{Rerouted}

Violet eyes scanned the cards held in the palm of his hand before quickly flicking the four aces onto the table with a smirk.

"I win." The boy calmly spoke, smirk widening as he stood up to take the 10,260 Lien laid on the table with a greedy expression.

The boy stuffed the Lien into a black messenger bag by his feet and placed the purple sling over his shoulders, slipping his hands in his pockets and made for the exit.

Only to be stopped by one of the big, burly, bald-headed bouncers.

"Where do you think you're going, kid?" An elderly man - maybe in his forties - sat at the table asked. His voice reminiscent of sandpaper against sandpaper.

The boy dropped his smirk in place of a frown.

"To spend my money," he replied, tilting his head in the direction of his accuser. "Is there a problem with that?"

The man he was playing against took a single, dainty sip of his Atlesian liquor before quickly standing and resting both hands on the second-rate, wooden table in front of him.

The room reeked of both cigarette smoke and the smell of strong liquor, enough to intoxicate anyone in the mere vicinity of the run-down bar they were in. However, despite the billowing clouds of smoke reducing visibility by approximately 60%, the boy's violet orbs pierced the drunk card player's with a burning curiosity and just a hint of animosity.

"As a matter of fact, there is. You cheated!" The man slurred his complaint so much it took several milliseconds longer for the kid to actually process what he said, but once it clicked, the smirk he wore previously soon returned.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and turned to face the man directly, raising his arms up in a questioning pose.

"Where's your proof, old man?" The boy countered. "You can see my cards right there," His index finger pointed at the four pieces of laminated paper on the surface in front of them. "Your argument is invalid."

His jab at the man's age resulted in a gun being pointed straight at his forehead – this only made things more intriguing for the boy.

"Ooh, shiny~" He cooed in a lilting tone. "You're gonna try to hurt me with that peashooter? Please. Make my day."

The intoxicated assailant only grew more and more agitated with each second that passed.

"Give us that money back, or you are gonna regret i-"

The tension in the room was quickly interrupted by a loud gunshot rattling the ears of the occupants and the 'peashooter' was quickly ripped from the senile old man's grasp.

A trail of smoke flowed out of the barrel of a bronze revolver, held firmly in the delicate hands of a young woman.

"I thought I told you not to get yourself into trouble?" The silken voice of this new character tickled the boy's ears. "I was only gone for two hours, for God's sake. You know I don't enjoy babysitting you, but clearly that's a fact you are rather negligent of..."

The boy swallowed down a sigh as she brushed past the stunned bystanders and ushered the boy out of the bar, completely failing to acknowledge the bouncer standing beside the door, only giving the grotesque man a single glare from behind her shoulder-length blonde hair, tipped with lilac highlights, before leaving.

The fresh air of Mistral's city cleansed the lungs of the young man like menthol, completely flushing out the smoke and re-oxygenating his blood supply.

After a brief period of silence, the boy sighed and stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his jacket again, his curly, blonde locks of hair swaying in the light breeze.

"You didn't need to get involved," He grumbled. "I had it under control." His voice was laced with annoyance, clearly unamused at the display his accomplice put on.

She scoffed at his claim as she twirled her revolver around her middle finger and slotted it back inside one of the two holsters on her thighs.

"Oh yes, I'm certain you did..." She stopped moving and lightly pulled on his arm to gain his attention. "However, that's not the only reason why I freed you from that place."

The boy's expression changed from irritation to curiosity as his violet eyes locked with hers. Her opalescent blue and pink scornful eyes instantly bringing forth mixed feelings inside the adolescent.

"Enlighten me." He commented with mild interest. A sly smirk crossed the woman's lips as she brought her body closer to his.

"I will… for a small fee, of course." He witnessed her give him a small wink, evidently teasing him for her own amusement.

"Ly, let's not-" The boy's protest was cut short as she placed a single finger on his lips to silence him.

"Nope. You owe me for that BS back there. Pay up, Ray." Ly's eyes had that stern look in them that Ray despised. Authority and him didn't exactly get along all that well, but with Ly, he really wasn't in any position to decline.

Sighing, he opened up his messenger bag and plucked out a card valued at 100 Lien before begrudgingly handing it to her.

Make that 10,160 Lien.

Ly gave him a sickeningly sweet grin as she took the card between her fingers and stuffed it inside the back pocket of her bleached, skin-tight jeans.

She had on her usual white duster coat covering her plain white shirt. Her breasts were scarcely on display, only showing a small amount of cleavage and having a natural, firm bounce to them as she casually rocked on her heels beside the boy. At 5'5", Ly was only 7 inches shorter than Ray's 6', thus he wasn't in any way forced to look down upon her.

"Thank you for your generous donation to Lylac's gambling association," She chirped. "Though... I would have also accepted a kiss..."

Ray let out a disgusted groan as he rolled his eyes. "Gods, no. We're cousins for fuck's sake. Just tell me why you came."

Ly's grin fell into a neutral expression, a sign that her next words were of utmost importance.

"I've found it Ray, I've found what we've been looking for." Her voice was low and monotonous, a stark contrast to her usual jovial and carefree attitude.

Ray's eyes widened considerably.

"The missing piece?" He questioned in disbelief.

Her nod of confirmation sent his brain into overdrive. Ray and Ly had spent years tracking down all of the pieces of his late father's weapon; a contraption designed to bend light to his will. When the man died, he had stripped it bare, scattering the parts and telling very few of their locations.

It had been a wild goose chase for both Ray and Ly, travelling to all four kingdoms in search of each part, but they had dedicated themselves to it ever since they came across the blueprint and first part left to Ray through his father's will.

"Yeah, I've found it, but you're not gonna like where it is..." Ly said somewhat ominously, biting her bottom lip.

Ray looked at her in trepidation, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Where is it, Ly? Where is the missing piece?" He asked slowly, his voice absent of inflection.

Her lips parted to allow a sigh to pass and she glanced at him with softened eyes. "It's in Vale, Ray. More specifically... Beacon academy."

The sound of knuckles cracking echoed throughout the alleyway as Ray's fist clamped shut.

A chill ran down the boy's spine as he ran those words through his mind over and over again.

Ly saw the anger boiling within him and immediately went to work in dissolving it. She put one hand on his cheek and the other on his chest, forcing the boy to look at her as she gave him a small smile.

"Look, I know you don't want to go there, but this is the last piece, Ray," Her thumb grazed his cheek and his clenched jaw relaxed.

"Your father purposely set you up to rebuild his weapon and backing down now will only make everything we have been through and all that we have accomplished a waste of time. If you seriously hate Beacon so much that you are unwilling to finish what you started, you might as well have stayed at home with your mother."

Ray sighed. "Yes, but you and I both know that the prospect of filling dad's wish is a pair of shoes I'd rather leave unfilled, Ly."

"But they're also shoes that will get you places. You need friends, Ray. Living the life of an antisocial hermit isn't exactly a life worth living."

Ray knew Ly was right, as she always was. He stared into her eyes and the tension his mind held was released.

Ray's father wanted Ray to attend Beacon when he was of age to become a Huntsman like he was. It was his dying wish, in fact. Though Ray hated that thought with a burning, fiery passion.

He loved his father, make no mistake, but he hated the thought of following in his footsteps.

His Mother however? She was far worse. A lying, cheating, piece of shit if Ray had ever seen one. Even if she was the one that brought him into this world, he hated her guts with every fibre of his being.

"I... really have no choice here, do I?" Ray's question was rhetorical, of course. He already knew the answer to his enquiry. Rebuilding his father's weapon was all he has ever dreamed about ever since the man passed away 6 years ago.

"No, you don't," Ly's answer pierced the momentary silence between them.

"There's another problem too, though. I'm 20 now, this means I cannot join you. I'd love to, believe me I would, but you know the rules."

Ray sighed heavily as her rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Wonderful…" Came the boy's sardonic response. "Can you at least stay in Vale whilst I retrieve it?"

Ly's shrug of uncertainty only worked to worsen his already foul mood.

"I can try, but business is business, Ray. If I have to leave, I can at least let you know, but assuming you go along with this, you're on your own. That means you'll have to deal with people you're probably not going to like, strangers that will try to grow close to you – and we know how great you are at making friends."

Ly flashed the boy a smug smirk, irking him further – a favourite hobby of hers.

Ray simply rolled his eyes. "I walk the path of perpetual torment with you, don't I?" His voice was even, but not hostile. Despite her incessant need to insult him freely and without hesitation, she was the only person on this planet he could openly admit to actually liking.

Not like her being family even mattered in the first place.

Three days was all it took for the duo to make their way to the Kingdom of Vale. The flights cost Ray an additional 450 Lien. Not like it was a problem for the two though, they collectively sat on a whole lot more.

Ray's mood had seemed to have permanently dampened too. Ly noticed his irritability, the boy nearly picked a fight with four different occupants on the airship they travelled on.

It wasn't as if he couldn't handle himself, but Ly was forced to rein him and his short temper in to prevent painting themselves as a target.

"Isn't this place just wonderful Ray? The kind people~, the fine establishments~," She paused so she could lean towards his ear, "The valuable items to steal..." She straightened her posture once she received a glare from the boy, "Just incredible."

Ray rolled his eyes. "I wish I shared your enthusiasm, Ly. Just don't get too comfortable, we're only here for the part and that's it."

Ly placed a pout on her face, her lower lip jutting out in faux disappointment.

"So, you're telling me you don't want to take from the locals?" She asked playfully, nudging Ray's arm as he kept his gloved hands firmly in his pockets.

"That's not why I'm here. Nor is pickpocketing my speciality." Ly only shrugged off his blunt reply and smiled sweetly.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot! You don't have a habit of stealing material items, do you? Huh, suit yourself. I, on the other hand, am looking to fill my pockets while we're here, gotta make the trip worth it after all." Her giggling ran through the air and tickled the ears of her younger cousin.

"Material items, no. Digital items? Well, I think we both know the answer to that..." Ray responded with a small smirk of his own.

"Ahh! No~! Someone has stolen the contents of my bank account! Whatever shall I do?!" Ly's playful response drew a few glances from passers-by. The young woman could've won an award for her terrible acting alone.

"Please don't," Ray pleaded, "for a pair of criminals, slash antiheroes, we're not exactly the most inconspicuous if we joke about our deeds in public."

"Pair? Honey... We both know I'm the real criminal here," She looked him in the eyes and flashed a toothy grin. "You just 'stress test' the cyber security of banks and other important institutes. Really, they should be thankful for your… services."

Ray allowed himself to release a small chortle.

"Wow, way to downplay the act of breaking through what are meant to be the toughest defence systems in the world." Sarcasm dripped from his tongue as he spoke. "It's not as if – oh, I don't know – the act of infiltrating such systems can be potentially dangerous for my state of mind, or anything."

Ly rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Ray."

The pair continued heading towards Beacon Academy's airship docks. Ly had taken the liberty of forging a falsified transcript for Ray, and Beacon – practically pleading for potential Huntsmen and Huntresses as it was – quickly bought into the documentation and accepted Ray for the initiation test that was to take place.

"So, you ready?" The girl asked as they stood in the airship terminal. Ly reached over and straightened the collar of Ray's jacket and brushed off a few stray hairs.

Ray could only shrug in reply, it wasn't as if he would be gone for long after all. His mission was simple; locate the missing piece, reclaim it and drop out as soon as he had it in his possession.

"I suppose, it's not as if I'm here to stay or anything." Ly detected the hint of uncertainty in his voice like a red flag, her immediate response was to draw the boy in for a hug.

"Ray, just know that if you do decide to stay, I won't be saddened. It does upset me that I can't join you – though I probably could have if I just falsified my own documents – but just know that should you get the piece and decide to drop out, I can't really be mad at you for it either."

She parted away from the boy and cupped his cheeks. "Good luck, and try to at least make one friend. It'll do you a world of good."

A small kiss was placed on the boy's cheek followed by a sweet smile.

Ray gave her a respectful nod before adjusting the strap for his messenger bag and waving his only friend goodbye as he turned to board the aircraft laid in front of him.

The young man let off one last long-winded sigh before resigning to his fate and boarding the craft. Knowing in full that he was going to hate every second of Beacon. Hell, he already did.

"Lylac, you better not be lying to me..."

Author's Note: This is the debut of Ray. Featured as cameos in Rogue Huntsman and fully shown in his sarcastic glory during chapter 22.

Updates will be whenever I have time to write, edit and then finally upload them, but they'll only really be uploaded when I get the chance.

As a working man, this can vary; could be during the week or it could be at the weekend.

For now, I hope you enjoyed this pilot chapter and hopefully, the next chapter will come sometime next week.

Follow, Favourite and for the love of all things holy; Review.

Have a good one!

-Hydra