Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, I only own the OC I created. All other credits to RoosterTeeth.

Speech: Hello

Thoughts: "Hello"

Neo: 「Hello」

Beginning

"Looking sharp!"

「No, I look an idiot.」

Neo's disguise was perfect. Cyril was always impressed when Neo used her semblance, mostly because the illusion was a work of art. Right now, instead of a cute young girl stood a tall, brown-haired man.

"Not far from what you usually look like, anyway did you do what I told you to?"

「The body is naked and cleaned. What exactly are you going to do with it?」

"That's not important. All that matters now is you. The stage is now yours." Cyril bowed.

Neo giggled while typing on her scroll. 「Let's get to work, Cyril」

It was hard not to skip. Neo had to restrict herself while she was on the boat and while it wasn't anything bad, it just felt odd. The student she was impersonating was called Dove Bronzewing. He was your typical student, average weight, average height, nothing special about him. His body had a few scars which definitely came from stab wounds and a few scratches, probably from a Grimm.

Neo had to actually thank Cyril for making her clean the body. Normally she'd use an illusion to take on the appearance of a person's face and then take the general shape of the persons body but because she'd seen his entire body and every imperfection and she'd managed to replicate it despite the effort it took.

Of course she took pride in her semblance. Every time she used an illusion on herself, her body became a canvas and the features that she stole became the art which painted it. It never made sense to her why Cyril always spoke so lowly about his own semblance. It was the manifestation of his own soul, so it was his true personality realised, and maybe that's why he disliked it. He's so used to lying to people that he's forgotten what he is actually is. But a lot of things about Cyril made little sense to Neo, from his almost stiff way of talking to his odd fear of black birds.

Ignore his demeanour. He's a different type of criminal to us Neo, we're the type who steal and enjoy the rewards that come with it. Cyril's definition of a reward is different, he's got the Kingdom of Vale dancing in his palm and yet he's nothing like us. He doesn't spend money much; he doesn't enjoy the company of others, he's completely scared of being caught and yet he still risks his life day in and day out. It's like he's two people.

Roman's words played in her head like a song like her head, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was the fact that she actually disagreed with Roman. All criminals are the same. From petty thieves to terrorists. Once you begin your life on the run, you're all the same in the eyes of the huntsman and the citizens. Maybe that's what Roman meant. While being a criminal Cyril wasn't on the run he was doing the opposite, actually.

After all, when you're hiding in plain who is going to suspect you.

The boat Neo took to get to the Cliffs finally came to a stop.

"All Passengers please leave through the main exit of the boat in an orderly fashion." A soft female voice came from the intercom.

Neo took a step off the boat and found herself on the serene cliff edge of Beacon. Even the air felt fresh here. But this was the beginning of their plan. Cyril had put all his trust into her, and now it was time to show him just how good she was.

The walk to get up to Beacon was both incredibly boring and long. For such a great school you'd think that they'd know what an elevator is but no, the only way to get up from the port all the way at the bottom of the cliffs was to take the stairs that were carved into the side of the cliffs.

When she finally got to the top, Beacon was everything she'd imagined it to be. The main building reminded Neo of a castle and the massive tower which overlooked everything struck fear into her heart. It had an impressive main doorway, which opened up to a large amphitheatre surrounded by a double ring of colonnades bisected by the main avenue, with the outer ring rising high over the main entrance to the academy itself.

This was art.

Neo walked as slowly as she could to really take in the surroundings. Everything seemed to be perfect, from the ground to the sky above. Maybe this was a nice place, after all.

However, her joy was short-lived when she entered the building itself and a tall figure stood over. She knew from both Cyril and just basic knowledge of who it was. It was the famous huntress, Glynda Goodwitch.

"I hope everything went well, Mr Bronzewing."

Glynda Goodwitch was much, much taller in person. Even in this disguise, where she was taller, she could feel the teacher towering over her. She was also much prettier in person. Neo wasn't romantically interested in women, or any man for that matter, but she could tell when someone was good looking. Neo had run into her while she was wondering the school.

A simple nod was all Neo gave in response. Now this was a pretty big flaw in Neo's semblance. The fact that she didn't talk could lead to more than a few problems in the future, but she wasn't going to be here long.

All she needed to do was get into Ozpin's office and from there everything was going to go without a hitch.

"Don't forget to be ready for tomorrow. We can't have you tired on your first day, can we? So get some rest and look forward to your new life in Vale." She said warmly.

"Huh, guess she isn't as strict as she looks." Neo thought, while nodding at the teacher.

The next few seconds were an awkward experience for both parties, it seemed that Glynda was waiting for the student to say something to her but nothing came, only a cold silence. "Well Mr Bronzewing, I hope the rest of the day goes well for you." She said.

Neo watched as the teacher walked away and sighed a sigh of relief. She didn't know how long she could keep that conversation going without speaking.

"You really aren't great at speaking to people, are you?" A voice came from behind.

On reflex, Neo jumped backwards and went to grab her weapon, which she thought would be on her side, but she only grabbed at air. The person who sneaked up on her was someone she knew very well. Just the voice was enough for Neo to recognise her.

Pyrrha Nikos, the pride of Mistral.

"Sorry if I scared you. I overhead the professor talking to you, so I decided to listen. I shouldn't have done that."

Neo took the scroll out of her pocket and began to type on it.

Hmm, Neo would have thought that she would have been more brutish. Her looks coupled with her "clothes" made her just exude the aura of a warrior. Neo was itching to have a fight with her, but that would have to wait for another day.

「It's fine, I'm just a bit jumpy. Aren't you the girl on the cereal boxes?」

At first, Pyrrha was taken aback by having a scroll being put so close to her face, but when she read what it said, she couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I am that girl, but please call me Pyrrha. It'll be tiring if you just call me the girl from the cereal boxes"

「I'm Dove.」

Neo put her hand out for a handshake, which Pyrrha took firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Dove. I hope we can get to know each other better." She said.

"We will definitely get to know each other, Pyrrha." Neo thought as she put on the biggest smile she could muster.

"Cinder, I did not expect you to come back so early, " Cyril said while glancing around the shop. "And with company too."

"This is him, Ma'am? He doesn't look like much." The green-haired girl commented.

"What did you say his name was again?" The large, grey-haired man said.

Cyril knew who this was straight away. It was Marcus Black's son. While he hadn't worked with the man, their paths had crossed more than once. Cyril was more than aware of all the figures within the underworld, and Marcus Black was one of the most prominent. Their resemblance to each other was so strong that Cyril believed for a second that the dead man came back.

"I know that you like to work in secrecy, but my subordinates here were more than eager to meet you." Cinder explained.

"Let's skip the introductions and get into why you're here."

"Don't worry, I won't be making trips like this here again. I really did want you to meet these two after all, they are just as important as you are in this revolution." She said in her annoyingly sultry voice.

"I won't question it."

Cyril already knew why she'd use two kids. Children were easily manipulated. You can break them down and build them back up into exactly what you want them to be with just the right steps. Devoted, willing and most importantly disposable.

"Good. How have your plans for your mission been going?" She asked.

"Smooth. Give me a few days and you'll be hearing every dirty secret Ozpin has." Cyril answered.

"Already? Colour me surprised, Cyril. I didn't think you'd do it this quickly."

It had only been a week since Cinder had met and given Cyril his mission, and he was now reporting that he was only a few days away from completing it. Cinder questioned whether she could even do it this quickly, and from what she could guess, Cyril didn't leave his store. Ever. So he had someone working for him. Someone she was unaware of.

"Keeping secrets are we Cyril?" Cinder thought to herself.

Keeping secrets in the relationship like the one Cyril and Cinder had was both a necessity and incredibly dangerous. They couldn't be spouting everything they knew. That would only decrease the value of their information. But keeping secrets created distrust and sewed discord, and the worst thing in a business relationship was a lack of trust.

"I told you, when you put your faith in me, I will deliver. Now it's your turn to deliver."

"As surprised as I am, I should have seen it coming. I could see the flames of determination burning in your eyes when I saw you for the first time. You and I, we are the same. What you do for me, I will do for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

END

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had fun writing Neo as she finally met Pyrrha and reached beacon. Ooh what adventures await for them?

Cyril and Cinder meet again this time with Mercury and Emerald. They didn't say much this chapter but they will be speaking more the next time we see them. Cinder is of course here for a reason.

What do you guys feel about completely cutting away from Cyril for entire chapters? I don't plan on doing it anytime soon but I wonder what people would think I did do it.

Also would you like chapter titles?

Till Next time,

Zeomeco