"Ready for your first day of school, kiddo?" Roman playfully ruffled Neo's hair as he made his joking comment to her. She gave him an unimpressed look as she ran her hands across her head, sending the silent message not to mess with her current look. "I'll take that as a yes."
Looking her disguise over, he had to admit he was impressed with how well she could disguise herself, even without the use of her Semblance. Abandoning her recognisable tri-coloured hair in favour of simple black pigtails, Neo had switched from the classier clothes he knew her for to something more typical of teenage girls. Her black ensemble with white frills made her look noticeably younger, and changing her eye colour to green made it particularly hard to see through the façade.
"Before we go, let's go over the plan again." Neo slumped back in her chair and rolled her eyes at his word, comically exaggerating every motion. "I know, we've been over it six times already, but this is important."
Neo held up seven fingers to remind him of how many times they had actually been over this, but he chose to ignore that and keep going.
"You are to accompany Miss Cinder to Haven Academy. While there, you are to attempt to earn her trust and find out what exactly she's planning there. Hopefully you'll get some ideas on what it has to do with stealing Dust from a different kingdom on a different continent to the one she's going to, and hopefully that answer won't turn out to be a massive waste of our time." He observed her silently nodding at that last statement. They'd had their fair share of false leads in the past, and even some of their more worthwhile jobs had steps that seemed utterly irrelevant. Both hoped this wouldn't be the case here. "What else?"
"I have to try and figure out why she wants the White Fang working for her and what they stand to gain from her. You should try and figure that out too, but you'll probably mess up, so best I try as well." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully when she finished that sentence, earning herself an exaggerated indignant expression from Roman.
"I didn't know you thought so little of me, Neo! Oh, the pain! Doubted by oldest companion!" He shook his fist at the sky for emphasis, drawing small giggles from the woman beside him in response. His intention achieved, he grabbed the key's to his apartment and turned to her with a more serious expression. "Remember, only use secure channels if you need to communicate, and don't make contact with any of Haven's staff. Cinder might get suspicious if she sees you palling around with the teachers you're supposed to be tricking. For all intents and purposes, you'll be working this case alone."
She gazed up at him with a look that told him just how important she knew this mission was and nodded. He knew that, if she was as smart as he believed, she would be cautious about this task and the solitude required for it, but she pushed that all aside. She had a job to do, and Neo wasn't the type to let her doubts get in the way of succeeding.
"Alright. Time to go."
They arrived at the meeting point, which to the surprise of neither, was located on the docks. Cinder was waiting for them, and had brought two more accomplices with her. It didn't take a genius to figure out that, if she and Neo were infiltrating Haven as students, these two would be the other team members. Both of the spies started to analyse them as best they could.
The first was a girl, dark skin, green hair that mostly sat at her shoulders, with the exception of two long but thin strands behind her back, and red eyes. Her outfit seemed designed for travelling in warmer climates, given it exposed her arms and midriff, but both chose to instead focus on the pair of pistols behind her back. If she was skilled enough to infiltrate an academy, chances are they had another trick to them, that Neo would have to keep an eye out for. Before she noticed them, her attention seemed to be focussed solely on Cinder, which could have a few interpretations, but the fact her expression was more cheerful than it would be when she noticed them implied she had some degree of fondness for the sinister woman, for whatever reason.
The other, standing further from the group, was a paler man with grey hair and matching eyes, dressed in a black and grey ensemble that looked well suited for exercise. His arms had some basic armour on them, the kind that implied he liked to get close to his opponents in a fight, a belief backed up by the ammo loaded around his ankles, a clear sign that his weapons were mounted to his feet. He seemed to not be paying attention, and only briefly glanced over at them when they first entered, implying he was less invested in all this than Cinder or the other girl. That or he felt confident he could beat them both if they caused problems, even without paying attention. Neither possibility was out of the question.
When they were both inside, Cinder approached them, that same smug grin on her face. "Roman, I didn't know your little friend was a fan of dress-up."
"Best to keep a low profile. You'd hardly want one of your teammates linked to a criminal in another kingdom, right?" He gestured at Neo as he spoke, who spun for effect, as if she was simply showing off fashion instead of a disguise. The answer seemed to please Cinder enough for her to lead them towards a Bullhead she must have acquired for transport. The green haired girl kept a cautious eye on the pair of them. "See something you like, minty?"
She glared in response, which just made his smirk widen. Something about getting under their skin brought him a simple joy that he could never explain, but always appreciated. "Are you sure these two are reliable, Cinder?"
The dark haired woman sharply turned towards her, making her flinch at the sudden focus. "What did I say about questioning my decisions, Emerald?"
"...I'm sorry." The girl, Emerald bowed her head slightly, seemingly in shame, and went silent from then on. The small exchange gave both Roman and Neo some vital information into her thought process and relationship with Cinder, the kind of intel that could mean the difference between life and death for the shorter woman over the foreseeable future. She was loyal, and cautious around newcomers, but subservient to her leader. That meant Neo would have to be extra careful around her, because this girl wouldn't think twice about exposing her identity if she learned it.
Off to one side, the boy chuckled to himself. "Great first impression, Emerald."
She raised her head enough to glare across at him, but he just smirked at her. The two seemed to have a more antagonistic relationship, but such a small exchange couldn't confirm anything. It could be that they simply liked to make jabs at each other, and that he'd be just as loyal to their cause as Emerald. They'd need more to work with on this guy before they reached any conclusions. Cinder spoke before any attempts to learn more could be made. "That's enough. We have a long flight ahead of us, so make sure the ship is fully loaded."
"Aye aye, captain." The boy half-heartedly saluted as he climbed on-board with Emerald to check their stock. With that done, Cinder turned back to the pair of thieves.
"Tell me, what is her cover?" Even though she spoke to Roman, she looked directly at Neo.
"Noir Dodgson. Fights with a rapier..." He handed Neo a box containing said weapon and a few other supplies. "...has not awakened to her Semblance, and was born mute, so communicates with her Scroll. I've got all the necessary reading material, here."
Passing over a small bag containing notes and fake transcripts, Roman took a step back as Cinder glanced over the contents. "We can work with this, as long as "Noir" continues to prove useful to us."
Neo didn't like the implication, and if she could talk probably would have given her thoughts on the matter, but as it stood simply glared as her partner continued his work. "Oh, I can assure you she will, much more than certain...other company we have to put up with."
He looked to one side and grimaced as he spoke to make it clear who he was talking about. Cinder brushed a hand across his cheek and made her look back at him, either not noticing or not caring that the shorter woman's glare deepened at the action. "Oh, Roman. I understand you have your reservations about the White Fang, but it's all in service of a greater goal. Put on a brave face, and by the time we stop needing them, you'll be a very rich, very powerful man."
He made himself smile, even as she gave the least trustworthy smirk he'd ever seen. "I sure like the sound of that. I guess, in service of such a noble ambition, I can...tolerate some rabid dogs for a while."
"Good. We will return in due time. Continue your efforts until then. Keep them in line, don't let them catch wind of our plans, and soon enough you'll be brought into the real game." She gestured to Neo to go to the ship. The mute girl took the time to give her partner one last handshake before doing so. Cinder turned to follow. "Take care, Roman. I do look forward to the fruits of your labours."
With all four of them aboard, the ship began to float upwards, wind billowing around it. Torchwick stood there, hand on his cane, and watched it rise, his eyes on Neo the whole time. He tipped his hat to her, and she nodded back, before the ship turned and flew off. Only when it was past the horizon did he let out the breath he'd been holding and try to calm his out of control heartbeat. He knew this was important, that it could give them the lead they'd been waiting for all along, but then he'd think of his dear friend, surrounded by enemies with no allies in sight, and he couldn't help but think he'd just made a terrible mistake. But now, all he could do was hope for the best, as he strode back into the night covered city.
"...Stay safe, Neo."
The flight guaranteed to be a long one, as crossing between continents could only ever be. Cinder personally flew the craft, perhaps not trusting her companions with the task, or simply because she felt like it. Emerald sat next to her, unsurprisingly, leaving Neo and the currently unnamed boy to sit in the backseats. He had chosen to occupy himself with a game on his Scroll, thankfully, so she could at least count on him to not try and start a conversation. In fact, the atmosphere was refreshingly quiet, giving her plenty of time to think and hopefully plan.
While that had been her intention, reality instead meant that she found her thoughts drifting to memories. She had made this same journey once before, after all, albeit in reverse, so it was hard not to remember that day. Feeling safe that no-one would rouse her from her thoughts, she stared out the window and allowed it all to come back to her.
"You doin' ok there, Neo?" Roman whispered to her, an accent that made him sound so much like his father slipping through in this private moment. She nodded, despite her nerves. The two had been through a lot together, but this was their first time flying, so they were still getting used to the experience. "Alright. I'm gonna get a look out that window, over there. You wanna come with?"
She waved him off with a smile. Honestly, right now she wanted to sit in her assigned seat, cling to the armrests, and not stand up until this giant box was safely back on the ground, but she kept that thought to herself. With one last comforting pat on the shoulder, her friend stood and walked across to a window where a group of their soon to be classmates were staring out across the kingdom of Vale, their new home.
It had taken a lot for them to cross the ocean from Anima to the easternmost city of Sanus, but the actual decision had been easy. They may have grown up in the nature of Anima, seen the kingdom of Mistral and a few other settlements where people tried to survive, but it had too many bad memories for them. Both wanted a fresh start, and neither wanted to try their luck with Atlas or Vacuo, so Vale was the only real option left for them.
With a fresh start brought new outfits, and Roman had been particularly eager to leave the image of a farm boy far behind with his choice of attire. Dressed in a white button-up with matching black waistcoat, cravat and formal trousers, he tried to carry himself as someone from a slightly wealthier background. He even tried to put on more of a city born accent when talking to strangers, so they wouldn't assume he was raised in the countryside. His hair was growing out a little, but had yet to cover his eye as it one day would, letting him look out onto his new home without any obstruction.
Neo looked down at her own new outfit, which she had struggled to decide on, but was reasonably pleased with the result. Since she needed to be mobile for her fighting style, a majority of her outfit was comprised of a pink leotard she had used for dance and combat practise, but she hardly wanted to be known as the girl who wore just that everywhere, so she also picked up a pair of dark shorts and knee length white platform boots. Fingerless gloves in her size had been difficult to find, but she was satisfied with the results, and a few bracelets on each wrist appealed to her personal style. Finally, tying the rest of the outfit together was a white leather jacket, designed to be fully flexible and not get in the way during her fights.
Overall, she felt they looked pretty good, even if she had given Roman a bruise for laughing at how little her height improved, even with the extra help of her footwear.
"You sure you don't want to see this?" The boy called over to her, his fake accent now being used. She had to admit it was impressive and a little worrying how convincing he was at faking it, but maybe that was just because she was so used to hearing him in his real voice. Regardless, she was hesitant to leave that seat, clinging to the handle of the new weapon she was working on. So far all she had was a thin, rapier like blade, with an appropriate sized sheath, and while that may have been all the functionality she needed to fight, she couldn't help but feel it could be improved.
"I'll settle for pictures, thanks." She knew it was weird, training to be a Huntress and fight monsters without any hesitation, but being practically petrified at being in a ship floating safely through the air, though acknowledging that didn't make it any easier for her to get up and look at how high up they were. She turned away from him and started taking deep breaths, hoping that the simple exercise would distract her from the world below her. This did not work, mostly due to a hand grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her out of her seat before she could process it.
With only one free hand, Neo couldn't properly express her thoughts to Roman at him grabbing her like this, but she was so startled that they wouldn't have been coherent anyway. Just as she had enough time to process her thoughts enough to punch him in the shoulder for this, he let go of her, leaving her standing right in-front of the window. For a brief moment, all she could do was stare at Vale's skyline, how the natural world met the artificial landscape in something strangely beautiful. She had lived all her life staring up at sights like this, typically from areas plagued by crime, poverty and the ever present threat of Grimm, and yet now here she stood, looking down at it from so far above. She could finally see the appeal of it all.
Then she looked directly down and immediately regretted it, her head starting to spin as she was reminded how big a fall it would be if the ship were to go down. Fortunately, that redhaired boy she'd known for so long wrapped an arm around her to help her feel grounded. "This is our home now. Heck of a sight, isn't it?"
She felt her lips part as if to respond, even though she knew that no words would ever emerge from them. With her mind clearly too distracted to properly convey her thoughts, she settled for simply nodding, leaning into Roman to help herself feel stable again. She briefly wondered if her dizziness was worse than she thought, as she could feel her temperature rising by the minute.
As he held onto her, a sight appeared that stunned them both; a shining tower extending from an ornate structure. They had seen pictures of Beacon Academy before, but nothing could prepare them for the real thing. Roman was so amazed by the grandeur of the structure that all he could do was let out small chuckles to himself. Neo simply stared at it with wide eyes, her fears of falling briefly fading.
When the ship landed, they took their first shaky steps towards their new home. They gazed at it in silence as they walked side by side, minds racing at all that lay before them. Each wondered what lay in store for them here. Would they excel or struggle? Would they be beloved or reviled? Would they regret this choice or look back on it with pride?
Neo didn't have answers to those questions. She could only state one certain truth; "I am definitely getting a parachute next time."
It was funny to look back on that day now, as she now was so used to flying that she could practically feel herself drifting to sleep on this journey. She refused to allow that, however, as dropping her guard so significantly around people she not only did not trust, but knew were a threat, was to be reckless to the point of insanity. She was confident that, if this was an overly elaborate trap, she would be able to fight her way out enough to escape, or at least take one or two of them down with her, but it still was not worth the risk.
Still, she couldn't help but reflect on how much things had changed since then. It had been so long since she'd heard her partner speak in his original accent that she honestly wondered if he even could anymore. She would not, however, complain if his voice had forever changed, as she honestly felt he suited the change quite well.
"So, what's your deal, shorty?" The sole man of the group asked, seemingly bored of his game now, or finally letting his curiosity get the better of him. She stared across at him, eyes conveying how underwhelmed she was at the generic nickname she had heard thousands of times by now. "Wait, let me guess. You're a rich girl who got bored of the high life and wanted something more fun, aren't you?"
"Ignore him." Emerald spoke up from the front. "Mercury's a professional headache."
"Ah, so his name's Mercury. Good to know." Neo made a mental note of this new information, before returning her focus to the conversation.
"Ohhh! The pain! To be insulted so, dear Emerald!" Mercury overreacted to the words as if he had just been shot, before returning to his normal tone. "Lighten up, Em. Aren't these academies meant to teach us how to cooperate, or something like that? How am I supposed to do that if I don't know anything about my precious teammates?"
Emerald just rolled her eyes and went back to ignoring the boy, leaving him to once again turn his attention to Neopolitan. It was clear from his gaze and posture that he wouldn't leave her alone until she answered his previous guess. Miming a sigh, she decided to test something, rapidly moving her hands in gestures she knew off by heart. If anyone around her knew what the gestures meant, then they would know that she was saying something very rude to Mercury, involving him, a tight space and the kind of bad decisions typically reserved for people that have drank far too much alcohol.
He stared at her for a moment once she finished. His eyes were fixed on her, his expression frozen and his body unmoving with the exception of his breathing. The brief moment his eyes darted away as his mouth slowly opened just the smallest amount confirmed what she already suspected; he had no idea what she had just said. You couldn't fake that kind of surprise without prior warning, which he had not been given, so she now knew for certain that he could not understand sign language.
"Uhhhh, yes, I agree. I am amazing." He said, either as a joke or to try and convince the others that he knew what he was talking about, not that either of them had been paying attention to the exchange. The illusionist silently giggled to herself, his comment taking on a very different interpretation when taken as a response to her previous statement, and presumably not one he would be eager to agree with. The exchange seemed to have shut him up for the time being, if just because he didn't want to figure out how to talk to a mute yet. She took that as a small victory, if nothing else, even if the exchange hadn't given her a few more useful bits of information about her "companions".
"We'll be arriving soon. Once we land, you'll each take your own individual transcripts and arrange transport the rest of the way to the academy. Remember, to avoid suspicion, we can't be seen together until after initiation." Cinder said with authority, giving them no more attention than she felt necessary. Neo hadn't been aware of this stage of the plan, and from what she could see, neither of the other participants seemed too eager about it. The gears of the mute girl's mind started turning, at first worrying about if the plan could go wrong before it had even begun, before a thought occurred to her that changed her mood drastically. She leaned back with a smirk on her face, eager to put her new plan into motion.
The group remained in relative silence until they landed in the forest outside Mistral, each grabbing their own supplies from the ship's cargo. Cinder addressed them all once again.
"I expect all of you to make it to our destination on time. if any of you jeopardise the plan, the punishment will be severe. Is that understood?" The threat hung in the air, each responding to it a different way. Emerald hesitantly nodded, while Mercury muttered a half-hearted acceptance and didn't wait to start walking towards the kingdom. Neo decided to play it safe for now, and simply nod to the villain, who smirked in response. It was clear that was her default expression, and the spy already wanted an excuse to wipe it from her face, but she would hold off for now.
Once Cinder took her leave, and the mint-haired girl shot her one more suspicious look, Neo turned and started to skip towards her destination, practically giddy to begin plotting behind their backs so soon.
Roughly an hour later, a bar in the slums was roaring with life. People were drinking their fill, arm-wrestling, flirting, and fighting over nothing. Off in the corner, at a small table, a woman lay down a set of cards. "I do believe that's a winnin' hand."
The others at the table groaned as their money was shuffled away, knowing that they weren't going to win it back. As the victor chuckled and started counting her earnings, one of the defeated excused himself to get a fresh drink. The dealer started to hand out the cards for the next round, already knowing they were in for a long night of gambling. "Starting bet, 200 this time."
The winner of the last round chuckled. "Let's make it interesting. Raise to 1000."
As soon as she finished, the necessary Lien was placed in the centre of the table by an unfamiliar hand, calling the attention of the rest of the table. A girl they didn't recognise had taken the empty seat and picked up the cards dealt to the absent player. Their expressions became cold, as they all wondered whether they should question her or skip to showing how bad a decision she had made. All except the sole woman of the group.
"Sorry, missy, but this table's invite only. Gonna have to ask you to-" Her words cut short in her throat when the other girl blinked. The eyes peaking out from above the cards had gone from green to pink and brown. The gambler was silent for a moment, then laughed. "Well I'll be. Didn't think I'd be seeing you tonight."
She gestured for the others at the table to let go of the weapons they were holding and picked up her cards, scanning them silently, before putting them back on the table, silently conceding the round, seemingly just on a whim. But the silent girl knew better. Nothing this woman did was without purpose, especially not losing.
"So, Neo, what can this old spider do for you?"
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Before we leave for the night, I thought I'd give you all some updates about the story's direction.
First of all, I've decided that, regardless of what happens, I'm currently only aiming to reach the equivalent of volume 3's ending. That does not mean that is necessarily where the story ends, just that it's the point I'm focussing on, and that I'll decide closer to the time if I will continue on beyond that point.
Secondly, it has been a thought in my mind for a while now that future chapters might include flashbacks to Roman and Neo's time at Beacon, and that if that is the case, I might want some original characters for them to have as classmates. While I could attempt to create these characters, I decided first I would give you, the readers, a chance to submit potential characters for the purposes of these flashbacks (should they occur). If you are at all interested, here's the details I need (you can add more if you want);
Full name (Must apply for the colour scheme naming in place in the RWBY universe)
Signature colour
What they look like/how they dress when not in uniform
Weapon
Semblance (Please try to avoid using one already featured in the show, if you can)
What they're based on (Fairy tale character, historical figure, etc.)
Personality traits
Additionally, I'm putting in place the following ground rules:
1 entry per person, unless I state otherwise later. Teams will be decided by me
No creating unmentioned relatives or associates of existing RWBY characters. You can create family or associates for them, but they must also be original.
And remember that this is just meant for fun. Most of these characters are unlikely to have much role beyond these flashbacks, and even then it's uncertain how much of a role they will have. I just want to give you all the option, if you want to take it. This offer is open to everyone, but no-one has to take part. Only do so if you want to.
Finally, I want to thank you all for your patience since the last update, and wish you all the best. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you next time. Take care.