Chapter 11

"It's cold."

"Rae, it's twenty degrees out."

"But I'm cold."

She rolled her eyes, and stuffed her hands in her hoodie pocket. "No, you're not cold, you're nervous. Calm down, and keep up. We have somewhere to be."

"I hate skipping class."

"This place is closed to minors after school hours, and we have no choice."

"Then why are we even going?"

She stopped, turning and almost getting bowled down by the tall woman. "Do you want to stand trial and make a statement?"

"...No, not really."

"Then we have to go see a buddy of mine."

"Uh huh. And you're certain that you weren't in on it?"

Ruby huffed, and spun back around, marching away without justifying that with an answer. Her boots stomped through the puddles, splashing against the cuffs of her jeans. It had been a week since the robbery, and after being questioned by the police officers who were first responding, they'd been asked to come to court the following Friday to testify against the assailants, who were going to be charged with grand larceny, assault with a deadly weapon and endangerment. Ruby would have been happy to testify, no problem, but her companion? Less so. She'd agreed to, on scene of course, but in hindsight she was only talking on reflex.

It wouldn't be so good to have a member of a notorious, criminal organization as a key witness. So Ruby had decided that they'd need to do something a little bit criminal themselves.

"We're here." she said, stopping outside the crummy and unmarked warehouse, deep in the bad side of town. They were down by the docks, in the industrial sector, surrounded by about forty blocks of red brick and steel sided factories, chainlink fences and barbed wire. The air tasted of rust and soot. Tetanus threatened them with every step they took, her expensive steel-toe boots be damned.

"Okay, where the fuck is 'here'?"

She guided them into the lot, past a collection of discarded steel girders, wrecked cars, and stacks of rotted two-by-twelves that littered the lot in front of the old metal casting plant. The logo, a huge lobster holding a wrench, had fallen from the front wall of the building years ago and left its imprint in the faded masonry, having once proudly said Seaside Steel and Metalworks. A forgotten building from a forgotten era. She approached a small, unmarked door. Well, it was unmarked now, as the imprint of what used to be an entrance sign still remained.

"Right where we need to be." She said, and proceeded to knock on the door heavily four times.

"Summer, this place is abandoned, who do you expect to ans-"

"Who is it?" Came a booming voice from the other side. Raven jumped back in surprise, making Ruby smirk at her.

"Just two lonely souls, walking in the moonlight..."

"Wait, Summer, it's two in the afterno-"

"You may enter."

Raven jumped again as the sound of four heavy locks slid out of place on the other side of the door. With a loud and ear-splitting creak, the door swung slowly and painfully open, making Raven jam her fingers in her ears. Ruby, of course, was used to it. This particular place had been her hideaway during her time, whenever she needed to get away from it all. She'd been welcomed with open arms the last time.

"Wait, how the hell did you know the password?" Raven asked, crossing her arms and following her over the threshold.

"Because he hasn't changed it in twenty years." she mumbled back, rolling her eyes. She'd been actually surprised that the password had worked, really.

"What was that?"

Ruby smiled, and turned back. "Let's just say I know a guy."

"The amount of people and things you know concerns me, Summer."

"As it should, Rae. As it should."

She led them through the thin hallway around the outside wall of the building, the heavy bass of the dancefloor slowly starting to get louder and louder as they moved.

"Wait, is this a nightclub?"

"Yes, ma'am." They rounded the corner, suddenly blinded by the light rig and strobes that accompanied the almost deafening dubstep. "Raven... Welcome to The Crystal Ball."

The whole building seemed to pulsate with noise. The room was packed, wall to wall with dancers, all holding glowsticks and bouncing roughly in time with the music. A thick cover of smoke covered the floor and ceiling, blanketing everyone's feet and the building's rafters in the ominous dark. Up on stage, like the idol he was, was the very Masked DJ she'd come to admire for his ability to have exactly the right song cued up for any circumstance. She remembered a time, after bringing Weiss to this very establishment, that Thinking Out Loud had come on almost out of nowhere, and she'd asked the girl to dance. It had been beautiful.

Sadly, this was different.

"C'mon, we have to go see someone." she said, grabbing Raven by the elbow and guiding her towards the dancefloor.

"Who?!"

"You'll see."

They approached the edge of the floor, surrounded by a thick velvet rope and two very surly-looking black-suited individuals. Wearing sunglasses. Inside. Ruby scoffed internally. His fashion sense hadn't changed either.

"Where d'you think yer goin', missy?" the one on the left asked, pushing his palm into her shoulder.

"I'm here to see Hei." she replied, not affected by his tone or glare from behind his drugstore sunglasses.

"Hey, woah, nobody is here to see nobody, 'specially not no kids." said the other, half-drawing his katana from it's sheath.

"Right, right, I forgot, Hei doesn't exist and certainly wouldn't partake in the ownership of a nightclub like this, now would he?" she said, turning to Raven. She was wide-eyed and frozen solid at having been drawn on.

"Uh...?"

"No, of course not." she turned back to the guard, repositioning herself so that her back was fully to Raven. "Perhaps I should rephrase..."

She let them light. Only a little, and not enough to brighten the room any. But light enough to startle the guards into retracting back a few steps and take their hands off her. Normally, she could only do it in the presence of the Grimm, but two years of study, training, and recklessness in her laboratory had allowed her to unlock newer and newer parts of her mysterious semblance and abilities.

"...I'm here to see the prophet."

She wouldn't have even had to move a muscle, or expend any ounce of energy to defeat these goons. They were as weak as ever, and as disposable as ever. A little threatening was all they needed to make them move out of her way.

"Shit..." the thicker one said to his partner. "Boss said she'd be coming. Let 'er through."

"R-right." he buckled his katana back into its sheath, locking it down with the clasp. He grabbed the hooked side of the velvet rope gate and opened it, gesturing them to enter.

Ruby smiled coyly, and followed his generous instructions, gliding onto the dancefloor. Raven followed obediently, slipping between the goons and into the pulsating crowd currently tearing it up. Today's music selection was a little dated for her taste, however it was at least period-correct. She'd never been excited to hear the nightcore version of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and today was certainly no exception.

"Wait, how are we even allowed in here?" Raven asked over the noise. "Why didn't they card us?"

"This place is just a dance club during the daylight hours, they don't serve booze yet." she answered, having to shout as they moved closer to the speaker stacks. "They'd be carding us after four-thirty. We're safe until then."

"Oh." came the unimpressed answer. "You know, this is most certainly not my scene, but why would anyone go to a dance club during the day, especially without alcohol?"

"Because, dear Raven, they're licensed to serve alcohol after hours. The stuff they serve during the day isn't exactly licensable."

"Oh. Oh!" she exclaimed, catching on.

"Yeah. Get it now?"

"This is a vice den?"

Ruby turned quickly, raising a finger to her lips. "Hey, not so loud! This place has to stay running somehow."

"And we're absolutely certain you had nothing to do with the robbery?"

"You know, more and more I've been questioning myself, too."

They had reached the bar. The woman behind it was not quite who she was looking for, and when she approached, Ruby frowned.

"Welcome to The Crystal Ball, anything I can get you two?"

"Nah, I'm good for now." She turned to her partner. "Rae? Want anything?"

Raven leaned on the edge of the counter and drummed her fingers. "Uh, a menu, I guess. What am I supposed to order, Summer? Wait, you guys do serve food, right?"

The waitress nodded with a humble smile. "Of course, just a moment."

She turned to leave, but before she could make it out of her own footprint, Ruby reached over the counter and grabbed her by the sleeve and redirected her away from Raven.

"M-Ma'am?"

"There is one thing you can get me, actually."

She whispered, as to stay out of earshot of her associate.

"Yes?"

"Bring me the big guy. Tell him the Silver Eyes are here."

The recognition set in on the woman's face, and all the blood drained from it. Ruby let her go, and off she went, dashing into the back as quickly as she could without raising any suspicion from the other patrons. Ruby pulled out one of the stools and sat down on it, getting comfortable. She knew she'd be here a while. There was a lot of explaining she needed to do.

"Mere, what's going on?"

Ruby levelled a look to Raven. "Nothing bad. But make yourself scarce. He's not gonna want to see you. Well, no, he is, just preferably from afar. He's a little timid."

"Uh, but what about my food?"

"I suspect the other bar will be open in a second. Why don't you mosey on over there?"

Raven looked at her incredulously for a second, getting up from her stool. "Alright, I guess."

"I'll come get you when I'm done."

"Okay. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Ruby smirked at her. "You were a part of the Branwen tribe, there's really a small list of things you wouldn't do, Rae."

Raven rolled her eyes with a dry chuckle and a mumble of 'shut up', and walked off, leaving Ruby alone at the bar. Ruby let out her breath and sank down a little, turning back around to face the serving trench. Not a moment later, Exactly who she was waiting for rounded the corner and stopped as soon as she made eye contact with him. His scowl turned slowly into a grin, and he moved towards her, much slower than a man of his stature would normally.

"Thank you for letting me know, Leanne. Why don't you go open the other bar, this one's gonna be down for a while."

"Of course, sir." the small woman said, darting away into the rave of people.

Ruby smiled at him as he leaned onto his side of the wide granite bartop.

"Hello, Hei."

He smirked, putting his weight down on his arms.

"Hello, Miss Rose."

"Heard you were expecting me."

"I was."

"Just not this soon, right?"

He grinned, standing up and reaching under the bar for a cloth and an empty glass.

"Yeah, you could say that. You're just a little bit early."

"About twenty years?"

"Yeah. Give or take."

The large man's well-trimmed face and neat suit and tie were the same she'd known for two years now, just many years in the future. He'd welcomed her to his bar, gave her a place to stay and recoup after difficult missions, and fed her and her team when they were out on the town. Well, except for one person on her team.

"I take it you're alone this time? Won't be destroying my bar?"

"No, sir. Not today. One day, maybe."

He chuckled, loosely scrubbing the inside of the glass.

"I look forward to it."

They sat in silence for a moment, reminiscing on things that hadn't occurred yet. For everyone else, that was.

"I'm here to see the prophet." she finally decided on, breaking the silence.

"Oh yeah?"

"Well, otherwise I'd be here for Hei Xiong, but he doesn't exist, does he?"

"Nope. Just a name on a document and a painting on the wall." he gestured to said painting against the back wall of the bar, just next to the huge mirror.

"Okay, what about his son? Hei Xiong Junior?"

"Hmm, never heard such a name. He go by something else?"

Ruby paused for effect.

"The Prophet Of Time?"

"See that..." he pointed at her with the edge of the glass. "...That I can help you with."

Hei Xiong was an interesting fellow. A bartender, sure by day, but that wasn't why he was on Remnant. He wasn't just a bartender, a mixologist, a criminal, and a junior Huntsman, no not at all. Because, while yes he looked young and fit, like one would expect from him based on his profession and education, but this was merely an illusion. For Hei Xiong, or the man claiming to be, was more than anyone could comprehend.

Unless you were Ruby, since she'd started to understand more and more about the people she's known over the last week and change. And that certainly included the owner of her favourite establishment. See, where the headmaster had the unique and cursed semblance of having a regenerating and cyclical existence over multiple bodies and persons with a continuous stream of consciousnesses, Junior's stream of consciousness was unending, and predetermined. For he was a Prophet. An oracle of knowledge from and for the past and future.

He'd anticipated her arrival. He'd known he'd be visited by a conflicted woman with silver eyes, with immense abilities and a knowledge outside of the natural string of time. He knew she'd be coming. It had been his prophecy. Well, one of them.

"But first, is there anything I can get you to drink?"

Ruby shrugged.

"You're the one who knows what like."

"You're right, I am."

Ruby looked to the countertop, where a strawberry sunrise had appeared like magic. A real feat, seeing as a sunrise needed crushed ice, or at least the ones she would order did, and he'd managed to make it without her hearing an ice machine fire up and without reaching in to any kind of ice chest. Almost as if he knew she was going to order it before she'd opened her mouth.

"Thank you kindly," she said, picking up the little glass and taking a sip, enjoying the sweet grenadine. "You're a master at this, Hei."

"What can I say? Been alive long enough to learn a few tricks here and there."

"I'm glad you have. Man, these are good."

"I'm told your sister's gonna order a lot, so I might as well get some practice in, right?"

"Told by who?" she chided.

"The prophecy. The Time. You know."

She downed the rest of her drink, trying to stave off the impending temporal headache.

"Less talk, more drink, Junior."

"Of course."

She looked to her drink, which had filled again, despite never leaving her hand.

"Damn, you're good."

"I see things and know things before they happen. Are you really surprised?"

"Yeah, still surprising."

He chuckled, and put another glass on the counter, pouring himself a drink of water.

"Well, I'm glad I could entertain you, Rose."

She sighed, cheerfully swinging her legs under her stool.

"Hey, so, I have a few things I wanna ask you, Hei."

"Please, don't be shy."

She stopped swinging, putting her elbows up on the counter and twiddling nervously.

"Uh, so..." she struggled to formulate a coherent explanation. "I think I saw one."

Junior knew what she meant, but entertained the flow of conversation. "One of what?"

"A ripple."

"Hmm. When?"

"At the bank."

"Yes, the bank."

"We were standing in line, I was just there to get a direct deposit form, and..." she paused, forgetting how to explain it. "...it was like... the air was wrong. There was no light passing through that spot."

"And what did you see in that spot?"

"The three men. They weren't yours, were they?"

He frowned, sipping his water. "Bank robbery's not our style, you know that."

"Yeah, yeah. Thought I'd ask anyways."

"Well, what happened with the three men?"

She shivered, remembering the feeling.

"I died."

"I see."

"I was killed. Shot in the back with hollow-points. I remember my heart stopping."

"And then suddenly you were fine, right?"

"Yeah."

"Because you followed the ripple."

The Prophet, as usual, was being convoluted and confusing. She was walking in circles, she thought. Her brain was desperately trying to play chronal catchup, and it was losing badly. The alcohol wasn't helping, either.

"I don't know. Geez, should you be serving me liqueur?"

"This better?"

She looked back to her glass. The drink was a clear yellow liquid, smelling of fruit. Apple juice.

"Yeah..."

"Tell me about the bank. Tell me what happened."

"But don't you know? Can't you like, read the prophecy or whatever?"

"I can't see prophesized events that only happened for you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means..." he set his glass down, half full. "... that you didn't die. Because you chose to ignore the ripple the second time around. So therefore, the ripple dissipated, and no longer exists."

"I thought you once told me that when a ripple goes away it just reappears somewhere else?"

"Yes, but I haven't told you that yet."

This was almost too much for her. The Prophet, as usual, seemed so composed and calm, despite the universal implications of their conversation.

"You're hurting my head."

"I know. You'll get used to it."

"Why did I see it? I thought only you could see ripples."

"You broke the laws of physics, and ripped a fairly substantial hole in the universe when you did. A hole you can now see the results of, when they pertain to your life and well-being. Think of it like this, you drop a pebble into a pond, and you can't really see the waves because it doesn't make any. But you detonate a thermonuclear explosive in that pond, the waves get a little clearer."

Ruby paused, scratching her head with both hands, a little shocked by that analogy.

"So I'm... invincible?"

He laughed. "Sort of. No. Maybe. It's difficult to explain. You're very much as vulnerable and mortal as the rest of us. However, until you surpass your birth, you technically can't die. You'll just be given a second chance."

"What?"

"The god of life is a fickle being, and a generally ruthless one. But there is something to be said about his dislike of broken timelines."

"On second thought, I need a lot of alcohol to understand this."

"Hey, be careful what you wish for, or you might just enter..."

He stopped speaking. Just as Ruby was about to question him, she watched him point to the dance floor, where the first few bars of a very particular Kenny Loggins song had started playing. She turned her gaze back to him, to see a very smug look on his face.

"Really?"

"The Danger Zone."

She reached over the counter and picked up his glass, and emptied it's contents into his face. He scrunched up, squeezing his eyes shut and freezing in position.

"Dick."

"Yeah, no, I deserved that, in hindsight."

"Didn't see that in the prophecy, didya?"

"Nope, can't say I did."

Ruby laughed. It was amusing to toss a drink in the face of someone like this. The opportunity didn't come around very often.

"Anyway, sorry. But I do actually have a thing I need your help with."

"And it has to do with the ripple you saw?" he said, towelling his face off.

"Yeah, since I didn't follow it and therefore didn't die, we saved everyone in the bank and held the robbers under citizen's arrest until the police arrived."

"Well that's very upstanding of you."

"I know. Except now the detectives want us to be key witnesses in the trial, and questions are starting to arise as to how I knew the bank was going to be robbed in the first place. Their lawyer is saying that seeing as there's no way a normal citizen would know that a robbery was about to happen, so we in essence assaulted those men, who could have just been normal conceal-and-carry guys, who were just all in the bank at the same time for legal reasons."

"They're... counter-suing two huntsmen for stopping a robbery? I take it their lawyer is also fairly criminal?"

"I'll say. And I think our C-and-C laws restrict things like SCAC rifles and PDWs anyways, but since my partner snapped one of their guns in half, we might be getting destruction of personal property too, if they can provide ownership for the guns."

"Holy hell."

"And their counter argument if we can prove that they were going to rob the bank, is that there's no way I would have known in advance unless I was in on it."

"So, conspiracy to commit charges, then."

Ruby sipped her drink. "Yeah."

"You fucked up."

"I did." she set her glass down with a light thunk of heavy glass on granite. She frowned down at it. "And since when does the Prophet of Time swear?"

He smiled. "Oh, Rosie, I've been alive long enough to know curses in languages that don't exist anymore." as a demonstration, he opened his mouth and made what could only be described as a series of ear-splitting creaks and pops, making Ruby cover her ears and cringe.

"Fuckin' kinda language was that?"

"Che-taan. I'd be drawn and quartered for what I just said."

"What did you say?" she asked, a little scared for the answer.

"There' no... direct translation into Valean, but it involves you mother, your father, a cactus, and a sexual act involving all three."

"Hoo. From where?"

"A continent that no longer exists thanks to the movement of the planet's tectonic plates."

"That's... a long time ago."

"It is. Now, don't say that to anyone."

"Thought you said the language didn't exist anymore."

He sighed, leaning against the bar again. "The language, the people, the culture, the artifacts. No history book has the Che-taan in it since their society died out and the land sunk beneath the East Vacuan Sea, long before anyone was keeping records of anything."

"Geez."

"My theory is that they were like us. Travellers outside of the timestream, which angered the gods, so they disposed of them. They, like you, had a lot of pre-dating future knowledge they shouldn't have. Built massive, mechanically and technologically modern monuments to the gods, but different gods. A lot of dog-headed faunus gods, I seem to remember."

"That's pretty weird."

"Yeah." he paused. "Shit, sorry, we got off topic, what did you need my help with?"

"Right. I, uh, don't need your prophetic knowledge this time, but your criminal knowledge."

"What are you talking about, I'm not a criminal."

"You're right, you're just a terrible liar."

"Heh. That's accurate. Okay, what do you need?"

"I need for me and my partner to not stand trial, or be present at the court, and for all this to be swept under the rug. As we've established, me and my associate aren't exactly the most upstanding of citizens."

"Okay." he nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets and putting his back against the mirror. "I know you shouldn't be anywhere near a public records room, but what's wrong with your associate? Other than their ability to snap steel weapons in half."

Ruby pointed over her shoulder to the other bar across the room. "See that girl over there, feathery black hair, fancy red suede overcoat and thigh-high leather boots?"

"Yeah, she a model?"

Ruby chuckled. "No, but you could be convinced."

"Yeah, I'll say. Damn."

"Well that's Raven Branwen."

His whole body locked up, and he grabbed onto the bar top to stay standing. His eyes went wide, and his breathing stopped.

"Huh what!" his voice wavered. "As in, Raven Branwen, daughter of Corvo and Magpie Branwen? Of the Branwen tribe?"

"That'd be the one, Junior."

His voice dropped to a harsh whisper as he crouched down.

"And you thought that you should bring her into my bar?! Are you crazy?! She could kill everyone in here with one hand tied behind her back!"

"I know. But so could I, and you weren't worried about me, now were you?"

"Well, no, of course not, you're not a part of the most notorious criminal gang in all of Remnant!"

Ruby shrugged. "Neither is she anymore."

"What, why not?"

"Gang's gone now. Only her and her brother left. Everyone else is..." she tried to figure out a way to say they were dead that wasn't so harsh. "...gone. Permanently."

"How did they die? How did Corvo-fucking-Branwen die?"

Oh, of course.

"Uh, you know how the Atlas military has been doing raids on bandit camps the last few years and making a lot of arrests?"

"Uh huh."

He showed no signs of relaxing.

"The army hit there camp with about a week of shelling. From a six hundred millimetre railway gun. Went in and slaughtered anyone who was left. No prisoners taken."

"Holy shit."

"Yep."

"How'd she escape that?!"

"Her and her brother were out of the camp, on a hunt for food. 'Parently they heard the explosions and stayed away, and ended up in Mistral, of all places. Went back after the army cleared out to a barren wasteland of nothing."

Junior paused, and straightened a little.

"But how could they be sure their parents were gone?"

"Have you tried being hit with a week of catastrophic explosions?"

"Fair point."

"And as the last two members of the tribe that should have been wiped out in a military raid..."

"She might be a little wanted."

Ruby finished her apple juice and set the glass down. "Yeah, you don't say."

"What name did you give the cops on scene?"

"Summer Rose and Ray Brighton. Both fake, technically."

"Brighton?"

"It's what she's 'officially' listed as in the school registry, but the headmaster knows to call her by Raven. Keeps the police and the army from raiding the school and finding the other less than legal stuff going on there."

"I hate that school."

Ruby chuckled at his expense.

"Yeah, it sucks. Say, I haven't seen you around campus at all."

"Night classes. Keeps me out of the public eye more than I need to be."

"Oh, okay. What're you taking?"

"Supplemental stuff. Fourth year finishing classes."

She shook her head. "You've been alive this long and you're only now getting around to doing a four-year degree?"

"Please, I've already attended every other academy and school around. This isn't the last on my list, either."

She nodded slowly, wondering how then he'd been so easily beaten up by her sister, before attending Beacon. Perhaps that was just another part of his act.

He coughed. "So I'll take it from context clues that you need me to help keep you and her away from any kind of hearing so she stays alive and you stay out of a maximum security prison?"

"Is that possible?" she asked, leaning over onto her hands and doing doe eyes at him.

"Well, I dunno, it's a tall order for a little lady."

Ruby let her face drop in mock disappointment. She pouted. A very effective and very adorable pout.

"Oh."

"Of course it's possible, Rosie, I'm Junior Xiong! I can do anything I want, remember? Do you know how many cops I have in my pocket?"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask, why a criminal nightclub anyways?"

He shrugged, standing up straight and reaching for a rotary phone behind the bar. "Pays the bills. When's the court date?"

"Friday."

He did a double take as he reached for the dial.

"Fri- man, you're pushing my ability real thin, eh?"

"I had to try, Hei."

"We'll get it done, don't worry. It just means I have to do this now, and not tomorrow. Had you gone to any other criminal don, and this might not be so easy."

"I came to ask a favour..." she tried her best Mistrali mafia accent.

"At least you're not asking me to do murder for money."

"No, I'm good on my murder quotient for the foreseeable future."

He laughed boisterously. "That's certainly reassuring. Give me a moment."

He dialed a few numbers, pulling out a notebook from inside the ill-fitting vest. They waited. Ruby could hear the ringing tone from all the way over on her side of the bar. After a moment, the line clicked. She couldn't hear what the other person was saying.

"It's me." he said, after wasting no time with introductions. "I need something brushed aside."

She waited with baited breath as the man she knew as the Prophet morphed into his little mob persona, his ten thousand watt stare focused off into the distance. People didn't tend to mess with the Vale Mafia, and most certainly not with the don, who could be on occasion, fairly ruthless like today.

"The robbery case on Friday. Two witnesses will not be in attendance." He scribbled something in his notebook. "Yes, them. No, that's not the reason. Yes, they are. Yes, I'm sure. Patrick, listen to me. Yes. No."

She was unsure of the questions he was being asked, but the longer he went on, the longer the pauses between them. Clearly, his associate, Patrick, was getting nervous.

"Listen, they won't be attending. You will not be asking them any questions. Do you understand me?"

A long, drawn out pause.

"Good. I'll send my regards in a form you seem to like. Let's make sure no one finds out about it, shall we?"

He slammed the handset down into the phone, quickly picking it up again and dialing another number. The wait for this person to pick up was much shorter. Almost instant.

"Theresa, it's me. Set Pat a little 'thank you' gift." He paused. Then smiled, evilly. "Yes, that kind of gift. Put 'em in skirts. Maybe this time, let his wife find out."

Ruby grimaced, trying not to think about what kind of gift he was sending.

"I'm not pleased with how he's running things. I think it's time for a new DA. Yes, he's good for one more job for me. I want to see it in the headlines by Monday."

Again, the phone was put down. Ruby looked at him with both bewilderment and concern.

"There. Problem solved. You won't have to stand trial."

"Problem so- you fixed this by sending girls to the District Attorney?"

"When did I say girls?"

Her eyes went wide. "Oh!"

"He has, uh, particular vices. Ones we can cater to."

"Yeesh."

"Some people do drugs. He does twinks."

Ruby choked on her snort. "You also cater that too, right?"

"Don't ask, don't tell, Rosie."

She held up her hand. "Yes, sir."

"Good girl." He reached over and picked up her glass, setting it down in the hidden sink below the bar. "I can't believe all this for a ripple."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Just remember, you owe me a favour now, too."

"Oh shit, really?"

"What, you never watched The Godfather? I have to charge you a favour, it's how any self-respecting mafia works!"

"What do you need a favour from me for, you know everything before it happens!"

A solitary finger was waved in her face. "Not everything, Rosie. There are some ripples I can't decipher just yet. Maybe I'll call on you to help me."

"But I'm not the Prophet of Time, what help can I be?"

"Some things... no matter how many lives I've lead... still elude me."

"Like what?!"

He pointed over her shoulder. She turned to see one of the waitresses sauntering from table to table across the room. She was strikingly familiar, and just as gorgeous even in the strobe-light and neon glow of the dancefloor. Even if she was just wearing the standard restaurant uniform of black slacks and matching vest jacket combo. Her soft brown hair tied up in a neat bun behind her head, with a few errant strands floating behind her ears.

"Women, for one, and that woman, for two. You see the ripple around her?"

Ruby did a once over of the woman. "No?"

"Mmm. Well, I can. And it's overwhelming, and I don't know why."

"What's her name?"

He paused, letting a sweet smile onto his face.

"Fawn."

Ruby's head nearly snapped around, it clicking in her memory. She'd known the woman from before, albeit years in the future.

"Hei, that's your wife."

His face contorted. "Excuse me?"

"Fawn Xiong, your wife, the mother to your kids, and if I recall correctly, the owner of the other bar you run across town, Indulgence."

"I could never get married, Rosie, I'd outlive anyone I came across."

"Maybe that's why you can't see it in the prophecy."

"But I can't follow the ripple, that would cause devastation. It's a sign of future harm and suffering. The universe is literally telling me what not to do, that's why I can't prophesize it."

"That's what love is, buddy. Pain and suffering."

"But I can't break the-"

"Yes you can, and yes you will. You're gonna marry that girl at the end of the school year, you understand?"

"She's like, twenty-seven!"

"And you're..."

He paused, dumbfounded.

"Touche."

"I'm done with all my friends not manning up and asking the people they like out, you're gonna do that today, bud."

"What if she says no?"

She levelled him a glare. "I may not be the Prophet of Time, but I can assure you that she will with one hundred percent certainty."

"I'm going to hold you to that. You might find me under your bed with a chainsaw should this turn out poorly, Rosie."

"Whatever, nerd."

She turned and waved to Raven, who looked up from her lunch. She gestured for her to come over, and she did, getting up from her seat and grabbing the steel basket that had her food in it and making her way over. Junior squeaked, not expecting this.

"Wait, don't call Branwen over, are you cr- Good afternoon, ma'am, something I can get you to drink?"

His whisper and scared attitude changed the instant she was within earshot. Raven approached the bar with a nervous step.

"No, I'm good, thanks. Summer, I thought you said this side of the room was closed."

She sat down on the stool next to her. "It is, I just wanted you to meet the man who's saved our bacon. This is Hei Xiong. Hei, this is Raven Branwen."

"A pleasure." He said, his voice smooth and deep, with no signs he was absolutely terrified of her in his voice. "Are you enjoying your visit to the Crystal Ball?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm sorry, this is your contact, Summer? The bartender?"

"He's a man of many talents, Rae. He knows his way around a court case."

"Right, right. This is a vice den, I forgot."

"Especially if your vice is..." Ruby looked into her basket. "...Chicken tenders and fries."

"I was hungry, are you gonna judge me for that too?"

"Yes."

"First of all, how dare you, second of all, how dare you."

Ruby reached into the basket and stole one of the breaded chicken pieces, and shoved it in her mouth. "Yoink!"

"Hey!"

"Shnooze you looze"

Junior chuckled at them, his charming smile cracking again.

"You two are cute, you know?"

Raven slid her tray as far away as she could get, glaring at him. "No!"

Ruby beamed. "Her lips are really soft." Raven didn't find this funny, tossing a packet of ketchup at her.

"Shut the fuck up, Summer."

Junior's eyebrows traced almost all the way up to his hairline.

"Oh hoh?"

Raven turned an angry finger to him. "Don't read into it, old man!"

"Rae, honey, he's like, twenty-two." she lied. "And also the don of the Vale Mafia, maybe watch your tone?"

Her whole body went sheet white, and she blubbered her apology. "I am so sorry, sir, I-"

"Hey, don't worry." Ruby cut her off. "I'm sure he's more scared of you than you are of him. And he might be a big guy, but he's just a big teddy bear, right?"

"Neither confirm nor deny."

"And right now, since you're a paying customer, he's even sweeter than normal."

Raven turned a look to her. "Your friends are weird, Sunshine."

"My friend is keeping us out of handcuffs and isolation chambers."

"Okay, that's good I guess."

"Can I have some fries?"

"You can kiss my ass." Raven said, glaring and shoving a handful into her mouth. "Are you finished here?"

"Soon as I settle up your high-cholesterol habit, which I thought you were watching." she said, pulling out her wallet and flipping it open to grab her credit card.

"What did I just say about my ass and you kissing it?"

"Whatever. Junior, you got a card reader here?"

He held up his hand, palm out.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to charge you and your friend when you're in my bar. Just make sure you come back when I'm on shift, or you will be charged."

"I like your friend all of a sudden, Mere." she said, mouth full of fries and gravy. "He's cool."

He smiled, taking her empty basket away from her and sliding over the canister of napkins.

"And I appreciate your patronage."

"Yeah, he's alright." Ruby said, winking at him. He winked back. Lucky for them, Raven was too busy trying to get a small gravy splotch out of her shirt to notice this. Also lucky for them, the stain was on her school-issue blouse and not on her red coat, since that would have triggered a city-wide slaughter. "You ready to leave now, Rae?"

"Yeah, I'm good." she stood up from her stool, and pocketed the napkin.

Ruby stood as well, pushing off from the countertop. "Thanks for entertaining us, Hei. And thanks for the help."

"Any time, Rosie. Stay out of trouble, and stay away from banks."

This garnered a soft chuckle from both girls. Ruby stuck her hands in her pockets, and shrugged.

"Hey, I do not control the speed at which banks get robbed."

"Fair, just make sure you aren't part of the next one, okay?"

"Don't worry, big guy, you'll see me again soon."

"I know." he tapped his temple. "I'm counting on it."

She smiled and waved, turning around and slipping her arm into Raven's, who rolled her eyes but didn't shove her off, and led them back towards the entrance. Just before they were back within the crowd of dancers, Ruby turned her head back to the bar, and glared at Junior. She scowled, and pointed in the direction of the waitress from earlier with force. He just levelled a sour look at her, mouthing 'fine' and untying his apron, tossing it into the sink. She smiled, and turned back around as they pushed into the fray of people.

The two guards were more than happy to open the velvet rope and let them out as soon as they made it across the dance floor, smiling nervously from behind the weapons and cheap sunglasses, making Ruby feel like the royalty she deserved to be. Raven was still confused by this display, but didn't say anything about it. She promised herself she'd tell her one day, but today was not that day. Raven didn't need to be damaged by the knowledge of time and the Prophet Of. As the heavy steel door slammed shut behind them and the cool breeze hit them again, Raven broke the silence of the empty yard.

"So we're in the clear, right?"

"Yes, Raven."

"We won't have to go to court?"

"No, we will not."

"I hope we didn't just make it worse."

"I can assure you we did not. No laws were broken by us."

"Okay. I trust you."

She smiled at her tall associate.

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

"No, thank you for keeping me out of jail."

"I'd miss your pretty face."

Raven smacked the back of her head. Again. They both laughed.