Disclaimer: I hereby declare that Roosterteeth studios RWBY production crew may freely use any ideas, characters, or events written in this story free of charge and without any threat of lawsuit for any production, though it would be preferable to inform me of the use of the idea if used.

Amygdala ch 3

Lan stood behind the bar in the Sumptuous orchid, grilling a dish on a portable stove.

"Order up, garlic oysters to room three!" he said, plopping the steaming plate on the table.

It had been a few days since Lan had arrived at the sumptuous orchid, and the boy had already found his place there. After cleaning up the horribly filthy first floor and kitchen area, he had begun cooking snacks to be served with the many drinks offered at the bar. The news of the boy's surprisingly good cooking and the brothel's cleaner state had spread and business was steadily picking up. However, most of the extra work that came with it usually ended up in his hands due to Heiran refusing to do anything she found annoying, even the administrative tasks that would normally be the duty of the proprietress. She was however, more than happy to take advantage of the extra income coming into the establishment to purchase whatever she pleased. Thankfully though, she had provided him with the means of getting extra manpower by calling in some of the alliance's lower ranking goons to help out with smaller tasks. Her mother had also sent some working boys and girls to help with the more…specialized services.

"I'll take those" said Heiran who snatched it off the table and popped one of the Hors d'oeuvres into her mouth.

"Uh, those are for the customer" said Lan who had come realize that attempting to stop this girl was as futile as trying to stop his grandfather.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm heading there myself." She said with a naughty smile "Mr. Tan and his husband requested me to give them both a—"

"Stop right there!" said Lan who help up his hands. "'inhale' just take them and go, I'm going to have breakfast now."

At least, he thought it was morning. Here in this underground cavern, a person's circadian rhythm could easily be thrown out of whack, so Lan made sure to keep the alarm on his phone synced to the time zone of the island.

After pouring himself a bowl of cereal and protein shake and sitting down at a table, he began to go through a message chain that he had established with Sammy as he sniffed every spoonful of cereal he brought up to his mouth before eating it to ensure Byakko had not farted in his cereal in-between spoonfuls when he wasn't looking, as the man had done many many times before for shits and giggles...pun intended.

Sammy and Lan had mostly been corresponding through paper mail and packages up to this point, but now that Lan had decided to get a bit more tech savvy, they had started sending emails and having phone calls. Their main topics of conversation these days included working on tech designs together (with Lan being in charge of making parts from raw materials as well as assembling some larger pieces and Sammy being in charge of more precision work as well as any programming that may be required), recounting tales of tomfoolery in their daily lives, discussing their favorite anime and manga, as well as the increasing discontent over the ineffectiveness of the White Fang's current peaceful protests.

He chuckled as he read through one of Sammy's ardent messages about the beauty of robot girls, and as he was about to send a reply to both acknowledge it and explain a bit about his own preferences, his phone suddenly beeped with an urgent mission request.

He had been dealing with these frequently over the past few days, only he and a handful of Heiran's team actually dealt with them since it was something that could hurt the 4 Guardians's reputation if not handled and most of the team was too lazy to do so. It usually involved the boy going in to bust a few heads then reporting to a liaison. It was usually pretty straightforward and straightforward, but he still had trouble dealing with how much his targets seemed to enjoy getting beaten into submission. He knew it was due to their cranial implants pumping in endorphins to offset any negative emotions caused by the physical trauma they were experiencing, but he still found it kind of unnerving.

"A disturbance at a bar nearby" mumbled Lan as he began to scroll through the mission details "that's not a big deal why do they—ah I see"

At the bottom of the mission description in blaring red letters were the words "Byakko Incident".

Nodding his head, Lan swallowed the rest of his cereal in one gulp, texted Sammy that he had to go, then got up.

"There's plenty of dishes pre-made in the fridge." He yelled to the new barkeep as he headed to the door, "Just heat them up if someone orders them."

Exiting the building he was immediately hit with the stink of the city; a mix of rot, various drug smoke, and the lingering odor of discharged dust.

"Good thing I bought this" though Lan, as he strapped a high-performance gas mask around his face. "being constantly exposed to all these odors would dull my senses."

Pulling out his scroll, he began following its directions to the indicated location while taking in the sites. It wasn't a pretty picture. Every third alley he passed someone was either getting high, mugged, or raped. Every time he saw one of these acts, his hands itched as a desire to set things right tugged at the corner of his mind. He knew he wouldn't be able to make an impact in this capital of sin, in fact he might even cause unnecessary trouble for Tetsu if he caused trouble for the goons of someone important. Part of his mind rationally accepted that, but another was gradually growing more and more ashamed with himself for not taking some sort of action.

Was he strange for holding himself back when he saw something wrong?...would it really not make a difference?

He stopped in his tracks as he saw a store owner get pulled into an alley by a rough looking group of men.

The growing irritation he had been feeling every time he saw crimes like these over the past few days turned into a dull buzz filled his mind. Rational thought ceased as he heard the sound of blows of being thrown, and a single phrase filled his mind:

"Is this the kind of person I want to be?"

Before he realized it, he had clenched his fists and had begun running towards the direction of the alley.

"Stop" came a deep woman's voice. He sensed something approaching his shoulder and quickly turned and slapped it away.

"Hooh, not bad"

Standing in front of Lan, with her hand hovering the air was a dark-skinned woman with black dreadlocks tied back in a ponytail. She wore a pair of pitch-black sunglasses, a camo patterned tank top, and a pair of ripped black pants.

"Your dossier said you were good" she finished.

"Who are you?" questioned Lan as he took a fighting stance and created crystal armor plating on his gauntlets.

"Woah, easy there little brother" said the woman, who smirked and help up her hands "I'm on your side, the names Nthanda. Heiran should have told you about me."

"She did" said Lan, who lowered his hands as he remembered her face from the dossiers he had received. "You and two others were on mission in a different sector of the city for the past week."

"Glad to see you're well-read" said Nthanda "but continuing from the previous topic, you weren't thinking of getting involved in that were you?"

She gestured towards the scuffle in the alley.

"Uh, well" said Lan, who turned his eyes towards it. "…I don't know…maybe?"

"…I know it's difficult for a kid like you to accept just like that, but its best to just leave stuff like that alone, at least in this city" said Nthanda, "Besides, do you know the crimes that store owner has under their belt?"

"Uh…no…no I don't" said Lan.

Nthanda pulled out her scroll, brought up the man's profile and showed it to Lan. After reading it, the boy grimaced.

"…. Sorry" said Lan "I guess I just got too heated up not being able to do anything about any of this."

"This isn't the kind of city where you need to" said Nthanda "You want to make a difference? Do it in one of the major kingdoms, after all this town was built on the money born from sin, try to be a hero here and stick your nose into things without understanding the power structures and you'll be treated like you were the villain."

"Yeah…Yeah that's right" said Lan, who had finally cooled down. "sorry, it's…just going to take some time to get used to."

"Well it's good you understand" said Nthanda, "So, what are you up to out here? On a mission? I could lend you a hand you know."

"Oh, well I'm just on my way to quell a disturbance" said Lan, "more specifically a Grandpa-related disturbance, which was why I was specifically requested, but I could always use a—why did you move so far away?"

"Oh, uh well, I didn't know it was a Byakko related incident." Said Nthanda "I know I offered to help but…uhm"

"I guess you are in the scared-shitless camp" said Lan, who nodded his head in an understanding manner. When Nthanda stared blankly at him Lan replied "Usually people who know grandpa either love him or are scared shitless of him."

"Ah, well yes, I guess that is true" said Nthanda "I don't want to go into details, but let's just say after a certain even in the past, I prefer to keep my distance from that man."

"Alright, don't worry then. I'll handle this, you just head back and report to Heiran" said Lan, "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," said Nthanda, "Always nice to meet someone who actually has manners in this town."

Waving goodbye, the two continued towards their respective destinations.

"You have begun saying words like shit more often" noted Veritas once they had gone a good distance "Looks like the denizens of that pleasure house are beginning to rub off on you."

"…Oh gods, your right" said Lan, who grimaced and shook his head "Good thing I just started, I'll need to watch for that in the future...ah! I guess we've found the disturbance."

Lan noticed a large gathering of people in front of the bar where Byakko was reported. They were circling what looked to be a fight and it looked like they were placing bets.

"That's strange" thought Lan as he pushed his way into the crowd. "Usually any fight Grandpa is in ends before something like betting can start."

When he emerged however, instead of finding his grandpa with his foot up some crying individual's ass, he was greeted with a different but just as jarring of a sight. Standing in the middle of the crowd was a large muscular man covered with small cuts and breathing heavily while raising his fists in a fighting stance. There was a mixture of fear and pleasure on his face, due to the endorphins from the cranial implant fighting against his own unease.

That was to be completely expected in a Byakko related incident. It was his opponent that caught Lan off guard. Facing the was what appeared to be a baby wearing purple pajamas. It had short light violet hair and had a pair of small bat wings sticking out of its back, it was also sucking on a pacifier while holding a kunai which was likely what caused all the cuts on the man's body. But the most jarring thing was that the baby seemed familiar to Lan, with its hair reminding him of a certain young-looking lady and its eyes reminding him of a certain large muscular man he knew.

"Oh, don't tell me." Thought Lan, and as if in response to this a loud booming voice rung out over the din.

"Stab him in balls sweetheart! STAB! HIM! IN! THE! BAAAAAAALLLSSS!"

Turning in the direction of the voice, Lan found his grandfather sitting on the steps of the bar with both his arms in the air, a giant mug of Vodka in one hand and a large baby bottle in the other.

"What?! NOO!" shouted the man in the center of the crowd. But too late, the baby made an adorable squeak while nodding its head, then shot forward faster than the untrained eye could track. The man attempted to intercept it, but a few moment later the baby was standing behind the man and a moment after that a bloody lump of something fell down from between the man's legs. The man's eyes then rolled back into his head and he fell forward onto his stomach.

There was a moment of silence, which was almost immediately broken by Byakko letting out a cheer, downing his spirits, and running over to his little one.

"That's my baby girl!" he cried, with a huge smile on his face.

The little one cooed happily as it dropped its dagger, and waddled over to her daddy who happily scooped her up into his arms and peppered her cheek with kisses.

"The man's blood is strong in this one." Said Veritas.

"Yep" thought Lan as he smiled wryly at his little aunt, "Looks like we'll be having even more chaos in the house from now…wait, how'd she even get here?"

"I swim fast!" shouted Byakko, who whipped his head to face Lan so quickly that the wind force from his mane blew the people around him into the surrounding walls. "I popped by Tiger Cove and asked Chiyo if I could take care of the baby for a while, she said yes as long as I popped by often enough to get the little one milk, and here we are!"

"…Man, I…I am always forgetting how fast you are" said Lan, who bent forwards with his left hand on his waist as he scratched the back of his head with his right.

"Ohhh! Then let me show you! I thought it was about time you got used to regularly breaking the sound barrier!" said Byakko who rounded on Lan with an outstretched hand.

"Ahhh! No! Pain!" shouted Lan who cowered backwards while holding both arms in front of his face.

"Well, enough of that for now, come say hi to your little aunt!"

Byakko shoved the little baby in Lan's face, and Lan noted the sweet new baby smell. The little one then grabbed onto him and began climbing all over him until she ended up hanging from his shoulder.

"Hello~~" said Lan who turned his head and smiled at her "Whatcha doin back there?"

The baby cooed and giggled before spitting out her pacifier. She then opened her mouth in a huge smile, causing Lan's eyes to widen as he saw an enormous pair of bat fangs. Sensing danger, he quickly reached into one of the pockets of his pants, pulled out a thick piece of jerky, and brought it up against his neck just in time to intercept a powerful bite from Fuji's giant fangs.

He brought the jerky with the little girl noming on it in front of his face, and looked at her with slight apprehension.

"Dawww, look at you, bein' prepared for your little aunt with some jerky. How'd you know she loves to chew?" said Byakko, with a proud papa smile.

"I found out just now" said Lan, who handed her back to his grandfather. "Anyways, it's nice to finally see you again. You had enough of cavorting around the pleasure district?"

"Oh, I haven't even begun! I'm still gonna—" Byakko stopped and began sniffing the air. Before Lan could react, the old man appeared behind him, seized him by the shoulders, and took a long sniff of his hair.

"Mystically trans-mutated fruit" said Byakko, who tightened his grip on Lan's shoulder "Didn't we say we weren't going to do any mystic stuff for a while?"

"Oh well, uh…Tetsu really got me settled on the first day I haven't seen the ocean again since then…So yesterday I had some free time and…cracked open a scroll or two."

"I see…free time" said Byakko, who began exerting such a dominating aura that Lan's bodily hairs and crown jewels instantly retracted into his body.

"Looks like, I'll need to revise your training regimen for the remainder of your stay here." He then leaned down and whispered the new regiment into the boy's ear. Lan instantly went pale and began trembling.

"Well, then" said Byakko who clapped Lan on the shoulders "For now you and I are going to stick together for a bit, take in the sights, the sounds, the food…the ladies."

At the last word, Lan attempted to break away and run, but found himself completely immobile in his grandpa's grip. Before he knew it, he was slung over Byakko's shoulder as Fuji continued to nom away on the jerky while being tucked in a baby carrier on Byakko's back.

"And first of all, we'll heading to meet up with one of my lovers. A foxy lady who I know you'll love."

After assessing his situation Lan decided that the best course of action would be to save his energy for now and look for a way to escape. The three of them quickly traversed the winding streets of the town. Byakko would pluck food from any food stand that came near them, and thankfully for the storeowners, this act was immediately recorded on the city's surveillance system and the food would be paid for by 4 Guardians agents at a later time.

Eventually the crowds of people became thinner and thinner until there was barely a pedestrian trickle. They eventually ended up in front of a small but well-kept store. A large sign out front in the shape of an owl read "The Scavenger's Nest Pawn Shop". A young girl with short brown hair and caramel skin who appeared to be in her mid-teens was sweeping out front. The moment she saw Byakko, her eyes widened and she dropped her broom.

"CUSTOMERS!" she screamed at the top of her lungs while running into the store. The sound of scampering and clattering filled the air for a few moments after which a woman burst out of the store followed closely by the girl. She had long black and white hair which appeared feather like most likely due to her being some kind of Faunus, skin that was pale yet somehow also looked vibrant, and was wearing an eye-catching hostess dress.

"Welcome to the Scavenger's Nest!" she said, while spreading her arms in a flourish "Prepared to be astounded by—"

She stopped the moment she recognized Byakko waiving at her.

"Sup good-lookin." He said while flashing her a grin.

"Oh, it's just you." She said as she let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped forwards.

"What? Not happy to see me" said Byakko as he strutted up to the door.

"No, it's not that, it's just that I thought I finally had some business. Things have been slow for a while." She said.

"So, you are happy to see me" said Byakko who pecked her on the cheek.

"I'm always happy to see you, you studly furball" she said as she reciprocated the action. "I just wish you'd called ahead, that way I wouldn't have gotten my hopes up over a customer and I would've had more time to slip into something sexier."

"Still lookin plenty sexy to me" said Byakko, with a mischievous grin.

"Ohhhhh! You have a boyfriend Chispa?" said the young girl. "How come you never told me?"

"Eh, more like on and off lover" said the woman that Lan believed was Chispa. "And with how boring things have been lately, I could use a little lovin. But anyways, I think introductions are in order from your team and mine. The girl currently jumping up and down behind me like a hyperactive child"

"Hey!" said the girl.

"is Luna Noches" finished Chispa "She's my apprentice slash part-timer and has been living here the last 6 months."

"Nice to meet ya little lady." Said Byakko, who shook her hand with such vigor her whole body shook up and down. "The name's Byakko Muteki, the most powerful man on Remnant!"

"In terms of physical strength" chimed Lan.

"Agreed" agreed Byakko. "The boy over my shoulder is my grandson Lan, and the giggling happy bundle of joy strapped to my back is my daughter Fuji."

"Oooooh I want to hold her!" shouted Luna.

"Don't, she's too bitey" said Lan.

"OH~~Which of the girls is she from?" asked Chispa as she walked behind Byakko and looked at the little one.

"Chiyo's" responded Byakko.

"Ahhhh, I thought I recognized that purple hair" said Chispa, "and how is the old girl doing, still making masterwork textiles?"

"You know it!" responded Byakko.

"Well tell her to send a few pieces my way, I always get good prices for her stuff, just sold the last dress a month ago for a king's ransom."

"Haha, will do" said Byakko, who set Lan on the ground. "But I think we should focus on the here and now hmmmm~~?"

"Heh, that depends" said Chispa, who eyed Byakko like a sly fox "what did you bring?"

Byakko smiled and whipped out a bottle of wine.

Chispa took it, turned it over and examined the label.

"Wooot! 110 years old! It's almost a shame to drink this…almost" she said with a smile "still though, 1 bottle may not be enough for both of us together."

In response to this, Byakko pulled out 7 more bottles out of nowhere.

"I also brought snacks" he said, pulling out an enormous paper bag. "I even got that Mystralian dried squid you like so much."

"Okay, that settles it! Luna you mind the store and show Lan around, Byakko and I are gonna go catch up in the back." Said Chispa.

"What about Fuji?" asked Lan.

"She can tag along with us" said Chispa who pinched Fuji's little cheeks "I got plenty of stuff for her to nibble on, and don't worry, we won't do anything that that'll scar her in any way."

Before Lan could say another word, Byakko shot forwards, scooped Chispa up in his arms, and zoomed into the store which was almost instantly followed by the sound of a door slamming in the back.

"…Well, that happened." Said Luna, "I guess we should head in now."

The two walked into the shop and Lan found the insides to be both about what he expected and surprising in its own way. As expected, there were piles of merchandise artistically arranged on shelves and tables all over the area, however the inside of the building was much larger than what the outside led him to believe.

"Isn't it amazing!?" said Luna as the two of them began walking through the shop. "There must be some kind of magical enchantment on this place or something!"

"Most definitely" said Lan as he spread his own energy out and sensed signs of some kind of mystic formation.

"I know right!" said Luna who began to fangirl excitedly "Chispa's definitely part of some magical secret world, a world I'm going to one day unravel the secrets of! And you must be part of it too right? Are you some kind of mystic kung fu disciple aiming to save the world?"

"There are many secret worlds, each with multiple layers" said Lan as he examined an old teacup. "Which one are you trying to get into? The one most people end up getting involved in is the ongoing war between the two who were blessed and cursed by the gods of light and darkness."

Luna whipped her head towards Lan.

"GODS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS?! WHO ARE THEY?!"

Her eyes were filled with filled with such starry-eyed excitement that Lan found himself unconsciously taking a step back.

"…it seems I've said too much. I'll stop here for now." Said Lan.

"Whuh—Hey! You can't just leave me hanging like this!" shouted Luna as Lan walked away.

"You know, there's actually some nice stuff here" thought Lan, as he ignored Luna's pleas. "I mean just look at this…this"

He completely stopped registering Luna's voice as he looked down in front of him. It was a simple old Shogi set, with smooth wooden pieces and a plank-like board. The sight of it brought back memories from deep, deep in the depths of his mind. More specifically of when he played the game with a man in a blue yukata as the sea breeze blew through the room.

The boy walked forwards and placed his hand on it, stroking its smooth surface before looking up and seeing many other things that had previously overlooked. There were a set of bamboo steamers that reminded him of making meat buns with an old woman, who calmly helped him fix the mess when he had turned his cooking into something horrifying. A set of gardening tools that made him remember tilling the fields with a large gorilla Faunus man. A variety of instruments that made him remember a studio where he learned basic skills under the instruction of a man in a tuxedo.

"By the gods" he murmured as he came across more and more items that reminded him of those he had known long ago in a small town nestled against the sea "How could…how could I have not thought about them?"

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an enormous canvas backpack that he had somehow kept in there.

"Woah! Magic!" shouted Luna as Lan began to pick up items here and there to load into the bag. "So, uh, looks like you're making a purchase then?"

"Yeah, I-I think I will" said Lan as he placed a set of classical novels into his bag. "There's a lot here that…I feel like I really need to catch up on."

"Oh great! Chispa's gonna be ecstatic to hear that we're actually making a sale. Wait here, I'll go get here."

"Uh, wait" started Lan as he shoved an old tool set into his bag, "I'm not sure that's—"

But too late, Luna had already run off to the door in the back. But when she grabbed the handle, she found that it wouldn't budge.

"What the—Oh come on" she grunted as she began to push at it up and down to get it to move. After finding that futile, she began banging on the door "Chispa! We got someone who actually wants to buy something!"

A long silence greeted her after which she sank to her knees "UUUGGGHHHH!"

"We probably don't want to disturb them right now" said Lan, who was dragging along a backpack bursting at the seams.

"Chispa always tells me to drop everything and tell her whenever it looks like someone's interested in buying something." Said Luna "Besides, they said they wouldn't be doing anything that would scar a baby, it's not like we'd be seeing anything bad if we interrupted."

"Well, I see your point" said Lan who reached out and grabbed the door handle "But with grandpa things are never like you expe—Hey wait a minute, this door isn't even locked"

Lan pulled the handle down and the door opened with a click.

"What the—why didn't it open it open for me?" said Luna

"Dunno" said Lan, who pulled the door open "Maybe it was enchanted or—Agh Ahh AHHHHH!"

Lan screamed and fell onto his butt while holding his hands in front of his face to shield himself from the sight in front of him.

"Huh, what? What is it?" asked Luna who walked towards the open-door frame as Lan scooted away.

"WAIT LUNA NO!" shouted Lan, who reached out in her direction, but too late.

The moment what was behind the door came into sight, Luna's whole body went rigid as she stared wide-eyed at the spectacle before her. Then, with her facial expression unchanging, she slowly reached out to grab the door handle and quietly shut the door. She then turned and walked to the nearest corner where she crouched down in fetal position and began rocking back and forth.

"Uh, Luna" said Lan, who walked up to her "You okay?"

"I need an adult" murmured Luna as she continued to rock back and forth "An adult not wearing a diaper."

"I can see how that wouldn't scar a baby" said Lan who rubbed his forehead "But it would definitely scar everybody else…let's just wait till there done. For now, let's bleach our minds with video games. Does your scroll have a controller app?"

"Yeah, let's do our best to forget what we just saw."

An hour later Byakko and Chispa finally came out of the room, thankfully wearing their normal attire.

"Hey kids, how's it going" said Chispa "…and did you like what you sa—"

"AAAHHHHH! NO NO NO QUIET! I NEED TO FORGET!" shouted Luna as she jumped up and began flailing your arms.

"Ah, you're open" said Lan, who executed a combo move and KO'd Luna's character.

"DUDE NO FAIR!" shouted Luna, who angrily threw her scroll on the ground. An action that she regretted almost immediately as she immediately picked it up and began cradling it regretfully.

"Oh ho, and what's that I see there~~" said Chispa whose eyes widened with delight "A large bag filled with merchandise? You got the lien to pay for all that kid?"

"Do I have the lien?" chuckled Lan, who whipped out a fat stack of thr cards.

"You sure you got the time to play with all that stuff boy?" asked Byakko, who raised an eyebrow. "Your new training regimen won't really give you much free time will it?"

"Ah…right" said Lan, who stiffened. He then looked at the huge bag filled with curios and sighed before putting the fat stack on lien back in his pocket, a sight which greatly alarmed Chispa.

"N-now hold on tiger, no need to be hasty here." She said as she nuzzled up to him. "You told me that all that extra training is to help get his mind off the supernatural stuff. But all the stuff he's got will keep him preoccupied just as well! Come on, loosen up on the boy a little…for me?"

Byakko looked down at Chispa's puppy dog eyes, then let out a bemused sigh.

"All right honey, I'll compromise. The boy just needs to use extra leg weights when he does his normal training." He then turned to Lan "That work for you boy?"

"Yeah, I think I can do that" said Lan, who pulled out his lien clip again "and I should still have time for all this stuff that I'm going to buy."

"I love both of you." Said Chispa who rubbed her hands together.

A few minutes later Lan finished his checkout and the boy hefted his enormous backpack as he headed for the door.

"Well, I'm just gonna head back and unpack all of this so—" started Lan.

"Hold it right there!" said Byakko who seized Lan by the shoulder and gave the boy a horrifying grin "There is still lots of night life we need to see. And by then end, I will make a man out of you."

"…Please no." whimpered Lan, who began shivering.

"Come on sweety, let the boy off" said Chispa, who lovingly held Byakko's arm. "I think the boy's learned his lesson about leaving the supernatural stuff alone for now. Just let him enjoy his new toys for tonight."

Byakko sighed then gave Lan a scrutinizing look.

"Fine. But no more supernatural stuff till I give the go ahead, you hear me?" he said

"Understood" said Lan.

"And should you break this vow, your v-card shall be forfeit" said Byakko.

"Uh, what's a v—" started Lan

"You live in a brothel right now kid, ask one of the staff there and they'll tell you what you need to know." Interrupted Chispa.

"…I'd regret asking that question with every fiber of my being wouldn't I" asked Lan.

"Most likely" said Chispa, with a mischievous grin.

Lan slowly nodded in acknowledgment then proceeded to run out the door at top speed.

"Your reckoning shall come boy!" shouted Byakko "No man of the Muteki Family has ever kept his v-card past 14!"

Smiling at this hilarious exchange, Chispa then turned to Luna.

"Luna, be a dear and go fetch the ledger from the back will you?"

"Uh sure thing!" said Luna, who then ran off.

Chispa followed Luna with her eyes until the girl had entered the back room, then turned to Byakko.

"So that boy Lan, what exactly is he?" she asked with an upturned eyebrow.

"Hmmm?" hummed Byakko as he cradled Fuji's sleeping form in his arms.

"I had a ward placed on that room. Made it so that no human, Faunus, or Grimm could open that door." Said Chispa "Of course, powerhouses like you and your siblings could open it, but that would be by forcing it open and overpowering the ward…it didn't even react to the boy."

"…Cool" said Byakko, a relaxed smile on his face.

"Is that an 'I already knew' smile or a 'that doesn't matter at all' smile?" asked Chispa.

"Both!" said Byakko with a grin. "But one thing, does your ward affect someone with two souls?"

"…not even going to ask" said Chispa who smiled and shook her head.

"More importantly, I need to get this little one to bed" said Byakko, who gently patted Fuji on the head "…and after that's settled" he turned a sultry gaze on Chispa "you ready for round 2?"

"That depends, did you bring the saddle?" asked Chispa.

"Did I bring the saddle?" chuckled Byakko sarcastically as he pulled said saddle out of nowhere.

Back at the Sumptuous Orchid, after stocking the fridge with enough Hors d'oeuvres to be reheated when requested, Lan returned to his rooftop dwelling. Trey and the little ones were currently sleeping while piled up in a corner of the room. Moving quietly and carefully so as not to wake them, Lan went about unpacking all his new items in his area of the dwelling. A few minutes later, he walked back out onto the rooftop carrying a stand, a stack of books, and the cases containing all the musical instruments he just bought. Quickly setting up a sitting area, he randomly picked one of his instruments and assembled it while taking off his gas mask.

"Clarinet huh?" he said as he attached the moistened reed "I hope I still remember how to play this thing."

For a short while, the sound of clumsy scales could be heard intermingling with the din coming from down below, after which the boy pulled out a set of sheet music, the clarinet part of a piece called "New World" written by Edgar.

Slowly, the boy played one phrase of the song at a time, stumbling frequently, pausing regularly, and making mistakes again and again and again. But slowly improving regardless.

Edge of the Amygdala at the Check-in station.

"Well sir, it seems that all your credentials are in order" said the guard captain as he read through a file on his scroll. "You and your executives are cleared to enter the city as soon as your underlings finish their neural implant surgery."

"Excellent." Said a man with a deep raspy voice who was clothed from head to toe in black.

"According to your file, you'll be undertaking a business and supplier role when entering the city." Said the guard "Oooh! And it says here you're a weapons manufacturer! Maybe you can help us get these old pistols updated, Mr…"

"Executioner" said the man in black. "my title in this business is Executioner."

Just realized I hadn't been posting on Archive of our Own, gonna be updating on both sites from now on.

It's gonna be slow updating from now on though. Full time job, low motivation, self hatred, and constant depression don't exactly make me the most productive person. Gonna take a big jolt to change that.

Hope you guys are enjoying the story, and as always I hope its having some impact on the RWBY crew.