Jaune was sitting in his small apartment eating lunch. Today he had the day off from work. He planned to stay in his room for the entire day and do nothing. "No work today, no school to deal with, and Mr. White has gone radio silent since the meeting with Mr. Fring. Today is going to be relaxing." Jaune thought to himself.
Then, his scroll rang. It was Mr. White.
"Me and my big mouth." Jaune thought to himself before he picked up the scroll.
"Our lab, 20 minutes. Be there." Mr. White then hung up. Jaune sighed, knowing that he would probably not get a day off for a while. He got off the couch, grabbed his keys, and exited the apartment, locking it behind him.
Jaune arrived at the abandoned building. Outside he saw Mr. White, waiting for him. Jaune walked up to him
"5 minutes early, impressive." said Mr. White. "Well then, let's get going." Walter enters the building, putting on the hazmat suit and gas mask, and he instructs Jaune to do the same. Jaune followed Mr. White's instructions, as he was the expert in this field out of the 2 of them. Mr. White gathered up several items such as hydrochloric acid, plastic containers, and carbon based items. Then, in a bright light, those items transform into methylamine and chlorine.
"Alright," Said Mr. White "Now, before we do this, we need to set some rules. Rule one: When we are cooking, you are to follow my instructions to the letter, lest you get injured or killed. Rule two: Don't taste any of the do not have a constant supplier for our product, and it also will cloud judgment." Mr. White took a brief pause to breathe. "Rule three: Don't do anything stupid. As you well know, the world is infested with grimm. One of the effects of drugs is that it can make people unhappy, worried, angry or some other emotion, whether it is the user or someone who cares for the user. As such, drug solicitation is a crime punishable up to death. This means during transactions of our product, we will be using aliases. Which brings me to rule four: Under no circumstances must our real names be associated with our aliases. If someone finds out our identities, make sure they stay quiet. Do we have an understanding?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." Said Mr. White. "Let's get cooking." Mr. White then motions Jaune over to the station and begins teaching him the art of cooking. The purpose of each chemical, the correct amount to add, and the correct temperature to heat up the chemicals that need to be heated. After 2 hours of teaching and cooking. Jaune and Mr. White had created their first two batches of meth. They now had to wait for it to solidify and crystalize.
"So…" Said Jaune. "How are we going to distribute it?"
Mr. White looked to the side, trying to think of a way to distribute their product.
"Why don't we just have Mr. Fring help us?" Said Jaune. "I mean, I trust your judgment, but he's willing to cover for everything."
Mr. White looked at Jaune, as if Jaune had insulted him. "I will not work with Gus."
"Why not?"
"He is a manipulating, sociopathic man who cares about no one. He threatened my family once, tried to kill my partner, and then almost killed me. I refuse to work with that man."
"Well, do you have someone else in mind?"
He thought all the way back to when he first showed up on this planet. From what he did to where he appeared. And then he realized the area where he first was, in a back alley by a club.
"Help me clean up." Said Mr. White. "We're leaving."
"Wha- why?"
"We're going to get our distributor."
"Where?"
Mr. White looked at Jaune "The 3 Bear's Club"
Walter never thought he would have to return to this area. It had been about 3 months since he had first arrived on Remnant, and not once has he ever returned to where he first showed up. But here he was, standing in front of the club wearing a porkpie hat and sunglasses. Next to him was Jaune, wearing a pumpkin pete hat and a black jacket instead of his normal Pumpkin Pete hoodie.
"You ready?" Walter asked Jaune.
Jaune looked at Walter, with a light tint of green on his face. "I'm ready. A bit nervous, but ready."
"Good. Let me do the talking." Said Walter before they went inside the building. When they entered, they were greeted by fog and lights. Some people were dancing while others were drinking. Walter and Jaune then head to the bar to sit down. Beside them, a woman wearing a red dress and choker sat down next to Jaune while a woman with a white dress and scarf sat next to Walter. After a few minutes, a man in a dress shirt, a black vest, and a red tie.
"How may I help you today?" Said the man.
"We're looking for the owner of this establishment." Said Walter.
"May I ask why?"
"A business opportunity."
The man looks at both ladies and gestures for them to leave. Both of them left, leaving just Walter, Jaune, and the man.
"My name is Hei Xiong." Said the man as he extended his hand. "I am the owner of this fine establishment. Though I prefer to go by Junior"
"Heisenberg." Said Walter, extending his hand to meet his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"So… What business do you have for me? Do you need men, ties, information? For the right price, you can have it."
"We need someone to help with the distribution of our product."
"Alright… what's your product?"
"Can we… go somewhere more private? This is sensitive information."
"Sure." Junior led Walter and Jaune to a room in the back. When he opened the door, it revealed a black room with 2 red couches, a small fridge, and a glass table that had various bottles of alcohol under it. Junior invited them in, and all three sat down. He pulled out a bottle of bourbon from under
"Would you like something to drink?" Junior offered. Both men declined the offer. Junior poured himself a drink.
"So…What is the product you're trying to sell?" Junior said before he took a sip of his drink
"Methamphetamine." Said Walter. Junior looked at Walter.
"Drugs? Well, aren't you brave? Either that or your stupid." Said Junior. "Well, I don't know a lot of people who are willing and available, but I gotta make bank somehow after that blonde bimbo wrecked the club."
"Does this mean you will be distributing?" Walter asked.
"Now hold on a second. This is foreign territory that I am entering, I would like to know that I'm getting a good deal. So, what percentage of profits will I be taking from distribution?"
"You will be taking 10% of all profits. The selling price for our product is 177 lien per 1/16th of an ounce, which comes out to about 44,600 lien per pound. This means that you will take in about 4,460 lien per pound. With our current setup and schedule, our average weight is about 2 pounds per week, meaning you can make on average 8,920 lien per week. I assume this is acceptable."
Junior stared into his drink for a few seconds, before taking a sip. Then he puts his drink on the table "20% and I'll do it."
"15%."
"Deal." Junior shook hands with Walter, solidifying their agreement. As Walter and Jaune were about to leave, Walter turned to Junior.
"One last thing." Walter said "Since drug creation and distribution is a crime punishable by death, I assume you will tell no one of my face and our business?"
"Only for a very high price. After all, what good will this partnership be if I incriminate myself and cut off a supply of income?"
Walter turned around and walked out, satisfied with his answer. Walter and Jaune left the club, heading back to their lab. When they returned, they checked on the 2 batches. Walter pulled them out and inspected his student's meth. Because this was Jaune's first batch, and had no prior experience outside of Mr. White's help, his batch was of significantly less quality than his teacher's. It was partly cloudy white, which signified its lesser quality, but it wasn't terrible compared to the inferior product that was peddled around by his competitors in Albuquerque.
"Not bad," Said Mr. White "at least for a first attempt."
"Thanks." Jaune said. "So… What now?"
"Tomorrow, you'll go to the club and give him the 2 pounds we have. Until then, stay out of trouble." Said Walter. "Have a good rest of your day, Jaune."
"Have a good day Mr. White." Said Jaune as Walter left. A few seconds after Walter left, Jaune's stomach growled. Jaune checked his scroll for the time. It was 3:39 pm. "I should probably get something to eat." Jaune thought to himself.
Mike was hanging out with his teammates and team RWBY. They were going to Mistrali Chicken for an early dinner. On their way there, they ran into a tall, blonde, and scraggly man.
"Jaune!" Ruby said before she used her semblance to propel herself into Jaune not dissimilar to a missile. She dashed towards Jaune until they collided. Jaune groaned in moderate pain.
"Uugh… Hey Ruby." Jaune said weakly
"Jaune! It's been so long! How are you? Doyouhaveajob?WhyareyouinVale? Wh-" Ruby was cut of by Jaune
"I've been well. Yes, I have a job, and I am in Vale because I live here." Jaune said before he looked over to the group, giving a confusing look at Mike. "Who's he?"
"Oh! That's right! You haven't met Mike. C'mon I'll introduce you." Ruby said before grabbing Jaune's arm and dragging him to the rest of the group.
"Guys!" Ruby said. "Look who I found." Ruby then held up Jaune's arm as best as she could.
"Good to see you vomit boy." Yang said before Nora ran up to Jaune and hugged him, slowly squeezing the air out of him.
"Fearless leader! Er- I mean ex-fearless leader, It's so good to see you."
"Good to see you too, Nora." Jaune said as he was being constricted in Nora's hug.
"Nora, let go of Jaune."
"But Renny…"
"Nora."
"Fiiine." Nora let go of Jaune. He fell to the floor breathing heavily as if he ran a marathon without stopping for anything.
"*cough*... Thanks Ren."
"No problem. It's good to see you, Jaune."
"You too, man." Jaune said as he got up, brushing himself off. Then he turned to Pyrrha.
Hey Pyrrha…" He said. "It's good to see you."
"Hello Jaune…" Said Pyrrha with a very light shade of red. "It's good to see you too."
Mike was silently watching as this went on, as Jaune caught up with the rest of the group. Eventually, after talking to everyone, he turns to face him.
"I don't believe we met. I'm Jaune, the ex-team leader of JNPR." Jaune said.
"I'm Mike. It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Said Jaune.
"So…" Ruby said. "We were heading to lunch. I don't know if you have anything but… wanna join?"
"Uuuh… sure. I was actually going to get some lunch myself."
"Great! Let's go then!" Ruby said as she took off without the rest of the group.
"RUBY!" Weiss shouted as her partner was getting further away. "We don't know where to go!" Her and the whole group then proceeded to run after her, save for Mike and Jaune, as Mike knew where the restaurant was and Jaune was running on fumes.
"So… Where are we going?" Jaune asked.
"Mistrali Chicken." Said Mike.
"Oh… I work there." Jaune said.
"Really?" Mike said with fake surprise, remembering that he was the person who took his order when he first went there. "What is it like working there?"
"Well, the pay is good, my coworkers are nice, and the boss is understanding."
"Hm." Mike grunted with an understanding tone.
"We… uhh better get going, otherwise they will berate us for lagging behind."
With that, the two guys headed off towards the restaurant to meet up with the rest of the group. After a few minutes of walking, they reached the restaurant, seeing their friends inside. They entered, ordered their food, and sat down with their cohorts. Jaune ordered the 4 piece mild tenders while Mike ordered the 3 piece spicy with a side of curly fries. When they reached the table, they heard Blake talking.
"So, do you remember when I left the school and went on a stake out at the warehouse?" Blake said.
"You mean when those terrorists blew up the warehouse full of dust?" Weiss said as Jaune and Mike sat down.
"Y-Yes, but I don't think it was the White Fang who blew up the warehouse."
"What do you mean? Only you, Sun, Roman and the White Fang were at the docks." Yang said.
"Well, that's what I originally thought too, but then I started to think it over. First, while dust is volatile, the variety of dust in there shouldn't have caused a massive fire, as ice dust was among that group, which would counteract a major amount of the fire dust. This means that there was something else in there that was flammable."
"So what? Even if there was another substance, It's likely that some recruit tripped and dropped a crate of dust which caused the explosion and set off other crates and your mysterious flammable substance." Said Weiss.
"The White Fang and Torchwick knew what they were stealing, and I highly doubt that the recruits tripped over their own feet. They're known for being dangerous, not clumsy. I don't know if this line of thought is coherent, but it is a possibility. And if it is true, that means there was a third party at the warehouse."
Jaune started to chew more slowly, realizing that Blake was talking about him and Walter blowing up the warehouse to cause a distraction. Mike looked at him, analyzing his face.
"I mean… there is some merit to this theory you present, after all, you were, er… ya know" Weiss said.
"Can we talk about something more interesting?" Ruby said "Besides, even if it was true, there is no evidence of where to start looking for this third party."
"AND… we don't even know their motives." Yang said. For all we know, they could have been the cleaning crew and caused that chain reaction as they were dust-ing." Ruby, Weiss, and JNPR groaned at the awful pun, while Blake and Mike stared at Yang. Blake with a look of disappointment and Mike with a look of mild confusion. Yang was grinning.
"Seriously Yang? We're talking about the possibility of someone else committing a crime and you make a joke?"
"What, don't like it?"
From there the conversation spiraled out of control, getting off the topic of a conspiracy onto the topic of Yang's terrible jokes. Mike looked over at Jaune, who seemed more at ease, but with a bit of nervousness in his eyes. The group eventually got off the topic of Yang's jokes and talked about other things. After a few hours the group decided it was time to head home. Jaune headed back towards his apartment, while the rest went back to Beacon. As the group leaves, Mike's scroll vibrates, signifying a call. He pulled out his scroll, and answered it.
"Are you ready for your first task?" Said the voice on the scroll. It was Gus.
"Yes."
"Your first task will be to bug the inside of Beacon Academy. There will be a list of locations and several bugs sent to you in 2 days. Do you need any clarification?"
"No."
"Then you have no further instructions." Gus said before the call ended.
"Who was that?" Ruby said.
"Wrong number." Said Mike, with his usually emotionless façade. Ruby didn't question further and the group headed back to the landing pad to fly back to Beacon.
2 days later, 7 AM
Walter woke up to a light rumble from outside. Walt got out of his bed, put his glasses on, and looked outside his window. There was a giant airship outside of the school. It had an arrow shaped fuselage with 3 pairs of long, spinal fins protruding from it, colored blue and gray. Walter hurried to get his clothes on and left his room, running to the headmaster's office. After a massive sprint down the corridor, almost running into a few students.
Eventually, he made it to the elevator, where Glynda was just outside. He slowed down.
"Why… is there a giant airship outside?" Walter asked in an exhausted tone. Glynda looked at him with discontent. It didn't seem to be directed at him though.
"The headmaster of Atlas is here." Glynda said.
Walter stared at Glynda for a few seconds baffled. "Why the hell did he bring an entire fucking airship?"
"My guess for his excuse: Security."
"I assume that the headmaster is busy talking to this person?"
"That would be correct."
"Well, I guess I'll be waiting then." Walter then leaned against the wall with the elevator on his left and Glynda on his right, who is also waiting for the meeting to be done.
Ozpin's Office
Ozpin is currently sitting and pouring himself some coffee. "I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends. However… a small fleet outside my window has me concerned."
"Well," General Ironwood responded. "Concern is what brought them here."
"I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult."
"Oz," Ironwood said with a more stern and serious voice. "You and I both know why I brought those men."
Ozpin takes a sip of coffee and sets down his mug. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression." Ironwood sets his mug down, freeing his right hand.
"But if what Qrow said is true…"
"If what Qrow said is true…" Ozpin interjected. "Then we will handle it tactfully. It's the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest that you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."
Ironwood looks towards Ozpin with an understanding expression on his face, but then asks another question.
"What about him?"
Ozpin looks at the general. "What about him? All our sources point to him being dead."
"Well, last time you intel thought that… monster was dead, we lost both Summer and Gus, the latter being the one who knew him the best. And what if he wasn't the only one, what if there are more people like him out there?"
"There has been no trace indicating that man is still alive. And while I did not follow Mr. Fring's advice to terminate him before he could become a problem, I highly doubt that that man is stupid enough to make a play against us, or do anything without a reason. And I can assure you that if there are more people who are in a situation similar to his, we will be on the lookout."
"I'm just being cautious. I don't want a repeat of what happened 13 years ago."
"And it won't happen again. That incident or anything remotely close to it hasn't happened since then. Have some trust, James, as I trust you. After all, situations like that are the reasons why we continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can, so we make sure they will never happen again."
"Believe me, I do…" Ironwood said as he walked away from Ozpin and towards the elevator. "But ask yourself this: When everything is on the line, and if something near apocalyptic happens, do you think your students will be willing to make sacrifices in order to save this country and win this war, even if the sacrifice is their lives?" Ironwood walks into the elevator and leaves Ozpin's office. Ozpin looks to his right, at a pair of cracked glasses that belong to his long deceased student, all thanks to his carelessness and ignorance of what other dangers lie hidden. He picks them up, inspecting them, his eyes following the jagged fractures in the lenses. "It's all my fault." He thought to himself. He put down the glasses, got out of his chair, and stared outside the window, seeing the eyesore that is the atlesian airship.
Been a little while. I think I might upload a chapter or two per month, that way I can write chapters of higher quality rather than pump out sludge that is mediocre or short. leave your thoughts, feedback, and criticism in the comments, I do read them. -darkhelmet22021