Doctor who made me emotional again,,, i love that ending…spice up your life indeed

Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5


A few days had gone by since the quartet had come up with their plan. On paper, it was simple. They would take advantage of the Hana Guild's less than stellar relationship with the Hearth and fabricate an elaborate scheme for the latter organization to assassinate Raddock. Not only that, they would expose that evidence and deliver it to the office of the Hearth's "target." In execution, it was interesting, to say the least. Before they could plant the forged contract, courtesy of Cricket and Skywdd surprisingly good craftsmanship, they needed to find the Hearth's base. Or at least one of them. Since this was Kuchinashi, at least half of the businesses here were fronts for one gang or another. It took a bit of searching around and asking the right people, but when you came across as a prospective client willing to pay any amount, the answers came pretty quickly.

There was just one...not even a problem really, just an oddity, when it came to where the group was going.

"Of all the fronts an assassin guild could have gone with...they decided on freelance landscaping?" Cinder groaned as she and Tuck snuck their way into the building's main office. The security on patrol tonight had no idea they were there.

"It allowed them to actually clear some areas and travel around." Tuck said. "No one would ever suspect the landscapers, right?"

"No, but this just seems stupid, even for a front!" Cinder frowned.

"Oh what, like you could have a better front?"

"Literally anything is better! A club, a bar, a restaurant!"

"See, at that point, it's cliche and people kinda expect it," Tuck countered as he kept on guard while Cinder looked around in the main office. Somewhere in here is where they'd store the contracts they were working on. They just needed to slip in their forgery and get out before anyone found them.

Cinder gazed about, hoping to see anything interesting. They were assassins, weren't they? They could have some kind of clue for their newer recruits.

Cinder's gaze was drawn to a certain painting, a landscape image of a city. Her eyes narrowed as she approached it.

"That would be too obvious, but it's so well hidden..." the Maiden muttered to herself.

"What's up with the picture?" Tuck inquired.

"Do you have any idea what happened in Dealey Plaza?"

"Dealey Plaza, that...that sounds familiar. Why?"

"It's the specific place where one of the biggest political assassins in American history took place," Cinder started running her fingers along the sides of the picture frame. It was a long shot, but if these guys stuck with their theme-

Cinder suddenly felt something raised, a bump hidden in the frame, and she grinned. She pressed down on it, and suddenly, a door opened next to the photo.

"There we go," Cinder smirked in satisfaction.

Inside was every single contract that came to the Hearth, at least from this office anyway. The twice-disgraced Maiden quickly thumbed through the organized folders, just to see who else had a hit out on them. After taking a few pictures of some stand out names to add some legitimacy to the ruse, she grabbed a spare folder from the desk, placed the forgery on the open inside and took a few more snapshots. Once the "evidence" was secured, Cinder quickly closed it up and slipped the folder among the rest, closing the hidden door again.

"And they'll never even know we were here," the Maiden smirked to herself.

"All according to the plan." Tuck grinned. "And here I was saying that I wouldn't be breaking into places like this ever again a few months ago."

"Let's go." Cinder said.

With that, the two quietly left the Hearth's front business and, unfortunately, the easy part of the plan behind them. Now came the hard part: making sure the Hana Guild got a hold of the photographs and making them believe it. Sure, the photos would help the case, but they couldn't just pay off some random person from the street to deliver them. And Cinder knew that. So as the other three were figuring out how to get the photos into Raddock's hands, she came up with the easiest solution.

"I'll hand them to him personally," Cinder chimed in.

"...it was nice knowing you, Amber." Skywdd grimaced.

"That is SERIOUSLY the worst move you can do," Cricket said. "I've SEEN Vulkanus' dealings with Raddock. He always had to get a new suit after."

"It's reckless, sure...and he'll know that," Cinder explained, "If I walk in there with those photos, right into the lion's den, that sends a message. 'You might be hunting me, but I respect you enough to help you out.'"

"Yeah and then he cuts off your head, and serves it to Lemon on a silver platter. Could even be literal with that," Cricket crossed her arms. "I doubt you can do much against him. The dude is a beast."

"I don't need to fight him, just impress him. Am I right in guessing he's the kind of guy who would enjoy underground fight clubs?"

"I mean yeah? But again, we are talking about a guy who will gladly pull a Bane and leave you to the wolves here," Tuck said.

"Plus you're better at evasive maneuvers than fighting. Like, yeah, when you fight you're pretty good, but when you take his semblance into account-" Skywdd explained.

"It's inconsequential." Cinder frowned. "I can handle this."

The three gave each other a worried look. At this point, they'd come to learn that Amber could be, well a "little" stubborn would be underselling it.

"If you're sure about this..." Skywdd began.

"I am," Cinder finished, "Now, where do you think we can find him?"

"I have an idea." Tuck said, raising his hand. "Did you see those training grounds when we were passing through the woods?"

"I did. Why?" Cinder asked, already liking where this was going.


Later that night, those training grounds were abuzz with activity. Sure there was a bounty out, but like hell if that was gonna get in the way. The Hana Guild owned these training grounds as one of their fight clubs. People crowded around to watch the fights of the night. Sometimes it was human fighters in the ring, allowed only one weapon, three vials of Dust, and their Semblance, just to make it interesting. Other times it was humans pitted against various Grimm that had been captured from the wilderness. And Grimm were always a crowd favorite, given how rare it is to keep one of the beasts contained for any extended period of time.

And Raddock always made it a point to come and watch the fights. Call it a passtime of his, especially since he had a tendency to throw himself in the ring. The bounty was on his mind. sure, but that wasn't gonna distract him from the show.

One of the causes for the struggle is that if humans feel threatened about their lives or livelihoods, they choose to protect it and fight for it. Normally, humans desire peace, but when they feel threatened about their lives or the lives of their people, they choose to fight for it. When you win an argument, your brain is flooded with multiple chemicals, including adrenaline and dopamine, which make you feel wonderful, dominating, and even invincible. It's a sensation that any of us would like to have. This stimulus gives you a sense of self. However, it is not your true self.

With Raddock, fighting was his only identity.

For the most part, the Hana's boss was actually pretty entertained by the fights. Everyone who drew a weapon that night was a pro. Maybe not at the same level as a Hunter but definitely a challenge. He would hate to be interrupted during the sho-

"Uh, boss?" one of his underlings spoke up.

Raddock sighed, "What?"

"Um...we might have a problem."

"Then deal with it. This fight's just getting good."

"Well uh, about that. She's walking into the pit. We tried to stop her but-"

"She?" Raddocked interrupted and turned to look at the goon, his attention piqued.

"It's...the girl. One of the brats Lemon wants captured."

"She has the guts to come here?" Raddock asked.

"Apparently."

"Well, if she survives Thunderdome, I'll hear her out." Raddock smirked behind his mask.

"Wait, seriously?" the thug asked, genuinely surprised.

"She is walking into a literal lion's den while tossing some of the boys aside. I kinda respect the resolve there. Tell the crew we got a change of plans. Bring up the main event now."

Cinder walked through a corridor, making her way to the main arena, unscathed from previous battles. The corridor itself was now littered with the broken weapons and bruised bodies of Hana guild members that were stupid enough to try and stop arena consisted of a massive dome, dug deep into the ground so no Grimm could escape and take its pent up frustrations on the crowd watching from above. And the surrounding trees and bramble made it to where, if a human fighter did want to escape, then they might end up lost in the wilderness. With only three vials of Dust and a single weapon, they wouldn't exactly be long for the world if a wild Grimm found them.

The current fight was actually still ongoing, one gladiator slamming into the other with a maul enhanced with ice Dust. He was about to finish off his opponent when a bell rang, calling the match's end. The winning fighter looked up to Raddock, the boss of the arena simply nodding. The fighter, as annoyed as he was, accepted it and made his way off the field. Cinder rolled her eyes and took center stage once the gate into the arena rose up.

"Ya know, most people would say you're crazy for coming here," Raddock called down into the arena, silencing the jeers of the crowd, "Crazy or suicidal. Which is it, kid?"

Cinder didn't reply, she just stared up at the crime boss with a fiery determination. Raddock recognized that look and smirked.

"Okay, she's both. Bring in the big guns!" the masked crime lord ordered.

"B-but sir, we JUST got that in!" One of the underlings said. Raddock swiftly grabbed them by the throat, not even bothering to look at them.

"I said. Big. Guns," the Hana boss growled. The thug simply nodded before he was let go.

"Do me a favor, before you die and I drag your carcass to Lemon, whatever's left of it anyway, give these people a show," Raddock swept his arm wide, motioning to the crowd, "They paid good money for tonight!"

"I'm sure they did." Cinder scoffed, as a hatch on the opposite side of the arena opened and she could hear something breathing, no, croaking from the pitch black darkness. Cinder cringed at the mere thought of her opponent, knowing the Grimm she'd have to fight.

She's always hated frogs.

From the hatch, a Grimm frog the size of a small car hopped out, thudding against the ground when it landed. Its jet black body was slick with some kind of mucus, broken up at the knees and elbows by bone armor. The head was also covered in the white plates, protecting the three red eyes that soon locked onto Cinder. It was a Long Tongue, a rather high-ranking monster that made its home in Mistral's swamplands. It croaked as it prepared to hop again. The Maiden rolled her eyes and took a combat ready stance with her stolen spear. The Grimm leapt at her, aiming to simply crush her under its form, but the Maiden was able to roll out of the way, lashing out with the spear and cutting the beast's back leg.

Cinder raced forward, slashing numerous times with her spear, aiming for the frog's critical points. Cinder aimed to stab the throat, but the frog's throat suddenly expanded, making Cinder's spear nearly bounce off of the skin.

One of the most annoying Grimm to deal with.

Taking advantage of the opening, the Long Tongue opened its maw and shot out its namesake to wrap around the stolen spear. The Maiden actually gave a good struggle against the beast, before it decided to simply throw her into a wall.

Cinder grunted, as the arena lit up with cheers for the beast. Raddock was less than pleased with the display, almost bored really. For a woman who managed to not only find him and power her way through his men, he was expecting a bit more. What she was doing down in the arena was just a pathetic display.

Cinder got back to her feet and shook herself free of the daze. The Long Tongue croaked before lashing out with its tongue again, but Cinder simply dodged out of the way and let it slam into the wall behind her. She took the spear and jabbed it into the Grimm's tongue, black smoke rising up from the wound, pinning the appendage to the ground. The Grimm frog croaked out in pain, trying to pull itself free to no avail.

Raddock sat up a bit, appreciating the sudden and brutal move.

"Think I'm starting to like her." Raddock grinned, leaning in to watch the match a bit more closely. Cinder started to heat up the spear, scorching the tongue of the amphibian. Cinder gave a small, sadistic smirk.

The frog croaked out as the spear grew hotter and hotter, until Cinder pulled the spear free and quickly sliced through the frog's tongue. The severed portion fell to the ground and evaporated immediately. The stump of a tongue slammed back into the Grimm's mouth, smoke still leaking out through the corners of its mouth. Its eyes locked onto Cinder again, full of pain and rage. It croaked loudly before it rushed in, throwing caution to the wind. Cinder smirked and hefted the spear above her shoulder and threw it. The superheated metal impaled the frog in the center eye, forcing it to trip. The hulking Grimm skidded across the ground and stopped right in front of Cinder before turning to smoke as well.

Raddock stood up from his throne and grinned. "Alright. This lady's got my full attention." Raddock suddenly leapt down from his platform, dropping down into the arena. His followers didn't even flinch since he did this often.

Cinder simply picked up the spear from where the corpse of the Long Tongue would be before turning to him. Raddock unhooked his own weapon from the side of his belt, a rather heavy looking flail. He began to give it a few swings as the two combatants began to circle each other. Each was waiting for the other to make the first move so as not to tip their own hand.

Cinder rushed forward, once more aiming for Raddock's throat- she needed to finish him off quickly. She didn't account for Raddock's quite inhuman reaction time. Raddock suddenly grabbed her spear and pulled her forward, quickly planting his massive hand on her face.

"So many people think I'm the big, slow type. Dead idiots, every single one of 'em," the Hana's boss grinned.

Cinder had one hand let go of the spear and grip Raddock's wrist, quickly using her Semblance to try and burn him, cause him enough pain so he'd pull away and drop her. Instead, he just powered through.

"That hurts kid, not gonna lie. But you either forgot or you didn't know," Raddock said menacingly as Cinder felt his hand start to heat up.

"W-what?!" Cinder yelled as Raddock began to slowly burn her face.

"Close contact is kind of my forte." Raddock grinned behind his mask, "Mainly because my semblance allows me to copy your OWN powers."

Cinder felt a slight tinge of panic at that. What kind of Semblance let someone just do that?! Before the heat could get too intense, the Fall Maiden growled and landed a pretty damn strong punch to Raddock's gut, followed by a scratching strike from her Grimm arm. The punch made him recoil, but it was the slash that finally made him let go. The Fall Maiden used the chance to put some distance between them, while the crime boss scoffed. She'd only managed to cut his mask.

At least, he thought so. In a few seconds, he felt something drip from the slash mark. He reached a hand up and when he pulled back, he saw a small smear of blood. Instead of acting like Cinder would and lashing out, he started laughing, before outright applauding Cinder.

"New record! That's the fastest anyone's actually managed to land a hit that drew blood!" Raddock congratulated, "Didn't realize you had that."

"Had what exactly?" Cinder asked, thinking he'd figured out her secret somehow.

"Retractable claws. Wouldn't have guessed you were a Faunus," the brute scoffed.

"Faunus...riiiight," the Fall Maiden muttered to herself. It was just her paranoia speaking after all. Crisis averted there.

The brute punched his fist into his open palm. "Now that I know that you're serious, allow me to extend my humble gratitudes." Raddock rushed forward, before he clenched his fists and stretched his arms out horizontally. Cinder had no idea what this move was...but she quickly learned. Raddock began to spin violently, knocking everything behind and in front of him away. A lariat!

With little other choice, she quickly scooped up some of the sand from the arena floor in the hand with "retractable claws" and dodged out of the way. Using her Semblance, she threw the sand in front of her and watched it superheat and turn into an array of glass knives. With a snap, the weapons flew at Raddock, most of them landing their mark and stabbing him in the side of his arm and shoulder.

"Ahhaha!" Raddock guffawed as he pulled one out. "That's a pretty neat trick there."

"I have plenty more." Cinder hissed, her eyes shining with dark determination. She rushed forward, ready to claw this man's face into shreds.

"But you forgot one thing," Raddock grinned. His hands started to glow with heat before he slammed both to the ground. Mimicking Cinder's Semblance, he essentially copied Cinder's favorite trick, a blast from below that, if powered up enough, could break through or finish off most people's Aura. Cinder saw the hissing area appear just a few steps before her and the world seemed to go in slow motion. Her mind jumped back to Haven, when Yang pulled her into her own move, forcing her to reveal her "prosthetic." She was too cocky then.

History wouldn't repeat itself here. The world went back to normal speed from her perspective and she raced off to the right, making Raddock misfire. The explosive geyser fired off and provided a nice fireworks show, but that was all.

Cinder knew she had to end this now and she would. All she needed was just one move.

Cinder sent a wave of fire along the ground. Raddock was caught up in it, still recharging from his last attack. Cinder quickly formed the fire into a ring of flames that surrounded him.

"What the…?" Raddock muttered.

Cinder increased the intensity of her flames, causing the fire ring to build up into a pillar of fire. Raddock suddenly found himself suffocating and sweltering inside the pillar of fire.

The crime boss felt the air start to become thinner and thinner within the massive pillar, all of it being eaten up by the inferno. Cinder grinned as she saw the shocked reactions of the crowd. "This was Raddock," they were all thinking, "He's not gonna die to some no-name bitch!"

And they were right. After keeping the inferno going for a few more seconds, Cinder moved her arms to the side and dispelled the flames, leaving behind nothing but the smell of smoke in the air.

"I could have very well killed you." Cinder pointed out, walking over to the coughing Raddock. "And I wouldn't have cared, but I do require some assistance for a different project. Let it be known, had there been no use to you, that disgusting mask of yours would be resting on a very nice little pile of ashes right now."

Cinder knelt down. "So Will you hear me out now?"

"Aside from getting to live," Raddock coughed, "what's in it for me?"

"You're even more stubborn than I imagined," the Maiden-in-exile sighed, "Be thankful these didn't get burned up in the fight." With that, Cinder produced the photos that would seal his cooperation.

"Swear to god if these are-" Raddock snatched the photos from Cinder's hand and he went quiet. He shuffled through them before growling, "Those backstabbing bastards. They had the nerve to walk into that auction with THIS in their back pocket?! And they didn't even TRY ANYTHING?! Now they're just disrespecting me!"

Cinder smirked. "Yes, they lied to you. They lied to many people at that hall. Doesn't it fill you with rage?"

"What kind of question is that? Do I SOUND calm to you?! Cause if I do, then I would love to hear your definition of the word, lady! I'm gonna find Pyre and wring her fucking neck for this!" Raddock raged, loud enough for the entire arena to hear, "Ya hear that boys?! The Hearth, our 'good buddies,' think it's a good idea to paint a target on MY back! Is it?!"

"NO!" the entire audience shouted back. Raddock's rage was practically permeating the air here. The Grimm still stored in cages were reacting, getting more vicious and thrashing around for a chance at freedom and bloodshed. Even Cinder's Shadow Hand twitched at the sheer amount of anger radiating off of one man.

Cinder clenched her hand, and hummed. A man with this sort of rage, even the Grimm respond to it differently. Intriguing. I'll offer him a higher role, the Maiden mentally pondered.

"As a show of good faith," the Hana leader continued, "I'm callin' off the hunt for the Wave's bounty."

Cinder smirked at that. As much of a brute as he was, Raddock understood gratitude.

"Now, what'd you say your name was again?" he was addressing Cinder directly now.

"Just call me Amber." Cinder lied, walking forward. "Now, come. We have others to visit. I'm sure they'll be VERY interested in what we have to say."

"Before I go anywhere with you, I need just a bit more here. What exactly are you gunning for here? Cause it's kinda obvious you want Lemon fucking dead but, just from what I've seen, you're not just a 'kill one person' kinda lady, are you?" Raddock crossed his arms.

"I have a plan." Cinder smiled. "But I need to know I can trust you before I even reveal anything else. Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah. You do," Raddock smirked and extended a hand to Cinder. Much to her own surprise, the Fall Maiden clasped the criminal's hand and shook on it.

"Now, you said 'others.' We ain't making peace with the Hearth now, if they're on your little list. I'm finding Pyre and I'm smashing her skull against the pavement," the brute of a man said bluntly.

"I have no plans for them." Cinder agreed. "The Black Sheep need to know the truth, though. Those brothers are better at spreading the word than I am and I want word to get out fast."

"See, a few problems with that," Raddock began, "First, they hate humans. So if I show up, I'm probably getting attacked. You should be fine, but should's got pretty heavy quotes around it. The Albains are old White Fang. Used to work with the freak that started the whole Grimm mask thing. Second, you gotta convince both of them. If not, then you get nowhere. They have to agree on helping you."

"Anything else?" Cinder asked.

"They offer you anything to eat, drink, or smell, say you've got allergies. It's either poisoned or drugged, sometimes both."

"I'm very resistant to all such things." the Fall Maiden smirked. And that wasn't a bluff. Raddock just smirked at that.

"You're a FUN type of unhinged. I like that." the Hana Guild's boss said.

"Now, if that's all, let me tell my...friends the good news and I'll meet up with you again to bring our terms to the Black Sheep," Cinder turned and began walking away.

"What's with that pause?" Raddock frowned. "That's a weird place to do that."

"Ignore it."

"I don't get paid to ignore shit."

"Just...don't worry about it. If things go to plan, you'll figure it out in time," Cinder waved as she walked off.

"Whatever..." Raddock said, following Cinder out of the ring.


Cinder called Tuck on her Scroll and gave him the best news he'd heard all day. Cricket and Skywdd could be heard in the background cheering, the latter even seemingly crying in joy and relief that Amber had survived. Cricket just hugged her friend and Tuck was just in stunned silence.

And then Cinder told him that she and Raddock were heading to the Black Sheep hideout.

"One: WHO'S WITH YOU?! Second: WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Tuck yelled.

"It's the next part of the plan, there's nothing to worry about," Cinder reassured.

"What second part of the plan?! We never went that far!"

"I did. It came to me while I slept. Sometimes sparks of genius just hit me."

"But we're still following it, right!?" Tuck yelled.

"Yes. We just have some extras on board now." Cinder said.

"Extras? Oh, yeah, you mean the leader of one of the biggest gangs in the city!"

"Yes and he'll lend credence to my words. You're worrying too much, Tuck. Have faith."

"If you say so, Amber." Tuck sighed. "It's just been a bit…weird lately. After Vulkanus got arrested and we had to go on the run, being with you has been nice. You're like an older sister I never had."

Cinder paused at that.

"I just hope whatever you do works out, and we can all run away after this." Tuck said. "Maybe we can steal a plane and go check out the UK or France or Italy. That'd be nice."

Cinder stood there for a few seconds.

"Amber? You good?"

"Yeah, sorry. Was just…going over the plan again." Cinder lied.

"Alright. Don't get yourself killed out there." Tuck smirked.

"That's the plan," Cinder said, before hanging up, with a much more cocky attitude than usual. Though, this was a different type of cocky than what she usually expressed. There was always more of a menacing twist to Cinder's overconfidence. But here, now, that malicious spark wasn't there. It was strange. It was more of a friendly overconfidence, almost endearing, like Yang.

It felt weird to the Fall Maiden. Not good, not bad, just...weird.

Cinder shoved that feeling deep down in her mind. She was focused on getting back to Salem, with something to prove her worth.

Perhaps that was why Salem left her to die.

Knowing how cryptic the dark queen was, it was highly possible. Maybe this was all just a massive test, pushing Cinder's loyalty to its breaking point. She'd pass if she returned to Salem in triumph. Failure meant being discarded at best, hunted down and killed at worst.

In actuality, Salem just didn't care.


"So, going off of your reactions...where's she going?" Cricket asked, her celebratory attitude having calmed by now.

"She wants to deal with another syndicate, the Black Sheep now," Tuck sighed, "If she succeeded with Raddock, there's a bit more faith there but,"

"The Sheep? Fuuuuck," Skywwd sighed, "That means the Albains."

"Wait, you know them?" Cricket turned to the squid-Faunus.

"Sorta. Listened to 'em one time...creeped me the hell out. They were mentioning how their vision was a 'refined version of their Great Martyr's vision.'"

"Who, Sienna Khan?"

"What? No, she stepped down after this guy died, apparently."

"Oh, yeah. Train splatter guy. Vulkanus laughed about it." Cricket said. "Said he was a pain to work deals with."

"Well, yeah. He was a terrorist operating under the name of peace." Skywdd frowned.

"In other words, it's a good thing he's dead," Tuck said. The Osmosian was about to check his phone when there was a sudden knock at the door.

"On a lighter note, that's probably the DoorDash," Skywdd said, changing topics and walking over to open the door.

Skwydd opened the door, expecting some dude holding Chinese food. Instead, he was greeted by the butt of a gun slamming into his face and sending him to the ground.

"Found you."

"Skywdd!" Tuck yelled. He sent out his bandages to try and wrap up the one who hit Skywdd dead in the face, but they were suddenly cut apart.

"And this is why you really need to pay attention to who you're fighting," a familiar voice said. The Hong Kong gang looked over to see Sil walk into view from outside, "Hey, you three."

"How did you find us?" Tuck asked.

"Well, it pays to have the backing of the new rising star in crime, doesn't it? A little influence here, bribe some small-time guys as feelers there, and we've got our own little spy network. Minute you ordered that Chinese we were on to you. Once we had the number, it was easy enough to tap the lines. Mina can be very good at machines when she wants to be. Hearing you all so confident, so reassured, it was entertaining," Sil said, as he walked right in. "Nice conversation with Amber there. Going to talk to the Albains, huh? I'll send my men over."

"Oh you bastard!" Cricket yelled and jumped in, trying to land a jump-kick in Sil's face. In response, the criminal Hunter just stepped aside and let Marton deal with her. One quick swing from the man's iron club slammed into Cricket's gut and sent her flying back, slamming herself and Tuck into the back wall of the apartment.

"Huh, look at that. Two for one hit," Marton smirked.

"So, who gets to be the lucky one and collect the fourth?" Khaki asked, not taking her eyes off Skywdd. If he so much as made one wrong move, she'd pull the trigger and just end him then and there.

Tuck huffed. "Our friend just took on Raddock. I'm pretty sure she could take any one of you with ease."

"Sure," Marton rolled his eyes. "I sure as hell believe that. Now, on your feet. Don't try anything funny. Miss Lemon wants to see you."

"Khaki, knock out the seafood platter then check the room. We find those pieces they stole, Lemon's promised a bonus finder's fee," Sil said. With that, Khaki nodded and just kicked the Faunus in the face, knocking him out.

"Skywdd!" Cricket yelled, as Marton knocked her out too.

"Sleep tight, bug breath." Marton huffed, as Tuck was the last one standing. "Wrap them up or we break your legs."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Tuck smirked.

"Marton, just hit him," Mina hissed, "Cause, unless you forgot, I have webs."

"...sorry, power trip." Marton said, as he punched Tuck's lights out.

Mina walked up to the unconscious trio and quickly spun webs around them, restraining them and throwing Cricket over her shoulder. The muscle of Team SMMK hefted Tuck over his shoulder and, on the way out, grabbed Skywdd by the legs and dragged him out of the motel room. Khaki was throwing aside everything she could, looking for the artifacts that the trio stole, eventually finding the cloak and gauntlet.

"Got 'em," Khaki announced.


Cinder and Raddock stood before the Black Sheep's hideout, hidden in plain sight. A random store that anyone would've passed by without any thought.

"A...tea shop," Cinder said, unamused at the cliche.

"They're still 'monks and preachers at heart.' At least, that's what they keep telling everybody," Raddock explained.

"No one actually buys that, right?"

"Oh absolutely not."

"Then let's go for some." Cinder said, bursting into the store. A few 'patrons' shot her a strange look. She knew immediately that they were all in on it.

"Get it over with." Cinder sighed, as multiple weapons were pulled out. She simply waved her hand, unleashing a blast of heat that knocked people and tables back.

"Shoulda let me go in first if you were just gonna do that," Raddock sighed, walking past Cinder and up to the counter. The cashier had taken cover behind it, not going for a weapon or anything, they just wanted to be out of the crossfire. The poor bird Faunus' feathers were all puffed up in fear, shaking in their hiding spot. They just wanted the money for the job!

"FENNEC! CORSEC!" Raddock yelled back, wanting their attention. When a few tense moments of silence passed, the leader of the Hana Guild comically rang the service bell. Maybe that would get their attention.

"Where the fuck are they?" the towering man growled.

Cinder grabbed his hand. "Stop it. That's annoying." Cinder looked up, to see the two coming out of the back. Raddock smirked.

"But it worked."

"Sure." Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Welcome," Corsac said.

"Salutations." Fennec said.

"The Albain brothers...thought you'd be more intimidating up close," the Fall Maiden crossed her arms.

"Judging by the expression," Corsac began.

"We haven't met those expectations," Fennec finished.

"Clearly not, but then again, that's the point isn't it?" Cinder said, "Now then. Can we talk or do I need to prove myself like I did with Raddock here?"

"Let's have some tea. I can tell you've come to bargain." Corsac said, turning to get some.

"Do you prefer ginger or green tea?" Fennec asked.

"I prefer coffee, actually," Cinder said.

"Green tea it is." Fennec said.

"Fine," Cinder sighed, walking behind the counter with Raddock in tow.

"Take the rest of the day off, Teba," Corsac said to the cowering cashier.

"THANK YOU!" Teba said, running off. Fennec returned with the tea, a nice warm smile on his face.

Cinder didn't trust it. Fennec handed her a teacup and poured her a drink.

She took it, not outright refusing the drink, but she never actually took a sip.

"Quite brave of you to come here, given the manhunt for you," Corsac said.

"I know, I know. I must be insane to walk in here," Cinder finished for the Faunus, "The big guy gave me the same speech already."

"Raddock, no offense meant, measures all who come to him by strength. While that's important, especially in this town, that should not be the end-all. For us, it most certainly isn't," Fennec said.

"Strength is ALL a man can have. We live in a world dominated by higher power, and we're left defenseless. 'Made in his perfect image', they say. My perfect vision of humanity has us all born naturally strong. Having to work for strength is a death sentence, damn it!" Raddock slammed his hand on the table. "I wanna be the strongest in EVERYTHING!"

"...quite," Corsac sighed, taking a sip of his tea. Cinder raised a brow at that. Was the tea actually drugged or was this just a tactic of theirs?

"That aside, however," Fennec continued, "Strength alone does not impress us. But you would've known that before coming here, surely. Now, what is it exactly that you'd come to us for?"

"I want you to spread the word that the Hearth wants to wage war on the Hana Guild," Cinder said, producing the photos that she showed to Raddock earlier.

"As we assumed." Fennec said, after taking a look at the photos. Cinder raised an eyebrow.

"You knew?" Cinder asked.

"Always. We have men all around the world, you know." Corsac said. "Eyes in Atlas, ears in Vacuo, mouth pieces in New Vale and us in Mistral."

"Info brokers and assassins then."

"Of course. For what else could be more sought after in this kingdom than death to your rivals...or, as the street thugs say, 'dirt' on them?" Fennec said.

"Info is the scariest thing you can have on a person. There's things they don't want held over their heads, things they want to keep hidden, but we find out, no matter how hard they try. We always find out." Corsac explained. "Our strength is in words, in our minds, but that doesn't mean we aren't also skilled in combat."

"We want to know if you have that same strength in words, Miss Amber." Fennec said. "Sway us to join you."

"Sway you, hm? Alright. All it'll take is five words," Cinder said., "I'll convince you by letting you in on a secret that no one else knows?"

"A bold claim, but we're willing to entertain it. What secret do you have for us?" Corsac asked, before taking another sip of his tea.

"Amber's not my real name."

Corsac and Fennec shared a look. "Impossible. We would have-"

"No, no. Would we?" Corsac asked. The two looked perplexed but intrigued.

"Tell me. If I said my real name after you helped me reach my own goal, would that be good?" CInder said with a small grin.

The two Faunus brothers looked at each other, as if having an unheard mental debate, maybe with that renowned sibling telepathy. Not a word was shared between them, but their faces said it all. The duo turned back to "Amber" and both nodded.

"Very well then, 'Amber.' Once this partnership is done-" Corsac began.

"Oh and call off your goons. They're not taking the bounty anymore," Cinder quickly added.

"We never sent out any," Fennec said. "We were going to follow the way of the vulture."

"Wait till they're dead and pick from the corpse." Corsac grinned.

"Stop doing that." Raddock growled. "It's freaking me the fuck out."

"Then I see no reason to stop," Fennec smirked.

"Now, what exactly did you want us to spread around? The exact message you want," Corsac said.

"I want it known that the Hearth have held onto a contract to kill Vermillion Raddock, but have been biding their time. I want it known that they intend to act on that contract after the Wave's bounty has been collected," Cinder explained.

"They were gonna trick me into wearing myself down, capturing the brats and then stab me in the back. COWARDS!" Raddock yelled, slamming his hand into the table once more. The blow was strong enough to leave an impact.

"Don't do that." Fennec said.

"I want it known that Abigail Pyre, despite being united with the other syndicates, will stab anyone in the back. Money's her only loyalty," Cinder grinned, "Let the other criminals in this town think twice about going to her. Isolate her."

"We will spread your word." Corsac agreed.

"The Wave was going to regret this at some point," Fennec sighed. "Such a wasted operation."

The door to the tea shop suddenly opened, catching the attention of the four criminals. A group of well-dressed thugs walked in like they owned the place.

"Wasted operation, huh?" the lead thug said, "Figured the foxes would bolt. They're skittish creatures. But Raddock? You're more scared of some no-name bitch than Lemon?"

"First of all, I was never scared of Lemon," Raddock corrected, "Could snap her like a twig if I wanted. Second, bad idea insulting the ex-White Fang guys."

The head thug looked over and saw the looks of simmering anger from the usually calm Albain twins, but he still didn't seem impressed.

"Oh no, the animals are all upset. Maybe it's because they know it's fox season and Lemon gave me a hunting dog," the head thug grinned. He whistled and, much to the shock and horror of all the non-Wave criminals in the tea shop, two Grimm pounced through the windows and sent shattered glass scattering across the floor. Two Alpha Creeps now stared down the four, ignoring the Wave thugs.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Raddock yelled. Cinder was just as surprised, but noted something important. The Grimm sported blue eyes.

"I've never seen a Grimm with eyes like that before." Cinder said, looking at them curiously. "Especially ones that aren't interested in shredding apart everyone inside."

"Who the FUCK cares!?" Raddock yelled, as he ran over to one of them. "I'M GONNA SUPLEX THIS IDIOT THROUGH THE GROUND!"

"Sure, go ahead and try," the lead thug said, activating a pair of knuckle dusters infused with lightning Dust.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PERMISSION!" Raddock yelled, as he ducked under a claw swipe of the Creep. He grabbed its torso, and suplexed it into one of the men.

And from there, an all-out brawl began. Some of the thugs tried to take down Cinder, firing a few volleys from their submachine guns. In response, despite not being too much of a fan, the Fall Maiden picked up one of the discarded guns from the Black Sheep and fired back, nailing one Wave thug in the chest. Fennec and Corsac sighed before drawing out a pair of daggers each. The handles on the weapon shifted a bit as the blades began to glow with red and energy. The two fox twins pointed their blades at the thugs and began firing off blasts of fire and gusts of wind. The second Creep rushed in, aiming to headbutt Cinder, she quickly sidestepped the Grimm's charge and let it slam into the counter behind her.

"If Lemon survives this, she's paying for the repairs," Corsac grumbled.

"These Grimm, they must be under some sort of mind control," Fennec said, noticing the odd coordination of the beasts.

Cinder hummed. "Plausible. One of my associates did mention something about an object that allowed for such a feat."

"I'm guessing Miss Lemon is the holder of such power. She always did like being above others." Corsac frowned.

"Oh yeah, that's REAL fair!" Raddock roared as he grabbed another thug's arm and bent it at an unnatural angle, before turning his attention to the leader. The gangster smirked and slammed his knuckles together, sending sparks flying.

"Cute," the Hana leader said before charging the man.

Raddock laughed, and grabbed the weapon from the thug's broken arm- a pistol wasn't his style, but he could make it work. He began to fire wildly at the leader, breaking everything around him.

"Lousy shot." The Hana leader said, punching the pig faced bastard in the face.

"You are not good at this, are you?" Raddock asked, completely ignoring the pain from the shock that the knuckles sent into his body. In response, the Hana boss jabbed the Wave thug in the ribs once, twice, three times, making the man stagger.

"Let's see. Do you have a Semblance?" Raddock asked, stepping forward. The moment he took a step, every single vein in his body lit up and he grinned.

"I get it. Enhance your own strength with electricity." Raddock said, punching a fist into his open palm. "You have to constantly shock yourself to ACT strong, huh? Weak."

And with that, Raddock punched his face in.

The man was sent flying back into the wall with a yell of pain.

"Raddock! Collateral!" Fennec yelled.

"Oh shut up!" the Hana's boss roared back.

Cinder turned her attention to the Alpha Creep, firing a few rounds into its side and watching smoke rise up from the wounds. The Grimm growled and turned on her, snapping its jaws at her. She dodged out of the way and placed her hand on the side of the Creep's head. Her hand began to glow and, with a hissing roar, a blast of fire shot through the other side of the Creep's skull.

The Creep's eyes briefly turned red, and then black. It fell over before dissolving into nothing.

"Interesting." Corsac said, putting a hand to his chin.

"...she knows." Cinder said, starting to walk out. "Let's hope your men can spread the word quickly."

"Wonder...if they're faster...than a bullet to the brain," the lead thug coughed.

"You're still conscious? Lemme fix that," Raddock cracked his knuckles.

"Wait," Cinder chuckled, "let him talk. If he's so cocky about killing me, let him talk."

"Oh, you think I meant you? Bitch...why do you think we got sent here?"

"To capture me for the bounty." Cinder said matter of factly.

"Well yeah, but why would a bunch of low-time grunts be sent to get you...when Lemon's got a full team of Hunters on her payroll?"

"...shit." Cinder said, looking around. "They found them. Somehow that bitch and her cronies managed to find them…"

"The other three?" Raddock asked.

"Yeah..." Cinder sighed, before calmly walking up to the lead thug. She then quickly grabbed the thug by the collar, freed him from the wall and slammed him into a table.

"Where. Did. You. TAKE. THEM?" the Fall Maiden threatened, summoning up a flame in her hand and holding it mere inches away from the criminal's face.

"...fine. They're at our base." The criminal huffed, looking away. He could tell she was pissed- don't wanna piss off a crazy lady who just blasted a hole in a Grimm's head.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Cinder hissed.

"W-what?" the criminal stammered.

"The manor from the auction? You took them there? You seriously expect me to BELIEVE THAT?!"

"I didn't mean the manor! I didn't mean that!"

"Then where?!" Cinder tightened her grip on the criminal, her eye starting to glow from the anger.

"W-we have a base in one of the old off-shoots at the airship port! No one ever checks there because the official entrance was covered up by a cave in, but Lemon made a side entrance!" the thug confessed.

"Clever," Raddock admitted, "No actual law presence if you go deep enough into the mountain. Not to mention the port's security working for ya, what the big auto-turret watching the skies."

"Give me directions, and I might consider sparing your life," Cinder threatened.

The man knew it would be smarter to just give it up than get stabbed in the face or worse. This lady was terrifying.

"I-it's...it's on my Scroll. There's...there's a map so we don't get lost in there," the criminal shuddered. Cinder reached into his pocket and withdrew the thug's Scroll, handing it off to Raddock. The brute scrolled through the Wave member's files until finding the aforementioned map.

"Told the truth," the Hana leader confirmed, "So, what're you gonna do with him?"

"Well, he gave me what I wanted. I'll let him be the messenger." Cinder picked the man up. "Now run along, and tell them that I'M coming, and I will not rest and I will not stop if they are hurt."

The man shivered.

"Now go." Cinder dropped him, and the man sprinted out of there.

"The more I hang out with you, the more I'm glad I partnered up with you," Raddock chuckled.

"Change of plans," Cinder growled, "Have your men spread the word. By tomorrow morning, Lemon, Pyre, and Team SMMK will be face down in pools of their own blood, along with anyone else who stands with them."

"Of course." Corsac said, as he turned to spin a proper narrative.

"Now clean up this shop. We're trying to be respectful here." Fennec frowned, before he left.

"Sorry, but that's on you...I have a rescue mission to carry out," Cinder said, storming out of the tea shop.

"Well, you heard the lady. Good luck!" Raddock said and quickly followed.

"We should charge them at least a little for this," Fennec said.

"Maybe. Put a pin in it for now. Maybe we can catch up with her before the night ends," Corsac replied, "See how this plays out."