Hello everyone! After what? 3 months? A bit more? I am finally back with An Extension of the Soul. No students today, they are headaches I'll deal with later, mwahahaha. Hope you enjoy, because this is a BIG chapter, plotwise. Gotta have some plot now and then.
Beeeeeep.
Beeeeeep.
Beeeeeep.
Ozpin accepted the call at the third ring while he savoured a mug of his favourite coffee in his right hand. "Ah, James. To what do I owe the pleasure? I thought you'd be busy with your… our new program."
"And that is exactly why I called, Ozpin. I am proud to announce that we've managed to capture a White Fang member in Vale while he was trying to flee to Vacuo. He is the owner of Tukson's Book Store. I thought I'd let you know we're making progress already."
Which was basically his way of rubbing it in his face that his methods were working and much faster than Ozpin's. Still, if that meant getting actual results, he could take some nabs at his pride. After all, there was a saying about changing methods: if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.
Ozpin had tried to change methods a few times, but not for quite a while – it was always the routine of sending Qrow to look for information, then try to counter Salem once she did something.
It didn't really work well.
"Well, then I'm sure you will be able to get something out of him. Anything else?"
"Well, I might've traumatized two of your transfer students… Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. They were speaking with Tukson when we broke in, armed, to arrest him. They were quite shocked."
Ozpin sighed. "While I am not happy, I can't say you did wrong. Tukson is a dangerous terrorist – you might've saved those students' lives."
"You're not mad? Ahem, I mean, yes, thank you. I just thought of informing you since they are currently under your jurisdiction as foreign students in Beacon." Ironwood's voice was basically oozing pride and self-satisfaction.
He'd allow it, at least for the time being. Ironwood was doing a good job. "What about the terrorist, Tukson? What are you going to do about him?"
"Specialist Schnee is interrogating him as we speak, Ozpin. She will find out everything we need."
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"For the last time, I'm a deserter! I left the White Fang! I wanted to escape to Vacuo to flee from the White Fang!" Tukson exclaimed for what seemed like the millionth time.
"You do not fool me, you criminal," Winter Schnee retorted coldly, fully living up to the nickname of Ice Queen given to her by the soldiers. "We know you are a member of the White Fang. Tell us where your 'brothers' are hiding!"
/-/
"That's good to hear," nodded Ozpin. He felt nothing but respect toward the eldest Schnee daughter. If anyone could get something out of a dangerous Faunus extremist, it was her. "Anything else?"
"Nothing at the moment, but I'll keep you informed, Ozpin." After a few seconds, almost as an afterthought, he added, "You did the right thing letting me step in, Oz. Don't worry yourself too much, and try to focus on what's the next step going to be."
"Thank you James." He was thankful indeed. Ironwood might've been a bit too formal for his tastes, like Qrow was over-the-top, but he had his heart in the right place, and really meant that. "It's been a while since I last was delegated to High Councillor instead of being the leader. It's refreshing to leave the responsibility to someone else for a change."
"Don't worry, I got this. I'll disband the White Fang as soon as I can, and then we can focus on Salem's pawns."
He really hoped that was the case. Because if their plan failed, then there would be hell to pay for everyone involved.
"Thank you again, James. I wish you luck with your mission, and keep me informed. I fear paperwork is due now, though. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Good luck to you too, Oz, you'll need it. Oh, and do you think that if I do well Glynda will-"
Ozpin hung up.
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Roman Torchwick would be the first to admit he didn't particularly find Faunus to be pleasant company.
People called him racist for that.
Roman Torchwick would also be the first to admit he didn't particularly find humans to be pleasant company.
People called him asshole for that.
He never really understood people anyway.
However, he understood criminals. He understood them all too well – he was one of the best himself.
People thought criminals to be all the same, but he knew better. For example, the three Faunus he was playing cards with were three different kinds of criminal.
On his right, the large Bernard Hein, a huge White Fang member nicknamed Banesaw due to his skill with his chosen weapon, a chainsaw named Steelteeth. Not the most creative, but yet again the guy wasn't a Hunter – he didn't really care about his weapon like most Hunter did. He'd just named it to humour his fellow White Fang members. He kind of looked like a Beacon student he'd seen in the last Vytal Festival, some Yatchu-something Dammit or whatever.
On his left, the moody and broody Adam Taurus, the only jackass who could wear a mask while playing Remnant, the Game. He was the kind of man who raged on and on on the battlefield and while planning, and then could take a defeat at cards with style. Also, he was the last person you'd think would know the rules, and of course he instead knew them. If Torchwick wasn't wrong, he was also a pedophile, since he constantly referred some girl as 'my love' even though she was a first year in Beacon.
Sitting right across him was Deery, or rather Cailín Álainn, a very pretty deer Faunus who, other than being pretty and good at playing, hadn't done anything to stand out yet, other than being the only one up to playing out of the whole White Fang, who all considered themselves too cool and serious for games.
All three had different reasons for what they were doing.
Taurus was a typical 'Divine Avenger Against Humans' type of extremist criminal. He had some kind of grudge and acted out on it.
Hein, or Banesaw as Torchwick got used to calling him, was different. He firmly believed that the White Fang stood for justice, and that the SDC had to pay. He often got in arguments with Taurus since he didn't believe terrorism would change much unless it was specifically targeted to the ones responsible for Faunus discrimination.
Deery was another matter altogether. She knew that terrorism wouldn't really help the Faunus, which made her smarter than more than half the White Fang by itself, but she stayed because she didn't want to face the law on her own. If he had understood correctly, she'd once killed some guy beating a Faunus on accident, had been labelled a murderer and had been on the run ever since. Basically, someone forced to become a criminal. She still hated racism with all her heart and had no problem fighting, but she didn't approve of using violence to fight violence. It was like fighting fire by throwing oil on it.
And then there was Torchwick himself – devilish handsome criminal mastermind who had worked his ass off to become Vale's top dog. Reasons pretty much forgotten, to be honest.
Also the kind-hearted criminal who had freed the Faunus miners from their prisons. He felt bile rising in his throat at the mere thought. A single visit to the mines had all but vaporized his racism, and soon the habit of calling Faunus 'animals' had all but disappeared. Just when he thought humanity couldn't sink any lower than they already had.
His traitorous brain brought up the image of a little mouse Faunus boy with the SDC logo branded with fire over his face, apparently just because he'd stolen some bread for his little brother. Torchwick felt like throwing up.
That boy never knew, but the house his family received was not a gift from the White Fang, nor was the surgeon who managed to turn the brand into normal scar tissue.
Torchwick shook his head and focused on the game in front of him once again.
He sighed as Taurus stubbornly attacked Banesaw's troops for the third time despite knowing he could just play more.
"That's your eleventh sigh, Torchwick," the large man noted as he removed some of his cards.
"How nice of you to count them," the redhead snorted sarcastically. Deery snorted, trying not to laugh. She always did that whenever someone quipped sarcastically. Maybe it was some kind of nervous tic. "I just got a visit earlier."
"Neo?" guessed Taurus, a little smug at having destroying three of Banesaw's five troops.
"Cinder."
All three of them groaned in perfect unison. "That bitch again?" the bull Faunus spat, his good mood ruined.
"Let me guess, she threatened you into doing what she wanted without telling you anything but what you need to do." Deery hit the nail right on the head.
"No, I'm sure dear Cinder paid him a visit just to ensure he didn't work himself too hard," Banesaw snorted, which resulting in Deery bursting out laughing.
Yeah, probably some kind of nervous tic. It was kinda endeerying.
Ugh, he was turning into Taiyang Xiao Long from his time at Beacon…
"Usual. Come in, death threat, sit down, death threat, orders, death threat, death threat because I commented, death threat, leaves, sets my office on fire," Torchwick summed everything up with a scoff before gritting his teeth as Deery, who played after Taurus, destroyed one of his troops in Vacuo. "Did I miss something?"
"Death threat before come in?" Banesaw offered in a deadpan voice, making Deery laugh again.
"Oh, right." Torchwick sighed. Honestly, working with Cinder had made him re-evaluate his opinion of Faunus with how bitchy she was. "She's like scabies. Gets under your skin like nothing else, and is damn hard to get rid of."
"That's… actually a pretty good description of her," nodded Banesaw.
"Thanks." Roman almost spat out his cigar when Deery pulled a dick move and wiped out everyone's troops, including her own, before playing another card to resurrect three of her troops, and then playing a card which made her draw three cards if she was the strongest military power around. That was one hell of a move. "What the hell?!"
"Oh come on, it's not like I just won," she smirked, blue eyes twinkling with amusement at playing the master player.
Of course, he was careful not to let anyone know he could win in his next turn no matter what, but he was a criminal mastermind who had had years of time to get used to cheating. Deery had just joined the White Fang – as lucky as she was, luck was nothing compared to skill.
Speaking of skill reminded him of a certain blue-eyed blonde guy he'd had the pleasure to meet before the Beacon semester started. Ah, that had certainly been some true skill. He, the great Roman Torchwick, hadn't even noticed he was cheating until he rolled eight 6 in a row! And all he'd costed that loss, had been some stupid transcripts for Beacon since the guy couldn't fight.
He probably splattered on the ground during Initiation. If he hadn't, well, he had his Scroll number and a favour he could ask him.
He shook himself before narrowing his eyes at Deery. "I'm gonna make sure you don't," he promised darkly, glowering at the empty space where his soldiers once were. "Banesaw, your turn."
"Call me Hein, Banesaw sounds too cruel to be civil," Banesaw sighed. He was a monster in combat, but honestly, he was pretty lazy outside of battle. Sure, he did his work, but other than that he didn't have any hobby or anything. He just lazed around until someone told him to do something. It didn't exactly paint the picture of the extremist, dark overlord Torchwick had initially seen him as.
"Sure, your turn Banesaw."
Let it never be said Torchwick couldn't be annoying when he wanted to.
The man sighed exaggeratedly, especially after Deery snickered at the criminal's comment.
However, Torchwick saw through it this time.
She was fooling them into thinking she was an airhead.
Wow, he'd never thought he'd say it, but he was impressed. With a Faunus. She seemed to be by far the smartest he'd ever met.
After all, who cared for things like IQ when being skilled at playing came into play?
Argh! He really hated Taiyang for teaching him how to pun.
Somewhere in Patch, Tai sneezed violently before shaking his head and going back to planning Ruby and Jaune's marriage.
"I use Mistral's special bonus Knowledge to play One-Month Truce. Thanks to Knowledge, I get to draw a card for every troop or Grimm this cards affects, up to five draws… which is three since I'm healing all troops from all damage," Banesaw basically wasted a card since Deery's were the only troops in the game now, and they had no damage. "Then I play Hunter Rankings, which allows me to play any Hunter card in my hand as long as I reveal two more Hunters with higher ranks. As you can see I have a rank two and two rank four. I play the rank two."
He placed a small Hunter troop on the battlefield before continuing. "Then I activate Scourge of Grimm. As for its effect, I sacrifice a troop – the only one I have. This allows me to create X Grimm of rank Y, with X being the number of troops that died since my last turn and Y being the lowest rank of those troops. Since Torchwick had a Failed Hunter at rank zero, I can only place small Grimm – Skitter swarms." He placed fifteen 0-rank Grimm on the battlefield, three in Torchwick's and Taurus's territories, and nine in Deery's, who frowned. Banesaw smiled before closing in for the kill. "Now I play Grimm Evolution. I discard two Hunter cards with the same rank – four. All the Grimm whose rank is lower than that gain one rank for every card I discarded. Which means, all those Grimm are now at rank two – Ursai."
He smirked, his turn having ended.
It was Torchwick's. "You know, I was thinking, you guys are pretty good at this – what's the objective of the game? Rule the world, right? If so, then why the players have Grimm cards? Shouldn't they be self-generating?" Torchwick shook his head. It wasn't the time for frivolousness. "Anyway, I play Risky Trade. Each player chooses a card from their hand, either the lowest in rank or the highest and reveals them. If you choose the lowest, you lose half of your resources. If you choose the highest, you draw a card. Either way, then the players have to give that card to the player to their left."
Banesaw frowned. Torchwick knew that frown. It was the 'I had a plan and you just wrecked it'. Risky Trade was perfect for ruining plans. He gracefully accepted Banesaw's Conspiracy and got to work.
"Speaking of conspiracies, I've heard you were planning to betray Cinder, Roman," Deery commented as she took Taurus's Giant Nevermore Feathers.
Torchwick's cards spilled on the table for all the world to see while he gaped at the woman. "W-What… Are you crazy?!" he almost shouted. "Betraying that bitch?! She can freaking control the Grimm!"
Only then, he realized he'd been fooled. He quickly picked up his cards again, and glared at Deery, who just smiled at him.
Endearing indeed…
Still fuming, he continued. "I play Defence Wall. Then I play Improve Defence, and using Vacuo's special ability I get to avoid paying its cost in terms of resources. This allows me to activate Investigation, since I can only play it on a player who has somehow not paid the cost of a card. And thus I investigate myself. I have to reveal two cards from my hand. If any other player has a card with the same name, we both lose all our resources and I skip my turn." He revealed Vacuo's Sappers and Sandstorm. No one had them, fortunately. "However, if no one has any, I get to play an additional turn after this one – and I'm not done with this turn yet." He then played a couple more of cards to reduce the Defence Wall's building time from three to one turn – his next.
"Though, you know Deery, betraying Cinder might actually be a good idea."
Torchwick froze and then his eyes snapped from Deery's own blue ones to Banesaw, who was looking thoughtful. "Are you crazy?!"
"As much as I hate her, she's giving us a way to fight the humans," Taurus countered his lieutenant's statement, not caring if one of said humans was in the room. "We need her."
"Except… we don't. Not really. All she does is giving us orders. Sure, we hadn't thought of doing this, but she's not contributing in any way – she's using us. She paid us with money she got from Torchwick – which means it's money we can still get from Torchwick directly instead of him paying Cinder and Cinder paying us. Aside from being a death threat on our heads at all times, Cinder isn't doing anything."
Torchwick slowly considered his words while he subtly moved some cards in his sleeve and some cards to his hand. "You have a point when you say she's useless to us, Banesaw… but I think you're underestimating how dangerous she is, even if she's stupid. I mean, as dumb as her, no one, but her power is nothing to scoff at."
"Power means nothing if she doesn't expect it though," Deery spoke up slowly, as if considering every word.
"Unless we kill her in one single hit, I highly doubt it's just going to work magically," Torchwick snorted as he began to play his additional turn, boosting his Defence Wall to an invincible Rank 13 defence, which meant anyone who tried to attack him was utterly screwed. "Cinder is a bitch, but she throws around her power often – I know what she can do. Creating flames is nothing to her. However, that seems to be only part of what she can do – she's got freaking control over all the elements, even if fire is her favourite, on top of matter manipulation. I've heard Black complain how broken it was, and for once I agree with the kid." He played the Vacuo's Sappers, destroying three of Taurus's storehouses, leaving him with next to no resources. Heh, he shouldn't have attacked like an idiot in his last turn.
"What do you mean, matter manipulation?" The bull Faunus didn't even seem to notice he'd basically lost already. "I thought her Semblance was fire-based."
"It's all of that, apparently. She can move, disrupt, rebuild or heat up powders – which means she can turn objects into powder and then manipulate it. The little thief called it Dust Manipulation but I call bullshit. Must be some illegal, new Dust infusion she's experimenting with. It would explain her stupidity." Torchwick then proceeded to absolutely wreck both Mistral, Banesaw, and Vale, Taurus. Luckily the game didn't have Mengerie or the three Faunus would've brawled right then and there to use it. After destroying any hope they had of winning, he continued to speak. "That's why I never did anything. If I try to flee, Grimm. If I try to kill her off, I'd need some really really strong power to put her down for good. I know I'm not willing to risk Neo against her."
Deery smiled as she played Atlas's most stupidly broken trap card, Schnee Solicitors. Since she was the lowest-ranking member of their little group, she'd gotten the nation no one liked even if it was by far the strongest. "Roman, I control the rest of your turn."
Torchwick threw his hands in the air, but before he could sneakily change his hand, Deery had leaned over and snatched his cards. "I hate you."
"Same," Taurus and Banesaw muttered in unison. Roman had to admit it, Deery was both lucky and skilled. A combination he hated.
Pity she had such pretty eyes.
While the Faunus woman proceeded to force him to sacrifice his Defence Wall to destroy up to thirteen troops, all either his own or belonging to the other two males playing, Taurus spoke up. "So what you are saying is… the only reasoning you're still working for Cinder is because you haven't found anyone strong enough to off her for sure?"
"You hit the nail on the head – hard enough to give it a concussion."
Deery snickered.
Okay, maybe she wasn't completely faking it.
Torchwick sighed. "What surprises me is that you are working with her. As Banesaw said, it's not like she's doing anything."
"Hein, or Bernard."
Torchwick ignored the large man. "Besides, what do you guys gain from attacking Vale? The reputation of being violent against people who don't even have a say in how Faunus are treated – heck, Vale is actually pretty mild in discrimination. Why not Atlas?"
"For two reasons," Taurus said through gritted teeth. "One, is that for now, Atlas is beyond our reach in terms of power. And two, because Cinder said Atlas would fall later."
"Destroying the world is gonna make it hell for Faunus too. And besides, the fact you can't reach Atlas is total bullshit." Everyone looked at the thief in slight interest. "Oh, come on, have you already forgotten who you're talking with? Or who freed all those Faunus prisoners from the Atlasian mines? Got in, got 'em, got out. Easy as lying."
The three Faunus all looked at him with even more interest, so focused on him they didn't even notice he was changing his hand. Normally, professionals cheaters would be ashamed of cheating at such a simple game, but for Roman it was second nature – kept his skills sharp. "That earned you a lot of respect from the Faunus," admitted Taurus begrudgingly, refusing to use the word 'love' even though it was true, Roman Torchwick was a hero for a lot of people by then. "I was surprised to hear you managed it. Atlas's security is very strict – we tried that before."
"There's a difference in how a thief and a terrorist approach the same situation. You wanted to free those slaves – I stole those slaves." Torchwick delighted himself in the confused looks his statement had caused. "What I mean is, you go in like an army – fighting for freedom and all of that. I didn't. I stayed under their radar for as long as possible, and even when they noticed me, they were too slow – we were already gone. I don't care about showing Atlas my strength or trying to damage it as much as possible. Also, I'm nowhere near as hated as the White Fang is, in Atlas."
He didn't mention he actually had connections there too.
"What are you saying, Torchwick?"
"That thanks to Schnee Solicitors I get to draw… and play one single card by the end of my turn of my own free will, as long as that card does not target any card she made me use in my turn. Which means I can use Uncovered Corruption on Schnee Solicitors, which means that Deery, you have to discard your entire hand and you're limited to a max of one draw in your next turn no matter what cards you use." Torchwick grinned. He loved to get lucky. Also, Deery's pout was as satisfying as it was adorable. "What I'm saying is that an outright war isn't the smartest thing to do when you literally have the entire world against you. Gaining allies is important, especially since a lot of people hate Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company…"
"Are you saying we should stop this project and attack the SDC?" asked Banesaw, somewhat interested. Not that he didn't like combat, but he hated the Schnees, so attacking them sounded far better.
Taurus too seemed interested even if he tried to cover it up. "We don't have the necessary resources. First we have to be feared. If we try and fall against Atlas, the White Fang will become a laughingstock."
"I never said you need to be physically aggressive." Torchwick folded his cards as his turn ended. "Atlas itself is all about arrogance, pride, money and disregard of anyone without the third. It's the SDC the one who the most needs Faunus subjugated in order to keep them working in the mines. Which means that, if the SDC were to fall… its political enemies might've as well grant Faunus more rights. Maybe not equality right off the bat, but closer to that."
"That would mean we have to destroy one of the world's most powerful companies, and definitely the most influential," Deery pointed out.
However, as smart as she was, she didn't have a lot of experience with the bullshit of politics like he did. "Listen. The SDC has a lot of enemies. Owning eight to ninety percent of the Dust trade means all the other Dust companies would give both arms and legs to get it out of the way. With the 'high quality', 'refined' Dust of the Schnee Dust Company, who wants to buy 'possibly hazardous' Dust from local sellers? The SDC planned their rise well. They made people feel like they are the only ones who can guarantee Dust – but this means that everyone who is now shadowed by the SDC wants revenge…"
"And they would be willing to actually supply us with Dust, money and maybe even hideouts in order to get the SDC out of the way," Taurus quickly caught on. "You still haven't mentioned how the SDC is going to fall though."
"Wait and I'll get to that." Torchwick placed his cards down. The game seemed over anyway. "In Atlas, the SDC isn't very much liked either. Sure, everyone acts friendly with those with money and power, but eventually they are all pots of boiling envy. They will help as long as they can do so indirectly and without ending up in trouble – more than half the assassins in the entire world are hired by Atlasians for a reason, after all. Which means you'll have supporters in and out of Atlas. As for how you're gonna make it fall…"
Torchwick took a bunch of cards from the pile in the middle of the board and make a small house of cards. "Now, tell me, which is the most delicate and orderly way to destroy this?" Without waiting for an answer, he carefully removed the cards from top to bottom, making sure nothing collapsed. Then he rebuilt the house. "Simple, taking it apart little by little, from the leaves to the roots. However… there is another way…"
Torchwick pulled a single bottom card, and the house collapsed. "It's chaotic, and messy, and dangerous since you never know what happens after you pull the card. But it's faster. If you attack at the roots, the tree will fall. And at the roots of the Dust trade, there are the Dust mines."
"We can't destroy mines," Taurus pointed out, frustrated.
"No, but we can remove all their miners," Deery countered, quickly catching on. Smart girl. "Faunus or humans, it doesn't matter, we can save them all if it means the SDC will remain without miners."
"That, and we'll have to make sure it can't get more," Banesaw added thoughtfully. "We can't just stop the SDC from hiring people, which means they will have to have a reason not to accept the job – like being fine without. Faunus accept because they are desperate, but if we change that, we change everything."
"Mantle is basically a totally different jurisdiction," nodded Torchwick. "After you remove the slaves, some other big hotshot in Atlas will accept giving you some company so to hire people in Mantle, to make sure the SDC can't stabilize itself. You create a company, obviously not official tied to the terrorist organization, so people won't need to go to the SDC for money. Of course you have to keep trying to free anyone who ends up in the mines – the SDC might very well try to kidnap people."
"The conclusion is that either the SDC fails, or it's forced to pay more – more than you do. This will either grant Faunus a lot more commodities since people rarely discriminate against those with money, or it will make the SDC fall from the top dog to a normal, rich Dust company. And you will be the heroes of Faunuskind." Torchwick grinned. It was clear as day all three of them were interested. "It's going to be hard, and it's going to take a few years, but believe me – you're far from the only ones who hate the SDC. Use that hatred against them."
"And where do you fit in all of this?" asked Taurus, snorting. "Or do you just want to be a hero of the Faunus too?"
Roman's smile faded.
"When I grow up, I'll be the best hero in the world!"
"I know it's going to be hard Tai, but I want to try. Being a hero is just about everything I have left."
"Is this what being a hero means?! Risking your life, the life of the ones you care for, to try and prevent a tragedy only for the government to pull the carpet from under you feet and blame everything on you?!"
"I wish we could go too, Tai… but the government wants to send us North, near the ocean. I… I'm sorry, I know it's not fair, but to be a hero you have to obey the rules."
"These laws aren't fair – why can't we break them if we're doing good?"
"Stay with me, Neo, I got you! Stay awake! We're almost there! Stay awake, dammit!"
"Where were you Tai?! We waited for you but you never came! Neo almost died!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't go on pretending to be a hero. This lifestyle… this mere career isn't for me. I'm quitting."
"Tsk, I save dozens of people from the Grimm, and I'm just yet another nameless Hunter. I save some random couple from being robbed, and I'm a vigilante… Stupid newspapers."
"Vigilantism is against the law, huh? Well, tell your boss that hiring teenager prostitutes is too. Goodbye, gentlemen!"
"Come on, Neo, it's not like they can hate us even more than they already do…"
"Who cares about what they say? They don't care about us, we don't care about them!"
"If society has rejected me, dear Tai, why should I not reject society?"
"Roman…"
"It's not right to steal? It's not right to kill? Qrow, you should know the world better than me and yet you say that? The world isn't fair – what are you gonna do about that?"
"Yeah, yeah, you got me – it's not like I haven't got my butt kicked before. The important thing is to never give up trying."
"I'm no hero, Neo, stop smirking. I just didn't feel like being an ass… the world's been cruel enough to that boy already, I'm not gonna be the same as the world."
"Roman!"
The criminal was startled out of his trip down the memory lane by Banesaw's deep voice. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry. I just… got an idea for my next theft."
It was a pathetic lie, but they let it slide. They were allies but not friends – secrets would always be secrets.
"What do I get? Aside from money, fame and the bitch off my ass, nothing. But it's a nothing worth aiming for if I get the aforementioned member privileges and employer perks." Torchwick grinned toothily. "So, any idea on how we might kill Cinder? It goes without saying that that would be the very first step…"
The game now abandoned, Taurus stood up. "I might have a way. I'll get back at you if it works out," he said, for once sounding respectful towards the man, which was a first. "Álainn, with me. Hein, pack this up and then catch up with us."
The two of them walked away while Banesaw put away the game. After a few seconds, the large man turned to Torchwick, seeing him apparently lost in thoughts. "Something's on your mind?"
"Just admiring Mother Nature's art," Torchwick replied easily, his eyes never leaving Deery's retreating lower end. "She's the best artist of them all, after all."