Darkness and Light, Into the Chaos!
I collapsed onto the couch in Sanctuary. After the Breach had been handled, the real monsters had shown up. The media. Those jackals had been probing about where I had gotten my toys, how I was able to coordinate Vale's defense so well, if I was in a relationship with anyone(That one was fun when I told them I was dating Neo), and that was just the first hour. They kept us for about two.
'At least the day is over.' Neo pointed out.
"And there were almost no casualties, so there's a silver lining to today." Tara added.
I sighed, nodding. "Even so, I can't help but wonder where the hell Crimson was during all this." I said mildly. Everyone shivered at the thought of the other Gamer. "Had he been here, things could have gone a lot differently."
Everyone mulled over my words before Yang spoke up, "Well, on that cheery note I think we should celebrate coming home alive from our first missions."
And that was how yet another party began in my base.
Ilia's POV
The party was in full swing, but the stealth specialist in me really didn't like being in the middle, so for the most part I was on the balcony alone. Well, mostly alone. "I know you're there, Yang." I called behind me.
"Guess if I can't sneak up on Blake, I can't sneak up on her friend." the buxom blonde's voice came from behind me.
"So is there something you needed or?" I asked, shooting a skeptical glance at the brawler.
"Not really. Just thought you'd like someone to talk to. You seem to have something on your mind. Or someone." I blushed, turning my head away but Yang saw it already. "So it is someone. Let me guess, Blake?"
"What did Allie tell you?" was my question. No way a girl like her be bothering to talk to plain old me without some reason.
"Not much. Said you were lesbian like her, and me as a little side note, and since you knew Blake before-hand-"
"You figured I had a crush on her." I finished, a little miffed Allie had told Yang something that personal without asking me. "Well, you are right, but I realized a while ago that I'll never get her to see me like that." I sighed, turning blue for a few seconds before returning to my usual color. "But hey, there has to be someone who will want to go out with a White Fang chameleon, right?"
Yang smiled, playfully hitting my shoulder(OW!) and laughing. "That's the spirit!" she said. I rubbed my shoulder and she at least looked sheepish. "Eh heh, sorry." A song from inside played, reaching us easily. "Oh, I love this song! Care to dance?" she asked, offering a hand to me.
I turned pink as I admitted, "I...can't dance."
"Well then, let Dance Master Yang teach you how." Yang offered. That attitude must have been infectious, cause I gave into the blonde's request.
Neo's POV
I sat in front of the HQ, smiling at the music and merriment upstairs. But I still needed to calm down from my blood high. I didn't want to hurt my friends. "Heya Neo." I looked up to see Roman with that smile I think he only ever gave me. "The kitty told me about what happened. Still coming down?" I nodded as he sat next to me. "Well, care to hear about this heist I was planning?" I glanced at him, interested. Killing was always a rush, but so was stealing which is why I would still work with Roman whenever I wasn't with Allie. He outlined his plan to rob a competing crime lord of the backbone of his funds, and I pointed out the flaws that he overlooked. We fell into our usual planning rhythm. It wasn't until five minutes later that I felt a presence behind me.
I turned to see Ruby looking at us curiously. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked.
"Oh hey Red." Roman greeted jovially. "Neo and I were just planning a heist to screw with a guy that's been infringing on my business." Ruby glared at Roman, who held his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm not planning on hurting anyone. I just want to make the other guy back off."
Ruby sighed, but she had gotten used to the fact Roman was a criminal, and we had established he wasn't exactly the worst guy out there. "Well make sure you come back alive. You still have fifty games before you win our little contest."
I arched a brow at my father figure. Catching my look, Roman explained, "Oh, Red and I have this contest going on the Call of Duty game where whoever wins 100 games first can make the other do anything they want."
"Within reason!" Ruby added.
I giggled. That was such a Roman and Ruby thing to do. 'Careful, you guys almost sound like real friends.' I teased. The three of us shared a laugh at that.
Tara's POV
While I was enjoying the party, this atmosphere wasn't exactly me. Of course there weren't exactly a lot of parties when I was in the Brawnwen camp or at Haven, and even then I didn't really have friends before, but I guess I could learn to deal. Or I could just lean against the wall, sipping my punch. That worked too. "Looks like I'm not the only one who can't take too much of Allie's party at once." a posh, amused voice said from next to me. I glanced at Weiss, surprised. "What? Think just cause I'm a Shnee I wouldn't want to talk to a former bandit?"
"Maybe?" I replied hesitantly.
To my relief, Weiss laughed. It was kinda cute. "Well, once upon a time I guess you'd be right." she admitted, looking at the small crowd in the HQ. "But these people have been a good influence on me." She turned to me with what I could only describe as a friendly smile. "I have to admit, I was rather impressed with your semblance today. Calling lightning is amazing."
I blushed at the compliment, but considered her words. I had used my Maiden powers, since my semblance was actually rather useless against grimm. I was hesitant to correct her, but then I remembered the Boss vouched for all the Key holders. "It wasn't my semblance." I informed quietly. Weiss shot me a quizzical look, and I took a deep breath before nodding toward the library. The two of us went in and I closed the door. "So, have you heard the story of the Four Maidens?" I asked.
"Of course. I don't think there are many who haven't." Weiss replied curiously. Not that I could blame her. But I explained what I was, what I could do. She arched an eyebrow. "So what you're telling me is you're the newest...I guess incarnation is the best word of the Spring Maiden?" she asked. I nodded and she sighed. "I wish I could say I'm surprised, but Allie would track down a myth to add to her team just to complete the bizarre set."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Guess it was my turn to be confused.
"Think about it." Weiss snapped back. "Your team consists of a girl from another world who chose to become a cat faunus and is most likely insane, a psychotic criminal, an ex-terrorist who I think my blonde teammate has a crush on, and to round out the gang, who does Allie get? The girl with mythical powers of nature."
I opened my mouth to argue, then realized she had a point. Team ANTI was a band of rather odd individuals. "I could say the same about your team though." I defended weakly.
To my surprise, Wiess nodded. "Can't argue there, but I guess we're all weird, aren't we?" We shared a laugh at that and began talking about anything we could think of. Mostly schoolwork.
And done! Well, that went better than I thought it would. Now I got a chance to start one(possibly two, haven't decided yet) ship(s), given a little RomanxNeo family stuff with some Ruby thrown in, and a little look at Neo in general. So, I guess leave a review and I'll see you next time!
