A man in a red sweatshirt walked down the street. The hood fell over his head, hiding his face from view. He had black fingerless gloves and rather loose blue jeans, and on his feet he wore ratty white shoes. He was the kind of person you'd never look twice at, the person you'd ignore and want to stay away from. Not someone you'd be wary of, just someone you wouldn't want to talk to. He had the appearance of a man down on life, someone who had been dealt a poor hand. That was what Adam was going for. He couldn't simply blend in, he needed to be someone who people would actively stay away from. The more people stayed away from him, the less chance there was of him being discovered. He walked down the dark streets filled with people looking for a good time. This was a place where people could go to blow off steam. There were bars, clubs, and casinos littered all over the dark area. Adam was headed towards one bar in particular. There, he'd find an information broker of notable repute. His name was Junior, and he knew something about the Schnee Dust Company, something Adam was ordered to find out. He was also under orders to find a certain Roman Torchwick and ask him a question.

Adam entered the club and pulled off his hood. Here, he was safe. No one would dare involve any sort of police force in a club known for its shady business deals. He stalked towards the bar. The well-dressed informant sat there, drinking calmly. Next to him were two girls with heavy makeup. As Adam made his way towards them, a familiar face greeted him.

"Hey, Adam!" He looked to see a man with orange hair and a bowler hat approaching him.

"Torchwick," Adam said coolly.

"I hear Blake left. Shame." Adam said nothing. Torchwick grinned.

"You seem to have gotten over it." Again, Adam said nothing.

"Wow. Taking a page out of her book now, huh? I could never hold a conversation with her. She'd give me a weird look and walk off to wherever you were. I guess she's not that attached to you now." Adam was still silent.

"Okay, okay, I'll shut up. Anyway, what brings you here?"

"I'm looking for information."

"Junior's over there."

"From you."

"Oh. Well, tell me what you need to know. Juggling orders from the White Fang and the Schnee Dust Company is hard, but as long as I get paid, I'll do what I have to." Adam pulled some Lien from his sweatshirt pocket and gave it to Torchwick, who snatched it up gladly.

"I need to know where the Schnee heiress is."

"Wait. The White Fang's after Weiss Schnee? Are you gonna hold her hostage or something?"

"That's only part of the reason."

"Then what else can she possibly be good for?"

"We want her for information."

"So you want information from me to find her to get information from her. Couldn't you just ask me and ignore all the hassle?"

"Weiss Schnee knows more about her parents business than some hired thug, no doubt, even if she doesn't know much. Besides, the White Fang wants to make an example out of her. You know, to cause unrest and monger fear, that kind of thing. Simple terrorist politics." Torchwick laughed.

"You don't sound enthusiastic."

"Do I have to be?" Adam asked.

"You've got a point there. Anyway, Weiss is hanging out at Beacon, surprisingly. I didn't think her parents would let the poor girl leave the mansion, much less attend school. For her, getting kidnapped would probably be a welcome change of pace."

"You make it sound like they put a lot of effort into her."

"They have. The only reason this hostage thing will work is because she's been a long-term project. They couldn't possibly throw all that hard work bringing up the perfect heiress down the drain. Oh, I've also got a little bonus info for you, just because I'm feeling generous. Weiss Schnee and your precious student are getting pretty friendly. You know, fraternizing with the enemy and all that jazz. I wonder if Blake, you know, swings that way? I could see those two hooking up." Adam sighed.

"Do you have any idea how creepy that sounded?"

"I was just trying to get a rise out of you. Aren't you a little miffed that she's all buddy-buddy with the daughter of the Schnee Dust Company?"

"Blake can do what she wants."

"As always, you're never any fun. Pleasure doing business with you," Torchwick said. Doffing his hat to Adam, he walked out of the bar. Various henchmen stationed around the bar followed. Adam had spotted them all, but they did do a good job of looking inconspicuous, to their credit.

Junior burned through his third drink of the night and sighed. He hadn't gotten a job in a while. He was having trouble paying his agents and maintaining the bar. He didn't get all of his income from the club, after all. However, after tonight, he'd have been fine without having another customer.

"Hey, Junior." A voice behind him said. The two girls next to him glared at the man in the red sweatshirt. His clothes clearly didn't meet their standards, and the man himself wasn't exactly a welcome guest.

"What do you want?" Junior asked warily.

"I'm here for a social visit. What do you think?" Adam asked.

"No need to act like an ass about it. What do you want to know?"

"There's a large Dust shipment going to Beacon. I was wondering if you could find out what route it's taking to get there." Junior sighed.

"I don't work for free," he said irritably. Adam pulled out Lien from another sweatshirt pocket and held it out. Junior grabbed it and sighed again.

"I'll see what I can do." The masked man suddenly fired a jarring punch at Junior's face. His head rocketed back and Adam pulled the man off of his seat by his shirt collar. The two girls next to him got off of their seats and looked ready to rip the masked man apart, but Junior made a hand motion for them to stay down.

"You remember what happened last time. Adam's a...special customer," Junior said furiously. He would have loved to crush the cocky red-haired man right where he stood, bu he knew it was impossible. There wasn't a single person alive who had managed to defeat Adam.

"I don't want you to 'see what you can do.' I want you to make this your priority. I want you to do everything possible to get the information the White Fang wants. Every second of your life will be spent working towards this purpose. When you've got the information, call this number. If you don't have it by a week, I'll be paying you another visit," Adam said threateningly. Junior nodded, taking the card from the masked man's outstretched hand. He pulled it away quickly and Adam let him down. Junior put a hand to his bleeding nose, and the White Fang member waved mockingly at him and the two girls. It made Junior, Melanie, and Militades think of the last time they'd met Adam. That time, he'd been with his partner. The quiet, black-haired girl.

Adam walked through the crowds of the city, moving with arrogance and purpose. People stepped away as he walked. He knew how to bear himself in a confident, intimidating manner so that people would know to get out of his way. The girl besides him tagged along, her head down and her walking aimless. She hadn't mastered the art of bearing herself with confidence. They made their way to the club, lights flashing from the inside. It gave Blake a headache.

"Do we really have to go here?" She asked with gaudiness of the club repelled her, as did everything else. She'd much rather read or spar.

"Yes we do. Hey, maybe this'll help you break out of your shell." Blake looked at Adam scathingly.

"I don't need to 'break out of my shell.' It's not like I'm going to school and making friends. I'm beating people up and going on reconnaissance missions for a civil rights group. I don't need social skills."

"You never know. You could be infiltrating a school one day," her partner said coyly. Blake groaned.

"Really? Those are the most cliche movies ever. If I ever have to watch one again, I swear..." She trailed off. Adam had walked ahead.

"Adam!" She called out angrily, following the red-haired man.

The club was even brighter and noisier from the inside. Blake stepped closer to Adam, having caught up to him. He scanned the area, looking for henchmen.

"Find the lackeys," he said to her. She looked around and spotted them almost immediately.

"Too easy," she muttered.

"Did you get the DJs?" Adam asked, indicating the two masked men above the dance floor. One wore the mask of a simple green monster, and the other had on a rabbit mask. Blake turned red.

"I...I would have," she said quietly. Adam walked away, heading towards a man in a suit who sat at the bar. Next to him were two girls with fancy dresses and ridiculous amounts of makeup. Blake hated the girls already. She followed Adam through throngs of people. One woman in a revealing blue dress looked at Adam. He turned his head towards her and licked his lips, smiling seductively. She swooned and he chuckled quietly to himself. Blake frowned.

"Really?"

"Can't I have some fun?" He asked teasingly. She was glad he didn't look at her, because his expression had affected her too. She shook it off. 'I'm not some shallow girl who's going to fall for anyone giving her a slightly flirtatious look, and I'm not some lovesick teen. Hormones will not get the best of me.' She thought. Of course, Adam hadn't been looking at her, a fact which made her feel slightly miffed. However, she was also a bit amused. When Adam was playful, no one was safe from his teasing.

"Hey. Your name's Junior, right?" He asked. They'd gotten to the man in the suit, who looked at them blankly.

"She's way too young to be here," he said, indicating Blake.

"What about those two?" Adam asked, indicating the two doll-like girls on either side of Junior.

"They're hired help."

"Well, Blake here is from the streets. I'm part of a big brother sort of group that teaches young hoodlums to behave like civilized and useful members of society. She's my apprentice," Adam lied. Blake elbowed him.

"Now Blake, that's the way a bad person acts. You want to be a good person."

"Shut up," she spat. He was being a tease, although if he wasn't teasing her, she'd certainly be amused.

"In all seriousness, we're here for information," Blake said.

"Information?"

"We're with the White Fang."

"Sorry, I don't work with terrorists."

"Shame. We'll have to force it out of you," Adam said.

"Go ahead and try," Junior replied. The masked man glanced at the weapon next to the information broker. He punched him in the face and grabbed the bat-like weapon. Blake got out her weapon and unsheathed it, attacking both girls. They jumped back to avoid her strike, leaving Adam plenty of space to pick up Junior and slam his head into the bar. He then tossed the man's body behind the counter, and hurled the man's weapon to the side. People began to run and henchmen began to swarm the two.

"Remember your training. Don't think. Just fight," Adam said, his hand already on his sword.

"I thought violence was for bad people," she joked, taking the opportunity to tease him as he instantly switched from playful to serious. She admired how easily he could alternate between moods.

"This isn't the time," he answered. Blake sighed and focused.

"And I was just getting in a playful mood, too." The two girls jumped back and had the henchmen attack first.

"Teach them a lesson," the girl in white said, sounding bored but angry. One henchman attacked, and that's when Adam acted. He waited until the man lunged at him to fire his sword, Wilt, from his sheathe, Blush. The handle of the red katana slammed into the underside of the man's chin, and Adam could tell that his jaw had broken. The blade flew into the air and the man flew back, slamming his head into the ground and getting knocked out. Stepping forward to catch his blade, Adam spotted another henchman come at him. He flicked his wrist lazily and his attacker's weapon flew from his hand. Adam then kicked him and he flew back into another enemy. The masked man then sheathed his blade and unsheathed it just as quickly. Another attacker was disarmed, and Adam grabbed the man and threw him into another. He then dashed towards the remaining one and clotheslined him. The man flipped in the air and Adam swiped his foot at the man, kicking him as he fell to the ground. He slammed into the bar.

Blake, meanwhile, dealt with her own enemies. She swung her sheathe at an approaching henchman and knocked him into a wall. She then jumped up and kicked off of another henchman who got close and bounced to another, flipping and then bringing her sheathe down on his head, rendering him unconscious. She turned and dodged a quick strike from a henchman, flipping over him and landing behind him. She knocked him out with her sheathe and turned to me three more henchmen. She sheathed her katana and used the sheathe to knock away an attacker's weapon before drop-kicking him into unconsciousness. She landed on her free hand and flipped up on her feet. The two remaining henchmen attacked, but she dodged their swipes and tripped one of them up, flipping him over on his back. She slammed him into the ground with a quick punch and jumped up, kicking the last henchman into the wall. She looked at Adam, who saw that the DJs had gotten guns. Adam flicked his sword out of its sheathe and slashed the bullets with blinding speed. Blake, meanwhile, unsheathed Gambol Shroud and twirled the sheathe and the katana, knocking away bullets as she did so. When the DJ's were out of ammo, the two jumped at them. Adam dashed up to the platform the DJs stood on and delivered a jarring punch to the stomach of the man in the rabbit mask. He then grabbed him by his shirt collar and hurled him into the bar. Blake flipped up and planted her feet into the face of the man in the green monster mask, knocking him out and kicking his face through the wall. She then did a back handspring off of the platform and landed on the dance floor. Adam leaped off after her and the two found themselves faced with the girls from before.

"You can't expect to come in here and cause trouble without facing consequences," the girl in the white dress snarled.

"Shut up, Barbie," Blake snapped, charging at her. The girl jumped and immediately kicked Blake in the face. The girl in red took a slash at her but Blake dodged, falling to the ground to get under the strike. She then rolled onto her feet and slashed. The girl dodged and planted her feet into Blake's chest, kicking her back. Adam caught her and slashed his sword, unsheathing it with incredible speed. The girl blocked it but was sent flying with the force of the blow.

"They work best together. Separate them," he said. Blake looked on as Adam graciously left the girl in white for her to deal with. The girl in red didn't stand a chance. One strike in and Adam had already sent her flying again. Blake, meanwhile, activated Gambol Shroud's third form. She used the ribbon on her hand like a whip, twirling around the gun-like attachment at its head. She spun and soared through the air, using her agility and the gun's recoil to propel her around, leaving the girl in white with little time and room to dodge. She stepped in and out of Blake's shots, none of which had any killing intent. She kicked the gun-like attachment away when it got too close and wove an intricate web through Blake's attacks, slowly getting closer to the black-haired girl. Blake then changed her tactic, reverting to her sword and sheathe style. The girl in white saw her chance and attacked. Blake twirled her blades and blocked. Her enemy's kicks were forceful. She felt herself weakening with every attack. Looking to make an opening, she jumped back and then sprang forward, catching the girl by surprise. She attacked, swinging her blades as she flew past. She then turned and dashed towards the girl, choosing to get in close yet again. This time, she had the advantage. The girl was caught off-guard. Blake slashed a few times with one of her weapons before switching to the other. It kept the girl on her toes, trying to predict which hand Blake would attack with. Eventually she slipped up, and Blake's katana flew towards her head. However, she stopped it and hit the girl in white with her sheathe instead. She flew into the wall, and Blake dashed up to her, elbowing the girl in the face to make sure she stayed on the ground.

"Nice work," Adam congratulated. Blake beamed, pride swelling up in her.

"I did it!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, you did just kill the mood. Besides, we've still got work to do," Adam replied. Blake sighed, happy with the praise she'd received. This was the first time she'd took on an opponent with equal skill and Adam didn't intervene. It was as if he knew how strong she had gotten just by looking at her, as if he knew she was good enough to win.

"Wakey wakey. Now, we need info and we need it now," he said, picking up a groggy Junior. Blake stood behind him as Junior spilled the beans. It had been a good day.

"Come on, Blake," Adam said. She followed him eagerly.

"I was afraid my training would never pay off," she said.

"Don't doubt me," was the joking reply.

Adam remembered the day well, even better than Junior, Melanie, and Militades did, seeing as how Junior had been unconscious most of the time and the two girls weren't eager to remember the defeat. He remembered how Blake had been then. She was arrogant and antisocial, looking down on most people as shallow, people who couldn't see beneath outside appearances. She was so sure she was better than them all, as someone who could see that there was more to people than their appearance. She wouldn't have dreamed of associating herself with Weiss Schnee, a girl who was looked upon by the White Fang as the shallow offspring of a shallow family. She was admired by many; what she wore, other girls did as well. And there was nothing Blake hated more than those girls, obsessed with their looks and their relationships, girls who had no ambition and drive, girls who were determined to reenforce gender stereotypes. How she'd grown. She was now humble and wary, a person who didn't judge by appearance. She was no longer a hypocrite; she gave the people she used to look down on a chance before immediately writing them off. But Blake still disliked shallow teenage girls. As she was friends with Weiss, Adam could only assume the heiress wasn't one. But despite the fact that she'd changed so much, Blake had never lost her independence, her desire to fight her own fights. Even so, she still had a childish admiration for Adam, and even a little bit of a crush on him. But she'd grown out of it and allowed her desire to grow stronger, to fight her own battles, flourish. Adam supposed that was part of the reason she'd left him.

AND DONE! I HOPE PEOPLE LIKE MY INTERPRETATION OF A YOUNGER BLAKE. I MADE HER RATHER ARROGANT AND ANTISOCIAL, SOMEONE WHO HATES JUDGMENTAL PEOPLE, BUT, IN MANY WAYS, WAS ONE HERSELF. I ALSO GAVE HER A CHILDISH CRUSH ON ADAM SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE WAS TOO YOUNG TO FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW SHE FELT TOWARDS HIM. HE'D HELPED HER OUT A LOT OF HER LIFE AND SHE'D GROWN ATTACHED TO HIM. BUT SHE'S ALSO VERY INDEPENDENT, AND I HAVE THE FEELING SHE'S THE KIND OF PERSON WHO HATES TO BE CODDLED AND PROTECTED. ALSO, CHANNELING THE SOCIAL OUTCAST PART OF BLAKE, I FELT THAT, WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG AND IMMATURE, SHE'D BE THE KIND OF PERSON TO HATE THE KINDS OF GIRLS WHO ARE PART OF THE 'POPULAR CROWD' OR WHATEVER. I ALSO SUSPECT SHE'D LOOK DOWN ON ROMANCE AND SUCH THINGS OF THAT NATURE. AND, SEEING AS HOW SHE SUPPORTS FAUNA CIVIL RIGHTS, IT'S EASY TO ASSUME THAT SHE KNOWS THAT ALL PEOPLE ARE EQUAL, REGARDLESS OF SKIN COLOR, SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND WHETHER THEY HAVE ANIMAL BODY PARTS OR NOT. AS SUCH, I THINK SHE'S A BIT OF A FEMINIST AND MADE HER ONE. IF SHE WASN'T IN RWBY, I THINK BLAKE WOULD MAKE A GREAT PROTAGONIST IN A HIGH-SCHOOL DRAMA WHERE THE UNPOPULAR BUT AWESOME GIRL (BLAKE) GOES UP AGAINST THE POPULAR BITCHES AT HER SCHOOL. AND THERE'S AN IDEA FOR ANOTHER FANFICTION. EXPECT A BLAKE-CENTERED HIGH-SCHOOL DRAMA SOMETIME SOON!

ALSO, DID ANYONE GET MY CREEPER REFERENCE?

ALSO ALSO, BLAKE IS REALLY BECOMING MORE OF A CENTRAL CHARACTER IN THIS SERIES THAN I THOUGHT SHE'D BE.