Prologue:
Today just wasn't Romans day.
He had arrived at the dust store around ten minutes ago, his henchmen right behind him. It was supposed to be an easy job, just another piece of the huge cake of dust he had been tasked with building. A quick in and out, a bit of intimidating, a pickup and then he'd be back to base in no time. Hell, he'd not even considered bringing neo, though he kind of wished he had.
Well, there was not much he could do at this point. There truly wasn't. Two titans currently battled in front of his very eyes. The huntress Glynda Goodwitch versus his boss, Cinder Fall. The two were fighting it out on the rooftops of vale, with a wrecked bullhead in the background. He supposed he should probably mention the red haired little girl who was standing behind Goodwitch, just like he was staying behind Cinder. God how he wished little red hadn't gone and played a hero in the store.
So here he was, stuck on the rooftops of vale. All thanks to that brat. The brat in question fired a shot in his direction. Quite pathetic really, one shot from Melodic Cudgel countered it. but of course she wanted to play hero and shoot at him again. This time he just stepped to the side. Red just didn't know when to quit.
As he ducked out of the way of some rubble probably thrown by Goodwitch, he couldn't help but note just how out of his league the two combatants were. As another bit of rubble flew past his head while a huge flame dragon soared around in the sky it really just affirmed his point, and it just had to knock off his hat. Damn it all! Why couldn't anything work out today?
He supposed he'd have to message Neo and tell her that he probably wouldn't be back in time to buy her that ice cream he'd promised. The thought of that confrontation filled him with dread. Neo loved her ice cream and as a rule of thumb he avoided making Neo angry at all cost.
Then again maybe he should focus more on what was happening in front of him. Cinder seemed to have the advantage, conjuring huge amounts of fire at her opponent. Roman did hope that she had called in another bullhead, because he had been so lost in thoughts that he'd forgotten they still needed to get out. More pesky hunters were sure to be on their way, and although he was quite skilled himself there was no way in hell he'd be able to beat another Goodwitch.
That really did put an unpleasant thought into his head. What did Cinder need him for anyways? Sure, he was useful for robbing stores, but in all honesty he had to admit that there wasn't a chance he couldn't hold his own in a fight against an experienced hunter. He was arrogant, not an idiot after all.
As the bullhead pickup that Cinder most likely had called in closed near, he did consider his options. Once whatever his boss needed the dust for was completed, he'd be out of work. And when your boss was Cinder Fall, that meant out of life. He'd been hoping to stall for time, that maybe he'd find some way to stay useful. But judging by what he saw he doubted he would be needed once nothing more needed to be stolen.
What other options did he have? Neo wouldn't be able to fight opponents of this caliber. He couldn't exactly outrun them, he'd be found and then he'd be put down. Cinder wasn't the most forgiving person. It really wasn't a good time to be him.
His thoughts were interrupted as a tempest of fire and debris looked like it was coming his way. Luckily for him he saw it i n time and jumped to the rooftop behind him. Looking up he saw the bullhead he'd been waiting for had almost reached his position. Soon he'd be safe and sound.
But as he was thinking that, an idea struck him. Goodwitch seemed to be holding her own against Cinder and she was hardly the only huntsman in Vale. In fact he was quite certain that if he kept his current course he'd have to face someone of these two monsters caliber eventually. And even if he didn't get to face any of the scary huntsmen he'd probably get to face Cinder herself at the end of the line.
He was beat as long as he stuck with Cinder. Perhaps Cinder would win, but he was doomed to lose if he followed his current path. As he jumped down from the rooftop into the alleys of Vale, changing his path, running the opposite direction from both the chaos and the bullhead who had been sent to pick them up. He couldn't help but ask himself why he'd done it as he sent a quick message to Neo. But as that old saying goes:
If you can't beat them...