"This place looks something out of a pirate movie."

Akairo laughed and patted her boyfriend on the back, "Dork."

"What should I do?" he asked, "I feel out of place here."

"You have my scent all over you literally. You will be fine."

"I'm a person... like human human."

She gave him a look. The nervous look on his face was quite hilarious.

"One of two of your girlfriends is Faunus and one of your best friends is Faunus. You are fine."

She took his hand and they stepped onto the docks.

"Why is it so dark here?" Red asked.

"Because it is supposed to look concealed and everything. Red, this place is filled with all kinds of people who are good and not so good. You're gonna see things you don't want too and there will be corrupt huntsmen here. I advise you to mind your business."

"Alright."

The giant black gates opened and a few people waved to Akairo as she passed by. There were actual buildings that weren't colored black. Red wondered if there was some kind of barrier around the place because it was barely noticeable. They made their way down the streets to a building colored a dark brown. It looked like it was made out of wood.

"Hey, guys!"

Red and Akairo looked up to see Blake waving to them. He had a giant mug of beer in his hands. They waved back and Red took up in a sprint. He tackled his friends against the wall hugging him.

"I guess it has been a while," Blake said laughing.

"You look so scary. You look like a lumber jack all beefed up."

Blake's face turned pink and he laughed, "I'm always running or doing something. I can't help it. I guess looking at you, your still a spaghetti noodle."

Red laughed.

"Hey there."

Blake smiled at Akairo. She beamed at him, it was good to see her like that.

"I wondered how you were doing. I've been gone a while."

"I'm fine. It's nice to get out once in a while like this. I missed it."

He nodded. Blake's happy expression changed to concern.

"I have bad news though."

Red let go of him as he glanced at Akairo.

"I'm ready to hear it."

"Let's get in and get a drink. You might need a few shots after I tell you what's going on."

The bouncer allowed them inside and they took a seat in the corner that had a card with Blake's name on it. It looked like he was reserved it. They sat down and Blake waved over the waitress. She took their drink order and Blake ordered some greasy bar food for them since it had been a while since they ate something else other than rations and berries.

"How bad could this news be?" Akairo asked.

"Bad. I can't explain anything yet. I'm waiting for someone else."

"Who the hell else would be coming?" Red asked, "Yuri is busy..."

"Mr. Belladonna. How many plates did you need?" asked the lady from the bar.

"Four please!"

Akairo arched an eyebrow as she poured herself another mug full of beer.

"LET ME IN FOOLS! I'M HERE FOR BLAKE BELLADONNA!"

Red looked at the door.

Wyeth?

Blake got up and made his way for the door. They flew open revealing a distressed Wyeth with his sword out. Everyone got up with their weapons out ready to take him out.

"He's with me!" Blake yelled, "I swear!"

Everyone looked towards the White Fang leader then back at the white haired man.

"He's Schnee!" someone yelled.

"He's ok! I swear!" Blake yelled.

"Let the pretty boy in," the bartender yelled.

Wyeth put his rapier away and walked forward as people gave him the dirtiest looks Red had ever seen.

Maybe it would've been better if Blake walked him in like he did us.

"Why didn't you wait for me outside? Are you asking for me to get murdered?" Wyeth snapped.

"You never messaged me you were here," Blake said looking apologetic.

"Oh. I didn't think to do that."

The bartender came over and placed the four plates down.

"I find you have the strangest friends, Blake. A huntsman, a pretty boy and your ex girlfriend. Strange."

Blake gave her a weird smile, "I didn't mean to cause problems."

"You wouldn't be Blake if you didn't cause problems. Hey, Akairo. Enjoy guys."

Their waitress came over with another pitcher and a giant serving tray of nachos.

"The burgers, fries and hot dogs will be done soon,"

"By any chance do you have buffalo wings?" Wyeth asked.

"We sure do, How many?"

"Fifty. You can bring as many as you can at a time."

Red arched an eyebrow at his teammate.

"You haven't ate?"

"Juno doesn't like that kind of thing and bars have the best wings."

Red shrugged.

"I had gotten a hold of Scarlet."

Wyeth put his beer down and looked at Blake.

"You're kidding me."

"No. She didn't leave on her own free will. Well, she made the decision on her own. Blanche has big plans."

"What kind of plans?" Wyeth asked, "Why did I have to be here for that?"

"Blanche is heading for the Atlas military base."

Wyeth rolled his eyes.

"Those gates are solid. There's no way he could get through them."

"Scarlet can."

Akairo nodded, "Of course she can. She can melt those walls and gate nothing. That's what he plans on doing right?"

"That's a good guess."

"Scarlet had played around at home when she was bored. She could catch something on fire just letting it get too hot. Her temper usually will set things on fire so it doesn't surprise me."

"Won't that make her an international criminal? She won't see Ash ever again," Wyeth said, "That's a serious crime."

"She said if I didn't let her go, Blanche would release Grimm into Vale."

Akairo took Red's hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.

"So with us coming here, we made it easier for them to get there. We are days away from getting to Atlas!" Wyeth yelled, "I was just close enough to get here the same time as you three."

"You came by boat?" Red asked looking slightly lost.

"Yea! I was on vacation and dealing with some business transactions for my father. He figured since I was on a boat I could travel around so it's no longer a vacation. Juno went to visit family so I decided to go and do stuff since she had the kids."

Red grimaced, "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I don't really care too much. It was more my... mother's doing than his anyways. He's not the type to care what I do."

Blake emptied his glass.

"I think it is time to get moving... Right?" he asked looking at Akairo.

"I don't how easy it will be getting in there," she answered with a slightly concerned look on her face.

"I don't understand what you mean? We've done it before," Blake said with a guilty smile on his face.

Wyeth glared at him.

"They would have improved almost everything since then. It has been years since we have invaded there," she said blushing, "We won't be able to rush right in."

"If they reach the gates before us... We won't have to worry about it," Red said quietly.

X

X

I wonder.

Neo watched as Ash slept through the second train ride. He had stayed awake through the first one but it seemed he couldn't hold out anymore.

She seemed to always get herself mixed in with the wrong people. Blanche has always been bad news even before she came along. I remember when he came into to town. Crimson was not a happy man.

He scratched his chin.

We really didn't leave on the best of terms. I highly doubt she will be happy to see me. I couldn't tell this kid why but...

He sighed.

I have missed her. She was always so much fun. She ended up becoming more obsessed with her dream of having enough money to get out of this city. I wonder if she still plans on leaving. Scarlet wanted something more stable; a life of moving around constantly was never for her.

Neo looked down at his scroll. The bars were going up and down constantly because they were traveling in the middle of no where.

Even if we make it there in time... Could we really stop her once we got there? What the hell would she do in Atlas anyways?

His face darkened.

If he has anything to do with it, it might be dangerous. What if they break in there? Scarlet is all about robbing small time people but that is on a much larger scale. Everyone will be after her, dead or alive. She won't be able to come out ever.

We are arriving at the loading docks at the small city of Amail. Please exit carefully. Have a great day and a safe travel, thank you!

"Ash, wake up kid."

Neo shook his small body lightly.

"Hm?" he mumbled clutching onto his small blanket tighter.

"My man, wake up."

Ash woke up and rubbed his eyes.

"What happened?"

"We are at the docks in Amail."

"Oh. Already?"

"You've been asleep six hours."

"Oh."

They grabbed their things and hopped out.

"Are you hungry? There's a diner right there," Neo said pointing.

"Shouldn't we make sure we get to Atlas?" Ash asked looking concerned and still tired.

"Aren't you hungry? Granola bars aren't going to fuel you for a big fight."

Ash opened his mouth and shut it.

"That's what I thought."

Ash shrugged and followed Neo towards the diner.

They sat down into the booth and ash picked up a menu. Everything looked so good in the pictures but everything was more expensive than what he had. He barely had five hundred Lien saved up and he bought half of it with him. Neo looked delighted to see home cooked food since he lived alone and cooking wasn't his strong suit.

"I don't have enough money for any of this."

Neo arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I have money for Dust only. I didn't think about bringing food. I thought... I thought it would only take a few hours to get to Atlas."

"Were you planning on flying?"

Ash nodded.

"How? Those tickets cost more than me buying everything on this menu."

"I was going to sneak on."

Neo busted up laughing, "You are your mother's kid. Don't worry. I got you. You can pay me back by staying alive."

Ash laughed nervously.

"O-oh ok."

"Can I help you men out?"

Ash looking up to see a tall, older lady.

"Can I have milk?" he asked softly.

"You don't want pop?" Neo asked.

"Mom and Dad don't let me have that."

The older lady chuckled.

"You can have anything you want but alcohol, ok?"

Ash nodded.

"Can I have cherry cola instead?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"Of course love. What about your uncle here? You think he's old enough for soda pop?" she teased making Ash's face turn pink.

He nodded making Neo chuckle.

"I want cherry vanilla cola. Can we have cheese sticks, fried pickles and buffalo wings? Then I want the T bone steak meal with white gravy instead of brown."

"Of course."

Ash looked at Neo with big eyes, "Are you eating all that?"

Neo nodded, "What did you want?"

"Um... Can I have the bacon pizza burger with onion rings?"

"Of course, love. I'll bring out the apps when they're done."

The older lady walked away.

"You like cheese sticks?"

Ash nodded.

"That stuff was for both of us. Whatever we have leftover, we can heat up on the boat. They usually have a giant kitchen area for passengers. Once we board that boat, we have two days before we are there."

Ash nodded.

"I haven't heard anything on the news about your mom yet," Neo said.

"You think she would be on the news?"

"Here you go."

The older lady placed down their drinks.

"Thank you," they said in unison.

She walked away, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Why would Mom be on the news?"

Neo shifted in his seat making a weird face.

"What?"

"Do, do you really think you can handle the truth?"

Ash nodded slowly.

"If she's really with that bad man, then he's going to bad things she will get caught up in."

Ash's face paled.

"I... I didn't think about that."

"I know. Why would you think that?" Neo said.

"Here."

The woman placed all the plates onto the table.

"Thank you," Neo said.

Ash forced a smile. She was gone again.

"Eat."

Ash picked up a cheese stick and started eating. He felt upset now. He didn't think it was going to be easy but he didn't think it was going to be that hard. He kind of thought he was rescuing her.

"Don't be discouraged, ok? I'm here as your back up muscle. I know you got this," Neo said, winking at him.

Ash smiled and grabbed a few fried pickles.

Ten minutes later, the woman brought all of their food to them. Much to Neo's surprise, Ash finished all his food despite eating the appetizers too. They headed out and only had to wait thirty minutes for their boat to arrive. Ash grabbed Neo's hand and gave him a squeeze like he was nervous. He looked down and gave him a smile.

It's a shame I messed up with her. He's a great kid.