xXx

Somewhere in Paleto Bay

xXx

The black van that took Blake had pulled into an alleyway behind a large building. The side door was opened and Blake was lifted out of it by two of the Vagos that tied her up. The blindfold was also taken off her and she saw several individuals in suits in front of her.

The man in the middle was wearing a suit; a white shirt, black jacket, black tie and black pants. He looked to be of Asian descent, particularly Japanese. The woman beside him also wore a similar outfit, albeit she had a black shirt and heels instead of black oxfords. Blake knew the man, someone that almost all Faunus feared and knew his name. She was trembling with fear.

The man turned his head to the right a little, looking at another suited individual behind them. "Hiroshi, I want you tell Iwasawa that I want her to keep the girl here. Until the rest of the plan is set into motion, I don't want anyone knowing she's here." He said.

The individual he was speaking to only nodded and took off. The man then went up close to Blake, directly in front of her and noticed that she was trembling and chuckled. He then stopped and walked away as well. She was then thrown back into the van and was blindfolded once again.

Before the van took off, she overheard the man mention the Vagos, specifically those led by Taiyang and Yang.

xXx

North Alamo Pier, North Calafia Way, Alamo Sea

xXx

A young adult man walked out of a yellow house. He had blonde hair and wore a black hoodie, blue jeans and black sneakers. He went by the other house in front of his and wanted to stand at the pier to gaze away at the stars, to contemplate his situation.

"Jaune." He heard a voice call out to him from behind.

He looked and saw a woman with red hair tied in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet. Her clothing consisted of a dark red blouse, a black skirt with black tights underneath and brown high-heeled boots with bronze trim.

"Oh...hey, Pyrrha." He replied to her.

She came down to him on the pier and stood beside him. "Beautiful night. Out here, you could actually see the stars." She said, gazing away at the stars.

Jaune continued to gaze at the stars with her. Then he slowly turned his attention at Pyrrha, he admired her a lot. Their mutual feelings of attraction towards each other was what allowed their romance to grow. He was glad he met her, and he knew she felt the same.

"I don't need to see the stars when there's one already here." He said, causing her to look at him.

She smiled and stood closer to him as he took her in his arms. "You still need to work on your flirts, Jaune." She replied to his attempt at being flirty.

He chuckled nervously. "That didn't work?" He asked.

For the next ten minutes, Jaune and Pyrrha both sat on the edge of the pier and talked until his phone began ringing in his pocket. He took it out and saw the caller ID "Johnny Klebitz".

"I gotta take this. Be right back." He said as he walked a little further away from her and answered. "Hey, Johnny.

"Jaune, my boy, I need you to come to The Range tomorrow."

It had been over a year since Jaune joined The Lost MC after meeting with Johnny and showing interest in the organization. He only assisted in minor jobs and didn't have a bike of his own or gotten his patch and had a feeling he would finally get one.

"The Range? Tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah. Cause tomorrow, you finally earn your patch and get your very own bike. In your case, a Daemon."

He knew it. After an entire year of prospecting for The Lost, he couldn't help but smile and feel excitement that he was finally gonna be a true member of The Lost and earn his patch, including his own bike. However, he still had an issue to deal with, and that was telling Pyrrha and their housemates he was hanging out with an outlaw motorcycle club. It was a very delicate situation, as he knew Pyrrha would voice 100% protect against his decision.

"Y-Yeah, I'll definitely be there, Johnny. First thing tomorrow." He replied.

"Good. See ya tomorrow, Jaune."

Jaune hung up his phone and put it back into his pocket. He went back to Pyrrha.

"Was that Ren?" She asked. Curious about the person who phoned Jaune.

He let out a small sigh, though not the kind of sigh that would make it seem like things are wrong. "No. It was just a friend in Sandy Shores. He wants me to visit him tomorrow, so I told him I'll be there." He said, sitting back down beside Pyrrha.

She would nod and get up. "Its getting late, Jaune. We should head back in before Nora locks us out again." She said as she began walking back towards the house.

Jaune would get up as well, though he turned around and looked towards Sandy Shores across the Alamo Sea, then slowly shifting his gaze towards the trailer park Stab City where The Lost MC was headquartered. He felt like he had finally made it; a form of accomplishment he was proud of. Of course, he knew Pyrrha and his sisters wouldn't exactly feel the same as him. After a few moments of contemplating, he returned to the house as well.

xXx

Richman, Los Santos

xXx

Pulling his vehicle into a driveway of a mansion on North Rockford Drive, Adam parked his vehicle behind an all-black Carrera S, reading its license plate as "FALMAIDN" and couldn't help but chuckle at it. He then got out and one of Cinder's associates, who had been waiting, approached him.

She was a rather young-looking girl with medium-brown skin and dark-red eyes. He thought her hair was actually quite unique looking; a straight fringe, bangs and two long locks on each side's backside, and it was of a light, mint shade of green.

"Cinder told me to wait outside for you. She didn't tell me the specific kind of vehicle, only that I'm waiting for a man with bull-horns attached to his head." She said. "I can see that you are him."

He looked his vehicle with his remote car keys as he went over to her. "At least she didn't call me an animal this time. That one got old after the first two times." He replied. "So are you gonna lead me inside or do I have to find my own way?"

She didn't say a word, turning around back towards the mansion and led him inside. At the front door, there was at least two other guards; both were armed with pistols, though concealed. They entered the house and Adam saw that it was decorated similarly to the Belladonna Family Home; a vast collection of artifacts, antiques and paintings. As they came into the living room, there was a large painting on the wall, it depicted a woman in her youth with fair skin, pale platinum blonde hair which was worn in a half up-done bun style with a small simple bun on top and she had light blue eyes. She held a Staff in her right hand, a Lamp in her left, a Sword in her waist holster and a Crown on her head.

"See the newest addition to my collection?" Cinder's voice called from his left. She stood at an arch that led straight to the dining room.

Adam turned his attention away from the painting. "That's Salem, right?" He replied.

She walked over to him, standing at his side then looked at the painting. "Yeah. They say that she wanted to bring about a new world, and that staff, sword, lamp and crown of hers held great magical power. Or so the legend says." She recounted the supposed legend of Salem to him.

He turned his gaze back to the painting as well, listening to her. "What happened to her?" He asked. He felt slightly intrigued now.

She looked back at him. "Its a legend, Adam. Everyone knows how it goes; evil person does this and that, then they're stopped by a hero. Besides, you didn't come here to talk about that. You came because you need my help." She said as she began walking back towards the dining room. He followed behind her.

Cinder led him through the dining room and into a hallway that led to a staircase that went to the second floor. She was leading him to her office, which was where she conducted business. She opened the door to the office room and went to sit in the chair at the desk. He sat down on a chair in front of it.

"So tell me, Adam. What do you need my help with this time?" She asked.

Adam inhaled and exhaled before speaking. "You are aware that I work for the Belladonnas?" Cinder gave a nod. "I was given a task by Ghira to safeguard his daughter Blake, to be her protector, a guardian, I suppose you'd call it. Well, earlier she was kidnapped." He explained his situation to her.

She got an idea of his situation. "And you are tasked to rescue her?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yes. So I need the eyes and ears you have around the city to help me. I have a feeling it might've been the Vagos. They were the attackers. But I also think there's someone else involved." He said to her.

"And who do you think that might be?"

Adam didn't exactly know who in the city would use the type of vans he saw so he wasn't sure. "I don't think the Vagos even have the money to afford Rumpo vans." He recounted the vehicles used.

Cinder placed her hand on her chin and thought. "You stand correct on that fact, Adam. While the Vagos may be petty criminals and street trigger-fingers, they do have a great deal of influence with other Hispanic criminal organizations, minus those two Americans in the Rancho Projects." She spoke about the Vagos and referenced Taiyang and Yang.

"So will you be able to help me?" He asked. He was actually very eager to rescue Blake.

That feeling was one of many he had regarding Blake. Though, he never really spoke about it to anyone and mostly kept to himself. Especially since her parents were crime lords and that they had a lot of influence over the Faunus in Los Santos and Blaine County.

Cinder leaned forward. "I will help you, Adam. But I only ask for one thing in return." She replied. Success, he thought.

"Anything. Whatever you need."

"Mercury." She said.

He turned around and saw a young man walk in. Mercury appeared pale with gray eyes and gray hair. His outfit consisted of a blue zipped up undershirt with an orange trim, covered by a gunmetal gray double breasted jacket, and had gray vambraces on his forearms and had fingerless gloves. His pants were black, with an orange keychain hanging down from his belt. He gave Adam a top-tab file folder.

He opened the folder and saw several photos of an American man. Along with the photos was a dossier and that the man was identified as Jeffery Ford, a rival to Cinder.

He looked up from the folder. "Jeffery Ford, huh? Is he a problem you need taken care of?" He inquired.

She nodded. "Yes and no. That bastard has been raiding my supply vans for my paintings; priceless pieces of art. Just earlier today, he stole a valuable painting from me." She replied.

"Which is that?"

She snapped her fingers as Mercury came forward and had shown Adam an image on his phone of a painting depicting a medium-dark skinned man with messy brown hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing a blue-green tunic with a tan undershirt, a dark blue-ish cape and black trousers all while wearing metal armour over his clothing held by brown belts and straps. The armour was etched with ornamental patterns. Adam noticed that the man held the same sword that Salem had in her painting.

"That's the painting of Ozma. The hero in Salem's legend, the one that stopped her. Those two paintings were made by the same person and have existed for centuries. Its cost me a lot to buy that painting." She explained to him. "Killing Jeffery and his dimwit younger brother Max are just bonuses, I want you to get that painting back."

Adam nodded and placed the folder on her desk. "I'll look into it as soon as I can."

"Great. And while you're out, Adam, I'll speak with my ears regarding your call for help. If I have anything, I'll call you." She said to him. "Oh, and keep that folder with you. The documents in it could be useful with your job."

Adam got up. "Alright." He grabbed the folder. "Once I have the painting, I'll hand it over until you hold your end of the bargain, Cinder." He said, extending his hand out to her, though she did not do the same.

"What?" She pulled him forward towards her as Mercury shoved and held him down. "Listen here, you animal, there is no bargain. I can't guarantee I'll find you a lead. Now I tasked you for a job. Get it done." She said as she signaled Mercury to let him go.

Adam got up and brushed off, looked at Mercury, then back at Cinder. "Hey! Don't pull that extortion bullshit, Cinder. Don't let a goddamn painting get ahold of your ego. If I have your painting by the time you find me a lead, I'll deliver it. Until then, it'll be in my possession." He replied to her. He then walked out of the office.

Mercury was about to go after him, but Cinder gave him a nod to not. She was actually quite surprised that Adam stood up for himself. Though, she had a feeling it was mostly due to calling him an animal because of his Faunus heritage. Nonetheless, she felt that he would come through with his task and prepared a failsafe for if he decided to keep the painting from her.

I'd like to know your thoughts so far, readers.