The Dreamer Gate

by Malignent

Thousands of Uruk-Hai are drawn to Remnant after a ritual gone wrong, and are more than capable of bringing their own taste of war to this new world. Now the people of Remnant must deal with this new and numerous threat. As the Tournament draws near, and the actions of the Uruk Leaders grows ever bolder, can peace truly be maintained?

13. Chapter 13: The Singer

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings, the Middle-Earth universe, Shadow of War/Mordor or RWBY.

This work will contain moments of intense violence, dark and dirty humor, and canonical divergences.

---

The Singer

"You think she'll like this?"

Ruby was driven from her own thoughts by the sound of her partner's voice, and the young brunette blinked as the rest of the sounds around her filtered back in as well. Cars moving, people chatting and even some birdsong in the distance, it was as normal a day as it could be for the people of Vale. Well, as normal as it could be given recent events. Despite the air of normalcy, there was this underlying sense of tension. It had been there since Roman's breach of the city some time ago, but only now has it grown to a point where ignoring it is impossible.

Ruby could even see some visual signs of it, for instance-

"Ruby!" Weiss snapped, tired of having to call for the little Reaper's attention over and over again.

Ruby squeaked in surprise as her gaze shot to the annoyed looking heiress beside her, who had been holding out a book for her to inspect.

"I said," the White-Haired girl paused to collect herself before repeating "do you think Blake will like this?"

The Scythe-Wielder looked down at the hard cover presented to her "Small Works by Geomander Finch?"

"I know how she likes her reading, and I've seen her collection of Tales of Faunus Past." Weiss pulled the book back and patted it with a confident smile gracing her lips "As such I felt as though adding to it with a rarity such as this would ease her recovery. At least, I felt it was better than..."

Weiss trailed off as she looked to the comparatively small book Ruby had clenched between her own fingers: 101 Ways to Make Cookies.

"I'll have you know," Ruby said as she raised the cook book to her chest defensively and pointed her nose up in the air "that whenever I was bedridden as a kid, Dad would make me homecooked cookies with a glass of the richest milk available! Never did it once fail to brighten my day!"

"Good plan sis," came a voice behind her "but sometimes ya just gotta stick with the classics."

Both of the girls glanced over to see Yang waving with a bandaged hand, grinning through several more bandages on her face as she lifted something in front of her with her good hand.

It was a 'Hang in there, Kitty!' poster.

Ruby immediately held back a tiny giggle as Weiss's palm quickly got acquainted with her own face, "Yang, your partner is stuck in a wheelchair and you insist on beating her down further with ungodly jokes?"

Yang brushed the poster for a moment and locked eyes with the heiress before rolling them "As you said, she's my partner. And as her partner I feel as though she'd see the comedic value here."

"Ugh," Weiss groaned before turning and continuing down the sidewalk "I hope not. I'd hate having only one teammate I can talk to without falling down the Pun Pit."

Yang snickered as she followed behind "Pun Pit! That's a good one Weiss, glad to see you contributing to our team's specific style of humor. I know you love it!"

Ruby followed behind as Weiss released yet another groan of distaste. But despite her teammates' banter, she couldn't help but let her mind wander again as they walked.

They were discovered by Atlas officials soon after the train passed into Vale territory, thankfully Weiss' quick patchwork kept Blake from bleeding out long enough for them to get her proper attention. But while the Faunus was being tended to, the girls had to explain their actions to the Headmasters. Ozpin immediately congratulated them for recovering their teammate from such a precarious situation, but even that wasn't enough to keep Glynda from lambasting them for their reckless plan.

However, it was Ironwood who offered safety from Glynda's wrath in exchange for information. All four of the girls were questioned at length about what they'd encountered, and learned quite a bit about what had transpired in their absence. Ozpin had formally announced to the world at large that the Uruks were a presence, and what had only been rumors and ignored reports soon became a flood of encounters as a result.

Those who held back out of fear and disbelief were suddenly coming out with hundreds if not thousands of tales of the Uruks. Stories ranged from bands of them fighting Human and Faunus raiders for territory, Uruks in Storm colors being spotted on outskirts of various kingdoms, and a shocking amount of witnesses claiming to have been aided at some point by a giant Uruk with a polite attitude.

If not for the Arena, people may have begun panicking, but reassurance from Atlas officials and video footage of caged Uruks being transported on trucks and carriers were enough to put the general masses at relative ease. Others, however, came at the situation with entirely different intentions. Whispers from supporters of the White Fang conjured up horror stories regarding the origin of the Uruks. Some said they were the results of horrifying experiments the SDC were performing on Faunus workers, others said they were actually supposed to be shock troopers created by Atlas.

Stories like this were to be expected, if what Ozpin said was true, but so far the populace seemed stable. Vale's citizenry went about their daily lives and the Uruks became a thing for those outside the City to worry about. The raiders still hadn't reformed since the Arena, but there are still accounts of the otherworldly monsters attacking travelers or contesting with Huntsmen. Ironwood even used the situation to convince Vale's Council that more Atlesian support would be necessary during the tournament.

Thinking about the tournament made Ruby pause with a sigh, but she quickly hurried to catch up with her teammates.

Team RWBY wouldn't be competing in the upcoming Vytal Festival Tournament, a shock to many of their classmates.

It wasn't part of a punishment or anything, there was just no way they'd be ready by then. They all took too much damage during their escape from Hork's Tower, pushed themselves farther than even they believed was possible. They'd suffered for it, mostly at the hands of that Storm Captain: Ratlug. While Yang, Weiss and Ruby could probably heal up and recover by the time the event came around, Blake was in a bad way.

By the time they got her to medical staff, the Faunus was struggling just to keep from passing out. The doctors told them that none of it would be permanent save for a few scars here and there, she had the Aura of a trained huntress and she'd definitely get out faster than most with wounds like her's would.

But she wouldn't even be able to walk until halfway through the Tournament.

It had been a disappointment to everyone, one that Blake continuously tried apologizing for. They'd all had plans for the Tournament, all had aspirations they wanted to see through. It had been a chance to show their ability as a team, Team RWBY's great claim to fame. But without all four of them then all that was moot. Her teammates tried reassuring the faunus that just being able to work together as a team again would be a greater joy than winning a tournament, and Blake finally seemed to accept their reasoning.

But Ruby knew Blake wouldn't let herself off the hook that easily, it had always been one of the Faunus's less enjoyable tendencies. But the thing is, Ruby wasn't exactly sure why she was blaming herself. For letting Ratlug injure her so badly? He nearly tore all of them apart, not just her. She just so happened to get separated from them long enough for him to...

Ruby closed her eyes, the image of Blake's battered and bleeding form being tossed to the roof of the train flashing in her mind with gruesome detail.

In any case, Yang would have a talk with her eventually. She was the Faunus's partner after all, and from how her sister explains things they'd done something like this before.

Ruby could only hope that these gifts would lighten her load a bit, get Blake in the proper mood for a good ol' Xiao-Long counseling session.

.{{{{{+-+}}}}}.

Blake sighed as the radio's music continued driving away the muffled sounds of the world beyond her hospital room's window. Every person on the sidewalks, every bird in the sky, even the older looking cars on the streets had their accompanying sounds replaced with some soothing jazz. Well, it was supposed to be soothing. For the young Faunus, the music was actually far more effective at leaving her alone with her thoughts, and her thoughts were anything but soothing.

No matter what the others said, she had seen the looks on all their faces when they'd been told that they wouldn't be participating. She knew they wouldn't want her to blame herself, and even she had been tired of all the guilt her mind seemed so fond of tossing at her, but she just couldn't help it. She'd never tolerated the idea of weighing others down, and had fought tooth and claw to make sure that she was supporting those around her as much as she possibly could. Making up for all the times she'd ran away, no doubt.

This unending urge to prove that she was a benefit to others had landed her in hot water before, but it was only as she recalled her actions on the train that she truly saw how blinded by it she could get. She'd planned on shooting Ratlug while he was distracted, provide support for her teammates even when wounded so critically like she had been. But as she thought back to it, she realized that she would've been slaughtered if the Engineer turned his attention to her.

In reality, Gundza emptying that clip trying to kill her just might've kept her from dying.

And yet, even that realization did nothing to keep her from being angry with herself. Her entire style of combat revolved around evasiveness, yet she just couldn't hold out.

She'd wanted to blame Gundza and that unfortunate captive of his for wearing her down beforehand, but every time she tried tossing the blame on them she remembered Krimp's words. The Friendly Uruk had seemed dead set on putting her in a position where she couldn't possibly stop his brother from killing Yang, wanted her to blame him instead of herself if she failed.

There was just something about those words that made her so much more self-critical. Was it stubbornness? Did she just want to spite the Uruk by actively avoiding his desired outcome?

Blake figured it was just because of her history with blame itself.

At that very moment, the music ended. Soon a cheesy advertisement played and began spewing lines about some new workout routine or something.

Blake rolled her eyes, ads like these tended to last almost as long as some songs. She finally pushed away from the window and reached to her sides.

Gripping the wheels of her chair, she rolled away from the window and turned towards the radio on the dresser nearby. With careful moves, she rolled herself towards the radio whilst trying to ignore the next ad, which was about some miracle itching cream. She reached out as soon as she was within range and began changing stations. After several, she found one which seemed to have classical music.

She leaned back as she let the sounds of stringed instruments and piano wash over her, glancing up to catch sight of herself in a nearby mirror. She ignored the many bandages and the thick-looking cast wrapped around her leg, her attention moving towards the chipped cat ear on her head.

Gundza hadn't been found, Ruby only found Uthug back in the caboose. It wouldn't have been weird if it wasn't for the fact that the Scythe Wielder also claimed to find something else's blood. The Headmasters had assumed the black blood had been Gundza's, something the Shadow spilt whilst trying to seek refuge in the Grunt's body. But since there were no signs of him inside the Looter after he'd woken up, they'd all just assumed the Assassin hadn't the strength to take over and merely jumped off the train at some point.

Blake thought of the Looter, who had been questioned via scrolls by the Headmasters before being sent off for the Arceus. By his account, he was just some random guy that Gundza had fallen into after he'd fallen to the first floor. Blake had asked the General to question him about the odd Glyph he seemed to summon, but Uthug seemed just as confused about it as them.

Blake didn't know much about the Arceus, besides what she heard on the news. Apparently, it was some kind of luxury cruise ship that Atlas had been working to build with help from the SDC. It was supposed to be a five-star resort capable of sailing between the kingdoms and be enjoyed by all. However, it had only been partially completed by the time the Uruks became a problem. As soon as their sheer numbers were discovered, the Atlesian military had converted the Arceus into a floating prison midway through its construction.

Blake wasn't sure how it worked, but the news and Atlas Officials kept saying how the entire set up was designed to keep their prisoners as far away from the mainland as possible while they worked to find some way to reason with the Uruks.

She didn't know much beyond that, but could only guess it was like a regular prison on water.

Would that be enough for these things? How exactly had the military altered the Arceus? There was no footage of the actual ship besides shots of it being assembled. The rest of the populace just seemed glad that the Uruks imprisoned there wouldn't be a threat to them anymore.

But the way it was being kept so covered up gave Blake bad vibes.

---

Elsewhere...

"Knock?"

"Shut up."

"Knock Knock!"

"Shut...up."

"Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock-!"

Uthug was about thirteen seconds away from knock knocking his own skull against the metal wall behind him. Of all the prisoners who had to get transferred with him, it had to be some mad Uruk with a giant hole in the top of his head.

The tarks had tried covering up the wound with some bandages before putting him in this metal box, but the crazy bastard had already eaten half the coverings and was busy smacking the rest of it against the walls with each knock. The metal box they were in seemed to be moving upwards, but it wasn't moving fast enough! Uthug hated Maddened Uruks, not just because Tuka had ended up like them but because every single one of them was ungodly annoying.

"Knock Knock!"

Uthug would've brained him the second he heard the first knock, but the Tarks had taken his musket at some point. They'd even replaced his stolen White Fang get up with some standard-looking grey one-piece jumpsuit identical to Knocker's, which was just rubbing salt in the wound. He was all for killing anything that annoyed him, but Knocker over here seemed a tad too beefy. He wasn't dumb enough to take on a physically stronger opponent with nothing to put between them, especially in a space this small.

-on't need.

Uthug's hand flew to his head, annoyance reaching new heights. He'd been catching snips and pieces of Gundza's voice ever since the train, it had to be the result of the bastard fighting him for his body for so goddamn long. Worst, this was an annoyance he couldn't stab or strangle, so he'd just have to deal with it until it wore off.

"Knock Knock!"

Maybe that whole knocking his head against the wall thing wasn't such a bad idea, at least while unconscious he wouldn't have to deal with any of-

The Metal box finally came to a stop, Knocker actually went quiet when this happened.

"Finally!" Uthug exclaimed as he pushed himself up using a nearby wall.

He waited for the guards to open up the box and drag them away, hopefully to a solitary cell where he could actually hear himself think. He hadn't gotten a look at this dungeon from the outside, as these Atlas folk seemed fond of blindfolds and sedatives, but he was almost positive its cells couldn't be worst than the Tower storage room he'd slept in previously.

But when the walls of the box began sliding down around him, there were no guards.

The wall in front of him slid down into a slot in the floor, revealing a grey floor covered in broken tile, dist and dirt. Directly ahead was a set of stair in a similar state of disrepair which seemed to lead to a second floor. There was an odd set of stairs in the middle of the bigger staircase, each step on the smaller one was made of metal with an odd design.

Escalator

Uthug clutched his forehead again and stumbled out of the box onto the broken tiled floor, teeth gritting as he paused to catch his breath.

With his head cleared once more, the Looter looked up and immediately felt his jaw drop.

They were in a massive room, in the very center of it in fact. That staircase was one of three, with two on either side of them. They weren't the only stairs, as there were about four floors between them and the roof above. Each floor had walkways lining them, some of which broken. He could see makeshift paths strewn together above. There were lights built into the walls, but some seemed to be busted, making the place far dimmer than it should be. But it wasn't exactly dark, mostly thanks to the massive window directly above them. Pure sunlight poured in from above, but it merely highlighted how dark the halls and rooms that were out of its reach were by comparison.

Uthug had never seen a dungeon like this, it wasn't exactly bad in comparison to the literal piles of dung he'd experienced in the past. It just didn't seem-

Mall?

He paused. It seemed like a mall? But he didn't even know what a mall looked like! The shrakh was a-?

"Knock Knock!"

Uthug turned and watched as the ceiling of the box they'd arrived in folded against one of the walls, which descended into slots in the floor similar to the first. The base of the box was covered by two panels, which forced Knocker to move off else they'd catch his foot in them.

"What the Shrakh kinda dungeon is this?" Uthug muttered to himself, only for Knocker to turn on him.

"Knock!" the Mad Uruk approached him with an expectant look in his eyes.

Uthug backed away, gesturing for some personal space as he tried not to stare at the open portion of the other Uruk's head "Hey hey buddy, easy there."

Trouble

The Scavenger groaned, this was not what he needed now. He gave the surrounding area a once over again, really taking in just how torn up this place was. Pipes sticking from walls and sections of wall missing, was this really a prison? It seemed more similar to ruins than an actual place to house war prisoners, there were just so many potential weapons-

Eyes widening, Uthug immediately made for the nearest section of broken wall.

"Knock?" the other Uruk gave him a confused look, but Uthug was to busy grinning to care.

His hand wrapped around a promising piece of busted metal which he began tugging on. He shot Knocker a grin as he pulled harder on the implement, didn't want the annoying shrakh running off before he could bust the rest of his skull now did he?

"You was right, lad! New meat!"

Uthug paused as figures began approaching from a hall beside a nearby staircase, three Uruks wearing identical grey jumpsuits. However, they seemed to have customized them to an extent with dirty cloth which covered their arms and were formed into large aprons. The cloth seemed as though it had been white at some point.

The Looter frowned as they approached, redoubling his efforts to break the metal free from the wall.

"Knock?" Knocker turned on the three with a tilted head "Knock knock knock knock knock!"

"Wus wrong with that one?" one of the other inmates asked his cohorts

"Maybe 'is broken," another said "hope so... want some fresh meats on me plate tonight."

"Quiet!" the third shouted to the other two whilst pointing a broken length of pipe at them, he turned to Uthug and Knocker before gesturing for them to follow "Come on, you two is coming with us."

"Wait," Uthug gave up on the metal piece and turned to them with a suspicious look in his eyes "are you three supposed to be the guards?"

"Guards? What- No! Listen, you gotta come with us now, we don't got time for questions!"

"Whatdya mean don't got time?" the Scavenger folded his arms "This is a dungeon, right? There ain't nothin but time."

"Knock knock knock!" Knocker yelled before turning and darting off

"Wait!" the Pipe-Wielder shouted towards the fleeing Uruk before bawling his hand into a fist "Damn it!"

"Fine meal just up and left," one of the other two sighed "bet the Crew gonna get him."

"Why didn't you two grab him?!" the Pipe Uruk barked to them "That's one less recruit we's getting because you globs apparently don't know what tackling is."

"Calm it Kurgo. We's got a whole 'nother one right over there!"

Kurgo grunted before turning and advancing "You're coming with us, now!"

"Shrakh to that!" Uthug grunted before jabbing a finger towards them "That bastard was on about Recruits? I don't care how topsy turvy this damn place is, its a prison! I'mma do what a prisoner does and find somewhere nice to-!"

Aura

Uthug blinked as his forearms shot up to block the incoming pipe, confusion settling in just as Kurgo hopped back.

"He's thicker than most," he stated as the inmates to his sides raised their fists and rushed forward.

Weapon

The Scavenger looked around quickly as the inmates rushed him, finally his gaze settled on a piece of exposed tile jutting forward near his feet. Uthug dropped to a knee and bashed a jagged piece of the tile loose just as the first reached him. Uthug lunged under his fist whilst ramming the jagged tip of the tile into his side.

Uthug stood as the inmate stumbled and turned to look at him, "Quick learner we got here, eh?"

"Don't just stand there," Kurgo cried as he ran forward with his pipe in both hands "grab something you idiots!"

As Uthug began dodging the Uruk's swings, the other two looked at each other for a brief moment before looking around. The one who'd been stabbed caught sight of the very same piece of metal that the Looter had his eye on, and flexed his muscles as he walked over to it. The other grunted with frustration before reaching for the same broken tiles Uthug procured his jagged piece from.

Keep dodging, wait for an opening.

The scavenger had no time to question the growing presence of the voice in his head, as the Pipe gave him more than enough to focus on. Even so, he followed its instruction. Avoiding the flurry of swings, Uthug waited until he saw Kurgo's foot slip on a pile of dust before going for a strike. However, a large object entered the corner of his vision and he instead launched himself back as a heavy length of metal crashed in-between them.

"You dimwit," Kurgo yelled as he backed up "ya nearly got me!"

"Sorry boss, eheheh." the inmate chuckled before hefting the metal again.

Uthug had to dodge back as the metal was swung at him several times, the Looter faltering at the idea of how much damage that piece could probably cause if it connects.

It's slow, use it.

"Use wha-?" Uthug threw himself back as the metal piece slammed into the ground before him.

Realization hitting him all too quickly, the Scavenger raced forward before the inmate could lift it again. Running along the piece of metal, the Looter leaped before sending both of his feet into the inmate's jaw.

Both of them landed, but Uthug was the only one who got up, the impact having rendered his opponent unconscious.

"By the dark lord, that was amazing!" the Looter cheered to himself "That was-!"

His celebration was interrupted when a full piece of tile was shattered atop his head, and though he stumbled forward he was confused once more by just how little he felt it compared to when he was often struck before.

Pay attention.

"Fine, fine." Uthug grumbled as the inmate before him picked up pieces of the recently shattered tile and rushed him.

Uthug stepped under the first swing and grabbed hold of the inmate's wrist before twisting him around, but the inmate's leg swung back and dropped the Looter to one knee.

Before he could swing back, Uthug rammed his head into his stomach and wrapped his arms around his waist before charging forward and throwing him towards a nearby staircase, impaling him on a piece of broken railing.

The Scavenger would've taken that moment to take a breath, but the incoming footsteps prompted to duck as a pipe swung over his head. Kurgo swung with his swing, raising his free arm and bashing Uthug's piece of tile out of his hands with a well timed elbow.

The Inmate pointed his pipe at him and growled "You stubborn Shrakh!"

The Looter quickly looked around for another item he could use as a weapon, not seeing anything in his immediate vicinity.

Calm down, Maggot. We're stronger than him.

At that, Uthug turned his attention back to the advancing Kurgo and gave him a once-over before raising his fists.

The two charged at each other, with Uthug darting out of the way of the pipe before ramming his fist into Kurgo's jaw. The inmate didn't falter, instead spinning with the momentum of the impact and swinging his pipe back. But this time the Scavenger was ready, as soon as the Pipe was close he lunged into the attack and grabbed hold of Kurgo's wrist.

Before the inmate could properly react, Uthug's fist sailed into his elbow and broke his arm. Kurgo released a howl as the pipe clattered out of his grasp, and he stumbled back as soon as Uthug released him. However, by the time he looked from his dangling limb to the incoming Looter, it was already too late. Uthug had snatched the Pipe the moment it had been dropped, and took no small amount of pleasure in sending it crashing into the inmate's face.

Uthug released a silent cheer, pumping his fist as Kurgo struggled to his feet, mouth dripping blood and a couple broken teeth.

"You don't know what you're doing." the inmate spat

"I'm fightin' for my right to not have to put up with you bastards!" the Looter growled "I've had to deal with too many arseholes leading me on recently, and I'd like to be incarcerated in peace, thank ya very much."

"But if you don't join with us-!" Kurgo paused as the sound of a door slamming open echoed from one of the floors above, the Uruk cursed his breath "Screw this."

He turned and bolted as Uthug looked up, above he could see another Uruk in a hard hat of sorts looking down at him from the fourth floor.

"It was this one today, guys!" the Uruk shouted back to others presumably "Looks like there's one here!"

Run...

Before Uthug could begin questioning the voice, the Hard hat Uruk vaulted over the railing above and descended. Several other inmates followed behind him, they looked far less uniform than three who assaulted him.

The Looter wasted no time in making a break for it.

---

~The City of Vale: Penelope's Pallet~

A bored looking young lady looked up from her magazine just as the sound of a bell reached her ears.

Looking across the many tables to the eatery's front door, she spotted three girls with very specific looking color schemes entering her place of employment.

"Are you sure this is the right place, Yang?" the one in White said with a glance at their surroundings.

Rolling her eyes, the young girl behind the counter leaned away from the register towards a small window in the wall behind her.

"Hey Malts!" she called back "You said to keep an eye out for the chicks in the red and yellow, right?"

Soon a portly man peaked out of the window at her, "Yes I- Yang! Ruby!"

Hearing their names, two of the three girls looked over before large smiles spread across their faces.

"Told ya!" Yang shot Weiss a cheeky smirk as she approached the counter "Malts my man, been too long!"

"Your telling me," the Baker lowered his gaze and shook his head "last time I saw your friends they were telling me all about how you'd been captured by some of those horrid raiders."

The Blonde leaned against the counter and scratched her head "Yeah, was kind of rough, but you know me! It'll take more than a couple sweaty slavers to take me down."

The young girl behind the counter cast an indifferent glance between Malts and the girls before sighing "So, are you like... gonna grab a table or-?"

"Tabitha, could I have a minute?" Malts whispered to his coworker before looking back at the girls "Look, I'd love to catch up girls, especially considering the state you were all in last time we spoke."

"It wasn't one of our finer moments." Weiss admitted with a sigh

"But my sister runs this place like a sweatshop, I tell ya. So I don't have many opportunities to chat with pals."

"She ever get into that cook book of yours?" Ruby asked

"She wishes!" he gave a hearty laugh before sighing and looking back into the kitchen "She took quite an offense to that, now I work most of the cooking back here. I'm not a young buck anymore, doing the work of three or four cooks has given me quite a few aches and pains. However, I'll gladly take the work before letting her ruin any of my recipes."

"Aw," the young girl pouted "does that mean you can't make your masterful Malts Marble Cake anymore?"

The old fellow got a twinkle in his eye at that before pointing pass them to the tables "Why don't you girls get to ordering and I'll make you something special for dessert, eh?"

The place wasn't a big restaurant or anything, but there were a large number of patrons there. Even so, a large number of tables near the center of the eatery were vacant, and the three members of Team RWBY slipped in with ease.

"I hope Malts isn't getting worked too hard," Ruby muttered as she placed her chin her palm "he was doing so good for himself back in Yires."

"He'll bounce back, Sis." Yang rubbed her bag before clapping her hands together "I once saw the guy carry a whole three layer wedding cake across the town while balancing it on a single sheet. When it comes to catering, he's basically a one man army."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at that, but Tabi arrived with menus before she could question the authenticity of such a tale.

"I guess he is unbeatable in a kitchen..." Ruby admitted while analyzing the available entrees, she then grew a curious expression before nudging her sister "Hey Yang, what do you think Blake would like?"

The Blonde grinned "Oh?" she quickly grabbed her own menu and flipped threw several pictures before pausing and pointing "How about-?"

"No." Weiss deadpanned from across the table as she searched through her own menu.

"You didn't even hear my suggestion." Yang grumbled

"The moment I realized there was a section of seafood I knew you wouldn't be able to help yourself." Weiss lowered her menu before glancing around.

"Perceptive as ever, eh Princess?" Yang gave a small laugh before tilting her head towards the white haired girl "Didn't we already go over the whole comedic value thing earlier?"

"The question you should be asking is Why isn't anyone sitting near us?"

Yang's grin disappeared as Ruby lowered her menu, and the sisters began taking in their surroundings as well.

It was almost like a large circle of empty tables, one that they just so happened to be in. At the center was a table just like any others, but from here the girls could see it had a little 'Reserved' sign on it. The customers initially looked as if they were merely enjoying their meals, but closer inspection would reveal that a number were merely sitting and waiting with their scrolls out.

"Weird," Ruby commented "I did notice the tables, but some of these guys don't really seem like they're here for eating."

"Indeed, if this were a more popular locale I'd say they almost looked like stealthy paparazzi given how much they seem to be fiddling with their cameras." Weiss said before pausing to look to the ceiling thoughtfully "Well, either that or this place may just attract the types who photograph everything."

"Girls!"

The three turned to see Malts leaning out of the kitchen with a concerned look on his face, he gestured for their attention "Girls! I didn't mention this before but you do not want to sit there!"

Ruby tilted her head, "Why not?" she asked before nodding to the reserved table "Special guests?"

Before he could answer, the baker paused as something reached his ears.

Closer to the doors, the girls recognized the sounds of distant music drawing closer. Many of the other customers turned towards the doors while drawing their scrolls as a battered limo pulled up. It looked fairly unstable, and it almost clipped a bench while parking, but eventually the driver's door opened and an annoyed-looking Deer Faunus got out. She covered her ears as she drew closer to the back of the limo, and was about to knock on it when it swung open and nearly slammed into her.

A large blur of color rushed from the limo and charged the front door.

Suddenly some dude in baggy clothes and clown make-up threw open the door and immediately raised both hands to his mouth before shouting, "Yo boys and girls, where my bitch at!?"

It was so surprising that both Ruby and Weiss were immediately rendered stunned as the large man immediately scanned the customers. Everything from the boots to the over sized jacket looked shabby, not in a dirty way but more of a used way. His make-up looked smeared and messy, but matched well with the rainbow afro. Even the Afro looked shabby, with chunks missing here and there, plus the curls seemed knotted and twisted in odd ways.

"Now now, lolololol." another voice came from behind the clown as a figure stepped into view "She works on these days, Banz my boy, maybe yell a bit louder in case she didn't hear us, lololololol?"

As the odd sound emanated from the second figure, he tapped his finger against what at first looked like hair.

It wasn't.

The Clown's friend had long dreadlocks which seemed tied in odd patterns to form a thick ball around his head, with a pair of sunglasses jammed into the bundle where his eyes would be. Dressed in a single dark blue tracksuit, he almost looked tamer in comparison to the loud, colorful guy next to him despite the hair.

"Oh my god." Yang muttered before leaning low and gesturing for the attention of her teammates "Guys, do you know who those two are?"

"Annoying?" Weiss offered

"Why does that one guy look like he got attacked by a circus?" Ruby asked before catching sight of Tabi moving from behind the counter.

Almost immediately, Banz homed in on the approaching employee before he cracked a smile "Ah, there she is!" he cheered before raising his arms and gesturing towards her "Can't even start my fuckin' day without getting a nice eyeful o' them lumps baby girl!"

"You want the usual, right?" the bored-looking server asked as she gestured to the reserved table.

"Lady," Banz chuckled as he plopped down ina seat and carelessly tossed the Reserved sign aside "you keep facing me with a body like that, I'll agree to anything ya say."

Weiss glanced back to Yang "So who are these two exactly?"

The Blonde leaned back in her chair "So the big guy is Banz and the guy with the messed up hairdo is Rolo, they kinda exploded onto the music scene about a week ago. Nora got me one of their CDs as a get-well gift, and they're good. I mean really good."

The Heiress narrowed her eyes at that and turned back just as Tabi finished writing something down in a little pad.

"Okay guys," she said with a sigh before turning and walking off "we'll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible."

"Hey baby," Banz leaned on his table with a grin as his eyes traveled south "mind takin' ya time while giving the cook our orders? I wanna savor this."

"Keeping me from my meal just to ogle?" Rolo shook his head "Quite the bastard move, old bean."

"The hell man, you eat way too fine to start bitching about holdin up a meal." Banz groaned to the shorter entertainer "I can make a meal any damn time I want, but only a particular piece of ass can really bring a day together."

"There are entire stores designed entirely around having skimpily dressed women wander around and serve food along with compliments, one of which ain't even twelve blocks from the studio, lolololol." Rolo pointed out "Why in the hell do we have to come out all the way here just for one bored college chick?"

"Gotta appreciate the difficulty of the catch, mate." Banz patted his partner on the head "Its what separates the perverts from connoisseurs like me."

Weiss turned back to Yang with an unconvinced frown"Those guys? Them right there?"

"Seriously, they make crazy good music. They use their semblances to make some awesome tunes, trust me." Yang insisted before frowning "But their penchant for acting terrible in public is widely known. Banz for the obvious, and Rolo never turns his semblance off."

The rap beat had followed the duo into the eatery, and only after Yang mentioned Rolo's semblance did her teammates realize it was actually emanating from the smaller of the two. They also noticed that the beat was oddly comprised of classical instruments, played in certain ways to imitate a traditional beat.

"He's more than just an annoying boombox." Tabi said as she approached the girls with her little pad out "He may not have his pal's rampant flirtations, but he's one underhanded instigator. Pair them up and it usually ends in disaster, but the boss likes 'em. They're very loose with their wallets, and Banz literally slaps a handful of hundred lien cards onto whatever I serve him, so we put up with it."

"So you just allow him to talk about you like that?" Ruby asked "That sounds horrible."

"Horrible or not, that freakshow's putting me through more classes than anything else so I could care less." Tabi shrugged before tapping her pad "You girls ordering or what?"

Following the example of the other customers, the girls did their best to ignore the music and focus on ordering their meals.

It was easier said than done, since Banz was openly salivating as his eyes ran up and down their server's form from his seat. They weren't the only ones to notice, Rolo paused in tugging at his literal mess of a hairdo when he spotted the moisture on his companion's lips.

"Your drooling my boy, lololololol." Rolo pointed out.

"Huh? Aw shit." Banz grumbled before reaching to his side and immediately latching onto Rolo's sleeve and dragging the smaller guy closer. Against Rolo's protests, the clown proceeded to use his tracksuit sleeve to dab away the drool before releasing him.

"Much better," Banz chuckled "thanks mate."

"Dude!" Rolo nearly wretched at his now moistened tracksuit sleeve before glaring at his partner "What in fuck's name was that for!?"

"What, you expected me to use my own sleeve?" the Clown shook his head "Absolutely disgusting. I don't want that kinda stuff on my clothes, this makeup ain't easy to get out."

Rolo's glare hardened at that, and he quickly reached into his pocket for something as Banz continued prattling on.

"That tracksuit o' yours don't absorb fluids as much, so you cleaning it would be far easier than me-"

Suddenly, Banz whipped his hand back and caught Rolo's wrist before he could douse him with an uncapped flask "Ha!" the clown chuckled "Gotcha laddie, guess you just ain't sneaky enough to-"

Rolo dropped the flask, which clattered on the table and splattered some of its no doubt alcoholic contents on Banz, who immediately shoved him away with a curse. in the comotion, a single stray drop of the fluid was launched away, and ended up sinking into the clothes of an alreadyy irritated heiress.

She stood up out of her seat and immediately turned her glare on the two entertainers, "You two!"

Rolo had just finished laughing at Banz's expense when the Schnee's shout made him pause, the constant faux-beatbox music dying down somewhat to be replaced by a more inquisitive cello strum. The clown, however, was far more concerned with checking his appearance in a little scratched up compact mirror he'd pulled the second he'd been splashed.

"Better not have ruined my damn makeup you tiny-" he paused in his self-evaluation when Rolo nudged him "What?"

The music-maker nodded towards the outraged huntress before them, and Banz blinked "Oh shit, I didn't even notice her." he chuckled in genuine surprise before leaning forward "You need something, kid?"

"What I need, is for you two to control yourselves!" Weiss bit "Its one thing to act flamboyantly self-obsessed in public, its another thing entirely to ruin another's outing with it!"

"Owner said she ain't got no problem with it, lassie. I hear there's plenty of nice eateries around, I'm sure you could walk ya'self out if ya too rustled by us."

"Why should we have to inconvenience ourselves just because you can't-"

"Weiss!"

The Heiress paused and turned back to Ruby, who gestured to the side with a nervous smile "Maybe we could find a table that's farther away?"

"Sis, what are you doing?" the team leader turned back to see Yang leaning forward with her eyes locked on Weiss and the entertainers, wholly invested in the unfolding argument.

"Though a proper suggestion, its the principle of it, Ruby!" Weiss insisted before turning back to Rolo and Banz "I just can't stand people who go out of their way to ruin other people's day."

"Oh that's bullshit." the clown waved her off,

"True, lololololol." Rolo agreed as the beatbox tune returned in full force, he then jerked a thumb towards his partner "He isn't going out of his way, he's just terrible by nature."

"Shut the hell up man." Banz spat back at him before snapping his compact closed and glancing back to Weiss "Now I don't see where you get off thinking I should have any care for what you think-!"

"Actually," Rolo interjected with a tiny smirk "she's quite famous."

That gave the clown pause, and he turned back to his pal with a raised eyebrow "Excuse me?"

"Come on, Banzy, the full white attire, general sour look?"

Banz continued staring at him.

"Schnee Dust? Largest producer of energy propellant? Basically glued groin to groin with Atlas?"

Yet... more... staring...

"Net worth is about forty eight times our own?"

"Oh!" Banz snapped his fingers with a smile "No wonder I didn't even notice her! Don't really mesh well with the one percent."

"You sure you weren't just too busy eyeing up our server?" Weiss grumbled

"Yeah, that's a pretty large possibility." the Clown chuckled "She's fuckin' hot, ain't she?"

"That is absolutely disgusting."

"If you can look her up and down and tell me she don't got the curves of a sex machine, then maybe I'd agree." he patted himself on the chest "Banzy don't ever tell a lie lady, and a bit of truth I hope you can swallow is that you's getting all uppity for nothing!"

"Nothing? I can hardly talk with my teammates because of your rambunctious volume!"

"Well didn't your red friend- Wait... teammates?"

Banz glanced back to Rolo, who gave a sigh.

"She goes to Beacon, dude." the music-maker waited several seconds, and as Banz continued staring he threw up his hands in defeat "The guys who kill Grimm?"

"Ohhhhh" the Clown nodded slowly "Gotcha."

Ruby didn't know whether she should intervene or not, usually Weiss was adamant about holding her own in conversational bouts, and Ruby didn't want to undermine her by interrupting.

"This... is awesome." Yang said slowly

"Are you crazy?" she turned to her Sister with an incredulous look "This is not what we came here for!"

"Yeah yeah, I know that." the blonde insisted before pointing "But look."

Ruby followed her finger, and her frown deepened.

Many of the customers around them were praactically leaning over in their seats trying to get footage of the exchange with some trying to look less obvious than others. Some took pictures while others recorded, some were even taking notes as the argument unfurled, sometimes comparing with others.

"Two popular figures are getting into an argument, Rubes." Yang explained "The public practically goes into a feeding frenzy when this kind of stuff happens, and we're right at the origin! Think we might be able to get into some photo ops? Rubes?"

Yang glanced to her side only to find the seat beside her empty.

"Well how about not being an absolute-!"

Ruby grabbed Weiss's shoulder in the middle of her speech, making the heiress pause and glance back.

"Weiss, you're being watched." the red-themed reaper murmured.

The White haired youth blinked at that, turning away to find the unwelcome gaze of lenses focused on her. She gritted her teeth, but Banz remained unfazed.

"Eh, who cares?" he waved it off before leaning back in his chair and placing his shoes on the table "They just like snipping around my feet because I don't care to fix the pockets on this snazzy jacket O' mine."

He chuckled at that, but Rolo frowned as he noticed that Weiss wasn't immediately responding.

Instead she was being slowly pulled away by Ruby as she tried to ignore the gaze of the cameras.

Rolo narrowed his eyes before leaning forward at his table and smiling at his partner "Maybe they're just interested in seeing two famous singers interact, lololololol?"

"Eh?" Banz gave him a confused look "Thought she was supposed to be some rich chick?"

"I'm not surprised you wouldn't know this, lolololol, but she's also lauded for having quite the singing voice."

Banz looked to the ceiling with a hum "Man, that's almost kinda sad. Always shakes me when I see the peeps I'm taking fans from."

Weiss paused at that, with Ruby trying harder to pull her away as she looked back at the entertainers "Excuse me?"

"Just saying," the Clown shrugged "with me and Rolo over here all you old school folks about to get upstaged!"

Ruby saw what was coming from a mile away "Weiss, don't-!"

"Excuse me!?" the Heiress repeated ass she pulled away and stomped back over "I don't think your understand how much hard work I put into-into making myself sound like such a pretentious little girl when a fact I don't agree with gets me so mad I wanna scream!"

Ruby actually flinched back "Weiss?"

"I- I did not say that." the white haired girl said back before glaring at a humored Banz, who continued speaking in an exact copy of the Heiress's voice.

"Yeah, I'd never tell the truth because it would make it seem like I'm pretty goddamn petty!" he cooed dramatically before leaning back and howling with laughter in his regular voice "Face it lady, all that training and junk is for naught with me around, I got everything you give and more!"

"What...how?" Weiss demanded

"I told you guys that their music careers center around their semblances." Yang pointed out as she stepped over and nodded towards the duo "Rolo makes music and Banz can change his voice in anyway he wants, and I do mean any way."

"But-but then there's no skill involved!" Weiss glared at the still smiling singer "You can't just be proud of something that you never worked for!"

"The hundreds of thousands of lien I've made off it says differently." Banz deadpanned before chuckling "And we ain't been selling stuff for long, think we might catch up to you one day in terms of funds?"

"I doubt it." Rolo shrugged

"This isn't about the money!" Weiss insisted "Its about the integrity of an-!"

"Bullshit," Banz interrupted as he stood up from his seat "there ain't no point in having skills of any type if ya can't get filthy fuckin' rich for it! What the point o' getting jobs if you can't buy shit because of 'em?"

"Maybe because you want to help people, do something for your community?" Ruby offered

"You's tryin to be a huntress right?" Banz asked, and when Ruby nodded in response he continued "You get paid for that right?"

"Even if she did," Weiss interjected "its about the effect the occupation has on the populace that is truly-"

"I don't want to hear anything about money from you miss 'I don't have to take people seriously because I got more than them!"

"When did I ever even imply that I thought anything resembling that?!"

"I can see it in your eyes!" Banz insisted "You think just because you're forty-something times worth my Net thingie that I have to give a damn what you think!"

Ruby watched from the sidelines as the two continued arguing "I-...should we pull her away or-?"

"Sis," Yang patted her on the shoulder "If there's one thing I know about Weiss its that when she gets going there's not much that can stop her."

"Besides, just think of the mutual media attention."

The Sisters glanced to the side to find Rolo standing beside them, admiring the scene while tapping his massive hairdo where his lips might be.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, only for Yang to chuckle

"Those guys with the cameras? Most are probably with some big media outlets, something like this'll make waves on air and make more people aware of their music." the blonde explained "Probably get them some nice lien in the end."

"I see I'm not the only one with a hard-on for forethought, lololololol" Rolo clasped his hands together and began rubbing them in anticipation "Controversy equals attention, and my dear pal over there is a controversy goldmine! Just look at him! Obnoxious, self-absorbed and dressed like an alcoholic rainbow. He is a beacon of attention!"

"I was wondering why you guys were dressed so oddly." Yang wondered "So the outfits are just to stand out?"

"Partially, we're under contract, lololololol." he explained "We can't break character in public... ever. My boss seems to understand the importance of standing out as well."

"Hey!"

The three turned to find Tabi walking from the back of the restaurant, eyes glued to the rising conflict "How long are they going to be like this?"

Ruby stammered "I... I don't know..."

"I haven't seen someone stubborn enough to stand against Weiss for this long in a while." Yang admitted

"Oh, and she pulls the drab attire card." Rolo commented as he watched the Heiress insult his partner "How will Banz respond? He has a selection of potential rebuttals. Oh? Oh! And he pulls a Stubborn Ignorance, can the Schnee possibly work around such an ironclad defense?"

"What are you doing?" Tabi asked

"This is the kind of thing that just demands commentary!" Rolo explained before gesturing "I mean we got two combatants verbally tearing into each other with a comfortable arena and a crowd desperate for more! I'd be an idiot to miss such an opportunity!"

Outside the establishment, a certain Deer Faunus leaned against one of the windows as the situation inside escalated. After leaving the busted up limo in what she hoped was a safe location, the driver had considered where she'd go. She was supposed to be the personal driver of the assholes causing a fuss in there, she wasn't to be too far from them or the limo while they weren't at the studio. Like hell she was gonna stay behind the wheel and wait, the damn thing didn't even have A.C. She wasn't about to walk inside and get embroiled in whatever those two were getting started in there, so she decided to just enjoy the outside air.

She just wanted to enjoy this moment, as she hadn't been able to relax for a long time. But as she looked around, something in an alley directly across the street made her pause.

A large form was staring at her from within, a form which seemed to notice that it had been spotted before disappearing further into the alley.

This form stepped away from the corner, its massive limbs moving with a shocking amount of grace. As soon as it was sure it was once again unseen, this form lifted the excessively large hood of his jacket before fanning his head.

After that, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. It wouldn't be good if he was caught in public, he needed to find this address fast. It would've been a little easier if he could... just... understand what the piece of paper said. The last person he asked had seemed so sure that this was where the location was, but...

The figure shrugged, it'd be fine! He knew how to get around back-alleys like nothing. He'd done something like this before, only... maybe without so much secrecy required.

He raised a fist in enthusiasm, he'd find this mystery location in no time!

And so he searched, moving throughout the underbelly of Vale. He knew how to be quiet, he'd had to do it loads of times! Even though he didn't really look like a stealthy fellow, he knew how to make his large body move in ways that left little to no sounds. Knew how to maneuver through things, knew how to be sneaky sneak, knew how to-

"Money up front, asshole!"

He paused while maneuvering past a row of trash cans, his keen ears picking up the sound of an angry lady nearby.

He soon found himself staring into another large space between buildings. Along with the usual White Fang graffiti and suspiciously moist ground, the figure spotted two people pressed together against a wall.

Seems the lady was trying to get the big guy off her, oh... the figure hoped he wasn't being too intrusive but-

"Hey buddies!" he called out, making both the people look up in surprise, as neither had heard the large figure arrive. He stepped out from the shadows, revealing him to be just some massive guy in a pink jogging uniform. From the hoodie to the sweat pants, everything about him screamed jogger.

"Sorry to be interrupting ya thingie, but I need some directions."

The man's unfocused eyes settled on the jogger for a moment before eventually looking back down at the girl beneath him, he soon gave a dazed smile and gestured towards the runner "M-man... we can share- I mean..."

"Goddamn it Phil," the woman shouted "I told you to stay off the Gresh! Either show me the cash or get the hell off!"

"No... no money... gonna..." Phil muttered before leaning down and trying to kiss her.

"Fucking-! Hey big guy!" she shouted out as she tried desperately to keep her attacker from removing her clothes "Hey, get him off!"

"Oh, I ain't really supposed to get involved in friendly disputes and all." the Jogger chuckled to himself as he looked away "Friends usually have certain rituals that others can't-"

"Asshole I will be your best friend in the goddamn world if you get this shit off me!"

The Jogger's words died at that, and he looked over with wide eyes before pressing his fingers together nervously before smiling "Okie-dokie buddy!" he cheered before stepping forward and reaching down.

With a single, massive hand he grabbed Phil and hoisted him off his victim, the Gresh-addled man apparently not realizing he was no longer on the ground as he continued reaching for her despite his position.

"Got'em pal o' mine!" the Jogger cheered "Now about my-"

The woman got off the ground and immediately sent her foot sailing into Phil's groin. The Jogger flinched as Phil released a shriek before the pain rendered him unconscious. The woman practically yanked him out of the Jogger's grasp before kicking the man while he was down. Dropping to her knees, she immediately rifled through his pockets before taking the man's wallet and going through it.

"Two-Fifty? Ugh" she groaned before pocketing the cash "you cheap fuck."

With that she kicked him again before tossing his empty wallet aside and turning to her oddly colored savior, who was standing off to the side with his hands behind his back "The hell are you staring at?"

"Just politefully waiting for you to get done with your business, buddy!"

Her frown deepened as she crossed her arms and nodded to the unconscious man "That guy was supposed to be my business, so unless you're willing to take his place and cough up some lien for a good time, could you get lost?"

"Oh! I didn't know I was wasting in your time!" the Jogger pulled out his paper and approached "I just wanted directions, ma'am!"

The girl leaned down to get a better look at the terrible handwriting she was faced with, and was about to point out how terrible the big guy was at taking notes when she recognized the address, "What do you need from this place?"

The Jogger giggled before jerking a thumb towards himself "My pal owns the place, and I need some help from him! You know where it is?"

"I mean... I used to work there so-"

The Jogger gasped loudly "Oh my goodness! Maybe he can help you out with the whole money thing, maybe he'll feel generous if you help me get over there! What do you say, best friend?"

The woman looked at him with a blank look before gesturing "Follow me."

The Jogger gave a victorious fist pump before following her. Having friends was the best! He didn't know a single thing in the world that couldn't be made easier by having a good pal with you.

---

Uthug leaned out from behind a beam, looking over the hall from the broken portions of the ceiling. At first he was sure he'd found a design flaw, something he could use to get out of whatever hellhole the tarks had dropped him into. But alas, it served as nothing more than a temporary hiding spot to elude the Uruks who had given pursuit. Even after they'd passed under him, he'd made sure to stay exactly there until he was sure they were gone. It would be easier for him to scan his surroundings, if not for-

They've been gone a while

"Shut the hell up!" Uthug grunted before tapping a finger to his forehead and grimacing in disgust "I don't know why you're still in my head, but don't think I can't get you out!"

Silence.

"You aren't just gonna camp inside my skull ya shrakh!"

More silence.

The Looter's eye twitched in agitation, and he reached to the side before raising the length of pipe he'd taken from Kurgo. Gripping it in both hands, he pulled away before swinging it towards himself, only for his arms to halt a mere second from hitting him.

The shrakh are you doing?!

"I fucking knew it!"

Fine, fine just put the damn pipe down and shut up.

"The hell are you-"

I said shut up!

Uthug bit his tongue, giving a small snarl before trying again.

What in the shrakh are you still doing here, Gundza?! Those Tark wenches said your bloodied arse ran when ya couldn't hide in me anymore.

I couldn't control you, your aura had failed and mine was unable to cover the loss. Didn't mean I couldn't still use you.

Why the hell wouldn't you just beat it!? I hear ya got yaself blasted! Now you's stuck in this dreg heap same as me, the hell wouldn't you-

What? Roll off the train and crawl my way through the desert bleeding to death?

Well now you're stuck here! Stuck here in this tark prison like the rest of us.

I believe the payoff will be worth it. You see, I'm convinced that you are actually what I need.

Wha-? No! Don't think you can pull that mental bullshit again, laddie. I can fight back! I don't care if I get us both killed, you will not-!

I'm not trying to take over your body again, damn it! I recognize that your disgusting amount of spite is fairly useful for repelling me, but I saw you on the train. You've got potential.

A-are you actually trying to sell me a pitch? You were tossing me around for most of the time!

And yet you held up. You aren't the simple, pathetic grunt you seem intent on portraying.

Yeah... I'm really feeling special ya bastard.

I used to lead Uruks under the Garrison's banner, I know how to spot potential. Under the right guidance you can be a downright lethal weapon! And that semblance of yours, I saw it! I know that you can steal the abilities of others!

What, that random circle thing? Uthug glanced down at his hands I'm fairly certain one o' the girls panicked and used their-

No! That was my target's semblance, I've been following them for weeks now, I know this. You stole it, and used it! So many times I've been outplayed because of them being able to work around my plans, cutting off the advantages their semblances give by taking them as our own may be the leg up I've needed!

Oh so that's it, you just want me to help you catch the white haired cur? Find some other lackey to help, I finally get a chance to hide away here in this prison while those idiots outside kill each other.

No you won't. I know where we are boyo, you don't wanna be here.

Piss off

We get out, you help me catch her, we go our separate ways and in the process you become a true warrior!

Uthug lowered his gaze at that, angry mumbles slipping out in response to the offer. But as he looked down, he caught sight of someone moving below, another inmate. Unlike the ones he'd fought and evaded earlier, this one didn't have any identifying apparel, simply had the bottom half of the same jumpsuit Uthug had. He seemed a bit malnourished, and was scampering about as quiet as could be while holding a long length of wood behind him. If he hadn't been looking, Uthug was sure he would've missed him. But as the runt slithered off, Uthug made up his mind.

"Screw that." he whispered before dropping down from his hiding spot.

The inmate heard him immediately, his head snapping back towards the Looter before taking off. Uthug wasted no time in giving pursuit.

"As soon as I figure out how," he said as he raced for his target "I'm hauling your arse out of my head!"

You can't do that! With abilities like mine, they'd probably put me through horrid testing if they found out they had me!

"Even better!" Uthug shouted with glee before he lunged forth and tackled the inmate to the ground, he came up on top but the Uruk below managed to kick him off.

As the Scavenger got back to his feet, the inmate scrambled for his simplistic weapon before lashing at him. Ducking under the swing, Uthug grabbed his arm and twisted until the wooden piece fell out of his grasp. Once he kicked the weapon away, Uthug rammed the inmate into a nearby wall before slamming his foot into his stomach. Pressure forced the Uruk to start gasping as the foot dug deeper, but Uthug merely kept him pinned as he glared at him.

"Oi, you seem to have been here a while." Uthug pointed out as he folded his arms across his chest "You mind filling someone new like me in?"

"Wha?" the inmate coughed "Who? What ya want? Enough with da hurtin!"

The Scavenger grunted "Information damn it, I knows we're in a dungeon of sorts, what I want to know is how things work here? I ain't ever been part of of no prison where the captives are able to run around willy nilly hunting each other down and brawling. This ain't no massive Pit Fight deal, is it?"

"Whatcha bloody talkin' 'bout?"

"Look, I arrived, immediately got cornered by three blokes in odd cloth trying to nab me, then after dealing with them a bunch o' boys in random stuff tried mugging me.

"Wha-oh! Sounds like ya met the caterers?"

"Excuse me?"

The Inmate grunted as he tried and failed to get a bit more comfortable "Look, I was nabbed when them tarks ruined our arena, not the first lads to end up here but I showed up with biggest group. Someone who came in with us started rallying boys planning to blast their way outta here as quickly as possible. But then another Uruk starts calling them out, saying we all should take the prison for ourselves, and that the other bastards would end up destroying some prime winnings with their plan. The two butted heads and at first worked on their own plans, with the guys who were trying to blast their way out holding up in what seems like a ruined dining area and the guys trying to steal the place finding their way into abandoned maintenance tunnels. Soon the two started sabotaging each other's plans because each side was certain their way was better, now they're locked in this gang war of sorts trying to get out while undermining the other's efforts. The groups got their names from the specific uniforms found around their home turfs. Caterers from the dining hall and the Crew run through the maintenance tunnels."

Oh no

That stole Uthug's attention, he glanced away from the inmate for a second "Oh no? What's oh no?"

This isn't an average prison, boy, we're on board a massive, re-purposed vessel. If the Caterers really do plan on tearing the place apart to get out then we all drown unless we're lucky enough to be near land, which I wouldn't hold out hope for.

"What? How the hell would a dungeon this big even-"

"Who the shrakh are you talking to?" the still-pinned inmate asked apprehensively as he watched his captor reply to nothing.

Uthug grunted, going silent for a moment as he thought. He finally turned back to his captive and pressed harder onto him "Oi, how do I find these Crew blokes?

What?

"Agh! Just find any old hole in the walls, you can-agh!" he cried out as Uthug's foot dug into him, the pressure straining the organs within him "The Ruined shoppin center's a quick walk down this way! Was supposed to be part of some mall thing or whatever! There's a clothing department in there, hole there leads right into their territories for god's sakes!"

Uthug released him and stepped back to watch the Inmate bend low to pick up his stick and hobble off while trying not to vomit. The looter turned and began making for that center, much to the dismay of his passenger.

What are you doing?

Come on, I've been working under Captains long enough to know how this song and dance goes. Dumb bastards who ain't affiliated end up scrounging for scraps like that worm back there or the muggers, I'm hitching up with the Crew.

No, you need training! You can't risk extremely outnumbering yourself without the capability to escape if things go sour! We need to continue hiding and building up-

Maybe they'll have some way to carve your arse out of my head as well.

Uthug awarded himself a small chuckle as he felt Gundza fume within him.

You need to see the long term benefits of allowing me to train you! I've been humiliated by those girls for far too long, Uthug. Isn't helping me with my revenge a trivial exchange for power? Those girls are probably mocking me right this very instant!

---

"Coming to you live from Penelope's Pallet, folks. I'm Rolo, bringing you the lattest scoops on Weiss vs Banz, round five. Sitting with me here are Ruby Rose and Yang-Xia Long, personal acquaintances of the contestant."

Despite Ruby sighing, her sister had already fallen into the role "Last round was a banger, let me tell you that, Rolly." the blonde laughed to herself before pointing over to her their companions.

To say the situation had escalated would've been an understatement of legendary proportions. As Weiss's and Banz's argument went on people kept noticing from outside and entering just to see it. Several of the paparazzi had begun live-streaming, and Rolo had exacerbated this by providing full play by play commentary. Yang knew the second she spotted the empty seat next to him that she had a once-in-a-lifetime experience laid out before her like a full course meal. If she didn't bite, she might lose the feast entirely.

"Weiss managed to finally break through Rolo's defensive passivity and incite the Singer to lash out," she continued "but the Singer managed to curtail her argument with an impromptu rap solo which threw the Schnee off her game. You think she's got a chance to regain lost ground?"

"Either way the crowd's itchin' for more as the conclusion of this great spectacle draws closer and closer." Rolo patted his ungodly hair down before rubbing his hands together "It'll be grander than grand, I tell you! Both contestants are dragging each other through the mud just to get at the other's eyes! Who gets their fingers in first? Let's find out!"

"Because everyone is trying to make a difference, everyone is trying to make the world a better place through any means necessary!" Weiss continued hounding the ignorant bastard before her "I don't care if you can do something better than them, if you only do it for selfish reasons then there's no heart and soul involved!"

"You assuming little wretch, how dare you be insinuatin' that bitches and bling ain't part of my heart and soul!" Banz retaliated fiercely "I live and breath by the idea that as long as I sing like a holy cherub I'll be able to crush puss and roll around in a massive pile of lien. How dare you say that's not heart and soul!"

"But it isn't! It's just objectifying and selfish. I'm not saying you can't believe in it, I'm just saying its a horrible thing to put faith into!"

"You ever beeen laid?!"

"What-? I-No!"

"Come back after a good long riding and tell me that sex ain't something you can have real faith in!"

"Oooh, seems Banz is abusing the Heiress's lack of experience like an alcoholic boyfriend!" Rolo pointed out "She seems flabbergasted!"

"Damn it, didn't expect him to pull that one out so late in the game!" Yang gritted her teeth before reapplying her smirk "But Weiss has gotten out of trickier arguments, just you watch."

"Well she has the time to think of a rebuttal, because...!" Rolo held a hand to his ear as the music emanating from him shifted to a the sound of a horn "There's the break!"

"What!?" Banz shouted as Rolo walked over and backed him away from the table "Ya given 'em half time right when I was 'bout to slam dunk this bitch, the hell are you doing?!"

Weiss huffed at that, but sat down as her own teammates approached.

"Weiss, listen to me." Ruby said immediately as she grabbed the heiress's shoulder and gave her a shake "This wasn't what we came here for! We have to leave!"

"And let a pompous arse like him walk off feeling high and mighty?" the Schnee glanced back "I'd rather bite off my tongue than let someone like him ever have a victory over me."

"But-!"

"That's the Weiss I know and love!" Yang cheered as she also took a knee beside the white-haired girl and passed her some water "You got tossed a curve out there but I know you can bring it back! He's feeling confident right now, take the confidence and shove it right back into his face!"

Ruby turned to her sister with disbelief as her partner accepted the bottle and took a steady drink "Yang, we can't encourage this! You know she's gonna be mad later when she realizes we didn't stop her!"

The blonde shook her head "Ah, my own blood growing so responsible so soon." she sighed before grinning to her sibling "Have you forgotten how sweet making mistakes can be?"

"Yang-!"

"Don't worry, Ruby." Weiss interrupted as she passed the bottle back to Yang "He might know it yet but this clown's cornered himself."

Before Ruby could argue further, the same horn sound erupted from Rolo just as he retook his announcer's seat "And that's time people! Contestants, let's get back to the carnage!"

The little reaper found herself being pulled away by her sister as Banz and Weiss approached the table once more.

"Might've gotten lucky with that little break, princess," Banz pointed out "but it ain't changing nothing! Ya got no right to tell me what's right or wrong about my particular brand of fuckin', got no experience ta back you up!"

Weiss narrowed her gaze and shook her head "Maybe, but that's not being put into question. I just wanted you to avoid being a complete dolt about it and keep it to yourself instead of embarrassing yourself and everyone around you!"

"The hell do I care about embarrassment?!" he growled

"They resume laying into each other like well-taught Ursai, Banz's experience play may be stinging perhaps a bit more than the Heiress thought!" Rolo fixed his glasses "Has he possibly secured a basis for victor?! Has this argument already been won?!"

"Don't count my girl out just yet, buddy." Yang nudged him

"Ogling everyone you pass by has to get tired eventually, right?" Weiss questioned

"Pfft, I don't ogle everybody," Banz waved that off "and even if I did I doubt I'd ever get tired of it. But my contract strictly forbids who I get ta eye up. It sucks."

Then it happened.

"Hold your horses, ladies and gentlemen!" Rolo stood up from his seat and leaned forward "Seems Weiss Schnee has cracked a sudden smirk, has she found an opening?!"

"So even your contract is focused on nothing but your perverse ways, is your entire studio shameless?"

Banz went wide eyed before waving his arms dismissively "Woah woah, I never said nuttin' like that girlie! Boss just know how to go into detail, contract had so much more than all the stuff regarding the chicks!"

Weiss looked him straight in the eye "Name one thing in your contract that doesn't relate to women in any way."

Banz froze.

"Dear god he's baffled! Stunned like a virgin on 'er first time in the closet!" Rolo was now practically crawling atop the table before him with enthusiasm "There's no possible way! Banz me boy, we signed the damn thing together! How the hell do you not remember a single thing not related to the womenfolk!? Is there possibly a setting inside that meaty head of yours that isn't focused on ya dick?!"

"Shut up, man!" the singer bit towards his partner "It was seventeen pages long! Covers about twenty years worth of possibilities!"

"My cohort's unsurprising yet still disheartening lack of forethought has left him open!" Rollo looked away dramatically, glancing to a nearby clock.

"Damn it Rolly, now's not the time!" Banz turned back to Weiss "You's makin' me look bad, just where do ya get off? If you'd seen the kinda contract that stuck up bastard had me sign then you'd understand-!"

"I've read and reviewed contracts twice-no, three times as large as that when I was a child." Weiss interrupted "I am to run a massive association after all."

"And the tables have turned people!" Rolo shouted, every motion making the table shift "Now the heiress holds an experience advantage, Banz better get some plated knickers cuz she's about to have 'em by the balls!"

Ruby watched as the crowd responded to Rolo's words with gusto, fervor enhancing with every word spoken between Banz and Weiss. The Young huntress-in-training found her frown deepening further and further, watching her friend become a spectacle like this. She knew the moment she recognized Weiss's heritage that she'd probably get dragged into the spotlight because of her, but she'd come to realize that being friends with her would be worth it. But being right there, seeing it firsthand... it didn't feel nice.

She glanced to her sister, only to find that Yang had snuck over to one of the Paparazzi and seemed to be pestering him if the frown on his face was any indication. She kept pointing at his camera, but he kept moving it away defensively.

As she watched, she heard footsteps approaching "Not enjoying the spectacle, I take it?"

It was Malts, giving a small huff of exhaustion as he leaned against a nearby wall.

"I know that they're just trying to make money," Ruby mumbled as she stood, gesturing to the plethora of recording scrolls "it just doesn't feel right knowing what they're making it off of."

"Eh, I get it, Ruby." Malts sighed before looking away "Many of 'em aren't renown for respecting the subjects of their stories, but they're hungry customers so we can't really turn them away."

He jerked a thumb, and Ruby watched as Tabi walked around passing plates of food to many of the viewers. The young girl then had to rush back to the kitchen in order to fetch more trays.

"Feeding all these customers probably rakes in plenty," Malts continued "but for such a bare-bones crew like this, I probably only have two or three minutes before the next round of meals need making."

"Then why not hire someone else?" Ruby asked as she watched Tabi "Wouldn't it be better to have someone helping her?"

The Baker frowned "Probably, but like it or not she's the reason those two show-boaters come here, and since they make up the majority of our revenue now my Sister's doing everything she can to cater to them." he grumbled that last part a bit "Just means Tabi's gotta work twice as hard, but she gets all their tips so I guess it balances out in a way."

The two were silent for a moment as they Watched Weiss continue to hammer away at the Singer verbally, the Clown now struggling to keep up with her quick wordings. He wasn't getting any sideline assistance, his partner was so caught up in the spectacle that he was now jerking the table beneath him with violent fervor as he continued to commentate.

"Rolo said this was all for attention," Ruby began as she glanced towards Weiss with a look of concern "that everyone would come out of this more famous than before. But I don't know if Weiss would really like it that way."

"Eh, even if this all falls through she'll probably be fine." Malts shrugged before nodding to the white-haired youth "given her background and all."

When he only received a confused look from Ruby, he emphasized "You know how those rich Atlesian types are, most practically clamor over each other to show off how amazing their progeny is. Ya friend isn't different. She's been getting paraded around ever since she was in diapers, so I'm sure she's accustomed to dealing with all forms of media by now. So even if this entire scenario goes horribly, I have no doubt in my mind that she'll bounce back."

Hearing this, Ruby turned to look at her partner again, just in time for the closer apparently.

"This is it ladies and gentlemen!" Rolo roared to the crowd, both him and his table leaning forward dangerously "He's wide open with nary a smidge of defense, how in god's name could he possibly recover?! The answer is HE CAN'T!"

"We get it Rolo, shut the hell up!" Banz grunted before glancing back to Weiss "How dare-"

"Come back after actually paying attention to a business proposal for once and then claim to know anything of substance."

Banz physically lurched back at the sound of his own words being twisted back at him, the clown dropping to one knee as the crowd erupted in cheers.

"He's down! He's down!" Rolo practically danced over whilst roaring out to the viewers "Banz has been decimated! Obliterated! Absolutely fuckin' annihilated!"

Weiss said nothing, leaning back with a small smirk as Rolo continued shouting right into his partner's ear, much to the Clown's disgust, "They get it already, god damn."

But Rolo's tangent was nowhere near complete "He has just been used as the spitting bucket of the elite! Tossed into a dumpster and hurled through a supermarket! He's been bent over like a needy little slut and-!"

Rolo was finally silenced when Banz dug his hand into the shorter's massive mess of hair and yanked back before slamming his skull into the table. Rolo reeled back, stumbling a bit as stars spun across his vision "-right back after these message." he muttered before falling backwards into one of Banz's outstretched arms.

The Clown grumbled before backpedaling out of the store with his cohort slumped in one arm, "Fine fine! I know when I'm been beaten and whatnot!" he spat towards Weiss "Never went to know fancy talking schools, Lien really does make everything easier!"

Weiss had been so stunned by Rolo's sudden incapacitation that she wasn't able to offer another clever retort before the Singer fled. Even after the door to the eatery swing closed, she was still blinking away confusion. Even she had been getting agitated with the music-maker's obnoxious yelling, but Banz had rendered him unconscious seemingly without a thought. It was unbelievably... slapstick.

Before the Heiress could voice her confusion, she felt the chair she sat in being lifted up. Soon the crowd was lifting her up and congratulating her for her victory, and she quickly acted to regain her look of pleased superiority despite the nagging feeling growing in her mind. She quickly offered thanks for the congratulations, and was soon lowered back to the ground once the media was done glamourizing her, but she was barely able to get up before she found herself being pulled into a side hug from Yang.

"I knew you had it in you, Princess!" the Blonde snickered as Ruby approached with a slightly dissatisfied expression

"It was nothing really," Weiss waved it off "maybe now he'll learn not to be-"

Then it hit her.

What exactly had she won?

Weiss blinked, she'd been so caught up in the argument that she'd allowed herself to forget the original purpose of walking over to him in the first place. All she'd wanted was to get him to quiet down! But all she'd established now was that he was an ignorant bastard with little decorum, all of which should be blatantly obvious anyone!

How much time had she just wasted?!

The heiress looked up just in time to spot the beat-up Limo drive by, almost as if it was mocking her for letting its occupants bait her so easily.

The limo traveled deeper into Vale, people on sidewalks and even in other cars couldn't help but notice its distinctly damaged appearance. As she pulled to a stop at a red light, the deer-faunus who was driving released a sigh as she leaned against the wheel and watched the cars pass by.

She wasn't allowed to be with her thoughts for long, as a knocking from the rear off the limo startled her. With a growl of annoyance, she tried to ignore it, but the knocking just grew louder until she finally reached for a little panel behind her seat and slid it open.

"Damn it Zog, the hell do you want!" She spat back towards her passenger as she glanced back to the red light "I'm trying to drive!"

In the back were Rolo and Banz, lazing about as usual. The smaller off the two was tapping away at his scroll while Banz seemed in the middle of a drink. He'd grabbed a cold can of beer from a little bucket of ice and drinks they had, and seemed ready to partake in the alcoholic beverage when he'd heard the Faunus' angered retort.

"Codenames only, Hybrid." Rolo commented without looking up from his screen "Don't want the producer to get angry now do ya?"

"'Sides, I was just trying to get your opinion on how good that whole deal back at Pen's was." Banz continued before taking a quick sip "My boy Bor-I mean Rolo's givin' me shrakh for nothing!"

"You stuttered too many times, chap." the Music-Maker glanced to him "You can't rely solely on your semblance to sell it."

Banz rolled his eyes before turning back to their driver "But you was right outside, so I just wanted you to tell him just how awesome and convincing I was, baby."

"Its Bebe!" the faunus spat before glancing forward just in time to see the light turn green "And I wasn't focusing on your stupid little argument. I only have so much time in the day before having to deal with you monsters and your bullcrap, why would I waste a single moment of peace and quiet listening to you yell at some racist rich bitch?"

"Pfft," Banz grumbled as the Limo began moving again "with how loud we was, excuse me for not believing you. You was alone out there, the shrakh-... I mean, what the shit could've distracted you for that long? Yeah, that's the ticket."

As Banz congratulated himself on his quick correction, he didn't initially notice his driver's silence. It was only when she didn't reply for a while that he slammed fist against the wall of the limo and startled her out of whatever daze she was in "Oi! I didn't live through the crap I did for you to get me killed in a goddamn car wreck lady!"

Bebe shook her head a bit and focused on the road "Sorry, just... Well I actually did see something big staring at me from an alleyway. Kinda got me a little paranoid, but it was probably just some homeless dude or a gangster."

The Singer quirked an eyebrow "A big guy just stared at you?" He titled his head a bit in confusion before turning to his partner "Oi, what are the odds that was the Friendly?"

"Higher than you'd think," the smaller entertainer pointed out "the Producer gave him our address a while back, but I can only assume he's been keeping busy making friends."

"Who's friendly?" Their driver asked, only for Banz to wave it off.

"Just keep driving, we's got to get back to the boss. If we's getting a Friendly visit soon, he'll want to know."

---

Melanie was not in the mood.

She was making the shitty journey through this shitty part of town to her shitty apartment where her lazy as hell sister probably still is. Her appearance practically reeked of exhaustion, from the way she walked to the way the backpack on her shoulder kept nearly slipping off due to her poor handling of it. Add to that the bags under her eyes and any who saw the young lady would instantly know that she planned to pass out wherever she was heading.

To say that their life fell apart after Junior got nabbed would probably sound like an exaggeration to regular people, but you know what? Fuck them. While Junior was paying for their service they had free drinks and a nice comfy apartment and enough money to literally do nothing. The job was simple, look hot, beat up drunks, and deter anybody and everybody from trying to start shit. That was it, done. But all of a sudden all these big shots felt like using their little slice of heaven as a punching bag.

Melanie and her Twin had been optimistic after Junior was gone, maybe now they could find some other crime boss to guard, one who had less teenagers and White Fang breaking down his doors to get a piece of him. Nope. Ever since the Grimm Breach a while back, Criminal Activity was nearly non-existent.

The only ones who weren't still in hiding seemed convinced that it was somehow the Twins' fault for Junior's disappearance, and now their reputation was irreparably tarnished. Guarding regular places as an actual career just didn't pay as much when their wasn't something illegal involved, and Melanie and her sister had to quickly downsize to keep from going immediately homeless.

Now, neither of the young girls were anything close to patient, and what both hated most in the world was pretending to care about people. But there was one major difference between Melanie and her twin that most people seem to overlook, that being that she knew when to swallow her fucking pride.

She got herself a job she hates just like every other working Joe in Vale, put up with unruly customers and ever-dissatisfied superiors.

But her sister? Couldn't even be bothered to pick up a fast food gig.

Melanie wasn't surprised when she opened the door to the dingy little apartment to find her sister's clothes strewn about yet again. This was yet another thing she never had to put up with when she worked for Junior: Just how uncooperative her sibling could be. However, as she took a closer look at the clothing, she realized just how sheer and revealing they were. Her frown deepened.

"Militia!" she called out as she let her bag fall onto a stray bra and stormed towards their living room "What the hell were you wearing these things for? I swear to god if you were out there fuck-"

Melanie paused when she stepped into their tiny living room to see a massive humanoid creature scooping oatmeal from one of their bowls into its mouth. The humanoid turned to her with a spoon still tucked between its lips, and the two remained locked there for a moment as the elder sister tried to form the surprised utterances she was making into literally anything legible.

Finally, the intruder plucked the spoon out with one hand and swallowed the oatmeal loudly before grinning "Hi there, you must be Missy Militia's Big sis!" he said with glee as he carefully sat the bowl down "My name is-!"

Melanie darted for the Kitchen.

One hand whipped out her scroll while the other dove into their silverware drawer for the biggest, most ghastly knife it could get too. Her fighting boots were in their bedroom, on the other side of that thing. It felt odd being on the Victim's side of a police call for once, but Melanie didn't have time to ponder the irony while one of those things she saw on T.V. was busy making itself at home in her-

"What are you doing?"

So focused on finding a sizeable knife, Melanie hadn't noticed her sister lean against the kitchen's entrance wearing a fuzzy looking bathrobe.

Melanie didn't answer, instead she yanked her sibling into the kitchen and pressed the handle of a knife into her hands before going to the drawer for another "One of those Uruk things is in our home!"

"Yeah, that's Krimp, met him while I was working."

Melanie paused, lowering her scroll and turning away from the drawer to look at her sister incredulously "You what?"

"Hey, uh... Miss?" Krimp called out "I think I may have spillled some of this grain stuff on ya floor! Where ya got ya towels?"

Militia sighed before stepping passed her none-too-pleased sister and opening a cabinet "They're in here big guy!" she called out to him before glancing to her sibling "Look, I had some trouble with one of my customers and-"

"You were out slutting it up again!" Melanie interrupted as Krimp peaked in and graciously accepted a roll of paper towels from Militia before disappearing back into the living room "I can't believe this, I'm already busting my ass just to keep the electricity and water on, I don't need you getting some lethal STD from those goddamn junkies!"

"Hey, those Junkies helped us cover the last of the rent last month, and I didn't even have to work a fraction of what you were pulling." Militia retaliated "If you'd come out there and help me we'd be out of this dive and into a proper crib in a few weeks."

"Or," Melanie held up a finger before pointing it at her "you could get a real job. Two of us working should be more than enough to stabilize our-"

"If it won't get us out of this dive, I can't really consider it." Miltia shook her head

"And what will, riding drunks and hoping one of them tips harder?" Melanie rolled her eyes "Come on! I'm surprised it took this long for one of them to try something."

"Hey, I could'a taken him even if Krimp wasn't there!"

"And that brings us to the inhuman monster you currently have cleaning oatmeal off our floor!" Melanie said with an exasperated gasp "I was expecting you to bring an addict back here one day, maybe a serial murderer, but this is literally worst than anything I could've fuckin' imagined."

"Pfft, he may look like a walking tank, but come on Sis! Listen to him, the guy's retarded!"

"He doesn't have to be smart to pull us apart!"

They both paused when they heard a loud thud from the living room followed by a panicked "Uh oh!"

They found Krimp trying to hastily slide their old couch back into place while trying not to slip on the mountain of paper towels that now covered the floor.

"Sorry buddies!" Krimp gave a nervous laugh as he began collecting the scattered paper "Once I started cleaning I just couldn't help me'self! I'll get these outta ya way!"

They watched as he slowly inched his way out of the living room, only for Melanie to immediately glare at her twin.

Militia, however, was busy considering the newly cleaned room "Hm, did pretty good considering what he used."

"He needs to leave! I don't care if he sings lullabies and vomits gold, I am calling the police!"

"Don't gotta do that buddy!" Krimp popped out from around a corner "I wasn't plannin' on stayin' long anyway, but ya helpful sis over here started asking tons o' fun questions."

"Yeah," Miltia rolled her eyes before nodding to her sister "and he's got a way to help fix our little financial problem."

Melanie looked between the two of them several times with an unimpressed look, but then it shifted to one of abject disbelief. That soon shifted to anger as she once more glared at her sister "Damn it, I know you said you'd take any and all customers but for fuck's sake sis-!"

"Wha-? No! Not like that-" her twin waved her off before pausing "-I mean, if he had tons of lien then... I mean he knows where to get us some actual work instead of that garbage you do."

Before Melanie could retaliate, Krimp interjected "Please hear me out! I was just askin' for directions to a place me friend owns! But take a look at where that is!"

He raised a paper in front of Melanie, and the young lady had to squint to make sure she wasn't seeing it incorrectly.

"Oh you have got to be shitting me."

---

The least you could do is act like you don't want to be captured!

Unfortunately for Uthug, the dripping of moisture and occasional sprays of steam from the pipes around him were not enough to overshadow the voice in his head. Following the inmates directions, Uthug had eventually found his way to a surprisingly unguarded maintenance hatch which looked as if it had been hacked open. Once down in the guts of the ship, his passenger had grown even more in-content.

If these bastards start flinging metal or coming at me with weapons, I'll just evade. Slipping out of danger has practically been my motto the past few weeks, you'd be surprised how much I've managed to cheat death so far.

The Shadow's grumblings only served to entertain the Looter, who frowned as he continued traveling. Just how far did this tunnel go? By his estimates this ship had to at least be the size of a small city if its internal dimensions were anything to go off of. It absolutely boggled him that this was all apparently a single vessel, if the Crew really did manage to take it then it'd be like having a mobile fort right at their fingertips. Of course, he was planning on getting the shrakh away from this thing as soon as the Tarks were out of power. Fortresses were magnets for immense battles with both sides taking tons of casualties, and there was no way he was planning on figuring into those numbers.

He could've planned it better, no doubt these Crew guys were just as bloodthirsty as those Caterers or whatever the hell they're calling 'em. But seriously, screw plans. He'd find the nearest Crewmates and ask them if they need someone who could beat the shrakh outta worms, gotta keep it simple or else too many factors start going awry. He'd enjoy staying in the background while the gangs slaughter each other, then nab himself an escape once the dust starts to settle. Wasn't a perfect plan, but there was no way he was gonna take the damned time to make a convoluted, shrakh plan that'd end up failing just as quickly as showing up.

He noticed that his passenger had gone quiet, "Oi, ya make me concerned when all your yapping dies down, ya know?"

It just doesn't make sense.

That made the looter pause in his walking and fold his arms "Excuse me?"

Why would those Atlesians allow their captives to tear this place up so much? They've got Uruks scurrying through their maintenance tunnels and clawing paths threw this machine's innards. If these dumb globs weren't so caught up killing each other they'd already be out, yet there doesn't seem to be any type of suppression system.

Uthug smirked "Maybe they were banking on us killing each other," he began moving again "having their captives tear each other apart must be pretty cost effective."

I suppose its unsurprising given the nature of their captives. So many are Chiefless, so many have gone too long without a proper Warchief helping them see past their instincts and focus.

Uthug rolled his eyes, having not expected the sudden and impromptu lecture he had no choice but to listen to "Look, I get that. I was just saying that with how much we fight each other, are you really surprised that these Atlesian types could've been expecting it?"

That shouldn't give them leeway to be so lax with their prisoners! Even with their safety net this kind of oversight is appalling.

That made Uthug quirk an eyebrow "What's a net got to do with anything?"

Ugh, the Tarks have this vessel built with it. Its why we have to help the Crew win this petty squabble of theirs before a breakout could even be possible. This entire ship is-

A sheet of metal gave out beneath Uthug's feet, and soon the Shadow's voice was drowned out by the Looter's cries of distress as he slammed into a solid floor.

As he groaned and tried getting up, something spoke out.

"Finally one of you coward got the guts to show up!"

As soon as Uthug looked up, he came face to face with a metal mask.

He scrambled back immediately. He had fallen into what seemed like a small room with a single open door, the inmate in front of him seemed semi-covered in patchwork metal armor. Beneath it he could see the tattered remains of the standard jumpsuit, but what clashed mostly with his ramshackle armor was the safety vest. However, the vest did mesh well with the heavily loaded tool belt wrapped around his waist.

At the sides of the room the Looter noticed several other Uruks with similar attire who seemed to have been breaking pieces of the metal walls off when he'd fallen through.

Well, looks like you found them Grub. By all means, get them to accept you without dying.

Uthug frowned at the Shadow's Jab, but pushed himself up to his feet before staring down the Crew member "I'm not with the Caterers."

Almost immediately the inmate sighed, causing laughter to arise from one of the others as they returned to their work "Ya just had to dream, didn't ya Galkar?"

"Piss off!" Galkar grunted before walking over to an unclaimed section of wall and reaching for his tools "Maybe we're lucky and he's some kinda spy, promise to stab him twice if he goes for me liver."

The Looter blinked in confusion, with how his first interaction with the Caterers went he'd at least expected some more hostility. But as he looked around he found that all these Crew Members just looked... bored?

"Look, I want to join up."

They just kept working.

"I was attacked by some of those freaks in cooking attire when I arrived and-"

"Dear lord he's fresh meat." one of the Crewmates commented

"Shut up!" Galkar spat, "he could still be a spy, ya don't know! Hope ain't dead for me, yet!"

Uthug's eye twitched "Are you bastards even listening, here!?"

Calm down, ya sod. They still outnumber you with better gear, don't go pissing them off just-

"Ooh, feisty." another commented "Maybe this one'll actually get some shrakh done around here."

"You act as though you aren't the laziest piece of dung in this entire section o' the ship. Not sure I ever really seen you run towards a brawl."

"I'll have you know I ain't risking my skin around those tricky, knife-throwing lunatics until my armor covers all my weak-points."

"Gonna take a while to get enough scrap for a full body set." Galkar grumbled "Especially if ya keep complaining instead of grabbing ya damn tools and working!"

"All of you are useless!" Uthug spat before shaking his head "Look, just point me in the direction of your boss."

Are you mad?! I'll admit that they may act like untrained filth but they still serve someone. What makes you think they'll just-

"Take a right outside, walk till ya get to the big hall and take a left." Galkar said without hesitation as he remained focused on his work "Then just keep going straight, Boss is at the end."

Uthug wasted no time in leaving, storming out of the room and into the hall where he found even more Crewmates just cutting at the metal walls or turning that metal into weapons and armor.

He paid them as little mind as they did for him, noticing that many reached for their homemade weaponry but just as quickly returned to their work once he passed by.

Uthug had expected many things from what was apparently the second major force in this prison, but what he hadn't foreseen was just how annoying they'd be. He'd been beaten, battered and abused by every manner of being for the past few eeks, but now he was faced with something he never expected to annoy him: being ignored by regular grunts.

As a looter, he usually made an effort not to show up in the limelight, so this didn't even make sense to him either. After so long being everything's whipping boy he should be ecstatic that he wasn't cleaning their weapons for them. He knew he was getting upset over what should be nothing, and that was what worried him. Had he become so used to being in a constant state of internal rage that it was even seepikng into things he found common before?

I don't understand... Isn't there supposed to be a gang war going on?!

And just when Uthug was getting used to his own angry murmurings, Gundza had to jump in with his own.

What is this?! Doesn't even look like they've built any fortifications! Uruks with a fight to win but no sizable fortifications?! Just half-assed armor and blades!? If I was in my own body I would've vomited at this being called a battle of any significance! Do they not know all of their lives are at stake!?

They took a right, only to be met with more of the same. A bunch of Uruks in armor with weapons yet not a single one of them doing anything except reinforcing their own gear.

No training sessions, no plotting attacks, doesn't even look like they've got a proper fight pits set up!

This stream of complaints did nothing but exasperate the Looter's annoyance. He hastened his pace, eager to get to the inevitable confrontation they seemed to be approaching. However, as he drew near an open doorway he slowed down. Guarding the doorway were two Uruks, yet they looked nothing like one would expect of a guard.

He'd noticed immediately that many of the Crew seemed underfed, but he'd assumed the Caterers simply had some kind of monopoly on the food here. It was a fair assumption given what he knew of them so far. But these guards here didn't look underfed, they looked straight up emaciated.

Instead of the usual ramshackle armor, these guys only wore the standard jumpsuit only it looked as thought eighty-seven blades had mauled it. Their bodies seemed thin and frail while covered in evidence of various wounds. The only weapons they had were a single spear each which they held in trembling hands. Far from the uncaring boredom which seemed to radiate from everyone else, these Guards just kept silently muttering in fear as they tried to keep their heads down.

It was so odd that Uthug was almost came to a halt, stopping only when he felt pressure in his noggin'.

Find him! Find the lying rat who managed to do this! Somehow able to make battle boring, I defy them! They have to be some form of rascal who's lied his way into a position of power. We have to overthrow them! Get these globs back in order and get this ball rolling ourselves!

Uthug complied, more so out of his own growing curiosity than the Shadow's growing agitation.

They passed through a small hall, it's lack of lighting contrasting with the well lit room beyond.

-turn the Dark Lord's greatest and most deadliest weapons into such a boring bunch of schmucks, impossible! When we find the runt who's ruining these already admittedly lackluster forces we'll-!

Gundza suddenly went silent as they entered the well lit room for some reason. Uthug didn't understand it, there was a pile of torn fabrics in the middle of the room. Most of them looked as if they'd been ripped from clothes, many looked like pieces of prisoner jumpsuits. In all four corners of the room were more of those tortured guards, all of them glancing to Uthug with looks of shock and disbelief marring their already battered figures.

Didn't seem like enough to make someone like Gundza pause, Uthug had seen worst fates in dungeons back in Mordor. The victimized guards had mostly grabbed his attention because of how different they looked from the bored Crewmates wandering about. Gundza was even older than him, Uthug refused to believe someone like him could be stumped by something like this.

But Uthug looked ahead and trained his eyes on the same thing which Gundza had spotted immediately upon entering: an odd mural which seemed to have been painted onto the far wall of the room. He hadn't given it much attention at first, his eyes having immediately gone to the tortured souls standing in the corners. But as he looked at it more, he noticed something familiar about it.

The Mural seemed to be painted with a suspicious series of Reds and Blacks. From the smell he could tell that most of it was blood. It had initially looked like a big mash of splotches and lines, but the image became clearer the more he looked at it. It was a face, a young face at that, and as he looked at how the reds formed the face's clothing...

"Looks a bit like the lass from the train." he couldn't help but mutter out loud

Oh no...

Uthug flinched back as a thin arm shot out of the pile of fabrics and began helping the hidden body within pull itself out. It was moving so fast that he almost missed the massive sickly growths that covered it. A boil covered head followed, shaking off several more fabrics before whipping back to look at Uthug.

"Ah, so you've seen my darling, eh?" Bubol asked as his sore covered lips stretched into a smile.

---

"Yang... what in God's name is this?"

"Though your words indicate shock and confusion, the smile on your lips tells me this was just the goofy pick me up you needed."

Blake hadn't even noticed that she was smiling. Shaking her head, she rolled up the cat poster as Yang continued to congratulate herself "You guys, really, there's no need for presents."

"After what happened? Are you crazy?" Ruby asked as she sat on Blake's bed "You deserve it!"

"Yeah, its one thing to get the snot beat out of you by that towel-obsessed jackass," Yang raised a finger "but to also take down that Gundza guy while incapacitated! I was so caught up fighting Ratlug that I didn't even notice you struggling."

"He was good," Blake admitted "if you guys were distracted by me for even a second then..."

She trailed off, but they could all feel the negative connotations. Weiss stepped over and handed the Faunus the book she'd acquired "If you're feeling too altruistic to consider these as gifts, then simply consider them the first parts of the Team RWBY celebration party we plan to have as soon as you're back at Beacon. How long did the doctor say?"

"A few days, a week at most." Blake responded as she laid the book in her lap and sighed "They just want to make sure the braces and stitches are holding everything together properly."

"Then that gives us plenty of time to get everyone's schedule synced!" Yang snickered as she wrapped an arm around her sister and gave her a little shake "Rube's gonna knock your socks off with these new cookie recipes she's got!"

"Yang!" Ruby pushed her away with a pout "That was supposed to be a surprise!"

As the young Team Leader scolded her giggling sister, Blake took the time to examine the book in her lap a bit more "Weiss," she began as she recognized the author "is this-?"

"Geomander Finch, yes. I'm positive you should be resting during your stay." the Heiress stated as she observed the hospital room "But, with how long I've known you, I figured getting a book in your hands was imperative."

Blake smiled at that before wheeling herself over to her radio and setting the book next to it, turning the classical music down a bit before turning back towards the white-haired youth "Weiss, thank you. Really, I never realized you were-... Weiss?"

Weiss hadn't turned to face her, still looking around the room with a disgruntled expression before she finally realized everyone was looking at her "Hm?"

"Are you okay?" Blake asked "You seem distracted."

Weiss blinked, but before she could wave it off Yang grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Our resident Ice Queen is just a little peeved because she got taken for a ride earlier!" the Blonde explained with a grin as the smaller girl tried to unsuccessfully dislodge her.

"I was not!" Weiss insisted "I merely underestimated their ability to waste time, I knew it was pointless from the very beginning! Truly!"

Blake tilted her head in confusion, only for Ruby to shake her head.

"Two very... Uh, expressive Celebrities showed up at a place we were trying to eat at." the Little Reaper explained "Weiss took offense to their antics, things got a little out of control."

"A little?!" Yang snickered as Weiss finally broke free " Rubes come on! I can already see the headlines! Schnee Heiress takes on Star Singer of Pug-Bringer Studios. Ya think this'll start some kind of Celebrity rivalry?"

"There will be no such thing!" Weiss insisted before pointing at Yang "Don't think I forgot who was in the midst of that mess helping spur everyone on you-!"

"Pug-Bringer Studios?"

All eyes went to Blake as she rubbed her chin "That's..." she turned back to her radio "I've heard of them, I've been listening to their music for the past few hours."

Weiss shook her head in disbelief before walking over and listening for several seconds, eyes narrowing at the fluent sounds of violins and piano melded together "So you're telling me... that those two offensive lunatics managed to make... this?"

"I told ya Weiss, their specialty is churning out music of all types in rapid succession." Yang shrugged "They haven't been in Vale for a week and already they've got several albums worth of stuff."

"That doesn't seem physically possible."

"I thought so too when I first heard of 'em," Yang whipped out her scroll "which is why I subscribed to their livestreams."

"You what?" Ruby asked

"Yeah, check it out!" the blonde gestured towards the Radio "Mind turning that down a bit, Blake?"

The faunus complied as her partner searched through several tabs, finally the team gathered around her as she stopped on one.

The screen showed Rolo and Banz in the middle of a semi-destroyed club. The Singer was reclining in a tattered couch while occasionally nodding his head to a serene classical melody, similar to the one Blake was listening but different style. This tune was accompanied by techno trance which Rolo was producing from an oddly designed DJ booth positioned near Banz's couch. It looked as though someone had torn apart several DJ booths and mashed them together. The singer stood in the odd machine and would manipulate the technical parts of the music. The addition of techno gave the music an intense alternate vibe that the Singer seemed to be enjoying, despite the frown firmly placed on his painted lips.

Checking the edges of the screen revealed a number of others in the destroyed club with them, a bunch of men and women in ruined masquerade attire. They seemed to be lazing about the ruined building or occasionally moving in time with the beat. Most of their expressions seemed hidden behind the dirty Masquerade masks each wore, except for one or two who were expressing so much that they could be read despite most of their faces being covered.

"What... what exactly is this?"

"You subscribe to Pug-Bringer Studios and get to see the creative process in its entirety." Yang explained "Although, these guys mostly come up with their stuff on the fly so this is basically just watching them dick around before getting suddenly getting inspired and spitting out a hit."

"You expect me to believe that they've managed to produce an extreme amount of content without even practicing?" Weiss asked "Yang, even planning out a single song can take weeks, depending on its quality. You can't blame me for being skeptical when you say these two ignoramuses can somehow skip past the entire creative process by-!"

"These are the guys who you got into an argument with?" Blake asked as she examined the odd duo on the screen.

"Well... yes," Weiss admitted as she folded her arms "They were upsetting everyone around them, I felt as though encouraging them to be a bit more respectful was necessary."

"Doesn't that guy make music with his semblance?" Ruby asked while pointing towards Rolo "Why's he need that whacky booth thing?"

"Nah nah, sis," Yang shook her head "see he can only make Classical sounding stuff so he compensates by working the Booth as well."

"Still doesn't explain how they can make stuff so quickly." the Heiress interjected

"Look, just watch."

The classical trance finally ground to a stop, and the few Masqueraders who were dancing joined the others in relaxing. Rolo leaned forward on his mixing station to look at his partner with anticipation "Feeling better yet champ?"

Banz shrugged, "Meh."

"Oh come on, lolololol!" Rolo backed off his station and walked over to the Singer "My sublime melodies always get ya up an' at 'em!"

"Just not feeling it man."

"Come on there big guy!" one of the Masqueraders wearing a Bunny Mask said as he stumbled past, bottle in hand "Nothing matters enough to be feeling so shit about! Acting like a total pusscake!"

Banz frowned and leaned up to scowl at him "I don't need any of your crap, G.B!" he shouted before lying back down "I just never realized how weak I was without money."

"Pointless! All pointless!" the Masquerader downed more alcohol before stumbling off screen

"He's got a point there, Bansy." Rolo kneeled beside "So what she had better training than you in the world of Language arts, you shouldn't be letting it affect your work."

"Dear lord," Weiss's eyes widened "are they still going on about it?"

Yang snickered "Media sensation of the week, Weiss, I'd be surprised if they weren't still talking about it."

The Heiress glared at her for a moment before thinking of something "This is live, right? How many are watching?!"

The Brawler glanced at her before minimizing the stream, "Uh, over twenty three hundred?"

"What!?"

"I mean, I always knew how powerful I'd be when my pockets were bursting at the seams with Lien," Banz continued as he got up and wandered from his couch "But I never expected others to use their own excessive wealth against me! You know what that means lads?"

The Masqueraders began looking towards him as Rolo realized where this was going and quickly made for his booth once more.

"It means we gotta get fuckin' loaded faster! So that none o' them out there could ever upstage me with cash ever again!" Banz bellowed as Rolo began producing a beat "We can't just be swimming in lien, we gotta be fuckin' drowning in it!"

He hopped onto the couch before someone in the crowd tossed him a microphone, the furniture made sounds of strain under his weight as more of the Masqueraders got up and approached.

"Do you hear me?" the clown shouted louder as Rolo's beat grew in intensity "I'm not talking 'bout making it rain lien-!"

---

"I'm talking 'bout a fuckin' flood!"

Bebe winced as the beat dropped hard enough to nearly make her drop her drink. Suddenly, Banz was spitting hard raps about money and stuff while the Masqueraders danced to it.

The Limo Driver still hadn't gotten used to the sight, and made an effort to avoid any of the no-doubt intoxicated dancers lest they try dragging her into the spotlight. If there was one good thing about her current arrangements that she could enjoy, it was that there was enough liquor around this 'Studio' to keep her well and truly hammered while she wondered where in life she went wrong.

Just as she was going to take another sip, the bottle was suddenly snatched from her grasp by a passing Masquerader.

"Hey!" she shouted as the bunny-masked bastard danced away. She was about to give chase, but instead gritted her teeth as he danced into sight of one of the many cameras set up around this part of club. He turned back towards her and downed her entire drink in one go before letting the bottle fall to the ground next to him and raising his arms, taunting her with a grin. He probably knew of how desperately she'd been trying to keep out of their live-streams, and continued gesturing for her to try anything before turning and joining the rest of the Masqueraders.

Bebe sighed, already these guys seemed to be learning how much of a pushover she was, but at least she could expect them to not try murdering and eating her like the Uruks at Hork's Tower.

Thinking about the tower made her wince, and she didn't even have her drink to distract her anymore. Just as she was about to go searching for another drink, she spotted something odd.

Far out of the view of the cameras, three knew people entered the clubroom through the front entrance. It was odd, Bebe hadn't been here long but she already knew for a fact that the Boss had a strict no entry policy for most outsiders.

At the head of them was a really large, hooded Jogger, who looked over the dance floor with a gleaming grin as his two cohorts looked around.

"They really didn't clean shit." Melanie noted as she and her sister followed Krimp to a side door.

"Maybe my pal can get you girls a job as janitors!" Krimp suggested as he held a door open for them. The three entered a hall which was sparsely populated by several tired Masqueraders, but the Uruk led the way through the dancers with little interference.

"Pfft, already spent too many years of my life in this pigsty just standing around getting ogled at." Militia commented as she procured a makeup kit from her skirt pocket and proceeded to start applying "I'm not doing the same thing while having to clean it as well."

"Now hold on," Melanie said as she moved around a passed out Masquerader "I hated this idea from the beginning but even a janitorial job could help you-"

"Nope," Miltia interrupted immediately as she finished her lipstick "Hey Krimp, this friend of yours seeing anyone right now?"

"What?!" Melanie sputtered as Krimp gave a thoughtful hum

"Don't know really, never did seem like the romantic type."

"Hold up." Melanie raised a hand as the trio came to a stop "You aren't seriously intending to-"

"Slut it up in the event this guy doesn't slide us a good deal?" the red themed youth offered as she pocketed her kit again "Yes Sis, that's exactly what I plan to do."

"Damn it," Melanie jerked a thumb towards Krimp "if he's this guy's friend he's probably another human eating monster! Ya know, the guys who've apparently been murdering and raiding people outside the city for months now?"

"I don't care if he's a goddamn Grimm, he's a business owner who's possibly gone through a long enough dry-spell to where he couldn't resist a piece of me."

"I like your optimistic opportunism buddy!" Krimp cheered before he continued leading the way, seemingly blissfully unaware of the argument which broke out between the twins as they continued their way through the back paths of the club. Several of the Masqueraders looked at the arguing duo as the giant led them by, some even momentarily shifting their masks out of the way to see them better.

The arguing finally stopped when the siblings walked right into the back of their guide, who had finally come to a stop without their knowledge, "Here we are!"

Looking past him, the siblings spotted a simple door with a desk near it. Sitting at that desk was what looked to be another Masquerader, only her outfit seemed fresh and new compared to the filthy ones the others wore. She'd kept her eyes on the three the moment they entered her vision, but remained idly tapping away at an old monitor on her desk.

"Hello," Krimp greeted her as he approached the desk "I'm here to see my friend! Now would you mind if I-?"

"Just go in, who cares." the Masquerader shrugged

"Thankies!" Krimp said as he quite literally danced past her and threw open the door "Oggie! I'm back!"

When the twins entered, they found a sparsely decorated office with one wall having a large window which looked out over the club's main room. Lights and music filtered in slightly, the pounding beats causing several wall decorations to shake. Along with fake Grimm heads were several framed portraits of Pugs, some just playing while others while others were simply framed in cute poses. The juxtaposition between the dogs and the beasts was practically palpable.

The pictures led to a large wooden desk at the end of the room, behind it was a chair which was facing away from the trio towards a large golden shield mounted on the wall.

"What did I tell you about code names?" a man's voice came from the chair

"Didn't really tell me ya name when we last chatted." Krimp rubbed the back of his head as the Twins flanked him

"We gave you a scroll, and I've been in the media several times." the chair turned around to reveal a heavy-set man with an absolutely immense beard and wild mane of hair obscuring most of his face "I'd appreciate you doing a bit of research before turning up-... who are these two?"

"Just a couple of pals I picked up!" Krimp giggled "They used to work here, ya see. And one of them helped me find this place so I said I'd hook them up with ya!"

Melanie noticed the bearded man's eyebrow twitch as he stood, straightening the sleeves of his dress shirt as he took a calming breath. Frowning, she leaned towards her sister and whispered "Still think you can sleep your way through him?"

"Maybe..." Militia said slowly as she continued evaluating the business owner "He kinda seems... familiar..."

"Krimp, my boss was very open in offering support should you need it." the man said carefully as he walked in front of his desk "His offer does not extend to any friends you procure, there's only so much I can do considering my situation."

"They said they's really desperate for money, though!" Krimp exclaimed before nodding towards the window "And considering how most of these fellows workin' here were desperate when ya found them, I figured you wouldn't mind..."

The bearded man sighed, shaking his head for a moment before Militia suddenly snapped her fingers "Wait, you sound like the guy who kidnapped Jun-"

It was like a switch, at one second the man was standing there with a stern look, the next moment he was sailing forward. Even Krimp hadn't expected it, flinching back as his friend's hands launched forward and yanked the twins up by their throats. Oggie slammed the door shut beside them with his foot as he glared at the girls in his grasp.

"Should've known you'd just have to bring these two in with ya." he grumbled to the startled Uruk, now sounding much rougher than before "Just my luck."

"H-hey sis," Melanie coughed out to her sibling "still worth it?"

"Considering my options." Militia replied

"Wait Oggie-!" Krimp tried to say

"Bigsby, damn it!" the Bearded man shouted "The name is Mr. Bigsby!"

"So that's what they call ya 'round here!" Krimp giggled "Now isn't that a snazzy name, girls?"

Melanie rolled her eyes "Absolutely inspiring." she mumbled before grabbing hold of the arm holding her and swinging her legs up. Mr. Bigsby saw her ploy and leaned his head back, avoiding the tip of her shoe but catching the very tip of her heel in the ear. Twisting her limb carefully, she dug the heel deeper into his ear and made the large man stumble.

Krimp stepped out of the way as his pal stumbled from the door, swinging the girls in his grasp. Militia managed to snatch one of the various Pug pictures from the wall as her sister struggled with the Business Owner. Finally, she managed to work her way out of his grasp and leap away onto his desk,

Mr. Bigsby tightened his fist and growled at the red-themed woman, just as Militia raised the picture frame and slammed it over his head. Things were silent for a moment before Bigsby slowly turned his glare towards her.

The two stared at each other down for a moment before the girl sighed "That was supposed to stun you."

"It didn't." the Bearded Man seethed before raising his free hand.

"Boss," the Masquerader Secretary stepped in with an unfortunate Deer-Faunus trapped in her grasp "this one was trying to spy on-"

She paused upon spying her boss in the midst of a power struggle with a young chick, before sighing and shoving Bebe in as she pulled her scroll out "Don't pay me enough for this shit."

"Wait!" Bebe tried crawling after her, but the Secretary was already lost in her screen as she closed the door behind her "Don't leave me in here with them! Don't-!"

"Bored out there, huh Hybrid?"

Bebe froze before slowly turning to look at Mr. Bigsby, who grumbled before releasing Militia and walking back over to his desk. He yanked the picture frame off him "You tarks and your damned curiosity, never know when to keep to ya fuckin' selves."

"S-sir I wasn't-"

"If you start spewing excuses I'm gonna put my fist through ya goddamned skull." Bigsby bit before glancing to Melanie "Off the desk."

Melanie narrowed her eyes for a moment, "Not gonna go snatching at my throat again, are ya?"

"Get... Off."

Once the girl was out of the way, Bigsby procured a glass and bottle. Melanie inched her way closer to the door "Militia," she whispered towards her sister "let's bounce before- Mil? Mil!"

"So you're an Uruk?" the Red-Themed Twin asked Bigsby as she leaned on his desk "You eat people before?"

"Mil, what the hell are you doing!?"

"Just trying to butter up our employer, obviously." Miltia shrugged

"He was choking us mere seconds ago!"

"Doesn't mean his wallets are any lighter," the youth countered before turning to the business owner "Right, big guy?"

Instead of answering her, Bigsby downed his glass before refilling it "Krimp, how much did you tell them?"

"Just that Pugsy helped me out after me and Brother had our little spat," the Friendly Uruk explained "and how I was told to find you if I ever needed something to do while I recovered!"

"You look healthier than the last time I saw you."

"Externally!" Krimp insisted as he pulled his hood down and rubbed at his head "Still feeling down after hearing 'bout how big brother feels about me. Haven't been helping out as many people as I was before, wanted to see old friends like you, Ogthrak!"

"Code names!" the Disguised Uruk grunted before scoffing and turning to the twins "And where do these two figure into anything?"

"Ya screwed up our last job," Militia pointed out immediately "we're broke now and desperate enough to do anything to get our old gig back."

"The fuck?" Melanie flinched before waving her sibling's statement off "She doesn't speak for both of us!"

"Come on Sis, Uruk or not I don't know a single person who can turn down twins if they act sexy enough."

"I'm not involving myself in this kinda shit!"

Bigsby took another long drink of alcohol as the twins began arguing again, his eyes travelling from the pair to the two other sluggards currently taking up space in his office.

That pissant White Fang Grunt had taken the more acceptable approach of picking a corner as far away from everyone and looking as small as possible. The disguised Uruk could appreciate someone who knew when they weren't wanted. Krimp wasn't having any of it, keeping a modest distance from the terrified Faunus but still openly observing her with curiosity.

He momentarily glanced towards the window, which still pulsed from the music being played outside, before sitting at his desk and pulling up a screen.

As he typed, Bebe tried to ignore the Uruk's gaze. Things had been going well, relatively at least, nobody was focusing on her and the idea of slipping out unscathed seemed like a possibility. But then this big bastard locked his gaze on her, and suddenly the panic rushed to the forefront of her mind once again.

"You smell familiar, lass!" Krimp pointed out "Doesn't make sense, since I can't recall meeting you before. And I remember all o' my friends, guess I didn't get the pleasure, buddy!"

"T-that's great... I... I don't-"

"Ya seem scared, lass. But there's no worry! One of me friends helped me learn a plethora of ways to get closer to all the softskin acquaintances of the world!" Krimp exclaimed before spreading his arms wide "I know how to handle fearful friends, you need a hug!"

"No! That's okay, really!" Bebe shouted as she scrambled to get away, but it was no use. She couldn't even move a foot before she was snapped up by the giant's arms "Wait! I don't-! Oh god!"

Krimp stood tall as the Faunus struggled and thrashed in his arms "Hold on, lady! I know what I'm doing, just gotta get the right grip here-"

His limbs tightened around her, and the panic exploded into full on horror as she felt it harder to breath.

This was it, after fighting for survival surrounded by man-eating murderers she'd end up dying in the arms of a mentally-challenged monster in a trashy night club to the soundtrack of freestyle rap music... Her brother would call her a shame to the entire Fang if he could see her now.

"Now I think I need to get my arm here, now if I squeeze in just the right manner..."

So many things she wanted to do with her life, so many wrongs she should've righted. She never got to see the Faunus revolution, she never got to see her brother after her capture, and she never got to apologize to Uthug for-

And suddenly there was peace...

Bebe ceased her thrashing, letting her limbs hang limp as her panic was practically drowned under a sudden tsunami of pleasant feelings.

"There we go, Buddy." Krimp cooed as he shifted a hand to pat the Deer-Faunus on the head "I give great hugs, eh?"

She didn't respond, instead releasing a number of satisfied sighs as she allowed herself to melt in his embrace.

"Hey Og!" Krimp called over to Bigsby, who had moved to a printer near his desk "You's been seeming more stressed ever since old Pugsy made ya set this whole thing up, ya want me to give you a hug as well?"

"You try to hug me and I sweat to God, Krimp." the Business Owner snarled just as the printer finished its most recent assignment "Here we go."

Several staples later and two packets were slammed loudly on his desk, finally interrupting the arguing twins.

"Contracts," he stated before retrieving his glass and bottle and pouring a drink "I need them studied and signed in case people question your employment."

"Ugh, are you serious?" Militia pouted as she bent low to flip through the contract "Junior never had us sign any stupid contracts."

"Then why aren't you still working for him?" Mr. Bigsby asked as he downed his glass and walked away

"Because you and your asshole friend kidnapped him!" Melanie spat

"We wouldn't have been able to if he knew how to run a Club/Crime Ring properly." he concluded as he stepped near the window and looked down upon the dancing Masqueraders "Besides, I refuse to conduct any forms of public business which I can't legally enforce through contractual obligation."

"Hey, we never said we'd-!"

"Here." Militia offered him the signed contract

"Goddamn it, why?!"

"A: Money's good. B: Do you actually believe that he's gonna let us decline at this point?"

Melanie grimaced before snatching up her own contract and flipping it open "Geez, how goddamn much could some man-eating dipshit really ha-ha-ha..."

As she trailed off, Mr. Bigsby finished off his bottle and placed them on a nearby end table before turning back to them.

"How." Melanie asked

He raised an eyebrow.

"How the hell could you afford this... Any of this?!"

"Proper connections and business sense." He stated before moving back to the desk and taking a seat "Maybe you could show some yourselves by recognizing this income as the proper deterrent it is and accept my offer. You two get prime seats in the soon to be Entertainment center of the world, congratulations."

Melanie sighed, but a quick glance to her sister prompted her to nod.

Mr. Bigsby looked to the side, "Ms. Genteel will be assisting you in acclimating to your roles."

"Do I even want to know who that is?"

He gestured past the twins, and they followed his hand to the Faunus still relaxing in Krimp's hug.

"Bebe should know your soon to be coworkers enough to make a perfect guide." Mr. Bigsby stated

At the sound of her name being spoken, the Faunus finally looked towards them "Hmmm?"

"Maybe being a chaperone will keep you from getting bored and sticking ya fucking nose where it shouldn't be."

Bebe blinked, Krimp's hug now slightly less affective at soothing her now that she realized all eyes were on her "Wait... what?"

"These two will be working with those idiots you drive around," Bigsby grunted as he examined the signed contracts "you get to help them get familiar with each other."

"Wait, I'm sorry. I-" she wiggled a bit before Krimp finally released her "I think I might have missed something-"

"Guess you'll be showing us the works around here, eh kid?" Militia said with a passive shrug

"But I don't-"

"Indeed," her boss interrupted "and the first thing you need taken care of is clothes. If ya haven't noticed, my employees gotta look a certain level of artistically deranged in order to fit in."

Melanie folded her arms "Me and my sis know our clothes."

"Then get to it already ladies."

"B-but I was in the middle of-" Bebe bit her lip as the Twins approached, unwilling to say she was so caught up in a friendly hug that she missed her latest assignment "I mean I was-!"

The Twins each took hold of an arm and dragged her with them out the door.

"Wait, I didn't hear! What did he-?!"

"You guys got some kind of dressing room in here?" Militia interrupted

The moment Krimp closed the door behind them, Bigsby sighed.

"Now what do we do with you?" the disguised Uruk pondered for several long seconds.

"I'm still offering that hug, my boy."

---

Do NOT, let him know I'm here.

Uthug hadn't been planning it, instead he tried his best to hold stock still as the Diseased Uruk circled him like a hungry predator.

"It hasn't been long since my unfortunate incarceration," Bubol cooed as his eyes roamed over the informative morsel who wandered into his humble abode "but I still feel as though its been ages since I've seen my beloved little rose. Tell me, is she just as ravishing as she was when last I felt her wondrously sizable weapon slashing me about?"

The Looter didn't respond immediately, still trying to calm his nerves, Gundza didn't take it well.

The Shrakh are you doing? You need to answer, remain unflinching.

With a small breath, Uthug folded his arms as the archer came to a stop in front of him "She and her dumbass friends beat the shrahk out of me while some dipshit exile was controlling my body.

Excuse me?

"Oh! So it seems Gundzie continued his hunt!" Bubol clapped his hands together before drawing closer as his grin stretched wider

Uthug fought hard as he could not to instinctively move back. The Diseased Uruk's sore covered flesh was off-putting enough at a distance, but up close he could almost feel the pus-filled sacks writhing with their grotesque contents.

Bubol searched his expression for a while, humming in thought for a while before pouting and leaning back. He stepped away and walked over to the pile of cloth scraps "Tell me, as I've never had the pleasure of being taken over so thoroughly, how did it feel to have my close friend inside your flesh?"

The Scavenger took a long breath.

Careful, if he see's that he's upsetting you he'll consider you something to be toyed with, but if you push back too hard he'll consider it a challenge to match.

"Meh, I was lucky enough to be unconscious for most of it." Uthug folded his arms as he watched the Sickly Uruk pull a long coat made of various patchwork fabrics from the pile "Only came to right as he ditched me, but your one of your girl's friends punched me into a train before I could do much. The Yellow one, I think."

"Oh dear, seems she found her sister after all." Bubol pouted as he pulled the patchwork coat on and placed his hands on his hips "Gonna be harder to get to her tight little frame once I get out of here, such a pity."

The Archer sighed before standing in silence for a moment, then glanced back to Uthug with a smirk "So tell me, love, how have you been since abandoning my darling little All-Eater?"

Uthug fought to keep from backing up, "You remember me?"

"Of course, once I catch sight of proper meat, I could never forget." Bubol cackled before pointing towards him "And from what I see, you've gotten nice and tender since last you were caught in my gaze."

The Looter grimaced "Don't know why I was surprised." he shook his head "Look, when I got thrown in here I expected to finally stop getting involved in bull crap, but instead I find out ya'll are still killing each other in here too!"

Bubol put his hands in his coat pockets before tilting his head to the side "Oh yes, that would be Felgrat and his tantrum."

"Who?"

Bubol walked past him out of the room, gesturing for him to follow as he continued "We both got picked up at the same time, and let's just say he wasn't in the best of moods. I suggested to the uninspired masses that 'Hey, we have enough globs in here to take this lovely little vessel and convert it to a little pleasure cruise.'"

The Diseased Uruk smiled to a nearby Crewmate, who merely grumbled before returning to working on his armor.

"Felsy and I had a bit of a rough patch during our last group project which left him trapped underground, forced to ;eave his own boys for dead before being chewed up and spat out by the Storm. I managed to get off scott free and he never truly forgave me, so he immediately offered a counter: Just blast a way out!"

He turned back to Uthug with a frown "I had already decided where I was gonna put my pleasure pit and the flaying corner, so I couldn't back down on his accord. Next thing I know we's sabotaging each other, getting ourselves locked in this blasted stalemate while other Uruks on the outside get to slash and be slashed by my lover! Its a torment I actually don't enjoy, but I'm sure I can find a way to given some time."

"I don't plan on sticking around this dreg heap for long," Uthug grunted "but it don't look like none of us are getting out of here until one of you takes down the other and puts this damned blood feud to rest."

"Heh, you can try lad but we got each other deadlocked." Bubol gestured around "Here in these tunnels we got all the metal we need, but those bastards up there got all the cookin' supplies locked down. Even grab the shrakh the Atlas lads drop us, my mates been eating raw Uruk for weeks! And we can't even cook it up properly like Felgrat's lads do! I swear they sneak away all the corpses 'round here sooner or later."

"Wait, if the damned dungeon keepers are giving ya food then why ya already eatin' each other instead of trrying harder to nab it first?"

"Pfft," Bubol held back a chuckle "you think these prissy tarks know how to prepare proper meals? They just don't got the protein that well cooked Glob-Meat provides."

The Diseased Uruk cackled at that before turning and making for his little room once more "Glad to have you, lad. Don't go and get that tender form ruined too soon."

Passing by the tormented door guards, Bubol lashed out and snatched one of them by the shoulder before dragging them in with him, "No! Yesterday was my turn, sir! Please! PLEASE!"

Uthug merely grumbled at the display before turning away and looking over the bored-looking Crewmates once again.

Pitiful. Though I admit I may have overestimated these Chiefless swine. Either too rowdy and non-committal or too brain-dead and idiotic to serve, these fools probably haven't felt the guidance of a true Uruk in ages. And with none other than that madman leading them, no wonder their unproductive minds have no idea how to truly function in a scenario such as this.

"You do know that we're both Chiefless too, right?" Uthug pointed out as he began walking

Exiled. Still means I have the true dedication and rigor of a proper soldier, unlike these uncultured filth. You, on the other hand, have simply never known the joy of being made more deadly through subservience to a proper instructor.

"I'm just dying from giddiness."

"Who the Shrakh are you talkin' to?!" a nearby Crewmate asked as the Looter passed

You better check that attitude, we gotta work together if we're gonna whip these sorry slops into a proper Uruk-Hai force. I don't know how well they've got this vessel bugged, so I need you to be my body.

Uthug paused, taking a moment to look around at the sad appearance of these usually bloodthirsty creatures.

"Fine, don't really have a choice at this time anyway."

And stop fucking talking out loud!

---

AN: Here it is, Chapter 13 ready to deflate the mood from the action roller coaster that was last chapter.

I had to do some scene swapping between this and the next chapter in order to improve its flow, but it shouldn't be too noticeable especially considering our current round of subplots. Because of last chapter's excess amount of fight scenes I planned on making these next few ones less combat oriented, at least to build up to the Mistral Regional Tournament.

We finally passed the 300k mark... not even fifteen chapters in. I suppose its an honor to have stuck with a story this long and end up with this much content, so woohoo.

But that's besides the point, let's talk about Zog.

Most people who play Shadow of Mordor or even Shadow of War remember when they first encounter a singer, Uruks who somehow manage to base their entire lives around song despite being bloodthirsty soldiers. It can just come as a shock to the unprepared, which was how it was for me.

I'd met my share of nutcase Uruks by then, but even I was unprepared for when Zog and I first clashed weapons and he sang a heartfelt ballad about how I had no chance of defeating him.

Now Zog is similar to Tuka in that he was by no means a difficult opponent, but his personality and interactions made him enjoyable enough to land him a side character role in this story. From how he'd sing to others to his odd relationship with the Poet, Zog was just too entertaining not to miss after his death.

Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a review or comment if you are so inclined to do. Things you enjoyed about it? Things you hated about it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? Follow or Favorite at your leisure and I will see you all in the next installment of The Dreamer Gate.

Next Chapter: The Poet