"W-what...?" Yang jumped, reeling backwards until she couldn't anymore. A soft thud signaled the corner of the room as her back hit the edge of a wooden table.
A mighty crash told us something fell to the floor, but our focus remained uninterrupted.
"Who said it was faked?" I repeated after myself, and raised a curious brow as I massaged my chest, then slowly roved to my collarbone where the brawler grasped it with such crushing intent that there was an audible crunch while it threatened to snap.
"Y-you're lying..." Yang laughed hoarsely without any much bite but more disbelief as she exchanged glances between the floor, the group of faces and I. "Y-you're here... there's no way y-you-"
"Friend Louis speaks the truth, sister of friend Ruby." The ginger haired girl said flamboyantly as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her foot. "Friend Evans killed friend Louis right after he touched himself."
"I... wouldn't phrase it like that." I coughed into my fist to try and hide my flushed cheeks, and a quick glance caught multiple cheeks either darken or brighten, except for the two men- well, one man and a maiden on my sides who were able to shrug it off, and the sisters.
Both Yang and Ruby's both paled and seemed to stiffen as if they'd just seen a ghost.
With how little they knew, I wouldn't blame them.
Flashback
"...So, now that Dwiki flipped the initial plan right on it's head, what'cha plan to do about it?" Kevin asked.
"Wait, why m-" He clamped both hands over his mouth as everybody in the room, and to our surprise, even Derrick, glared so coldly, it seemed to have chilled him right to the bone.
"What'd you mean?" Evans asked after Dwiki shrank away to the furthest corner of the bed he could without toppling over.
"You're not planning to just sit by and watch it all Fall apart right in front of your eyes are you?" He asked as he looked towards the both of us, who looked towards the floor.
"After all the hard work you've both done..?" Kevin's brows furrowed as his lips twisted into a frown. "You can't be serious."
"O-of course not!" Evans shot up from his seat. "It's just... we haven't came up with something yet." He looked to me, pleading for a solution. "Right Lou...?"
"I don't know..." I gnarled frustratingly as I set one foot down on the floor and sighed. "The plan was simple enough to execute. Sure, it's not without it's drawbacks of gaining Salem's attention afterward, but it was easy enough to pull off, given what we have right now. Besides, we've already gained the attention of Ironwood by revealing Stardust, and I, Ozpin's by being part of one of the main teams. Salem was gonna follow sooner or later."
I spat at the floor, while the rest of the boys looked at Evans for reassurance.
Evans looked away.
...
"And when had easy been the only way out?"
"Excuse me?" I asked as I met stern brown eyes.
"When had easy been the only way out?" Kevin asked again. "You act as if there's only have one way to stop the Fall." He shrugged. "You've always been tenacious on helping people Lou. And to give up after a blunder which Dwiki of all people caused? That's not the Louis I know."
"You're saying you could've seen that coming?" I shot back.
"From a mile away." He answered with a simple shrug. "You should've anticipated it the moment he set foot into Beacon. Either way, what's done is done. But you can bet your ass that if you still want to do this..." He jabbed a finger into his chest. "You have my full support."
"Eh?" I blinked a few times and my mouth fell open at his sudden claim.
Only one word played in my head over and over as I stared into brown eyes dumbfoundedly.
A few blinks and a full minute to process the information later, eventually I pushed through and asked the obvious.
"Why?"
"When was the last time you wanted to do something on your own accord?" He shrugged casually. "I couldn't remember. You've always helped me when I wanted or needed your help, now let me help you."
"That simple?" I scoffed and crossed my arms, flinching slightly as it reminded me of a certain heiress. "You do realize this is a life or death thing right? We're not fighting verbally for student rights against a school principal here."
"Actually..." Evans raised a finger, but it went ignored.
"We're fighting in a war that isn't even ours to begin with." I continued. "What do you have to gain?"
"Hey, if you planned to save them in the first place then I take it that they're either as important or more important then we are to you." He shot back, causing me to look away, being read like a book. "Now, I take it since you've had an entire year to plan this, I know for a fact that this isn't the only thing you've had in mind. You're the last person I know to have tunnel vision, Lou."
I looked towards everybody's determined faces, bar Dwiki, who was tapping away at his scroll and seemingly drained of all energy to talk back or even pay attention to our back and forth debate.
They all nodded towards me.
...
"Derrick?"
"What? Just because I got brainwashed into working with Cinder Fall and Roman Torchwick, and... stole some undies." Even he himself winced under his own statement as he faltered a little under our deadpanned gazes. "Doesn't mean I want to watch the characters and the whole of Remnant fall to Salem, take that as a weakness for all four and capitalize on it."
"That's an idea I could expand on."
SMACK
"Oww... Whyyy meee...?" Dwiki rubbed the back of his head.
"You know very well 'why you'." Kevin deadpanned.
"Adrian...?"
"If Kevin's in then so am I." Adrian agreed with a nonchalant shrug. "The boys stick together, you know how it is Lou. It's always been that way on earth, and it sure as hell isn't gonna change here."
"Dwiki?"
"Whatever."
SMACK
"Oi! Fine..." He said as he rubbed the back of his head. "As long as what I have to do isn't too hard."
I looked to the final person in question.
"Evans...?"
"If a fool shall persist in his folly, he shall become wise." Evans smirked. "So it is written."
The edge of my lips curled into a smirk.
"Alright then..."
"What's the plan Lou?" The rotund man asked.
"What we've always done before." I sighed while I shot up to my feet from the guest beds. "We improvise."
"Wait wha-" Evans's neck snapped in my direction as the gears in his head spun. "No... You can't mean..." His eyes widened as his jaw hung loosely as he realized what I meant. "Lou! It's not ready yet!"
"It'll have to be." I said. "For the sake of Remenant.
"We agreed Lou." Evans snarled. "I helped you built it, under the condition that it will only be used as a last resort. You can't be saying you want to use it here and now!" He yelled. " It's way too early!"
"And do you see another way out?!" I roared back a challenge. "They know what's about to happen. They're not just gonna sit tight and have a tea party while it all goes down! They're gonna try something very stupid, and there's no guarantee Cinder won't alter her plans as well, knowing of our existence early game."
I gnashed my teeth together as I swiped my hand across the air, silencing him as I drove the final nail in the coffin. "Knowing that we Seers exist already puts her plan in jeopardy, and she's not dumb enough to just 'trust' you out of a whim! She's gonna be more cautious than ever before. There's a chance there's more than just Grimm present at the Fall. You of all people know this."
"What exactly is he talking about Ev?" Kevin asked while he raised a suspicious brow.
Evans cursed under his breath, then his stern gaze met mine.
"Something stupid..." He muttered as he rubbed his chin. "But it'll be hella memorable alright."
Later...
"Wow..." Kevin whistled and marveled at the mere sight of the scientific laboratory. Beakers and test tubes frothed and bubbled away, containing a concoction of cyan tinted liquid Dust that shone mysteriously from within, while wires and mechanical limbs lay rested atop the table on the other side. It was smaller than most major manufacturing labs in Remnant.
But then again, it was meant to be a temporary outpost, a momentary place to stay of sorts, as Professor Polendina took Evans under his wing and a hideout for Penny to remain hidden from the public eye.
We just took the last ship into Vale.
Which meant...
There's no turning back.
The Fall is happening come the morrow and we have less than 24 hours to do something about it.
This... will suck. I sighed internally.
We came to a complete halt in front of a tall chamber at the end of the room that had a solid block of steel with hinges on either sides.
The vault looked like an overly secured refrigerator with the intention that what's inside was never used.
As Evans stopped by a small panel in front of it, he flipped the cover open and started to input the password.
A flicker of a fast moving shadow caught the corner of my eye.
CLANG
"Sneaky as ever." I grit through my teeth as the boys jumped back in panic. "Good to know the security of the lab is in good hands."
The girl threw her pink and black hair behind her shoulders as she shot me her usual unreadable smug smirk, bowing dramatically as if thanking me for the clash while I retracted Obisidan Nova back to it's hilt.
She sheathed her blade into her parasol with a loud rasp as she eyed the men, hinting that anybody looking at her funny would have their throat slit.
It locked shut with an audible click and the boys all sagged in relief.
"Everybody, this is Neo." I introduced for the sake of Kevin and Adrian. "She's..."
"Best girl!" Dwiki cried.
"An assassin..." I continued as Dwiki scanned Neo up and down, stopping at her exposed hips as both eyes gleamed and let out a squeal of glee.
Neo raised her head to peek over my shoulders as she tiptoed on her heels and raised a brow.
"She was and still is working with the bad guys, and this is a temporary alliance at most. But eh... something tells me that'll change soon." Evans shrugged.
"Can we trust her?" Kevin raised a brow.
"An orphaned psychopath that was raised by Vale's most wanted crook?" The shaggy man asked as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Sure, why not."
"Neo huh?" Adrian approached the girl as he dug deep into the pockets of his hoodie.
"Adrian, what are yo-"
He opened his hand.
"You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe what you want to believe."
He opened his other palm.
"You take the red pill, and you stay in wonderland. And I show you how deep the rabbit hole go-"
SMACK
WHACK
"Wrong Neo!" Both me and Evans yelled as Adrian massaged the back of his head. "Also, don't take those!" I said as I smacked the drugs out of her hands. "They're probably aphrodisiacs or ecstasy."
Neo's eyes blinked rapidly, alternating between pink and brown, and even white at some point, just like how she did when she was caught off guard by Raven on the train.
She scanned the faces, then pointed to them, herself, her scroll, then jabbed a finger at the floor. She then raised her brow and pouted.
"Yes Neo, we do need you here, and no, they're not bad guys or mercenaries per se, just really bad at making life choices, and yes, I still need your help to execute this plan. You're needed."
She jabbed her thumb in Dwiki's direction, who was still staring at her hips, then the space in between. I could see something shifting in his pants and pretended I never saw anything. It didn't take a genius to tell that his mind was going down the gutter.
"Yeah, I know he can be a pain, just deal with him for a bit. Knowing how skilled you are you shouldn't have a problem defending yourself."
She traced a line across her throat.
I sighed.
"No, no matter how utterly useless he is, don't kill of him."
She pointed at a trash can.
"Yes, I know you can be very good at disposing bodies without a trace, but that's not what we need you here for."
She raised her brow.
"Yes, I'm sure."
"You speak mute?" Kevin asked.
"No, I speak Neo." I clarified as I turned away.
She caught Dwiki giving her a perverted smirk as he smacked his lips hungrily, then moistened them against one another with his tounge.
Neo smirked back in return.
Dwiki took one step forward.
Her image shattered as he found the length of her parasol on his neck and a pressing weight pushing on the back of his spine.
"Hey, you asked for it." I sighed as Dwiki strutted backwards with his hands grasping thin air, attempting to get the object off his throat as he choked away.
"Done." Evans announced.
The large chamber split down the middle with an eerie crimson glow, then it hissed and whirred as the 2 massive doors swung open with a click-click-click.
"Hmmm..." Kevin took one glance at the glinting black steel, and once the doors opened wider to completely reveal what was held within, he stared with wide eyes, then looked towards Evans, me, then spat at the ground. "Fuck."
"Forget it, I'm not tossing you a coin." I replied as I strode forward to marvel at it.
"You can't be serious." Kevin pointed at the shiny metal armour that was hanging low, held together by industrial chains. "This is your backup plan? Are you sure it even works?"
"Nope." Evans popped. "That's exactly what I told him before we even got here. It's not ready yet."
"How are we even sure this is gonna work exactly like Berserk?" Kevin jabbed a finger into my chest. "You're no Guts!"
"Yeah... " I smiled faintly as I clenched my fists. "Not yet, but I could be..."
"You're planning to use it, aren't you?" The rotund man scoffed. "That... thing."
"If all it could do is give me anger issues, tease me of lust, and the occasional sense of bloodlust, then I might as well use it for good, even if it's just this once." I explained. "It'll work. Only I can pull this off."
"And what if it fails?" He challenged. "What if it fails and you die trying?"
"Then I'll die satisfied knowing I tried my best." I smiled bitterly. "It's all I have."
"Urrgh..." Kevin pinched the space between his eyes. "How does it even work? I doubt there's the magic seal that attracts any and every demon emblazoned into that."
"Similar." I continued. "Instead of doing it with 'magic', it's basically an amplifier for emotions. StarDust will be injected into my cerebral cortex from behind." I tapped at the back of my neck. "It will then spread through the membrane and merge into the brain stem and regulate, triggering a hella lot of bad memories. Once that's done, it'll start to produce dopamine, which tells my brain that having bad memories is a good thing, and produce even more or leave it on repeat, putting it in an infinite loop. Finally, when nothing but rage, bloodlust and madness remains, it gets amplified with a hundred times more intensity, projecting negative emotions across Remenant like a drop of blood in an ocean of shark infested waters."
"How can you be so sure you could handle them all?" The rotund man scoffed sarcastically. "You're no better then an average Hunstman with knowledge on the show, doesn't mean you suddenly have the stamina or the skillset to just plow through an army."
"It works like how it does in Berserk, down to the bone." Evans sighed, rubbing his temples. "So he'll be impaled by spikes, and won't stop fighting until he can't."
"Define can't." Kevin's brow furrowed.
"Every bone in his body is broken, every ligament, torn, every nerve, numbed and controlled."
"So basically you're a puppet waiting to get your string's cut."
"Mhmm..." Evans agreed as they both turned to me. "The suit detects the damage done and reinforces them with dust tipped spikes. Muscles will be injected so that they'll produce less lactic acid to prevent cramping, while broken bones... well, you know the rest."
"Why would you invent such a thing?!" Kevin shouted as he walked up to my face. "It's self mutilation at best, and not to mention super fucking dangerous!"
"I told him that." Evans sighed.
"And you." He turned to face Evans. "Why did you even agreed to build it in the first place?"
"Because I forced him to."
"What?!"
"I forced him to." I echoed flatly as black eyes met brown. "I needed a last resort to turn to. A contingency plan. Just like how Ozpin's contingency was to transfer the maiden's powers into a perfect candidate, I- no, we, needed a trump card to rely on."
"And this is your fucking trump card? Your stupid ace in the hole?" He challenged. "You could've built anything else. A particle canon."
"Wastes too much dust in the shortest span of time possible."
"A Megazord!"
"Too impractical and too bulky to control, movements too sluggish."
"A Terminator!"
"The closest thing we have to that is Penny, and we're not sacrificing her." I gazed coldly into his eyes. "Replaceable or not, she is human, and our friend."
"So your great backup plan was just to go drive yourself insane, commit mass genocide and then bleed to death?!"
"Yup." I popped nonchalantly.
"I... may have- no, scratch that. I may as well be his only way out of his crazed state." Evans admitted as he stared down at his hands. "My.. Sembelance."
"Don't you fucking dare try." I growled as my eyes snapped to his. "You know that thing isn't just gonna let you go. And to make things worse, it knows you by heart."
"So that's it then?" The rotund man laughed hoarsely with a ton of bite hidden behind it. "You're just off to kill yourself."
"What's a life compared to many?"
"Excuse me?!"
"It was made specifically for the endgame Kev!" I yelled back. "There's no way anybody could get a straight shot at Salem without a distraction. SHE IS FUCKING IMMORTAL! Combine that, and the power to summon hordes of Grimm at will, and what chances do you think you have?! Only I could be the lure and you. Know. This!" Every one of those last words was sent with a finger jab through his chest.
"And what good is it if you use it now?! Do you even think of what it does it to you afterwards? Have you even thought about that?" Kevin swiped the air across with his hands. "Let's say you survive, what happens afterwards?! You could be mentally or physically jarred with no hope of recovering!"
"And what good does that do iF TEAM RWBY DIES?!"
Kevin's jaw clammed shut.
"They mean everything to me Kev!" I roared, lumbering forward and making Kevin take a step back as my chest rose and fell. "This isn't the show! People can die! People can get hurt! It's not just the bond I got by spending a year here! I genuinely care for them! I care for their lives! We're teleported in a world where we have a chance to stop something as devastating as Chernobyl. There's no guarantee that there's a life after this where we can return back or be reincarnated back into this pre Fall like Re Zero! Hell. I don't think there even are any resets." I spat in his face. "So I sure as hell ain't gonna waste this chance."
"You said I had your full support." I made sure to jam my finger into his chest as I said those words as slowly and as threateningly clear as possible. "Now, do I have it, or do I not? Me and Evans can do this on our own just fine if needs be."
"Tch..." Kevin spat on the ground as he looked to Evans, who shrugged defeatedly. "You better know what you're doing." He glanced over his shoulder. "Otherwise, the enemies aren't the only ones you're gonna have to deal with after this concludes."
Evans's POV
I have to do this right.
Even a millimeter off, and I can kill Louis.
...
...
Well...
Permanently.
No pressure.
Wait for him to charge in, use Purge... and...
Evans's eyes narrowed, his right foot digging into the ground, causing a small cloud of dust kicked up.
A sleight of hand, as Louis's hand swiped upwards into motion and disguising it as a reverse grip, landing on his chest while he tilted his body at an angle so that his back faced towards the camera that was currently livestreaming this battle throughout Remenant.
There!
Regulating the amount of voltage required, the rings around White Knuckle Ride dimmed, the humming nothing but a hushed whisper as Evans reeled back his fist.
Hope this isn't too much for you to handle. This will sting a bit...
Time seemed to slow down as Louis approached in slow motion. His eyes widened slightly as he was but a few feet away, loosely hanging on to the hilts of his weapon while his pupils darted from side to side.
Emerald's using her illusions again huh? Well that's a one in a million. Evans scoffed off internally as his fist connected to his best friend's sternum.
The air was blown out of his chest as his pupils shrunk. His upper body slumped forwards as spittle and a few drops of blood flew out of his mouth.
"Aaaughhh..." He groaned as Evans retracted his fist.
A small crackle of electricity was sent as Louis's body convulsed, then fell on his chest face first with a loud thud.
"LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUIIIIIS!" Ruby screamed from the spectator seats.
Ugh... sorry Ruby. Evans thought as he stared at the ground.
Hang on my friend.
Just a little while longer.
"Are you not entertained?!"
Later...
"Get him here, quick!" Evans waved over as the paramedics, a black haired girl with lime green eyes and a rotund man came in rushing with a stretcher between them.
"You sure you know how to defib?" Kevin asked with a raised brow as he set the body down.
"Nope." Evans rubbed both palms together as arcs of electricity and sparks flew between White Knuckle Ride. It's cyan rings glowed fiercely. "CLEAR!"
Louis's body jumped.
No sign of eye fluttering or breathing. Evans determined after putting an ear to his nose and opening his eyelids.
"CLEAR!"
Again, another jolt sent his body up a feet, and thudded back down with no other reaction.
"Maybe the voltage isn't high enough. Crank it up!"
"This is the furthest I can crank it up to!" Evans snapped back. "Any higher and both his heart and his lungs will explode or char!"
Kevin grit his teeth while Neo fiddled with her parasol.
"Maybe you just aren't doing it right." Adrian said. "Here, let me-"
"NO!" Evans yelled as he turned around, halting Adrian with one hand, while the other landed on his friend's chest.
"GAAAAAAUUFFH!" Louis gulped for air as he sat upright, only to slam back down as he tried to take in as much air as possible. "Hah... hah..."
"Okay, maybe I was using too much instead of too little." Evans murmured as he placed his weapon on the passanger's seat.
"Hey you," Kevin was on Louis's side the instant his eyes fluttered, pupils darting from side to side from the literal shock therapy he'd been given. "You're finally awake."
Louis's POV
"Wake the fuck up samurai. We have a city to burn."
That...
Sounded like Evans...
"De...pends..." I replied as the sudden burning of my lungs had me flinching while I used one hand behind me to prop myself upright. "Is it gonna be... breathtaking?"
"That, brother, is up to you." Evans became clear as my vision focused back to it's prime from being a blurry mess. "How're things on the other side?"
"Dark." I answered, still regulating my lungs for air.
"Glad to have you back with us then."
"If you didn't bring me back I would've killed you myself." I said as I swung my legs over the edge of the stretcher. "Also, Hanzo." I deadpanned. "Really?"
"I might've uhh..." He laughed awkwardly at my expression and scratched the back of his head. "Gotten carried away by the moment."
"Doesn't matter, now the whole of Remenant is confused with what my name is." I sighed. "The armour?"
"In the airship with Penny and her dad at the ready to leave for Mount Glenn." Evans replied. "You're forgetting a little something, aren't you?"
"Oh, right..." I said as I looked at short girl with the paramedic outfit. "You're up Neo."
Dazzling light covered her whole form, then it seemed to solidify as a perfect sheen covering her body, then exploded outwards, sending shards of light that bounced harmlessly off of us.
When we dropped out arms and made to look, Neo was back in her usual clothing with her signature parasol slung over her shoulder.
She nodded, then walked up to me. Being only a foot apart, she tiptoed, and caressed my cheek with the palm of her hand.
Light engulfed her once more, and it morphed, just like a Pokemon evolving, growing taller in stature, more masculine.
Once it shimmered away with a light twinkle, nothing but the mirror image of myself remained.
Only one thing remained out of place however, that being my eye colours were pink and brown instead of the usual dark pupils I have.
But other then that...
"It's... perfect." I said, looking at the toned abs, the decently buff arms and legs which were common in any hunstman trainee. "Very accurate. I'm surprised."
"Oh y-yeah..." Evans clamped his mouth with boths hands. "D-definitely accurate alright..."
"The hell are you laughing-"
I glanced below the waist line.
"Really?" I deadpanned.
She wore the best shit eating grin which I would have never able mirror to date. Suit's Evans personality more.
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes as I made space in the cramped space for Neo to walk past.
She sashayed over without even glancing back, which... seemed super wrong and off-putting since I was looking at my own bare form.
Neo-me then laid on the bed, and linked both her hands behind her neck. Then, she crossed one leg over another, waving her hips from side to side and caused my... thing... to wave from side to side.
"We don't have time for this Neo." I sighed as I tried not to look at the not so flattering sight she was exposing body at. "Get on with it."
A simple tap on my shoulder caused me to jolt and turn around to see Neo in her regular outfit already there.
When I made to turn back, I was looking at myself, eyes closed, expression stoic and lifeless, with a blanket covering below the waist and everything under.
Holes were placed in my chest, which had both the width and the depth of a thumb, perfectly giving off the message that Evans had killed me brutally.
"What... H-how? When?" I raised my brow, while Neo just shrugged it off with an innocent smile.
"Ugh, nevermind. Anyway, your part is done here. Just make sure you place this below the master control panel on the ship the moment Roman lets you into the pilot's chambers." I said as I handed her one of Evans's spikes. "Then, you two can go wherever you want. You're both free now."
She took it in between her thumb and pointer, raised a brow and shook it close to her ear. It rattled and the blue rings pulsated.
"Make sure you teleport out as the ship is flying over Beacon Tower. That's a powerful EMP you're holding right there. All you need to do is just stick it where Roman can't see it." I explained. "We will handle the rest."
She looked to me, bobbed her head once, then blinked out.
"Well, that's that." I sighed as I caught the clothes Evans handed over. "That's half the battle. Now time for-"
Before I could make it out, she blinked back in.
"What's wrong? You forgot someth-"
My words died in my mouth as Neo tiptoed closer then I would've liked, and closed her eyes.
I felt something warm and wet touch near my lips, but purposefully shifted so that the majority of it landed on the side of my face.
Her soft tongue then caressed it, before she suddenly pulled back and giggled silently with a small blush on her face.
Neo mouthed 'Thank you'.
Before I could give a proper response, she blinked out of existence.
"Well..." Evans gaped and blinked owlishly. "That was a thing."
"What do you think that was for?" Kevin questioned, genuinely confused.
"Probably for saving her foster dad." Evans shrugged as he stepped out of the vehicle.
"Huh." My fingers landed on the edge of my lips and traced it. "She has the ability to be grateful after all. Who knew."
Present Day
"So yeah, I died, but he brought me back to life, so it's all well and good."
Of course, I left out the part of where Neo thanked me, and thanked the lord Evans or Kevin didn't brought it up.
"You knew for a fact that he would be able to bring you back?" Blake asked with a raised brow, gaining exchanged glances and shrugs in return. "It sounds... sketchy."
"It is." I admitted.
"I thought you trusted us to watch your back!" Yang glowered as she swiped a palm across the air.
"I do." I replied as calmly as I could. "But trust Evans with my life, and I mean it quite literally," I added quickly as the 3 members of Team RWBY made to complain. "As in I trust my life to be put in his hands. Evans taketh, and Evans giveth back."
"That's..." Blake looked towards the other two, who's expressions were mixed between horrified and disdain. "So... you didn't tell us because you didn't trust that we could pull it off."
"Yup."
The reply seemed to have caught them off guard, their expressions hurt as if a knife had just been rammed and twisted into their chests.
"So this entire year, you've been playing us for fools..." Yang laughed bitterly. "The team meant nothing to you..."
"The team does mean something to me." I answered back. "It still doe-"
"BULLSHIT!" Yang roared and lumbered ahead, causing Team JNPR to get up and restrain the brawler. "YOU PLAYED US!"
"I wouldn't be the first." I sighed and gestured for them to let her go. "But I would rather play you instead of watching you fall in pieces, and I'm not talking about the Fall of Beacon."
Yang crossed her arms and dragged her seat so that she was close enough to grab me should I say something wrong.
"Explain." She demanded.
"What is there to explain?" I sighed, then a quick glance showed her eyes were now crimson. Crossing my arms and staring her dead in the eyes, I said. "Because you all know of the Fall before it happened, you guys got overprotective and paranoid. That's a good thing." I added before Yang or the others could cut in. "However... In doing so, and in having Yang face the finals in place of me, you guys would be paranoid enough to keep scanning the crowd for the perpetrator, searching for the one responsible. Sooner or later, you'll find them as they stand out in the crowd, Mercury, Emerald and Cinder. They're not dumb. They'll notice immediately that something is off the moment you even make eye contact with them."
"So?" Yang raised a brow. "We could've taken them down even earlier. Had you told us before, we could've prevented it by talking to Ozpin-"
"And having their team arrested by Hunstman and Huntresses, and then we all live happily ever after, am I right?" I snarked, getting the blonde brawler to gnash her teeth together, but made no move towards me. "You think Cinder is the end of your problems, but you're clearly not seeing the bigger picture."
"Isn't she supposed to be?" Blake asked in place of her partner, who was fuming mad. "I thought she was the one behind all this, the one in command, the top of the food chain. It was she who approached Adam and told him about my whereabouts."
"She's the one who defeated Ozpin... right?" Jaune said, while the rest of his team looked down helplessly. "The one who almost killed you and stole your powers..." He said as his eyes met Amber's.
"If only you'd knew." I sighed. "You're not facing just against a powerful half Maiden that spits out fireballs. You saw that for yourself."
"Arthur Watts..." Ruby muttered silently. "Tyrian Callows..."
"Hazel Rainhart." Amber added. "I was facing him separately at the other side of Beacon Tower. He was sent to pursue me."
Yang cursed under her breath. "So, there are four of them. So what?!" She got up as the barstool scraped against the ground.
"Yang..." Ruby groaned as Pyrhha finally untangled her.
"Four that we know of." Kevin added.
"Her followers..." Blake muttered.
"Nope." I popped, gaining their attention. "They're at the same level in terms of the hierarchy. The one you're really going for, the solution to all your problems, her name..." I snarled.
"Is Salem."
A/N
Well, this Epilouge is extending longer then I thought it would. Believe me, I'm not trying to expand it, it just... happens.
Any shorter and I don't think the chapter would flow nicely.
Also, people are only reviewing now that they gave up before the Fall happened because they didn't like how it started off.
Oh well. What's done is done.
Reviewer Sessions
ZmbMadragon: Lemme know what you think on chaps. Appreciate the Reviews if you have any QnA or smth.
paradox0.5white: Ah.
DankAnon: Ooooh... omake idea right there. Thanks! Never liked the movie series, just figured a fancy name for it.