AN: I'm sorry for the hiatus so close to the end, I wasn't expecting it. I want to say thanks for reading this story. I'm just the writer, and it wouldn't have been the same without you guys and your input. Speaking of which, some of you guys have given me some fun ideas to mess around with in the last few 'Aftermath' chapters, so look out for that. I hope this one's alright, (as always, there's probably a ton of typos I still have to find.) We're almost done :) -CakeLegends
The Ghost of Vale - Chapter 45
In the darkness of the quiet room, Weiss stared into the eyes of her enemy. She suddenly felt trapped. Her nervous heartbeat echoed through her bones. For the moment, they were completely alone.
Weiss' jaw tightened. Her blue eyes narrowed to a harsh sneer. "I could take you down right now."
"That wouldn't be wise." Asher commented, shaking his head in disapproval. The crime lord reached into his pocket, pulling out a device. He smirked, shaking the object mockingly. "Are you looking for this?"
The objected glistened as it refracted the light. Weiss' eyes widened as she recognized the object: Ruby's Scroll.
"How did you get that?" Weiss muttered. A hot flash of rage surged through her system. Her fingers coiled into fists at her sides. "Where is she? What did you do with her?"
"I suggest you be cooperative from this point." Asher instructed, placing the Scroll back into his pocket. "For her sake."
A cold scowl spread across the Heiress' face. She stared into his cryptic gaze. Was he lying? How else would he have her Scroll? A few quiet seconds passed. She released a frustrated sigh. "What the hell do you want?"
"Come along, Ms. Schnee." The crime lord instructed, waving for the Heiress to follow. "We both have appearances to upkeep."
2 hours and 30 minutes into the party...
Click.
Neo sat on the marble counter, her gloved fingers loading the bullets into her handguns' clip. The click of each entering bullet echoed through the silent bathroom. Her multicolored eyes glanced from right to left, keeping up with Ruby's nervous pacing.
Click.
"I screwed up the plan..." The caped girl murmured worriedly. "What if Weiss is still down there? What if she's in trouble?"
Click.
"This is my fault." Ruby muttered, her pacing never losing speed. "Why did I let us go through with this?"
Click.
"Say something!" Ruby begged, finally coming to a stop in front of the acrobat. She pointed an angry finger at the seated girl. "Don't just sit there loading bullets!"
Neo's hands froze to a stop. She locked eyes with the caped girl. A few moments of silence went by. Neo frowned and shrugged, unamused. She pushed in the last bullet.
Click.
Ruby's face grew a deep scarlet. Ruby groaned, taking a seat on the closed toilet lid. "My stomach feels numb."
"That's probably the coke." The acrobat mumbled.
"What should we do?" The caped girl asked. "When we go back down, I mean."
"There's a good chance she's already with him." Neo mused, sliding down from the bathroom counter. "Blake and Yang are outside on guard-duty, so it's up to us to do something."
"What do we do?" Ruby asked. "I don't have my weapon..."
"I could just shoot him." The acrobat muttered, sliding the now-filled clip into the handgun. "Just know I only have ten bullets. I don't know if I could take out any guards he might have."
Ruby bit her lip. "We need to think of a new plan."
3 hours into the party...
The Heiress' spine was tingling in discomfort. Asher had something planned, and she knew it.
The party suddenly felt frightening. There were no patterns. Everything was too chaotic. She could be attacked at any moment.
He led her through the door, stepping out into the parking lot. They walked swiftly through the lot, past the many expensive cars, towards a group of armed men. Asher's armed guards nodded as he arrived. Weiss frowned as a gun was swiftly pointed at her.
"Honestly, I was expecting more." The Heiress acknowledged. She counted fifteen armed guards. "You didn't even bring Cinder."
"You think too highly of yourself." Asher commented. "I don't need her here. You are an ignorant child compared to me. It doesn't take much to outsmart you. I had this planned out from the beginning."
Weiss glared at her enemy. Her brow furrowed with her building rage. "You're insane."
Asher's smirk twitched at the statement.
"You're a billionaire who beats criminals unconscious with her bare hands, all whilst wearing the mask of her rapist." Asher snapped, stepping closer with every word. "And you're calling me insane? Me?"
Weiss scowled at the outburst. The crime lord quickly recomposed himself, rubbing his forehead. Weiss frowned as the crime lord's hand extended. His eyes narrowed in the device behind her back. "Your Scroll. Nice try, by the way."
"I guess you're right: I am easy to outsmart." The Heiress groaned in aggravation. She reluctantly handed it over, her fingers making sure to fumble over a few buttons on its surface.
Neo flinched as her Scroll buzzed. She sighed in relief at the familiar contact on its screen. She answered the call, bringing it to her ear. "Weiss, what's going on? Is he-"
The acrobat frowned. The line was almost silent. Between the sounds of shuffling, distant voices could be heard. Neo paused, focusing her hearing.
"You're taking me away through the parking lot, and you have fifteen guards?" The Heiress' voice asked. "This plan is ridiculous. You don't even have any threats to make."
"You'll watch Ruby Rose get a bullet through her skull." The crime lord assured. "And if you're nice, that's the only thing I'll make you watch."
"Ruby won't go down without a fight."
"And yet, she is useless without her weapon."
A few incoherent murmurs lingered until the line went dead. Neo hung up her Scroll. She glanced to the seated caped girl.
"Was it good news?" Ruby guessed, her expression hopeful.
"They have her in the parking lot." The acrobat explained. "They think you're useless without Crescent Rose, and they want to kill you in front of Weiss."
A moment of silence passed.
"That's good." Ruby's eyes widened as a glowing lightbulb of an idea popped up in her head. "I have a plan."
Neo frowned. "How the hell is that good?"
"This is perfect." The caped girl began, her eyes growing wild with anticipation. "If they want me, they can have me. Here's the new plan."
3 hours and 20 minutes into the party...
The Heiress released a sigh into the brisk night air. Her knees were digging into the rough concrete. Her hands were bound behind her back. The circle of armed guards stood around her.
Asher leaned in as a guard whispered into his ear. He turned around, smiling at the Heiress. "It seems our guest of honor has arrived."
The building's door opened. Weiss cussed as Ruby stepped through the opened door, an armed guard digging the barrel of a gun into her back.
"We found her, sir." The guard confirmed as they approached. He stood the suited caped-girl next to the Heiress and pushed on her shoulder, forcing her to her knees. "You were right: she's useless without her weapon."
Another guard stepped forward, pulling out a pair of binds. "I'll tie her hands-"
"No need." The crime lord informed, reaching into his suit pocket. He pulled out a silenced pistol, aiming it at the frightened caped girl. "I was going to wait until we left the property, but I've changed my mind. I'll put a bullet in her head right here."
"This was my fault." Weiss stated, releasing a shaky sigh. "I'm so sorry Ruby-"
"Don't worry about it." The caped girl chimed, winking at her partner. "It'll all be over soon."
Weiss' head tilted in confusion. Something was slightly off about this. Wasn't Ruby in a dress? The Heiress looked down to the caped girl's hands.
Her ring fingers were missing.
In a blinding flash of speed, Neo rose to her feet and pushed the gun to the side, using her momentum to sucker-punch the crime lord in the stomach. The gun went off, putting a bullet through the skull of an armed guard. She brought her elbow swiftly to Asher's temple, knocking him unconscious.
Weiss watched as the acrobat darted away, sliding over the hood of the nearest car and ducking behind it as a hail of bullets rang out overhead, shattering the vehicle's windows.
"You don't have a chance!" A guard shouted angrily at the girl behind the car. "There's fourteen of us."
"I only have ten bullets." Neo shouted back. "Some of you might have to share."
Silence followed. Weiss looked on as the fourteen guards approached the car cautious steps. The closest guard held his breath as he walked around the side of the car. His eyes widened in rage when he came around the corner: she was gone.
"Spread out and find her!" The guard barked, motioning for the others to move.
Weiss looked around the various cars in the parking lot. Her knees were going numb against the rough concrete. Her wrists were chaffing from the binds.
Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss saw a red blur rushed towards her. Ruby began to undo her binds. The Heiress smirked as her hands were released, hugging the caped girl close.
"We got your call." Ruby whispered, returning the embrace with equal enthusiasm. "Yang and Blake are coming, too."
"Neo's still out there." Weiss reminded, pointing a finger to the occupied guards, currently searching in-between the parking lot's many cars.
"We've been doing this sneaky hero-thing for months." Ruby reminded, extending her hand to help her partner up. "Let's give her some help."
Weiss grinned, taking her partner's hand.
3 hours and 40 minutes into the party...
Asher groaned as he regained consciousness. His blurry vision began to clear.
His five enemies were staring at him with disdain. A strong Blonde was placing him in the trunk of the car.
"You can't do this to me!" The crime lord barked. The rage in his eyes was practically burning. "I will have you put down like dogs! I am-"
Yang's fist collided against Asher's skull with a loud crack. His head slackened as he was returned to unconsciousness.
3:00 AM
"Wake up."
The crime lord groaned as his eyes parted, slowly adjusting to the beams of moonlight that streamed through the tree branches above. Through his broken nose, he smelt the sharp scent of pine needles. The taste of his own blood lingered in his mouth. Something moved to the forefront of his vision. He's eyes focused on the figures blocking the light.
His back was against a tree in the middle of a forest. Five girls loomed over him, smirks of victory residing on their faces. A pre-dug grave was at his side. Several rusty old shovel was stuck in the dirt.
Asher watched as The Heiress stepped forward.
"You've been giving us hell from the beginning." Weiss began, crouching down to the crime lord's level. "You've always had a plan for everything. But you didn't calculate for one outlier: Team RWBY."
The Heiress flinched as a glob of bloody spit hit her in the face. She wiped it off roughly with the back of her hand.
"You won't kill me." Asher laughed through his bloodied mouth. "You're weak. You don't have it in you."
Asher stared into her sharp blue eyes. He waited for her to lash out. To show the monster he had come to admire. A few seconds passed by. His brow rose in confusion. Something else happened, something that he wasn't expecting: The Heiress smiled.
"You know what? You're right." Weiss nodded in agreement. "And I'm okay with that. I'm done taking lives."
The Heiress rose to her feet, stepping away from the bleeding man. She waved the acrobat forward. "Neo, will you do the honors?"
"I'd need another weapon." Neo admitted, pulling the empty clip out of her pistol. "I only had ten bullets."
"Were they 9 mil?" The caped girl mused, taking a brief gander at the pistol. Ruby tore the bullet from her necklace, handing it to the acrobat. "Here's number eleven."
The acrobat's eyes darted over to Weiss. The Heiress nodded in approval. Neo smirked, her gloved hands taking hold of the gold bullet. She slipped it into the clip and pulled back the slide of the pistol.
Neo stepped towards the bleeding man, raising the pistol at his head.
"Not her." Asher yelled, his burning glare aimed at the smiling Heiress. "You did this. It needs to be you."
Weiss shook her head. Her arms crossed in victory.
Asher's vision refocused on the armed threat in front of him. A scheming glint appeared in the crime lord's eye. "You're a mercenary. If you kill me, you'll never get your money back."
Neo's finger hesitated.
"I have your attention, then?" Asher guessed, leaning forward. "Ms. Neopolitan, whatever they're paying you, I can-"
The gunshot echoed through the night. With a loud bang and the flash of a muzzle, their problems were solved.
The body slumped over. Neo placed her foot on his collapsing torso, guiding it to the grave. For a few moments, she stared at the corpse with a satisfied smile. She picked up the shovel-
"Wait!" Weiss interrupted, shoveling through the contents of the duffle bag at her feet. She pulled out the object that the Ghost called its face, holding it up to the moonlight.
For the last time, Weiss stared into the eyes of her mask. From the very start, she had fought a battle with the darkest parts of her mind.
"I win." Weiss mumbled, a grin spreading across her face. She tossed the mask into the grave without a second thought. A feeling of peace resided in her heart. The monster was gone.
A sharp sound echoed as the shovel began to break the dirt.
An few hours passed. The team had made expert work of disposing of the evidence. They were walking the trail out of the forest, the gravel crunching underneath their feet. A beautiful blend of pink and orange filled the sky as the sun began to rise.
They finally made their way out of the deep woods and towards the hiking trail. They came to a stop, staring at the magnificently vibrant sky.
It was over.
Neo sighed, pulling out her box of cigarettes. She stared at packaging for a few seconds. RWBY watched on in silence as she tossed them in the nearby trashcan.
"So..." Ruby began, turning to face the others. "What happens now?"
"We keep a low profile and get on with our lives." Neo instructed.
Yang's brow rose. "As friends?"
Neo rolled her eyes. "Do I have a choice?"
The team collectively shook their heads.
"Fine." The acrobat agreed as the five turned back to face the sky. "As flawed, awful, totally uncomfortable, and poorly-matched friends."
Weiss smiled at the sunrise. She glanced to the caped girl at her side, locking eyes with her partner. Even now, one look made her heart flutter.
"Sounds good to me."
