Chapter 53: Semblance
"Everybody deserves a fresh start every once in a while." ~ Bugsy Siegel.
Grigori unleashed a burst of gunfire on me. I raised my hardlight shield blocking the rounds before it fizzled and died having used up the small storage of hard light dust in it. He tried to get in my way, standing between me and Neo who was bleeding on the ground. He knocked me down with a blast of his glyph. I fell to the ground, I was unfocused, my mind was worrying only about Neo instead of on the fight.
She couldn't be dead, she just couldn't. I wouldn't allow it.
He raised the gun to me on the ground and pulled the trigger. From the loud fighting in the strip club I couldn't hear the weapon click empty but I used the split second to lunge up right for him. Confused from his empty weapon he didn't see me as I put all my strength into my thrust.
Astuzia's tip bounced off his aura but I just kept stabbing, unleashing a barrage of thrusts into him. He moved his left hand to shield him with the glyph but I knocked it away with Vendetta using the shotgun as a club. With the shield of his out of the way I leveled the gun and fired two blasts of buckshot straight into his chest before delivering another might stab with the weapon.
His aura flared up to shield him but the blade passed through finding flesh. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" I roared as the weapon sank into him.
A gasp went through him and a look of horror was on his face as I pulled the thin blade from his body and threw him to the ground. I didn't have time to care about him, I moved over towards Neo, I dropped my weapons and picked up her body.
Her eyes were open, she was alive. She looked up at me and I could see the fear in her eyes, I had never seen fear in her eyes. Her stylish white outfit was stained red and I tried doing whatever I could to apply pressure on the wounds.
There were so many wounds. More than I could hope to cover and I found myself thinking about Sal and how scared and helpless I found myself trying to keep him from dying. She was bleeding out just like him.
Neo coughed and wheezed blood. Her usually enchanting silent demeanor was broken by feeble sounds that sent shockwaves of horror through me. "Stay with me I told her!" I told her, not sure what I could possibly do for her. I was watching the brightness of her eyes fade, she reached to my face with a bloody hand that smeared blood on my face.
"Fuck!" I heard Sky say, I hadn't even noticed him coming to my side. He apparently had a small first aid kit and was working to apply bandages to the wounds. He cut her top open to access them working as fast as possible but I could tell that it wasn't going to be enough. Her face convoluted in pain as he applied pressure to stem the bleeding.
"I don't know how much I can do, boss." Sky told me.
"No!" I told him.
"We need a hospital!" He told me.
I knew there wasn't time for that. Neo had minutes at best and here I was helpless to save her. Like with Sal. I closed my eyes as I felt tears threatening to leak out. This couldn't be happening this just fucking couldn't. This was Neo, she meant too much to me, she was the one who brought me into this life of crime.
"Don't die!" I whispered to her. "Please damnit down you fucking die! I can't handle that."
My mind was flashing with images of her. I couldn't imagine doing this without her, that hollow feeling in my chest seemed to widen at the realization that she was slipping away from me. I would never dance with her again, laugh with her again or share a meal or all the small little things I had come to enjoy with her, the things I had missed since this rift had formed between us. The thought of that rift becoming unbridgeable with death was unacceptable.
Neo meant too much to me, she had come to mean everything. It was unacceptable.
And with that thought, I felt warmth blooming that had been blooming inside of me suddenly pour out.
"Boss?" I heard Sky ask me tentatively.
I opened my eyes and was greeted by white light emanating from Neo. It was brightest where my hands touched her.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Sky asked me.
"I-I don't know." I said to him, feeling the warmth spread across my arms and down my body.
Sky took his bloody hands away from Neo and grabbed his scroll looking at it. "Boss… you're boosting her aura at the cost of your own. You're healing her! This is a semblance!"
"Holy shit!" I said, releasing a tense breath. I saw the bloody wounds stop gushing blood and slowly but surely begin to close. Neo coughed for a second and more blood came out but Sky put a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"It's alright, it's alright, she's expelling the blood in her lungs." He told me as she convulsed in my arms spitting up a couple mouthfuls of blood before taking several wheezing breaths. Her eyes opened half lidded and looked at me for a second.
The whole experience was an interesting feeling to say the least. My aura was pouring out of me and into her, the very essence of our souls was in contact with one another. It wasn't what I would call clear, the feeling of her, I felt shadows of confusion and relief but more than that. I sensed the hurt she had felt towards me after learning the truth, the anger she felt at the feeling of betrayal. But I could also feel the care she still had for me, it was overwhelming. I wish it was easier to put these feelings into words, but using my semblance on Neo that first time felt like I was connecting with her in a way I had never imagined before.
"She's alive." I said, unable to hold back a sob of relief and a laugh of joy. "Thank the gods." I said, squeezing her tightly to me.
My second of relief however was cut short when a blast of kinetic energy struck Sky and knocked Neo and I both down rolling across the ground. I looked up and saw Grigori rise from where I had let him fall. I had foolishly taken him for dead but a single look at him showed that he had indeed healed from the wound. He stepped away from the growing fire of the VIP lounge with a pair of glyphs in both hands. He raised a blast towards me and I sprung away from him leaving my weapons down on the ground as I carried Neo away from him.
"You're going to pay for killing my team!" Grigori shouted blasting apart tables and booths as I ran away from him, more concerned with protecting Neo than fighting him. I noticed Cardin charge him with his mace, smashing it into one of the glyphs. It bounced off but Cardin was ready, swinging Executioner down onto the floor. He activated some ice dust within the mace making the ground a hunk of ice that trapped Grigory's legs.
I felt Neo's hand reach into my jacket as I carried her and when I looked down I noticed that she had stolen my .357 out of my shoulder holster. She leveled the weapon at Grigori and fired, squeezing off multiple rounds until the cylinder was empty and the weapon just snapped uselessly. It wasn't much but it had distracted Grigori enough for Cardin to get past his glyph shield bringing the mace up in a mighty swing that clocked him under the chin. It sent him flying upward, the ice that was pinning his legs shattered and he went across the room. He landed down on the ground gracefully and sent a blast in Cardin's direction before the door opened and Boris stepped in with a number of men pouring through the door and leveling their guns right at Grigori and firing.
He raised a glyph and absorbed the shots before blasting the doorway. Boris rolled out of the way deploying his hardlight shield and dropping his gun to grab a grenade from his webbing. He tossed it out and it bounced at Grigori's feet for a second before detonating.
I closed my eyes from the bright flash as the flashbang went off sending a ringing through my ears but it had to be nothing compared to what Grigori was enduring. He stumbled on his feet dizzy with his eyes shut. Several bullets struck his aura and being unable to see anything he couldn't raise the glyphs to shield himself. So instead he began bombarding the area randomly with those kinetic blasts of his. It was like he was randomly firing cannon balls throughout the room. A wall exploded behind Boris and some of his men burning them in shattered wood and drywall. A blast hit the burning VIP section showering everyone in burning debris and setting the flames to catch all the faster. It was almost impossible for anyone to get a shot off on him with him turning the interior of the club inside out spreading fire and ash and shrapnel everywhere.
In the few seconds it took him to do that his vision recovered. I looked at him through the chaos and saw the glyphs in his hand shrink and his aura glow and shimmer as it seemed he turned that energy back into aura before sprinting out of one of the conveniently placed emergency exits.
"Let's get out of here!" I coughed to my crew turning to carry Neo back out of the front door. At that point I was far more concerned about getting Neo and I out of that burning tinderbox safely than anything else. I ran as hard as I could out that door and into the clear night air. Neo seemed to have fallen back into unconsciousness in my arms while still holding my revolver in her hand despite her unconsciousness. Despite what healing I had done with my newfound semblance she had still lost quite a bit of blood and trying to shoot Grigori with my gun seemed to be the most she could have done.
Cardin and the rest of my crew rushed out of the building behind me. I noticed that Sky had taken the liberty of retrieving my as well as Neo's weapons holding them awkwardly in his arms. From around the corner of the burning club I heard the screech of tires followed by the rattle of gunfire.
A black sedan, driven by Grigori, sped out of the side alley and down the road with Boris and his men running out after it, leveling their rifles and shooting as it sped away it's armored sides and windows holding up against the onslaught of gunfire. For a second I thought Grigori was going to escape but a group of Boris' guys had parked down the road waiting to ambush anyone trying to escape.
A barrage of machine gun fire greeted the sedan followed by a rocket that screeched across the street and exploded against the side of the armored vehicle. The blast knocked the vehicle onto two wheels and eventually onto its side.
Everyone took the chance to unload on the helpless vehicle. Every single one of Boris' men flipped their weapons to full auto and proceeded to empty their magazines into the crippled vehicle spraying the sides and undercarriage with a hail of bullets. Boris slung his weapon when it was emptied and took a plastic tube that was slung around his back extending it, flipping up some sights and aiming before firing a single rocket right into the undercarriage of the vehicle. It went up in a cloud of flames laying there in a burning wreck.
"Cease fire!" Boris ordered his men with a raised hand and proceeded to advance on the vehicle as he reloaded his rifle. Cardin approached it with his mace and pistol at the ready. When they reached the burning vehicle Boris grabbed it and pulled it down back onto its not burning tires before throwing the door open and letting Grigori fall out.
His clothes were on fire and he looked like a burnt mess but somehow he was still moving, alive despite having faced an explosion. His burnt hands grasped the ground trying to feebly crawl away, his aura still somehow intact and keeping him alive, struggling to heal the massive amount of damage he had taken. Cardin wasn't having it, he raised his mace and brought it down on the old man. It bounced off his aura, Girgori rolled on his back and raised a feeble glyph with his hands to shield himself, absorb more power but Boris stomped on his forearm and kept it pinned on the asphalt as Cardin brought Executioner down a second time, on the third his aura broke and the flanged weapon cracked into his skull caving in his forehead with a sickening crunch that I could hear all the way across the street. Cardin brought it down a fourth time smashing his head beyond recognition before taking a step back.
Boris leveled his rifle at the corpse and fired off several shots into its chest and face, leaving nothing to chance. It didn't get much more dead than that.
"Let's go!" Boris said, not taking a moment to look back before moving towards me as the rest of his men piled into the vehicles they had arrived in. I walked myself over towards the sedan I had come in, ready to clear out of here before the cops or the fire department came around asking questions.
"Is she going to be alright?" Boris asked me, looking at Neo in my arms covered in blood and her clothes cut from Sky trying to access her wounds.
"I think so." I told him. "Her aura is back and healing her, but she lost a lot of blood."
"May I send one of my medics with you?" Boris suggested to me. "We have a supply of type O, universal donor just in case."
I nodded to him, appreciating the generosity. "Thanks, I'll take her back to my apartment."
Boris nodded as the car pulled up from behind, his men opened it for him to step inside. "I will send him at once." He told me before stepping in and driving away. I got into the car I came in, settling Neo in the seat beside me as Cardin took off down the road diving in a round about fashion in case anyone spotted us before heading towards my apartment. I kept putting my hand on Neo and focusing myself to try and use my newfound semblance once more. It took a little concentration but I found myself easily able to access it once more, pouring my aura into Neo's to help it continue to heal her.
"You should be careful using that semblance of yours." Sky told me. "It comes at the price of your own aura."
"I have plenty to spare." I told him, not worried about how it would affect me.
"We'll test its limits later." Cardin said, pulling into my apartment's parking garage and checking that the coast was clear before dropping us off towards the penthouse elevator and taking it up to my penthouse apartment.
"I can take her for you, boss." Dove offered, looking me up and down covered in blood and looking all the worse for wear.
"I got her." I told them, feeling possessive about her. "She isn't heavy."
Dove and the rest just nodded as the elevator door opened and we stepped out to my penthouse. I carried Neo into my bedroom and laid her down in my bed before using my aura one last time to give her aura a boost. I suppose it wasn't necessary at that point but I probably wouldn't feel better about this until she was awake again. I stayed in the room as I grabbed my scroll and called Roman.
"Hello Jaune." Roman greeted me.
"Is it safe to talk over this line?" I asked him.
"It is." Roman confirmed.
"They took the bait and we found Grigori, he's dead." I told him, giving him the most important news.
"I expected Neo would have texted me that already." Roman told me.
"She was badly hurt in the fight." I told him. "But she's alive and with me, but she is out cold for the time being."
"What happened?" Roman asked me, the concern evident in his voice.
I proceeded to tell him the story of how we were called away by Sophia and drove down to the Lollipop Strip Club and proceeded to storm the place finding Grigori there with a bunch of gang members he had assembled for what I could only assume was a meeting to plan a counterattack. I told him about how Neo and I fought him together and how he downed her aura and shot her. And then I told him about stabbing Grigori to get to her and in the moment of desperation I managed to unlock my semblance to heal her and that we were now back at my penthouse awaiting for Boris to send over that medic with some blood and other necessities.
"Well… thank the gods you were there." Roman told me, not bothering to hide his relief.
"I'm glad I was there as well." I told him, looking at Neo as she rested in my bed. Her chest slowly rising and falling, a constant comfort that she was alive. "I certainly wasn't expecting to discover my semblance tonight, and not under such dire circumstances."
"Dire circumstances are when we need such things the most." Roman told me. "And let's just be glad that it wasn't for nothing. It would have been best if we eliminated Nicky but in many ways Grigori was the far greater threat. But I'm just glad she's alive, I'd take both of them escaping to start more shit over losing her."
"Likewise." I told him.
A knock came at my door and I opened it, finding Cardin and one of Boris's men with a case. I silently stepped aside and let him inside. I stayed as he inspected Neo remaining perfectly professional in his examination of her before opening his bag of medical equipment to attach a blood bag and an IV.
"I'll get the news going around that Grigori is dead." Roman told me. "Those bigwigs in Atlas aren't going to be very confident when they learn that Nicky's right hand man is dead along with a dozen or so gang members he was rallying to his cause."
"If I was Nicky right now I'd be catching the first airship out of the city." I said to him.
"I doubt he's smart enough to do that." Roman told me. "As long as he's still out there he's still somewhat of a threat to us."
"Maybe so, but even he has to know that without Grigori he should go to ground." I told him. "He'd be lucky if he could organize a bunch of street hoods to perform a drive by."
"Don't underestimate Nicky." Roman warned me. "Grigori might have been the real brains behind the operation but Alexander didn't keep his son on the throne for nothing. He has to have connections and resources we don't know about. You don't stay in this business without keeping a few cards up your sleeve."
"You really think he's still dangerous?" I asked him, finding the idea dubious at best.
"Fuck yeah he's still dangerious." Roman told me. "Idiots and desperates are always the most dangerous type of people, and he's a desperate idiot. I'm not saying he has a chance of getting his territory back but he has a chance to do damage if he tries. Just keep your guard up is all I'm saying."
"I will sir." I assured him.
"Tell Neo to text me when she wakes up." Roman ordered.
"I will… she's in good hands." I told him, trying to give the man some reassurance. Neo was the only family he had left after all.
"I know she is." Roman told me before hanging up. "And Jaune… Thank you. Thank you for saving my little girl."
"Your welcome sir." I told him.
I hung up and looked over at the medic who had proceeded to thick Neo into the bed.
"Thank you." I said to him offering my hand which he accepted. "How is she?"
"She's stable." He assured me. "The only evidence of the wounds are the scars, her aura is healing her but I started the transfusion just to make things easier. She should be fine, but she might experience some nausea and fevers after it but as long as her aura levels remain high I see no reason to be concerned."
"Thank you." I said to him again.
"If you like I'll stay long enough to see that the transfusion goes properly." He told me. "If there are any other complications I suggest getting her to a hospital."
"Stay as long as you need to." I told him with a nod leaving my room to give him some privacy.
I went back into the living room to explain to my crew that Neo was fine and how Roman took the news of Grigori's death. I took a moment to thank Cardin specifically for his actions. I had no doubt that Roman would see to it that Cardin was well rewarded for taking him down. We waited for a long time pouring a few celebratory drinks while the Medic oversaw the transfusion before packing and leaving after giving her some calming drugs.
The shootout at the stripclub was just a footnote on the eleven o'clock news. It was a testament to just how violent things had gotten in the last week when the death of one of the city's highest ranked criminals and Atlas Intelligence agent was murdered violently outside a burning Strip Club. Not that the media had any real idea who Grigori was or his importance, to the coroner he was probably just another unverified corpse. I doubted that Ironwood would even take the simple risk of having anyone identify and claim the body.
Eventually my crew shuffled out leaving me alone in my apartment with Neo in my bed. After taking a shower to get the blood off of me and changing into clean clothes I tried to sleep on my couch but my mind was too active thinking about everything that had just transpired to get any meaningful rest. The last thing I felt like doing was subjecting myself to nightmare plagued sleep on my couch while I couldn't help but go over the events of the night again and again. I couldn't get the image of Neo dying out of my mind. Even after pulling her from the jaws of death with my newfound semblance that feeling of fear and worry stuck with me. Those desperate gurgling gasps from her, the light fading from her eyes. It replayed in my mind time and time again. And I kept thinking about finding my semblance, that feeling I had experienced as the very essence of my soul poured into her. A lot had happened in that one simple club and there was no way to banish it from my thoughts.
I got up from the couch and tried to watch a little television to clear my head but nothing was really helping me. I already knew that Neo had meant a lot to me, but I was right when I almost lost her that I was truly beginning to realize how much.
I turned the television off and decided I didn't really have much choice but to ponder it. And like I had begun doing I decided it was best to do that with a drink and my guitar. I quietly got up and moved to my bedroom to get it. I stepped inside and kept the lights off as I tiptoed past my bed to not disturb Neo. In the dark her figure just looked like a lump covered in blankets with a gentle rise and fall. A part of me wanted to step close just to see that she was alright but I buried the impulse knowing that I shouldn't disturb her.
I went to my guitar on it's stand and picked it up. The strings made a whisper of a hum as I grasped it by the neck. I didn't think it'd be much but a second after the faint sound Neo stirred in the bed.
I looked over and met her eyes, open and alert. I felt like a deer caught in the headlights, like I was doing something I should be doing even though this was my bedroom in my apartment.
"Sorry." I awkwardly apologized with a whisper.
I moved to leave and let her get back to resting but instead she sat up in the bed keeping the covers over her body. "Don't - leave." She signed to me.
I stopped and looked at her for a long time before I nodded. "Alright." I said to her, still awkward being around her. A minute passed with me just standing with the guitar in my hand staring at her not sure what was going to happen next.
"You - can - sit - down - stupid." Neo told me, motioning to the corner of my bed.
I obeyed and sat down at the corner of the bed. Leaning my guitar down against it. "I'm sorry about your clothes. They were uh… blood and stuff."
"I - have - more." Neo signed dismissively. "And - it's - nothing - you - haven't - seen - before."
I nodded as we devolved into another awkward stretch of silence.
"Thank - you - for - saving - me." She told me.
I smiled at her. "Don't mention it… I'd do it anytime."
She smiled a bit too. "Looks - like - you - found - your - semblance."
"Yeah." I said with a nervous chuckle. "It wasn't what I expected but… well it came just in time."
She nodded but looked away from me, her expression hardening. "I'm - still - mad - at - you."
"I understand that." I told her.
She looked back at me. "Do - you - know - what - angers - me - the - most?"
"Please, tell me." I said to her, happy to be talking to her even if it was going to be her bitching to me.
"No - matter - how - hard - I - try - I - can't - hate - you." Neo told me, her eyes sharpening as she looked at me.
"Neo… I."
She held a single finger up to signal for silence and I shut up to let her speak. This was the most she had talked to me in awhile so I wasn't about to defy her.
"I - want - to - hate - you." She went on. "You - were - going - to - betray - us. I - should - hate - you."
I nodded an agreement. She did in fact have every reason to hate me. I know I had gotten off easy with Roman and Junior and the rest.
"But - I - can't." She continued. "These - past - months - getting - to - know - you - watching - you - become - something. I - can't - believe - that - it's - for - nothing."
I wanted to butt in and tell her that it wasn't for nothing. Not to me. But she kept going so I only listened.
"I'm - so - angry - because - I - can't - deny - that - these - past - few - months - I've - been - falling - in - love - with - you."
I was silent. The confession came like a knife. Her hands balled into fists and she laid them on the bed. She looked away from me, clearly flustered and embarrassed having admitted this to me.
Of course we were falling in love. I had denied it myself for so long, trying to keep myself from getting too attached and making a mistake that was already inevitable. To avoid pain that was inevitable. And the simple fact that her care for me had become painful to her just made me hate myself all the more. Perhaps there was no way to avoid this pain, but I still failed to keep my distance, I still failed to prevent myself from developing my own feelings of love for her.
I wasn't sure what I could say. I wanted to tell her that I too had been falling in love with her. But I felt like that would be cheap of me, it'd be too easy. But there were many truths I had denied Neo for a long time and it was time for me to make up for that.
"Neo, I have many regrets. But hurting you is by far my greatest." I said, tentatively reaching out and putting my hand over her balled fist. She looked up at me and met my eyes, I stared into them hoping that I could convey my feelings to her. I reached into my shirt and grabbed my good luck ring hanging by a gold chain so I couldn't lose it so easily anymore. I pulled it up over my head and held it for her to see.
"I kept this as a good luck charm because… because after that night we met I couldn't get you out of my mind." I admitted to her. "I started this mission because I had a dream. But that dream is gone now, it's been replaced and I'm living it now. But it hasn't been complete, it felt good finally freeing myself of Ozpin, being able to hold my head high as a true wiseguy. But you're a part of that dream Neo, it's not complete without you."
She held my gaze, her eyes only flickered away to look at the ring. Even in the relative dark it glittered, catching the city lights that shone through the windows.
"If I had a single wish Neo, it'd be to have been born into this life like you and Roman where instead of a bumbling my way in chasing some pathetic dream working some stupid mission for a manipulative old man." I told her. "But there are no wishes Neo, this was my only way into your world."
She reached with the hand that wasn't being covered by my own and touched the ring as it dangled on its chain. She looked at it.
"I know you can't just forgive me for what I've done." I told her. "And I don't want you to simply forgive me. What I want is to be given a chance to atone. Because I've been falling in love with you too, and I want to prove it to you."
We stayed like that for a while in silence. She was thinking over my words, looking between my eyes and the ring, my hand over her clenched fist on the bed. But eventually she unclenched her fist and turned her hand around in mine, lacing her fingers with mine. She gave me a nod and let go of the ring, returning it to me.
"Thank you." I said to her, understanding her meaning perfectly. I knew it would take time to properly mend things, but I felt that rift between us close and the hollowness in my chest was filled with warmth.
Eventually she pulled back her hand. "I'm - also - angry - because - I - want - to - kiss - you - right - now."
I chuckled a little at that. "Will you hit me if I try?" I asked her.
"I - haven't - decided." She told me with a teasing smirk.
I scooted closer to her. "I'll risk it." I said, gently leaning forward and bringing her lips to mine. She didn't hit me, she kissed me back and it was everything I missed about her and more. Every emotion I had been holding back and denying was freed, kissing her, no more pretending that what I felt for her was simple lust or fondness.
And I felt it with her as well, the kiss was deep and passionate and long. When had I ever kissed a girl for so long? I gathered her into my arms, I felt her body, running my hand over her skin, feeling the scars from where the bullets had ripped through her almost taking her from me, almost taking this moment and the joy we felt.
Eventually we broke from the exchange. My lips were moist with saliva and I was panting, Neo was too. I didn't think there was going to be much more than a simple kiss tonight. She had still been wounded and expecting more just felt like pushing my luck, there were still fences that needed to be mended before we did much more. I had already gotten more than I deserved.
"Show - me - that - semblance." Neo told me.
"Now?" I asked, finding it to be an unexpected request.
She nodded.
I reached out and put my hand on her bare shoulder and closed my eyes. It was easy, the same feeling of warmth emanated from my hand and ran down both out bodied. I heard her sigh and opened my eyes to find her shudder.
"Sky explained that it uh… it channels my aura into others." I explained to her.
"It - also - feels - quite - pleasant." She told me. "It - has - a - lot - of - potential."
"With it I can save those I care about." I told her. "I couldn't ask for anything more."
"It's - not - a - semblance - I - would - expect - from - a - wiseguy." She told me.
"Maybe not." I agreed. "But I don't think it has anything to do with being a wiseguy. It's just a part of who I really am deep down. At least… that's how I like to think about it."
She nodded and looked over at my guitar. "You - came - in - here - for - your - guitar?"
"I couldn't sleep, too much on my mind." I explained to her. "And I try to play when I am thinking. It helps me."
"Play - something - for - me." She told me.
"Right now?" I asked dumbly.
"I - should - get - back - to - sleep." She explained to me. "But - I - have - a - lot - to - think - about - as - well."
"Alright." I said, picking the guitar up and balancing it on my knee as she laid back down in the bed watching me.
I strummed out a tune. It wasn't a real song, no lyrics or anything like that. It was just a pleasant melody that only existed in my mind but I lost myself to it. I looked out over the city of Vale as I strummed away. My future had never seemed brighter, even though it was still going to be full of danger and uncertainty. I couldn't help but feel hopeful and excited to face it. I was a true wiseguy, the underworld was on its way to enjoying a peace it hadn't experienced in decades, I was in love, I was finally patching things up with Neo so we could work together to understand what that really meant.
The thoughts that passed through my mind playing that melody had never been more positive. I knew that all my troubles and hardships weren't gone, and I knew that there would be more in the future. But for the first time in such a long time I wasn't afraid of the future. I had a Family to face that future with and I couldn't ask for a better one.
When the song ended I looked over to see Neo resting on my pillow with her eyes closed. I smiled and made to move and leave her to rest, but without opening her eyes she reached out and gently grabbed the hem of my shirt.
It seemed she wasn't completely asleep, and it seemed that she didn't want me to leave. I smiled and put the guitar down before climbing onto the bed resting atop the cover, I closed my eyes and listened to her gentle breathing to lull me to sleep.
The rest of the night passed peacefully as I laid next to her but when the morning came I was awakened to the sound of my scroll going off in the next room where I had left it before coming in here and falling asleep next to Neo.
I rubbed my eyes and moved into the living room rushing to the coffee table and picking it up to see that Sophia was calling me. I hit accept and brought it to my ear. "Hello Sophia."
"Hello Jaune." Sophia greeted me. "I would have talked to you last night but I heard about what happened and I figured it could wait until morning. How is Neo?"
"She's doing well." I told her. "Thank the gods, and that medic Boris sent."
"If I believed in any such thing as divine providence I'd agree with you." Sophia told me. "Send her my good wishes, and if there is anything I or my men can do please don't hesitate to ask me."
"I'll keep that in mind, but I'm guessing this is more than a social call." I told her, looking up at my bedroom door to find Neo stepping out, rubbing the sand from her eyes. She had collected one of my black t-shirts to wear letting it hang over her slim figure like a dress. She leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed listening as I talked to Sophia.
"Word about what happened last night has gotten around and over to Atlas." She told me. "That representative Aleski has already told me that he wants another meeting with new terms and has been authorized to make a deal."
"So we won?" I asked her.
"It seems that way." She told me. "Several more gang leaders have come forward swearing their allegiance. Some have even given up a few of Nicky's remaining loyalist captains. But I don't like to use a word like won too soon."
"An understandable caution." I said to her.
"I would like you to be there tonight." She told me. "You're a part of this and you witnessed Grigori's death. Not to mention if the rumors about this semblance of yours is true I can see it as something to keep around."
I chuckled. It hadn't even been a day yet but news about my newfound power was already through the rumor mill. "I'll bring Cardin and my crew along as well." I told her.
"Yes, Boris told me that Mr. Winchester is the one who gave the coup de grace." Sophia told me. "I'd like to shake his hand for that."
"I'm sure he would feel flattered." I assured her.
"I'll contact you with the details of the meeting later." Sophia told me. "It should be later this afternoon."
"I look forward to it." I said to her, honestly meaning it.
I hung up and pocketed the scroll looking at Neo. "The Accountant wants a meeting, Grigori's death has sent ripples."
Neo nodded to me. "What - time?"
"Later this afternoon." I said to her. it was a little awkward, last night's confession aside, things still needed to be somewhat mended and the last thing I wanted to do was overplay what goodwill I had earned last night from my apology. "How about breakfast?"
She nodded to me and moved over to my couch and sat down grabbing the television remote and turning the television on to flip through some channels. She certainly wasn't wasting any time making herself at home. But then again this had been one of Roman and her homes away from home before they had let me move in so I suppose that was to be expected. I moved over to the kitchen and proceeded to make a full breakfast. I had to assume that aura boost or not getting shot and almost bleeding to death had to work up an appetite and I knew that she didn't have dinner at the Moonstone last night.
I made some pancakes along with all the fixings of bacon and eggs and sausage, bringing it out into the living room for her. She was lounging on the couch continuing to flip through channels. "No - real - news - about - last - night." She told me.
"There was a bit on the eleven news but not much." I told her. "This kind of violence is becoming normal."
"With - Grigori - dead - it - should - start - calming - down." She told me.
"Hopefully." I said, sitting down next to her on the couch and started to eat. Neo set the television to an old sitcom running reruns and we ate.
"I - asked - the - twins - to - come - by - with - some - of - my - clothes." Neo told me, pouring her syrup and letting the pancakes soak up the sticky sweet substance while she skewered one of the sausage links with her fork and devoured it. My suspicions about her having an appetite had been right it seemed.
"That's a good idea." I told her with a nod. Back when she stayed over with me constantly she usually had some clothes left at the Moonstone but she hadn't developed the habit in this new apartment. I hadn't really moved in until after coming clean and having that falling out.
We ate together in relative silence. There was a lot we still had to talk about but I didn't feel the need to press anything. Now that Neo was able to tolerate being in my presence again I knew we would have plenty of time to talk. Not to mention talking would be getting in the way of eating and I wasn't about to risk that so the television became the only real noise in the room.
Between bites I texted Roman just to confirm that he knew that there was going to be a meeting. He was happy to hear that Neo was already up and about and eating and he was trusting me to attend the meeting with Neo and my crew without him. He didn't see much point in attending himself and he had other business to attend to today.
"You - should - come - by - the - estate - tonight." Neo suggested to me. "Anna - will - be - happy - to - see - us - getting - along. She's - been - annoying - me - nonstop - about - it."
"Sorry." I told her, unable to keep myself from chuckling.
"She's - a - perceptive - kid." Neo said to me. "She - kept - insisting - we - meant - a - lot - to - each - other."
"Perceptive for a kid." I told her. "Cardin and Miltia have been saying the same thing for a while."
Neo rolled her eyes but nodded to me.
Before we even finished our breakfast the call bell for my penthouse buzzed and I went over to it seeing Mel and Mil in the camera. I hit the button to let them in and in minutes they stepped out of the elevator and onto my apartment.
Melanie gave one look at Neo eating breakfast on my couch dressed only in one of my t-shirts and grinned. "Did you two fuck and make up!?" She asked excitedly.
"Mel!" I chided as Neo rolled her eyes at her.
"Sorry that's right. Did you make love and get past this shit?" She asked, teasing us.
"No." I told her. "Neo's clothes were bloody after last night."
"What happened last night?" Miltia asked me. "Rumors have been going around that something big happened but we're not quite sure what. Junior told us that that Atlesian bastard Grigori is taking a dirt nap."
"That's right, he's dead." I told them, taking a seat again and lowering the volume on the television.
"And?" Melanie asked, approaching Neo and laying down her usual outfit for her to wear on the arm of the couch before taking a seat next to her, getting familiar like she often did with her bed mates.
"Well uh… I discovered my semblance." I told them lamely.
"What!?" Miltia exclaimed.
I chuckled at their shock. "Let me start from the beginning." I said to them.
I proceeded to recall light night's events. Being called away from the Moonstone after we caught wind of Grigori's gang friends stealing that weapon shipment and taking it to the strip club. I told them about meeting Boris and assaulting the club, shooting through it to Grigori. I talked about the fight, how Neo ended up becoming wounded and how I fought to get to her, finding that feeling of warmth in my panic and desperation.
"That's… amazing." Miltia said, after I told them about bringing Neo here. They didn't need to know what happened after that. That was our business and I didn't feel like announcing anything to them. "Can you really boost other people's aura?"
"According to Sky." I told her. "We didn't exactly have any time to test it out."
"But it comes at the expense of his own." Melanie said with a shrug.
"Yeah, but Jaune has plenty of aura." Miltia said, Neo nodded silently in agreement.
"Show me." Melanie said, standing up and approaching, she offered me her hand and I took it concentrating and drawing forth this power. It was shocking how easy it was to conjure. It was like when somehow I learned to activate and deactivate my aura once it was unlocked. It had just become a natural part of me, just an extension of my body.
The faint white light emanated from her activated aura. A sigh came from Melanie's lips as she observed the strange power. Miltia checked her scroll looking at both our aura levels. "Mel, your aura is at a hundred and ten percent and Jaune's has barely dropped. That is fucking wild."
"It feels… warm." Melanie said to her. "It is nice."
Neo gave a nod. "And - that's - just - a - taste."
I pulled my hand away and let the semblance drop.
"Can you use it on yourself?" Miltia asked me.
"What?" I asked, finding it to be a strange question.
"Boost your own aura?" She asked me.
I thought about it for a moment. And then I remembered that I might have. That night when those Atlas Black Ops guys blew up my apartment with Hanna and Cardin inside. I remembered how I felt a similar warm sensation and blinding white light when I was hit by the blast. It didn't seem to make sense at the moment and I never attributed the sensation to anything but the blast but considering it right now it seemed like a possibility.
"I don't know… but maybe." I said to them.
"Well let's test it out." Melanie suggested.
"Right now?" I asked.
"Why not?" Miltia said, getting onboard with the idea. "We're helping you train and we haven't exactly spared in a while. And you need to understand this if you're going to use it."
"Alright." I said to them. "Let me get my weapon."
"Nah we don't need a weapon." Melanie said, popping her knuckles. "Let's go hand to hand."
I sighed. "Come on."
"You need to work on it." Miltia said to me. "If you're going to spar you might as well work on something other than your semblance."
"Fine." I said, standing up and walking out onto the penthouse balcony. Melanie followed suit and stepped out with me. Miltia and Neo both followed, Neo didn't even bother getting dressed yet and remained in my oversized t-shirt as we stepped outside into the cool morning air. I found a spot a fair distance away from the balcony pool and faced her.
Melanie took a stance and so did I and without any warning or signal to start she went at me with a high kick. I narrowly dodged it stepping back and lunged forward to give a one two punch that she deflected with both her forearms.
We went like that for a while. Occasionally trading blows but naturally Melanie managed to get the most in. Not that I was being a pushover, even though my hand to hand work was at best rudimentary I wasn't making it too easy, I really had come a long way in improving my fighting skills.
Our blows crashed against one another's aura lowering it. I tried to focus on the semblance but it was a little harder for me to do with Melanie not giving me a chance to collect myself and it seemed trying to push me back towards the pool. I got the feeling that she wanted to try and knock me into it and I was determined not to let her get away with it.
I ducked another high kick but she was ready, sending one of her fists upwards into an uppercut that knocked me in the chin followed by a straight jab right into my face. I stumbled back and another kick came at me. It landed and my aura flared up, flashing bright white and shielding me. The kick bounced off and for a second Melanie lost her balance and had to recover before she fell down.
"Woah, your aura just spiked when you did that." Miltia told me, holding up her scroll and showing me that it was much higher than I expected.
"Fuck, that actually kind of hurt me." Melanie said, relaxing her stance.
"Serves you right." I told her. "You were trying to knock me into the pool."
Melanie giggled wickedly. "What? You're not in the mood for a swim?"
"Not particularly." I deadpanned to her.
"Oh come on!" She teased innocently with a wink. "I might have stripped down and joined you. What about you Neo? Feel like a refreshing morning swim?"
Neo just rolled her eyes at her.
"We can do that some other time." Miltia said, pocketing her scroll and stepping close. "We have to go anyway. Junior has a meeting with some gang leaders and he wants us to tag along."
"Can I ask which gang leaders?" I asked her, curious what Junior would be meeting personally with some leaders of two bit street gangs.
"Some of the ones that used to have allegiance with Nicky." Melanie told me. "It wasn't just the 24k Dragons that fucked with us back in Nicky's day and apparently Sophia is making them apologize and offer recompense."
"That - has - got - to - feel - good." Neo commented.
"It will." Melanie agreed with a sadistic grin. "Some of those bastards are going to be paying up with a pound of flesh."
"Just try not to take more than a pound." I told them. "We're trying to build a lasting peace. Let's not give some two bit street gangs reason to turn their backs on us."
"That's going to be Junior's call." Melanie told me.
"Besides, Sophia wants them to know that she's not going to protect them if they step out of line. It's a message that things have changed." Miltia explained to me.
"That's - a - fair - point." Neo signed. "They've - been - getting - away - with - too - much - for - too - long."
"Exactly." Melanie said. "No more hiding behind Nicky's skirts."
I shrugged seeing their point. "Well no one said change would be bloodless."
"You should know." Miltia said. "This is all because of you."
"It's not all because of me." I said, trying to be humble.
"Yes it fucking is." Melanie told me. "Before this year I would have fucking gagged thinking about making peace with the Atlesians. I didn't think any of them had a shred of real fucking honor. But then you get buddy buddy with Sophia and her little girl, fuck over Nicky, and next thing you know we're practically sitting around a campfire singing kumbaya."
I rolled my eyes, she was exaggerating the situation. "It's not that good, not yet anyways."
"Compared to how things were just a year ago, it is." Miltia told me. "And you've been at the center of it all."
"They weren't my calls." I told them. "Ultimately it was Sophia, Junior and Roman who decided to give peace a chance."
"Yeah." Melanie agreed. "And who made them agree to it? Why do you think we're looking past your little past trying to spy on us? Because we fucking know what you've done."
I scratched the back of my head nervously. I didn't like them bringing up the fact that I was once Ozpin's spy but it was flattering nonetheless. "Well… thanks."
Melanie smirked at me. "Anytime boy toy."
With that the twins left to go help Junior with his meeting. Neo and I both got changed, her into the clothes Mel and Mil had brought her and me into a fresh clean suit. We hung around my apartment not having much to do until the meeting so we simply spent the time around the apartment watching television, eating lunch and eventually sparing when that got boring.
"Are you sure you should be doing this?" I asked her after a couple of bouts. "Aura or not you were hurt really bad."
"I - feel - fine." Neo signed to me. "Great - even."
I nodded and turned to the window seeing Cardin and the rest of my crew walking in and waving at me. I sheathed Astuzia and looked at Neo. "We should do this more later." I suggested to her, happy to be practicing with her once more.
She nodded to me and sheathed Hush's blade and followed me inside to greet them.
"Hey Neo!" Cardin greeted. "It's good to see you up and moving."
She smiled and nodded to him.
"How are you feeling?" Sky asked her.
"Like - a - million - lien." Neo told him with me translating for her. I noticed that everyone gave us a look, clearly taking note about us getting along but they never said anything about it.
"That shit last night really scared me." Russel commented, his arm around Deery's waist.
"I wish I had been there to do something." Deery commented, melding into Russel's arm.
"You were busy." Cardin said with a shrug. "And we had it handled, luckily."
"Just don't leave me behind next time you expect to get into a shootout." Deery said to him. I noticed an uncomfortable look pass Russel's face but I didn't comment on it. We didn't have too long before the scheduled meeting.
"Well we're not expecting a shootout today but you can never know these days." I told her. "We're supposed to meet Sophia and some Atlas representative over by the river warehouses."
"The ones you gave away?" Cardin asked me.
I nodded to him. "I know… interesting spot but I think Sophia is wanting to show this Accountant what returns this alliance has given them, a few warehouses by the river is hardly anything to sneeze at. Even Nicky couldn't get those."
"They're going to use them to pump drugs into the city." Dove said, not exactly thrilled with the price this arrangement had cost us.
"Nothing good is for free." I told him with a shrug. I grabbed my jacket and a hat before heading out with them. "Whatever the case, we're meeting with this representative to convince those old bastards in Atlas that being on our side is profitable. I think we already proved that fucking with us is a bad idea."
"Carrot and stick." Cardin said. "And it's carrot time."
"Exactly." I said in agreement, stepping into the elevator and taking it down to the parking garage.
We piled into our various vehicles and headed out towards the river and the old warehouses that we had transferred over to Sophia and various other Atlesians that had sworn themselves to her.
She and O-Ushi were already there having a conversation outside over some cigarettes and they waved me over when they saw that I had arrived.
"Good to see you Mr. Arc." Sophia greeted, looking from me to Neo. "I am glad to see that you are well after last night Neo."
Neo gave her a nod. "Thank - you."
O-Ushi gave me a smirk. "Sophia was just giving me the details about what transpired last night."
"It was rough." I told her, not really in the mood to go over those events yet again.
"But it thankfully worked out for the better." Sophia told me.
Another vehicle showed up and we turned, seeing Aleski driving up alone in a gray sedan and getting out, adjusting his tie as he did so. "Hello everyone." He greeted us in a friendly manner, approaching the three of us and shaking our hands. He gave Neo an appraising glance and offered her his hand as well and Neo to my surprise actually shook it respectfully.
"Let's go inside." Sophia told him, motioning to the door and we began walking. "This is one of the warehouses the Torchwicks have graciously gifted to us in this alliance." She began explaining. "Right here by the river we can offload cargo from Atlas or Vacuo with ease and the connections with the dock unions will provide us with easy business."
"It is certainly impressive. Much easier than relying on trains and highways." Aleski commented looking at all the boxes of cargo that lined the warehouse. So far it was mostly legal goods stored here but in time that would change to far more profitable goods.
"Exactly." Sophia told him. "So you can see that our operation is already moving ahead of what Nicky was once capable of?"
"I have no doubt of that, Sophia." Aleski told her. "What my superiors doubt is how long this alliance can last."
"Mr. Torchwick has every intention of preserving it." I told him. "You can tell your superiors that with full confidence. We wouldn't have handed over these warehouses unless our commitment was concrete."
"Warehouses are one thing." Aleski said. "They are generous, don't get me wrong but the future of this arrangement is on everyone's mind."
"Don't fucking bullshit us!" O-Ushi told him. "This set up is better than any of your so-called superiors could have hoped for and you know it. We're here because the last real friend Nicky had is currently in the city morgue and you fucking know it."
I felt a little nervous having O-Ushi speak so candidly but looking past Aleski to Sophia I saw a faint smile curl her lips. Clearly they had discussed a negotiating strategy and O-Ushi was playing her part. A clan member could certainly get away talking to an Atlesian like that, I suppose my job was to play the eager friend."
"Now O-Ushi, let's not be crass." I said to her, trying to play my part as best I could.
"I don't want to be crass, but we shouldn't have to waste our time pretending that this alliance is stronger than that farce Nicky had." O-Ushi told me. Another look over at Sophia told me that I was acting how she wanted me to.
"I am not trying to be rude." Aleski assured O-Ushi. "But you must understand that this new arrangement has given the Torchwick Family and the Kuroi Kuma Clan considerable power over this new Valean Bratva."
"Vulnerability is a cornerstone of trust." Sophia told him.
Aleski raised an eyebrow. "That is a sentiment that I am afraid few of my superiors would agree with. We tend to believe in strength over trust."
"And who's fault is it that we're so weak at the moment?" Sophia asked him. "If it wasn't for Nicky and this foolish war we wouldn't be in such dire straits transitioning power. He weakened us and we might have lost everything if we hadn't taken what was left. You and your superiors should consider that before they cast their votes in the next meeting along with the fifteen percent I and my comrades have agreed to."
That was three times what Aleski had originally quoted. But that had been when Grigori was still alive and Nicky actually had a chance to rally aid behind him. If word of the hit last night got back to Atlas they had to know that backing Nicky would be a one in one thousand investment with little gains even if he succeeded. And fifteen percent was still better than what Alexander had apparently been demanding as tribute.
Aleski nodded to her. "I see… and that is your final offer then?"
"I am sure if I broached the subject with my comrades again we could demand something higher. A lot of them figured that you would ultimately be willing to pay whatever you paid Alexander but I advised them to be generous for the sake of good business relations." Sophia told him,assuring him that she had no intention of going lower than the fifteen she quoted him.
"Very well… My superiors are scheduled to meet tonight. We should have a decision by then." He said to her, "I will make your feelings very clear on the matter and advise them to take the deal."
"I'm pleased to hear it." Sophai told him.
"So is this all?" Aleski asked her. "I do not think there is much more to discuss."
"I think there is one more thing you need to see before you make your scroll calls." Sophia told him. "Come this way."
We followed her out to the back of the warehouse and down some concrete steps to a little shed close to the river. Sophia knocked on the door and a second later we heard a lock click and it opened to reveal Boris inside. Instead of his usual suit he was dressed in a plain white shirt and ratty jeans with a leather apron over himself. I noticed immediately that it was bloody and the smell coming from the place was foul. Neo actually coughed from the smell and I had to cover my nose to keep myself from losing my last meal. Boris let the door swing open for us to see what was inside. Aleski pulled out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose
"This is Adrik." Sophai said to us, stepping inside seemingly unaffected by the rotten smell. I shuffled inside past Boris to look at a dead man swinging by chain along with a collection of other corpses. "He was one of my trusted men, a friend from my days in the gulags and now he is a traitor."
Aleski narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. "Why are you showing me this?" He asked, his voice partially muffled by the handkerchief.
"Last night we found Grigori because a gang he paid off stole a weapons shipment from the Torchwick Family, a weapon shipment we were tracking. And I only told him about this particular shipment out of the dozens we were watching." Sophia explained to him. "He has confessed that he has been taking bribes from Alexander and Nicky to get information about me and a look into his bank accounts have proven just this. He also confessed to several other conspirators. For that and his years of service to me I decided to give him a clean death, along with those assembled here."
"I still don't see why this concerns me." Aleski told her.
"I am showing you this because the next batch of spies will not be given clean deaths." Sophia told him. "And if I find that anyone is funneling my personal information back to Atlas I will take it as a personal attack and your superiors can forget all about this deal." Sophia warned him. "We might not be very strong right now but that's going to change, I'm sure that within a year I can bring the Vale Bratva back to the strength Nicky had it at, probably better. So consider that and our allies if you ever think about betraying us. I almost lost everything I cared about in this war, don't think I won't risk it again."
Aleski narrowed his eyes and nodded to her. "Very well… is that all then?" Clearly uncomfortable looking at all this death. I wasn't exactly comfortable with it either but I understood it well enough by now. But I had a sense of sympathy, Roman could have given me a similar fate for being a spy.
We stepped out leaving Boris to his bloody work of disposing the bodies and we walked back through the warehouse. "I will call you tonight with the details of the meeting." Aleski told Sophia.
"I look forward to that call." Sophia told him. "Assuming your superiors decide to listen to wisdom."
Aleski nodded to her before turning and getting into his vehicle.
"So that's it?" O-Ushi asked her, watching him leave.
"That was a rather quick meeting." Cardin commented seeing that we had finished up before he could even start another cigarette.
"We didn't have much to say." Sophia told him with a shrug.
"So now it's in the hands of a bunch of greedy old farts in Atlas?" O-Ushi asked him.
Sophia nodded silently. "There's more to it than that but yes, they're going to decide what happens next."
"I don't like it." Cardin said. "No offense Sophia, but my experience with the Bratva has led me to believe that greed trumps reason."
"Perhaps." Sophia agreed. "But I'm hoping this appeals to both greed and reason. We in the Bratva are not fond of gambling when the odds are against us."
"Roman - thinks - we - should - be - with - you - tonight - when - the - you - get - that - call." Neo signed to her having just checked her scroll.
Sophia nodded to her. "That's a good idea, if things go wrong we can begin making preparations together."
"Meet - us - at - the - estate." Neo told her. "We - know - you - found - its - location."
Sophia shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm sure you understand. You have my little girl after all."
Neo gave her a nod and turned back to me. "Let's - go."
I nodded to her and turned back to Sophia. "Whatever happens tonight I'm sure that we'll be ready for it."
"I hope you're right Mr. Arc." Sophia told me.
We got back in our vehicles and drove away back towards my apartment. "What do we do now boss?" Cardin asked me.
"There isn't much we can do right now." I told Cardin. "But I want you all to stay in the city and keep an eye on things tonight. If those greedy bastards in Atlas do decide to back Alexander and Nicky then they might try something and they'll be quick about it."
"Is there anyone left that could do something?" Dove asked. "It looks like Nicky hasn't got any reliable friends left."
"I wouldn't put it past the Atlas Bratva to have a few operatives in place should it come to that." I told them. "If they do decide to try and start a fight they're going to have to be ready for one. And you never know."
"It almost feels like this war will never end." Cardin told me.
"Tonight we will know." I told him with confidence. "Just be ready if it doesn't."
We got back to our apartment and went our separate ways save for Neo and I who got ready to drive over to the Torchwick estate. We got into my car and took the drive in comfortable silence.
"I see your disposition to Sophia has warmed somewhat." I commented to her.
"She's - been - proving - to - be - somewhat - trustworthy." Neo told me. "As - much - as - anyone - can - be - in - this - line - of - work."
I nodded. "Well she's certainly cast her fate with ours."
When we got to the estate we found Anna and Roman sitting in the parlor over a chess set enjoying a game together.
"Jaune!" Anna exclaimed, running from her seat and giving me a hug that I returned.
"Hey here kiddo." I said to her, looking over at the chessboard. "How's the game going?'
Anna frowned. "Roman's really good, but I've one a few games against him."
"You better be careful Gent." Roman warned me. "She's getting very good."
"Come on, we should play a game." Anna said eagerly.
"Aren't you going to finish yours with Roman first?" I asked her, giving the board a glance and seeing that she wasn't exactly in a favorable position. Anna certainly isn't the most gracious of losers.
"We've been playing a lot of chess together. I want to do something different." Anna suggested. "Something we can play as a group."
"Well then let's go find a game then." I said to her with a smile.
Anna cheered but looked over at Neo. "You're going to join us aren't Neo, aren't you?" Anna asked her.
Neo smiled and nodded to her, earning another cheer from Anna. "So you two aren't fighting anymore?"
I shook my head at her. "No, we're not fighting anymore. Now let's go find something for the three of us to play."
"How about four?" I turned and saw that Sophia was led into the Parlor by Gretchen. The minute Anna saw her she glowed with happiness.
"Mommy!" She cried in excitement and rushed over to her past Gretta and towards her mother. Sophia knelt down and scooped her daughter up in her arms. It never failed to impress me how different Sophia was in the presence of her daughter. She almost always came across as a cold ironclad woman, but when she was with Anna it was like she was replaced by someone far warmer.
"Hey there cupcake." Sophai greeted, hugging her tightly. "How have you been?"
Anna proceeded to babble on about her time here in the manor. The fact that she had been calling her mother almost daily did little to lessen the amount of things Anna needed to excitedly tell her mother about. Eventually Neo managed to take her away so they could find a game for all of us to play together leaving Roman, Sophia and I alone in the parlor.
"Thank you for taking such good care of her." Sophia said. Taking a seat and looking at Roman who was studying the chess board.
"It was actually a pleasure." Roman told her. "It has been a long time since we had a real kid in this house."
"Was it like this when you raised Neo?" She asked him.
Roman smiled a bit. "In many ways, though sadly I could never foster an interest in chess with her. Your little girl is quite talented."
"I think I'll sign her up for the chess club when I get her re-enrolled in private school." Sophai said to him with a smile. "She always liked playing games after all."
"Well I feel sorry for those poor kids." Roman told her with a grin. "She won't give them a shred of mercy."
They both laughed and I honestly felt like I was just listening to two normal parents talking about raising a kid instead of two crime bosses conspiring to run the city's underworld.
"Did you try to keep Neo away from this life?" Sophai eventually asked him.
Roman shook his head. "Not hard enough as you can plainly see. Perhaps I should have but I couldn't help but see the potential in her and I wanted to foster that. But perhaps that was wrong of me, maybe I should have tried to keep her in the dark about this line of work like you have."
"It's been difficult to keep it away from Anna as she ages." Sophia admitted to him. "I myself have wondered about being a bit more upfront about my business with her. But the last thing I want is for her to grow up and enter into this kind of black collar work."
"A noble goal." Roman told her.
"What are you talking about?" Anna piped up, entering back in the parlor with Neo behind her holding a stack of board games.
Sophia gave her a smile. "Just grown up talk, cupcake."
We proceeded to play a few board games such as monopoly and clue until it was time for dinner. Fun as it was to just relax together playing board games and enjoying Gretchen's cooking I couldn't completely shake the anxiety that came waiting for that phone call to come. I released a breath I had been holding when Sophia's scroll vibrated on the table as we lounged together in the library enjoying some after dinner drinks while Anna was enjoying a book.
All of us looked over at Sophia expectantly as she picked up the scroll and brought it to her ear. "Hello Aleski, I trust your superiors have spoken?"
We waited for a long time hearing only one side of the conversation. I had stood up when we listened and Anna's attention was pulled away from her book recognizing that something important was happening even if she had no idea what it was. My heart was pounding in my chest with anticipation.
"Very well, thank you." Sophia said before hanging up and turning to us. "They have agreed to our terms."
I can't begin to describe the relief that washed over me hearing those words. It was the end of the war, Nicky was done. The new Valean Bratva would be backed by Atlas and we could proceed with actually building a lasting and profitable peace. I sat right back down feeling elated at the news and unsure how to convey it. No one cheered or anything like that, it was oddly quiet. Sopia was the first to speak.
"Anna darling." She said, stepping forward and kneeling down. "Can you go and collect your things? I'm taking you home, you can sleep in your own room tonight."
Anna's eyes went wide. "Really!?" She asked, excitedly.
"Yes." Sophia told her. "Let's go home."
Anna looked over at Roman Neo and I who were observing the rather tender moment in respectful silence. "Will I ever see you guys again?" She asked, her excitement fading with the worry that she would be losing her newfound friends.
"Don't worry, cupcake, you can see them whenever you want." Sophia assured her.
"Yeah." I said with a smile. "If you ever need me to watch her for you just give me a call." I said, meaning every word and getting an approving smile from Sophia.
"I will be sure to do that." She said.
"Please go tell Gretchen that you need to pack and give her some help." Roman instructed her.
Anna nodded and left as fast as her little legs would carry her.
"We can discuss the further details tomorrow." Roman told her frankly. "I'm sure you simply wish to return home and with this good news we are not pressed for any immediate decisions."
Sophia nodded to him. "Thank you, I will be sending word to my comrades but I think we can all take a chance to relax."
"Are - you - sure - we - can - trust - this - decision?" Neo asked her.
"For now I believe we can." Sophia told her. "Siding against Alexander was the smart thing to do after all. But I'm sure in time those big wigs will try sticking their noses where they don't belong."
"But hopefully they're going to keep their noses out of it so we can actually breathe." Roman said, moving over to the small bar at the end of the room and grabbing several champagne saucers. The loud pop of the bottle being uncorked made me smile and he poured us all a glass handing them out before declaring a toast.
"To peace, may it be long and profitable." Roman declared with a smile.
"To peace!" Sophia and I said in unison. Neo gave a silent nod of affirmation and we all drank, enjoying one final drink before parting. Once Anna was all packed up we followed Sophia out to the car with Anna.
"Take care of yourself Anna. And be sure you keep up on your chess game because I'll be sure to play with you again soon." I told her.
"Stay - safe." Neo signed to her.
Anna smiled and wiped away a tear. "Thank you, for everything."
I hugged her as did Neo and Roman before she got in the car.
Sophia gave me a look. "This has been a long and surprising road, Mr. Arc. I had no idea when I first saw you in that sit down that you of all people would break us away from Nicky and Atlas."
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "It wasn't just me, we all had a part to play."
Sophia nodded. "And you played your part excellently." She looked over at Roman and smiled at him. "I hope you have big plans for your subordinate here, he has talents that should not be squandered."
"Oh believe me, I have big plans for this Gentleman in the future." Roman assured her.
Sophia gave him a nod before getting in her car and leaving. I watched as her taillights disappeared. "I should get going too." I said.
"It's late." Roman told me. "Why don't you stay the night?"
I raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought I wasn't welcome to stay here anymore."
Roman nodded to me. "I think you've earned yourself one night."
I nodded to him happy with the answer. "Thank you sir."
I walked back into the house. I felt light and at ease, things were looking up and better than ever. I was free of Ozpin, I was on the road to earning Neo's forgiveness, and the Bratva was now in good capable hands. I felt like things couldn't be better.
But little did I know that very soon things were going to get much more difficult.
Author's Note:
I hope you all enjoyed this week's chapter and reading about Jaune discovering his semblance. There was a lot of talk leading up this on whether or not to keep Jaune's canon semblance or not. Nothing consider I felt truly worked and I honestly like the Aura Amp semblance and felt that I could get more use out of it than most of the others. But a lot of ideas were shared between my betra readers and I, thought for this story I felt if I turned away from canon then his semblance shouldn't be combat focused. I considered things like reading the minds of people he makes physical contact with to jedi mind tricks. I'm also glad that I got to Jaune and Neo patching things up, a part of me wanted to stretch it for drama but where this is in the story it was time for them to start talking and I never want to needlessly draw out drama. But I at least hope you enjoyed this resolution.
Next chapter is the Act II finale! I hope you're excited for it!
And of course I need to thank my wiseguys, the committee for all their help and support beta reading and providing ideas and input for this story helping to make it great. So thank you MidKnightMoonglow99, MajorBrony95, CrypidCobra, Cyperink, Firefly25, BigBrain411, TheSlySage, and DrknssRules1 for all their help and support. And thank Rak-Vojak for translated this story into Russian so others can read and enjoy it.