*INSERT HUMAN GREETING HERE*
And welcome back to another chapter! My greeting machine is broken, so that's the best intro we're getting today, I guess. I'll try and have it fixed next chapter!
I don't have anything pressing to say so we can jump right in!
Roman grunted as he stretched his head to the side to work out a kink in his neck. He had a very stressful night and that vice grips from that Hazel guy had really pulled his muscles. They had only gotten back about half an hour ago and everyone had gathered to check on them.
Glynda walked back into the main room. She'd just finished checking on the three unconscious criminals and had an agitated look across her face.
Roman and Neo had just finished telling the others about what had happened and Ozpin sighed.
"I'm afraid if Hazel is here, then she is already making moves in Mistral," the man-boy mused. Roman shot him a forlorn look.
"And what exactly do they want with me?" the thief asked. Ozpin shrugged. He genuinely had no idea whatsoever as to why Salem would want to kidnap Roman so much. It was beyond him.
The crook groaned and slouched back into the couch, Neo rubbing his shoulder.
"But you got a place for Sienna right?" Yang asked. Neo nodded to her and moved her hands around for a moment. Ren was about to translate but Ruby put a hand over his mouth.
"Wait wait wait! I can do this, I'm getting good!" she insisted. She watched Neo do it again, this time much slower and nodded for a moment.
"She says... that they have a place and... that Blake needs to get her ass over here soon!" she said slowly. Yang smacked Ruby on the back of the head.
"Language," she chided. Ruby pointed to Neo.
"Don't shoot the messenger!" she whined. Neo winked and blew a kiss her way.
"Brats you all are aside," Roman began, drawing a mocking face from all the younger residents of the room, "she's right. Blake needs to hurry the hell up. The sooner she's here the sooner we don't have to deal with the ex-leader of the most notorious terrorist organization on the planet."
They all hummed. Yang pulled out her scroll and put a call through. It immediately went to voicemail.
"She's not picking up," the brawler said, trying again.
"Try in the morning. As for me," Roman trailed off, immediately passing out and falling asleep on the couch. Glynda growled and kicked him in the shin, waking him up immediately.
"Go sleep in your bed you bum!" she commanded. He groaned and mimicked 'yes sir' to her as he trudged off. The others followed.
Yang looked to her scroll again and sighed before stashing it away. Blake was probably fine, she'd just try again tomorrow.
Blake groaned and rubbed her face and head as she awoke. She squinted a little as the sun hit her eyes, unimpeded by anything. The ground was rough, and digging back, she had several pebbles lodged in her side and cheek. She brushed herself off and looked around.
Oh that's right. They'd been kidnapped last night.
"Urgh," she heard behind her. She turned and saw Sun face down in the dirt and just waking up as well.
"What the hell happened?" he mumbled. She nudged him and he looked up at her. He nodded his head up.
"Sup?" he greeted. She rolled her eyes and helped him up. They looked outside the cage they'd been locked in.
Around them was what looked to be a ramshackle, and hastily put together approximation of a settlement, but with more weapons lying around. She checked to her right and saw another cage, this one holding Ilia and Sienna.
"Ilia. Ilia!" Sun whisper-shouted to the unconscious girl in the cage over. She and Sienna were out cold it seemed and wouldn't be waking up without a little prodding.
"Where the hell are we?" he asked as he turned back to her. Blake shrugged.
"Mistral," a commanding voice said from behind. They both turned and saw the woman who had taken them standing outside the cage, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. That face looked eerily similar, but Blake couldn't place her finger on why...
"Who are you?" Sun asked as he stepped towards the side of the cage she stood on. He would've walked all the way to the bars but she stuck her sword through the cage, stopping him in his tracks.
"That's far enough," she smiled, "and my name is none of your concern."
A girl snickered from behind the woman. She was definitely younger than the woman, and had short dark hair and wore a tan vest. They hadn't noticed her, her presence being secondhand compared to the woman in front of her. The two faunus looked to each other and had a moment of silent communication.
"What are you two doing?" Raven asked, confused by the way their facial features changed but their mouths didn't move. Vernal also looked confused. They soared the bandits a brief glare telling them not to interrupt before they went back to their facial communication.
Finally they nodded and turned back to the woman. The plan was formed, now it was just a matter of playing it up.
"We'd like to leave please," Sun said politely. Raven raised an eyebrow and Vernal just straight up laughed.
"Well how could I not let you go with manners like that?" Raven asked in a sweet tone.
"I dunno, you'd have to be a real bitch not to," he replied.
"Who the hell are you calling a bitch!?" Raven barked, dropping the fake tone immediately. He shrugged.
"You I guess. I'm pretty sure putting us in wooden cages like this is a hate crime," he expounded.
"Wha— I didn't put you in cages because you're faunus!" she stomped a foot down. Blake shrugged and gave her a bored look.
"Sure you didn't. I'm sure your human prisoners are in similar conditions then?" Blake asked, hands on her hips.
"We don't have any human prisoners!" Vernal said from behind her. Raven groaned internally as she felt the flames get lit.
"Oh, OH! So you don't take humans prisoner but faunus are free game!" Sun said, throwing his hands in the air. Blake had to suppress a laugh at the normally tame boy making a show of things.
"We don't have any human prisoners because we haven't found any," Raven reiterated. They looked unimpressed, shooting each other looks and doing their silent communication thing again.
"Stop that! You know how rude it is to ignore someone when they're talking to you!?" Raven fumed. Blake shot her an unimpressed look.
"Says the bandit that kidnapped us."
Raven opened her mouth a few times, each time she looked to grow more and more angry than before. Finally she growled and turned to Vernal.
"Vernal, you handle this," she ordered. Vernal looked annoyed.
"Why me? she argued.
"Because I'm about thirty seconds away from stabbing both of them," Raven told.
"Who cares if you stab them!? They're just a couple of fau—" she halted and closed her eyes, breathing in sharply. Raven was rubbing her face and shaking her head.
"OH SO NOW WE'RE JUST A COUPLE OF FAUNUS!?" Sun shouted, waving his arms around and stepping closer. They didn't seem to notice him move.
"No, wait! I-I'm not racist or anything—!"
"Oh sure you're not. After all, I'm positive racial sensitivity is at the top of your skill set," Blake said, arms crossed and hip cocked to the side.
As the four argued, Ilia and Sienna finally began to stir. They looked up and saw the two faunus arguing with the same woman who kidnapped them. Sienna spat and growled.
Ilia placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed. Rather than just making a scene, as the two were known for, it seemed that Blake and Sun actually had a plan.
As they were arguing, Sun had stepped closer and closer to the bars and, by proxy, the door to their cage. The two bandits, too distracted by defending themselves as not racist, didn't even notice his tail slip out the cage slowly.
He doesn't have a key though, how's he going to open the— Sienna's thoughts were cut off as she realized that he had no intention of opening the door.
Instead, his tail wrapped securely around the latching mechanism and he threw himself back, throwing all of his body weight with him. The force pulled the door open and the two bandits froze as they realized they'd been played.
"Now!" he shouted. They looked up and saw Blake dashing right at them. Caught off guard, but never one to be left surprised for long, Raven slashed out, done with the two and just wanting to be rid of them.
Imagine her surprise when the girl was cut clean in half before vanishing into thin air.
"What!?' Raven shouted. She heard a grunt and turned to see Sun had tackled Vernal to the ground and was now laying into her, clearly well versed in hand to hand combat as he slammed a fist into her temple, knocking her out. Raven was about to intervene when she heard a click and turned around to the cages again.
Blake stood by the open gate of the other cage, Sienna and Ilia both stepping out. Sun stood and dropped into a low stance, ready to fight her if necessary.
She looked around. She was quiet. She didn't even move a hand to her sword.
Then she let out a quiet laugh.
It slowly grew louder, but she cut it off before it got unbearable. She shook her head and grinned at all of them.
"Perhaps there's more use for you than I thought," she claimed as she looked between Sun and Blake.
"Point us in the direction of Mistrals capital and we'll be on our way without a fight," Sienna said, taking the lead as speaker. The other three were happy to let her take the reigns.
"I most certainly will not," Raven smiled still, hands resting on her hips in a relaxed manner.
"Anything that would change your mind?" Sienna bargained, not one to back down easily.
As the two continued their back and forth, neither giving any ground, Blake continued to observe the woman. She swore she looked familiar. Her hair, her face, hell, for some reason even her body reminded her of someone.
The gears in her head turned and turned as she thought. She scanned the woman up and down, wracking her brain for other women she knew. She didn't look like Ruby, she didn't look like the twins or Neo, she definitely didn't look like Weiss. Matter of fact, now that she was thinking of her team and really looking at her, she looked a lot like—
"Yang!" Blake said in a sudden 'eureka' moment. The woman froze and her smile slipped from her face almost instantly.
"What?" the woman asked sharply. The tone of her voice was tinged with a certain edge of danger.
"I'm sorry, you just remind me of a friend," Blake said, not seeing why that set the woman off.
Raven glared her way for a moment, looking deep into her eyes as if searching for something.
"Hmph. I think you and I are going to have a little talk—" as she finished her sentence, a bandit ran over, he looked worse for wear, and was panting heavily.
"Ch-chief! There are some people here!" he gasped out. Raven sighed and looked down at him.
"Who the hell is important enough for me to care?" she asked. He was about to reply when a plume of smoke shot up from the center of the camp.
Raven narrowed her eyes. A bomb of some kind? No, it didn't make any noise.
"What kind of intruder was this exactly?" she asked.
"I dunno, this crazy bitch just showed up and demanded to see that," the man said, eyeing the group behind Raven. The woman hissed and an angry glare spread across her face.
"Go, tell the others not to let her out of their sight. I'll be there shortly," she commanded. He nodded hurriedly and dashed away.
Raven walked away and peeked around the corner of a hut. The others followed and looked into the clearing in the center of the camp.
"Who the hell is that?" Raven mumbled. She didn't expect a reply.
"Cinder Fall," Blake spat. Raven raised an eyebrow to her.
"And who the hell is that?" she asked.
"The same crazy bitch who took down Beacon tower," Sun continued. Technically, Roman had been the one to blow the tower up, but it was because Cinder was there, so it was really her fault.
"And if she's here for that..." Raven trailed off. She swore and looked behind her. Vernal still lay unconscious on the floor. That wasn't good.
If Vernal was out of commission, who would be her fake maiden? She'd need to work on the fly.
"Which of you had the least contact with her?" Raven suddenly spun and looked among the faunus. In terms of who'd actually met her, that would be Sienna, but she was too well known.
"Uh, I worked with her for a little bit under Adam's instructions," Ilia stated. She was a no go then.
"Then you," Raven said, pointing at Blake, "I need you to pose as someone for me."
Blake's expression gave nothing away, but she shook her head with a sigh.
"She knows me," Blake said. Raven growled and punched the wall, shaking the hut a little. The maiden had to be a woman and none of the girls in front of her could stand in her place without being compromised. That really only left one person, but that surely wouldn't work.
Would it?
It was her only chance now.
"Monkey boy, come with me. The rest of you too," Raven said, stalking off towards her tent.
"What are we doing exactly?" Sun asked.
"And why do you need us?" Ilia followed as they entered the woman's abode. Blake leaned over to the girl.
"Go with it for now, we can make a break for it and get to Haven afterwards," she whispered. The girl nodded and they looked around.
Raven went over to a dresser and reached underneath it. She pulled out a very dusty box and blew on it, sending particles flying away.
It appeared to be a... makeup kit? On the side was a gift tag that read "happy anniversary Rave, Love T." Raven shook her head. A kind gesture from that doofus but she never used makeup.
"What's that for?" Blake questioned. Raven turned and looked at Sun. She pushed his chest and fell back onto the couch.
"We're gonna make your friend here the prettiest girl in Mistral."
Sun gulped as the four women turned to him. One predatory, one confused, one amused, and one purely disappointed.
"Ah shit," Sun groaned.
Emerald looked at Cinder from the corner of her eye. The woman waited patiently, unfazed at the camp of men holding them at gunpoint, among other points really. Spears and swords were in the mix as well.
They'd been waiting for about ten minutes now, knowing that the spring maiden was in this camp. They waited and watched the large structure in front of them. Clearly the leader was inside. Perhaps they had run?
Suddenly, a tall figure in a mask stepped out. The bandits around them seemed to relax at their presence. Must be the leader then.
Behind them was perhaps the most stunning woman Emerald had ever seen.
Her hair was long and blonde, it almost looked fake, but she wore a long dress that went from her chest to her ankles. She looked truly pissed off, but still somehow retained an air of elegance to her. She looked strong, muscley even, but that didn't detract from her beauty.
Even Cinder let out an impressed hum.
"To whom do I owe the pleasure," Raven called, making sure to spit pleasure with as much venom as possible.
"Raven Branwen. A pleasure indeed," Cinder soothed from her place. Raven tsked at the use of her name.
"What do you want?" Raven demanded.
"It's not what I want. It's about what she wants," Cinder said as she stepped forward slowly. She took four steps before the hiss of steel sounded and Raven's sword was pointed her way.
"That's far enough," she said. Cinder smiled and complied.
"Surely you can see the benefits here. You and your tribe wouldn't have to worry about a single thing if you just comply," Cinder tried, arms out in a way that said 'I totally won't try to kill you'.
"And what exactly do you, or rather, what does she want from me?" Raven asked.
"The spring maiden," Cinder stated. No beating around the bush then.
"And what makes you think she's here?" the woman asked, sword swing about lazily.
"It's not a matter of thinking. We know she's here. We want her," Cinder claimed. There were murmurs among the crowd of bandits.
"And you really believe that I would accept some deal from her?" Raven called, still unwavering in her position.
"I stake my life on it," Cinder said with such confidence that Raven smirked under her mask.
"Then perhaps I could consider it," she said. Clearly a lie, but Cinder was in no position to call her on it.
"Perhaps we could see if we're getting what we're paying for then?" Cinder said. Raven humphed. She looked to the girl next to her and nodded.
The beauty stepped forward and did just as h— she was instructed to do while preparing.
She closed her eyes and held her arms up. Emerald shivered a little as a wind blew by, and gazed up as the clouds themselves moved overhead. Thunder roared and the clouds settled, a vicious storm overhead now.
The girl lowered her arms and reopened her eyes. She still looked pissed off, but looked back to Raven, who nodded her approval.
"Good enough for you?" Raven asked. Cinder nodded. That was definitely no regular power.
"Perfect. Meet us at Haven soon. We'll need her powers to continue with our plans," Cinder said as she and Emerald turned and left. The bandits all cleared a path as they walked, none willing to block their path.
The blonde girl and Raven stepped back into her tent and were met with the waiting looks of the three faunus women.
"I am never doing that again," Sun grumbled as he tore the wig off and tossed it aside. Blake passed him a cloth and a bucket of warm water as he started scrubbing his face down.
"I thought you made for a perfect woman," Raven smirked. He rolled his eyes and went to change back into his own clothes.
"Now then, I believe this works out well for all of us," Raven stated as she walked around.
"How so?" Sienna asked. Raven humphed.
"I heard you need to be at Haven. Luckily for you, I have a reason to be there now too," she smiled.
"And you're just gonna... help? Just like that?" Blake asked. Forgive her for being skeptical, but this woman did just kidnap them.
"But of course. And luckily for us, I have the perfect way to get there. We can be there by tonight even," Raven smirked as she checked her nails.
In truth, this wasn't out of the kindness of her heart. She didn't forget that Sienna Khan was a wanted figure with a huge bounty on her head. The way she saw it though, she could pawn off the tigress to the local mob for a decent haul.
"Well then let's go," Sun said walking back in. Raven tsked and threw her hair back.
"What part about tonight did you not get?" she asked. He shrugged and his tail stretched out.
"So what, we just wait around until night?" he asked.
"You could always go back in the cage," Raven suggested.
"Or the dress," Sienna added. Sun blew a raspberry at both of them.
"I'll call Yang and let her know we're on the way," Blake told as she pulled out her scroll. Raven hissed. She moved to stop her but didn't get to stop the call from going through. Instead, she threw herself over the couch and on the other side.
"Blake?" Yang's voice asked from the other end.
"And Sun!" the boy said loudly from across the room.
"What happened now? Don't tell me somebody died," the brawler asked in a very unconcerned tone compared to her question.
"Nobody's dead. We have our way to Haven secured and we'll be there tonight," Blake informed, watching with a raised eyebrow as Raven glared above the back of the couch, only her eyes and the top of her head visible, eyeing her like a cat would.
Ironic, to say the least.
"Good to hear you guys are okay. Thought we lost you there for a bit," Blake looked away and out of the tent at the bandits outside.
"We managed," Blake said. With that Yang nodded and hung up, Blake heard her call for Ruby as she did.
"Any reason you're so terrified of a phone call?" Sun asked Raven. She glared at him but he didn't seem to get the message. Or he didn't care. Both possibilities.
"Alright well, what about that crazy chick? You just made a deal with her that, need I remind you, involves me as a woman, that I am not, to do something at Haven!" Sun said. Raven growled and stood her ground.
"Don't worry about that. I'd never actually deal with the likes of her," Raven said. Sun shrugged and she rolled her eyes.
"Get out of my sight and don't cause any trouble. Meet back here when the sun goes down and we'll take our leave," she commanded.
With nothing else to do, the four faunus simply milled about for the next few hours. Not like the bandit camp offered much in the way of entertainment.
Neo walked around the living space. Haven was so boring. She needed to make her own fun for the time being. As such, she'd been wandering around the academy grounds.
Mercury and the twins had woken up, and while they all seemed fine, they also looked fairly rattled from their fight with Hazel.
Chew trotted alongside Neo happily, sniffing here and there but generally just happy to be out. He was without his armor right now, Neo saw no reason to make him wear it if they weren't in any trouble.
For the time being, Ozpin, which by the way Neo was still getting over the whole 'now I'm a child' thing, had suggested they wait around Mistral until he or Lionheart could find the spring maiden.
Speaking of Lionheart, she didn't trust the guy to keep a spoonful of ice cream from melting on a frigid winter day. That was to say, the headmaster of Haven did not seem like the kind of guy she wanted to trust with super crazy magical powers.
They had a saying in the crime world: 'If they stutter like they're on crack, you're gonna get stabbed in the back'. Lionheart could barely look them in the eyes let alone get through a complete thought without looking and sounding like a nervous wreck.
That being said, she had no choice but to go along with any plans that were made right now. Ruby, bless her ignorant, innocent soul, trusted the faunus well enough, and that meant that Neo would have to put up with him until she could convince the young reaper otherwise.
Chew suddenly barked and Neo looked in his direction. He had a paw up and was leaning forward, pointing towards a window across the courtyard. Neo followed his line of sight and squinted where he looked.
That was odd. Lionheart looked like he was talking to someone. Last she checked though, everyone was in their quarters when she left. Could it have been a hunter? Didn't he say that all the hunters were on patrol around the kingdom?
Deciding that there was nothing wrong with snooping, she danced her way across the clearing and up a tree beside the window. She motioned for Chew to stay quiet and still and the dog sat and smiled up at her. She giggled silently at his expression before shaking her head, her 'serious business' face taking over.
She looked through the leaves and into the window. She couldn't hear anything so she had to get closer to see who he was talking to. He looked nervous. More nervous than when he talked to Qrow or Ozpin. That was more like the nervousness acquainted with hiding something you're doing. This looked like the kind of nervous that had death looming over it.
Neo looked around. Just a little further and she'd be able to see who he was talking to. She had to step onto a slightly thinner branch but she was light so she had confidence it would hold. She leaned over and her eyes widened. Shortly after, the glare that took over her features rivaled Glynda's signature anger.
The bitch was here. And she was talking with Lionheart. She seemed relaxed, as though she knew he wouldn't be able to do anything to her. Emerald stood off to the side, arms crossed and picking apart the man as he spoke.
Neo wasn't dumb. She wanted nothing more than to put a hole through Cinder's other eye. But she couldn't do that alone. Plus Roman said he wanted a few obligatory pinata whacks once they had her captured. Instead, she took out her scroll and started recording. The others needed to see this.
Suddenly she heard a crack. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the branch she stood on. While the vertigo of her situation kicked in, she couldn't help but also feel a little upset. Had she put on weight? Being in a relationship must've added that extra weight that all those tabloids told her about. As the branch snapped, she jumped and landed silently on the ground. Chew barked and stepped back as the branch crashed down in front of him. He sniffed it before trying to pick it up. Neo swatted the air in front of him and he stopped.
She heard the window opening above her and she threw up her semblance. Lionheart leaned out and glanced around.
"Who was there?" Cinder asked from out of sight. Her voice sounded more raspy than the last time Neo had heard her. Looks like Ruby's God mode eyes did quite the number on her.
"I... I can't see anyone. It must be this wind," the man said nervously, looking around again before closing the window.
Neo sighed and ushered Chew to head back. He blew a little air out of the sides of his mouth and started running towards their quarters. She followed, making sure to keep her semblance up in case Cinder sent Emerald to search for them.
Neo pushed the door in and it fell forwards. She didn't bother propping it back against the door as she tapped Chew on the nose twice. He pattered his paws in place before barking three quick times.
As the others came to see what Chew was barking for, Neo whipped out her scroll. Roman came into the entryway and yawned. He looked like he'd just woken up.
"What's up kiddo?" he asked as he scratched his neck. She said nothing and threw her scroll at him. It bounced off his face and he scrambled for a moment before catching it.
"What was that for!?" he groaned. She pointed to the scroll and he looked down. He hit play as the others filtered into the room.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked as she and Yang stepped in. Neo pointed to the thief, whose face was slowly becoming more and more twisted in a snarl.
He finally pressed the device back into Neo's hands and turned to Glynda.
"Grab your weapon, we're paying the headmaster a little visit," he growled as he went back to his room.
"Wait a minute! What the hell is going on Roman?" she asked. She turned to Neo who pointed the scroll her way. After about thirty seconds she had a fierce glare upon her face. She marched the same way as Roman. The two came back a moment later, weapons in hand and clenched hard.
"Uh, wait a sec. What are you two doing?" Qrow asked. He got no reply as the two stomped out the door and towards the main hall. Qrow was about to follow when Yang grabbed his arm and turned him her way. She was holding Neo's scroll and her eyes were red. Neo and Ruby just finished putting Chew's armor on before they rushed out the door.
"What the hell has everyone so bent up—" he stopped and his mouth hung open at the video in front of him. Oscar was hovering over his shoulder and in his tiptoes watching as well. He raised an eyebrow.
"Who is that? Who's the woman in red?" he asked. The others all said nothing as they grabbed their stuff and ran after the other two.
"Oscar, grab our cane. This one is deeply personal," Ozpin said from within.
"Why's that? Who was that talking to the headmaster?" Oscar asked back as he started walking after the group.
"That," Ozpin said in a clipped tone, "would be the woman that killed me last."
Oscar gulped.
On the long list of things he didn't want to hear, that was definitely near the top.
"Shit," he mumbled.
"Shit indeed Oscar. Shit indeed," Ozpin grumbled.
Lionheart was sweating as the woman in front of him smiled down at her scroll. As she placed it down, she nodded to Emerald. The girl nodded back and dashed away.
"When Emerald returns it will be with another ally. We also have someone who will be joining us soon," Cinder hummed. He nodded stiffly and gripped the arm of his chair.
How did this become his life?
Oh yeah, they threatened to kill him.
Just as he was about to ask who this other person was, there was a loud noise from somewhere within the academy.
"Was that an explosion?" Cinder asked. He shrugged and turned to the monitors he had. They were connected to the school's security cameras.
"What!?" he shouted, "The entire front of the main hall has been destroyed!"
Cinder glared at the news. He turned a frantic look up to her.
"Y-you have to do something! If they get here they will kill me!" he demanded. She scoffed. As if she was going to risk her neck to save this man. She was about to say as much but she didn't get the chance.
Mostly because the door exploded in and she felt electricity surge through her body.
As Cinder screamed out in pain from the unexpected attack, Lionheart looked to the new hole where his door once was. From the smoke he couldn't make anything out. Then a hook shot out from the smoke and caught him by the collar.
He yelled as he was jettisoned from his chair and towards the new hole. As he soared closer, a figure became clearer.
Then he was looking right into the eyes of a very pissed off looking Roman Torchwick. He would've begged the man to try and talk things out but he didn't get the words out when the thief's fist drove its way into his throat.
"I knew this guy was a rat!" Roman shouted as he followed up his punch with a strike from his cane. He cracked the headmaster across the nose before tearing back and kicking him in the chest, winding him and sending him flying back and out the window.
Glynda humphed as she held her concentration on electrocuting Cinder. She didn't want to say she took any pleasure in this, but she absolutely would deny the smile on her face as the woman screamed.
That smile went away quickly when the woman threw out her hand in rage, a wave of fire sweeping across the room.
Glynda broke her hold on the electric current and waved her crop in front of her, the flames crashing against a purple barrier.
Cinder hauled herself up and glared at the two standing before them. Especially at him.
"You!" she snarled.
"Me!" Roman smirked as he shot a flare at her. She screamed and flew forward, batting the projectile aside and crashing into the man, carrying both of them out the opening and through several walls.
She was about to ignore the man in her grasp when she was shot in the eye. Her aura kept it from blinding her, but it didn't stop the excruciating pain that followed.
"How was that?" Jaune asked as he lowered his gun. Pyrrha cheered and clapped. He learned so fast!
"All of you can burn with him!" Cinder cried as she levitated and the air became heavy with heat.
"Guess she's still mad about the eye thing," Roman groaned as he stood. Neo and Ruby helped him and he thanked the two. Cinder currently faced all of them with the exception of Glynda who came and stood at the ready behind her.
"Step down woman! It'll make the beating hurt a lot less!" Roman demanded. Ruby bumped him with her elbow.
"Ugh, fine. Step down whore, you're going away for a long time!" he reiterated.
Cinder screamed as she shot forward and grabbed him again. This time he was slightly more prepared and pulled a leg up, driving his boot into her groin as they flew forward. She wheezed and he was dropped roughly, skidding across the ground.
She was on his again in an instant. He didn't make any attempt to attack, instead using Melodic Cudgel to deflect and block strikes. She was cold and calculating, and she didn't leave much room for any return of attacks.
The others were about to move to help when Qrow screamed out in surprise. He flew across the room and crashed into the statue in the main hall, shattering it and revealing a deep hole going down into the academy depths.
"Uncle Qrow—" Ruby was cut off as she was grabbed by the hood. She was turned and came face to face with an absolutely massive man.
This must've been the Hazel she'd heard about.
She yelped as he tossed her aside. Well, toss is generous. A toss to him was more like being shot out of a cannon to anyone else. Thus, Ruby flew right into Pyrrha, who only just barely caught the girl and even then, still was sent back a few meters.
"You should all step down now. And Cinder! Remember that she wants him alive and well," Hazel announced. Glynda hissed at the notion of them capturing him. Neo looked ready to murder as well.
Chew stepped forward and Hazel glared. This wasn't ever something he wanted to do, but it was a necessity by this point.
As the dog and Glynda, shot towards Hazel, Neo dashed towards Cinder and Roman, with Ruby jumping from Pyrrha's arms and following. Qrow pulled himself out of the rubble and had to catch himself before he fell down the now broken elevator. Oscar went over and helped him steady himself.
Hazel grabbed Chew, who bit at the man's face with terrifying ferocity. Hazel grunted, the dogs flailing was awkward to hold due to his size and shape. Not to mention the armor that he wore, and the spikes that dug into his arms whenever he tried to grapple the animal.
He was forced to let go as flurry of icicles rained down towards him. He threw the dog roughly into a nearby wall, cracking it as the dog— no, after seeing it fight that wasn't right— the beast, snarl as it crashed into the stone work.
He threw his arms up and the icicles shattered against his large arms. Glynda used her semblance to restrain him but she grunted when he flexed and pulled his arms apart slowly.
She gasped as he shot his limbs out, breaking her hold on him. That didn't happen very often. His strength was definitely not something to ignore.
He was about to move towards the woman when a hail of gunfire and a few grenades impacted his back. He turned to see the entirety of team JNPR crouched and aiming towards him.
"Fire again!" Jaune commanded. They listened and the four unloaded their magazines into the behemoth. When this wave of ammo was spent, Jaune threw his new gun over his shoulder and tore his sword free. The others followed and dashed towards the man.
As JNPR ran towards Hazel, Weiss and Yang ran to join them but we're halted when Weiss dodged back. Just in time too, as a sickle on a chain flew past her face before retracting. They turned and glared at Emerald, who rolled her eyes at their looks.
"Normally I'm not one for a numerical advantage, but I'm pretty sure I can handle you two," Emerald said, smirking as she spun her sickles in circles nonchalantly.
"Not so fast. Don't think I forgot all the shit talking you used to do," a voice said behind her. She spun quickly and blocked a kick from Mercury. He winked as they stood unmoving, neither willing to give any ground. One glared, the other smirked.
"You two help the others. She and I have a little beef to settle," Mercury said confidently. They nodded and joined the twins as they ran towards Hazel.
"What was it you always said when we worked together? You could kill me whenever you wanted?" Mercury asked, putting a finger to his chin. Emerald scoffed and readied herself.
She didn't normally take fights personally. But this?
She wanted this.
Lionheart groaned as he pulled himself up. Here he was, sprawled out across the stone ground of Haven's courtyard after being kicked out his own office window. Not to mention the plume of smoke and blasts of fire now coming from the main hall.
The main hall where the elevator to the relic of knowledge was. Another explosion went off.
He sighed. He was probably expected to help with that.
He moved slowly towards the main hall. Surely the others would be fine without him for a little bit. Cinder was the fall maiden! Surely they were no match for her, right?
"ARGH! MY FACE! TORCHWICK I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
"PICK A NUMBER AND GET IN LINE WHORE!"
Lionheart pretended not to hear that as he came to the wrecked entryway into Haven. He was about to enter when a dark, red, mystical portal opened in the middle of the room.
And then five people fell out of it. Well, four faunus fell out and one woman stepped through after them.
"Raven!?" Qrow shouted.
"Brother," Raven said back uncaring of the battle she stepped into.
"Brother!?" Emerald asked as she blocked an ace kick from Mercury.
"Mom!?" Yang followed.
"Mom?" Blake reeled back in shock.
"Blake?" Yang added when she saw the girl.
"ENOUGH!" Cinder screamed, turning to the group of confused individuals. While she was distracted Roman swung his cane out and caught her square across the jaw.
"Take that you evil bitch!" Roman said as he ducked out of the way of a fireball.
"Ray, what the hell are you doing here!?" Qrow asked. The fighting around them continued. Ozpin took control and was about to speak when Lionheart tackled him.
"I'm... technically here on business," she said, picking under her nails. Nora screamed as she was launched across the room into Pyrrha. The two redheads tore through the wall and Hazel roared out as he continued his assault on the others.
"The hell does that mean?" Qrow asked, stepping back as Ruby shot at Cinder, clipping the woman in the thigh. She would've screamed if Neo didn't jump on her back and start choking her out.
"Well I suppose it means—" Raven was cut off when Neo was thrown and landed between them. She looked up and waved before jumping back to her feet and dashing back towards Cinder, who was currently struggling to land a hit on Ruby and Roman. A wave of heat exploded off of her body and the two leapt back. Cinder turned to Raven.
"Good. You're here. Where's the spring maiden?" Cinder asked as she kept the reaper and thief back with a wave of fire.
Raven paled and slowly turned to Sun. He shook his head 'no' and she turned back to the other woman.
"She's on her way," Raven said curtly, not willing to look at Cinder in the event that she saw through the lie.
"What do you mean she's on her way!? We need her here now!" Cinder raged. Raven spat to the side.
"Yeah well, she's on her way. I'll go with you for now. Take it or leave it," Raven said. Cinder seethed but took a deep, haggard breath and relaxed a bit.
"Very well. Hazel, Emerald keep them out. Lionheart, you can help too I guess," she said as she and Raven walked towards the elevator.
"Wait what!? Ray, you're working with Salem!?" Qrow asked, teeth bared.
"You wouldn't get it Qrow! This is a necessary evil!" Raven said. She offered no other words as she jumped and fell down the elevator shaft. Cinder smirked at them before she erected a wall of ice, jumping down and following her.
"Raven! Goddamnit!" Qrow slammed a fist against the wall.
Hazel looked fine, and stepped forward, intent on keeping them away from the chamber. They all got ready to run through the man. With just one of him and all of them, how could he deal with all of them at once?
Emerald seemed to think the same, but as she turned to try and help the man a boot struck her face. She growled and turned to Mercury, whose leg was still held where it had been when he kicked her.
"Nuh uh, Em. Your fight's with me," he smirked. She let out a huff of indignation and moved. He jumped and slammed a heel down but it passed right through her and she was gone.
"Come on Em. I know your tricks!" he called as he spun around and caught her blades on his foot.
"Hey," he said with a smug grin and a nod of his head.
She glared and kept on the offensive. Hazel could wait. She needed to beat his ass.
Hazel meanwhile was preparing to act as a wall. He would've appreciated a little help but Cinder's vassal was occupied and he had no idea why Lionheart was fighting a little kid.
Hazel blinked. Wasn't that the kid from the train? The one who had apparently been wronged by Ozpin? Why was Lionheart fighting him?
"You don't understand Ozpin! It was this, or all of Mistral! They had my hands tied!" Lionheart shouted. The boy looked unamused and swung his cane.
Wait cane? Kid? Ozpin?
Ozpin.
"OZPIN!" Hazel roared. The others all shook from the shout.
Surely that wasn't good.
Hazel grabbed two pure dust crystals from his pouch and promptly stabbed them deep into his arms.
"Uh, what?" Roman asked. Glynda stood with The Disciplinarian pointed at the man.
He heaved and his expression turned manic. Maybe it was his imagination, but Roman swore his entire body just flexed and got bigger.
Hazle screamed as he ran forward. Team JNPR ran to meet him. He didn't even seem to notice them when he swung his arm out and tossed all four of them aside. They landed in a heap after tearing a hole through the wall.
"Okay, so rock paper scissors for who wants to deal with him, and the winner can go fight Cinder!" Roman said as he turned to the remaining fighters. They all stared him down and he sighed.
"Okay, how about Glynda and I go after Cinder and the rest of you take care of Raging Bull?" Roman said, jerking a thumb back at Ozpin who was now dodging a mix of explosive fists and whatever dust Lionheart could launch at him.
Qrow nodded and dashed in, the twins, Yang, and Weiss following him. Ruby and Neo didn't move though, and Chew stood by Neo's side. Roman groaned.
"Girls, I know you think you have something to prove, but I'd really rather you don't try to come with us," he said. They shook their heads.
"But Cinder and Raven are down there! And apparently the spring maiden will be there too! We can't just let you go against all three with just you two!" Ruby said. Neo nodded and waggled a finger in a 'no way' gesture.
"Gee, thanks for the confidence," Roman grumbled. He sighed.
"Fine then, come on you two—" he was cut off by a voice from behind.
"We're going too," Blake said, loading a magazine into Gambol Shroud. Ilia and Sun stood behind her, ready, and Sienna stood behind them, clearly not ready but with very little choice unless she wanted to die.
"Wait, what happened to the White Fang you guys said we're coming to attack?" Roman asked. They all looked at each other before shrugging.
"They kinda exploded," Sun said. Glynda could feel the headache forming already.
"I'm not even gonna ask," Roman said as he turned and shot a flare at the wall of ice, shattering it and jumping down the elevator.
The others followed and landed gracefully at the bottom.
They all scrambled out of the way when a fireball shot by.
"Cindy! Hope we didn't keep you waiting too long," Roman said, arms wide. She hissed but didn't move. Behind her was a large, ornate looking door. The cave they stood in seemed to glow in places, and large stalagmites hung above their heads.
"Where is the maiden Branwen! We need backup now!" Cinder demanded. Raven slowly turned to Sun. Sun gulped and stared at the woman with wide eyes.
"Why are you looking at him? Why is he important?" Cinder asked quickly. She looked at Sun. He looked familiar.
"So about that whole... spring maiden thing," Raven said from behind her. Cinder turned slowly and stared in horror at the sight before her.
Raven stood, or rather, Raven hovered in place, her eyes shining and her sword drawn.
"Whoa. I did not see that coming," Roman said as he leaned down to Neo. She nodded and watched as Cinder took a deep breath.
Then she started making a noise. It slowly grew louder and louder and Neo realized it was a scream. A very rage filled scream.
She shot towards Raven and the two were immediately locked in a fierce battle of the elements.
"Are we even needed here?" Sienna asked. Ilia shrugged and Blake rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Wait I thought the maiden powers could only be transferred to young women?" Ruby asked.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!" Raven screamed as she and Cinder hurled fire and ice at one another.
"You don't scare me! You're not my mom!" Ruby shouted. A bolt of lightning struck where Ruby once stood, had the girl not yelped and jumped back it would have struck her.
"I will say, Raven being the spring maiden isn't the worst thing that could've happened," Glynda said as the storm above them raged on. Rocks had started to fall now and Roman aimed up and shot one that was falling towards them. It shattered and the pieces flew around them.
"Why's that?" he asked as they all stepped to the side, a large boulder landing where they'd been standing. The two maidens crashed through it shortly after, both screaming as they pushed their powers onto one another.
"Well from what I know from Ozpin, Raven lives fairly secluded. If she can evade visuals for so long then it's not like they can keep finding her," Glynda mused. He hummed. That made sense he supposed.
Raven crashed down between all of them, growled, and shot back up in a gust of wind and a blast of fire. She tackled Cinder and threw her through the air and into the vault. The loud metallic clang that rang out sounded as painful as it looked.
"Should we... do something?" Ruby asked. Glynda and Roman watched the two fly around the room, and watched as fire and ice and lighting was thrown around like it meant nothing.
"I don't think there's a whole lot we can do right now Red," Roman said.
What about your magic trick? Neo asked. Ruby laughed nervously before sighing.
"Yeah I don't really know how to do that yet," Ruby told defeatedly. Neo patted her head and pushed Chew back a little when a shard of ice impaled itself in the ground where he once sat. He didn't even seem to notice.
"Wonder how the others are doing," Sun asked. All of them against just two normal huntsman?
They were probably fine.
Qrow screamed as Hazel flailed him around, using him as a weapon and a shield at the same time. Nora shot a grenade towards him and Hazel swung the man by his ankles, smacking the grenade out of the air with Qrow's face.
"CAN YOU STOP SHOOTING AT HIM!" he begged, as Hazel roared and threw his arm, and by proxy Qrow, in a wide horizontal arc. Jaune threw his shield up and Qrow crashed painfully into it.
"Please just let me die!" Qrow sobbed as the stars in his vision flashed violently.
"Don't worry uncle! I'll get you down!" Yang said as she shot forward. She reared a fist back and launched a shot off once she was in range.
The fist shot forward directly into Hazel's stomach. She blinked. He hadn't even moved. And now he was looking down at her.
"Aw shit," she swore as he threw her uncle into her and sent them both flying. She yelped as they crashed into and through a column. The room shuddered as Hazel swung at Ozpin.
Feasibly, there was no safe way to go about this fight. Had Hazel not been in an Ozpin-induced rage then maybe they would've had an easier time getting close.
As it stood, anyone who got within swinging distance was in the danger zone.
Hazel roared as he swung both fists down, demolishing the floor and sending cracks around the point of impact. Emerald and Mercury stumbled for a moment from where they fought across the room.
Ozpin leapt back to catch his breath. Oscars body wasn't used to the amount of strain he was putting on it and he had a feeling that he'd damage the boys body beyond repair at this rate.
His moment of reprieve was cut short as he spun his cane and blocked a shot from Lionheart, who had him, and by extension Oscar, in his sights. Ozpin dodged two more times, and then leapt to the side as Hazel charged past.
Lionheart was about to fire upon Ozpin again when he was tackled by the twins, causing his shot to miss and collapse another column.
"Get off of me!" he shouted as he kicked at both of them. They backed up for a moment before moving back in, slashing and kicking at the man in tandem.
He backed up as they advanced, and he took aim to shoot when a wall of ice sprouted before him. He turned and saw Weiss, who had her rapier poised between his eyes.
"Er... I surrender?" he laughed nervously, putting his hands up. Weiss rolled her eyes. Truly an astonishing display from the headmaster of Haven.
An explosion caught everyone's attention, a bout of fire shooting up through the floor. As quickly as it came forth it dispersed. Roman and the others quickly launched out of the new hole, Glynda coming up last after throwing everyone with her semblance.
"Did you guys stop them?" Qrow coughed as he limped on Yang.
"Uh, define stop," Roman stated, another hole erupting, this time the two maidens flying out, giant swords of fire and ice in hand, dueling and clashing in the air.
"Is... Is that Raven?" Qrow gaped. Ozpin looked shocked too, but his shock was short-lived when a fist connected with his face and he went flying away, skipping across the floor before skidding to a stop.
"So what do we do about them? Don't we need the maiden powers or something?" Roman asked as he ducked out of the way of a fireball.
That did make things harder. Raven didn't like Salem, but she certainly didn't like Ozpin either. To what degree Qrow couldn't say, but the point remained that the woman probably wasn't going to just let them get the relic for nothing.
"Well we can't focus on them with our big friend here wrecking the place," Roman jerked a thumb towards Hazel who was currently tossing the twins around like they were dodgeballs. Hazel seemed to finally catch himself, turning and seeing the fight Cinder was locked in.
"Cinder!" he called. She flew back and eyed the man. The look on his face said it was time to go. She growled. She had no relic, no spring maiden, Ozpin was still alive, and she had no dead— er, retrieved— Roman, and now she had to go back and face Salem?
She needed something to show for this.
She raised her hands and a tornado flew forth. The already wrecked room shook as the ceiling began collapsing.
"Glyn!" Roman shouted. She nodded and threw her arms out, a wave of energy flying from her and keeping the room together. She shook as she concentrated.
"Everyone! Move!" Roman commanded. They all ran, Ruby and Neo helping the twins while Roman lifted the weakened Ozpin over his shoulder and pushed Yang and Qrow with his free arm.
Raven humphed and flew down into the elevator. With the woman gone, Glynda stopped keeping the room together and pushed Cinder back. Ozpin saw this and tapped Roman to get his attention.
"What is it Oz!? We don't really have the time!" the thief shouted. Ozpin had to think about how he'd get the man to do this for him.
"You fancy yourself the best thief in all the lands?" he asked calmly. Roman stopped, Qrow and Yang flew out the door when he stopped pushing. He put Ozpin down and stared.
"Why?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes. Ozpin smirked internally. Worked like a charm.
"I need you to steal something from the big door down there," he said. Roman looked at the entrance of the elevator. He watched as Glynda and Cinder hurled attacks at each other, and while the maidens powers proved a boom to Cinder, her state after fighting Raven was less than stellar.
"You don't even have the ability to pay me for this ya know," Roman groaned as he threw Ozpin out the door and ran back towards the elevator shaft. He ducked under a clash of fire, the two women not letting up as he ran by.
Mercury backed off from Emerald and nodded towards the two women.
"You gonna go help mommy?" he teased. She hissed and shit at him. He blocked but when he lowered his leg the girl was already running towards Glynda. Hazle approached her from the other side.
He dashed after her and leapt, planting his feet in her back and launching two shots off, sending her flying into Hazel. The man caught her easily but now had one arm down as he held her.
"Mr. Black. We should go," she said simply. He nodded and ran. She threw a wave of purple energy out that staggered cinder and Hazel before gliding out the room. The ceiling finally fell, Hazel running and crashing through the wall. Cinder growled and flew towards the opening, but was stuck when the walls fell towards her.
Seeing no there way out, she aimed herself down and burned a hole in the floor. She launched herself through the hole and back into the basement.
When she arrived it was to see something that made her blood boil all over again.
"So... I can just have this?" Roman asked as he inspected the glowing object. Raven stood, clearly unhappy but not moving to stop him.
"It would only bring trouble. Anything Ozpin wants always does," she said, arms crossed. Roman sighed.
"Ain't that the truth," he mumbled. He was about to ask her how to get out of the collapsed basement when he heard what sounded like a missile getting louder and louder.
Instincts ran wild and he ducked, the form of Cinder Fall flying overhead and through the opened vault.
"Quick! Lock her in there or something!" Roman shouted. Raven humphed and stepped away from the door, the large structure starting to seal shut. Cinder shot forward and out the door, stopping right in front of Roman.
"Well that's just unfortunate—" he was cut off when she shot him point-blank with a stream of fire. He flew back until he crashed into the stone of the cave. Having been stuck in a fight with the woman before, his aura was already somewhat low.
This time is fizzled out and he struggled to stay conscious. He opted for sitting against the wall as he nursed the burns on his body.
"That's my time," Raven stated, cutting a portal open and barely sparing a glance back as she stepped through. Qrow was right. She was a bitch!
Cinder sauntered up to him. She stared down at him and he stared up at her. He had the lamp sitting on his lap and he had a hand hooked through it.
"So," he coughed, "how ya doin?"
She glared and kicked him in the temple. Everything went black after that.
Glynda paced back and forth, the main hall of Haven completely destroyed and collapsed. She had seen hazle and Emerald escape and was fairly certain Lionheart was crushed under the rubble.
Served him right.
But there was still no sign of Roman. And more worryingly, no sign of Cinder. Neo was sitting down, Chew nestled into her side as they waited for the man to 'pull a Roman' as they called it and walked out okay.
As five minutes became thirty, and thirty became an hour, it was increasingly apparent that he wasn't going to pull a Roman.
By this point the Haven guard had showed up, questioning everyone on what happened. At first they were skeptical, but when Qrow took them to Lionheart's office and they found the files of all the dead hunters he'd sent out, they were quick to change their minds.
It also helped that the small battalion that James had told Weiss about arrived as well. With the Atlas military there, however feared they still were for the Vale incident, it legitimized the whole situation.
"I'm sure he's okay Neo!" Glynda heard Ruby trying to comfort the girl. Chew whined as he licked her face. She still sat and stared intently at the wrecked building.
Glynda sighed. This wasn't good. She had half a mind to slap Ozpin out of that boy's body, but he'd relinquished his hold and Oscar was currently dealing with the exhaustion that Ozpin had left him with.
Typical Ozpin. Leaving his annoying work to others.
Suddenly, a portal opened up behind Yang. She glared and turned slowly, watching as Raven stepped out.
"Daughter," Raven sighed.
"Raven," Yang glared. The woman rolled her eyes.
"Where is Roman? We saw you go into the basement and we know you were with him," Yang demanded. Raven tsked but didn't deny her an answer.
"Your little megalomaniac friend took him. The relic too," she said with no remorse.
"WHAT!?" Glynda screamed. Neo was right next to her, the snarl on her face was more aggressive than Chew's.
"Consider it a blessing I decided to tell you. I could've just let you all assume he was dead," she stated. She didn't even notice when Glynda had gotten closer, but she absolutely noticed when Glynda punched her in the face.
For a woman who relied primarily on range and her semblance, she had a pretty mean right hook.
Raven held back a wheeze when Neo punched her in the stomach. For a girl that small she had quite the arm as well.
"Get out of here," Yang glared. Raven growled but left. She'd done what she came to do. So much for being generous. She actually came back to try and get Sienna, but with so many people around that was clearly not happening. She growled as she stepped through the portal and out of Haven.
Glynda was tapping her foot nervously. Salem had Roman. And the relic. Both of those things were bad. Very bad.
She gasped quietly when she felt a pressure at her side. She looked down to see Neo pressed into her, hugging her midsection. Due to the large height difference between them, it was a little awkward, but Glynda didn't comment as she placed an arm around the girl.
"Don't worry Neo. We'll get him back," Ruby comforted as she hugged the girl. Chew didn't really know what was going on, but joined in the hug anyways.
"But what the hell did they want with Roman?" Qrow asked. The others looked confused too.
"I'd say ask Ozpin but it looks like we don't have the privilege," Mercury said, nodding his head down to the floor where a writhing Oscar lay.
"Not to detail the conversation or anything," Blake started, "but where am I sending her?"
She was pointing to Sienna, who rolled her eyes at the lack of respect the girl had.
"You all can come with us. We'll get things set up," Melanie said, waving her hand towards Sienna. The woman sighed and rolled her eyes, but nodded and followed the two towards the bullheads.
"So now what?" Sun asked. Blake shot him a look.
"How about you find your team?" she asked. He froze in place before a look of realization washed over his face.
"OH SHIT I FORGOT ABOUT THEM!" he lamented. The others chuckled. While they had lost track of Roman at least they had a laugh.
"I think that it'd be best if we split up," Qrow suggested. They all looked to him.
"How so?" Glynda asked. The man motioned towards the wrecked hall.
"Well, we can't just let them have the relic, the fall maiden, and Roman. So why don't we split up and get them?" he explained.
Glynda hummed. As far as they knew, Salem had her base out in the Grimmlands. It would be dangerous, but not impossible now that they had access to bullheads. Glynda hummed at the thought.
Plus she would be damned if she let Roman suffer whatever they had planned for him there. She shivered at the thought, but it made her all the more resolute.
"I'll go and find Roman, retrieve the relic, and escape with both," she assured. Qrow nodded. Neo stomped a foot down next to her and Glynda nodded. Ruby seemed unhappy at the prospect of Neo going to the second most ravenous part of the world, Vacuo existed after all, without her.
"What!? Neo! What if you—" Neo held a hand up and shook her head. Ruby threw her hands around and Neo responded in kind. After one particular gesture, Ruby flinched back.
"Hey! That was one time!" she argued. Neo Rose an eyebrow and the younger girl sighed.
"Just... Please come back? And kick ass too!" she asked. Qrow and Yang both shouted language but she ignored them.
Neo nodded and Chew stood beside her, feeling her anticipation.
"Very well. Where shall we meet you all?" Glynda asked. Qrow hummed and looked at the unconscious Oscar. He grimaced. That meant Ozpin was out of commission for the time being and he couldn't ask where they were going next.
As the drunk contemplated their next move, a pair of the Atlas scouts came over. The other four scouts were talking to the Mistral guards a ways away.
"You two are hunters right?" One of them asked. Qrow nodded.
"Would one of you be Mr. Branwen?" the other soldier asked. Once again Qrow threw out his affirmative. The man nodded and turned directly to Qrow.
"Very well. General Ironwood has requested your presence in Atlas," the man told.
"What's he want with me?" Qrow scratched at his jaw.
"I'm not privy to such information. The general simply asks for you to be there in the coming months," he said.
"Coming months?" Yang asked, not looking happy at the man's words.
"We would transport you ourselves but for legal reasons you will have to secure a route through the nearest Atlas-to-Mistral port," the soldier explained.
"And where would that be?" Ruby asked, anxious to get moving.
"The nearest connecting city would be—"
"Argus."
They all turned to see Pyrrha smiling fondly.
"That would be my home," she clarified. Ruby let her mouth form an 'o' as the troops nodded and left.
So it looks like we'll meet you in Atlas, Neo's scroll confirmed as she stood beside Glynda and stared at the rest of their group.
"You better! Or we'll go to the Grimmlands ourselves and tear the place apart!" Nora shouted. Neo rolled her eyes but smirked and nodded. Like hell they'd die out there.
Glynda hummed and stepped away.
"I will secure us a bullhead. The rest of you should take the Argus Limited from here. You should be there in no time," the woman told as she continued walking away.
Neo turned back to Ruby and winked. The girl blushed but smiled, stepping forward and pecking the shorter girl on the cheek.
"Don't do anything stupid," Ruby mumbled. Neo waved her off.
I'm not your sister—
"Fuck is that supposed to mean!?"
— I'll be okay, Neo assured. Ruby nodded and with another embrace, the two parted. Neo ran to catch up with Glynda, Chew barking as he ran behind her.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Blake stated as she watched the girl run off, "but I hope Torchwick's okay."
"Going soft Blakey?" Yang asked. She received a punch in the arm as a response.
As unusual as it was, the others couldn't help but agree. What on Remnant were they doing to Roman?
The Grimmlands, one day later
Roman groaned and rubbed his eyes. His head felt like shit, his body felt like shit, his memory felt like shit, and to top it all off, he couldn't see!
It was like his twenty first birthday all over again. Only he knew for a fact he hadn't gone out and tried to make out with an ursa.
Ah, the simplicity of life in Vacuo.
"-he awake?"
What was that?
"-don't know...- check now..."
Who was that? And did they mean him? Who was near him while he was out cold? Cinder? It definitely didn't sound like it.
"... I'll do it..."
That person sounded... excited? Why were they excited to check on him? He wasn't about to wake up to someone frisking him was he?
He suddenly felt a gentle touch on his cheek. So sudden and unexpected was this feeling, he didn't even realize he had made a sound.
"What the bloody fuck?"
Okay, so maybe he'd said a complete thought but the point was that he had notified that he was awake.
"Wake up now Mr. Torchwick. We have much to discuss," he heard a rather... chilling voice ask him. It was like hearing someone who only knew how to sound terrifying try to talk like a romantic lover. Actually, it sounded a lot like someone trying to talk like Cinder.
"Uh, if I open my eyes will I hate what I see?" he asked.
He heard a gentle laugh. At least, what was supposed to be gentle. It didn't sound like this woman had laughed in a very long time. It came out more like someone reading the stage directions to a play.
"I guarantee you'll love it," she said. He sighed. If this was how he'd die, he'd do it on his terms. Go in confidently, go out confidently.
He cracked his eyes open and was surprised that it wasn't that bright. Clearly he was inside, and on top of that, the interior of wherever he was currently being held was mostly black.
Then he gazed up.
Right into a pair of tits that rivaled Glynda's.
"Huh?" he oh so eloquently asked.
"Welcome to your new home!" the woman greeted. She looked... fairly normal actually. Blonde hair, pale skin that looked rather heavily coated in make-up, and a long black dress that looked as though a spider had seen it. She cut quite the figure, though he'd never say that in fear of Glynda killing him faster than this person would. Nothing really seemed too off about this person... Ah. There it was.
The eyes.
Beady, slit, deep crimson eyes. It was... unsettling to say the least.
And did she say new home?
"And... you would be?" he rasped. His throat was dry after being unconscious. She seemed to notice.
"I am Salem," she greeted, "and Watts! Get water for our guest!"
He briefly heard someone mutter something about being reduced from a scientist, to a wedding planner, to a waiter. Also, did she say Salem.
"You're uh... you're Salem?" he said slowly. She smiled and reached out. Was she about to reach into his chest and rip out his heart?
She placed her hand on his face again and hummed, smiling and observing his entirety.
"You know of me?" she asked, seemingly excited and happy at his words. Watts came in with a bucket of cold water, a bottle of unmarked, probably stolen, alcohol sat within.
"I've heard bits and pieces," Roman muttered. She tittered and her eyes narrowed in joy.
"All good I hope?" she asked. He looked past her at the man, Watts he thought he'd heard.
The man shook his head and swiped his hand across his neck a few times. Roman looked back at the woman. He took a deep breath, threw on his best Roman Torchwick smile, and activated his semblance at full capacity.
"Only the best," he smirked. She seemed to practically melt in place. He looked back to Watts who looked like he was about to throw up. That worked. He dropped his semblance. No matter how unlucky he'd be now, it really wouldn't matter since he was probably about to die anyways.
"Watts! You hear his voice? Bring that here already!" she demanded of the man. He groaned but stepped forward. A drink actually sounded alright. Granted, it was probably poisoned but that still sounded better than letting the woman in front of him melt his eyeballs or whatever she did.
"You don't look how I thought you would," Roman said tentatively. She laughed again, sending shivers down his spine.
"And what did you expect?" she asked soothingly. Roman opened his mouth to answer but didn't get the chance.
At that moment, Watts stepped forward, but by some freak amount of bad luck, a small nevermore flew in the room, directly into the man's face, causing him to trip and toss the bucket of cold water towards Roman. Roman put his arm up to cover himself and heard the bucket crash into something.
He wasn't wet though. He lowered his arm and looked up at the woman still standing over him. His mouth dropped as he watched the woman shake in rage as she turned to Watts.
The make-up slowly washed away, but instead of revealing blemished skin, revealed white skin, and angry black veins.
Her hair lost its color as she radiated an energy unknown to the thief, and it went from a light blonde to a haunting white.
Her eyes radiated with ancient magic, and her teeth barred at Watts. The man, to his credit, didn't pass out or die of a heart attack, instead pointing back towards Roman.
Salem whipped around as if to unleash her rage on the crook, when she caught her reflection in the bucket. She looked at Roman, who was staring right into her glowing, hate filled eyes. Her hair was down, no longer tied in her usual bun, and her face, her real face, was exposed.
"That looks a lot more like what I pictured," he said in a high pitch.
"Wait, this isn't what it looks like! I just want you to love me!" she frantically tried to salvage the situation.
That evidently was the wrong thing to say as Roman promptly passed out after she uttered the words 'love me'.
She stared down at his still body and said nothing. Watts slowly stepped out of the room. He bumped into the others who were all hiding around the corner.
"So how'd it go?" Emerald asked.
Salem's piercing scream and the explosion of light and magic that burst from the door of the room was their answer.
"Not well I take it?" Hazel mused.
No. Not well at all.
And I think that'll do for this chapter. Poor Roman. Can't you see the opportunity that sits in front of you!?
Total. Milf. Material.
Just saying.
Anyways, I thank you all for waiting. School takes up my time and sleep takes up the rest of my time. That and I didn't know when to end this chapter, so it took some time.
Please leave a review! I love them all oh so dearly! And if you like the story, follows and favorites are appreciated as well!
In the meantime, please have a wonderful time!
And don't bite off more than you can chew!
Omake: Salem practices seduction
She had gotten word that Cinder had retrieved the relic of knowledge, but that the spring maiden had slipped through their fingers and was likely to never show herself again.
But that didn't matter right now. She had captured her husband to be. Right now, she had to make sure she was the sexiest being on the planet for her special guest.
She stared into her mirror as she looked over herself in yet another outfit. This one made her hips look nice but didn't accentuate her shoulders the way she wanted.
The next one did the opposite. She growled. Maybe she'd just go with her normal dress. It made her look like a goddamn queen.
She looked in the mirror. The hair dye and make-up wouldn't be permanent, unfortunately she found that using her magic evaporated both of them. But she'd make a good enough first impression that he'd have no choice but to love her anyways!
Now to practice how she'd talk to him.
"Okay, how did Ozma like this again...?" she mumbled, trying to remember how men liked their sweet talking.
"You're looking reprehensible today. No that's not right," she glared at the mirror. She cleared her throat and tried again, attempting to mimic the tone cinder used when fooling men into doing her bidding.
"The average beowolf can crush the bones of a— no, that's wrong too," she huffed. Maybe she needed to try a compliment.
"You remind me of my long-time dead ex-husband," she swooned. That... didn't sound right either.
"WATTS!" she called. He poked his head in. He looked like he had just woken up, his mustache in complete disarray.
"Yes my queen?" he asked through a yawn. She checked the clock. When did it get to two in the morning!?
"How does one talk seductively?" she asked in the way that a young girl asks a camp counselor for help on a crafts project.
"What?" he asked, confused by her request and wondering if he was perhaps still asleep.
"Men. How do I talk to them?" she demanded once more.
"You're talking to me right now," he pointed out.
"You're not a man. You're my peon," she stated with all the tact of a nuclear warhead. Watts sighed and shrugged.
"Perhaps," he yawned again, "try welcoming him in a warm way."
"Like with fire?" she asked. He did a double take and shot her an exasperated look.
"No my queen. Warm as in kind, friendly, nice, quite literally the antithesis of who you are—" he halted as she glared through him. He gulped and cleared his throat.
"Perhaps just be the first thing he sees?" he offered.
She hummed. That might work. It would be like an introduction to the rest of his life! She would be the shining light that he lay his eyes upon when he awoke from his Cinder induced slumber!
"That's a great idea! Good thing I thought of it," she cheered. Watts just groaned and left. He didn't get paid enough for this.
Actually he didn't get paid ever. He just didn't get killed by Grimm or Salem.
That worked too.
