Hey guys! Been working on getting this out for you, when I am not suffering from writers block that is... anyway I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

"Speech"

Thoughts

Chapter Nineteen: Confessions

(Several Months Ago)

"It's a bright sunny day here in Atlas!" the over enthusiastic news caster practically yelled through the television screen "We should expect this kind of weather all week long, but keep your coats ready, because there's gonna be some heavy downpour's early next week. Now onto local news" she continued.

The bar was pretty empty so early in the morning, only about a dozen people inside and a bartender. The door opened and a hooded man entered the bar, he removed his sunglasses as he entered heading straight for the bartender "Hey" he called getting her attention "Bar's closed til 3, the game is on over there" she motioned toward the corner TV tiredly without looking up.

"I'm not really looking for a drink just yet" he chuckled "I was wondering if you had seen this man lately?" he held up a paper with the words "WANTED: Reg Cavett. Wanted For: Smuggling, Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft, Kidnapping. Approach with caution! Contact the proper authorities, do not attempt to engage. REWARD: $10,000"

"Sorry, haven't seen him" she shrugged.

"Really?" the man asked, he removed a scroll from his pocket, it had a picture of the bartender and the wanted man exiting the bar together "Ringing any bells now, sweetheart?"

"Look I don't want any trouble-"

"You won't be getting any if you just tell me what you know"

She sighed "Alright, alright... I don't know much, he stopped in about a week ago and started buying drinks every which way, ludicrously if you ask me. This guy seemed fun so when he invited me to hangout with him and his friends that night after closing I figured why not, right? Apparently, not"

"What changed?"

"He brought me out to his place, some warehouse where he had a bunch of guys, like maybe a dozen of them. I ended up doing some things I wasn't comfortable with... not by choice... if you know what I mean"

"I do" he scowled "Do you know where?"

"The docks... he's got a warehouse out by the docks where all his guys hangout. They've got a lot of guns"

The man smirked "Yeah well I happen to specialize in taking down people with a lot of guns" he placed a few hundred Lien onto the bar "Thank you for your time, and I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner" he turned to walk out the door.

"Wait" she called after him, the man stopped, turning back slightly "What's your name?"

"Slade" he answered "Slade Stroud" he smirked back at her shocked expression, placing his sunglasses back on "Have yourself a good day now" he exited the bar and several men followed him out the door.

Slade noticed this with a brief sigh, he rounded the corner quickly. The men followed him down the alleyway to find it completely empty "The hell?"

"Where'd he go?"

"You boys lost?" Slade asked from behind them, his mask covering his face and arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah" the one closest to him laughed "We were looking for some easy money and it was stupid enough to come right to us"

"That right?" Slade asked curiously "And just how much money are we talking?"

"Few hundred thousand" he answered "Someone's sick of you putting people away, lucky for you. They want you alive"

"Who?" Slade asked.

"You don't get to ask the questions around here" the men all drew their firearms "Now you're gonna make this nice and easy-"

"I won't ask again" Slade interrupted the man, he growled at Slade in annoyance.

"Listen, asshole. There's six of us and only one-" Slade removed Defiance from it's holster and fired six shots from his hip, killing the five men behind the leader with headshots and one to the knee of the leader "-Augh!" he screamed dropping his gun and falling to the ground. Slade slowly approached the one remaining man while reloading his weapon. Firing another round into his opposite leg and placing his right boot onto the man's chest he lowered his face down to his.

"You're gonna tell me who wants a meeting with me so damn much he put a bounty on my head"

"I don't know!" he yelled fearfully "Look, man. I took the job and was told a location to drop you once I had you, the cash would be in my account before I walked out the door"

"Where?"

"A warehouse by the docks!"

"Wouldn't happen to be Mr. Cavett's warehouse would it?"

"Cavett? The guy from the wanted poster around town? How the hell should I know?"

"Okay" Slade smirked "You and I are gonna play a little game"

"Please I told you everything I know-"

"I'm not gonna hurt you, buddy. But I am gonna need your clothes"

"Huh?"

Slade drove the man's truck to the warehouse wearing the man's jacket. The man in question was tied up in the bed of the truck with Slade's cloak over his face and a gag in his mouth to keep him quiet. Stopping the truck in front of the warehouse he waited as a man approached the truck.

"Who're you? What're you doing here?"

"Delivery for a few hundred thousand" he smirked gesturing to the man tied up in the back of the truck.

"No shit, you caught the bastard?"

"Yeah, he put up one hell of a fight though"

"Well go ahead" the man waved him forward as the large warehouse door opened for him.

"Thanks" Slade half waved as he drove on, stopping the truck inside the warehouse he exited the driver seat and pulled the bound man from the back of the truck tossing him onto the ground with a loud groan.

"Augh!"

"Shut up!" Slade kicked him lightly "I caught your man, now I get my money right?" Slade asked.

Several armed men surrounded Slade and the man on the ground as a taller man matching the photo from the wanted poster walked into the lighting with his arms behind his back "So... this is the famed Slade Stroud. I would've thought it take a little longer than this to capture someone this tough" Cavett asked curiously.

"That's why I brought all of my men. He took them all down before I managed to put two in his legs. Slade removed Defiance from it's holster "This gun sure as hell was worth it though, as well as the payment you owe me for delivering, of course"

"Of course" he chuckled "Transfer the man his money" he ordered the man behind him "I've gotta say, maybe I should've made the bounty lower. I honestly didn't think he would go down as easily as he did, he's only been a Bounty Hunter for what, six or seven months at the most?"

"Something like that. I heard he's taken down some pretty big fish though"

"So I heard" Cavett chuckled "His mistake was taking them in alive, if he had killed them we never would've even known who he was"

The man's scroll blipped in his hand indicating the money had been transferred "Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll pass" Slade smirked.

"What?" Cavett asked confused.

Slade flipped over the man behind him slamming his knee into his back, slamming him into the floor painfully. Before they could react he moved to the man to his left, using his right hand he pushed the gun away from himself and grabbed the man by his hair with his left slamming his knee into the man's face as he pulled it down into it. Sweeping his leg to the right he swept the legs out from under the man aiming his gun at him, Slade slammed his left fist into the man's throat as he fell throwing him back into the truck behind him. Twisting around, Slade grabbed the next man by his arm and slammed him into the ground before smashing his right hand into the man's forearm bending it back behind his head painfully.

"Get him!" Cavett yelled as he rushed to get away.

One of Cavett's men charged and attempted to tackle Slade to the ground, Slade flipped over the man and kicked both of his boots into his back as he passed throwing him into the man in front of him. Twisting around, Slade brought his right leg up to smash into another thug's chest, throwing him back several feet before slamming his fist into another's throat choking him. Twisting the choking man around, Slade slammed his boot into his back sending him flying. Turning around as another raised his gun to attack him, Slade grabbed the man by his face and slammed it into the ground.

Cavett was the only man left as he rushed for the door, Slade fired a grappling hook from his gauntlet into his back and pulled him back toward him. Leaping into the air, Slade caught Cavett by his shoulders and flipped backward slamming Cavett chest first into the ground.

A single bullet rang out from behind Slade, he turned to find the man from outside had tried to sneak up behind him and received a bullet for his trouble. Locating the shooter his eyes widened in surprise.

"It's been a long time hasn't it, Mr. Stroud"

"That it has... General" Slade greeted Ironwood as he removed the bounty hunter's jacket and replaced it with his own "I'm surprised you're without an entourage for once. Couldn't let them see you associating with a lowly Bounty Hunter?"

"Not exactly" he chuckled "My escort was ordered to remain outside so I could talk with you privately. Kill any of them?" Ironwood gestured to the men littering the ground.

"Not this time no" Slade smirked. Gesturing to the tied up man he added "The five of his men in the alleyway that came after the bounty on my head however... they're very dead"

"Glad to see you haven't lost your touch, you didn't even use your Semblance. The grappling hook is new"

"I've made some improvements. Cole and Hunter showed me I was underprepared"

"I imagine they did"

"Nice as it is to see you, General. I didn't get the impression you liked me very much, so why are you here. It's no coincidence you show up on one of my jobs is it?"

"No, I've been trying to contact you for weeks but it seems you got a new scroll"

"Yeah well, I didn't exactly want to be contacted by certain people, maybe you should've gotten the memo"

"I'm here to offer you a job"

"I'm not joining the Atlesian Military if that's what you're asking of me"

"I know you're working with Roman Torchwick. He's been involved with several Dust shop robberies since you left"

"As I understand it, he's preparing for a big job"

"He didn't tell you anything about it?"

"I didn't ask"

"I'm asking you to ask"

"The answer's no" he turned back to Cavett laying unconscious.

"Three million"

Slade stopped short "Just to ask?"

"For the whole job. I want you to infiltrate the underworld of Atlas while I am away in Vale. I also want you to find out why Roman Torchwick is stealing all that Dust"

"You want me to spy on my friend so he can be incarcerated for what? Three million and a free pass?"

"I'm open to negotiations if you don't find that satisfactory"

"Five million"

"Done"

"Three free passes"

"Three?" Ironwood asked confused.

"One for me, Torchwick and Neo"

"Neo?"

"She's Roman's partner, and a personal friend. I want a clean slate for them and myself for any crimes committed and five million. Those are my terms"

"That's going to be hard to pull but I believe I can manage it, so long as Mr. Torchwick doesn't start a body count"

"He's no killer, Ironwood. If Roman feels someone needs to die for something, he's scared and someone that can scare him is someone I think we should all be scared of"

"He doesn't scare easy?"

"He's too cocky to scare easy, though I will be honest, he's pretty skilled when it comes to combat for someone with no real combat training. Same goes for Neo"

"You'll do the job though?"

Slade picked up Cavett from the floor and slung him over his shoulder "I'm going to go collect my reward money, I've got a few hundred thousand dollars waiting to be transferred. Then we'll talk"

"The reward for him isn't nearly that high, Slade"

"No, but the bounty he put out on my head is, and I just had it transferred to his account" he gestured to the unconscious bounty hunter tied up on the floor "I plan on collecting. Now would you be so kind as to call your men to come pick up these lovely lads? They have an appointment with the justice system"

Ironwood chuckled as he watched Slade walk off with his prize, he shook his head with an amused smile.

"Let me get this straight" Slade shook his head in mild disbelief "You want me to infiltrate the underbelly of Atlas's most dangerous criminals for one man?"

"Not just anyone, Slade" Ironwood answered as he took a sip from his cup "The Dragon"

"Yeah, he's got a scary name, I'm sure everyone else does too. I'm just wondering what's so important about this "Dragon" that you're hiring me instead of a Huntsman through official channels" Slade cocked his eyebrow questioningly.

"The Dragon isn't just a regular criminal, Slade. We don't know who he is or what he does, but everyone who works in this city's gangs makes kickbacks to him, 65% of all illegal profits are given to that guy"

"None of them have tried taking him down? Replacing him even?" Slade asked curiously.

"Anyone who speaks out against him or refuses to pay disappears, everyone we've ever arrested that promised information ended up dead before they could talk"

"Then he has connections... most likely someone with high standing in the city" Slade rubbed his chin thoughtfully "I assume you've considered all your other options if you're desperate enough to come to me"

"I have" Ironwood sighed "If I were to start an investigation into every citizen with high enough standing and influence in this city, not only would it be a wild goose chase, but he'd just go underground if we made any progress. Sending a Huntsman after him hasn't worked as I told you before, anyone willing to talk just ends up dead"

"And Bounty Hunter's don't know anything about him or are too frightened to go against him for what you're offering"

"Precisely. But you, Slade... you're not afraid of anyone, and I know you won't just blindly start asking around hoping to get answers like some Bounty Hunters. You're smart enough to blend in"

Slade pondered the proposition for a few moments "Alright, I'll bite. But I am going to need something from you before you leave for Vale"

"What is it?"

"My criminal record, you're going to have to dress it up" Slade answered "Shouldn't be too hard, just consider all of my Bounty Hunting jobs crimes as I technically have committed a lot of theft, assault, and occasional homicide" he smirked.

"Done, I'll put a group of analysts on it tracking your movements since you awoke in the hospital. It might take some time"

"That's fine, I have some research to do" Slade grinned "This job is going to be fun. But just know, I am not going to be following all of your orders all day long. I do this, I do it my way. Which means things are gonna get loud and they're gonna get messy"

"I understand, just try and keep it to a minimum huh?"

"I'll do my best, but as for finding out what Roman's planning. You know I left, how do you expect me to figure out what he's planning?"

"He's your friend as you said, I'm sure he'd take you back"

"It's not him that would be a problem. His boss wouldn't let me near them again since I left"

"That's not going to be a problem will it?" Ironwood asked.

"Not really no, but just a warning, the one Roman works for has already got someone to infiltrate Beacon from one of the other schools. Keep your eyes open while you're there, they could be planning something and I don't know what exactly"

(Several Weeks Later)

There was a large round table in a warehouse sublevel off of official records so no Atlas security would know to search it if the warehouse was ever compromised. At the table sat several men dressed in nice suits of variating colors along with about two or three guards protecting each of them in case of any violence.

"So... we gonna talk about something or what?" Asked a pale skinned man in a dark brown suit with a matching tie and slicked back black hair.

"What're you talking about?" the man across from him asked surprised, he wore a blue suit with a red and black stripped tie and had a slightly darker complexion than the previous man.

"You didn't set this up? Then who's party is this exactly?" he asked confused.

"I assumed it was you losers, you already rolled over for The Dragon, I figured you were gonna ask us in to work with him as well" the man in a blue suit answered.

"Roll over?" a large muscular bald man with a dark complexion wearing a dark black suit with a red tie asked adjusting his glasses "The Dragon took out six of my men last month. Six!" he yelled slamming his fist onto the table "They were some of my best people" he sighed in disappointment.

"You set this up meet then?" another man asked another with a long blonde beard and shoulder length hair, wearing a light blue suit with no tie.

"Nah, I thought it was the peddlers" he answered gesturing to the man in the deep green suit with dark black glasses and a red bandana on.

"Wasn't my meet" he shrugged.

"To hell with this" the man in the blue suit sighed standing up and adjusting his tie "I'm gone then, if you brain donors want to hang around then that's your call-"

"Sit down, Mahony" a voice called authoritatively "It's my meeting" everyone turned to see a figure concealed in the shadows on the catwalk overlooking the room.

"It's him!"

"The Dragon?"

"We didn't do nothing! I swear!" they all clamored to stand up in fear of the man they called Dragon.

"Well we all know that's a lie" the figure laughed as he stepped into the light a hood and mask covering his face with sunglasses over his eyes and a revolver in his left hand "I'm no Dragon"

"Then who the hell are you?" one of them asked.

"Smoke him!" yelled another as they all drew their weapons and fired at Slade.

Slade chuckled as the bullets simply passed right through him, he aimed the revolver at the table and fired several rounds into it to scare the group into ducking for cover "I said... Sit down!" Slade ordered as he reloaded the weapon.

"You wanna die punk? There's a lot of easier ways to kill yourself!"

"Says the man yelling at the guy holding a gun to your head" Slade smirked underneath his mask, placing his boot up on the bar in front of him he leaned over the edge looking down at them "Listen to me you drug peddling, arms dealing, murdering scum bags. I'm running things from here on out, you're the most prosperous dealers for weapons, drugs, and other contraband in Atlas. That's why The Dragon targeted you first. So I am gonna cut you morons a deal. You go about your daily business as usual, but kick up 40% to me. That's a much sweeter deal than the scraps Dragon is leaving you. In return you will have total protection from Dragon and any Huntsmen who get curious. My only rule, stay away from kids and no dealing in people. No dealing to children, and no kidnapping and selling people for profit, got it? If you do... well let's just say you'll REALLY wish you hadn't"

"Alright crazy man, this all sounds very generous. But why exactly should we listen to you? You could just be all talk-" a large duffle bag was thrown onto the table.

The group hesitated but chose to open the bag, they all stared in shock, some began to vomit from the sight "Damn..."

"Those are the heads of all of your top lieutenants" Slade chuckled "That took me just under two hours. You want to see what I can get done in a whole day?" he holstered his weapon "Make no mistake, I'm not asking you to kick in with me... I'm telling you" the table suddenly splintered violently causing the group to leap to the ground in fear. They all looked up to see the man had vanished.

"40% works for me!" the man in the blue suit said remaining on the ground.

"Run damn it!" one of the masked men shouted as a group of three sprinted down a dark alleyway. The made it out of the ally and across the street before ducking into a warehouse hiding by the boats docked inside. They all struggled to catch their breath.

"Do you think we lost him?" one of the men asked.

"Yeah, I think we lost him. I think we're good" the second said turning away from the two of them.

"Urk!" the man wiped around at the sound in surprise to find their pursuer standing over him, one of the men in his grip by the throat and the other underfoot.

"No, you're anything but good" Qrow replied as the man in his grip passed out, he released him.

"Stay back!" the man shouted reaching for his gun.

Qrow slammed his fist into the man's face, throwing him to the ground painfully as the weapon slid across the floor. Grabbing the man by his collar, he lifted him over his head and slammed him into the wall behind him "Where's your boss?"

"Boss? We don't work for anyone! I swear!"

"So you just decided on your own to start smuggling illegal narcotics into the city with enough money to buy a warehouse at the docks?" Qrow asked with a knowing look "Just the three of you? I don't think so"

"Alright, so we stole some money before getting set up. I'm telling you, there isn't anyone else above-"

"Lie to me again, and you're gonna spend the rest of your life eating out of a tube" he threatened as he placed Harbinger against his chest, the barrel prepared to fire "I can assure you, I can be a lot less pleasant than I am right now. Start talking!"

"Well, well, well... Qrow Branwen" a man called from behind him "I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here" the man had a thick brown coat on and matching pants, with a beige pair of boots on.

"The man in charge" Qrow smirked, he slammed the hilt of Harbinger against the man's head knocking him unconscious "I gotta say, I was expecting someone more... subtle"

"You mean you were expecting Torchwick" the man chuckled "Sorry to disappoint you, but Roman isn't here"

"I gathered that much, but where exactly is he?"

"Now why would I tell you?" the man asked, a shotgun in hand "You think even if I knew anything about his operations in Vale with that fucking freak show he calls a boss, I would tell a Huntsman?"

"You really don't wanna do this pal"

"You're right, I don't. Unfortunately I wasn't expecting you to be here, so now you have to die before you expose my operation"

"That right?" Qrow smirked "I bet you weren't expecting him either"

"Him? Him who?" he started to turn around but was stopped by a hand on his throat.

"I think he's talking about me" the smuggler was stopped by a metal glove around his throat and a second removing his shotgun from his hand quickly "Oops, did I ruin your moment?"

"You got no idea who you're messing with-"

"Why don't you enlighten us" Tai Yang pointed the shotgun at the man, releasing his throat.

"I ain't saying nothin, I know what happens to people who speak out against Dragon"

"Dragon?" Qrow asked surprise "The boogeyman Ironwood keeps complaining to Oz about? You realize you just told us you work for him right?"

"Nah, man. I don't work for Dragon, I work for the guy looking to take him down. Take his seat at the table, so to speak"

"Give us a name" Tai demanded.

"He didn't give no name, he told us we didn't need to know it. We're expendable he sa-" Tai shot the man in the chest with the shotgun, throwing him back several feet and killing him. Tai dropped the gun immediately, his hands in the air.

"Tai!" Qrow yelled in shock.

"I didn't do that! I didn't even touch the trigger-"

"No, you didn't. I did" a voice called from above them. They both looked up onto the catwalk overlooking the both of them to find a man covered in shadow above his shoulders. It was clear he was wearing a hood though, and the glisten of his eyes indicated he was wearing glasses of some kind.

"What do you mean you did?" Qrow asked looking between Tai and the hooded man "You couldn't have possibly affected Tai's gun unless you-" his eyes widened in shock "It can't be..."

"Qrow?" Tai asked concerned.

"Connecting the dots are we?" the hooded man asked.

"But what're you doing here? You've never been interested in smuggling or power plays? What do you plan on doing when you run the criminal underworld of Atlas?"

"That's not really your concern is it?" the man chuckled "Honestly you shouldn't even be here, you're gonna be needed in Vale a lot more than you're needed here. You wouldn't want anything to happen to Ruby now would you?"

"How the hell do you know my daughter!?" Tai asked clearly agitated by the perceived threat.

"You needn't fear anything from me, I don't wish either of your daughters harm. I cannot say the same for Salem"

"Salem?" Tai asked in shock "How do you know about Salem?"

"Ask Qrow" the man replied coldly "I'm sure he'd love to tell you just how exactly I know about that abomination"

"That's not Ozpin's fault-"

"No more than Summer's fate was yours right?" the man asked shocking Qrow and Tai Yang "I wish I could stay and chat, but I have things to do and you should both go back to Vale, Ozpin's gonna need you to protect it after all"

"Wait!" Qrow leapt up, using Harbinger to reach the catwalk. Grabbing the catwalk, he pulled himself up to flip over the railing as the man rushed away from him.

"Qrow! Hang on-" an explosion tore through the building, throwing Tai Yang out through the side wall and severing the pathway between the hooded man and Qrow, causing the latter to fall back toward the ground. Qrow transformed into his bird form and escaped out the hole Tai made in the wall beforehand. He soared up above the building, hoping to catch even a glimpse of the man escaping.

Damn it!

Qrow returned to Tai to find him pushing the rubble off of himself, his aura protecting him from most of the physical damage "Whoo! That could've been a lot worse" he brushed the dust off of himself.

"Glad to see you're still kicking old man" Qrow chuckled.

"Old man?! We're the same damn age, jackass!" he shouted back indignantly.

"Right, right" Qrow laughed waving him off dismissively "It's good to see you, Tai"

"Well, yeah. I'm awesome" he pointed at his chest with his thumb "You've been gone for almost six months now, I'd have thought you'd at least write or something"

"Yeah..." Qrow sighed "I was hoping to be done with this sooner"

"Well after you got that call from Ozpin, you disappeared on all of us. I told the girls you were off on another important mission, but for all I knew you could've been getting drunk at every bar from Vale to Vacuo"

"Right... sorry" Qrow sighed once more "I should've said something, told you what was up. At least told someone, anyway"

"Yes, you should've" Tai agreed with a small smile "How'd you know that guy in the warehouse? I couldn't even see his face, but you seemed to know who he was"

"It's a long story, but suffice to say... he's the reason I've been gone for the past few months"

"I've got time" Tai smirked "But first, food. I'm starvin"

"How exactly did you know where to find me?" Qrow asked curiously. He and Tai were in a café sitting in a booth against the far wall away from any of the other customers.

"Ozpin sent me" Tai answered taking a sip from his mug.

"Oz? He didn't say anything to me about it"

"Because he knew you'd try and talk him out of it" Tai chuckled "I sent Zwei to the girls at Beacon, figured they could manage to take care of him while I was away"

"Is that right? You do know they're shadowing a Huntsman this week right?"

"That was this week!?" Tai asked "Well I guess Zwei might get more excitement than I thought" he shrugged it off.

"Why did Ozpin send you?" Qrow asked leaning back and taking a sip from his flask.

"He intercepted communication between Ironwood and the Chief of Security here in Atlas, they were talking about an unknown figure making major plays here in Atlas. No one knows who he is or where he came from but he already controls all of the trafficking business in the city and has grinded human trafficking to a halt. On top of that he seems to have lowered the already negligible crime rate. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the guy actually wants to do good"

"Ozpin wouldn't have sent you if he believed that"

"No, he wouldn't have" Tai looked picked up the café menu, blocking his vision of Qrow as he read over the contents "He's concerned about this newcomer, wouldn't tell me why but he said you and him had a vested interest in identifying him and finding out why he's doing all of this and bring him in, and considering what I already know and you seeming to know just who this guy is, I am getting the impression the man in the warehouse and the guy Ozpin is curious about are one and the same"

"Have you found anything out?" Qrow asked .

"C'mon, Qrow" Tai lowered the menu "This is me we're talking about"

"Yeah, I know" Qrow smirked "I was hoping you caught wind of something other than girls before you found me" Tai was eyeing the waitress walking around, he snapped his head back to Qrow.

"Hey I am a married man!" Tai raised the menu over his face to hide his embarrassment at being caught.

"Uh-huh" Qrow's smirk widened.

"Anyway!"

Qrow chuckled lightly.

"I managed to find out this guy hasn't existed before a few weeks ago. Like somehow this guy comes out of nowhere with a massive criminal record, yet nobody's heard of him. Somehow, he's become Atlas's most wanted within a few weeks time and yet... Ironwood doesn't seem to be committing too many resources to bringing this guy in. I find that a bit odd, don't you?"

"You're thinking Ironwood wants this guy and the Dragon to take each other out and he cleans up the strays" Qrow concluded.

"That would make the most sense to me, why? You have some other ideas?"

"Yeah, I think I know who the guy is, and I am concerned as to why he would do something like this so suddenly. It's completely unlike him"

"What do you mean?" Tai asked curiously.

"If it's who I think it is. He's always wanted to help people, he would never stoop to working these guys over like this so he could take control of the criminal underworld. On top of that, Ironwood isn't the type to let two opposing sides war with each other if people are getting caught in the crossfire, he must know something about this, or else he wouldn't let it continue" Qrow explained.

Then maybe we should check out this lead I found, I heard there's gonna be a big- Tai lowered the menu to find Qrow was standing outside the window with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face "Just once could you say "C'mon Tai, let's go" is that so hard?" Tai asked rushing out the door.

"It wouldn't be if I didn't know it bothers you so much" Qrow chuckled as he caught up with him.

"You owe me dinner" Tai sighed with a shake of his head.

(Two Days Later)

"Where are we going?" Tai asked curiously.

"There was a massive shootout in a restaurant in Hightown. I don't know if it has anything to do with the guy we saw at the warehouse, but it's likely the only thing we've got to go on" Qrow explained.

"So... we just introduce ourselves as Huntsmen and hope they let us onto the scene?" Tai asked.

"Why wouldn't they? It's not like a Huntsman is behind all this or anything" Qrow shrugged.

"Is there a reason you won't tell me who you think this guy is?" he sighed.

"I don't know for sure it is him, and I don't want you having any preconceived notions about him if you ever meet. He's a good man, it doesn't make sense for him to do something like this"

"And yet, you believe it could be him"

"Let's just get in there and see what's going on" Qrow shook his head in annoyance. They both arrived on the scene, showing their Huntsman licenses to the security officers allowed them access although reluctantly.

"What've you found?" Qrow asked the officer in charge of the crime scene.

"Well, we already know who did it. Surveillance caught every gory detail" she sighed "Have a look for yourself if you wish. Problem now is figuring out who the hell that guy is" she turned and walked outside.

Tai stood in shock at the scene before him "This place is trashed. How the hell did this happen? There must've been over twenty guys involved in this" tables were overturned or broken and bodies littered nearly every corner of the building, they all wore matching suits aside from a single body in the center of the back room. It looked like a bloodbath.

"It was actually one of our politicians" an officer said "He has always been paranoid, hired people who were working with this "Dragon" to keep him safe when this new guy came into town and started shaking things up. Apparently he controls a lot of the shady business in the city... well... he did anyway"

"How many people did this?" Qrow asked.

"Reports say there was around two dozen guards keeping this guy safe. One man walked in here and did this without hardly a scratch on him" The officer answered "It's insane"

Qrow and Tai looked at each other knowingly "Show us to the surveillance"

"Follow me then" he led them into a back room with several camera angles, he turned the cameras back to the time of day when the attack occurred. The building was stocked full of people, every table had full seating and servers dashing from table to table struggling to keep on top of them. A hooded man with a mask over his face and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes entered the building and made his way toward the back of the room.

"Would you like to make a reservation?" the man at the front asked.

"No" he answered never looking in his direction.

The man scoffed "Rude"

Slade approached a table with several armed guards around it, and over a dozen others surrounding the rest of the room. Slade removed Defiance from his holster and aimed it for his target. One of the men grabbed his arm stopping him from aiming at the man, Slade pushed the man aside by his arm and turned avoiding a strike from a second guard that stood from the table. Grabbing the guard by his shoulder, he pushed him down and aimed Defiance over his back only for the first guard to grab his arm again, causing him to be unable to make the shot. The man was much bigger than Slade, pulling his arm to the left, he used his other hand to lift Slade by his throat and slam him against a nearby wall, his sunglasses falling onto the floor beside them.

Slade's hood fell down his back as he stabbed his wrist-blades into the mans neck twisting violently, snapping it in the process. Several guards began firing into the back of the dead man trying to hit Slade. Slade quickly removed the two pistols from the dead man's holsters beneath his coat and fired them around the body, taking down several guards and moving into the next room for better cover as the patrons rushed out of the front door, tripping over each other as they did.

A guard picked up a metal post from the ground and smacked Slade's weapons from his hands, pushing the body aside as well. Slade punched with his right hand, only to have the guard catch him by his coat. Twisting around, Slade removed his coat and slammed his fist into the guard's face. Twisting under his arm, he threw the guard into the bar shattering a glass as he did and slammed his head down onto it forcefully.

Turning, Slade removed Defiance from it's holster once more and fired into a guard aiming for him from behind a table. Slade then lifted the man from the bar and used him as a shield while ducking underneath his legs, firing another shot into a second guard. Dropping the man in hand, he fired again into a third guard as he stood, turning back toward his original target. Slade slowly moved into the room once more, pinning himself against a wall before entering.

Slade fired two shots around the wall distracting the guard waiting for him to enter with his weapon drawn, turning he threw Defiance at a second guard and rushed toward him as the gun hit him in the face. Slade dove toward him by his legs and rolled him forward, grabbing his leg as he stood back up and kicked the man in the face. Twisting the man over, he knelt onto him and picked up Defiance shooting him in the back of the head. Twisting toward an oncoming attacker, Defiance was knocked from his hand by a fire extinguisher being used as a bludgeon. Slade kicked his boot back into another guard attempting to tackled him, dropping him back and avoided a second strike from the extinguisher.

Grabbing the would be bludgeon, he slammed it into a third guard's firearm knocking it from his grip as the second came toward Slade with a knife in hand. Using the first guard's forearm, he blocked the strike and stabbed the knife into the first guard's neck. The third grabbed him by the shoulder and pointed his gun toward him as Slade pushed it toward the first guard firing a round into each of the guards he then slammed his elbow into the man's abdomen and threw him across the nearby table.

Another guard struck at him with a bottle, Slade smashed the bottle using his gauntlet kicked him back into the wall behind him. Grabbing the bottle as he struck for his throat, Slade returned the favor and impaled the broken bottle into his own just before the previous guard kicked Slade in the back, throwing him over a nearby table. unsheathing his wrist blades, he blocked strikes from two guards with knifes stabbing the one on the left in the throat and the one on the right in the shoulder. Slade slammed his left fist into the second guard's face throwing him aside, a third swung a blade for him only to receive a blade to his abdomen and a boot to the back of his knee, dropping him onto them before his throat was slit by said blades, then stabbing them both into the previous guard's chest and kicking him onto his back.

Slade tucked another guard's arm underneath his as he attempted to stab him and slammed the back of his fist into the second guard behind him. Pulling the first guard around in front of him, he grabbed him by the shoulder and snapped his neck with his left hand while kicking is legs out from under him, flipping the man through the air away from him. Slade slammed his knee into the back of the knife sitting in the throat of the second guard, killing him instantly.

Slade grabbed Defiance as yet another guard attacked him with a silver serving tray knocking the weapon from his hands again. Punching for his face, he struck the platter, denting it lightly before slamming his opposite fist into his face while a second guard approached. Slade grabbed his arm as he struck and slammed his boot up into his chin dropping him onto his back as the first stood back up and a third came from behind. Slade brutally deflected each attack from the three men and responded with his own, using his elbows, knees, heels and fists to get them off him. Grabbing one of their legs he flipped the man onto a nearby table, breaking it with his weight and stabbing his wrist-blade into his neck.

The previous two men attacked him together, Slade wrapped his arm around the neck of the first and kicked the second in the chest before flipping the first man over his shoulder onto a table. Slade slammed his fist into the man's face then chest before ducking beneath a kick from the first guard knocking the second down as it struck his face. Slade grabbed the second guard's leg and flipped him onto his front, picking up Defiance from the floor and adjusting it to fire as the first guard wrapped his arm around his throat. Slade quickly fired the weapon backwards into the man's head before following suit with the man below him.

Standing straight up he slowly began making his way back to the room with his target in it, motioning with his gun for the bartender to leave as he went past him. A gunshot rang out hitting him in the side, Slade fired as he rushed to the wall for cover and fired around it as the man rushed around toward him from the opposite side of the wall. The man tackled Slade into the bar behind him, Slade broke the crossbar from beneath the bar and impaled the man on it as he charged him. Pulling it through the other side of him he slammed it into the face of one of his two next attackers and used it to snap the neck of the second before slamming it back into the first's face twice more.

One final guard aimed at his back as he started to rise from the ground, holding his left side and firing his gauntlet backward into the man. Slade lifted Defiance off the ground and painfully made his way back to his target who sat in utter terror at what he had just witness.

"Holy... shit" Tai Yang breathed out in disbelief as Slade fired into the man's head. He quickly left the building afterward, leaving his carnage behind.

"Yeah..." The officer sighed "We thought the witnesses were hysterical until we saw this. No one person could do this much and walk out right? Figured it was some type of gang hit... but, it sure as shit was just one guy. One seriously skilled guy"

"I think we've seen what we need to see" Qrow quickly urged Tai out of the building and away from the scene before people started asking them questions.

"Qrow... tell me it's not the guy you think it is. You don't actually know anyone who could do that and isn't a Huntsman do you?" he asked concerned.

"I do" Qrow sighed once they were far enough away "He was close to graduating... but he left after his team was killed by one of Salem's goons" Qrow looked distressed.

"You said he was a good person, Qrow. Good people don't go into heavy populated areas and shoot people!"

"No innocents were hurt, only thugs working for a corrupt politician. Technically he acted fully within his purview as a Bounty Hunter so long as someone hired him to do it, but Ironwood is sure as shit not gonna be happy about it... and Slade's different from most people, Tai"

"I gathered that" he sighed "Most people couldn't do what he just did even if they wanted"

"That's not what I'm talking about, Tai. Slade is... connected to Salem somehow. We don't know how or why, or what the full effects are for such a thing. But we do know that Slade had visions of the past or future. So far, everything he saw always happened, and the others we can't confirm yet"

"Wait, wait, wait... this is THE Slade? As in Slade Stroud? Vytal Festival champion, top of his class, last of the Stroud family?" Tai asked in shock.

"The very same... it's unfortunate he didn't follow in his parents footsteps, but that's mostly my fault and Oz's" he sighed.

"Then... what he said earlier... about Summer-"

"He doesn't know anything about that you don't, not unless Salem told him something through their connection. That was just him being cruel, likely trying yo distract us from what he was really doing, keeping us talking until his rigged explosives were set to go"

"We've gotta find this guy, Qrow. Fast. Who knows what else he's doing right now"

"I know, but we're gonna need some help"

Ozpin sat in his office, with a deep sigh he stood and walked over to the window overlooking the courtyard. It was empty, this time of night it would be.

"You should really get some rest, Professor" Glynda suggested.

"I will, Glynda. Thank you" he smiled back to her "Why don't you head to your quarters and get a head start. It was a rough day today"

"That it was" Glynda agreed with a shake of her head "Just don't stay up too late, Professor. You need your rest too" she turned to leave without another word spoken between them.

Ozpin sat and pondered the events of today, he was saddened by the thought and shook those thoughts from his mind. Ozpin's scroll suddenly started ringing, removing it from his pocket, he answered the call "Qrow? I figured you'd call before long"

"Yeah, well... you did send Tai after me"

"I sent Tai Yang to track down the hooded man making major plays among the Atlas criminal underworld"

"Which you knew would lead him to working with me... did you know it was him, Oz?"

"I had my suspicions as you no doubt did. Have you found anything proving it?"

"No, but it's him"

"How do you know for sure?"

"His weapon was the same, he wears mostly the same thing as from before... and his skills are even greater than the day he left. He doesn't just have the training now, he's got experience. He's made some improvements to his gauntlets as well... Slade's more ruthless than he used to be. I think Salem might've had an effect on him"

"I feared as much. Slade's been fighting against Salem's manipulations for as long as he's been at Beacon. I had hoped to have found a way to sever their connection, but it seems nothing I cam up with was viable"

"We need to find him, Oz. I might be able to help him before he's too far gone"

"I understand, I only wish I was there with you both. That boy has experienced far more torment in his life than he deserves. I'm certain whatever he's done, he's still the same boy we know somewhere deep down"

"You didn't see the video of the bloodbath he just waged, I'm not sure Slade can even see himself anymore... Oz, is something going on with you? You sound... off"

"I am upset I suppose" Ozpin sighed "I sent Ruby and her team to Mountain Glenn with Bartholomew for their shadow mission. Their mission was to search Mountain Glenn for a possible hideout of the White Fang, Roman Torchwick, or someone else entirely" he explained.

"That doesn't sound like a first year mission... don't tell me something bad happened to them"

"No, no, nothing like that. They're all safe and sound with no injuries to speak of... but Roman Torchwick drove a train through the collapsed tunnel leading to the city of Vale. Grimm following behind the train attacked the city and the students of Beacon were all forced to fight them off to protect the civilians. Ironwoods forces were essential in repelling them, but unfortunately the council decided he was better suited to make the decisions regarding the safety of Vale than I am" Ozpin sighed "On the bright side Roman Torchwick has been incarcerated"

"That's rough, Oz. I know you did everything you could've to make sure everything was done as well as it could've been"

"I'm not so sure... but that's not what we should be focusing on right now. You and I both know Slade has been reported to be working with Roman Torchwick and Adam Taurus in the past. If he's operating in Atlas, it doesn't bode well for any of us. Find out what he's doing there and stop him"

"I plan to, but if I am gonna be going up against Slade. I'm gonna need some things to make sure I am ready"

"He is a formidable fighter, and that's even without his Semblance. Whatever you need, let me know, and I'll make it happen"

"Thanks, Oz"

That's all for now guys! I'll have the next chapter out for you guys as soon as possible, thanks for taking the time.