"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."
Arthur Conan Doyle,The Hound of the Baskervilles

Neo sat on the bed; it being the only feature of the blank room she was held up in for now. That detective she spoke to less than an hour ago… (Schultz or some such) He had given her an offer she couldn't refuse. "How about you join me?" he had offered, it was a way out of whatever prison they had lined up for her and it would hopefully keep Cinder off her tail once she realized how badly she had messed up. '50 members locked up and what little we had here compromised' she thought as she looked out the window into the night; they were good, she could admit that much.

She heard a knock on the door and sat up just as it opened to reveal the detective she had spoken to just hours earlier; he had taken off his hat but kept the trench coat on. He went over to the bed and sat down beside her, the moonlight hitting him in the way that kept his eyes covered but revealed a neutral expression beneath them. "I take it you have thought on what I said?" he began, seeing her nod she continued "I suppose I should give you proper terms before you agree to anything… I need an accomplice for many reasons you see; safety, assistance if I ever get into any trouble and most importantly a second opinion. You seem to be at least capable in combat judging from the way you moved back at the warehouse and the way you conducted yourself during our… conversation. So there is only one thing I need to test now, have you the right mind for the job?" he ended the monologue by pulling out a whiteboard and a pen "Answer the questions I ask on here"

She took the pen and listened silently as he began speaking

"Firstly, what were you before you were caught here?"

"When I was young I was abandoned by my parents at an orphanage in Atlas, but the manager was corrupt and sold me and many other children to a crime lord, he used us as slave labor for anything he needed doing. I was assigned to a dust mine. It was hard down there but eventually some other gang decided to attack, me and another boy; his name was Roman Torchwick"

She looked to see him writing in a small notepad before looking at her and saying "I didn't really ask for your life's story but this is interesting, go on"

"I saved his life and he mine a few times during our escape, once we were out we made a living through petty thievery and eventually were able to afford a ticket to stow away to Vale. He was 20 and I was 16, we began dealing with bigger jobs slowly and slowly went our separate ways. He became a crime boss and I became a freelance mercenary for whomever (Usually Torchwick but occasionally others). Recently I was hired by the White fang to oversee their little group's operations in Mycelle, but suppose you know what went on from there"

"Yes, we do. That is all on that topic then. Second question, how do you fight? As in what is your style, I assume it has something to do with the umbrella u carried when you were tranquilized?"

"Yeah, my umbrella functions as a shield of sorts for me when I fight but I mostly just doge until the enemy is tired. Then I go in for the kill…"

"With the sword inside your umbrella?"

"Yes, a single hit to the neck usually does the job"

"Okay… last question, what do you believe in?"

"I'm not sure what you mean?" she wrote back

"When we grow up we have experiences, they shape us and make us what we are today. They change what we believe in; weather the world is black and white or just shades of grey, weather the world should be governed by laws or by granting freedom to do whatever. I ask you what you believe in"

Neo had no idea what to reply, she had never thought much on the question. It had always been a steal to survive situation for her… "I don't know"

"Surely you must hold some kind of beliefs?"

"Never trust strangers I suppose, it was because of the corruption within the system that I ended up where I am"

"I suppose that is all then. Congratulations, I accept you as an Assistant Detective. Shall we discuss the terms?"

She nodded but hurriedly scribbled "You said that you would be able to give me my voice back"

"Yes, I was getting to that. But since you ask I have an associate who will perform the procedure discretely once we're done here. But that is beside the point, you will hereon be officially employed by the MPD, but you will be working exclusively with me. Perhaps you may even become a detective yourself should you sign up for a second term. The salary is 15 thousand lien plus bonuses for jobs well done"

"How long do I have to work for you to pay you off for all this?" she wrote

"(Humm) well the standard term per contract is 5 years so let's say that?"

"Okay, what now?" she wrote

Since you accepted I'll have you visit the underground clinic I use tomorrow morning. As of now though ill remove the cuffs but for the moment you must wear this" he said taking out a bulky bracelet of sorts "It is a tracking beacon which contains an explosive should you try to run or remove it. No offense, but I don't trust strangers too much either"

She put it on as directed by him and it licked comfortably around her leg. He removed her cuffs and said "I'll be back for you tomorrow, get some sleep. You'll need it" and then the door shut. Leaving her to deal with the circumstances.

She woke to the sound of the knock on her door and the familiar silhouette of the inspector looking at her, his face now illuminated by the morning sun she could see the sharp features and blue eyes staring into her own. "Shall we?" he asked

She nodded and they left the gloomy cell into the cold autumn breeze. It was lively in the areas of the station they passed through as they headed for a dark corner where upon second glance lay a door with a chrome sign on it reading 'Detective Inspector Schultz Lehmann; walking in she was directed to the seat opposite his desk and sat there nervously. "I need you to fill out this form" said he handing her the one on his wooden table, it was a simple registration form which she completed easily before reaching the name part.

Seeing Neo unsure of what to write he suggested "Just write Neo Lehmann, that's what I put on your ID anyways" she was visibly confused at his remark but wrote her new name in neat curve before handing it back to him. He put a hand under the desk before taking out her umbrella and handing it to her "I suppose I'd better return this to you then

It was in perfect condition and she leaned on it expectedly waiting for whatever he was to say next. "I see you're satisfied with its condition? Alright, next order of business would be to have a debit card set up for your salary. We'll go now to get it done, which should leave us an hour or so before your appointment with the doctor"


She was lead outside to the small car park beside the MPF station and found herself being lead to the shabbiest looking van ever. He opened the door for her and climbed into the driver's seat himself. The inside smelt of old leather and… mint? Yeah that was probably it. They drove down the main street to park beside a tall red-brick structure with two security guards looking over the crowd from beside the large wooden doors.

They entered and Neo was hit with the pleasant smell of vintage wood furniture, she was promptly lead along with her escort to one of the tellers who sat behind a thick glass screen. "What can I do for you mam" asked the teller cheerfully. Being unable to speak yet she let Inspector Lehmann do the talking, soon she was ready with a standard bank account and 100 lien deposit which the Inspector called "A deposit for the future"

They went back out into the street and with a quick glance at his watch informed him of something as she was dragged over to one of the side streets and lead further down until they reached a side door with a neon green sign above it advertising some health thing. Walking in the Inspector walked towards a receptionist desk with a pretty young man behind it dressed in a pristine lab coat "Mr Lehmann, you are oh, so close to being late but somehow you always make it just in time. Please have a seat" he said gesturing to the chairs in front of him "I'll be ready in a few minutes, for now please change into this" he handed her a green hospital gown

She went into the corner and clumsily put on the gown, the inspector took her clothes and said "I'll stay with you for now but I can't be in the operating room. I suppose there are some things about this doctor that you should know… He has a rather unique style of operating. He lets you watch the surgery as it proceeds. It is honestly not as bad as it sounds though…"

Just then the doctor re-entered, this time in full surgical apparel; wearing surgical gloves and a mask and carting along a cart "Okay missus, lay down here and we shall begin" said he gesturing to the cart, Neo lay on it's cold artificial leather surface and looked up to see the inspector walking outside. Now alone with the doctor she looked into his face as it pushed the cart into an operating room.


"So, I was told by our friend that you had an issue with your voice box and are thus mute. Is that so?" she nodded "Alright then, I will now begin the procedure" he declared as he took a syringe filled with a light blue liquid from a nearby tray "This right here is a painkiller and paralyzer to prevent you from thrashing around in pain" he said gently as the strain concoction was injected into her arm. She felt nothing for the first few seconds but slowly a feeling of numbness washed over her and soon enough she felt herself unable to move whatsoever, it wasn't as if she was restrained but her muscles simply did not respond to her commands "Trying to move? Yes the Numbing agent will effectively prevent you from moving whatsoever for the next few hours as long as the dosage was correct" he moved to the side to bring along a machine with a hose of some sort and a device with a mirror attached to the end of an adjustable pole. He angled it so that she could see her throat and took a silver scalpel off one of the trays. "This won't hurt a bit" assured he as the silver drew closer to her throat.

Indeed she did not feel a thing when her esophagus was cut open and a tube (According to the doctor for breathing) was lowered within, she could only watch as her neck was literally sliced open and the doctor inspected what was left of her vocal chords, it was a sight for sore eyes to be sure as the doctor prodded them and poked them in every way imaginable before finally remarking "This was obviously caused by a burn… blink three times if it was a hoot liquid that caused this" she blinked three times in response, not wanting to remember how she ended up this way, "Okay, fortunately I have already preformed such a surgery on someone so I know what I can do to fix this" je said as he walked to the side which was out of her side and came back seconds later with a jar. "Mixed white dust with Aloe Vera leaf, this should heal the chords if applied several times over the hour"

He applied the first coat to her vocal chords and suddenly she felt them, they felt cold if anything but the fact she could feel them must have been a good sign. The doctor walked around the face her upside-down and said looking over her motionless body "I need to apply a coat every ten minutes or so, how about I read you a story meanwhile eh? This is one of my favorites" he walked over out of her sight and came back with a rather withered and bloodied book, 'perhaps he did this every surgery thought she as he began, his voice was calming and the book dragged on to where she even forgot she was in the man's basement; paralyzed on a table as her throat was slit open and strange substance rubbed into her vocal chords. "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." Finished the man a she put the book down, "Well young missus, tome to sew you back up" he added as he walked out of her vision and came back with a needle and thread.

He had just finished sewing her throat shut when she began to feel the pain; she could feel her body again and the pain that came with it as well. She moved her head from its resting place to see the doctor gone and replaced with the inspector's tall form. He took a needle and poked her thigh with it, immediately she began to feel the pain loosening its grip and her eyes lowly shutting. Waling over her form the inspector looked down and said ceremonially

"Neapolitan is no longer your name, you have abandoned it just like your past; Now you will wake up as Neo Lehmann, may the future be bountiful for you and us all"

with that he placed two black-gloved fingers on her slowly shutting eyelids and gently moved them shut.


I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Why did I write it? Because I honestly couldn't be bothered to write a training sequence for Ruby (Although I may do something like that next chapter)

Either way tell me what you think and perhaps I'll have more chapters following this side story of sorts.

Bye