Author's Notes:

-Happy belated Valentine's Day! (Or Singles Awareness Day, depending on which category you fall into.) I'd like to say that this chapter involves lots of love and romance, but then that would be lying. Or, as Mercury puts it, "It's false advertising!" And I'm not one for lying too much, unlike Roosterteeth. (Yeah, I'm looking at you CRWBY!) I can't tell you too much without spoiling it, but I'll tell you that it does involve a certain feline and a brief glimpse into the past.

-Thanks to bwburke94 for helping me catch and correct that error in ch. 9. (I didn't even realize it was incorrect.)

-Looks like with the publishing of this chapter, I've broken the record for longest story in terms of word count. Looks like I've really improved with this fic. I don't think any of my other stories will break this record I'm setting. And we're nowhere near done! Hope you're ready for more!

Now then, let's get going!

After several days of trying to find a way into the Black Key, Blake had a way in to speak to 'Senior'. Unfortunately, it was through a wedding reception and she had nothing nice to wear. Not to mention she looked like a mess. So here she was in the empty bathroom of an adjacent building, one hour before the event started, not knowing who the lucky lovebirds even were, trying to prepare for an event that she was not even invited to. According to what she overheard two invitees speak about earlier, who were most likely friends of the bride and/or groom, the bodyguards that normally examine the invitations or IDs at the door were not going to be there. This left her the perfect opportunity to sneak in unnoticed.

She sprayed on some perfume over herself just to be sure no one would smell the sweat and grime accumulated on her body over the last week. Then she got a purple oval shaped hairbrush and started to brush out her hair while looking at herself in the mirror. Since she forgot about it for numerous days, it was a huge rat's nest. Because her hair so long and thick, she started on the underside and then did the top, pulling out a lot hair out of her brush. She groaned as she continued doing this. She breathed in and tried to calm herself. By the time she was done with it, it had taken 30 minutes to get it tangle-free. Good grief.

The catwoman looked at her attire. She needed a better option. Something nicer. This was not gonna work. She took off her shoes, black and purple stockings, her vest, and the detachable sleeve and put the last three items into her backpack, leaving her in a white shirt and shorts. She put her low-heeled boots back on and took off the ribbons off her wrists, placing them aside. She grabbed a folded white bedsheet from her backpack and unfolded it by holding onto the ends and waving it up and down with her arms. Once it was unfolded, she draped it around herself to resemble a robe, carefully folding and tucking it in so it wouldn't fall off. She took the ribbons and tied them together to form a single chord. Then she tied the sheet off with said cord around her under-bust in the form of a three layer cord around the upper part of her chest, hoping to make it look more like a dress.

But she couldn't even convince herself that it looked like an actual dress. She looked down at her outfit and sighed to herself. She thought she looked pretty. More like pretty ridiculous. She looked like exactly what she was; a young woman sneaking into a formal event she wasn't invited to.

Well, it's better than the everyday clothes I guess. Weiss would be able to pull off the wedding reception attire easily with her daily attire, and maybe Ruby as well. If she lost the hood...

She knelt down and looked around in her backpack to see if she actually had any jewelry or accessories. As she rummaged through her backpack, she found a small black box. She didn't remember what was inside it, so she grabbed it and opened it, letting the memories come back to her. Inside the box was a sterling silver ring with a circular ruby in the center and three small black diamonds on the left and right sides of the ruby. But as gorgeous as it was, it had some bittersweet memories tied to it. She closed her eyes and remembered how she received it.

It was a cold and windy day, the city of Mantle was covered in goosebumps. Blake stood on the rooftop on the building in a black pull over jacket with a dark grey paw print, her arms folded and a dissatisfied look on her face. Adam joined her on the rooftop, but she didn't give him a passing glance.

"You ready Blake?" She walked further away from him, not saying anything. Her visible cat ears dropped in sorrow and anger. "Look, I know you're angry, and you have every right to be angry with me, but I didn't mean to hurt you..." She still gave him the silent treatment even if her expression shifted to a neutral tone. He sighed. "I love you, Blake. I'm really sorry." She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and curiosity as he got out a black box. "I got you something." He opened the box, showing the ring to her. She looked at it in awe. "It's a promise ring. It's a commitment to our relationship, and how much you mean to me."

She blinked in awe. "It's beautiful."

"Can you forgive me?"

For a moment, she was silent. Then she smiled and nodded. "Yes. That was a week ago. And this is now."

He slid the ring onto her left ring finger and held her hand before turning to look into her eyes. "You mean everything to me Blake." He gently embraced her. "If something happened to you or I lost you... I'd... I'd probably lose my mind."

She threw his arms around him. She believed him. She trusted him. The catgirl looked down below, seeing Jacques Schnee, the Schnee Dust Company board members and a huge shipment of dust arrive at the scene via a bullhead. The businessmen walked out of the plane and into her line of sight. "It looks like they're here."

"Well, then. Let's move."

As Adam got out his weapon, Blake got out her weapon and mask. She looked at the design for a brief moment before donning it. Her mask was similar to Adam's, only her's was painted black on the left and had three vertical claw mark lines on the right side. After putting it on, she got out Gambol Shroud, looked at her partner in crime, nodded in unison with him and dropped down into the fray.

She opened her eyes, returning to the present, the box still in her hands. She took the ring and held it in her right hand.

"Well, Adam Taurus, I once believed that you would never hurt me again, and I was wrong." She put away the box and donned the ring where Adam placed it before, hoping it would draw attention away from her makeshift dress. "It's a shame I'll be using it to obliterate you."

She looked at her scroll for the time; 5:50pm.

Ten minutes til the event starts... Better get a move on...

She stood up, grabbed her weapon and hid it on her back underneath the sheet dress. She then grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulders, attempting to hide it with her hair, and made her way towards the Black Key.

Meanwhile, in the forest, far away from the city limits, there were two hunters; a boy and a girl. The hunters were in a treehouse about the size of the apartment they once stayed in. The wooden floor was decorated with forest green rugs and a small pink one. There was a small kitchenette, a hallway leading to a bathroom and a storage area. Over in the upper right corner from the entrance to the treehouse were two hammocks for sleeping or lazing around. A small light fixture and fan hang from the ceiling. The whole thing was powered by kinetic energy in the form of bicycling. The girl was on that said bike, sweating and panting.

"This is not working." Nora got up and wearily plopped onto the couch. "I forgot how hard it is powering up the treehouse. 30 consistent minutes at 20 miles per hour for 24 hours."

"Just be thankful it's only once a day." Ren chuckled. "You know, while hunting for game today, a thought occurred to me."

She laid her arms across her chest. "And what would that be?"

"We're 17 years old, and we are able to apply for jobs."

"So, what you're saying is that we should both get jobs."

"Pretty much." Ren said, starting to make stew from the rabbit they caught earlier. "That's... not a problem, is it?"

"Yeah, I mean, no! It's just..." Nora hesitated. "I'm worried that... with my wild personality and slight temper, I might be a bit too hot-headed and get fired. Also, I find doing all of the common civilian jobs a difficult and daunting prospect. What if I fail?"

"I think you can keep yourself in check. Being a huntsman or huntress is hard. If you can do something hard, I think you can do something easy."

"Yeah, you do have a point there. But what about us having an address that's off the grid?"

"Hmm..." Ren pondered to himself. "That might be a problem. We could lie, but if we do and we're caught, we'd be in huge trouble and no one would ever hire us."

She put up her arm and tapped her fingers on the side of the couch. "What was it that Pyrrha said all those months ago? 'You can't get it wrong if it's the truth'?"

Ren nodded. "You're right. We should just be honest. Who knows? Maybe they'll even have some sympathy on us. Now for the first thing; getting job applications. That is our first priority for tomorrow."

Back in the city, Blake had just entered the Black Key. As she entered through the door of the one story building, she made note of her surroundings; the floor was made of shiny black title to match the ceiling. The amethyst colored walls were decorated with white ribbons and trios of balloons in blue, pink and purple on both ends of the ribbon. Overhead, a crystal chandelier lit up the ballroom like the sun. There was a door leading to another room on the right while the center of the place had a lightly colored wood dance floor about the size of a 10 x 10 grid.

Then she looked at the attire of the partygoers; some of the ladies wore cocktail dresses in a variety of hues while others donned ballgowns, the men wore suits and ties, mainly in black, although there was one guy dressed in blue. The lovely couple in the very back with a rectangle shaped table all to themselves, whom Blake recognized as the bride and groom, both wore white. The groom wore a fake red rose on the left side of his white tuxedo and the bride was dressed in a mermaid style wedding dress with a silver lining design on the top of the dress.

Blake suddenly felt nervous. She shouldn't be here. She didn't know anyone here. She was nothing more than a faker, a pretender, an outsider. Still, she had a mission. She had to find this 'Senior' guy and ask him where the warehouse was. As she got lost in her thoughts, she ended up walking right into a woman who, upon seeing the clumsy girl, shoved her to the ground and walked away. Blake groaned as she tried to process what just happened.

"Are you alright?" a guy asked.

The guy in the blue suit smiled at her as he helped her up. "I'm fine. Thanks."

He examined her attire. "That is... an interesting dress you have there."

She chuckled, trying to keep the nervousness in her voice to a minimum. "Thank you. It was a last minute setup."

"I can tell. I'm guessing something happened with the previous one making it unwearable?"

She scratched the back of her head and laughed, trying to calm her nerves. "Yeah, let's go with that."

"You know," he began, looking at her with a hopeful smile, "you're kinda cute."

"Don't even think about it." She showed him the promise ring, extending her left hand outward. "I'm taken."

"Oh, I see." He looked around. "And where is your beau?"

"He got sick and couldn't come." she lied.

Ha. Little does he know that I'm plotting to assassinate him.

"Aw, that's a shame."

"Yeah, it is..." She looked at him curiously. Wow, I sound like a vengeful seductress. "So do you know where a guy by the alias of 'Senior' is?"

"Senior? You mean Donovan Xiong?" He asked. Blake nodded. "Why would you be looking to speak to him?"

"Important confidential matter."

"Keeping me on my toes, are you?"

She scoffed. "Why would I tell you? You're just a stranger."

"You make a good point there." he said. "You're not much of a dancer, are you?"

"I am when I feel like it." she answered. "So where is he?"

"He's over there." he mentioned to a guy at a table all by himself.

"Thanks."

Donovan Xiong was a guy with dark brown hair and matching eyes. His pale skin was mostly covered up by his shiny purple suit with a red glittering necktie, paired with black polished dress shoes and a black cane with a purple dome. He slowly spun his cane in his hand before putting it down upon noticing Blake's presence.

"Oh hello there darling."

"Aren't you a bit young to have a nickname like Senior?" she asked.

"If I had a dollar everytime someone asked me that..." He chuckled. "I'd be filthy rich instead of upper middle class! Ah ha ha!" He smiled warmly. "So, since you've found me, I'm guessing you want some information."

"From this map," she said, getting it out. "I've heard there's supposed to be a White Fang warehouse in or around Fiti. Do you know where it is?"

"I do, but..." He give her a questioning look. "Why would you be asking about the White Fang? You don't want to get tangled up in them, and I imagine you don't want to fight them."

"Look, between you and me," Blake glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I'm hunting down the White Fang. More specifically, Vale's leader. I've had years of combat training and was a student at Beacon Academy. That is... before it fell."

"I know it's none of my business, but... Why are you targeting them? Trying to take down an entire terrorist organization is a very big job for one semi-pro huntress."

"The White Fang not only destroyed the school, which caused me to lose the friends I thought of as family, the loss of several lives and large scale destruction and devastation, the leader of Vale's White Fang branch hurt my best friend." She clinched her fists, suppressing tears. "And for that, I will never forgive him!"

"Ah, a tale of vengeance. A personal matter... Hmm... Alright, I'll help." Blake took a notepad and a pen. "About three miles from the main port, there's a warehouse in a forest clearing. Once you get to the port, facing the direction of the city, go north for one block. You should be close to Ivy Vine Park. From there, walk along the path until you see a dead oak tree with three vertical slash marks. If you face west, you'll see bunch of trees less than 50 feet from you. That is the forest you must go into. Once you reach the perimeter of the forest, go forward until you see another tree with the same slash marks from earlier. Take 22 steps to the north and you'll find another one. Then go east for two miles and you should find a clearing with an abandoned warehouse."

She finished writing down abbreviated forms of the directions before responding with, "Thank you, good sir."

"You're welcome, and good luck young lass. I hope you know what you're doing."

She smiled and left the building without saying another word. As she left the Black Key, her visage turned to an upset, disapproving look. She thought, I know what I'm doing. Adam attacked the academy, he hurt my best friend, and I will make things right. Now to get out of these ridiculous clothes and get to that warehouse.

Later that evening, Sun had arrived at the Black Key. He looked around at the entrance, seeing if Blake was there, but he didn't see her anywhere. As he ventured into the venue, he looked around and noticed a lot of people staring and glaring at him.

A woman in a green strapless dress holding a glass of wine scoffed at him. "That is the gaudiest outfit I have seen all night."

"I don't know." a guy next to her, presumably her date, added as he came up to her as she took a few sips. "The sheet dress we saw earlier was pretty tasteless."

She swallowed her drink. "At least the woman in the sheet dress put some effort into her outfit. This guy looks like he came wearing the clothes he slept in!"

The monkey tailed faunus scratched his head and tilted it slightly to the right. "Sheet dress?"

"Yeah, a woman with amber eyes and black hair wore a big white sheet as a dress around her body."

"If ya ask me, she looked like a poor woman's bejeweled queen bee." the man spoke.

Sun gestured towards him. "Did she have a big black bow in her hair?"

The guy nodded in confirmation. "That's the one."

"Where did she go?"

"Don't know, but before she left, she was speaking to Senior. Don't really know..."

And that was all Sun heard as he swiftly ran off, hoping to try and find the boss. Unfortunately he literally ran into someone, unable to stop himself in time.

He held his hand to forehead before realizing that he unintentionally knocked someone down. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

The man in the purple shiny suit chuckled as he got up. "It's quite alright."

He extended his hand to help him up. "Do you know where I can find a guy with the name 'Senior?'"

The boss of the club smirked. "Looks like I'm the most popular guy in Fiti tonight. You're the second one to come running to me for questions."

"How did you know that?"

He smirked. "I'm just very good at figuring out people's intentions. So what do you want to know?"

"Have you seen this girl?" Sun showed him a picture of Blake.

"Funny enough, I saw her earlier. Is she a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, she is."

"Then I suppose I can tell you about her motives. She is going after the White Fang, more specifically, the leader of Vale's branch, but she has no idea where he is."

"So where is she going?"

He then told the monkey faunus what he said earlier to Blake.

"Good luck, young man. I hope you and your friend know what you're getting yourselves into."

"Thank you!"

He sped out of the club and felt a surge of hope run through his heart. He was so close to finding her! He ran right to the port, ignoring the looks he got from strangers as he zipped right by them. As he reached the port, he tried very hard to remember the directions he was given.

Alright, go one block north and then go to... what park was it again? Ivy Vine Park? Yeah, that's it.

As he walked through the city, he noticed numerous happy couples. The first one was a young woman and a young man holding hands. The second one was a slightly couple in their 20's with the woman wearing an engagement ring. The third and final one that really got him was a couple pushing a baby carriage around. The poor monkey faunus felt tortured. Why couldn't that loving, happy relationship have been existent with him and Blake?

"Are the deities of love giving luck to everyone but me?" he asked.

I love her... but does she feel the same?

The monkey king tried to shake those thoughts. Before he knew it, he got to the park and started quickly walking along the path. The stone path led through a vibrant park with a few trees, and a stone fountain far off to the left in the center of the park. He was fortunate that so few people were here and that they paid him little attention.

Oh man... I've been searching for Blake for so long, there's one thing I didn't even consider... how's she even going to react to me finding her? I'm sure she'll understand if I just tell her that I wanted to help her defeat the White Fang. Don't give up, Sun. You're so close!

Eventually, he found the tree that Senior mentioned. Three vertical slash marks present, just like when Blake showed him the marks at the White Fang convention they snuck into. Damn, that was so long ago. Who knew that he would be chasing after a shadow? He ran forward into the forest, this time being seen by no one.

Almost there...