AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Thank you for all the support for this story, it means a lot to me. This one shows Blake meeting a lot of new and familiar faces in Vale as she returns to The Club. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.

Chapter 14 – Hit The Floor

Blake.

Night had fallen over Vale. In a near abandon lot, Blake leaned against a white car, "Why is this guy so late," She commented before she sipped a cup of coffee, but grimaced at the bitter taste, "And how do Weiss and Yang drink this stuff to stay awake." She said before smiling, "I could do what Ruby does and just add an unhealthy amount of sugar." The black cat faunus chuckled before her smile slowly faded to sadness, "I hope they're doing well…"

Suddenly, Blake's ears twitched, "Well, well, well." She heard a familiar voice from behind. However, its familiarity brought back unpleasant memories. Walking up was a man in a white long coat. A cane was in his right hand, while he tossed a finished cigar with his left. His orange hair was partly obscured by his bowler hat, "Hello Cat." The orange-haired criminal said with a smirk.

"Roman!" Blake said with a glare, reading her Gambol Shroud.

"Hey, is that any way to speak to your passenger?" Roman responded with the black cat faunus gasping, "Junior said my ride would be a bit…black and white." He said with a chuckle, Blake gritting her teeth, "Sorry I'm late, I wanted to walk around a bit. You know, remember the neighborhood."

"I thought you fled Vale a long time ago?" Blake said holstering her weapons but maintained her scowl.

"I went on vacation, found a nice island where I could relax without the worry of being shot or killed. Even Grimm left me be so I could have some real alone time." The orange-haired criminal said as he walked to the car, "But now, it's for me to go back to making money the best way I know how. I just need Junior to set me up with some good leads. Maybe a bodyguard or two." He then smirked at Blake, "I'd ask if you were available, but I feel like that's too much bad luck for me to carry."

Blake gritted her teeth before sighing, "Let's just get this over with." She said before getting in the driver seat. Roman let out a single laugh before entering the shotgun seat. The black cat faunus finished her coffee before she started the car and driving off.

After a few miles of silence, Roman decided to speak up, "So, how's Red doing? Gotten herself killed yet?" He asked with a smirk, "Or that Monkey Friend of yours?"

"Don't speak about Ruby that way. She is far more skilled than the last time you saw her." Blake responded, keeping her eyes on the road, but maintaining her scowl, "Sun went back to his hometown. I haven't seen him in almost a year."

"Oh, and here I thought you two were going to make come freaky looking babies," the orange-haired criminal commented, "You two, Red, and that crazy girl messed up my plans at the docks."

"With the White Fang, I remember." Blake finished his thought, her voice serious, "Tell me, do you know anything about The White Fang Killer?"

"Nope, not a clue." Roman said before smirking, "All I know is, I'm not on that psychopath's hit list. I thought I was, but it seems he only cares about killing those with extra appendages."

"What's your opinion of him?" Blake said, but silence fell between the two for a few blocks.

Roman sighed, his smile gone, "Look, I may not have as close of a connection to that group as you did." He then looked over to the rearview mirror, "I did meet a couple that were good grunts, even some I got to know on a first-name basis." Blake glanced over to see a look of remorse in Roman's eyes, "However, when I tried to get in contact with then, that's when I learn about this White Fang Killer." He then looked over to the black cat faunus, "Point is, this is one thing we can agree on." He then leaned back in his seat, "This guy is the worst." The two then drove the rest of the way in silence.

After reaching the parking lot, Blake stopped the car. In taking out the keys, she handed then to Roman, "The note said you keep the car."

"Lucky me," Roman said as he took the keys, "You staying for a drink?" He said as the black cat faunus closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Or do you need to head home for a cat nap?"

"I'll leave when I get my information from Junior." Blake said before opening her eyes, "Afterwards, I hope I never see you again."

"Right back at you," Roman responded before the two exited the car. As they walked up the door to The Club, a look of panic shot across the orange-haired criminal's face.

As Blake was about to place her left hand on the door, Roman intercepted with his cane, "Hey!" She said with him signaling her to be quiet.

"I thought you faunus were supposed to have some sort of sixth sense for danger?" he slightly whispered as she had a look of confusion, "We're right outside a club at its busiest hour," Roman said as Blake realized it too, "Why is it so quiet?"

Blake had a look of focus as she nodded. She readied her Gambol Shroud, leaning against the door. Roman nodded back as he leaned against the opposite door. He pushed the door open a few inches. The two then peered through the jar, but their eyes suddenly widened. Roman looked away as he placed his right hand on his mouth, holding back the vomit. Blake remained paralyzed, but still pushed open the door to the Club.

Inside was a massacre. The floor was littered with the cadavers of over two dozen men in suits. The walls showed multiple splatter marks as if bodies were flung against it a lethal speed. Blake's breathing was heavy. However, she could taste the blood in the air, almost as if it was red mist enveloping The Club. It was then that she noticed something else the bodies had in common. None of them had their heads anymore.

"W-What happened here?" Blake asked Roman, but her eyes were transfixed to the inside of The Club.

"I don't know," Roman said after swallowing his vomit. He then looked over to see Blake walk into The Club, "Hey! What are you-" he called before following her inside.

Inside, Blake tried to avoid the bodies. However, she accidentally stepped in a pile of bloody flesh. In looked down, she realized it was the hair and skin of a skull with bits of bone and brain matter still attached. Her eyes began to tremble as her breathing became sporadic, "I'm sorry." She said in a weak voice as she walked over the pile, doing her best to avoid any other remains.

Roman looked around as he followed her, "This…This is messed up!" He said as he looked at the lifeless bodies without heads, "Whoever did this, they were meticulous about the way to kill these guys."

Blake and Roman then reached the counter to the bar. In looking over, the black cat faunus saw him. Junior sat against the wall of drinks; his clothes stained with blood. However, he had met the same end as his employees. The only thing over his vest was his bleeding neck, nothing else, "I-I," Blake stumbled as she remembered his face, "I saw him this morning."

"And I talked to him before my flight landed here." Roman said as he had a grim realization, "That was less than an hour ago." He then turned to Blake, "The killer might still be here." He then started to walk to the exit, "We got to go, now!" Blake was about to turn around to leave. However, she noticed a laptop near Junior's right hand. She leaped over the counter, causing Roman to turn around, "Cat, what are you doing!?" Roman whispered in a raised voice as he quickly returned to the bar.

Blake examined the laptop and noticed a USB drive was inserted into the machine. On the drive was a piece of tape with some writing on it, "Blondie's Faunus Friend." She read aloud, "He kept his end of the deal." The black cat faunus said before removing the drive, then looked back to Junior's body, "Thank you." She said before looking to Roman, "We can go now."

"Fantastic, now let's leave be-" Roman was saying until a loud car crash cut him off. However, they did not hear a screech beforehand. Blake and Roman ran to the exit of The Club, only to discover what happened.

From the upper level of The Club, this man must have jumped out. His landing spot, the same as the parked while car. The metal wrapped around his body, but the man peeled it away as if it was nothing. The car was immobile, but this man's dark attire was unaffected by the damage. Blake and Roman remained speechless, sweat dripped from their faces, but this man had no head.

Blake took step back, her heart racing. Accidently, her right foot nudged a beer bottle. With that small notice, The Headless Hunter turned around. However, nobody was there. His body radiated a black and dark blue aura as it entered The Club, searching.

Inside Roman hid behind a turned over table on the right side. While Blake was on the left side, hiding near an uprooted part of the floor. The Headless Hunter examined the dead bodies in the center, kneeling to where the head used to be.

Roman silently signaled to the black cat faunus, calling her over. Blake looked over to him a nodded. After seeing The Headless Hunter was still preoccupied, she activated her semblance, leaving a shadow behind. She then snuck over to his said as The Headless Hunter stood up. Once Blake was close enough, she sighed. However, she noticed Roman had a look of panic, "Stop it!" He softly said with her having a look of confusion.

"If it sees it and strikes, I'll be fine," Blake responded, "Then, we have a distraction to jump him."

"If it sees it, it will know you're here in The Club. Think Cat, we don't want to fight something that rips people's heads off!" Roman said with Blake realizing her error. She then looked over to her shadow and focused. A few seconds later, her shadow disappeared in a black mist. The Headless Hunter looked over, never noticing Blake's semblance, "It's searching for survivors, we can't give it any hints that we walked into this mess." Roman continued as watched the monster's movements, "We stay out of its sight completely, and it will just leave on its own."

"Okay, I understand," Blake responded. However, the question then came to her mind. Were there survivors? She began to look around at the bodies, but her eyes widened. One grunt in a suit still had his head. His skull was cracked and leaking blood, but his mouth still moved. Blake moved an inch towards the man, but Roman stopped her with his cane, "He's breathing!" She said to him in a held back voice, "I have to save him!"

"All you're going to do is get the three of us killed." Roman said before noticing The Headless Hunter walking over to the injured grunt, "You want to live, stay put." He said to the black cat faunus.

"You're despicable!" Blake said as she readied her Gambol Shroud's pistol. However, Roman held her back. Placing his right hand over her body, grabbing the pistol. With his left hand, he covered her mouth as she was about to scream. Blake bit his hand, but he still covered her mouth.

Blake then saw The Headless Hunter reach the injured grunt. The monster picked up the grunt with his left hand, raising him high in the air. The injured grunt barely could keep his eyes opened as The Headless Hunter moved the right hand to his head. Blake's eyes trembled as she could not look away. However, Roman slightly moved his left hand to cover her eyes. Now, all Blake saw was darkness, but she could still hear. The injured grunt was too weak to scream, but the sound of the neck being ripped apart echoed in her mind. Blake heard the rest of the torso drop a few seconds of odd gushing noticed followed. Then, she heard what she assumed to be the head hit the floor. Followed by a loud stomp and crush. After a few seconds, The Headless Hunter's footsteps were heard. The noise got further away until she could not hear them anymore.

"Okay, he's gone." Roman said before he released his grip, wiping his left hand as he looked at the bite mark, "Yikes, you have some fang's after all." He said as Blake looked at her body, seeing the blood that splattered on her body. Her white top was stained with bits of flesh and brain matter. She then looked over to the last spot she saw the injured grunt. Now, his corpse laid motionless. A red stain of mush on the floor, followed by multiple footsteps. Suddenly, Blake gritted her teeth as she grabbed her pistol. She then turned around an aimed at Roman, "Hey hey hey hey!"

"You bastard!" Blake said as she had her finger on the trigger, "I could have saved that him!"

"No, you couldn't!" Roman responded in anger, "That thing would have killed you, then me, then that already one-foot-in-the-grave grunt!"

"You…" Blake said though her teeth as her hand began to shake, "You…why did you shield my eyes?"

Roman did not answer right away, rather looked at the floor, "I just, I just don't think any decent person should see…." He said with Blake lowering her gun, seeing his eyes trembling with dread, "You don't forget something like that. It haunts you for the rest of your days." He then stood up, "I should never have come back to this kingdom." He said under his breath as he adjusted his bowler hat, "Let's go."

"…Okay," Blake said before she stood up as well. The two took a few steps towards the exit. Neither saying a word to the other. However, Blake's cat ears flinched before she gasped, "Get down!"

Before he could react, Roman was tackled to the ground by Blake. A split-second letter, the wall where the entrance of the club erupted. Emerging out were some sort of black and dark blue energy whips that ripped apart the interior of the establishment. Blake and Roman barely managed to avoid the onslaught. After a few seconds, the assault stopped. Roman looked over to Blake, the two having a look of panic. Suddenly, the sound of the footsteps returned. The two looked over to see The Headless Hunter at the origin of the chaotic energy. Blake and Roman stood up as they knew the monster had spotted them.

"Well, no use hiding now," Roman said as he readied his cane.

"Yeah," Blake said as she readied her Gambol Shroud's pistol and cleaver, "We can't let this thing kill anyone else!" Suddenly, Blake felt pressure over her body, "Huh?" She said as she looked at the monster, "D-Did my aura just break," Blake thought as The Headless Hunter focused on her, causing her hands to slightly shake, "Because he looked at me?" The black cat faunus realized before the monster focused on Roman as well.

Suddenly, The Headless Hunter's aura exploded, unleashing a barrage of energy whips. Roman and Blake jumped back to avoid the attack. The black cat faunus fired multiple rounds into the monster chest, but none had an effect. The orange-haired criminal's cane shot a blast of fire dust at The Headless Hunter, causing a plume of smoke on contact.

However, The Headless Hunter rushed out of the smoke, unscathed. He ran for Roman as Blake switched her weapon to its kusarigama form. She tossed her weapons to the monster's ankles, attempting to trip him. However, the ribbon snapped on its legs, causing Blake to gasp.

Roman panic fired at The Headless Hunter, but the shots still only made smoke. He saw the right hand of the monster reach for his head, "AAAAAA!" Roman screamed before ang during the grab. As his body was lifted, his skull was being crushed. Blake rushed behind The Headless Hunter, attempting a vertical slash with her cleaver. Without reposition his body, The Headless Hunter caught the blade with his left hand. Blake gasped again before The Headless Hunter pulled towards himself. He then bashed the back of his left hand into the right side of her head. The force of the impact caused Blake to let go of her cleaver. Her body skipped on the floor before slamming into the wall, the back of her head whipped against a stray brick. Her ribbon fell off as she struggled to keep her eyes open. However, her eyes widened as she saw The Headless Hunter repose with her cleaver. He reeled back the blade, aiming for the neck of the orange-haired criminal.

As the swing was in motion, Roman kicked off The Headless Hunter's chest. In that motion, his bowler hat assumed the grip of the head. As Roman fell, the ends of his orange hair were slightly trimmed by the cleaver. He landed on his back, then aimed his cane at the monster, "Hahaha," He laughed as The Headless Hunter was unamused, crushing the bowler hat. The monster dropped the hat as he reached for the orange haired criminal again. However, Roman twisted the handle on his cane counterclockwise. Suddenly, the end glowed bright red as it grew hotter, "Don't mess with my hat!" Roman declared before firing the charge shot. This blast exploded with the force of a cannonball, sending both parties back. The orange-haired criminal skidded on the floor before crashing into one of the bar counter's stools. While The Headless Hunter was flung into the upper corner of the ceiling. After his body started to fall back down, some of the roof collapse onto him. The monster's body was buried as no noise was heard in The Club.

Roman coughed as he pushed himself up, then looked over to Blake, "Hey Cat, you alive?"

"Yeah," Blake said after standing up, the top her head bleeding. She stumbled as she walked over the counter, picking up the dropped cleaver. The black cat faunus looked over to see Roman propping himself up with his cane, "So, you upgraded your weapon?"

"Heh, do be too happy about it," Roman responded with a smirk, looking down at this cane, "The plan was to use it in case I ever ran into you, Red, or any other annoying brats."

Suddenly, the wreckage erupted. The Headless Hunter rose from the rubble, his body pointed to the black cat faunus and orange-haired criminal.

"Well crap," Roman said before sitting on a stool, "We're both dead." He then looked back at his cane, "That charged shot used up all the dust I had."

"I'm not giving up," Blake said as she reposed her cleaver, "I can't die here!"

However, Roman noticed her stance was wobbly, the gash on her head bleed more. He then sighed as he grabbed a bottle of beer behind the counter, "You're better off running, Cat." Roman said before opening the bottle, "Me, I think I'll just have one last beer."

Blake gritted her teeth as The Headless Hunter moved closer. Her vision started to get blurry, but she tightened her grip on her weapon. Suddenly, The Headless Hunter staggered. Blake gasped as she saw the monster getting slashed multiple times from behind. Roman looked over in shock as he spits up the beer. The Headless Hunter attempted a wild swing from behind but miss his targets.

Avoiding the attack were two girls, one in red and the other in white. As they landed in front of Blake, causing the black cat faunus to gasp. In her delirium, she thought they were Ruby and Weiss. However, both girls had back hair, their faces showing they were twins. The red twin had shorter hair and wielded red steel claws. The white twin had longer hair, her heels bladed with white metal.

"What?" Blake said as she looked over at the twins, "Who are you?"

"Those are Malachite twins," Roman said as he looked the red and white girls, "Miltia and Melanie," he then had a slight smirk, "I thought it was odd I didn't see your bodies before."

"We were with another client," Miltia responded.

"I didn't think this would happen when we returned." Melanie added on, "The client is not too happy."

Suddenly, The Headless Hunter faced the entrance to the Club. Standing in the doorway was a man with a black suit and long coat. His hair was a disheveled black with emotionless stare at the monster. The Headless Hunter started to walk towards him as the man in the black suit lifted his left hand. He wielded a submachine gun, opening fire on the monster. However, The Headless Hunter walked through the bullets like nothing. Without changing his expression or letting go of the trigger, the man in the black suit raised his right hand. He wielded an antic looking pistol with a long barrel. He fired a single shot into The Headless Hunter's chest. This time, the bullet stopped the monster. The Headless Hunter convulsed as he clenched his chest, "Let's go!" The man in the black suit called out to the four. The twins nodded as they ran past the monster. Roman and Blake followed suit with the black cat faunus looking back. The Headless Hunter violently radiated a black aura that rapidly expanded.

After the group left The Club, the building exploded. The shockwave sent Blake and Roman across the lot before rolling on the ground. The two then looked up to see the establishment now in ruins, "Did that finally kill that thing!?" Roman said as he pushed himself up, waiting a few seconds, "…By now, it would have reappeared."

"Most likely not," The man in the black suit responded as he looked at the wreckage, "I've have run into a creature like that before. One who had a similar method of avoiding the effects of the origin rounds." He then looked over the immobile rubble, then noticed a nearby manhole cover, "However, I don't believe this one can still fight. It might have run away to recover."

"It escaped!?" Blake said as she stood up, "Then we need to follow it, we can't let that thing kill anymore-" Suddenly, Blake's eyes widen before slowly closing. She fell over as landed on the ground, unconscious.

"What's wrong with her?" Miltia asked.

"From the looks of it," Melanie replied, "Heavy exhaustion mixed with a concussion."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Roman said with a sigh, then looking over to the twins, "What now?"

"Well, we're out of a job." The red twin spoke to her sister, "We could work for Mom again."

"I'd rather not travel that far," The white twin responded, "Plus, she still annoys me."

"Well," Roman said with a smile, "I have a job for you two."

"We're not working for you." The twins responded, with Melanie added on solo, "The last time Junior hired you, we last a quarter of our staff."

"And now you've lost all your staff." Roman responded, but the twins were unamused, "Look, you won't work for me." He said before looking down at Blake, "You'll work for her." he said with the two having a look of confusion, "I have a bad feeling this cat is going to get herself killed. Then, I'm going to have to worry about Red and her friends coming after me for revenge because I didn't help her. Those girls are stupid like that." He said as he reached into his back pocket, pulling out an envelope, "Here, this should cover your fee for a while." The orange-haired criminal passed the red twin the envelope.

"This is oddly nice of you," Miltia said as she accepted the envelope, looking inside to see the liens.

"Yes," Melanie said as she crossed her arms, "Maybe he has a concussion as well."

"Hahaha," Roman sarcastically laughed, but still felt a throbbing pain in his head. He then looked over to the man in the black suit walking away, "Hey, where are you going?"

"I was hoping to talk with the bartender about a missing person." The man in the black suit responded, but did not break his stride, "Now, I have to look for that information somewhere else."

"Well, maybe we can help each other," Roman called out, causing the man in the black suit to stop, "Now that I know this kingdom has more problems than before, I need someone to watch my back." he then pointed at the man with his cane, "And you need someone to show you around and get you the proper intel."

"I don't need your help," the man in the black suit responded before scanning the orange-haired criminal, "You don't exactly look that reliable."

"Looks can be deceiving." The orange-haired criminal said with a bow, "My name is Roman Torchwick."

"Kiritsugu Emiya," The magus specialist responded, the sighed, "Zhuge Liang said I needed to work with the underground of the kingdom to avoid my mission getting the public light," He crossed his arms as Roman had no idea who that person was. Kiritsugu then looked over Roman again before sighing, "You can help me understand this kingdom's layout, but I will not save you if The Headless Hunter returns." He said before turning around and walking to a black car. Kiritsugu entered the driver seat before signaling Roman to go to the passenger side.

"Fine, if I see that thing again," Roman said as he followed Kiritsugu, "I'll run and let you two kill each other." He said before making it to the passaging seat, "So, who are we looking for?"

"Headmaster Ozpin," Kiritsugu said before starting the car, "He's vanished without a trace."

The twins watched the guys drive off for sighing, "Those two are so dead." Miltia said with her sister nodding. The two then looked down at the unconscious black cat faunus, "What do we do with her?"

"We have to take her to the hospital." Melanie responded as she carefully picked up the body, "Not a good idea to move her by ourselves," she said before hearing sirens, "But we can't stay here." The white twin said with her sister nodding. The two then ran off with Blake remaining unaware of her new allies.

AN: There you go, Junior meets with a terrible fate in this series. Blake and Roman discover his end at the hands of The Headless Hunter. He is on the rampage in Vale, but what is he looking for? Speaking of which, we finally see Kiritsugu, who is on the mission to find Ozpin with Roman tagging along. There dynamic is going to be fun to explore, as well as explaining why Roman acts the way he does now. We also have the twins show up, giving Blake a sense of déjà vu. They will help her on her mission to find the White Fang Killer. But first, Black needs time to recover a bit. Next chapter, we fast forward a couple of days with Ruby getting a package and Achilles making his way to Vale. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.