AN: I messed around with writing parkour, which was a little different to try out. I don't usually have (or like making) original characters in my stories because you can usually choose from existing characters, but I did make a villain. I hope I made him interesting enough, even though I don't plan on really focusing on him at all. -CakeLegends
The Lonesome Road - Chapter 36
"I know that I'll regret asking this..." Weiss began as she sat down on her unkempt bed. "But what are you two doing here?"
Penny's gears whirred for a moment before she spoke. "Beacon may have already been infiltrated. You may still be in danger, therefore our protection is still necessary."
'If murder is the disease, meet the cure!' Neo grinned and cracked her knuckles. '...Okay, not the cure, but more like a topical ointment to reduce the swelling and itch.'
Weiss looked up. The ceilings ventilation grate was shifted slightly off center: it had been opened recently.
"You broke through the vents?" Weiss questioned with mild intrigue.
Neo smirked smugly. 'Yes, I'm multi-talented.'
Ruby pointed at Penny. "And why were you in the cupboard?"
The animatronic shrugged. "The closet was full and I didn't want to be a burden."
Blake got out of her bed. "This is kind of sudden-"
Weiss froze still as Neo slipped a knife out of her pocket and threw it at her head. The blade whizzed through the air at blinding speed. The knife embedded itself in the wall behind her.
"W-what the fuck is wrong with you!" The Heiress exclaimed in shock.
The acrobat walked to her and pulled the knife out of the wall. She showed the Heiress the tiny thing caught on the tip.
Impaled on the point of the knife was a mosquito.
Neo locked eyes with the Heiress. Her still expression spoke more than words. 'I will not let a single thing touch you without your permission.'
Weiss swallowed and nodded.
The acrobat's psychotic expression faded back to a sly smirk. She pointed to the bathroom. 'I need to take a shower.'
"Sure, make yourself at home." Yang moaned sarcastically. "Feel free to use my toothbrush while you're at it."
Neo motioned a thumbs-up as she closed the bathroom door. 'Thanks, will do.'
The team held their breaths until the shower started.
"Guys...I get that she's an 'ally' now. And I'm happy for her and all..." Yang mumbled to the group in a quiet-tone. "But are we going to house a killer?"
Weiss nodded and proceeded to make her bed. "Get used to it for a while. We don't exactly have a choice."
The team begrudgingly began their morning routine.
Ruby placed a hand on the animatronic shoulder and led her to the side. She spoke in a hushed whisper.
"You came here with Neo. Is she..." Ruby spun her finger around the side of her head: the layman's sign for crazy.
"Neopolitan is not as heartless as she seems." Penny commented. "We became good friends on the way here."
"Neo seems really focused about this." Ruby commented with a smile. "Do you think she's...warming up to us?"
"...T-that's a possibility." Penny stuttered quickly, picking her words with caution.
Ruby's eyebrow rose at the animatronic awkward response. Penny was always careful with yes or no questions.
"Penny, do you know something we don't?"
The animatronic flinched and yelped in shock. "I know a lot of things."
"Penny, don't do this. You know what I meant. What did Neo tell you?"
"Ruby, have you ever been to Vacuo?"
The caped-girl shook her head.
"Then I'm guessing you don't know about Mente Cattivo."
"She's over there!" A voice rang out over the drizzling rain.
The acrobat's feet moved quickly on the wet concrete rooftops. Neo's breathing was a quick pant in the chilly, humid air.
She quickly glanced over her shoulder. The group of pursuers was a fair distance away, but quickly gaining speed.
'Shit...I really have to stop fucking around with the mob.'
She looked back in front of her. The ledge of this roof was coming up fast. She took a grip of her umbrella and vaulted herself off the building's edge.
The wind rippled harshly through her hair. Her eyes squinted through the rain and wind. With blind skill, she hooked her umbrella on a windowsill of the neighboring building.
She heard the sound of angry shouting a few meters above and behind her. A stray bullet shot out the glass of the window she dangled from. Effortlessly, she kicked up and flipped herself through the convenient opening.
Neo entered a hotel bedroom. She wasted no time vaulting over the furniture to the door. She entered the hallway. An elevator door open somewhere to her side.
'Fuck! His guys are everywhere.'
Another window shined at the end of the hall. Neo sprinted towards the opportunity.
A large thug with a metal bat stepped out of a room and stood in her path.
Neo grinned. Her speed only increased. She slid underneath the obstructer, raising her umbrella up slightly. The handle connected unrelentingly with the spot between his legs. Neo continued her sprint.
'A bat plus two balls equal a strike.'
Neo hopped up and smashed through the glass window.
Everything seemed to slow down. She saw the glass shards spinning in front of her. A bright red line crossed in front of her. Her head turned to the side. In the far distance, she saw the origin of the line.
A rooftop sniper.
He had rooftop snipers. Who the fuck has snipers? That's horseshit. That's not fair.
'Well this'll hurt like h-'
A loud crack rang out through the air. Neo felt the butterflies in her stomach as she fell several stories. She blacked out the second she hit the hard pavement.
Her vision faded in and out of existence.
She saw the unfriendly people enter the alley and crowd around her.
A car with tinted-windows pulled up.
Her vision finally remained as two people stepped closer to her. She saw her nemesis in person for the first time.
The boss was a fairly young-looking, pale man in a tan suit. He held an exuberant cane. A pair of glasses rested on his face. Nothing about his appearance seemed threatening to Neo. He smiled warmly at the acrobat as she locked a gaze with him.
"That's her, Mr. Cattivo." A mobster informed his boss.
Neo sighed. She was surrounded. Even if she escaped, they would track her down. She would take the beating.
She felt a kick to her gut.
"Most people have some sense of morality." Cattivo began. "But killing my daughter? On her wedding day? That is quite rude, Ms. Neopolitan."
"She wasn't that committed to the relationship anyways." Neo croaked through her broken larynx. Her hand quickly gripped her throat in pain. It hurt like hell, but sometimes speaking was worth it.
"Elaborate." The boss commanded politely.
Neo grinned. "She let me show her a good time first."
"You got lucky." The thug growled. "You better get him his money bitch."
"James, that was uncalled for." The boss commented, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.
"I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again."
"Do forgive him, Ms. Neopolitan." The boss excused as he turned to the acrobat. "Anyways, I repeat: most people have some sense of morality. You do not. And you know what?"
The boss smirked. In the blink of an eye, he pulled a pistol from his pocket and shot the thug at his side, slipping the pistol away just as quickly.
Neo flinched as the boss angrily kicked the face of the corpse beyond recognition. Blood splattered across the pavement and over his suit.
"I lack it as well." Cattivo finished, a few dots of blood decorating his grinning face. "I'm sorry about that. He had no respect. Just a rude person overall. I don't particularly like rude people."
"They're a bunch of fucking assholes." Neo agreed.
The boss laughed. "Yes! That is good. Very funny."
"Now, how much was my first daughter worth to me?" The boss pondered. "I'll be needing...let's say 10 million lien?"
The acrobat's eyes widened. 'I don't make that kind of money.'
"I'm reasonable. I'll give you some time. But we'll find and kill you if you're far too late."
Neo's eye twitched.
"You have exactly one year to make 10 million. I think that's more than fair."
Neo gave him a thumbs-up.
The boss kneeled down to her injured form. "Listen Ms. Neopolitan, I don't want to kill you. You seem like an interesting person. I'd love to chat sometime if you live."
The acrobat nodded sarcastically. 'I'll be sure to mark my calendar.'
"I'll be watching!" Cattivo walked past the group of thugs and to his car with a final wave. "Good luck!"
"She's been traveling and taking freelancer work at every opportunity now." Penny informed with a concerned tone. "Roman was paying her well, but now she's guarding the Heiress for over triple the price."
Ruby squinted with confusion. "If she's getting money for protecting Weiss, why doesn't she just ask Weiss for the money? I'm sure she would give it to her."
Penny heaved a small, mechanical sigh. "It's a rivalry thing...she wants to earn it."
Ruby sighed. A mountain of debt and a murderous mob. This wasn't even their problem- they hadn't been told. Neo kept her secrets under lock and key.
Weiss wasn't the only one with troubles in her past.
Weiss wasn't the only one who had felt bloodlust.
Weiss wasn't the only one with wicked ways.