AN: Sorry for how long this took, but it's here now and that's what matters. On another note, I would like to get a cover image made up for this fic, so if you are interested in doing that or know someone who might be, please PM me.

Beta readers/editors: Korzark and Wyncrer the Sage

Jaune stepped out of his bathroom and into the main room of his apartment with only a towel wrapped around his waist, inspecting the still forming bruises on his arm, a souvenir from his training with Pyrrha. His recent shower had helped him process all he had learnt and come to terms with just how hard he was going to have to work to catch up to his friends. With a satisfied sigh, he started making his way towards his wardrobe when a wolf-whistle sung out from inside his apartment.

Jaune was caught so off-guard by the sound, his body didn't know whether to turn to the source of the noise, jump back or freeze in place, and so it tried to do all three, resulting in Jaune ending up on the ground with a bruised rear.

He looked to the source of the sound, he saw Yang sitting backwards on the chair in front of his desk. Continuing to scan the room, he noticed Yang wasn't alone as Blake sat on his bed with her head in a book.

"Don't mind us, just keep going," Yang said, breaking the silence with a teasing smirk.

Her statement made Jaune acutely aware of how little he was wearing, causing a furious blush to consume his face as Yang burst out laughing.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jaune asked, nearly yelling in his embarrassment. "And how did you get in here in the first place?"

"Second one's easy," Yang said with a smile, not taking her eyes off Jaune. "We used Blake's magic."

Jaune looked to the dark-haired sorceress, who didn't look up from her book, instead raising her hand in a sort-of half wave.

Finally back on his feet, Jaune started making his way towards his wardrobe, maintaining eye contact with Yang as though she were a dangerous animal he had found himself in a stand-off with.

"What about the first thing?" Jaune asked cautiously.

"I got us a job," Yang explained proudly, getting up from her chair and walking towards Jaune.

"You could have just called about that, you didn't need to break in," Jaune complained.

Yang shrugged. "I did, you didn't answer, and I got bored of waiting outside. Now hurry up and get ready, I'll explain the quest on the way," the fire wizard said, giving Jaune's bruised arm a playful slap as she walked past.

Jaune rubbed his sore arm with a wince as Yang walked to the door. He looked to Blake to see if she had anything to add, but she merely closed her book and followed Yang out.

It was almost midday by the time the trio arrived at Vale's southern train station, with Jaune now fully dressed in jeans and a plain black hoodie, his usual one having ended up as badly damaged as his armour during his fall in Merlot tower. Yang already knew where they needed to go and was able to quickly organise the tickets they needed, and so in no time at all the three were in a train waiting to depart.

"No bullhead this time," Jaune commented as they sat down in their booth. "Have we already used them as much as we're allowed?"

"Bullheads are only for emergencies and urgent quests," Yang explained. "Plus, I didn't want to have to deal with you throwing up again."

"Oh come on," Jaune whined. "I'm not that bad!" The words had barely left his mouth when, with a jolt, the train started moving, and a moment later Jaune was doubled over and groaning.

"Seriously?" Yang exclaimed in disbelief. "We're barely even moving!"

Jaune wanted to make some biting response but in fear of what might happen should he open his mouth, he settled on a glare about as weak as he was currently feeling.

"Here," said Blake, in a tone far more compassionate than Yang's, as she rose from her seat next to Yang and kneeled in front of Jaune. "I know something that might help, but I'm going to need you to look at me for a moment."

Jaune sluggishly rose his head in compliance. When he was looking into her eyes Blake brought her hand up and pinched a point on his neck. Jaune tried to look at the spot being pinched and had barely managed to turn his neck when he passed out and fell against the train window. With her work done, Blake stood back up, and took the seat next to Jaune so she was opposite Yang.

The fire wizard looked at her with an amused smirk. "And they call Weiss cold hearted."

Blake shrugged, clearly unfazed by the comment. "It worked and this gives us some time to chat."

"You've never been the one to start up girl talk before, what's the occasion?" Yang's tone was teasing but Blake could see the tension in her.

"I'm being serious Yang," Blake insisted with a glare.

"Sheesh, don't get your knickers in a twist," Yang said as she raised her hands in a placating gesture, but Blake noticed her smile was gone.

"You're angry. Jaune might not be able to see it but he hasn't known you as long as I have. I'm not sure what's got you worked up, and it's probably none of my buisness. But what I do care about is making sure you don't make any rash decision because of it."

Yang was now frowning and Blake had to resist the urge to look away.

"I've seen you like this before, when all you want to do is punch someone, and usually that isn't a problem. We can both take care of ourselves and handle whatever you stir up, but this is different. Jaune isn't like us. The fact that he has survived as much as he has is nothing short of a miracle. So, I'm asking you to put aside your anger and focus on the mission."

"You done?" Yang almost spat the words. Blake opened her mouth but no words came to mind so she closed it. "Because this is pretty damn rich coming from you, considering how you act any time the White Fang is mentioned," Yang finished.

The words echoed like a gun shot through the booth. Yang had crossed a line, and Blake knew that Yang knew it too.

"I wasn't thinking straight back then," Blake admitted through gritted teeth. "But you were the one who talked me down. Now I'm trying to do the same for you."

"Really?!" Yang was on her feet now. "Then why does it feel like you're echoing Pyrrha and throwing my screw ups in my face?!" Without waiting for an answer Yang stormed out. Blake called out after but she ignored it. Not that Blake had any idea what to say, not after her first attempt at talking to her had gone so badly.

Jaune woke as the train jolted to a halt, the unfamiliar scenery causing a momentary panic as Jaune tried to rise to his feet, only for him to forget he was slouched sideways instead of lying down, causing him to fall off the seat with a startled cry and end up in a tangled mess on the floor.

"Are you…okay?"

Jaune quickly pulled himself to his feet and looked to the source of the question to see Blake sitting with book in hand, and looking at him with a mix of what was probably concern and disbelief, most likely wondering how it was possible to be as clumsy as he was.

"Oh yeah I'm totally fine. This happens more often than you think," Jaune said with a laugh, trying to brush it off before realise how ridiculous he made himself sound. "By 'this' I meant accidents, not you know, collapsing onto the ground as soon as I wake up."

Blake was now looking at him with slightly widened eyes. "Now I see what Weiss was talking about."

Deciding he didn't even want to know what the small, yet terrifying, gravity mage had said about him, Jaune scanned the booth and quickly realised something was missing.

"Where's Yang?"

Blake closed her book and stood before answering. "She decided to go on ahead. We should hurry, unless you want to be stuck on here till the next town." The last part being said as she stepped out of the booth, with Jaune quickly following.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be free of the train, and beheld the town that they were to help. It was rather modest, with a high wooden wall keeping most of it out of sight, but through its open main gate he could see squat buildings made almost entirely of wood. It reminded him a little of home.

"Come on," Blake ushered as she moved to the gate.

"So, Yang said we're meant to deal with some wizards that have set themselves up here. Do we know anything about what we're dealing with?" Jaune asked as they stepped through the gate and walked down the main avenue of the town.

"Yes," Blake answered curtly.

"Really? What do we know?"

Blake sighed as she stopped just short of one of the larger buildings, marked as a tavern by the sign above the door, realising there was no one else do it, she began explaining. "We are dealing with a team of four wizards. They are members of Beacon so it's important we handle this as quickly and peacefully as possible."

"Wait a sec, these guys are from Beacon?!"

"Yes, and don't interrupt," Blake chastised. "If it does come to a fight, three of them use magical weapons but aren't too much of a problem. The leader of the group is a different story. His name is Cardin Winchester and he uses a rare form of takeover magic called-" Blake paused her explanation and stared deadpan at Jaune who had raised his hand like a student wanting to ask a question. "What?"

"The three guys you mentioned, did two of them happen to wear plate armour? One grey and the other a tan colour?"

Blake wondered he knew this but nodded slowly nonetheless.

"The ah, the one that isn't wearing armour," Jaune stammered, now noticeably nervous. "He wouldn't happen to have a weird green mohawk would he?"

"It is pretty weird," Blake agreed.

"Yeah, I don't think we're getting out of here without a fight," Jaune admitted while pointing over Blake's shoulder.

True to Jaune's words, about twenty meters behind her, halfway down one of the paths that came off the main road, were the R, D and L of team CRDL. Blake eyes analysed the trio in an instant; Russel Thrush, light armour, armed with two daggers and sporting a light green mohawk. Dove Bronzewing, tan plate armour, single handed sword with revolver built into hilt. Lastly, Sky Lark, dark grey plate armour, halberd and long, slicked back, dark blue hair.

The trio had obviously seen them from the way they were staring at them and visibly tense.

"Relax," Blake reassured Jaune, not taking her eyes off the trio. "Cardin isn't here, so maybe Yang has managed to-"

She was interrupted as Yang came crashing through the tavern wall and rolling out into the street. The fire wizard picked herself up, taking a moment to orientate herself before shouting at the tavern "You ass! You got wood chips in my hair!"

"Dammit," Blake growled, unsheathing her weapon as Yang's attacker stepped through the hole made by Yang's exit.

Cardin Winchester, the tallest member of team Cardinal emerged into the streets. It was impossible not to notice him, not because of his impressive height, or the gold trim and decoration on his armour, but the fact that his left arm was disproportionately large, as it had transformed into the front limb of an Alpha Beowolf.

Having gone ahead, Yang had had no problem spotting her target the moment she walked in. After all, it's hard to hide when you're a giant in gold trimmed armour and no-one wants to sit within ten meters of you. Yang could feel the tension in the air, but ignored it as she walked up and took the barstool next to Cardin.

"What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?"

Cardin's head lazily turned and it seemed to take him a second to recognise the newcomer. When he did he let out a huff. "I guess the Guild Master got tired of us causing trouble. Suppose it's time we-"

"What are you talking about?" Yang asked, feigning curiosity.

Cardin looked at her with genuine confusion. "Didn't Ozpin send you? To get us to leave this town?"

"Nope," Yang lied. "I'm just passing through on a quest." Then after a pause. "Should I be running you out of town?"

"Probably," Cardin admitted as he took a swig from the flagon in front of him. "Finished our quest days ago, decided to hang around and enjoy the hospitality." Yang couldn't help but check the wide berth the townsfolk were giving Cardin as he said that.

"Oh yeah? Let me guess, it's all the love and adoration they're showing you that makes you want to stay," Yang said sarcastically.

"Don't talk like you what it's like," Cardin growled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asked as she leaned into his personal space.

"You and you're buddies with your flashy powers have no idea what I put up with," Cardin said, getting louder as he shoved Yang out of his personal space. "You don't know what it's like to have people cheer as you walk into town, only for the same people to spit as you walk past when they see your magic."

"So, you're upset because people discriminate you because you're different?" Yang asked, before Cardin could answer she continued. "Cause I've seen how you treat faunus, and this honestly just feels like the universe getting back at you."

"That's different!" Cardin argued.

"Oh, sure," Yang mocked. "They didn't choose to be like that, and where they have animal ears, you turn into the bane of humanity."

Yang didn't even see the blow that hit her. One moment she was next to Cardin at the bar and the next she picking herself up outside with woodchips covering her clothes. She reached up to push some of her hair out of her face, only to pause when it ran into something that definitely wasn't hair.

"You ass! You got wood chips in my hair!"

With a roar, she enveloped herself in fire and charged at Cardin. When she got close, Cardin tore out a section of the tavern wall with his transformed arm, and swung it like a bat straight into Yang. She barely had time to activate her Flames of Vengeance before the strike connected and she was sent hurtling over a line of houses.

She managed to right herself while in the air and an intense jet of flames from her hands slowed her fall. She had barely touched town when Cardin, now fully transformed into an Alpha Beowolf, bounded out from a gap between two houses, the only noticeable difference between him and an actual Grimm was how his eyes shone blue. Yang's eyes remained a violent red as she threw a volley of fireballs at her fellow mage.

Cardin dodged the first, was hit by the second and third and leaped off the street and onto the roof of a nearby house to avoid the rest. The transformed mage ran across the rooftops, closing the distance between the two, before leaping down to strike. Yang jumped back out of range, and before Cardin could recover from his attack, she rushed forward with a shout.

"Fire magic: Blazing Strike!"

The punch hit Cardin square in the face, with enough force to flip him onto his back. He rolled to his feet, transforming back to his normal form as he did.

"You're really not holding back," Cardin muttered as he massaged his jaw. "Guess I shouldn't hold back either."

A glyph appeared at Cardin's feet and he disappeared amongst the yellow light that came out, and seconds later an indistinct shape of the same yellow light could be seen rising up. As the light faded, where Cardin once stood was a massive Ursa Major, raised up on its hind legs it reached higher than any of the surrounding houses.

"Well, that's new," Yang commented to herself as she got into a combat stance. The blue-eyed Grimm roared and the two mages charged at each other.

Jaune stumbled backwards, barely avoiding Russel's dual knives. He was glad he wasn't wearing his armour as it would only slow him down, something he couldn't afford right now, Russel was just too quick and had already disarmed him of his sword and shield.

"Light Make: Shield!" Jaune called, summoning a shield in the hopes of creating some space, only for those hopes to be dashed as Russel flipped clear over the shield. Thinking fast, Jaune dispelled the shield and dived forward, rolling right under his opponent. He scrambled to his feet to see his opponent waiting for him with a cocky grin.

"So, you're a maker mage huh? You know what the big weakness of maker magic is?"

Before Jaune could answer Russel rushed forward throwing one of his knives. Jaune ducked the throw only to come up to see Russel flip through the air and deliver a two-footed kick to his chest, knocking him clear off his feet, winding Jaune and leaving him lying on the ground gasping for air.

"A maker wizard needs time to think. All you need to do is keep them distracted till you get close and they fold," Russel remarked smugly, as the knife he had thrown spun through the air and back to his hand. With his fight done, he turned and started to walk towards his teammates.

Jaune rolled himself onto his side, where he could see Blake holding off the other two members of team CRDL. She was holding her own, but he doubted she would be able to handle three opponents at once. Dragging himself up onto all fours, then with an effort that felt like he was trying to deadlift a Beowolf, he stood up.

"Hey," Jaune tried to shout, only for it to come out as more of a cough. "We're not done fighting."

It may not have been impressive, but it did its job as Russel turned around, an amused expression on his face. But Jaune wasn't done.

"Light Make: Armour!" As the glowing suit of white light surrounded him, Russel lost his smirk.

Without a word Russel charged in again, throwing his knife as he hid last time. Only this time, Jaune was ready. He wasn't fast enough to dodge or get through Russel's guard so he needed another tactic.

His mind settled on the memory of Yang taking the hit from the Spider Droid to get stronger. He didn't have a spell to replicate that effect, but the idea of taking a hit to create an opportunity was something he could emulate. So, instead of dodging, he used his armoured right arm to block the knife, the blade sticking into the magical armour and staying.

Undeterred, Russel threw his other knife and Jaune repeated his earlier actions, this time with his left arm. Jaune lowered his arm just in time to see Russel leaping forward with his right leg extended in a kick. His boot scraped against Jaune's armour as Jaune twisted to the side and brought his arm down, trapping Russel's foot against his body.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to hold him long, Jaune moved quickly, gathering as much magical energy into his fist as he could, before striking Russel in the chest, right where Russel had landed a kick on him earlier. The mohawk wearing teen dropped to the ground and Jaune dispelled his armour. He turned to see if Blake needed any help, only to see Blake watching him while her opponents lay tangled together in her weapon's ribbon.

Before any words could be exchanged a villager ran up from nowhere. "Grimm! Grimm are attacking the town!"

"They must have been drawn by negativity cause by CRDL staying here, and us fighting in the streets must have been the tipping point," Blake deduced, oblivious to the shocked looks on Sky, Russel and Dove as they realised they had caused a Grimm attack. "We're going to need Yang," Blake declared, directing her words to Jaune. "We can't do this ourselves."

Jaune looked over to where he had seen Yang go, but all that was visible over the roof tops was a series of spot fires and the moving bone spikes of what he could only assume was Cardin.

"Let us help." The words came from Sky, still tied up on the ground and surprised Blake and Jaune. "I'll be the first to admit we're not nice people, but we're not the kind of assholes that would leave people to fend for themselves against a Grimm attack."

Blake looked to him with a questioning look, he shrugged back, and with a reluctant sigh Blake undid the bindings, only for the guys to pick up their weapons and sprint away as soon as they were up. Jaune watched the fleeing teens go with a shocked expression on his face.

"Unbelievable," Blake remarked sounding disgusted, but not entirely surprised. With a final shake of her head she turned to Jaune. "I'll do what I can to hold back the Grimm but I need you to get Yang."

Jaune looked in the direction of Yang's fight as a monstrous roar bellowed out from that direction. "Sure, why not, I haven't had nearly enough near-death experiences yet," Jaune said sarcastically. When Blake didn't respond, he looked back to see her already gone. With no other options, he started running for a gap between two houses and towards Yang's fight.

The scene in front of Jaune was every bit as terrifying as he had thought it would be. Cardin and Yang had been fighting between two rows of houses and where they had been was obvious. Cardin, in his Grimm form had taken chunks out of homes in pursuit of Yang who, in turn, had left a scattering of fires that townsfolk were already trying to douse without getting too close to the actual fight.

What shocked Jaune the most though was Cardin's appearance. The two battling mages were a few houses down from his current position, and he could see the massive bulk of what he recalled was an Ursa. The combination of its natural bone spikes and the smouldering fur, courtesy of Yang's attacks, created a nightmarish image with footsteps that struck the ground with a noise like a cannon firing.

Knowing time was of the essence, he ran forward with a shout of "Light Make: Javelin!" Six spears of light sprung into existence above him and launched themselves at Cardin's back and bouncing off, seemingly harmless. It did get his attention though, and it was as Cardin attempted to turn his massive body, that Jaune initiated the second part of his hastily constructed plan.

Placing his hands on the ground he called out "Light Make: Pillar!"

As the words left his mouth a cylinder of light, like the one he had used to ascend Merlot Tower, rose out of the ground between himself and Cardin. The pillar rapidly grew in height, but instead of going straight up it grew diagonally, striking the still turning Cardin in the side with enough force to knock him over.

Taking advantage of Cardin's position, Jaune held out his hands and yelled "Light Make: Shield!" He focused hard as he made the construct. Instead of being vertically orientated this one had to be horizontal, and larger, much larger, large enough to trap an Ursa under it.

To his immense relief it seemed to work. Due to his position on his side, Cardin seemed unable to move the shield that Jaune held there with his will. Jaune noticed Yang approaching and opened his mouth to tell her the situation, only for her to grab his shoulder in anger.

"What the heck are you doing?! This is my fight!"

The shock was almost enough for Jaune to lose focus and for a moment the shield flickered. Yang fixed a rage filled glare at Jaune, her eyes burning red and Jaune could tell she was in, what Ruby dubbed, 'Berserker mode'.

"Blake needs you!" he shouted back. He had only been trying to simplify the situation when he said it, but it seemed those were the right words as they cut through Yang's anger like a knife. Her eyes switched back to lilac and the temperature dropped.

"What happened?" Yang was no longer shouting, her anger replaced by worry.

"Grimm are attacking the town," Jaune explained. "Cardin's team ran and Blake is trying to hold off the attack herself."

Yang looked between Cardin, still trapped, and where Jaune had come from, obviously torn.

"Go help Blake," Jaune said, surprised by his own confidence. "I'll talk to Cardin."

"Jaune you can't," Yang argued, starting to sound desperate.

"What do you mean?"

"He lost control," Yang said with obvious concern. "During our fight Cardin lost control of his transformation. That's no longer Cardin in there, it's a seriously pissed off Grimm!"

As though to echo the point, Ursa-Cardin pushed against the shield and Jaune barely held it together.

"Go," Jaune said, not really knowing what he was saying. When Yang looked like she was going to argue he continued "I don't have to beat him I just have to keep him busy until you and Blake finish up, so hurry!"

With a final nod Yang turned and ran, going at a speed that had to have been magically enhanced. It was as she disappeared from sight that Ursa-Cardin pushed against the shield again with a mighty roar, this time proving too much for Jaune as the shield shattered. Jaune staggered back as Ursa-Cardin righted itself before rising up on its hind legs and bellowing. The beast came back down onto all fours and the hatred within its burning eyes burrowed into Jaune's soul.

"That's not good," Jaune muttered to himself.

Ursa-Cardin charged and Jaune braced himself, shouting "Light Make: Armour and Shield!"

The armour took shape around him as a shield as large as the last formed between the two, only for it to shatter as Ursa-Cardin barrelled into it. Jaune was sent flying with a single swipe from the beast and crashed into an already damaged house.

Jaune barely had any time to right himself as the Ursa-Cardin's forepaws came crashing down. When Ursa-Cardin's arms began to move, sweeping the wreckage of the house with it, Jaune quickly summoned another shield, smaller this time, just large enough to cover himself. The wreckage hit first, smashing to splinters between the shield and the monster's arms. Then the arms hit and, with a monumental effort, the shield held.

The small victory gave Jaune a glimmer of hope, only for it to die a quick death as he saw the Ursa twist its body, winding up to hit the shield with more force. Jaune watched the attack come and at the last second, dispelled the shield and threw himself back.

He watched as the Ursa-Cardin over balanced, having committed both front legs to the attack, and fell over.

The out-of-control wizard quickly pulled himself back up, the red eyes and smouldering fur looking more terrifying than ever as the sun started to get low. Realising he couldn't keep this going in the middle of the town, Jaune started running down the street heading towards the wall that surrounded the town. Ursa-Cardin took off in pursuit, closing in with thunderous steps.

Jaune didn't look back as he ran, focusing on going as fast as he possibly could. When he decided he was close enough to the wall he shouted "Light Make: Pillar!"

The cylinder rose up diagonally, propelling him up and forward to the top of the wall. As he ascended he felt Ursa-Cardin's hot breath wash over him and a moment later his pillar shattered. Fortunately, Jaune was already high enough to make it over the wall.

Barely.

Jaune tumbled through the air, his shoulder colliding with the wall top around the same time Ursa-Cardin barrelled through the wall. His armour protected him from the forest of spikes on Cardin's back and bouncing off Cardin's back and legs ironically saved him from breaking any bones upon landing.

Feeling battered and bruised, Jaune picked himself up. To his surprise, Ursa-Cardin seemed dazed, its head shaking lazily and its eyes switching between blue and red, only for, with a single violent head shake and a stamp, the eyes to stay red.

Not waiting to see what it would do, Jaune took off to the nearby tree line. The now familiar thunderous foot falls were all the confirmation he needed that Ursa-Cardin was following. Jaune ran between the trees, zig-zagging between the trees, looking for the thickest ones as he heard trees shatter behind him.

As Jaune ran between the two thickest trees yet, he realised the sound of Ursa-Cardin didn't seem as close. He risked a look behind him, just in time to seen Cardin crash into the trees he just passed and to Jaune's immense relief the trees held. Cardin's head could fit through the gap, but his shoulders were far too wide.

Jaune stopped, realising just how exhausted he was. He wasn't the only one, though, as the out of control Cardin seemed to be more exhausted than himself. The Ursa backed up and tried again, only for the trees to once again halt its progress, but Jaune noticed the hit took a chunk out of both trees.

Jaune tried to start running, only for his legs to give out under the strain. Realising that running would no longer work, he hobbled over to a nearby tree, just as thick as the ones stopping Cardin. He desperately looked around for something to help him fight, and as he watched Cardin chip away at the trees, an idea formed.

"Light Make: Sword." As the blade formed in his hand, Jaune started to frantically chopping away at the tree he was leaning on, once again racing against Cardin. His opponent had a head start and was close to breaking through. After what felt like hours but could only have been seconds, Jaune heard the ear-splitting CRACK as Cardin broke through. Knowing this was his only chance, Jaune roared as he swung one last time at the tree. As the sword swung down, Jaune saw the blade grow and cleave straight through the rest of the tree. Gravity did the rest.

The age-old tree plummeted down, straight onto the rapidly approaching head of Ursa Cardin. The tree bounced off his head, tumbling away as Cardin collapsed knocked completely unconscious. Jaune slumped against the newly formed tree stump as Ursa-Cardin, in a flash of yellow light, turned back into regular Cardin.

He heard shouting and spied Yang's unmistakeable blonde hair approaching. He sat there waiting, and as the adrenaline left his system, he became painfully aware of his body's battered state and how tired he was. As she got closer, Jaune noticed she wasn't alone and Blake was running alongside her. As they arrived Yang, ran right up to him, concern written all over her face, while Blake stood back, looking between Jaune and the unconscious Cardin with a look of confusion.

"I'm so sorry Jaune," Yang began. "This was all my fault."

Jaune waved dismissively, he was too tired to pay any attention to what she was saying, he did however have something he needed to say to her. "Yang? I think I'm gonna need the extra training."

With that his energy left him and he let himself fall asleep.

Roman lit a cigar and took a moment to savour it. With a drawn-out exhale, he decided he had put this off as long as possible. Any longer and he would be playing with fire in a far too literal fashion. Exiting the small corner office of the warehouse, he stepped into the main area. From there it was a matter of navigating the maze of shipping containers, all full of dust, to get to the main doors where he knew she was waiting.

When he turned the last corner, Roman saw her immediately, dark hair, amber eyes and that short red dress, beautiful in the most terrifying way. He was more than a little surprised to see that Cinder had not come alone. Next to her was a man dressed entirely in black. With a black cloak hanging from his shoulders, the dark outfit contrasted heavily with his fair skinned face and long white hair that ran down his back.

As Roman drew closer and could see more of the man, his face seemed vaguely familiar and told him the man was at least fifty years old, and yet despite that, his cobalt blue eyes were sharp and his body was unnaturally toned for someone his age. All clues pointed towards this man being a career mage, and Roman vaguely recalled a quote about being wary of those that grew old in a young man's game.

The newcomer spoke first. "Look who finally finished putting on their make-up and decided to join us," He quipped in a low yet powerful voice.

He knew to be on guard – the man had come with Cinder after all – and with years of dealing with thick-headed thugs and wannabe tough guys, remarks like his had long lost their sting. However if someone wanted to match wits then who was he to deny them.

"I'm surprised Cinder, never expected you to be so charitable as to help out the elderly," His tone was a practiced mix of smug and mocking as he stepped closer. "You must be lost," he said as slowed his words and emphasised his pronunciation "Bingo night is actually a few blocks from here, I could have one of my men take you there if you'd like?"

The black clad wizard rolled his eyes but said nothing. Roman made no attempt to hide the smirk that grew on his face. His reaction had told him plenty about the type of person he was dealing with.

"Behave Roman," Cinder said, her words, as always, carried with them the threat of violence. "You might want to try getting along with our new friend here. After all I want you two to work together from here on out."

Roman's first thought was to tell Cinder he didn't need the help, and that the new guy could bugger-off to wherever he came from, however, upon remembering that he enjoyed being alive decided against it. "Does this 'friend' of ours have a name, or should I just refer to him as 'the guy that never out grew his goth phase'?" Roman asked while pointedly ignoring the man in question.

"If you must know, my name is Wyncrer," the newly introduced Wyncrer cut-in.

"Hold up a sec," Roman said as he took a closer look at Wyncrer's face, before looking back to Cinder, then back to Wyncrer and bursting out laughing. "This is absolute gold," Roman managed between laughs. "When most people have a mid-life crisis they buy a sports car and get themselves a hot girlfriend, but you. You really outdid yourself."

Roman straightened up before continuing "Who would have thought that Wyncrer Gallidris, Guild Master of Vale's second largest guild, would be aiding Vale's most wanted."

"If you're done, I would like to get this over with soon," Wyncrer growled.

"Indeed. Roman I've already asked you to behave yourself, I won't ask again," Cinder said as her eyes glowed. "Wyncrer has proven himself very useful in recent weeks. He is the one that's been supplying anti-faunus gangs with high-grade weapons, and in doing so increased the amount of faunus turning to the White Fang."

Roman had suspected that Cinder had something to do with the increased gang violence, this only confirmed it. But, the fact that it had been carried out by what was, to all accounts, a well-known and widely respected member of society, was admittedly a surprise.

"I've given it some thought and decided that his efforts are worth diverting some of our newly acquired dust to. What do you think Roman?"

"Sounds fantastic," Roman said with a smile as he removed a glove and held it out to Wyncrer. "How about we shake on it to seal the deal?"

Wyncrer looked at the offered appendage with an unimpressed look, before raising his eyes to Roman's "I am well aware of what you are Torchwick. You're a thief by both trade and magic, and I will not be falling for any of your tricks." He said with a knowing stare, before diverting his attention to Cinder "If that's all there was to this meeting, I'll be taking my leave, and I ask you not waste my time like this again."

Cinder didn't take the words well if the way the temperature raised was any indication. "Watch your words Wyncrer, you came to me, not the other way around."

This was the time where Roman would start some serious back-pedalling if he was in Wyncrer's shoes. However, the Guild Master did not seem to share the same instincts as he met Cinder's challenge with an aura of frost emanating from him. "I approached you to start a partnership. I work with you, not for you. Remember that."

With this parting remark, Wyncrer flipped up the hood of his cloak and walked out into the night.

"Black cloaked figure skulking around the city at night, not suspicious at all," Roman muttered as the man in question disappeared from sight. "Are we really trusting him?"

"No," Cinder answered, traces of her ire still present in her voice. "But if he wants to think he's playing us for fools, then let him. He can't stop us, but for now he's useful, and he shall be kept around for as long as that lasts."

"Glad to hear it. Just hope the same isn't true for me," Roman commented.

"Don't worry Roman," Cinder reassured as she stepped closer to him and raised a hand to his face, before deciding against it and placing her hand on his shoulder. "You are in a very different situation to him. As he said, he came to me, but I came to you." With that, she too left, leaving Roman alone in the warehouse.

"Different situation my ass," Roman said to no-one as he walked back to his office. True she had come to him, but he knew the same to be true about that fanatic Adam Taurus. He was disposable to her and he knew it, but he didn't rise to where he was by sitting back and letting people do as they pleased.

As he entered the small room he was greeted by the sight of Neo, his faithful assistant, or assassin depending on who you asked, sitting on his desk and pointing to a folder resting next to her.
"I take it Junior finally came through?" he asked. Neo nodded, watching as he leafed through the folder.

"Tanion Braxton," Roman read aloud. "twenty-five years old, requip mage, gunner variant. Since early teens has been a member of the Genesis guild, run by none other than our new friend Wyncrer." Roman commented as an involuntary smile came across his face. "Looks like we found our gun-runner. Tell Junior to pass this along to the blonde, he'll know who I mean, tell him to call it a peace offering. I've got to make some calls to make. Mr Braxton is about to have a very bad day."

AN: Just a clarification about Wyncrer's name. It comes from a novel that my friend is writing, and he also happens to have used that alias as his fan fiction handle.

As always, constructive criticism is appreciated.

Also, who can guess Roman's magic?