I do not own RWBY. Special shout out to garoorar for pointing out Jaune (and Thaddeus') mistake. If you couldn't already tell, Jaune suffers from the sin of Superbia (Pride), not Avaritia (Greed.) This chapter is going to highlight the consequences of it. By the way, the song being played in this is Mass Destruction – Reincarnation. I do not own that either, that is from Persona 3.
Chapter 12: Ever Seen A Bird Dance? (Pt. 5)
The crowd held their breath collectively as the masked man and the busty brawler made their way back to the dance floor. Junior was a smart man, he knew something was about to go down, something that might make his nightclub even more popular and guarantee a massive returning turnout. With a grin, he fixed the bear masked DJ with a nod and the DJ prepared to start up something good for the two dancers.
"So, Phantom, care to make a bet?" Yang asked as she stood opposite of him, smirking confidently.
"On a contest I'm guaranteed to win? Sounds a bit foolish if you ask me, unfair, even." Jaune's smile was a mirror of Yang's own. He began to give a few experimental shakes, his coat undulating in interesting patterns as he did so.
"Sounds like the words of a man whose too afraid he'll lose, but too cocky to admit otherwise." Yang retorted, doing her own pre-dance warm up.
"Oho! Ms. Xiao Long, I do believe you're trying to rile me up...what would be the terms of this bet?" The Phantom cheerily responded, brushing off the insult with ease.
"Simple. I win, you give up and come back quietly. You said you like games, right?" Yang asked, raising one eyebrow.
"And if I win?"
Yang's smile widened. "I give you my number."
The Phantom gave a loud laugh. "Why, I'd say that you'd win either way, Ms. Xiao Long!"
"Maybe I would. Oh, and you can call me Yang, honey. Of course, you might remember it easier after you've been screaming it in ecstasy..." Yang's voice dipped low and sultry at the end, fixing the thief with a burning stare.
Jaune was damned glad he had more willpower, it was taking most of it not to choke in surprise at Yang's forwardness. "Oh, now you're just being naughty..." He pointed at the DJ, his own gaze still locked onto Yang's. "Maestro? Play me off." The DJ nodded and his hands quickly flicked across his turntable, flipping through music until he reached the right song, and pressed play, the entire crowd watching in fascination, moving not a muscle.
I don't care anymore, enough of fake smiles
Buckwild I go, tried it on but it didn't fit me so
Found a better pair of shoes to walk
Even in defeat, hold my pride, never gonna talk
Better yet, my mouth is tight like James Bond
You thought you saw me, but next second I'm gone
I don't want no throne
I'm a freelancer
Do for benjamins, but I'm not a gangster
The crowd couldn't get enough. The thief and the blonde were giving it their all, a duo of the smoothest moves. Team RWBY and SNPR stood, jaws on the floor. They knew Yang could dance, but this was incredible! Even more incredible was that the masked man was keeping up with her, forcing her to give her best moves to avoid looking bad before the crowd. They'd join up, separate, take turns dancing, everything. Ruby herself couldn't help but blush a bit at just how...dirty her sister was dancing, as though she were trying to seduce the thief through her motions.
The masked man though was showing off his skills in acrobatics, his footwork utterly impeccable and flawless. He'd spin, duck, twist, flip and even performed a flawless moonwalk much to the club's delight. His coat billowing dramatically behind him, he was the picture of mystery, style and panache. Even the Beacon students couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the sheer charisma oozing off the Phantom Thief as he danced to the beat.
Once again, I'm back in the lab
Cleaning my knives, ready for stabs
I never committed a crime I had to
Out of necessity, I done couple
I plead guilty to lord in the chapel
Forgiveness given cuz I don't look for trouble
Instead it finds me
And what I do is fight back
Never look back the past, 'cuz it hurts to think back
I pray to God, 'cuz I'm still paranoid today
Yang and the thief approached each other, both grinning confidently as they continued their dance, this time involving the other a bit more. Yang bumped and grinded against him, while the thief seemed to enjoy twirling her about acrobatically, occasionally finding herself in his arms as he flashed her a very charming smile.
(Can't lean back)
Now its over
Survival of the fittest time for me to take over
I was lenient, but games over
Mass destruction is now our slogan
Just won't do things in slow-mo
Fast life, fast money, kinda like promo
(Break down)
Still get it going on
I am the next ruler of the python
Don't be scared of biting, I'm not a Tyson
Right on! I'm the hurricane in the ocean
About to land disturbing the peace, it's a war zone
You best took it serious when you heard the tone.
As the music played and the light's flashed, it became soon apparent that neither the thief, nor Yang was noticing anyone but each other at the time. They seemed wholly focused on each other, enjoying their dance more and more as the dance continued, the music swelling to it's climax. As the seconds ticked on, everyone was unable to speak until the final note played, the thief having grabbed Yang and tilted her over in an almost intimate way, his face inches from hers.
Yang grinned, her eyes low lidded. "Hmm...I think I might have lost..." She purred, her own arms wrapped around him as she was lowered slightly.
"You don't seem to mind too much, Yang." The masked man's tone was just as low, tinged with mischievousness, earning a very pleased smile from the blond woman.
"Maybe I don't..." The two stared at each other, and Yang couldn't help but bring her face closer, her own lips slowly reaching towards his. Ruby's eyes widened. Was her sister seriously going to kiss the thief? She was into him?! The rest of her teammates, including Team JNPR looked utterly stunned at this turn of events. Were they seriously going to kiss? The crowd continued to watch as the two brought their faces closer and closer…
Until the thief suddenly grabbed Yang by the hand and spun her around away from him as the music stopped, giving a bow, still holding Yang's hand. She bowed as well, her own face trying unsuccessfully to hide a sheepish and irritated grin. The crowd erupted into cheers and laughter, applauding thunderously. "Thank you, thank you!" The thief cried, letting go of Yang and bowing again.
Yang fixed the thief with a very annoyed glower. "You are such a tease."
"Ah, but that's what keeps you interested, isn't it?" The thief replied, unable to keep the smile off of his face. Yang couldn't help but smile back.
"Looks like I owe you something, doesn't it?" Yang smirked.
The masked man waved his hand. "I'm afraid you're going to have to try harder than that to get my number, Yang. I call you and you have a connection. I'm afraid as a Phantom, I can't be so easily tied down."
The blond huffed and snapped her fingers. "That's just unfair!"
"Oh, you should realize by this point that I never play fair..." The masked man grinned and strolled casually away from the busty fighter, leaving her there to pout.
"Were you...I mean..." Ruby stammered out, approaching her sister.
Yang shrugged. "'dunno. If he went for it...maybe. Maybe we were just testing the other." She stretched, her expression adopting an ambivalent look. "I really need to work on my dance moves though." She flashed her teammates a grin. "Anyone want to help?"
Jaune, meanwhile, made his way to the side of the room, leaning against the wall and folding his arms across his chest. He began to finalize his plans, glancing about the room to figure out where everyone was located. The back wall, right beneath the DJ's booth, had a small, chest high pillar with a velvet sheet covering it, which was what Jaune was guessing was the fake Crimson Heart. Alright. Once midnight strikes you'll need to figure out how you're going to pull this off. Let's see...stay here. Once the ruse is revealed, Junior is going to have everyone open fire. Hopefully the civilians will leave once the fake Crimson Heart blows up. RWBY and SNPR should be able to take care of the remaining ones. Junior will have his men open fire. Let them. Absorb as much energy as possible, then take out Junior's men. Hopefully neither RWBY or SNPR will interfere.
The thief's musings were interrupted by a flicker of color in his peripheral and he glanced up, to find himself staring at the narrowed eyes of his former team as they approached him. Sun was grinning, but Jaune was beginning to suspect that Sun was almost impossible to straight up anger. "Ah, Team SNPR!" He greeted cheerfully.
Ren's eye twitched angrily, his expression growing more irritated. "It's Team JNPR!"
"Still missing a letter!" Jaune taunted in a singsong voice. Jaune felt a twinge of panic shoot through his body at Pyrrha's wrathful glare, her fists clenching in rage. Nora and Ren didn't look too happy either, Nora clenching her teeth and Ren's eye twitching even harder. "Ugh, you are all so tense. You need to learn how to relax, like Mr. Wukong there!" Jaune quipped cheerfully. "Now that's a Faunus who knows how to keep it chill."
Sun's grin grew. "Dude, thanks!"
"Sun?" Ren added quietly, "Stop being friendly with the thief."
Sun looked bashful for a moment before adopting an angry look that simply looked comedic on his face. "Oh yeah, dude, you're taunting Jaune here! Not cool dude!"
"You all do recall what I said earlier, don't you? You wouldn't want to start anything here. With the number of civilians in here, the collateral damage would be immense...don't think Ozpin would be too happy if a few of his students end up hurting innocents trying to hunt a thief who hadn't done anything..." Jaune brushed some invisible dust off of his shoulder, his voice a bored drawl.
WHAM! Jaune's taunting speech was cut off violently as Pyrrha grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall, eyes narrowed in unspeakable anger. "Hiding behind civilians won't help you!"
Pyrrha…you need to calm down. Maybe if I gave her a hug-What?! No! The hell am I thinking?! Jaune shook his head and forced her hand off him. "I'm going forget you did that before I start causing a scene. I highly suggest you enjoy the rest of your night and leave me in peace." Jaune kept his voice low, trying to infer a threat he didn't plan on going through with. He walked away, rudely brushing past Ren and made his way towards the entrance of the nightclub, resting against the wall near the door as he glanced at the clock.
"Excuse me?"
Alright, so I'm close to the door, so I should be able to absorb the damage and flicker on out of here once the shooting starts. No, wait. The civilians might be caught in the crossfire. Jaune began to walk away, moving towards the side opposite the bar when the voice spoke up again. "Excuse me! Mr. Thief!"
Jaune turned on his heel, in irritation, then stopped and blinked. It was Ruby. "Ah, my apologies Ms. Rose, I was distracted by some internal thoughts. How can a humble avian aid you tonight?"
"You really aren't here to steal anything?" Ruby's eyes were skeptical.
"You have my word, Ms. Rose. I was simply here to enjoy myself. Dance. Mingle."
Ruby narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but eventually nodded, her lips turning up in a friendly smile. "Great! Um, can I ask you something?" She tilted her head, her silver eyes bright with curiosity.
"Of course, Ms. Rose!"
"Um...why are you a thief?"
Jaune grinned. He'd been waiting for someone to ask him something like this for a while. "Ms. Rose, one word. Freedom. The freedom to follow my own ethics and my own morals. The freedom to make my own decisions. The freedom to become anyone I wish to be."
"But...people get hurt! You're taking things that don't belong to you!"
"Better in my hands than the hands of the White Fang." He retorted, earning a very strange look from Ruby's face. Before the young reaper could give her own answer, a flash of white appeared before Jaune and he found himself staring into the narrowed, glaring eyes of Schnee Weiss.
"You! You stay away from Ruby!" Weiss's tone was frosty and her gaze steely, looking very displeased with the thief's appearance.
"Um, Weiss? I approached him." Ruby meekly replied.
"I-Ruby! Stay away from him! He's dangerous, and he's a charlatan!" Weiss pointed at Jaune who rolled his eyes.
"Charlatan? Welcome to the present, Ms. Schnee. We have more interesting insults if you'd be bothered to learn them." Jaune's tone was drier than the Vacuo Wastes. Weiss' only response was to give a 'Hmph!' and quickly drag Ruby away amid a stream of Ruby's complaints. Jaune sighed inwardly and shook his head, staring back at the clock, feeling his heart beating. Half an hour...
[Friday Evening – Five Minutes to Midnight – Junior's]
The music stopped. The civilians stood around, waiting with baited breath as the large man made his way to the front of the dance floor, grinning widely. "Ladies and gentlemen. I am proud to have you all gathered here today to celebrate my latest, and greatest acquisition. Before you, a one of a kind Crystal made from the purest Dust to ever be found on Remnant. This gem has been traded back and forth between the hands of royalty and heroes, and at long last, has found itself into my hands. May I present to you, the Crimson...Heart." With that, Junior grabbed the velvet sheet and yanked it off, revealing a glass case, locked and barred. Sitting on a velvet pillow, glimmering in the lighting above and below, was the Crimson Heart.
The crowed all whispered excitedly to themselves, as Junior smirked proudly. "I'm sure all of you here would like me to test it's authenticity. Well, at midnight, the security system on this will disable and I'll be able to prove it to you by lighting it on fire! A simple Dust Crystal would burn to cinders quickly once lit on fire, but this will burn for years if allowed!"
Nope. It goes boom. Adding Crimson and Verdant dust is a great way to make a bomb, after all. Though don't know if the Azure would do anything. Maybe make it a fancy fireball? Jaune's heart continued to pound as the seconds became minutes, everyone around unable to contain their excitement. The thief noticed that Team RWBY and SNPR were all staring at him, waiting for him to make a move, but he simply smiled that annoyingly cheerful smile of his and relaxed against the wall.
Eventually, the clocked ticked midnight, and a chime pealed, echoing through the room as the glass case surrounding the jewel slowly unfolded like a flower, revealing the red crystal within. "Everyone, please, watch carefully..." Junior reached into his vest pocket and withdrew a book of matches, lighting one up. The twins stood nearby, smiling a mirrored smile as they stepped back, letting Junior through. Slowly, he reached his hand out, placing the match above the Crystal and with equal slowness began to bring it down onto the Crystal itself.
…
…
BOOOM!
As Jaune expected, the Crystal itself suddenly exploded, a blue fireball erupting from the pedestal where the fake Crystal laid. Junior himself was thrown back violently, slamming into the wall nearest the bar with a cry of pain. Civilians started to panic and began to rush out the door, screaming in terror. Team RWBY and SNPR both looked shocked and began to quickly aid the civilians out the door as Jaune expected. With a quick aside glance, Jaune happened to notice, sitting in the very corner of the room with an amused smirk, was Thaddeus.
Once Jaune was confident that everyone still inside the bar was either from Beacon or Junior's men, he stepped forward, applauding cheerfully. "Bravo, bravo! You never told me there'd be fireworks!"
Everyone froze, and Junior, getting up with help from the twins suddenly glared at the masked man. "You...you have something to do with this!"
Jaune put a hand to his chest. "Moi? Why would you say such a thing?! Perhaps you had a fake all along."
"Bullshit!" Junior roared. "I tested that thing out the moment I paid for it! It's the real deal!"
Team SNPR, who'd just gotten back inside from helping the dancers and partygoers outside safely, glared out onto the dance floor where the thief stood to one side. "Oh, you did?"
"You. You must have stolen it while you were here! You lied to us!" Ruby yelled, her fellow teammates all pulling out their weapons.
"Excuse me? Are you calling me a liar?! I did no such thing!" The Phantom snapped angrily, once again taking everyone aback.
"Wait, you know this clown?" Junior asked, pointing to the masked man.
"Yeah. He calls himself the Phantom Nevermore, a thief who's been running around stealing the seven Pure Dust Crystals." Ren replied, never once taking his eyes off the Phantom.
"At your service." Bowing, the thief smiled widely.
"Where is it?!" Junior roared angrily. The black and red suited men began to pull out various weapons. Swords, axes, pistols, rifles, machine guns and much more were pointed in the masked man's direction.
"Oh, you mean this?" Jaune's smile grew as he pulled out the true Crystal, letting it shine amidst the light above, painting his mask with a blood red light.
"So you did steal it!" Nora exclaimed, pointing angrily at him.
"Excuse me, pray tell, when did I have time to steal it tonight with all of you looking at me? I did not such thing." Jaune replied, in a matter of fact tone of voice.
"Er..." Nora stopped and blinked, looking confused.
"I simply stole it earlier this morning and replaced it with a fake I so lovingly crafted." He replied, smiling cheerfully.
Silence reigned for a few brief moments, then. "Shoot him." Junior's voice was as clear as it was threatning. Within seconds, the room was filled with the thunderous sounds of gunfire as every one of his men opened fire on the thief, hundreds of bullets spraying all over him. Another sound could be heard as every bullet was unloaded at the thief, but by the time the men all over the room found themselves pulling triggers on empty firearms, it was too last.
"NO!" Ren shouted. "YOU'VE ALL JUST FED HIS SEMBLANCE!"
Jaune chuckled, staring down at the pile of bullets that had simply dropped down to the ground below him. "You know, I think that last shot almost got me. You should try it again." Everything was going according to plan. All he'd have to do was to rush his way out of there with a taunting quip, and he'd be out of there with his name public, and Team RWBY and SNPR with egg on their faces.
Of course, that was the plan, until the doors to the club burst open, and standing front and center, were Mercury Black, Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan, all smiling widely. "Junior!" Mercury replied cheerfully. "So good to see you. Er...is this a bad time?"
Junior stepped back in shock. "M-Mercury Black?! The hell are you doing here?" He gripped his rocket bat tighter. "What the hell do you want?"
"Simple. We're here for the Crimson Heart. We will, of course, be willing to pay a sizable sum if you are willing to simply give it to us without argument." Mercury continued. Neo surveyed the room and gave a sad, silent sigh as she noticed it didn't contain the man she'd been dreaming of seeing once more.
"Oh, really? Then you'll have to take it up with that asshole over there!" Junior shouted wrathfully, pointing a finger in the Phantom's direction.
With that, Cinder's forces turned towards the Phantom Nevermore, whose own smile dropped when he laid eyes on the three hardened criminals, then to the Beacon students, then to Junior and his men.
Well. This can't end well.
Author's Note: Okay, so I might have lied a little. I underestimated how long it would take to get through this particular part of this arc, so I'm afraid that you'll have to wait one more chapter for the conclusion. All of our players are here though, and it looks like Jaune messed up indeed on assuming that he knew everything, as well as bringing the Crimson Heart actually with him! With three sides all conspiring against him, can Jaune pull a victory out in time, or will he face defeat? Unfortunately, his biggest mistake however has already been made before he stepped foot into the club, and the consequences will soon be made manifest. Get ready, because this ride's just getting started...