Once back at Beacon, after being slightly questioned by Ozpin, Ruby and Weiss went back to their room, while Blake and Yang made a beeline for the library. It was late, but Blake didn't want to miss a single second that she could spend for research. She was a bit confused as to why Yang was coming as well, but she wasn't complaining.
Yang was there because she was bothered by that new goon Torchwick had gotten himself. She had a feeling she had seen her somewhere before.
Thankfully, Yang knew she didn't have to search long. She barely sought any knowledge by herself outside of fighting, so she knew that if she had seen that woman somewhere before, it was in one of the tournaments, either during Vytal or at Mistral.
So she headed straight for the photos of the participants at the Vytal Tournament first, knowing that if she had to go over Mistral's tournament there would be no such group photo, and she would have to look at every fight one after the other.
The photographs would prove to be enough though, as she quickly found what she was looking for. On the 35th, 36th and 37th Vytal Festival, there would always be a little girl being carried by Beacon's students like a mascot, one that looked exactly like the one they had just fought.
This... she didn't want to believe it, but that was really where she had seen her before.
She needed more answers. She needed to ask a teacher.
And there was one just coming towards them.
Glynda was worried.
According to the four members of team RWBY, Neo was back to working with Roman. They had just fought her, and while they did not know who she was, Glynda and Ozpin did.
The issue was, if Neo was indeed working with Roman, then was she the one that fought her during the summer break ? Did that mean that Roman wasn't in reality working with a maiden, or did that mean Neo might just be a maiden now ?
And if she was, then why would she know to attack Amber ? Had Salem already found her ?
She needed more answers, or rather, she wanted to know exactly how Neo was feeling. She was planning on asking some questions under the guise of wanting to learn more about the new threat, when in reality she just wanted to make sure she was fine.
However, to her surprise, when she approached miss Xiao Long and miss Belladonna in the library, the blonde student had questions of her own, and photos of Neo in her hands.
"Miss Goodwitch, who is she ?" asked Yang.
"Her name is miss Politan." answered Glynda, trying not to give out too much.
"But why is a small kid posing with Beacon students ?" asked back Yang.
Glynda sighed. She could probably dismiss miss Xiao Long here and there, but then she would have a harder time getting answers to her own questions. There was no getting out of this.
"She is a genius with Dust." she explained, "I started teaching her how to use Dust when she was around six years old because of how good she was with it even without training. She used to stay on campus a lot, and because she took a liking to Huntress training she became a rallying point for the students for how hard she trained."
"What happened to her ?" asked Yang, clearly suspicious.
There was no doubt in Glynda's mind that miss Xiao Long knew that Roman's help and the girl in the picture was in fact the same person. She'd actually be worried for her intelligence if she had any doubt, seeing how unique the person was.
"She ran away." answered Glynda, "We are still looking for her, but because her guardian isn't we can't really do it openly."
"What kind of guardian wouldn't look for their kid ?" growled Yang, angry.
"The kind that helped her run away in the first place." answered Glynda, unwavering.
The answer confused Yang, so Glynda explained.
"Her guardian is Roman Torchwick." she said.
Yang was most shocked, which didn't surprised Glynda in the slightest. The teacher took the opportunity to ask a question of her own.
"Can you tell me anything about her ?" she asked, "How did she look ? How did she behave ?"
"I'm sorry, miss Goodwitch, we didn't see her long." answered Yang, "But I don't think there was anything wrong with her. She was... smug, cocky, and obeyed Torchwick without a blink. Do you think he's forcing her ?"
"I doubt it, however parents do not necessarily need to force their children to do something bad." said Glynda, "But that is not the point. She's still a child, and as such it is our duty as Huntsmen and Huntresses to help her back on the right path."
"I'll help." said Yang without a second though, "I mean, if I ever run into her again, of course."
"That is very noble of you, miss Xiao Long, but please do not." said Glynda, "I certainly won't condone any of your illegal extracurricular activities, but most importantly I cannot ask you to risk yourself to capture her. In fact, should you ever meet her again, I would advise you to run."
"That hurts, I though you'd know how good I am by now." said Yang.
"While you are certainly above your peers right now, you are still in your first year, and still have a lot to learn." lectured Glynda, "I would never ask any student to fight her, because she is far above any of you when it comes to skill. In fact, if she was capable of using aura, she would've been able to get a Huntress license over 4 years ago."
"4 years ago ?" asked Yang, "How old is she now ?"
"She should be around sixteen." answered Glynda.
"She was as capable as a Huntsman when she was twelve ?" asked Yang, bewildred, "Man, Huntsmen really aren't as good as they used to be."
"Miss Xiao Long." interrupted Glynda, "Do not assume what you do not know of. I would advise you not to get overconfident and risk yourself here. Especially since this is not a brawl where you can walk out with only a few bruises. She will kill you if you fight her."
"I get it, I get it, you don't have to exaggerate, miss Goodwitch." said Yang, clearly not taking the threat seriously.
"Miss Xiao Long." sighed Glynda, "I'm not sure if you are old enough to remember, but there was once a vigilante that killed criminals throughout Vale. That was her."
"Karma Rouge ?" asked Yang, "I think I remember it."
"Exactly." said Glynda, "She is perfectly capable of killing people, so do not underestimate her."
"I... I understand." said Yang, visibly shaken now that she realized Glynda had been serious, "I... I'll go now."
Glynda sighed as miss Xiao Long grabbed her teammate and practically ran away. She had said a bit too much, but hopefully, it would make sure she wasn't going to get hurt, and that Neo wouldn't have even more blood on her hands.
Neo was grinning from eye to eye as they got back to base.
She had never thought the legend was real, but here it was, a silver-eyed warrior trying to stop Roman from stealing stuff. This would be fun.
And since she was a silver-eyed warrior, then she wouldn't even try to kill Roman, so she could sleep soundly knowing Roman wasn't in any real danger when fighting her. Worst case scenario she'd get to break him out of jail.
That would be fun.
Yang quickly explained everything she learned about that Neo goon to Blake, who got clearly more worried than she originally was.
"If she's that dangerous, then we should talk about it with Ruby and Weiss so we can make a plan to fight her." said Blake.
"Don't." countered Yang, "Ruby can't learn of it."
"What do you mean she can't ?" asked Blake.
"Well... You know how Ruby loved Hero stories when she was a kid ?" asked back Yang.
"Yes ?" said Blake, not sure where Yang wanted to go with this.
"Well, Ruby kind of used to be a fan of Karma Rouge." explained Yang.
"What ?" practically shouted Blake, "She was the fan of a killer ?"
"Ruby was too young to really understand what killing meant back then." explained Yang, "To her, it was simply someone fighting the bad guys, so she assumed it was a Hero."
"That... is understandable." said Blake, "But then why would it be bad if she learns of what Karma Rouge is now ?"
"Well, Karma Rouge disappeared 4 years ago, so I don't actually know if Ruby still sees them as kind of a good guy." answered Yang, "I don't want for her to feel betrayed because of that."
"Fine." sighed Blake, "But we need to find a way to deal with her somehow if we want to stop them."
"Don't worry." said Yang, "I'll find a way."
Roman puffed on his cigar, one of the few things in life he could still enjoy with Cinder overworking him to the core.
"Well, Neo, I think it's time to move." he said, "These mutts won't be able to do anything if I'm not there to order them around."
Neo rolled her eyes. She had certainly not missed Roman's racist remarks. How he thought they were funny was beyond her.
"I'm afraid our little friend won't be going anywhere." said a recognizable voice coming behind them, "I have use for her here."
Neither Neo nor Roman needed to turn around to know Cinder had been the one to speak up. However, Neo did need to turn around to show she was listening.
"We're going to infiltrate Beacon." explained Cinder, "Teams are usually of four people, so with you we'll be less conspicuous."
Neo shook her head. That wasn't going to work.
"You don't have a choice." said Cinder, "You're already signed up."
Neo shook her head again. Her going at Beacon was absolutely impossible.
"Are you trying to defy me ?" asked Cinder with a growl.
"Sorry, sorry." intervened Roman, "She's not refusing without reason. It's just, remember how I said that she had issues with the authorities ?"
"Yes ?" asked Cinder, clearly impatient but willing to listen.
"Well, those authorities are Beacon's staff." said Roman.
"Surely with her disguise that shouldn't be an issue." noted Cinder.
"That would be the case." admitted Roman, "If Ozpin wasn't capable of seeing through her disguises."
Cinder frowned.
"Is there anyone else that can see through your disguise ?" she asked Neo.
Neo shook her head quickly in response. There was no point trying to antagonize her so soon.
Cinder accepted the answer. She knew Ozpin was an unnatural existence just like Salem, so it was understandable for her. Still, this put a wrench in her plans. Neo was already signed up as their fourth member after all.
"Can you make it to the Vytal Tournament ?" she asked.
Neo nodded. She knew Ozpin wouldn't be anywhere near Amity, so she had no risk of running into him while in disguise.
"That will have to do then." said Cinder, "You two can leave now. I'll simply borrow Neo when the time comes for the Tournament to begin."
"As you wish." said Roman.
Yang had decided to focus on training for a while. If that Neo was truly as dangerous as Goodwitch claimed her to be, then she'd better make sure she was in top shape to fight her.
Her first goal would be to beat Pyrrha. If she could do that, or at the very least, land a hit, then it would mean she had a chance.
For that, Yang took the time to watch Pyrrha's matches during Mistral's Tournament. She might know what Pyrrha's semblance was now, but that didn't mean she was currently capable of even touching her.
There, she found Neo again. At the end of Pyrrha's last Tournament, in the finals, the woman fighting against Pyrrha got hit, and suddenly she was Neo, bleeding at the side.
This changed everything. There was a better way to beat this girl than going in blind.
She'd just have to ask Pyrrha for advice.
To be continued on June 26th
Name : Neo Politan
Age : 16
Level : 16 (02%)
Class : Illusionist [You add both your Intelligence and Dexterity modifiers to your AC and to Dexterity or Intelligence based attacks as long as you can still cast illusions]
Path : Me, myself and I [You live for yourself first and foremost, no matter what pain you might cause others]
Title : The Gamer
HP : 10/10
AP : UNUSABLE
STR : 11
CON : 10
DEX : 18
INT : 21
WIS : 12
CHA : 16
Semblance : The Gamer
Status effects :
Gamer's body [Your body follows game-like mechanics. You can restore 1/4th of your total HP (rounded down) by resting 15 minutes. You can only die if your HP reach 0 and you fail your last breath]
Child of Remnant [You are from Remnant and follow different rules than other worlds. Your HP is always equal to your constitution and any bonuses that would normally improve it are transferred to your aura]
Fighting for your life [Your aura behaved in the only way that would let you survive, and will continue to do so until you overcome your trauma. You cannot use aura, but you can will any item you wield for it to reflect 100% of any attack that hits it]
Words that shouldn't be said [Your last words almost caused you to lose your life. You cannot talk until you overcome your trauma]
Defenses :
AC : 26(30)
For : 19
Ref : 25
Will : 23