A Third Rose

Chapter 10

The Search Part 3

A/N: Please read and review, I love hearing feedback!

-Vacuo/Vale Border Region, Train Station-

It had been almost two and a half weeks since Qrow and Krim had set out on their search for the kid that was carrying Summer's sword and after a few days they had a good idea on what was going on. At first they didn't have a clue as to what the kid was doing, he didn't seem to have tried to fence the sword anywhere –a huntress' weapon could easily get a lot of money depending on the condition of the weapon.

Instead though he didn't even seemed to have tried to pawn the weapon off, instead he seemed to have been trying to get somewhere. At first they didn't have a clue as to why he was stowing-away on trains going out of Vacuo or where he planned on going. Hell they didn't even think he had a real plan.

It wasn't until after they had traced his path after it the third train-station that they came to a realization. All of the trains Nix had been boarding were heading in the direction of Vale. It didn't take a genius to figure things out from there; the kid was trying to get to Vale and was carrying Summer's weapon. The only conclusion that they could come to as to why he would do that would have to be because he was trying to return it.

At the moment they had just finished going through yet another set of security camera footage trying to find the little brat who had been stowing away on trains for almost nineteen days now. The first few times they had done this they had no idea how he was trying to sneak into the train as they initially thought that he was trying to sneak into the passenger section. However they quickly realized that couldn't have been the case, the fact that the kid was carrying a sword around would have stood out to everyone trying to get on board the train. Therefore he would have needed to get on some other way, probably through the cargo compartments.

Sure enough when the pair went through the security camera footage and eventually found one where the kid managed to sneak aboard a train. The time on the security tapes when he snuck aboard and when the train left was compared to the schedule and the two were able to figure out exactly where he was headed, and alert the station that was coming up of their visitor, but by then it was usually too late. The trains by that point had either reached their final destination or the kid was able to sneak away before anyone from security could see him.

The pair eventually did manage to figure out where he was heading but by that point the kid was still in the wind.

It was only after the latest one that he stowed away on did they finally catch their break. As the two were going through another, very, very long series of security videos, Krim finally declared "I think I found him!" Qrow immediately paused what he was looking at and ran over to his friend and watched the camera footage.

Sure enough Nix was hopping aboard another train, but this time he wasn't alone, there was another kid with him who seemed to be roughly the same age. "That's him but who's the guy with him?" Qrow asked, but Krim shrugged "Another homeless kid maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe. I'll let the cops know, and then we've got to get back to the bullhead."

As Krim walked out, he heard Qrow on the phone talking to the cops of the nearby town regarding the situation and making sure that the cops knew to make sure that they didn't hurt the kids or anything.

Little did they know that all of their efforts would nearly be for nothing.

-Vale Frontier, Train-

Nix and Mercury were both awakened by a sudden and ferocious bump that caused the entire train to shake. The pair looked around their surroundings but didn't see anything that was truly amiss. It happened every now and then, where the train bumped up and down but this was much different, this was something else.

Nix and Mercury looked at each other and the latter asked "What the hell was that?" but his travel buddy just shrugged.

At first the two just shrugged it off as the conductor screwing up somehow while driving the train. It wasn't until there was a loud screeching noise coming from beneath them and that everything was lurching forwards that they knew that something was going wrong. The train was coming to a stop, and one that was faster than normal. Whatever the reason it probably wasn't good.

The screeching and lurching forwards continued even as a voice came over the intercom; "Attention all passengers, there is a problem at the station so we will be stopping just outside the walls of the town of Burgundy. Please remain calm everything will be fine. When the train stops please follow the crew's instructions as you leave the cabins."

Merc and Nix both looked at each other nonplussed "Does that ever actually work to keep people calm or does it just make them more anxious and afraid?" asked Mercury. Nix just gave him a look "I honestly never heard of that actually working whenever I heard it."

Sure enough there were some sounds of commotion coming from outside of the train cabins as everyone started to move towards the exits. "Looks like everyone's heading out," said Mercury "It might be a good idea for us to join them, if the Grimm show up before we get behind those walls…" he trailed off leaving Nix to fill in the details himself.

"Yeah, good point. Let's get going."

The pair got up off of the floor and headed for the door leading out of the cargo compartment and moved quickly to open it. They didn't slide it open completely, instead they opened it just enough that they could see what was going on outside and fortunately, almost all of the passengers and crew were facing away from them. That was probably the best chance they had to slip in undetected.

The two opened the doors and started to make their way into the crowd, hoping that they wouldn't be noticed as not being part of the group of passengers. As they started to make their way into the throng of people, they either didn't notice the sword that Nix was carrying strapped to his back or they just assumed that it was some kind of a prop or toy. Either way Nix and Mercury didn't particularly care as long as they managed to make it into the town.

The other passengers were either trying to get in or were talking with some of the town's militia who had already started to make it outside when they'd heard that the train was stopping right outside their gates. The two didn't know what was going on but it was probably for the best that they get behind the walls than risk staying outside where a Grimm might be lurking nearby.

They were already among the civilians and were being guided into the town proper when a loud roar filled their ears. Birds flew from the forest canopy in fear even as many in the column stopped where they were and turned to look at the source of the noise. Mercury meanwhile looked over at his travel buddy and whispered "Does that sword have mechashift?"

Nix nodded and whispered back "Yeah, it can turn into a rifle, and I already checked the magazine. There's only five shots left, and I don't have any more bullets."

Mercury figured as much. "I probably know how to use a gun better than you. You mind letting me use it? I mean my dad taught me everything about guns." Nix seemed reluctant to part with the weapon, especially to someone he had only recently met but eventually he passed it over to him, all while nodding in the affirmative to Mercury's question.

"I'll need you to give it back when we get into the town."

Mercury rolled his eyes but gave his assent. His travel buddy's hands rarely if ever left the blade's sheathe.

There were more roars and soon Grimm started to appear from the brush, there were only a handful of Beowolves and a few Ursa but that was more than enough to get everyone panicking. Mercury and Nix started moving but then again so did everyone else. It quickly became a mad dash to get through the gates while the village's militia held off the Grimm.

As the pair ran Nix glanced backwards and saw that one of the Grimm, a Beowolf, was being brought down by concentrated fire from the militiamen's rifles. Unlike the other Grimm it didn't have any real bone plating that some of the others did and those Grimm were starting to get a little too close to the militia who were already starting to fall back towards the gate. They were doing their best to keep the Grimm at bay but it wasn't going to stay like that for much longer.

There were screams and cries from everyone around them even as they continued their mad dash to safety. As they did the crowd pulled and pushed at each almost forcing Mercury and Nix away from one another at several points as they got closer to the gate, but at the same time the noises from the Grimm got closer and closer to them. Risking another glance back in the direction they came from Nix only managed to get a couple of glimpses in between the people that were trying to push their way past him. The Grimm were already on the militia, and that was as much as he could see as people kept getting in the way.

"C'mon, stop looking back and keep moving!" Mercury called out, from farther ahead.

"Right!" Shouted Nix as he tried to pick up the pace even more than he had been.

As they continued people started pushing and shoving more fiercely especially after they started to hear human screaming coming from behind them. None of them even stopped to so much as glance back at the ones they were trying to push out of the way, panic having already overtaken them. So far it was a damn miracle that the two boys hadn't been pushed to the ground and trampled by the near completely terrified passengers. The two continued to move with the crowd as best they could, nearly being pushed or shoved onto the ground several times as they moved.

Even though he wasn't looking back it felt like he could almost feel the Grimm hot on their heels. The thought of that alone, made him even more fearful and he quickened his pace. The dread of the idea of those things getting close to him, killing him before he could even bring the sword back to where it belonged, terrified him more than the thought of dying itself.

Without even realizing the pair managed to get past the town gates but they kept running for a short time even as the gates sealed shut behind them. Several of the militiamen that the two had seen earlier were nearby as well, holding their weapons close and some had a faraway look in their eyes. Nix also noticed that there were less of them than there were when they were outside of the town…no, no. He couldn't even think about that right now.

For a second or two Nix just stood there staring at the massive concrete walls and metal gate that was nearly all that stood between them and the Grimm on the other side. On top of the wall he saw several more militia members firing downwards, even as a loud pounding could be heard at the gate of the town. It continued for a few seconds before he felt someone grab his arm. He turned to look at Mercury who had a serious look on his face "Let's get out of here man."

The other twelve year old then proceeded to start dragging his travel buddy into the town. He only dragged Nix around for a few minutes before he let go and started leading the guy over to the train station. If they wanted to get out of the place then they'd probably have to get out as quickly as possible. For all they knew the town would be locked down to make sure that the Grimm in the area were wiped out. Sure it wasn't too likely but at the same time, it could be done, trains could be rerouted of course but it was still somewhat of a hassle.

It only took a few minutes for them to reach an alley that came out near the train station and when they poked their heads out, they found that the place was almost completely abuzz with activity. Not only were there a lot of people that were at the station but there were a ridiculous number of police there, even more than any of the previous stations that Nix had seen before. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself.

Mercury looked at his travel buddy his face a mixture of incredulous and impressed "'What the hell?' is right. I haven't seen so many cops around the train stations before. Did you kill someone while you were train hopping?"

Nix looked shocked by the question and did his best to be as quiet as he could when he said "No! And no one ever saw me either, I made sure of it."

"Then what the hell are all those cops doing at the station, I've never seen so many of them outside of an actual crime scene before."

"I-I've got no idea. I mean this is crazy there's no way that they could have managed to figure it out. And even if they did, why would they try to send this many to catch us."

Mercury took a good long look at the amount of cops before looking back at him, "Nothing better to do maybe? I mean this is a relatively small town and I doubt there're that many crooks running around. So maybe they heard about your serial train hopping and decided to put a stop to it."

That, actually made a bit more sense, but still…that many cops for just one single kid that was train hopping? Did they think he was some kind of highly trained assassin or something? "Maybe," muttered Nix as a thought came to him "Or maybe they were looking for someone else."

It didn't seem likely to say the least but it was possible. "C'mon let's get out of here and get something to eat, we can check back later." Mercury suggested.

"It would be nice to get some actual food for once."

As they walked off however, they failed to notice a man just beyond their vision watching them, a man with dark grey hair. For the past few minutes he had been casting an almost murderous glare at the two boys as he watched them. He reached for his personal weapon that was on his belt but quickly decided against it. There were too many witnesses around, he'd have to watch and wait for an actual opportunity.

A little over an hour later the pair found themselves outside a small fast food joint, both had finished eating their own burger meals. They had already paid so there weren't any problems on that front. Apparently Mercury had grabbed a lot of money from his father when he ran away. They could easily afford to get this kind of food for quite some time regularly without worry. Hell they may even be able to sleep with a roof over their heads in between train rides if they played their cards right.

Still though with this little bit of a break it was more time for them to go over their plans for reaching Vale. They only had a few more days' worth of train rides to go through before they ended up there. The only problem they had now was how they were supposed to make it there in one piece given the police presence at the train station. It was something that Mercury immediately brought up with his travel buddy.

"So what's the plan?"

There was a moment or two of hesitation before Nix could say anything but he soon did "Well I was thinking that we could check back in a couple of hours, scope things out again."

There was a pause before Mercury spoke again "And what if they're still there, what then?"

"Then we just keep waiting until they either leave or we check again tomorrow morning." Nix stated simply, but Merc clearly didn't think that was good enough. "Again though, what if they're still there? We may have to find another way of getting to Vale."

At that Nix didn't really know, and he thought for a few seconds "There are usually some merchant caravans that go through frontier towns right? Maybe we hitch a ride with one of them and if there aren't any train stations then we stick with the caravans until we get to one that does."

Mercury thought about it for a second or two before he shrugged "Okay at least you've thought it through that much." He then looked around him and asked "So what do we do while we wait to go back and check out the train station?"

Nix just shrugged, "I guess we could have a quick look around. I mean there's got to be some way to kill a little bit of time in this town."

The two left the table and tossed their food into the nearest garbage bin and started to have a look around the place. Admittedly for such a relatively small town the place had more than just a few interesting areas. Various clothing and shopping stores were dotted almost everywhere. There were arcades, a couple of movie theatres, toy, clothing and even a few weapon stores for aspiring Hunters.

They had a look at a few of them, mainly to get a bag or something to keep the sword hidden so that they would have an easier time sneaking around. However despite walking around with it, no one had really chosen to comment on it or anything. The other adults probably just assumed that it was some kind of toy or something but that wouldn't last forever. Eventually someone was going to ask some uncomfortable questions about it and then things would get even more complicated.

The two continued on for a while, taking some time to grab a few things that might be important for their journey, some food, water bottles and a few other necessities. Of course they had to keep themselves from spending too much money. Still though it was nice for Nix to get some new clothes that weren't on the verge of falling apart, covered in grime, or so tattered that they may as well have just been rags.

As they walked out of the store Nix looked down at his new clothes for the fifth time and looked over at his new travel buddy with a look of appreciation. "Thanks so much for this Mercury," he said.

Mercury just shrugged "Well you needed new clothes man, those old ones of yours were practically rags. You'd stand out too much when we get to Vale if you only had that crap on you. This way no one is going to ask us much if they see us on one of those trains, worst comes to worst, they'll think we're passengers, same with the rest of the towns we'll end up going through."

Nix nodded "I already figured that much, but still, it's nice to have clothes that aren't on the verge of falling apart."

"It's cool, besides it would-" Mercury was cut off by someone bumping into him. It was a girl about their age, with mint green hair and dark skin. "Sorry," she said before running off.

Mercury looked taken aback "Yeah sure you're sorry you little-" he started to mutter but was cut off when he saw Nix start running after the girl.

"Where are you going?!" he demanded. Nix kept running even as he called back "She grabbed your wallet come on!"

A quick check revealed that yes, the girl had indeed taken his wallet right out of his pocket when she bumped into him. Mercury started after his travel buddy and the thief. Cursing to himself, Mercury took off after his friend and the thief at his best speed, which given his metal legs was actually impressive. Despite this the pickpocket had a decent lead on them. And she was more nimble than she looked, especially given how thin she looked in comparison to the two boys.

Mercury and Nix continued their chase of the girl for several minutes, despite her weaving in-between people and crowds. The grey haired boy noticed that not one of the adults tried to stop what was going on. Either because they didn't notice –not likely- or they didn't care. The only thing that any of them really did was call out and tell them to 'be careful' or to 'watch where you're going' but otherwise didn't do much.

The chase continued for several minutes as the girl ahead of them continued to try and evade them. However despite weaving through crowds and displaying an agility that most wouldn't have at that age, Nix and Mercury were still catching up to the pickpocket. As they did though, Nix found himself feeling the most ominous sense of déjà-vu coming on. He could understand the feeling given how he –a pickpocket- was now chasing down someone who had just stolen his friend's money, but where was the ominous feeling coming from?

Whatever was causing it, Nix forced it down as best he could and instead continued chasing after the thief. They were catching up to her, little by little. If she didn't find a way to lose them soon, then they had her.

Just a few minutes later, Nix would be proven absolutely right. The pickpocket tried to duck into an alleyway, probably having come to a similar thoughts to that of her pursuers. Nix and Mercury ducked into the same alleyway not a second later.

Whatever hope of escape that the pickpocket had of getting away from them died right there and then. The alleyway was a dead end. They found the girl pulling on a metal door near the end of the alley, with limited success "Dammit, come on!" she shouted "Of all days for someone to lock the back door to the kitchens, it had to be today?!" She even tried pounding on the door for a few moments longer, obviously hoping that someone would open it before she heard a cough coming from behind her.

She turned to look at the boys that had been chasing her and her expression turned nervous. She started to back away from the door and back towards the brick wall, even as Nix spoke "Look, we just want our money back, that's it. You give that back and we can just go our separate ways right now. No harm no foul."

The girl looked reluctant to part with the money she had just grabbed and seemed like she was about to say something, when a look of fear came over her. Nix and Mercury looked confused for a moment because they hadn't done anything to actively threaten her. Then a gruff and menacing voice could be heard behind them "Or you won't go anywhere ever again, depending on my mood."

Everyone paused upon hearing that voice, Nix could see Mercury go completely pale and nearly jump in fear and terror. The two turned to face the newcomer and saw a man with bushy grey hair, a scruffy beard and a menacing scowl on his face. The look on Mercury's face became one of near complete and utter fear and panic. It was clear to Nix that just by going by appearances alone, and the reaction that Mercury was giving, that this was his father Marcus.

The menacing looking man had his hand on the grip of a hatchet that was attached to his waist. His mouth turned from a menacing scowl and into more of a smirk that was no less disconcerting than his weapon. Then Marcus spoke, his voice low "So boy, this is where you went off to. You know you got some balls on ya. Stealing from me, running off like a little bitch and leaving that insulting message scrawled on the wall!"

Mercury was practically shaking, his eyes wide even as his father continued "Did you really think that you'd get away from me? That I wouldn't find you? Were you really that stupid?!" He stepped forwards and almost immediately Nix reacted completely on instinct. He pushed Mercury behind him and drew the sword he had, making it mechashift as he did.

Marcus cocked an eyebrow as he saw the twelve year old kid trying –and barely succeeding- in keeping the weapon's barrel up and aiming it at him. Mercury and the girl they encountered both seemed surprised as well, the former more so than the latter because his eyes were practically bugging out of his head.

The boy had the look of someone who had no idea what he was doing but was still determined to try "Why don't you go and fuck off!" He declared, shocked at his own words.

At first Marcus seemed absolutely murderous but then, he started to chuckle, barely noticeable at first but it quickly evolved into full-on mocking laughter. It only lasted a few seconds but it showed just how little the hitman thought of the display he was witnessing. "Oh, kid I haven't laughed like that in years. Now let's get down to business."

In a fraction of a second Marcus had drawn his own weapon which at the same time turned from a relatively simple –if intimidating- looking hatchet into a pistol with a rather large magazine sticking out of the handle "Here's the deal, you hand over the boy right now and maybe, just maybe I might let you live. If you don't, I take my time cutting you and that little girl to pieces and then I take the boy back with me."

Nix was starting to sweat now, and his face was almost as pale as Mercury's was "Or I could just pull the trigger and shoot you."

Mercury looked over at his friend "Uh, I don't think that's a good-"

He wasn't able to finish because now Marcus was snarling at them like an enraged animal "I don't think you get how this works kid. If you pull that trigger one of two things will happen but they both lead to the same conclusion. One is that you miss which given how much you're shaking, seems pretty fuckin' likely. Two is that even if by some miracle you manage to land a shot, my aura will take it easy. After that I eject your brain through the back of your skull. So kid I'm gonna count to three, you had better have lowered that thing and stepped aside. If you do, I'll let you keep your lives and most of your limbs, if you haven't…well let's just say I can get very creative with how I deal with people who piss me off."

Nix looked like he wanted to bolt but he still kept the weapon aimed right at Marcus, something that both Mercury and the pickpocket behind him quickly noticed and were stunned by.

Marcus began counting down "Three."

Nix still stood there, shaking but not moving out of the way.

Marcus' cruel smirk quickly curled downwards into a sneer as he stated the next number "Two."

Despite the clear and present threat, Nix still refused to move.

"One-"

Marcus was about to shoot when the door that the green haired pickpocket had been desperately attempting to get into, swung open and a man wearing the uniform of some local business walked out. He only had enough time for his eyes to widen at what was going on when Marcus' weapon arm swung towards him and pulled the trigger at the same time.

A burst came out of the gun and impacted the man's chest, making him fall to the ground in-between the doorway and the alley. In response, Nix all but jumped in fear and panic, pulling the trigger on the sword/rifle as he did. The weapon fired, and the shot went wild and completely missed its intended target. Instead of striking the assassin, it hit a spray-paint can, that had been left atop a small trash bin. It was close enough to Marcus that when the bullet struck, the can exploded completely; sending a shower of neon green paint in every direction for several feet.

The spray mostly struck Marcus' left side. Much of the particles striking him his face, getting into his nostrils, his mouth and his left eye. The uncomfortable smell and taste, combined with the particles hitting his eye, caused him to shout in pain and evulsion. The hitman immediately raised his free hand to try and rub out the particles in his eye, cursing loudly and profusely as he did.

"Run!" shouted Nix, before he, Mercury and the girl from earlier scrambled into the establishment, even as Marcus fired blindly into the alleyway, though his aim was completely off as he was still trying to remove the paint from his eye.

The three were inside before Marcus could take another shot at them. They ran into the kitchen of some restaurant, and found that the chefs were already diving for cover or on the phone with the police. The trio ignored them and continued onwards, trying to find somewhere safe and quickly spotted another door leading out of the kitchens and they ran for it.

Less than a second later Marcus burst through the doorway screaming "I'm gonna gut you little shits for that!" at the top of his lungs.

He fired at them again but his aim was fortunately still off. The bullets struck the wall, pots, pans or other cooking appliances and equipment. The man snarled as the three kids made their way into the dining area where the guests were already starting to make a run for the closest exits. Those that weren't were cowering behind overturned tables and underneath booths, hoping that the bullets that were being fired everywhere wouldn't be able to penetrate the wooden frames.

The three kids ran for the one closest to them, trying to use any of the overturned tables as cover. The assassin opened fire again at the kids, narrowly missing them but managing to hit several of the fleeing patrons in the process. He kept trying to aim properly but with the eye he normally used to do so still smarting from the spray paint from earlier made it extremely difficult.

Instead, the best he could do was point his weapon in the rough direction of the brats and pull the trigger. And he did just that. Bullets fired downrange, striking against anything and everything but his intended targets. Several people that were running for the door either turned into marathon sprinters, dove behind whatever meager protection that was available or were simply shot.

Soon enough though he ran out of ammunition and quickly shoved another magazine into the auto pistol but by that time the brats were already out the door. He was about to keep going after them when he heard what sounded like police sirens. Sure he could deal with them pretty easily but that was running more risk, he didn't want the whole town coming down on him after all. With no small amount of reluctance the hitman headed back towards the alleyway that he had come from. He had to find somewhere to lay low for a little while, and then find the brat and his two little pals. They were going to suffer when he got his hands on them.

Nix, Mercury and the one who tried to steal their money ran straight through the exit and kept running as fast as their legs could possibly carry them. For what felt like an eternity the trio continued their mad dash to get away from the assassin. Eventually though they found themselves in another alleyway, only unlike last time, this one had multiple exits and plenty of cover for them to use if Marcus showed up again.

All three of them were practically out of breath even as the green haired girl looked both of the boys in the eye and demanded "Who the hell was that? Why was he trying to kill us?!"

Nix looked over at Mercury and asked "It was your dad wasn't it?"

Mercury nodded "Yeah, I didn't think he'd try to track us down. I mean, he always hated me. I thought he'd be glad I was gone!"

"Well clearly he hated you enough that he wanted to track you down to kill you! And didn't he mention you leaving an insulting letter or something?"

"Yeah I left a message in marker on the wall telling him to go fuck himself and that I was leaving." Mercury only received an incredulous expression from his travel buddy in response.

"What?" Mercury asked, noticing the look he was being given.

At that the green haired girl's crimson eyes widened and they darted between both of the boys and she asked "Okay, but that still doesn't answer my question. Why was he trying to kill us?!"

"Well he just seemed like he wanted his son back but after we gave him trouble, I guess he just decided: screw it I'm pissed and then decided to blow our heads off!"

The green haired girl threw her hands up into the air and declared "Alright to hell with this, I'm going to the police! This is insane!"

Nix looked at Mercury with a look that said he agreed and looked like he was about to follow her but Mercury just stated "That won't do you any good! I guarantee that's where he's doing to be scoping out next! And even if you do manage to get their first, he'll just kill everyone in the station. He's done it before when one of his hits decided to turn himself in to the police. Marcus just killed his way through them all like it was nothing! You're a witness, and he always makes sure that there are never any witnesses!"

Both Nix and the pickpocket looked even more shocked at what they were being told "Just who exactly is your dad?" Nix demanded, utterly shocked.

Mercury looked down, not meeting their eyes and said "He's a hitman, whose gotten hired for jobs all over the world." He then felt it necessary to add "He's also the worst father in the history of mankind."

"Well that was more than blatantly obvious from what we saw. So what am I gonna do?! You said he kills witnesses right? What am I supposed to do?" The girl was starting to panic right before their eyes. Nix thought back to what happened with him and Summer, what she did for him before everything went crazy and thought to himself 'I'll try that.'

"Well, we're heading to Vale, so…maybe you could stick with us for a while?" At that Mercury and the girl looked at Nix like he had grown a second head "Wait a second. Nix what are you thinking here?"

Nix turned to look back at Mercury "Come on man, you know she's screwed if she stays here and if you remember I was in a similar situation to her once."

Mercury sighed and then shrugged helplessly and lowered his head in defeat. "Okay, whatever man. It's your call."

Nix turned to look over at the girl and asked "What do you say, you want to come with?" He held out his hand for her to take as he did.

The crimson eyed girl looked at the outstretched hand and then at Nix before she let out a bated breath and shook it. She probably thought that she didn't have much choice in the matter "Fine. I mean you guys did help me out back there, even after everything. I guess I'll stick around until after we make it to Vale, but I'd like to know who I'm going to be traveling with."

"Name's Nix, Nix Malachi." He said before gesturing over at his buddy with his thumb "This is Mercury Black. What's your name?"

The green haired girl looked at them and said "I'm Emerald, Emerald Sustrai."

"That's a good name, but uh…if we're going to be traveling together we're going to need back the money you stole from us."

There was a groan as the newly introduced Emerald swore and passed back the wallet.

"So what now? We going to check out the train yard again? Find somewhere to sneak on?" Mercury asked but Nix shook his head. "Maybe, but I'd have to check the schedules again, and if that psycho father of yours isn't at the police station I'd be willing to bet he'll be waiting for us at the train station."

Mercury and Nix tried to figure out what to do when Emerald said "Well, there is another way out."

The two boys immediately turned to look at their new travel buddy, extremely interested.

Emerald continued to explain "There's a merchant caravan that's leaving later today for a neighboring town. We can hitch a ride with them and the town they head past on their route has a train station."

Both of the boys got smiles on their faces on that one "So, where exactly is this caravan?" asked Mercury.

At that Emerald gave a smile and led the way.

-Vale Frontier, Burgundy, Late in the day-

By the time the Bullhead finally arrived at Burgundy it was nearly sunset. The entire time Qrow and Krim were waiting for any kind of news on the kid but given the bad connection to the CCT towers all the way out in the frontier, connectivity was hit-and-miss at best. It quickly became apparent that they would need to wait until the signal got better but since it didn't, they needed to wait until they were literally setting down on the landing pad. As the Bullhead started to set down onto the pad, the two Huntsmen could see a single police officer waiting for them.

It only took a good minute for the thing to set down but when it did the duo quickly exited the Bullhead and approached the officer who seemed more than a little worried. That was never a good sign.

When he walked up to them Qrow sighed and said "Please tell me you have at least some kind of good news for us."

The officer shook his head "I wish. You've got a problem, a big one."

To be continued.

A/N: So it seems like Emerald joined the group like many reviewers suspected. And also not any Cinder/family moments but there will be more I promise!