Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.


Thirty Minutes After JINX Was Formed

Team JINX walked over to Ozpin's office, their Smash test behind them and the formation of their team. It was quite the test, but at least they weren't alone since CFVY was also being tested at the Smash Mansion.

Of course, according to Iris, Ozpin called them up at the worst time. They were just about to have some delicious celebratory cake from Peach after the formation of their team, and now Ozpin had to call them up. She wasn't that miffed about it though… he could have called her up while she was devouring meat.

The four of them got out of the elevator and walked toward his desk. "Professor Ozpin, you wished to see us?" Jade asked.

"Ah, girls." Ozpin turned around from his chair. "Glad to see you are doing well. I trust you've been doing well with the new team formation?"

"We have." Jade nodded. "In fact, we were just about to have some cake from Peach when you called, so we dropped everything and came here."

"You decided the mission was more important than the cake?" Ozpin smirked. "JINX, I'm disappointed. One should never drop anything if cake is involved. Besides, I didn't exactly say this was urgent, did I?"

Iris sweatdropped. "You mean we dropped the cake for nothing…"

"Pretty much, but I admire your dedication." Ozpin chuckled. "Now then, you're probably wondering why I called you up here. You're more than likely curious what this mission is about, correct?"

"Yeah." Nyx nodded.

"Well, we just received intel that a thief is near the outskirts of Vale. He goes by the name of Anthony Halyard. We're not sure what he's planning… but this thief has been known to steal valuable objects, and rumor has it is that he's planning on raiding the Schnee Dust Company."

"The Schnee Dust Company? But that's suicide. That place is heavily guarded, he'll be caught within seconds." Nyx said.

"Indeed, but there's no telling what he'll do… but if you can apprehend him, then perhaps you can get some answers on why he is planning all of this."

"We'll see what we can do." Jade said as she turned to her teammates. "Let's go." She said her team nodded and then took off.


Later, at the outskirts of Vale

"Let's see here…" Nyx looked around after taking out a Beowolf with a few arrows from her crossbow. "If I were a thief, where would I be…"

"Well, for starters… he'd probably be hiding out in a special hideout." Xena said. "Could be anywhere."

"Hmm…" Iris looked into her rifle. Let's see here… She thought, looking into her scope as she scanned the area until she spotted something. "Hello there…"

"What do you got?" Jade asked.

"I see a sewer grate left open… looks like someone forgot to close it." Iris said.

"Had to be a sewer, huh?" Nyx rubbed her head. "Well, that's definitely an interesting hideout… why not a cave?"

"Probably wanted to mix things up a bit." Jade said. "Come on, let's go. Hope you guys don't mind wading through sewage."

"I've been a victim of war, I'm not afraid to get down and dirty… well, my other side wouldn't…" Xena quietly said before shaking it off "Never mind about that."

"As someone who likes to lay down traps, what's a little smell gonna do? I camped out lots of times." Nyx said.

"I'm an islander… nuff said." Iris said.

"And I… get covered in ectoplasm all the time. This is nothing but a breath of fresh air." Jade joked as the four of them hopped into the sewer.

BGM: Corridors of Darkness (Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age)

The four landed on a walkway as they started to walk around when they saw a faint light in the distance. This intrigued them as they walked further ahead with their weapons drawn as Jade peeked her head over a corner and saw a few lit torches.

"Okay, it looks like he's there." Jade quietly said. "So how do we fish him out?"

Nyx let out a chuckle, cocking her crossbow. "Leave it all to me." She said with a smirk as her teammates looked at her curiously.


Later

"Alright, I'm in position." Nyx said. "Throw the stone."

Jade picked up a rock as Iris and Xena were in the shadows as she tossed it across the walkway, where the thief would hear it landing on the ground. "Hmm?" He wondered as he got up from his hammock and walked away from his treasure.

"Hmm…" He picked up the rock after approaching it, and then his legs were immediately covered in ice. "Mmph!"

"Got ya." Jade said as the group approached him. "Anthony Halyard, was it?"

Anthony smirked. "Clever, you got me away from my hiding spot." He said. "But not clever enough." He said as he started to static.

"A hologram?!" Iris exclaimed in surprise, unaware of the real Anthony moving away from them with a smirk, attempting to run away… but then a foot stuck out from the wall and he tripped, causing him to fall on his stomach.

"OOOOF!" He grunted as Nyx placed a foot on his back. "How did you…?"

"Simple, I have a semblance that can easily pick up movement for 100 feet. As you could tell, I wasn't even with the girls… because I knew you were close by." Nyx said.

End BGM

"Now then…" Nyx pulled out some rope and tied him up as JIX approached the two. "We got some questions for you." She said and took a closer look at him. An eyepatch? She wondered.

"Yeah, like for starters... why are you a thief in the first place?" Jade asked. "Surely, there has to be a reason why you're doing this."

He must not be a very good thief if he was captured this easily. Iris thought.

Anthony was quiet at first. They were one of those who asked questions first unlike all the others? Admirable...and admittedly, surprising.

"You're the first people to be asking why I'm doing this instead of trying to kill me, you know that?" The thief remarked.

Xena's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait... what?"

Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Why is that?"

"You haven't seen the wanted posters?" Anthony asked.

"I've seen a few in passing... but I didn't really give it much thought..." Jade admitted.

"Dead or alive, preferably dead," Anthony responded. "Jacques wants my head on a pike, and the greatest irony is he's doing it to someone trying to survive."

"Waaaait a minute… as in Jacques Schnee?" Nyx asked

"The very same, yes."

"You're kidding... all i've heard from him is "Screw Faunus" this and "Screw Faunus" that." Xena said. "The hell..."

"The very same asshole who wanted my grandfather out of Atlas due to a mishap..." Jade sighed.

"Not to mention he's Weiss' dad, which given the signs… he is not exactly a good parent." Nyx muttered quietly.

"Speaking of bad parents, I can relate," The thief frowned. "See that staff of mine? Every cent of my father's wages went to R&D on that thing. He left me and my mother to fend for ourselves."

"...You're kidding..." Iris said in disbelief.

"You're not the first hunters and huntresses to come after me. Been at this for over a year now," Anthony confided. "Every bit of cash I could scrounge up, sent back to mother to pay her back for all the time she worked her fingers to the bone. Never killed anyone, never targeted innocents, never really enjoyed doing any of this."

"So you were doing all of this petty thievery just to survive." Jade said. "How did you manage to piss off Jacques?"

"Oh y'know, been a thorn in his company's side for the same amount of time," Anthony deadpanned. "Nothing revolutionary."

"So... he just wants to get rid of ya just so he can get some better shut eye..." Xena guessed. "Ugh... why isn't he in jail yet?"

"He practically owns Atlas… also he has good lawyers." Nyx pointed out. "So I'm not too surprised."

"Fair enough."

"Can't really say the same for the crazies that have been trying to get the large cash bounty he's been offering," Anthony continued. "One team as I found out, 'questioned' my mother to figure out where I was. Another took my eye because I got careless for a moment. Then there's this Jennifer girl who won't leave me alone...she's been a repeat challenger." He looked angry talking about all this, especially on the first two instances. The last one he only met with mild annoyance.

"This Jennifer girl... she's definitely relentless, i'll give her that." Iris said.

"Yeah…" Nyx agreed, feeling a bit angry over the first two that were mentioned, something that JIX took notice of.

"So...if you're gonna kill me and bring my head back to Jacques...just make it quick." Anthony closed his eye, resigned to his fate. Whatever JINX decided for him there, he'd accept it.

Xena put her katana away. "That's not who we are..." She said. "None of us are killers."

"You got that right." Iris said, putting her rifle away and Jade put away her Poltergust.

"Yeah." Nyx agreed, putting her crossbows on the clips of her boots and untied Anthony. "Sorry if we got on the wrong foot there."

He'd reopen his eye, having another moment of surprise. "Really? After all you hear about me defeating every other team before you, you're showing mercy?"

"Whoever those teams are... they're doing Jacques a favor. We're not. Hell, even if the bounty wasn't made by Jacques, we wouldn't go through with killing you." Jade said.

Once Anthony was untied, he'd stand back up and stretch his arms. "He put it out. Why else would it be six digits?" Not like he'd pay it.

"Ha! Six digits? Any team who would have found you would have been stiffed, knowing Jacques." Jade chuckled.

"People who abuse money for power like that can go to hell and stay there for all I care." Nyx said.

"Amen. Now...what all are you gonna do now?" The thief was curious as to what their plan was now.

"I think the plan is to bring you back to Beacon. Unless that has changed for any reason." Nyx responded.

"To Beacon? Why there?" Anthony raised an eyebrow.

"Because I believe Ozpin needs to hear your side of the story. He's a great guy and i'm sure he'll figure out something." Xena said. Even if he IS a little misguided.

"Also 'cause we're students in his school." Nyx added.

"Right, well I'm not interested in learning from there," Anthony remarked.

Watch... knowing him, he'll make you a team. Jade jokingly thought.


Later, at Beacon

"Interesting…" Ozpin mused once he heard Anthony's side of the story. "So this all comes down to Jacques being obstinate, as usual." He said.

"Pretty much."

"Excellent work, girls. You may go. I'll have a word with Mr. Halyard here."

"Okay. See ya!" Nyx waved as they walked off.

"I owe them a debt…" Anthony said once the girls were out of earshot. "They spared my life and… now I feel as if I need to pay them back somehow."

Ozpin chuckled. "I'm sure you do." He said. "Now then, here's what I suggest we do-"

"I don't plan on studying here. Not my style."

"Yes, I've gathered. But where will you stay? Are you planning on living your life on the lamb while being hunted down by these teams, especially this… Jennifer?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what I'll do… but I know this for sure, if I find Jennifer again, I'm going to talk some sense into her. Because honestly, that bitch needs to learn not to "shoot first, ask questions later"."

"Might I suggest forming a huntsman-"

"If I want to be with a huntsman team… I'd rather if we were unofficial. Being official just sounds… boring."

Ozpin looked at him in surprise. "An unofficial huntsman team… lurking in the shadows. Completely unlicensed… why, that's unheard of!"

Anthony smirked. "Well, it's something to consider. After all, I'm a thief… and we keep what we steal, after all. I doubt that's what official huntsman and huntresses do. So… what better way to do that is going off-grid?" He said as he stood up.

"Are you sure this is the right idea?"

Anthony grinned. "I'm pretty sure of it." He said and walked off. "Who knows, my unofficial team might just blow you away." He said and walked off.

"An unofficial team…" Ozpin said, leaning back on his chair. "Sounds… very interesting. Somehow, I like the sound of that." He said while chuckling. "That boy… he's got a good heart. I'd imagine this ragtag team of is, whoever they are… might be one of the best unofficial teams in Remnant… and I've a feeling they'll be more than a team. They'll be family."


And thus... Team JINX's first mission together was a success!