Roman Torchwick
Weiss was walking at the front of the line, followed by Oscar, with Nora bringing up the rear and looking around to make sure they attracted no extra attention. As they approached the storage area, Roman stood beside Weiss, his eyes on the length of her slender fingertip as it extended to the keypad beside the door.
2-4-6-0-1
Each number beeped in confirmation as she pressed it, and when she finished the sequence, the plastic circle above the keypad flashed green, followed by a mechanical 'woosh' as the sliding door hissed open. The party stood in silence for a moment as they peered into the dimly lit storage room and exchanged nervous glances.
"I do feel kinda bad about this. We're breaking the rules." Oscar said in a weak whisper, his eyes fixated on the "EMPLOYEES ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT' sign plastered above the doorway. Roman snickered at that and clasped the boy on the back.
"Every life of crime has to start somewhere, Hayseed. Remind me when we get back to the room, we can clip some mattress tags together." Roman laughed because he was annoyed, honestly. He really didn't want to be here. Not that he argued all that passionately against it… He knew Weiss would insist on being heroic once the lives of the passengers were threatened.
"I agree, but we don't have much choice." Weiss gave Roman an unamused frown before she nodded to Oscar. She pulled out her scroll to check the clock display. "They didn't give us enough time to come up with a plan. We only have fifteen minutes left."
Weiss sighed, took a deep breath, and stepped into the storage room.
They'd been in a forbidden portion of the ship for a few minutes now. As soon as they slipped past the first 'do not enter' sign, the wooden paneling ceased to cover the walls, revealing the cold gray steel of the bulkhead beneath. The plush carpet was likewise gone, replaced by squares of gloomy gray tile, and the golden glow of decorative chandeliers overhead had given way to humming pallor of naked fluorescent lights fixed into the ceiling.
All the finery was just skin deep… once you scratched off that thin layer, what lay beneath was spartan and ugly. Roman smirked at the thought. Shame this was a Mistralan vessel- it suited Atlas so perfectly.
"Ugh! It's so cramped in here! Gonna be hard to fight with all this junk in the way." Nora whined as they began to traverse the storage area. The atmosphere here was the same as it had been outside, but the space was much narrower. Cast-iron shelves formed long rows through the room, each extending from the deck to the overhead, and lined with heavy, wooden crates.
There was enough space between each shelf for a person to walk comfortably… maybe two, side-by-side, if they didn't mind touching shoulders, but poor Einherjar would be out of luck if she wanted to swing her hammer around. At least, if she didn't want to make a mess.
"That's true for them too, though." Oscar replied. "Maybe they really do just want to talk? They could have picked this as a meeting place because it would make it hard to attack each other."
"Or, counterpoint," Roman shook his head, "They picked this place because they knew it would impede us, but not them. People who take hostages ain't the type to play fair, in my experience." It would be nice if these people could eventually learn how cruel the world is. It had only been a minor annoyance before, back when they were enemies, but now he had a stake in trying to 'not' let the brats get themselves killed. Was this how parenthood felt!?
They traversed the narrow halls, each of which ran twenty feet before opening into a four-way fork extending into new hallways in all cardinal directions. There was nothing to distinguish the shelves except the large red number painted at the front of each line, and the boxes that adorned them were of uniform size, shape, and color. The storage space wasn't just enormous… it was meandering as well.
They were fine for now, walking in a straight line, but if a fight were to break out? If they didn't pay constant attention to what they were doing, they'd get lost among the shelves, or perhaps even separated. The enemy had a virtually limitless number of blind corners and distant shadows to hide behind, and if they did force them into a direct fight, it would be in be in a corridor so narrow that Weiss' agility and Nora's enormous hammer would be useless.
"Yes, yes, I know. This is probably a trap, and you think we should leave." Weiss had been watching Roman out of the corner of her eye as they walked, and she answered his unspoken criticism. "We don't have much choice, while they're threatening everyone. Besides, if they wanted to kill us, why warn us they were here?"
"To… lure us down into a cramped, abandoned storage area where we can't fight, and no one can hear us scream?" Nora offered in a sing-song tone, smiling broadly and raising a finger in declaration.
"Feels weird as hell to say, but I think Einherjar's got it right, this time." Roman said. The thought almost made him shudder, but perhaps an insane clock was still right twice a day. "The last time we dealt with one of these things, she tried to eat you the instant she got bored. Maybe don't take them at their word?"
Weiss shook her head, "Until we know more about them, we can't defy them without risking lives. Besides, I hid a message for Ruby back in the room. If worst comes to worst, we just have to hold out until she brings in the cavalry. Have a little faith in me, Roman."
"I got plenty of faith in you! That's why I let you drag us down here without bitching too much… It sounds like you're -actually- asking me to have faith in Little Red, though… and that's a much taller order, Weiss. What the hell do you mean you 'hid' a message?"
"Well, I had to be careful. These enemies are probably bluffing, but it's possible they're tracing our scrolls, or watching us through the ship's security cameras. I couldn't take the chance of contacting the rest of the team in an obvious way, but I had to alert them somehow. I'm not so naïve as to wander wherever my enemies command me without a word!" She gave him a confident smirk, though it wavered a bit as she added, "…Hopefully Ruby will be able to put the message together. No! She definitely will!"
"Worse than wanting me to have faith in Red… you want me to have faith in Red's brainpower? Well, we ain't guns or cookies, so forgive me if 'm not feeling confident." Roman closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He'd never gotten the sense that Ruby was 'stupid', per se, but she definitely seemed a touch… unfocused.
"Hmph! Ruby's smarter than you think, crook." Weiss seemed indignant that he'd dared to doubt her friend, turning up her nose and resting her fists on her hips as she once again smirked confidently. Though, once again her lips wavered as she felt compelled to add, her voice barely above a whisper, "…though she does make that hard to believe, sometimes."
"Very reassuring, Weiss. Got me convinced, now. No way this is a bad idea." Roman's voice was deadpan, and his expression flattened, but he jerked his shoulders into a small shrug. The situation was what it was… he was currently batting a zero when it came to talking Weiss out of something once she had decided on it, so the best he could do was try to protect her afterward.
…That was another reason he was feeling anxious, though. Against most enemies, he could at least be an unexpected advantage—an unseen pair of eyes that guarded Weiss' blind spots—but if Aibell, the lazy dragon, was anything to go by, these enemies would be able to see him, no problem. The first one they fought was so sluggish and unmotivated that they were able to outwit her, but if this new group took their job even the tiniest bit more seriously, then they could be in real trouble.
After fifteen minutes of walking down a series of narrow halls, the area finally opened into a wider space. This little reprieve from shelf hell wasn't huge either, only maybe twenty square feet, but at least it was a space that gave them room to fight if they had to. The four of them emerged from the narrow walls and immediately spread out into a defensive stance, Oscar and Nora turning to watch their backs as Weiss and Roman scanned the room.
It looked like an office area, with series of gray wooden desks lined up along the far wall, each covered with various documents and legers. A wheeled office chair was positioned in front of each desk, with only the one at the center desk turned away from the shelves. As the group emerged, an amused titter began to echo from that seat, the source of the sound obscured behind the chair's high leather back.
"So, you've arrived." A female voice, still strained by the earlier laughter, echoed through the area, followed by a creaking sound as the office chair spun around to reveal its occupant. Roman didn't recognize her at first, but Weiss didn't share his struggle.
"Ugh! I should have known." Weiss huffed and rolled her eyes, the indignation finally helping Roman to recall where he'd seen this woman before. Short, dark skin, golden eyes, security uniform: she was the guard who tried to pick a fight with Weiss before they boarded. Only the hat was missing now, the diminutive woman's black hair uncovered as her piercing eyes looked the group over with a kind of bored curiosity. She was slouching in the chair, her elbow pressed against the armrest as her cheek rested against her gloved palm.
"Were you facing the wall this entire time? Did you do that -just- so you could twirl around and reveal yourself when we got here? You can be honest!" Nora chimed in with her usual good humor. This earned her the stranger's undivided attention for just a moment, her bright gold eyes narrowing as she looked the short-haired huntress over.
"Do not be absurd! I was merely wiling the minutes of my wait in quiet contemplation." She said firmly, though she looked away for just a fragment of a moment afterward, and a touch of red colored her cheeks. Nora hummed thoughtfully at that.
"No need to be embarrassed about it. I'd totally do the same thing! Though… you realize the 'swivel-chair reveal' is for villains, right?" Nora poked a second time. Roman had known this girl for all of a week, by now, and she was utterly incomprehensible to him. Her eyes were sharper than they seemed, and while she was the goofball of the group, she was surprisingly empathetic and tended to know when to reign it in and be genuine. That was what made moments like these so hard for him to guess at. He could never be sure whether she was obtuse or actively provoking someone.
If it was the latter, she seemed to hit her mark here. The reclining woman narrowed her eyes so fiercely that they were nearly pinched shut, the corner of her mouth turning downward as her gloved fingertip tapped the cheek resting against her hand.
"You will cease your prattle, child; your role in these proceedings is to observe, not to speak." Her voice was strained as she gave Nora a last, terrible look, rotating her chair a quarter-circle and turning her head toward one of the far hallways. "So, then? Have they come unattended?"
There was silence for several seconds, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps on the tile floor behind them. Roman turned just in time to see a tall, lanky man and a short, broad woman emerge from the darkness, both wearing the same security jumpsuits as their leader. The man looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, with spindly limbs and shoulder-length, disheveled blonde hair. The woman trailed a short distance behind him, barely coming up to his waist. Her sandy brown hair was kept in a short pixie cut, and her dark brown eyes had a bored glint to them.
"Yes. The others are be-behaving normally." The male newcomer said with a nod. At well over six feet himself, Roman seldom met anyone he had to look up at, but this guy was an exception. Standing eight inches taller than Torchwick and peering down at the thief as he awkwardly shifted past Weiss' group and stood beside his tiny teammate. The boy may have been intimidating if he weren't so deathly thin... The new girl had the opposite problem: plenty of bulk- Her body was so rippled with muscle that the outline of her form was defined even beneath her jumpsuit- but way too short to be scary.
A mouthy one, a scrawny one, and a brawny one… Roman reflected on the text message they'd sent to Weiss. This was probably their entire group if the moniker of 'team DBL' was to be believed. He grunted as he tried to assess them. If he and Weiss managed to take these three out, would that be the last of these 'Fables'?
"Really, now? This is a pleasant surprise. Humans are as dull-witted as they are pig-headed, so I feared my instructions would prove too much for you, simple though they were." The seated woman tittered again. "Since you had the common sense to treat with us fairly, I will respond in kind. Welcome to your trial, Weiss Schnee. I am Leanan, fourth child of the Fabled. This trembling leaf of a man is Dian, my baby brother, and she is Brigid, my little sister. We will be the ones to pass your judgement."
"I-it's nice to m-me-meet you, Weiss Schnee." Dian shifted awkwardly when attention was drawn to him for a moment, offering the Ice Queen a formal bow. "I am Dian, fif-fi-fifthborn child of the F-fabled."
He was a bit more invested in the proceedings than Brigid was, who merely grunted in recognition when she heard her name, looking bored. Weiss looked at the three creatures with a thoughtful frown. A trio of goofballs was hard to accept when you came in expecting tentacle dragons.
"Why are you doing this?" Weiss was quiet for a moment before crossing her arms. "The Grimm we fought before said that Roman was a threat, but what's so important about that tower that you'd threaten hundreds of innocent people just to keep it hidden?"
"W-well, it's Mother's dr-dream-" Dian had begun to dutifully explain, but Leanan cut him off with a violent hiss.
"Mind your tongue, Dian. We've no obligation to answer a question just because it was posed to us. Must you always be so cooperative?" The elder Fable sighed heavily, reaching down to ratchet up her seat as she turned her attention back to Weiss. "As to you, Weiss Schnee, I believed you meant to say 'Aibell'. You went through the trouble of murdering my baby sister; you've an obligation to remember her name."
Leanan had been careful to project an air of calm, confident superiority ever since Weiss and her friends had arrived, but her voice cracked as she spoke her sister's name.
"O-oh, she was your sister?" Weiss jerked at that, and she gave Leanan a sympathetic stare, as if the reality of their connection to Aibell finally hit home for her. "I see. I have a sister, too. I'm sure if something happened to me, she'd react the same way you have…"
"Oh, please. Your attempt at empathy tastes over-sugared. We did not call you here to endure your condolences. Though, I confess, I hadn't expected to see that look cross your face, huntress. Was Aibell the first soul you'd ever killed?" Leanan snorted. Roman had a few things he wanted to say about the poor, deceased dragon, too, but he bit his tongue. Nora seemed to have already pushed the little spitfire as far as she was willing to go, and he didn't want to force a battle on their enemies' terms.
"I-," Weiss' voice cracked, and Roman could guess what memories had come rushing back to her. He'd been on the opposite side of all those battles, so he knew firsthand how scary Little Red's gang could be when push came to shove. Especially back on that underground train… when innocent lives were on the line. "…I've never wanted to kill anyone."
"Ah, is that lament in your voice? To think there is suffering in this world that can affect even the rich." Leanan leaned back in her chair and drew a deep breath in through her nose. "Still, you speak of your hesitation to slay humans, child. We of the Fabled were originally Grimm. The natural prey of the huntsmen."
"You're… strange creatures." Weiss' frown deepened, and she shook her head. "I don't regret killing your sister, Leanan, and I'm not going to apologize for it. She was preying upon helpless villagers. She'd killed so many people, and she would have killed so many more if I hadn't stopped her. At the end of the battle, though… when she was dying on the ground, she asked me to end her suffering. I'd never—I didn't like the way that felt. It made me wonder if things could have ended differently."
"Is that so?" It was Leanan's turn to fall silent, her voice carrying a tiny bit of tenderness in it that she'd never expressed before. Weiss nodded, scratching her cheek and waiting to make sure the Fable had nothing more to say before continuing.
"That's why I wanted to try to talk to you. Huntsmen may exist to exterminate Grimm, but the Grimm don't have parents. They don't suffer, and they don't mourn one another. Maybe you were Grimm once, but it sounds like you're closer to a human now. If we can understand each other, we won't need to fight, right?"
"Th-that would be best, y-yes!" Dian's voice rose enthusiastically from behind his sister, eliciting a menacing glare from Leanan.
"Oh, Weiss Schnee, must you encourage my little brother's altruistic folly?" Leanan sighed in disgust and shook her head. "Perhaps such eagerness to cooperate is what helped humans to survive in this Grimm-infested world, but your sentiments are misguided. The blood Aibell shed was enough to justify her death? You are not wrong to feel that way, but if that was your assessment, then the humans of Remnant and we of the Fabled can never hope to coexist."
"Why? You guys eat people or something? Could try switching to something else, you know? Pork is really good!" Nora offered in a friendly tone, but Leanan didn't so much as look in her direction. Seemed the Fable had decided to pretend Nora wasn't there… Roman hated how much he could relate to that feeling.
"Mother's dream is like a tremendous flame which will scorch the planet so that a new paradise can be built in its place." Leanan had been adamant about not sharing any information with them before, but now she was feeling chatty? Was she one of those 'tsundere' types? Strange she didn't like Weiss, if so. "The souls of those devoured by the Grimm are but kindling to start the blaze. Once it has swelled into a proper conflagration, life after life will be consumed within it. Human souls ripped into their component dust, and then used to construct Mother's garden. By the time the metamorphosis is complete, 9 of every 10 humans who currently live upon Remnant will have vanished."
"9 of every 10…" Weiss parroted the words, her frown melting into a look of shock as she tried to process what she'd heard. Oscar had begun to slink back, as well, a hand covering his face and uncomfortable groans escaping his lips.
"Gotta love it, don'tcha, Weiss?" Roman had kept his silence as long as a man like him was physically capable, so he finally vented a bit of his annoyance at the situation. "This Salem chick wants to destroy everything, the Mother of these brats is happy to stop after -just- 90% of us are dead, the brothers are up in heaven, is just sitting on their hands, watching us burn… Don't think I've ever met a would-be god that wasn't also a tremendous bag of dicks."
"Hmph, as you are already damned, I will overlook your blasphemy against our mother. I have spoken too freely, regardless. I'd assumed Aibell must have told you something about the Tower's purpose, when you fought." Whatever vulnerability or sincerity Leanan may have been expressing for a moment earlier, it had once again vanished behind her veneer of superior detachment.
"She didn't say much," Weiss admitted, furrowing her brow, "Most of what we know about the tower is what Roman heard from a talking dog."
The three Fabled reacted to her words as if she'd stricken them with lightning; Brigid grunting in confusion and jerking her body toward Weiss, while Dian looked at his elder sister with a questioning frown.
"A talking dog, you say…" Leanan exhaled through her nose, making a growl-like sound as her sharp golden eyes flicked from Weiss to Roman and back again. "That explains much about how you managed to escape, Fugitive." Her words trailed off into incoherent grumbling as she shook her head.
"Does it? Wonderful! Maybe you'd feel inclined to explain what it explains?" Roman shot her his most detached smirk. He didn't have a huge stake in the fate of the world. If the brothers wanted to maintain it, Salem wanted to destroy it, or these things wanted to do… whatever it is they're doing, more power to 'em all. He was only tired of getting jerked around by all-powerful forces without ever knowing why.
"Hmph, we have become sidetracked, have we not? Weiss Schnee…" Leanan responded to Roman's smirk with one of her own, her eyes flashing with smug indifference as she turned up her nose at him. She turned her attention to Weiss, "Indulge my honesty in saying this: were it my choice alone to make, I'd have already killed you where you stand. You've killed my sister, you endanger my Mother by harboring the Fugitive, and just the sight of you invites my ire. Still, I am saddled to a bleeding heart…"
Leanan frowned and cut her eyes toward the tall man beside her, who tilted his head in confusion at the sudden attention. "…and you have obliged the demands I made of you, so this once I shall be merciful. You have two paths before you, Weiss Schnee: Compliance and resistance."
The woman snickered proudly, crossing her arms as she sat in silence for a moment, as if believing her air to be intimidating. Honestly, if these were the big siblings of the dragon lady… Roman was a little bit underwhelmed. Aibell may have been lazier than a fat orange cat, but at least she had the whole '2-ton reptilian monster' thing going for her.
"You will dissever your bond with the fugitive. This very moment. That is our demand." When Leanan finally decided to continue she shifted the focus of her golden gaze back onto Weiss. "Should you comply, my siblings and I shall vanish like the mist. There will be no need for you to come to harm, nor your friends, nor the humans riding this vessel. We've little to gain by interfering with your little band; if the forces of Ozma and the forces of Salem wish to whittle one another down, you've our blessing to do it.
"Wait, you know about Ozma?" Oscar asked, breaking the silence he'd fallen into since the negotiation began. His head was downcast, his chin resting on the back of his wrist, and a darkness Roman had never seen in the Hayseed before was clouding his eyes."
"B-by reputation, t-" Dian began, but once again…
"Dian! I swear by all that Mother holds dear, I will imbue you with a sense of guile someday, even if it kills me." Leanan cut him off curtly, though there were equal parts frustration and fondness in her voice.
"Yeah, keep your secrets. After all, your request is so damned reasonable, ain't it?" Roman had grown tired of their vaudeville routine. He was used to being chased… it came with the job he'd chosen, but at least when the Vale PD were on his case, he could understand why. All this confusion soured his mood. "'Do what we say. Who are we? Classified. Why should you? Classified."
"Hmph, feel as though you deserve more? Such impudence! In the days of the garden, humans revered us as gods! Now you stand as our equals, making petty demands." Leanan brought her foot to the base of her chair and spun herself in a quick circle… for no apparent reason, save the fun of it. She spun about a few times before bringing her foot down again, abruptly halting herself in the direction of Weiss' group. She took a deep breath and sighed.
"Tis a moot point, since if you oblige our command, you will never see us again, and if you do not, you will die, but I do find myself wanting to help you. The humans of the outer world… the nations of Vale, Mantle, and -especially- Mistral. That your ancestors could have performed such a grave sin, and yet you know nothing about it… it disgusts me to the very core of my being."
Oscar grunted in pain. When Roman looked back toward him again, he saw that the young man had fallen to one knee. Nora knelt beside him, a hand on his shoulder as she whispered in his ear.
Ah, that's right. These freaks had been talking about Ozma all this time… did they not realize they were standing in the presence of the bespectacled Wizard all along? Was something going on between Hayseed and his tagalong right now?
"Very well. I'll bestow you with one clue as to who we are and what we seek to accomplish." Leanan seemed oblivious to Oscar altogether, rocking back and forth with her gaze never wavering from Weiss. "That clue is but one word. 'Danann'."
"'Dannan'?" Weiss asked.
"Just so! 'D-A-N-A-N-N'. I'd advise typing it into your scroll if you lack faith in that spoiled, affluent brain of yours." Leanan replied. "Vale or Mantle would have no trace of us in their history, but Mistral may yet, buried away in the recesses of their history books. Perhaps Haven will have what you seek. You are headed to Haven Academy, are you not? Should we deign to spare your lives, anyway."
Weiss hesitated for a moment; her light blue eyes narrowed in focus at the tiny Fable.
"…That's right. We're trying to stop someone terrible from destroying everything. Including you. That's why we should-"
"Oh, I know precisely what you endeavor to accomplish, and I am deeply, violently apathetic about it." The corners of Leanan's lips turned up in a smug grin, and she feigned a yawn. "Do not combine my disdain for needless banter with my hatred for repetition: the one who will inherit the future of this world will not be Ozma, Salem, nor the Brothers. It will be us."
The Ice Queen's breath hissed through her nostrils at this, and her shoulders slumped slightly. She was trying her damndest to find some sort of middle ground where they wouldn't need to fight… and while the jaded cynic in him wanted to hector her for her naivete, he understood why she was trying so hard. She didn't want to betray him, but if her only options were to do that or to endanger hundreds of lives, she didn't really have a 'winning' choice available to her.
Appealing to the better nature of a pack of Grimm was all she could do. However futile it may be.
… Well, that wasn't true, and honestly, even after months of traveling with her, the fact that the obvious solution didn't occur to her was frustrating for Roman.
Attack them, Ice Queen! Right now! He wanted to shout. Ugh, how he wished he were invisible right now!
Roman looked at the trio more carefully. Leanan was slouching in her seat, the tips of her toes pressed into the floor. Brigid had long since turned her back on the meeting, the pale light of her scroll bathing her face as she flitted through it absently. Dian was standing with his arms crossed, looking at Weiss and each of her friends thoughtfully, apparently trying to decide how he felt about them.
Not one of these three had their guard up. If Weiss and her pals struck now, they'd have enough room to attack decisively. Slash through them before they even had a chance to put up their aura, and the whole damned problem solved itself. Weiss was trying to find a way to save everyone, and in Roman's experience, all that accomplished was to get everyone killed.
"…Is there no way for us to understand each other?" Weiss didn't move to attack, to the surprise of no one, but her stance became a touch more guarded as she stood upright and narrowed her eyes toward Leanan.
"Weiss Schnee, I've endured your stalling this long out of respect for my softhearted baby brother, but you cannot save the Fugitive. Either he returns to the tower now, by your hand, or he's sent there by force after our Grimm devour you and your friends. The only thing you have any control over is how many other people must die tonight." Gone was the light, amused arrogance in Leanan's voice. It was replaced with a cold, monstrous detachment.
Dian hung his head at her words, but his expression grew firm, and he stood upright beside her. Brigid had likewise slipped her scroll back into her pocket, cracked her neck, and took a wide-based stance beside her siblings. All three of them were bracing for battle should Weiss decline their command… meaning the window for pre-emptive attack had finally closed.
"Now then, no diversion and no questions. I will hear your answer and observe your obedience this instant. If you would save the lives of your friends, banish the fugitive."
Roman felt like every drop of blood in his body had suddenly been replaced by ice water, and his limbs felt heavy as he hugged his forearms. He was nervous. He and Weiss had been through a lot in their short time together, but if she were to weigh his life against Little Red, did he even have a chance of winning? What of a thousand innocent people?
What would Roman do if he were in Weiss' position? Bah, he couldn't even try to comfort himself by asking that, because honestly, he never would have wound up in this situation. At least not as the man he'd been before. The Roman Torchwick who appeared before Weiss that night and begged her to take pity on him was someone who never would have extended the same mercy if their roles had been reversed.
Roman smiled, despite himself. He was quick to dismiss trust as weakness, but in the months since they'd met each other, he'd become intimately familiar with how much the attack on Beacon had stolen from Weiss. She and Roman had been in the same position: hating someone who had wronged them, and directing that hate at people only tangentially to blame for their pain… Yet somehow, she'd chosen to accept him, all the same.
A warm, confident serenity began to swell in the core of his chest, and a wry smile spread across his lips. Honestly, if Weiss saw fit to sever the bond between them now, and send him back to hell, he wouldn't even be able to fault her for doing it. Having said that, though…
"Yo, Weiss?" He called out with a chuckle, earning a pale blue eye cast back in return.
"Roman?"
"I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me until the end of this until the end of this crazy ride, whether you like it or not."
Weiss' eye didn't leave him, and the huntress stood in silence for a moment before a soft gasp escaped her lips and slowly transformed into a light, amused laugh. She shook her head, smiling back at him.
"Stealing lines now, you tasteless crook?" She was beaming back at him. The warm, earnest smile she often shared when inclined to cast aside her prickly armor. "I was about to say the same thing to you."
Leanan gave an unamused snort, her fingertips driving into the padded arms of her chair as she hoisted herself up onto her feet. She could see the intent behind Weiss' words. Roman looked their group over one last time, moving to the side as he tried to assess what use he could be in the fight to come. Roman was better in a fight than people tended to assume, but he could admit to being a little out of his depth here.
"These guys don't look as formidable as their 'little' sister, but they're probably still strong. They could have some Grimm tucked away up here, too, and you guys are all split up." Roman continued. There wasn't much need for words, but a part of him wanted to hear Weiss answer him. "Picking a fight means putting the passengers in jeopardy, y'know? Though, if I had to guess, you're planning on winning this fight while also protecting everyone."
Weiss didn't respond right way. Instead, she looked to Nora. The boisterous woman flashed the Ice Queen a toothy grin and nodded, her grip on her hammer tightening as she hoisted the weapon before her. Weiss looked to Oscar next. The boy had recovered from the distress he was experiencing earlier, his staff gripped firmly in his hands, and a look of nervous determination on his face. When he caught Weiss' gaze, he nodded, as well.
Weiss slid Myrtenaster from its sheath, angling her body so that she stood sidelong against the enemies, the blade of her sword pointed out before her.
"…Of course I am. That's what Huntsmen do." She finally answered, her voice firm and confident. Roman had asked the question fully anticipating this answer, yet a surprised grunt still managed to escape from his throat, and he arched his brow toward his partner.
"By the gods… you really did manage to say that with a straight face." He threw up an apathetic shrug, though his voice was warmer than usual. This was the same saccharine optimism he'd come to expect from Little Red and her gang. Naïve drivel that failed to account for the cruelty of the world and held fast to simple beliefs that only a child could honestly express.
…Well, even as a child, Roman had been a selfish brat. He was never much interested in saving the world or protecting the innocent, but he wasn't a spiteful kid, either. He had been a boy who was motivated by a love of freedom and a desire to protect the few things in the world he managed to care about, back before he'd abruptly shifted into a man who was motivated by a vengeful disdain for all the parts of the world he hated.
That naïve little brat… he'd died so abruptly, and so long ago, that Roman wasn't even sure when he'd fully faded away, but in these past few months, for just a few seconds at a time, he felt like he could almost remember how that little boy felt.
"Well, guess I'll help you out, then. If only because we're joined at the hip."
The huntsmen and the Fabled had stood rigid as this exchange took place, neither side wanting to leave an opening to invite the other to strike first, but Leanan seemed to grow tired of such a tense standoff, and reached to grip one of her shoulders, popping the joint loudly.
"I'll endure none of your pouting over this, Dian. I extended the option to them; they chose poorly. We shall hold ourselves back no longer. These foolish children can be reborn as the foundation for Mother's garden." She looked to her brother. The lanky Fable was wearing an intense frown, unzipping a few inches of his jumpsuit and reaching inside to pull out what looked like some kind of mask.
"I-I-I-I understand." He muttered weakly, pressing the mask against his face as he cast his eyes downward. Leanan gave him a nod and turned her attention back toward Weiss, her own gaze wide with unrestrained bloodlust as a crazed smile painted her face. She had no more words to spare for the humans, it seemed, and a corona of purple energy began to radiate in a circle around her, causing an explosion to rock the storage room.
Author's Note: I'm sorry, everyone. When 2020 ended, I joined many in saying that at least it was over… but 2021 has wasted no time being even worse for me. Snowstorms, power outages, and now…
Well, I won't burden strangers on the internet with my troubles, but suffice it to say that March began with some very bad medical news, which has forced me to confront the mortality of my loved ones in a way I'd hoped I'd not have to for many, many years.
Dealing with that put me into such a deep depression that for a long while it was hard to find the motivation to do anything…but even then, I found myself wanting to keep writing this. Perhaps because I needed the distraction, or perhaps because I just wanted to feel a sense of purpose somehow.
So I kept writing, and I was able to finish the chapter… though I confess even now my brain and my chest feel like they're stuffed with cotton, and it's hard to find the energy to be creative. I won't stop writing… I need my writing now more than ever, but I apologize if the quality of my prose has declined.
Thank you, as always, for joining me on this ride. Knowing you guys have actually been reading this has been a big help to me over these past six months, and I hope you stick with me as we slowly, methodically, bring this lumbering story to its conclusion.