The shattered Moon shined brightly for the city below. The lights flickered about of orange and blue as the windows reflected said lights. A car went along a narrow highway with a sparse amount of traffic. Jaune stared out of the window on the passenger side. The driver was Sky Lark, who had a blank stare at the streets. It was the kind of zoned out expression of doing something one was so familiar with, expression is the last thing on a person's mind.

'What does he think about?' The blonde pondered while he closed his eyes lids and rubbed them for a moment. Still felt nice, but instantly felt irritated when he finished.

"We're almost there." Sky bumped Jaune's shoulder.

Jaune opened his eyes to see several dark patches and blinked several times. His vision returned as the building ahead had several blue lights beam from the outside. Half the lights were placed obnoxiously to illuminate the banner flags of each Kingdom. Dozens of limousines and expensive cars lined had formally dressed attendants greet the reporters.

"This is where you get off." Sky pulled the car. They were about a block and a half away.

Click.

Jaune exited the car. Before he could walk away, the window of the passenger side rolled down.

"We need you to get Cinder a way inside."

Jaune responded with a thumbs up.

"You'll be fine, it's just recon."

Jaune heard the window roll up with a kick of the engine. The caretaker kept his eyes forward then started his walk. He was dressed in a black suit with a red button up shirt with a white tie. From the house, Jaune borrowed a spare suit in case a male agent needed one.

The blonde extended his right index and middle finger out then applied pressure just above the earlobe.

"I'm here." Jaune did not recognize anyone amongst the crowd that swamped the entrance. "Hello?"

He moved his hand away from his ear when he approached the street corner. He looked to his left and right for incoming traffic. He circled around on the left side to avoid traffic. His left foot placed itself on the pavement on the other side. He looked back down and felt a hand press down on his left shoulder. By reflex, Jaune snapped in that same direction.

"Relax." Cinder used her hand on his shoulder to offer support for herself. Jaune tilted to his left and noticed that she was in the middle of readjusting a strap on one of the heels she wore. Not the kind when it was like six inches tall, just one that appeared to be about an inch and a half.

"How's the suit?" She asked.

"A little tight around the collar." Jaune tugged on it a little.

"Suck it up. We're on the clock." Cinder fixed the strap at her heel and walked on her own.

"We're in a time crunch tonight?"

"Well, no." Cinder half-cocked her head. She wore a charcoal black dress that did not have sleeves. Along the edges of the dress, several sewed-in lines curved out and around the dress, like leafless vines. From the forearm to the elbow was an arm warmer. For added grip, the arm warmers had excess fabric so the user can secure it around their middle or ring finger. In the case for Cinder, she opted out to keep her fingers free. From her torso on down, was several reflecting stones layered in the dress itself. Her heels clapped against the concrete with every step.

"We can't go through the front entrance." Cinder and Jaune stopped about a hundred feet away from the building. A car beam made the sidewalk become visible for several seconds while the shadows of the two curved in the light. With a blink, Jaune gave eye contact to Cinder.

"Because there are spies that will make a move on us?" He shot in the dark.

"No, we have to keep a low profile. That and this dress..." Cinder pulled on the shoulder straps. "Is cheap. Hardly worth the trouble… The Agency still shops on a budget." Cinder strode onward and the blonde followed suit.

"Why not, bring your own dress?" Jaune said as they continued to walk on the outside of the building. Cinder glanced at Jaune then looked back toward the building ahead.

"Give me a stealth gear any day." Cinder retorted as she finished adjusting her heel.

"Okay, there are about three emergency ladders on the outside with a fire escape on the north end. I just need you to help lift me to one of the platforms so we can…" Cinder checked her right. Just empty space where Jaune should be. She scanned around to see Jaune about forty feet away talking to a man at a window.

Jaune moved his arms apart. "Hey man. Can you help a guy out?"

"You're not supposed to be back here." The person Jaune spoke to was a young guy like himself but part of the kitchen staff based on the observation of the white uniform and leaned out to hear Jaune better.

"Look, I hate to do this to you. Can you let us in?"

"Fuck no!" The worker shook his head and leaned away.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!" Jaune kept himself to a loud whisper. "See that lady over there?"

The worker looked in the direction Jaune pointed him in. About fifty feet away, Cinder stared back at them with a confused glare.

"She's here for the party to meet some people. I'm just the poor bastard who has to help her. It would really be awesome of you let us in."

"She your girlfriend?"

"No."

"Pity." The worker leaned away.

"Alright!" Jaune waved at him to lean back out. "She's a reporter for a small time scroll net news outlet. I told her I could get her inside…" Jaune nodded. "I hoped to impress her." Jaune looked back up. "You're my only shot."

.

.

.

"Just wait there." The worker looked over his shoulder.

"You're a life saver." Jaune replied.

Jaune turned around and walked toward Cinder. "What was that about?" Cinder rested her left hand on her hip.

"I bribed a guy to open a door for us." Jaune double checked his suit and straightened out several folds that bugged him.

"How much do you owe?"

"Two hundred lien." Jaune reached for his pocket to get the money ready.

"Well, we're inside. Keep us posted very fifteen minutes or so and report what you've collected. If you don't have anything, you report to us anyway. Also, no names got it?" Cinder checked beneath her arm warmer to tighten a strap to a stiletto blade.

Jaune stared off into space.

"Hey. Did you hear me?"

He shook his head to be brought back to reality. "Yeah, I heard you."

"Say something to show that you understand." Cinder slightly moved the bottom of her dress which revealed her thigh to double check on her weapons. A small pistol with only one spare magazine of ammo with small knives on the other thigh.

"Loud and clear." Jaune patted on his left ankle which had two magazines strapped on his shin.

"Testing, testing." A voice echoed in their ear pieces. "I just received word. Sky Lark is inside and started to check on the patrons. Jaune, do not come in contact with him until you're ordered too. The same goes for interacting with Cinder."

A nearby door unlatched a lock and opened up. The worker from before walked out with several bags of trash in hand and signaled for the two would be guests to enter. Cinder walked passed him while the worker gave a wide grin to Jaune. The blonde did not give eye contact when he stuffed some lien in the guy's chest pocket.

"Take two immediate rights and you'll be in. Good luck." The worker winked.

"…Thanks…" Jaune did not show his teeth in his smile. He turned away and the expression went back to blank.

Cinder led the way while Jaune followed. She pushed a door open to see a hall wrapped in a low golden glow. People in formal clothing all talked amongst themselves. The hall that this event was held in was three stories tall and had railings so the second and third floors could see what's below. A chandelier hung off the center of the room and was supplied the golden glow. The walls had a banner on each of the four core directions that correlated with the directions of the kingdoms. Below, several sprawled out serving tables of food were laid out with bars on each floor. Most of the windows had the blinds cover them and dark enough so it could be difficult to peer in.

"Watch your back." Cinder said and then walked into the crowd. Her eyes immediately widened as she welcomed all of those who gazed at her.

Jaune shrugged as he walked along the edge of the open pathways. The area around him was still wide enough so that about a hundred or so more people could fit. If he was completely honest, the crowd reminded him as if he was walking in a sports stadium. Just that the people were dressed differently.

Every twenty feet or so was a statue or a piece of art related the history for all the Kingdoms. Museums from around Remnant were okay with transporting art in the name of the Vytal Tournament.

Jaune smiled as he saw a photo taken from the Great War. Four men and one woman held the flag of a defeated Kingdom that sought to oppress its neighbors. The Hyperion Kingdom Flag of two crossed sabers as an upside down Claymore, pointed downward at the intersection. The flag had holes and wasn't in the best condition.

Jaune noticed a man walk beside him.

"Like the photo?"

"One of the better ones." Jaune shrugged.

"Not what I usually hear." The voice was deep which had Jaune think of a man that wants to be taken seriously. No overly pronounced words, just simple and to the point. Jaune got a look at the man.

Clearly in his mid to late forties. Grey hair with tea shaped glasses in black suit with a green turtleneck shirt. He had a name tag on his chest that which labeled, Director Ozpin. In his hand was a white coffee mug.

"One of my co-workers wanted the Atlas and Mistralan peace talks instead. I figured that this one could help remind some here to appreciate how far the world has changed. Prior to the photo, the former Hyperion Kingdom broke the non-aggression pact and waged a counter offensive"

"Good choice. From what I remember, it was one of the bloodiest battles." Jaune cocked his head. "More soldiers died in the process of pushing Hyperion back than what happened on the attack itself."

"You know a lot about the image." Ozpin took a sip from his mug.

"History buff back when I was in middle school. I used to stay home and watch documentaries all day." Jaune turned to Ozpin. "Back when TV used to play documentaries anyway."

"Not something I hear every day, but still good to know." Ozpin offered his hand. "Professor Ozpin."

"The name tag says Director." Jaune shook his hand. Ozpin's grip was enough to confirm, that Jaune knew that he was with a man that took charge.

"Just a formality for the people who arrange such events." Ozpin and Jaune released their grip.

"Ah okay. My name is…" Remember, no names. Jaune wiped his lip. "Myles."

"What brings you to the event?"

"I snuck in." Jaune stated.

Ozpin smirked and took a sip of his drink. "Just don't cause any trouble and I won't have security throw you out."

"Duly noted sir."

"Well enjoy the rest of your time here and do feel free to appreciate the art. Not enough do so these days."

"Gladly." Jaune walked away from the art piece as Ozpin walked in the opposite direction.

One step forward.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

Six steps forward.

Thump Thump Thump Thump…

Ten steps forward.

Jaune stopped in his path for a deep breath. He opened his eyes to see Sky Lark in the distance.

His hair was tied downward so that his cheeks were obscured by his hair and you can only see his face if he looked directly at you. The suit he wore was charcoal black with a silver undershirt and no tie. The guy talked with several patrons and didn't stay long enough to outstay his welcome in conversations. He looked to his left to see Jaune in the crowd. He tilted his head toward the center of the party.

Sky Lark turned around to continue his recon.

I guess he wants me to go that way. Jaune assumed as he walked out onto the floor. He looked around himself and noticed that many of those around him were completely disinterested in him. He shrugged as he paced forward with his hands in his pockets.

Jaune looked at the well-dressed server employees, each of them wore a fake smile or wished they were somewhere else entirely. He looked to his right and saw a drink at the ready. It was soda and Jaune took hold of it and smiled as he turned around.

Several of the people there kept themselves on the outside of the main floor for some reason. Jaune made the claim in his mind that the main floor was for announcements, a dance or an announcement dance. Which was dumb, it felt crowded at times to just to walk around. Jaune paced forward and saw one photo of the first cybernetic human.

"Can you fly Bobby?" Jaune thought out loud. Several seconds later a person walked beside Jaune.

"Clarence… no."

Jaune raised his head and looked at the person next to him. The person was a young man in his late teens or early twenties. He was in a typical black suit with a white button up. His eyes were blue and had overall thin build. Jaune tilted his head as he stared at the guy.

"Isn't the moon wonderful tonight?" Jaune nodded toward one of the windows that was barely opened.

"It's still the daytime." The guy responded. The night life outside shined with the buildings in clear view of the shattered moon. Both of them knew it was the night time outside.

"It's the thought that counts..." Jaune said then narrowed his eyebrows. "Dead or alive…"

"…You're coming with me." The guy finished.

"Yes!" Jaune lifted his right hand up and the guy high fived him. "RoboCop is the best."

"RoboCop is the shit!"

"Dust damn man! Okay, I saw the first one when I was four years old." Jaune beamed.

"Saw it back when I was three." The guy smiled. "I'm Edward Sharksfield"

"Myles Luna." Jaune and Edward shook each other's hand firmly. "Nice to know that there is someone here with great taste in science fiction."

"I know right?" Edward waved at a server. "Favorite scene? Mine was the fight between Robo and Kane."

"For me was when RoboCop learned that Dick Jones put in programming that prevented Robo from fighting back."

"Really?"

"Think about it. It's the first time we see that RoboCop is not on top of things. The shot when we see through his cracked visor for his eye. That signals to us that we see Robo being vulnerable to danger for the first time. From there, Robo is beaten down by Ed 209 and the police service. From, here, RoboCop gets serious on killing or arresting Dick Jones and Clarence." Jaune stated clearly and didn't pause to take a breath.

"I need to rewatch it now." Edward put his left hand on his chin. Jaune took a moment for a deep breath so he can speak again. "I thought tonight was gonna suck. I'm glad I'm here now."

"Same here man. To tell you the truth. I don't like parties much." Jaune noticed a server make her way toward them.

"Oh, what else do you watch?" Edward inquired as he looked into the crowd.

"Mainly action stuff. The Raid, the Tooken trilogy and Spruce Willis movies. There is a bunch more but I can't think of them at the moment." Jaune shrugged then paced forward to follow the path of the carpet.

"Cool, cool. Listen, I got some people I have to talk to on the behalf of my family's business." Edward offered his hand. "Don't be a stranger."

"No problem." Jaune shook his hand.

From there, Sharksfield walked off into the crowd to mingle. Jaune continued to walk around the outer edge of the crowd and made sure not to stare at anyone for a prolonged period of time.

At half an hour in, there was a tall bulky guy that Jaune observed. All he did was raid the oyster snacks and the guy decided to eat half the platter. Other than that, he returned to the crowd to meet with his family. Nothing of importance for Jaune to consider.

There was this woman that Jaune noticed that behaved a little differently than the other guests. She was a kleptomaniac, he saw her take some of the shiny pieces of silverware from the tables and hid them in her purse. Oh man, she was a pro by the fact that she never nervously scanned her surroundings. Every other ten to twenty minutes, a new piece of silverware was taken. Jaune counted that the woman pocketed four spoons, six forks and one butter knife.

Jaune continued that process for about an hour until a transmission came in from Sky.

"Hey Jaune. Not that I don't think you're doing bad or anything. But I think I spotted a potential target. I informed Cinder by word of mouth, she'll transfer the information to you. I'll be on the upper floor continuing the scan of the guests. Don't answer me, just head to the second level bar, it has a Soda dispenser." Sky Lark stated as he was at the third floor railing and looked down to the area below. Jaune looked up and saw Sky Lark and the two only exchanged glances.

Jaune did what he was told of course, he didn't have anything better to do at that moment. His current perp was someone who happened to be a Dentist that liked to claim that she was a legit doctor… People these days. Jaune mentally shook his head as he took a seat at the bar.

"What's your poison?" The bartender prepped for the order.

"Caffeinated water please. Preferably a dark drink." Jaune's forearms rested on the bar as he stared at the various alcohol beverages. The cheap stuff on the bottom and supposed good stuff higher up. The taller bottles were placed on the far left and right ends as the short bottles went along the center. No matter which side one would be at the bar. Their attention will go to the flag of the Vale.

"Jaune?" A soft and lovely voice called out to him.

"Fuck me." The blonde whispered as he chugged the rest of his drink before he turned around.

A young woman within a sleeveless maroon dress stood before him. Her long flowing hair was tied back into the long ponytail that only complimented her dress. A golden crown rested along her forehead with two chains drooping down that gave the appearance of earrings. Her bright Emerald eyes blinked at Jaune.

"Hey Pyrrha." Jaune waved at the bartender then pointed at the empty glass. The bartender took the hint.

"I mean, you're here." She moved her arms apart.

"Keeping a low profile." Jaune looked back at the bar.

"How long has it been?" Pyrrha asked as she smiled. She slightly opened her arms up to signify a hug.

"Three years." Jaune patted her shoulder. Pyrrha lowered her arms. "I heard on the news that you're doing well in the Tournaments."

"Comes with the profession. But I don't want to talk about journalism. Where have you been?"

"Took a job in a comic book store for a time and moved out of my parents place. I've been living on my own ever since, you?" Jaune tapped his left index finger at the bar counter. He did not apply enough force to make the tapping loud either.

"Just training, academics and traveling." Pyrrha shrugged.

"Here you are sir." The bartender moved Jaune's soda close enough for him to grab.

"Soda will help lead to high blood pressure." Pyrrha chuckled.

"It's better than getting drunk." Jaune took a sip of his drink.

"How's Samantha? The last I've heard of her, she was on a scholarship for a college in Atlas." Pyrrha smiled.

"Quite well, us Arcs always steal the show." Jaune laughed as he took another sip of his drink. Pyrrha stepped to her left to allow other visitors to easily get passed her. Jaune's drink fizzed and bubbled as he took a big gulp for the lovely burn to race down his throat.

"Hey Jaune." The blonde immediately turned to the person who joined the conversation.

It was Cinder.

"Um, hello. I'm Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha looked at Jaune and back to Cinder.

Jaune stepped away from the bar.

"This is Ember Nightshade. She's a co-worker at the new place I go to now. She's here on business and I just tagged along." Jaune said before Cinder could speak. She had an overall blank expression.

"I see." Pyrrha offered her hand to Cinder.

"That match with Ruby Rose. Quite the fight." Cinder pointed out as the two shook hands.

"Thank you. Ruby's scythe always gave her amazing range."

"The way you parried her strikes is what saved you." Cinder smiled. "You could have ended the match sooner had you went on the offensive more. Ruby knew that you wouldn't go for the take down, in other words, she wanted to wear you down. A well placed shield bash with an assault could have ended her… easy."

Pyrrha paused in silence.

"Well this was fun. Good luck in the future Pyrrha." Jaune cut between them and walked away with Cinder.

"Bye Jaune." Pyrrha watched the two walk away as an important patron walked to her to start a conversation.

Jaune did not look back then leaned over to Cinder. "The fuck?"

"Orders were for you not to call attention to yourself. Not to be friends with every damn person here."

"You got your way. I got my way." Was all that Jaune could say to her.

The two were deep enough into the crowd that Pyrrha was no longer visible.

"Got a bit chatty there." Cinder rolled her shoulders for his hands to lose their grip. Jaune recognized that cold expression… roll the dice or chance the consequence at his own risk.

"She's… my ex." Jaune grimaced. "Can we just leave it at that?"

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say."

The two walked toward a secluded corner while the party behind them continued to glow in the golden lights. Laughter and chatter hummed in unison.

Well hi everybody… I know it's been a while. Welp, let me get to the point. College sucks, between my fan fics, getting my creative writing certificate as well as a bunch of family crap that happened for the summer. I just didn't feel creative and this feeling would have plagued my current works. It's more of a personal issue that I have when I want to make posts. No matter how many times I rewrote this chapter, what truly matters is the end product. I'm back and still plan to work on this project.

The amount of gratitude I have is still the same. Thank you so much for reading.

Benthino: I bet if Jaune met me, he would call me a jerk. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Ghost-407: Jaune is caught between a rock and a hard place… LOL.

Guest: (Auto avoidance protocol enacted)

AdrianCabanillas:

sdphantom10: True dat!

DMD Hanafin: Comes with having any job. There are assholes that are part of it.

.1: (Auto avoidance protocol enacted)