"So, are you finally going to tell me what we're doing here, Arthur?" Jaune asked, hood pulled over his head as he nursed the glass of scotch in his hand.

"Come now, Jaune. If I did that, then there'd no longer be a feeling of suspense, would there?" Arthur Watts replied, a devious smile on his face as he took a sip of his own drink.

"Arthur." Jaune said, a growl escaping his lips.

"Alright, alright. Calm down." The older man replied, "Sheesh, it's only been a few days without Cinder by your side and you're already this agitated. But to answer your question, we're here for a virus. Specifically, a virus fit for an android."

"An Android?" Jaune asked, looking towards the man sitting in front of him with a raised eyebrow before realization dawned on him, "You're talking about Penny? I thought she was supposed to be dead."

"I have no doubt that she is. At the moment, anyway." Watts said as he downed his drink in one gulp, "But if I know the blithering idiot that made her - and I do, by the way - he'll be desperate to get his "daughter" up and running again. There's no doubt about that."

"Penny, huh? I can imagine Ruby being happy to know she's still alive." Jaune added, a small smile on his face at the thought of his time in Beacon before the blonde wiped it away with a sip of his drink, "So, who's going to bring us this virus?"

"Oh, no worries there. I have a friend who's all too willing to get me a copy and sell it to us."

"You have friends?" Jaune asked with a snort.

"I most certainly do." Watts replied, "Although, my friendships usually come with a lot more benefits for me than for the other party, of course."

"Blackmail. I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Jaune said.

"I shall take that as a compliment, my boy. Cheers." Arthur replied, holding up his glass towards the blonde. Rolling his eyes, Jaune clinked their glasses together.

"What's so special about this particular friend of yours?" Jaune asked as he look around the hotel bar they were currently in, "I'd imagine he's pretty high up the totem pole if he can get his hands on a virus for something like Penny."

"Perceptive as ever, I see. I suppose Cinder is rubbing off on you, in more ways than one." Arthur replied with a chuckle, "Although, I am curious. With her recent failure in Beacon-"

Jaune let out a low growl under his breath as memories of that incident came rushing back into him.

"- has it put any sort of strain into your relationship with dear Cinder?"

"Watts, I am not discussing my romantic life with you, even if we weren't on what sounds like an important mission." Jaune said, eyes darting around the bar, "Is your quote unquote friend here yet?"

"No, I don't see him around but I suppose- ah, speak of the Devil and he shall appear." Watts said as a man dressed in a black suit appeared. His hair was slicked back and there was a scar running down his left eye. The most noticeable thing about him was that his right eye was cybernetic and Jaune tensed up as the man looked him over, "Good evening, Max. You're looking as healthy as ever."

"Arthur." The man grunted as he pulled up a chair, "Can't say it's a pleasure to see you, if we're being honest."

"Come now, are you still made over what happened? That was months ago and besides, you received a shiny new eye in return. I'd say it was a win-win situation for everyone involved."

"Whether it was or not, that remains to be seen. But that's enough pleasantries. You have the payment?" Max asked, his gaze never leaving Arthur.

"Only if you have the merchandise." Watts replied as he gestured towards Jaune. Nodding, the blonde took the briefcase on the floor beside him and put it on the table. The boy then opened it to reveal it full of Lien and pure Dust Crystals, "So, do we have an accord?"

"Of course. A virus fit for an android, as promised." Max answered as he slid a flash drive towards the man before stopping halfway, "Although, if you're willing to pay this much for something like this, could you imagine how much people who are far wealthier than you would be willing to pay for it, instead?"

For the first time that night, the smile on Watts' face fell as he faced Max with a stern look, "I don't like it when things get complicated, Max."

"I don't imagine you do, Arthur." The man said, snapping a finger before all noise in the bar around them stopped, "I also don't see you having much of a choice in the matter, old friend."

"How nice of you to consider me a friend, Max." Watts said, turning to Jaune as the blonde noticed every patron in the bar staring at the both of them, "Jaune, do try to keep things clean. I so hate it when my clothes get blood on them."

"So confident yet so-" was the last thing Max said before a jolt of electricity ran through the man's body. The people around them barely had any time to react before Jaune plunged a blade deep into his neck, killing him instantly.

"I just said to keep it clean." Watts grumbled as he took a napkin to wipe the blood from his sleeves.

"Yeah, well… Tyrian was never the cleanest of teachers." Jaune argued, downing his drink before pulling out a detonator-type device from his jacket.

"Son of a-" a voice from somewhere around them said before an explosion rocked one side of the bar, disorienting those who were unprepared for it. Moving quickly, Jaune got off of his chair before swiftly stabbing one of the grunts in the eye. Pulling the blade out, Jaune wasted no time in dispatching his other opponents. With a few quick bursts from the handgun in his hand and a number of stabbings when his bullets ran out, Jaune made quick work in snuffing the life out of everyone else in the room that weren't affiliated with Salem.

"So, are we done here?" Jaune asked, an unimpressed look on his face even as Watts took a sip from his drink seemingly without a care in the world.

"I was waiting on you, actually." Arthur said, a chuckle escaping his lips as the two left the chaos of the bar behind, "Are you that in a hurry to get back to Cinder? Never in my life have I seen someone so lovestruck as you are."

"Watts, I will shoot you if you don't shut up before we make it back there." Jaune said even as Watts let out a hearty laugh at the threat.

[/]

"Ren, look out!" Nora shouted, leaping towards the boy in question. Her heroic deed proved to be too late, however, when the Berringel she and her team were currently facing backhanded her partner into a nearby tree, "Ren!"

Anger in her eyes, the young girl gripped the weapon in her hands before she leapt towards the Grimm. A moment later, Nora delivered a devastating blow at its chest that ultimately proved futile as the attack only staggered the Grimm back a few feet instead of blowing it away as the girl had originally intended.

"Nora, get back!" Ruby shouted from behind her. Complying, Nora jumped back a few feet before the young team leader rushed forward, scythe in hand as she delivered a devastating flurry of blows towards the Grimm. Instead of killing it, however, Ruby seemed to only make it even angrier. Before it could deal any sort of counterattack at Ruby, a bronze and red spear suddenly found itself impaled in the Grimm's right eye.

The Grimm then screamed in rage as it suddenly thrashed around wildly. Sensing the danger, Ruby immediately leapt away from the beast with her Semblance, appearing beside Nora and Ren.

"Ren! Are you alright?" Ruby asked, at the same time not taking her eyes away from the Grimm in front of her.

"I'll be fine, Ruby. The blow caught me by surprise but I was able to put my aura up before the attack did any lasting damage." Ren replied as the three teens quickly dodged an attack from the rampaging Grimm in front of them, the spear in its eye dislodging itself as it returned to its owner's hand.

"So, does anyone have a plan?" Nora shouted as the Grimm continued its rampage.

"I have one." Ruby said as she appeared beside her, "Nora, you get its attention from the left while you, Pyrrha, do the same from the right. Ren, you get its attention from the front. While the three of you are doing that, I'll deal the cut off the head from above, killing it. Everyone good on that plan?"

"It's the best one we got." Nora replied, earning a nod from the other two, "Alright, let's do it."

As soon as those words left the ginger girl's mouth, the Beringel suddenly charged towards the group as it roared in fury. Nora ran left, as she fired a few dust grenades at the Grimm to draw its attention. Ren and Pyrrha followed suit as they fired off volleys of bullets at the Grimm as per Ruby's orders.

Ruby, meanwhile, immediately took advantage of the distraction her friends were providing by going around the Berringel until she was standing behind it. Tensing her legs, the young girl activated her Semblance as she used her speed to swiftly decapitate the Grimm, killing it instantly.

Jumping off the disintegrating Grimm body, Ruby let out a sigh of relief as she looked over her friends, "Phew. I sure am glad that worked."

"We couldn't have done that without you, Ruby." Nora said, slapping the young girl on the back so hard that Ruby staggered a few feet.

"We should go. It's getting dark soon and I don't like the look of those clouds." Pyrrha said, cutting off whatever the young girl had to say. Without waiting for a reply, the redhead started making her way towards the nearby village.

"Y-yeah, we should…" Ruby said, sharing a worried look with Ren and Nora before the three chased after the young champion.

[/]

It's been days, maybe even weeks, since she's been running through the streets of Atlas. Heck, she didn't even know is she was still in Atlas. She might even be in Mantle now. All she knew was that she had to keep running or else the police would find her. They would find her and throw her in jail for murder.

These past few days, she had been rummaging through dumpsters and alleyways for even the smallest amount of food and drink, being grateful for whatever she found. Currently, she found herself in a familiar situation, one where she was holding a piece of half-eaten sandwich in one hand while another hand held a sword. A sword she had used to kill both her family and mentor.

The sounds of glass shards being stepped on had Cinder snapping her head towards the source.

"Hey there, girl. What you got there?" a boy who seemed to be just a few years older than herself and dressed in nothing more than shabby clothes asked. Behind him, two other boys stood as they stared at her, "That's a dangerous toy for someone so small like yourself."

"T-take another step and I'll show you just how dangerous it is." Cinder managed to say as she shoved the sandwich in her hand into her pocket.

"Oooh, scary. I'm shivering with fear." the boy mocked before the two behind him lunged towards her, one with a brick in hand while another hand a small knife. Startled by the sudden charge, the young girl quickly regained her composure as what little training she received kicked in. Sidestepping one of the boys, the girl didn't hesitate to stab him through his chest. His death was instant, the girl pulling her sword free as the boy's lifeless body dropped to the ground.

"Y-y-you bitch!" one of the boys shouted as swung at her with his knife. Parrying the attack, the girl took a second life that night as she quickly made quick work of her attacker. The third one simply ran away screaming at the sight of the two boys laying dead at the girls' feet.

Heavy breaths escaped the girl's lips as she stared at the fresh blood that coated her weapon. Deciding to lock away such thoughts, the girl took out the sandwich in her pocket as she resumed her dinner but not without her body shivering noticeable. Whether it was from the cold air or the fact that she had just killed two more people that night, the girl didn't care. All that mattered to her at the time was her own survival.

[/]

Cinder's eyes slowly opened as memories of a time she'd rather forget slowly made their way back into her mind. Shaking such thoughts away, the Maiden sat up on her bed with a frown that deepened when she saw a noticeable lack of blonde hair in her room. With a heavy sigh, Cinder readied herself for the day ahead.

"Good morning, ma'am." the green haired girl said in greeting as Cinder stepped outside her room.

"Emerald." Cinder said with a nod, "I've told you before, you don't need to stand outside my room every morning."

"It's no problem, ma'am. I don't mind." the girl replied. Cinder gave the girl a stare before letting out a sigh.

"If you say so," Cinder said before asking, "Have you heard any news about Jaune?"

"No, ma'am… But he should be back soon, considering that it's a simple task." Emerald said after a slight hesitation.

"Simple. Sure. Nothing is ever simple with Watts." Cinder said, a frown at the thought of the disgraced Atlesian as the two walked through the hallways of Evernight Castle.

"How is your… arm feeling, ma'am?" Emerald asked.

"Hmm? It's fine. Doesn't seem to be too much of a problem controlling it." Cinder replied as she stretched her left arm. It wasn't long before they ran into Mercury.

"Morning, boss." the boy said before adding, "Salem wants to talk to you. Just you."

Cinder tensed slightly at the news before quickly composing herself, "Thank you for informing me, Mercury."

"Anytime." the boy said before leaving the two alone as Cinder went to meet with her Mistress.

"Cinder." Salem said, sat upon her throne as Cinder kneeled in front of her, "It's been a few months now since you've obtained the power of Fall. I hope for your sake you're close to mastering its abilities."

"I have, My Lady." Cinder replied, "My voice has been much better as of late, as well."

"I see," Salem said, the lack of interest in her voice obvious to anyone, "And your arm? How is it feeling?"

"It's… feeling as normal as a Grimm arm could feel, My Lady," Cinder said, "I'm eternally grateful to you for granting it to me."

"I don't need your gratitude, Cinder. I want results." Salem said as Cinder tensed, "Thanks to the efforts of Hazel, we have managed to identify who the Spring Maiden is as well as her present location. I want you to use whatever means necessary to bring me the Relic of Knowledge. Is that understood?"

"Yes, My Lady. I understand." Cinder answered though it wasn't without a hint of hesitation in her voice, something Salem had managed to pick up on.

"Is something wrong, Cinder?" Salem asked though Cinder didn't fail to miss there was no concern in her voice.

"No, My Lady. Everything's fine." Cinder asked and was about to leave the room before Salem stopped her in her tracks.

"Is this about Jaune?"

"...Yes." Cinder replied after hesitating for a few seconds.

"You care for him that much?"

"...I do."

"Will this prove to be a problem in the future, child?" Salem asked as Cinder could hear her heart beating in her ears.

"No, it won't." Cinder replied, a look of resolve on her face as she faced her Mistress.

"I should hope so. After all, failure is not something we should be making a habit around here, is it?" Salem asked as Cinder felt a stinging jolt of pain in her left arm, "You'll be happy to know that Tyrian is closing in on the silver-eyed girl and her friends. Lets hope for all your sake that he comes back with good news."

"Yes, My Lady. I understand." Cinder answered with gritted teeth. A moment later, the pain around her left arm disappeared, as if it was never there, "I will bring you the Relic of Knowledge."

"See that you do. Go. You are dismissed." Salem said with a wave of her hand as Cinder left the room.

[Chapter End]

A/N: And that's the end of Chapter 3. What do you think? Personally, I enjoyed writing this chapter though it wasn't without any headaches along the way. I liked writing the Jaune/Arthur scene as well as the RNPR (I'm just gonna go with Ranger with their team name). Cinder's flashback was also fun to write. I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far.

As always, fave, follows, and reviews are always appreciated.

Praise be to Cinder Fall.