Breakdown:

When the glyph settled down and vanished away into the air, Weiss finally found the opportunity to observe and absorb the battlefield she landed in. There were bullets in the distance, and if she squinted she could see the white and black and lumbering shape of some Grimm. But for the moment, their location was calm. Some rubble was strewn about from the a previous confrontation, but she wasn't privy to the spectacle or outcome.

No blood though. At least that was one thing to be grateful for.

"Come on," Ruby said, marching forward with Crescent Rose in hand. "The dorms are this way. That's where Yang's shots came from."

As she moved forward, red cape hanging off of her back, Weiss stood up and readied her own weapon. "I'd like to take this time to remind ourselves that this is a real situation. We don't have General Ironwood or anyone else to provide us with support."

"Right," a voice came from behind her. Jaune. "Eyes and ears open, then. Pyrrha, can you see if there's any metal on our path?"

"...Sorry to say, but while there's nothing particularly unusual in our path," she trailed off, hand extended forward, "there's heavy interference. A lot of metal objects were knocked over and out of place. And even for the moving pieces, I can't tell if it's friendly or not."

"So it's as clear as it'll ever be then," Ruby continued to move. "Let's get a move on."

"Wait, we should check for more than just our current path." All of their heads turned to Ren, who hadn't said a word until now. "Pyrrha, what can you sense around us?"

This time the silence was longer. Green pupils became shielded by eyelids, her shoulders dropped and weapons fell to her sides. Her breathing slowed down to an even pace, chest slowly rising and falling.

"Paladins," she tersely said. "I'm detecting large masses of metal, and that's the only thing that could fit the profile."

Jaune clicked his tongue, a frown settling upon him. "Damnit, I thought we took out what the White Fang had at Mountain Glenn."

"They could be a part of the Atlas Military, but we'll just have to be careful about it."

"Well, until we can see what's going on, there's no point in sticking around." Ruby's scythe bobbed up and down. "Let's get a move on."

Not another word was shared among them as the group beginning its trek across the campus. Unlike Mountain Glenn, where they were immediately spotted and had to be quick, this required for them to be slow. Finding cover, staying hidden, and taking in whatever new information presented itself in the environment.

And Weiss could tell that Ruby hated it. She her fingers kept flexing on the grip of her weapon. She was the first to make a break for any cover she spotted, giving the excuse that she was the fastest and could return just as quickly if needed. And while she was supposed to keep an eye on the rest of the team's approach, she hardly did so. It was slow-paced, unnatural for her and it was showing.

But there was also the added urgency of getting to her sister. Weiss had a feeling that if it were Winter that she was trying to get to, she would be just as impatient as Ruby. Their relationship might not have been as close in comparison to the two sisters, but it was still a valuable one to her.

As they rounded another corner, the entrance to the dorms came into sight. With a trail of rose petals, Ruby beelined to the front and hid behind one of the columns, for once turning back towards them and scanning the path for anything dangerous.

Her hand formed a signal. All clear. The rest of the moved forward as fast as their feet could carry them, taking a quick knee at at the corners. But before they could move into the building, there were gunshots, originating far too close for comfort. With a quick look to her left, Weiss could see a hail of bullets tearing through a sudden onset of Grimm, but there seemed to be no end to them. Though the beasts fell quickly, there were only so many bullets left until they would be overwhelmed.

It wasn't their problem. Or, rather, it wasn't her problem. Ozpin had commanded that she protect Ruby, and that it was to take priority over all others. JNPR, however, was free game, and one look at Jaune's face said the same thing.

"Ruby, I think-"

"No."

Her partner looked over at the one who spoke, just as surprised as she was. "...Pyrrha?" For perhaps the first time in a long while, there was a face that was less than neutral on her. Her shoulders were tense, and lips were upturned, shadowed eyes gazing at Jaune.

"I mean," she took a breath, closed her eyes, slackened the grip on her weapons. "I know what you're thinking, Jaune. And while I understand what you would like to do, I would request that we continue with Team RWBY."

"But Pyrrha, this is what our team was established for, right?" Jaune said, looking her in the eyes. Her vision fell to the floor before looking away to the side, towards the commotion.

"I did not enjoy being used by this woman to bring us to where we are now." She tilted her head towards him, this time resuming her stoic gaze. "Whatever this is all leading up to, I want to be there. I want to make this right."

As Weiss thought about it more in her head, having Team JNPR split off was beneficial for two main reasons. It would be less on her conscious to know that the team made a decision to help prevent casualties instead of single-mindedly pursuing Cinder. More importantly, though, while they were about to meet up with Yang, this resulted in an overall smaller team. This allowed her to devote her full attention to Ruby, making sure that nothing happened to her and letting them more easily navigate through the mess.

But Pyrrha brought up a good point in that the end of the night was still up in the air. Would she find herself squaring off against Cinder? Would she end up fighting Grimm until the Atlas Military was able to bring the situation under control?

Would she even survive?

Having JNPR with them would be a godsend in that sense. But she wasn't allowed to make that decision. JNPR wasn't her team, and while Ruby could make a suggestion otherwise, Jaune could make the final call if he wanted to. That was the point of giving each team separate roles after all, wasn't it?

More gunfire and silence.

Then less gunfire. Roars began to take their place, and soon the sound of weapons cutting through Grimm filled the air. Weiss recognized some of the yells belonging to other students she had run into during her time at Beacon.

"I... " Pyrrha gulped, "I won't say that you owe me this, Jaune. That would be wrong. But I'd like for us to stay with Team RWBY."

Finally, he spoke. "Look," he stared her in the eye, "whatever happened in the arena is between you and whoever's at the top of this. I can't make that decision for you. That's your sense of what's right, and there's nothing wrong with it." He turned towards the combat, hands tightening on the grips of Crocea Mors and his shield. "But if I had to choose between stopping the villain and saving others, I would pick the latter. Villains will always be there. After we stop this one, there's bound to be another. But we only have one set of friends, and that's something that can't be replaced."

He closed his eyes again, and reopened them. "Team JNPR is to assist and support this group. Afterward, we will attempt to meet up with Team RWBY and continue to assist them."

It was the first time Weiss heard Pyrrha raise her voice, "Jaune-"

"I know this doesn't make you happy," he started. "But tonight is about the lives we're making a difference for."

"And what of that man?" she stepped up to him. "The one we left up at the arena?"

"That was different," he slowly said. "There were hunters and other military nearby. That man wasn't at risk. They are, and we're going. And like I said, we can find and help Team RWBY afterward."

It was easy to tell that there was more. Pyrrha and Jaune were locked in a brief stare until he tore it away to move towards the ensuing battle. But for whatever reason, she remained silent as she slowly walked after him. Her entire body seemed to tremble in her steps, indignant at having her request be snubbed.

There would be a conversation for the two of them in the end, but that was neither here or now. Ren and Nora spared Weiss and Ruby no additional glance before heading off.

"Well, that settles it," Ruby slowly said. "Come on." With a spin on her heel, she entered the dorm building, and Weiss followed suit.

Out of sight, out of mind. JNPR was, for all intents and purposes, removed for the time being. "Yang must be up on the roof," she said as she chased after Ruby. "That's the only place where she could have gotten those shots off. Let's find the stairs."

Nothing else was shared between the two. Rocketing up the stairs was Ruby, skipping every other step. Weiss considered chasing after her and simply using her glyphs. Her thighs started to burn just a little to remind her that this was something to improve upon later. But finally they were at the top, and Ruby slammed the door open to the roof.

"Yang!" The girl darted to her sister, and nearly bowled her over onto her back. As Weiss exited through the opening, she scanned and saw that Blake had taken to moodily staring over the side, though she turned to look at the commotion the two sisters were causing.

But just before everything was good, just before she could really take respite in the fact that Team RWBY was here, another voice shattered everything.

"Ah, Little Red and Miss Weiss." She spun back to face the entrance, just in time to see Roman push himself off of the wall with that terrible smile of his. "What a pleasure it is to see you."

And right next to him was Neo. But she didn't even seem to pay attention to her, gaze solely focused on Ruby.

Sending Team JNPR away had suddenly become a terrible idea.

It had been a while since the two of them had met, Roman thought to himself. While both RWBY and JNPR knew of his presence during their mission in Mountain Glenn, he hadn't actually interacted with them, preferring to watch from the darkness instead.

"Torchwick." Her hands tightened around her weapon, ice blue eyes lingering on the girl next to him. Neo, finally realizing that she was being stared at, made no sound, simply giving an exaggerated curtsy to Weiss. "I thought you would have preferred to be in a more secure location tonight after these events." Perhaps she was surprised at her presence, though it could be argued that she was just as surprised at his.

"And miss out on this prime teaching opportunity?" the end of his cigar burned orange before dimming again, "I think not." With a quick scan, he noticed that no one else had bound up the stairs after Ruby and Weiss. Was it just the two of them at this time? "Though this begs the question - where is Team JNPR?" he looked at the girl in front of him, "I believe they were at the arena when this all happened. And I really don't think you would have split apart at a time like this."

A slight shake of the head, and a blink. "I don't know where they've gone. We left them behind at the arena."

While there was no way for Roman to prove it, his mind told him that it was a lie. Team RWBY and JNPR were sister teams in Ozpin's little project, and there was reasonable doubt for the two of them to have started something without the other. But the real tell was how Ruby shot a quick glance at Weiss when she spoke. Had the girl remained still, he felt that he might have believed her. But for now it was wiser to leave it as it was. Better to have them think that they had him fooled when they didn't. Something must have separated the two, meaning that there was good reason to expect Team JNPR to reconvene with them.

"That's a shame then," he turned to look towards the floating arena. "I think they would have liked what I have planned for the night."

"And that is?"

"We start to live up to the name of our Criminal Specialties Class and go after the one in charge."

"So…" Ruby peeped into the conversation, taking away control from Weiss, "sort of like my original goal then."

Just as he expected. Of course she'd want to go after her. "Sounds like we're on the same page then. Neo, if you would, please." Without another word, the girl began to tap away at her scroll, pulling up an image of Cinder. "One of Junior's men was able to snag a picture of what we believe to be is the woman behind all this."

"That's her," Ruby spoke again, coming close to the scroll. "Though it's strange that she would come directly to the site. Wouldn't she want to keep her hands clean of everything? Based on what Ozpin and the general shared, that's how she's operated so far, it seems."

"I find it a bit unusual as well," he continued. "Perhaps there's something she's looking for here - something that gave her a reason to come onto this campus. But at the end of the day, she's here and we're going to do something about it."

Just like how he didn't buy her lie, Weiss was showing signs that she wasn't buying his either. While she had put her weapon away, she crossed her arms and was giving him the hardest stare her stature could muster.

"And why should we trust you while we're on this mission?" Blake's voice joined them, this time stemming from the corner of the roof. "How do we know you're not just going to cut loose?"

He grinned, eyes staring at Blake. "If I were to cut loose, couldn't I have done it by now? And you most certainly know how you ran into the both of us waiting with Yang."

Her bow flicked, and he threw up his arms, returning to the rest of the team. "Why spend all this time trying to get to you when I could have just disappeared into the night?" But instead of letting it end there, he settled his gaze onto her and matched her amber eyes with his own. "Let me tell you something here. I want this person as much as Little Red does. Maybe even more. And as good as you think you might be as a team, this is a full-blown hunter we're dealing with. You're going to want me with you on this, and I think Ruby here would agree with me."

All heads turned to their leader, looking towards her for a decision. But he himself looked at Weiss, eyes falling to the white knuckles, the tense shoulders, the thin lips. Whatever it was in her mind, she did not want him with the team at all. Maybe she didn't even want to do what the rest of the team was thinking of doing.

But it wasn't her decision. Team RWBY didn't belong to her, and the leader made her choice. "We're going after her." Ruby's hand settled on the side of her weapon, much like how she posed when he borrowed her partner and Yang when they visited Junior. She was getting ready for the task at hand.

Roman brought his cane up against his shoulder, "Does that settle it for you, kittycat?"

Blake said nothing, merely giving a huff and shooting a sideways glance, bow flicking again.

"Now that we're all on the same page, it's time to start planning and-"

Weiss' voice cut into his. "Ruby, can I talk to you for a moment?"

He had never heard her use that tone before. There was terse and short, like when they first had their conversation after class and during the mission to the club. There was quiet and unsure when it was just her in his little interview in the dark and quiet.

But urgent and worried? This was new.

And with the way Ruby stared at her, this was new to her as well. "Um, yeah?" she scratched her head, hand leaving her weapon. "I guess? Though can it be fast? I mean, we're-"

Without another word, Weiss' hand reached out and began to drag Ruby through the roof exit and down a flight or two of stairs. This left him in the wake of the other half of the team and Neo. He could care less about the other two, though - he was more than capable enough to handle both of them, and throwing in Neo was simply cheating. Instead, his gaze lingered down the hallway just a little longer.

Wth a huff, he finally leaned himself against the side of the exit, much like how he was before the two arrived. Roman took a low breath, let his eyelids fall for a moment before casting it over the school, and slowly he let his aura creep away from him and down the stairs.

Blake he was able to control in the end. Yang would go anywhere to protect Ruby, and the leader herself was situated on pursuing Cinder. It was Weiss who was the truly unpredictable one among the lot.

The rest of the world fell dark and silent. No more gunshots. No more dying lights and flames across the campus. Just two voices at the bottom of the stairs.

This was the worst night of Weiss' life. It had to be. She had thought that bad cramps from her period would be the end of the world at times. Being skipped over for the position of leader was another issue she had eventually come to terms with.

But this? Ruby actually agreeing to work with Roman of all people in an attempt to catch this Cinder person? And she was supposed to keep her safe at the end of it all?

This was a nightmare - one that she needed to convince Ruby to give up on.

"We can't do this anymore."

"I know you don't want to do this but-"

"He's a rat, Ruby," her solid heels came to a solid stop at the bottom of the first flight as she stared the girl in the eye. "You know this."

"Of course I know, Weiss," her hands rose to her temple, stopping just short of dragging through her hair. "But we don't have a choice. Torchwick is the closest we have to someone watching over us."

"I highly doubt his ability to supervise us, Ruby," she stomped her way over. "It's for our own good. We can't do this."

"Look, I don't like this any better than you do," her voice picked up, though it was only by a bare minimum. "I'd take anyone else over Torchwick if we had the chance. But there's no one else. No Ozpin, no Goodwitch, no Ironwood. Just us." Her shoulders rose, elbows bending just a little upward in a shrug. "I mean, what else are we going to do, just run and hide?"

Weiss wasn't one to tuck her tail and flee. Her pride and everything she stood for, everything she wanted to achieve would have loved to stand with Ruby. But if it meant obeying Ozpin's orders, if it meant keeping her away from that absolute freak of nature, she would. But she had tried that line of reasoning, and she wasn't buying it. It was time for a different approach.

"But we have her face. You know who Cinder is," her voice picked up, "We don't need Torchwick to find this person at another time." She looked to the side for a moment. "And aren't you scared, Ruby? I mean, this- this whole thing… it's just above what we're capable of handling."

She had expected more from her. But instead there was a brief silence.

"I am scared, Weiss."

When she turned her gaze back to her, ice blue eyes met ones of soft silver. The back of Ruby's sleeve brushed over them, leaving a sheen of wetness smeared across her eyelids. "I've been scared ever since Neo bumped into Jaune and I realized that he could have died and…" there was a deep breath, a gulp that was louder than it should have been. "I mean," her voice leveled out, "you know I lied to Goodwitch in that briefing, and it was because I was scared. That- That time on the train with the knife… I didn't want to talk about it at that time. Maybe never again."

This was the first time she had heard her say that, to openly proclaim that she was scared. She was able to receive an answer to one of the questions in her mind, but it wasn't at a time where she was ready to respond. "Ruby-"

"I'm tired of being scared. And I know that it terrifies me to be next to someone so dangerous right now." Her hands clenched at her sides, forming small fists. "But Torchwick knows Cinder." Her voice began to become firm again. "Whatever their relationship is or was, he knows her to some extent."

Weiss felt her back straighten as the chill went down her spin.

"And because he knows her, he knows what she wants. He's our best chance at bringing her in."

"Ultimately, though, there is an underlying desire. There is something that they cannot legally have on their own, whether through their own inability or by circumstance, and they seek to claim it."

It was impossible that Roman had planned out this entire night from that far back. There was no way he would have known how tonight would have turned out. There was no way that what he said in class that day would somehow become applicable tonight of all nights.

But he could have planted it. Yang's mention of being a monster played back from after the end of Mountain Glenn, and that Roman had called her that. And every other moment she spent with the man was suddenly haunting.

"Not to be pushy, but we're done here. We have to move on."

Ruby began to move towards the stairs again, and Weiss moved just in time to grasp her wrist. She tried not to squeeze too hard, to not pull her back, to not let her fear and everything else get the better of her. "We don't have to do this, Ruby."

"I know we don't have to," her voice was tired, yet firm. "But sitting back isn't justice. It's not right."

Then her wrist moved out of her grip and with both hands she grasped hers. Ice blue met soft silver once again. "If it was any other moment, I'd…" she swallowed, "I'd feel like I'd be throwing my life away. You're right in that we don't have the training. We're not ready yet. But if you're here, then I feel like I can pull through somehow. We might not stop them, but at least we'll come out alive."

She was fighting hard to not blush. A stream of compliments wasn't new from Ruby. From anyone, actually. But this- this was-

"You really are the specialist among us. That ice dome? Your weapon? You can do amazing things with dust that I didn't even know was possible until I met you."

All she could do was duck her head. Knowing Ruby, this was as heartfelt as it was going to get. But what a terrible time for it to come out.

"Fine then," she said. "No more questions. No more doubts." One last and heavy breath before looking up, only the faintest of heat remaining on Weiss' cheeks. "Let's go. And after tonight… we can talk more. There's… been a lot on my plate recently."

"We can talk all night if you want, Weiss."

"The easiest way to get to our target is to think like a rat. Hide and avoid confrontation until it's the right time to come out."

That was what Roman said once they began their trek into the night. With the destruction and distracted forces, it was easy for them to stay hidden. Everyone was too busy dealing with the Grimm and White Fang to try and spot a stealthy group hiding in the shadows.

Weiss didn't think she was loud enough for him to overhear their conversation, but so be it. Coincidence or not, a rat was fitting for one such as him. A dangerous rat, she reminded herself.

But all their hiding couldn't stop a nose and their little party was soon short a member.

"Blake!"

It was a statement as much as it was a yell, one that froze the girl in her tracks. She turned to face the voice from across the plaza, to turn to a man that Weiss recognized all to well. His dark red hair, the white mask, the dark suit, and a long and red katana.

Adam Taurus was not a man to be trifled with. And yet Blake stood firm against his gaze. None dared to move except Roman, who adjusted his hat and scarf, the end of his cigar growing hot again. Not Team RWBY, not even him and the small White Fang entourage with him.

"You got this, kittycat?"

She didn't turn to face Roman, but everyone else did. Not a hair moved on her face, and her bow remained still. Adam sheathed his blade, and without another word, she walked towards him.

"Blake?" Ruby cautiously said. As a team they were complete, but to be missing one member suddenly put her at unease.

"It's fine. He just wants to talk."

"Are you sure about this?" Weiss cautiously stepped forward, hand gripping Myrtenaster. "We can stay with you. We-"

"Really, Weiss, I appreciate it," her amber eyes turned to look over her shoulder. "But you of all people shouldn't stay here. Go. And besides, if he didn't want to he'd be attacking us already."

She had a point, and Weiss hated it. Even Yang didn't want to leave her partner behind in spite of their altercation. But none of them could afford to stay here. Without another word, the group moved on, leaving Blake in the clutches of the White Fang.

Then there was more running and hiding. She felt her body starting to ache. First the descent down from the arena, then searching across campus for Cinder while keeping an eye on Roman and Neo, doing her best to keep them in sight and away from Ruby. She hadn't forgotten how scared Ozpin was of the strange girl - if she could even be called that.

But he was clearly making a line for something, something that the rest of the team was unaware of. Every moment or other he would consult Neo and she would do something on her scroll and point in a direction and they would set off. And finally, after a third time, she pointed at the top of a building.

"Get ready girls. It's time to party."

This was it. She ran a few more checks on her weapon and then they were climbing stairs again. Within minutes they were on the roof, Ruby shoving open the door with her tiny frame with all her might, enough to fling it wide open and slam against the wall. No time to plan. No time to really know if they were there.

But they were. For a moment, everyone was stunned.

"Cinder!" the words bellowed from Ruby lungs. With a quick leveling of Crescent Rose, she slammed the tip into the roof, taking a haphazard shot. But in a flash, the woman's hand flew out to block the bullet's path, swatting it to the side.

Weiss had met them before on an acquaintance level. Emerald and her mint green hair, who had dashed in front of Cinder with her weapons pointed at them. Mercury Black, who somehow was walking on two legs despite what the media had proclaimed.

If only Blake were here. If only everyone on Remnant was here. But Yang was here, and it was beginning to get hot. One glance at her and it was clear that she was livid, eyes turning red. With a mighty stretch, her arm reeled back before snapping forward, a small shot screaming forward and landing just short of Mercury's feet. "Didn't you say something about a next time?"

Weiss could see his grin from here, and he turned to Cinder. With a small wave of her hand, she dismissed him. "Make it fast."

He turned to look at Yang again before slowly walking to the edge of the roof and vaulting over. Yang followed suit, and suddenly it was just Ruby and Weiss amongst a mess of criminals. She spared a look towards her partner, taking in her sharp gaze, her heavy breath, her white knuckles. Any illusion of safety was shattered.

"I knew something was wrong when Neo wasn't in her cell," Cinder's voice finally came out, cracked like glass with anger. "I didn't think I'd see you again, Roman."

Roman scoffed, the cigar burning bright again. "After turning me in like that?" he walked forward a little, hand on the curve of his cane. "You must think I'm an amateur."

"Hmph. You still are, but it looks like you might have proven your worth." Cinder reached out to Roman, empty hand extended to him. "You've made it this far. Why throw it all away by fighting me? You could join us again."

Roman took his cigar out of his mouth, the smoldering orange just a few puffs short of the red tape on it. "You know, Cinder, the way I see it, you have things going the other way around." There was a small shift in his weapon, a latch opening. With a flick of his hand, he perfectly flipped the cigar into the space in the cane and it slid closed. "You might be strong. You might be influential. But you're not the biggest fish in the tank." He leveled his cane at her.

"I am."

Weiss had seen him do this trick before. Back when they visited Junior's club, it had produced a thin veil of smoke, meant to intimidate the bouncers at the front. But this time, it was different. Instead of billowing clouds emanating from the tip, a single shot of hellfire screamed forth, something that could only emanate from a pure red dust crystal. How he had acquired the resources to do this only briefly crossed Weiss' mind as a blast shook the rooftop. He had to have hidden it somewhere. A pure red crystal of that quality was in very limited supply, something that only the military could afford large quantities of on a regular basis.

And then smoke. Thick dark smoke that she couldn't quite see through, not during the night. "Ruby!" she hacked, trying to keep the ash from her eyes. This was the worst thing possible. If Roman turned on them, if Cinder and her grouped attacked them first, they were dead. There was no other outcome.

But soon it all began to settle. Cinder, Roman, and Neo were gone, doing who knows what somewhere else. But soon she wished this wasn't the case. She wished that the smoke was still there. She wished that she had fought harder against Ruby, keeping her in the stairwell to convince her that this was a terrible idea.

In front of her was Ruby, a blade sticking into her gut. Weiss' eyes followed the sharp edge to the handle, to the tan fingers that were holding it. Then up the arms and into Emerald's eyes.

The opportunity for anything else was gone forever, and all she saw was red.

A/N: Coming in at a little more than 6,000 words, the time has come. A lot of things started to wrap up and become apparent in here. From all of Weiss' wonderings about Roman to the material in the class. A lot of what happened in this chapter was in my notes for more than two whole years. It's hard to believe that it's almost done.

I won't talk too much about this. A lot of this was all of the buildup leading to action, and there's still one more chapter and an epilogue or something. This ain't the climax yet. I just hope that I've set it all up in a way that's as impactful to you as it is to me.

Reviews!

FelipeCH98: I'm really glad that you feel so powerfully about Roman in this fic. I spent a lot of time thinking about this guy and all the lost chances. So that naturally led to this. It's a little hard to believe that it's almost done, but I hope you enjoy what's coming up next.

Dandaman5: I WANNA SEE IT CONCLUDE TOO AHHHHH

OBSERVER01: It only gets harder ;_;

Acerman: Well she technically did kill someone already - but who knows :S Then again she just got stabbed lol.

jayfeather767: In terms of motivation, there's quite a bit of subtext for Roman. There are a lot of implied things that I didn't openly say. If you have the time I would especially recommend rereading a few parts of the story, especially after this bit...

Cinder had tried to run when the smoke from the initial blast enshrouded her. But somehow, all the running she did only took her to another roof of the campus, far away from Mercury and Emerald. It was just her and Roman, and he was proving more and more to be a nuisance as the night went on. He was fast, but was unwilling to commit to any opening she had left. To be fair, he had seen some of her powers first hand and a level of fear was at play. But he continued to deftly weave around her strikes. Burst of flame scorched only air, and her own weaponry was constantly blocked by his cane.

It was clear that he was toying with her, but to what end? It could not have been to create an opening for Neo, as she had taken a seat atop the ledge. But there was a pending unease as the fight went on. Something that she couldn't shake off.

And then she saw it. It was just as she thought she was getting the upper hand, landing a swift kick to Roman's stomach and sending him rolling along the ground. But as he stood up, she noticed that there was a fire in the distance - perhaps the rooftop that they first met on tonight. For a moment, it was bright and burning.

Then the light from the fire vanished without a trace. She could still see the faint outline of the building from other light sources, but no more flickering flames. No more orange glow. He must have known that she saw it too, because his smile grew wider. With a calm motion, he flicked out his lighter, burning the end of another cigar before clicking it shut.

As he took a puff, another light in the distance went out. There were no more gunshots, either. No more screams of Grimm. No more yells of voices. Just Roman.

Her lips parted and her voice was slow. "You're like Emerald."

Roman didn't speak at first, instead only chuckling as another source of light - a lamp post - vanished. "With Emerald, you can still trust your basic senses when she pulled her tricks on you. You can still see. You can still hear. This is worse."

The world was slowly getting dark. "Blind me all you want, Roman." She could still sense his aura. If he was going to rob her of her sight and hearing, she could still rely on this. "I know where you are."

"Do you, now?" Soon, all that was left was the embers of his cigar, and even that was short-lived. She was shrouded in darkness. But she could feel him. She could see his orange aura slowly walking towards her from the left. With a wide swing of her arm, a pillar of fire burst out from the ground, consuming the orange cloud.

But a blow came to the back of her head from her right.

That was impossible, though. How could he have separated his aura from himself?

"Can you really trust your senses, Cinder?" his voice was seemingly everywhere and nowhere.

She set her hands on fire, the flames licking away and giving her a small burst of light. "I'll find you and kill you."

Yet even that was at his mercy. With a tap something, perhaps his cane, even those were gone. "No you won't."

Bang.

There was heat and force behind her. Something sent her flying, body rolling and flopping on the ground. Any level of orientation she had was now gone. She didn't know where the edge of the building was. She didn't know where she was.

"You know, Cinder, when you stare into the abyss, they say it stares back. We become what we see."

She couldn't trust the sound of his voice. Her vision was gone, and any level of sensing his aura could be easily misguided.

There was a sharp pain at her side and she stumbled, desperately trying to right herself.

"But not this abyss. Oh no. Not... my abyss."

Her heart was beating madly, her breath unsteady.

"When you stare into my abyss, guess which monster stares back?"

Beta'd by ImSoAwesome