Hello hello! The greeting machine has been fixed!
School puts a damper on updates, but I suppose that's what I signed up for.
Oh to be a high schooler with so much free time again. You never know how good you have it until it's over.
C'est la vie.
At any rate, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom!
Cinder was not what one would call a "happy camper" right now.
Why? The answer was simple, and yet, oh so complicated at the same time.
Currently, she was standing still, holding a pillow in her hands that Salem was sobbing into. She, the fall maiden, reduced to a pillow holder.
Salem assured her it was a promotion.
"He thinks I'm hideous!" the queen lamented, hair down and in disarray.
Cinder would've told the woman that wasn't true, only when Tyrian tried that she hissed at him and he fainted. So she was content keeping the woman sad if it meant she wasn't furious.
Suddenly, a Seer floated over slowly, an ornate, silver tray balanced on its head. On the tray was a box of tissues, and a get well card. Cinder raised an eyebrow at the card.
Salem noticed as well, and picked up the card. It read on the front, "sorry that it didn't go well" and on the inside it read "but at least you have us!" Underneath the inside writing was an array of sloppy and crude lines and splotches of ink. The Seer hovered there and clicked away. Salem just stared at it.
Was this a joke?
"Did... did the Grimm just write you a card?" Cinder asked, shocked at the... thought? Maybe thought wasn't the right word but nonetheless, she was surprised that the seemingly mindless creatures were capable of consolation.
"They've never done something like this before! This is so sweet of them!" the woman cooed, hugging the jellyfish-like creature to her bosom. The beast clicked away in what she assumed was happiness.
Cinder slowly stepped back and out of the room. She was content to let the Grimm deal with their queen as they saw fit, especially if it meant she didn't have to witness the strange sight in front of her any longer. She turned and saw a line of other Grimm of all kinds waiting outside the door tentatively, staring past her and into the room.
She stepped to the side and they all took it as permission to flood into the ancient woman's room. Cinder would deny the small snort she let out when she heard Salem start shouting at the beasts to calm down and leave before they wrecked the place.
Now onto more pressing matters. How would she go about getting her next orders? With Salem in such a state, the woman was in no mood to send her minions out to find maidens or relics or Ozpin.
They had tried for the last two days to get the woman back into her evil-doing mood, but it was to no avail. She was, to their knowledge, heartbroken. Which meant the only way they could really resolve the issue would be to mend her broken heart.
"When did this become my life?" Cinder asked herself. Probably the same time she'd decided to follow the evil Grimm lady and do whatever she told her to do in return for magical powers.
When you said it out loud, it sounded fairly plausible that this would be the outcome.
"Having girl problems Cindy?"
And there was that. It made her want to rip off her ears so she couldn't hear anymore of his incessant rambling.
Or maybe rip off his ears just for the hell of it.
"Personally, I'm surprised. When I told the little guys you assigned to watch me that they should give her a card, I didn't think they'd actually do it. Or, really, were capable of doing it," Roman said as he sauntered past her.
"And just where do you think you're going? You're supposed to be confined to your room," a room that, much to all their own chagrin, was much larger and much nicer than anything Salem had given them.
"Well since my last thirteen escape attempts have all been foiled, I was just going to pay a little visit to our dear friend Watson."
"Watts."
"How about Watt-ever? I know what his name is you egocentric bastard," he said hypocritically as he kept on walking down the hall.
Cinder was about to burn the man where he stood when Salem leaned out of her room.
"Did you hear that Cinder!? He sent them here! And they listened! He really does care!" the woman swooned, draping herself across an ursa as if it were a chaise lounge.
"And why exactly did they listen to him? Shouldn't they have tried to kill him?" Cinder asked. Well, it was more of a plea, hoping the beasts would've torn him apart. Salem hummed.
"Well I did order them to leave him be, so technically they're just regular animals to him now. He must've realized that and took a chance at commanding them! That's the perfect mindset for a husband of mine!"
As Salem swooned and rubbed a circle on the ursas back, Cinder growled and resisted the urge to punch a hole in the wall beside her.
And why the hell did Roman want to see Watts of all people?
"Cinder! Gather in the throne room in five minutes! My spirits have been revitalized!" Salem announced, sitting upright on the ursa and spitting its side with her heel, "Mush!"
As the queen rode her way to the throne room, Cinder couldn't help but feel that she would've been better off in jail.
Roman sat in a plush armchair, a drink at his side and a cigar in hand. His chair was sat beside a large window overlooking the Grimmlands, and the 'spawning pools' as Watts had called them.
Speaking of Watts, the man sat across from Roman, the same drink in hand and a cigar hanging from his mouth. He sighed as he took a long drag before breathing it out slowly.
"I must say Roman I didn't think there could be a man with tastes so similar to my own! A man of your class is in good hands here, I assure you," Watts claimed as he leaned back. Roman took a sip of his drink, Atlas Whiskey that'd been aged for ten years. Stolen, no doubt, but that's what made it so good.
"If it weren't for the less than pleasant view and the admittedly hot but crazy Grimm queen, I might not have had a problem being here," he said.
"Quite so. I often wonder if I should've stayed in Atlas, where the pay was good. I mean, sure I'm free to experiment and do as I please out here, but where's the fun if there's nobody telling you it's wrong?" Watts drawled as he waved his hand around.
"I feel you good sir, I really do. When I ditched Cinder and hid in Beacon there was a thief shaped hole in my heart. Stealing office supplies just wasn't the same as grand theft," the crook mused.
Speaking of Beacon, Roman wondered where the others were. He certainly was worried for Neo and Glynda, but what exactly could any of them do at the moment?
Even if they were to stage a rescue, how would they get in, find him and that lamp that he had on his bedside table, get away from Salem, and get out of the Grimmlands without being taken out of the sky by a giant nevermore or something?
Thankfully, he knew in his heart of hearts that Glynda and Neo were smarter than that, and wouldn't dare let their emotions cloud their perception of what was actually doable. Imagine if they just tried coming in a bullhead? How would they even manage that?
"Thinking of simpler times?" Watts asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Not particularly. Simple has never been my forte," the thief replied. Going from Vacuo, to infamous thief, to Beacon, and now all of this? Simple wasn't even a concept to him. Look at the kind of women he attracted!
Speaking of, he really had to find a way out of here. While it was nice to know he wasn't going to be tortured or killed and that he was generally safe from whatever these people were planning, he couldn't help but miss Neo and Glynda and hell, even Qrow and Red had grown on him. Plus there was Chew, and without him there, he was sure Neo would end up overfeeding the poor dog until he didn't fit that armor anymore.
A Seer floated over and stopped in front of Watts. Roman watched the thing suspiciously. He got a really bad feeling from those things, but they listened to him when he told them to go away so he wasn't too worried.
"Watts. Your presence is requested by her grace," Hazel's voice grumbled from the creature's head. Watts sighed but nodded, pulling himself up and snuffing his cigar out in a small tray beside him. He downed his drink and placed the cup beside the ashtray.
"It appears the queen has gotten over her slump. Good day Roman," Watts departed, the Seer following after him.
Roman decided to scout around the large tower. Better to find some form of escape route than sit around and do nothing all day. Night? It was hard to tell here since the sky was purple all the time.
He really hoped Neo was okay. Gods forbid she actually try and rescue him in person. That was a death wish!
This was a death wish, Neo thought as she and Glynda tore across the sky at blinding speeds. They'd acquired a bullhead that was meant for performance flights, meaning the damn thing was light, small, and so fast that Neo was beginning to understand Jayne's motion sickness.
She was also surprised Glynda knew how to fly such a thing. Granted it wasn't the smoothest flight, but they hadn't crashed yet.
Chew whined. He didn't seem to like the speed either. The dog had taken to hiding his head in her stomach, avoiding looking out the window. She pet him softly. Neo herself was concentrating hard enough as is.
"You are doing well Ms. Politan. We should be there soon enough," Glynda said as she leaned on the control stick, pushing the machine forwards.
She was referring to Neo keeping her semblance up for an elongated period of time. She had cloaked the bullhead to look like a griffon, and had been doing so for about an hour now. The Grimmlands were large, unexplored, and, most annoyingly, it all looked the same.
They'd gotten the bullhead a day ago, and had been flying for an entire day as well. Then there was the initial day that they had to use to actually gather all of their stuff. That was three days that had passed that Roman could've been tortured or maimed. Her foot tapped anxiously, and her eyes narrowed as she continued to hold her semblance.
"I'm sure he's okay. You know better than I that Roman has a talent for making the worst of situations swing in his favor," the woman said, only able to send her a sidelong glance for fear of crashing the aircraft.
Neo felt the need to point out that the woman probably wasn't the best person to be telling her to calm down considering she had been gripping the control stick of the ship so hard that Neo swore it would come off if she so much as twitched.
"As true as that is, he also has a habit of making every situation he's in worse than it was when he started," Neo's scroll spoke. Glynda didn't deny that. There wasn't really any way she could.
"Not to mention that he's easy to bribe, has a knack for upsetting the wrong people, and I'm almost certain he'd rather die than do more than three hours of work at a time," the mute continued, making Glynda more and more worried that Roman had probably gotten himself killed by this point.
"These are not the words of encouragement that I was reaching for."
"Those were the words of encouragement."
"I think we need to redefine what encouragement is."
"I think you mean that Roman has to make it easier to define."
The two women sighed. That was true. The man made the word 'reasonable' less than a concept.
"We can only hope then," Glynda said softly as she refocused on the sky ahead, swerving to go around a mountain. Neo nodded.
As they rounded the other side of the mountain, their eyes both narrowed.
In front of them was a large, sinister tower. It was more like a fortress than anything. Deep purples, blacks, and reds adorned the exterior, and it looked like it had crawled from the earth itself rather than being built.
"Prepare for landing. I will find somewhere hidden," the huntress said as the bullhead slowed and began its descent.
The lower they got, the more the tower's real height became evident. If it was big from the sky, it was absolutely massive from the ground.
And now they had to search the damn thing for Roman.
"Please let him be on the bottom floor," Glynda mumbled.
Little did they know, Roman had just gotten up and finished his drink as a griffon landed near the tower. He had a good view of the thing from the very top floor of the tower.
"Hope that thing stays away from me," Roman mumbled as he walked out of the room he and Watts had occupied.
On the ground, Glynda and Neo bristled and shook with rage, but neither knew why.
Miltia would like to think that when they said they'd be okay taking a train across Mistral, that everything might actually be okay.
Foolish of her, really.
Melanie flipped over her as she slashed a manticore in half. She stood ready to kick at another when Miltia dashed ahead of her and clawed at its face.
The beast roared and threw her off, but she flipped and landed perfectly, throwing her head to the side to flick a strand of hair out of her face.
"These things are hella annoying," she groaned, sauntering up to stand beside Melanie. The twin in white hummed her agreement as they both dropped and prepared for the beast to charge.
And charge it did, roaring and glaring its wings. As it tried to gouge them with its horns they dodged to both sides, the beast stopping and digging its claws into the top of the train as it skid to turn towards them. The sound of metal grating was like nails on a chalkboard.
As the twins fought towards the back of the train, Mercury was fighting near team JNPR, who were escorting passengers away from the more heavily attacked part of the train.
"I fucking hate these things!" the assassin growled as he kicked a manticore in the mouth, firing a bullet and exploding its head before it could launch a fireball at him.
"Where are they coming from!?" Jaune asked as he and Pyrrha took off the legs of another manticore, Pyrrha stabbing it through as it fell.
"Well Mr. Arc, I'm almost positive that it has something to do with someone angering half of the train by saying that all Mistralis had poor hygiene and causing a large negative output," Ozpin stated, making sure he kept himself and Oscar alive. He leapt back as Nora smashed the head of another beast into pieces.
"They were totally asking for it!" Mercury shouted as he sent another shot forward, sending the encroaching beast off the side of the train.
"You didn't have to say it out loud!" Weiss shouted as she flew across the side of the train, riding her glyphs as she maneuvered around the Grimm currently flying. She leapt forward, spearing one in the throat and leaping off its body back towards the twins.
"We stepped on the train and it smelled like someone died and shit themselves! Was I not supposed to comment!?" the young man asked, doing a split as a manticore flew overhead trying to mail him and instead being sucker punched and exploding as Yang shit towards the back of the train to help the twins and Weiss.
"Well you didn't have to specify why you thought it smelled so bad!" Yang yelled as Blake launched forward, throwing Gambol Shroud to the blonde and spinning to send the girl into the air. The brawler crashed into a manticore, grabbing it's horns and ripping it in half.
"WELL I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE!" Mercury had stopped fighting entirely by this point, turning and shouting at the airborne brawler.
"Why would we all be in agreement on racism?" Ren asked as he shot two Grimm behind him. Mercury stepped to the side and swung his leg up and around, cracking his leg across the face of a third beast.
"Oh come on! Old man, you agree with me right?" Mercury asked Qrow as he and Ruby danced around each other, scythes out and hacking away at Grimm left and right.
"Well, my tribe is originally from Mistral so I don't know if I can be with you on this one kid," Qrow said loudly as he blocked a fireball by spinning Harbinger rapidly.
"Yeah exactly! You're living proof!" Mercury said as he jumped back down into the train to assist in moving people.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID THAT BASTARD JUST SAY!" Qrow screamed, running and jumping down after him. They approached a tunnel and the others ran and gathered around the hatch of the train.
"It's cleared up significantly," Weiss said as they all stood inside now. They all sighed in relief as the train came out the other end of the tunnel and silence greeted them.
"Mission successful!" Mercury said with a proud smile. Jaune looked among everyone. They all nodded. He turned and slapped the assassin across the face.
"Okay I deserved that one," Mercury groaned as he rubbed his face.
"Now can we all settle down without something else going awry?" Ozpin asked. They all shrugged and he sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. Oscars nose? Their nose.
"Can I have my body back now?" Oscar asked from within. Ozpin nodded and a moment later the body of Oscar appeared as if it were a different person entirely.
"Cool. Now, Stumpy, you stay in your cart for the rest of the trip. Girls, make sure he doesn't leave," Qrow said as he turned and began walking away. Mercury protested but the twins grabbed him and dragged him to their room.
"I think it's safe to say that all of that could've gone better," Blake said as she leaned against the wall.
"Coulda gone whole lot worse too! We could've exploded! Or been separated! What if we had the relic, and the relic attracted more Grimm! Wouldn't that be crazy!?" Nora proposed.
Oscar sighed when Ozpin coughed.
"Well the thing that matters is that we're okay," Pyrrha assured. The others nodded and went to go rest. Ruby however stayed where she was and looked out the window.
"You're worrying again," Yang said as she strolled forward and looked out with her sister.
"How can I not?" Ruby asked. Yang hummed. That was fair.
Ruby had been in a funk for the last few days. Neo had assured her that she'd be okay, but who could really say? They were two people flying head first into the most dangerous place in the world!
"You know she'd tell you not to worry," Yang said, leaning her back against the window as she looked at her sister.
"I thought you were supposed to be with me and against her!" the young reaper groaned. Yang rolled her eyes.
"Make no mistake Rubes, I think she's an idiot," Ruby smirked a little but it went away quickly, "but I also know that she'd be worse if she stayed with us while Torchwick had who-knows-what happen to him."
Ruby groaned. Mostly because she didn't want to admit that she knew she was wrong. But that didn't mean she couldn't be angry!
"Listen, I'm gonna go and take a nap in our cart. Try not to dwell on this too much or you'll just be cranky," the brawler hugged her sister, Ruby squawking in surprise before she stepped away and left her to her thoughts.
She was about to go look for her uncle when she heard the door to the cart open. She looked back expecting to see Yang again but was surprised to see Oscar. No, judging by his posture it was Ozpin.
"I see I wasn't the only one coming here to think for a spell," he said, a small smile on his face.
"How's Oscar?" Ruby asked. Ozpin hummed and closed his eyes. He chuckled a moment later.
"He is tired. His first time fighting on a moving train was tasking for him so I've taken over while he rests," the man-turned-child explained. Ruby made a little oh with her mouth as Ozpin stared out the window. Wow, this window was getting a lot of attention today!
"You needn't worry Ms. Rose. Glynda and Ms. Politan are highly capable of handling this quietly," he said suddenly.
"But what happens if they get caught?" Ruby asked, distraught. Ozpin closed his eyes and his face remained almost neutral but for a small, almost unnoticeable grimace from the corner of his mouth.
That meant bad things. Probably death. Maybe torture.
"It is of the utmost importance that they retrieve the relic. Roman too, of course, but with the relic our enemies grow exponentially stronger."
"And what exactly does the relic do? Does it destroy mountains? Light rivers on fire?" Ozpin chuckled.
"Heavens no. Well, not the relic of knowledge at least," Ozpin assured. Ruby sighed. That was good at least.
It had been a long few days. Sienna Khan had been left to the Mistral mafia, so whatever was happening to her was anyone's idea. The twins assured them that she would be fine.
Sun had left when Neptune showed up and smacked him upside the head. It wasn't the happy team reunion that she was used to but she was sure it was a love slap.
Blake's friend had also gone back to Menagerie, claiming that the island needed to be cleaned up of any unsavory remains. Ruby didn't get a chance to talk to the girl but she seemed nice enough. Maybe a little too emo for her but still.
And then they were here. On this train, fighting Grimm that Mercury may or may not have attracted with his lack of social filter.
She didn't even realize it but she had been spacing out while Ozpin spoke to her.
"Wha?" she asked. He smiled and shook his head.
"I was simply saying that you should not focus on the time you are spending apart from Ms. Politan. It will only make her absence that much harder on you."
She felt like she'd been hearing that a lot lately.
"Do try and rest your spirit Ms. Rose. We still have a long journey ahead of us," the wizard told her, leaving her be once more.
She idly waited to see if another person would enter the cart and tell her to stop worrying, but after two minutes of waiting she slumped in relief.
Normally she'd tinker with Crescent Rose to pass the time or take her mind off things, but that wasn't an option right now.
Maybe she'd go try and mess with her uncle while he was drunk. She giggled at the thought.
That would do for now.
Salem set her gaze among the minions before her. In all her years of being an evil overlord, this particular group of servants was perhaps the most interesting and uncoordinated group she'd ever had.
Amazing they'd made as much progress as they had.
"What was our next course of action?" Salem asked. Watts stood.
"We were to move on Vacuo. Due to the extreme environment and people there we need to search much harder for the maiden than—"
"Move on Atlas instead," Salem interrupted.
They all looked among each other before looking back to the woman.
"Of course your grace," Watts said, seating himself again. She hummed.
"Do we know where the winter maiden is?" she asked.
"We do not, my goddess," Tyrian said sorrowfully, his new mechanical tail curling up as he hunched over. She drummed her fingers across the arm of her throne.
"Find her then."
They all nodded and stood to leave but she held a hand up.
"We are not done here," she said, eyes narrowed. They all sat once more, more or less happy to see her in her evil mood again.
"Ozpin thinks he could fool the world that Atlas is the pinnacle of technology, that they have made advancements that allow their city to fly. We know the true source of this is no mere discovery."
They all nodded. The relic of creation. Untold power within one single staff.
"What would you have us do your majesty?" Hazel asked. Tyrian cackled into his hands.
"What else? We will steal it from under Atlas's nose and watch the city collapse in itself!"
"That wouldn't be too bad," Watts hummed in thought. The same city that turned away his genius? Crashing and burning? Literally, at that!
"And how would we obtain the staff?" Cinder asked. Tyrian laughed again, hands atop The meeting table and leaning bodily over it.
"We burn our way in and slaughter anyone in our way—"
"That's not a great way to steal something ya know."
They all turned toward the door and saw Roman leaning against the frame. He took one long drag from his cigar before tossing it behind him. It landed on a Seer and the creature floated away without even noticing.
"Get out of here! We're trying to—" Cinder was cut off by a black tendril coming from the ground and wrapping around her mouth. Salem leaned forward, smiling warmly at the thief.
"Please, go on," she gestured for him to sit. He shrugged and sauntered forward, taking a seat beside Watts and across from Hazel.
"Well, if this is Atlas we're talking about I hardly doubt that they just have it sitting in a vault like Haven did. I'm thinking turrets, a few different emergency doors, and probably an elevator or something," he rattled off.
"And... you're sure about that?" Watts asked, surprised that Roman would just join their meeting that was, by all means, against his own side.
"Oh god no," he laughed, waving the man off, "but I'm positive that if you take that staff they've got ways to make sure you go down with the city. Probably an emergency lock or something." Tyrian stood on his chair.
"That's why we break in! Then we come out the same way we came in and—"
"And what? That thing is probably in the depths of Atlas. Unless you wanna try flying right into Atlas territory and up the kingdoms wazzu, you're not gonna break anything," the crook reasoned.
"And how would you do it?" Salem asked, intrigued by his cunning. Nobody else saw it that way but you know what they say about rose tinted glasses.
"Well personally, I would find the strongest weakest link and go from there," he said as he kicked his feet up on the table.
"The strongest... weakest link?" Hazel repeated. He nodded.
"Yeah. Find someone high in power but weak willed and you've got yourself an in! I did it all the time in Vale," he said. They all remained silent and looked at each other. Was he really just doing this?
"Who... do you think that'd be?" Watts asked, tentative to this being a setup. Roman grinned.
"I have an idea but I don't think anyone would appreciate the answer."
"No no, please... go on," Salem cooed. The others shivered. They watched as Roman barely reacted. Either he was unaware of her deep interest in him or he didn't care. Either way it was impressive in its own way.
"Ah, well, I can't just give that away for free. I have standards. You understand, don't you... beautiful?"
They all froze.
Then there was a noise. It sounded like a teapot boiling. It took a moment for them to realize that it was Salem.
Roman didn't try and hide his smirk. He didn't have to. They all held their breath as they stared at the man.
So the bastard did know then.
"And what is it that you desire?" Salem asked, a hungry look in her eyes. Roman hummed as if he hadn't already had something in mind. He rubbed his jawline and trailed his hand up to scratch his head, his arms becoming more defined as his suit strained with the movement.
He was flexing.
And she was eating it up.
They all swore internally.
"Oh, a little of this a little of that," he said, swaying his head side to side as he 'considered' what he wanted.
Cinder seethed. Emerald took a step away as she felt heat radiate off of the woman. She also didn't want to agree with the man but as a thief herself she knew that he was right. She just never needed to do any of that layered planning herself because her semblance did all of that for her.
"My queen, if I may interject—"
"You may not. Be silent, mommy is talking," Salem didn't take her eyes off of Roman as she waved the fall maiden off.
Cinder visibly withered. Roman laughed at her. She hissed at him. He didn't even try to hide it! He turned back to Salem and cleared his throat.
"Now... about those demands..."
They all had a bad feeling about what was to come. All but Salem, who snapped her fingers, ready to order them to do whatever the thief requested.
Perhaps the crook was more than they bargained for.
Or maybe he was luckier than they thought.
Neo and Glynda peered around the corner of the dark interior of the tower. They had gotten lost while traversing the structure. It didn't help that the halls all looked the same.
They only knew that they were going up, as the dungeon had yielded no results.
Except for a pile of human bones. That was a result technically, just not one that either woman wanted.
To make matters worse, there were these jellyfish things floating around and clicking away. They were very unsettling, and Neo had to hold Chew back when he tried to lunge at one.
Glynda took a step forward and Neo followed. The woman only moved when she was sure it was clear, so Neo would follow and stop as she did.
"This place has definitely set the new record for most unsettling place I've ever been," Glynda whispered. Neo nodded. This place was like a spider's web mixed with a hornet's nest. Truly hostile in every way.
They climbed yet another set of stairs and Neo took a deep breath. There were a lot of stairs in this goddamn tower. As the two came to what was, by Neo's count, about the fifteenth floor, Chew began sniffing the air.
He looked down a hallway and took off. Neo chased and Glynda swore as she followed. They rounded the corner to find Chew pawing at a door. He growled before he stood on his hind legs and pressed into the door. It creaked loudly before it came off of its hinges and crashed onto the floor with a loud thud.
The two dropped into fighting stances as they prepared for someone to come after the noise, but after a minute there was nothing. No noise, no Grimm, no people. Chew trotted happily into the room.
The two walked in and looked around. The room was large and quite luxurious, looking like a penthouse suite in a hotel. They looked around and saw a large bed sat opposite of a fireplace. Next to the bed was a small table, and on that table was—
"The lamp," Glynda said in surprise. That certainly wasn't what they were expecting to find in here. Neo stepped over and looked around the relic before slowly and carefully picking it up. She clenched her eyes shut as she held it out in front of her.
When it didn't explode she opened her eyes and allowed herself to relax a little. She clipped the lamp to her belt and turned to Glynda, giving my the woman a thumbs up.
Chew seemed to ignore the lamp entirely, walking over to the other bedside table and sniffing around. Suddenly he started panting and turned back to the two, barking once.
Neo shushed him as she came over to the other side of the bed and saw what Chew was sniffing. It was a box of cigars.
Roman's cigars.
Had Roman been staying in this room?
"What the hell Roman?" Glynda asked out loud. Evidently she had come to the same conclusion as her.
"Let us search for him. If he is as... well situated as this, he must be around here somewhere," she instructed. Neo nodded and they both left the room. As they rounded the corner they looked out the large window at their side.
They were really high up. Was Roman really up here?
Chew suddenly stood on alert.
Both of them noticed and looked around. They saw what had riled him up, it stood in the middle of the hallway.
A massive alpha beowolf sniffed the air before turning towards them. It lowered itself and growled.
Chew growled back.
Neo tried to stop the dog from charging but was unable to halt him from dashing forward and tackling the beowolf. Glynda and Neo ran after him.
Unsurprisingly, Chew carried the beast with him as if the massive creature was a sack of potatoes. He continued running forward, alpha stuck on his front as he charged, until he collided with a massive door at the end of the hallway. The doors didn't open so much as they exploded into a shower of splinters.
The two stood frozen on the other side of the door. Chew stood within the room, now on top of a large table, beowolf dissipating beneath him.
Around the table were some of the most dangerous people on the planet.
At the far side of the room a woman, as evil looking as they come, sat on a throne, also frozen and staring at them.
Roman stood off to the side, arms out as if he had just been talking to... the woman on the throne?
"Arf arf!"
Roman groaned as he put his hands into his face.
So much for using his semblance to charm the queen of Grimm.
"Hi?" he tried, waving at the two.
Behind the two women, various growls and hisses could be heard. They turned and saw a hallway that had previously been empty now packed full of Grimm.
"Wow this is awkward," he continued, nobody else saying a word.
"Who would this be then?" Salem asked, a dangerous edge to her voice. A sharp edge that Glynda recognized. One of... jealousy?
"I believe that would be Glynda Goidwi—" Watts was cut off when she held a hand up.
"Roman, who would these people be?" she reiterated.
Roman laughed.
He was the only one.
"Well... that's Neo. She's my kid," he said slowly.
Salem's eyes soften as she scanned the short girl. Then they sharpened considerably when they fell upon Glynda, who glared back with the same intensity.
"And this?" she asked.
Roman paled.
Don't make it worse, Glynda thought.
Don't make it worse, Neo pleaded internally.
Don't make it worse, all of Salem's minions hoped.
DON'T MAKE IT WORSE, Roman told himself.
"My lover?"
Salem's glare turned killer.
Glynda matched it.
He made it worse.
"Roman you are perhaps the most unintelligent man I've ever had the displeasure of meeting," Cinder claimed, both hands covering her face.
For once he didn't argue back.
"Roman what the hell are you doing!?"
"Relax Glyn, it's not that bad."
"YOU'RE NOT THE ONE IN A DUNGEON CELL!"
"It's not the worst dungeon cell it could be!" Roman stood on the other side of the bars, Neo and Chew by his side as he spoke to Glynda.
She held her hands in front of him for him to see the chains she was currently in.
"I've seen worse chains."
"Roman." she said calmly, "Fix. This."
"Well there's not a lot I can do!" he whined.
"Surely there's some alternative," Glynda said, remarkably well postured still. Even if she was in chains in a dungeon she would still exude the aura of the most threatening woman on the planet.
Roman didn't mention that she had a little competition on that front.
"Well I can get you out but..." he trailed off and Neo shook her head. Glynda sighed.
"And what exactly is her ultimatum for my release?"
Roman laughed and gave her finger guns. That meant she'd hate it.
"Well, ya see, Salem," Glynda glared at his first name basis with the woman, "she seems really interested in me. Like way too interested in me. And she said that she'd feel less threatened if I was single."
"And tell me again why she's the one who feels threatened?" Glynda asked pointedly.
Roman laughed nervously again. He said something but mumbled and turned away. Neo pinched the bridge of her nose.
"What was that?" Glynda asked, arms crossed through her chains and foot tapping impatiently.
"...Something about natural color," he said quietly.
Glynda had a powerful urge to tear the cell open and go back upstairs to kill the woman herself but knew that doing so might put Roman and Neo in danger as well.
Of course the chains that held her wouldn't actually keep her there, she could move and replace whole sections of city walls at a time, no old chains were going to impede her. But they didn't know what Salem was capable of and they'd rather not implode the tower while they were still within.
"We came here to rescue you Roman. Because we thought you were in danger. Why the hell do you have a five-star hotel room!?" Glynda asked.
Neo sent him a look and crossed her arms as well. He shrugged.
"I dunno! I guess Salem has a thing for powerful men," he tried.
"Why kidnap you then?"
"Ouch Glyn, ya know with words like that you're lucky I don't go running into her boo— her arms," Roman said, not acknowledging his slip. Glynda growled and he looked away.
"So anyways,_ Roman changed the subject swiftly, "you guys have a way out right?" Neo stepped up to prevent him from digging his grave deeper.
There's a high-speed bullhead waiting outside, she signed. He hummed.
"Neo, why don't you go scout around and try and find a way to distract all of them? If you guys really have a ship outside like you mentioned then we'll need to be able to leave without that flying bitch missile Cinder taking us out of the sky," Roman suggested. Neo shook her head however.
Last time I left you alone you got yourself kidnapped and made everyone, especially me, worry, she argued. He sighed.
"And I'm sorry about that kiddo, but now we gotta get outta here before she tries and makes me have sex with her!" Roman pleaded.
"WHAT!?"
"See!? If that happens Glynda will kill me!"
Neo gave him a look and he rubbed a hand down his face, stepping up and hugging the girl.
"Thank you for coming to rescue me, you're the most important thing in my life, you're the best, yadda yadda— that enough?" he asked. She tapped her chin and held up a finger. He groaned.
"And I'll get you that ice cream you really like when we get back to civilization," he added. She smiled and stood at attention, saluting him before ushering Chew to follow her. He did so happily.
"Are you sure it's a safe idea to let her roam around without you?" Glynda asked. He nodded.
"Looks like Salem doesn't have anything against her so she should be alright," he said as he watched the girl go. He turned back to Glynda and cracked his knuckles.
"Now that she's gone I will expertly lockpick this cage to free you and—" he was cut off but the screeching and cracking of stone and steel as Glynda ripped the cell apart. When she was done the only thing that remained on her side of the cell was a pile of rubble.
"That works too," he said. She stepped forward and slapped him across the face, whipping his head to the side.
"I deserved that."
Then she grabbed him and kissed him, separating after a moment and adjusting her blouse.
"I missed you, you terrible bastard," she said looking him in the eyes.
"Missed you too Glyn," he said, usual smirk in place. She huffed.
"How on Remnant did you manage to get the queen of Grimm to fall in love with you?" she grumbled, arms crossed under her breasts and hip cocked to the side.
"Jealous?" he asked. She slapped him again.
"Don't push it," she warned. He nodded and she began leading him to the bullhead.
The Grimm seemed to ignore them, or rather, they ignored Roman who would shoot them away. When they rounded the corner that Glynda led them to, she swore at the sight.
"Typical," she mumbled. Roman whistled at the sight.
What was probably once a bullhead looked like it had been turned into a playground for little beringals. They played with the sheets of metal and he even saw one gnawing on the engine.
"Is this our getaway vehicle?" he asked.
"Once upon a time," she replied.
They turned and walked back into the tower dungeons. Roman hummed as he paced around.
"I know they have bullheads here but they'll definitely notice if one disappears. Actually, speaking of, how did you guys manage to get here?" he asked.
"Neo used her semblance to disguise our ship as a griffon," she told. He hummed. Maybe they could try that again.
Except if Salem wanted him then she'd definitely know the difference between a real Grimm and an illusion.
"Hopefully Neo will find out how to cause one hell of a distraction," he said aloud. She sighed but knew that was their only chance at the moment. Cause a distraction, steal a bullhead, and hopefully live to tell the tale.
They were so dead.
Neo wandered the Halls of the tower, taking in the atmosphere the place exuded. The place was awfully dull; no paintings or carpets. They even still used torches on the walls!
Neo rounded the corner while observing all of this and walked face first into something. Something very soft, and large enough to encompass her whole face.
"Why hello there little one," Salem said from above her.
Ah. It was tits she had walked into.
Neo slowly stepped back and looked up at the woman. Damn she was tall! It was a miracle that Neo even reached her boobs at all!
Neo waved and Salem raised an eyebrow.
"No words yet? I haven't left you speechless have I?" she asked. Neo would've explained that she was technically always speechless but decided that explaining that to the woman would probably take longer than she had.
After all, she was supposed to be finding a way to get them a window of opportunity. She was about to excuse herself and step past her when she was stopped in the most humiliating way she had ever been stopped by another adult.
"You know you are just the cutest thing~" Salem said as she picked her up from under her arms and held Neo in front of her. Neo's mouth hung open at the act, unable to believe what just happened.
"To think that Roman is handsome and a good father? Your siblings will be just as cute as you, I can assure it," Salem went on, carrying Neo with her effortlessly.
A heavy blush finally started making its way onto her face. She was being treated like she was a kid! And this woman was talking about banging her dad! What the hell!?
"Tell me, what is it you love the most dear?" Salem asked, walking through the halls without even looking away from Neo's own face. It was pretty freaky how well she knew the halls. Neo figured the faster she gave Salem what she wanted, the faster she could get back to work.
Neo attempted to sign something but remembered how useless that was here. Quickly she reached into her pocket and fished out her scroll, opening it and showing the woman a picture of her, Ruby, and Chew in front of her favorite ice cream shop. In it, Ruby was giving her a peck on the cheek, blushing heavily as she looked away from the camera. Chew was still a puppy and was sitting in the young reapers lap.
"That girl has... silver eyes," Salem said with a flat expression, which softened quickly, "but if that's what you desire then so be it! Better to have her with us than against us!"
She snapped her fingers and Neo heard a terrifying screech. She looked out a nearby window and watched a veritable avalanche of nevermore flying away.
"She will be here by tomorrow!" Salem said proudly.
Neo paled. Argus was about to have a lot of trouble.
"Now then, I see you like that confection as well," Salem said, still carrying the girl. Finally they stopped in front of a door. Neo had her back essentially pressed to the door and it felt... cold?
Salem placed her down and pushed the door open. Neo shivered and turned around, wondering why it was so cold.
She was greeted with a beautiful sight.
The reason the room was cold was because it was a giant freezer. A giant freezer filled with all different types of ice cream.
"I discovered this treat a century ago. I've had my minions collect it for me ever since," Salem explained.
Neo stepped inside as Salem followed her in.
Roman's plan could wait.
Heaven came first.
And that's enough for now.
A shorter chapter this time, setting up for a lot and working off my own script. I'm excited to get more into this particular part of the story.
Also biding my time so that I can write volume seven to the best of my abilities. Irondaddy will get all of my attention.
Salem does what Salem does best; get into the minds of those around her and spread her evil from within. If in this case, evil is ice cream and minds is Neo's stomach.
Please remember to leave a review and follow if you want to see updates! Have a wonderful time!
And be careful not to bite off more than you can chew!
Omake: Pyrrha tries to describe Argus to someone who already knows what Argus is like
Jaune and Pyrrha were on their cart training.
Not on in the traditional sense though, on in the literal sense.
"Why are we doing this up here again!?" Jaune asked, yelling to be heard over the wind and train.
"It's good practice for fighting in an unstable environment!" Pyrrha replied. Jaune shrugged as he blocked a strike with his shield, stabbing out and towards his partners right abdomen. She dodged swiftly, and clashed with him as he closed the distance and got into her guard.
"You've I proved immensely Jaune!" she praised, sweeping his leg out from under him and landing a strike on his shoulder. His pauldrons blocked any real damage from being done but the force still sent vibrations down his back.
"I had a pretty good teacher!" he told as he rolled forward I to her legs. She was surprised by the move, as he would normally roll away to create distance. She fell and landed on top of him.
"That's one way to get your opponent down I suppose," Pyrrga laughed. He laughed as well as they pulled themselves up. There was a fing below them.
"We'll be arriving in Argus within the hour!" the conductor announced through the intercom. They decided that was a sign to stop for now and return to their room.
As they climbed down from the top of the train Jaune asked Pyrrha a question that had been on his mind.
"So I never knew you were from Argus," he started, "What was it like growing up there?"
Pyrrha opened her mouth to answer but froze. She had never described her home to anyone. Especially since so many fans had made the town somewhat of a nuisance to traverse for her.
"Well, it's by the water," she said simply enough.
"But it's cold right? What'd you do in the water?" he asked confused. She paused again. Being close to the water in Argus was only nice if you liked fishing. Otherwise it was freezing and salty— unsuitable for drinking.
"Well, there's also the Atlesian Colossus but we aren't really allowed to see that," Pyrrga said, recalling the giant robot.
"Don't forget the trolley," Jaune said. She nodded.
"Yes yes, there's also the trolley... Wait, how did you—"
"My sister lives in Argus," he replied easily. She looked at him in confusion.
"Then why ask me what it's like?" she wondered, not understanding why he had asked in the first place.
"Well I wanted to hear what it was like for you," he said simply. She thought again.
"Oh," she said, surprised by how sweet that actually was, "well it wasn't always the most gentle environment, what with all the fans, but it's home."
He smiled and nodded. He certainly knew that feeling. Now it was Pyrrha's turn to ask a question.
"So am I going to get to meet this sister?" she asked. He paled.
"Do... do you want to?" he asked, hoping with all his heart she'd say no.
"I'd love to!" she replied, completely missing his fear and mistaking it for hope that she'd say yes.
Shit, he thought.
Looked like they'd be paying Saphron a visit.
