Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.
"Dude, this is dark!"
"You don't say… Shut up and keep looking around!"
As Lucy was cleaning the house, she had to endure listening to Ace and Quinn's childish bickering. They came early in the morning just as Jack instructed them. He wasn't around because he went to an interview for work that Lucy recommended. Diamo wasn't there either due to work. The redheaded girl swept the floor with a broom. She swept the floor while also keeping a close eye on the door in case the landlord appeared without warning.
"So much… dirt!" Ace coughed.
"You have a damn bandana! Why don't you wear it as a mask!?" Quinn yelled.
"I don't want it to ruin it. It was a gift from Ma' Spades."
"Then don't cough in my face, you oaf! If you do it again, I swear on my gramps that I will grab that piece of wood and shove it up to your…"
"Hey! Knock it off, you two! Someone might hear you." Lucy hit the floor with her broom as she ordered both men. Her patience was even lower than Quinn's, and babysitting them wasn't exactly a pleasant thing to do. Also, taking care of Saber, who was sleeping in the corner away from the trash, was less work than taking care of those two. "I guess now we're the only sane ones in this house, ain't that right, Saber?" The loyal husky kept sleeping.
Lucy kept cleaning the house. She grabbed a rag and a bucket full of soapy water. She soaked the cloth and started running it through the cabinets, tables, and the oven, all while whistling a little tune.
It was a song she remembered from her first year at Atlas Academy.
She reminisced about her former teammates from Team LUUX. People that could've been the greatest Huntsmen or Soldiers in Remnant. Saving lives and fighting Grimm was their motto, but for Lucy, life-risking tasks were her purest drive.
Umbra Roxo, Ulex Grau, and Xander Mavro…
Those were the names that Lucy could never forget, no matter how much time passed, especially Xander's. However, those were also the names that she wanted to move on from. Why was it so hard for her to let them go? Even amongst her boyfriend and his teammates, she couldn't have felt more alone. She could hardly call Team JAKQ, except for Jack, her equals.
Team LUUX had their way of thinking, their ideas, their dreams, their issues, and the moments they shared… Irreplaceable memories that Lucy treasured for the past three years, keeping them close like a torch in a fog.
"Hey, Lucy. Open up!" The redhead snapped out her daydreaming as she heard someone banging on the door. "It's me, Jack."
"One moment!" Lucy put the rag back in the bucket. She headed to the door and opened it.
"Is everything alright? I knocked for two minutes." Jack asked with a worried look.
"No, no, not at all." She tried to shift to a more defensive attitude. She started cleaning the furniture again with the rag. "How was that interview with the mechanic?"
"Well, it went better than expected. Although, I kinda feel like he took pity on me since your dad put in a good word for me." Jack took off his hat as he scratched his head.
"Well, there's aren't many well-paid jobs around the city. Being a mechanic isn't half bad. Didn't you attend that engineering club back in Atlas?"
"Yeah. Though I would prefer sewing instead, I think I've been sowing before I even learned the alphabet." Jack sat on the floor to relax for a bit. He stretched and groaned as the not entirely healed wounds from his prior battles let themselves be known. Saber woke up and yawned. The loyal husky forced her head into Jack's face, hoping for attention. "Slept well?" He sneezed as soon as he petted the husky's head.
"You know, when I walked through the Market District, I heard there's gonna be a gala event organized by the 'New' White Fang tomorrow."
"So?"
"I was thinking. Maybe we should go there and have some fun."
"That's what I was saying!" Ace yelled from underneath the floor.
"Shut up!" Quinn interrupted.
"I'm not so sure about this. We came here to hide and look for answers. We're not on vacation." Jack said with a conflicted grimace.
"We have been running for over a year, Jack. I'm tired of running. I would like to go and have a good time now that we are here."
"I'd like that too. But I don't know. It's a tough call." Jack stumbled between words. He sighed and tried to think about the possibilities. He wasn't in the mood for parties, but when was the last time he did something outside of cleaning his weapon and training?
"Hey, if you're done with your lovely-cuddly couple stuff, could you come to check this out?" Quinn lifted some of the planks that led to the basement. Jack stood up and went down while Lucy put the planks back in their place before someone could barge into the house.
Once in the shady room of the house, Quinn took out his Scroll to illuminate the place, allowing everyone to see how the basement looked. The place was empty, but not normal. The basement's size was about as big as a living room.
"This place looks like the bunker that my grandpa made back at home." Jack commented as he inspected the underground room.
"At least that thing had a secret tunnel with a backdoor exit. This one doesn't, and it's humid." Ace interjected, his voice muffled as his bandana covered his mouth.
"Not just that. Look at this floor... and these walls, someone dug this place out pretty well." Quinn moved the Scroll to illuminate the wall that he was referred to.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"Don't you see it? It is way too precise. No way you could dig out a place like this without tools." Quinn said as he started hitting the walls. To everyone's surprise, it didn't crumble.
"Especially tools that wouldn't make noise or alert anyone in the neighborhood." Ace continued explaining. "So… any ideas about what we should do with this extra space?"
"I'm not so sure. We can think about that some other time." Jack knocked to the wooden floor above him. Waiting for Lucy's help to climb up. "As for now. We still need to finish cleaning the house, and you two need to look for a job." The cowboy left both of his teammates in the basement. Quinn tried to get out as well before Ace pulled on his jacket as if he was trying to get his attention.
"What do you want?" Quinn asked with annoyed eyes.
"I was thinking. When we start looking for jobs, how about we go and rent some tuxedos."
"A tux? Are you really insisting on going to that stupid gala?"
"Why not? I mean, I need your help since you know more about this kind of… boujee stuff?"
"I hate galas. And wearing suits. They never have one in my size." Quinn sighed. "Besides, you heard Jack. He doesn't want to go there."
"He doesn't want to go there, yet." Ace smirked. "Knowing Lucy, she'll convince him in no time."
"Forget it. I hate those kinds of events."
"Well, maybe, but you do know that Diamo is working at the gala."
"What are you up to, dumbass?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing, I was thinking that since he'll be a waiter, he might be really diligent on serving all the guests. And I mean, any guest at the event without refuting." Ace's tempting words made the big guy think about Diamo. Quinn started to chuckle. He knew exactly what Ace was suggesting. An opportunity like this was hard to refuse.
"You know what? I like where you're going with this. I guess it'll be payback time for all those times Four-Eyes gave me crap and got away with it." Quinn did nothing but hold in his laughter.
"I don't like that look on your face."
"Why so?"
"Hey, are you two done talking!?" Lucy used the broom to tap the wooden floor. "I still need you to finish cleaning the house." Both men obeyed without hesitation.
"A little louder, girls." Starlock said to the band as he sat down next to the stage. The preparations were done faster than anticipated, and making music was one of the last things they had on the schedule before wrapping everything up. "Come on! Even my grandma can do it louder, and she's mute!" The rooster Faunus said in a rather bossy tone.
"Sounds fine to me." Kali said while she sat next to Starlock.
"With all respect, Mrs. Belladonna, this won't be enough to bring people in. I want it to be loud enough so that even people outside can hear it."
"That's a lot to ask."
"Nonsense. It's never too much to ask." Starlock looked at his Scroll to check the music's volume. "As you can see, this is just below the minimum for it to echo through the room. Guests won't enjoy the music if it isn't up to standard."
"I can understand that, but aren't you worried about overworking the girls?" Kali asked as she looked at the band.
"Overworking my girls? That's preposterous! I know their limits and how much they can play." He said with concern underneath his pompous tone. "Josie, Melody, and Valerie have an immense amount of talent and energy. Mistreating them would make their skills go to waste, and no one benefits from that. That includes looking for proper quality equipment, instruments, and so forth!
"You sure know how the music business works." Kali complemented.
"I know how entertainment in general works. Pity I can't make music like that myself.." Starlock sighed with a disappointed look in his eyes. As they listened to the band, Diamo approached them with two glasses of cranberry juice. "Ah, Tod! Just in time!"
"For what exactly? I'm just delivering your drink." Diamo said with confusion.
"Not that. You arrived at the best possible moment. What's your opinion about music?" Starlock expressed with enthusiasm.
"I'm not really into music."
"That's not what I'm referring to!" The rooster Faunus took a sip from his glass as soon as he started to lose his patience. "What I'm trying to ask is if you think the music is loud enough or not."
"Oh. I see." Diamo said plainly. He listened in carefully to "feel" the music. "I… can't hear the bass."
"Is that so? You heard him, girls! Spice it up!" As soon as the rooster Faunus gave the order, the band's music changed tune. The music started to sound a lot better, and their pace picked up to a reasonable speed. "Alas, much better. Thanks for the feedback, Tod." Starlock said with a satisfactory smile as Diamo nodded and continued with his work.
As the preparations were almost over, Tiny Nori stood outside at the entrance with Dana, Blake, and Sun, his stern look focused on the young bunch of Faunus. While the girl with a fox tail seemed uninterested, the other two never looked more terrified in their lives.
Grimm? Child's play. Criminals? They could barely make them flinch. They've been to hell and back but never experienced anything like this bartender's wrath. "Alright, listen up! Since this event is open to the public, we will get a lot of guests from all kinds of places."
He fiddled with the stern staff in his right hand while giving them a petrifying glare. "Rich, poor, elderly, children, human, Faunus… This place is going to be packed like anchovies. We must look after them, making sure that nobody causes any trouble and… ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION, DANA!?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, I… uhhh, was just taking mental notes about the event." Dana shrugged, which made Nori upset. He tried to hit her on the head, but the fox Faunus dodged swiftly without even looking at him. Sun chuckled while Blake admired the move. She's never seen a waitress move like that.
"I was paying attention. For real."
"Anyway…" Nori scoffed. "So as I was saying, since young Miss Belladonna and monkey-boy are the faces of this event, I want them to greet the guests at the front door and shake every single guest's hand with a smile."
"What's that got to do with me? I'm just a waitress." Dana asked.
"You'll be holding the drinks for people to take at the entrance. I want them to get in the mood as soon as they set foot here."
"If you say so…" The fox Faunus waitress yawned as Nori walked back into the building. Sun noticed how quiet Blake was. He had a hunch that something was bothering her.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"I'm fine. It's just that... this might be harder than I expected. Now people probably consider me as 'the face' of the New White Fang." Blake sighed.
"It should be alright. No one is going to judge us. Especially since we're here to give everyone a good time." Sun gave a reassuring smile. "We're almost done, wanna get some something to eat after this?"
"I guess. Know any place around here?"
"Oh, oh, oh! I do!" Dana said with enthusiasm. "I know a noodle booth down the street."
"Are you planning to pay for our lunch?" Sun asked with shock in his eyes.
"Of course!" Dana said as she walked away. "Although, I must thank Scarlet for the money~" Sun's surprise stopped as he shook his head and sighed. Blake was confused about what just happened but went along with it.
For Blake, it's been a while since she had time to relax. No rush, no hiding. Just relaxing.
"Dammit, Ace! You brought me the wrong pants!" Quinn yelled from the changing room.
Ace and Quinn went to a clothing store after they were done cleaning the house. They picked from a few recognizable brands from all around Remnant. Some were made locally with their distinctive traditional style, and others being imported from Atlas and Vale. Brands from Atlas were, eventually, expensive to buy. Renting one was more affordable but didn't offer the same quality as a tailor-made one. Quinn was very picky when it came to choosing what he saw as "passable."
The Tuxedo he tried was too tight and small. It made him look ridiculous. He felt the jacket nearly tear apart at the shoulders, and he could feel the stitches near the biceps rip a bit every time he flexed. The bowties were so short that they couldn't even be tied into a knot. The pants were also quite uncomfortable. The big guy was angry at the bone.
"You asked me to bring grey pants, and I did exactly that." He said while relaxing in a chair.
"Seriously, did you forget about the fact that 80% of the tuxes in this stupid store don't fit a guy my size?"
"Ehhh…"
"Oh, you son of a…" Quinn tried to take a deep breath before he could lose his cool and bludgeon the fool and hang him on a hanger like a scarecrow. "Whatever, I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to listen to you."
"Well, you are kinda like my second wingman, you know." As soon as Ace commented, Quinn opened the curtain and threw the pair of pants at the jovial dude's face.
"Just bring me another pair. A bigger size this time!"
"Alright, alright… jeez." Ace took the pants and started walking around the store to find pants of the matching color. While browsing around, he saw a few more colorful options that might look good on himself. Sadly, choosing tuxedos without consulting Quinn first could be troublesome. A pity. Ace liked having attention at parties. Not everything was bad. He saw the White Fang Gala as a good chance for his team to have some fun, relax, meet cute girls, and more importantly, gather intel.
Ace trying to work for once? At a party of all things? That would be something that none of his teammates would buy. His easygoing nature and slacker attitude could be misunderstood as part of a trickster-like façade. Just like yesterday, when he spent the whole day collecting intel instead of looking for a job as Jack instructed. Selfish? Probably, but that was his choice.
As Ace mindlessly wandered around the store, he ended up in the women's section. He could've turned around and gone back, but his eyes caught something of interest. Standing close to the women's fitting room, he saw a gorgeous blonde with a well-built body. She wore a brown jacket and long boots with a purple bandana tied around one leg.
One detail the Ace couldn't stop looking at was her right arm. A robotic prosthetic like Jack's but painted yellow instead of black. In Ace's eyes, she was the perfect combination of beauty and strength. Naturally, he took the opportunity to approach her and use his sharp tongue to learn more about her and possibly some news from around the area.
Ace looked himself in the mirror and fixed himself up to appear more presentable. He took off his bandana and adjusted his hairstyle. Having curly hair wasn't easy, even if it was short. He smiled back at his reflection and gave it a wink. He looked ready to make his move.
He tossed the pants aside and slowly walked towards the blonde. He cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow to get that trademarked "seductive expression" as he called it. Although, one thing that he couldn't stop wondering about was where he had seen her before. Little did he know that the blonde was the now infamous Yang Xiao Long.
"Hey~ Picking out a dress?" The jovial dude asked the blonde.
"Yes. Do you work here?" She replied.
"Not really, you seem to have your hands full. Need some help with that?"
"Well, my friend is the one trying these dresses. But it looks like she can't find one she likes." Ace felt like he could relate right now.
"Is that so? I assume it's for the New White Fang Gala, right?"
"Yeah. At first, I thought I wouldn't go, but I ended up getting dragged along." She said as if something was bothering her.
"Not a fan of parties, huh?" Ace asked, but Yang kept quiet. As Ace looked at her closely, he could see glimmers of yellow. Aura is typically quite saturated, but this one was quite dull. This usually happens to Huntsmen going through rehabs or crises. It's one of the first telltale signs of depression in Huntsmen. A dull Aura, which Ace estimated it probably wasn't a good time to make a move.
Before he could go anywhere else and leave her be, he felt a menacing aura coming from the men's section.
"ACE!" He heard his name being called with the boom of a lightning bolt. "What took you so long? Is it that hard to find a pair of pants!?"
"Well, you see, funny story…" He tried to excuse himself, but Quinn wasn't buying anything he was saying. The big guy noticed the blonde girl standing next to Ace. He was unamused. Just by looking at her, he could tell what was going through the happy fool's mind.
"Please, don't bother…" Quinn sighed, his blood boiling from rage. Things just couldn't get any worse for him.
One of the curtains from the women's fitting rooms opened, a girl with white hair clad in some very classy clothes stepped out. "Hey, Yang. Could you find me a…? You!" Her sight focused on Quinn. She looked quite upset. He wasn't happy to see her either.
"You have to be kidding me… First, I can't find a good tux, and now I have to look at your face again." Quinn growled.
"I didn't know they allowed barbarians into this store."
"How curious, I expected a Snowflake like you had better taste than this." Quinn's comment only got him a disdained glare from the girl. "By the way, do you still have that weapon oil that you stole from me the other day?"
"I didn't steal it! You walked away right after busting that weapon part I was about to buy!"
"You should thank me for that! You almost got scammed!" There was no stop as when they started throwing insults at one another. Yang and Ace felt like they were watching two dogs barking at each other. Yang was starting to lose her cool. The yelling wasn't very pleasant. Ace noticed the blonde's distress and decided to intervene. He knew exactly how to make them stop.
"Yo, Quinn. Are you gonna take Dana for a dance at the gala?"
"SCREW YOU, ACE! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!?" The big buy shifted his anger towards his teammate.
"That was easy." Yang looked in amazement at just how quickly he handled the situation.
"You would be surprised how often this happens." Ace sighed in relief. "So, you know each other?" He asked.
"Yeah, you could say that. Snowflake right here doesn't know the difference between good quality steel and rusted scrap metal."
"Stop calling me that!" The white-haired girl replied while trying to keep her composure. "And I refuse to get into this argument again, you ape!"
"Chill out, Weiss. Nobody wants to argue with you." Yang shrugged. Bulbs in Ace's head lit up when he heard her name.
"Weiss… Why's that ringing a bell…?" Quinn murmured.
"Hold on a sec. Weiss, as 'Weiss Schnee?' Specialist Winter Schnee's younger sister!?" Ace reacted wildly to the reveal.
"And don't forget heiress of Schnee Dust Company." Yang remarked.
"FORMER heiress…" Weiss corrected the blonde. Both men felt their skin go pale, and a shiver run down their spines.
"Well, umm, it was nice to meet you, but I just remembered that we forgot to buy some dog food." Ace said nervously as Quinn rushed out of the store without saying a word. He followed the big guy at a faster pace while the girls looked at one another in confusion. Weiss started thinking.
"What was their deal?" Yang asked, but Weiss was lost in thought. "Something wrong?"
"One of those guys. Did he say his name was Ace?" She asked.
"I heard it too. Don't tell me it's love at first sight~"
"Of course not!" Weiss said with a rectified look. "It's just… I'm sure I've heard that name back in Atlas."
