Neo couldn't believe how stupidly she had been caught.
She had been happily skipping away from the train-wreck, minding her own business, when an excited Red suddenly smashed into her.
Red hadn't even been trying to arrest her! She had just been trying to get back to Beacon as fast as she could! But the shock broke Neo's illusion and rendered her unconscious.
And when she woke up, Neo was in a small perfectly white cell.
She groaned at the sight. This had Atlas written all over it. No matter how many criminals had been driven insane staring at those walls they wouldn't change a thing.
Well, joke's on them, Neo was already insane to begin with. This wouldn't do anything to her.
She couldn't tell how much time passed, and she had to spend her waking moments with her eyes closed to avoid the empty stare of the blank walls, but she was used to solitude. To see life pass without any control over it. Roman had freed her from that, but she still clearly remembered it.
Eventually, the door to her cell opened, and a large man dressed in white stood in front of it. Well, it was the general wasn't it? She had heard of him, everyone had. Roman even had some choice words to describe the man.
Neo didn't bother getting up. She had no reason to. He was here for her after all, not the other way round.
"Neopolitan is it?" asked Ironwood, "I will begin your interrogation shortly. Now get out."
Neo complied. Refusing would only result in unnecessary brutality, and she would have her fun during their pathetic attempts at interrogating her anyway.
Once she walked up to the general, he grabbed her by the wrists and cuffed her before dragging her along the halls.
Could Neo have used her illusions to attempt an escape ? Maybe, but then she wouldn't have ran far. She had no idea of where she was. For all she knew she could be on a ship flying hundreds of meters high, and without her beloved Hush she wasn't confident in making such a jump.
No. For now, she would comply, and gather as much information on her situation as she could. And eventually, Roman would come to save her. Just like how she would come to save him if he was in the same situation.
Ironwood brought her to an empty room with a single table and two chairs. He pulled her up to one of the chairs before sitting down in the other one.
"Please." he said, "Take a seat."
Neo hadn't bothered to wait for his offer to sit down, and now had both her legs crossed over the table and her chair positioned on only two legs, slowly rocking back and forth. The general didn't seem to appreciate it much, but made no comment.
"According to our intel, you were working with Roman Torchwick even through his attempt at bringing grimm inside the city." explained Ironwood, "Moreover, we have a report of attempted murder against you, along with many of your prior crimes."
Neo cocked her head to the side, waiting to see where Ironwood was planning to go with this.
"We are considering dropping the charges against you." he offered, "IF you tell us exactly what Torchwick was planning and who he was working for."
Neo actually considered the offer. Cinder was bad news, that is for sure, and getting the woman into the general's cross-hairs would definitely be entertaining to watch, but Roman had told her differently.
He was betting on Cinder. He didn't seem to like it either, but Neo knew better than to bet against Roman. There was a reason he was the most notorious thief ever. Roman never lost a bet he was willing to wager his life and freedom on.
So Neo simply smirked, and ignored Ironwood's offer, much to his dismay.
"He won't be helping you." said the general, "I have him on another of my ships, safely locked away. You are all alone."
Neo rolled her eyes. Of course Roman would get himself caught the moment she wasn't there to help him. Her dum-dum really couldn't do anything on his own.
Still, this meant that she was indeed on a ship over Vale. She didn't know if the general had meant to let that info slip, but she was going to take it nonetheless.
"You do know what you are risking here, don't you ?" asked Ironwood.
Neo gave him the most innocent look she could muster – so the most innocent look ever – and it somehow made the general rage even more.
"Attempted murder! Multiple robberies! And most of all, participation in a terrorist plot!" he shouted, "It will be a life sentence, do you not care about your future?!"
Neo smirked, and laid back in her chair, causing Ironwood to smash his fist on the table.
"So be it." he growled, "I tried to be nice, but obviously it wasn't going to work. Make no mistake though. You WILL talk, no matter how far I have to go to make you."
Neo chuckled as the general temporarily left the room.
He could try all he wanted. Heck, maybe he could even break her somehow.
But one thing was for sure.
He would never make her talk.
Roman wondered what had been happening outside since his arrival to this cell. He wasn't all that worried for himself. He had seen worse after all. That was the least of his worries though once he heard footsteps approaching.
Roman sighed. The all mighty general was back again wasn't he ?
"Torchwick. I will take you to the interrogation room now, " said Ironwood, who was indeed at the door.
"Well, works for me" answered Roman, "Better than this cell".
While he was being taken to the room he saw something interesting being carried by a guard, Hush. He stayed calm knowing Neo was probably held captive as well. There went his escape plan though, so he would need to think of another.
"Sit." said Ironwood as they arrived in a small interrogation room, "I don't want this to go as bad as last time"
"And it won't, general" said Torchwick while sitting down, " Now I was wondering if I could get a cigar, that cell is ruining the mood and a little-"
"Enough !" exclaimed the general, "You won't be getting ANYTHING from us until you cooperate"
"Alright alright, calm down" said Roman while raising his cuffed hands "I just wanted to lighten up the mood and break the ice, after all, you said yourself you wanted this one to go better than usual."
James let out a sigh of frustration.
"I suppose so" he replied "But back to the topic at hand. I know you already noticed since that awful timing at the hallway, but yes Neopolitan is in custody."
"Mhm, and ?" Replied Roman with an uninterested tone.
"Well, I certainly expected a different reaction considering your partnership." said Ironwood, taken slightly by surprise
"The thing is, Jimmy we-" started Roman
"It's general Ironwood for you," interrupted the general.
"Ugh, well the thing is general, what are you gonna do with her ? She won't talk, same as me. After all what else is there to say, I'm the mastermind behind all this chaos. You got the top dog. Congratulations ! to prison i go" said Roman while laughing at the end.
"She has already thrown you under the bus you know. She told us everything about you, and you may even face execution. All your-" Ironwood stopped being interrupted by Torchwick laughing
"Oh general, general, I've been working with her for a while, and trust me when I tell you she won't talk, at all, and neither will I." chimed Roman, "Now was this the only reason for your sudden visit ?"
"Yes..." mumbled Ironwood while leaving the room.
Well, it seemed Neo and he were in quite the pickle this time. Now, how should they find their way out...
Neo soon realized there was a big issue with her current predicament.
Her cell consisted of only four walls and a metal bed, so if she wanted to go to the bathroom she would need to ask the guards to escort her. Which, for a mute, was a bit of a problem.
She knocked on the door, to which her guard asked what she wanted.
Obviously, she wouldn't be able to answer them. Yet, somehow, they still hadn't found out about her speech impediment. It's not like she had been hiding it.
So Neo knocked again, harder, and faster.
"If you want something just say it !" shouted the guard from behind the locked door.
Neo rolled her eyes, and started slamming her body against the door to force the guard to open.
And open they did, with the guard standing in the opening, their uniform too uniform for her to tell their gender.
Neo rubbed her legs together, trying to make her point across. The guard seemed to understand, but still acted as if they didn't.
"Now, if you want something, you'll have to spell it out for me." they teased.
Neo growled. She was fine with the sleep deprivation, with all the times they had starved her in order to get her to speak for food. Heck, she could even tolerate the multiple beatings she had gone through since the start of her interrogation.
However, she was not going to deal with whatever kink this perverted guard had. This is where she drew the line. She didn't care about the consequences, this one was going overboard.
So Neo used her semblance to get next to the guard without them noticing her, and she smashed their head against the doorframe.
Their aura was instantly wiped out, and the guard fell unconscious at her feet. Then, she made her way to the bathroom.
The alarm took a full minute before being rung, something Neo made sure to mentally note down, and the ship soon was full with Atlesian soldiers searching for her.
Her business finished, Neo used her semblance to look like an Atlesian soldier and went back to her cell, where nobody was, of course. They wouldn't be searching for her there.
Her guard was gone too, which was a shame since she wouldn't be able to throw them through a window, but it didn't bother her too much.
Neo took her place back in her cell, and a few minutes later, a soldier passed in front of her. They stopped, and looked at her in disbelief before talking to their radio.
"Specialist, I found her." they said.
"Where is she ?" asked a woman's voice through the radio.
"In… In her cell." stammered the soldier.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S IN HER CELL ?" shouted the woman through the radio.
"Well… I'm in front of her cell, and she's in it, sitting on her bed." timidly said the soldier.
"Stay right there soldier !" said the voice, "I'll check on this myself."
"Roger ma'am." said the soldier.
Neo looked at the soldier, who seemed very uncomfortable with their current situation, and grinned. It was always nice to see someone else suffer for a change.
Roman wondered why he had been called this time. His last session with James had just finished a couple hours ago, and his jaw was still sore. The general should know better than to ask him to play again so soon.
When he entered the interrogation room, he saw Ironwood pathing back and forth behind the table. With a chuckle, he sat down opposite to the general.
"Something on your mind Jimmy ?" he asked.
"We have some…. issues… with your partner." answered Ironwood, too shaken up to take offence at Roman's use of a nickname.
"You're going to have to be more specific." said Roman with a smirk, "Neo can be quite the mischievous little devil when she wants to."
Ironwood stopped his pathing, and smashed his fist on the table.
"She attempted an escape !" he shouted.
"I doubt that." calmly said Roman, "First, Neo wouldn't simply have attempted an escape. She would have escaped. Second, you wouldn't be so troubled if she had simply attempted an escape."
"That's just the thing." said Ironwood, "Someone found her cell empty and the soldier guarding it unconscious, so the alarms were rung. Then, ten minutes later, someone else found Neo in her cell, as if she had never left it."
"Then I don't see the problem." said Roman.
"That is exactly the problem !" shouted Ironwood, "Why would she go back to her cell after she managed to get out of it ?!"
"Why are you hurting yourself so much." teased Roman, "You still have her in custody don't you ? Who cares exactly what happened."
Ironwood sighed.
"I don't know why I bothered." he said, "Anyway, that is not why I made you come here. I want you to tell me everything about her semblance."
"Her semblance ?" feigned Roman.
"Don't play dumb." said Ironwood, "We know she has a semblance, and that it allows her to make physical illusions that break on contact. What I want to know are the exact details of how it works."
"Well, wouldn't Neo be better suited to answer you ?" offered Roman, "It's her semblance after all."
"And she's being questioned right now." answered Ironwood, "I still want your answer."
"And I've already told you everything I wanted." said Roman.
"You didn't tell me anything." noted the general.
"I know." simply said Roman with a grin.
Ironwood sighed as he removed the glove above his metal arm.
"The hard way it is then." he finally stated.
Neo was bored out of her mind. Her days consisted of sleep, getting interrogated, eating and thinking of literally anything she could, at one point she even started imagining how participating in the vytal festival would be.
Nothing else to do within the small compound of her cell, and she had no way to track time outside of her meals – which didn't come by consistently – and the rotating guard shifts, which were hard to recognize through the blurry window anyway.
She was almost looking forward to her interrogation sessions with the general or his specialist. Those were the only moments that could break her routine. However, even these had gotten boring after a while. He would just scream and ask her questions, sometimes even went to other methods yet he still didn't realize something was not working.
When the general came to take her to the interrogation room again, Neo barely cared. When he asked her his questions, Neo was still trying to figure out a way to make this interesting and absentmindedly brought the back of her palm under her chin before flipping her hand away.
Fuck off
The general didn't seem to take offense, and continued on his routine. This picked Neo's interest, and she wanted to see how far she could take this, so she started signing.
You know what ? I'll talk.
"I don't care what it takes !" shouted Ironwood, still in his routine, "I will make you talk !"
Well, it seemed the general didn't understand sign language. That should be fun.
So, you see, there's this woman called Cinder that hired Roman to steal Dust for her. She was promising some nice cash, saying she had a buyer. We weren't convinced, but Roman decided to take the risk and steal a bunch of Dust. Worst case scenario, we had to find someone to sell it to ourselves.
"No need to make wide gestures." said the general, "It won't help you if you don't talk."
Neo grinned, taunting Ironwood, and continued her signs.
We stole the Dust, and Cinder brought in her buyer. It was the White Fang. Now, Roman doesn't like working with them, mostly because they tend to set the bar really low on prices. Luck is, the muts don't want to work with Roman either, at least usually.
"Will you stop moving ?" shouted Ironwood.
Neo stopped, put a finger on her chin, as if she was considering the option, then shook her head and started signing again.
This time however, the Fang was ok with it. They didn't like it, but they weren't refusing it either. When the offered price for the Dust came in though, Roman refused. It was way too low. But Cinder didn't give him a choice. She started using some fire magic or something and Roman quickly agreed to her terms. We were simply obeying her from then on, barely knowing anything more than what was directly in front of us.
I think Roman has some theories on who she works with and so on, like someone really big that we can't deal with anyway, you could always ask him. We do know, however, what her final goal is. She wants Beacon to burn. And she won't stop at anything to make it happen.
Finally, the general caught on to the fact Neo was using sign language. He stopped just short of smashing her face and slapped his forehead instead, before turning towards the tinted window on the side of the room.
"Bring me someone who knows sign language !" he shouted, "I need an interpreter !"
Finally, Neo thought with a grin. They were going to get to the good part.
They waited for a while, and a soldier eventually entered.
"You called for me sir ?" he asked.
"Do you know sign language ?" asked back Ironwood.
"Yes sir." answered the soldier.
"Then yes." said Ironwood, "Now, come here and translate what she is signing."
The soldier nodded, and stood next to Ironwood before the general spoke again.
"Now, Neopolitan. Can you repeat everything you said before this soldier came in ?" he asked.
Neo smirked. Now this was going to be fun.
What do you mean ? I haven't said anything.
"Don't play dumb with me !" shouted Ironwood as he smashed his fist on the table, "Repeat everything you said."
I don't know if you've noticed, but I can't really say anything.
"Then repeat everything you've signed." said Ironwood as he took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Repeat as in ?
"AS IN DO THE SIGNS AGAIN !" shouted the general, clearly exasperated at having to explain exactly what he wanted.
Which signs ?
"THOSE YOU MADE BEFORE HE CAME IN !" shouted Ironwood, while pointing at the interpreter.
Neo stopped for a bit, looking as if she was trying to recall something, before signing again.
What did I sign again ?
The general screamed and slammed his fist into the table, breaking it in two.
"Sign. Again. Everything. You. Wanted. To. Tell. Me. Earlier." slowly said Ironwood.
I can't really tell anything either you know. I'd need speech for that.
"Just sign something that we could use, I'd rather not resort to the other alternatives " pleaded Ironwood.
If you want it so badly… sure.
And with that, Neo rolled her shoulder before signing again.
Once upon a time was a lone wizard in a lone cabin in the middle of lonely woods…
"NO !" shouted Ironwood, "I'm done. I'm not playing nice anymore."
Neo cocked her head, and waited for the general to explain himself.
"You will repeat every sign you made since the moment you came into this room." he said, "And if you don't remember, then I'll make sure that you never forget anything ever again. Am I being clear ?"
Neo thought about it for a bit, then nodded. Sure, she was going to repeat all the signs, just like the general asked.
She smirked, and slowly, agonizingly slowly, she brought the back of her palm under her chin, then flipped her hand away. Ironwood recognized instantly the first sign she had made since coming in, and turned to the interpreter.
The soldier, however, wasn't liking at all his current situation, and wasn't looking like he was going to translate this particular sign.
"What did she say." growled the general.
The soldier flinched, and almost curled on themselves.
"She said… sir… she told you to "Fuck off."" explained the soldier.
Ironwood sighed, trying to control his anger. "Seems that we are going the hard way" He then left the room, and would never find the time to return.
Roman was confused. He had known Ironwood for a while, but he had never seen him that down, even after he had escaped him for the umpteenth time. He almost wanted to know what was bothering the general, but felt like it'd just make him jealous for not thinking of it earlier.
Ironwood sat in front of him, sighing.
"Something wrong Jimmy." asked Roman.
"It's general." said Ironwood dismissively, before looking at Roman in the eyes, "Were you ever planning on telling me she's a mute ?"
"You never asked." pointed out Roman, "And I did tell you she was never going to talk."
"Do you know how much time that would've saved for us?! How long have we tried to make her talk?!" he started shouting, but then calmed down, "All for her to end up being a mute. You really made her end up in much more trouble than she should have been in."
"Now, now" said Roman, " Was it really my fault, or are you searching for a scapegoat for your inability to know your prisoners well enough, investigate a little, or maybe even ask. You are blaming me, but really you are just disappointed in yourself James. How you did not account for a prisoner of yours to be disabled. Which honestly, is just a shame for the head of the entire Atlas military, I would've expected more… more insight and common sense from Atlas"
"I thought you were the one who said we couldn't see farther than the tip of our noses." said Ironwood.
"Doesn't mean you have to prove me right." pointed out Roman with a smirk.
"Very well Torchwick, I'll take it into account" James said in a monotone voice "Any other… remarks, that you wanna express about Atlas?"
"Just that I can't wait to see the face of all those stuck up Atlesians when your flying city inevitably falls." scowled Roman.
"You really hate us that much ?" asked Ironwood.
"It's not like one of you privileged jerks killed my girlfriend and blamed it on me." scoffed Roman, "Oh wait, that's exactly what happened."
"If you were innocent, then you shouldn't have ran." said Ironwood, "I would have found the truth. You didn't have to fall this low"
"That's just the kind of thing one of you rich assholes would say." shot back Roman, "Most people aren't like you. They can't afford to spend years waiting to be cleared, or even try to fight the joke you call a legal system in Atlas. I would have been executed before you even found the start of a lead."
"You still didn't have to resort to… this." said Ironwood.
"I don't think you understand general." said Roman, "Some people actually need to work to survive. And there's only so much you can do when you're already labeled a criminal. Plus, I'm actually really good at this."
"I… Just know I wish it hadn't come to this." finished Ironwood as he left the room.
"Neither do I James." muttered Roman, now alone, "Neither do I."
Neo was just sitting in her cell when the ship suddenly started shaking. She thought it was some kind of classic ship turbulence, but that changed when some kind of siren started. Not long after she heard the soldiers outside her cell scramble, and decided now would be the best time to make her escape amidst the chaos.
She waited for the sounds outside to die down before knocking on her door, causing the guard outside to grumble.
"You really chose a bad moment." they said, "I'm not opening, there is a grimm attack happening. Now hold it in"
Neo increased her knocks' intensity, but they didn't budge, so she decided to go with a different approach and pretended to faint. The window into her cell was blurry, making it almost impossible to see the other side, but the guard should still be able to discern her body on the ground.
The moment the door opened the guard was caught off guard by Neo and dragged inside. She made sure to muffle their screams while she strangled them into unconsciousness.
Then, she disguised herself as a soldier and left her cell, making sure to close the door behind her.
With what little knowledge Neo had of the ship, she avoided the obviously occupied rooms and started her search for a weapon she could use. There were plenty of guns lying around, but sadly she was a horrible shot, so she had to find something else.
She stumbled for a bit, until she finally found something she hadn't expected to see here. Melodic Cudgel. Roman's cane.
Neo pouted. She would have prefered to find Hush. However, her partner's weapon would do. For now.
Just in time, it would seem, as the alarm signalling her escape started ringing along with the sirens. It had taken a while longer than last time she had escaped, but that was why she had locked the door in the first place.
She ran out, still disguised as a soldier and with Melodic Cudgel now looking like a random Atlesian firearm. Quickly, she went for her cell, and became part of the small crowd now surrounding it. Atlesian soldiers could be quite stupid sometimes.
Then, the ship's speakers activated, and a voice sounded out.
"All soldiers assemble at the docking bay." it said.
Neo instantly saw the problem. If they hadn't sent anyone to look for her, then they were probably expecting her to already be in their ranks. She had no doubt most soldiers had already gone down to fight in the city, but she still didn't like her odds against the ones that remained. She needed to find a way to part with them before she was caught.
The soldiers all started running towards what Neo guessed would be the docking bay, and she had no choice but to follow them. If she had tried to stay behind, she would have been smoked out.
The path from her cell to the docking bay, however, was far shorter than she had anticipated, and she found no opportunity to leave the group. Soldiers in front of her were already lining up and one by one answered "present" to the officer in charge, who was holding a radio.
Neo inwardly cursed. She had no voice to speak, and even if she had, her lack of radio would show she wasn't really a soldier.
But, Neo also saw the many bullheads which were leaving from the bay at the same time, and a crazy idea formed in her mind. She ran, past the formation and towards the edge of the bay.
"Shoot her !" she heard behind her. It was obvious she had been caught by now. Yet, the soldiers hesitated to shoot what they viewed to be their brethren.
"It's Neopolitan in disguise !" shouted the officer, "Shoot !"
The soldiers aimed, but it seemed already too late. Neo was nearing the edge, about to jump, when a woman dressed in a Specialist uniform jumped out of one of the bullheads and down on the platform, right in front of Neo.
Neo recognized Winter Schnee, the Specialist in charge of this particular ship where she had been stuck in for the last several days. Winter drew her sword and stabbed, and Neo had to quickly bring Melodic Cudgel up to push the strike to the side.
The hit made Neo's illusion disappear, ensuring no more soldiers would doubt their officer's orders. She had to make her escape quickly if she wanted to avoid being completely cut off.
Winter brought her long sword back, forcing Melodic Cudgel away while her other, shorter sword came in to stab Neo in the gut.
Neo twirled, nearly avoiding the strike before pulling Melodic Crudgel's trigger, which was now conveniently aimed at Winter's face.
Winter moved her head to the side, avoiding the shot, but that gave Neo time to bring her weapon around and strike Winter to the side. The Specialist had already blocked it with her short sword, yet Neo didn't care. She saw an opportunity and dashed in the opening she had now made to Winter's side.
Winter's long sword was already cutting down, and it hit Neo straight in the back, causing her to lose her aura. It was too late though. Neo had jumped off the platform, and into Vale's night sky.
Roman heard the commotion outside and asked the guard about it. Yet, he got no reply. He tried to press his face against the blurred window but couldn't figure out if the guards were still there or not.
"Anyone out there ?" he shouted.
No answer, so Roman figured he might as well try to get himself out. He kneeled next to the door and tried to figure out a way to undo the lock from the inside.
Suddenly the ship tilted a bit to the right and an explosion was heard. Roman was able to see multiple figures running through his cell block, towards the source of the explosion.
Moments later he heard gunshots. Then screams, and each scream made the gunshots quieter.
"I do not like this at all." he mumbled, "What is happening outside."
He heard the sound of heels, and hugged the wall. He'd recognize that sound anywhere. The fire witch was here.
The fact that she walked past his cell without opening it showed she hadn't even bothered looking up where he was being held, and Roman wasn't interested in letting her know. Cinder seemed like the type to deal with loose ends once they stopped being useful to her.
Roman waited for a while before going back to looking into his door. The lock could only be opened from the outside, however every lock needed to go into the wall, and this door wasn't one of those that was sealed shut. If he could locate where the locks were exactly, then he could start smashing the door open.
He didn't get much time though, as he heard footsteps outside. It seemed not all the soldiers on this ship were down for the count. Then, he heard a volley of shots, followed by surprised screams and a splatter of blood on his cell's window.
The shots had busted the locks open, yet Roman grabbed his door to make sure it stayed closed. It was a wise decision as he heard the sound of the Atlesian robots marching through the halls and shooting at whichever human soldier still showed signs of life.
Roman cursed. Whatever plan Cinder had going on seemed to be working a bit too well to his liking, especially now that he was part of the ones about to die in it.
Cautiously, once he was sure no more pesky robots were nearby, Roman pushed the door out of the way, and left his cell. He was met with the gruesome sight of dead Atlesian soldiers all around, and the ship was even starting to burn in some places. Yet, his attention was immediately focused on the glaring hole in the large window at the end of the hall he was in.
The hole wasn't what was bothering him. No. The problem was the direction the ship was flying in. It seemed they were set on a course directly down to the center of Vale.
Now, saving the city from a crashing ship would be the last thing on Roman's mind, if he didn't just happen to be aboard said crashing ship.
His first instinct was to go towards the docking bay, but the fact there were still robots on board made him reconsider. Roman grabbed one of the guns lying around and started making his way toward where he remembered seeing Hush being taken to. With a bit of luck he'd also find Melodic Cudgel there.
Sneaking around robots proved to be significantly easier than when he had to sneak around humans, courtesy of the robot's inability to watch him through the cameras, and their lack of peripheral vision. Still, Roman had to be careful as it seemed quite a significant amount of tin cans were still on the ship.
Roman did notice that the robots were all moving towards the docking bay, much to his displeasure. It seemed he would be forced to stir this ship off course if he wanted to survive.
Finally, he found the room Hush was being held in, and sighed when he noticed Melodic Cudgel was nowhere nearby. Roman relaxed as he took Hush with him, and turned around to see three robots at the door.
Roman cursed and panicked, desperately fumbling around to get Hush to open up. He managed to press the button just in time, and the robots' gunshots were blocked by the opened parasol.
The tin cans stopped firing, confused by Roman's sudden disappearance from their field of vision, unable to understand that he was standing just behind the parasol. Roman used that to his advantage and quickly used his own gun to shoot three bullets, each landing perfectly inside each robot's head.
Roman breathed in relief, and took a few moments to gather his wits before making sure there weren't any more tin cans outside. Then, he made his way towards the main deck.
Somehow, the lack of robots in the hallways were more threatening than reassuring, yet it allowed Roman to march unimpeded towards the main deck. Once he started closing in, he made sure to approach on the tip of his toes before checking if Cinder was indeed gone.
Now sure he was alone on the bridge, Roman walked up to the main console and looked over the commands. He put Hush and his temporary gun down before stretching his fingers.
"Let's see if I still remember how to fly this thing." he said as he started browsing through the ship's softwares.
When he finally found what he thought to be the directional software, he grumbled. The thing was password locked.
"Just my luck." he said to himself, "Now, those idiots tend to keep their passwords somewhere, so let's see if I can't find them."
With that, Roman started searching the desk below the console, opening drawers and browsing notepads in search for the desired password. He eventually found what he was searching for, and inputted it into the console.
Now was the hard part though. He had to put this ship out of its current course, and these government made softwares weren't the type to be user-friendly.
Roman started browsing the software, trying to get the hang of it, when he heard metallic footsteps behind him. He quickly reached for his gun, but it was shot away. When he turned around, he saw Ironwood was the one coming in.
"I knew you would be the one behind this takeover." growled the general, "Now get away from this console."
"Now, now, Jimmy." chimed Roman as he sneakily went to grab Hush, "As much as I would like to take credit for turning your own army against you, I'm afraid I'm as much of a victim as you in this situation."
"Forgive me if I don't feel like believing you right now. Torchwick." said Ironwood.
"Will you at least let me get this ship back towards the sky ?" offered Roman, "I don't know about you, but I don't particularly like the idea of finishing smashed like a crepe in the middle of Vale. And we both know you won't be able to do it on your own."
"Get away from the console." repeated Ironwood, "And put your hands where I can see them. You're not getting away this time."
"Oh James. You should know me by now." teased Roman, "I always get away."
Roman quickly jumped over the console, opening Hush behind him to block the general's shots. Then, he safely hid behind it.
"What happened to your vow to protect the lives of every Atlesian citizen ?" shouted Roman.
"You lost the right to call yourself that long ago !" shouted back Ironwood.
With a loud shot, Ironwood used gravity Dust to fling himself above the console and aimed directly at Torchwick, only to realize the man was already stabbing him with Hush, blade out.
The general used another shot to move out of the way, and fired at Roman, who had opened Hush to block the hits.
"You know Jimmy, I might never have been trained in combat like you have, but I happen to know you quite well." chimed Roman, "And you are oh so predictable."
Ironwood roared, and ran at Roman, who fumbled a bit to close Hush just in time to block the general's guns as they swung down cross first at his face. He barely had the strength to hold the first time, and the second then third hit forced Roman's arms down, letting his face bare.
The general aimed and shot at point blank, yet Roman had managed to duck down. The bullet went straight through the window behind him, and smashed it apart.
Ironwood wasn't done yet however, and before Roman could get up, he felt the general's leg kick him straight in the ribs, sending him flying towards the wall, right next to the now glaring hole on the main deck. His aura was smashed apart.
"It seems your luck finally ran out Torchwick." said the general as he aimed his gun, "Now come with me quietly before you force me to end you."
Roman groaned until he noticed something outside, and smiled.
"That's where you're wrong general." he said, "I've always made my own luck."
And with that, Roman pushed himself off the bridge, and through the blasted window.
Back when Neo had jumped off the ship she had been held in, a particular group of soldiers were doing their jobs in a bullhead.
They had originally been four, but one of them had already fallen to the grimm. To shoot down the flying grimm around them, along with the ship's guns which were used by their pilot, the three of them had separated in two. Their best shot was on one side and the other two were on the other, all firing at any incoming grimm.
Suddenly, a grimm went straight through the bullhead's opened sides, and while one of the two soldiers working together managed to dodge it, the other was taken away and sent falling down.
"Noooooo !" shouted the remaining soldier before turning around to his last teammate, "What the hell ? Do your job !"
That's when he saw his teammate straddled to the doorframe, being strangled by what looked like the handle of a cane.
Before he could comprehend what was happening, a young pink, brown and white girl jumped in the bullhead and sent his remaining partner falling. Then, just as he aimed at her, his vision was filled with the woman's boots and he was kicked out as well.
After she had fallen down, Neo had used Melodic Cudgel's grappling hook function to attach herself to a flying bullhead. It was only luck that allowed her to down one of the soldiers at the same time, but she wasn't going to complain.
Neo walked into the cockpit, and with a large grin on her face, knocked the pilot unconscious. She then moved the body just out of the way before taking over the controls.
Neo might not know where exactly Roman was being held, but the only two ships capable of doing so were the one she had been on and Ironwood's main vessel. Since he hadn't been on the same ship as her, it meant he had to be on the one currently heading straight for the center of Vale.
She shook her head and sighed. Roman really had the worst of luck. Trouble tended to follow him wherever he went. Then again, half of the trouble would be something he had caused in the first place, so it wasn't that unexpected.
Neo flew towards the falling flagship as straight as she could, since she still had to dodge, and sometimes gun down, the grimm. She really hoped she would be able to get to Roman before any Griffin or Nevermore latched onto her craft.
She was about to go for the ship's docking bay when she noticed something on the main deck. The flashes seemed to indicate some sort of fight, and when she got nearer she noticed Roman against a wall with her beloved Hush, Ironwood aiming a gun at him.
Roman seemed to notice her as well, and he jumped out.
Neo rolled her eyes and set her bullhead's course straight for the ground before running towards the opened sides. When she got close enough to Roman, she jumped, and aimed Melodic Cudgel's grappling hook at him.
Roman smiled as he grabbed the handle, and Neo pulled herself towards him. Once reunited, the two falling criminals switched weapons, and Neo opened Hush, abruptly stopping their descent.
The criminals slowly drifted down, Roman desperately clinging onto Neo as she had one arm thrown around him to keep him steady, and the other holding onto Hush. The bullhead crashed far below them, and the flagship didn't show any sign of changing course, but the duo were on their way towards the safety of the ground.
That was without counting on the grimm though, as a couple Griffins decided they would become their next unfulfilling meal.
Roman aimed Melodic Cudgel at one of them and fired, shaking it off temporarily, while Neo had to close Hush to dodge the other. The sudden drop made Roman yelp, and when the Griffins came back around for more, Neo opened Hush again.
The grimms flew just below them, and Roman took that opportunity to let go of Neo and drop down on one of their backs. Then, grabbing tightly at the Griffin's feathers, he fired Melodic Cudgel's handle at Neo, who grabbed it and closed Hush again.
Roman swung Neo like a bat, sending her towards the other Griffin, which Neo stabbed straight through the hide, turning it into dust. Then, she finished her motion by landing on the other Griffin's back, just next to Roman.
Other grimms decided to join the fray. Neo and Roman were both exhausted, and out of aura, but they still got ready to fight. They had always survived, and as long as they had each other, they would continue to do so. Even if their situation was desperate.
Their mount tried to shake them off, causing Roman to lose hold and fall, and Neo quickly jumped after him. There, they were both at the mercy of the Nevermores diving down.
Roman aimed his cane at the pesky birds, but before he could shoot, everything turned silver.
Once the blinding light was gone, the grimm were too. Unable to understand what had happened, the two criminals slowly drifted down to earth, finally safe and sound.
"You know what Neo ?" said Roman once he caught his breath, "I actually wished I wouldn't end up being right, for once."
Neo and Roman walked through the deserted streets of Vale. The city was in ruins.
"I don't know about you, but I kind of feel like going back to good ol' skullduggery, instead of world ending plots." offered Roman.
Neo nodded, and signed back at him .
Yeah, this little Cinder adventure of yours kind of left us pretty damn screwed.
"Hey it's not like I had a choice" He replied defensively.
The two kept walking through the busted streets, trying to avoid the mangled bodies still lying around.
"Anyway, let's see, where should we hit things up ?" asked Roman aloud, "Vale's a bust, so if we want quality goods in quantity, the best option would be Atlas."
Neo shook her head.
I mean, unless you want to be starved and beaten again, sure why not.
"Yeah, I don't feel like dealing with Ironwood either." acknowledged Roman, "No Atlas then. And since Vacuo is worthless, that only leaves us with one place to steal from."
Neo grinned, and Roman loudly shouted.
"To Mistral we go !"