Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Fractured
"Seriously? This is the girl from those stupid movies you watch?" Kang asked coldly as he folded his arms. "She looks like she barely got into Beacon. She would have been twelve when it happened. No way a kid could take out a monster that had killed pros."
Cinder's head whipped around to the idol. She already hated all of them and wished she could just break their stupid faces!
"I'll have you know I-!"
"Kang, how rude." Jiao said, turning to his band member and wagging his finger at him. "That's no way to treat a lady. I assure you I've reached the subject quite thoroughly and can in fact vouch that it really happened. This girl, Cinder Rose, she's the real deal. A woman who's both young in years and still far stronger than most. I would love to-."
"I don't need you to speak on my behalf! Piss off!" Cinder snapped, stepping away from the singer, glaring daggers at him. It took every inch of her willpower to stop herself from punching him in his face. "If I want your opinion, I'll ask! Don't treat me like one of your fans who can't tell an ass from a head!"
Jiao didn't miss a beat, smiling at her as he took a deep bow.
"My sincere apologies." He said, those he didn't sound sincere. "I didn't mean to offend. Please go on. Say what you were going to say."
Cinder felt her eyebrow twitching as she struggled to hold herself back. Brothers, it was almost worth getting expelled to wipe the stupid smile off his face!
But before she could do anything, Amber let out a loud cough, grabbing everyone's attention.
"So you're the Three Dragons?" She asked the boys. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Amber Alsprings. I'm the leader of team AACE. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, if it's not too much trouble, could we talk about the assignment and plan for your defense?"
The three band members looked at the girl, clearly impressed by her professionalism. Then the one with the whiny voice, Fai spoke up.
"Cute and smart. Just the way I like 'em!"
Despite his tone, Amber didn't react. She simply smiled at him and continued on like nothing had happened.
"Thank you. I'm glad I'm able to please. Now, do you mind if I use this whiteboard to go over what I was thinking for your protection staffing?" She said as she pushed past the clothing racks and pulled out said board.
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Kang asked, looking Amber up and down. He was unimpressed by the girl and wasn't bothering to hide it. In fact, when Jiao had been flirting with Cinder, Kang had been sizing up the whole team. And so far, he hadn't shown a single sign of liking them.
"If anything in the plan isn't to your liking, I'm more than happy to talk it over." Amber replied, taking a dry erase marker and beginning to write on the board. "But first here's my idea. Given that there are four of us, we can assign one guard for each of you. That way, there's someone with you at all times. And any stalker or crazed fan who might get past event security won't be able to do anything."
At this point, Amber had written out the names of her team and the band members on the board and was actively writing numbers above the heads of the band.
"Earlier this morning, I was reading some information on any attempts to break into the back room or back stage. And what or who they were targeting. As such, I've assigned the guard duty accordingly." Amber explained as she began drawing lines between her team and the band.
"First, Fai. You'll have Adam as your guard." Amber said, and immediately the boy opened his mouth to protest. But the dark skinned woman cut him off before he could start. "Out of everyone in the band. You have had the fewest incidences. And the times they have, it's never escalated into something dangerous. So Adam will guard you. Both fast and strong, he's easily the most situational aware of my team, so he'll be able to tell when someone around and get you out of a potential bad situation before it starts."
Fai let out a groan as his head sagged.
"But why do I get a dude when there are two perfectly good ladies? Couldn't you guard me instead? I'd feel much better if you did. I'm pretty sure someone like…him will cramp my style."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Adam snapped, shooting a glare at the musician. "If you think I can't fight because I'm a Faunus you-!"
"I'm glad you asked! And I'll be more than happy to explain my thought process!" Amber yelled over Adam. At the same time, Eric grabbed the boy's shoulder stopping him from doing anything rash.
"Next, we have Kang being guard by myself." Amber said, drawing a line from her name to his. "He normally doesn't do as many fan meet and greets as the others and is often missing from social outings. That means out of everyone, he spends the most time away from others. Meaning I can focus on keeping up with reports from my team."
"Huff! Making assumptions about my private life? You sure are rude." Kang said, crossing his arms and looking away. "But I suppose you're not too far off, so I'll let you pass this time."
"Thank you for your permission." Amber said with a smile before continuing to write on the board. "And last but not least, Eric will be protecting Jiao."
"Are you sure about that?" Bobby asked, stepping forward as he eyed Eric with something akin to disgust. "This tacky lunkhead doesn't look qualified to me to guard our star member. I'm guessing you didn't dig deep enough as most violent events that happened with the Three Dragons are because of disgruntled fans who want to be with Jiao. I'd feel much better if he was with someone with accomplishments, Like Ms. Rose."
"I assure you, Eric is the best option." Amber said calmly. "His entire fighting style is built around defense and his semblance can heal others, which is incredibly rare. There's nobody on the team you'd be safer with then him. Trust me on that one, he won't let any harm come to Jiao."
"Don't worry about a thing Mrs. Rockes! Your lead singer won't have a scratch!" Eric said confidently. "I may not have a record, but trust me, I know my way around a fight."
Bobby didn't seem very reassured, but didn't say anything else. He simply folded his arms and let out a huff, muttering something about kids never listening. But everyone in the room ignored him.
"Now, that only leaves Cinder." Amber said, turning to said girl. "She has probably the most important job of all. She'll be in the control room monitoring security cameras and helping us keep an eye out for anyone who might have snuck in. Of course, I intend to talk to the people who run the event and get security feed for all our scrolls, but we will just be watching our areas and won't have as much time. Cinder on the other hand will have to keep up with not only us, but also everything else in the building. That way we can-."
"Wait! What?!" Cinder snapped, taking a step towards Amber, irritation clear on her face. "You're putting me on the sidelines?! Why?! I'm the most versatile on the team! You can't keep me away from the actions and playing hall monitor! Adam's the guy who can't control himself! He should be the one sitting back and reporting!"
"That's exactly why I'm putting you there." Amber cut in, stopping Cinder in her tracks. "You're the most versatile on the team. As such, depending on what's going on, I'll need you to move from area to area assisting where you're needed. There's a possibility that things might go south if we get split up and can't help each other. Your job is to go aid whoever needs it. And because you're so versatile, you'll find yourself more helpful than someone like myself or Eric who are more specialized."
Cinder opened her mouth to protest, stopped when she found she had no good argument. Unfortunately, Amber was right. It made the most sense for her to hang back and offer assistance even if it was beneath her.
And once again, there was a lot more on the line than the safety of a few spoiled band singers.
"Ugh! Fine!" She groaned, stepping back, raising her hands in surrender. "We'll do things your way. But just for the record, I don't enjoy being given the runaround!"
"Noted!" Amber said cheerfully, turning back to face her team. "Now does anyone else have questions, comments or input? I came up with this overnight so my plan is far from perfect, but considering that you'll mostly only have rabid fans or scorned one night stands, I'm pretty sure this is acceptable."
"Huh. Looks good enough to me." Kang said dryly as he sharply elbowed Fai in his ribs to stop him from complaining. "From the looks of it, you set your men to quickly react and respond to any real threat. That sounds like a good deal to me."
Amber smiled at his words, a small blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Thank you! I do my best!" She said happily. "I'm not the best at tactics, so I'm never sure if I'm making the right call. And while I expect this mission won't have any real combat, I like to be prepared if things go south and a huntsmen fan gets involved. Those in that event, we'd retreat to a safe place that the event planning will have set up and send an emergency distress signal and wait for the police and huntsmen."
"But if that hypothetical situation happened, I assume we'd still get your protection, yes?"
Amber blinked in confusion at his strange request, then gave a slow nod.
"Of course. That's our job!"
"Haha! That's a relief!" Fai said suddenly, drawing the girl's attention as he leaned on his hand mate. "See Kang here, he's not the perfect bad boy he pretends to be! And sometimes that gets him into such awkward situations."
Kang sent a death glare at his friend, who completely ignored it as he leaned forward to whisper to team AACE, a huge grin across his face. "The truth is, he dated a huntress in training which ended up in a horrible break up! Apparently she pulled her fire sword on him and nearly took off his loins! Kang's been so scared ever since he can't go to the bathroom at night without a panic button!"
"Fai! Shut your mouth!" Kang shouted, swatting at his friend. Making the shorter boy jump away to dodge. "I told you never to talk about that again!"
The boy just laughed as his friend grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him while yelling. And given how Fai kept his neck straight despite the shaking, Amber assumed this was a fairly common occurrence.
"Actually, I have something I want to say about the plan."
Amber's attention was immediately grabbed when Jiao spoke up. Turning, she saw he had approached Cinder once again and was grinning at her with his playboy smile. Something Cinder found repulsive judging by her face.
Quickly deciding to stop him from getting a broken nose, the dark skinned girl immediately stepped forward, trying to draw his attention away from the other girl. "Well, like I said, any input is fine by me. What did you-?"
"I think Cinder should be my guard." He said without waiting for Amber to finish. "As much as I'd like to have a big dude in armor being my guard, I think I'd prefer a woman like Cinder."
"Umm. I'm not really sure that's a good idea." Amber said slowly as she picked her next words very carefully. "As I said before, Cinder's the fastest and most versatile fighter on the team. It makes more sense for her to hang back and lend support. Eric is much more geared to defense and is the slowest on the team. So-."
"I don't care." Jiao said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You're the strategist who got into Beacon. The best school for training huntsmen. Figure something out. I want this pretty little flower to be my guard."
As he reached out for Cinder once again, the girl swatted it away.
"First, never call me pretty little flower!" Cinder spat, her voice loaded with venom. "Second, I don't see any reasonable arguments against Amber's plan! So how about you shut your mouth and do what the professionals make all the calls! We know what we're doing unlike you! So-."
"And we're the ones paying you." Jiao counter immediately, a smug smile across his face. "So unless I'm mistaken, that means we can also drop you if you don't do what I want. So unless you have a backup gig lined up, I think my way is the better one. Honestly, they'll let anyone into the academy these days, huh."
Immediately Cinder felt her rage bobble to the surface! Without hesitation, she grabbed the singer by his collar and pulled him in close, glaring daggers. Yet despite the situation, Jiao seemed perfectly calm. In fact, the smug grin on his stupid face just got wider.
"Are you threatening me?" She asked in a deadly quiet tone. "A weakling like you has a lot of nerve throwing your weight around! A spoiled rich brat like you should be grateful that someone like me is even doing this stupid job! You have no idea what-!"
"Actually, I think I have every right to threaten you." Jiao interrupted, his smile becoming even wider. "After all, you not only grabbed a client, you threatened them. I can't imagine that will look good on your record. So if anything, you should be thanking me for not firing you right here! And as for being spoiled, judging from your garb, I'd guess you must have had such an easy childhood. Bet you can't even wipe your butt without having one of your butlers holding the toilet paper."
Acting on impulse, Cinder pulled her other hand back and was about to punch him when a different hand grabbed her wrist stopping her in her tracks.
"Cinder!" Amber snapped, holding her arm in a death grip. "Don't! He's right. You can't attack a client and expect to get off scot free. Doing that would destroy any chance you have to make a living after graduation! Just let this go, please."
Cinder looked at Amber as she thought about her words for a second. Then with a frustrated huff, she let go of Jiao collar and turned away with a snarl.
"Whatever. He's not worth it anyway." She muttered under her breath. Behind her, the singer straightened up with a smirk and dusted himself off. Completely unfazed by the girl's near assault.
As the dark haired girl skulled to the edge of the room, Amber let out a sigh of relief. One crisis dealt with, one more to go!
"And as for you!" She said, turning to the singer. "Once a job is accepted and signed, you can't just fire the people you're contracted with. Not only is it rude, it's against huntsmen law which clearly states, once both parties in a formal contest agree on both boundary and terms, a contract can't be terminated without very good reason. Doing so could-."
"You are correct. But I think you've forgotten one thing." Jiao said as he bordly examined his nails. "That law ONLY applies if the huntress in question can produce a valid license or other document to prove their legitness. Otherwise, even if it's a student program, the employer has the authority to terminate the contract at any time." He paused for a second, then looked up right at Amber with a cocky grin.
"You know, for a huntress who got into Beacon, you're not very smart if little old me knows more about the rules and regulations than you do." He said condescendingly. "Maybe you should start considering a different career path if you're struggling this much on a basic mission like this."
Amber froze mid sentence as the singer smirked at her. Caught completely off guard, she could do nothing but stare open mouth at him as he leaned in.
"I get you're probably new to this, but I think I need to remind you of the golden rule, the employer is always right."
Amber stared blankly at him for a few seconds as she struggled to comprehend what he had just said.
"I think you mean the customer is always right, not employer." She corrected, to which Jiao shrugged in indifference. "And second, as much as I respect your wishes, it just makes more sense for Eric to guard you. He's better at this kind of stuff and you're normally the one who draws the more violent fans. And if I may be blunt, protection without escalating the situation isn't exactly Cinder's strong suit."
"Hey!"
"I'm just saying that Eric is the best fit for the job." Amber continued, ignoring Cinder's protest. "He's the most reliable defender on the team. If you give him a chance I guarantee you won't be disappointed!"
Jiao let out an annoyed huff, then turned to the door.
"Whatever." He grumbled, not even trying to hide his irritation. "As much as I doubt a seventeen year old kid knows better than a guy in his early twenties, I can see you're too stubborn to say no. So I guess I'll just have to put up with your incredibly poor decision making. After all, everyone has to start somewhere. Now if you'll excuse me, I think our break is over. We need to get back to practice. Later."
The Three Dragon strode out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Fortunately, it seemed that only Jiao was mad.
"Well, glad that's over with." Cinder said. "Some idiots can't take a hint. Glad I'm not stuck with that los-."
"Actually, you will amend your plan to ensure that Cinder is positioned with Jiao."
Immediately all four huntsmen and huntresses turned to Bobby, who was fixing his collar as if talking had messed it up.
"I'm sorry what?" Amber asked, her voice carrying a slight edge to it. "I already told you why I put us in the positions I did. Cinder, no matter the formation, is best at being backup incase of a real emergency. Eric on the oth-."
"I don't want to hear about some low-life hillbilly and his supposed 'abilities!' I want my lead singer protected by someone with actual skill! Someone who has skill in their blood! I want him guarded by someone who won't screw up!"
"But-!"
"No buts!" Bobby snapped, walking right up to Amber and jabbing his finger against her nose. "I don't care what kind of strategy an ignorant little girl put together in five minutes! I'm an adult! And I know a lot more about positioning than you! So do what I say or I'll send you all back to Beacon! Monoid interested in listening to a snot nosed brat pretending to be a leader! So shut up and follow me instructions to the letter! Are we clear?"
"But-!"
"Are we clear!?"
A long silence fell as Bobby stared Amber down, eyes hard and unrelenting. And as he glared at Amber, the girl's head fell and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Yes sir." She said defeatedly, unable to look at either him or her teammates. She knew there was nothing she could do now. She would just have to do as she was told.
Bobby smiled horribly at the girl, then turned away and began walking to the door, dabbing at his forehead with an expression handkerchief. "Glad you finally understand." He said without looking back at the defeated girl. "I get that kids like you need to feel like they're always right, but in cases like this, when the adult is clearly the more intelligent one, it's always better to listen. After all, adults are rarely as wrong when compared to children. Just use this as a learning example and you'll become a…as fine of a huntress as someone with your standard can become."
Anger immediately boiled over in Cinder's gut. She couldn't stand listening to this pompous windbag another second! Where did he get off talking like that?! Someone like him who couldn't even fight had no right to lecture a huntress!
Bobby had reached the door and was in the middle of opening it when Cinder tried to walk over and kick it shut on him. She was DONE taking crap from this guy! Mission or not, she was going to break a few limbs to shut him up and pull him from his high hor-!
Suddenly, Amber's arm shot out in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Turning in disbelief to the girl, Cinder could only stare as Amber raised her head and grinned at her.
"Cinder, please don't. Even I couldn't sell that one. Just let it go and don't attack our client. I really don't think he's worth your time." Amber's smile was so big her teeth were showing. Yet despite that, Cinder could still hear a strain in her voice as she spoke. It was barely there and if Amber hadn't just been talking, Cinder would have probably missed it. It surprised the dark haired girl to learn her partner was such a good liar.
"I'm not going to pretend it's not frustrating to be spoken to like that, but I did over react as well." She said, rubbing the back of her head as she walked back to the whiteboard. "The odds of getting into a fight are slim to none, so maybe my formation was a bit too protective! A little tweak won't cause any major harm. You're more than capable of protecting the lead! Just…Please don't send anyone to the hospital! Remember our futures are at stake. Not worth getting kicked out of school to stop a slighted girl!"
Cinder stared at Amber's back as she began redrawing the formation. The dark skinned girl was making an effort not to turn around and she was using a bit more force then she had last time. She was clearly frustrated that the plan she had made last night had been so brutally rejected without it even having a chance. And Cinder didn't blame her.
If that had been her, she would have probably blown up. No way anyone spoke to her like that and got away with it! The fact that Amber had stopped her was a feet all by itself!
Taking a deep breath, Cinder stepped forward, making sure to click her heels on the ground so as not to surprise the dark skinned girl.
Despite knowing she was approaching, Amber didn't react. She just continued writing even as Cinder came to a stop right behind her. Her constant rambling about the new plan was cut short as Cinder reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.
"Hey. Ignore what that loser said." Cinder's words caused Amber to stiffen and to stop writing, her dry erase held limply in her hand. "I know you worked hard to get here, same as me. He's the one who doesn't know anything, so just ignore him. I know you're more than capable of being a huntress. After all, nobody can think on their feet like you do."
Amber stood frozen in place at Cinder's words. At the beginning of her speech she had turned her head away and now the dark haired girl couldn't see her face, but she could see her grip on the marker tighten.
They stood there for a few seconds, then Amber turned to face Cinder making the girl do a double take.
She had the most radiant smile on her face Cinder had ever seen. Her eyes were closed and her hair was whipping around her gently from the movement of her head. Her mouth was open showing her teeth and it was stretched across her entire face. She looked truly happy and alive to the dark haired girl and while she couldn't figure out why, she felt her heart warm at the sight of the girl before her.
"Thanks, Cinder!" Amber said in an unusual tone, one Cinder couldn't place. But right now, she (for some reason) didn't really need to know. Right now, she just felt really good and she wasn't going to question it.
"You're right! No point getting down in the dumps over this!" Amber said. Her voice returned to its normal tone. "I'll create an even better plan! And when this mission is over, we'll stand before Professor Goodwitch and tell her that the mission was a complete success!"
Amber punched the air, her face filled with happiness. And despite how goofy she looked, Cinder just chuckled and stepped forward, standing next to her by the whiteboard.
"Right! I'll help!" She announced as she and her partner exchanged a grin. "Can't go wrong with someone willing to give a second opinion. And with someone with my abilities we'll see every possibility and make sure nothing goes wrong!"
Amber nodded at her, then turned back to Adam and Eric. "Hey! You two mind getting our employee passes? We'll need them to get in and out of restricted areas. The security both should give you them."
With a nod and a thumbs up from Eric, the two disappeared from the room letting Amber and Cinder return to their planning where they began brainstorming ways to make the formation work. All the while completely oblivious to the conversation going just outside of their earshot.
"So…Are you going to tell me why you wanted me to be quiet back there?" Eric asked his partner, who had a deep frown on his face. "I noticed you were uncharacteristically quiet yourself, so I'm guessing it's very important."
Adam didn't speak right away, instead focusing on the surrounding area to make sure they weren't being listened to too.
"Did you notice it?" He finally said once he was sure nobody else could hear. "The strange questions they asked, the way they behaved. That isn't how normal people would act. Something's up."
"I did notice them acting weird, but I didn't think much of it." Eric replied, nodding to another person walking down the same hall towards them. Immediately both smiled and waved at them as they passed, not letting on to their serious conversation.
"Yeah, I don't think the girls have noticed anything either." Adam said once they had passed and were out of earshot. "You need a certain degree of training and a shit ton expression. They both lack the social expression needed to spot something like that. I on the other hand have a bit of history with people trying to screw me over. I've gotten used to sporting stuff like that. And I'll bet my blade they didn't tell us everything."
"So, what do you think it's about then?" Eric asked, his voice serious and not holding its normal humorous tone. "Why would they withhold information that could let us protect them better? Or why not just hire a proper huntsman? That makes more sense if they're in danger.
"I don't know." Adam said with a shake of her head. "But something fishy is going on here, and I think we just walked right into the thick of it. For the duration of this mission, keep your guard up. If I'm right, and I hope I'm not, we're way in over our heads."
"Well, it can't hurt to be cautious." Eric said with a sigh. "So, seeing as you aren't addressing the Megoliath in the room, I will. Why are you telling me this away from our leader?"
Adam shot Eric a look. And upon seeing his gaze met with stern strength, heat out a frustrated sigh.
"Eric, don't play dumb." He said dryly. "You know as well as I do that Amber doesn't have what it takes to be a leader. She lacks control and second guesses everything. Someone like that couldn't lead a dance, let alone a team. We tell her this, who knows what kind of half brained plan she'll come up with. Better to keep it between us, the rational ones."
Eric let out a snort as he turned to face the ceiling. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time? Stop assuming everyone thinks the same as you." He said in a more playful tone. Then his face darkened as he turned to look at the ground.
"But you're not wrong. Amber has potential, but right now she's far too green, too inexperienced. Right now, probably best we keep this between us." Eric turned and gave Adam a weak grin. "What do you think? We're enough to make this mission a success?"
"I certainly hope so."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone