Let's go.
Roman leaned back in the destroyed public bench, taking in the sight of the smoldering city before him.
No lives lost. Not a single one. Property damage abound and people scared shitless, but everything was okay. He checked his scroll as it dinged and smirked at the message.
All forgeries delivered. Heading down now. Cover for us.
Oh Glynda, of course he would cover. Something like this wasn't just something you wanted getting out to people. He looked up at the monitor, one that hadn't been shattered in the kids anarchy spree, and looked at the news. The headlines read the same on every station.
Robyn Hill: Hero of Mantle.
Robyn Hill and her Huntresses save the day!
Mantle's new protectors?
Does the general need to worry about someone taking his place?
Roman laughed at the last one. Solving petty crimes that you knew were coming in advance was one thing. Leading an army and an academy for kids with, essentially, super powers?
Robyn Hill wouldn't take the general's place, he was sure of it.
What she would be taking however...
"... And now our big story of the night; Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses! These brave women of Mantle stepped up in the people's time of need and valiantly fought off the criminals that terrorized our fair nation!"
Roman patted himself on the back. His plan had done what it needed to. The news before him was singing the woman's praises and the people were doing much the same. Everywhere he looked the citizens of Mantle were ecstatic that such a noble and strong leader had risen up. She would be getting the majority vote in Mantle for sure.
As for the Atlas vote...
"And in other news the recent accusations against Jacques Schnee's tax evasion and the plummeting prices of dust! Many CEOs in Atlas have confirmed their refusal to back the SDC until Mr. Schnee is able to stabilize his company."
That worked perfectly too, as expected of one of his plans! The Atlas vote would either go to Robyn, or nobody at all, but that worked in their favor too. Even if nobody in Atlas voted for her, they most certainly wouldn't vote for Jacques now.
All in all? A very successful start to this heist.
"We're back old man," a younger voice announced from his left. Out of an alley, team MMMN and Chew walked his way.
"Well done kids, you managed to both terrify and empower the people of Mantle, all in one day. Fancy that, huh?" he smirked. They laughed and joined him in watching the news. Other civilians had gathered and were watching as well, with the large monitor being one of the few that hadn't been destroyed in the kids assault.
He heard someone shouting and looked up. Neo looked too but it was far too late as a red missile toppled her to the ground.
"Hello to you too Red," Roman greeted. Glynda walked over casually, Dante at her hip and walking forth languidly.
"Did it work?" she asked. He scoffed and gestured to the screen.
"Such little faith Glyn," he teased. She rolled her eyes but it lacked any real annoyance. She took a seat beside him as they watched footage of the 'anarchists' fighting Robin's own huntresses. It was... poorly recorded.
"Was this filmed on a potato?" Mercury asked, not even able to make out himself as he watched the 'fight'. Really it was obvious they weren't fighting but nobody seemed to notice. Untrained and no aura, they didn't know what a real fight looked like unless it was during a tournament.
"Take it as a blessing kid. They're saying that's some of the best footage they found. That means you're all in the clear," he stated. They shrugged and Neo raised an eyebrow at him. He laughed and waved her off.
"Watts already told me he sent the money through. I don't think anyones gonna be pointing any fingers my way after they get that check," he assured. They all relaxed. The first phase was done.
Which meant that hopefully...
Roman and Glynda's scrolls rang. Glynda opted to take this one and Roman let it pass.
"James," she greeted. He nodded in return.
"Glynda. Is Roman with you?" he asked. She turned the scroll to the crook and the kids. He sent the man a short two finger salute.
"Good then. This attack was... unexpected. Especially with all that we've been preparing for," he said. Glynda nodded, knowing damn well that's why the plan worked so well.
"You all should return to the academy ASAP. I've received an... unexpected, and frankly, unwanted invitation that we need to discuss," he told her. She nodded and told him they'd return now before hanging up.
"It's working," she announced to the group, "I believe Jacques is attempting to beg for the general's support. Well, as close to begging as that man will get."
Roman winked at her before standing. He twisted to rid himself of any kinks in his back before shaking the feeling away.
"Let's go kids, we've still got work to do," he ordered. They all sighed, but followed anyway.
"What about Hill?" Glynda asked. Roman shrugged.
"Dunno, don't care. She got what she wanted and we got what we wanted. That's the end of our working relationship," he claimed. Glynda just nodded. It was true they didn't need the woman going forward. She got her victory and they got their invitation.
"So how do we go about step two?" she asked as they boarded the bullhead back up to Atlas. Roman shook his head and smiled.
"You all just need to keep the eyes off of me. I'll be handling step two alone," he assured. She frowned but didn't argue. The man knew this kind of thing better than her. Somehow that fact didn't bother her at all. Likely because she never intended to be a criminal in the first place.
"Schnee mansion, here we come," he said quietly.
"Wait, what about the Colosseum project? Doing all of this is great and all, but if Ironwood still gets that arena up and going then wouldn't this all be for nothing?" Mercury asked.
Roman hummed.
That was a fair point. There was also the winter maiden. But would that be an issue? Apparently the maiden was old, and if they did things right then they wouldn't even notice anything differently for them to transfer the maidens powers.
Honestly, once someone had the Ric what was the point of the maidens? They were powerful for sure but they were, at the end of the day, pretty much just keys.
"I have a plan for the arena. Let's just focus on getting what we need out of the Schnee Manor," he claimed. They all nodded and drifted into a comfortable silence.
There were more crimes to commit.
Only three days later did they find themselves being driven to Jacques Schnee's attempt at salvaging his reputation.
Ironwood had indeed received an invitation to the Schnee Manor. As had most of the elite in Atlas. It looked like Jacques was more desperate than they'd assumed he'd be.
Roman made sure he had the virus that Watts made ready. It wouldn't be as flashy as Roman normally liked, but it would definitely get the general's attention.
They had all been told to join James as his personal guard. Quite a large personal guard to be sure, but then, with Mantle having just been attacked, James wasn't taking any chances.
As they pulled to a stop and stepped out, Roman whistled at the mansion. Big didn't begin to describe it.
It was like a fucking castle!
This place probably had its own area code!
They all walked to the large front doors of the mansion and Roman looked at the large, ornate door knocker. He understood over the top and gaudy, but this was a new level of wealth he hadn't seen before.
The doors opened to reveal...
"Who's the twink?" Mercury asked. The twins both elbowed him in a different kidney, causing the assassin to crumple.
Whitley took the comment in stride, instead greeting the group with a practiced smile.
"Hello General Ironwood. We in the Schnee Manor are happy to welcome you into our home," he said with ease. He'd likely been saying it all night, and if the look in his eyes was any indication, he truly didn't care for any of the people who had stepped through those giant doors.
"Whitley!" Weiss called as she pushed her way forward. The smile on his face seemed to change immediately upon seeing the girl. She hugged him and he gently embraced her back.
"When you said you'd be back, I didn't think it'd be with a veritable army in your side," he commented. She rolled her eyes, smiling still.
"I promised I'd be back. I never said who'd be with me when I returned," she smirked.
A cough behind them signaled that the others had all been watching and waiting to be let in from the cold. Weiss had the decency to blush and Whitley coughed into his hand.
"Right, we'll catch up more inside. Welcome to the Schnee Manor," he greeted. They all strolled inside. Ironwood said something about cutting to the chase and left to find Jacques. The ace-ops went with him.
That left teams RWBY, JNPR, and MMMN along with Penny, Roman, Winter, Qrow, and Glynda. The pets had needed to stay behind. Nothing like a giant dog and a big ass demon cat to scare the guests.
Pyrrha had already managed to draw a crowd, which her team sought to disperse as quickly as possible. Mercury had stepped away, and the twins followed to make sure he didn't cause a ruckus.
Weiss took her team and Whitley aside to introduce everyone. Neo had gone with Ruby seeing as her team had left her. Winter had joined halfway with a strained look on her face. When Whitley of all people told her to relax, she had actually laughed. It had been awhile since she'd seen her brother. It looked like he'd finally come into his own.
Glynda walked off with Qrow, the latter stating he needed to find a drink and Glynda claiming that she'd be monitoring him to make sure there wasn't a repeat of the 'Wedding Travesty of O'Six'. Oscar joined them so as not to be left alone.
That just left...
"Hey, kid, shouldn't you be with the general or something?" Roman asked Penny, who had seemed... tense. She jolted when he spoke to her.
"What!? Me!? Um, not at all! hic! I am free to roam as I see fit and certainly not to confirm any suspicions I may or may not have about something! hic!" she then sent him a giant smile that screamed 'believe me!' and he looked left and right.
This kid scared him. He needed to ditch her.
That and he had crimes to commit.
"Well... that's definitely... a plan?" he tried. She seemed to think that was normal because she nodded in relief and stayed exactly where she was.
"Okay well, I'm gonna find a bathroom sooo..." he took one step away from her.
She took one towards him.
He took two more. So too did she.
He raised his leg to take another.
He stared at her outstretched leg as she stared at him.
"Right then," he said.
What the fuck does she want!?
"I think it would be beneficial if you were to remain in my sights! That way I can ensure that you are... safe! hic! From potential intruders!" she claimed.
Okay so robot chick must've blown a fuse. He needed a way to distract her. How do you distract a robot though?
Think, think... Wait, that's it! Thinking!
"This statement is false," he said suddenly.
"No it is—" she froze, "wait. Um. If it's false, then it's true. But then that makes it false. But that proves it true again..."
The girl just stood there repeating herself. He slowly crept away, keeping an eye on her the whole time. She didn't move from where she stood. Most guests steered clear of her, slightly afraid of the girl mumbling the same thing to herself over and over again.
He snuck off and made his way around the manor. The place was so big, he felt like he needed a goddamn directory to get around!
All the doors looked the same and all the decor was so far apart that the halls all blended together!
Finally, after what felt like forty straight minutes of walking around, he found, what he believed to be, Jacques' office. It just felt... officey!
That and Roman was just trying doors by this point.
He opened the door and closed it quietly, before turning and taking in the room before him.
It certainly looked like a personal study. Bookshelves lined the walls, there were armchairs and glass cases holding liquor and other rarities. There was a desk at the back center of the room with a monitor on it.
And a woman standing behind it staring at him.
"Who are you?" she asked, a slight tremble in her voice. As she turned away slightly and backed up, Roman noticed two things.
One, this woman looked like the Schnee brat. Probably her mom if he had to guess.
The other thing was not one he was proud for noticing but noticed nonetheless.
The woman was towing a wagon.
She blushed.
Oh shit, he'd said that out loud, hadn't he?
"W-why are you here!? Are you part of the White Fang!?" she asked.
"Do I look like a faunus to you?" he questioned. She looked him up and down.
Then she did it again.
And a third time.
"Fuck..." she whispered.
"What?" he uttered incredulously. She quickly cleared her throat and stood up straighter, placing a large bottle down and relaxing a lot.
Was it just him or did she just puff her chest out? It had to be his imagination.
"Well, welcome to... my office," she said after a moment of hesitation.
Her office? That meant this was the wrong one!
"Ah, my apologies, I'm looking for a different study," he apologized, turning and reaching for the door handle.
"Ah! I mean, this is my husb— Jacques Schnee's office," she reiterated.
So he was in the right place! But who was this then? He had thought it was the Schnee matriarch but she didn't call Jacques her husband.
"Oh. Well then I'm in the right place," he said. Now he just had to knock this woman out cold and leave her in a closet or something.
"What is it you need? I'd be happy to help," she said with a soft smile. It certainly looked like a motherly smile. She leaned forward a bit and continued staring at him.
"Uh, look as nice as that is, you realize that I'm most definitely not supposed to be in here, right?" he clarified.
"Whatever is the issue? Nobody is here to stop you," she stated. That wasn't exactly wrong, but she was standing there and he was pretty sure that she wouldn't appreciate him going through someone else's personal computer.
Also was it just him or was she not looking at his eyes?
She seemed to be looking a lot... lower.
"Riiiiiiight, anyways lady, I don't normally do this but just because this is such a special situation, I guess I have to explain it," he started.
She seemed almost eager to hear him explain.
"I'm a criminal," he said, "not just any criminal, but the most well known criminal in the whole world," he bragged.
She hummed and smiled widely at him.
"And I'm here to snoop around Jacques Schnee's personal computer, and maybe steal something while I'm here," he continued.
"He keeps a personal safe with a small fortune behind the portrait," she told him, gesturing to the painting of Jacques behind her.
"Duly noted. And I need to make sure that—"
Wait a minute.
Why'd she tell him that?
"Why'd you tell me that?" he asked without a moment of thinking.
"Well you just seem like such a nice and charming man. I'm sure you're doing this for the... greater good," she said soothingly.
Well, technically he was doing all of this for the greater good. It was just incredibly illegal and he'd definitely rot in prison or be shot dead if anyone found out why.
Not to mention that everyone who was involved would also be taken in. He wasn't selfish enough to get Glynda sent to jail.
Plus that woman in jail was a bad mix. She'd have an army amassed in a day's time. And she was a combat instructor! She'd mobilize the prison faster than Atlas mobilized its army!
"Alright look here lady, I know when someone is trying to get something out of me! What do you want? Someone dead? I can have that arranged," he offered.
She laughed softly. And strode forward.
"Well if you're offering a favor," she said as she stopped in front of him, "I think I know what you can do."
This was it. She was definitely going to ask him to blow the mansion sky high right here and now. Could he do that? Of course he coul, but did he want to? A little bit.
He didn't even notice she was shirtless now.
"Wait what?"
She trailed a finger up his chest. He stopped it before it reached his chin.
"Listen..." he waved a hand.
"Willow Schnee."
Of course you are.
"...Willow. I already have a very complicated love life right now and I don't think this is something I can just do without permission from some other people," he said, slowly stepping past her and towards the computer.
"They can join! I'm not picky!" she said.
He had to tell the brain in his pants to think rationally. There were two much scarier and much stronger women who would murder him.
"Yes well, the last time that kind of thing happened it landed me right here doing what I'm doing," he said as quickly and expertly uploaded the virus into the computer.
The woman didn't even bat an eye. When his scroll rang. He picked up.
"Watts?" he asked. The man grunted his affirmative.
"The virus was uploaded successfully. I am ready to hack at your word. Salem sends her well wishes," he stated. Roman nodded and hung up. Willow was still watching him, as if she didn't even care about the obviously nefarious things taking place in front of her.
"Sir, you must understand," she practically begged as she rushed forward and stood before him, still shirtless, "I can't stand this life here anymore! Take me away from it! I want to live your life!"
Okay so she clearly needed a hobby. Of course the wife of Jacques Schnee wouldn't be satisfied in bed or in life. He couldn't think of anyone who would enjoy family life with the man!
"I don't know Willow, I can't just—"
"Steal me and my son away from this place and not only will you feel the warmth of a real woman, but you'll have access to all my company assets."
Well that was a no-brainer.
"What's wrong with Penny?" Marrow asked as the ace-ops and the general left their meeting with Jacques.
The man had, predictably, tried getting Ironwood to put in a good word for him with the council, with the promise of dust being sent directly to the Atlas military.
There had been much debate. Mostly that while James didn't know where the tax reforms came from, he looked into it and found that the man had definitely done his fair share of tax evasion.
That had been a long and heated discussion in and of itself.
To think that an election in his own homeland would be this corrupted. When he looked over some of the forms that had been brought to him, he had thought they were fake.
But after digging around in Atlas files, he found they were in fact very real.
Who was the vigilante that had done this? They'd have to have access to Atlas files and software, alongside the time and ability to spread the information as quickly as it had been spread.
Needless to say, Jacques would not be winning any election. That had been the end of the meeting and James had sworn he'd be back to discuss more about what the rich man had been hiding.
Which brought them to now.
"Penny?" he asked. The girl was balled up in the fetal position in a corner, eyes blank and mumbling rapidly to herself.
"... But the statement can't be false because then it's true and if it's true then it's false but that means that it isn't false at all—"
"What the hell happened here?" Ironwood asked Winter, who was standing over the girl. She and team RWBY had relocated her to this corner to keep the attention off of her.
The rest of them had gathered as well, confused how the girl had gotten this way. Mercury made a claim about downloading porn from a sketchy website, which earned him a smack from Yang.
"We... have no idea sir. She suddenly just... broke down," Winter stated, slowly rubbing a circle on the girls back. James stepped forward and snapped his fingers in front of her face.
"Penny? Penny!" he tried. She looked up at him despondently.
"General Ironwood?" she asked.
"What's wrong Penny?" he said as softly as he could. As it was general Ironwood, nobody thought it was soft at all, but the robot didn't seem to notice.
"I-is this statement false?" she asked, broken and confused.
"What?" did she just ask him a liars paradox?
"Penny, there is no answer to that statement," he told her.
She froze. Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say.
"So the statement cannot be false or true?" she asked. He opened his mouth to answer.
Then closed it when he thought about it.
If it were false, then wouldn't it be true? But that would mean...
He snapped out of it when Winter, in what would normally be incredibly out of line, slapped him square across the face.
"General, please do not make this situation worse," she begged. He nodded.
"Penny, don't worry about it," he said instead. The girl blinked but nodded and slowly reverted back into her normal self.
"How'd this happen?" he asked. She blinked before gasping. She rocketed to her feet and spotted a man in a black bowler hat and white coat.
"I... do not remember," she said. As she did, Roman finally rejoined with the group, with a new plus one.
"What happened to the toaster?" he asked. Ironwood glared at him but looked back at the girl.
"She can't remember. It's very strange. We've never seen this happen to her before," the general stated, "everyone, we're done here. Let's regroup back at HQ."
It was at that moment that Ironwood realized who Roman's new friend was.
"Willow?" Ironwood asked, having not seen the woman in years.
"Mom?" Weiss asked, surprised she had a chance to see her mother.
"Mother?" Winter and Whitley asked, both in the same state as Weiss. For Whitley it was more of the fact that he didn't think his mom would talk to any of the people attending seeing as she hated this life.
"Hello children. Hello General," Willow greeted.
"What... what are you doing with Roman?" Weiss asked, surprised her mother was not only sober, but interacting with people.
"Ah, of course, how could I be so callous," she berated herself, "Whitley, pack your bags. We're leaving."
"What?" the boy asked, not at all expecting the command.
"Leaving where?" Weiss asked, the sudden exclamation catching everyone off guard.
"My new... friend, Mr. Torchwick here has opened my eyes to the reality of the world. I'll be joining him and, by extension, all of you," she stated.
The ground beneath them cracked and spread from one point of overwhelming hatred.
"Now Glynda I can explain this one—" Roman was cut off as she dragged him out the front door by the skin on his neck.
"Ah! Ow shit! Oh fuck okay!" he whined as they left. The other starred and Willow cleared her throat.
"Well, I look forward to getting to know you all," she said simply.
Weiss nearly fainted. Whitley would've reached to catch her, but he had actually fainted.
Roman sat in his and Glynda's room, the woman stood in front of him as he was held against the chair.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" she shouted. It was the fourth time.
"Well—"
"SHE HAS THREE KIDS AND A HUSBAND!" Glynda hissed as she leaned into him.
"Salem had four kids and a husband and we still fucked her!" he argued. Her glare nearly sent him to the afterlife.
"Roman. I don't know what kind of empire you're trying to build, but it is a terrible idea," she seethed.
"Well I don't know who this Salem person is, but if you shared a bed with her then I'm sure there's room for me," Willow said from the bed, a novel in hand as she casually read while Glynda interrogated Roman.
Dante stood off to the side, terrified.
"That's not what matters! Roman, we have a mission here, remember?" she asked, teeth grit the whole time.
"And I accomplished it! No need to get your panties in a bunch!" he said. She was already red, so he didn't know if the new red coming in was anger or embarrassment. It was likely anger, as he was sure she was far too gone to be embarrassed right now.
"We can't discuss the plan with her in the room," she growled. Willow, for all her ease in the situation, stood calmly and walked to the door.
"I'll be back in an hour. I'll take the time to wander around the academy and take in the sights," she said as she opened the door.
"Look at that! She's great!" Roman tried. They earned him a loud and fast slap.
"What's the next part of this plan you stupid bastard?" she barked. He rubbed his face and hissed when he felt the sting.
"Well now we just—" there was a knock at their door.
"Who is it?" Roman asked.
"General Ironwood," came the strict voice of Winter Schnee.
"I dunno, that doesn't sound like General Ironwood," he said.
He expected more back and forth. Some amount of humor or annoyed reaction from the soldier.
Instead the door exploded and the ace-ops rolled in with their weapons trained on him. Winter followed suit, and Penny stood at the ready next to her.
James walked in after them, the others all gathered outside, running over when they heard the noise, and we're looking in, shock evident on their faces.
"James what is the meaning of this—" Glynda was cut off when he walked past her and stared down Roman.
Without a word he pulled up a scroll. And opened it, looking through a few files.
"We looked for cameras to see if we could find what had happened to Penny. It turns out there's a whole network of hidden cameras in the Schnee Manor," the general said calmly, "we were shocked at first when we saw that it was in fact you who left Penny in such a state. Imagine our surprise when we saw this."
The video being played was of the study. It was somewhat awkward watching Willow come on to him again, and everyone else looked a little embarrassed by it as well.
It passed quickly when they watched Roman take a call from a so-called 'Watts'.
"Ah," Roman said. That's all he could really manage.
Hidden cameras. Of course there were.
"Arthur Watts was confirmed dead years ago. But it appears he found a new boss," James said, still eerily calm.
"Well, I don't know any Arthur Watts, that was an old friend, uh— David Watts," he tried.
James glared down at him.
"I found it suspicious when you managed to return from the Grimmlands alive and relatively unharmed. In my relief that you were all okay I failed to see what must have truly happened," he stated as he came forward.
Roman really would've liked to blot right now but he was stuck where he was, Atlas specialists trained on him and the general right between him and the door.
"You said you came into contact with Salem but that you lost the relic. You said that you 'escaped'. Somehow, a Grimm is in our presence and is non hostile to you. I see now what really happened," he said. Glynda finally had enough. She had to try and help the crook, even if he was a sleazeball.
"James! This is ridiculous, we—" she halted when he held one of his pistols right in her face.
"Roman Torchwick, Glynda Goodwitch, Ruby Rose, and Neo Politan are hereby placed under arrest for conspiring with the forces of Salem against Atlas and Remnant," Ironwood spat.
Roman knew this song and dance though. And he knew where his best bets lay.
So he whistled as loudly and sharply as he could.
Dante bolted from the corner of the room and out the door, catching Ruby and fleeing down the hall. Chew did the same with Neo. The two girls disappeared around the corner.
"Glynda," Roman said. Ironwood's other gun was now trained on him.
"Roman, I'm sure if we just explain—" she was cut off by the sound of a jar breaking.
It was a jar of fire dust Roman kept in his pocket.
The room exploded and everyone in and around it went flying.
"ROMAN!" James screamed as the thief pulled himself up. He grabbed Glynda and pulled her to her feet.
"BOOK IT!" he yelled. The two sprinted down the hall in the opposite direction Dante and Chew had run with Neo and Ruby.
"Ace-ops, Penny, you follow the girls. Winter, Qrow, with me. We follow them," James growled as he leered down the hall after Roman and Glynda.
"James wait, there's gotta be a reason—" Qrow didn't get a chance to finish as the man ran down the hall. Winter flew after him.
That just left him and all the kids.
"Ruby..." Yang asked in shock. Working with Salem? That had to be a joke. This couldn't be real!
"Well," Mercury tapped his feet against the ground a few times, "it's been good y'all!" he said before dashing after the ace-ops. The twins dashed past them and followed the assassin.
"Wait! Are we serious!? Are they all working with Salem!?" Jaune shouted at the three criminals.
They slowed and turned back.
The look in their eyes said it all.
"It's a lot to explain and we've got a friend... heh, well fuck it, by this point sister to save. Family is rare in this business," Mercury said. They didn't wait for them to get before the three rounded the corner and chased the ace-ops.
"What do we do? Can we really fight them? Our friends? Our... our family?" Weiss asked.
Qrow growled. What the hell did they do? Obviously it looked like Ruby was in a bad spot, but there had to be a reason! There had to be something!
"I don't know about you all," Yang said as she cocked her gauntlets, "but that's my sister."
With that she flew after team MMMN.
There wasn't even a pause as Weiss and Blake chased after the blonde brawler.
JNPR, Qrow, and Oscar all stood in silence.
"Ruby's never gonna let me live this down," Qrow grumbled as he chased after Winter and Ironwood.
Oscar took that moment to look towards the remaining team.
"So who do we follow?" he asked.
"Well knowing Torchwick, he's probably going to get someone killed or make things explode soooo..." Nora trailed off. Ren sighed. Always the explodey path.
"No. Those three can handle themselves. We need to get everyone a way out of here. Let's move guys! We need to grab a bullhead!" Jaune ordered. They all nodded and dashed away, throwing any soldiers that tried stopping them aside.
It was easy with Nora and Pyrrha. Almost felt bad for the guys.
Ruby hopped off of Dante as the Sabyr proweld and sniffed around. Chew did the same, the dog was armored from before this happened as Ruby and Neo had been cleaning it.
"We... we're gonna get arrested," Ruby mumbled. Neo put a hand on her shoulder and sent her a determined look.
We'll pull through.
Ruby nodded. She was right. They just had to meet up with Roman and Glynda and hightail it out of Atlas before—
A hook nicked Ruby's good and she yelped as she was pulled off her feet and sent flying backwards towards...
Neo hissed.
The ace-ops stood ready and armed. She deployed Hush and a ticated her semblance, rushing in to sever the hook and get Ruby out of there.
She stopped when a long, glowing arm swung and connected with her side, sending her into the wall of the hallway.
"We have data on your semblances and fighting styles. Come quietly or we'll have to take you in by force," Harriet said. Ruby reached back to try and unhook herself but she didn't need to try.
A bright flash went off and blinded everyone in the room.
"Now sis!"
Something grabbed Ruby and wrenched her off the hook. She briefly felt weightless before she realized she'd been thrown. Someone caught her.
"This is probably gonna suck," Mercury said. Her eyes cleared and he put her down. The twins landed next to them and Neo stood from her position. Chew and Dante were posed and ready to fight as well.
"Should've known the team of ex criminals wouldn't be on our side," Elm muttered as all the ace-ops prepared to launch into battle.
Ruby was about to give out commands when a giant sword found its way between the two groups.
They all looked behind the ace-ops and saw Yang, Weiss, and Blake at the ready, Weiss's sword in the floor as the Arma Gigas stood posed for battle as well.
"Yang!" Ruby called. Yang sent her a look that was a mix of hurt and comforting.
"We are totally talking about this... after we kick these guys asses," the brawler claimed.
This hallway was unsuitable for battle and they all knew it. They were tense, nobody moving. They were all waiting for somebody to make the wrong move.
The first shot fired was from Crescent Rose. It struck Elm in the shoulder.
The hallway exploded into battle.
Harriet dashed forward and met the twins in a furious exchange of kicks and jabs. Miltia swung high while Melanie kicked low, the two trying to trip the speedster up.
She was fast which made her annoying, but the twins were clever. They'd been put against faster and stronger people before. Harriet kicked Miltia in the chest and the girl fell with her. On the ground the girl lashed out and took a chunk of plaster off the wall. She grabbed a handful of the debris in her hand.
When the woman came over to cuff her she spun around and whipped the plaster dust into her eyes. She screamed as it connected and tripped when Melanie swept low and cut at her heel.
Meanwhile Yang and Mercury met Elm in the center of the hallway. The woman saw both and rooted herself in place, swinging for Mercury who sprung forward, leg stretched out to wind her. Yang shot forward from behind, aiming for the woman's lower back.
Elm let out a battle cry as she swung. Seeing the strength behind the swing, Mercury lowered his legs and shit them down, sailing over her head instead. Having committed to the swing, her hammer went sailing through nothing and Mercury lashed out and struck her in the jaw, sending her head back.
Yang finally connected and landed a solid, rocket propelled haymaker to her back, the force strong enough to take the floor she had rooted herself to with her as she toppled over.
The two now stood side by side as she jumped back to her feet and turned, and swung, taking out a large amount of the wall next to them.
Weiss was keeping Vine on his toes, sending wave after wave of fire and ice his way. He dodged, but due to the limited space of the hallway he had very little room to move as a glyph caught one of his arms. He looked towards Weiss and saw the giant armored figure charge in.
Using his other arm he wrapped the construct's arms to its sides, halting its ability to use it's sword.
Unfortunately that's what Weiss wanted as she sped past the immobilized Arma Gigas and stabbed Vine in the midsection. The blow barely bruised and he was confused for all but a moment before the dust chambers in her sword rotated to yellow.
He screamed as he was electrocuted, and didn't notice Blake leaping over Weiss to land an unguarded and hefty blow to the side of his head with a heavy swing of the flat end of Gambol Shroud.
Clover was eying Neo. The girl stood, smirking and waiting. He knew her type. Bait and punish.
He narrowed his eyes. She hadn't moved at all in the last minute.
He swung his hook out and to his left, the girl parrying the strike before it hit. Lucky that he managed to find her before she snuck up on him.
The two entered a fencing match, occasionally throwing fists or kicks into the other. The girl was fast and nimble, never staying in place and using her semblance to move only a foot or two away at a time. It threw him for a loop, and every time he thought he had a pattern down for her, she'd change it up and do something different.
Of course she was the daughter of a famous criminal. She had the adaptability of one for sure.
Ruby was in an intense confrontation right now.
"Penny! We don't have to do this!" she claimed. Penny, for her part, looked apprehensive. This was her first friend. Her best friend even! To learn that she may be a threat to the entire world? It seemed unbelievable.
"I— I don't—" she sighed. This wasn't part of her databanks! She didn't know what the procedure was for 'best friend possibly being evil and trying to kill everyone' was! Marrow stepped up next to her, slowly and at ease.
"Please, if you just come with us we don't have to fight. Nobody has to get hurt here," he tried placating the reaper.
Unfortunately, Ruby knew what would happen if they couldn't get the relics. Salem wasn't doing things the best way, but she at least didn't want to doom the whole planet on a chance!
"I can't do that," Ruby said, lowering slightly. Marrow sighed as he pulled out his rifle-boomerang.
"I was afraid you'd say that," he mumbled. Penny tried to intervene.
"Wait—" but it was too late. The two had met in a blinding flash of steel on steel, Sparks flying every which way as they danced down the hall.
It all came to a head when Neo and Clover's fight neared the same area as Mercury, Yang, and Elm.
Clover stabbed forward, Neo flipping back as he did to avoid the hit. But that was part of his plan as Elm spun around, hammer spinning with her full weight as she slammed the head into Neo's unguarded side.
Her aura shattered and she gasped as she flew into the wall, cracking it and falling to the floor. She was unable to stand, straining to even push herself up.
They all froze as a low, guttural growl filled the hallway.
Chew stood at the end of the hallway, teeth barred fully and body low. The aura radiating off of him was cold and murderous. Ruby flinched. She'd never seen him this hostile before. And was it just her or was he... glowing a little bit?
Nope. He definitely was glowing. And whatever he was doing must've been big if Dante slowly backing up and shrinking in on himself was any indication.
Then there was a loud, metallic noise, like a pipe exploding. The sound of metal tearing could be heard.
They watched the dog's armor split, creaking as it fell off his body. Before their very eyes, the armor on the dog was destroyed. Why, one may ask?
Because the dog grew to the size of an adult Goliath in about twenty seconds.
The ceiling came down and the hallway walls broke as the dog stood in the wreckage of the building. He took a slow, heavy step forward that shook the ground.
"D-does that dog have a semblance!?" Harriet shouted in shock. Neo looked surprised herself. They did say that some semblances unlocked in times of great stress.
Guess her getting demolished by a giant hammer did the trick for Chew.
"Marrow! Stop that thing!" Clover ordered. The faunus nodded and ignored Ruby as he stepped forward, eyes narrowed.
"Stay!" he commanded, pointing at the dog.
Chew looked down at him.
He took another step forward before sucking in a deep breath.
The bark he let out could've shattered the moon again.
As he barked, he slammed his paw down, glaring right at Marrow who was still pointing. The gesture seemed obvious.
You stay.
Marrow promptly sheathed his weapon and stepped to the side.
"Welp, I tried!" he told the other operatives as the dog walked past him.
He stopped in front of Elm and growled. She raised her hammer to defend herself but the dog simply bent down and ripped it from her hands with his mouth, turning his neck before whipping the hammer far away, surely off of Atlas itself.
Everyone had ceased fighting. It was obvious that this animal would be the victor, whether you were on its side or not.
"Everyone on the dog!" Mercury yelled. The two teams ran to the giant dog, Yang bending down on the way to haul Neo up with them. Dante ran and leapt, landing on the dogs back as they climbed up.
"Well it has been fun!" the assassin called as Chew turned and walked away, the ace-ops watching the giant dog walk through the fortified and armored walls of the academy with ease. It was like watching a toddler walk through a beautiful sandcastle, with just as much disappointment when one realised how impossible it'd be to fix everything in a timely manner.
"I can't believe we just lost the world's only military academy to a dog," Harriet mumbled. The others voiced their agreement as Chew searched for Roman and Glynda.
"Can we find my brother and mom!? They're still here somewhere!" Weiss asked. Neo rubbed Chew's ears and the dog barked, the noise echoing throughout Atlas as he sniffed around for the two white haired family members.
On Chew's back, Yang fixed Ruby with a harsh glare.
"Why the hell are you guys working with Salem!? The very thing we, as hunters, swore to destroy!?" Yang asked, grabbing her sister, her only sister, her family, by the shoulders.
"Do you want the short version or the long version?" Ruby asked, completely sincere.
"I think I see your mom and brother!" Blake said from Chew's head, yelling back to Weiss who was towards the middle of his back.
Yang growled as she dragged her hands through her hair.
"Gimme the long version. Leave nothing out," she demanded.
And so Ruby told her team about Salem. About Ozpin and the relics, and what would happen if the brother gods came back to Remnant and Salem was still there.
Their reactions were about as expected.
"I'm gonna kill that old wizard ass bastard when we find him," Yang swore, eyes red as she pet Chew's giant back to try and relieve her anger.
"So Salem is immortal, Ozpin's ex wife, and in love with your dad?" Weiss asked Neo. The short girl sighed and nodded.
"And he's trying to bring my mom into that!?" she shrieked. Of course that's what Weiss would pick out of all of that.
Speaking of which.
"Weiss, sweetheart, when did this dog get so big?" Willow asked as the twins helped her and Whitley up.
They had to find Roman fast.
Roman ducked as a heavy bullet whizzed past his head. Glynda threw her arm back, catching several small white nevermore out of the air and crushing them with her semblance.
"We need to grab the staff and go!" Roman claimed. Glynda nodded as they ran through the halls. Roman had the layout memorized after going over the blueprints so many times.
As they ducked and dodged bullets and glyphs, they turned and saw a crow flying beside them. After keeping up with them for a moment, the bird transformed into Qrow, who continued running beside them.
"Qrow, we can explain!" Glynda shouted as they rounded the corner, one of Ironwood's shots flying into the wall and setting it ablaze. It was put out by another shot that froze it. Seemed the general was trying to minimize damage.
"Can it for now! You two have a lot to explain but it ain't gonna happen if Jimmy blows your brains out!" he yelled back. With that stated, they turned another hall and ran straight again. The bounding of several beowolves could be heard, so Qrow turned and shot three down, the construct's fading away as he did.
"Why do we need the staff!?" the drunkard asked as Roman aimed forward and shot the heavy metal door ahead of them. It was scorched, but it held.
"Ozpin ever tell you what happens when we get all these relics together?" Roman asked. The man shook his head.
"D-Day."
"You're lying!"
"Straight from Salem's mouth!"
"And you believed her!?"
"Well we had a pretty epic threesome, so yeah, I'm inclined to believe her."
Qrow gave him a look of shock, possibly envy, and disgust. The door before them still wouldn't move after he shot it again.
Glynda took aim instead and the door melted as she shot a concentrated stream of fire at it. Roman kissed her on the cheek in thanks as they jumped down the elevator and landed in a large, open chamber.
Sitting in a device of some kind was the staff of creation. Roman used the hook on his cane to drag himself to it and got ready to swap the staff for the stone in his hat.
He didn't get a chance as a bullet impacted his back and sent him careening back down to the ground.
He landed with a thud and groaned as he stood back up. Ironwood and winter glared their way, weapons at the ready and dispositions practically screaming 'shoot to kill'.
"Well, James, this has not been the friendly stay in Atlas I was expecting at all!" Roman said out loud. Glynda and Qrow looked at him in shock.
He was really trying to bullshit all of this now!?
"Silence!" James shouted, "I was skeptical when we received word that Leonardo had turned traitor. Salem must have something that can sway people to her side if she was able to get you to join her ranks, Glynda!"
Glynda said nothing. She knew the truth and she was never one to doubt her resolve. She had heard Salem's story and she knew lies when she heard them. She slept with Roman for God's sake, if any one knew lies it was her!
"Enough. Qrow, if you join them now you'll die with them," the general claimed as he readied both his guns. Winter herself kept her sabre trained their direction the whole time.
"Jimmy, if we just hear them out maybe we can figure all this out without any more blood—" he ducked as a bullet sailed over his head.
"Right then," the grizzled man sighed as he whipped Harbinger in front of him.
Roman and Glynda stood ready to fight as well.
Then the entire cavern they stood in shook. James held a finger up to his ear to activate his earpiece.
"Special operative Ebi, what was that tremor?"
"It was a dog."
"It was a what?"
Roman laughed. Out loud. Of course it was the dog. He hoped Neo wasn't in any trouble.
It seems his casual attitude was the final straw as Winter and James dashed forth.
This was a battle between real hunters.
As such, the room was alright with activity.
Glynda was hurling shot after shot towards Winter, the woman meeting each one with a glyph. As they squared off in a duel of dust and technical skills, the men all met in what could be equated to an incredibly beautiful brawl.
Qrow and Roman would throw any blow they could. A fist here, a kick there, knees and elbows, headbutts and cheap shots.
James would attack them through it all, grabbing them with his cybernetic arm and tossing them around, bending and rolling as he shot at them from point blank range.
Eventually Roman shoulder checked the man back as Qrow rolled over his back and kicked the general in the face. As the man staggered, only slightly, Roman took the chance and crammed Melodic Cudgel into the elbow joint of his robotic arm.
He didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, sparks and fluid flying as the inner mechanisms of the arm exploded. It stayed connected however, barely functional.
If he felt pain, he didn't show it as James threw his other arm around and slammed the hand guard of his gun into Roman's temple.
The thief flew to the side and his vision swam. Qrow sent a shotgun blast into the man's eyes and the half man responded by gritting his teeth and running through the shot, spear tackling the drunkard.
Say what you would about James Ironwood, the man was a beast.
He held Qrow against the floor with his forearm crushing his windpipe. The two glared at each other as they struggled in the position.
Roman ran from behind the man and attempted to club him over the head with his cane. Hearing his footsteps, the general slammed his arms into Qrow's abdomen before lifting his body. Both legs curled in before springing them out in a vicious donkey kick to Roman's solar plexus.
Both men wheezed and Roman flew back, not before firing another shot into the man's back. It exploded and sent him and Qrow flying in opposite directions.
All three men groaned. Roman made sure his hat and the stone were still in place. They were, and he sighed in relief.
He looked over and watched Glynda finally get tired of trading shots with the specialist. With a shout she pointed her crop at the woman before lifting her up. Winter struggled in the invisible grasp.
With a huff and unrestrained rage, Glynda slammed the woman into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
On the fourth heavy slam, the woman's aura shattered and she cried out in pain. Glynda released her and she clutched her arm. The witch had broken it in her final slam.
She turned and grabbed Ironwood's arm, tearing the entire thing from his body from the shoulder. He grunted but stayed standing, one arm down but aura still up.
"Roman!" she shouted as she used her semblance on the thief, hurling him at the relic. He shifted and landed, taking the stone out and swapping it with the staff.
"I got it!" he called, the staff of creation in his right hand and Melodic Cudgel in the other. The stone in place of the staff glowed and thrummed before stabilizing and floating in the staff's place.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" James screamed.
Before he could answer the ceiling caves in and an absolutely massive Chew fell through, teams RWBY and MMMN, along with Willow and Whitley on his back. Above them and through the new hole in the ceiling, Roman made out a bullhead, swaying to and fro as if piloted by someone who'd never flown before.
"James when this is all over, I'll buy you a drink, a new arm, and help you find a woman!" Roman said as he jumped and grabbed Mercury's hand, the boy hoisting him up.
"Winter! What happened!?" Weiss asked, the sight of her sister sitting in a crater worrying the girl.
"She's fine! Probably," Roman claimed. Willow sent him a look and he had to remind himself about that particular choice. Why had he essentially stolen this woman and her son again?
A quick look down made him remember. He was a horndog or anything, but that ass was a national treasure. There was no way he was leaving that in the hands of someone like Jacques Schnee. He didn't deserve it!
Qrow and Glynda leapt up and landed on the dog. They looked confused but Ruby said she'd explain how it happened later.
"WHEN I FIND YOU, YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES! ALL OF YOU!" Ironwood shouted. Roman shook his head. One day he'd come back and explain all this. James was a good man with a lot on his mind.
"So long general! I'll make sure the Grimm don't come by while the academy burns down!" the crook called.
With that Chew jumped and crawled his way back up to the surface of Atlas. The bullhead flew next to his head and Roman finally saw who was driving it.
"Do you know what you're doing farm boy?" Roman asked.
"NO! PLEASE HELP ME!" Oscar cried as he struggled to keep the ship in the air.
They all climbed off of Chew and into the ship, Roman taking the controls. Dante leapt in last, leaving Chew the only one not in the bullhead.
"How do we shrink him!?" Ruby yelled over the engine.
As if hearing her, chew jumped far above the bullhead. They watched him soar into the air before he started descending. When he landed on top of the ship, he was normal sized again.
"Works for me! Get him in the damn ship so we can leave!" Roman shouted. Glynda levitated the dog into the ship and slammed the doors shut.
Below them, James watched with unconcealed rage on his face. The ace-ops arrived, along with a medical team for Winter.
"Sir, we have confirmed that the winter maiden is still alive and fine," Clover said.
Ironwood glared at the retreating airship. That he'd been completely played, defeated, and now lost the relic, he was beyond the ability to feel relieved by the news.
They still had the maiden, and they still had the plan for Amity. Was that enough?
His comms sprang to life.
"General Ironwood!"
"Good news. Please soldier, good news," he begged, begged, into the earpiece.
The silence was not reassuring.
"The Amity project has... Well, it's uh—"
"Soldier, we are in a volatile situation right now. Speak. Now," he growled. The ace-ops all took an intelligent step backwards.
"It's run away."
It what.
Below the bullhead, they all watched in awe at what they were seeing.
"You can't be serious Roman," Glynda muttered, shocked at the scene.
"I said I had a plan. Honestly didn't think it'd work that well," he said.
"When did you even have time for this!?" Yang shouted in frustration, bewilderment, and just in general disbelief.
"We had those three days between the gathering at the mansion and the burning of Mantle. I went out and did it then," he said easily.
"You said you were going on a smoke break!" Ruby cried.
"I don't see what the big deal is! I solved our problem!" he argued.
And what a way to solve it.
Below them, nearly a thousand geists, no, easily a thousand geists had possessed every possible part of the remains of Amity Arena. The entire structure was floating its way across the ocean, likely towards the Grimmlands or some other remote area.
That's what he'd asked them to do at any rate.
"How!?" Pyrrha pointed at the entire scene. The poor champion was truly lost. Jaune rubbed her shoulders and tried to sooth her as best he could. Unfortunately he was also freaking out.
"I asked Salem to send a handful of Grimm my way so I could get rid of our problem and she did. Those things aren't too bad when you get to know em," he said.
The ease at which he had said that was more disturbing than the actual statement itself.
"You're actually fucking the queen of Grimm," Blake said, all pretense of formality gone.
"Yeeeeeeep," he said, "Glynda gets it."
The woman went red in an instant for being outed in front of her former students.
Oscar winced and grabbed his head.
"Guys! I think Ozpin's coming back!" he groaned as he held his temple. They tried to sooth the boy but it didn't do much.
Finally his eyes glowed and he collapsed to the floor. They all looked at him and reached to help him to his feet.
He held up a hand to stop them.
He stood slowly. He glared at Glynda, who at least looked sheepish at the connotation that the wizard's look held.
Roman just laughed.
"You should've said something before Oz," he claimed, "she's pretty reasonable once the post nut clarity kicks in."
Ozpin, not Oscar, Ozpin, screamed.
Roman laughed the whole way back to the Grimmlands.
What a way to end this chapter.
I know a lot of you are probably wondering why this feels as fast as it does and for that I have a good explanation.
In the actual events of season 7, the main cast pretty claims they're okay being criminals if it means doing what's best and supporting each other.
So I just took it to a ridiculous extreme in this story.
Adding Willow to the roster of 'women who want that Torchdick' was actually a suggestion from a reader that I loved. I never intended on putting her in the story but the idea of Roman attracting MILFs is too funny not to put in this story.
Whitley sees his happy return with Weiss seeing him again as promised, Chew gains a semblance that lets me get characters around faster than 'they ran really fast and knew exactly where to go', and nobody dies.
Why didn't I include the winter maiden as more important?
Well if the staff of creation is already out of its vault and being used, then why do they need the maiden at all?
Just a thought.
At any rate I saved the authors note until the end this time, not a lot to talk about before.
I am officially done with finals and this story is set to be finished soon! Sad to see it go, but oh so proud that I can finish my very first story on this site.
Thank you all for your support, love, and kindness! It's made writing this story an absolute blast. Favorite, follow, review. It means a lot to this writer's heart.
Please stay healthy and have a wonderful time.
And don't bite off more than you can chew!
Omake: Amity, AWAY!
Roman stood before the wreckage of Amity Arena. He pulled out his scroll and called Watts.
"Hello Roman. How may I be of assistance?"
"I gotta ask Sally for a favor. You mind putting her on?" he asked. Watts nodded and there was a moment of shuffling.
"Hello my lovely hunk of ginger," Salem greeted.
"Hello yourself you fine piece of ass," he replied. She laughed and stared at him through the device.
"Watts tells me you need something done? What is it?" she asked.
"Send me as many ghosty guys as you can. I'm trying to steal Ironwood's project from under his nose.
"Oh Roman that's so devious! God I love it. They'll be there in no time. Is there anything else?" she asked.
"That's all Sally. We'll be back before you know it," he claimed. She hummed.
"Make it so," and with that, she hung up.
He waited, smoked a cigar, and waited a little more before the sky darkened a little and a cloud of geist hovered before him.
"Okay you all! Wanna make mommy happy?" he asked. They all threw their hands in the air and floated up and down rapidly.
"Great! Go haunt that giant hunk of junk and drag it home! Drag it to the bottom of the ocean, the sandiest vagina in Vacuo, I don't care! Just get ready for my word to get it out of here and somewhere nobody will go!" he told them.
They dispersed and flew towards the construction site for the arena.
That oughta do it. He brushed his hands together and sighed in relief.
A hard day's work for Roman Torchwick.
This part takes place right before the soldier calls Ironwood.
Roman watched as a small nevermore flew next to the window of the bullhead. He looked over at it as it looked at him.
He nodded. The nevermore nodded back before banking off and flying towards the Amity construction site.
Dave was a normal guy. Had a wife. One kid on the way. They had a house, and he just had received a bonus for his time served in the army.
Imagine his surprise when the entire construction site he'd been assigned to stand guard at just kinda... walked away. Nobody got hurt, the thing didn't even turn around when they shot at it. Just up and left.
"Well I just got a raise so who's gonna call the general and tell him about that?" Dave asked.
"I think Christine should do it," another man said. That was Frank.
"What!?" a woman yelled, "why me!? Make Jones do it, he never calls the general for this stuff!"
"Christie's right Jones. You never call him," Dave said.
"The general is scary, man! Make Frank do it!" Jones quivered.
"Ugh, you're all a bunch of bitches," Frank said as he brought his hand up to his earpiece. He called into the general.
After a brief conversation in which the general could be heard screaming, he hung up.
"How'd he take it?" Dave asked.
"Dunno. He seemed pissed, but then, he always seems pissed," Frank said.
"I'll drink to that sir," Christine said, handing them all a bottle.
"Here here," Dave said. They clinked glasses and all drank.
What were they supposed to do? Chase the damn thing?
That was way out of their pay grade.