Thank God aura works on headaches if you concentrate hard enough.
After I calmed down, put my coffee table back into place, and sat down, I spent the next hour with my eyes closed as I tried to focus my aura on healing my body. Not just of the outer wounds, but the headache that was threatening to kill me while I sat there in the dark.
It took about an hour but the headache vanished, although the rest of my wounds were still going to take more time. Good thing too, because that was when Cinder sent me another message saying she was about ten minutes away.
I didn't have time to shower, unfortunately, and I looked like garbage, but I was just going to have to deal with that. I could handle all of that after I figured out how I was going to get out of this by telling Cinder the smallest amount that I could.
I had considered just outright telling her the truth, I was blessed by the God of Light and knew her past along with a lot of other peoples' pasts. However, I knew that if I showed my hand too quickly everything would change. Cinder, if she knew or was able to conclude that I knew about her plans at the dance and beyond, would change everything up, and I would lose any advantage I had in my race to stop her. I couldn't let that happen, not yet.
However I knew that there were very few, if any, lies that I could tell her that would explain how the hell I knew about Rhodes and her step-family. I couldn't blame it on someone from her side, because if I blamed it on, say, Watts, not only was I going to have to explain how I knew Watts in the first place, but she would inevitably go to him and ask if he told me. That would show that he knew absolutely nothing about me, nor did he ever say anything about her past.
An idea came to me just as I heard Cinder knock on the door, the cafe was open so thankfully I didn't have to go downstairs for this. I took a deep breath and stood up before going over to the door, turning on the lights. Then, I unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Cinder was on the other side in her usual red minidress. She looked troubled, even still she managed a smile, "Neve." She greeted me softly, prompting me to step back so she could come inside.
Once she was inside, I shut the door and she stepped forward a few more paces before turning to face me, "Do you remember what you said last night?"
Not a word, but I knew what was said anyway thanks to the Assistant. I nodded and walked closer to her, "I… talked about your past." She nodded, seemingly not pressing me on the 'Maiden Souls' thing, that was good, the less she wanted to know about the better.
I stepped closer to her, "Cinder…" I moved to take her hand in mine, lifting it and placing my other hand on it, she didn't stop me. I managed a small smile, "You're… not gonna like this, but..."
She continued listening, her expression remained stoic. I took a deep breath, "I can't tell you right now. Not while you're still aligned with Salem." Her eyes widened and she looked hurt, but I pressed on, "I want to tell you! I want to tell you everything! But… telling you means telling Salem right now, and I can't do that. Just like how you can't tell me your secrets."
Cinder looked furious, it was a fury I had expected to see a lot sooner, seeing it now almost caught me off guard. She gritted her teeth, "I deserve to know why you know about my past, Neve! Nobody was supposed to know if they weren't in Salem's circle, and yet here you are! You… you…."
She choked up and struggled against herself before finally managing to whisper out hushed words, "You bastard…" She looked down, the venom in her voice might as well have been a stab through my heart with Midnight. She pulled away from me and started to walk away, "You know I'm not going to abandon Salem."
I gritted my teeth, this whole charade was pushing me to my limit, "And why not?!" She stopped stock still as I clenched my fists, "What's so special about her?! What's she done for you?! You traded one slave driver for another! What are you getting from this?"
Cinder turned around, the anger in her eyes resurfacing, her voice stuck somewhere between heartbreak and fury, "I'm getting what I deserve! The power that I deserve! I've spent my whole life running, Neve! And with what Salem promises, I will finally be in control!"
I rubbed my forehead, "And how is THAT working out for you?!" She looked confused, "You can be in control right now! By leaving her! You can stop running right now! By leaving her! I'm not going to cast you aside, treat you like you're lower than me, I would never, because you deserve better!"
My tears were flowing freely now, as were hers, I gestured towards her, my voice softening, "You're so wonderful Cinder, so intelligent, but somehow you've overlooked the simple truth. Salem doesn't care about you. You're a tool to her! One that she will cast aside the moment you're broken! I just… I just want you to be happy."
Cinder took a deep breath and shook her head, "You don't know how hard I've worked for this. How much I've sacrificed! Salem took me in when I had nowhere else to go, and she showed me what I was really worth. How could you know what would make me happy?"
She might as well have shot me, that would have hurt less. I asked her in a strained voice, "Have you not been happy with me?" I took one step towards her, "Did all of that time we spent together not mean anything? Were you not happy? After everything?" She looked shocked and like she wanted to respond, but I continued, "Cinder, I…" I closed my eyes and looked down, my voice barely above a whisper, "I thought I meant something to you."
She didn't respond to any of that, instead she said in a broken up voice, "Contact me when you're ready to tell me the truth." I opened my eyes in time to see her reach the door and open it, then she stepped outside, "Until then…" I caught a glimpse of her looking back at me, tears still fresh on her face as she spoke, "Goodbye, Neve." Then she shut the door and started walking down the steps, glass slippers clicking on each step, the steps felt heavy, impactful, and yet she wasn't stomping.
I sighed, ran a hand through my hair, and then went to sit down on the couch. I had started to cry during our argument out of frustration, rage, and despair. Now that it was over, though, I just felt numb. I couldn't bring myself to cry anymore, or be angry anymore. This was one of the worst outcomes, short of her actually trying to kill me. Nothing was going as I wanted it to, as I planned it to. Cinder was supposed to be with me to stop Emerald and Mercury from killing Tukson, she was supposed to go to the dance with me.
She was supposed to choose me.
I closed my eyes and laid on the couch. I stayed there, lost in my own scrambled mind and shattered heart. I wasn't sure how long I laid there, exactly, just stewing as I tried to get ahold of myself so I could figure out what to do next. Eventually, though, I got a text. I slipped my scroll out of my pocket and looked at the message.
Violet: "Hey Neve! Looking forward to today! I just woke up… you're still coming over, right?"
Oh, shit… that was right. I promised Violet I'd visit her, and that I would be there in… an hour and a half. Well, I supposed that if I could try to forget about my fuck-ups with anyone, it would be her…
Me: "Yeah, I'll be over after I take a shower. Want me to bring something to eat?"
Violet: "Yes, please! I just have ramen…"
Typical Violet. In spite of my foul mood, I found myself smiling.
I got up and texted that I'd bring some ingredients to cook at her place and then started to get ready.
I changed into an extra set of my huntsman gear that I had, although I left the satchels and weapons behind. I wasn't going far, her apartment was close to downtown, I had passed it on my walk just the day before actually. I might have visited her were I not in such a funk.
I left my apartment after filling some plastic bags with ingredients and saying hi to June on my way out before starting down the sidewalk.
The streets were as busy as they always were, especially as I got closer to downtown. At least weatherwise it was a lovely day, it gave me some extra time to think and try to clear my head. The terrible pangs of sadness in my heart weren't subsiding, but I muscled through it. I'd come too far to back down, too far to doubt, and even if it broke my heart a million times over, I couldn't stray from my path.
Cinder had a choice to make, even after all the arguing it was still on the table. However, if what she said was any indication, I knew exactly who she was going to choose, and it certainly wasn't me. If it were, she'd have been with me right now, going to visit Violet by my side so we could enjoy time together while also spending time with someone I hoped Cinder could one day call a friend as well.
That was growing increasingly unlikely and I wondered if I should have just fessed up to her. Part of me thought that telling the truth was the best thing to do, that maybe revealing all would get her to change her mind, get her to switch sides, but…
The rest of me knew that it wouldn't have been that simple. It was never going to be simple, maybe a situation like this was inevitable. Maybe Cinder was inevitably going to turn her back on me and everything I'd done. Maybe everything I'd felt, from the moment I saw her to then, was a waste of time.
As I drew closer to Violet's apartment, I decided to check Cinder's relationship score, just once. Part of me hoped that maybe the scores would still be high, that would be the thing to tell me it wasn't all going to shit.
Cinder Fall
-10/100 (Betrayed, Tier 2)
-10/100 (Heartbroken, Tier 1)
…That part of me had its hopes crushed into a fine powder. I dismissed the notification and continued forward.
Luckily I didn't need to go much further before I reached the apartment complex she lived in. It was on the cheaper side, that was for sure, there was no 'lobby'. Instead, it was one of those places where you walked up a bunch of steps to get to where you wanted to go and never went inside anywhere until you found your apartment.
Just as the directions said, up one flight of stairs and then it was Apartment 213. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, getting ready to do what I did best, act. Act like I hadn't just had an argument with someone so close to me, and act like she hadn't all but guaranteed that we'd be at each other's throats sooner rather than later. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes and knocked on the door.
I heard her scurrying around on the other side for a few seconds before the door unlocked and she pulled it over. Her expression looked apprehensive for a moment before she registered that it was me standing on the other side. Once she had, her face lit up and she grinned, "Hey! Come in!" She laughed nervously as I stepped inside, "S-sorry about the mess."
It was messy, books strewn about all over the place, discarded ramen cups and food wrappers littered the floor, and it was very dusty. Now, I was not the kind of person who cared all that much about keeping a spotless house, but this? This was too much.
Still, I found myself smiling, "Well then, I guess before I cook for you, we have a job to do."
She looked at me in confusion before I shut the door behind me and turned back to her, "We're gonna clean this place up!" She started to complain but I placed my index finger on her lips, "Ah! No complaints!" Her face heated up and instead she gained a guilty expression, during all of this her tail remained drooped down sadly. I gently assured her, "Violet, come on, I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't want to."
That seemed to lift her spirits a little bit as she nodded, her tail picked up and swished behind her, "O-Okay! Let's show this apartment what half of Team CALM can do!" Now that I had snuffed out any idea of getting out of this, she seemed to want to dedicate herself entirely to the goal at hand. I walked into the kitchen, which was in desperate need of a mop and there were loads of dirty dishes that needed cleaning, and left the bags on the counter. I had brought two steaks along with salt, pepper, oil, butter, garlic, and thyme. I even brought my own pan, because I assumed (rightfully) that Violet didn't have any.
Man, I was gonna have to fix that at some point…
Together, we moved about picking up garbage and throwing it into trash bags. The rugs were going to need to be vacuumed, and her kitchen was going to need to be mopped, but those could wait. For now, we focused on getting all of the trash into bags. She even had Aura help, adding an extra pair of hands to our endeavors.
Between the three of us it didn't take very long to fill garbage bags, it took a total of four to get everything picked up. It was concerning that she just… accepted living in these conditions. It wasn't healthy, not in the slightest.
At the very least, worrying about helping Violet was enough to keep my mind off of other matters. Things that I couldn't affect right now and things that I wouldn't be able to affect at all.
I could affect how clean Violet's apartment was, and I could cook her a good piece of ribeye for dinner. Those were things that reminded me that I hadn't completely lost control of everything. Not yet.
Once her trash was all bagged up, she had aura take it all down to the dumpster while the two of us set about washing dishes. While we were doing that, I decided to ask her, "So, you mentioned having a grandfather, but… I've never heard you really say anything about your parents. Who were they?"
That question clearly hit some sort of weak spot and I regretted asking it when I saw how sad she looked, "It's…It's not important, I… I didn't know them very well." I knew she was lying, it didn't take a genius to see that, but still I didn't question her on that.
Instead I just nodded, "Ah, I see." I finished cleaning one dish and set it in the drying rack and she did much the same. I decided to change the topic, "Are you excited for next semester?"
She managed a soft smile and nodded, "Y-Yeah, I loved the first one. Sure it was hard, but… we're becoming hunters! Real heroes, who can do real good for the world!" She set the plate she was washing in the drying rack and picked up another one, "I can't wait to-"
Then her hands slipped, she stepped back a few paces as it happened, the plate crashed to the ground and splintered into three separate pieces, with some shards on the ground. I was about to tease her for this, but then I looked at her.
She was shaking, and not lightly. Her hands went to her head as she stared at the broken plate and muttered to herself, "No, no, no, no…" Her eyes were wide and her aura was starting to flare up, whereas normally it was just a peripheral distortion around her, it was now growing, as if a charcoal black heatwave had hit the kitchen.
Her voice was desperate and shaky, "I'm sorry, I didn't, I don't- I swear- It's my fault! I'll fix it! I swear!" She said these things as if her life depended on it, as if someone was holding a gun to her head. It sent chills down my spine, hearing her like this. Her distress wasn't directed at me, though, she just kept staring at the plate as tears began to flow down her face.
I had no idea what to do in this situation, her pleading was getting louder, her aura was expanding further outward. What was happening? What had happened? I didn't know the first thing about what to do, so instead I did the first thing that came to mind.
I lowered my voice, taking on a soft tone, "Violet…" I tried to get her attention but she kept muttering to herself. I tried again, "Violet, it's okay!" She shook her head and didn't seem to react to what I was saying.
She squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm not strong enough! I'm not enough! She's e-enough, but I'm not!"
Just talking wasn't working. I was ninety percent certain that doing what I was about to do was not a good idea, but if there was even a chance I could calm her down, I had to take it, consequences be damned.
Her aura seemed to slow me down, like a viscous fluid that I had to push through, or water I had to wade through. It stole away my breath and made it hard to focus, but I pressed on. I had never heard of aura behaving like this before, but Violet's aura has always been different, Violet has always been different, and this only solidified that.
Finally, I reached her. I wrapped my arms around her as I gave her a tight sideways hug and heard her gasp in shock as her eyes flew open, "Violet." I managed in spite of barely being able to breath, "It's. Okay. I'm…" I took a labored breath, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
To my relief, her aura retreated. She still looked scared and in shock, but now Aura had retreated to being its usual barely-visible self. I managed a smile and spoke softly, "See? It's fine. Everything's fine." I was telling myself that as much as I was telling her, but her problems were far more important, "It's all… It's all going to be okay. Nobody's… nobody's going to hurt you. I won't let them." I had reached the point of just saying anything that came to mind to calm her down, that didn't mean I was lying though. She could take care of herself most of the time, but right then she was very vulnerable, so I would do what I had to in order to keep her safe.
Tears still stained her eyes, but she wasn't talking anymore, nor were her eyes closed. She was just… staring at the broken plate.
I walked her away from it after another few moments, when she had relaxed a bit. I led her back to the living room and sat her down on her couch, then I sat next to her. The second I did, she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in the crook of my neck, "I'm sorry." I heard her mutter, her voice was hoarse, "I-I didn't…I…"
I returned the hug, "Violet. It's okay… It's okay…" The words felt weak, I chastised myself for not thinking of something better to say. I was the guy who talked to people, who manipulated, lied to, and tricked people for their own betterment. I was also a bastard, a real genuine bastard. Yet none of that made comforting her any more intuitive.
Before I could berate myself further, she whispered, "...Do you promise?" I was confused, then she elaborated, her voice pleading, "Do you promise that it's okay? That you… That you'll keep me safe?" For as strong a fighter and as courageous a soul as Violet was, she revealed to me that day that a lot of that was just a front. That underneath it all, she was scared, terrified even. She felt out of her depth and like she wasn't good enough, that she wasn't worth it.
In a way, she and I were not so different.
I felt the mask of certainty and strength that I wore slip out of my hand and shatter on the ground. I took a deep, shaky breath, and responded in a shaky voice that I had rarely allowed anyone to hear before, "Y-Yes… Yes, I promise…"
Was I going to be enough? Was I ever going to be enough? Months and months of planning, acting, working, lying, and everything else under the sun, and I was still so easily taken apart. One mistake, one fuck up, and Cinder didn't want anything to do with me. One slip up, and I felt alone…
Yet, in that moment, I found a companion in Violet. We could be alone together, and we'd find our footing again. I hoped we would, at least…
I couldn't have dreamt up a better friend than her, than Jeanne, than Lunus. They were my strength, without them I nearly got enslaved, without them I was… lesser. One letter can't make a name, after all.
We stayed that way for a while longer, in comfortable silence. Violet was still sniffling, but she seemed to have mostly gotten it under control.
When she had mostly calmed down, I found that she was just resting her head on my chest with her eyes closed. Her raccoon tail had wrapped itself around both of us. It was warm and fluffy, I wanted to pet it but I decided that wasn't a good idea. Some faunus felt very… sensitive there, and I wasn't going to risk that being the case with her.
I tried my best to force my mind to be blank, to not think of Cinder or anything like that. Instead I just… sat there and stayed with her. It was perhaps the most relaxed I'd been in months.
Eventually, I remembered that I wanted to cook something for her. I'd already been there for an hour and a half, and honestly I felt so comfortable I didn't want to get up, and I could tell she was much the same. Yet still, I was sure she was hungry, so was I. I asked softly, "Are you hungry?"
She hummed in affirmation, then followed up with, "I'm so comfy though… you're so warm…" Even though I had no desire to be romantically involved with Violet, I felt my heart flutter. The traitor…
I ran my fingers through her hair, "I know, but I've gotta make those steaks… they're really good." I tried to make it as appealing to her as possible, and thankfully it worked.
She untangled herself from me and sat up straight on the couch, a warm blush accompanied her smile, "Okay…" I hoped that blush didn't mean what I thought it meant…
Or did I? I was confused, my heart was broken and even though I genuinely really liked Cinder, at the time I didn't know what I wanted.
I got up and headed into the kitchen, going through the motions of preparing to cook some ribeye. I had intended to eat these with Cinder, but now I knew that wasn't going to happen. Why let them go to waste?
While I was waiting for the pan to heat up, I swallowed a lump in my throat and did something I had dreaded doing for the past few minutes. I checked Violet's relationship score.
Violet Merino
50/100 - Undying Companion (Tier 4)
100/100 - Smitten (Tier 1)
…Fuck.
I continued naturally about the rest of my visit with her. I made the steaks, basted with butter, seasoned with salt, freshly ground pepper, and garlic. It was as divine as the website where I found the recipe on had said it would be.
Violet loved it as well, she insisted that I should teach her how to cook so she could make things like the steak herself. I didn't see why not, it would be good to have more people who knew how to cook on the team.
I reasoned with myself that Violet's crush would just abate with time. She was feeling vulnerable, when you feel vulnerable you latch onto people. I did the same thing, that's why I felt so… weird, after that afternoon. Yet, I knew that Violet deserved far better than me. Even if Cinder didn't change course, even if she stayed loyal to Salem, Violet deserved someone who… wasn't me.
I just hoped that she'd find that person, someone who could bring out the best in her, and be with her through her bad moments just as I had been.
After that day I spent a lot more time around her, and she was a lot more affectionate than she had been before. She hugged me a lot, stayed close to me often, and smiled somehow brighter and more genuine than she did before.
It felt wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time.
Luckily, it wasn't the only thing I did, and I found an excuse to cut back on the time I spent with her by adapting my previous plans. Not that I wanted to be away from her, but I hoped that maybe distance would make this newfound infatuation diminish.
Cinder and I weren't talking, but that didn't mean I was going to give up on some of my plans that had involved her. It just meant I needed to change them, and one change I made was how I wanted to keep Tukson alive. He might have been a former terrorist, but he still didn't deserve the fate that had been dealt to him.
I found that he was hiring extra help, and given that I still had a month and a half left before school started, I applied for the job. I had been worried that maybe he held some lingering racial bias, but he seemed to have been fully past that. Between my charisma stat and June's glowing recommendation, I got the job easily.
Working at a bookstore was somehow even more slow-paced than the cafe was. The cafe had its busy days and its relaxed ones, while the bookstore only ever seemed to have one, maybe two or three customers at a time. Tukson didn't care what I wore, so I just wore my turtleneck and jeans, leaving my outerwear at home. I kept Dawn under the counter while I was working, along with its sheaths and quiver. Just in case.
Not that I ever needed it, who was going to rob a bookstore?
Really, it was there in anticipation of one day. I wasn't sure if I was going to need them, since they were only going to be there to try and kill Tukson, but if they were in a bad mood I had no idea if they'd try to take it out on me. Emerald might not, but Mercury certainly would.
The days bled into weeks as I settled into my new job, padding out the money I had made from my work with Torchwick with what I earned from the bookstore. My savings had fully recovered, grown even, by the end of my first month of work.
Eventually, the day that I had been anticipating since I took this job came. The whole reason I was here.
I was in the back sorting through some of the store's inventory when I heard the door to the shop open. I heard a girl's voice ask, "Uhm, hello? Anyone here?" It was none other than Emerald Sustrai.
I cleared my throat, stood up from my kneeling position near a box, then made my way to the door. I opened it and stepped out into the shop, heading over to the counter and leaning on it, rather than using any sort of customer service voice, I spoke in a bright and sunny tone, "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, where we've got every book under the sun!" I played up how happy I was, but that was all part of the act.
I looked upon the two, Emerald and Mercury. Mercury was in the back, flipping through comics, although he stopped and looked at me once I exited the door. He looked surprised, although he hid it a split second after it showed up. Emerald's eyes, similarly, widened, but she recovered quickly. She was closer to me, near the front desk, so I smiled warmly at her, "How can I help you today?"
Mercury in the back shrugged, and looked back down at his comic book, "We're just browsing."
Emerald smiled at me, it was a flirtatious smile, "Hey there good looking. Are you… Tukson?" I shook my head and she nodded, "Ah, that's what I figured. Where is he?" She walked over and placed her hand on the counter, trying to draw attention to her body, likely so I'd tell her exactly what she wanted to know.
However, my blue eyes never pulled away from her red ones, "He's on vacation, he works hard, y'know?"
She seemed a bit put off by my unwavering gaze, but she pressed on, "I see, you know I've been thinking about going on vacation for awhile." She gave me her friendliest smile, "Where'd he go? I might have to check it out, see if it's worth my time."
I shrugged, "No idea." I knew exactly where he was, at a resort not far from the city, but I wasn't going to tell them that.
Emerald didn't seem to believe me, "Are you sure?" Her smile once again turned flirtatious, "You know, you're pretty cute, if you want after you get off we could… get to know each other better."
I pretended to be interested, but I decided that if I was going to get them to admit defeat I was going to have to push back. So my smile grew, "You know, has anyone ever told you that you've got beautiful eyes?" Her face started to turn red and she seemed taken aback by that comment, as I had suspected, she was probably prepared for some sexually charged response, "They're like two rubies, absolutely stunning."
Being this flirtatious was making me sick to my stomach, but I kept up the act. Her face grew redder, "U-Uhm, y-yeah well…" She reached her left hand over to her right forearm and grabbed it, holding on shyly, "Your eyes are… cool? Real uh… blue. Like uhm… ice."
That would be endearing, and cute, if it wasn't coming from someone who had come here to murder my boss. Still, I pressed on, "Your hair is so pretty too, such a nice color… You're definitely the most beautiful person to ever come into the shop." That part wasn't even a lie.
Her face heated up even more and she looked down and away, "R-Really? U-uhm… I… thank you… S-So uhm, my name's Emerald, d-do you maybe… want my scroll number?"
That was when Mercury interjected by clearing his throat, "Uhh, Emerald. We gotta get back, our boss is waiting on us."
She seemed to remember where she was, "O-oh, right! S-Sorry, I gotta go!" Then before I knew it she and Mercury had gone out the door.
…And I didn't even get to show them the copy of Third Crusade that I ordered specifically for today. Damn.
Well, that was one death I prevented. I doubted Cinder was going to be very happy to learn they were late because they went to go kill someone without orders. I might have thought they would try to lie, but Emerald most likely wouldn't lie to Cinder.
Neither of them came in again, thankfully. I had to assume Emerald probably got berated by Mercury for getting so easily thrown off, and Cinder likely made sure they didn't try something that reckless again.
I thought of Cinder a lot, over the summer. I tried not to, I tried to keep myself busy, so I didn't have to think about her or what was to come. That didn't mean that it didn't slip through sometimes, usually when I was at home, laying in bed or otherwise unoccupied. Worries about the day that was marching ever closer, about the things she said to me, about whether or not I had truly wasted my time.
Sleeping became very, very hard some nights. My mind wandered when I wasn't busy, so I tried to stay busy. Even if that meant working long hours, reading a lot of books, or exercising until I was tired enough to fall asleep. It was all necessary, being alone was the most dangerous thing at that point.
When the summer started to draw to a close, I let Tukson know I was going back to classes for the year. He seemed disappointed to lose me, but he knew I was a Beacon student, so it wasn't a surprise.
Before I knew it, I had moved back into my dorm along with everyone else. Jeanne was happy to see us, not that she never visited us, she did, but Jeanne would have missed us if we'd been gone a day, let alone a couple months.
I was happy to be back, being constantly surrounded by my friends was doing wonders for my mental state. I could keep myself busy talking to them, helping them, and spending time with them. Teams RWBY and JNPR came around again as well, and we spent the last days of summer in each other's company. Everyone was quick to regale each other with stories of what they had been doing.
Ruby and Lunus spent much of the summer enjoying Patch and everything small town island life had to offer, it sounded relaxing. Weiss was apparently there with them, staying in Lunus' family guest room, since she didn't want to stay with Ruby and Yang and get driven up a wall. Lunus found the whole thing hilarious. There might have been teasing for him having Weiss over, but he seemed to view her as more of a sister than anything else, which made teasing them basically impossible.
Yang had spent her time on patch with a friend of hers, 'The Lunus to her Ruby' she joked, which meant she had a friend her age that was just as close to her as Ruby was to Lunus. That was curious, I had wondered who he was but I hadn't seen him around yet. Apparently he went to school here, so maybe he was just in different classes.
Blake didn't talk about what she did, I had a feeling she stayed on campus all break. Nora and Ren, too, stayed on campus all break, but Nora claimed they found plenty of fun out in town and with Jaune and Jeanne, who were there as well. I was glad to hear nobody was really alone over the summer, the only member of their team who hadn't been there most of the summer was Pyrrha, who went back to her family for a month.
She said that it was a tradition, that she had a brother once who went missing several years back when Argus had to evacuate because of a Grimm attack. However, the attack was a false alarm and they returned, but somewhere along the way her brother had gone missing, never to be seen again. He was presumed dead, but they never found the body, so on his birth month of July they spent the month together. It was simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. Pyrrha having a brother in this timeline was certainly new, but I had gotten used to things being different, even only slightly, in this world.
The day before classes, I had been occupying my mind with trying to figure out what I was going to do about Torchwick and his mech while we were eating lunch near Team RWBY, all of us in our Beacon uniforms. I was unsure what might have been the best way to deal with it. Maybe it would be better to invest in a ton of lightning dust? I had a lot to think about for that.
The others were talking about their summers while I was silently eating. I had forgotten all about what was supposed to happen today up until Ruby walked up to us and placed a binder on the table, declaring that she was going to make her team have the 'best day ever', demonstrated by a thoroughly planned itinerary using Weiss' binder.
When I remembered just what was about to happen, I looked around. There were baguettes not far from here, they would prove suitable weapons… I had no idea if the others would get involved, but there was no way I was missing what was about to happen.
Eventually, someone (Nora) threw a pie in Weiss' face. I felt a grin spread across my face as suddenly the whole mood of the dining hall changed. Teams RWBY and JNPR jumped up and one student yelled, "Food fight!" Both teams scrambled to take their sides.
What followed was a three way contest of might and calories. I had considered suggesting our team split up to keep the numbers even, but everyone was certain we could win. Jeanne declared that Team CALM's duty was to calm down the rabble rousers by beating them in a contest of arms!
…That didn't mean we won, but we certainly held out for a while. I ended up locked in a three way baguette duel with Pyrrha and Blake. Pyrrha got knocked out only because Yang came in and whacked her in the face with a chicken, Blake and I would have probably stayed evenly matched if Nora hadn't come in and smashed me with a watermelon on a flagpole.
Lunus rode lunch trays around much like he rode his buzzsaw around, Ruby did something similar but Lunus had the benefit of Zero G allowing him to go much higher and further than she did. The two lifelong friends ended up locked in a duel of epic proportions, with Lunus actually being able to hold his own.
Violet and Jeanne fought side by side, using anything they could get their hands on to get ahead, with Violet using aura in order to throw soda cans and block incoming projectiles. Violet was taken down when Yang sent Pyrrha flying across the room, causing them to crash into each other.
Eventually Ruby was the last one standing of her team, still locked in a grand duel with Lunus, while the rest of us took on Team JNPR. Jeanne managed to whack Jaune in the head with a sack of potatoes, which made him drop like the very weapon that brought him down. Ren was taken down some time ago by Yang, which she later teased was because of the upskirt view he got when she kicked him. He fervently denied that, of course. Nora and Jeanne took each other out by just tossing watermelons at each other.
By the time all was said and done, it had come down to Lunus and Ruby. Ruby finally managed to get the upper hand by using her semblance to create a tornado of food and beverages thanks to her sheer speed. Lunus was brought down in a rain of everything the cafeteria had to offer.
It was a hell of a way to start the new semester, although Glynda was pissed. Ozpin bailed us out, just as I knew he would, and the only thing we suffered from was filthy clothing.
The first week of classes was uneventful, a continuation of the classes we had the first semester. Towards the end of the week, I knew that it was only a matter of time before the White Fang made their next move. I told Blake I had a feeling I knew what was going on with the Fang, she had been researching their next moves already. She later told me that the rest of her team had found out what we were planning and wanted to get involved, and so the lineup was set.
As I expected, Sun got involved as well, our plan wasn't going to be carried out for a couple days though, so we had time to prepare. I made sure to give Blake a bunch of lightning dust rounds and crystals, telling her it was better safe than sorry if the White Fang had possibly stolen anything from the (recently arrived) Atlesian military.
I had intended on going with her, at least sneaking around the place, but the security was tight, and if I slipped up and was caught, I couldn't pretend to be a faunus. So, in spite of wishing to be there with Blake and Sun so I could work on what I knew was going to happen, I was left to go with Yang to Junior's Club after admitting that I had been there before, although I hadn't told them why yet.
That meant that Neptune got left out in the rain, without a group that needed him for anything, but hey. He wasn't really going to be able to do much anyway.
It also meant I was going to be spending time working with Yang, which was certainly rare, I didn't really talk to her. Not out of a lack of desire to, but we just usually were busy doing other things or talking to people in our own friend circles.
When the day finally came, I double checked my stock of dust arrows and made sure everything was squared away. I wasn't supposed to, but I let the rest of my team know what was going on. I told them to take a bullhead down to Vale and wait, in case something went wrong. I would have given them more to do, but as it stood the mission was backed up with people.
Yang and I met up where she kept her bike parked. She had a new outfit on, a deep-collared cream vest worn over a low cut black shirt, both covered by a dark gray shrug with a raised collar, three-quarter sleeves adorned with a single black stripe down the outside of each sleeve. She also wore a black mini skirt under the vest.
Everyone was wearing slightly different outfits because they wanted to look inconspicuous, while there I was just wearing my usual outfit. I reasoned that the dust woven into my clothes was part of my fighting style, and that if things went bad, it would be better for me to have it.
Yang grinned at me as she saw me approaching her, "Hey Neve! How often do we get to do something like this, huh? You spend so much time hanging out with Blake, but you never have time for the Yang!"
I knew she was just teasing, so I grinned, "You're more than welcome to have sparring matches with Blake and I, if you wanted to." I regarded her bike with an impressed look, "NIce bike. Where'd you get it?"
Yang gestured to it, "Finally, a man of taste! Ruby always made fun of me for having a bike when we never go anywhere. Shows how smart she is! I got it at a dealer awhile ago, but I've modded and painted it a lot on my own. Lunus' dad taught me about being a mechanic a long time ago, although Dad would have preferred I spent my time doing 'safer' things. What's not safe about mechanic work?"
I shrugged, knowing Taiyang was overprotective, and depending on how long ago it was, he might have just been scared. She got on the bike first and I followed. I thought about the club, I hadn't been there since that night, "Off to Junior's, man… I haven't been there in awhile."
Yang regarded me with curiosity, "You've been? I never took you for much of a nightclub kinda guy. Maybe I underestimated you!" She grinned as she and I both put our helmets on and then she turned on the bike and we took off. I had to put my hands on her sides to keep myself steady, which would have been embarrassing if it wasn't for the sake of not falling off a fast moving bike.
Over the whipping wind and sound of the engine, I responded, "It just sorta happened over the summer! I'll tell you about it more once we're done." Although she'd probably end up learning sooner than that.
Riding something like this made me consider getting a motorcycle or some sort of transport for myself. I usually walked everywhere I needed to go, but having something like a motorcycle would certainly make life a lot easier when I was in town. I figured I could always think about it later, when I had the money for something like that.
It didn't take us very long to get to Junior's club at all, and once we stopped she resumed our conversation from where it left off, "Y'know, I don't remember hearing much about what you did over the summer. Anything cool?"
I shrugged, "Oh you know, a little of this and a little of that. Had a job for a month or so, just to get some extra cash, taught Violet a few things about cooking, nothing big."
Once Yang had parked her bike and taken the keys, we headed inside. The club was already up and running, rather early today for some reason.
One of the henchmen saw Yang and gasped, "She's here!" He yelled as he ran further inside. I cast a glance at Yang, and she just shrugged with a grin on her face.
The Henchman started to move to get ready to close the door up the steps that led to the VIP area when I shouted over the din of the music, "Hey! Is that any way to treat a VIP? Junior's gonna be pissed! Don't worry about her, she's with me!"
The henchmen, and Yang, looked at me in confusion before at least one of the henchmen recognized me, "It's that guy! He's on Junior's list!" They stepped back, just in time too, as that was when Junior pushed them out of the way and stood at the stop of the steps, he looked confused, "Well if it isn't the liberator! And you brought… her." He frowned as we reached near the top of the steps, "Whatever, I know that no amount of guns is gonna stop her anyway. Come on." He turned around and walked deeper into the VIP area where I had had my first dozen or so drinks.
As Yang and I walked inside, she kept her confused look, "The what now? You're a VIP? What the hell did you do exactly, rob a bank?" She growled, "You'd better not be one of his mafiosos or something!"
I shook my head, "No, I… well, you remember that gang bar that got fucked up a couple months ago?" She nodded, and I stared at her.
Realization reached her eyes, "Wait, that was you?!" I nodded, although she was still confused, "How did that get you on this creep's list, though?"
Junior answered as we finally reached the lounge-like VIP area, he was sitting on a couch looking rather irritated still, "Because we asked him to do it, duh! You know how hard it is to find good mercenaries these days?"
Yang looked from him to me and I shrugged, "I freed a bunch of slaves, who I did it for doesn't really matter, does it?" Yang looked like she wanted to argue, but she couldn't come up with a rebuttal, so instead we both turned our attention to Junior and I asked, "What's Roman up to these days, Junior? I know you know."
Two sets of heeled footsteps from back where we came drew my attention. I looked back and saw Melanie and Miltia, Junior's top enforcers, walk past us so they could stand off to the right of his couch, watching us. They didn't say anything, but their presence was enough to know that the hard way was going to be that much harder if we took it.
Not that Junior seemed interested in it, "Roman's been around." He crossed his arms, "He's only ever come here to have a few drinks and reminisce about the old days though. I don't…" He stopped and thought for a moment, "Actually… there might be something. I dunno if I could give it to you for free though."
Yang cracked her knuckles, "You still owe me a drink, and I'm more than willing to square up to the makeup twins if I have to."
Melanie smirked, "You know that might not even be necessary, your boy toy there caught our eye a couple months ago. If he's willing to hit the dance floor with us, we won't even stop you."
Junior looked amused at the idea more than anything, while Yang looked aghast and my face heated up. I cleared my throat, "Uhm, not now but… maybe later? I'm very busy, you know." I really didn't want to spend time dancing with the twins, I knew just what kind of people they were, and their idea of fun was very different from mine.
Thankfully, that seemed enough for the two of them. Miltia nodded her head, "Try and bring your girlfriend there with you, dancings more fun with four people." Then as quick as they came, the two of them left past us and down the steps again.
I deflated and sighed, "Man… what is with this place?"
Yang shook her head, "I dunno, but those two are so… ugh." She said exactly what I was thinking before she turned back to Junior, "Now, do I need to cash in that drink, or do my fists need to do the talking again?"
Junior shook his head, "That won't be necessary. Your friend there more than earned free drinks for life, the way I see it he's like… extended family." I didn't agree, but I wasn't going to voice that, "Roman tossed his chips in with the White Fang a few months back, he's been taking more and more dangerous and reckless jobs every day. I swear he's gonna get himself killed! I've tried to talk some sense into him, but he acts like he doesn't have a choice in the matter."
He sighed, "Neopolitan's been evasive too, never in all my years have either of them acted like this…" I wondered just what was making them act like this, then, was it Cinder? Or was it something else? Junior continued, "Right now, he should be at the White Fang's headquarters in Vale, this old warehouse in the industrial district."
Yang looked dumbfounded, "If it's that open of a secret why don't the cops do anything about it?!"
I already knew the answer and I patted Yang's back, "Because the police are easy to bribe, and the ones who aren't bribed usually don't want to risk their lives fighting a bunch of terrorists. That same mentality is why I took that job, because nobody else would." She looked frustrated, but seemed to understand regardless.
Junior nodded, "I don't know the exact address, but hey, it's a start isn't it? Now, do me a favor and don't tell Roman I told you guys, I don't need him and his posse getting cross with me. We've been friends for a long time, but even that has its limits."
I told him we wouldn't and the two of us left. Once we were outside, Yang regarded me and smirked, "You really live a whole different life when you're not at school don't you? Here I thought you were boring, but… freeing slaves, stopping dust robberies, all of that? Man, you really do know how to party."
I laughed nervously and shook my head, "I'm just doing what's right. It's not really anything special, so I don't talk about it. I'd prefer not having everyone know about what I did, by the way. As far as they know, I didn't do anything this summer."
Yang looked confused, "Why do ya wanna hide that?" She stopped and thought, "Well… I guess if I did something like that I wouldn't want Ruby or Weiss to know, they'd be on my ass for taking a job from the mob for weeks."
I nodded, "Exactly. Now how about we hit the road?"
She was in agreement, and before long we were on her bike again. As we rode through the city, towards the industrial district, I wondered just how long it would take until things actually kicked off…
Well, I didn't need to wait long, we stopped at a stoplight, only for Blake and Sun to run down the intersection, with Torchwick in his mech hot on their heels. Yang and I shared a look and a nod before Yang took off after the mech. I pulled Dawn off my back carefully and joined the two blades into the bow. I'd never exactly tried to shoot from the back of a motorcycle before, but at least I had a big target!
It wasn't easy for Yang, weaving between cars as she tried to keep up with the mech. I knew I couldn't let it chase after them for too long, every moment the mech was on the road Torchwick risked seriously hurting or killing civilians. We couldn't let that happen.
I nocked a lightning arrow and loosed it at the mech. It connected and shocked the lumbering war machine, but that only served to slow it down slightly. Finally, Torchwick saw Blake and Sun jump onto the highway, and he was off to the races after them, leaping up onto the bridge and chasing after them.
Yang swore and sped up, we were going to have to get up there one way or the other, but I wasn't sure how.
Well, that was until I remembered I had gravity arrows in my quiver, "Yang! Get ready!" I took a gravity arrow out and nocked it.
She saw what I was doing and laughed, "Neve, you're crazy! Do it!"
I aimed ahead of us and waited for a spot with no cars directly in our path. When I finally found it, I loosed the arrow and sent Yang's bike with us on it into the air. Yang steered it in the air, directing us expertly as we landed atop the highway. Torchwick was further ahead of us, although it seemed that the mech had stopped for some reason.
It turned out that reason was the rest of my team. Violet had sent Aura out to grapple with the mech to try and stop it in its tracks, although even the seven foot tall Aura was nowhere near the size or strength of the mech! We drew closer just in time to see Lunus use his semblance on the largest scale I'd seen yet. The mech was shrouded in purple, and the mech was made light enough that Aura was able to lift it up by one of its legs and toss it off the highway, into a (thankfully empty) construction yard below!
The others leapt down after it, when Yang and I drew close, she stopped her bike and pulled the keys out, parking it on the side of the highway, "Come on!" Then she leapt down after them and into the construction yard.
The place was basically a giant empty lot right now, there were steel beams laying around and a few pieces of construction equipment, but otherwise this was probably one of the best places in the city to fight Torchwick and his mech.
We dropped down and saw that not only was the rest of my team there, but so was Team RWBY. Yang and I hurried over to their sides, I complimented Lunus and Violet, "Nice work back there!"
The mech, unfortunately, began to stand up. Ruby seemed more excited than anything as she deployed Crescent Rose, "Time for some tag teamwork, hah!" That was an awful pun, but at least now was a good time to let all the training we'd done together pay off. She pointed forward, "Freezer Burn!"
That prompted Weiss and Yang to team up, with Weiss surging forward and creating a circle of ice, Yang responded by racing towards it and smashing into it with Ember Celica, creating a mist around the mech. Torchwick tried tracking everyone through the mech, and while Team RWBY circled it, I decided it was time for CALM to act, "Moon Knight!"
Lunus and Jeanne nodded, with Lunus wielding Selene and tossing it to the ground, grabbing ahold of Jeanne's hand and using his semblance on both her and Selene. Jeanne joined him unevenly in the surfing while she wielded Alba Mors, they circled around one of the mech's legs while Jeanne got off several strong strikes on it. Ruby, too, managed to get in a strike around the mech's right shoulder. If they aimed high, then we were going to aim low!
Unfortunately, Torchwick was able to spin the top half of the mech independently of the bottom, so it could keep firing at Team RWBY while its leg kicked out. It managed to kick out and hit Lunus and Jeanne, sending them flying back, although thankfully they were able to recover and landed on their feet.
Contradicting how this went in the original timeline, Ruby made a new callout, one that I had never thought we'd use, "Snow Fang!"
I wasn't going to question it though, I raced forward and broke apart Dawn, which was still in its bow form. I channeled lightning dust into one blade and gravity dust in the other while Blake closed in from the opposite side, shooting up at the mech with her pistol in one hand.
I reached the back of the mech, Blake grabbed onto my arm with her free hand, prompting me to slash at the ground with the gravity dust infused part of Dawn. We were launched into the air, at which point Blake let go and started firing at the mech in the air.
Similarly, I thrust my lightning infused blade down towards the mech and sent out a lighting bolt that surged through the mech and caused it to lock up. That gave us just enough time for Blake to land on the mech's left shoulder and for me to land on the right shoulder. I took this opportunity to make a callout of my own, "Crystal Moon!"
I saw Lunus race over to join Ruby, our tag-in callout system was working! Lunus one handed Selene and grabbed hold of Ruby's arm with the other, prompting her to shoot at the ground with gravity dust in a very similar manner to how I and Blake did, except with a different goal in mind.
Torchwick fired missiles at them as they drew close, causing the two of them to slice them in half with their weapons. They closed in and Ruby got a good hit on the cockpit, cracking the glass that Torchwick was using to see out of, while Lunus smashed into one of the Paladin's legs and started sawing into it. It was Ruby's turn for a callout as she worked on trying to smash the glass, "Punchout!"
Violet, wielding the rifle part of Suncutter while the chakram floated in front of her, grinned and sent out Aura, who raced forward and started to run behind Yang. The two of them raised their fists and slammed into the mech's leg, causing it to stumble back.
Meanwhile, I turned my attention back to Blake and I's situation atop the mech's shoulders. It was trying to get us off by rotating its top half, Ruby having already jumped off.
That was when Blake got an idea, "Neve, come here!" I nodded and shakily made my way across the mech to her, she transformed Gambol Shroud and readied her ribbon and I started to get an idea of what she wanted to do.
The two of us jumped off onto the ground behind the mech and raced back a few feet. I went left and she went right, then she tossed her ribbon out and I grabbed the other half, we pulled it taut.
Thankfully just in time, between Aura and Yang's punches, Ruby and Lunus' powerful strikes, and Jeanne rejoining the fray by jabbing into one of mech's now exposed circuits on its leg, the mech started to stumble backward.
It tripped on the surprisingly durable ribbon, causing it to fall backwards. This allowed Yang and Aura to jump onto the front of the thing and smash the glass of the cockpit. However, as soon as they did, a shot from Melodic Cudgel caused them both to need to jump back.
I let go of the ribbon and joined Dawn, activating Focus in the process. I looked around and spotted the hidden Bullhead with Neopolitan looking out of the sliding door. I drew a lightning dust arrow, nocked it, and then loosed it towards the Bullhead.
She clearly hadn't been expecting that, I couldn't make out facial expressions very well when all I saw was a pink silhouette, but the way she stumbled backwards was enough of a tell.
The illusion faltered and the pilot pulled the Bullhead away, likely in a panic. I saw Neopolitan's annoyed expression now that she wasn't under her illusion, she was looking right at me. I smirked and nocked yet another lightning arrow, loosing it towards the body of the Bullhead.
However, it seemed the pilot got the hint and sped up, causing the arrow to sail through the air harmlessly. Unfortunately for Torchwick, Neopolitan was still aboard it. I was sure that the pilot was going to be getting his ass kicked later that day, but for now we had something else to focus on.
As Torchwick climbed out of the mech and looked around, noticing that Neopolitan was nowhere to be found, he frowned and jumped onto the ground. Our teams quickly encircled him and he sighed, "Kids, I swear." He turned his head to the right and looked at me, in spite of his clearly foul mood he managed to smirk ,"Of course you'd be here."
I nodded and nocked another arrow, this one was fire, "Just doing my job. Put your hands up, Torchwick. You're under arrest."
He laughed and shook his head, "Alright kid! I'll play along for now." He dropped Melodic Cudgel and put his hands in the air.
Everyone kept their weapons trained on him, Blake was to my left and Violet to my right. I broke apart Dawn and sheathed it behind my back and under my coat before I dug through my satchel and produced a pair of handcuffs. I didn't think I'd be getting to use them today but things went far better than I expected.
I walked forward and cuffed Torchwick's hands behind his back, "I think the Headmaster and the police department both are gonna want to have a talk with you, Roman."
He smirked, "See if you can get me behind bars first, and then celebrate."
I returned his smirk, "Don't worry, I'll keep my eyes wide open." Torchwick and I sharing banter like this drew a few confused looks, but given that I had already handcuffed him, the others were willing to relax somewhat, along they kept their weapons trained on him.
Ruby smiled in satisfaction, "We've finally got you Torchwick! You're going to answer for all of your crimes, and you'll tell us everything you know about the White Fang!"
He rolled his eyes as I started to walk him forward after picking up Melodic Cudgel and taking it along, my logic being that if Neopolitan wanted to, she could just take it if it were left unattended. Everyone followed my lead and stayed in a circle around him as we led him towards the nearest police station, "Keep telling yourself that, Little Red."
I hummed, "Why didn't your daughter jump out and fight, Torchwick? That umbrella of hers could have sailed her down just fine."
Torchwick shook his head, "Oh don't you worry about her. I'm sure she'll be along shortly."
I found myself thankful for Focus, it didn't always come in handy but when it did, it meant a world of difference.
With Torchwick at least temporarily indisposed, I couldn't help but feel satisfied, even after how tumultuous the summer had been.
Maybe things were finally looking up again.
White Fang Encampment outside of Vale
Watts had never liked working with the White Fang. They lacked subtlety and smarts, their idea of changing the world was with bombs and firepower rather than clever tricks and subversive action.
So why, you might ask, was he approaching the entrance to an encampment full of the terrorists?
The answer was simple, he was there on business.
The guards regarded him warily, aiming their guns at him. He frowned, "Control yourselves. I'm here on orders from someone your leaders should be familiar with by now."
The guards' body language grew confused, before finally a new voice cut in, "Watts." Adam came into view, keeping one hand on the grip of his blade, "Humans aren't allowed in these encampments. The only reason you're still alive is because of my deal with your associate. What do you want?"
Watts smirked, "Nothing to do with you. No, I'm here for your… partner. My employer has an offer for her."
Adam gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on Wilt, preparing to draw it, "What?! How dare you-"
Another voice came from deeper in the encampment, a woman's this time, her voice was silky, yet still, she sounded chastising, "Adam." He turned around and relaxed his grip on his sword.
The woman that approached him had a curvy body, with a heart shaped face, she walked with a slight sway to her hips. She wore the standard uniform of the White Fang, a white sleeveless jacket, a sleeveless black hood, and black pants. Although the hood was down, revealing her horizontally striped black and blonde hair. A Grimm mask hid her eyes. On her back was an abnormally long acoustic electric guitar with a slender body, despite being made out of metal it appeared to have a maple wood finish.
She reached Adam and placed a hand on his chest, only being around three or four inches shorter than him, "I appreciate your concern, but I can think for myself." Her honeyed words made the intense look on Adam's face soften as he stepped to the side. She stepped past him, right at the entry to the encampment, and stared down Watts, placing a hand on her hip, "What'd you wish to talk about, Mister…?"
Watts seemed satisfied, "Finally, some civility. I am Doctor Arthur Watts, and you must be Orchid Grove." She nodded, and he continued, "I come to you with a once in a lifetime job offer from my employer."
Orchid tilted her head slightly, "Oh? Is Adam's 'work partner' not enough?"
Watts shook his head, "To put it simply, no. It is believed that she is… faltering. My employer has looked into your history and believes you would be a suitable… replacement."
She hummed, a small, almost imperceptible smile, gracing her visage.
"I'm listening."