When the brick wall gave way to explosion, Neo's aura took only a minor hit thanks to her distance from the blast.

"Hey, what are-" Clamping her hand over Tulip's mouth, Neo wordlessly shushed her, nodding towards the others who were caught in the blast. Each of the few kids still around had been knocked away, but all were still breathing, with some even conscious. But that wasn't what Neo wanted Tulip to see.

No, what Tulip needed to notice was the way the two men who pranced in began ignoring them. On its own it wouldn't be all that weird, but the franticness at which they went about it, combined with what they'd begun shouting, told Tulip everything she needed to know.

"Where the dust did he run off to?!" One burly gentleman snarled, passing his eyes around and even over a few of the kids in a desperate bid to most likely find the one who'd given everyone the warning just before. Said boy was sitting right across from the gun toting gangster, shivering violently against the back wall and staring with wide eyes.

"Are you sure he came this way?" The second well dressed individual strolled up, albeit much less disheveled than the former. His suit appeared no different than his comrade, but the man was a few inches taller. The rougher of the two shot a dirty glare back, puffing out a hateful grimace.

"Don't you fucking doubt me! I know what I saw!" Seething with every twitch, his rash voice kept spitting his ire. "Little weasel stuffed himself into the side of the wall!"

"A hole which neither of us had seen." The calmer one, clearly possessing more self control, passed out an easy sigh. "But I suppose you did blow us into a decent sized hobble, so there's clearly some merit to your claims." Narrowing his eyes, he seemed equally perplexed by their new situation; that was good for Neo as it meant her semblance was holding up, despite being spread amongst everyone present. "Although, it is quite strange..."

"No shit!" The ruffian just couldn't control himself, could he? "Where the grimm did that little punk run off too?! I don't see a damn door!"

"Cool it you two."

A brand new voice joined the fray, and carrying with him the unmistakable appearance of prestige, player three strolled across the shattered cement. Immediately Neo zeroed in on him, taking note of how he dressed similar to his two compatriots, but lacked the tux top that each of them wore. In its place he sported a simple button-up shirt, with one button missing just below the neck and leaving his collar flared out. With the comb-back over his head, Neo could picture Roman giving him the green-light for style points.

"But boss! We-" A resounding slap accompanied the scattered man, sending him flying to the side and crashing him into the wall on the far right. Pulling his wrist back, he flexed his fingers, stretching them as the more collected underling smirked.

"Ahh~ I feel like I've been waiting for that forever." His satisfaction, though, looked to waiver. "But, sir, are you sure that was wise? Although quite the idiot, his strength and semblance are... rather useful."

"He'll live… And maybe, he'll learn why you don't go running after youngsters. We wouldn't be in this situation if he kept his head cool." Mister big-wig shot a look over to the man he'd just clobbered. "Isn't that right, Blanco?"

Blanco rolled over onto his back, heaving himself up with huffs and puffs until he was sitting on his ass again.

"One bitch slap isn't enough to do me in, not even from you, boss." Turning his head to the side, he spit out a wad of blood, wiping his lip afterwards with the back of his hand before sending out a smirk. "Still, I'd like a little warning next time." Casually, he made to stand. "I'd like to at least get a chance to put up my aura next time."

"With how heavily you were raging, I figured you'd already have it up." Came the sassy, self-absorbed reply of the cool guy. "What if the little ruffian led us into an ambush?"

"Kids like him don't have dangerous friends." Blanco seemed to believe that bluff, but Neo wasn't in any rush to correct him right now; that could come later. "Besides, you know how my semblance is always on. Even a few seconds is enough to steal a good chunk of aura."

"A fair trade for complete invulnerability, no?" For the first time as of yet, mister prim and proper didn't sound as though he were belittling Blanco. "And that strength boost; you, sir, are no easy cookie."

"You're damn right." That cocky attitude appeared contagious, as Blanco shared in it entirely. "But don't think flattering me is enough to get on my good side."

"Fris, Blanco, enough." Both men, upon hearing their leader's command, nodded. Now in total control of the situation, he spoke plainly. "Now then, you said the boy ran in here, correct?"

"Yep; right into the wall like a ghost."

"I doubt anything spectral is at play here." Fris led on with, eyeing up the place some more. "But I'm not completely adverse to the idea. With how decrepit it seems, I wouldn't be shocked if someone died here with far too many regrets; it just has that atmosphere."

His eyes wandered around, until they seemed to catch onto something. Neo, for a second, found herself confused by what he spied, and then her own eyes traced the line to where he was looking. Jay's admittedly random and pseudo-heroic dash to shove Melanie away from the site of the blast had only been partially effective, but the explosion was too powerful and they'd been split. Melanie laid a good several steps away, quiet as can be, but with her eyes widening as Fris walked over to the half-buried Jay.

Unlucky kid was knocked out cold by the shock of the boom, and now his unconscious - but still breathing - body was being picked up by the hood of his coat. Fris screwed a brow, humming before twisting around and holding his catch out.

"Lookie here; it seems it wasn't abandoned after all."

"She's not the kid I saw." Blanco stated, about as lost as anyone would expect. Walking over, the man was a bit surprised when Fris tossed Jay over, and he rushed to catch the flung body. It fumbled a little in his grasp, but Blanco managed to get a solid grip on the ragdolled Jay, looking back with a glare.

"Sheesh! Don't go throwing bodies at me without warning, dammit!"

"Oh quit your whining." Fris tsked, rolling his eyes and strolling over. "She's only a light little thing. And besides, don't you think it's a bit suspicious that she's the only one here, when you instead saw a boy run in?"

This appeared to get the gears rolling in Blanco's brain.

"You think this girl here helped him get out?"

"Honestly, I haven't the faintest clue, but we can ask her that when she wakes." Fris returned his playful look towards their boss. "Right, sir?"

"She's our only lead." Their leader's eyes narrowed, staring down at Jay with both obvious intrigue, and a little bit of suspicion. He seemed… disturbed, by something. Honestly, Neo had no idea what it could be. Still, the guy collected himself quick enough. "Raed died at the hands of the Fang before our deal was done, and worst of all, our last conversation was leaked for everyone to see."

"Sir?" Fris seemed worried. "What are you thinking?"

"If someone you knew was a known target, don't you think some form of security would be set up around them?" Fris nodded, and the man hummed before continuing; never taking his eyes off Jay. "And here, while tailing one of the kids who might know a thing or two about where a set of targeted sisters might be, we run across someone we've never seen before. To top it all off, the trail then runs cold on us. Now, I want you both to think and ask yourselves: what does this mean for us, and how does it relate to our mystery woman here?"

"Oh... Oh my..." Fris lost most of his sass, looking down at Jay with a more nervous expression. "Could it be this madam here is a guardian provided by the White Fang?" He then squinted, narrowing his eyes with clear puzzlement. "But... she seems human."

"Many faunus look human." Their boss stated, stepping away and making for the open hole, stopping to await his cronies. "But we'll get our answers later. For now, we must flee; I'm sure by now the child has reached possible reinforcements and is begging for help as we speak. All the while, two of the big four are also present for this year's Vytal Festival. All in all, the deck is stacked against us, and I'd rather we not lose everything because of one monster's foolishness."

"Right." Both men called in union, starting off.

Melanie made to dash after them, overcoming her stunned status and having realized they were taking Jay with them. Neo actually had to not only clamp her hand over the girl's mouth, but also hold her back as well. Tulip acted quickly too, joining in and helping to ring Melanie in. Their slight scuffle didn't go unnoticed though, as the acting big bad stopped and turned around; his ears surely picking up on the faint shifting of clothing. Tulip doubled her efforts in locking a vice grip around Melanie, which held the three of them perfectly still, and Neo ensured not even a breath could leave her.

Several tense seconds passed before the man carrying Jay, Blanco, turned and addressed his stopped leader.

"Something wrong, boss?"

The boss just continued to glare into their hobble, and Neo started to sweat. Spreading her semblance out over everyone was taking its toll, and she was beginning to feel the heat. But she remained devout and strong, and after a few more seconds the guy turned away.

"It's nothing."

"Uh... if you say so."

When the three disappeared, Neo waited a whole minute before letting her power drop, and subsequently releasing Melanie also. Needless to say, Junior's girl was not amused.

"You idiot!" She shouted, furiously balling up her fists at her side. "You just let them walk off with him! Are you stupid?!"

Well, Neo wouldn't call herself that; she may have been silly at points, but she was far from foolish. Moreso, Melanie was being the stupid one, and Neo, knowing the girl would continue to rage otherwise, let her know that directly via text.

"Stupid would be causing a scene and ratting out our entire squad just because a few bozos walked off with one goofball."

"Yeah, he's a fucking idiot, but that doesn't mean we get to just throw him away!" Melanie yelled, enraged and rearing to kill. Neo had quick fingers, however, and already had another message ready before Melanie could continue her rampage.

"We're not throwing him away, so just cool it."

"Cool it?! Cool it?!" Melanie put on her scary face, but soon forced it back and spoke with pure unadulterated malice. "We let them walk right out the front door. So, tell me, how is this not throwing him away? How do we expect to find those three in particular in the whole city of Vale, if they even stay here?"

"Seems someone isn't thinking. Use your brain." Neo paired this message with a playful pose, even going so far as to stick out her tongue and wink. Melanie's eye twitched, but before she could rant or yell again, Neo hit her with a dastardly grin, showing her next message with clear confidence. "Besides, we already know who those three are. It's just a matter of tracking them to their little den."

Melanie cooled off a bit at that.

"We... know who they are?" Still a bit skeptical, Melanie tried to call Neo on her bluff. "Okay. Well, if that's true, then who are they?"

Neo looked over at Tulip, nodding and bowing, as if to offer the role of preaching the big news to her. Tulip simply crossed her arms, taking a quick breath before carrying on calmly.

"He mentioned Onixis by his first name, as well as some sort of deal."

"Yeah, so?" Melanie really needed to learn to let people finish, but hey, it wasn't Neo's job to raise the kid; that fell onto Junior's shoulders. Even so, Tulip showed no irritation towards the brazen cutoff and kept going.

"When the video of Onixis's death was leaked, so too was a document detailing the plan he had to sell me and my little sister to some man named Garanite."

Ahh, Garanite; the cheeky bugger who's name was only mentioned right at the end of the whole spiel of other bullshit. Neo hadn't the time to read it initially, but before handing it off to the Fang, she'd made sure to get whatever information she could out of it first. She didn't know if 'Garanite' was his real name or not, but that didn't matter...

In the underworld, even nicknames can be traced.

"Garanite?" Melanie seemed... far more unsure than shocked, and Neo slipped some giddiness into her grin, practically knowing what was coming next. "I... feel like I've heard that name mentioned somewhere before..." Her eyes lit up. "Oh, wait. I think I overheard Junior saying something-?!"

Quickly, she fumbled with her pocket, startling everyone. Tulip, being the brave soul, leapt into action.

"What is it?!"

"My scroll!" Melanie said, finally getting the thing in her hand. "It was rumbling the entire time!"

"Rumbling?" Tulip questioned as Melanie immediately pulled it open. To tell the truth, not even Neo had noticed, but then again, the point of silent mode was to be... well, silent. Granted, it was stuffed in Melanie's dress, which was fairly cramped all things considered, and with how loud Garanite and his crew were, it was no wonder nobody heard.

Right as she was probably about to check the call history, it started up again. This time, Melanie answered immediately.

"Sis... Yeah, that checks out... No, I don't care how... Yes... Okay look, meet us back at the bar; we've got a situation... Yeah, he's in trouble again... Right. See you then." Clicking it shut, Melanie withheld any blatant anger, choosing to spread the news first and foremost. "Neo, do whatever you need to get Tulip and her kids situated somewhere safe, and then meet us back at the bar."

"Oh no." Tulip butt in. "I'm not just walking away from this! Those bastards were after sis and me; I'm not about to let them get away with that!"

"You want to help? Then get your posse out of the firing line first." Melanie shoved her face up in Tulip's. "Only then can you help. I want none of those kids in with us; it's too dangerous and they'll just get in the way."

"Only if you're willing to wait for me." Tulip, again no pushover, met her glare. This actually got an amused smirk from Melanie.

"Fine. I'll give you thirty minutes."

"I'll be there in twenty."

"Feisty..." Melanie pulled away, holding back a scoff and starting off towards the hole. "Now let's see if you can make use of that fire."

.

.

"Think we should do something about them?" Mercury wasn't one to up and spy on some runaway kid, but Emerald had dragged him along anyway once they spotted the brat running for his life.

"What do you think?" Always the angry one, Emerald spat her directives with no remorse or consideration for just how much of a bitch it made her sound like. Gritting her teeth, she huffed and began leaping across the rooftops; Mercury made sure to follow close enough to hear any other plans she might have. "Cinder's got her eye on him, meaning we have to keep an eye on him as well."

"I'm not concerned about what Cindy would want, I'm wondering what you want." That got him a dirty look, but nevertheless she whipped her attention back to the trio who hopped in a car and began to take off. Thinking quickly, Mercury tore out a small device from his vest pocket, making use of his assassin-trained aim and flinging the tracker towards the bumper of the vehicle.

Right after, the car sped off, but neither of the pair were all too concerned with chasing it down. Chances were it would make a few useless rounds before slinking off into the shadows somewhere, in an attempt to potentially lose any pursuers who might have seen their suspicious display. For the sake of conserving energy, it would be best for them to wait until the tracker stopped moving.

For once, Mercury was glad he was forced to meet with contacts back when he was still a kid; even after murdering his own father, the guys were still keeping him stocked up on gear. Money trumps all, and no one allowed themselves to care for, or about, the clients so long as they paid. It also helped that his pa was near universally hated for having skimped out on payments more than a few times. Being the top assassin meant people were, generally, adverse to challenge you; those who did filled the old graveyard behind the now charcoal family home.

"Let's give 'em five." Mercury twisted back around with not a visible care or concern for their target's escape. "That was a pretty expensive looking ride they had, so I doubt it was a complete throw away. Besides, they're wanted all across Vale, so they've got nowhere to run."

Ever since the document detailing a scheme for some faunus girl's potential kidnapping came out the White Fang had been in an uproar. That was to be expected, and Mercury was prepared for that, but when he got word of a contract being put on some poor sop called 'Garanite,' he found the timing to be a bit too coincidental. Cinder would surely have told him to ignore it, but his curiosity won out, and when he checked the client of the request, you can bet he was more than a little shocked to see the big four were the ones after Garanite's ass. But slitting his neck wasn't part of Cinder's plan, and so he could imagine being denied if he asked her for some time away to do the man in...

Or, so it would have been.

With the secondary curiosity she'd set her sights on, Jay, being taken by the man, Mercury had a feeling his job was just starting to get interesting. A quick glance to Emi showed her disgruntled expression, and he was about to prod before she turned right around and took off. Not one to be left in the dust without a word, he followed, and as he came beside her hopping back to the roof above where the wall had been blown to pieces, he spied a certain someone coming out of the fray...

Make that two actually.

"Neo?" Whistling after, his comment was paired with Emerald's to come.

"And Junior's twisted dove: Melanie." Emerald watched as the group dispersed, but Merc could see that her main focus wasn't really on the people of interest. It was on the nameless kids who slunk from the man-made cave, with Neo apparently leading the pack.

"Alright. I'm not one to usually pry about the things you do, but I have to ask." He nudged his head towards the kids as they shadowed into a nearby manhole. "Did you know the little dude from before? Personally, I mean."

"It's none of your business." Emi was quick on the defensive, but that wouldn't stop him. For once, she was being the illogical one.

"It kinda is when it risks us being late for our report to Cindy." Emerald clenched her jaw, and he knew he'd caught her. "You took off running the second you spied that kid dashing into the alley, and I know you wouldn't normally give a shit about a casual kidnapping. So spill: what made that boy so special?"

"Again, it's none of your business." Standing, Emerald made it clear she wouldn't be answering his question. "Come on, let's get back. We spotted Jay anyways, so it's not like our trip yielded no results."

Knowing he wouldn't get more from her, Mercury sighed. He had an inkling of what might have been going on in her head, but he couldn't confirm it for sure, and so he dropped the topic from his mind for now. Following alone, and right before they were to jump down and continue on their merry way, he probed her with one last thought.

"So... Are we mentioning the chase beforehand, with the kid? Or are we just gonna say we saw Garanite and his boys carrying Jay?"

"We'll tell her the relevant information." Emerald spoke plainly before leaping down onto the sidewalk. Leaping from rooftops, while somewhat weird in theory, was perfectly normal for huntsmen and huntresses, so nobody would question their odd appearance if seen.

"Just the Jay part." Mercury took off after her. "Got it."

Author's note

…

Well, at least Emi and Merc are doing… well enough. It figures they'd be stalking around somewhere nearby, although this time it seems more coincidental they'd come across the unlucky scene.

Not gonna lie, things are heading down an interesting road pretty quickly; although, probably not a very positive one. And, to top it off, Jay's immunity to semblances has bitten him in the ass this time, leading to his apprehension by three unknowns. Once again, everyone is being drawn into the same event… except Qrow and Ozpin; wonder how long that'll last.

Either way, we're headed down… a road, and those of you who've been paying attention might find it coming in handy soon enough. While it might not be as extensive as my other works, I have a few surprises in store for those who recall certain details.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Until next time.