Man, how long as it been since I last uploaded? Almost a year!?

To Better (K)nights

҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Vale Streets (With Jaune)¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉

Jaune couldn't help but look around as he continued to follow Pyre through the streets. The surprise of seeing the rundown buildings having left from walking around the day before and after doing that quick job of Junior.

"Hey, Pyre…" Jaune started, casting a look towards the Faunus to see her looking back. "…can I ask you something?"

"What's up?" The Faunus said, taking a second to look around before she motioned for Jaune to follow.

"This person we're going to see…" Jaune started, taking a second to look around. "…are they dangerous?"

"That's a tricky question." Pyre answered, "This guy has no loyalty to anyone…meaning he's not afraid to getting his hands dirty. Cops, Criminals, hell, even Huntsmen and Huntresses…he'll deal with anyone who has cash. Calling him a wildcard is the most accurate anyone's going to call with him." The Faunus continued. "However, he isn't exactly reasonable. Say the wrong thing and he'll attack without hesitation. And he isn't a slouch when it comes to weapon crafting and engineering either.

"Is that why you think he has Roman's cane?"

"No doubt he paid someone off to get it."

"Why would he want Roman's cane?" Jaune asked.

"Can't say." Jaune raised an eyebrow at that. "Like I said, this guy's a wildcard. Could be that he wants a trophy, someone wanted it or is planning to use it himself. Nothing is certain until we ask him ourselves."

"Should I be on guard?" Jaune asked, getting Pyre to shrug.

"Wouldn't hurt. Just stick close to me and let me do most of the talking." The Faunus said, getting Jaune to nod as he followed Pyre towards their destination.

҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉

Resting on top a hill just outside of Vale's walls with a scenic view of said kingdom was a rundown observatory. There were a few things out of place like the large fence that surrounded the area and massive piles of rusted metal that were laying around. The outside looked completely rundown with overgrown weeds and vines climbing up the walls and even a few windows being broken. There was even graffiti on parts of the wall.

"You know…" Jaune started as he looked at the building he and Pyre were standing in front of. "…this wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Pyre gave a smirk as she gave Jaune a sideways glance.

"Were you expecting a large factory?"

"More or less…" Jaune said, "…I mean the way you were talking, it sounded like some factory. Not…this."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about judging books by covers." Pyre said with a shrug. "Trust me, it's a lot bigger on the inside. C'mon, let's get this over with." Jaune gave a nod as he followed the Faunus towards the rusted doors. As they approached, the doors automatically began to open, sliding out of the way and creating an opening big enough for them to walk through. The room they entered wasn't that large and only had to ways of leaving…one of them was blocked by a reinforced door.

"I hope there's a good reason for you to be here." A voice said, getting Jaune to look around before the lights in the room was replaced by a blacklight. In the blacklight, the door had splatters of something on it that was clearly dried. "I'm in no mood for any games."

"Cool your jets." Pyre said as she crossed her arms. "We're here on business. Heard you got your hands on Roman's cane."

"And you're looking to take it?"

"'Take' is a strong word in this case." Pyre said before she smirked. "Let's go with a transfer of ownership."

"Melodic Cudgel isn't a toy to play with." The voice said before the sounds of metal being moved made the two look around and see some broken down robots rising from the ground. After a moment, they began to twitch and jerk around before focusing on them, raising their arms to reveal various weapons attached to them. "Give me a reason I should let you two come inside any further."

"For one, it's for the kid here." Pyre said as she lazily jabbed her thumb towards Jaune. "And two…" Pyre walked to the door before she pulled her fist back and created a slightly larger holographic arm around hers and punched the door, denting it but not destroying it. "…I'm not opposed to doing this the regular way." There was a moment of silence before the robots lowered their weapons and fell to the ground in heap piles before the door loudly creaked, mainly due to not fitting into the wall it was trying to slide into.

"Don't touch anything else!" Was the only response the two got before the blacklight in the room shut off. Seeing Jaune glance at her, Pyre gave a half-hearted shrug before she motioned for him to follow. After the two passed through the door, Jaune noticed that it led to nowhere else, getting him to raise an eyebrow before looking at Pyre. The Faunus simply gave him a smirk before she crossed her arms. There was a moment of silence before the door closed behind them of them and walls began to lower around them.

"An elevator?" Pyre nodded in agreement. "Why am I getting evil mastermind feelings?" Jaune asked getting Pyre to chuckle as the elevator stopped and the door opened again. As the two stepped out, the various sounds of guns readying themselves made the two stop and hold up their hands. Standing front of a large pane of glass stood four more robots, these one looking more put together than the one above.

"You better have a good reason for wanting Melodic Cudgel." A voice said before a man dropped from the ceiling. If Jaune was honest with himself, the man didn't have any notable features to him that made him stand out.

Compared to Pyre, whose face was slightly elongated and had fox-like eyes as well as a unique way to dressing, the man before them looked like he was a traveler. His skin was darker than Pyre's, his was pure black and cut short with a small portion on his right side being disrupted with a scar. The scar extended down his face, covering his right eye, making it pure white, and ending just below his chin. He had on a multi-layered maroon jacket that went as low as his knees. Aside from the worker boots that clearly had patch work done to them, what looked like work pants and the gloves on his hands, Jaune couldn't tell what else the man had on.

"Well?" The man's low voice made Jaune blink in confusion before remembering where he was.

"Right…" Jaune said before he tried to think of a good reason for wanted Roman's cane. "…you see, someone else asked me to help look for it." At that, the two weaponsmiths looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow. There was a moment of silence before Jaune found himself slammed against the wall and raised just enough that he couldn't touch the floor with the tips of his feet. Reaching the arm that was currently holding him up, Jaune was surprised to feel how much muscle was hidden by the jacket's sleeve.

"And that's reason enough for you?" The man asked, glaring at Jaune as he held the blonde up. Jaune looked to Pyre to see her looking at him with crossed arms before he felt the hand around his neck begin to close in.

"She wasn't…just…anyone…" Jaune breathed out. "She had…a picture…of her and Roman…running from the cops." His strength was already leaving him, and his vision began to blur before he fell to the floor. There was nothing said between the three as Pyre and the man waited for Jaune to catch his breath and calm down.

"What did she look like?" The man asked, when Jaune's breathing began to even out.

"She was short, probably shorter than five feet." Jaune looked at the man and saw him holding on of his hands to his chin. "She had mostly brown hair with strands of pink and white in them. Her eyes were the same…but that occasionally changed colors. She appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly."

"Did she have a weapon?"

"Not that I could tell. She clearly knew how to fight without one, but she had an umbrella…if that's anything to go by." There was nothing but silence as the man moved away from Jaune and looked out the large window.

"Neo…"

"I'm guessing you know this person." Pyre said flatly.

"Not personally, but I heard Roman got himself a partner a while back." The man said before he snapped his fingers. Behind Jaune, the wall began to make noise before it flipped over to reveal a wall with various weapons displayed on it. In the center of the wall was Roman's Cane, the barrel slightly warped from the explosion it was in but otherwise in decent condition. "Give me a week to fix it."

"Pleasure doing business." Pyre said before she motioned Jaune to follow. The blonde didn't waste time and immediately moved to the Faunus' side as they stepped back onto the elevator.

"Fyre…" The man said, getting Pyre to look back. "…be careful. I've been getting news that Bad Boy's working with someone."

"Thanks." Pyre said before the doors closed. As the elevator ascended, Pyre looked to Jaune to see him still rubbing his neck. "You okay?"

"My neck hurts a bit but nothing bad."

"Sorry for not doing anything back there." Pyre said with a shrug. "But a transaction should be between the buyer and seller."

"That's what that was?" Jaune asked before letting out a sigh. "So, what are we doing now?"

"I'm going to head back to Junior's." Pyre said, "If someone like Bad Boy is working with a mysterious partner than things are going to heat up around here."

"Can I come?"

"I don't see the harm." Pyre said. "Just…don't try and butting in. What we're going to be talking about isn't something you should be get involved."

҉¯`•.¸¸.•´¯Junior's Bar (With Blake)¯`•.¸¸.•´¯҉

"Guess who's back?" Blake couldn't help but face palm as a myriad of guns were readied and aimed at Yang and the others. After being led to the club that Weiss had visited, the group were greeted to the sight of two mobsters running inside and closing a large set of double doors over the originals. They didn't miss the fact that said doors were already beaten in, making the reinforcement pointless. Regardless, Yang gave them her trademark smile before she raised her foot and kicked the original doors wide open.

"Remind me, how the two of you are sisters again?" Weiss asked, getting everyone to look at Ruby. Before the reaper could answer, someone else cleared their throat and grabbed their attention. Standing on the second floor was Junior, who was currently holding his face in his palm.

"Put your guns down!" The man said before he jumped over rail and landed next to one mobster and grabbed their gun before smacking them on the back of the head with it. "These guns aren't a prop for you to wave around!" The man said before he dropped said weapon and continued his way towards the group. "Well? What the hell am I paying you for? Get back to work!" Junior all but shouted when he looked back and saw the rest of the mobsters still standing where they were.

"I guess we're not going to do this the fun way?" Yang asked, getting a glare from Junior.

"What do you want, Blondie?" The man asked.

"We're looking for someone." The blonde answered.

"Join the club. I've got a line forming and you're definitely not the first." Junior replied before he stopped a few feet from the group and crossed his arms. Yang simply grinned before she stepped up and began cracking her knuckles.

"Then how about making me first?" The blonde asked. There was a moment of silence before Junior spit down, making sure it landed on Yang's boot. Yang reacted immediately, her eyes shifting from lilac to red in an instant before she pulled her arm back. However, as the blonde tried to throw her fist forward, she felt something wrap around her wrist and stop it from moving. Junior just smirked before he turned his back to Yang walked away.

"Looks like the only one here who isn't getting the hint is you." Junior said as he jumped over the bar and leaned on it. Looking behind her, Yang saw Blake holding onto a ribbon that was currently extended, Pyrrha were holding out her hand while Weiss had her rapier pointed out. Looking at the restrained limb, Yang saw Blake's ribbon, a glyph from Weiss and the familiar black aura of Pyrrha's semblance surrounding her bracelet.

"What are you guys doing?" Yang shouted as she tried to free her arm. The response to her actions was another glyph and more of Pyrrha's semblance grabbing her other bracelet.

"Keeping you from doing something stupid!" Blake said, as she yanked the ribbon back, pulling Yang off her feet and into the air, courtesy of a third glyph from Weiss.

"Nora! Grab her!" As soon as Ren gave the command, the hammer wielder rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Yang as soon as the glyph disappeared. Everyone watched as, despite her attempts as getting free, Yang was stuck in the solid grip of one Nora Valkyrie.

"What the hell guys?!" Yang shouted as she continued to try and free herself.

"Like Blake said, we're keeping you from doing something stupid." Weiss said, as she dusted her skirt and sheathed her rapier. "Attacking someone without provocation is not what you do."

"He spit on my shoe!" Yang shouted.

"After you threaten him!" Weiss shouted back, crossing her arms, and glaring at the blonde. "Honestly, I expected this kind of behavior from you, but not for you to be this easily pushed."

"So? It's our job to stop people like him! This smug asshole's running a mob!"

"I'd learn to keep that mouth of yours in check before you end up getting into deeper shit." Junior said getting everyone else to focus on him again. "You should be glad your friends managed to keep you in check. One punch is all I needed to end your little playtime as a Huntress." That got everyone's attention, with none of them saying a word. This, in turn, got Junior to let out a heavy sigh before shaking his head. "Kids these days, I swear…"

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked, stepping in front of Yang to address the mob boss.

"I'm talking about the law that you've clearly never studied." Junior said before he ducked behind the counter and pulled out a bottle, a mixer, some fruits, and small knife. "A law that, if reported, can have any Huntsman or Huntress arrested and tried as a criminal." The man explained as he mixed the drink and poured it into a small martini glass.

"No law like that exist." Weiss said, getting a mocking chuckle from Junior.

"Hearing that just makes this even sadder." The man said before he wordlessly poured more into his glass. "Seeing as you're a Schnee, I'm guessing you were forced to memorize all the laws about Huntsmen and such, correct?" That got a quick nod from Weiss before Junior downed the second glass. "Here's the thing little princess, not every kingdom has the same laws. Something illegal in Atlas might just before perfectly fine here in Vale."

"What's this law you're talking about?" Ruby asked, getting Junior to stop and look up.

"Unless authorized by the VPD, Signal or Beacon, any action to take on crime by students are considered vigilantism. Therefore, the student in question will be brought in and their actions reviewed." Junior said, never losing his smirk as he began to drink.

"Just like the night I met Ozpin…" Ruby said, getting Junior to let out low hum before he focused his attention on Ruby.

"And it looks like you managed to luck out because should the student's actions be seen as a danger to themselves, the citizens of Vale or the kingdom itself, they will be prosecuted as an adult." The man finished. There was nothing but silence except for the grunts in the background that were cleaning.

"But Atlas-" Weiss started before Junior cut her off.

"Atlas doesn't have that law because their military and Huntsman academy are one and the same and therefore above standard police authorization. Mistral has its own underground black market, one that has its own branch of Huntsmen to watch over them. And Vacuo? It's not exactly a law per say, but the citizens have their own opinions on the matter." The man said.

"Then about those two dolls you call bodyguards?" Yang asked, getting Junior to shake his head.

"Melanie and Miltiades aren't students; They're working like everyone else here." Junior said, taking a sip from the drink he made. "Their mother's in Mistral and sent them here in an exchange. What's more is that they are aren't going out to fight crime…unlike you." The man said before down the rest of the drink and slamming the empty glass on the bar. "You want information, you're going to have to wait." The teens shared another look with one another before Blake stepped up.

"How much?" The Faunus asked, getting everyone to look at her. "How much would it cost for you to talk now?" Junior raised an eyebrow at that before shrugging.

"Too much for you." The man said dismissively. "Like I said, there's a line, and time I'm wasting talking to you right now is money lost. Cutting in front of someone else mean having to make up the difference."

"How much." Blake asked again, getting Junior to hold up four fingers.

"At least this many zeroes." There were no words said before Blake grit her teeth in anger. "Can't make up the cash? Then come back in two weeks." Just as Blake was about to step back, the sound of the entrance doors slamming open.

"Sweetie! I'm home!" There was nothing but awkward silence as everyone looked at Jaune and Pyre, the former striking an extravagant pose while the latter shaking his head.

And that's that for this chapter. It's not much but I've had a lot on my plate that writing seemed like more of a chore than anything else. If it's not family issues, it's financial ones.

I can't say when the next chapter will be uploaded, but I'll try to make it quick.

Until next time, see ya!