"This is a terrible idea," Jacen said when they finally arrived at the place Qrow indicated.
Of all the bars in Vale, didn't it have to be the same one where he unofficially met Roman Torchwick?
Then, of course, there was the big mess Yang left the establishment in after fighting Junior and his goons.
"Junior's a tough customer, but if you're able to pay, you'll be on his good side," Qrow said.
"The last time I was here, I had to shoot a beam on top of one of Junior's twin assassins," Jacen reminded him.
"Just stick with me, and you won't have a problem," Qrow said.
Jacen was still uncertain, but eventually followed Qrow in.
No sooner did they enter, the music stopped, and Jacen felt an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu.
Junior's bouncers glared at both of them.
"Wow, they really hate you," Qrow said offhandedly.
"They're looking at you too," Jacen whispered.
"What's everyone standing around for?" Junior's voice rang throughout the main floor.
"Get back to work."
Everyone eventually returned to their duties, placing drink orders on bar tables or cleaning empty tables.
Junior emerged from the back of the bar and straightened his tie.
He glared at Jacen, "You'd better be able actually to pay this time," he said.
"Oh, relax, Junior," Qrow said, tossing a bunch of lien at him.
"I'm covering him tonight."
Junior had his nearby henchmen gather the lien before placing a hand on Jacen's shoulder.
"There'd better not be any more trouble coming from you," Junior warned.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot last time," Jacen said, trying to be sincere.
"Consider this an apology for our first chaotic meeting from Jacen Arkos,"
Jacen gave Junior a generous stack of lien.
Junior looked at him, confused, "How'd you get this much?" He asked.
"I have a secret benefactor," Jacen said, then raised a calming hand.
"It's not him."
Jacen didn't need to say who as Junior sweated a bit, but the fact Jacen said he wasn't associated with Roman seemed to be a relief.
"Just don't ask for that Core ale you mentioned the first time," Junior said in a businessman-like tone.
"Death Ace," Jacen said.
"One part Death Stalker Fire Whiskey and one part King's Ace."
Junior looked surprised at the choice, but complied.
"Didn't take you for a hard drinker," Qrow said after they sat at the bar.
"I've had my share of strong drinks in my day," Jacen said.
"Well, in that case," Qrow said, grinning.
"Junior, through in fifty shots of Vacuo Venom."
If Jacen didn't find the name Death Stalker Fire Whiskey pleasant, he definitely didn't like the sound of that either.
Soon, the drinks were presented, and between Jacen's drink topped with the twenty-five shots he'd had of the Vacuo Venom, even Jacen began to feel slightly drunk.
Qrow seemed to have an indestructible liver because he'd ordered more drinks than Jacen himself and was noticeably worse than Yang during her binges.
"So, I have to ask," Qrow asked in a slurred voice.
"Who do you think is prettier? Yang or your medical teammate?"
Jacen practically choked with the question being asked.
"I'm sorry?" Jacen asked.
"You heard me," Qrow aimed a finger at Jacen.
It wasn't like Jacen hadn't been with women before during his time as a Jedi.
Every bar, club, or tavern investigation in which he accompanied his master was filled with alluring twilek females of various colors, the Lethans were especially attractive.
There were Falleen and Zeltron women who used their sex appeal, not to mention their powerful pheromones.
Even a few human females attempted to win his and his master's attention.
Daro often joked that Jacen was a magnet for dangerous women, if any encounter he'd had with Asajj Ventress or Aurra Sing was any indication.
Both Yang and Rouge could go from being very nice to absolutely terrifying.
Though Jacen felt it wasn't right to bring any romantic elements into his relationship with Yang or Rouge.
He definitely had a platonic love for both, but it was when it became romantic that things could get very uncomfortable.
"I say that both of them are equally beautiful," Jacen said.
Qrow laughed, "Well, well, who knew you were a two-timing womanizer," he said.
Jacen blew out his breath and took another drink.
Jacen felt that despite Junior's business-like domineering, he had unease.
Junior's aura seemed to be a beacon of anxiety practically.
"Is there anything wrong?" Jacen asked.
Junior looked at him with some annoyance, "Just focus on your drink and don't ask any more questions," he said rather sharply.
Whatever happened during the under-the-table meeting he was having with Roman clearly didn't end well.
It likely had to do with the botched robbery which Ruby and subsequently Jacen thwarted.
Roman must have sent Junior an unpleasant message for lending him a group of half-wits whom a little girl in a red hood beat.
Other crime bosses would have had Junior discreetly killed brutally.
The Hutts, Black Sun, and the Pykes could get very creative in dealing with those who failed or double-crossed them.
Despite Jacen's half-drunk state, he was sure that something was set up for him.
"Oh wow," Qrow's voice said.
"Look at that," he said, pointing at a relatively short waitress with black hair done up in twin tails, green eyes, and attire not unlike what Junior's other people wore, except for the relatively short skirt.
Jacen showed Qrow a sidelong glance, "You're way too drunk," he said.
Qrow shushed him, "I'm simply admiring artwork from a safe distance," he said.
The waitress suddenly turned, showing a rather cute look, then winked and blew a kiss to him.
"That one's mine, kid," Qrow said, attempting to catch it but fell to the floor in a drunk stupor.
"Dank farrik, I'm jealous," Jacen said sarcastically.
For some reason, Jacen couldn't take his eyes off the waitress who was actually walking toward him.
It wasn't because he was attracted to her, either.
She walked with a steady gate as though she were about to lead off on a dance.
Now she stopped, looked at the unconscious Qrow, and then looked at Jacen with concern.
"I think you were so cute you killed him," Jacen said humorously.
He wasn't sure, but he thought the girl showed a rather unpleasant grin at that implication, but then it resumed its pretty aspect.
Jacen couldn't help but notice that the bar had suddenly emptied except for himself, Qrow, Junior, and this girl.
The girl had gotten closer to him, and Jacen couldn't help but notice her eyes.
They were green at first, but when she opened them again, it showed a strange form of heterochromia, with her right eye being brown and her left eye being pink.
When she closed and opened her eyes again, they were both green again.
Jacen knew now that the bad feeling he'd been having wasn't the result of drunkenness.
Either he had been drugged, or he was about to be discreetly killed, and they were just waiting for Qrow to get overly drunk.
Jacen decided to play the part of the slightly inebriated hostage if only to find out who was arranging this, though he had a pretty good idea who it was.
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to lend me a shoulder?" Jacen asked.
The waitress rolled her eyes but allowed him to wrap his arm around her neck, though due to her size, Jacen practically felt like his legs were dragging on the floor.
The waitress, or such as she appeared to be, was unusually strong, with an athletic build indicating acrobatic feats.
Jacen was eventually dragged to a booth in the back of the establishment, and when the door opened, he heard a lighter being flicked open and a cigar being lit.
"Welcome back, Mr. Horne, or should I call you, Jedi?" The voice of Roman Torchwick said when he entered.
The booth was large and luxurious, likely reserved for important people or, instead, for secret meetings in a more discreet location.
Two both sides of Roman were the two Malachite sisters, one of which was staring daggers at him.
Melanie, if he wasn't mistaken, was the one he'd crashed the beam down upon when Yang's back was turned.
Roman indicated the seat in front of him, "Please, have a seat," he said, nodding toward the waitress to drop him into the chair.
As Jacen got into the seat, he turned only to see a parasol with a sharp blade pointed at him.
The waitress now had long hair with pink on the left side and brown on the right.
She had the same heterochromia and wore a white coat with pink upon the sleeve cuffs, she wore a pair of black gloves, a black form-fitting body suit covering her midsection, which was tucked into a pair of black pants with a belt around her waist, complete with a pair of boots that went above her knees.
"Allow me to introduce my partner Neopolitan, or as I prefer to call her, Neo," Roman said as though this was a casual conversation.
"She's not really one for words, but she's the embodiment of actions speaking louder."
Despite the circumstances, Jacen maintained a calm curiosity about Roman's intentions with this elaborate setup.
"Is this where I die?" Jacen asked.
Roman looked shocked that Jacen would even suggest such a thing, "Oh no, no, if I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead now," he nodded for Neo to take her seat, where she placed both hands on the curved hook of her parasol.
"What exactly is this about?" Jacen inquired.
"Is this regarding what happened during your robbery of that dust shop?"
A light came into Roman's eye, "Ah, and how is Little Red?" He asked.
"Better," Jacen answered.
"However, this isn't about Little Red," Roman said.
"Not when there's something more interesting buzzing around lately, particularly out in the mountain regions outside of Vale a few nights ago."
Jacen suddenly understood this, "You mean when the Black Citadel blew up?" He asked trying to play the casual conversationalist.
Roman shook his head, "Don't play dumb, it doesn't suit someone or something like you," he admonished.
Well, Jacen decided to own up to the fact that he'd been responsible for that particular event. Infamous places always had a forbidden intrigue for underworld interests and the Black Citadel had been just such a place. Jacen probably should have known that rumors of the citadel's destruction would cause ripples of all sorts.
Roman gave Jacen an applause, "It's been one of the hottest topics circling around the underworld lately," he said.
"So that was your handy work?" he asked
"It was simply a matter of setting up explosives in the right locations to trigger chain reactions," Jacen answered.
"Impressive," Roman said, clapping his hands in applause.
"Though, an interesting word has reached my ears lately, namely, that you're something known as a Jedi."
Jacen supposed it was inevitable that someone like Roman Torchwick would eventually be up to speed on things not even government officials knew.
That or Roman had people inside the White Fang feeding him information.
"I'm sure you weren't crazy enough to have any informants go digging around the place after I destroyed it," Jacen said.
Roman let some disappointment cross his face, "Ah yes, I'm afraid there wasn't much left, but there was this," he said.
He tossed up a pair of swords that were all too familiar to Jacen. They were the cortosis blades that psychopath Gin used.
"I've had the best analysts go over this thing and they found a type of material that even I've never seen before," Roman said.
"Perhaps you could provide clarity on what this is."
This particular conversation was bound to have repercussions once Roman knew the qualities of cortosis, but he highly doubted that there were any mines on Remnant that held veins of the material.
"That's because that blade is made with cortosis fibers," Jacen said.
Roman's eyes went from Jacen to the blades then back up with intrigue in his eyes, "I've done several jobs where Dust was the object yet I haven't ever come across such a thing," Roman said.
"I'd heard there was something new in Atlas, but the few resources I have haven't given me insight."
That particular news made Jacen nervous. So far everything he'd uncovered led to the conclusion that a Separatist had setup an operation somewhere in Atlas. If they'd discovered a mine which held veins of cortosis instead of raw dust, Jacen knew that something big was coming. Inwardly, he wondered just what exactly Jacques Schnee was getting out of this arrangement with the Separatist in charge of the project.
"You really don't want to go digging into that," Jacen advised.
Roman raised an eyebrow for theatrical effect, "Seems like you have an idea as to what's going on," he said.
"If there's any inherent value to something that's worth the trouble of Atlas having a project so under wraps even my own connections can't get to it, I want it."
"Do you have any ideas as to who the project leader is?" Jacen asked hoping Roman might give him insight into whoever was in charge of delivering battle droids.
Roman's next words dashed that hope quickly.
"Actually, I was hoping you might know," Roman said.
"Obviously, I have eyes and ears everywhere possible, but even the White Fang is a challenge for me to send in my own guys without them getting their heads taken off."
"Trust me when I tell you, this isn't something you want to dig around in," Jacen said.
"As a Jedi, there are things I can and cannot do following my principles, but if the person who gave them the droids is a Separatist, I can tell you from personal experience that you'll be the one swindled."
Roman adopted an amused expression, "Separatist, I take it this is from wherever you came from?" He asked.
Jacen simply nodded, he wasn't sure that he could make Roman stop digging into the problem. If Roman got his hands on those kinds of weapons, the White Fang wasn't going to be the only ones armed with weaponry that can counter Jacen's lightsaber and that would definitely draw the Empire here.
"The Separatists plundered entire worlds for their resources," Jacen said.
"With the war leaving them with little resources after it ended, I can tell you they'd be hoarding whatever resources they could get their hands on."
"I said I want whatever this stuff is," Roman said.
"The fact you've been avoiding telling me about the value of this cortosis tells me that it's probably even more valuable than dust could ever be."
That wasn't an exaggeration, if cortosis was discovered on Remnant it would definitely mark an Industrial Revolution to incorporate cortosis into military grade weaponry, armor, and plating for aircraft.
Jacen decided to change things so that Roman had something more interesting to observe, if only to distract Roman from the potential market for cortosis.
Jacen discreetly moved his fingers, breathing a directed suggestion to the Malachite sisters, "Sleep," he whispered, and both of them suddenly fell into the seats on either side and were dead asleep.
Roman was impressed, "See, secrecy, cunning, I'm truly beginning to warm up to you despite your association with Little Red," he said.
Roman was a dangerous individual, yet, for a reason Jacen couldn't explain, he felt compelled to talk Roman out of the idea of seeking anyone who might know about what was going on in Atlas, if only to prevent him from seeing what the Empire did to people they regarded as enemies or scum.
"Aren't you curious about what else I can do?" Jacen asked.
"I can do more than just sense the trajectory of slugs or blaster bolts, lift heavy objects without touching them, recall or push objects, and engage in precognitive combat."
Roman's eyes widened in surprise, "I'm listening," he said.
"Would it surprise you to know that due to our precognition, Jedi are barred from gambling houses and casinos?"
Ah, that caught his interest, Jacen thought.
"I assume you'd have a hefty advantage over the average gambler," Roman inquired.
Jacen nodded, "If the casinos weren't wise to how they identify Jedi in disguise, a Jedi could win an entire fortune on a hundred worlds in a large winning streak," he said.
"Mind you, if you kill me or sell me off to someone, you end up losing one of the last Jedi," Jacen added.
Roman looked at him through an arched eyebrow, "The last one, you say?" Roman asked.
"If I die, there's nothing anyone in Remnant could do if the one who gave the White Fang the droids turns out to be a Separatist or worse," Jacen warned.
"You say they'd try stealing from me," Roman said.
"That, or-," Jacen looked at Neo.
"They might plug your partner into a machine turning her into something less than human," he added.
Jacen remembered reading the report on Anakin's mission to Skako Minor which led to the discovery that the ARC Trooper Echo was alive, but had been plugged into a machine that Wat Tambor was using to plan out the Separatist battle of Anaxes.
He hadn't met Echo after the rescue, but from the report, Echo had been left more machine than a person with various implants and an interface arm.
Returning to the present, Jacen sensed that the notion of seeing Neo as something less than human was unpleasant. In fact, it seemed like a thought was surfacing from back when Roman was a kid.
Jacen saw an old farmstead in the snow, a wooden sign barely hanging on rusted chains to an overhead post read "Brunswick Farms."
He saw Roman, no, Remus Brunswick, scared out of his mind as he approached the bed of an emaciated girl about his own age.
Avantine, was all Jacen got from it before Roman buried the memory.
"How exactly is it that you're the last of these Jedi warriors?" Roman asked.
"Surely there had to have been a lot of you."
"There were," Jacen said.
"Though, even the Jedi aren't infallible."
Roman seemed to contemplate something before he spoke again, "Why waste your talents on some do-gooder job like being a huntsman?" He asked.
"Think of what we might be able to do together."
Roman stood up and placed his hand on Jacen's shoulder, "You'll want for nothing ever, I'll even split whatever we make as I often share with Neo," he said.
Somehow, Jacen felt that Neo would rather stab him in the neck than share the same spot with him.
"I have something of a reputation to uphold," Jacen said.
Roman shot him a warning glance, "Careful, kid, this is a once-in-a-lifetime offer, and once it's gone, it's gone forever," he said, tapping his cane on the floor.
"What exactly did you do to Junior's men?" Jacen asked.
"Ah, well Junior needed to make openings for better guys, unfortunately, the others are spending time in a cell, or at least they were when I last checked," Roman's voice suddenly became sinister.
"I made sure to send at least one of his men back, Neo even made sure he was wrapped up nicely."
Jacen caught a sidelong glance of Neo, flashing a rather nasty grin.
"Here, I thought you were a gentleman," Jacen said.
"Oh, but I am," Roman said.
"It's just that if I don't make a point, then no one takes me seriously, then all the respect I've garnered over the years would evaporate."
"Avantine would be ashamed," Jacen said but immediately regretted it as Neo used her parasol to strangle him while Roman had the tip of his cane aimed at Jacen's face.
"How the hell do you know that name?" Roman's voice was threatening and filled with resonant anger.
"If you lie to me, Junior will have his guys cleaning your brains for a week."
"I saw something in your mind when I described how the Separatist would leave Neo looking less than human," Jacen said despite Neo strangling him.
"What gave you permission to go looking inside my head?" Roman asked angrily.
Jacen felt that he had a few more seconds before the solution he'd been stalling for occurred.
As he and Roman talked, Jacen sensed Qrow was slowly returning to consciousness.
He just had to wait a few seconds longer.
Though he did feel somewhat regretful for peaking into Roman's mind.
"Didn't you're mom and dad ever teach you it was rude to intrude on someone's thoughts?" Roman said as he twirled his cane and struck Jacen to the floor with it.
Jacen balanced himself on his arms and legs.
The subject of Jacen's parents seemed to be cropping up frequently.
"Can't say, as I never knew either of them," Jacen said.
"I'm afraid you've just ruined your chances," Roman said with some regret.
Jacen heard Neo scraping her parasol blade across the floor, and when she tried to bring it down on him, Jacen reached out with the Force to freeze Neo's motion.
"Times up," Jacen said and ducked just as Qrow's blade swept toward Roman, who blocked it with his cane, though he couldn't avoid Qrow's incoming punch to Roman's face.
"Damn, that was a bit longer than I liked," Qrow said as though he just woke up.
Jacen hurled Neo backward, then activated his lightsaber, "Took you long enough," he said.
Rather than fall, Neo flipped backward until she landed elegantly on the far table, giving a smug bow.
"I'll get her if you get Roman," Jacen said.
Roman was getting up to his feet, cracking his neck, "I'm just gonna have to make sure you don't get back up this time," he said.
Qrow's voice became arctic when he answered, "I already have a score to settle with you, Torchwick," he said.
"This isn't gonna be your lucky day."
In a flash of motion, Qrow's blade clashed with Roman's cane, and Jacen focused on Neo.
Roman needed to blow off steam after the kid dug into his head.
Qrow was every bit as dangerous as his associates said.
Despite Roman's efforts, everything seemed to be going wrong.
Every time he tried working through Qrow's defenses, something would always stop him from following through, either he'd nearly trip on an empty glass, or something else got in the way.
He even attempted to shoot his cane at him, but the blast practically took his own foot off.
Roman had enough time to see Qrow showing a slight grin just before a fist filled his vision, sending him backward.
"If my coat gets dirty, I'm gonna make you pay for it?" Roman said, aiming his cane and firing.
His vision was filled with smoke, and he hoped to find Qrow lying on the floor, but he heard only Qrow's voice.
"Where you're going, you won't have to worry about what clothes you wear," he said.
Roman tried to gauge just where Qrow's voice came from, only to duck as the blade of his weapon came at him in a downward arch, which sent his hat sprawling onto the floor.
"That was very rude," Roman said through gritted teeth.
He'd worked very hard to make himself his own unique fashion statement, and now Qrow had just knocked off his signature hat.
"So is aiming that cannon of yours at a kid intending to blow her away," Qrow said.
Suddenly, Roman understood, "So this is about Little Red, is it?" He asked.
Qrow didn't answer, in fact, it seemed like he actually vanished then Roman suddenly felt a knee striking him in the stomach.
"You're smart, you figure it out," Qrow said flatly.
Roman doubled over and raised his head, only to hear the sound of a flourish of movement from Jacen's weapon as he clashed with Neo.
From previous experience, Jacen knew not to underestimate opponents by judging based on appearance, but even so, he wasn't prepared as much as he should have been for what the acrobatic Neo was bringing against him.
She practically danced out of reach of his strikes or used her parasol as a sword or as a shield.
The fact Jacen's lightsaber couldn't cut through that indicated that whatever Neo's parasol was made of, it was lightsaber-resistant.
At least it wasn't laced with cortosis and he made a mental note to collect the two blades in the back afterward.
In addition to her acrobatics, she was also swift, nearly getting through his defense with only Jacen's swift transition from Ataru to Soresu saving his neck.
Yet even this wasn't the strangest thing about her.
The few times Jacen landed a punch or a kick on her, her form shattered like glass, and he barely had time to get out of the way before her blade came down on him.
Between her shapeshifting and the glass shattering, Jacen concluded that whatever Neo's semblance was, it was among one of the most unique he'd ever seen so far.
"Look, I'm sorry about the less than human bit," Jacen said.
"Why don't I just get you a drink, and we can part as friends?"
Neo apparently didn't like Jacen's banter and tried to gouge out one of his eyes with her parasol blade.
Only a backward flip prevented him from losing that eye.
Rouge would be frantic, and Yang would want to hunt down whoever it was that had taken his eye.
"Dank farrik, I really thought we had a connection," Jacen said.
Neo was getting irritated with Jacen's banter, which only worked in his favor as it meant Neo was getting less precise.
Off to his side, he heard Qrow and Roman fighting, sounded like Roman was getting everything he deserved for attacking Ruby.
Yet, Jacen felt that it wasn't wise to be close to Qrow right now.
The Force seemed confused within the vicinity of Qrow, as though nothing went the way anyone wanted.
Jacen had just touched the barest penumbra of that where things got dangerous.
Neo had kicked up a half-full bottle, then kicked it into Jacen's face, then she struck the floor with her blade, and flames swept across the floor.
Jacen used the Force to stop the advance of the approaching flames then actually managed to land a kick, which sent Neo into a backflip, where she fell rather unceremoniously.
"Might want to put ice on that," Jacen said with a slight smirk.
Neo, in turn looked at him with a malicious grin, and Jacen only realized that the hook of her parasol was currently attached to his lower leg.
"Dank farrik," he had time to say just as Neo pulled hard, and Jacen landed on the floor.
Neo picked herself up and started twirling her parasol as though she were casually strolling through the park.
The smug look on her face told him exactly how much she was enjoying herself.
"Must be frustrating having everyone look down on you," Jacen said.
Neo's smug look turned to a sneer as she grabbed the hook of her parasol then pulled out a thin blade.
"Ah, coming right to the point," Jacen said.
Neo had enough, but just as she was about to bring the blade down through Jacen's neck, Jacen called upon the Force to hurl Neo into the back of the bar.
Neo felt the impact even through her aura as the shelves shattered and she fell to the floor.
She quickly picked herself up and glared at the cocky Jedi.
She'd already wanted to kill him beforehand, but now she really wanted to kill him.
"Shall we continue this dance?" He asked.
He actually winked.
Usually, she enjoyed fighting opponents with a similar skill to herself, but this was getting annoying.
She barely got prepared to leap over when she felt something like an iron vice around her, pinning her arms to her sides, and she was lifted into the air only to be within a few inches from the activated blade.
"If you surrender now, I might be willing to show mercy," he said.
Looking at Jacen's hand, Neo realized what he was doing.
Whatever that strange power he used was, he used it to pin her arms to her side like a tight rope around her.
If that was how it was going to be.
Neo clicked her heels, and a hidden blade emerged from her left boot.
Then with an upper-arched kick, it made contact, though it missed her intended target, it left a crescent-shaped cut on his cheek which seemed to be enough to break his hold.
"That was a dirty trick," he said.
Neo simply shrugged.
In a fight to the death, anything goes.
It was clear to Neo that despite Jacen's abilities, he wasn't willing to kill her.
Neo almost admired those who followed such aspirations.
Yet a sobering thought occurred to her about what Jacen might do if he wasn't so morally grounded.
She'd tell Roman they needed to get more information regarding what they can or can't do.
Speaking of Roman, she noticed that he was a mess.
Blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth and nose, also his face was bruised.
"Neo," Roman said.
"We're leaving."
Neo wasted no time in getting to Roman's side.
Jacen followed close, and Qrow shouted for him not to come closer.
Then Roman fired his cane at both of them, and with a bow, she used her semblance, and they were gone.
Jacen clutched at the arm, which had taken some of the damage despite throwing up a Force shield.
"You alright, kid?" Qrow asked from behind him.
Jacen looked at his arm, it was slightly burned, only superficially, though the cut on his cheek was still bleeding.
It showed that his aura must have shattered during his fight, or Roman's cane quickly depleted one's aura if they were hit by it.
All for the best, he diverted one of Roman's blasts as it was headed toward Ruby.
"I've had worse," Jacen said while Qrow produced a bandage wrap and placed it on his arm.
"Consider yourself lucky that you weren't blown to pieces," Qrow said as he applied the wrapping.
Jacen laughed, "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck," he said.
"Well, you're mostly right on that," Qrow said with some level of melancholy.
A curious inquiry entered his mind.
"I can't help but notice, as you fight, there's a kind of, air of misfortune that radiates off you," Jacen said.
"I'm assuming that's your semblance?"
Qrow looked around to see if anyone was nearby before he spoke, "Yeah, I guess you could call me your bad luck charm," he said.
"When my semblance activates my enemies are struck with misfortune."
That explained why Roman had difficulty finding any advantage over Qrow, not to mention it answered what exactly that odd presence he'd sensed was.
Though he was on the bear fringes of Qrow's semblance's proximity, the Force warned him against getting closer.
The feeling of misfortune only increased with the area Qrow was being the variable core.
"It's a double-edged semblance, isn't it?" Jacen asked.
"It affects your allies as well as enemies whenever you're fighting."
He saw Qrow nodding though solemnly, "Most people I've fought beside haven't been as fortunate," he said.
Jacen could sense a deep sorrow when Qrow mentioned that.
He wondered if it had something to do with how Summer Rose died.
Jacen dismissed the thought of asking as it was undoubtedly a deep wound from which Qrow hadn't recovered.
Suddenly, Jacen felt a cold irony set in.
Qrow was drinking himself sick over the death of Summer, Taiyang had locked himself up emotionally, and Yang's own lifestyle was an answer to what she perceived as abandonment.
Had Jacen not ended up in Remnant, he'd undoubtedly be trying to drown himself in every bar, tavern, or saloon while losing his mind in a fog of narcotic death sticks.
How many other Jedi were probably drinking themselves to death right now?
He hadn't heard what happened to Obi-wan Kenobi after he'd sent the warning message, and he wasn't even sure where Yoda had gone if, in fact, he still lived.
How many other horrors were now free to do what they wanted with impunity now that the Jedi were gone?
Jacen turned to look at a rather livid Junior.
"I want you gone," Junior said.
"Get out, and this time stay out."
Jacen couldn't help but feel bad for Junior's position.
It wasn't necessarily his fault that his establishment, which was supposed to be reputable, ended up attracting the wrong attention.
Jacen looked at the disarray, then closed his eyes, then with a wave of his hand, he called upon the Force to restore Junior's establishment to a semblance of order.
He didn't need to see that Qrow and Junior were looking at the spectacle taking place as the tables were restored, the shelves reassembled with even their contents held into their vessels.
When Jacen opened his eyes, the bar was practically as good as new.
"I apologize that your establishment attracts the wrong crowd," Jacen told a still-stunned Junior with a hint of sympathy.
"If nothing else, I'd like it if it didn't look like a bomb went off."
Junior gave a nervous cough with Jacen's comparison.
Yang practically blew up the place because Junior made the mistake of grabbing a fist full of her hair.
Junior quickly recomposed himself, "I appreciate your courtesy," he said.
"You've done a good service, and I'll make sure to repay it."
Jacen appreciated the gesture, "If I need anything, I'll call in on that favor," he said.
"I'll also ensure your establishment doesn't get broken or smashed whenever someone unsavory comes in."
Junior seemed to appreciate this and even tossed him a bottle of Death Stalker Fire Whiskey.
"That one's on the house, just try not to go through that at once, it's the kind that should be savored rather than drained as though it was Fiskare mead," Junior said.
Jacen lowered his head respectfully then followed Qrow outside.
"You'd better let me have that kid," Qrow said once they were outside.
"Beacon students aren't allowed to bring alcohol on campus."
Technically, it made sense, and Jacen gave the bottle to Qrow, "You heard what he said," Jacen said.
"Relax, kid," Qrow said.
"I'm a master of drink."
Jacen laughed slightly, then grew thoughtful.
Inwardly, when it came time to call upon Junior for that favor, he wondered just what he would ask of Junior.
END