"Amy!"
Emerald caught the purple-haired girl from behind, wrapping her arms around Scythle before the girl could enter Goodwitch's class. "I didn't see you at breakfast." Emerald said as she pressed herself against her girlfriend. "We've been eating together every day since I got here."
"Oh, Sorry." Scythle said as her girlfriend rubbed their cheeks together. "I Was Just… I Wasn't In The Mood For That Today."
"You sound upset." Emerald said as one of her hands began drifting down Scythle's stomach. "Is something wrong?"
"It's Nothing." Scythle said before she wiggled out of Emerald's grip. "I Just Need A Bit Of Time To Myself Right Now." The purple girl stepped away from Emerald before turning around, caressing her cheek and giving her a soft peck. "I'm Sorry."
"No, it's okay." Emerald nodded. "Just let me know when you're feeling better."
"I Will." Scythle nodded before the two turned to enter the class.
"You all are looking a little down."
Team RWBYS all turned their attention to the red-haired girl sitting across from them. Pyrrha pointed her fork at the five. "Is there something bothering you all?"
"Oh, it…" Yang began before she looked back down at her dinner. "It's nothing."
"We were working on a… Personal project for the last few days." Ruby lied before letting out a sigh. "It went nowhere."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Ren asked. "We're all ears."
"It's alright." Weiss said. "It was a stupid idea anyway."
"Oh, come on!" Nora said as she leaned towards the five. "It's probably super cool, and you should never keep secrets from friends. What was it? Was it new attack formations? Weapon upgrades? Oh, was it power armor?"
"We really don't want to talk about it, Nora." Ruby said, taking a sip of her drink before pointing at the ginger. "And power armor is just a gimmick. They can have cool weapons, sure, but they don't compliment the user's skills like weapons do."
A moment of silence passed over the table, drowned out by the chatter from the rest of the cafeteria. "… So, changing subject," Jaune began before gesturing to Scythle. "Where's your girlfriend?"
"Her whatnow?" Weiss asked.
"I think this is the first time I've seen you without her since she arrived." Jaune continued.
"Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen Scythle with Emerald all day." Ren noted. "Did you two have a fight?"
"Wha-Of Course Not!" Scythle said, almost lunging towards the boy across from her. "Me And Emmy Don't Fight. She's, Like, The Bestest Girlfriend Ever." Scythle turned down to her drink, stirring it with her straw. "I'm Just Not In The Mood For That Kind Of Stuff. And It's Not Like We're Joined At The Hip Or Something, We Do Have Lives Outside Of Each Other."
"Wait, Scythle doesn't want sex?" Pyrrha asked. "This must be serious then."
"Hey, You Make It Sound Like That's My Defining Character Trait Or Something." Scythle scowled. "I'm Not Some One-Note Character Written For A First-Time Fanfic. I Have Depth Of Emotions!"
"Well, you tend to have a very… One tracked mind." Pyrrha stated.
"Yeah Well…" Scythle began, looking back down at her drink before she let out a sigh. "Whatever."
"Pyrrha kind of raised a point earlier." Ruby said as she and her team returned to their dorm room. "Are you sure it's alright to blow Emerald off like this?"
"Eh, Don't Worry, She'll Understand." Scythle shrugged. "It's Not Like We Breath Each Other's Air Or Something. She'll Understand That I Needed A Day To Myself."
"And didn't Scythle mention them being separated for a year or something?" Yang asked.
"Oh, Yeah, That Was Rough." Scythle said before she sighed. "Last Time I Try To Mix Long Distance Relationships With A Criminal Career."
"Kind of impressive that you can be away from each other for that long and pick everything up like nothing happened." Yang noted.
"Like I Said, Emmy's The Best." Scythle said. "We Went Through Tougher When We First Met."
"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.
"It's A Long Story…" Scythle began before she glanced out the window, noting the moons lighting the sky before she shrugged. "Eh, Screw It, Night's Young And We Could Use A Story To Cheer Us Up. Everyone Sit Down, Mama Scythle's Gonna Tell You All A Story."
"Oh, storytime?" Ruby asked, rushing up to her bed to grab a pillow. "Do I have time to grab popcorn?"
"I'm pretty sure the kitchen is closed." Weiss noted.
"Come On, Blake, Get Off The Scroll." Scythle said to the raven-haired girl lying on her bed.
"Don't worry," Blake responded, face painted blue by the light of her device. "I can understand you just fine."
"I Said Put The Phone Away, Missy." Scythle said as she sped over to the girl, snatching the Scroll out of her hands. "You Can Have This Back When Story Time Is Over."
"Do we really need to do this?" Weiss groaned.
"As leader, I proclaim this mandatory team building!" Ruby said.
"Oh, fine." Weiss growled.
Scythle sat back on her hammock, looking across the four girls sitting in front of her. Ruby laid on her stomach, clutching a dog-shaped pillow as she waved her feet back and forth. Weiss sat cross-legged on one of her pillows while Blake sat on her knees. Yang leaned back on one arm, crossing her legs over each other as everyone looked up at the purple-haired girl.
"Alright, Everyone Ready?" Scythle asked, earning a nod from the four. "Good, Now, First Thing You Need To Know Is That You Shouldn't Be Bothered If Everything I Say Isn't Capitalized. Just Remember, I'm Telling The Story, Even If The Author Doesn't Format Everything."
"Are you sure we want to listen to this?" Weiss asked the team leader.
"Don't Interrupt The Story-Teller!" Scythle scolded. "Now Then, Let's Begin:
It was around… Two years ago, maybe a bit closer to three. I was around thirteen at the time. I had been running amuck over in Mistral for a few months. I ran over there to get away from some trouble I got into in Vacuo – another long story – and I found myself somewhere I felt I could belong: The granddaddy of all crime. I'm sure you've heard the stories of what Mistral's like; On the outside, it's all smiles and gold. But on the inside, everyone's got a knife behind their back and a pair of loaded dice. Home to Remnant's biggest black market. It's why I wanted to go there, figured my kind of living would be easier to make.
What I didn't consider was that that meant I'd have a load of competition.
The Spider, The Wave, The Mouse and Parrot, and the Hana Guild had already made their place in the Kingdom. Weapons, drugs, Dust, arts – you name it, they stole it and sold it. Finding my place there was proving to be harder than I thought.
After a few weeks, I got news of a deal that would be going down – details on how don't matter right now – in the shadier parts of town one night. It was in a rundown warehouse, rickety, and probably about to fall apart if you pulled out the wrong screw. I climbed to the top of it and peered in through the skylight. The place was only lit by the light of the moons, but it still gave me the chance to see groups of men at both ends of the building.
A pair of men from both groups stepped forward, one group carrying a hefty briefcase while the other had a large painting. I don't quite remember what it was, but I remember the way it made my mouth water as they opened the case full of Lien. I could get a product and the payment in one fell swoop.
I jumped in, abandoning all subtlety-
"A normal occurrence with you." Weiss commented.
"Hey, What Did I Say About Interrupting?" Scythle scolded her before placing a hand on her chin. "Now, Where Was I?"
Right, the heist: I jumped in, abandoning all subtlety as I whipped out my guns, firing into the crowds as I landed on one of the goons. I spun around and kicked the one carrying the painting to the floor before firing at the pair in front of me.
I reached for the dropped case and the painting, prepared to make my getaway before someone tackled me from behind. I was pinned down and looked up to see someone in a dark mask with red, cat-eye-like lenses before they pulled back a clawed hand. I moved my head out of the way before they could hit me, letting them bury their claws in the ground before I managed to throw them off. I tried shooting them, only for them to disappear in a puff of smoke.
I scurried over to my guns, recollecting my pistols before the doors burst open. One of the gangs began pouring into the warehouse, and I aimed my guns at the approaching group before I was struck in the side of my head, once again throwing me to the ground.
Before I could get up, metal claws grabbed my head and pushed me back down before I felt something lock around my left arm. I fired my Scythleg, launching me forward and slamming the…
"… Um…" Scythle stared at the raven-haired girl sitting in front of her. "… The Uh… I'm Trying To Figure Out A Way To Describe Them That Doesn't Come Off As Offensive…"
"Scythle," Blake sighed. "Just get on with the-"
"Wait, I Know!"
I fired my Scythleg, launching me forward and slamming the bodysuit into the wall. The gang tried to open fire on me, and I darted out of the way, returning fire as I grabbed the briefcase and jumped to the higher level. I was about to drop it and go back for the painting when the other side of the warehouse opened, allowing the other group to come in, firing their own weapons, mixed in-between lightning and fire.
I decided to cut my losses as I grabbed the briefcase – easier to launder money than a painting – and ran out the nearest window.
"Why didn't you just fight them off?" Yang asked.
"One Of Those Guys Could Teleport!" Scythle answered. "And There Was Like Thirty Guys On Both Sides. I Was At A Disadvantage!"
I shot down the streets, putting as much distance between myself and the warehouse as I could before I dared to look back. There wasn't a car or a goon insight. I let out a chuckle as I looked at the briefcase. It was the biggest score I made since I got to Mistral.
I looked back up, and I caught a glimpse of green hair before I smashed into them.
We flew through a store's window, tumbling across the counter before we collided with the wall. I placed a hand on my head, trying to rub away the headache before I realized an alarm was blaring. I didn't have time to get my bearings before the green-haired girl stood up. That's when I got the chance to stare into the red eyes of the girl who would change my life. Emerald.
The first thing she did was slap me across the face. "You idiot! I was about to get out clean!"
I shook my head as I reached for my briefcase. "Yeah, Well Maybe You Should Watch We're I'm Running, Minty."
She grabbed a small sack before we got up, running back out before we turned opposite ways. That might have been the last time I would ever see her if I weren't yanked back towards her.
The two of us fell to the ground, supporting ourselves on the other's back as we looked down at our wrists. Our eyes widened when we saw large bracers wrapped around them, connected to each other by a pair of wires extending from the cuffs, binding my left wrist to her right. She immediately thought I had cuffed her, I immediately thought she had cuffed me, but our argument didn't last long before we realized we could hear sirens. We both decided we needed to get out of there before we tried running again, once again getting yanked when we turned away from the other. We argued which way to go for a moment before the sirens grew louder.
Eventually, I relented and followed her lead.
Once we lost the cops, she decided to take me to her house. Not like we had much choice. Along the way, we explained our situations to each other. Emerald came from a long line of thieves, but her parents disappeared when she was young, leaving her to fend for herself. I caught her in the middle of a break-in of a jewelry store, though she only really looted the register and safe. Said it's too hard to find people who will pay a kid for shiny rocks.
Eventually, we arrived at her home. It was a beaten-down thing, with boarded-up windows, poor lighting, and broken floorboards. I couldn't say my place was much better, though. Once we were inside, Emerald looked down at our cuffs. She eventually found a keyhole under a large screen and pulled out a pin to try and pick it.
As soon as she inserted it, the number 30 was displayed in bright, red letters, and ticked down to 29. 28. 27.
We looked between the screen, each other, and the lock as she kept rattling the pin in it, trying to figure out the mechanism as the countdown continued. 21. 20. 19. 18.
I shook my head and reached for the pick. "You're Too Slow, Let Me Do It."
The pin slipped out of the lock, and she pointed it at me as she scowled. "I almost had it. Now hold still."
I tried to swipe it from her. "Just Give Me That Thing, I'll Have Us Out In A Second."
We wrestled for the lock pick before I tripped on a loose floorboard, falling back and dragging her down with me. The pin flew out of our hands, disappearing into the darkness. We turned to our cuffs with a worried look.
15. 15. 15.
We cocked eyebrows at the frozen number before Emerald let out a sigh. "It must be rigged to prevent us from picking it. It probably won't explode, but we also won't be able to get out of these things until we can find the key. Who put these on you?"
I shrugged. "Someone With A Cat And Latex Fetish, Not Sure Who They Were Working With."
The two of us sat back on her torn-up sofa, letting out annoyed sighs before I began undoing my corset.
As she saw me throw the clothing off, her eyes widened as she jumped away from me. "Woah, what the hell are you doing!?"
I shrugged at her as I continued to undo my dress. "What? It's Stuffy And Humid In Here."
She yanked up our shackled hands as she scowled at me. "Did you forget we live together now!?"
I shrugged again as continued to undo my shirt. "So? We're Both Chicks." Before she could offer any more protest, I pulled out one of my knives and cut my sleeve open. Using my Semblance, I threw off all my clothes and smirked as she stared at me with a bright face. "Like What You See, Doll?"
She turned away from me, and I got a good look at her back. It was covered in fresh cuts and bruises, probably from when we crashed through the window. I asked her why her Aura didn't protect her or heal her wounds, and she gave me a simple answer. "Because I don't have one."
I looked between her and her injuries before letting out a sigh, taking her cuffed hand in mine before clasping her shoulder. She tried to ask me what I was doing before my Aura flared to life. Eventually, a mint-green light spread across her, and her wounds slowly sealed themselves shut, pushing the remaining glass shards out.
Once her light died, she began feeling her back, confirming the wounds were gone before she looked back at me. She asked me why I did that, and I answered, "Like It Or Not, We're Partners Now. And I'm Not About To Let My Partner Run Around Without Aura."
She smirked at me. "Partners, eh? I kinda like the sound of that. But if I'm going to be stuck with you, you're putting a shirt on."
I chuckled at her. "And If I'm Going To Be Stuck With You, You're Taking A Shirt Off."
"And That's Pretty Much How Me And Emmy Met." Scythle said as she leaned back.
"What, that's it?" Ruby asked. "You guys just… Started dating right then and there?"
"Oh No," Scythle shook her head. "That Came Much Later. Not Until After We Got Out Of Those Things."
"Well, how'd you get out of them anyway?" Ruby asked. "And what about that cat-agent person? What happened to them? And why did they have those explosive things on them?"
"Hm…" Scythle hummed before smirking. "Well, Normally I Hate To Hear Myself Talk. But This Chapter's Looking A Little Short Anyway."
After I unlocked Emerald's Aura and solidified our partnership, we began counting our hauls. Emerald had a pretty heft bounty, though I was way too proud of the cash I stole to admit it. I showed off the entire briefcase worth of Lien to her with a grin. She didn't share my enthusiasm, though. She took one look at the cards and said, "This is all fake."
I was shocked and shook my head. When I tried to argue it was real, she reached in and pulled out one of the stacks. Instead of a bunch of cards tied together, it was just a block with a Lien card printed on top of it.
I began looking through the rest of the stacks. They were all fake. Every last one of them. Between that and the cuffs, we realized that those guys might have been expecting me and set up a fake deal to lure me out.
We went back to the warehouse the next day, snooping for anything that could clue us into who set the whole thing up. The whole place was empty, though. There wasn't a sign of gang symbols or anything to mark territory. What we were able to find, however, was the painting I tried to steal. It was thrown into a corner and its frame laid in pieces.
We cautiously approached before Emerald lifted up the picture. She turned the image over in her hands a few times as I looked at the wooden shards. It looked pretty sturdy when I last saw it. I figured you'd need to throw that thing pretty hard to break it like that.
As I sorted through the remains, Emerald turned the picture to me. "Don't paintings like this normally come with microchips or something?"
"Think It Might Have Been A Forgery To Draw Me Out?"
"Probably."
We looked over all the pieces of the frame for any clues that might have been left. I eventually noticed some markings, and after fitting a few pieces together, completed a symbol burned into the corner. Emerald identified it as the emblem of the Mistralian Museum of Fine Arts, a collection of all the sculptures and paintings that managed to survive the restrictions established prior to the Great War.
It didn't make sense to me. "Why Would A Fake Painting Have A Real Frame?"
"Maybe that's where they're hiding out?"
"On The Top Side?"
"Would you ever think to look there?"
We decided we'd head out there next. I threw on a quick disguise before we went inside, sticking close to each other to hide our shackles. The whole place was packed, but we managed to get a few glimpses of all the paintings lining the walls and all the sculptures filling large rooms.
During our tour, Emerald gestured to a painting and began whispering. "You see that painting over there? Of the yellow poppy? My grandfather stole it just before retiring."
"You Sure?"
"Definitely. I still have it hidden under my floorboards."
We pushed through the crowd around it to get a better look at it. Emerald studied over the image before locking eyes on a corner. She pointed to a white speck poking out of it like paper was folded wrong when it was put in the frame. "That's definitely a fake."
As we walked through the museum, she kept pointing to more and more paintings, each one famously destroyed or lost. And as the final piece of evidence, we found an exact replica of the painting I tried to steal the night before.
We headed back to Emerald's home, drawing up floorplans to mark all the cameras we saw. It seemed like there was one in just about every corner. If they had security guards, the place would be harder to get into than an Atlas military base. Fortunately for us, it was just an art museum, meaning it had weaknesses we could exploit more easily.
We headed back when night fell. In the darkness of the moonlight, we cut the powerlines and killed the transformer. Once guards came out to check what was happening, we took them out-
"You mean you tied them up, right?" Ruby asked. "You didn't murder anyone, right?"
"… Oh, Yeah." Scythle chuckled as she looked away from her sister. "They're All Alive And Kicking To This Day. Why, I Heard One Of Them Got A Promotion Recently!"
So, anyway, once that was done, we slid inside. My Semblance allowed us to jump past guards quickly. We didn't want to start a fight, that would attract too much attention. So we silently made our way to the owner's office. 'Heartland' was proudly displayed across its fogged window. Once Emerald finished with the door's lock, we slid in.
We started looking through all the papers and files kept on the desk. It was all worthless to us. Just a bunch of financial reports and deals for new paintings or sculptures mixed in with renovation plans. I began to think we were barking up the wrong tree before Emerald pointed to the bookcase behind me.
There was a large, empty space between it and the wall, and running between the two were scratch marks across the floor.
Curious, we began pulling out books and tilting the figurines on the shelves before we eventually found the right ones. With the ticking of a clock, the shelf moved to the side, revealing a hole in the wall that gave way to a ladder, descending into a dark pit.
Climbing down was tricky, but once we got down there, we shined our flashlights across an entirely new room. The whole place was plain, with stone walls and pillars holding the museum above our heads. Filing cabinets lined the walls, broken up by a desk in front of a map of Mistral, marking up the territory of every gang in the Kingdom.
We approached the desk hesitantly, assuring that no one was down there with us before we started searching through the desk. Every file we found confirmed our suspicions. Those paintings were contraband, smuggled during the Great War, and the owner of the museum was interested in much more than forgeries. There were notes about arms dealing, sometimes even kidnapping and hiring mercenaries.
They even had notes on me. They were planning to capture me and make me their new tool. Naturally, I wasn't interested in it.
We found the design of the bombs, which noted that the detonator was also the key to them. But the device was nowhere to be found.
That's when we heard someone whistle.
We turned around to see the cat mask standing at the other end of the room, twirling the stick we were looking for between their fingers. They brought it to a stop before lifting their thumb, shaking the remote to send the message.
"Why didn't they just detonate the bombs when you escaped?" Blake asked.
"Dunno." Scythle shrugged. "But I Ain't Complaining."
Before they could hit the button, Emerald pulled out her revolver, trying to shoot at the figure before they vanished. Once they reappeared, they tried to press the button again, but I dropped my flashlight and ran at them, slamming into them at full speed, knocking the detonator out of their hands. Once we hit the wall, we tried to go back and grab it, only for the figure to grab our cables and pull us back, teleporting again to slam us into a wall.
In another puff of smoke, they vanished, and I whipped out my pistol as I turned to the detonator. Once they appeared above it, I shot at them, pushing them away from the device before I tried running for it. They teleported in front of us, slashing my face and throwing me to the ground. Emerald tried reaching for the device before they spun around and kicked her.
The figure grabbed both our throats before they teleported again. They left us at the other end of the room before teleporting back to the detonator. I watched as they reached down and lifted their hand up, holding up their thumb.
"I'm Guessing That Job Offer Is Off The Table?" I joked before they shook their head and brought their thumb down.
And nothing happened.
They looked down at their hand before they started bringing their thumb down again and again. I looked down at the floor, and in the dim glow of the flashlight, I saw the shape of the detonator.
"How come they thought they had it?" Weiss asked.
"We Didn't Realize 'Till Later, But That Was Emerald's Semblance." Scythle explained. "She Can Make People See Things That Aren't There. Real Useful, We Got A Lot Of Mileage Out Of It."
I picked myself up and ran forward, unfolding my Scythleg before I swung at their legs. Emerald grabbed the detonator as the figure fell to the ground. Before they could react, the two of us pulled up our guns and fired shot after shot at them. It didn't take long for us to break through their Aura and ki-
"-Ugh," Scythle stopped as she looked at her sister. "I Mean-"
It didn't take long for us to break through their Aura, and once we did, we both punched their face, knocking them unconscious. Once we were sure they wouldn't get back up, Emerald inserted the stick into our locks, opening the cuffs.
Now free of the restraints, we snuck back out of the museum and headed out before the cops got there. With a job well done, we decided to go to a café for a late-night meal in celebration of our success. As we ate, Emerald said to me, "So I guess this is it? Time for us to go our separate ways?"
I shook my head at the idea. "You Kidding? Whoever Those Guys Were Are After Me; And Now That You've Helped Me Take Down One Of Their Operatives, You're Just As Much Their Enemy As I Am. Splitting Up's A Bad Idea. Besides, We Worked Pretty Well Together. Why Don't We Make This A Permeant Thing?"
"And that's how you and Emerald started dating?" Ruby asked.
"Nah, That's Just How We Became Full-Time Partners." Scythle explained. "We Figured We'd Stay Together Until We Ki-Aptured That Heartland Guy." Scythle caught herself as she glanced at her twin. "It Took A Few Months, But After A While We Realized We Really Liked Each Other."
"So Emerald has the ability to make people see hallucinations?" Weiss asked. "What else can you tell us about her powers?"
"Tut Tut Tut." Scythle wagged her finger at the white-haired girl. "She's Your Opponent In The Vytal Festival. I'm Not Revealing Her Secrets To You. Figure It Out Yourself. Now, Any Other Questions?"
"How much of this actually happened?" Blake asked.
"… Eh, I'd Say A Good 75… 80%?" Scythle shrugged. "It Was A While Ago And I Don't Fully Remember It. But That's Mostly How It Went. Anything Else?"
Scythle's question was answered by Yang's snoring. The group turned to look at the blonde to see she had fallen back and drifted off to sleep.
"Well, I guess that's it." Ruby shrugged before she got up. "Come on, let's get Yang into bed."
So, I wrote a 4000+ word chapter about Scythle and Emerald being forced to work for Heartland (Then named Peinture), and then during proofreading, I had an idea for a different way the story could go. So I threw out everything I had just written and wrote an almost entirely different story.
Anyway, this is something I've wanted to do with this story for a while. Scythle's background as a globe-traveling criminal provides ample opportunity for her to have a very story-filled past. So I want to write chapters where she delves into them a bit and reveals the adventures she's been on as flashback stories she'll tell.
Speaking of, an even earlier idea was that Scythle would work with Peinture willingly, with him promising to make her his heir. This would have led to him using her as a scapegoat to start a gang war.
Previous drafts of this chapter were more fight scene heavy, but I trimmed them down and out. Felt like they didn't really work with the framing device.
The painting Emerald noticed was based on Van Goh's Poppy Flowers painting, a piece that was famously stolen twice in 1977 and 2010.
