Atonement: Lincoln Clay

Episode 10: Man of Wealth and Taste

A/N: Sorry for the delay folks, life has been crazy for me recently, and I've had a bad case of writer's block. Please forgive me if this chapter isn't as good as usual. Oh and BTW, if I do make a RDR/RWBY Crossover, who would be up for Yang or Ruby X Jack Marston? Not saying I will write the story yet, I still have to come up with how they get there if I do decide on doing it, and also I know there are people who would want Ruby X Oscar. That said I'm open for suggestions about a pairing for Jack if I do it, after all the Marston family tree could use a few more branches and I'd like your thoughts on that. If any artists reading this story are interested, It'd be cool to see that illustrated by more than just the words of this humble author if anyone out there would be inspired to do so. Oh and what would anyone think if I gave 4 good ol boys from across gaming some cameos (possibly as a group) in this story?: Ellis (L4D), Hurk and or Sharky (FC), and Scooter (Borderlands). It's just a thought though that I wanted to get out of my head and run by all of you for your 2 cents. If you want a possible cameo I'd be happy to consider it, just PM me or leave it in the reviews.


[Gamelover41592: Thanks, and it fits the vibe man. There's nothing like a big score to put things in perspective. After all, sometimes it's 'All About The Benjamins'.]

[Wombag1786: Right you are man! Merry late Xmas, and Happy Valentine's day!]

[Guest: I was considering that. I'll have to play the game again when I have time so I can get a feel for those two again, but a bit of romance should be good. I have been wondering what Morgan's kids would look like if he ever had the chance to truly settle down.]

[RogueShadow222: Thanks, I've been heavily considering Lincoln and Sienna Khan falling in love, the possible chemistry there makes it an attractive choice. But no on Emerald falling for him, he sees her as a daughter and that's the way it should stay. As for Raven, I'm not sure but she did threaten to kill him so... that's possible but unlikely. Though I will say that if enough other readers are interested there may be a brief fling, but true romance between them is another story altogether considering the way she is.]

[Wolf: Thank you, it really is a great game.]

[Arthur Morgan: Well pardner, it could happen, but saving miss Rose? We gotta round up a posse and find out what really happened to her first, if there's anythin out there that'll tell us.]


-DREAMSCAPE-

Darkness, that was what greeted Lincoln after he had gone down for another night of troubled sleep. The former soldier had briefly tossed and turned, trying to make himself comfortable in his bed, eventually his efforts were successful and he began to drift off to rest like any other night. But soon enough, Lincoln found himself stirring from his slumber to hear the sounds of a radio playing music, and the uncomfortable feeling of his face resting on a countertop. At his noticing of the unexpected sensations Lincoln jolted up right and frantically looked to uncover his new surroundings. What met Lincoln's eyes was the sight of his old home in New Bordeaux, the original Sammy's Bar, just as if it had never been burned down. Though what truly surprised the soldier was the sight of none other than Sal Marcano standing behind the counter, pouring a glass of Kentucky Bourbon.

"Well I'll be damned, Lincoln Clay… I told our last meeting wouldn't be the last time we saw each other." Sal said as he placed a hand on the counter and smiled casually at Lincoln.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Lincoln snarled as he directly into the eyes of the former boss of the once powerful Marcano crime family.

"Oh, calm down son, I'm just as surprised as you are by this little meeting of ours." Sal said in a civil tone.

"So, this is in my head then?" Lincoln surmised as he made himself comfortable on his barstool.

"Now I wouldn't say that, but who knows, maybe you are going crazy." Sal began to deliver his retort. "I could just be another nightmare to shrug off, or maybe I'm here for a reason."

"You shouldn't be here at all." Lincoln replied with a growing amount of hostility.

"And yet I am, just like you in this whole new world where you went and stuck your nose in." Sal coolly shot back.

"I'm doing what I can to protect my family." The former soldier gruffly replied.

"Is that right? Well it seems to me that you have an interesting way of doing it then, because that's leading down a dangerous road. You know in fact I had similar reasons for making my choices-" Sal started to say but Lincoln cut him off.

"To betray and murder my step family?" Lincoln interrupted the calm and collected don.

"Yes, and just like me you're building an empire instead of stealing it like last time." Sal replied in annoyance at the younger man's interruption.

"I'm nothing like you." Lincoln said in a spiteful tone.

"Tell yourself that, go right ahead. But that's a flat out lie, and you know it." Sal grinned in superiority at Lincoln's denial.

"Fuck you." Lincoln said in a cold voice. "I sent you to burn in hell where you belong."

"If I should be in hell, then why in god's name am I here?" The old don said with a confident look on his face.

"To annoy me?" Lincoln deadpanned.

"Now where did you get that idea?" Sal scoffed at Lincoln's sarcasm. "I think it's fair bit more serious than that, boy." The old don then took a drink of alcohol from the glass he'd poured. "Ah, nothing like a good bourbon to relax the mind."

"I prefer shine myself." The soldier said coolly.

"Yes, I believe you had told me that the last time we met." Sal recalled his final moments of life.

"And then I threw you out a window of your own fucking casino." Lincoln added with his own proud tone.

"You did…" The don's expression darkened. "…and let me tell me you something, Lincoln Clay." Sal dropped his pleasant southern gentleman demeanor and spat Lincoln's name with pure venom in his tone. "You'll never be rid of me that easily. With every choice you make that's another step closer to the line you can never uncross. Tell yourself it's for a good reason, like getting justice or protecting your new little family. Go on and set up your little white picket fence and live in a house with snot nosed little brats, but if you keep on, I won't be far behind to collect my due."

"That day will be a long off if I have anything to say about it, you fucking asshole." Lincoln snarled.

"Ha, everyone dies eventually Lincoln. It's a rule of nature, nobody outruns their fate, I learned that the lesson hard way when you killed me." The elderly don sighed with a measure of sadness at his failures. "I planned, I schemed, and I fought, until my family and I owned the whole damned city… but here I am, in the afterlife waiting for fate to give my payback to you as you did to me, it's a principal part of life." Sal grinned as the words of his own new philosophy were spelled out for Lincoln to hear.

"Well that's not my destiny." The former soldier shook his head. "Besides you turned on Sammy, if you hadn't done that, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I wouldn't have had to kill you."

"I said the exact same thing to myself once about destiny, and now here I am, talking to you again all civil like. You seem to believe that you'll go to heaven-" Sal snorted with his superiority still evident but Lincoln cut his speech short.

"I've done bad things in my life that I'm in no way proud of, and seen the kind of depraved shit that would've made a lesser man like you question your sanity, but I accept that. Make no mistake, I don't have any naïve illusions on that front that I'll see myself among angels when my time comes. When the bill comes due and I have to pay it, I know I won't go to heaven but at least I'll have done enough good to give my kids a better a tomorrow. If and when god eventually deems it my time to be struck down, then I'll accept it. But until that day comes, I will not stop fighting for a better future for my family, and I'll die for them if it comes to that."

"Strong words, but I guess we'll find out if you really have the drive to back them up, won't we?" Sal said as he began to fade away. "Mark my words Lincoln, the bill always comes due."

-LINCOLN'S ROOM-

Lincoln woke up in a cold sweat and breathed rapidly as he opened his eyes. The former soldier put a hand to his face and massaged his temples, he then took a deep breath and calmed himself down. With a brief look at the clock, revealing that it was early enough for Lincoln to comfortably get up, he left his bed and walked over to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror to see his own face, which was not pretty considering his most recent lack of a good night's sleep. Brushing that aside, he began to shave his face to maintain his usual clean look. As he did so a creaking noise echoed behind him, he immediately dropped the razor and whipped around to face the presence in the hall.

"Lincoln, I had a bad dream." Emerald said as she stood there in the hallway with her toy bear in hand.

"Alright, come here." He signaled to the little minty haired girl with a quick tilt of his head. The child nodded and briskly walked over to him for comfort. She then began to hug him as he knelt down to greet her for the morning. "You're okay, I'm here. Now do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked in a calm voice.

"I saw this… big monster. It was a grim, but like a big lizard with wings." Emerald said as she shivered in her protector's arms.

"A lizard? You mean a dragon?" Lincoln asked as he held his adopted daughter.

"Yeah." She replied in a frightened tone.

He then took on a softer look and stroked her minty green hair. "What did it do?" Lincoln asked in a soothing tone.

"It was hurting people, destroying a big castle, along with a bunch more monsters." The scared child started to hyperventilate in fear.

"It won't get you while I'm around, I promise. I know you're tougher than this, Emerald. When you get bigger, you'll be able to fight a bunch monsters without me, I know it." The proud stepfather said firmly with a hand on Emerald's shoulder.

"But-" Emerald started to reply.

"I want you to listen to me, don't be scared, even when things are the worst, you gotta be brave no matter what. Now repeat after me, no big monster is gonna get the best of me. Say it." He said in a proud tone to the girl as she looked him dead in the eyes.

"Okay, no big monster gonna get the best of me." Emerald echoed her stepfather's words, obviously lack confidence.

"Say it again, but with a smile this time. C'mon, I know you Em, you don't have a scared bone in your body." Lincoln encouraged her to dig deep for her strength.

Emerald closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then opened them and began to speak with a determined look on her face. "No big monster is gonna get the best of me!"

Lincoln nodded with a with a very proud smile. "Atta girl. Now do you want hot chocolate, bacon, eggs, and pancakes?"

"You mean it?!" Emerald's eyes lit up.

Lincoln chuckled in response. "Yeah, let me get dressed and cleaned up first. Okay?"

"YAY." The minty haired child almost shouted in joy.

"Shh." He shushed the girl and then gestured to the children's room.

"Whoops. Teehee." The little girl giggled, to which Lincoln just shook his head and smiled.

-1 HOUR LATER-

After Lincoln had finished his routine and Emerald had done hers, the former soldier began cooking breakfast. Eventually Nora and Ren woke to the rousing smell of a delicious breakfast, both of them looking at each other and nodding in agreement. They dressed themselves and then Nora bolted to the kitchen to catch the meal of the morning, with Ren following closely behind her. Upon reaching the table both children saw Emerald sitting on the counter, swinging her legs and smiling with her usual cheeky grin as Lincoln stood beside her, cooking the food.

"Morning you two." Emerald said coolly to her fellow children.

"Good morning!" Nora shouted cheerfully in response.

"Yes, good morning Emerald, Lincoln." Ren said as he looked to his foster sister.

"Alright food's almost ready kids, have a seat at the table, I already poured hot chocolate for the three of you." The former soldier informed the children, and they did as they were told. Nora was about to ask her famous question but Lincoln beat her to the punch. "Before you ask, Nora your pancakes are coming right up, but go easy on the syrup. The kind you really like isn't cheap." Lincoln said to the ginger who sported a ravenous grin and licked her chops. Ren's eyes darted between her and a single invisible point in the room. After taking a breath to relax, Ren curiously looked around the kitchen but one person was missing.

"Lincoln, where is mister Donovan?" The young boy pointed out he lack of a certain sly agent.

"Yeah, where is Uncle Donny, papa Lincoln?" Nora asked as Lincoln dumped the stack of hot fluffy cakes on the ginger's plate.

In response to their inquiries the back door opened and Donovan strolled right inside. "Hey everybody! Breakfast looks good." He smiled to the kids and his partner.

"Where were you?" Lincoln asked as he flipped a scrambled egg in the pan.

"I was out late last night, had to clear my head. Ended up being more productive than I thought." The Agent replied as he sat down at the table and lit a cigarette.

"What was so productive about last night?" The inquisitive mob boss said as he set the cooked egg down on Emerald's plate.

"To make a long story short, you and I are off to see the wonderful wizard of Oz after breakfast. After a short chat with our drinking pal Qrow, he had a talk with Oz. Suffice it to say he agreed to a meeting at the school."

"Face to face?" The mobster stopped to look at his partner questioningly.

"Yeah, we finally get our aura lessons." Donovan folded his arms confidently, with a smirk on his face.

After a sigh and brief moment of thoughtful silence, Lincoln smirked nonchalantly. "Heh, took long enough." He then sat down after having finished cooking the meal.

-1 HOUR LATER: BEACON ACADEMY GROUNDS-

Once breakfast was over, and then children had gone off to school for the day, the two former military men boarded a bullhead that was bound for the school so they could discuss a few things with Oz. As the vehicle approached the prestigious academy, Lincoln felt a foreboding sensation in his bones. The academy soon came into view and, needless to say, it left him with a mix of thoughts. Lincoln recalled Emerald's dream, the dots began to slightly connect and the picture they partially formed explained his uneasiness. But the other part of the dream wasn't there, the grim dragon. Given his experience with the occult, Lincoln didn't rule out the possibility that there was to his step daughter's dream than a simple nightmare. Donovan noticed his partner's expression and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hey Lincoln, what's the problem pal?" The agent asked in a concerned tone for his friend's wellbeing.

"Eh, just a feeling." Lincoln replied.

"Relax, I'm pretty sure we won't have to shoot our way out, for now." Donovan tried to ease his friend's possible concerns.

"That's not it, granted we are headed into the wolf's den so to speak."

"Then what's on your mind?"

"If it's important I'll tell you later."

"Fine by me." Donovan shrugged. The ride continued in silence until they eventually landed at the academy pads, and waiting patiently at the base of the steps was the headmaster himself. Standing beside the wise headmaster was his lovely trusted female assistant, who held a riding crop in one hand and a tablet in the other. Slowly walking up behind them was the drunken huntsman himself, sporting a liquor fueled grin. The blonde assistant shook her head disapprovingly as she scrunched her face at the man's alcohol odor. Both men turned to each other for a brief moment and then looked at the headmaster as they approached him.

"Oh heeeey guys, top o the morning!" Qrow said with a slur.

"Gentlemen, it's good to see you. As Qrow had informed me last night, we have much to discuss. I trust your flight was relaxing." Ozpin greeted the two men.

"This is a nice place, definitely liking the vibes." Donovan remarked.

"What made you clear you schedule for us?" Lincoln asked in his business tone.

"Thank you for the compliment mister Donovan, I heard quite a fair bit about you. As for your question mister Clay, my previous appointment cancelled, so besides my usual paper work my schedule for today is clear. Now come with me please, we have to go to my office for our discussion." Ozpin replied and then led the way to the front doors of the academy.