Hey guys! I know I promised to have this story out and in the works a long time ago (Oops... Sorry about that!) Unfortunately I had so many things happening throughout the year, I ended up not having a whole lot of time to write this out until recently. I know, I know, excuses, excuses. I promise I will try and keep my updates timely and to the date! My plan is to have at least one chapter out for you every week or so depending on how much free time I have. This story is Rated M just in case.

Anyway, a few key notes before you start reading if you would:

1. This story will have some major spoilers for RWBY, this includes new episodes so don't read until you're caught up if you care about that sort of thing. I know I do.

2. I will not be going into grave detail to describe every character in this story as it is not my strong suit, and honestly if you want to know what a character looks like, you can just google it. That being said, I will be doing my best on making the characters I add to the story easily visualized going forward.

3. The main character in this fic is the same from my previous RWBY fic but with some noticeable differences. For example he's going to have the same name and appearance as he did in the previous story but will not have the same backstory or personality given his different experiences.

On that note I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the story as a whole. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

"Speech"

Thoughts

Chapter One: Slade Stroud

"Slade" called a soft feminine voice through the darkness. Suddenly the face owning the voice began to become clear through the dark mist clouding Slade's vision. It was a woman with brown hair and bright emerald eyes with a pale complexion.

"Slade" she called again looking at him dead in the eyes, as his vision cleared completely he noticed his arm had an armored gauntlet attached with a blade on the outer edge.

"Slade!" the voice screamed at him as he took notice of the end of the blade through her abdomen "How could you do this to me!?" she screamed as blood started streaming out of the emerald eyed brunette's mouth.

Slade's eyes shot open abruptly sitting up he partially removed his gun from it's holster before taking in his surroundings.

"Perhaps that last shot was one too many" Slade sighed replacing the obsidian colored gun in it's holster. It was shaped like that of a revolver and had a glistening ruby colored skull on both sides of the barrel. There were words etched into the cylinder of the weapon that read "Never" and "Forget" below the first word repeating over and over again around the cylinder. Looking out from the tree branch he rested upon he noticed the smallest hint of the sun coming up over the trees "I should really head out anyway, We've got another target to take down partner" he said patting his holster.

Slade wore a long black trench coat with a matching vest underneath with thin black armor covering the upper half of his chest and abdomen, along with matching black armored gauntlets on each arm starting just under his elbows leading up to his gloved hands, the armor only segregating at his hands covering his knuckles to accommodate the bend of the armor. Slade possessed a fair complexion, with dark black hair and emerald eyes, he had a full goatee around his mouth stopping at his chin.

Slade dropped from the branch using his right hand to place his coat's hood over his head before effortlessly catching himself with his left, reaching into his coat as he stood up straight he removed a pair of slate sunglasses and placed them on his face with his left hand and covered his face with a small mask stopping just beneath his glasses.

"Hope you're tougher than my last target" he mused aloud "I'm in a fighting mood" despite this statement, only one thing remained on his mind.

Elise

It was midday the sun was shinning high above the dense green forest in the blue sky overhead. "I'm just sayin'..." Nora and Ren emerge from behind a tree, walking together "...there's more members of JNPR in this team than RWBY. It just makes sense to go with that one" Nora insisted.

"But "Junior" isn't a color" Ren argued.

Nora groaned "How can I be more clear?" Nora puts out her hands and the letters JNRR pop into existence. She points to the first three "One, two, three. That's more than one" She points to the R.

"But we're helping Ruby with her objective" Ren pointed out. Ren holds out his hand and the letters RNJR pop into existence. Behind him, Jaune Arc is crouched and watching something. Pointing to the first R "Wouldn't that make her the leader?" he asked.

"Guys!" Jaune yells grabbing their attention, Ren and Nora turn their heads toward him. "We need to focus" The letters pop out of existence "Also, JNRR is way cooler" he added over his shoulder.

"Exactly!" Nora yelled triumphantly.

Ren goes to speak, but just groans instead placing his face into his palm.

Jaune caught sight of a shadowed figure walking through the woods in front of them "There, I see something" he called back to them as they neared him silently.

"You think that's what we're looking for?" Ren asked slightly unsure.

"The mayor said we'd know it by the mask the assailant wears, that guy looks like he's wearing a mask to me under that hood"

Suddenly the figure disappeared behind a nearby tree surprising them "Quick, we have to get Ruby and go after-" Jaune began climbing over the log they were hiding behind.

"Howdy" the figure greeted standing on the log he was climbing over startling Jaune and causing him to fall over onto his back in surprise.

"What the-" Jaune was interrupted by the figure.

"How's it going there?" he asked curiously as he watched Ren and Nora scurry to help Jaune off the ground backing away from the figure considerably.

"Who are you?" Nora demanded.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, I noticed you all watching me, Huntsmen I'd wager by the look of you. I was curious what your interest in me is"

"We're looking for the one who's been attacking the nearby town and destroying incoming shipments" Ren answered.

"Well you've come to the right man" he said smirking underneath his mask "I'm Slade Stroud-" he began.

"I knew you were the one attacking the town!" Nora yelled.

"Now hold on just a minute-" Slade was stopped when he noticed a presence behind him. Ruby was soaring toward him from behind with Crescent Rose in hand ready to strike.

"Gotcha!" she yelled just before slicing through his abdomen, Slade had no reaction whatsoever to the strike causing Ruby to stumble past him falling onto her knees I missed? Ruby thought in confusion, standing back up abruptly she prepared to strike again.

"Quite reckless for a child like you to attack someone like me without even waiting for provocation" Slade replied easily placing his left hand onto the scythe blade lifting himself off the ground and kicking her across the face, throwing Ruby back to the ground with her friends Those eyes... could they be? Slade wondered to himself as he took notice of Ruby's unique eye color.

"He dodged every attack Ruby threw at him like it was nothing" Ren analyzed aloud.

"He's toying with us, but what is he after?" Jaune asked aloud. Slade remained quietly staring at them, weighing his options "Alright, let's end this quickly" Jaune said standing back up. Slade leapt up into a nearby large tree branch giving himself some distance.

"Nora!" Ruby yelled extending her hand toward her. Nora took her arm in her hands, swinging Ruby around throwing her toward Slade at tremendous speed.

Slade simply sidestepped the attack by Ruby easily seeing through the distraction as he turned to block Ren's barrage of bullets with his armored gauntlets. Ruby came back around for a second strike toward his head only for Slade to duck underneath the strike easily, he caught Ruby by her hood pulling her back painfully and throwing her down to the ground from the tree.

"Look out below!" Nora yelled slamming Magnhild onto Slade's gauntlets as he blocked the strike causing a large explosion to erupt from the weapon as she struck knocking down the tree with it. The dust cleared to reveal Slade had disappeared leaving Nora deeply confused.

"Where'd he- How did- what just happened!?" she yelled flustered.

"You're attacking too directly, there was twelve different ways I could've killed or incapacitated you before you could've harmed me" Slade said leaning against the tree behind her "You really should strategize before attacking an unknown enemy head on, you never know what you'll be going up against" he added.

"Alright guys, let's show him what JNRR can do!" Jaune yelled "Ren!" Ren fired a barrage of bullets at Slade forcing him to leap into the air to avoid them.

"Nora!" Nora altered Magnhild into it's launcher form firing two grenades at Slade as he soared through the air. Slade ducked back under one, then continued the motion to flip around the second successfully dodging them as he landed back on the ground.

"Ruby!" Jaune yelled as she brought Crescent Rose around to strike his midsection again only to find his confident smirk looking back at her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That all you've got sweetheart?" Slade winked with a slight chuckle.

Leaping away from him she looked at Jaune perplexed "I don't understand" she sighed in frustration.

"What?" Jaune asked confused.

"I can't seem to get a beat on this guy, no matter how fast I strike he is dodging it somehow" Ruby explained in annoyance.

"Somehow he's able to anticipate your attacks enough to dodge them without putting in too much effort" Jaune concluded, trying to discern the man's abilities "I'm going to have to see him fight more before I can formulate a proper plan of attack"

Nora slammed Magnhild down onto the ground beside Slade as he sidestepped the attack, he kicked Nora in the chest throwing her back into Ren as he came to help. Ruby leapt forward striking downward with her scythe clashing with Slade's gauntlets.

"You'll be fine without a weapon, you're the strategist" Jaune mimicked Ruby as he came up behind Slade to strike him with his fists. Slade's leg came up stopping his arm before it could make contact with him then kicked him in the knee then the chest stumbling Jaune back, Slade pulled his leg back toward himself then slammed his boot into Jaune's abdomen throwing him backward.

"I don't think you're fighting who you think you're fighting" Slade chuckled shoving Ruby onto he back with his shoulder.

"You're the one who keeps attacking the nearby town and destroying buildings" Ruby answered.

"What exactly would I use to destroy buildings with?" Slade asked curiously "I don't think this quite has the destructive power" he added gesturing to his revolver.

"Then who's been attacking the town?" Jaune asked standing back up with Nora and Ren close behind him "The Mayor said we'd know the attacker by his mask"

Suddenly a loud rumbling shakes several trees nearby, a collection of floating boulders with a Grimm mask moves the trees aside.

"I'm thinking that's the mask we're looking for" Slade chuckled.

"We?" Ruby asked confused, the Grimm screeched as it struck for the two of them as Slade easily dodged the strike. Ruby leapt through the air using her Semblance to try and escape the attack only for the force to throw her through the air crashing against tree limbs along the way "Bad... landing... strategy!" she yelled Ruby lands on her feet on a big tree branch strong enough to hold her weight, she uses her Semblance to fly past the Grimm.

"Let's get that thing off her" Jaune says running toward them. Ren jumps up into the trees.

"Don't forget me!" Nora yelled pulling out Magnhild and shoots it at the ground, propelling herself into the air with excited whooping. She lands right besides Ren in his branch.

"We need to draw its attention away from Ruby!" Ren announced as a stream of rose petals, Ruby flies past them.

"Could use some help!" Ruby yelled.

Nora shoots the Grimm in the back. Ren hops around on branches. The Grimm tries to hit Ren. Ren runs up its rock arm, flies into the air, and comes down upon the Grimm, striking at it with StormFlower. It's ineffective.

"Gotta get in closer!" Jaune calls out as Ren lands beside Jaune.

"My blades don't hurt him!" Ren groaned. The Grimm turns, standing upright.

"Crap!" Nora yelled

"How about this?!" Ruby yelled.

She loads a magazine with an image of a lightning bolt on its side into Crescent Rose and fires. Electric bolts encase one of the Grimm's arms. The red lines on the arm glow brighter, and the Grimm slams it into the ground. All are sent flying backwards, but Ren, Nora, and Ruby manage to land on their feet. Jaune tumbles along the ground painfully until he hits a boulder between his legs and falls forward.

"That's it!" Nora yelled encouragingly.

She runs forward, tossing Magnhild into the air and transforming it into hammer mode. She jumps into the air and hits it, breaking its arm apart. A large piece flies straight toward Nora, but Ruby gets between them and knocks it away. The Grimm uses its other arm to strike at the two girls.

Jaune straightens and stretches and soon has to dodge a barrage of rocks "Wha? Whoa! Wha? Ho!" Jaune falls onto his back "Hey! Be careful!" a rock the size of his head hits him in the face and sends him into a tree. Jaune lands in a crouch and shakes his head to clear the pain. The Grimm continually tries and fails to hit an evasive Nora.

Jaune stands up and looks up at the Grimm "Ah..." The Grimm's armless shoulder gains a glowing red circle with a symbol of an eye in the middle. The circle spins, and then a black, elongated arm with clawed fingers emerges from it, the arm rears back.

"Uh-oh" Jaune says as the Grimm shoves its new arm into the tree Jaune was leaning against and lifts it from the ground "His arm is a tree! His arm is a tree!" Jaune yelled as he ran.

"Big mistake!" Ruby spins Crescent Rose and loads another magazine into it - this one with imagery of fire on its side. She fires, and the flaming projectile swings around to the tree arm. Jaune fist pumps. The tree arm swings around to him, on fire. Jaune loses his smile putting his hands into his hair and running "Big mistake!" The Grimm chases Jaune, swinging the flaming arm at him. It misses twice, but then Jaune falls. One of StormFlower spins through the air and makes a cut across the Grimm's mask. The Grimm falls. Ren lands beside Jaune and catches his gun as Ruby and Nora come up behind their teammates.

"Okay, how do we do this?" Jaune asked exasperatedly.

"His body is too thick to break through" Ren pointed out.

"It doesn't care about its body" Jaune added.

"Plus it can keep grabbing new limbs!" Nora yelled.

"But it keeps protecting its face" Jaune noted.

"We can't break it!" Ruby yelled.

"It's limbs are replaceable, it's face however is not. Get past it's limbs and strike it's face and you can kill it" Slade explained crossing his arms, expressing his boredom.

"He's right, it keeps replacing it's arms to protect it's face. Break it's arms and we have a shot at it!" Jaune concluded excitedly.

"Let's do it!" Ruby yelled charging forward with Nora shortly behind. The Grimm easily knocked Nora away with a kick causing Ren to catch her in midair to keep her from being hurt, Ruby leapt toward it's tree trunk arm and struck with Crescent Rose as it slammed it's opposite arm into her chest throwing her back into Jaune with the scythe still embedded in it's arm.

"How're we supposed to destroy it's face if we can't even get a shot at it!" Nora yelled exasperatedly.

"Stand back kids, let the professional show you how it's done" Slade said stepping forward and cracking his knuckles as he did.

The underside of Slade's gauntlets shot out thin double-edged blades on each as he charged toward the Grimm. The creature turned toward him swinging it's tree arm toward him. Effortlessly leaping atop the arm he grabbed onto Crescent Rose firing it and slicing through the arm easily, he then leapt onto the top of it's torso deftly spinning the scythe in his hands he embedded it into the side as he slid down the front of the boulder stopping beside it's face. Slade slashed his left gauntlet blade across it's face causing it to screech in pain and leave the boulders to escape him. Slade fired Crescent Rose yet again sending him flipping through the air toward the creature as it tried to escape, embedding the scythe in the ground stopped him in his tracks as he nonchalantly leaned against the blade with his revolver in hand and his gauntlet blades receding.

"Too slow" he said aiming the gun at the creature and firing, causing the creature's mask to shatter and dissolve away on the ground as it died.

While breathing heavily before posing with his hands on hips "Another victory for Team JNRR!" Jaune yelled triumphantly, he was met with silence "Yeah, okay. Ren, I think you're onto something. I-it's just not sounding great anymore" Jaune said deflating.

"You kids need a lot more training before you're ready to be full fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses" Slade informed them as he returned Crescent Rose to Ruby "Never lose your weapon in a battle, this weapon is your life" Slade warned.

"Thanks" Ruby said sheepishly rubbing the nape of her neck.

"You really saved our butts back there" Nora reluctantly admitted.

"Sorry about attacking you before" Jaune apologized "We thought-"

"I know, kid. Consider it forgiven... this time" Slade replied, Jaune gulped nervously.

"Got it"

"So... you're a Huntsmen" Ruby pointed out.

"Bounty Hunter" Slade corrected.

"Bounty Hunter?" Ruby asked surprised "But you used to be a Huntsmen right?" she asked.

"I am no more a Huntsmen than any of you are" he answered "Besides, you really shouldn't go around asking strangers personal questions. Especially after you've attacked them"

"You were hunting this thing too then?" Nora asked referring to the Grimm.

"Yes" Slade answered.

"I suppose that means you'll be taking the bounty from the mayor then?" Ren asked hoping he wouldn't.

"Normally I would, but you kids look like you could use it more than I could. Wasn't really a job of my caliber anyway, I was just bored and looking for someone or something to fight. I'd say I got more than my fair share of fighting today" he chuckled.

"You're sure?" Ruby asked "You're the one that killed it, at the very least we should share it-"

"Really, I don't need the money. As I said it's nothing compared to what I normally make on the job so I'm not concerned" Slade turned away from the group walking away "Take care now"

"You too, Slade. Good luck on your next hunt!" Ruby called after him, he waved back showing he heard her.

"Good luck with whatever it is you're doing, so long as it doesn't involve me"

Slade stopped a few steps before being out of sight as a crow perched itself on a nearby tree branch. Slade glared at the crow with a deep expression of resentment Better keep moving along, I am fully capable and willing to kill you if you make yourself known Branwen he thought to himself as he continued to leave the area, Qrow didn't follow much to his relief.

Stay away from my family Stroud and we'll have no quarrel Qrow thought to himself as he watched him disappear.

Yang pushed the doors to the bar open as she entered finding it full of people smoking and drinking, she lowered her sunglasses as she scanned the room for the bartender. Quickly approaching the bar she stood off to the right side of it leaning against the empty part of the bar, she waved him down.

"What can I get for you today?" the bartender asked as he walked over.

"Water" was her one word answer.

"Coming right up" he reached under the bar placing a glass onto it and filling it with ice and water before passing it to her "Will that be all today?" he asked curiously.

"That depends, have you seen this woman before?" Yang asked showing a picture of Raven Branwen on her scroll to the man, he sighed.

"This again? How many of you people are there looking for this woman?" he asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Who else is looking for this woman?" Yang asked surprised by the man's statement.

"The man in the corner with the cigar was asking about her earlier, I don't know who he is or what his business with her is but you might want to ask him if you want to find her" he answered "Just don't start anything in my bar please, he seems the roguish type"

"Thank you, I promise I wont be initiating any fights today. I will defend myself if it comes down to it though" she warned gulping down the water quickly and then approaching the man in the corner. The man never looked up from his drink as he took another swig with a cigar held between his fingers in his left hand.

"You don't look like my waitress" the man said placing the glass on the table.

"You must have some really stellar vision to know that, you never looked up from your drink the whole time I've been here" Yang replied.

"Peripheral vision is a beautiful thing isn't it?" he asked with a small smirk "I was able to see you weren't my waitress without even looking at you, and you've kept your eye on me without even looking in my direction the whole time you were talking to the bartender"

"You're observant" she noted slightly impressed.

"Only way to stay alive these days" he replied as he took a puff of his cigar, he gestured toward the empty booth across the table from him "Take a seat, I know why you're here"

"What exactly am I here for then?" Yang asked intrigued as she took a seat across from him, placing her sunglasses on the table and removing her coat.

"You're looking for your mother" he replied simply.

Yang reeled back in shock, her mouth hanging agape "H-how did you know that? Just who are you exactly?"

"You walked over to the bartender and showed him a picture on your scroll, he sent you to me. Therefore you're searching for Raven Branwen, the bandit chief I am also hunting"

"But how did you know-"

"That Raven is your mother? You're her spitting image" he laughed "It'd be hard not to notice the similarities between the two of you, I have been showing her picture around for the past two weeks now, and you're far too young to just be her sister or something. Therefore I could only come to one conclusion... nice arm by the way" he pointed his cigar toward her prosthetic arm.

"Just who are you?" Yang asked deeply intrigued by the man as she placed her arm under the table self consciously.

"It's rude to ask for someone's name without first giving your own"

"Yang Xiao Long" she replied.

"Slade Stroud" he answered bringing his glass up to his lips.

"What's your interest in my mother?"

"I'm a Bounty Hunter, she's got a bounty on her. Need I say more?" he answered with a shrug.

"You're a Bounty Hunter? I would've thought you were a Huntsman"

"Your sister said the same thing" he chuckled.

"You've seen my sister?" she asked surprised "Where? Was she okay? Who was with her-"

"Calm down, Yang. Ruby is fine, she and her friends attacked me when they thought I was the culprit behind a string of attacks on a nearby town and the mayor hired them to take it down. Fortunately for me they weren't that tough, I barely broke a sweat keeping them at bay. We worked together to take down the Grimm attacking the town when it showed up in the middle of our fight. I allowed them to take the credit so they didn't have to share the bounty with me or anything" he explained.

"Was Uncle Qrow with them?"

"Qrow Branwen" Slade said his name with an incredible amount of venom in his tone, surprising Yang "That drunk was lurking around in the shadows as always, keeping his distance to make sure she was safe but didn't interfere at all during the two encounters" he answered slightly annoyed.

"You seem like you know my Uncle pretty well" Yang pointed out.

"Qrow and I have known each other for quite a few years now..." he replied.

"Where you two friends or something?" Yang asked curiously "You're far too young to be one of his classmates"

"I suppose you could've called us friends once... but much like how your mother failed you, Qrow failed me when I needed him the most. Time and time again he was always too late"

"What exactly did he do?"

"I already told you, it's what he failed to do. His only redeeming quality, is he never lied to me... not like Ozpin"

"You knew Ozpin?"

"Everyone knows Ozpin" Slade chuckled "Unfortunately not enough people know the real Ozpin, the man responsible for every death caused by his damned war"

"War?" Yang asked surprised "What war?"

"The same war that gave you that arm" he answered.

"How do you know where I got this arm?"

"It's Atlesian" Slade answered with a shrug "General Ironwood was in Vale around the same time of the attack on Beacon. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out he gave you that arm as a reward for fighting so bravely... besides, you were all over the news not long before the attack for Mercury's stunt in the tournament and you still had your arm then"

"You think Mercury was behind that?" she asked surprised yet again "Most people, even some of my classmates and teachers thought I was responsible. Why would you-?"

"Because wherever Mercury is, Emerald is not far behind. Her Semblance is the only thing that could've made you perceive an attack from him instead of what actually happened... she tricked you"

Yang stared back at him in shock "You know a lot for just some random Bounty Hunter" she narrowed her eyes "Just who are you exactly?"

"Slade Stroud" he answered with a small smirk "Let's just say I've led an eventful career and leave it at that" Slade remained silent for a moment before continuing "Ozpin could've stopped all of it you know"

"It doesn't really matter now does it?" Yang asked looking down at the table "Ozpin's dead"

Slade laughed "We'll see how long that sticks"

"Excuse me?" she asked confused.

"Let what your mother has done be a lesson to you Yang. No matter who it is, how much you trust them or how much they matter to you... No one sticks around forever"

"That's a little pessimistic don't you think?" she asked.

"If it's not by their own choice, someone else makes the decision for them" Slade replied.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Ozpin is gone isn't he?" Slade asked shocking Yang.

"Touchy subject, got it" Yang sighed " Back to the reason I'm here then. Do you know where my mother is hiding?" Yang asked hopefully.

Slade relaxed slightly at the change of topic "I received word from one of my contacts that she and her bandits are hold up somewhere in this region, I don't often come around here so I don't know the place very well. That's why my search has hit a bit of a snag. Heard a rumor of some shifty looking stranger hanging around a fuel station not far from here, figured I would investigate and see if he knows anything" he explained.

"Let me come with you, working together we can find her faster and stand a better chance against her if it comes down to a fight-"

"I work alone, kid. I gave you the information you asked for, now you can go looking for her if you want and do whatever it is you plan on doing once you find her. I on the other hand, shall be taking the pretty penny out on her head" Slade replied finishing off his drink.

"Working alone is only going to get you killed against her, my mother is very strong. Fighting her and the entire camp all at once isn't going to be something you can do on your own" Yang explained.

"You make a good point, but you haven't convinced me. I've seen your sister fight, I haven't ever seen you before and I can't say I expect much more from you-"

"Hey" a gruff voice called from beside him grabbing his attention "Slade Stroud?" asked the man sternly with a group of four men behind him.

"Depends on who's asking" Slade replied without even looking at him as he took another puff of his cigar "Unless you're looking to hire my services, I am currently unavailable, as you can see the lady and I are negotiating"

"Adam Taurus says "Hello" the man replied. Turning to Yang he pointed toward the door "Beat it, we're here for him"

"I told Taurus I'm done working with him" Slade replied, taking notice of Yang's boiling temper.

She knows Taurus? he wondered to himself Perhaps she's going to be more interesting than I thought

"You worked with Adam Taurus?" she asked struggling to reel in her anger.

"Taurus has provided me with the odd job here and there. So long as he's paying, I'm working" Slade replied honestly.

"How could you stand working for that scumbag?" Yang asked through gritted teeth.

"The same way everyone deals with the bosses they hate... money" Slade answered rubbing two of his fingers together as he said the final word.

"That's it? No radical loyalty to him or the White Fang? What about his associates? The ones behind the attack on Vale and Beacon?" Yang asked surprising Slade with her knowledge.

"I don't know how you know about them and I don't care, I work for whoever is paying. When I sign a contract, nothing is going to stop me from completing that contract"

"Enough talking!" yelled the man in charge of the group "This is your last chance to leave before things get ugly"

"Taurus clearly isn't very smart, sending you wannabes after a professional" Slade chuckled.

"We'll show you who's a wannabe-" one of his men said approaching Slade, he was interrupted by Slade's cigar in his gut burning him as his free hand slammed into his abdomen repeatedly. The first man reached to grab Yang only for her to push his hand away from her spinning as she did, raising her left leg up as she turned she pressed the bottom of her boot against his throat, effectively slamming him on the table and choking him before punching him in the face.

Another man approached Yang with a bottle in hand, flipping it over as to strike her with it he raised his hand up only for Slade to catch his forearm in his hand. Slade twisted the man's arm painfully before smashing his fist into his face wrenching the bottle from his hand, another thug approached Slade from behind as he turned around smashing the bottle across his face. Turning back to the man in his grip, Slade kicked him in the chest sending him stumbling onto his back. The fourth man approached Slade with his fist pulled back to strike, he ducked under his arm and grabbed the man by the throat holding him in the air over him, Yang released the man from the table and kicked Slade's victim in the abdomen, throwing him onto a table nearby shattering it and angering the people sitting at the table previously.

Slade and Yang shrugged at each other as the man behind them stood back up, they both kicked him in the chest throwing him onto the table as they charged the angered men. The first man had a knife in hand as he struck for Slade, he sidestepped the attack placing his arms around the man's midsection and hoisting him off his feet then slamming him through the table behind him. The second man kicked for Slade only to be sidestepped then punched towards his face, Slade blocked the strike catching the man's head between his arms, he slammed his face into the nearby table shattering a glass with it.

Yang kicked her assailants weapon away from her then slammed her fist into his face as a second man approached, she caught his arm pulling it around her as she turned around his back sweeping his leg out from under him and slamming her fist into his face as he dropped onto his back. The first assailant attacked her once more only to find Yang catching his arm in her arms and twisting it as she spun with him keeping him trapped in her grip. Yang looked up to see one of Slade's attackers using a chair to strike at him, smashing bottles on the table as he did. Yang's attacker pushed her back against the bar as he broke from her grip. Yang ducked under his strike for her face then pushed a second attacker's arm away from her stumbling him into the bar as she spun to punch the first man in the groin and turn back to the second and kicking him in the chest back into the bar. Turning back to the first man she leapt onto her back as he swung for her being kicked in the back of the head and then pushing herself back up onto her feet with her hands from her current position, looking back at the enraged man she watched as a shot glass smashed against his face having been thrown by Slade. Yang kicked the back of the man's leg as Slade came over to kick him in the face, Yang looked over to him and smirked.

"Not done yet" Slade sighed as several more men joined the fight.

"You'd think they'd figure out they're gonna get their asses kicked" Yang said somewhat surprised by the stupidity of their attackers.

Yang picked up a pool cue striking the first man that approached her, Slade punched the man in the chest with the back of his fist stumbling him backward. The second assailant received the end of the cue to his abdomen before Slade elbowed him in the face and Yang smacked the cue across his face, the third approached Slade ready to strike only to be floored as Slade swept his legs out from under him. Yang and Slade went back to back as the men stood back up off the ground.

"I think they want more" Yang smirked.

"Should've stayed down" Slade sighed.

The four of them charged at Slade and Yang as she handed him the cue, ducking underneath the cue as he spun it around his head smashing it into their assailants faces as it swung, he then used it to block another cue coming down toward him from the attacker on his left as Yang rushed the one behind him. Slade blocked the cue once more and redirected a chair being used by the second attacker dropping him to his knees, he smashed the end of the cue into his head then blocked another strike from the other. Yang blocked a punch from her attacker with her forearm then kicked him in the chest, blocking a second punch she twisted the man's arm over her shoulder flipping him onto his back.

One of the men attacking Slade picked up a bar stool and lifted it above his head to strike Slade, he managed to only break the cue. The three men charged him as he held the two halves of the cue in each hand with a smirk. Slade ducked under the bar stool swinging for his head slamming the right cue into his abdomen as he passed by, then using the left cue to push the man holding a chair in his hand aside by the chair leg; the third man held a bottle that swung toward Slade, he used the left cue to smash the bottle as he swung with it and the right cue to slam it down onto the man's head from above, knocking him to the ground. The second man stood back up with the chair still in hand, Slade slammed the right cue into the man's legs dropping him onto his knees then used the left to knock him unconscious by slamming his face into the floor.

Yang rolled over a table as her attacker struck then kicked the table into his leg's dropping him onto the floor, she punched the second in the abdomen then kneed him in the face as he pulled his head down toward her leg, sweeping his legs out from under the man caused him to fall and crash through the nearby table shattering it. Slade blocked a cue with both of his redirecting it onto a nearby table before smacking the man in his shoulder with his left cue then in the back of his head with both of them dropping him onto the bar. The man grabbed a bottle from the bar swinging it at Slade, he simply blocked the attack placing his right arm underneath his groin he lifted the man off his feet and flipped him over his shoulder onto the nearby pool table, Yang slammed her foot down onto his face knocking him unconscious. The fourth man charged at Slade as Yang charged at him from the opposite side, Slade grabbed Yang by the underside of her arm and threw her through the air flipping once as she did, she smashed her boot across the man's face easily dropping him onto the ground.

Two men entered the bar as the dust cleared revealing a gun in the hand of the first, Slade threw the cue in his right hand knocking the gun from his hand as it fired dropping to the floor. Slade and Yang charged toward the men as they struggled to grab the weapon, Slade tossed the cue over the table between them to Yang as she reached her hand out to catch it effortlessly. Yang threw the cue into the man's hand as he grabbed the weapon causing him to drop it, Slade leapt between them kicking the man on the right in the chest, pushing himself into the one on the left and using his arm to wrap around his neck and flip him onto his back as Yang did the same using her legs on the right attacker, they both punched the other unconscious while atop them.

"Not bad" Slade said looking back to Yang "I must admit you're better than I imagined you'd be. I might've actually been impressed" he chuckled.

"So you'll work with me then?" Yang asked.

"Just this once, I don't work well with others" he answered.

"You seemed to work with me just fine"

"I'm not good for your health, Yang. No one who hangs around with me stays alive very long" he warned "Don't make the same mistake they did"

Slade walked over to the bar looking over it to find the bartender hiding behind it, he placed a large amount of Lien on the bar in front of him "Sorry about the mess, this should cover any expenses to replace anything we might've broken and my tab to top it off" he apologized turning toward the door "If the authorities ask what happened here you don't mention my name or I will come back here and they'll be looking for a replacement bartender" he warned just before walking out the door.

"You wouldn't really do that would you?" Yang asked.

"I wont need to if he keeps his mouth shut" he answered "It's one thing I do not like doing, having to silence noisy people. If they kept their mouth shut they wouldn't have a problem" he answered truthfully.

"Aren't you going to question these guys on Adam's whereabouts?" Yang asked confused.

"They're hitmen, they won't know anything more than he wants them to know. Besides, we have a more important target at the moment" he answered.

"I suppose that's true" Yang relented following him out of the bar.

"Now come on, we need to reach the next town over before we can start investigating the rumor I heard, we should reach it by sunrise tomorrow if we leave now"

"The next town over is only six or seven miles from here" Yang pointed out confused.

"It's six PM right now, Ms. Xiao Long. Walking takes a lot longer than you might think"

"Walking? No, no, no, I have Bumblebee for that, we can make it before sundown"

"What the hell is Bumblebee?" Slade asked confused.

Well that's chapter one for ya! I hope you all like it, if not. I wish you luck in finding something more suited to you. For those of you sticking around, the next chapter will be coming as soon as possible! I already have most of it finished but needs some last minute touch ups.

See ya later!