rufus heads towards more houses, seven large Nevermores storm into Stigma Town. They started flying around, aiming for the people that were running around. Rufus opened the door and heard a woman scream, trying to escape her house.  However, the Nevermore easily broke into the house from the roof and gobbled the woman. The breakage from the house crushed the rest of the family that were inside just before Rufus could say anything. This led to Rufus feeling utter shock. Before, he was feeling confidence now he felt absolutely terrified. He couldn't believe the horror he witnessed. He took out Natura Orbis and started shooting at the Nevermore's to damage them. Rufus could see how dangerous they were. A large Boarbatusk wheeled it's way towards Rufus, attempting to strike him without noticing. The Boarbatusk rushed to Rufus but was then impaled completely by a very powerful punch from Onyx. "Rufus! We need to move on!" Onyx pointed out. Rufus nodded. Onyx noticed that Rufus was terrified. He had never experienced anything like this. Rufus and Onyx decided to move back because Grimm were comming around from all corners.

"I just saw them die..... I couldn't do anything.." Rufus said slowly. He was replaying the image of the family dying. "Look Rufus... More will die if you we don't help them. We were entrusted. So.. We should finish it." Onyx replied. He was attempting to kick Rufus's spirits back in to gear. Rufus nodded slowly at Onyx. "Yeah. We should." Rufus agreed. They both met up with Jorey and Cole who had just finished handling some Grimm. "Where's Eli?" Jorey asked worried for him. "Eli's taking care of Grimm whilst helping people escort." Rufus reported. Jorey nodded. A few of Chief Ajax's guards ran past the group to deal with Grimm or head over towards his building. "Where's Chief Ajax?" Onyx asked. Rufus groaned as he heard his name. "Chief Ajax isn't to be trusted. He's a member of the White Fang. He's been stealing the town's money and sending it to them." Rufus explained. Everyone was shocked, especially Cole. "Are you sure? That's a very serious accusation right there." Cole pointed out. Rufus nodded. "Eli can vouch for me. He knows." Rufus replied. The seven large Nevermores made their way towards the group. Cole looked towards them as they started crashing into buildings. "Alright. Jorey and Rufus, handle the Nevrmores and get their attention. Me and Onyx should have this covered." Cole directed. He looked at Onyx and smiled at him cockily. Onyx smiled back in a similar manner. Rufus used the marksman rifle form of Natura Orbis and started firing fire dust shots towards the Grimm repeatedly. Jorey fired four arrows managed to get all of them to hit four of the Nevermores. Agravated, the Nevermores turned round and charged at Rufus and Jorey. Jorey waited for Onyx and Cole whereas Rufus continued to fire at one Nevemore. Rufus managed to shoot out both of it's eyes. This rendered it blind and it immediatedly crashed into a building. Rufus stopped shooting and began to shiver. He rushed straight towards the house as Onyx and Cole started to take out the other agravated Nevermore's with their weapons. Jorey assisted them with Emerald Stagger in it's nodoachi form. Rufus entered the building for surviours but there was none. There was a family of four inside all dead crushed by the destruction caused by the Nevermore. Rufus rushed off back towards the group. He didn't want stay with the destruction he caused. He looked as if he was beggining to lose all hope.

Suddenly, building were being ravaged one by one. Onyx and Rufus stood together side by side ready to take it out despite Rufus feeling disheartened. "I can't... do it anymore..... The Grimm are too strong." Rufus said feeling lifeless. "We need to stop that thing! It's killing more people!" Onyx shouted. Jorey and Cole looked at Rufus. "What's going on twerp! Handle that Grimm! We don't need to lose anymore survivours!" Cole ordred loudly. "I let that family die." Rufus said. He worringly looked at his hands. "I can't.... do this anymore." Rufus moped. He slowly lost grip of Natura Orbis. The Grimm continued to destroy many of Stigma's buildings as it got closer towards the group. "Rufus! Let's go!" Onyx shouted. Rufus dropped Natura Orbis. Onyx heard this and turned around. The grimm came out of a building and knocked Onyx back towards the ground. As it made a trumpet like sound, they could tell it was a Goliath. The Goliath readied it's feet to stamp Onyx who was still on the ground. Rufus was shocked as he saw his friend about to be killed by a Goliath. He trembled in fear, scared to try and save him. Rushing to help Onyx, Cole kicked Onyx away. Despite this, Cole himself was crushed by the Goliath's feet. His weapon - in the air - landed onto the ground. "Cole!!" Onyx shouted. He rushed towards his weapon and grabbed it. Onyx turned to his friend, worried for him. "Rufus!" Onyx called to him. Rufus was full of tears. His building confidence had shattered. Watching people being killed by Grimm had lowered him. "We need to move!" Jorey shouted. Onyx and Rufus both started running along from Jorey, trying to avoid the Goliath. The elephant Grimm attempted to furiously chase them however, a bolt was stuck to one of it's legs and then exploded. This rendered a part of it's legs missing thus rendering it's mobility. Eli was running along with the team. "Cole is dead!" Jorey informed, feeling disheartened as he said so. Eli didn't react to the news and looked towards Rufus who looked sad. He could tell Rufus was unfit for this type of mission. Eli realised he was lucky enough that they had two teams help them last year. 

Team JORE headed over towards the Mayor's building. Outside, the remaining townspeople were there. However, the situation was much worse than before. More Goliaths appeared in the town center. There was no possible way for them to be able to save everyone. An airship then landed in front of them. Comming out from the airship was Johannes. "Everyone! Grab your stuff! We have to leave!" Johannes shouted. Jorey looked shocked. "We're leaving? What about the people!?" Jorey asked, with a look of devestation. "You won't save everyone. It's already too late." Johannes pointed out. Eli and Onyx had already rushed inside to go their possesions from their cabin and headed back to the airship. Jorey followed suit, reluctantly along with Rufus. As they made their way back to the airship, they watched as more townspeople began to die. Both of them headed onto the airship. The airship then took off and left Stigma deserted. This mission was a failure.

Chapter 62: Deserted[]

Four black and red SUV's were driving through the planes of Vale. Inside the front SUV was a one driver and three passengers all outfitted in White Fang gear. The back row contained Chief Ajax who was relaxing as he looked outside. "So what are we going to now? Now that the town's gone." The driver asked. Chief Ajax was incredibly angry. "We're heading back to the hangar... There's nothing we can do. That damn Sabbia brat ruined everything." Chief Ajax replied frustrated. He tilted his his head upwards and sighed. "I'm going to have to inform the higher ups about this. They're serious when they don't get their way." Chief Ajax said. He then turned to the windows, looking outside. Ajax looked at the cars that were following behind from his remaining guards. As he blinked, one of the cars had disappeared. Ajax raised his eyebrow in confusion. He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was a dream. However, another car disappeared. They were not actually disappearing. But, they were being crashed into by an armoured SUV. "Stop the car!" Ajax shouted. The driver was confused. "What? Stop the car? The higher ups will be angry if we're late!" The driver contested. "Stop the car! It doesn't matter now! We're being attacked!"  Ajax shouted. Swiftly, the SUV drifted into a complete stop.

The White Fang soldiers rushed out of the car with their weapons out, ready to take on the threat. The armoured car stopped too. Ajax began sweat nervously, hoping that whoever this isn't trying to kill them. As he looked at the armoured car, he noticed the colour was yellow and was decorated with golden rims and dragons. Ajax became a bundle of frustrated and anxious as he banged head on the car door. "What's wrong Chief?" One soldier asked. He stopped banging his head on the car. "It's Jin Baozhang. He's an incredibly powerful man especially in the crime buisness." Ajax said shortly. Stepping out of the armoured car were four armed people all wearing different clothing. Lucretia was among one of them. Afterwards, a large muscular man with a tattoo of a dragon over the right side of his face and a suit stepped out of the car. "Don't attack." The man said to his guards. He then looked to Ajax. "Don't fire at any cost. Jin has a lot of power so don't push him." Ajax ordered, feeling scared.

Jin approached Ajax, looking down, considering the fact that he was taller than the racoon faunus. "Ajax. I was on my way to Stigma but it looked to be overrun by Grimm. So I decided to find you formally." Jin replied. Ajax raised his brow as he looked at the cars that were wrecked. "Oh don't worry about that. They're fine." Jin assured. Ajax sighed. "What did you want to see me about?" Ajax asked. "To put it nicely.." Jin said as he furiously grabbed Ajax's neck and held him up in the air. The White Fang guards became alert, about to aim at Jin. "Don't..... attack..!" Ajax squirmed loudly as he was in pain. He was trying to grab Jin's hands to set himself free but was failing. "So. Where's my revolver? If I recall, you stole it from me whilst we were playing poker." Jin asked, with a calm tone. He then used his other hand to grab Ajax's leg, releasing him from his other hand to dangle him upside down. "I don't have it - I swear!" Ajax shouted. "Liar! Tell me where it is!" Jin shouted. Lucretia watched the two bicker out and sighed disappointed. "This is so boring." Lucretia thought to herself. She turned to her right, looking for something entertaining to look at. She noticed that one of the White Fang members had a sniper aimed at Jin. "Mr.Baozhang! There's a sniper watch out!" Lucretia called out. Jin noticed this faced in the direction of the sniper. As a result, the sniper's bullet had hit Ajax's foot. "Oh damn! Yeeeeek!" screamed Ajax as his foot was in substantial amount of pain. "Lucretia. Take them out." Jin ordered. Lucretia nodded and made her way towards the other White Fang guards. The guards next to Ajax raised their weapons to fire at Lucretia. "Don't!" shouted Ajax. The White Fang guards looked shocked, noticing how terryfing Jin Baozhang was. 

As Lucretia made her way towards the White Fang guards, she took her weapon out in it's sword form. The White Fang guards attempted to fire at Lucretia however the bullets missed her as she thinned her entire body as she ran. "What the heck? She's some kind of freak!" shouted on White Fang guard. Lucretia approached the guard and her body returned to normal. "That's rude. And here I thought you were cut. Sad." Lucretia said as she impaled the guard's chest. She took the sword out and quickly cut down the closest guard who didn't put much of a fight. She then switched her weapon to it's revolver form and shot one of the guards that were rushing in with a katana to attack her. Lucretia shot the guard again, causing him to fall down. Lucretia rushed towards two guards standing near each other. She rolled towards them while transforming her weapon to it's sword form. She swung at their feet, knocking one down but cutting the other one's legs.

Ajax watched as Lucretia was cutting down his men. He looked exhausted so he sighed. "You know the Sabbia Stelelwork Factory?" Ajax asked. Jin nodded. "Yup. Booming company owned by a wealthy family." Jin replied. "Yeah. This kid from Sabbia family named Rufus has your revolver. If you find him, you can put him up for ransom and get loads of lien." Ajax suggested. Jin put his hand on his chin. "Sounds good. I'll find him then. And get my revolver back." Jin said. He released Ajax, forcing him to drop onto the ground. Jin headed over towards the armoured vehicle. "Lucretia! Cease!" Jin shouted as made his way back to the car. He looke to Lucretia, noticing that she had already dealt with all the guards. Jin shrugged. "You might want to have deal with your guards Ajax." Jin said as he entered. All the others entered back inside the car with Lucretia following suit. The car door closed and headed into the western direction.

Ozpin was inside his office, with Glynda standing behind him. Team JORE were standing opposite Ozpin, looking at him, feeling hopeless. "I can sense that you all feel.... dreary. The mission was a failure and I apologise for that. I had no idea that the Mayor of Stigma was secretely a member of the White Fang. You were obviously not ready for the challenging task of defending a town on your own. Despite the losses, I do hope you've learned something from this." Ozpin said. Onyx was slightly angry from Ozpin's statement yet he lacked the ability to even act on his anger. "What about Cole? And his team?" Onyx asked. "We will have to inform Mr.Shade's parents and arrange to transfer his possessions. As for his team, they will continue studies as usual but will have to have their missions limited." Glynda replied. Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "Do not let this failure get to you. It will only lead to more." Ozpin pointed out.

As Team JORE left Ozpin's office, they headed into their dorm feeling depressed. Jorey lazily lumped onto his bed whereas Onyx looked outside through their window. Eli sat down beside the wall, looking down. Rufus looked worried as he saw that his teammates were dull. "Remember what Ozpin said? Not to let the failure get to us?" Rufus reminded them. "You contributed to the failure the most." Jorey replied snidely. Rufus looked shocked. "Where did that come from?" Rufus asked. "You know why. After all that confidence, you then bottle the whole mission." Jorey said. Rufus felt attacked by Jorey. He was beginning to feel sad. "I was terrified! There was nothing I could do! I saw people die and it just made feel horrible. I don't like it. I felt hopeless. Like, there was nothing I could do!" Rufus argued. "If you're so scared of seeing people die. Leave Beacon and never come back." Eli remarked rudely. This sent a devestating punch to Rufus. "I know I'm not good! And I know I can't do much! But.... I don't encounter this often!" Rufus shouted. "Your lack of participation led to someone dying. You didn't just let a person die. You let a teammate die. A partner. A son. A brother. A cousin. Not mention hundreds of people died all because you couldn't do much." Jorey pointed out as he continued attacking Rufus verbally. Rufus was sent into tears from their words. "When I saw that Nevermore kill those people, I felt distraught. A family died because of me!" Rufus cried. "Stop whining. If it's that bad to you, just die." Eli jabbed. He then turned to Jorey expecting something from him. "Don't do this to me! I've never experienced anything like this!" Rufus shouted. "You're rich. You're encased in a safe haven. You'll never have to experience anything of the sort." Jorey pointed out. Rufus then looked Onyx. "Onyx.... come on.... You don't believe what they said right?" Rufus asked him. Onyx slightly turned his head, still not facing Rufus. "Most of what they said, is all right." Onyx said. Rufus felt as if his world was crumbling right in front of him. He then ran out of the dorm and left.

It was lunch time. Rufus was carrying his tray of food as took a seat in the dining hall. Jorey, Onyx and Eli all had recieved their food and decided on sitting on the table on the other end of where Rufus was sitting. Rufus saw this happening thus he sighed. He continued eating on his own. Emma then approached Rufus with her food and sat next to him. "Hi Rufus! I heard what happened and I feel sorry for you." Emma said, sympathising with her boyfriend. Rufus slowly smiled. "Hi Emma." Rufus replied. Emma could tell he was still upset. Rufus continued to eat his food. "Don't worry about it. I'll hurt your team mates so bad that they'll have to sit next to you!" Emma shouted. Rufus surprised, realising that she was in her angry personality. "Don't do that..." Rufus said. "Emma! Don't sit next to him!" Trond shouted. Emma stared at Trond, feeling annoyed. "Don't make me break your arm!" Emma shouted. "Didn't you listen to Jorey? He says we shouldn't talk to Rufus because he let Cole Shade die!" Sigvard shouted. The dining hall immediately became silent as they focused on Rufus. Their eyes became spiteful. Rufus quickly finished his food and left the dining hall without his tray. He didn't want to be degraded by everyone like Johannes was. 

Rufus was on his scroll, secluded from everyone as he sat down in the courtyard. He was on the news program. "On this days story, the fabled town known as Stigma has fallen! This travesty has left -" Rufus switcthed the channel, not wanting to hear about Stigma. "A group known as The Reclaim has attacked a shrine dedicated to the late Huntsman Eis Schneider having stolen his weapon. The police are actively searching for this attack." Lisa Lavander reported. Rufus then closed his scroll as he looked athe moon slowly comming up.

Ajax had reached the White Fang base which was sitauated within a hangar. He was in an office room talking to a man with a Grimm mask on. "Ajax. You've failed us. So, enlighten our brothers why." The executive replied. Ajax nodded. "You're going to love this." Ajax said, slightly smiling. The man shrugged. "Go on then." He replied. "There was a kid that stopped me. He's a Sabbia. His name is Rufus Sabbia to be exact. He destroyed the town." Ajax lied. He had deceptive grin on his face.

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