Happy to see that people actually like this story. Months ago when I started writing it I was almost certain it wouldn't get that much attention. So truly, thank you all for reading! It means a lot to this cold heartless soul!
I mentioned it briefly in the last chapter, but I have other stories planned! More on that at the bottom!
Let's get right to it and get back into the story!
Roman stood before a wooden table in his and Glynda's room. Ruby and Neo stood on the other side, with all four surrounding the table. Chew sat off to the side, gnawing on a rubber toy. He was very quickly reducing its size by large chunks with each bite, very much living up to his namesake.
On the table before all of them was a blueprint of Atlas. As in, Atlas as a whole. The city, it's mechanics, where each and every important building and docking bay was. It was easy to obtain really. Atlas liked flaunting it's technological prowess to the world and they sold the blueprints as posters.
The only thing not included was a strange space in the middle, beneath Atlas Academy. Roman had circled it with a red marker and drawn a line off to the side that read "here's the staff!"
Roman was smoking inside, the smoke detector that Ironwood had specifically told them was not to be tampered with lay in pieces on the floor. Roman had given it to Chew before the dog destroyed it and moved on to an actual toy. He had also scanned the room for bugs or hidden cameras. They were safe, and he even had Neo do another look and got her approval as well.
"Okay, Operation Stealy Staff is a go," Roman said, reading the name Neo and Ruby had come up with and written at the top of the blueprints in a rainbow of colors.
Glynda sighed at the name and rubbed her temples.
Roman put his cigar out and pointed to the academy that they currently were in. He circled it with his finger.
"So we're in Atlas military academy right now and we need to find a way to get into the holding chamber for the staff. To do this without getting arrested or worse, shot, we need a suitable distraction," he said, reverting into his old 'scheming and heisting mode'.
We could blow up a bank. That always gets people moving, Neo claimed. Roman nodded, hand on his chin.
She wasn't wrong. It'd get forces looking for the culprit, and the less honorable people would be jumping at the chance to nab whatever money was left from the explosion.
A heated look from Glynda had both thieves cowering. Scratch that. No blowing up banks.
"Oh! Oh! What if we tricked Ironwood into thinking there was another threat coming?" Ruby suggested. Roman hummed.
"It might work depending on what you've got in mind," he allowed. She tapped her chin for a moment before slamming her fist into her palm.
"What if we get Watts to hack his security systems and stuff? Wouldn't he have to deal with getting it all back?" she threw out.
Roman mulled it over. He could probably get in touch with Watts to work his ways on the systems in Atlas, but there was no way James wasn't looking out for that kind of stuff since the fall.
They'd have to ferry the scientist into Atlas though and there was no easy way to do that. Aside from that, there was no guarantee that Watts would actually even be able to do anything with Atlas firewalls breathing down his neck.
"Perhaps we don't need to even do that much..." Glynda hummed. They turned to her and she chose to continue.
"James is the paranoid type. He doesn't like letting anything get past him. Having his soldiers hacked back in Vale must have put him on edge like never before. If we can convince him that we overheard Salem having plans to attack Atlas next..."
"Then he'll ramp up protection around the kingdom and only leave his people in the know in charge of watching over the relic. And the people who know about the relic think that we'll be protecting it too," Roman finished. Glynda nodded curtly.
He smiled. She had a scheming heart yet!
"But you already told Ironwood about how you got out of the Grimmlands without hearing anything. How will you convince him now that you overheard their plans?" Ruby asked. He tsked. That was a good point. It would only make the man suspicious if he suddenly remembered something like that.
"What if we don't even have to do that? If we mention Watts then James will go off the deep end," Roman thought aloud. During his time with the scientist, he had learned that Watts had a rather sordid past with the Atlas military.
"That could work," Glynda said, "but we'd have to make sure that James believes it an actual threat and not something that he can wave his army at."
"Let me handle that," Roman offered, "the rest of you start doing rounds around the academy. Find our route in. Neo, get a good look at the uniforms on the soldiers. We'll need a good way to get around unimpeded."
The others nodded and he sighed, a smile coming to his face. Ah how he missed this part of life. The planning, the anticipation, the delivery! It made being a thief all the better.
He was about to continue when the door flew open and Mercury toppled through the opening, the twins on top of him. The four stared at the three as they all stared back at them from the floor, silent.
"So how much of that did you three hear?" Roman asked.
"Around the part where Neo suggested blowing up a bank," the assassin told. Glynda groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Roman shook his head.
"Welp, too late now. Get your asses in here and lock the door," the man said. The three got up and closed the door, coming to stand around the table.
"So what's this we heard about stealing the staff?" Miltia asked, clearly confused.
"Well ya see—" Roman was cut off by Ruby.
"Roman and Goodwitch had sex with Salem!" she said quickly. The room was silent and Glynda had her face all the way on the table now.
"Red... c'mon," Roman said disappointedly. She hunched over sheepishly, digging her toe into the ground.
"You what?" Mercury asked. Roman went about explaining what they knew. About Salem, Ozpin, the relics and the brother gods. By the end of his retelling, with a few corrections from Glynda, the three were up to date and thoroughly upset.
"Of course I leave Cinder and get stuck with her bosses ex husband. Just my luck," Mercury groaned.
"So we're stealing the staff to prevent Armageddon from happening?" Melanie asked. Neo nodded and the twins sighed. Life was so much easier when they were just bouncers.
"And now that you three little bastards know, you're gonna help," Roman added. They all sighed, but nodded. That was the rule of the underworld. Get caught eavesdropping and you either joined the gang or got snuffed out.
"So we're just gonna be leaving Atlas to fall then?" Miltia asked. Roman pulled the stone from his hat and tossed it across the table to Mercury, who caught it and held it up between himself and the twins.
"That stone apparently has enough power to keep this floating hellhole floating for a few decades," he told them. Mercury looked it over and gave an impressed hum before tossing it back. Roman returned it to his hat and went over the plan they had so far.
"That's a solid plan I guess," Mercury said. Roman huffed.
"You guess? What do you got jackass?" Roman asked. Mercury laughed and put his hands up.
"I'm just saying. If you want Ironballs to really be on edge you gotta do more than make him think about Salem attacking. He already expects Salem to attack, so we have to sabotage something deeper than just his army."
They all gave him a curious look and Roman waved his hand for him to go on. He did so gladly.
"If you ask me, I think we need to rig this election," he said.
"Oh hell no! I don't do politics," Roman whined.
"He's got a point Roman," Glynda sighed, "if we can get James to stretch his army thin and worry about corruption in the candidates then he'll be fully distracted."
Roman groaned but complied. As long as he didn't actually have to vote he supposed it was fine.
"Well I think our scapegoat is obvious," he said. They all nodded.
Jaques Schnee. The man would do anything if it meant there was a profit at the end. As such, it was easy to tell what would set the man off and what would get him to play into their hands.
Unfortunately it wasn't like they could just bribe him. When you thought rich, you thought of Jaques Schnee. The man had more money than the entirety of Vacuo and Menagerie combined. He could probably buy the upper half of Mistral; and that was the expensive half!
Roman had never had the displeasure of meeting the man, when he came and stole Weiss from Beacon it was Glynda who dealt with him. As such Glynda was the only one of them who had any experience with the man.
Her face said she wasn't happy that she'd have to deal with him again. Roman couldn't blame her. Watching the man give speeches and such on television was downright painful. It was like watching a murderer in court defend himself while he still had the bloody knife in his hand! The man had no tact and he knew he didn't need it because he was the most powerful man on the planet.
Roman really didn't want to work with him, but because of how well known the man was it would be easy to get into his head.
That, and they didn't really know the other candidate. Robyn Hill wouldn't be as easy to scare as Jaques. They didn't even know where they could find her.
"How the hell are we gonna get in touch with Jaques Schnee without giving ourselves away?" Melanie asked.
"Mel is right. Even if we somehow got in touch with him he'd recognize us the next time we appear with the general," Miltia added.
"Girls, girls," Roman put his hands up in a placating manner, "you're missing the obvious answer."
"Which would be?" Glynda asked, not wanting to drag this cloak and dagger on any longer than they needed to.
"Why try convincing him with words," Roman walked over to the door and grabbed Melodic Cudgel, giving it a few test swings like a baseball bat, "When we can just get him to do all of the work himself the old fashioned way?"
Glynda glared. Ruby looked apprehensive.
The other four criminals grew downright malicious grins. Roman's scroll went off; a message from Ironwood for them to gather at the docking bay for their first mission. He confirmed their arrival and looked back to Glynda, who still looked unhappy with his intentions for their plan.
"Roman, are you sure there's no other way?" Glynda asked, wanting to be absolutely sure this was the only option they had.
"I'm sure Glyn. Besides," he said as he sent a request through to Watts. Almost instantly he got a reply, and his smile grew.
"It's been a while since I've made a mess on purpose."
Neo shivered and adjusted her pink and white scarf around her neck. It was cold as hell in the Atlas frontier and she was already getting angry that the general wanted them to fight out here in the cold-ass caves of bumfuck-nowhere Atlas. Chew nuzzled up to her and she hugged him for warmth.
Ruby rubbed her shoulder and she scowled a little less. Only a little.
"So what the hell are we doing out here Woody?" Roman asked into his earpiece as he landed beside them.
"As General Ironwood stated before, your mission is to assist the ace-ops in clearing the old mine of any particularly dangerous Grimm. Soldiers have reported on an especially dangerous wraith that has managed to accumulate a large amount of dust in its body," Winter retold the thief.
"Okay but why do the supposed 'best of Atlas' need our help? I'd assume that the most technologically advanced kingdom in the world with the only functioning army would have higher quality men," Roman barbed, smiling as he counted down from three on his fingers. After he lowered the last one, winter spoke again.
"I'll have you know that the General put the utmost faith in his specialists and that Atlas—"
"Specialist. Enough," Ironwood cut her off. She groaned but said nothing more.
Roman laughed and Neo gave him a high five. Glynda hid her smile as a cough but a nudge from the crook told her he'd seen it already. She just rolled her eyes instead.
Roman looked around. The cave before them had once been a lucrative mining operation for the Schnee dust company. Lack of common safety laws led to Grimm getting in and forces cordoning the caves to keep the beasts from getting out.
He and the others had just landed, having dropped from a bullhead. Team RWBY, MMMN, and two of the specialists were to take one side of the mine, while team JNPR and two other specialists would take the other side.
Meanwhile, Roman, Qrow, and the leader of the specialists, Clover apparently, would go in from a higher cave. Glynda would remain on the outskirts and keep the caves from falling in on themselves.
"Alright kiddos, go do what you do best. Oh and try not to blow up these nice specialists. It'd be such a shame if they got their uniforms dirty," Roman shooed them as he, Qrow, and Clover began their ascent to the higher caves.
The two specialists present, Harriet and Marrow, glared at his back as he walked away. Marrow sighed.
"Well, at least he didn't say anything racist. That's kind of new for me... I guess," the faunus reasoned. Mercury shook his head in disappointment.
"We've been notified by the general that you four are a team of criminals. As such, specialist Schnee asked us to watch your actions carefully, lest you try and steal anything that's not yours," Harriet said as she eyes team MMMN. The team made various mocking faces at her before collectively flipping her off. She grit her teeth and started their descent into the caves without paying them anymore mind.
Upon entering the cave and fighting their way through a small cluster of Grimm, they began to notice old remains and uniforms.
As the specialists prattled on about why the Grimm were a menace and all that nonsense, Neo immediately pat down an old uniform and found a wallet. And it had money in it! Score! She pocketed it and stuck her tongue out at Harriet, who didn't even look her way the whole time.
Suddenly a growl rumbled through the cave and they all went silent. Marrow made some obscene hand gestures and teams RWBY and MMMN just stared at him. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose before making the gestures again, slower this time and explaining each one as he did it.
"Grimm. Ahead. Move. Quietly," he said as though it were obvious.
"Why didn't you just say that?" Yang asked.
"Yeah seriously, don't be a fucking tool man," Mercury added.
"Hand signals are key to subtle and cohesive tactics," Harriet argued. Ruby blew a raspberry.
"We just yell out obscure team names and it normally works," she said.
"That's stupid, why would you shout an attack?" Marrow asked incredulously.
"Uh, because it's cool? You know how dope it is when you have a clever name for those things?" Yang said as though it were just that simple.
"Uh, guys?" Blake motioned as she aimed down the cave.
"Hold on Blake we're having a serious debate here," Ruby said, not turning her way.
"I think what Blake means is THE GRIMM ARE COMING YOU DOLTS!" Weiss shouted. They all turned and saw several centinals crawling rapidly towards them.
"Ah," Marrow let out as the large bugs leapt at them. The Grimm barreled down on them. They all maneuvered out of the way, slashing and striking where they could.
Ruby noticed very quickly that something was off. So did Neo who was standing right next to her. They took a moment to look at each other in confusion. Chew was just sitting there, tongue lolling out of his mouth.
Why weren't they getting attacked?
As the others fought and argued in the caves below, a very different conversation was going on in the caves higher up.
"Okay, so if you're always lucky, you're always unlucky, and I can be both, what happens if we hang around a horse track?" Roman asked as the three men walked carelessly through the caves.
"Well, from the sounds of it, either a lot of people would claim the place is rigged, or a lot of people would walk away happy," Clover said as they stepped over a large chunk of ice.
"Or the whole place could go up in flames," Qrow said.
"Who would that be lucky for?" Clover asked.
"Ah, a burning building with loads of cash inside? Sounds pretty lucky for a thief with aura," Roman replied. Clover chuckled.
"You two are quite the company, you know that?" the specialist asked.
"We've been told," Qrow answered.
"We've also been shot at afterwards so I hope that hook isn't a gun too," Roman added. The three laughed and continued on until they felt a rumble.
It'd been relatively quiet until now. Too quiet. They were, quite frankly, a little bored. Grimm were normally more frequent than this. 'This' being none at all.
Without a word they all took a step back, just as a large mass burst from the wall, a white mask on its center. It stared at them, making strange noises. As it's gaze fell on Roman it paused. Roman froze.
Then it just stood there. Qrow and Clover stood tensed and ready to fight. But it didn't look like it was going to move at all.
It was just looking at Roman. He was confused and was about to move when he remembered something very important.
Shit! How could I forget about that!? he screamed internally.
When they had been leaving the Grimmlands the other day, Salem had caught him before they departed.
"Roman, I've made sure that my precious darlings won't lay a claw on you or the others. Make sure to let them know!"
Except he had totally forgotten! He had boarded the ship and while he was starting the bullhead he'd told himself he'd remind them when they were flying.
But then he didn't! Damn he hated when that happened. Neo always told him that he had a bad habit of forgetting immediate information...
"Uh, th-there it is!" Roman said as he took out his cane. It turned its whole body, like a dog trying to get a better look at someone.
"We have to handle this carefully, if we shoot at it, the dust in its body will go off and trap us all inside," Clover said as he reached up and tapped his earpiece.
"We have the geist here. We will begin extraction now. All units make your way to the upper caves," he commanded before readying his hook. Qrow drew his sword and lowered himself.
Roman was going through an internal debate. Fighting it was obviously what he had to do, but how did he do it without making the other two men suspicious as to why the Grimm was letting him attack it without fighting back.
He didn't get to make a decision as Qrow took one step forward and the ice beneath them cracked. The three men and one Grimm all went still.
"Clover! We're right beneath your position, what's our next move?" one of the specialists with team JNPR, Vine, asked.
"Vine, Elm, you need to take that team and move from our position immediately," Clover said, still not moving a muscle.
The geist, not quite understanding it's position, took one tentative step forward. It looked almost... happy? It's arms were spread wide, like it wanted a hug. Roman paled as he realized that's probably exactly what it was trying to do. It took one more step, eye closed merrily as it made another, lighter sounding rumbling noise.
It promptly fell right through the floor. Qrow swore and Clover's mouth dropped open.
"Maybe they got out of the way in time?" Roman asked.
"AHHHHHhhhhhh..." the sound of multiple people screaming and growing farther away was all they heard from the hole. The three looked at each other before slowly looking back at the hole.
"Alright well we should probably go down there now," the thief pointed out. Without another word they all dropped down the newly formed hole.
As they fell, they all slowed their descent in some way. Qrow dug Harbinger into the ice, carving a long scar down the wall. Clover pulled a similar move, his hook sharp enough to find purchase in the ice.
Roman was not so fortunate, and essentially slid his way down the hole, smacking into and through chunks of ice that jutted out from the sides of the hole.
Clover landed first, ready for the geist to be on them. Qrow landed beside him, also ready to fight.
Roman crashed on top of both of them, sending all three men to the ground. They groaned as they pulled themselves up.
"Clover, look out!" Vine shouted. The three tensed before tossing themselves aside. A large icy boulder landed where they once stood.
The geist stood in the center of the cavern. It was much more open than the rest of the caves, and had several tracks for minecarts running in and out of adjacent caves.
It grumbled as it looked around. It stopped turning as it's gaze landed on Roman.
Then it waved at him. The thief slapped a hand to his face.
"Is it... saying hello?" Elm asked, totally lost.
"HELLO!" Nora screamed, jumping on Roman's shoulder and waving at the Grimm rapidly. As if sensing her excitement, the geist also waved faster.
Unfortunately this caused the dust that was trapped in its arm to become dislodged, sending the crystals flying.
"Gah! Watch out!" Jaune yelled as he dived for cover. Pyrrha jumped and rolled next to him. An ice dust crystal landed where they stood and erupted in a giant spoke of ice that pierced into the cave wall.
At that moment, team RWBY, MMMN, and the remaining two specialists ran into the cave. Harriet yelped as she saw the red crystal flying towards them. She ran forward and leapt, catching it before it hit anything.
The others all did the same, running, jumping, and swinging around the cavern to catch the shards before they activated on anything. Roman cursed as he casually reached up and caught a shard of lightning dust. He handed it to Nora offhandedly and the girl giggled as she snatched it eagerly, skipping merrily back to her team who were still hiding from hail of areant dust shards.
If only Glynda were here. Her semblance would've made this entire situation child's play. For now they'd have to rely on everyone playing catch with dangerous and volatile dust.
He wondered idly how Glynda was doing outside.
Glynda was in a predicament.
She never considered herself easily caught off guard or flustered, but she'd admit to being very compromised right now.
What did she mean by compromised, one might ask? Well the answer was both simple and unexplainable.
In the harsh environment of the Atlesian frontier, she hadn't heard the thumping of a large fully grown Sabyr running at her.
She had gasped when she felt the impact of being tackled, The Disciplinarian flying from her hand and landing somewhere, buried in the snow. She looked up and into the predatory eyes of the beast.
She grit her teeth as it reared back, ready for the creature to bite. With her arms pinned down and her weapon lost, she would have to hope her aura would survive the two large fangs in the Sabyr's mouth.
What she didn't expect was the beast to meow like a common house cat before licking her face. So startled she was, that she looked back, confusion taking over her whole body.
"Wha?" she released as the beast licked her again, this time her glasses flew up and got tangled in her hair as the giant cat kept licking her.
It began nuzzling her face, stepping forward to do so and freeing her arms. She slowly, cautiously reached up and pet its head.
It began purring almost immediately.
What the hell was happening? And why did she feel like it was Roman's fault?
Roman looked around as the others began gathering back up. The geist was still just standing there, watching in curiosity as the humans around it breathed in relief and counted all the dust.
Roman took this chance while everyone was distracted to quickly run over to the sedentary monster. He looked back to make sure nobody was looking.
Neo was, and she looked incredibly lost. He gave her his typical 'I'll tell you later' face and turned back to the geist. It looked down and grunted happily. It was about to clap it's large, icy hands but Roman stopped it with his cane.
"Get out of here! Go hide in the mountains or something!" he whisper yelled, pointing his cane up at the ceiling. He didn't know why he was trying to talk to a Grimm, let alone save one's life. It probably didn't even understand him! It's not like just because he had sex with Salem they'd just follow his—
His mouth hung open as the geist left it's icy body and quickly flew up and through the cave wall, out of the mine and away from him, leaving a smokey trail behind as it did.
The others turned as they heard the icy boulders falling to the ground. From where they stood, all they could see was the crumbling ice, Roman with his cane pointed up, and a cloud of smoke in the air.
"He... killed it that fast?" Harriet asked in shock.
"He killed it that quietly?" Elm added, just as surprised.
"Impressive..." Vine uttered.
As the others threw their two cents in about how amazing a hunter he was, he saw Neo and Ruby giving him shocked and confused looks. He just shrugged exasperatedly and gave them a face that said 'I don't even know myself!' causing the couple to sigh.
"Let's get out before something else goes wrong," Clover commanded as he walked towards a cave that would presumably lead them outside.
They walked for a few minutes before they came to the cave exit. They looked around, the Beacon crew looking for Glynda while the specialists searched for their evac ship.
They all heard someone muttering. They looked around. It sounded like... baby talk? Who was talking like that and why?
Their answer came when they turned to their right and saw Glynda, sitting on a rock and rubbing the stomach of a giant Sabyr. The beast looked happier than any giant man-eating cat should have the right to look.
"Who's a soft widdle kitty? And such big fangs you have," Glynda cooed as she scratched under its chin next. It purred, but due to its size it sounded like an engine being revved.
"What... the hell am I looking at?" Marrow asked, arms hanging limply by his sides at the sight.
Upon hearing the question Glynda froze completely. Confused as to why the attention stopped, the Sabyr looked up and over at them, still laying on its back.
It meowed loudly. Chew barked in response, tail wagging happily as he trotted over and sniffed its nose. It sniffed him back until their noses bumped into each other's. They halted for a moment before the Sabyr thrashed and jumped up, jumping around Chew. Chew barked and jumped around in the snow with the beast in response.
"Sooo..." Roman said, the first to break from his shocked stupor, "I see you made a friend."
Glynda blushed harder than he thought he'd ever seen her before. She hid her face in her hands, only letting out an embarrassed squeak. He chuckled and watched the Grimm and dog play in the snow together.
"How the hell did she...?" Harriet just pointed at the scene.
"Shouldn't we kill that thing?" Elm asked.
Immediately Glynda's blush faded. Her eyes were cold, murderous even. She stood from the rock she sat on and everyone felt the tundra they stood in somehow grow colder.
"If you lay a finger on Dante, I will not hesitate to throw you into the freezing waters of the Atlas Canal," she threatened.
"Dante? You named him?" Roman asked. He went entirely ignored.
"But... but it's a Grimm..." Marrow stuttered, frightened by the woman's ferocity.
"He is my new companion. And he will be treated with the same respect you would treat me with," she declared. Harriet growled.
"Wait wait wait, who ever said we needed to respect you—" Harriet was cut off as the entire snowfield within a fifty foot radius quite literally ignited and the snow around them melted away, exposing ground that hadn't seen the sun in perhaps decades.
Nobody said anything and the specialists all took a step back. The Beacon crew knew that the woman was a force to be reckoned with, but this was a new level of rage that was emanating from the woman.
"Okay, looks like we'll have to explain 'Dante' to Ironwood and Lil' Oz. Fun," Roman sighed. A whirring above signaled their ride back to Atlas.
The ship touched down and they all filed onto the ship. The pilot screamed and nearly passed out when a Sabyr that stood four feet at the shoulder daintily stepped into the ship and curled up at the foot of Glynda, who didn't even bat an eye at the creature's behavior.
Roman sat beside her, and Neo and Ruby sat beside him. Chew walked over and plopped down onto Dante, the two purring and snoring already. The others, with the exception of Roman, stared at the beast the entire ride home.
They touched down an hour later and Ironwood stood at the docking bay to congratulate them on their success.
The fit he threw when a Sabyr barreled out and started sniffing around his base was legendary. He wanted the beast out. He was ready to kill it when Glynda stepped forward herself, declaring that Dante would remain or she would leave. He would've argued more but Glynda left no room for it, stating that if it would be an issue she would be staying at an inn down in Mantle.
Nobody doubted her resolve. Ironwood twitched as the Sabyr rubbed itself along his body like a normal cat would do to one's leg.
Oscar had told them that there was still no sign of Ozpin, and that as a matter of fact, when they showed up with the pet Sabyr, he somehow felt the wizard's presence diminish more.
Roman, Neo, Glynda, and Ruby stayed silent upon hearing that. If Ozpin didn't want to deal with Salem for now that was fine by them. If anything, it made it easier to carry out their own plan.
Fast forward about an hour to now. Roman sat awkwardly on his and Glynda's bed, Dante curled up on the floor on Glynda's side as she casually read a book with one hand, the other drifting down to lazily scratch his neck.
This wouldn't have been that awkward if it weren't for team MMMN and Ruby stood at the doorway. Neo and Ruby had come to ask why the hell the Grimm were being so... passive. The rest of Neo's team followed as they were the only people who were in the know about Roman and Glynda's... unique relationship with Salem.
Ruby had managed to break away from her own team stating that she and Neo were going to explore together. Her team, assuming they were actually going to be doing something nasty, let them be.
"Roman?" Glynda asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
"Mm?"
"Why have the Grimm not attacked us?" she asked.
"Eheh, ya see, funny story about that—" he stopped when she sent him an unimpressed and flat glare.
"Okay, so I might've forgotten to tell you three about something important," he said instead. He explained how even he himself had completely blanked on Salem's little enchantment on them, and that he was supposed to tell them much earlier.
"Wow," Mercury said, genuinely impressed, "I don't know what's more impressive; you guys having that skill or Roman somehow forgetting about it."
"You try and remember more than five things at a time when you're past thirty. It's harder than you'd think," Roman defended.
"So what, the Grimm just don't bother you?" Miltia asked. Roman shrugged but nodded.
"I'd like to look on the bright side here," Roman said.
"And that is?" Glynda asked. He smirked and brushed his hair from his eyes.
"We don't have to worry about a Grimm invasion while we threaten Jaques Schnee," he said innocently, even though the statement was anything but.
"We're not threatening Jaques," Glynda stressed, "were simply... persuading him behind his back."
"Face it Glyn," Roman chuckled, "you're a criminal now. A bad guy."
She scowled at him and he coughed into his hand. The others, not wanting to deal with the angry woman, accepted what they'd learned and stepped away, leaving Roman to fend for himself.
Bastards.
"Are you going to clue me in as to what your plan is by the by? And what did Watts agree to send you?" she asked. He sighed but smiled.
"Oh Glynda, part of the majesty of the heist is the surprise!" he claimed. She continued looking at him expectantly.
He fidgeted and his smirk faltered before he caved after thirty seconds.
"Okay, fine!" he groaned, she gave him a satisfied huff.
"The plan is simple; using a little program that Watts whipped up, all we have to do is get into Jaques Schnee's personal computer. After that, all we have to do is plant little seeds of doubt in his name that'll tip off Ironwood and the other council members, and then when James is distracted with the internal corruption we'll swap the staff for this stone!" Roman said as he reached under his pillow and retrieved the stone Salem had created.
Glynda sighed and crossed her arms under her breasts. She raised an eyebrow at him and her lips thinned.
"And how are we getting into Jaques Schnee's personal office to do this?" she asked.
Roman smirked and opened his mouth to answer.
Then he froze.
Ah shit.
"As I thought. You have no idea how we're going to reasonably infiltrate the Schnee Manor," she sighed. He cursed. So caught up in making a plan that would work, he didn't even think about how they'd get into the man's damn fortress of a mansion!
"Any ideas?" he asked hopefully. She sent him a sidelong look, a slight smirk just barely visible as she constrained her smugness.
"Oh? I thought you were the 'master criminal' here?" she jabbed. He hissed and turned fully to her, grabbing her arm and shaking her gently.
"Pleeeeeeease?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and she shook back and forth before bumping him to stop him. When he did she fixed her glasses and turned to face him.
"I think I know an easy way for us to get into the Schnee Manor," she said.
"Does it involve explosives? I'll get Neo to talk to Valkyrie and we'll blow that place sky high—"
"We're not blowing anything or anyone up!" she growled.
"Okay, then what are we doing?"
"If we can somehow get Jaques to think his campaign is at risk, there's no doubt in my mind he'll try reaching out towards James for support. And even though James doesn't like Jaques, he needs Jaques' dust support if he wants to carry out his plan for Amity," she explained. Roman nodded along. That made a lot of sense. But it still left the question...
"How do we get Schnee to vy for James' support?" he asked. They both sat in silence for a moment as they thought. At once their eyes lit up.
"Robyn Hill."
Robyn Hill considered herself a capable and for-the-people kind of person. She had spent her whole life for the opportunity to get a chance at this position, to really make a difference in the people of Mantle's lives.
She and her crew, which she and the people of Mantle referred to as her 'Happy Huntresses' did what they could to give the people of Mantle what was rightfully theirs.
She stood strongly against Jaques Schnee and the people of Atlas that thought they were above those down in Mantle. She even stood against General Ironwood, knowing that the resources he so callously poured into his army could be used for so much more.
People knew her for taking charge. Where others would waste time negotiating a deal that would never happen, she took action. Parents of Mantle told their kids about the mysterious and kind woman who stole from the privileged and gave to those who struggled.
So imagine her surprise when she was walking down the streets of Mantle at night, minding her own business and showing her face to the people, and a hand reached out from a nearby alley and covered her mouth as another set of arms pulled her in.
Her eyes widened when she was forcefully turned around and came face to face with someone she'd definitely seen before.
"Hello there," Roman smiled, Neo waving cutely beside him, "we would like to have a word with you Robyn Hill."
"You..." she mumbled as he let her go. She scanned him up and down. Bowler hat, white coat, notorious cane, dazzling eyes. There was no doubt, it was him.
"Roman Torchwick..." she said quietly. He threw his arms out.
"The one and only. Now I ask that you remain calm, I know I have somewhat of a bad reputation but I—"
"I'm a huge fan of your work!" she said loudly, purple eyes bright as she gazed into his own green ones.
"What?" he asked as the wind was taken from his sails.
"A few years back I would read the headlines about how you'd steal from the wealthy and make off in style! You're the reason I decided to start doing things my way! You were only a few years older than me, but it was enough to light a fire in my stomach!" she gushed. He looked at Neo, who looked more confused than disgusted for once.
"You uh, you don't say..." he said slowly.
"Oh! Allow me to introduce myself properly! I'm Robyn Hill, and I'm running for counsel this election," she beamed. Roman was thoroughly creeped out.
She had to be only about twenty eight or so, definitely no older than thirty, which put him around five or six years older than her. To see this kind of admiration from someone so close to his age was... off-putting, to say the least.
"Riiiight. Well... in that case, how'd you like to help me with a little... plan I've got going on here in the Atlas-Mantle area?" he asked, putting on his classic Torchwick charm (tm).
She looked like she's just been told she could live out her dreams. She took his hand and shook it furiously.
"What is it? How can I help? Are you stealing something? How much of it will go back to the people?" she asked.
He suppressed the urge to gag. Give back? To hell with giving back! Regardless, she wasn't going to help him steal much of anything. The only thing that needed to be stolen wasn't something she was allowed to know about.
"You won't be stealing anything per say," he didn't miss her slightly disappointed face, "but I am going to help you win this election."
Her disappointment died and was replaced with an even bigger smile than before.
"Really!?" she asked. She'd take all the help she could get, especially since she needed a way to win favor from Atlas as well as Mantle.
"Yes ma'am! But I need you to keep this between us okay?" he said. She nodded, but adopted a more confused and serious face.
"Why help me though?" she asked. Excitement aside, she wasn't stupid. Why would Roman Torchwick want to help her win? Surely he didn't actually care too much for Atlas politics considering he hauled from Vale.
"Well I'm trying to fuck with Jaques Schnee so I need—"
"Deal."
"I didn't even—"
"Doesn't matter. It's a deal. Does it annoy the General too?" she asked, dead serious on the question. Roman shrugged.
"Eventually," he replied.
"Double deal. Not only will I help, I won't even ask questions," she agreed. She stuck her hand out. He looked down at it and back up to her eyes. Her face was one of commitment and sureness.
"Well alrighty then!" he said, slapping his hand into hers, "can't wait to cause some trouble!" He looked down and noticed his hand glowed green for a moment and he raised an eyebrow.
"The hell was that?" he asked. She smiled at the color and released his hand.
"Just making sure you're not lying. Now that I know for a fact you'll be messing with the higher ups of Atlas, I'll lend you my full support," she said. He looked at the woman and smirked. Internally he and Neo were screaming however.
She can detect lies!?
That was especially bad for them.
Good thing she didn't do it any earlier.
"We'll be in touch Ms. Hill," he smirked. Neo did an extravagant flourish and bow.
"Please, Robyn is fine," she said. He cringed a little but nodded nonetheless.
With a wave of his hat, he and Neo shattered and disappeared. She smirked and resisted the urge to do a little dance.
This election was in the bag now.
Roman meanwhile was reveling in how easy that was. He and Neo strolled casually to the bullhead they'd 'acquired' and returned to Atlas. Roman smirked. This whole corrupting politicians thing was easier than he thought!
So why did it feel like he was forgetting something incredibly important again?
Winter walked through the halls of the Atlas facility. She reached a door and input several codes and went through several ID scans. After almost a full minute of this the door opened.
Inside was a table and two chairs, as well as a large machine, a bookshelf, and a bed. In said bed was an elderly woman with pale skin and white hair.
"Fria? How are you?" Winter asked as she came and stood before her. The woman smiled.
"I'm well, thank you," she smiled gently. Winter went about fixing a cup of tea.
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked politely.
"I suppose I don't have much else to do," she said with only a hint of bitterness. Winter couldn't exactly blame her.
If you were essentially being held prisoner until you die by the government then you would probably be less than happy as well. That the woman hadn't just used her maiden powers to destroy the facility and freeze the city.
"Any recent developments out there?" the maiden asked, sipping the tea daintily. Winter hummed. What was there to talk about? It wasn't like the woman would be excited to hear about an election.
"I suppose there has been a lot more excitement lately what with a new band of hunters from Vale joining the specialists," she told her.
"Oh? And what makes them so exciting?" the woman asked. Winter grimaced, which caused the maiden to laugh a little.
What was there to say about the Beacon crew. They ranged from impressive and promising to despicable and questionable. Of course Weiss held her own position away from the rest. These thoughts must've shown on her face as Fria was laughing again.
"Well from that range of expressions you just put on I'd say they're a much more colorful bunch than the normal team," Fria said as she smiled knowingly at the specialist.
"Yes, they certainly are," Winter sighed.
But just how trustworthy were they? She thought she could trust all of them, but after today's events, well...
How the hell did Goodwitch tame a Sabyr?
Needless to say something was going on that they weren't telling the general. He was too focused on them agreeing to help with the Amity plan that he wouldn't dare insult them by calling them traitors. If he was wrong and they weren't, they wouldn't trust him or the specialists any longer, and they could end up losing powerful allies.
As Fria talked away, relieved to have something to do, winter could only hope that they made the right choice trusting so many old criminals.
Old habits die hard, after all.
And we're done for now. Hooray for another pet! Fun fact, I named the Sabyr Dante because 'dant' is 'tooth' in Welsh, which is where Glynda's name derives from.
It was a slightly shorter chapter but that's because I didn't want to oversaturate it with too much detail. There's a lot that will happen that needs proper setting up.
NOW onto the exciting news! This fic is, sadly, nearing its end. I do not plan on going on any hiatus and then continuing after volume 8. I do not want to make anyone wait that long for a chapter. Now when I say "nearing its end" I do not mean we'll be done soon. I predict AT LEAST five or so more chapters.
As for the next story, I would like to tell you my two ideas:
-One is another RWBY story and I already have the title "Talk About a Role Reversal." The story will take most of the main cast of the show and swap their personalities, skills, and abilities with other characters. This was an idea I got years ago based on an art piece from Dashingicecream on Tumblr. Go check her out, she's an amazing artist!
-The other story IS NOT a RWBY story, and instead dips into the world of Monster Hunter (my favorite game) and would be an OC story titled "These Goddamn Monsters Won't Leave Me Alone.". Rest assured that for those of you who have never played a Monster Hunter game, they are not that hard to follow. Story has never been the game's strong suit so I am attempting to create my own within the universe.
Both would be humor stories as I can only do serious in short bursts of three paragraphs at a time.
I hope you all stay healthy, and remember to follow and review! For now have a wonderful time! And remember...
Don't bite off more than you can chew!
Omake: Dante and Chew talk about the humans
Chew and Dante lay on the bed of Roman and Glynda. The two had become fast friends and we're often found together now.
What the others didn't know was that they could understand one another.
So which one is your master?
Chew yawned and looked towards Dante.
The one that doesn't talk and your master's mate! The one in grey is like my honorary master!
Dante blinked.
Grey? The man?
Chew shook his head.
No, the small one with the grey hood! Duh.
Dante looked confused. The one with the hood was more red than grey.
I think you might be colorblind.
Chew scoffed, but it sounded more like a woof.
Who's ever heard of a dog being colorblind? That's ridiculous!
Dante purred. That did sound a little far-fetched. Perhaps he was the colorblind one! What a scary thought...
What about... her?
Chew paused and shivered a little bit.
It's best we don't interact with her too much. She can be dangerous.
I know. She radiated more chaotic energy than any of my brethren ever have.
Chew nodded. She was a hazard, and sometimes she could even hurt others without noticing!
You should see her mate. He is more strong willed than anyone on this planet!
The one with the pink stripe in his hair?
Pink? It's a light grey.
Dante blinked. Wow, maybe he really was colorblind!
Regardless, the hammer wielder is a threat that we must avoid.
Dante and Chew nodded in agreement. They would avoid the hammer wielder, as here crushing hugs were too dangerous for them.
"OH CHEEEEEEEW! DAAAAAAAANTE!" they heard a shout from outside the room and down the hall.
Uh oh.
We must flee now friend.
Our very lives depend on it.
And so they ran. And Nora, thinking they were playing, like always, chased them.
Oh how they feared for their lives.
