Unfortunate Events

They spent the next two days laying low in their room.

Mostly.

Sort of.

Well, they tried, and Pyrrha thought that was important.

On the first day they'd managed to eat breakfast, retire to their room, and agreed to spend the rest of the day hidden away unless Tukson called Blake. That plan had lasted into the second hour of Pyrrha's compulsive exercising before Blake apparently couldn't take the constant motion and apologies whenever Pyrrha bumped one of the beds.

So instead of resting in their room, they went to the warehouse that Blake had been sleeping in.

It was just as dirty and unpleasant as Pyrrha could have guessed, and they spent the rest of that first day cleaning up a space to work in. If nothing else using her semblance to move rusting cargo containers had let her get some practice in with it beyond what she normally used it for. Sadly she couldn't shove aside the refuse that people had been apparently tossing inside quite so easily.

Shoving it all into corners, then walling it away with the containers at least kept it out of sight.

That had been enough exercise even for her, and they'd returned to the hotel in far better spirits. The next day they went back, stretched out, and then settled in for a few friendly spars to try and pass the time.

Blake lasted for about an hour before she'd thrown in the towel, collapsing onto the ground to pant for breath after her third yield.

Honestly better than I feared she would do.

"People fight you for fun?" The other girl gasped, dragging herself over to Pyrrha's old sleeping bag. "I think you just killed my ego."

Pyrrha smiled, only lightly winded as she spun Milo's javelin form up and over her head, stretching out a bit. "You are quite good if that helps. If you'd competed in my circuits last year... I think you'd have done respectably well. Fifth or sixth place probably."

A quiet huff. "You couldn't have lied and said I'd take second?"

"I don't think you'd have beaten Diem." She said seriously. "He's very, very good. And your style isn't very well suited for an open arena contest."

"I was joking, Pyrrha."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Another spin got her weapon behind her shoulders, both arms settling around it as she leaned back. Her spine stretched out pleasantly first backwards, then left and right as she worked. "You are quite good, I am not trying to flatter you, but it's easy to tell that you're used to fighting Grimm rather than people."

Blake waved her apology away, not quite looking her way. "That was pretty much my job for the last two years. Standing guard outside of camps or on the outskirts of a raid, dealing with any Grimm that were drawn in. Mostly Beowolves, the occasional Nevermore."

That... made her feel strangely better. Not that Blake had already fought Grimm, she was rather jealous of that, but... "You never fought other people?"

"Personally? No." Blake chewed on her lip for a moment, before letting her head fall back. "Robots, yes. People? Just in friendly spars."

Yes. She definitely felt good about knowing that. It meant Blake may have been a terrorist, but she hadn't really been a terrorist.

"Would you like me to help?" Pyrrha offered.

The other girl promptly sat up a little. "Training you mean?"

"Yes! I'd be more than happy to." She smiled. "I've always kind of wanted to help train someone else, but I've never... been fond enough of anyone to actually offer. At least until I met you."

Blake's ears twitched. "Am I going to be able to walk after we're done?"

Pyrrha laughed. "I will be gentle. It wouldn't do to train so hard that we can't go after Torchwick when the time comes."

The other smiled, then shook her head once and rubbed at her face.

"Is that not all right?"

"No, it's fine. Sounds good. Just some of the things you say, the things I'm... ugh. Nevermind. What do you think I need to improve?"

A little baffled, but more than thrilled to discuss her passion, she began at once. "We can start with your stance. You like to keep your weapons spread, ready to attack an opening with either. That's fine against a Grimm larger than a person, but it leaves too much of you open against me. You should be stretching, by the way."

Blake stood up with a quiet groan and began following her instructions.

They spent the rest of the morning doing light drills, ones that Ray had once spent an entire summer running her through. Mostly focused on the sword aspect of both of their weapons to give Blake a better foundation upon which to work from.

Pyrrha found herself enjoying those few hours immensely. Blake was extremely attentive, following her instructions precisely, quickly grasping what she meant.

"Can we spend every morning doing this?" Pyrrha asked when they left to find lunch, finishing tying her bandanna around her throat before pulling her sunglasses back on. So far her little disguise seemed to be working, but traveling with her distinctive weapons was risky.

That was why Milo was hidden away in the backpack that Blake had bought, along with Blake's own weapon, while Akuou hung from her shoulder.

I really should see about getting a collapsible shield, if only to draw less attention.

Blake shrugged, looking a little sweaty but relaxed as they stepped out into the alley behind their new hideout. A little adjustment got the pack settled across her own shoulders while they set off. "So long as nothing else is going on, sure. What did you want to eat?"

"Anything sounds good. Do we have enough lien to make it to the end of the week?"

"Breakfast is free, and we're not buying anything else." Another shrug. "We should be fine to eat out. Might be safer to eat cheaply for at least one meal a day though."

Pyrrha hummed, nodding. "How about that little diner we passed on the way here? They didn't look that expensive."

"Sure."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, offering polite nods and the occasional smile to the local citizens they ran into. Most returned the expressions, telling them good morning as they walked past one another. The quiet good cheer remained as novel and pleasant as it had been since she'd first experienced it.

And the haircut and simpler disguise are helping a great deal. It's so nice to not be stared at constantly.

The diner was packed at the lunch hour. They were lucky that there was only two of them, and that one of the tiny booths was available in one of the corners.

Blake waited until after they'd ordered their meals before pulling her scroll out. "I'm going to try Tukson since he hasn't called in like I asked."

"Of course." She nodded. "That seems smart. Is there anything I can do?"

"With how loud this place is I don't think anyone will be able to listen in, but if anyone comes over could you tap me?"

"I will."

Nodding again, Blake pulled out a tiny set of headphones from her pack before plugging them into her scroll. Settling the top half into her Human set of ears, she tapped the device a few more times before settling back to wait.

I wonder what it's like, to have four ears like that. Pyrrha frowned at the thought. Oh dear. Is that racist? I hope it isn't.

"Thanks for picking up." Blake said quietly, one hand holding the microphone part of her scroll up near her lips. "We need to talk."

Pyrrha looked away, keeping watch while her friend spoke with her contact. Thankfully being a guard in a diner was far easier than being one in a dark basement. It was easy to see the waitress bustling over with water and their salads, and a gentle nudge of her foot against Blake's warned the other girl in time.

They thanked their server, got a beaming smile from the antlered woman in response, and then Blake was back to her conversation in between bites of their vegetables.

Blake's expression got progressively darker, her ears twitching and flattening in between hissed words. She gave up on the salad, pushing it away after a few minutes in favor of growling into her scroll.

Oh dear, this doesn't look good.

It ended just after their proper meals arrived, with Blake yanking the headphones out a single angry motion. Feline ears twitching, she grabbed her fish sandwich and took a vicious bite out of it.

"Bad news?" Pyrrha asked quietly, sure she already knew the answer.

Blake swallowed, and somehow managed to make the motion angry. "He refused to meet in person again. Said he's done, on his way to Vacuo, and there's nothing I could say to convince him to help."

"Oh." Her fingers fiddled with her own sandwich for a moment. "So we won't see him again?"

"No." The word was a growl. "All he said was that he had one lead. Someone who might be able to tell us why the White Fang and Roman are working together, and who might also be able to tell us where Roman is working from."

Pyrrha blinked. "Doesn't that help us?"

"Yes, but it's not what I wanted. At all. I wanted a lead on the White Fang's headquarters so that we could burgle it. Get the evidence we need, then call in Huntsman to end them in Vale." Blake huffed. "He insisted he doesn't know besides telling me it's in the sewers, which means nothing in a city this size. I don't believe him, but there's nothing I can do about it now."

"Oh." She said again before taking a bite out of her meal. It was quite good, and a pleasant distraction for the few moments it took her to chew and swallow. "So... what do we do?"

"Find Roman Torchwick." Blake took another angry bite, speaking once she'd finished. "It doesn't make any sense that the White Fang would work with him considering his species, and how the local branch feels about Humans. He must know something we can use."

She felt herself frown, not really sure what the bad news actually was. Sure, it would be a little more complicated than maybe they'd hoped, but it was hardly the worst news. "Is that really a bad thing? We're going to be stopping a criminal, aren't we? One who could lead us to the White Fang even."

"Yes."

"Um... then why are you so angry?"

"Because it's an extra step where something can wrong. Because I don't like the lead he gave us. Because I offered to unlock his aura, and he refused." Another angry little noise from across the table. "Because it's a distraction."

Because she doesn't want to fight criminals. She just wants to fight the White Fang.

Pyrrha felt like she could understand that. Intellectually at least. "At least we have a lead?"

Blake huffed... but she nodded tightly. "I... yes. It's a lead."

"Which is more than we had this morning! Oh, I'm not being too optimistic, am I?"

"You're... no. You're right. It could be worse." Blake admitted. "He could have refused to pick up his scroll and just vanished. We'd be back to wandering the streets and hoping to run into something."

A little buoyed by her response, Pyrrha beamed. "Then we have good news. What's our lead?"

"A gang." Blake paused, visibly forced herself to relax further, then said. "Well, not really a gang. An organized crime family from how he described them. A group that Roman used to work with. Tukson thought they might know where he's operating these days, which would give us a chance to find him."

More crime fighting... mother would throw a fit if she knew.

The notion cheered to an almost worrying degree. "I'm not really an expert on gangs, or criminal groups, but I think it sounds like a good lead."

"Isn't Mistral pretty much run by crime families?"

"That's a bit overblown." It was her turn to pause before sheepishly admitting, "A bit, at least. I have had to smile and shake hand with people my father openly told me ran criminal groups. I... didn't enjoy it."

Blake frowned, lowering her sandwich just before it reached her lips. "And they get away with that?"

"They have money, connections." Pyrrha sighed. "It's like they... revel in being open. Smiling at Headmaster Lionheart and the other Hunters, mocking the profession, praising arena fighters like me instead of the real warriors."

"And he doesn't do anything?"

Pyrrha shook her head, reciting an old speech that Ray had once given her. "Mistral is a big country, and the terrain isn't as convenient as Vale's. We can't create a single grand wall to defend our capital and farmlands with. Every Hunter spending time chasing down gangs or bandits is one more undefended village, one more harvest that may not be gathered. And... well, many of the criminal families are very wealthy, and Hunters don't often become rich."

"So they bribe them." Blake said flatly. "Typical."

"...more or less, yes." Her shoulders slumped. "I love my home, but there's many things about it that I don't miss."

Blake met her eyes for a moment, then glanced away. "I know how you feel. Menagerie... has its own problems."

"Tell me about them?"

To her surprise, Blake actually did. They spent the next hour or so casually eating and talking about their homelands. Learning about where the other was from.

Blake told her about how crowded Kuo Kuona was, how poor so much of it was. How little the people who lived there seemed to understand just how dangerous the island could be, how they couldn't afford to be isolated.

There were also the good things. The beautiful vista of the ocean, the beach parties that ran until dawn, the sense of utter peace that Blake claimed was unlike anywhere else on Remnant.

In return, Pyrrha told her about Argus, the city that she always remembered more fondly than Mistral. It's chaotic mix of architecture, the grand technological displays from the university, the great snowball fights that had become a tradition every midwinter. Blake seemed ready to dismiss most of it, but she seemed rather jealous of that last.

I miss those days. Being just one more little girl, running about and caring little about the wealth and honor of the Nikos family.

Relaxed and content, they finished their meals, paid, and departed for the hotel.

Once they were back in their room, it was time to plan.

Blake held her scroll up, reading off the information that Tukson had sent while Pyrrha sat on her bed.

"We're looking for the Red Ax Gang, also known as the Xiong Crime Family." Yellow eyes flicked left to right as she read, "They're supposedly drug runners first and foremost, but their second major business is as information brokers. Supposedly they can find out almost anything you need to know in the underworld, if you've got the lien to spend."

"Which we don't."

"Which we don't." Blake agreed. "We'll have to be creative about that part."

Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably. "Um, what do you mean?"

"We're huntresses, they're criminals. They tell us what we want to know, we don't call the authorities on them." That didn't so bad until she added, "And if they don't go for that, we rough them up a bit."

"Um..."

"Then I rough them up a bit."

That didn't make her anymore comfortable with the idea. "Are you sure that's our only option?"

Blake glanced up at her seriously. "Pyrrha. They're criminals. A drug cartel."

"Well, yes, but that doesn't mean we should simply... threaten to harm them to learn what we need." She tried. "That's not what we're supposed to do."

"...we'll call that a last resort then." Blake muttered, "Oh. Here it is. They're supposed to operate out of a nightclub as a front. They won't want to start anything there. Makes it an easy infiltration at least."

"A nightclub?"

"The Club." Pyrrha could practically hear the capital letters when Blake enunciated the words. "We'll have to figure out something to wear."

Pyrrha cleared her throat, "Um. I don't think I can wear my sunglasses in a nightclub."

Blake paused. "Oh."

"Or my bandanna over my face."

Her friend scrunched up her nose. "...right. Maybe we can dye your hair? Find a temporary tattoo to break up your features."

"Yes." She tried not to sound desperate. "Yes, please."

Of all of the places to be recognized, in a club would be among the worst. She'd only ever been to one, part of one of her father's various efforts to make her 'get along' with the children of other wealthy families. Even among how awful most of those other experiences had been, the memories of the pounding music and the constant shouting ranked among the worst.

"We won't be staying, will we? Just in and then out?"

"In and then out." Blake confirmed. "As fast and quietly as possible. I'll handle the talking, I just need you with to watch my back if they try anything. We should this soon. Tonight, if we can. Is that all right?"

She'd have liked to have some time to work up to it, but it wasn't as if there was any polite excuse she could give. They had nothing else to do, something that she was painfully aware of.

It'll be fine. Blake will be with, this won't be like the last time.

"Yes, that's fine. Do we have the lien for the dye and... tattoo?"

Blake nodded. "We don't need the expensive brands. Something cheap will last for tonight, and that's all we need. Do you think you'll be able to play off anybody recognizing you?"

"I can try." Pyrrha replied gamely.

"Good. Come on. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can find Torchwick."

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat