Hey everyone, this chapter took me a bit to write, but it's double the word count as my usual chapters, so I hope you enjoy it! Also, my uploads for Rotten Punks In City Z will be uploaded every Thursday starting next week, so there's something else to look forward to as well!

Cheers, Searoar.

"I-I'm sorry, but what are you sorry for?" Summer asked with wide trembling eyes and quivering lips.

Hawkins sighed.

"Perhaps it was due to my stirred emotions of anger and dread," he said slowly, "but I allowed my heart to make a decision that lacked the council of my mind. For that, I apologize."

"O-Oh..." Summer's shoulders hunched.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Hawkins deadpanned.

"H-Hey!" The red reaper pouted. "I'm just not used to using so many fancy words, okay?"

The magician paid his friend's antics no mind and returned to the task at hand. He needed his sleep, but leaving Summer in a downtrodden state did not sit well with him. Though he didn't really want to admit this if he were being honest. Nonetheless, if he could remove some of the emotional baggage on his person, he'd gladly do so.

"The reason for me departing to Vacuo on my own is due to the fact that you and our other teammates are in no position to aid me."

"W-What do you mean that we're in no position to help you?" Summer jabbed a finger at her chest and then at her holstered weapons. "I'm all warmed up, and there's no Grimm in that sandy kingdom that would give us a problem if we worked together!"

"Yes, but what if our enemies were people instead of mindless and savage beasts?" Hawkins countered. "Most notably, your former teammate."

"R-Raven? What about her?"

Hawkins' visage stiffened. "She's the whole reason that I'm out here. She kidnapped my son, remember?"

"I know that!" Summer growled. "And I know that you're going to have to fight her-"

"But what if I have to kill her to save my son?" Hawkins cut in.

His subtlety as heavy as an anvil, the red reaper's mouth moved but no words came out.

"That's what I thought." Hawkins continued. His tone merciless, he began to list off the reasons why Summer's matchup against Raven would be poor.

"You're the more emotional of the two, your mentality as a professional huntress is to serve your fellow man, and unlike Ms. Branwen, you haven't lived in a kingdom where people kill each other for the simple goal of survival."

His rant done with, Hawkins frowned as Summer had broken eye contact and had opted to stare at the tips of her black boots. By the way, her body shivered, Hawkins could tell she was crying, and his suspicions were later confirmed by soft sniffles.

"It's not fair..." She managed to mutter under her breath.

"What isn't fair?" Hawkins sighed.

Summer stiffened, apparently, she assumed that her partner hadn't heard her. Forced to lift her head, the sight of the red reaper's teary visage brought an ache to the blonde's stoic heart.

"Why do you have to be so selfish and selfless at the same time? You don't want me to get hurt, yet here you are putting yourself in a position where you'll have to fight... Aren't you aware that I'm worried sick about you?"

"There's no need to worry, the chances of me defeating Ms. Branwen stand at-"

"I'm not talking about just now or when you left!" Summer yelled with her eyes shut.

Her outburst caused Hawkins' eyes to widen a fraction.

When Summer lifted her head, her breath hitched as she tried to compose herself.

"I'm not that stupid, Hawkins... I can tell when something is bothering my friends. Even if you're good enough to hide your emotions from everyone else, I take my time in studying your behavior and it's obvious to me that whenever I'm around... you seem sad..."

"Everyone shares that opinion, and it's not just when I'm around you-"

"So it's true then! You are sad when you're around me!" Summer's tone grew so fierce that she snarled out those words.

"That's not-" Hawkins tried to cut in but was promptly ignored.

"But... you show a different kind of gloomy face when you're with me. It's not the annoying expression you show when Tai gives a bad joke, or when Qrow's gone and said something insulting without meaning it..."

"I'm not sad because of you..." Hawkins grumbled, but it proved to be the wrong thing to say in his current predicament.

Summer's expression hardened and her eyes glowed a fierce silver amidst her salty tears. Her teeth clenched on her bottom lip, she bit so hard that a dribble of blood had seeped out.

Her cheeks red in fury, Summer let loose her bottled emotions and held nothing back.

"Stop it! Stop lying to me! I know that you blame me and the others for Jaune's kidnapping, and I'm tired of you pushing me off like I don't exist!"

The magician leaned back, and almost dropped his scroll. The volume of Summer's frustration was louder than her outcry when she'd first spotted Raven on Patch.

"But you're still keeping secrets from me! You're still distancing yourself from me! And you refuse to tell me what's wrong!"

Summer slammed her boots against the ground and stood ramrod straight. Her furious visage inches from her scroll, she snarled so loud that the surrounding birds had begun to flee from their nests.

"Do you have any idea how much it hurt me when you didn't show up at my wedding?!"

Hawkins winced and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"So will you stop being the stupid, rude, and gloomy man that you always are?!" Summer yelled through raspy breaths.

"BECAUSE I'M SICK AND TIRED OF YOU BEING SUCH A HORRIBLE DISAPPOINTMENT!"

The second the words left her mouth, the receiver on both scrolls grew deathly silent. Neither the red reaper nor the magician uttered a single sound, but when Summer realized the severity of her actions, she blinked fervently to make sure Hawkins hadn't ended their call.

He hadn't, but from the expression he showed, perhaps it would have been best to end the conversation then and there.

His stoic visage firm as stone, it was softened by the salty pools beneath his eyes that had lost all fire in their crimson complexion. His ruffled collar drenched, Hawkins inhaled deeply through his nose then gave a long ominous sigh.

"I didn't attend your wedding, because if I had..." He sighed again. "I wouldn't have been able to accept the outcome of my destined future..."

He moved his hand toward the end call button on his scroll.

"W-Wait, Hawkins!" Summer pleaded through gasps of choked air. "I-I didn't mean it! Any of it! Please, just tell me where you are and we can sort this out in person! I-I'll have my thoughts gathered by then!"

Hawkins shook his head slowly, the action sending a chill as cold as frostbite down Summer's spine.

"I don't blame you for thinking so poorly of me. As I've done little to earn your appreciation in these past few years." He said strongly despite the weakness he portrayed. "But my decisions are mine to make and the decision for me to travel to Vacuo by myself is a decision only I can make."

Hawkins blinked away his tears, but the fire in his crimson eyes refused to emerge.

"This is my final request for the little respect that you have left for me. Do not interfere in this personal mission of mine, for the chances of you succumbing to your emotions in the heat of the moment stand at 76%. And I cannot allow someone of such volatile probability to hinder Jaune's chances of survival."

He brushed away a few stray hairs so he could stare his partner in the eye.

"I'm sorry, Summer. For being a useless friend."

With that, the call was ended and Hawkins slumped back onto his bed. A sudden sharp pain in his palm, the magician blinked and glanced at his hand. A piece of glass had pierced his pale skin, and the source of the fragment came from the crushed sides of his scroll.

Had he been gripping his scroll so tightly that he shattered it?

The lights on the advanced trinket blinked between blue and black, the scroll eventually gave up and shut down never to be reopened until repairs had been made.

Hawkins groaned. Not only had he lost a vital key for communication, but his last conversation on the device had also left him with a heavy heart that deprived him of any motivation. Yet, he still had a son he needed to care for, and tossed the broken scroll aside.

"I might be a horrible disappointment..." He said after a difficult swallow. "But I can at least save my son and bring him home..."

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but as his lids came down, the nightmares of all his past failures had begun to resurface. He clenched his bedsheets and rolled on either side of his pillow, but none of these actions lessened the aches in his heart.

An abrupt knock from his room door garnered his attention.

"Hawkins?" The name on the other side belonged to Tyrion. He continued to speak from the hallway and made no effort to open the door.

"I know it's late, but I couldn't sleep so I decided to stroll around the regular slums from my schooling days. I have good news! I happened to run into some drunk thugs who were causing a ruckus at a local bar, and I managed to pry some useful information about some traffickers who were headed to the northern parts of the kingdom."

Hawkins could practically see the thousand-watt smile on Tyrion's face as he spoke from the other side of the door.

"So, how about it? Why don't we head on over to the rougher edges of the city and indulge in some detective work? It's probably better than wasting the night away lost in our own thoughts isn't it?"

"You just want to beat up some arrogant blokes don't you?" Hawkins grumbled.

Tyrion cackled. "Haha, you know me too well, magician!"

Hawkins looked at his broken scroll on the floor and sighed.

"Very well, just let me get dressed and gather my belongings..." The blonde curled a brow at the nightstand beside his bed.

He was sure he'd left the new saber Tyrion had gifted him on the nightstand, so how did he misplace it?

"Hawkins? Did you fall asleep?" His friend called from the hallway. "If you're looking for your sword, I found it."

The magician pulled on his cloak and fastened the laces on his boots. When he opened the door, he was shocked to see a smiling Tyrion with his new saber in hand.

"How?"

Tyrion shrugged. "I guess this is the curse that the guy in Shade Academy's armory warned me about. Who would've imagined that a sword was able to move all on its own?"

"It moved?" Hawkins asked.

"I didn't believe it when I saw it either, at first I assumed that I was drinking too much coffee, but then I remembered that I don't drink the stuff!" Tyrion laughed as he gave back Hawkins' sword. Though the scorpion Faunus hesitated when he noticed that his cohort's eyes were wet.

"Are you alright? You look gloomier than usual."

"It's nothing that I want to discuss," Hawkins grunted and led the way out of the hotel but made sure to check in with the desk lady to ensure their rooms stayed open for them after tonight.

/-/

The cages rattled over the sand as the clear night sky was lit by the shattered moon and twinkling stars. Her head pounding, a young girl with mint-green hair felt a chill pass over her head that roused her.

"Owie... where am I?"

"You're in a wagon, dear." Came a calm and deep feminine voice.

The girl jumped to her feet and then wiped the drool off her mouth. Her red eyes filled with fear, she walked back until she bumped into the cold iron bars of her cage.

"There's no need for alarm, I won't hurt you." The woman said. Her slanted eyes a deep navy blue, she brushed a few strands of her short, black hair behind her left ear and smiled.

"Do you have a name?" She continued. "You can call me madame Shyarly, it's nice to meet you."

The dark-skinned girl shook her head. She didn't have anything to say, or rather she didn't want to speak. She'd learned the hard way that you had to keep a low profile to survive, and this stranger was playing the common kind facade to lure her into a trap.

The cage hit a bump in the road and the girl lost her balance. She would have landed face-first against the metal floor, but Shyarly came to her aid and caught her.

Shyarly was one of the biggest people, or to be precise a Faunus, that the girl had ever seen before. Though despite her size, she showed no aggression and instead patted the girl's hair with a firm but gentle hand.

Despite her instincts telling her not to, the girl decided to take comfort in this action and melted into Shyarly's embrace.

"M-My name is... Emerald." The girl finally said after a long while of silence.

"That's a wonderful name," Shyarly replied and continued to comfort the child.

"It's the name my old tribe gave me... before they were all killed." Emerald shivered and gripped Shyarly's sleeves.

"Easy now," Shyarly cooed. She hated to see an innocent girl in a horrible predicament such as a trafficking trade, but all the shark Faunus could offer was the small warmth of her embrace.

Emerald's stomach growled.

"Did you have any parents before you were kidnapped?" Shyarly asked calmly.

"N-No, I've been an orphan since birth, but the tribe I was in was nice to me and gave me a place to stay. But I don't think any of them are around anymore..." The flash of clanking chains ringing in her mind and ears, Emerald nuzzled deeper into Shyarly's lap and stifled a sob.

"Shhh, no need to trouble yourself with those heavy thoughts. But if you need to let it all out, go ahead and speak to your heart's content. I won't judge, sweetie." Shyarly said and began to hum a tune.

"W-We're going to be sold, aren't we?" Emerald winced. "The tribe used to tell me and the other kids to never stray too far from the group, otherwise bad men would lead us away and put us in chains."

Shyarly could not deny the truth and nodded.

"B-But you're big!" Emerald choked. "Y-You could fight off these bad men and run away so fast that they'd never be able to catch you!"

The light in Shyarly's eyes faded a tad and her headpats slowed. She glanced at her legs, which were an enigma to her body, and rarely performed the actions that she desired. She used to be a mermaid with a tail after all, but the moment she woke up one night and found herself in the world of Remnant, her tail had been lost and replaced by a pair of long slender legs.

"I can't run," Shyarly said softly, "but if there is a chance that I can help you escape, I will do so without hesitation. So if the opportunity ever arises, don't stop on my account, understand?"

"O-Okay." Emerald replied and closed her eyes. The time she would spend with Madame Shyarly would not last, however, as the truck that drove the steel wagons and cages screeched to a stop and the lights of several buildings came into view.

"Alright, get your asses out of that cage before I get angry." Said the brute with his metal baton.

Two henchmen beside him, they moved forward and unlocked the doors that belonged to Shyarly and Emerald's cage, but before either of them could do anything, they were met with the muzzles of two dust rifles and rude sneers.

"Don't try anything, Faunus, we've been given orders to shoot if you so much as try to run." Said the henchmen on the right.

"So be reasonable and don't give us any trouble. We're planning to drink away the night after all, and I don't want to waste my precious ammunition on some fat lady." Grunted the henchmen on the left.

Shyarly held Emerald close to her and crawled to the door. She didn't trust these thugs for a second, but she knew she couldn't afford to take action and risk getting killed. For if she did rile these unruly men, there wouldn't be anyone to defend Emerald.

"M-Madame Shyarly!" Emerald cried as she was ripped from the shark Faunus' arms.

Shyarly bit her lip and tried to reach out to the child, but her extended hand was smacked away by the brute's metal baton. Sore and throbbing, Shyarly's wrist had been bruised and a small blotch of purple had appeared on the back of her palm.

"Boss," grunted one of the henchmen, "you shouldn't rough up the goods. How do you expect us to hide a broken hand?"

The man with the baton snarled, but he obliged and shoved Shyarly onto the road and yelled at his thugs to bring her to the selected building on a map he pulled out.

"And make sure to get the Faunus in a dress, we need her to look her best if we're gonna get enough lien for the good quality booze in the market."

Shyarly said nothing as she was dragged onto the street and ushered into another vehicle. Emerald had been grouped in with the other kids from moments prior, but it was obvious she didn't want to be separated from her new friend.

"Be strong, Emerald," Shyarly muttered under her breath as she kept her head high. She needed to keep her wits about her, because in some shape or form, Shyarly was going to free those kids if it was the last thing she did.

/-/

"Just this way, gentleman! We've got a grand selection tonight and I assure you that you won't be disappointed!" Greeted a slim man with short brown hair and tanned skin. He wore a simple white shirt and blue jeans, but by the baton at his waist and the scars on his arms, he was no stranger to violence.

Hawkins said nothing but nodded as he and Tyrion were led into the large building before them. Sneaking into the establishment was easy enough, all they had to do was pay a high fee and that was that.

Led into a hall with a wooden stage upfront, there were plenty of people on the main floor, all of them with a numbered paddle in their hands. Hawkins' was numbered 29.

"Welcome my fellow guests! It is I, Mr. Ink, and I hope you've all had a splendid day; because I can say for certain that I'm going to give you a wonderful night!" Called a poshly dressed gentleman with shaggy green hair and a pale skin from the center of the stage.

Claps erupted from the crowd with a couple of whistles from the lesser fine members of the group. Hawkins remained silent, which earned him a few curious stares from his peers, but he paid them no mind.

"So, without further ado, let's begin with the younger of today's bountiful haul!" Mr. Ink rambled on and waved to a few henchmen on the sidelines to bring in a row of children.

All the kids looked scared to the bone with each one dressed in plain shirts of either green or brown with matching pants.

"It really makes you think doesn't it?" Tyrion whispered with a twisted smile. "That while the Grimm are known as savage beasts, they look rather humane when compared to these disgusting pigs that surround us, eh?"

"The Grimm don't discriminate on who they kill, that's for sure." The magician replied quietly.

"So, are you going to play the pig's game and buy one of these orphans? Or are you going to simply wait it out until the end of the event?"

"I'm here for my son," Hawkins said sternly, "there's a 34% chance that he could be here and he is my only goal."

Tyrion shrugged and veered his attention back to the stage. A handful of kids had been picked already and were being ushered off stage, but one among them seemed keen on staying put.

Dark skin, disheveled mint-colored hair, and red eyes, the poor girl tried her best to stay where she stood and even a kick from Mr. Ink wasn't enough to get her moving.

"Hah, that's Mr. Lug, isn't it? He's going to have a good night with that green-haired girl he bought, isn't he? That is if he can get her off the damn stage." Chuckled a few men behind Hawkins.

"Well!" Mr. Ink clapped his hands and hopped back into position. He decided to leave the girl where she was and deal with her later but moved on to business as he was working on a tight schedule tonight.

"I apologize for that short disturbance, but now we can continue with my famous best for last!"

"Yeah! Bring out the women!" Cheered a group of rough-looking men to Hawkins' right.

The undesirable lot were not disappointed, as a few immediately went after the early beauties of the event and raised their paddles with the promise of large sums of lien. However, they grew disappointed as the last beauty was brought out. Her elegance and size unlike any of those before her, she had pale grayish skin with slanted blue eyes and short black hair that was combed into a top bun. A purple dress with diamond-shaped holes that exposed her large cleavage and slim stomach, the crowd of men erupted in cheers and demands for a resell after realizing what they'd missed out on.

However, ever-insightful of the smaller details, Hawkins could tell by the defiant gaze of the woman that she was not happy in the slightest. She stood awkwardly as if trying to keep her balance, and she clenched her left hand and released it in unsteady beats.

Her eyes remained harsh, that is until her navy-blue pupils landed on a stoic set of crimson. Her strong gaze wavered, and a torrent of desperation wracked her mind as she tried to recall the ominous man's origins. She knew she'd seen the man somewhere before...

The lady's eyes widened and a sparkle gleamed in her navy-blue eyes as memories of an old news article flashed into view.

Hawkins curled a brow. The lady hadn't broken their awkward stare, and she seemed determined to not let the magician out of her sights. When Mr. Ink raised a hand for any potential buyers, Hawkins felt the strange urge to comply and offer a substantial amount of lien.

However, the magician needn't raise his paddle, as the voice of the woman on display called out to him in a loud shout.

"H-Hawkins! Magician of the north blue!" She blurted.

The man in question blinked, as did his brown-haired companion who raised a brow of his own. The two men shared a look.

"You know that lady, Hawkins?" Tyrion asked with a tilted head.

"I don't recognize her." The blonde hummed.

"Well, she definitely seems to know who you are," Tyrion muttered before he was shoved aside by a large burly man with gray streaks in his long black hair.

"This is an outrage! The burly man yelled and marched over to Hawkins. "Mr. Ink, I thought you said there were no pre-sales tonight! Yet this blonde bloke seems to already have his name in that woman's mouth!"

"Hawkins!" The woman screamed again as henchmen scrambled onto the stage to shut her up.

"There are no pre-sales here my good friend!" Mr. Ink was quick to gather his bearings and ease the situation. "Please pay this fine lady no mind and raise your paddles, I have never broken my word to this day, and I'm not going to start anytime soon!"

"H-Hawkins!" The woman yelled as the henchmen were soon upon her. They grabbed her by the wrists, but she flailed wildly, and given her enormous size she threw off the weaker thugs like they were flies. "M-Member of the worst generation! P-Please buy me and that green-haired child!"

Her muffled outcries reaching her target, Hawkins was then swarmed by angry men who were envious of his potential buy. Of course, Hawkins had no intention of wasting his lien or getting involved in shady deals, but fortune had forced his hand as one of the louts decided to try and clock him over the head.

Hawkins reacted and shifted to the side. His gloved hand curled into a fist, it met with his attacker's nose who was sent barreling back into a group of smug bystanders.

"Alright, I came here all the way from Atlas, and I'm not going home empty-handed!" The burly man charged at Hawkins, but met a similar fate as the man before him and was promptly sent flying into the nearest wall.

"Oi!" Mr. Ink hollered. "There'll be no violence here lads unless I call for it! Now get yourselves back in line before I sick all my boys on ya!"

The burly man and those behind him snarled, but as Mr. Ink's henchmen approached the angry group, they receded. But not soon enough that Tyrion didn't get a chance to have some fun.

With a jump and a twirl, the scorpion Faunus landed on the burly man's shoulders then delivered a swift punch to his nose. There was a loud crack, followed by blood and tears as the burly man staggered to the ground while clutching his broken nose.

"And that should take care of you.~" Tyrion cackled and returned to his position at Hawkins' side.

"Please buy me, Hawkins! I can help you!" The woman cried out again. Desperate tears flooding the shoddy makeup on her pale visage, she was given a kick to the stomach by Mr. Ink for her outburst.

Paddles were raised with cries of large sums of lien for the last woman on display, but after a deep breath, Hawkins spoke in a tone that silenced all the disgusting pigs in the building.

"Three million lien, for all the slaves in this establishment!"

His mouths of his peers clamped shut at the magician's claim, and even Mr. Ink was rendered speechless at such an amount.

"T-Three million?" The head of the slave shop gawked.

Hawkins raised his paddle and spoke plainly. "Three million." Tyrion clapped while laughing his ass off.

"Wait, he can't buy our merchandise after we've bought them!" Yelled a man who snagged his purchase by their wrist.

"Now hold on everyone," Mr. Ink wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "This is a rare occurrence indeed. If I am to partake in this potential trade, I must ask that you prove that you can afford-"

Mr. Ink didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Hawkins dodged the incoming punch of an angry slave buyer.

"These auctions only happen every three months, if my boss doesn't get some new employees, he's gonna reduce me to grunt work!"

"Three million lien, and that's final!" Hawkins roared and grabbed his attacker by the throat then thrust him to the floor. The results of the exchange left a small crater on the floor, and many of the surrounding aggressors grew cautious and gave the magician some space.

"Do I have any complaints or potential competitors?" Mr. Ink called with raised hands and a wide smile.

No one made a move, as their hefty sums of lien could not compete with such a high bounty. One by one, the kids were the first to be ushered into Hawkins' area, and the women and men quickly followed. However, the last and most beautiful of the bunch remained on stage with the young girl with green hair who was embracing the former with tears in her eyes.

Hawkins moved through the crowd, his stoic and intimidating gaze on full blast with a cackling Tyrion behind him, he climbed the stage's stairs and now stood above his two purchases.

"What is your name?" Hawkins demanded in a stern tone.

"M-Madame Shyarly," the woman answered, "and this is Emerald."

The child said nothing, opting to bury her head in Madame Shyarly's chest as she cried her heart out.

"I don't have the patience or time for this. Can you walk?" Hawkins deadpanned.

He was disappointed and grateful that Jaune hadn't been a part of this evening's slave trade, but at least he had a few names for Ms. Rumpole that could get the huntress to take action against these legal activities. Maybe it would get him some favor points in the future as well. However, this meant that Hawkins was back to square one and could only depend on the 67% chance that his son was in the northern wildlands of Vacuo. Which of course did not bode well with him.

"Emerald can," Shyarly said, but her expression grew sad. "B-But I can't..."

Hawkins crossed his arms. Though he was annoyed, he had enough sympathy to understand what needed to be done, but there was a certain Mr. Ink that he had to deal with first.

"Well then, now that this is all settled, how about we go to the back room where we can finalize this deal?" Mr. Ink said with an award-winning smirk. A smirk that was promptly wiped off his face by Tyrion's fast heel as he performed a stupendous jump kick.

"Ms. Rumpole and a handful of her best hunters and huntresses are already on their way. They'll have these criminals rounded up by the end of tonight, so why not leave these two here? They're probably better off with the second in command of Shade Academy anyway." Tyrion said after a graceful landing.

Hawkins glanced at a pile of unconscious and burbling men that were littered across the room.

"You didn't kill anyone, did you? We can't afford any blood on our hands yet because we're still in Vacuan territory."

"Of course not!" Tyrion raised his hands in false defense. "I simply broke a few bones to ensure they couldn't escape!"

"W-Wait a minute!" Mr. Ink coughed from his position on the floor. "Y-You two are hunters?!"

"That's right! We are the ever-faithful servants of our one true goddess as we hunt down the pathetic fools who cater to the disgusting whims of the evil souls of the rich!" Tyrion laughed as he knocked Mr. Ink's lights out with a kick to the side of the head.

Hawkins returned his attention to Madame Shyarly and the girl in her arms. While he could easily leave her with Ms. Rumpole... the fact that the grayish-skinned woman knew of the magician's past did not sit well with him and he would need some time to sort her out so that she wouldn't go mouthing off about his past. A fact that the magician was keen on delving into as Madame Shyarly didn't appear to be all that Mr. Ink had described.

Most namely, the shark fin that poked out of Madame Shyarly's back that gave Hawkins the impression that she was a Faunus. Yet if that were the case, then how did she know he was a pirate from the north blue?

His curiosities would have to be put on hold, however, as he did not want to describe every little detail to Ms. Rumpole about tonight's crazy events when she arrived.

So, with a sigh, Hawkins uncrossed his arms and kneeled. He asked for Emerald to separate herself from Madame Shyarly, and the girl reluctantly obliged when the magician assured her that he would not harm either of them.

"H-Hawkins, what are you doing?" Madame Shyarly flinched back as Hawkins approached with his arms splayed on his sides.

"We have many things that need to be discussed. I will not keep you long and will turn you over to Ms. Rumpole who is a teacher at Shade Academy. There, the huntress will care for your needs and offer you a proper course of action." Hawkins hummed as he slinked his arms under Madame Shyarly's knees and back.

"H-Hold on a minute!" Madame Shyrarly didn't get the chance to retort as she was hoisted into the air in a perfect and comfortable bridal style.

Though she was slightly taller than Hawkins as she stood at seven feet, the difference wasn't enough to cause the magician too much trouble as he slowly walked off the stage and then out of the building.

Her head pressed against the magician's muscular chest, the weariness of her miserable adventures had finally caught up to her, and Madame Shyarly decided that she'd been saved by a decent enough man.

"Well, I didn't think you were such a nice guy," Tyrion whispered as Madame Shyarly fell asleep in the blonde man's arms.

"What?" Hawkins grunted.

"You could've just bought this pretty lady and the little girl who's walking behind us, but you decided to free all the slaves with your lien." Tyrion shrugged. "I'm just saying it was a generous thing to do."

"Hmph..." The magician grumbled as he veered his crimson stare at the woman in his arms. She was very pretty, dare he say that she rivaled Ms. Goodwitch, Ms. Yuki, and Ms. Rose in the beautiful department. Plus, she probably was the largest woman he knew at this point, as she was even taller than he if only by a couple of inches.

Hawkins curled a brow as Madame Shyralry had nuzzled her head deeper into his chest and subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I guess you'll have to order a new family-sized room at the hotel, huh?" Tyrion skipped beside his friend under the moonlight as they detoured onto a quiet side road.

The roars of police cars and hunters in the near distance, Hawkins saw an angry Ms. Rumpole atop one of the speeding cars as she led the charge into the temporary auction building.

"We'll need to get Madame Shyarly and Emerald some proper clothes for when they wake up," Hawkins said.

"All of the stores are closed though, maybe Madame Shyarly can wear one of your cloaks?" Tyrion suggested.

"She still needs something to cover her lower torso, as my cloaks don't have any buttons or strings on them that you can tie together."

"And why is that a problem?" His cohort tilted his head curiously.

Hawkins gestured to Madame Shyarly's long legs and large bust.

"Ah, gotcha, you want this pretty lady all gussied up, right?" Tyrion snapped his fingers and pointed to another long street with many shops. "There's a clothing store over there that I used to visit quite frequently. I'm sure we can find a lovely outfit that suits your preferences!"

"I'm not trying to bed this woman or start a relationship with her." Hawkins deadpanned.

Tyrion rolled his eyes. "If only you took some time to stop staring at those cards of yours so you could see the big picture. Oh well, this just makes things more fun for me! Let's get these two fine girls to the hotel then shall we? We can rob a place and leave some lien behind as closing hours for the regular shops start at 10:00 pm."

"...fine, but let's just get something that fits Madame Shyarly alright?"

"Ah, I forgot to ask, do you prefer to see a woman's bare legs or stockings?" Tyrion asked.

"Sheer tights if possible..." Hawkins mentally slapped himself for getting caught in his cohort's antics.

"Very well! Sheer black stockings for Madame Shyarly it is! and maybe a skirt so you can see her gorgeous legs whenever you want, hm?"

Hawkins rolled his eyes. "Jaune, wherever you are, I promise to find you soon... so that I don't have to endure your honorary uncle's presence any longer..."

As Tyrion and Hawkins returned to their hotel, the magician ordered a larger room immediately and was in luck that there was still one left. Unfortunately, it was on the twelfth floor which was the highest in the building.

His crimson eyes scanning the long staircase, the magician cursed his luck and began the tiring journey to the twelfth floor. Tyrion had chosen to lend a hand at least and gave Emerald a piggyback which the girl seemed to enjoy. Or at least she did in the beginning as Emerald was quick to yelp in fear when her carrier decided to do some somersaults and twirls on his ascent.

"This is going to be a long night..." Hawkins groaned as the memories of his many failures as a pirate and father flashed to the forefront of his mind. He did well to ignore them, but Madame Shyarly's words from the auction had ignited those awful nightmares that Hawkins had tried so hard to bury and move on from.

Still, the next day would come, and when Hawkins awoke, he would find himself in a most uncommon situation...