Cedar Monroe exited the office building at around five fifteen p.m., the same time as usual. He made his way over to his gray car and started it up. Then, after leaving the parking lot, he made a left and headed for the highway.

A figure watched patiently from above. He jumped over to the next roof to keep pace with the car and repeated the process for the next few buildings. It would have been easy enough to run alongside it, but at those speeds, people could still easily see him. The sun was low in the sky, so his darker clothing wouldn't even be helpful as camouflage. Clark still wore a plain red though, rather than the bright jacket Coco had chosen for him a few days ago. That was still too flashy for comfort.

Maybe it was a bit paranoid to follow Cedar so closely. Usually, Clark was satisfied with a quick X-ray and telescopic check. However, that was before he'd given the Councilors his ultimatum about leaving Cedar alone.

Neither had been happy about it, so Clark wouldn't take any chances. Especially when Qrow had informed him earlier today that Councilor Asenich had raised a commotion. He'd had forensic specialists brought to his home to look for any traces the Dart had left behind. Along with slowly firing and replacing his security force.

Clark had been careful not to leave anything behind. No fingerprints, footprints, or video footage. He didn't have to worry about hairdidn't fall out of his head unless he pulled with some decent force, or cut it with heat vision.

Cedar's car reached the highway, which was when Clark jumped down. This was good, because now he could follow it without being noticed. Just in case, he looked out for any cameras, and he kept to the blind spots of any on the way.

Twenty minutes later, the red-haired man arrived at his house. A modern, rectangular building made of concrete and steel. With plenty of large windows available, and a couple balconies. There were curtains for privacy, and Clark had also noticed before that some of the clear windows were actually frosted glass that could be changed with a touch of a button.

The lights were on before Cedar entered. At which point he was quickly greeted by his girlfriend. It looked like she still hadn't relaxed from his disappearance weeks ago.

This was enough for now. Unless one of the Councilors sent in men to kidnap him out of his own house, Cedar was safe. It wasn't impossible, but if they wanted to, there would be easier times to take him. Clark completed his usual scan of any other people in the area that might be watching Cedar. There was a woman walking her dog a street over, but otherwise, the coast was clear.

Every two days for the next month should be fine. Clark decided. That was the new schedule he'd have to stick to when keeping an eye on Cedar. After that, he would still check in once in a while, but not nearly as frequently.

He left, returning to Vale in seconds.

\\

"It really is crowded." Clark leaned over to check on the front of the line, which they were still a good distance away from. They'd been waiting for half an hour, and it might be easily that much longer until they finally got in.

There were already hundreds of people inside, but that number was still dwarfed by those waiting to get in.

"Of course it is." Coco rolled her eyes, which were visible for once now that she'd taken off the sunglasses for the night. "Who knows when the Achieve Men are going to be back in the city?"

"Weren't they here, like, just eight months ago?" Fox pointed out.

"Just eight months?" Coco said. "It's not like there are that many cities besides Vale they go to perform live. Other bands are here at least twice as often."

"I'm sure they're just busy." Velvet added. "They're famous, there has to be plenty of demand for them."

"So, you guys are big fans of them?" asked Clark.

Coco shrugged. "I guess. Who isn't?"

Yatsuhashi and Fox raised their hands.

"That was a rhetorical question you two." She rolled her eyes and gave them a mischievous grin. "You know what? As your leader, I could order you two fangirl like crazy with Velvet and me tonight."

Fox sighed dramatically. "You know, there used to be a time when you were a fair and beloved leader. I like their music, not as much as you two, but poor Yats here is going to suffer the whole night."

"Don't exaggerate." Yatsu said. "I might not enjoy them as much as you three, but I'm hardly going to suffer."

"Yats, that doesn't sound like fangirling . . ." Coco warned playfully.

"Yay. Whoo. Go Achieve Men." Yatsuhashi did try and sound excited, but there was just something off about a guy seven feet tall cheering for a boyband. Especially if he did it with a completely straight face.

"Eh, good enough." Coco accepted it and turned to Fox. "And don't think I forgot about that comment about my leadership. I wonder how quickly the extra small 'I love the Achieve Men' shirts are going to sell out. I think you'd look good in one."

Fox swallowed nervously. "You wouldn't really make me wear that, right? I mean, it'd be a terrible fashion choice."

"I don't know, I think the sight would be worth it. Don't you two think so too?" Coco turned to Velvet and Yatsuhashi.

Velvet giggled. "I think it would think great. We should get him one with a big pink heart in the middle. I could get a picture of him in it." She held up a camera.

"Yes, it would certainly be amusing." Yatsuhashi said.

Fox widened his eyes, his team actually seemed to be considering forcing him into a shirt. "Traitors. Clark, you wouldn't let these heartless teammates of mine to torture me like this, would you?"

Clark glanced at each remaining member of the team. Both Yatsuhashi and Velvet were amused. While Coco gave him a look as if daring him to argue, and that if he did, the three of them would force him into one of those shirts along with Fox.

Clark grinned and raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry, but I think this should be settled within your team."

Fox's hopeful expression fell. "Welp, I guess my dignity's not going to last the night. Velvet, I know you're going to be taking pictures. What will I have to do to make you erase them and never share them with anyone?"

Team CFVY talked and joked as they made slow progress to the front of the line. Clark was comfortable with his role on the sidelines and only chimed in occasionally. Eventually, they showed their tickets to the employees and finally entered.

It was loud. The hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of people here were talking excitedly or even shouting. Lights from the ceiling and the stage swung around, the circles of illumination traveling over the crowd. Smoke machines were set up on stage, and fog trickled down to the people in the front rows.

There were seats on the upper levels, but down below everybody stood. That was where Clark and the others were headed. Their tickets got them up close, but not all the way to the front, which was cut off by barricades. Unsurprisingly, those tickets cost quite a lot.

"It's a bit of a tight squeeze." Clark said, his shoulder brushing up against some guy to his right. Fox was to his left, while he was about a foot from people in front of him.

"That's part of the experience." Coco replied further down, almost shouting. "Being part of the crowd where everyone loves the music."

Maybe, but Clark did notice that the immediate area around was less tightly packed. Part of it could be because of him, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. The three of them were rather tall, and no one would to block their own view by standing right behind them. However, that didn't explain the way a couple people had subtly glanced at the team and moved away.

He didn't know why, but put it out of his mind.

"When does it begin?" asked Fox.

"The opening act's supposed to be in fifteen minutes, it's a solo one by a new singer." Velvet explained. "After that, the Achieve Men are going to perform."

"Okay, I need to go to the bathroom first." Clark said. "I'll be back in a sec."

He left the team, and went off to the nearest bathroom. Already, there was a line of about four guys. Clark walked straight past them, and found a hidden corner.

He sped off, getting outside the building with only a hint of a breeze. It had been loud there, but that was good practice for super-hearing. He needed to concentrate more than he usually did to hear people in trouble.

\\

"You got a message from her?" asked Roman.

Neo nodded, and pocketed the scroll she'd shown when she'd walked over to him. Cinder had sent her a message rather than to Roman directly. That was good, it was probably nothing too important. No changes to the Mt. Glenn plan or any new orders for him. Cinder had other uses for Neo, covert stuff which usually kept her safe.

"What does she want?" he asked.

Neo typed into her scroll, rather than have him play their usual game of charades to guess what she meant. It was fun most of the time, even if they had to because she couldn't speak. The fact that she wasn't playing it now was a bit worrying.

Neo turned her scroll around. Just says to get to Vale because she's going to need me in a few days. And that I'll need to come up with a different disguise from the one for the Vytal Festival.

He snorted. Right, Cinder wouldn't tell him or Neo anything even when she had him by the balls. She'd put him in the middle of Grimm territory ordering around brain-dead White Fang while they handled explosives.

As if that wasn't already suicidal enough, he was working ahead of schedule. Quantity had some quality apparently, since he'd gotten more terrorists to work with. They'd pretty much left Vale completely because of the Dart.

Not that Cinder would care, it was probably enough for her that things were going well.

Roman took a puff from his cigar. "You leaving soon?"

Neo nodded and pointed down.

Now. She was leaving now. That was the safe move, Cinder liked her pieces in place. Which was all they were to her.

He nodded. "Good luck then." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful."

Neo, like the loveable midget she was, smirked and stuck her tongue out. Making fun of him, as if he was stupid to worry. That was the case most of the time, but Cinder was different.

She was insane. Well, not exactly insane, everything seemed to work fine in that pretty little head of hers. No, it was her plans that were insane, and he was not going to lose Neo to whatever she had in mind.

Neo shattered, she liked using her Semblance whenever she could. She was still there when she did that, but her illusions made her invisible to everyone around her.

A few days without her wasn't going to be fun. After all, there were only so many different variations in the phrase 'I hate humans' the animals could come up with before it got old. But he'd last, she'd be back soon anyway.

\\

"Someone's finally returned." Fox said. "And good timing, the opening act's about to start."

"Yeah, there was a big line at the bathroom." Clark said as an excuse. Fifteen minutes hadn't been a long time, he'd only been able to stop a couple crimes in progress.

Which was why he'd thought of starting to use a different tactic tonight. Time would tell whether it was a good idea or not.

The solo singer came up to the stage, and the noise from the crowd lowered a bit. Clark could tell the guy was nervous. His heart was pumping like crazy, and he was shaking slightly. Despite that, he mustered up the courage to walk up to the microphone with wide strides. Almost showing off his electric guitar.

"Hello Vale. My name is Azure. I'll be playing a song I wrote, it's called 'It's Not Easy'."

Azure began, strumming a few chords. Then, he started singing.

"I can't stand to try."

"I'm not that naïve."

"I'm just out to find."

"The better part of me . . ."

It wasn't what Clark had expected when he'd been invited to listen to a boyband with team CFVY. Azure sang wistfully and clearly. The pauses he put between lines and words were very well timed, making Clark focus on certain words or syllables.

It was a sad song. About Azure's failures and how they'd affected him. The mood in the crowd had shifted, and the murmur of conversation had disappeared. Everyone was listening respectfully, even if his music wasn't what they'd come here for.

"Wish that I could cry."

"Fall upon my knees."

"Find a way to lie."

"Of a future I'll never see . . ."

It didn't seem to be very long, the song lasted for a few more minutes. Eventually, he came upon the final lyrics.

"It's not easy to be me."

The final echoes of his voice died out, and the crowd erupted in applause. There was plenty of clapping and whistling, although none of the extreme fan reactions that Clark had seen from videos of the Achieve Men's concerts. Still, the man flushed and gave a proud "thank you" before walking back behind stage.

"Wow, that was . . . wow." Coco said. "I gotta remember that guy."

Clark nodded. "Yeah, I think he's made fans out of us."

The title of the song had been misleading. At first thought, it seemed like Azure had written a song about himself. He had, but it was more than that. Everyone could relate to having tried and failed, feeling upset and thinking that hopes and dreams would remain fantasies.

For Clark, it had brought back memories of wanting to be normal. He'd had the chance once, briefly. When Jor-El had taken his powers from him last year. Yet he'd had to take them on again to save everyone. After he had, he'd had to continue to lie to Lana. Lose her to another man, lose his dad to a heart attack. Lose a future he'd thought had finally been possible for him.

He wondered how the lyrics had resonated with team CFVY.

Coco and Fox were both trying to find Azure on social media. Although they weren't having much luck. Yatsuhashi was silently stood beside Velvet, who . . . looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Clark walked to her side. "You alright?"

She jumped, and turned to meet his eyes, before her face turned red and she looked away. "Y-yeah! I'm fine, just fine. The song just brought up some . . . powerful memories."

He smiled to comfort her. "It did for me too. How about you Yatsuhashi?" He turned to the big guy.

Yatsuhashi nodded. "It's the same for me. His lyrics describe perfectly how I felt during difficult parts of my training. Although now I'm much more confident with what I've achieved."

"Hey, that's great. Anything specific part come to mind?"

"My strength training for my sword wasn't easy. Even after I could finally lift it, I doubted that I could ever swing it or use it properly in combat. That I would never learn." Yatsuhashi flexed his arm with a grin. "That's no longer the case."

Yeah, Clark could see the muscles there. He was impressed, he could see the effort that the man had put.

Clark turned to the faunus. "What about you Velvet? Were you remembering about difficult training too?"

Velvet nodded quickly. "Yeah yeah, that was it. My new weapon's not even finished yet, so I've been kind of down about that." She laughed nervously.

Clark accepted her answer. If she didn't want to share what she'd really been thinking of, then she didn't have to. He gave his own answer. "I'm not much of a fighter, so his lyrics about a future he'd never see hit me in a different way. Since things didn't exactly . . . work out with my ex-girlfriend."

Clark regretted the words the moment they came out of his mouth. For a moment, he'd forgotten how Velvet felt.

"You know what?" Clark said immediately. "Never mind. It's been a while, are the Achieve Men going to perform soon?"

Velvet giggled at his admittedly lame attempt at deflection. "Yeah, only a couple minutes."

"I listened to some of their music, and it was . . . interesting." Clark wasn't sure how else to say it. Their music was chaotic, that was the only way he could put it. They had talent. They needed too in order to attract so many fans, but they weren't really like anything he'd listened to before. Sometimes it was almost as if they cut each other off in the middle of their song. And the volume of each singer was all over the place. It was on purpose of course, at least for their recorded songs. Their live performances were more controlled, but it was still hectic.

Somehow, they were strangely entertaining in a way Clark couldn't really understand.

"Yep, that's how they are. The six of them just work together really well." Velvet's eyes gleamed. "You have to know at least the basics of their personalities to really appreciate them." She took out her scroll. "Yatsu, you come over here too."

"I've heard this before Velvet."

"Do you remember everything from the last time? If so, then you can ignore me. Otherwise, get over here."

Yatsuhashi sighed, and leaned forward to get a good look at her scroll.

She held it up, and showed the two of them photos of the six Achieve Men. "These two are Geoff and Jack, they're the first members of the band. Neither really lead the band though, they've actually cracked jokes in songs that they don't need to do as much since the other members owe everything to them."

Velvet explained more. The biggest event in the band's history was when a couple years ago, one of their members Ray left to pursue his own goals, and they'd found a new member. Lil J, whose real name was Jeremy. How this person had a unique singing technique, how these two members were best friends. The names of their spouses and children, if they had them.

"You really know a lot about them." Clark said with faint surprise. He hadn't expected that much information. And was Yatsuhashi taking notes with his scroll? If the guy probably wanted to avoid another lecture like this in the future, then Clark understood it.

"That's nothing. Coco knows more, she loves the Achieve Men." Velvet answered after putting away her scroll. Then, she froze when looking up a few inches at Clark's face. She briefly glanced down, before blushing and scurrying away. "A-anyway, they're here!" She pointed up at the stage.

The six men walked up to the stage, and hit with the cheers of thousands of people. The one called Jeremy walked forward. "Hellooooo Vale! Give us some love!"

The crowd cheered even harder, Velvet and Coco among them. Fox did too, although not as loudly as they did.

Yatsushashi did so as well when he got a look from his leader.

"Whooo!" Jeremy shouted. "Alright, get ready everyone. We're starting off with a new song. Hap On Tonight!"

The music started, and nearly all the lights focused on them. Then, smoke blasted out from the machines and they began to dance.

Clark winced as the crowd somehow got even louder.

\\

At half past midnight, Velvet, her team, and Clark boarded one of the late night Bullheads back to Beacon.

Coco started the conversation. "So Clark, what did you think of your first Achieve Men concert?"

Velvet watched with interest. Clark shrugged. "It was . . . unique. I'm not sure it's the type of music for me. It was kind of loud in there."

"I agree." Yatsu said. "I'd also prefer to sleep at a more reasonable time."

Coco laughed. "Come on Yats, you're such a stiff sometimes. It's the weekend. And what was that Clark? You couldn't handle the noise in there? You sound like an old person." She teased.

Clark scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Really? If that's the cost of not ruining my hearing, I guess I'll have to take it."

Velvet smiled, he'd done the exact same thing when he'd gone clothes shopping with the four of them. It was funny in a way. He was such a handsome guy, but he seemed really humble and down-to-earth. He got embarrassed pretty easily, and Velvet was really glad for that. If he'd been super suave and charming, she wouldn't have been able to say a word to him or even look him in the eye.

Admittedly, she didn't do very well with those right now. It was just unfair how deep and blue his eyes were! Or how chiseled his cheekbones and jaw were. And she'd totally made herself look like a weirdo by going on and on about the Achieve Men, Velvet had to resist the urge to cover her face with her ears.

Coco continued teasing Clark. Velvet would have been embarrassed about that if she didn't do it with pretty much everyone. Clark probably knew by now that this was just how she was.

"By the way Clark, was it really a good idea to buy that bottle?" asked Fox, pointing at the Achieve Men merchandise Clark had bought. "Don't tell me you actually think you're going to win the contest."

Velvet agreed. After they'd finished performing, the Achieve Men had announced that in one of their bottles was a special bottlecap which would give the buyer a prize. They'd get to hang out with the band for a day. There'd been an insane rush to get to the bottles, and by the time Clark had made it to the sellers, there'd been hardly any left.

Clark shrugged. "I probably won't. It wasn't cheap, but I don't think it's the worst purchase out of the five of us tonight." His lips curled up as his eyes fell down to Fox's shirt.

"I don't even know why I'm still wearing this." Fox grumbled.

Velvet and Coco giggled, while Yatsu chuckled deeply. The team had actually managed to force him into a tight-fitting "I love the Achieve Men" shirt. With a big pink heart behind the word love. Velvet had taken quite a few pictures of him in it. It had been hilarious when he'd tried to fight off Yatsu, but none of them stood a chance against the giant in brute strength. And he hadn't been able to run when Coco had grabbed his legs.

Velvet had taken pictures, but she'd only let the team and Clark see the photos. She wasn't cruel enough to embarrass Fox like that at school.

The Bullhead landed, and the students who were coming back from a night in Vale exited. The five of them entered the main building.

"Huh, would you look at that." Clark said. He'd screwed off the bottlecap, and showed it to them.

"No way." Coco said, her jaw had dropped. Velvet's did too.

In golden letters, the bottom of the cap said YOU'RE THE WINNER! and below was a phone number he could call to redeem the prize.

"Guess I got lucky." Clark said. "You know what? I think you two would appreciate it more. Here." He handed the cap to Coco.

Coco stood there, stunned for a second, before she laughed out loud. She slung an arm around Clark's shoulder. It didn't look easy with his height, but Coco was fairly tall. "Alright. Clark, you're my new second best friend." She then looked to Velvet. "Bun-bun, you and I are gonna go meet the Achieve Men. Now, you guys all go back to our room. I'm gonna have a little chat with Clark. Oh, and hold onto this." She handed Velvet the bottlecap.

Their ticket to meeting the Achieve Men.

"Come on big guy, we have a lot to talk about!" Coco dragged Clark along, and he looked confused, but didn't put up any resistance. Coco was totally taking advantage of his politeness.

The three of them obeyed their leader, returning to their room. It had been an exciting night, and Velvet could use the sleep.

On the way, she received a message from Coco. It was an image.

Velvet's cheeks heated up when she saw it, it must have been taken just before the Achieve Men performed. It showed Clark, and he was leaning over Velvet as she showed him something on her scroll. It had to be when she was explaining about the Achieve Men, since Yatsu was in the upper corner, and it was obvious Coco had focused on her and Clark.

Oh God, had they really been that close? It looked like Clark was only inches away from her. Had she smelled weird? Had her ears gotten in his way?

Velvet's thoughts were cut short by the text message below the picture.

Proud of you.

Velvet wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed at her leader's teasing, or grateful that she'd taken a photo of the moment.

\\

"So, come on Clark, how did you do it?" Coco asked with a curious smirk.

The two of them were in the middle of a hallway, with empty classrooms on either side.

He shrugged. "I told you, I was just lucky." Well, lucky to have X-ray vision. Clark had enjoyed the night, and wanted to do something nice for them in return. He'd checked the bottles for the winning cap, even if he'd first thought the chances were low that the right one hadn't been sold yet.

It had been surprising that the prize had been behind the counter for a while. When they'd restocked, he'd chosen that one.

"I don't buy it," said Coco. "I saw you make a beeline for the store way after a bunch of other fans bought theirs, and you chose that bottle specifically. How'd you do it? You bribe one of the workers or something?"

"No. I told you, I was just lucky."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Fine." Coco rolled her eyes and clearly didn't believe him. "Not like it matters that much, Velvet and I are stoked. Thanks, however you did it."

"You're welcome, but you know, I should be the one thanking you. I had fun tonight."

"Oh? Did we make actually make an Achieve Men fan out of you? You already gave us the cap, but maybe we could let you come along to meet them if you ask nicely.~"

Coco really was one for banter. He had to admit, he enjoyed it, it made things light-hearted and fun. "No, their music isn't for me. I liked hanging out with you guys. I'm new to the area, and I've been busy, so I haven't been able to make new friends here."

"It's not that big of a deal. You seem like a nice guy, you would have found some eventually."

"Maybe, but I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have tried at all if you weren't so . . ."

"Forceful? Insistent?" Coco suggested.

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way."

"Hey, it's cool. I know how I am. Some people like it, others don't. Although I did have a reason to go after you specifically."

"Velvet?" he asked.

She nodded.

Clark sighed. "Look, I know you're trying to set me up with her, but I'm really not ready to start another relationship. Even if I were, I might not be at Beacon for long. I'm planning to leave after I take care of a few things."

Things like tracking down a dangerous alien phantom and finding a way back home.

"So you want me to stop?" asked Coco.

"Yes."

She considered it for a few moments, then frowned. "Fine. Normally I'd say no, but if you're so against it, then okay. I'll tell her your reasons too."

He nodded. "Thank you."

"Alright, see ya." She waved, and started to walk off.

"Wait." He said, and she turned back around. He wanted to ask her something before she left. "The thing is, I'm actually surprised you invited me so casually. When I talked about my beliefs on killing Grimm, except for Yatsuhashi, you guys seemed shocked. Does it not bother you anymore?"

"It bothers me, more than a bit. I think that if you have the power to kill Grimm, then you should. Or at least make a decision to leave for the fight for good. You have a huntsman license, but that doesn't mean you have to use it. And honestly, the fact that you think killing Grimm is wrong was kind of a red flag, and I thought that it would be a good idea to back off."

That seemed . . . excessive, but then again, he'd been in this world for only a few weeks. Maybe that reaction to his beliefs was the norm. "What made you change your mind?"

"I talked to Yats later. He explained some things, that it's not that simple. I haven't changed my mind, but he helped me realize that your beliefs aren't crazy. I think the rest of the team thinks the same. You're weird, but you're not a bad guy."

That was sort of a weird compliment. "Thanks, I guess."

"Yeah, see you later." She said and walked off.

"Bye." He waved as she left. Then, he went up to his own room. For some reason, he had the feeling he'd sleep really well tonight.