Ruby: Yay! He's back after fighting an ulcer! Now we can finally update!

Weiss: But isn't he going to head off college again in August? That's less than a month away now.

Blake: Then that just means he'll have to work in overdrive to update what he can. Personally, I'm just happy that chapter 2 was released.

Ruby: Yeah! What Blake said!

Yang: Shush! Quiet girls! The chapter's about to start! Also, quick! Grab the popcorn!

"Yes, from this day, from this moment forward, the world belongs to me!" -Lelouch vi Britannia

RWBY: Black Rebellion

"Who the hell was that?!"

Shortly after Cecaniah Lamperouge left and after Ruby's seemingly innocent question, not quite understanding the full implications of such an action, Yang had flown into an unsettling anger that couldn't be quelled. Before long, she found herself growling and snarling as she paced around the room. Despite their best attempts, the rest of Team RWBY was left slightly terrified and confused by her anger. Not that it was unwarranted. She did just witness some random stranger kiss her brother. More than that, she robbed his FIRST KISS.

"Okay, first off, can you please calm down?" Weiss asked, trying to remain as calm as possible. "And secondly, what has you so angry?"

"What's got me so angry?" Yang scoffed. "Why am I angry, you ask? Oh, I don't know! How 'bout the fact that some chick just showed up and kissed my brother on the lips, straight out of nowhere! No, more than that, she outright gave him an Atlas Kiss!"

Blake blushed. "...when you say Atlas Kiss, do you mean she-"

"Put her tongue in his mouth? Yes!"

Ruby recoiled. "Wait, she put her tongue in his mouth? Ew, gross."

"I know!"

"Ruby, an Atlas Kiss is usually meant for couples who are intimidate with each other." Weiss explained to her leader. "Mostly married couples."

"O~h..." Ruby nodded, letting out an "ah" of understanding before she looked quite puzzled and tilted her head. "So, does that mean she's Rouge's wifey now? He's not 18 yet! And we're not in Mistral!"

"What does being in Mistral have to do with it?!"

"Mistral has lower ages for legal, eligible marriage." Blake answered.

"Well, that's beside the point! She ruined Rouge's innocence!"

'If only you knew...' Blake frowned solemnly. Their brother wasn't as innocent as they believed. Not with the blood on his hands. Still, she had to admit, this conversation really piqued her interest. Aside from Yang's ranting, it sounded like this woman was someone who had a meeting with Ozpin, meaning she was either a close member of his inner circle, like all important political figures did, or there was a business matter to discuss.

Weiss appeared to be thinking the same thing as she held a hand to her chin. "Okay, look. Calm down. If we tell us about her, we can learn who she is and maybe, just maybe, you can give her a good scolding." Blake mentally applauded the heiress for her thinking. While she sincerely doubted Yang would be able to actually do what she wanted, she did get to satiate her own curiosity. Plus, it would give Yang a good idea who exactly stole her beloved little brother's 'chastity.'

...good god that just sounded so wrong.

Yang frowned heavily, but sighed and began. "She looked like a bombshell. Like a supermodel or something. Long green hair, gold eyes. She wore this really expensive looking robe. It looked kind of like the one Blake has, but really more intricate. What do you call it? A kimono or something? I think her butler called her Cecaniah or something?"

Weiss froze. "...Cecaniah?" she said slowly. "As in, Cecaniah Lamperouge?"

Yang's eyes widened. "Wait! You actually know her?!"

What Weiss said next was...surprising, to say the least.

"YOU MET CECANIAH LAMPEROUGE AND YOU'RE COMPLAINING HOW SHE STOLE ROUGE'S FIRST KISS?!"

"What?! Why?! Who is she?!"

"Who is she?...WHO IS SHE?!" Weiss looked positively scandalized. More than that, she looked as if she had just been told Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company no longer existed. "Have you dunces been living under a rock?! She's the CEO of the most technologically advanced corporation on Remnant!" she practically screamed in Yang's face. "More than that, she's absolutely RICH! And she's involved in everything! Medicine! Technology! Energy propellant! Resources! Minerals! Agriculture! And the company's only been around for three years! THREE! And don't even get me started on how many stock hold sharings she's gotten over the years! Almost every other minor company in any of the Kingdoms is a subsidiary group under the employ of the Lamperouge Corporation! They're practically the biggest company in all of Remnant! Heck, some people think they're even bigger than the Schnee Dust Coproration, which they are, mind you, in terms of business and corporate workforce and whatnot! They're also noteoworthy for employing not only humans, but Faunus as well! And, and-"

"Weiss." Blake said.

"What?!"

"...breathe. You are starting to go red in the face." she advised. From how fast Weiss was talking, she was sure the poor girl would have passed out, considering she was growing blue in the face. Still, the Faunus couldn't help but admit that she was quite amused. "And from the way you were talking so passionately about this Lamperouge woman, I'm guessing you're a fan?"

"Of course not! I just make it a habit to keep and eye on rival companies." She huffed.

However, as she said that, there was a deep blush on her face. Naturally, no one was convinced that she wasn't a fan. It was blatantly obvious. "Okay, so she's a big shot of a company." Yang huffed. "But what can you tell us about the woman herself? Is she into little kids or something?"

"No. This is a first time I'm hearing this. Are you sure your eyes weren't just playing tricks on you?"

"Try asking that to my still catatonic brother." Yang deadpanned. "And just answer the damn question."

Weiss huffed. "Despite her accolades, not much is truly known about Cecaniah Lamperouge's personal life. What little is known is that she can be quite eccentric. And that she's made several donations to pretty much every pizza shop on the planet. Hell, some even go on to say that she pours more money into her own pizza store brand chain than anything else."

That...wasn't what any of them were expecting. In all honesty, Ruby felt vastly confused. All she really got out of this whole thing was that Rouge's "wife" was some big time corporate big shot who did pretty much everything, but had some major obsession towards pizza or something. Actually, now that she thought about it, pizza sounded really good right about now.

"Seriously? That's it?!" Yang groaned. "Ugh!"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Instead of trying to figure out how you can ruin a CEO's life, why don't you check on Rouge?" she suggested as she flipped through her book. "I imagine being assaulted like that did quite a bit."

Naturally, though, Blake didn't actually mean that. And Yang was exaggerating. Rouge was far from catatonic. He was currently in the restroom, lathering his face in ice cold water. As he pulled his head up, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. In the mirror was the same face he's always had for the last fifteen years, yet something felt different about it now. Something off. Wrong, somehow. He wasn't entirely sure about the reason why, but he ignored it for now and focused on the matter that was troubling him.

Namely, the woman who kissed him straight out of the blue.

"Damned witch." he cursed, unsure why that was the first thing that came out of his mouth, yet he found it surprisingly fitting. "Who in the hell kisses a kid? Who even was she?"

And why did she look so familiar to him? Had they met somewhere before? But that's impossible. While he knew of who Cecaniah Lamperouge was, he knew for a fact that he did not meet her in person until now.

But now that he thought about it, why did that name, Lamperouge, seem so damned familiar? Is wasn't because of the company's name. Why did it feel like it's supposed to have some personal meaning to him?!

Scowling, Rouge furiously shook his head. This was getting him nowhere. The last thing he needed was to be bothered by something as trivial as this. Since when did his first kiss actually mean anything? Wiping down his face with a towel, Rouge left the bathroom and took out his Scroll, about to call Edan for any potential updates before the door to his room suddenly swung open, revealing a concerned looking Yang.

"Have you not heard of knocking?"

"Heard of it. But when it comes to concern over my brother, privacy is overruled."

The heterochromatic boy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Shaking his head, he slipped his Scroll back into his pocket, making a mental note to call his comrade at a later date. "Well, since you're so keen on breaking and entering, what's the matter?"

"She's still upset that Lamperouge lady kissed you." Ruby piped up, her head appearing around her torso. "By the way, speaking about that, does that mean she's your girfriend or wife now?"

...okay, how in the world did Ruby come to that conclusion? Already, the onset of a headache was quickly approaching. "No, it doesn't." Rouge told her flatly. "To be honest, I don't know why the CEO of a large company decided to kiss me, and neither do I care much for it." He moved over to his bed, grabbing Wilted Requiem. "Actually, Ruby, you came at a perfect time. Need your opinion on this." He figured this would be the best way to alleviate his headache, and keep his mind off Cecaniah's actions. He didn't even need to turn around to face Ruby when he found his sister blitzing over next to him in a second, eyes dazzling. "I managed to fix that module with the Rail Gun, so it's operable. My only problem now is if it'll short circuit or overheat."

"Still think you went overboard with that, but hey! Anything for my precious little bro!" Ruby grinned before she examined Wilted Requiem thoroughly. "Wow, you made repairs on your own?!"

He grinned. "Well, I did learn from the best."

"You know it!" Ruby smiled, taking pride in the compliment. She then went to inspect the alterations to the weapon, taking note of anything that could be wrong. After a few minutes, she conveyed her verdict. "Well, I can't say it's a horrible job." she told her brother, who listened intently. "The damper mod is pretty advanced, so there's no chance of Wilted overheating. But I think you should think about getting a few upgraded parts, like a C6 Adapter and a B-46-KG Modifier. If you use this puppy one too many times, then it'll break into a thousand tiny little pieces!" After saying this, Ruby gave her twin a glare. "And so help me, little brother, if you break the sweetheart I spent my heart and soul making for you, I will hurt you."

Off to the side, Yang snickered. "With what? Your baby fists?" she asked with a small smile. "Ruby, in case you forgot, you totally suck at hand-to-hand. Even Rouge is better than you, and he's got way less stamina!"

"Hey!" Both twins shouted in indignation from the verbal jabs.

"It's he truth, you know. Ruby, you can't fight unarmed to save her life, and Rouge, you just don't last."

Ruby puffed her cheeks. "Oh shut up!"

Night had fallen upon the Kingdom of Vale, the cracked moon hanging overhead. Normally, Roman would just be having the time of his life, taking his time to enjoy life by stealing from some poor schmo or taking a drag of his very fine and very expensive cigars, with Neo usually in arms reach of him, doing something that Neo loved. More often than not, it was eating ice cream or torturing some poor bastard.

Tonight, though, Roman wasn't in a good mood. Far from it, in fact. The reason for this?

Cinder Fall and her two little poodles, one of which was giving him a condescending and mocking grin. "I hear Tukson has skipped town." Cinder remarked with a dry expression, sitting on a crate of Dust and weapons with her hands on her lap, smoldering eyes locked firmly on him. He squirmed beneath it, but did his best to muster a glare. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Roman, but...didn't I specifically ask you to handle that?"

"Well, excuse me for doing the job you told me to do." Roman shot back in defiance, sweeping his arm around the entire warehouse as he gestured to every single crate behind him. "I've got Vale pretty much flat broke on Dust, and prices for the stuff are going through the roof as we speak. And as for us, we've got so much of it that, quite frankly, I don't know where the hell to put it all. So, I'm sorry if I couldn't find the time to take care of one measly little rat while I was busy working, princess."

Emerald scowled. "Don't you talk to Cinder like-"

"Emerald." Cinder warned. "What have I said about speaking out of turn?"

"Sorry, ma'am." Emerald immediately fell silent.

"Good. Now then..." she turned back to Roman, her eyes smoldering...literally. "Because of your negligence, we have a potential leak in information that is well on his way to Vacuo by now."

"Your problem, not mine." Roman refuted. "And why are you so worried? Tukson was literally nothing more than a grunt! We barely told him anything about the big plans for the future. At best, he'll only give up a few bases and key figures, but aside from that, your little schemes haven't changed." Taking the moment to light his cigar, he gave Cinder a small glare. "Don't forget, Mrs. Johnson. The only reason I'm even working with you is because its either this, or being sent off to the chopping block inside an Atlas Sector Prison. Sure, they banned the Death Penalty, but that don't mean you ain't likely to get the shit kicked out of you and made into someone's bitch."

"And don't you forget, Roman...that we're far worse than any punishment Atlas can deliver." Of that, he didn't doubt. Roman adjusted his bowler cap and gave Cinder a small glare. He wasn't scared of the woman, but damn if she wasn't unnerving. Something about her just felt so...unnatural. Wrong. Whatever it was, he didn't like it. "Now, on to another matter..." Cinder changed the subject, shifting her legs. He would have found it to be beautiful, and a good chance to see what was underneath that red dress, but when he remembered that said legs and forbidden sight belonged to Cinder he promptly kept his eyes away. "Have you learned anything new in regards to the Black Fang and their leader?"

"What am I, your own personal gofer?" Roman scoffed before rolling his shoulders. "They've only been around for a year, and what happened last month was their first big debut. Since then, they've been taking down corrupt government officials and companies left and right. Hell, they've even started taking out some of the crime syndicates! Not that I mind that. Less competition. That, and a lot of those bastards deserved every second of it. There's a fine line between common criminals, those with flair, and human trafficking..."

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "So, what? You're a fan of them now?"

"Well, they're doing a hell of a lot better than you, aren't they?" Roman shot back with a smirk, causing the silver-haired teen to scowl. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I touch a nerve there, kid?"

"Watch it..." The gray haired teen growled.

Cinder immediately stopped any fight from brewing, holding up a hand in which flames began to dance around. "Boys." she said coldly. "Don't fight."

Both males wisely backed off. They weren't eager to incur the wrath of a woman...especially if that woman is Cinder. "Y-yes, Cinder..." Mercury weakly backed away, fully aware of what would happen if he disobeyed her. Roman merely turned away and whistled innocently.

Shaking her head, the woman folded her arms beneath her breasts. "At any rate, Roman, you've done enough work with collecting Dust supplies. For now, just continue your investigation into the Black Fang. In the meantime, however..." She smiled thinly as she handed him a small slip of paper with writing scribbled on it. "Head to these coordinates."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Coordinates?" he asked in confusion.

"We're proceeding with Phase 2."

Sneaking out of her room hadn't been an easy affair, especially since Yang had been suspicious of her activities as of lately. Thankfully, Blake was able to sneak out by offering her team some tea, laced with a few drugs. Rouge had them prepared, in case something like this had happened. She did feel back, drugging her friends. She hated lying to them like this. But at the same time, she doubted that she could tell them, especially Weiss, that she was working for a "terrorist." It took about two hours for the drug to finally take effect, but Blake was able to sneak out of her room without suspicion.

Now inside the base of operations for the Black Fang, the group who had been making waves all across Remnant, she saw that quite a few members were running around, hurrying to finish their respective tasks. They had just recently returned from a mission, stealing supplies from another White Fang base.

Upon that thought, Blake's mind raced back to her time with Adam. Even now, she still could hardly believe it. Adam had been working for the Black Fang, a group that was made up of both humans and Faunus, the former of which he despised with a passion. She could only imagine what the reaction would be like, if people discovered Adam's true allegiances.

'I wonder what Sienna thinks of the Black Fang?' Blake wondered curiously. Then another, more somber thought, crossed her mind. 'What does Dad think about the Black Fang...'

She hadn't bothered to get in contact with her parents ever since they left the White Fang. She felt guilty. She called them cowards for abandoning their cause. But that was before she understood why they left. The White Fang had changed,many she was simply too passionate and blind to realize this fact until it was too late. She wanted to speak with them again for so long, but what would she say? What would they say? Before she could delve on it further, a familiar voice broke her from her thoughts.

"What's up kitty cat?"

She turned around to find Edan Flaemis, the so-called Blue Devil, approaching behind her with a grin. She gave him a small glare, turning to face him. "I told you not to call me that." she said with a hiss.

"Ah, but where would be the fun in that?" Edan smirked. "Besides, it's quite cute to see you all riled up."

Blake's cheeks flushed, but she managed to wipe the look and embarrassment from her face before he noticed it. "...where's Zero?"

"Down there, somewhere. Inspecting supplies and checking to see if everything's in working order. The boss man is meticulous about this sort of thing, you know." he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So, what's on your mind? No, wait. Let me guess. You're thinking about tall, dark, broody and horny!"

For a moment, Blake thought Edan was Yang in disguise. It was either that, or she had been reading her novels for too long. "If you mean Adam, then yes. Partially." Blake confessed. "If you don't mind me asking, Edan... How did you convince Adam to join?"

"Well, truth be told, I didn't do anything. If it were me, I would've cut the guy down when we first met. He's one of the few people who can match me in a fight. No. No, all the credit for getting Piece to join was all thanks to our glorious leader. After all, they were friends from childhood."

The Cat Faunus choked. "W-what?!"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Edan looked surprised. "Yeah. From what Boss told me, he and Adam used to be friends. They fell out of touch when he and his folks left Menagerie when vacation time was over, though. Apparently, they bonded when some shitty brat called Cyan tried kicking the shit out of them."

"That's because she was arrogant enough to see a small, defenseless human as an easy target." A authoritative voice cut in. Both teens turned to see Zero approach. "She was nothing more than a low-rate bully. Adam and I enjoyed putting her in her place."

"Yo, Leader!" Edan greeted, raising his hand. "Finished inspection already?"

Zero nodded. "Everything appears to be in order. I see you've returned earlier than expected."

"Ah, please. Taking care of that little ring of misfits was easy." the Blue Devil shrugged. "Unfortunately, we didn't get any clues about where they were getting Refrain from. They were obviously connected to that Verid chick, but other than that, we still don't have nearly enough information. Still, I've got Hue and Goe on the information wheel."

"Excellent. In that case, you and Belladonna will come with me." The two blinked in surprise, looking at each other before turning back to the masked man. "We received an anonymous message. Someone apparently wants to speak with us about an important matter."

Blake frowned. "Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"Unfortunately, no. From what little I was able to understand, they appear to be someone of influence, or at the very least with connections." Zero told her. "They're offering resources. Dust, information, supplies, weapons and so on. As well as something else. Something special, as they put it."

"And let me guess, you want us there in case things go south, am I right?" Edan asked. Zero nodded. "Did they tell you where to meet them at?"

"Yes. They want to meet at the old industrial district in the Old Warren."

Blake blinked rapidly. "The Old Warren?" she asked, incredulous. "You mean Rat City?"

"You know of it?"

"I've heard of it. Years before the Great War was even thought of happening, Vale was the victim of a large-scale plague. It got so bad that they had section off a portion of the kingdom to house the sick." she answered grimly, having heard more than a few stories about the place. Her father had told her of how dark times had been in the old era. The way he made it sound made her think that times had been terrible, long before the Great War began. "Unfortunately, fighting had broken out inside the Old Warren. Before long, people were dying of bullets and violence more than of disease. When a cure was manufactured and admistered to what little was left of the people inside the Warren, the old sector was abandoned. Now its the perfect place for criminals and lowlifes to hide out. Underhanded dealings, kidnappings, underground criminal organizations... When word about such things started to circulate, people started to call the Old Warren Rat City. The underbelly of criminal activity, no better than Mistral."

Beneath the mask, Zero smiled. "Very good. You're well informed." he praised. "The old industrial district was one of the few places in the Old Warren that wasn't seriously damaged. It's practically untouched. Not only that, but its considered to be neutral ground by all the criminal syndicates in Rat City, given how much business takes place there. If anything, it's only logical for our mysterious messenger to choose this place."

"Still smells fishy." Edan said with a frown. "Should I bring some of my guys along, just in case things go south?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

Before long, Zero and his entourage drew near the meeting place in Rat City. As previously described, the city itself was run down and in shambles. Rubble was strewn about and buildings were in a dilapidated state. Every so often there was a ragged straggler eyeing their group, but did no more than that.

Not since one of them grew bold and tried to pickpocket one of the masked officers, only to get broken fingers in turn.

Edan had brought a few of his subordinates in case the situation turned dicey. They were well trained fighters that served as Zero's guard squad of sorts with Edan as the commander. They were all wary and had their weapons within arms reach. Blake was filled with trepidation. She was unsure about this group wanting to meet with them. The offer seemed too good to be true, especially toward a group of 'terrorists' who debuted only recently.

She sincerely hoped that the meeting wouldn't end up in combat.

"We're here." Zero announced.

The group had arrived in the outskirts of the Old Warren. In front of them was an old building, rotting and decaying to the point where parts of it had already begun to crumble and break apart. Blake winced when she saw the graffiti that had been painted on the concrete walls, among which was the old White Fang insignia, which had been marked out with a red "X". A reminder that, despite her father's best attempts at a peaceful approach, there had been opposition. She just didn't know she would find the wounds back then here, in a place that was little more than a cesspool of criminal activity.

Then again, weren't the White Fang criminals now?

Edan looked around cautiously, a hand going to the hilt of his sword attached to his hip. "Don't see anyone around." he remarked with distrust. "And there are plenty of spots for a sniper to hide out. This reeks of being a trap."

Zero said nothing, instead surveying the area. Then he tilted his head up, noticing something approaching in the distance. Blake's second pair of ears twitched as a sound registered to her. "That sounds like an engine." she noted, looking forward. A pair of lights slowly approached them at a decent speed, accompanied by a familiar sound. "A car?"

As it came closer, Blake's assumptions were proven true. More than that, the car was a limousine. Edan whistled in appreciation, especially when he took notice of the model car. Once it was but a few feet away, the limo parked right in front of them and the lights shut off. Moments later, the driver seat door opened, allowing a figure to step out. It was a man with dark purple hair and eyes, dressed in a fine black suit with a black bowtie around the collar of his shirt. Zero stiffened, an action noticed by both Blake and Edan.

"Terribly sorry for the delay." the man apologized as he bowed politely. "Please wait a moment." He proceeded to walk over to the back of the car, opening the door. "Lady C.C. They're all present."

"Wonderful."

Blake's jaw dropped when a beautiful woman, recognizable by her long flowing green hair and intricate kimono, stepped out from the limo. The Black Fang also shared the same sentiments, hardly able to believe who it was that was standing in front of them. Edan rubbed his eyes, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating or seeing things before looking back at the woman and her apparent butler.

"...holy shit." he whispered. "Holy fucking shit."

Blake swallowed the lump in her throat. "This... This has to be some kind of joke." she said. "There's no way she's the one who sent the message."

"I must admit, I was expecting someone a bit...taller." Cecaniah Lamperouge said with a grin as she approached. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other, Zero."

"...I'm sorry. I don't think we've met." Zero said after a moment. "I would have remembered meeting the infamous corporate figure who's been a thorn in Jaqcues Schnee's side."

C.C. giggled in amusement. "Indeed. My apologies. I just felt that we had met some time ago. Must've been my imagination."

"Were you the one who sent the message?"

"Correct. Please, call me C.C."

Zero tilted his head. "C.C.?"

"Her preferred alias and nickname." the butler said before he bowed politely to Zero. "My name is Obis Daen, her trusted butler and plaything. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Blake sweatdropped. "P-plaything?" she asked, daring not to ask the implications of such a statement.

Unfortunately, Edan had no such reservations. "You mean your her fuck buddy?" he asked bluntly, causing her to blush and splutter. The other Black Fang soldiers shifted uncomfortably. By the way Zero sighed and shook his head, it was clear he was also exasperated by the Blue Devil's blunt attitude.

Neither of the two people before them looked even the least bit ashamed or disturbed or thrown off guard by his statement. "Oh no." Obis waved a hand. "By plaything, I mean she toys with me constantly, having me run errands for her, taking the brunt of her abuse, handling paperwork or being the subject to her more recent ventures of experiments."

"...what?"

"It's a long story, one of which I'm afraid I don't have any time to explain. After all, we called you all here for the purpose of discussing a business venture, no?" Obis asked before he gestured to the building. "Please, follow me."

The mad led the way inside, with the rest of the officers following to forget the awkward atmosphere. C.C., Zero, Blake, and Edan remained behind with the latter three staring at the green haired woman. "Shall we proceed lady and gentlemen?" She grinned.

Before any of them could get a response, she turned on her heel and entered the rotting building. "...she has to be the most confusing woman on the face of this planet." Edan said after a moment. "And that is saying something."

"Are we sure we can trust her?" Blake asked. "What if it's a trap?"

"No, I don't think that is the case." Zero said. His subordinates looked at him in confusion. "Call it a hunch, but... Something tells me she didn't bring us all the way out here just to waste our time with jokes. Just to be on the side of caution, however, we should be ready for anything."

Shortly after discussing their plans, Zero and the Black Fang followed C.C. and Obis. The butler led them down a series of corridors before reaching several flight of stairs, proceeding further down. "Where exactly is this place?" one Black Fang soldier asked as they made their way down. "We're way too far down."

"Before the outbreak several years ago, this was once a manufacturing plant." Obis explained. "It has been out of commission for the last several decades, though that is not to see it hasn't been completely been made useless. As a matter of fact, it has several underground research facilities. It was also here that the first vaccines used to cure the plague that ravaged Vale were created, among other things."

Blake, surprised, asked the man. "The cure for the plague was made inside Rat City? While it was under quarantine?"

"The contribution of Atlas and other minor organizations in Vale, before the Kingdoms went at each others' throats." C.C. said with a grin. "Recently, however, we've been using it for our own purposes. Out of curiosity, do you know about General Ironwood's newest toys?"

"I assume you're referring to the Altesian Knights and the Paladin that are scheduled to be made operational within the end of the year."

"Bingo! Give the man a coconut."

"Unfortunately, we don't have any coconuts." Obis remarked dryly. "However, might I offer something else as compensation?"

The group eventually stopped in front of a metal door. To the left side was a small terminal. Digging into his breast pocket, Obis took out a thin plastic card, presenting it in front of the terminal. The terminal lit up, scanning the card before it released a series of beeps. The doors then slid open, pulling themselves back and allowing C.C. and the Black Fang to enter. With a grandiose bow, the lime-haired woman gestured for them to enter. Zero narrowed his eyes at her, wondering what kind of trap was waiting for them before he stepped inside.

In the next second, Edan cried. "HOLY SHIT!"

He and everyone else in his squad looked on in awe. Lined up along the walls were tall, humanoid robots plated in thick metal and outfitted with rifles and some form of melee weapons. They were tall, approximately as tall as the Atlesian Paladins that had yet to publicly debut. They also had large pods on their backs composed of thick metal plates. On their feet were wheels and treads. Mounted on their shoulders were grappling hooks of some sort.

"What..." Blake gasped, breathless. "What are these? P-Paladins?!"

C.C. scoffed. "Please. Don't compare those scrubs to these." she said before she gave a strange smile, opening the fan in her hand. "Admittedly, they're based on the machines I'm familiar with, but we've had to make do with a few modifications. The power source was also a problem, but we managed to solve it with large quantities of Lightning Dust crystals."

"The Knightmare Frame." Obis revealed with a grand smile. "Automatous mobile warfare machines, capable of traversing any sort of terrain. Armed with titanium plated anchors, capable of shooting up to thirty feet and able to pierce through the thickest armor, and 250 cm long Stun Tonfas, designed for melee combat. For traversal, the Land Spinners are equipped with an advanced hydraulic system and multi-directional gyro spheres. In terms of armor plating, they are equipped with fifteen meter long grade 5 titanium and pure platinum steel. As for combat equipment, each unit is armed with the standard KB Mortinar Assault Rifle, capable of firing thirty rounds per second. Ammunition consists of 34mm Fire Dust coated shells with a Iron coating and hollow-point C4 tips."

For the longest while, the Black Fang was utterly stunned into silence, staring at the machines before them in utter disbelief and shock. Zero, in particular, was frozen stiff, gazing upon the machines with a strange sense of familiarity and dread. Blake could scarcely believe what lay before her. The sheer thought of these machines out on the battlefield, all armed with such specifications... They were the ultimate weapon. She couldn't help but shudder, fearing what could happen if weapons such as these would become common place and used against other Kingdoms. If even one Kingdom had these in their infantry, they could easily conquer Remnant. On a more brighter note, Blake could imagine the look on Ruby's face if she were to see one before demanding to know everything there was to know about them: from how they were built to what kind of equipment they could be outfitted with.

Edan merely stared at the Knightmare Frames, drool falling from the corner of his mouth. "...somebody pinch me. Please. Anybody. I think I'm dreaming."

"The public isn't aware that the Lamperouge Corporation created these machines." C.C. revealed to Zero as he turned to her, no doubt locking eyes with her. The idea of it made her grin. "In fact, we're more than happy to lend the Black Fang the Knightmares, along with information on every corrupt agency, corporation, industry and politician in all of Remnant, as well as supplies, weaponry and intelligence."

"A-are you for real?" Blake gawked at the woman as if she was mad. "You're giving this to us?"

"But of course. You are the self-proclaimed knights of justice, aren't you?"

Blake and Edan looked at Zero, who dipped his head in thought. Several moments passed while thoughts danced in the masked man's head before he looked back at C.C. "...who are you really, Cecaniah Lamperouge?" he asked quietly. "No person on this earth could possibly have the knowledge of creating these machines, much less make a corporation in so short amount of time. Not without underhanded dealing and corporate sabatoge, just to name a few."

C.C. chuckled. "I'm merely an old woman who's interested in seeing just how far the Man of Miracles can go." she replied easily. "However, I should mention that this isn't for free."

Edan clicked his tongue. "I should have figured..." he groaned in disappointment. "So, what do you want? Money? Got somebody you want us to off? Expose a douchebag? Rob a bank?"

"On the contrary. There's someone I want you to find for me." C.C. told them, folding her arms. "He's someone quite important to me. A long time ago, he made me a promise. However, the bastard didn't fulfill his end of the bargain. In exchange for these resources, I want you to find this man and bring him back to me."

"And what will you do once we retrieve this man?" Blake asked.

"Give him a piece of my mind." C.C. deadpanned before she turned to Zero. "So, what do you say, Zero? Do we have a deal?"

The masked man took a moment to think. All of this offered in exchange for finding one person who owes her? It seemed too good to be true. However, he did not know what person C.C. Was searching for. For all they knew, it could be someone who publicly didn't exist.

His rationality should've led him to turn down the offer, but not only were the benefits so enticing, but something else was compelling him to accept.

So he made his decision.

"...we accept your terms." Zero answered. "Who is it that you want us to find?"

If anything, the woman's smile grew even more. She slipped her hand into the sleeve of her kimono, pulling out a picture before she handed it to Zero. Blake peered over his shoulder as he looked at the photograph, only for her eyes to widen and her breath to be snatched away. The person in the photo was around the same age as the first year students of Beacon, bearing chin-length raven black hair and a face that would make a lesser woman swoon, shaped with such regality one could mistake him for a figure of royalty by look alone. His most striking feature were his eyes: deep, rich violet eyes.

The spitting image of who Zero was beneath his mask.

"A troublesome boy by the name of Lelouch."

The Fated Meeting...END

"There is no death, only a change of worlds." Native American Proverb