Disclaimer: RWBY is not owned by me. It is owned by Rooster Teeth. This fan-fiction is not for profit.
Warnings: This fiction will be rated T for bad language, gruesome violence, and dark themes.
"Keep moving forward." - Monty Oum, 1981-2015
Author's Notes: This is my first step in moving forward. I hope I make you proud, Monty Oum.
Requiem for Remnant
Chapter 7: Chains of Command
The sun was beginning to set over the horizon. Across the sky, the shattered face of Luna rose into view. The two celestial bodies gazed at each other from across Remnant. To the west, the sky was darkening purple like a bruise. To the east, the heavens were being drained of color. Dark indigo hues spilled across the firmament like paint from an overturned bucket. Ominous storm clouds gathered in the distance, promising rain for the night. What perfect weather for a funeral.
The city of Vale was ghostly quiet. The streets were almost bare of pedestrians. Cars driving by were few and far in between. It was as though the whole city was having a moment of silence. The only disturbance was the fleet of Atlesian gunships flying overhead, seeking out any last threat to the city.
Downtown Vale was no less silent. Along the western coast of Vale, the urban environment gave way to the suburban settlements. The buildings began to deteriorate and the road conditions start to worsen. Cracked sidewalks, stores with bars over their windows, and dark alleyways could be found the further down you strolled. Then you come across the city slums, home to the majority of the faunus population. There were buildings with broken or boarded up windows. Many of the construction sites here were abandoned, leaving steel skeletal structures. The streets were broken; potholes deep enough to hide a body. It can be quite dangerous for a lone human in these poverty stricken neighborhoods. You can never tell if the first faunus you run into will be friendly, or if they might be a member of the notorious White Fang.
The city of Vale's seaside shores were lined with warehouse harbors. The criminal element made their home in the docks. The police force rarely patrolled the slums, making it the safest place to hide. Even the Atlesian air fleet neglected to fly over the public squalor.
Even the docks were nearly empty, aside from two figures. Mercury Black strutted down the crumbling sidewalk like a vain peacock. With both hands, he slicked his silver hair straight back. He was no longer wearing Haven's school uniform. Now he was wearing a black and grey jacket with short sleeves. There was metal rerebraces attached to his shoulders and vambraces strapped to his forearms. He was walking in heavy plated greaves, each a weapon armed with shotgun shells. A sash hung from his belt, marked with Mercury's emblem: winged boots.
A female figure accompanied Mercury, stealing into shadows wherever she could. This seemed to amuse Mercury greatly. "Emerald, why are you sneaking around like that?" he called loudly.
Dashing from her shadows, the brown-skinned thief thrust a slender finger against Mercury's lips. Emerald's attire was much more open than the school uniform. She was dressed in an exotic white crop top with a shallow, olive-green under. On her left arm were triple silver armbands. Emerald was wearing skinny white jeans with brown leather chaps. Her dual sickle-revolvers, Marjanah and Zumurrud, were holstered just above her behind.
Shushing her male cohort, Emerald leaned in close and whispered, "Are you trying to alert the whole harbor?"
Brushing Emerald's finger away from his face, Mercury only laughed, "You're being too cautious. Most of the city is watching the funeral ceremony right now. Why else do you think Cinder called a meeting during the day?" He didn't lower his voice in the slightest.
Cherry red eyes narrowed dangerously. "Mercury, I will seriously kick you in the ass if you don't shut up!" the young woman hissed.
Mercury Black laughed. "You know you're just looking for excuses to touch my ass, Emerald."
Emerald Sustrai chewed her lower lip, biting back a scathing retort. Playing Mercury's game would only give him more opportunities to irritate her. Instead, the green-haired girl darted across the street and vaulted over a chain-link fence.
Beyond the gated fence was a humongous dockside cargo port, apparently abandoned and condemned. The warehouse used to house cruise ships. It was fifty meters tall and had over four hundred square feet of empty space inside. There was plenty enough room to hide a secret criminal organization.
Emerald ran around a corner, disappearing from sight. When Mercury finally rounded the same corner, he found Emerald kneeling in front of a side doorway. Her nimble fingers were gripping a pair of thin bobby pins. Emerald stuck both pins inside the door's keyhole.
"Why would you pick the lock to our secret hideout?" Mercury leaned against the doorway, arms folded in front of his chest.
With a twist and a click, the tumblers in the door gave way. Emerald looked at her silver-haired ally and said, "If I don't keep in practice, then my skills will get rusty."
"What, are you afraid that this easy-going city will make you complacent?" Mercury snickered.
Emerald sniffed as she stepped through the darkened doorway. "I didn't become a master thief by stealing from the stupid. The people of Vale don't even have electrified locks on their doors!"
Mercury guffawed as he followed Emerald inside. "It must be so difficult for you, passing by people with genuine silver watches on their wrists. How can you not rob them blind?"
"With gritted teeth and a reminder that Cinder ordered us to stay inconspicuous."
The interior of the large warehouse was enormously spacious. It would have to be, considering the jaw-dropping arsenal that it housed. From wall to wall, enormous crates filled with stolen Dust were stacked upon each other. Hundreds of White Fang members worked tirelessly around the warehouse, carrying boxes filled with rifles and bladed weapons. They were loading these boxes onto a small fleet of Bullhead VTOL tilt-jets. Their faces were hidden behind identical white Grimm masks, their armor adorned by the same mark. It was the mark of a crimson wolf with three jagged scars running down its face.
Among them, a large number of twenty foot tall mechanical battle-suits called Paladins were piloted by more White Fang. The Paladins were stolen somehow; right out from underneath the Atlesian military's noses. It never failed to impress Emerald just how resourceful the mastermind of this operation could be. Just how Cinder managed to acquire so many mecha-tanks was a mystery. While their purpose was primarily for heavy combat, the Paladins were currently being repurposed for heavy lifting. They could carry the crates of stolen Dust with much more speed and grace than a crane. When the time came for direct combat, these state-of-the-art war machines would prove themselves to be just as deadly as they were speedy and graceful.
Emerald led Mercury toward the headquarters of the warehouse. Away from the factory floor, there was a wing set aside for the leaders of this criminal operation. When the two teenagers entered in the wing, they were greeted by silence. Numerous corkboards lined the walls, occupied by maps and written instructions. The city of Vale was most prominent, although Emerald recognized a city map of their now-useless lair in Mount Glenn. Emerald burned with anguish when she realized that she was looking at the ruined remnants of Cinder Fall's grand plan. It was such a perfect plan, to drive a train from Mount Glenn into the heart of Vale. The train was loaded with explosions that were supposed to open up the tunnel and lead subterranean Grimm right in the middle of the city. But that fool, Roman Torchwick, started the attack days before it was scheduled. Cinder was forced to completely scrap a huge part of her plan and has since been spending all of her time in deep meditation. It hurt Emerald to see Cinder working so hard to make sure her master plan didn't fall apart.
"Well!" Mercury announced loudly, breaking Emerald from her angry thoughts. He swaggered over to the map of Mount Glenn. Then he grabbed the paper and tore it off the corkboard. "I guess we won't need these any longer."
Mercury crumpled the map into a ball and tossed it toward a wastebasket. The ball of trash landed squarely in the middle of the bin. Emerald crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head ruefully.
"Those maps would still be useful if Roman hadn't ruined Cinder's plan." She spat bitterly.
"Speaking of Cinder, where do you think she is? She told us there was going to be a big meeting right around this time. She even left the dormitory before we did." Mercury looked around the space, as if he expected Cinder to magically appear. It wouldn't even surprise Mercury if Cinder really did.
Emerald snapped at Mercury, "You know very well that Cinder has been working tirelessly to keep all our efforts from going to waste. Ever since Roman got arrested, she hasn't gotten a wink of sleep."
Mercury rolled his eyes and started flapping his hand like a sock puppet. When Emerald began ranting, there was little you could do but pretend to listen.
Ignoring Mercury's antics, Emerald continued seething. "I can't believe that Roman messed up such a huge part of Cinder's plan! She had everything plotted out! But then that idiot went and flushed it all down the toilet!"
Mercury turned away from the thief. His eyes landed on something behind her. In an instant, Mercury froze in place, his face an expression of pure panic. He frantically motioned to Emerald and said, "Uh, Emmy? You may want to ixnay the Omanray ashingbay."
Oblivious to the danger, as well as to Mercury's Pig Latin, Emerald kept right on railing against Roman. "I swear; I hope I never see that fool again! If Roman dares show his face around here again, I'll make him wish he was executed in prison!"
All of the sudden, Emerald sensed a presence directly behind her. She spun around and barked, "Mercury! I told you to never stand right behind me—"
Instead of standing right behind her, Mercury was actually standing far off in the distance. Emerald adopted a look of confusion. Why did she sense someone so close then? The riddle was solved as soon as the master thief glanced down at her feet. Directly beneath her breasts was a head of hair colored bubblegum pink and chocolate brown with snow white stripes. The head tilted up and Emerald found herself staring into a pair of mismatched eyes, one pink and one brown. Emerald staggered backwards, startled.
The tri-colored hair and eyes belonged to one Neo, last name unknown. The pale girl was dressed in white Victorian era clothing, with white knee-high boots and a black corset. Emerald hadn't even heard Neo approaching. The diminutive bodyguard didn't make a single sound. Emerald hasn't even heard her speak one word yet. But she didn't need to say anything in this instance. Neo's teeth were clenched, her fingers gripping her parasol tightly, and her eyes were stone cold. It was a wonder how something so small could emanate so much killing intent. There was very little known about Neo; but her loyalty to Roman Torchwick was unquestionable.
Mercury let loose a nervous giggle. "If you ladies will excuse me, I'm going to grab the cleaning supplies that we'll most certainly be needing soon. It's been nice knowing you, Emerald!" With that, Mercury Black began walking away at a brisk pace.
Emerald reached behind her back with both hands and gripped her dual revolvers. Neo's gloved fingers were resting on her pink and white parasol, a deadly weapon that concealed an even deadlier sword. Silence settled between the two women. Was Neo even a woman? Emerald didn't even know how old the strawberry shortcake was. She could be twelve, fifteen, or a middle aged midget.
Unwilling to stand down from a fight, Emerald broke the silence. "What's the matter, Neo? Can't handle hearing the truth about your boss?"
Eyes unblinking, Neo gripped her parasol with two hands. Slowly, deliberately, Neo began to unsheathe her sword from her parasol. The blade hissed like a serpent as it was released from its confinement. Emerald gradually drew her sickle-revolvers, her fingers on all four triggers. One trigger would fire the revolver. The second would unfold the sickles beneath the barrel of her guns. Emerald didn't know if the imminent fight would be close quarters or long ranged. So she only pulled the second trigger for Zumurrud, extending the wicked blade with a snap.
Neo drew the last inch of blade out of its sheath. Uneven eyes trained on Emerald's scarlet orbs. The two stood as still as statues, just waiting for someone to make the first move. In a fight where the enemy combatant was a complete unknown, you never want to give her the first strike advantage. Emerald leveled her revolver, Marjanah, at Neo while keeping Zumurrud's blade concealed behind her back.
It was then that commanding, feminine voice pierced the atmosphere. "Cease your childish strife!"
With a single motion, Emerald collapsed Zumurrud into revolver form and holstered both weapons. She turned her back on Neo and looked up toward the source of the voice. Standing on a level above them was a woman draped in darkness; her eyes glowed in the shadows like molten gold. The matron began to slowly wind down a revolving stairway. With each step, her obsidian high heeled slippers clinked. Pale, slender legs reached up into a scarlet, off-the-shoulders mini-dress. Golden-yellow markings snaked their way up both burgundy sleeves, across the neckline, and down the small of her back. Emerald has seen these markings glowing whenever the woman commanded her flames to life. The femme fatale reached up with a long sleeved hand and flipped her onyx black hair forward, over her bare shoulder. Amber eyes burned with hidden power, riveting Emerald in place. Neo sheathed her sword and popped open her parasol above her head, spinning it daintily.
Stammering, Emerald tried to explain herself before the ringleader. "I—I was only saying that—that Roman should be punished for ruining your perfect plan!"
Long, willowy fingers wove forward and gently grasped Emerald's chin. The Queen never broke eye contact with her and Emerald could not look away from those radiant yellow eyes. A sultry smile spread across those lusciously full lips. When she spoke, her words were quiet and premeditated. Emerald found herself hanging on every word, completely and willfully spellbound.
Cinder Fall whispered, "If my plan was perfect, then it wouldn't have been ruined."
Startled, Emerald could only stare in wonder. Cinder removed her hand from Emerald's face and strode past. The master thief's gaze fell on her back, on the symbol exposed through a keyhole in Cinder's crimson garment. The symbol was a pair of ebony high heeled slippers, seemingly tattooed between her provocative shoulder blades. The obsidian slippers were placed sole to sole, forming a crooked black heart. It wasn't apparent upon the first glance, Emerald herself had only noticed it after a long period of staring, but the symbol wasn't actually tattooed on Cinder's back.
It was branded.
The brand was in a place that made it impossible for Cinder to have done it herself. It must have been someone else who wielded the brand. Who could possibly be so cruel; to press a white-hot band of metal against such pure skin? Emerald didn't even notice it, but her hand had begun to reach toward the brand. When Cinder spoke again, Emerald snatched her hand back in fright. But Cinder wasn't looking at Emerald, but at Neo instead.
Addressing the tiny girl, Cinder said, "I understand that you're upset about Roman Torchwick's sentence. Please, understand that I plan on taking full responsibility."
Mouth dropped open, Emerald almost shouted before catching herself. "How was Roman's capturing your fault? He's the one that—"
"But it was my fault." Cinder admitted almost sadly. The mastermind dropped her gaze to the floor. Emerald fought the urge to embrace the older woman. "Had I not underestimated Ozpin's Hunters, Roman would not have been taken from us."
"I don't understand." Emerald argued, wringing her hands together.
"I never told Roman what to do if the Hunters found our hide-out. I simply did not anticipate such an eventuality. It should have been obvious that the creatures of Grimm would lead the Hunters to Mount Glenn." Cinder brought her pale hands together. "It was my failing that landed Roman in prison. That is why it is my responsibility to bring him back."
Mercury Black entered the scene, a spray bottle in one hand and a tarp tucked beneath his arm. As soon as he laid eyes on Emerald, he let both items clatter to the floor and walked over to Cinder. "I heard what you said. I've gotta say, I never expected you to be so— what's the word— reasonable."
Cinder shot a scorching glare at her male underling. He raised both hands in defense and stepped back, almost tripping on the tarp he left on the ground. He hastily explained himself. "All I'm saying is that I've worked under a number of crime lords who would never admit to making mistakes. They would just cap the messenger in the knees then blame somebody else for it." Mercury bent down and tapped his knees with a faint metallic sound.
Her glare cooled to a mere glower, Cinder turned to lecture to everyone. "These chains of command are burdensome. But if I don't always perform at my absolute best, then what reason do I give for others to follow me?" Cinder's words sounded as though she were quoting a phrase from someone else. "A good leader must take responsibility for their errors. A good leader doesn't shift the blame, but accepts when they make mistakes. Whether we like it or not, leaders have a duty to their allies." Then she turned her burning eyes skyward and dictated to the ceiling. "Isn't that right, Adam?"
Emerald followed Cinder's gaze and her jaw dropped. Nestled in the dark rafters of the warehouse was the leader of the White Fang himself, Adam Taurus. Wearing a pitch black trench coat over black pants, he hid well in the Darkness. The only very visible thing about him was his white Grimm mask and his head of bristly crimson hair.
Descending from high shadows, Adam landed gracefully before Cinder. As he stood upright, Adam loomed above everyone. He turned his head and seemingly stared down at everyone in front of him. It was hard to tell where he was looking, his eyes hidden behind a domino-style white and red mask. Twin horns erupted out from his brow, the mark of his faunus heritage. Then Adam twisted his neck and looked directly at Cinder.
She rested her hand on her hip and spoke in a half-pleasant voice. "I notice that you didn't step in when there was a fight about to break out."
Adam turned his head toward Neo, then toward Emerald herself. Finally, he regarded Cinder and said, "They are not members of the White Fang. They are not my soldiers to discipline."
"Of course, you're right." Cinder's tone was no longer pleasant. She turned her head slightly and briefly glanced at Emerald out of the corner of her igneous eye. Emerald suddenly felt her heart drop somewhere in the vicinity of her stomach. Her near-fight with Neo reflected poorly upon Cinder. Emerald's cherry eyes dropped to her feet, hunched her shoulders, and wrung her hands together tight enough to ignite a spark. She clenched her teeth and made a voiceless vow to make Cinder proud.
Neo's expression never changed from simple disinterest. She just kept on twirling her parasol between gloved fingers.
Adam spoke again. "I still have need for Roman Torchwick's spy network. The White Fang will offer whatever resources you need, within reason."
Smiling with her mouth, yet not with her eyes, Cinder repeated, "Within reason, of course." Then Cinder gestured toward a set of double doors. "We'll have the meeting in the conference room. If you'll please enter, we can get started."
Leading the way, Adam Taurus stepped through the doors. Next followed Mercury Black, strutting behind Adam at his own pace. Emerald made her way to the door, staring at the floor to avoid Cinder's pyretic eyes. When Neo finally began strolling toward the doors, Cinder put her hand in front of Neo's face. The very small girl stopped and looked up at the tall woman. Neo's face scrunched up in mystification; multicolored eyes locked with saffron. Cinder placed her hand gently on Neo's shoulder.
"I will rescue Roman and return him to you." Cinder began softly. Neo blinked hard, the color of both eyes changed to pink.
"However, I will need your help." Neo's eyes broke away.
"I know you don't take orders from me. But that will have to change." Gloved fingers squeezed her parasol tightly, the leather creaking.
"I need you to trust me." Tiny teeth clenched, grinding painfully.
"If I'm going to save him, I need you to trust me; the same way you trust him." A long pause passed between Neo and Cinder Fall. Finally, Neo seemed to visibly deflate. She loosened her grip on her parasol and her jaw relaxed. Neo heaved a desolate sigh; her eyes fell to the floor.
A slender hand slipped beneath Neo's chin and forced her to look Cinder in the eye. Neo's eyes were both vanilla white and swimming in forlorn tears. Cinder let go of her chin and put a tender hand on top of Neo's two-toned head.
"I know you miss him." Her tone was understanding, without sounding condescending. The abandoned girl's chin dropped to her chest. Cinder ran her svelte fingers through the colors on Neo's head.
"Can you trust me?" Cinder asked innocently.
The silence stretched on and on. Cinder waited patiently for Neo's answer. Then, out of the silence, came a voice so fragile it sounded like paper-thin glass. The voice said one word.
"Yes."
Cinder smiled broadly, her amber eyes shone in the darkness above Neo's head. The temptress placed her hand on Neo's small back and led her through the double doors. The doors swung shut behind them.
End Chapter 7: Chains of Command
