I told you the second part was right around the corner.
Also, I deleted that authors note chapter in case you're confused by the chapter numbers. It was always on the chopping block and now I can get rid of it. Besides My OCD was driving me crazy with the chapters being one number off.
Chapter 16: A Knight at the strip club
The Voluptuous Vixen
Jaune's never been to this part of Vale before, and for good reason. There's no doubt in his mind that this is one of those sketchy areas of a big city that his parents warned him about. Buildings looked rundown, stores were locked up with bars over the windows, streets were dirty and poorly lit, and the people did not look friendly at all. He was feeling a little nervous, but it subsided quickly when they turned a corner and ended up in a much nicer area. The buildings were in better shape, the street was cleaner, and the whole area had better lighting much to his relief. The main source of light was coming from an upscale looking building in the center of street. As they got closer, Jaune could clearly see the word "Voluptuous Vixen" in bright neon colors and several large burley men in suits standing out in front of the entrance.
"Aww shit, look who's here!" A bouncer excitedly said when he noticed Alex and the rest rolling up. The guy was at least seven feet tall and was 300 pounds of pure muscle. He had tanned skin, slick black hair kept in a pony tail and sunglasses despite it being nighttime. He wore a black two-piece suit with a white shirt and green tie underneath. If he wasn't intimidating already, the brass knuckles he was wearing would make sure of that.
"Grouse! How's it going man?" Alex asked the large bouncer.
"It's been pretty calm so far but with you guys here, the party's about to get started!" Grouse replied.
"Good to hear. Hey, how's the wife doing by the way?" Nick asked.
"Oh right, you guys don't know. Well, she's pregnant!" Grouse happily replied.
"Congratulations man! How about a drink?" Greg replied.
"Thanks guys, but I'm working right now. Go on and have one for me." He said while motioning them to head inside.
"Will do." Ivan said. Right as Jaune was about to step forward, Grouse held his arm up to stop him.
"Not so fast. ID please." He said to him. Before Jaune could even pull it out, Alex turned around to address Grouse.
"Hey, it's cool. He's with us." He simply said. Grouse quickly looked Jaune up and down before flashing a grin.
"Go on in." He didn't need to tell Jaune twice as the knight quickly caught up to Alex. Grouse already knew Jaune wasn't old enough, but if Alex said he's cool, then that's good enough for him and the rest of the bouncers.
"Ah, I was wondering when we'd see you guys again." The bouncer standing behind a counter said as they walked in. Like Grouse, he was also a pretty large guy, only he had darker skin and was balding. He also wore a suit like Grouse only with a stripped black and silver tie.
"Come on Rocko, you know you can't keep us away." Nick joked.
"Ha! True that. Anyway, 20 lien cover charge tonight." Rocko said as everyone pulled out the money. Once the money was collected, everyone held their hands out so Rocko could stamp them. "Have fun guys, your table in the VIP section should be ready for you all." Alex was about to pull the curtain at the doorway until he felt Jaune tap his shoulder.
"Alex, what is this place anyway?" he asked.
"What, you've never been to a strip club?" Alex replied. The look on Jaune's face was priceless.
"…S-strip club?" Right as Alex pulled the curtain away, Jaune was greeted with the sight of a dark, yet brightly lit area with loud music playing in the background. There were tables, lounge chairs, pool tables, a bar and at least three different stages with poles that went up to the ceiling. Patrons were spread all over the area, sitting, chatting, drinking, smoking and having an all-around good time. Bouncers were off to the sides, staying alert to deal with any trouble makers. And of course, there were the lovely ladies of the Voluptuous Vixen, both Human and Faunus, walking around in their sexy lingerie and showing off their "assets." Jaune's mind was already out of whack with the over stimulation of the opposite sex, but the final straw was when he laid eyes on the center stage to see a dancer remove her top and expose herself to the world.
"You good Jaune?" Alex asked with an amused tone. He figured Jaune wasn't very experienced with women, but the way he just 'shut down' at the sight of the strippers was too funny.
"…yeah…why?" He barely managed to form a coherent response as he stared at the women passing by, with some giving him flirtatious winks.
"Well you're drooling for one, and I think your nose is bleeding." Jaune quickly snapped out of it and wiped away the drool and the blood. Luckily, his nose bleed wasn't that bad.
"Oh my gosh! Is that Alex?" An excitable voice called out. He and Jaune turned to see two strippers walking towards them. The one that called out Alex's name was a short and petite blonde, with green eyes and large white, bird-like wings attached to her back, identifying her as a Faunus. She wore a lacey white bra with matching panties, high heels, and had a bubbly personality that could brighten anyone's day.
"Yeah Angel, it's me." He said to her. The bird Faunus, Angel, squealed excitedly and gave Alex and big hug.
"We saw the other guys and were wondering where you were." The second one commented in a more seductive tone.
"Missed you too Sapphire." Alex said. Unlike Angel, Sapphire was a human that had black hair with a couple teal streaks running through them and bright blue eyes that perfectly contrasted with her hair. Also unlike the bird Faunus, she was the same height as Alex and had multiple tattoos covering her much fuller figure, that was covered by black and blue, silk undergarments.
"Of course you did. Nobody can resist me." She replied with a confident, sultry tone while tracing her finger up and down Alex's body, much to his enjoyment.
"Who's your friend?" Angel asked, turning her attention to Jaune.
"That's Jaune. We let him tag along with us for the night." Alex replied.
"Oh he is such a cutie!" Angel exclaimed, grabbing his cheek like he was a child.
"Hey handsome, why don't you and I get to know each other a little better?" Sapphire cooed to Jaune. Between her seductive tone and tracing her soft-delicate fingers across his body, the blonde knight felt a chill run up his spine and suddenly found himself unable to speak. But he was certainly enjoying the close contact with these lovely ladies.
"Come on girls, it's Jaune's first time here." Alex commented.
"Well, we'll make sure his first time is…memorable." Sapphire purred into Jaune's ear.
"Now, now, we just got here. We'll have fun later. But first, we need to have a few drinks." Alex decided to give Jaune some breathing room, as he looked like he was about to have a heart attack.
"Aww, alright. We'll circle back around later." Angel said while making the most adorable pouting face.
"Don't keep us waiting." Sapphire said with a wink before walking away, making sure to add a nice sway to her hips.
"Stay with me Arc." Alex put his arm around Jaune's shoulder and guided him over to their table in the VIP section. Greg, Nick and Ivan were already sitting down with drinks in one hand, and lit cigarettes in the other.
"What happen to him?" Ivan asked, noticing how Jaune seemed to be out of it and staring off into space.
"We ran into Angel and Sapphire and well, you know how Sapphire is." Alex replied, placing Jaune in the booth.
"We better get some alcohol in him to help steady his nerves." Nick commented while sliding a shot of vodka to Jaune. "Drink this up man." Jaune didn't acknowledge Nick, but he seemed to understand the request. He grabbed the shot glass and quickly downed its contents. The second the alcohol went down his throat, Jaune started coughing and hacking up his lungs. It was then that Greg slid a glass of lemon-lime soda over to Jaune to help him chase it down, much to his relief.
"I figured he might need a chaser." Greg commented out loud. He had the foresight to order a chaser, knowing Jaune wasn't a drinker.
"Ack! That is so strong!" Jaune exclaimed, breaking out of his daze.
"Good to have you back. I thought you were going to be trapped under Sapphires spell." Alex said.
"How're you feeling?" Greg asked. It was then that Jaune remembered that he was in a strip club.
"I'm feeling great! This place is…wow!" He exclaimed. So many beautiful, scantily clad women, and they all approached him!
"Hold up Arc. Before you go off, there's a few things you should know." Nick said. Jaune nodded for him to continue. "First off, do not go falling in love with the strippers."
"They'll be flirting and touching you and stuff, but remember: they don't love you, they love your money." Ivan elaborated.
"While we're on the subject of money, do not tell anyone you're loaded right now." Nick said, taking another shot.
"Some of these girls have no problem taking every last lien in your pocket and leaving you for broke." Greg pointed out. Jaune nodded in understanding.
"Always tip." His next tip was very simple.
"Tipping is how these girls make their money. So be sure to tip them after a stage dance and also tip the waitresses when they bring you drinks." Alex explained. Right as he said that, a waitress brought out another round of shots and Alex slipped a 5-lien card into her bra.
"Just like that." Nick commented.
"Got it. Anything else?"
"Yeah, above all, be respectful." Alex said. "They're still ladies and they should be treated as such. If they say stop, you stop."
"Remember, they're strippers, not hookers." Greg added. If they were back in Moscow, then it would be no problem. But Vale doesn't seem to allow the dancers to double as 'working girls.' Then again, that rule isn't exactly strictly enforced, and it certainly doesn't stop them from offering extra services.
"If you want hookers, they're down a couple blocks that way." Nick said while pointing in a random direction.
"And always listen to the bouncers." Ivan said, getting a round of nods from the others.
"If they say something or tell you to stop, just say 'yes sir' and don't argue with them." Nick followed up.
"I think that covers everything." Greg commented, passing around more shots of vodka. It was then that Alex raised his shot glass, and everyone followed suit.
"Well gents, its time we celebrate our victory over Atlas, and what better way than with alcohol and strippers?" A collection of cheers followed. "But, we most likely wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for our man, Jaune Arc!" More cheers from Nick, Greg and Ivan followed. Not used to being the center of attention, Jaune could only awkwardly shrug. "So let's drink and get lap dances to finish off the night!" They clinked their shot glasses together and downed their vodka in one gulp. Jaune was coughing up another storm before chasing it with the soda. The guys just laughed.
"Careful with those shots, they'll sneak up on you real fast." Greg said.
Beacon, lecture halls
It didn't take Cinder long to find and break into their office. Their office was large enough to hold four desks and chairs, with two on each side, one in front of the other, and facing the doorway. There was one filing cabinet and one bookshelf on each side of the room in addition to a small closet that sat in the middle of the back wall. She immediately noticed that with how the room was arranged, it was perfectly symmetrical if you were to draw a line down the center of the room. Additionally, everything was super organized and tidy, not even a piece of paper in the trash cans by the desks.
She started by searching through the various folders and notebooks on their desk, identifying them as lecture notes and lesson plans for their courses. Normally, these would be meaningless to her, but reading certain lesson titles like "Fundamentals of Terrorism", "Intermediate Reconnaissance", "Close Quarter Engagements" and "Interrogation Resistance", rose her curiosity to new levels. She skimmed over a few of the lesson plans and took note on how detailed they were, and how out of the ordinary they were for a Huntsman academy. There's no doubt in her mind that these were not things taught in any other school. She pulled out her scroll and took a few pictures of the lesson plans and exercise regiments, knowing that it's information could prove useful to her superiors.
After finishing looking through the desks and paperwork, she made sure to put everything back in its original place before moving onto the computers. Thanks to her superiors, all she has to do is plug her scroll into the computer and it auto hacks her past the user login. She quickly navigated to their school e-mails and began searching for anything useful. However, the only messages in there are general school announcements and mass e-mails sent by other departments. Not even the deleted messages had anything worthwhile. Seeing as how there's nothing else to search in their office, Cinder decided to hit their on-campus apartment. She made sure everything was exactly the way it was before locking the door and making her way to the staff apartment wing.
The Voluptuous Vixen 0015
By this time of night, the club is alive and at full peak. Girls were up on stage, drinks were being served, guys were getting private dances, and everyone was having a good time. Especially the Russians and of course, Jaune Arc.
If you were to walk in right now, the first thing you would see, is Nick on one of the stages, surrounded by two girls and dancing like an idiot. The two girls were giggling like wild as Nick pulled off his wicked sweet dance moves. Then if you look over to the other side, you'll notice Ivan doing pull ups with two girls holding onto his legs and another one his back. A lot of people were impressed at how easy he can pull himself up over the bar while three girls held onto to him. Finally, at the VIP table, you'll see Alex, Greg and Jaune siting down and relaxing from a few rounds of pool while watching the main stage. Of course, they weren't alone at their table, as each of them had a lovely topless, lady sitting in their laps. Obviously, Greg and Alex were more comfortable with having a half-naked woman sit on their lap than Jaune was, but nothing a little liquid courage couldn't remedy.
"Wow, seven sisters?" Angel asked Jaune in amazement. He had a goofy grin on his face as he nodded in response. "I can barely stand my one sister. I can't imagine living with seven."
"You get used to it." He replied with a slight slur. After a few extra drinks, Jaune was feeling pretty good albeit tipsy at the same time. It was like all feelings of anxiety just vanished and he can finally be the lady killer he claimed to be. He let out a light grunt when he felt Angel 'readjust' herself in his lap. This is the first time he's been this close to a girl in all seventeen years of his life, and boy does he hope he can do it again. Angel may be smaller than most of the other girls he's seen, but that doesn't mean she's any less of a woman. Smooth and flawless skin, well-toned body, and a sweet innocent face to complete the little perky ball of sunshine that she is. He tried to reach for another shot glass of vodka, but Alex swooped it away before he could get to it.
"Easy there Jaune. We don't need you getting totally fucked up." Alex said as he downed the shot, then handed Jaune a glass of water. Compared to the Russians, it's no surprise that Jaune would have a lower alcohol tolerance than them, so they were watching how much he drank while making sure he had water between drinks.
"Oh Alex, always the responsible one." Sapphire said in her seductively sweet tone as she gently caressed her hand across his cheek. Knowing how Sapphire is, Alex made the right call with having Angel sit with Jaune as she's more…gentle, for lack of better words.
"Hey, he's still a kid." Greg commented, taking a drag from his cigarette. He then handed it over to the girl in his lap for her to take a drag. It was then that he and Alex notice Angel whisper something into Jaune's ear, causing him to go wide eyed before nodding his head with that goofy grin on his face.
"If you all excuse us, Jauney and I are going for a private dance." Angel happily chirped.
"Have fun Jaune. Don't spend all your money." Alex said as Angel took Jaune by the hand and led him to the back area.
"He looks so innocent." Commented the woman in Greg's lap with what sounded like a French accent. She was tall and very slender, with long dark silver hair and yellow eyes. At first glance you may think she was Human, but she's actually a Faunus. A snake Faunus to be exact as she had a long, forked tongue like that of a snake. Additionally, she's also extremely flexible, able to wrap her body around yours, ironically like a snake.
"Don't worry Ash, we've been helping him gain some confidence and break out of his shell. It seems to be going well so far." Greg replied to the now identified snake Faunus.
"Oh Greg, you are so sweet and caring, on top of being smart and handsome. Why can't more men be like you?" Ash said in a sweet, wishful tone while flicking her tongue out just like a snake would.
"I bet you say that to everyone." Greg replied with a grin. Ash looked genuinely offended at that comment.
"No, it's true. You, Alex, Ivan and Nick are Godsends compared to all the drunks, punks, creeps and losers we deal with normally." Ash replied.
"Godsends?" Alex asked, overhearing Ash and Greg.
"For starters, you guys practice personal hygiene and dress nice, unlike the majority of our clientele." Sapphire answered.
"You're all very polite and respectful." Ash added. Just then, a waitress walked up and collected the glasses before placing two fresh ones down.
"You guys don't grope the waitresses as the walk by." The waitress added. It was then that both Greg and Alex gently slipped 5 lien cards into her panties. "Not to mention you actually tip the waitresses." She said before walking away with a smile.
"But what I personally admire most about you all, is that you guys aren't judgmental towards Faunus or anybody." Ash said with a hopeful look in her eye. True, the Voluptuous Vixen was tolerant and open minded for the most part, but what happen more often than not, is that Faunus dancers will be verbally mocked or ignored completely by Humans, and vice versa with Human dancers and Faunus. The bouncers only intervene if there's physical assault or if they're causing too much of a disturbance, so a lot of times the girls just take it and move on.
"What can we say? It's just who we are." Greg answered. In all honesty, it's not that hard to be a decent person.
"Well don't ever change." Ash said before pulling him into a hug. Despite her skinny frame, her hugs were very strong, almost like you were being constricted by a python.
"As touching as this moment is, how about we follow your friend Jaune's example, and head to the back area?" Sapphire asked with a mischievous grin. Both Alex and Greg looked at each other, then the women in their laps, and then back at each other.
"Lead the way." Alex said. As Sapphire and Ash lead them towards the back area, they manage to get a good glimpse of Ivan doing one handed push ups with five girls on his back, and Nick who appeared to be tied to a chair while a girl whipped him with what looks like his belt.
Cinder
The first thing Cinder noticed when she "entered" their apartment, was how clean and tidy it was. Just like the office, everything seemed to have a place. The living room area was carpeted and consisted of a couch, coffee table, and two recliners situated in front of a TV set with a video game console nestled under it and multiple genres of games. Connected to the living room was the kitchen and dining area complete with a table, chairs, stove, dishwasher, pantry and for some reason, two refrigerators. Next to the pantry, was a small doorway that led to the in-unit washer and dryer. Adjacent to the kitchen, was a hallway that had five doorways, one being the bathroom and the four the bedrooms. Finally, at the end of the hall was a glass sliding door that led to an outdoor balcony with a small glass table and a couple lawn chairs on it. Compared to the student dorms, these staff apartments are superior in every way. Cinder felt annoyed at the fact she had to stay in a student dorm but remembered that it was only temporary.
The second major thing Cinder noticed in their apartment, was the flag that hung in the living room wall. It was a simple design consisting of three horizontal fields with white on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom. She wasn't sure if it's supposed to represent something or if it was just a trinket they purchased from a custom hobby shop, but she went ahead and got a picture of it. She then did a quick lookover of the kitchen, noticing that it contained a lot of fresh and healthy items. Various vegetables, fruits, lean meats, dairy and whole grain choices filled the fridge and pantry. Cinder made a note on how their clean eating habits seem to coincide with their physical capabilities.
But in addition to the food, there were copious amounts of alcohol that seemed to make up a good amount of their beverages. Aside from coffee, tea and juices, there were bottles of liquor all throughout the kitchen. The majority of them appear to be vodka, but there were a few other choices like whisky, gin and rum. She then discovered that the second fridge was solely used to store beer. Lagers and Ales, light and dark, they seemed to have almost every type of beer there is. Cinder was perplexed at how one could have such a healthy diet yet consume very large amounts of alcohol.
Taking a quick look in the laundry room, she instantly recognized their uniforms that were stuffed in the laundry basket and decided to take a closer look. The first thing she took note of was the unique, digital composition of colors that adorned it. Green appeared to be the base color, but it was mixed with other shades of green, black, gray, brown, and tan. She assumed that the coloration was useful for helping them blend in forested and grassland areas but could also be used in mountain or arid desert environments as well.
"Very interesting." She thought.
The material it was made of felt fairly rough and durable, yet comfortable enough to wear on a regular basis. Cinder took notice of other little details like the semi loose fit and multiple pockets, but the most eye-catching detail was the Velcro shoulder patch the depicted the same flag that was hung in the living room. It's clear in Cinder's mind that this white, blue and red flag represents something, but has no idea what. She took a few pictures of the uniforms from multiple angles for good measure. While not the most fashionable attire, it certainly seems more practical than wearing brightly colored clothes.
Now it was time for her to check out their personal rooms. But first, she was going to take a quick look in the bathroom or more specifically, the medicine cabinets. Again, it was clean and tidy, with a hint of lemon in the air and contained items you'd normally find in a bathroom. She searched through the cabinets and drawers, only to find that the closest thing they had to medicine was aspirin and foot powder. It seems they didn't appear to have any major health issues or allergies, which is unfortunate for her because knowing an enemy's health concerns can easily be exploited for future use.
The Voluptuous Vixen
"Hey Angel, where's Jaune?" Alex asked the bird Faunus, finally finished with his private dance. It's no surprise that he lost track of time, especially when you have a sexy tattooed babe like Sapphire bumping and grinding all over you. As far as he knew, Greg was probably still back there with Ash.
"Last I heard he was going to the restroom." She replied.
"Why, did he enjoy your dance a little too much?" Alex couldn't help laughing when he asked.
"No silly! All those drinks are starting to catch up to him. I was very gentle." She exclaimed with a playful slap to his chest.
"Hey, I wouldn't blame him if uh…that happened. You are a sexy little thing after all." He said, flashing a grin and making her blush slightly.
"Alex, you're such a charmer. But your friend Jaune is soooo adorable!" She squealed.
"How so?" Alex asked, slightly curious what she meant.
"He was so nervous and shy, that I had to coax him into touching me, and when he finally did, he was so gentle and cuddly, I couldn't help but squeeze him to death!" Alex watched with amusement as Angel fawned over Jaune. "And then we picked up where we left off of on our conversation earlier and believe me when I say that he's a great listener! Even when he's drunk off his ass, you can still have meaningful and insightful conversations with him."
"A semi-functional drunk? Interesting." Alex commented on Jaune's behavior while intoxicated.
"I guarantee when he gets a girlfriend, she'll be the luckiest girl in the world. Heck, if I didn't have a boyfriend already, I would've seriously considered Jaune as a potential option." Right as she said that, her name was called up to the stage and she said her goodbyes to him. Alex thought about the possibility of Angel and Jaune for a brief second before tossing the idea the out.
"She's like almost 30, if not already. Besides, I doubt he'd be okay with his girl working at a place like this." Alex thought. It was then that he saw Ash and Greg walk out, hand in hand, and both smoking cigarettes. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before parting ways with each other.
"What time is it?" Greg asked as he walked up to Alex.
"It's almost five." He answered, surprised. They must've really lost track of time.
"Damn, I guess we should find everyone else and head back?" Alex simply nodded in response. They say nothing good ever happens after 2 A.M., and it's almost 5 A.M. so they should probably get going. Luckily, they didn't have to search very hard because all three of them were sitting at the bar, laughing and drinking with each other.
"…So then Ivan chucks a dodgeball and it knocks some guys soda out of his hand and spilled all over this fat lady and her bratty kid!" Everyone, including a couple of waitresses and strippers laughed at Nick's tale of them at the trampoline gymnasium.
"Too be fair, I was aiming for the lady herself. She was rude and bitchy to the staff and her kid, well let's just say I've never considered hitting a child until that day." Ivan elaborated. They then noticed Alex and Greg walking up.
"There you guys are." Ivan said, acknowledging their presence.
"You guys missed it. Jaune here took the Four Nuckelavee challenge!" Nick exclaimed. They both looked over to Jaune and could tell he was pretty fucked up. And why wouldn't he be? The Four Nuckelavee is like the Four Horseman shot on Earth, only instead of one mixed shot, you take four individual shots of four types of whisky. In this case, Mack Daniel's, Tim Beam, Donny Walker and Freemason's brand whisky's
"How's he doing?" Alex asked.
"Other than not being able to walk a straight line, he's okay." Ivan answered. Jaune responded with a thumbs up. The four consecutive whisky shots hit a lot harder than he anticipated, but damned if he didn't enjoy himself. He felt like he could take on the whole world.
It was then that he noticed another stripper sitting at the end of the bar. Now his mind was pretty fuzzy from the alcohol, but he could've sworn this chick looked a lot like someone he knew. She was a tall Human with a nice athletic build and long bright red hair that complimented the most beautiful green eyes he's ever seen. Her "outfit" was a red with gold trim, satin Bustier and matching thong set, and a plentitude of jewelry. In Jaunes mind, there's only one word to describe her…Damn!
But for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out who this red haired, green eyed stripper reminded him of.
As he admired her from the other side, a guy walked up to her and began talking to her. The guy could be best described as your standard, run of the mill, douchey rich guy. When she responded, the guy suddenly looked angry. Jaune may be sloshed out of his mind, but even could tell that she wanted this guy to get lost. He looked around to maybe find a bouncer, but they were at the other side of the club dealing with another group of rowdy drunks. With no one around, his chivalrous instincts kicked in and began hobbling towards the guy. When he got closer, he was able to hear the conversation more clearly.
"I said I'm on break right now. There's plenty of other girls you can get a dance from." The red head sternly said to the douchebag.
"I don't want those other girls." The douche replied with a sneer. "Now why don't you be a good little whore and…"
"Hey! The lady said no." Jaune said with confident tone. The douche and the stripper looked at the blonde knight with mild curiosity before he was shoved away the douche.
"Piss off!" He shouted before turning back to the red head. As Jaune braced himself for the imminent impact of the floor, he suddenly found himself being caught by Ivan and Greg.
"Are you just going to stand there and take that Arc?" Nick asked. Jaune looked back at the douche and suddenly realized that he was twice his size. As much as he wanted to teach that guy a lesson, he knows he'll get pummeled. Right as he was about to turn away, Alex stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. We've got your back." Alex reassured the knight. With the comfort that Alex and the other's have his back, a new surge of strength shot through Jaune. He walked back up and tapped the douches shoulder.
"What do you…" Before he could finish the question, Jaune floored the douche with a sucker punch, knocking him into a nearby table. Both the Russians and the red head were surprised and amazed at Jaune's feat. However, they didn't notice the douche was already back on his feet and in turn, sucker punched Jaune right in the face, sending him hurdling towards the red head who barely managed to catch him. Just as he was about to strike him again, the douche suddenly found himself surrounded by four drunk, angry Russians who looked to be more experienced when it came to bar fighting.
"Enough! What the hell happened?" Everyone turned to see Rocko and two other bouncers appear, each of them brandishing weapons.
"He started it." Greg said, pointing to the douche.
"Bullshit! That fucking blonde kid sucker punched me!" He retorted.
"Then why does he have a black eye?" The red head spoke, pointing to the shiner Jaune now possessed.
"Hey fucking punched me into that table!" The douche shouted.
"You punched the kid in the face. Of course he's going to retaliate. It was purely self-defense." Alex commented. Rocko and the other bouncers glared at the douche.
"That's all I needed to hear. You're out of here." Rocko said to the douche.
"They're fucking lying!" He tried to plead, but Rocko cocked his shotgun and casually aimed it towards him.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Rocko said. In truth, he figured the blonde kid probably did throw the first punch, but since he was part of Alex's crew, and they're good guys, the douche probably had it coming.
Not wanting to test his luck, the douche reluctantly made for the exit with Rocko and the bouncers in tow.
"Nice punch Arc!" Nick complimented the knight. Jaune gave him a thumbs up, while holding a bag of ice to his face, courtesy of the bar tender.
"Hey." He looked up to see the red head standing in front of him, with a smile on her face.
"Uh, hey." Jaune replied.
"You didn't have to do that but thank you though." She said. Jaune just shrugged it off.
"Hey, let it never be said that Jaune Arc ignored a damsel in distress." He flashed her a toothy grin, to which she rolled her eyes but still had a smile.
"Jaune eh? Well, aren't you the chivalrous knight." She said with amusement and they both shared a quick laugh.
"What can I say?" He commented.
"Well Jaune, I have to get going soon, but if you ever find yourself back here, ask for Crimson, and I'll make sure you get a free dance." Crimson said in a sultrier tone before giving him a quick peck on the cheek, making him blush.
"Hmm. Drunk Jaune seems to be better with women than when he's sober." Nick commented.
"Hopefully some of that confidence stays with him when he sobers up." Ivan said.
"It would certainly help out his team leading duties." Greg added.
"Speaking of which, I think it's about we left. His team is probably worried about him." Alex said, taking note that it's starting to get closer to 6 A.M.
"I'll call Gary." Greg said, pulling out his scroll. Right as he said that, they heard a loud thump and saw Jaune passed out at the bar, snoring loudly.
"Ivan, do you mind?" Alex asked. Ivan understood what he meant and went to go sling Jaune over his shoulder.
"And that's the sign of a good night out." Nick commented.
The Russians apartment, earlier that evening
Cinder was searching through Ivan's room. She at least assumed it was his, based on the size of the clothes in his closet. The bedrooms were relatively simple with a full-size bed, desk and chair, dresser, and a small closet. Ivan's room was clean and free of clutter. Even his bed was made. His room was decorated with various posters and action figures of comic book heroes. The actual comics were stacked up by his bed right next to several cartons of cigarettes.
Another thing she noticed was the pile of cook books on his desk. Many were based off the different cuisines of the different kingdoms, while the others focused on specific types of food like desserts. Cinder is correct to assume that Ivan is indeed a competent cook. In fact, he cooks meals for the guys every day. He enjoys cooking as a hobby and the guys certainly enjoy eating his meals. And when it's all done, they clean up afterwards and do the shopping for groceries. An even trade-off. She skimmed through the books and found several recipes bookmarked and with hand written notes on the pages, most likely variations. Several of the recipes bookmarked were one's that even she enjoyed.
"At least he has good taste." Cinder thought while searching his computer. It didn't take long for her to go through his emails and files to determine that Ivan had nothing for her to use. The only things she found remotely interesting was that the cooks in the cafeteria wanted Ivan to help them bake desserts for the upcoming dance, and that he smokes Stallion brand cigarettes, Gold pack to be exact. Compared to other editions, they have a much milder flavor. As for the cafeteria cooks, Ivan got referred to them by some of the other residents in the apartment wing when they smelt his wonderful cooking and has on occasion helped make new dishes to add to the menu. Seeing as there's nothing else on the big one, she moved to the next room.
Unlike Ivan's room, this one was fucking trashed. The bed was unmade, clothes were all over the floor, and the trash can was over flowing. Posters of women in bikinis covered the walls, and an odd assortment of hand and power tools that were shoved into the corner. The answer to why there were so many tools, was sitting on the desk. A stack of trouble tickets, maintenance work orders, and system schematics were sitting under a hand-written note that said:
"Nick, thank you for assisting in keeping our academy up and running. It's getting harder to find decent maintenance personnel and the one's we have are stretched thin as it is. I'll be sure you're compensated for your time." Cinder read the note signed by Glynda, recalling that Nick was the one she saw hotwire a jeep the other day. Since he grew up working as a part time mechanic and general handyman, it was no surprise that Nick found himself assisting the school maintenance crew on occasion. Putting the pieces together, she concluded that Nick was a handy person and good at working with tools. As interesting as his maintaining abilities may be, they are of no concern to her.
She then searched his desk drawers, only to find a box of condoms and dozens of packs of Stallion Blacks, a very smooth, yet bold flavored cigarette. Turning her attention to his computer, Cinder prepared to open his emails but the title of a video on the tab that was still open got her attention. "Hot Faunus MILF seduces lesbian Human teen." Cinder rolled her eyes and slightly shuddered at the boldness of Nick for leaving something like that opened on his computer. It was then that it occurred to her that this is one exception where she won't go through Nick's computer because well… she didn't want to touch it. With nothing else, it's time for room number three.
After washing her hands, Cinder found the third room to be messy, but organized. A lot of notebooks and academic texts were spread all throughout the room. She noticed that they were organized into separate piles based on their subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics, history, Grimm anatomy, Dust properties, telecommunications, Remnant law and so much more. Whoever occupied this room is certainly a studious person and could be considered a major threat. Her question was answered upon seeing a shipping invoice from Rubicon addressed to Greg.
Greg was the only one she didn't meet on their initial arrival and after witnessing him as a sniper, she concluded that he must've been in a hidden position, watching her from afar. It's possible that he may have noticed her, and Emeralds deceptive tactics used to bypass the security, which left Cinder slightly concerned. However, no one's seemed to act on her, so it's also possible they pulled it off…or they're simply waiting and biding their time. Either way, she has her orders and will be ready for them, should Ozpin, Ironwood, or the Russians decided to act.
Looking past the multiple packs of Stallion Greens, a menthol variety of the cigarette brand, Cinder picked up one of Greg's notebook to see if there was anything of value. Upon opening it, she was confused and flabbergasted at what was written. It wasn't that it was written in cursive that surprised her, but at the fact that it was written in a strange language she couldn't read. At first, she thought it was just bad handwriting, but a closer look revealed that there were letters that weren't part of the Common alphabet. There were some letters that resembled what she'd normally see, but then there were one's like a backwards "R" or "N", and then some that didn't even look like letters at all. She looked through other notebooks to find that they were all written in this strange language.
Several questions popped into her head like if it was based on some ancient language, or possibly a made up one for coded messages. If this was some sort of new alphabet created, then Ozpin or Ironwood or whoever can send coded messages throughout Remnant that would be impossible for the average person to read. Her superiors had to know about this immediately. She took several pictures of different pages to get a good sample of words and letters that maybe they can decipher or trace its origins. While taking the pictures, she couldn't help but wonder what Greg was writing about as his entries looked very detailed and organized.
In truth, Greg is an observant person and was comparing similarities to Earth, but also asked questions on how it was possible that the two worlds seemed to share common aspects of life while being completely different. For starters, he noted that Remnant uses the standard 24-hour day like Earth and that their calendar is based of the Georgian one, with the months and days of the week the same as on Earth. Yet, how did they get those names, when they're based on Latin roots? Then there were his observations on mathematics where he found that many equations, constants, symbols and notations were the exact same as back home like Pythagorean's theorem, the quadratic formula, pi and trigonometric identities. But then he goes on about how it is possible they have symbols like pi, sigma, or theta when they're Greek letters? And then there's the fact that they everyone speaks English, uses the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals. He even noticed that people are familiar with Roman numerals despite the Romans or Greeks or any of these ancient cultures not existing on Remnant. His notes go on and on, asking questions to himself about the little things that have been engraved into our heads that we rarely notice. With the major score of the Russian language added to her investigating, she left Greg's room, not even wasting time checking his computer and headed for the last room.
The last room. The one who's occupant had her attention while also having her practicing caution around: Alex. Honestly, things would've been so much simpler if he didn't get involved. She would've easily infiltrated Beacon whether the police were there or not and carry out her plans no problem. However, Alex and his friends are certainly not as incompetent as other people and have been watching her and her crew like hawks since then. One of them always seem to be nearby whether she's in the cafeteria, the hallways or Glynda's combat class. She wanted to sit in during his class but was turned away like the other transfers due to a full class. But then she witnessed the four of them take on an entire army and come out on top. These were not men who should be taken lightly.
Upon entering his room, she was greeted to probably the cleanest and most under decorated room ever. No posters, no piles of random oddities. Nothing. The only things that stood out were the cartons of Stallion Reds, the original, full-flavored cigarettes, and a couple of books on his desk. She opened the first book and was greeted with more Russian cursive writing and photos of herself, Emerald and Mercury. Cinder had no idea what was written, but it appeared to be notes on the three of them. She smiled inwardly at the fact that they seemed to have the same idea of observing your enemy.
"It appears great minds do think alike after all." She thought. Several of the notes were highlighted and underlined for emphasis, especially on Emerald's profile. Thanks to the advance security measures, and thorough searches, they are aware of Mercury's prosthetic legs and Emerald's illusion Semblance. She didn't reveal the extent of how powerful her Semblance was, but Alex and Greg believed it was enough to fool the policemen at the docks. Alex also wrote in that Greg observed the intense looks of concentration and focus she had on her face when going through security, while also noting how she appeared to show signs of exhaustion leading to him and Alex to hypothesize that her Semblance puts a lot of strain on her body. Definitely something to watch out for.
Cinder then looked at her profile to see that her picture was circled in red marker, indicating that she was the ring leader, with several other notes having underlined portions. She went ahead and took a picture of Alex's notes on her for her own amusement rather than information. Looking at the other book on the desk, she was surprised to find that it was a book of sheet music. Out of all the things that she complied about Alex, his leadership abilities, maturity and shrewdness, being musically inclined was not something she would've guessed. The book contained lots of classical compositions that were normally associated with the upper class and were normally played on a piano, leading her to believe that the piano was his instrument of choice. As it turns out, playing the piano was one of the few things that he enjoyed while growing up.
"Smart, strong, confident, ruthless in combat, cultured with music, and okay to look at. If only you weren't such a righteous one. The world could be ours." Cinder mused as she looked through his computer, only to find nothing of value. Now that she's searched through everything she could, it seems that she's reached a dead end and will definitely have to pass everything off to her superiors. Sure, she found a few noteworthy bits of information like the flag they have and the unique language, but other than that there wasn't much for her to go on. She stepped out onto their balcony to get some fresh air, only to see a large ammo can filled with enough cigarette butts to fill 30 cartons.
"They're going to end up drinking and smoking themselves to death. It'll certainly make my job easier." She joked to herself before her scroll went off.
"You know what to do." The message she read had a large file attached to it. Finally, the virus has arrived. Cinder thoroughly inspected the apartment to make sure not a single thing was out of place before heading back to her room and planning for the next phase.
"Just in time for the upcoming dance." Cinder smirked, knowing that the dance will be the perfect time to strike.
JNPR's room, 0710
Lucky for the Russians, Jaune was awake enough to guide them towards his room and most of the students were still asleep. They'd rather not explain why four drunk teachers were carrying an even drunker student back to his room. A couple knocks, and the door swung open to reveal a frantic Pyrrha.
"Jaune!" She cried out.
"What's up Pyrrha?" He replied. It was then that Ren and Nora appeared and noticed the Russians standing behind him.
"Where have you been all night!? We were worried sick!" Nora practically screamed in his face, though Jaune just had a grin on his face as he drunkenly placed a finger on her lips.
"Relax guys, I just ran into Alex and the guys here and had the best fucking night of my life!" He exclaimed while the rest of his team were shocked at him cursing.
"You could've at least called us." Pyrrha said with mild disappointment.
"I know. I totally fucked that up and I am sorry. But these guys…" Jaune pointed towards the Russians. "…are some of the smartest motherfuckers out there and they know how to have a good time." Jaune explained despite having difficulty standing straight, which Ren was quick to notice.
"Jaune, are you drunk?" He asked, and the knight made the 'a little bit' hand gesture causing the girls to gasp. Alex then stepped in to hopefully cool things down.
"Now don't you guys worry. He'll be fine after a goodnight's…or good day's sleep and some water and he'll be good to go." Alex said, but he could tell Pyrrha was still upset.
"But why would you take him drinking?!" She respects Alex as an instructor and a fellow warrior but getting her team leader and not so subtle crush drunk off his ass seems irresponsible.
"Well the night started out with us taking Jaune to the Crimson Leviathan…" Alex started.
"You guys went to a casino?" Ren interrupted, and Alex nodded.
"Why did you take him there?" Nora jumped in before Alex could continue. It was then that Jaune hobbled back up to explain himself.
"Hey, don't be mad at these guys. They taught me all sorts of stuff about getting stronger and being a better leader." He said, leaving NPR giving him curious looks. "I learned more about girls and leadership and life in general from one night with these guys, than the seventeen years of learning on my own." That seemed to have calmed his team down a little. Pyrrha then turned to Alex.
"Okay, I'm still a little upset about Jaune coming back drunk, but if you guys were helping him build his confidence, then I guess I can't be too mad." She said with light grin.
"I don't blame you for being upset. Jaune's a good guy and I'd hate to see him not live up to his full potential. We pointed him in the right direction, now it's up to you, his teammates to make sure he keeps going. You think you can manage that?" He asked the other members of JNPR.
"Of course." Ren said.
"Totally!" Nora exclaimed.
"Is that even a question?" Pyrrha responded. It was nice knowing that someone other than her saw potential in Jaune.
"Man, you guys are the best fucking teammates anyone could ask for. Come on, bring it in." He held out his arms and soon all of JNPR were sharing a group hug with their drunk team leader. Pyrrha certainly enjoyed the close contact, but then noticed that he reeked of alcohol, cigarette smoke and…perfume?
"So, Jaune. Did you spend the whole night at the casino?" She asked.
"Oh no. After I won half a million lien, we all went to a strip club where I drank more, saw naked women and punched some guy in the face." He casually explained while his team went wide eyed.
"You won half a million lien!?" Ren asked, flabbergasted that Jaune has such a large sum of money on him.
"You punched some guy in the face!?" Nora exclaimed, thinking that Jaune didn't have it in him.
"You went to a strip club?" Pyrrha asked, almost sounding heartbroken but keeping her composure.
"Yes, yes, and yes." Jaune replied. Alex noticed the slight saddening on Pyrrha's face and stepped close to whisper in her ear.
"Don't worry, he didn't do anything in case you were wondering. If anything, it seemed to break him out of his shell when it comes to women." He tried to reassure to her.
"That's…good, I guess." She replied, not sure how she should be feeling. It was then that she tuned in to his story of how he won the money and why he punched a guy in the face.
"So this guy was bothering one of the strippers and you clocked him in the face?" Jaune nodded at Nora. "That is so cool!" She exclaimed.
"You know it's funny, that stripper totally reminded me of someone I knew, but I just can't put my finger on it." Jaune said out loud. It was then that he looked at Pyrrha and suddenly, something clicked in his head. "Holy shit! That's who she reminded me of!" He yelled pointing at her.
"…Me?" She asked.
"Okay, it obviously wasn't you, but the resemblance was there." He said, looking Pyrrha up and down and mentally picturing her in the sexy lingerie Crimson was wearing. She noticed him staring and felt a warming sensation in her cheeks.
"Is he picturing me dressed like a stripper?" Her face started to grow redder at the thought.
"She may do lap dances for money, but she was still a person and I wasn't going to stand by while some douchebag was giving her a hard time." Jaune proclaimed, earning everyone's approval. Just then he felt like the room was spinning and it was giving him a headache.
"Are you all right Jaune?" She worriedly asked.
"Yeah, I think I just need to lie down." He answered while walking past Pyrrha and towards his bed.
"Make sure you drink plenty of water." Greg said to Jaune who nodded and turned back to Pyrrha.
"Pyrrha, be a pal and get me some water please." Before she could respond, the sensation of Jaune slapping her behind caused her to stop and catch everyone else off guard by Jaune's boldness. Ren and Nora's jaws dropped, while the Russians had smirks and were mentally cheering for Jaune.
And then there was Pyrrha.
As if her face wasn't red enough already, it was now the same coloration as her hair. She just stood there, her face with a look of total shock across her face. However, if you were to look closely, you would see that she was trying her hardest to suppress a growing smile. Both Alex and Greg managed to notice and grinned at each other.
After what felt like forever, Pyrrha managed to get herself together and go fetch a glass of water for Jaune, who was already laying down in his bed. Alex and the others told NPR that it's best just to let him sleep it off and that he'll fine later before they left to get some sleep.
"And our work here is done." Alex said out loud as they made their way back.
"Those two need to just kiss already." Greg commented.
"Same with Ren and Nora." Ivan added.
"Seriously, the tension on that team can be cut with a knife." Nick said.
"I wonder if he's going to remember everything when he sobers up?" Alex asked.
Meanwhile
Dozens of people were in a large, gymnasium type room that was filled up with cots. The people that occupied this space was a melting pot of both Humans and Faunus, males and females, young and old with only one thing in common: They were forgotten by society. Broke, jobless, homeless, starving and living on the streets. These were people that got dealt a bad hand in life, people that no one cared about, people that would not be missed if they were to disappear.
"What do we have?" A man asked another.
"A total of 70. 40 males with 20 of them being Faunus, and 30 females with 17 of them being Faunus. Ages are spread throughout but the youngest is a 10-year-old female Faunus and the oldest being a Human male closing in on 60." The second one responded, reading the tallies off a clip board. The first man chuckled.
"It's amazing how eager these people are willing to follow you when they're promised simple necessities like hot food and a bed." He said in amusement.
"Much more efficient than simply abducting them from the streets. Now, they come to us."
"When are the doctors supposed to begin?"
"There's a group of ten that are ready to go. The others are still undergoing medical treatment."
"Who would've guessed that living on the streets would have such adverse effects on one's health?" The first man said sarcastically.
"Hey, the doctors said they needed their 'patients' to be as healthy as possible to get accurate results."
"Well, hopefully they get fixed up soon. We have a lot of batches to test."
"Based on their progress, everything will be ready by the time the festival is in full swing."
"Good to hear. By now, Cinder should've received the virus to continue with the operation."
"I also heard she needs help in finding information on a group of individuals."
"Yeah, she sent the message and a bunch of pictures to HQ to have the intelligence guys get a crack at it."
"Interesting that the men she is requesting aid on is the group of men who fought Ironwoods forces in Vale."
"I saw that video. We already assumed the Atlesian army wasn't in the best shape but seeing it first hand just confirmed what we already assumed, and now people are starting to turn against Atlas. We should thank them for their assistance."
"There's a rumor going around that those were the men who rescued the civilians at the fall of Oxford."
"Interesting. What's the Directors take on this?"
"He's aware of the situation and is taking Cinder's request for a more in-depth search on them, but it's deemed a low priority task."
"It's four guys. They're of no concern to us."
"Considering they apparently have no records in Vale, I can understand her concerns."
"Whatever. So long as she doesn't mess this up, Vale will fall, and then the rest of Remnant will soon follow."
A/N:
All right, this is perfectly timed right when volume 6 comes out. With that in mind, I'm going to have to watch it to see if any details are going to be changed for future chapters. It's not going to change the overall story, but maybe a few things here or there.
Next up chronologically is the dance and it's when the action is going to pick back up.
Also, I have no idea how exactly Jaune would act if he was drunk, but this works out for my amusement.
You guys know the drill for questions, comments and what not.
Hawk out