'I do not own RWBY. It was created by Monty Oum, and is owned by Roosterteeth.'

Note: Hi!

Wow. Writing this feels so different from the rewrite I'm doing of my other story… The other one is just so much more… Professional and sleek… I would start making this one sleeker but I'd have to go back and delete the review responses and stuff… Which I won't do trust me!

(This is me from a couple months later. Well, I've gone and done just that and made this more professional and sleek while deleting review responses which are redundant now. Forgive me.)

Also! Con-fucking-grats you guys! We're in the top five crime stories on the RWBY fandom! Yay! Can we get a whole bunch of reviews, follows and favourites so that we can try getting… Dare I say it! Number one!?

Anyways, enough of me rambling! Enter, the great escape...


Criminal Mastermind!

Chapter XII


Jaune listened to the tape as it scratched off the roll closing off the box for good. After taking out a plastic knife he found on the ground, he stabbed a few holes into the various sides which were small enough to not be noticed.

Ignoring the grunts and shouts coming from outside along with the occasional blind firing of some guard he walked back over to the elevator shaft with his pillowcase over his shoulder. The jar was gone as Merlot had needed it… The box was gone as well, so all Jaune had was Merlot's box left over, which he realised he could've used instead of his own (Not that they were any different anyways, but it was the principle of the matter which counted!)

So now all he had was: A plastic knife which was bent out of shape and could literally not cook melted butter, a pillow case which reeked of moldy cabbage, and a cardboard box which had belonged to a doctor which had taken his own.

All in all, he wasn't all too impressed with what equipment he had on him. But, it was better than nothing.

Striding across the floor of the bottom… Floor? Yup, striding across the large floor that made up the bottom floor of Sherrinford, he ignored the trucks, the vans and anything else some run of the mill criminal would use to get out of prison.

He wasn't a run of the mill villain! He was Jaune-mother loving-Arc!

Making it back to the elevator shaft he looked into the still damp interior carpet and to the roof. Putting his leg on one of the rails he easily hoisted himself on top of the elevator.

Looking upwards Jaune could see as the metal rope that normally kept the elevator suspended rose into the seemingly never ending darkness. He cursed himself for shorting out the elevator as well before he wrapped some more cloth around his hands and tucked his folded up box into his prisoner's garb.

He never was good at climbing that rope in gym class.

Hopefully having aura would change that…


~o0o~ Criminal Mastermind! ~o0o~


Huffing as he pulled himself onto the twenty seventh ledge in the elevator shaft Jaune would've clenched his fist and screamed towards the sky in a dramatic fashion like everyone who's ever lost anything in any movie ever does.

The only thing stopping him was the fact that he was too tired to do so.

Have you ever tried climbing up a rope using noodle arms for twenty seven stories? Well, if you have you've got balls… Real balls! It is so damn difficult, if you haven't done it don't. It is stupidly hard! Even with his large pool of aura fueling his arms the entire way up to combat fatigue and pain he almost fell!

Eight times.

Now he was here. The twenty seventh landing! If Neo (Monty bless his master.) could see him now she would be proud that she had trained some desk lackey to the point where he could successfully climb up a rope!

It was a major improvement from where he had been before.

Where he was before being some sort of desk jockey who seemed like he would never get a job because he was so incompetent and somehow broke every single pen he touched. Strange too, even if he picked up a pen that someone was using less than a second ago it would break in contact with his skin.

But even then… Being a lackey was better than where he was before.

Getting up from the small ledge he had been sitting on very carefully Jaune looked upwards at the rope hanging in the middle. Looking towards the next and final landing to the huge building Jaune was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Jumping from the landing he grabbed on tightly swinging towards the other side before swinging back and so on. Thankfully he hadn't lost his grip like he had the few times he had before. One hand over the other he began climbing up the rope, inch by inch, foot by foot, whatever unit of measurement canadians use by whatever unit of measurement canadians use, he slowly edged his way up the rope until he was level with the last landing.

Pumping his legs forwards and then back like he was on a swing set he swung over to the last landing and let go of the rope falling the very short distance to the last landing.

He could feel himself falling backwards after he landed and panic set in. Frantically waving his arms around in the sort of crazy way a monkey would Jaune flailed until he thankfully managed to straighten himself.

Breathing heavily from the panic Jaune grabbed onto the sides of the landing to keep himself standing there stably. Jamming the ends of his fingers in between the two doors which made up what would be the elevators doors outer layer, he eventually yanked them open after fueling aura into his muscles.

What? Don't look at him that way! Opening doors like those is hard!

He was blasted by cold air which cut right through his crappy prisoners outfit and nearly knocked him off the edge. With a bit of a grunt and what he was sure was a tub full of elbow grease Jaune managed to get it open far enough so that he was able to pass through.

There was a bit of a sticky situation when the box got slightly dislodged in his waist band and rubbed his… Family jewels if you know what I mean… (Wink wink nudge nudge!) But he got it sorted out quickly and made his way out those doors and onto the roof with no equipment but a bed sheet, a folded up cardboard box and a now dull and useless plastic knife.

Oh joy.


~o0o~ Criminal Mastermind! ~o0o~


Winter couldn't help but look out the window of the small, high speed transport bullhead. As they rolled over the hills and forests of Vale she could see a few grimm all pointed in the same direction as if all of their negativity compasses all began turning in the same direction at the same time.

She knew they were all pointed at Sherrinford.

With her pilot not bothering to shoot down the few they saw this far back still and her not allowing any of her soldiers to jump down to take on the paltry few, they continued onwards towards the prison hoping to quash the rebellion as it was being made.

Though it was indeed easier said than done.

There was gunfire approaching the closer they got and the occasional screech of the Nevermore of the roar of a Ursa Major would pierce through the droning of the engines.

The closer they got the harder it was for Winter to stop clenching her fist in both anticipation and anger. Anger as she possibly had a chance to capture the Rogue, yet would be down in the field killing grimm and protecting convicts of all people… She was also angry at what she had done.

Underestimating an opponent was not something a Schnee should ever do.

Yet, if it was something that a Schnee should never do than why had her father been so arrogant all the time? Why had he assumed nobody else in this world had power compared to him? Every political ally and enemy they all sat beneath him for some reason as he sat there on his throne of dust looking down on them like the pea-

She took deep breaths like most other soldiers did starting that moment. Winter could feel herself getting more and more riled up the longer she thought about her father. 'I've got to remain calm…A clouded mind leads to clouded judgement and clouded judgment leads to casualties.'

Feeling herself calm down Winter looked around at the soldiers around her. Veterans all of them. Working in the grimlands alongside her for some time then being transferred to her division when she moved they would be a boon… They were much better than Ironwood's tin can robots despite how much she praised their ingenuity in his presence.

The began drifting lower and closer to the prison and she took in the surroundings. A large swath of orange was in the prison courtyard which was pulsating and trampling the ground beneath them. Obviously they convicts.

Outside the walls was the gunfire and explosions as the Paladins and toy soldiers shot at grimm tearing them down and shot near the convicts wasting expensive ammo to stop them from exiting the compound.

But there was one thing which caught her eye.

A single speck of orange was, not in the courtyard with the others no… But was standing on top of the Bullhead landing pad on top of the tower fiddling with… Something she couldn't quite see from this distance…

'Wait. Last time the Rogue managed to pilot his stolen Schnee Bullhead away from the docks meaning that he can pilot one… Now here I am at a possible crime scene for the Rogue and here is a single convict standing where there should be a Bullhead. Oh. My. MONTY!'

Scrambling to her feet and pushing a soldier who was standing into the lap of another she turned towards the cockpit of the aircraft. "Open the door!"

"But Ms Schnee! We're still too hi-"

"Do. It. Now."

Gulping back his fear the pilot swung the Bullhead back around for the tower before reaching upwards to the control panel and flicking a switch, raising a guard, and then pressing a large red button which said 'do not press while flying' on it with really, really small font.

The back door of the Bullhead opened with a whoosh as all passengers held on for dear life so that they wouldn't go flying to their death. Winter however was standing in the doorway one hand on her weapon and another on a handle built into the roof.

The wind whipped around the small amount of snow white hair which was not held down into a bun form. Looking down at the idiot convict who seemed to be screwing around with some sort of box on top of the tower she smirked.

Even if it wasn't Rogue this would be fun.

Then breaking into a run she ran out the bay door and into an open free fall.


~o0o~ Criminal Mastermind! ~o0o~


Jaune had just finished folding the cardboard box into its box form when he heard the buzzing engine of the Bullhead over his head.

Looking upwards Jaune knew he only had a few minutes maybe less to finish his box and get into position to accomplish the plan. Retreating within his own mind for a moment Jaune breathed nice and steady.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

He could feel his aura pulsating with his heartbeat and if he focused he could see it surrounding him in his mind's eye. Seeing that even after all the climbing all the falling all the enhancement he still had thirty percent aura he was astonished. It was a metric crap ton and likely more than he needed.

Holding the box in front of him so that the open part was facing him he took in the dimensions. It was a five foot wide, long and high box which was made of regular cardboard. It should survive his plan but that wasn't what mattered.

What mattered was what he'd do after landing.

Jaune looked up at the Bullhead and was shocked to see the bay door open. It was filled with soldiers some of whom were toting guns in his general direction but most seemed unconcerned as they flew towards his rebellion.

But, why had the bay door been open?

He got his answer a moment later as there was a sharp crack of what seemed like heels on stone and he almost had a flashback caused by his PTSD from training with Neo. 'I can't stand heels… Damn death shoes!'

Looking back at who had disturbed him Jaune was greeted by the sight of one of the most gorgeous people he has ever seen in his life from her pure white hair to her icy eyes held together in a uniform which was very… Form fitting… Get it? Form fitting?

The only thing about her that was a turnoff was the blade which she was toting in a very professional way. Posture which was, as Roman would put it, total stick in the ass type and a single hand behind her back in a way which made her look regal.

He almost recognized her… Just on the tip of his tongue… He'll figure it out later!

"Stand down murderer!"

His heart froze and was gripped in ice but then he remembered a whole speech that Roman gave him when he was a kid and the feeling went away filled with a wonderful determined. Recounting the inspiring speech in his heart Jaune felt stupid but in the good, remembering your mentor way.

'Jaune… In this world of criminal fame and fortune there will be many a people out to get you… Which is why you must learn to have something I like to call: Charisma! It is the backbone of all leaders of lackeys, the backbone of all wimps and wussies who hide in the skirts of their mothers, it's the backbone of the common criminal! With enough charisma you can do anything whether it be talking your way out of a security prison or talking your way into a girls pants… Always remember that Jaune… You can talk your way out of every situation. Only if you are unable to, shall you resort to violence! Or you know, if you feel like it. What can I say? We're criminals! There are no rules about being charismatic! You know what? Ignore everything I just said! I've turned into my father… Rambling on about shit that doesn't make sense.'

Broken back to reality Jaune let a smirk light up his face before he turned to her.

"Sorry snow angel… But I'm not going to stand down since I've got a three o'clock appointment and have kinda got to get out of here!~ Nice of you to drop by though."

Turning away from her and edging his way to the side of the tower he looked downwards. The one main gate was behind him so he was facing the correct way and it looks like some sort of unit filled with troops has migrated out of the forest and that way too.

Looking down and past the walls which were only about half the towers size he could see the massive moat down there. Cradling the cardboard box in his hands his aura sent a chill through him warning him his life was in danger.

Taking a chance he dodged to the right and the edge of her blade went flying past his ear nicking it as he dodged. No blood came out but it still hurt!

Dancing backwards along the tower he could feel her toying with him as she danced the deadly battle of death slicing near enough to not hurt him but close enough to drive him into a severe stress zone.

Dodging around them with his large cumbersome box was difficulty but it seems like she slipped on some water and he rammed his shoulder into her before smashing his cardboard box into her face.

Sliding across the towers roof she came to a stop raising her blade. "You know that I'm toying with you and could end you with but a mere flick of my wrist yet still you fight. Why? Why go through so much just to be a criminal? Pay for your crimes fiend!"

She lunged towards him and the shitty plastic knife slide out of his sleeve into his left hand as he to lunged towards her with a hand inside the box wielding it as a type of tower shield.

Her blade still went past his shoulder not noticing the plastic knife in his hand. He shoved his left hand into her chest as he went past and could hear the cut of fabric. Turning around once more he could see he-

Jaune would've passed out from blood loss right there had he not been in such a serious situation.

Her face was bright red and her eyes angry while her left hand scrambled to collect some sort of cloth to cover herself with. Her large breasts were on display for him and he wished for a photographic memory but even without one tried getting every single detail of the moment down in his mind so that he could keep it for a eternity.

Somehow the plastic knife had cut through the material and ripped all the material covering her boobs off and to the side releasing that porcelin white skin which had two islands of not pink, but salmon coloured ni-

There was a wailing scream and Jaune was broken out of his trance briefly attempting to ignore the heavenly sight in front of him. Noticing her angry eyes and the fact that she may actually kill him this time he decided to make his leave.

"Snow angel did I say? More like snow succubus trying to lure me in with those wonderful orbs of snow!~ Well, I shall take my leave!~ Know that you have been bested not molested by the Rogue and take pride knowing you survived this encounter of which I was clearly holding back in!~"

With that he turned to the direction behind him, made sure it was the right way and jumped off the building and into the box.

He could feel himself spinning and thanked whatever god was up there for adrenalin which kept him from throwing up. The box began spinning and turning crazily and he funneled as much aura through his palms into the cardboard hoping to make it somewhat more resilient.

Then there was a sploosh and Jaune sprung out of the box and began swimming upwards in what his instructor would measure as a perfect frog stroke… Not that Neo would've had him able to do any less of course.

Breaching the surface he gasped for breath before looking around. Seeing nobody around in the surrounding area he swam towards the shore emerging dripping wet and hot with his hair in his eyes.

Shaking his hair like he did every time after a shower to get it into his non-Rogue like shaggy look he began an easy jog across the grass. Changing his pace purposefully every so often to throw off his pursuers he made his way into the forest and ran in the general direction of Vale.

Did he have any idea where he was going?

Nope.

Did he care all that much?

Nope.

Why you may ask?

'Cus he's the mother fucking Rogue and he don't need no directions.


~o0o~ Criminal Mastermind! ~o0o~


Note: Longer than normal chapter this time you guys! Why you may ask? My grades went up massively in my worst subject reducing stress, my re-write opened some time for me, and I just felt words flow from my fingertips like I had just given myself a papercut!

That and I'm rewatching RWBY which is filling me with inspiration and love for all those waifus! Also, it's once again making my love/hate relationship with Pyrrha's character go along the emotional roller coaster but that's for another time…

My rewrite is coming along great! You'll see it not this Friday but the Friday after! (The 20th Of May!~)

Not much else to say… At least, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I planned out this end not in advance and then just forgot what to put here… Whatever, if I didn't remember, it wasn't important!

Well… See you all next Monday! Remember to leave a review and have a wonderful day! (Also remember to tip your waiter! He/she wor- probably works hard for your tip! Don't tip them if he/she does badly though…)

-DragonManMax