Greetings everyone!

Welcome back to the 6th chapter of "The Arcful Dodger".

And first off, allow me to say that I am extremely sorry for having not updated this story in a few months. I had decided to update the story schedule in hopes of lessening my levels of stress and it was more or less too late to update this story by then. But you may no longer fear because of the new scheduling each month will be the focus of one story for that entire month. And this time the month of November will be the month of "The Arcful Dodger". Which means every Sunday, besides today, will see the release of a brand new chapter for you all to enjoy.

Originally, I was going to put my other story, "The Knight The Wizard", for the month of November seeing as Volume 6 would be uploaded but due to some let's say poorly planned scheduling I've decided to move that story to the month of December to finish off 2018 for the year.

Next Scheduled Release:

Nov. 4th: "The Arcful Dodger - Ch. 07"

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Till next time!

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Chapter Six

Months.

It was often amazing how fast time flew by when your busy with other plans. And for a man like Dodger, his plans were not that of the average teenage boy but that of a rising gentleman thief. This friday would see the day all of his planning would come to fruition as he readied his costume for it's evening debut. A few months back had witnessed an excerpt on Vale News Network that an esteemed politician, Perry Winkle, would be hosting a gala event for his daughter's birthday. But there was more to this "gala" than even he had originally thought. After gaining some information from Junior, Sardonyx, and various other information brokers throughout the city, Dodger had come to a startling realization that taking place beneath the ongoing party an auction would be taking place. But not just any average kind of auction. It had seemed that there was more to the "man-of-the-people" politician than meets the eye.

Taking place beneath the gala on his own flesh and blood daughter's birthday was an auction for kidnapped Faunus. It had appeared that Perry Winle was hoping to buy some favors in order to gain more than just a seat on Vale's council. And what made it worse was he did this every year on his daughter's damn birthday.

It sickened Dodger to no end when he made the discovery and it only made him work twice as harder to ensure that his plan had absolutely no faults. If everything went according to plan that not only would he make off with the biggest haul of his life but he'd also take down a corrupt individual AND save possibly hundreds of kidnapped Faunus.

It all brought him back to those words Jack Topper had said to him just before he fell to his death. He may be a thief but he was no villain. If being a Huntsman was out of the question then this was the best he could do with what he had. Plus, if he had to be honest with himself, being a thief who took down the evil and corrupt while still being on the wrong side of the law was pretty cool.

Nevertheless, he still had few more things he needed to check before he was absolutely sure he was ready. And judging by his rapidly dwindling stash of ammunition and gadgetry. That meant it was time for Dodger to pay a little visit to an old friend of his. He just hoped they're in a better mood than last time.

...A Few Years Earlier...

It was an ordinary day in the downtown city of Vale. The civilians were going about their daily lives with an ignorant smile plastered onto their faces while the pitter patter of children echoed throughout the streets. The soft glow of the sun shined down upon them as the birds soared across the endless azure sky. Yep, it was looking like today was going to be a relaxing day of peace and tranquility. Or, at least it would've been had it not been for the random explosion that came from a nearby shop just a few blocks down.

The people scattered down the streets away from the explosion just as several police officer cars pulled in to investigate just as Dodger, in his civilian disguise exited the flames with his arms held above his head and a sheepish smile on his face.

"I-It's alright officers!" he announced. "Just a silly little business dispute between two friends!"

"We're not friends! You pathetic excuse for human pond scum!" shouted a voice from within the torrent of flames.

And sadly, it was a voice the officers knew all too well and not in a good way. Each of the officers released a sigh of annoyance and sheathed their weapons just in time for the flames to recede back into the building, leaving only a charred remain of what had been.

"I really hate having to come up here every month, Jon." said the head officer, his nametag reading out "Lt. Shamus Noire".

"I know, Shamus." said Dodger/Jon, lowering his head as the dark silhouette of his colleague and cause for the random explosion walked closer to their location.

It was in that moment that Dodger had learned a VERY valuable lesson about his colleague. Never EVER question their ability as a top of the line weapons designer. Because if you do then you were in a very explosive argument.

...Present Day...

Dodger shook off the goosebumps that trailed down his arms and legs as he tried to desperately rid his mind of that painful memory. Oh, how he wanted to never see that face again but alas they were the only person outside of his circle of close acquaintances that knew of his alternate identity. He had Roman to blame for that but in the end it had proven to be a benefit. According to Roman as well as his own research, his colleague wasn't always an over-the-counter weapons designer. They were also notorious in their youth for designing weaponry and bombs for, let's say, less than reputable means. Nevertheless, they were the best in the business and with it came a reputation. One that they were in hurry to lose. Either way, it was time Dodger, or in this case, Jon Quill, paid someone a little visit.

After disguising himself once more in his civilian clothing as well as procuring the necessary documentation in case anything happened, Dodger exited his hideout, locked the main entrance, and proceeded to journey towards the transit station, making sure to take a motion sickness pill just before embarking onto the potential death trap. He needed to remind himself to thank Roman for the pills right before he socked him in the jaw for not unlocking his Aura. Gods know how much easier his heists would be if he had that.

The ride into the downtown Vale wasn't long by any stretch of the word but with a man such as Dodger, all it did was give people more time to study his appearance. But, truth be told, it wasn't like people were constantly making an effort to study his facial features. If anything it was his unnaturally high level of paranoia. But even then his paranoia was well justified, especially in his line of work. Nevertheless, after the bus into downtown had come to a stop, Dodger quickly disembarked from the rolling death trap and proceeded towards his destination. The building before him was small in size but held a tremendous amounts of potential. The board above read out "Masamune's Palace of Weaponry and Gadgetry" followed by a motto written down below. "If we can't build it then no one can".

Upon arrival, however, was where Dodger was greeted by an amazing sight. One that nearly had him literally rolling upon the concrete pavement in utter laughter. There, standing just outside the weapons shop he was about to enter was a little girl with short, choppy black hair and various wrapped bandages around her arms and legs as she tried desperately to show off a massive sword despite her short stature. No matter how often he saw the same little girl doing the same routine, it never stopped entertaining him.

Either way, the disguised gentleman thief made his way towards the struggling little girl with a smile plastered onto his face. He slowly extended his hand out to her, watching with hidden glee as she turned to look up at him. Her look of surprise quickly turned into a scowl as her eyelids narrowed on his face. Clearly, she was not at all happy to see him this day. And even less so to see his lying smiling expression. It was painfully obvious that he was very much enjoying watching such an innocent little girl struggle desperately to lift such a heavy peace of weaponry.

"Do you require assistance, mi'lady?" he asked in his usual sweet and gentlemanly tone as the little girl continued to scowl at him.

"The only thing I require is for you to hit the road before I take this great sword and ram straight up your ass." said the little girl, still scowling at Dodger as he proceeded to laugh at her threat. Suddenly, she began to smile as small sparks began to appear around her body. "Oh, you thought that was funny, shit-stain? Well, how about I show you something REALLY funny?" she asked as more sparks began to surround her body but before anything could come of it, Dodger leaned close towards the little girl's face with a handsome smirk.

"Oh? And ruin that beautiful hair even further?" he asked, smirking as the sparks surrounding the girl slowly disappeared as a deep red blush overtook her pale face.

After all remnants of the mysterious sparks faded away and the little girl's blush had gone away, she unceremoniously dropped the massive great sword with a thundering clang before rising to her feet. Standing at a height of roughly five feet. Just below Dodger's chest. She placed her hands on her hips as she looked up at his stupid grinning face with a hardened glare. But before either could utter a single word, the little girl released a sigh and turned back around to grab onto the handle of the massive great sword that was previously causing her a tremendous amount of trouble. And then proceeded to life the massive weapon onto her shoulder as if it had weighed a little as a feather. Dodger smiled as the little girl turned to glare at him once more before sighing again and turning to enter the building.

"Well, c'mon in before I change my mind." she said, mumbling underneath her breath as she entered the building, carrying the massive heavy weapon with ease into the threshold. "Pulling that shit again. I swear, I'd kill you myself if you weren't so..."

"So, what?" asked Dodger, smirking as she turned to glare at him, narrowly avoiding his head with the massive great sword's bladed edge.

"Don't start with me, Dodger." said the little girl, turning back to walk towards the counter.

This was the one person who knew of his criminal identity. The one who had gifted him and various criminals with their weaponry and gadgets. All the while managing an over-the-counter blacksmith shop in downtown Vale. This was Kurogane Masamune, otherwise known as Kuro, the black market blacksmith. Despite her short stature and seemingly childish persona, she held a very high position in the criminal underworld. If you needed a special weapon in order to set yourself apart from the other would-be thugs then she was your girl. No one knew weapons better than her and she knew it better than anyone.

"It's Jon, remember? And do you want to explain to me as to why a girl with such godly strength was making a poor attempt at playing the damsel in distress?" asked Dodger, smirking at her.

"I'm almost fifteen years old, JON. And as weird as this may sound I don't actually enjoy being the hero in a relationship. I want a brave and chivalrous knight to whisk me off my feet and treat me like the adorable princess I know I am. And I was thinking what sort of boy wouldn't want to play the heroic white knight and help a poor little girl with her strife? Didn't count on them all being too much of a pansy asses. What sort of man turns down the opportunity to show off his strength by impressing a beautiful maiden?" asked Kurogane, sighing as she hefted the great sword on her shoulder.

"I'd assume one that is without such immense strength such as you." said Dodger, smiling upon hearing little Kurogane laugh at his words.

"I can blame that on my old bastard of a father. Old crone could probably lift the entire city with nothing but his pinkie and no one would be able to tell the difference." said Kurogane, smiling at the memory of her father's smiling face and his rippling muscles. Truly, there would never be someone as strong as her father.

"You ever wonder if that's explains why you have a muscle fetish?" asked Dodger, smirking as Kurogane's face became beet red from hearing his words.

"I-I-I don't have a muscle fetish!" shouted Kurogane, her lower lip pouting ever so slightly as small sparks began to surround her ash-colored hair.

After entering the building and being bombarded with the sheer number of weaponry lining the walls and stands, Dodger slowly made his way towards the counter where up he watched with glee as little Kuro placed the massive great sword onto the wall rack where it would hang until she required it's assistance once again. Slowly, but surely, the seemingly innocent little girl turned to face Dodger with a scowl and matching glare as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You have exactly five seconds to explain yourself before I take every weapon I have and give you a knuckle sandwhich... But with a sword... Or something." said Kurogane as Dodger leaned against the counter, dropping his grin in favor for a more serious expression.

"You, uh, want to try that one again?" asked Dodger, smirking as he leaned back against the nearby wall.

"Just tell me what you want, jackass." demanded Kurogane, sighing as Dodger walked towards the counter with several sheets of paper before placing them all before her. Her eyes scanned the sheets of paper, seeing the sheer number of gadgetry and other useful items dodger would be needing for his latest heist.

"There's a party that I'll be attending this Friday and let's just say that some of the party goers will be wanting to leave earlier than expected." said Dodger, smiling as Kurogane skimmed through the sheets of paper.

"Why, you gonna crash the party?" asked Kurogane, smiling as Dodger returned her's with one of his own.

"Something like that." said Dodger. "Let's just say that VNN will be having the time of their lives reporting this party."

"Well, if that's the case then I should be able to make what you need." said Kurogane, pulling out a sheet of paper to jot down some notes. "But I will be needing you to go shopping for me. Some of these gadgets looked like they'll be needing some serious hardware."

"You let me worry about that, mi'lady. Now, what do you need?" asked Dodger, dropping his hand to look at the smiling little girl as she pulled out a slip of paper and precceded to jot down everything she might need for his custom order. "Hmmm, alright. I should be able to get these without much problem. Although, I don't know how you expect me to find an Atlas Military grade D-Battery. Any idea on where I can find one of those?" he asked the little girl as she merely shrugged off his question.

"How am I supposed to know? Figure that shit out for yourself, numb nuts." said Kurogane, taking great pleasure in watching Dodger argue with himself.

"Alright. Alright. If I remember correctly, there should be a White Fang training facility somewhere on the docks. Last I heard, they made off with some Atlas tech, so if I'm lucky then they'll have the D-Battery along with some Atlas technology in hopes of reverse engineering them." said Dodger, sighing as he ran his head through his hair.

"And if you're not lucky?" asked Kurogane, raising an eyebrow.

"Then I'm going to have to call in a favor." he said simply as Kurogane just took his words and shrugged her shoulders.

"Either way, it's not my problem." she said with smile as he took the slip of grocery items and folded it up before placing it into his pocket. "Is there anything else you wanted before you go?" she asked.

"Actually, now that you mention it." he said, placing his dust gloves, cane, and Jack topper's last remaining bladed dust throwing card onto the counter. "I'm going to need some new party favors. Provided you can deliver on your motto." he said with a smile as Kurogane returned it with a prideful smirk.

"Heh, trust me. If we can't build it then no one can." said Kurogane, smiling as she took the items off the counter and made her way towards the back followed closely behind by Dodger, who made sure to flip the closed sign before following. Just in case anyone tried to enter in on their private moment.

Upon arriving in the back was where Dodger was, once again, welcomed to the true face of Masamune's weapon shop as she pressed a hidden button on the wall before the floor panel both she and Dodger were standing on proceeded to lower into the floor. And it was here that Dodger was greeted by the sight of a massive underground factory filled with conveyor belts filled with various projects. But what stood in the foreground, each working on various projects such as, smelting, forging, and aesthetic work was hundred upon hundreds of robotic workers all designed by Kurogane's late father.

This was the true face of Masamune's Palace of Weaponry and Gadgetry.

This was the birthplace for all of the criminal underworld's personal weaponry.

This was the Forge.