Much later that afternoon, a pair of black boots were seen walking along the black pavement. With her back to the camera showing off her green clothes, her brown hair glistened in the afternoon sun. She had her right hand in front of her to preserve her sight.

Her cat ears, previously lying flat on her head, perked up upon hearing two people converse.

"There it is. The sight of Blake's Book Club." a woman spoke from afar. "Come on. I'm looking forward to this discussion."

A soft male grunt was heard as the woman dragged her partner along.

"Don't you think it's a little strange that this Blake person is using a hotel as a meeting ground?"

"Not really. Besides, I love a good story and book discussion! Now come on!"

The camera showed the couple quickly passing by as the observer's face was shown; Tawny Lemongrass.

"There it is. Wind's End Hotel. If I'm right, the 'Cursed Cat' will be here, along with her allies. But if I'm wrong…" She shuttered. "No, you have to be right. Going back without evidence is not an option. You're going to find her, sooner or later."

With this, Tawny walked into the building as the scene faded away.

[A few days ago- June 2nd, 80 AGW]

Tawny was shown in the streets of Wind Path having just walked away from the posterboard. The cat eared faunus retrieved her Scroll from her right pocket and proceeded to dial a number as she walked forward. A ring was heard, followed by another.

Come on… answer…

A female voice responded in a semi-distracted tone, "Hello?"

"Greetings my lady."

"Ah Tawny…" A kissing sound on the other end was heard. "Oh… This better be important. Oh…"

Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what was happening; she had called Athena in the middle of her having sex with Ares! Trying to compose herself, Tawny answered, "I have news. Get the bull, the pig and the ram and meet me within the ballroom within thirty minutes."

"It will be doooo-Oh!"

At this, Tawny hung up and groaned.

I shouldn't be surprised. Me and Marrok hear them doing it on a regular basis it seems.

She sighed, quickening her march.

But that doesn't make it any less of an annoyance…

From there, Tawny made her way back to the hotel and then stood inside the ballroom. Athena and Ares were already there, acting as though they weren't fooling around less than an hour ago. Soon Adam arrived, wearing the old outfit he had, as he had yet to don the "Corrupt Commander" appearance. Wungeng, as usual, was late and arrived with yet another snack.

Athena asked in exasperation, "Do you have to bring food to every meeting?"

The pig-tailed faunus was shown with a three-tiered chilled seafood tower in his hand. Scattered throughout the stand were oysters, jumbo shrimp cocktail, king crab legs, mussels and a whole lobster on the top. From the bottom to the top were three different ramekins of sauce; cocktail, remoulade and lemon butter.

Ares raised an eyebrow, faintly visible above the edge of his eye mask. "That entire tower of raw seafood is your dinner?"

"This is the appetizer."

Everyone stared at him, and with her eyes visible to her, Tawny blinked at him. Wungeng set the tower down on a nearby table and took an oyster from it.

Adam sighed. "Don't chew too loudly." He faced the specialist with impatient curiosity. "Now, what information do you have for us?"

Tawny smiled. "I found a lead to where Blake Belladonna, aka the Cursed Cat, might be hiding." She got out the poster she retrieved earlier and unfolded it before him.

Adam read over the poster quickly;

Blake's Book Club

Discussing The Thief and the Butcher

Meet at the ballroom at Winds' End

1551 Cloud Courtyard, Wind Path

June 6th, 80 AGW at 5pm

Tell your friends and family

Humans and faunus both welcome.

Upon finishing his read, the High Leader scowled, slightly crumbling the paper in his hand. "Well no wonder we never found her- she's hiding in the Lower Highlands!"

He handed the poster to Wungeng, who glanced at it briefly before taking a crab leg and cracking it with his bare hands.

Ares took the poster and allowed his girlfriend to examine it with him. "But how can you be sure that this is truly Blake?" the ram faunus questioned.

"I know Blake quite well, and know that she loves literature. She often had a book in her hand if she wasn't training or doing a mission. Additionally, I can confirm that The Thief and the Butcher was one of the last books she finished reading before she deserted us. But knowing her cowardly tendencies, the likelihood of her actually being here is very low…"

"There's only one way to know," Athena began. "Tawny, four days from now on June 6th, you must don your faunus civilian disguise, go to the address listed and see if the Cursed Cat is hiding there in plain sight."

"And don't come back without physical evidence!" Adam ordered.

She gave him a salute. "Understood Sir!"

Soon Tawny returned to the present as she took a seat in the very back. While waiting for the discussion to start, the braver cat girl counted at least seventy chairs and at least forty people present.

There are a surprising number of chairs for a so-called book club. And people…

Everyone remained seated as Blake appeared on stage. Tawny quickly got out her Scroll and got to her camera, taking the first image as she walked across.

Upon reaching the podium, Blake began to speak, "Thank you all for coming. Before we begin our discussion over The Thief and the Butcher, I have a little surprise for you. Some of you may have heard this from others, but I have a story for you. Just hear me out."

Some of the audience members looked on in interest, while some were confused.

As Blake told her story, Tawny took another picture, this one zoomed in closer to her and with slightly more emphasis on her purple ribbon as the storyteller's words faded out.

"Our story begins with a girl who was enrolled in Beacon. This girl was unlike many others…"

Tawny started writing some notes down in black ink as she continued. Among the notes was the line- wearing a purple bow

"...Upon finding out the truth, they didn't care. She found friends and a community that supported her."

She took a third picture of her target about halfway through her speech, this one showing her parents and Sun standing not too far away.

"...And in the chaos, Beacon Academy crumbled. In the aftermath, she went after the man responsible; Adam Taurus. Originally the Valeian White Fang leader, this ruthless, bull-horned faunus would eventually rise to power after murdering his commander, High Leader Sienna Khan."

Perpetuating a lie. How low can you go? Tawny thought with Blake's words in the background.

The montage ended as Blake came near to the end of her story, as Tawny started recording a video. "...And in the end, they ran away. But the war was far from truly over. Now let me tell you this; that story is entirely true."

The audience stared at her in disbelief, murmuring to themselves.

"That girl who ran from the world... was me. I am Blake Belladonna, daughter of Kali and Ghira Belladonna, member of what was once team RWBY, and former Beacon student. Now you might be wondering, 'Why is she telling us all this? I thought this was supposed to be a book club!'

"There's a reason I'm telling you this. Haven Academy is going to be invaded by the White Fang, and we need your help. The truth is that the four of us don't stand a chance against him and his army. Regardless of experience, we can train you and prepare you for the task ahead. The White Fang wasn't always malevolent, but now it has grown to be more violent than ever. It's all of us, humans, faunus and half-bloods, to stop them once and for all."

Tawny ended the recording for the video.

Perfect, I have more than enough evidence to prove her residence.

The crowd spoke among themselves for a few moments. Some of them, including the couple she saw earlier, politely declined.

"We're expecting our first child." the woman exclaimed.

Tawny got a closer look at her; she didn't look like a mother-to-be, but reminded herself that looks can be deceiving. Either that, or she was very early on.

"I understand," Blake spoke, her voice heard from afar. "Well, I wish you the best of luck for all that is to come."

"And we wish you luck with your mission." the man told her.

With this, the loving, expecting couple took their leave.

Everyone's leaving or trying to sign up. Should I…?

"You wish to join us?"

Tawny looked to find Kali there, extending her hand in warmth out to her.

"I don't know… Fighting isn't really… my thing."

Blake tried to change her mind. "We can train you if need be."

"I… I need some time." Tawny began to falter. "To think about this."

The black beauty looked down in defeat. "I understand, but we're always willing to accept help."

"Thank you for understanding."

Tawny walked out of the room, her ears still ever alert.

"Something's off about her, I can feel it." Sun warned them.

"Mr. Wukong, are you sure that you're not paranoid?" Ghira asked.

At that moment, Tawny did something she never saw herself doing; running away in cowardice.

Later that evening, Tawny and the White Fang leaders met in the ballroom again. At a circular table with a white cloth, Wungeng was shown eating his dinner; an absurdly large sandwich with an absurd amount of fries. And a drink.

The braver cat-girl batted her eyes in sheer disbelief. "Oh my gosh, what the heck is that?"

"This is Wungeng's latest benchmark of his descent into gluttony. What you see here is a three pound cheesesteak sandwich made with finely shaved ribeye and skirt steak, topped with provolone and Swiss cheese, raw and caramelized onions, bell peppers in a plethora of colors; green, yellow, orange and red if I be specific, and butter-sauteed mushrooms, all on a large white hoagie roll. And if that's not enough, he has a half pound of French fries fried in canola oil and a jumbo soda of the lemon-lime variety. How he was able to acquire all the ingredients for and prepare this food monstrosity is beyond my comprehension." The wise woman let out a long sigh of grievance. "My apologies that you have to bear witness."

Ares gave an aside glance to his girlfriend as the pig faunus took another bite. "Is he even going to be able to finish that?"

And of course, Adam was there, donning the "Corrupt Commander Suit" he had just adorned. He groaned at Wungeng's stunt and readjusted his leadership badge in impatience. "This better be important."

"High Leader Taurus, Lady Bruna, Lord Ares, Leading Brother Wungeng…" She winced as he greedily chomped on his sandwich before regaining her resolve. "I come back bearing important news. My cowardly counterpart is here within this city, and she is exactly where I thought she'd be. Blake's Book Club is a front to raise an army."

She showed them three different images of Blake Belladonna and her written notes before cuing the video she took. As Blake's words echoed back to Adam and the other leaders, he smiled.

"You've done well, Lemongrass. I may even consider making you my new lieutenant."

The winged faunus chuckled briefly. "Don't get too handsy, Taurus. She's still a Revolutionist you know."

"So we've learned that Blake's a coward and hiding in Wind Path." Wungeng spoke quickly, before shoveling more of his sandwich into his mouth. "But what are we to do with this information?"

The winged faunus looked at her subordinate. "Go back in a few days, tell her that you have reconsidered the position, and infiltrate the bookworm army as a new recruit." Athena ordered. "They won't suspect a thing."

Adam gave Athena a challenging glance. "And what makes you think they'll believe her if she already ran away?"

"Because I told her previously that I needed some time to think about it." Tawny answered, her anger never wavering. "The ruse has already been set in place."

At this revelation, he gave her a wicked smirk. "You're a clever one. With this ruse and careful instruction, Blake, her pathetic parents and that foolish 'Little Prince' will be brought down before the journey to Haven begins. Gather your needed supplies and return to the hotel in five days."

At this her anger softened slightly to a firm expression of resting rage. With one closed hand on her chest, and the other on her back, she gave a respectful bow. "Right away, High Leader."

With this, she left the room.

All the while, Hazel stood within a warehouse, pondering to himself. Despite his solitude, he kept his thoughts to himself.

Why am I here? Why am I still doing this? All of my attempts to defeat Ozpin, when he was alive, were met with failure. Not like that matters anymore, he's dead. Flash-incinerated by Cinder after she fully obtained those powers.

Hazel, left to his own thoughts, began to think of the huntsmen and huntresses he murdered, mostly thinking of team CUBB (Cubeb), and what he stole from them.

All those lives I've taken… and even those that I didn't take...

An image of Daisy Hughes, the huntress in Argus that he spared, entered his mind.

Everything I've done… I've done because I thought it would make this world better. To spite Ozpin and everything he stood for. But is it possible that I've only made things worse?

Try not to dwell on this too much, Hazel… he chided himself. Overthinking will not help you in any way.

Not to mention all attempts to locate the Spring Maiden, who the White Fang leaders know as 'The Keyholder', have been met with failure. Surely it shouldn't be that hard to find Rosa Vernal. He sighed. At least the White Fang is cooperating…

At that moment, Athena Bruna entered the warehouse.

Repressing a sigh, the strongman turned to face the owl winged faunus. "What are you doing here?"

Athena tapped her foot repeatedly, the click of her heel audible as she spoke. "I came to see if you found any whereabouts as to where the Keyholder is."

"The answer is still negative."

The Winged Lady folded her arms in displeasure. "You've been giving that excuse for a while. Is it that you truly don't know, or are you deliberately delaying the invasion?"

"Truly, miss, we don't know." It was Hazel's turn to fold his arms. "Why have you been asking such questions?"

"You're a human." She extended her arm, pointing at him in anger as she approached him. "The fact that we have to work with you is bad enough," She poked at him, jabbing her finger at his chest before putting her palm over her heart. "but if you're deliberately withholding information then it will ruin both your plans and mine."

With a firm glare, he reminded her. "You're pushing your boundaries."

She reached for her sword and was about to withdraw. But she breathed in and at last composed herself. "Can you at least give me a name?"

Hazel silently contemplated the matter.

Hmm… Athena doesn't know about the existence of magic. But her thirst for knowledge and wisdom is insatiable. If memory serves me Adam knows about magic but has not said anything thanks to Cinder. Even if she were to challenge me, I could face her, but doing so would cause nothing but problems.

"Well I'm waiting."

At this, he relented. "Her name… is Rosa Vernal. That's who the Keyholder was ten years ago, but I doubt your army will be better at finding her than we are."

At the prospect of this challenge, she grinned. "We'll see about that."

From there, Athena lifted herself up and flew out of the door.

All the while, Coriander Spice was shown in his quarters. The human chef was shown on his bed, the brown sleeves of his pajama shirt barely seen underneath the red-brown sheets covering him. Coriander was sleeping on his side, his eyes firmly closed.

Nearby his bed were a few items, including a Scroll, a hand-dial timer, and a hands free speaker.

At that moment, his Scroll rang. A specialized screen appeared, showing the speaker already active, and an automated voice spoke; "Incoming call; The Boss. Answer or decline?"

Sleepily, he answered, "Answer."

A moment later, he heard a familiar voice; "Hello?"

"Yes, Master Wungeng?"

Wungeng's voice came through. "I have a request for tomorrow's breakfast; I want you to make crab cake eggs benedict, and be sure to add some caramelized onion for garnish."

He groaned, "Yes Sir, I'll prepare your special breakfast. But did you have to call me at this late hour?"

"It's not that late, it's only 10:30pm."

"Well it feels late to me. But I will prepare your request tomorrow. If that is all, I'd like to go back to sleep."

"I suppose I have one more request; prepare a tiramisu cake tomorrow for dessert."

"I hear you loud and clear." Coriander yawned. "Goodnight Master Wungeng."

With this, the phone call ended.

Crap, I need to get eggs for tomorrow. And perhaps other items. That means I'll have to wake up early.

At least he's paying me well. 240 Lien per day for twelve hours- 9am to 9pm, plus $100 for any additional dishes prepared outside my normal hours. And most chefs don't even get much in the way of pay.

I know most people would call me notorious if they saw where I am now, but that matters little. Humans are the true notorious species, and even if I'm as bad as they would say, I know I'm better than those who rejected me, abandoned me, and threw me under the bus. With good fortune, I should be able to go back to Vacuo with my master, and spend the rest of my days employed under his direction. Yes, I would like that.

Soon he drifted back into slumber.