So to give you all a spoiler on the poll, at the time of writing this Weiss has lost the chance to be relevant because she has literally no votes in the poll. None. Maybe the epilogue lol.

But you all want to know who won, don't you? Well, I guess you'll just have to read on!

Also, if I can ever make my Neo come off like the one on RWBY chibi, that would be GREAT.

'Apostrophe sentences in italics are thoughts.'

[Brackets are words written down.]

Disclaimer: I own neither property.


Chapter 9 - Assassins and their jobs.

.

The sun was just beginning to set as the group reached Luin. Nestled right on the edge of a lake, to say the view was picturesque was an understatement. Bridges connected a series of islands together to form a rather sizeable city.

They entered from the west side of the city and came upon a fountain and several children surrounding an adult. But the adult playing with them was the would-be assassin from Ossa Trail!

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll be it this time." The kids cheered. "Hehe, yay! Everybody hide!" The crowd scattered and the purple-garbed woman chuckled to herself. She turned around to begin counting out loud, but froze when she locked eyes with the Chosen's group

A moment passed with no movement from either party. Finally the woman asked, "Wh-what are you looking at?" The only response came from Lloyd.

"You're actually a nice person after all."

The tense moment became awkward as most of Lloyd's companions turned towards him with incredulous looks on their faces. Only Colette was different, nodding slowly with a smile on her face. "Uh huh!"

The mystery woman shook her head back and forth. "Don't think saying that changes anything. We're still enemies!" After that she walked off, almost forgetting that she was playing a game with the children.

Genis decided to change topics. "I'm pretty hungry. I vote we go to a restaurant and let somebody else cook for once." With no dissenting opinions they made their way to the commercial island. Choosing the first restaurant they came across, the group all sat down with a tired grunt. Kratos and Raine began discussing the possible location of the seals, Lloyd and Genis looked over the menu, and Colette started people watching.

As for Neo, she decided to just stare at the table and problem solve. The battery on her scroll was officially dead, even if she restocked on note cards they would only go for so long, and, according to a local she asked on the way, there was no sort of arts and craft store in this town that would have a white board. The only option left was making somebody in the group learn her sign language; That, or writing on their palm.

Colette's voice snapped Neo out of her thoughts. "Look, that person has such cute dog ears! And a tail, too!"

'Dog ears? A faunus in this world?'

She looked to where the blond was pointing to discover that, yes, there was in fact a dog-faunus working as a server. The young man was chatting happily with an older couple sitting in a booth. Neo watched as the manager called out to him and pointed at the very table she was sitting at. The youth nodded in response, said farewell to the customers he just served, turned to walk to their table...

...and froze at the sight of Neo.

'He knows who i am?'

It was puzzling to her; clearly, he was from the world of Remnant. But she had made it a point over the years to not stick out (well, at least as much as Roman did). Either he was well-informed or a runaway from the White Fang, and neither option bode well for her if he told the people she was traveling with.

The man hesitated for several moments, obviously struggling between coming to their table or making a run for it. After a while he took a deep breath, locked eyes with Neo, and walked straight towards her. He stopped in front of her and slowly said, "Can I talk with you for a moment? Outside?"

Neo peered at the others in her group; every eye was on her, waiting to see what the heck this was about. Her only answer to his was to stand up and gesture to the door. If he threatens to bust her real occupation, she could just knock him out and make up a story.

The sun was fully set, stars making their first glimpses in the sky. The faunus man spent another moment or two gathering himself and Neo found herself getting impatient. Just as she was going to turn to go back inside he spoke, "Roman has a message for you. 'Message me as soon as you get this.' Now, take this transmitter, read the instructions I taped to the back, and leave me the hell alone." With a huff he spun and ran back inside the eatery.

She idly read the brief control notes while mentally cheering. She could finally get back to her real job! Roman had found a way to make contact with her. He was an evil-minded crook and a lying, manipulating piece of work, but he had never let her down.

Ironically.

Pressing a few buttons on the scroll-like machine, she began typing a message out. [This is Neo. I have the machine. Annoying delivery boy. Let me eat before you contact me.] Send.

Walking back inside, she met the gazes of her soon-to-be former travel companions. Neo decided to use her new 'transmitter' to type out the answer to their unasked question. [My boss, Roman, got in contact with me through that server. He also came from my home world, so they left me this device for communicating. After we eat they will probably be picking me up for the return trip.]

Raine was intrigued by this. "So a machine that small can allow contact with another world? How absolutely fascinating! What type of magitechnology does your home possess? Can I take it apart for analysis!?" Genis chose to cut in there. "No, sis, she just managed to get her hands on it."

"So this is where we part ways," mused Kratos. Not that they liked each other. Colette's remorse was a little more genuine. "But we just got to know you. It really is a shame." Lloyd had the most enthusiastic response. "After we finish our journey and Colette becomes an Angel, you've got to let us visit your world! I bet it's amazing!"

Neo chuckled silently. They were a curious bunch, but she would miss the dynamic. Maybe she could visit this world when she wanted to get away from the Grimm for a while.

Supper was consumed and they made their way to one of the larger inns. Neo chose to stay outside to wait for the return portal, but a glance towards a 2nd floor window revealed a group of very curious onlookers: Lloyd, Colette, Genis, and Raine.

'Curiosity killed the Chosen.'

Not much time had passed when a perfectly round portal opened up a couple of yards in front of her. It amused her that she wouldn't have to fall through this one. However, the person who stepped out of the hole wasn't her coat-wearing business partner, but the one individual she well and truly feared.

Cinder.

Masking her panic behind a smile, Neo made a small bow. Cinder smiled in response. At least she was in a good mood. "Do we have an audience, Neo?" The mute pointed upwards. Cinder glanced up, saw the window peepers, and gave a polite wave in greeting.

Neo chose that moment to hand over the notebook containing the gathered intel on this world. The raven-haired beauty read it thoroughly. "How interesting. Thank you for being so dutiful about your note taking. It's great that you started this, because I want to assign you a rather, shall we say, 'long-term' job."

Neo only nodded. There was no saying no to this.

"First, you will continue traveling with them. Their connections will provide ample opportunity to insert a little strategic chaos into this world. And second, I intend to transfer some of the... problematic students away from Vale so that they can't interfere with our plans."

Cinder stepped closer, almost whispering. "When you come across the ones that we send, it will be your job to kill them. Use whatever methods you see fit, but be sure to avoid arousing the suspicion of your 'companions'."

She stepped way after that declaration. "I look forward to seeing what we can do in this new domain of Sylvarant." With a final wave goodbye towards the Chosen's window, Cinder disappeared into the portal. It then winked out of existence, leaving behind only the promise of death.