Balthazar of the BLAC

by desoldeben

Balthazar is no hero. He has no godlike powers or skills. He has no secret past. He's nobody noteworthy. He had been an orphan, a poor street boy and finally a thief. But now, he won't even stay a thief anymore. He is going to become something infinitely tougher: a student in Beacon. Parallel to Team RWBY storyline, without interfering with canon as much as possible.

21. Chapter 21: Price Borne by Others: pt 1

DISCLAIMER: Those that ought to belong to others shall belong to their respective owners. Those that ought to belong to me, if any, shall belong to me.

A/N: After the longest time, I have returned. The A/N at the end will have more comments about my absence. For now, enjoy the part 1 of the next arc.

-x-x-x-x-

Price Borne by Others: part 1

One of the side effects of almost dying is a strong desire to not experience it again.

My last trip to Vale with Raynee had been the closest brush with the Reaper I have ever had, and the rational part of my mind told me that it probably would not be my last. Which was why I was actually in the training gym on my accord, getting my ass kicked by pretty much everyone I trained with. It was not fun to simultaneously be in an academy full of warriors and at the bottom of the rung in the said group.

The butt of a spear rammed into my abdomen, not at all deterred by my leather cuirass. The pain caused me to bend over, bringing my head closer to the said spear butt. A swift whack to the side of my skull had me on the floor.

Sigh. The floor and I were getting rather intimate today.

A hand offered itself. I grabbed onto it and pulled myself off the ground, groaning as my tender muscles protested the movement.

'I'm sorry. I might have gone overboard,' my sparring partner apologised. A quick glance at Yeon told me she was genuinely apologetic about whooping my ass to kingdom come. Well that was a nice change; Alex and Lestia were never really ones for compassion.

I waved her apology away. 'No, no. It's not you. I'm the one that's weak.'

A footstep approached us but I was too tired to turn my head and see who. A moment later, a bottle of water appeared in front of me. Gratefully, I accepted this charity and started chugging down the content. My savior moved onto the huntress and handed her an uncapped bottle.

'Thank you, Vergil,' said Yeon.

Having been hydrated, my brain resumed higher functions and began to analyze this Vergil. He was an unassuming figure, to say the least. His combat attire was a light and simple leather armor, bare in decoration. In fact, one might even describe his attire as sloppy; he gave off the vibe of a man who did not care for his appearance. He had a lithe physique that made me think of Lestia, although he was not as short.

Intriguingly, there was a compound bow on his back that was absolutely gargantuan. Now I'm no bowman but I was pretty darn sure a bow of that size needed way more strength to draw than what Vergil's physique should offer. Ah well, what did I know about archery? If he was carrying the weapon around, it must mean he could use it.

All in all, he looked to be a normal huntsman cadet – although perhaps the phrase "normal huntsman cadet" was an oxymoron.

Vergil smiled at Yeon. 'Nice going, chap. You successfully demolished this poor huntsman here. Absolutely murdered. Must be all that extra training you throw at yourself showing effect yeah?'

Yeon scowled, 'Vergil. He can hear you.'

Vergil was not chided one bit. 'Oh he's fine. Doesn't kiss his own ass, this one. Pride made of sterner stuff than looking tough in a fight.'

I raised an eyebrow. Interesting character, this Vergil. 'Hello. The name's Balthazar,' I introduced myself.

A glimpse of recognition. 'Ah. Raynee's crush, is he?' He looked at Yeon for confirmation.

Yeon was exasperated. 'He is not Raynee's crush, Vergil. Just her good friend. You know Raynee. If she had a crush, she would have just told us.'

Vergil shrugged. 'That's assuming Raynee can distinguish between romance and friendship. Frankly, my lien's on the side that she can't.' He turned to me. 'Either way, it's good to see you finally, mate. I'm Vergil Cannes, serving as V in IVRY. Thanks for making Raynee keep us up at night with all her stories.' Vergil must be Yeon's partner, since I knew Raynee's partner was named Ignis.

I grinned at his tone. 'Glad to help,' I replied.

Yeon was mortified. 'Vergil. Could you please not embarrass us?'

I chuckled at the whole scene. Or I was chuckling until Vergil reached out and kissed Yeon right on the lips, in full view of everyone in the training area. Then I was more flabbergasted than chuckling after that.

'How's that for embarrassing us?' Vergil smirked.

'You stupid little...' Yeon raised her kuda yari and did her best to impale her antagonizer. Vergil sidestepped her spear nimbly – something told me he did this often – and jumped out of its range, not admonished at all. He walked off laughing, likely keeping distance until it was safe to return. Yeon considered chasing after him but opted to restrain herself. 'Sorry you had to see that,' she said to me. She gestured towards the locker room, indicating we should leave the gym. I followed.

'I see you and your partner are very... close,' I commented, not knowing what else to say.

'Well, given that we're dating, it would be weird if we weren't,' Yeon replied.

Oh. Dating. Right. Of course they wouldn't be kissing about if they were merely partners. What was I thinking? 'He must really like you if he behaves like this.'

'He only does it to embarrass me.' She pulled open her locker and pulled out her weapon kit. 'Most of the time, he's really lazy. Hates moving a finger for anything he doesn't want to do, that Vergil. But he's really smart and observant, which is possibly the worst combination you can find in a boyfriend, if you ask me.'

'Or a spy,' I supplemented.

'Or that,' she concurred. 'Honestly? Vergil has so much more potential; more than most. If he actually bothered to work to his limits, he would be among the top of the cohort. Instead, he decides to flourish in mediocrity, maintaining around my level.'

'Sounds like you are selling yourself short.'

'No, I'm not. I have been training among huntsmen since I was a child; since birth, in fact. I know a better huntsman when I come across one.'

Well, if she insisted, I was not going to disagree. A change in topic was in order. 'Must be nice though, being in a relationship.'

'If you're jealous, maybe you should get a girl yourself. Then you'll learn it's not all rose petals and rainbows. Is there any girl you're interested in?' Bloody hell. Of all the possible changes in topic, this one was the worst.

'I really should have seen that coming, didn't I?' I replied as I opened my own locker and searched for the extra throwing knives I knew I kept around here somewhere. A few of the knives needed to be replaced and repaired later.

'Don't avoid the question, Balthazar. Is there anyone?'

'I would like to exercise my right to remain silent from this point.' I hated this kind of questions.

Yeon seemed pleased at my answer for reason. 'So there is someone,' she said. 'Who is it? Is she in this school?'

'Yeon, you're getting ahead of yourself,' I muttered, flustered.

A third voice entered the conversation. 'you are making our new friend anxious, petals.' He approached us nonchalantly.

'Vergil, you stupid oaf. You kissed me in front of everyone! Do you know how embarrassed I was?'

'Ah, Yeon. That was not even the worst thing I've done to you.' Vergil ran his hand through his girlfriend's hair before she slapped it away with a frown.

'I hate you so much sometimes,' she muttered bitterly. Whew, it looked like she was not going to pursue her previous train of thought.

'Well, you loved me enough to ask me out,' he retorted back.

'Would you stop mentioning that? Seriously. You always bring that up whenev...'

Woah. If there ever was a sign to be elsewhere, this was most certainly it. I stepped away from the bickering couple – who were completely unaware of my retreat – until I was far away enough to tune out their conversation. I'll just hang around here until they started talking about something else or began to fight in earnest – whichever came first – then rejoin them or leave them alone accordingly.

Well, that was my initial plan but a particular news broadcast on the wall monitor caught my eye.

'...olice Department has once more cordoned off a section in industrial district after finding another body in one of the streets. This is the fourth body found in the last fifty days, according to our sources. All four deceased have been confirmed to have been orphans living in the streets. Initially, a serial killing was suspected, however, the visible lack of foul play on the victims' bodies now give rise to a possibility of an epidemic circulating among the homeless children.

'The Vale Police Department has released no official statement as of yet, except to urge the citizens of Vale not to panic from groundless rumors. Many voices are gathering among the citizens of Vale, who still remember the catastrophic epidemic outbreak twelve years back, to say Pygmalion Foundation should become involved with the issue. Let's switch over to Report Emily Jesse, who is currently in Pygmalion Foundation's Vale headquarters.'

Bullshit. An epidemic? No way. Ever since the last outbreak, Pygmalion Foundation made sure the orphan population of Vale were contagion free. I trusted Pygmalion Foundation to properly do their work more than I trusted the Vale Police Department to let criminals get away – meaning my trust in Pygmalion Foundation's efficiency was considerable. If there had been four children dead in the streets, my money was on the cause being a person, not some microorganisms. what could possibly be goin...

'Balthazar. Mate? You okay? You're face when from irritated to serious in a blink,' Vergil asked, clapping me on the back; I was not even aware he and Yeon had approached me.

I must have had quite the look on my face because he was looking at me as if I was about to shoot his head off – don't ask me how I knew what the expression looked like.

'I... I'm fine. I just have somewhere to go.' I opened my locker and pulled out as much equipment as I could carry from my locker. If the thing killing the children was indeed someone, I was going to need some teeth.

Vergil was intrigued. 'Well, with the amount of explosives you're grabbing, you can't be going there for pleasure.'

'Balthazar; what's wrong?' Yeon inquired, worried. Whether her concern was for me or for whoever I intended to lob these explosives at, I did not know.

'It's a personal affair.' I brushed her question aside.

'It also has something to do with the street orphans in the industrial district,' Vergil supplemented. I glared at him, to which he simply smiled back. Perceptive, this Yeon's boyfriend.

Yeon looked confused. 'I don't get it.'

'There was news of a child being found dead in the city. Clearly, Balthazar is not happy to hear that,' Vergil clarified.

'Look, I just need to get to the bottom of this, okay? This is important to me.'

'We're coming with you,' Yeon declared.

'You are?' I asked.

'We are?' Vergil echoed.

'Yes. If you are packing that much firepower, that means you're considering trouble. I'm not letting you go alone.'

The idea of bringing others along did not appeal at all but if there was one thing I learned in this muleheaded academy, it was that nobody heeded my opinion when they interfered into my business. It was as if the basic concept such as privacy simply ceased to exist within the ground of this institution. As such, I did the smart thing and decided to accept my fate in the interest of saving time.

Although it was probably a pointless gesture, I tried to salvage the upcoming crappy situation. 'If you tag along, I am in charge. When I give an instruction, you have to act on it. If you can't agree to this, then do not come along.' The last thing I wanted was two regular people making decisions as they waded through the undermarket blind.

Yeon nodded, agreeing to my condition. Vergil was more hesitant, however, causing a frown on his girlfriend's face. A swift kick to a shin later, he followed his girlfriend's gesture.

I sighed. 'Let's get going then. I want to go check the scene as soon as possible.' I latched the last of my equipment onto the utility belt. We left the locker room and made our way for the airship to Vale.

Never a private business I can attend alone.

-x-x-x-x-

Some days, I really hated this city.

I looked around the grimy street cordoned off with the police tape and a thought occurred to me that this was no place for a child to die. It's not like there was a good place for a child to die, sure, but there had to be better places than this. To be dead on the dirty pavement of the industrial district barely after having lived around a decade was not a sort of thing that should be allowed to happen to anyone.

A crowd had gathered just outside the boundary, peeking at the few policemen still lingering about the scene as if this was a show. How many were gathered because they were saddened about the children? No, this was just a distraction for them, a juicy incident to be discussed over at dinner.

Only two officers were in the area; the investigation at scene must have been finished. These two were like just rookies charged with guarding the area, so it was highly unlikely that they knew anything of relevance. It would be more informative to observe the scene myself.

'So Balthazar, what are we doing here?' Yeon asked.

'We're trying to see if we can find out what happened here.'

'Yes, we did listen to your quasi-briefing in the airship, Balthazar,' Vergil chimed in, 'I think her question was more to find out the specifics of this finding out what happened here business.'

'Uhmm, that's still a work in progress.' I did have an idea but it was chancy at best. I gestured at the two hunters to follow and we marched right up to the closest officer on duty.

The policeman straightened his slouch as we approached. He reinforced his voice before speaking, as to muster some veneer of authority. 'This way is closed, kids. Police investigation in place. You should go home now.' He must be new.

Well, that was good news for me. I gave him a tiny nod and a friendly smile in a way of a greeting. 'Officer, good to see you. We are huntsmen from Beacon. Do you mind if we took a look around?' Beacon cadets had no authority over police, of course; that was a common misconception.

Hopefully, it was a common misconception shared by the rookie policemen. 'Uhh... I didn't receive any news about this from HQ,' he stammered. He turned to his companion. 'Hey, Rob! Was there any word from base about huntsmen coming to scene?'

'No clue, Randall.' Rob came over, more to escape the boredom than being interested in the conversation. 'If they didn't tell you about it, there's no way they'll tell me. You're the corporal here; I'm just a private.'

'Well, we got a few huntsmen here, saying they would like to inspect the place.' Randall explained to his colleague.

'A living, breathing huntsman? Ought to write about this in my diary,' Rob deadpanned, 'so what team are they from?'

'We're from Team VYBE. I'm Balthazar, and this is Yeon and Vergil,' I lied through my teeth.

Rob gave us a look over. 'They certainly are dressed for the part,' he said, referring to our weapons.

'So what should we do?' Randall asked.

'Up to you, Rand. We could call HQ about this but honestly, it's not a big deal if they get a peek. We're not even sure if this is a crime scene.'

Randall agreed. 'You're right,' he turned to me, 'very well, sirs, ma'am. You can take a look around. Please do not touch anything.'

Rob also had something to say, and his tone was all serious as he said it, 'additionally, we're not permitted to diverge any information regarding this situation without HQ say so, even if you're huntsmen. Please do not ask any questions and leave swiftly after your look-see. Well then. Have a nice day.' Rob walked off, returning to his post now that the conversation was over. Randall took cue from his partner and went off as well, leaving the scene open for our inspection.

That went easier than I expected. Honestly, I did not expect this plan to work as well as it did. The three of us approached the chalk outline at the centre of the taped box.

'I can't believe you actually pulled that off,' Yeon exclaimed, impressed.

'Yeah, me neither,' I replied, relieved.

Vergil was not as awed as his partner though. 'Say, Balthazar. I couldn't help but notice you're darn good at lying. Team VYBE? Almost believed it myself.'

'Vergil!' Yeon hissed.

'What? I say as I see it,' Vergil shrugged, 'I don't claim to be an expert on the subject but I know a fair bit about lying. A concrete lie needs smarts. A quick lie needs practice. That was a mighty quick lie.'

'Vergil, you're crossing a line,' Yeon hissed.

I waved her aggravation away. 'No, no. He's right. I would have been suspicious in his shoes too.'

'I know he's right, Balthazar,' she retorted, 'but there are less rude ways to bring up the topic.' Ouch. Lying might have let gotten me the way in but it clearly has not won me any trust. Sigh. Of course it wouldn't. After all, Yeon and I have not known each other for long, and Vergil and I were acquainted only today.

It looked like I had two more people to come clean about my past. If anything was going to win their trust, it was a confession about my shady old days. 'I'll answer any questions you have later. Can we please examine here first?' Funny, the notion was not as daunting as it had been a few weeks back.

'Well, I love a promise of a good story,' Vergil muttered.

'Oh shut up, Vergil. He said he'll explain later,' Yeon chided. 'So what are we looking for, Balthazar?'

'Any signs to think there were other people involved with the kid's death. The news said the kid died of disease. I call bullshit on that.'

'So you think it's murder?'

'I'm hoping it's not,' I answered, 'But yes, I think it's murder.'

-x-x-x-x-

Honestly, there wasn't much here to go on. The place was a typical example of a Vale's industrial area, minus the chalk outline of far too a small person. There were no blood splatters or any other signs to indicate intentional harm fell upon the dead child. Just a dead body in the middle of a street. I scanned the outline again, irrationally hoping a clue would jump at me if I continued to stare.

Why was he in the middle of a street though? Would the sick kid walk to the middle of the street before dying? Maybe the pain struck suddenly and caused him to wander around, seeking help. No, that might be plausible if this was in residential area. In industrial district, people were sparse and not always nice. A street kid with quarter a brain would not have loitered here.

Of course, there was always a possibility of the kid dying elsewhere and being dumped here by somebody else. If this body was put here by someone else, all I had to do was to track down that person and it should shed more light on how this child died. Now, all I needed was a proof that there really was someone else...

'Hey, Balthazar. Take a look at this,' Vergil pointed to a spot on the ground. I wandered over. It was a slight imprint of a boot.

'A boot?' Yeon muttered incredulously, 'So what? This is a street. Why is the footprint so special?' Her words were true; there were various shoe-imprints all around us.

'Well, this one smells,' Vergil answered.

'Smells?' I reiterated.

Vergil nodded. 'It's faint but nasty; a bit like something dying.' I kneeled down and sniffed at the said bootprint. Ugh, yuck. Yep, I knew this smell alright. This was the all too familiar smell of Vale sewage. From the strength of the odor, I was pretty sure it was fresh – if sewage smell can be described as such.

'And?' Yeon asked.

'And that means somebody came out of the sewers.' Harmony always said there were no coincidences when it came to dead people. If somebody came out of the sewer around here where the dead child was found, I was willing to gamble that these two were somehow related.

Vergil voiced out my thoughts, and added a bit of his own. 'Aight, can't imagine how someone coming out of the sewers and a dead kid being randomly found isn't connected. But that's about all we can find, no?' He scratched the side of his head. 'There's no way to identify who this footprint belongs to, unless another clue drops on top of us out of nowhere.'

I agreed with him. This crime scene had no more to offer than the possibility that another person was involved with the kid's death. If I wanted to track this mysterious sewage dweller, I would need to try something else.

'So what are we going to do?' Yeon asked.

My brain clicked away at the task in hand, slowly formulating a plan of sorts. 'First, we're going to have lunch. It's going to be a long day so we should have a good meal. Also, I have stuff to tell you two.' For what's to come ahead, they needed to know about the undermarket; and by that extension, about the Breaker.

-x-x-x-x-

The Fishy Place would outlast all of us.

Booming with business at three o'clock on a Tuesday was a sure sign of a healthy enterprise. I didn't know how Montier managed it but I have never seen this place empty. As we entered the restaurant, Montier gave me an apologetic shrug, letting me know that he would not be able to personally attend to me at the moment. It took us about fifteen minutes to find a table, and another fifteen before the said table was cleaned. I had a feeling it would probably take fifteen more before our orders were taken so now felt like a good time for a story.

'This place smells really good,' said Yeon, anticipating greatly for the lunch ahead.

'It is. Trust me,' I answered.

'So you had something to tell us?' Vergil prompted, less interested in the food than his girlfriend.

'Yes. What we are doing after lunch is going to look very sketchy as hell and make you question my character...'

'Too late,' Vergil interjected with smirk. 'Ow!' he exclaimed when Yeon kicked him in the shin.

I continued as if uninterrupted, 'So I'm just going to fess up about who I am... was.' I took a moment and blurted out, 'Before coming to Beacon, I used to be a thief.'

Not even Vergil had a comment. They looked at me wide-eyed, as if taking some time to process just what they have heard.

At least they were not apprehensive. Shock, I could work with. 'Not the amateur break-into-a-house-hoping-to-find-wallets kind, by the way. I had a reputation of sorts. I used to be called the Breaker, on the account of being very good at breaking into buildings. In fact, you might say I was the best in Vale when it came to that particular talent set.

'In Vale, like in every major city in Remnant, there's a criminal underworld. It's a heavily networked society called the undermarket and I have been a part of it since I was a kid. If a thing under high security needed stealing, I was the man they called. Well, me and my partner, that is.'

'So how did you get to come to Beacon?' Yeon asked.

'I got caught in one of my heists. Professor Ozpin came for me then and offered me a spot.'

'Why did he do that?' Vergil asked this time.

'For not letting a girl die for the sake of money,' I answered.

Silence descended on the table once again.

It was Vergil who broke the silence. 'Well, if you're into making sure girls didn't die, at least I know you'll keep Yeon safe if things get too dicey. That's good enough for me.'

'You aren't doing that anymore, right?' Yeon asked.

'Stealing? No. I stopped that when I entered Beacon.' But then, stealing and being Breaker were two separate things. For some reason, the role always seemed to be thrust upon me whenever I returned to Vale.

Vergil voiced another question. 'Am I right thinking you're going to become this Breaker again? Using your shady side to figure out who our mysterious friend is?' He waved at a relatively free-looking waitress as he spoke, finally managing to capture her attention.

'Yeon was right,' I muttered, 'You are perceptive.' I turned my attention to the waitress. 'Three platter of the standard, please. The girl here's really looking forward to it.'

Once the waitress left, the huntsman resumed his questioning. 'So what're you planning, anyway? Is there a mystic spymaster you types call upon whenever you all got questions?' Vergil had no idea how accurate his statement was.

I knew calling the Broker was the fastest way to get down to the root of this entire conundrum but that was not how things worked in the undermarket. You did not call the Broker to pose a question you wanted answers to any more than you called upon the boogie monster to have a pleasant company during tea break. He was not part of the undermarket, for one thing, and was an entity one should affiliate with creatures like demigods or demons. There are many stories of those who sought his help on their own volition. They were not categorized under "happy endings".

I did not want to get involved with him at all if unless I was out of all other options.

So just like in the old days, I planned to take what I wanted. 'There are other ways to find somebody,' I told them. 'Chasing them using evidence is what the police does. I'm rather different from the police.'

Vergil grinned at that. 'Ah, wish I've met you sooner. Being around you beats training with Yeon by a mile.'

Yeon got fairly annoyed at that. 'If that's the case, Vergil, why don't you date him instead?'

'Cos then I'll be breaking your heart, petals. Your heart's far too precious to let that happen,' replied Vergil without missing a beat.

Ugh. 'You guys are making me nauseated,' I complained.

'I'm not doing anything. It's all Vergil's...' Our plates of fish and chips arrived at that moment, whisking away her next words as she admired the food. 'Oh wow. This smells incredible,' she commented, her mouth-watering.

The waitress smiled at the huntress's reaction. 'The boss worked on these himself, love. Good on you for making friends with the boss's friend.'

'Apparently so,' said Yeon, eager to start dining.

'Let's dig in,' I said. We had things to do afterwards.

-x-x-x-x-

'Ya know, for a fellow who announced himself to be going regular, yer sure behaving like the unregular sort fairly often,' said Montier as he collected the payment for the food.

'I'm not getting involved because I miss the old days, Montier. I just think there's more to this children dying business. You know this isn't some sort of epidemic.'

A frown appeared on the man's face. 'Pfft. An epidemic. Sure ain't that. Haven't gotten those since that last nasty one. Alright, Balthazar. I'll put up the ad. If someone out there really is messing with the children, well, they deserve yer attention, alright.'

'And what's that supposed to mean?' I asked, confounded.

'You've been making quite the ripple around the undermarket since you've gone huntsman, lad. I know most of Junior's men are on yer payroll for some reason. The demolished building in the harbor is said to be yer handiwork. Some of the bounty for the Identified Grimm that was on news awhile back, I think Lycan was 'sname, made its way to yer bank account. And you've been seen toting around several different girls, all o' them easy on them eyes. With all these spectacular achievements under your belts – especially last one – the marketmen who knew ya from before think yer going to Beacon ain't no retirement; it's more like an upgrade. Why do you think Burken let you walk away with that pretty faunus lass?'

An excellent question, and one I should have thought about earlier. Burken had been being unusually cooperative at the time. I had chalked it up as Fortune feeling good that day. It sounded as though it had been more than that, however.

Montier grinned as understanding dawned on me. 'Now you see yourself properly, lad. The marketmen see ya as another playmaker instead of Harmony's sidekick. What's more, they see you as quite a strong player. Keep that in mind when you make yer moves, eh lad? I don't want ya being offed 'cuz ya spat dirt at the wrong sorts of people.'

'I'll keep that in mind, Montier.'

The owner of a fish and chips restaurant nodded at my response. 'That's 'bout all I can expect, I reckon. Aight then. I'll just let this ad go around. Something like this, with dead children in the mix, I'm sure you'll get a response soonish. Maybe even today.'

I nodded back grimly. 'Yeah. Something involving dead children would definitely catch someone's attention fast.'

Had the Maker been around, something like this would never have been allowed to happen.

-x-x-x-x-

Montier was right; I did get a response soonish.

Only a few hours after my offer to purchase any information regarding the dead children was made, a message came to my scroll. It was a curt message, asking to meet in one of the less travelled streets of industrial district. The speed of the response and no mention of payment fee for the information confirmed my hunch that I was walking into something bigger than I first suspected. This did not bode well.

So here I was, on one of the building's rooftop by the dark streets of industrial district, gripped tightly in a dark mood as my imagination worked overtime to supply me with morbid explanations about what could have happened to these children. The argument I had ongoing with my two companions – who were adamantly showing that they were not marketmen material – certainly did not help.

'No. I don't know what you're planning but you can't just tell us we can't do anything no matter what happens and expect us to agree,' said Yeon, with that stubborn face I have come to recognize after having spent so much time with Lestia.

'I'm actually with petals on this one, O Shady One. Can't say I like being shackle-bound before knowing what sort of fun's coming my way,' said Vergil.

Yeon scowled at her partner's comment. 'Vergil. Could you please take this seriously? We're not fooling around here. We'll be meeting with actual criminals.' Criminals huh? I wondered if the term encompassed me as well.

'I'll be the one meeting with these criminals, thank you very much,' I corrected her. 'No offense, but you guys are more of a hindrance for what's about to happen.'

'The police should be handling this matter, not us,' Yeon protested.

I gave her an exasperated look, eyebrow raised and everything. 'Oh yeah? And exactly what are you going to tell them? That I put out an advertisement throughout the undermarket community asking if any of them knew about what's going on with the dying kids?'

That killed that protest fast. 'At least tell me what you're planning, damn it,' said Yeon, a frown creasing her features.

'Nothing really. I'm just going to talk to them. That's all.'

'You wouldn't be telling us to stay put no matter what if that's all you were planning on doing.'

I took a glance at my scroll, checking the time. There were about five minutes left before the agreed upon time; I needed to convince them fast. 'Look. I know what I'm doing. This is probably our only chance to learn about the dead children and I'll be damned before I let it slip away. If you're not going to be cooperative, I suggest you head back to Beacon,' I said. I could have said it nicer, I suppose, but time was short and my patience was getting shorter.

Yeon seemed as if she wanted to argue more but Vergil dissuaded her. His eyes met mine. 'You're in charge, mate. Just make sure you get results, yeah?'

'Yeah. I will. You guys stay here. Come out only if I start firing Fiasco. Got it?' Reluctantly, they nodded.

I left them behind, my mind whirling at what was to come ahead. Truth was, getting information from marketman was never a sure-fire thing. Sure, I might have spoken to my companions as if I had everything under control but that was nothing more than a façade. Another possibility to consider was that the person I was going to meet had no intention of being cooperative. He could have set up the meeting to snuff me out for investigating this issue. If I did not handle the situation ahead with care, there was a real chance I might end up with a bullet instead of information.

Funny; bullets did not instill fear in me like it used to. Walking into a situation that could result in gunfire was something the old Breaker would never have done. I would have turned tail and fled, expecting somebody else would fix the problem. Maybe Montier was right; I have changed.

It was five minutes past our agreed-upon time when my informant arrived. He was with a few mean-looking friends, all of them starting at me with apprehension. Using my past interactions with informants of various sorts as reference, I deduced that there was unlikely to be much information sharing here. Still, he probably knew something I would like to know. I was going to stick around for now.

'You Breaker?' said the informant, a burly fellow with tattoos covering his biceps.

Hmm. A train of thought clicked in my head. 'Nope. Mr Breaker sent me here to speak for him,' I replied. Upon hearing my answer, they visibly relaxed.

There was a bit more bravado in the informant's voice when he spoke again. 'Oh yeah? Then who're you supposed to be?' They approached me in a manner they probably thought was threatening. They might have looked a bit more intimidating if it wasn't for the fact that if I really wanted to run, they had no way to stop me.

Sadly, escape was not an option. 'I'm Mr Breaker's assistant. Mr Breaker is too busy to attend this meeting himse…' A fist clashed into my jaw.

A blow you know is coming always hurts more than the one you take by surprise. Unfortunately, the guy had been telegraphing his intention to slug me for quite a while before he actually got around doing it. Ouch.

'Wha..what are you doing? Mr Breaker will not forgive this!' I stuttered, the pain helping me stumble over my words. Another punch slammed into my abdomen, taking the breath away and bringing me to my knees.

Rest of his friends joined in, roughing me up as I curled on the floor. My old instincts came back; I made sure to absorb the blows properly so no permanent damage was done. That did not mean their kicks did not hurt, however. It still hurt. A lot.

After far too long, the blows eased. I stayed down, knowing that getting up usually invited more hits.

The informant... uhm... the assailant, approached my prone figure. 'Get up, you piece of shit. I wanna talk to you,' he barked.

I lunged forward and kneeled by his feet, grovelling as I pleaded for mercy. 'Please, don't hurt me! I don't know anything! Breaker just paid me to deliver his message!' I begged. My pitiful behaviour caused a wave of laughter among the assailant and his friends.

He whacked the side of my head so I flinched. 'Get up, you moron. I don't care about that faggot's message. I want you to give him a message instead,' he commanded.

I nodded rapidly. 'Yes, yes. Of course.'

There was a smug grin on his face as he spoke. 'Tell him to not look for the missing children. Got it? Or I'll do to him worse than what I've done to you.'

I nodded again and asked, 'Can I go now?'

'Yeah, whatever. Don't let me see you again, got it?' He waved his hand in a dismissive way. I was gone before he finished.

It was fifteen minutes before I returned to Yeon and Vergil. Just in case those goons had a spark of brain activity and tried to tail me, I took the roundabout route to where I had left the two. By then, the areas where they pummelled me – which was pretty my every part of my body – were starting to hurt. My aura was likely patching up the wounds but since it was not very strong to begin with, it was not going to complete the task anytime soon.

Yeon and Vergil were most distressed when I finally arrived.

Yeon was the more vocal of the two. 'What were you thinking? Why did you just let them hit you? Are you okay?' She started inspecting my injuries, not at all interested in the answers to her questions. I must admit: after the rough treatment, her soft hands were feeling really nice.

Vergil, however, was more interested in what I had to say than my condition. 'Well, Balthazar. I don't get impressed very often, but you sure managed it. Gotta say, I'm curious why you took that special effort to get yourself beaten up like a piñata in a festive birthday party. Would you like to share the reason with the class?'

'Because meeting him in the terms he specified was not to my advantage. I didn't really think the guy was going to give the information so easily – if at all. If I really want to get what I want, I need to get the jump on him,' I replied.

'And how does getting the living daylight smacked out of you help you in your grand scheme?' he questioned.

Although it hurt to smile, I grinned nonetheless. 'By letting me put a tracking device on my new best friend, of course.' I put forth my scroll, with a bleeping icon displayed on its screen.

-x-x-x-x-

It was three hours before he was finally alone.

About time too. Waiting was the worst thing about stakeouts. I had a few practice before to build up tolerance but my two accomplices were not as resilient to the hardships of patience.

My informant – well, soon-to-be informant, if I were to have my way – must have had some good time with his friends after we went separate ways because he was hammered to kingdom come. It was a struggle to watch him wade his way home but I needed him truly alone for what was coming ahead. That meant the privacy of his home.

Once he managed to crawl his way to bed and snored for about a good half hour, I made my move. I didn't do much, to be honest. I malfunctioned his security lock on the front door, told Yeon and Vergil to keep watch by it, headed into the bedroom where he slumbered, locked the door to make sure no interruptions happened, and shot him in the leg.

He woke up after that.

There was frantic knocking on the door, no doubt my two Beacon friends alarmed about the gunshot. I knew they would never have agreed to this so I had to leave them out of the conversation from the start. There would be a reckoning later, no doubt.

But I was done playing around.

He would have screamed for a good while if not for Fiasco's butt slamming into his temple. I did control my strength, making sure it was not hard enough to render him unconscious. Luckily for him, he got the message quite fast, shutting up immediately. His eyes widened in horror as he recognized me.

'Missed me?' I asked.

'Please... don't kill me. I will tell you everything I know,' he begged.

I nodded at his answer. 'That's the right direction to take in our new found friendship. Who knows? I might feel generous enough by the end of our conversation to not give you the second bullet I've reserved for you.' He recoiled in fear at my words, whimpering more as the movement sent another wave of pain down his leg.

'I'm bleeding. Please... stop the bleeding. I'm going to die.'

Hogwash. It takes more than that to bleed out. 'Uh uh,' I said, waving a finger. 'I make the demands here. The best you can do is to finish our talk fast enough to have time to dress your wounds. So let's start with the question number one: what is happening to the children?'

He hesitated to answer. Wrong move.

Without any warning, I stomped at his wound, wringing out another scream. The banging on the door behind me got louder and muffled shouts came from the other side of the door.

I thumbed at the door behind me. 'You hear that? They have no idea what I am doing here. Who knows, maybe they think I'm killing you.' I grabbed his collar and brought his eyes to meet mine. 'Now listen to me. One way or another, I will get to the bottom of this. Are you going to be a help or a hindrance?'

He swallowed before speaking, 'I... I work for Urn. He's my boss. I don't know what he is doing, where he is or who he hired him. He just contacts me to take away dead bodies sometimes; give them a proper funeral.'

'But these kids were left abandoned,' I said matter-of-factly.

He blanched at my words. 'Sometimes, I'm... I'm busy with my own stuff so I ask some of my underlings to do the work. They... well... there's a reason they are underlings and I'm in charge of them.'

'So the discovered bodies are result of your people being bad at their jobs?'

He nodded frantically. 'Urn said to give these kids proper funeral; said his client demanded it. He's not happy about the kids being found like that either.'

I gritted my teeth; I didn't give a Boarbatusk's ass about what Urn wasn't happy about. 'I'm not happy there are dead kids in the first place. So you mean to say there are a lot more dead children than what the news is telling us?'

He hesitated again. I considered hurting him once more but he figured out my intent before I carried it out and spilled the beans again. 'Yes. There are more kids. Were.'

'What is Urn doing with them?' I growled.

His eyes lit up with panic. 'I don't know! When he got the work from client, he took the other half of us with him! I haven't seen any of them since then! Whatever this work is, he's making sure nothing leaks out!'

A bout of rage course through my head, filling my head with all sorts of ideas about what I could do to hurt the scared man before me. I had to forcibly suppress my feelings, exercising a breathing technique to dispel the fury. It was difficult but. after a considerable period of time, I managed. When I spoke again, my voice was still calm. Perhaps too calm. 'Thank you. You've been most helpful.'

My tone scared the man more than a shout would have. His eyes darted between me and Fiasco multiple times. It was not hard to read what thought went through his head.

'Do you remember what we discussed at the start of our conversation? About our conversation ending early enough for you to tend to your wounds?' I asked softly.

He nodded, a glimmer of hope filling his eyes. 'Yes?'

'Well, I lied.' I pulled the trigger.

The man did not even have time to be terrified as the tranquilizer overloaded his system and took him away from the realm of consciousness. He looked as if he was sleeping, if you were to ignore the bleeding leg. I tore a strip of cloth from his bedsheet and bound the wounds as tightly as I could. The makeshift bandage turned crimson immediately but I knew he would live – I had shot enough legs before to know how to avoid hitting arteries or veins.

First aid done, I got up and mentally prepared myself for the earful ahead. Ugh. I wonder just how bad their reaction woul...

A sudden sense of danger emanated from the bedroom door and I tossed my body to the side. The steel-plated door flew off its hinges, soaring above the bed and lodging into the wall with a resounding thwack. Vergil and Yeon poured through the doorway, their weapons drawn. Yeon went straight for me – who was still on the floor – and had her kuda yari trained at my throat. Vergil went to check on the unconscious man, probably to check his life signs.

'He's just knocked out,' he said after a concise inspection.

Yeon's grip on the spear relaxed slightly but she did not pull it away. She glared me daggers. 'You went too far.'

She was probably right. Still, I did not regret my actions, only the necessity of them. 'Perhaps I did,' I retorted, 'But if I haven't, would we have figured out that a guy called Urn is behind the dead kids and that there are more victims than the few noticed by the media?' The spear point wavered.

'What are you trying to hint, chap?' Vergil asked.

'I'm saying someone is still out there with orphans doing Remnant-knows-what to them. If we don't stop them now, more bodies will turn up.'

Yeon and Vergil exchanged a glance – I figure they have done this several times today, whenever I did something they found questionable. Vergil gave a brief shake of his head. Yeon sighed softly and nodded. She then turned towards me and asked, 'so what are we doing next? Do you know where to find this Urn?'

Whatever verdict they passed on me I did not know but I recognized acquittance when I saw one. 'I don't know where he is yet but I know someone who does. But first, we should get out of here.'

Yeon lifted the spearhead away somewhat hesitantly. 'Balthazar. Please. No more of things like this. I know you're willing to do anything to get to the bottom of this but I won't let you. For Raynee's sake if not yours. Can you promise me you won't cross the line?'

Her words, after all I have shown her, were more than what I deserved. I wanted to promise her, I really did, but I knew better. So I lied through my teeth. 'I promise.' I felt wretched as I saw her trusting, believing face. I was a horrible human being.

There were a few calls I had to make.

-x-x-x-x-

'Ah, Breaker. I was expecting this call,' said the Broker's collected, unemotional voice.

'Did you know about this?' was the first question, and depending on its answer, it would also have been the last. To my side, Yeon and Vergil were listening in curiously.

'Not in the sense I am satisfied in. I knew of Urn being under hire. Some details of his employment, however, eludes me. With enough time, I will unearth everything, no doubt.'

'Some information broker you are,' I muttered.

There was a short stretch of silence. 'I will let that comment pass, Breaker, since there is some truth to your insult. However, display such level of rudeness again and I will mete out an appropriate reaction.'

I kept my tongue still because I knew this wasn't a threat; he was giving me a warning. Instead I inquired politely, 'Where is Urn?'

'I'm afraid you will have to find the answer to that question yourself, unless you are in the waiting mood.' I snorted at his words. 'Urn has been in my employment in the past and is quite familiar with my methods of data acquisition. He had taken measures to mask his traces.'

I gritted my teeth in frustration. 'Then what can you tell me?'

'His current employer. Her name is Mira Senetta. ex-Pygmalion R&D Specialist. She had spearheaded many research regarding treatments of more invasive nature. Many of them were successful and instrumental for Pygmalion Foundation keeping its competitive edge. About a year back, she put out a notice for a service of a mercenary group. She clearly had never been involved with the undermarket prior to this moment because her trail was easy to trace. Urn responded to the job offer and they both fell off the grid ever since; until today, that is.'

'Why would an ex-Pygmalion researcher need a group of childr...' The answer became obvious as I said it and it worsened my mood significantly.

'I suspect the same, Breaker. I believe Mira Senetta hired Urn to assist her as she performs an unsanctioned line of research, and it utilizes children as its main test subject.'

My mind was utterly blank, only one sentence running through it, over and over: "STOP HER."

'Balthzar?' A hand from concerned Yeon fell on my shoulder, lifting me from my haze. I shrugged it off; now was not the time for being dazed. Slowly, the hot rage moulded itself into something cold. It did not impede my thoughts anymore but honed them, made them razor sharp.

I spoke into my scroll again. 'How do I find her?'

'I make you an offer, Breaker,' said the Broker.

'Let's hear it,' I replied without any hesitation.

'The Maker and I have always opposed each other but there was one thing we both agreed on; we did not condone harmful practices on the lost children of Vale. I will provide you an agent to assist you until this mission's completion. However, I expect a fee.'

Something told me his "fee" was not simple lien. 'What is it?'

'Once this mission is brought to its conclusion, a package will be delivered to you. You will adhere to its instructions without fail. Understood?'

'Understood,' I replied.

And that's how I made the pact with the devil.

-x-x-x-x-

A/N: Hoo boy. What to say first... I guess starting on why I just took off like I did.

After the last chpt, I knew this chapter would be the start of a major arc. I have been planning this arc for a considerable period of time and were determined to make sure not to muck it up.

That's when I felt as if my writing was shit.

Ok, shit isn't quite capturing the idea. The more accurate term would be 'inadequate'. I tried to write and write but whatever written felt as if it was not good enough. I looked at the things I wrote and things I wanted to write and could not shake off the feeling that I wasn't doing good enough.

Which is stupid, really, because if I were to be honest what I wanted was perfection. You can't write perfection. One of the defining trait of perfection is in its unattainability. If anyone claim otherwise, their definition of perfection requires redefining or they have worked hard and wish to be rewarded. I'm neither so I was just being stupid.

So I strayed from this story, dabbling in my original work ideas and whatnot. I had this story shelved in the corner of my mind, a bit out of mind but not discarded.

I do have a story set to the end for Balthazar, although it doesn't look like it. I don't know if I'll ever get there but I'm not about to quit just yet.

Anyway, I'm pretty done ranting. Cheerios.