Misaka Phenex : Aw, happy birthday to you then x)
"I wonder what they're saying in there," said Ruby outside of Theodore's office, where her team and Penny were gathered, Jaune, Nora and Ren having left to help Winter, or more likely to avoid them for now.
"I could listen in and retransmit what's happening," offered Penny.
"Wait, you can do that?" asked Ruby.
"It's… harder now that I'm human, but you can do a lot more than just flashy attacks with magic," answered Penny.
"Then please do," said Blake, seemingly just as curious as Ruby was.
Penny nodded and kneeled down next to the door. Pressing her hands to the ground, she took a deep breath and concentrated as her eyes lit up in green flames. Moments later, a green holographic creation appeared in front of RWBY, showing the ones inside as they spoke.
"For how long has she been working for you?" asked Glynda.
"I believe Rumpole started training her just after she was spotted in Mistral participating in that tournament," answered Theodore.
"You… Ozpin had asked everyone to arrest her at the time!" said Glynda.
"I know," calmly answered Theodore, "and I ignored it."
"We were supposed stop her from murdering anymore people!", objected Glynda, "Not enable her to do it further!"
"You'll be happy to know that she eased on the murder while she was in Mistral then," said Theodore, "And that we've put her tendencies to good use, as she didn't murder anyone innocent until we lost track of her."
"She literally helped destroy Beacon!" shouted Glynda, getting more and more riled up by Theodore's calm responses.
"She eliminated most of the White Fang that were supposed to attack during the first breach, earlier in the year," precised Theodore, "Saving many lives in the process."
"Arghh, this is going nowhere!" complained Glynda, "Why didn't you at least let us know you found her? We could've helped her stop killing people! We could've taught her different, helped make amends!"
"Amends," scoffed Theodore, "Remind me how old was she when she started on her murder spree? 10? 8?"
"I…"
"At that age, parents are the ones responsible for their child's behavior," continued Theodore, "You were the ones that left her with a criminal and overlooked his crimes because you didn't want it to be known that a Huntsman had tried to murder a child. You were the one who taught said child how to fight, who gave her the tools she needed to kill someone, without first making sure she properly understood the value of life."
"…"
"Neopolitan has no amends to do here. She did wrong, but you were the one responsible for her," added Theodore, "At least she had the maturity of learning from her mistakes and figuring out by herself a lesson you should have been the ones to teach her long before she held any sort of deadly weapon."
Glynda bit her lip and held her head down in shame, fully understanding that she and Ozpin were indeed responsible for leaving Neo with Roman, and for failing to properly ensure she wasn't using her knowledge for nefarious means.
Neo smirked while crossing her arms, and that was when everyone realized she had removed her handcuffs, surprising everyone but Theodore and Rumpole.
"Neo, please do not agitate miss Goodwitch any further," said Rumpole.
"And do not be proud of what you did back then," added Theodore, "You might not have been considered responsible, but that doesn't mean it was a good thing."
Neo's smile grew a bit meek at Rumpole's interjection, and she simply nodded in answer to Theodore's comment.
"Is there anything else Glynda?" asked Theodore.
"I… What are we going to do with her now?" she asked.
"That is up to me to decide," answered Theodore, "But if I don't renew her employment, I'll have her sent back to you, then it'll up to you to decide what to do with her. If you can keep her locked up."
Neo threw her handcuffs at Glynda to illustrate his point, a confident smirk on her face that immediately fell when she saw how hurt Glynda looked. Shaking her head, Neo quickly put her smirk back on as Glynda, followed by Oscar, left the room.
Upon noticing that, Penny immediately dispelled her magic and stepped back from the door, while RWBY tried to act as naturally as possible.
The door opened, and while Glynda was surprised to see they were still there, she paid no heed and went on her way. Oscar, on the other hand, stayed with them.
"So, what do you think?" he asked.
"Huh?" asked back Ruby.
"I'm a wizard Ruby, or well, Ozpin is. I can kind of tell when magic is being used nearby," explained Oscar, "and with you using it for so long, I could figure out what kind of magic you were using as well."
"Ooooh," said Penny, "That's so neat."
"It is, I guess?" said Oscar, "Not that it's something I can use very often. So, what did you think?"
"I don't know, it's just so… weird," said Yang, "Has she really been on our side since the start? I mean, she tried to kill me, but now we're supposed to believe that's okay?"
"That's… I think I'll let Ozpin answer," offered Oscar, "I kind of wasn't there for most of it after all."
With a short flash, Ozpin took over the control of Oscar's body and started to speak.
"It's a bit complicated," he explained, "From what I understand, Neo was indeed acting as a spy, and from past experience I can say that it wouldn't be unusual for a spy to kill an ally in order to ensure their position next to the enemy. That being said, it makes no doubt to me that she was indeed there mosly to help Roman Torchwick, and not to help our cause, no matter how much Theodore wants to protect her."
"He's protecting her?" asked Blake.
"Yes, that I am fairly certain of," answered Ozpin, "Although I am not sure what he is planning now, maybe miss Polendina can help show us."
"Right away sir!"
As the door closed, Neo looked back at Theodore and Rumpole. Her smile dropped when she noticed their expressions and she started having second thoughts again about this whole idea of relying on them. Maybe she didn't want to know if they keep her or not.
"Now, Neo," snappily said Rumpole as she walked up to Neo, "I believe I told you to come back after Beacon fell, but it would appear that you preferred to make things worse for everyone by seeking revenge."
Neo grew meek the more Rumpole talked and the closer she got, until she finally was next to her and she felt that she was now shorter than the teacher, for once.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" asked Rumpole as grabbed Neo's coat and started turning it into gold.
Neo gave Rumpole the most apologetic look she could muster, but that didn't stop Rumpole from completely turning her coat into gold, forcing her to remove it so it wouldn't weigh her down.
"Now, I believe you know what is supposed to happen to someone that becomes a danger to our people, right?" asked Rumpole as she moved on to the rest of Neo's clothes, turning them to gold as well and effectively locked Neo down from the weight.
Neo was really starting to regret her choice of coming here in the first place, especially since, for the first time, she wasn't able to control her body as much as she wanted. For once, this wasn't a situation she could worm her way out of.
"I think she's had enough Rumpole," said Theodore, "Her presence here shows that she does intend to help us once again, and I'm sure she'll do double the work to make up for her past mistakes."
Neo nodded as fast as she could, and Rumpole's smile warmed.
"You'll find a new outfit in there," she said, pointing at a door leading to a room next to the office, "I've infused it with Dust that you can use in case of emergencies. As for your weapon, I'll try to make sure you get it back."
Neo sighed in relief, then pouted as she figured out that they had always been planning to accept her back and the last bit of threat was just for show. Well, maybe not all for show, but mostly.
She walked slowly towards the room, mostly due to the gold weighing her down, and once inside she changed into the new outfit they had prepared for her. It was surprisingly similar to her first real combat outfit, the one she had all the way up to Mistral, but it covered a bit more.
It was a pink shirt, white pants and white corset, that she preferred putting on top of the shirt for style, along with a brown jacket and dark grey boots with heels. There was also a scarf to replace her old one, but this one was made of a light fabric and meant to tie up above her head, to protect it from the sun.
Finally, she found the finishing touches, a pair of white gloves and a belt that had a small pouch hanging down from it, allowing her to place some items she would need in an emergency.
Neo smiled as she turned in front of the mirror to check out her new look. All the fabric was very light, mostly to not keep her warm under the scorching Vacuan sun, except for the jacket, which she guessed was there to protect her from the cold nights in the desert. Every single item also had Dust weaved into it, mostly ice as the pale blue was hardly noticeable while still giving an slight ethereal shine to her outfit.
Grabbing the scroll on the table, Neo skipped out of the room and back into Theodore's office, a large smile on her face.
"Well, you look ready to work," said Theodore, "Since there is no emergency right now, you can take the time to get used to the underworld again. You'll be slowly taking over Rumpole's contacts as I need her in the school more than ever."
Neo frowned at the mention of there being no emergency, and she relayed to Theodore that Tyrian and Mercury had left Atlas before the final battle, and that they should be in Vacuo by now.
"That is problematic," admitted Theodore, "Your focus will be to find them then. Rumpole will help you gather information. We can't let the big one take a hold in our city."
"I'll ask my contacts," said Rumpole, "Neo, take your time to get used to the city. Vacuo isn't kind to strangers, and I wouldn't want any of your covers to be blown because you behave like one."
Neo nodded and was about to leave the room when Rumpole added something.
"Before you leave, there's something I should mention," she said, "I bought the apartment you were renting in the city. If you still want it, it's yours."
Neo smiled as she thanked her.
This was home.
To be continued on February 5th
Name : Neo Politan
Age : 18
Level : 21 (37%)
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]
Destiny : All for one [Everyone can die, if it means you get to survive]
Title : The Gamer
HP : 11/11
AP : 110/110
STR : 12
CON : 11
DEX : 20
INT : 23
WIS : 13
CHA : 17
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]
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 : 29(34)
For : 22
Ref : 28
Will : 25