Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.
"Are you sure about this?"
"100 percent." Ace told Jack after he, Quinn, and Lucy cleaned the house.
"Do you know what this means?"
"We're screwed, right? Fucking knew it!" Quinn started stomping and kicking the trash around the floor.
"Hey, stop that!" Lucy scolded the brute for making a mess. "What are we going to do?" She asked, her voice growing more somber.
"It's too soon to say. We must wait for Diamo before we can discuss this any further." The composed leader tried to reassure everyone. He sat on a chair and looked up at the ceiling. He sighed and rubbed his eyes as he reflected on the situation. Minutes later, Diamo opened the front door. [Everyone's peering gazes focused on him.
"Speak of the devil…" Quinn commented. "What took you so long!?"
"I had to finish a couple of things for the gala. Dana went somewhere else, so I decided to come here first. Did something occur in my absence?" The man with glasses tried to explain himself while trying to comprehend their worried expressions.
"We, uh, may have a little problem." Ace said nervously.
"What do you mean by 'little'?"
"Oh, you know, an itsy-bitsy, tiny, minuscule, microscopic, insignificant really…"
"Just tell him already, you dumbass!" Quinn smacked Ace on the head.
"Calm down, Quinn. I'll tell him." Jack stood up and looked at Diamo directly with a stern face. "You know who Weiss Schnee is, right?"
"I do. She is Winter Schnee's younger sister and heiress of Schnee Dust Company, the largest distributor of Dust in the entirety of Remnant and a Huntress in training. Why do you ask?"
"She's here, Diamo. Right here in Mistral." Their leader said with a straight face. Diamo's reaction wasn't any better than the rest. He took off his glasses, hoping that he was imagining.
"There's more, she isn't alone," Quinn said as he pulled out his Scroll to show an article to Diamo.
"Her team is here too. I did some digging cause I found it odd that Someone like her would come here of all places." The big guy sat on the floor while trying to take a deep breath. "She and the rest of Team RWBY took part in defending against the attack at Haven Academy days prior."
"Team RWBY… weren't they the Beacon students that participated at the Vytal Tournament?" Diamo asked.
"Yup. We bumped into Weiss and one of her teammates at the clothing store. A gorgeous blonde named Yang Xiao Long." Ace interjected.
"You know, the chick that broke that chump's leg after winning the one-on-one finals?" Quinn scoffed. "Dumb blonde. She ruined a perfect victory."
"In any case, our biggest issue isn't that team. It's more so the possibility that Winter might be somewhere in Mistral." Jack said.
"Who, mind you, could arrest us and take us back to that stupid rock!" Quinn's words felt heavier than iron, as everyone became more aware of the consequences.
"Hold on a sec… didn't you say that all Atlasian personnel returned while Atlas was closing its border when you escaped from prison?" Diamo asked as he wiped his glasses.
"He did, partner. But apparently, not everyone went back to Atlas. I heard a few of them have been staying at Argus protecting the border, after what happened at Haven." Ace took his bandana off and chuckled. "You know, I feel pity for those fools."
"What makes you say that?" Lucy asked.
"Caroline Cordovin is there too. Nobody, not even pops, can tolerate her."
"That old hag? Naw, I don't feel bad for those saps." Everyone nodded at Quinn's remark.
"Still…" Diamo asked Jack. "Do we have any clue if Winter is in Mistral?"
"We're not sure." The cowboy crossed his arms. "However, if her younger sister is here, then there must be a reason. I doubt she could fly and cross the border by herself without drawing attention."
"Well, her team is here too… Aww man, I could have asked her at the store, but we just chickened out."
"That wouldn't have worked," Jack said.
"You sure, bro? It seems like I missed my shot to try out my charm on an aristocrat."
"Taking such a direct approach could have made matters worse. We need to confirm if Winter Schnee is still stationed there before trying to skip Mistral."
"And how exactly do you expect us to get intel without getting near her or her team? Huh?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"The gala…" Diamo murmured.
"Say what?"
"The White Fang Gala. Every citizen will attend because it's an open event." Everyone started staring at the diligent sniper with shocked expressions.
"Are you freaking nuts!?" The big guy was the first to vent with his usual tone. "Are you serious about going there…!? Oh, I get it. You're patronizing your job, aren't you?"
"That's not it," Lucy said. "If everyone is going to show up, then the chances to gather information will increase."
"Hah! I knew we could count on you, partner!" Ace stood up and pat Diamo's back, with enough gusto to almost make his glasses fly off his face.
"But there's the possibility that Weiss might show up as well. Winter isn't fond of these kinds of events. We don't want to get close to them." Jack lowered his head, lost in thought.
"I mean, she's going, for sure. Have you seen how many dresses she was trying out?"
"So what? Are we going to that crappy event, anyway?" Quinn looked at Ace, waiting to hear the plan.
"I guess that's the only way that can make us feel at ease." Jack stood up and looked at his team with determined eyes. "If that's the case, we must go. I know we don't have to go, but we can't run the risk of doing something stupid while Winter or any other Atlasian soldier is here to witness it."
"Alright! If we are going to the party, we must find ourselves some nice tuxedos again. This time in a different store. Do wanna go with us?" Ace asked Jack and Diamo.
"That won't be necessary, Ace," Diamo said with a hand gesture. "They're going to provide us with waiter uniforms for the event."
"What about you, bro?"
"You can go ahead; I have to do something else to attend to first." Their leader stood up and looked at everyone with his usually stern face. "Everyone dismissed." As the team meeting was officially over, Ace and Quinn left the house and headed back to the clothing store. They weren't able to find a tux that could fit the big guy. Diamo went to one of the rooms and looked around for his belongings. Jack and Lucy were left alone in the living room, where Saber was still sleeping.
"So, what are you going to do?" Lucy asked.
"We need to go to your father's house."
"For what?" The redhead girl wondered.
"I know that your father has done a lot for us, but I want to ask him if he has a suit that he could lend me."
"You know you could go with the others to rent a tux as well. Just saying."
"After hearing that Schnee girl is here, I don't want to attract too much attention."
"Is that the reason?" Lucy sounded skeptical. The cowboy hesitated to answer.
"M-Maybe…" Jack said as he covered his embarrassed face with his hat. Lucy chuckled. She found it cute and funny how he tried to act cool in front of her.
"Alright, we should go see him."
Jack and Lucy went to the front door of Diamo's room. Lucy firmly knocked on the door. She waited a couple of minutes until he opened.
"Yes, is there something you need?" He asked.
"Hey, could you do us a favor? Could you look after the house and Saber while Jack and I go to my father's home? Also, the landlord will come sometime later to check on how clean we left the place."
"Sure. Take care of yourselves." Diamo said, bluntly, before he closed the door. Direct and serious, as always, Lucy thought. The couple left the house after they pet their dog.
They went down the usual route they took from the Arts Entertainment District to the Market District while avoiding contact with other people. The distance between both houses was relatively long. It felt like an eternity to get there. Lucy wondered how her father could live so peacefully with this many people in the area. That didn't matter much as they were approaching.
It was 6:03 pm. Around this time, Dr. Carmine was usually done with his consults and focusing on his research. Someone whose job revolved around making people talk was a relatively quiet soul and mostly kept to himself. His whole life, his stories, and experiences were al accumulated in that little house. Memories of his youth, his love and joy resided there. Even the grief and sadness were all part of it, but those slowly began to shape his home more and more.
At the front door, Lucy took out one of her keys to open it. She knew very well that knocking wouldn't help. He tends to be too focused on his work to listen. She slowly opened the door to see if the place was how it was when she left it this morning. The living room was clean, but the couple could see some dirty dishes and opened cookie packages lying around. Old habits die hard.
"I can't believe it," Lucy said with disappointment.
"Should we…?"
"Don't bother, let's just ask him already." The couple went into Dr. Carmine's study room, for all intents and purposes, his own 'man cave' where he could do his research undisturbed. The redhead was grateful that she cleaned beforehand; otherwise, they would have had to go past stacks of papers blocking the way days ago. At the end of the hall, a door with a sign said "BUSY" with big red letters.
"Dad, do you have a moment?" She knocked on the door and waited for a response. There was silence. "Hey, Dad, are you there?" Still, no response.
"Is he asleep?" Jack asked.
"No way. You wouldn't believe how many all-nighters my dad can pull." She started to twist the doorknob, but the door was unlocked. They pushed open a small gap and peered into the messy room. Lucy didn't bother cleaning there. It would have been impossible to keep it tidy. As they got a better look at the study room, they realized Lucy's father was nowhere.
"Where could that weird old man be now?"
"Do you think he left the house?"
"Nah. Dad wouldn't step out even if his life depended on it. The only times he ever does go somewhere are either to get food or to visit me in Atlas. He has plenty of food at the kitchen, and I'm in Mistral, so I doubt it's either option. I wonder what he's up to now…" As she asked herself, they started hearing noises, almost as if Someone was tapping on the wooden floor. "D-Dad?"
"Lucy, behind the desk." The cowboy pointed at the room's corner, where the desk was. It started moving and fidgeting. He went ahead of his girlfriend, just in case, and went to see what was behind it. As he peeked from a higher angle, he saw Dr. Carmine's body lying on the ground. "What the…!?"
"Dad!" Lucy yelled in horror.
"What the…? Oww!" Her father swiftly sat up and hit his head on the desk as he got up. "What? Is something wrong, Firefly?" He asked with a confused look.
"What do you mean by 'what's wrong'!? I called you, and you didn't respond!" Lucy's voice rose to the point that her throat hurt. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "Tell me, what were you doing under the desk?"
"Me? Nothing, nothing at all. I was just picking up the pen that I dropped." He began acting strangely, as if in denial, but in spite that, the couple felt relieved. "What about you? Do you need anything?"
"I do actually," Jack said. "I was wondering if you have a suit that you could lend me. We are going to the gala tomorrow, and I don't have enough time to look around."
"Oh? A suit? I might have one that I used a few times when I was younger."
"Just a few times?" Lucy asked.
"Well, maybe. I know I must have had one. I got married in one. You can look for it in my bedroom closet. Hope it didn't get devoured by moths or something."
"Alright, I'll go look for it," Lucy said and headed out of the study room.
"Wait a sec." Dr. Carmine called for her before she exited.
"What's the matter?"
"I think Jackie-boy should look for it."
"Why?"
"Just… men stuff, you know?"
"I don't want to know." Lucy shrugged as Jack walked out, leaving the two alone. The good doctor tried to look at the cowboy walking away.
"Is he gone? Good, I want to show you something."
"Show me what? What is it that you don't want him around for?" The redhead started questioning her father's suspicious behavior.
"Will you promise me you won't tell him anything about what I'm about to show you?" Lawrence asked as he looked into his daughter's eyes. She nodded. "Great. Give me a moment." He started opening some of the shelves in his desk and unrolling a few bundled blueprints over it. The doctor could hardly contain his excitement as he showed very detailed diagrams and information to Lucy.
"What is this?"
"This, my dear Firefly, this is the future of medicine." He pulled a notebook with way too many bookmarks and doodles in it. "For years, I studied the traumatic symptoms of patients who've lost their limbs in battle. What kind of sensations did they feel at the moment? Why can some still feel their limbs, even if they aren't there?"
"You mean…?"
"That's right, Firefly, what if we could create indistinguishable nerve reactive artificial skins for prosthetics?" His voice was full of joy. He sounded like a child. "Thanks to my patients, I was able to come up with the idea of bringing a future for Huntsmen that want to regain the organic sensation of touch in their lost limbs after a tragedy."
"This is incredible! It could be the biggest discovery in cybernetics yet!"
"Yes, thank you. I couldn't have done it without your boyfriend's help."
"What has Jack got to do with this?"
"Well, you see, I had this strange hypothesis. Huntsmen use their Aura to feel, right? What if every sensation we feel is just a stimulus felt by our Aura? What if most people feel the phantom pain is just their Aura not knowing how to respond to a missing limb? What would happen if we tried to fool Aura into thinking the appendage returned?"
"Well, you can say that to make compatible artificial skin, you would need it to be compatible with the person's body. Didn't you find it odd that a psychiatrist would ask for all his patients' blood type?"
Lawrence leaned against the table and went on. His posture reminded Lucy of a few teachers at Atlas.
"And then it hit me. Blood."
"Blood?" Lucy jumped in.
"Turns out Aura will accept the blood of the owner's type as its own, kinda like how the body can accept a blood transfusion. So by putting some blood into a prosthetic, the Aura interprets it as its own."
"Woah." Lucy couldn't help but ponder at the discovery.
"At first, I only used animal blood, but that didn't work. So then I resorted to using the next best thing. Human blood." Lucy raised an eyebrow and gave a worried look.
"My blood, of course. I would ideally use the patient's blood, but I didn't want to lose my job." Lawrence continued. "At first, I thought Jack's AB Negative blood and Huntsman grade Aura should have accepted my blood, but turns out AB Negative only accepts negative blood types. However, a recent patient, a Huntress with a missing arm and a compatible blood type, managed to make the prosthetic work almost instantly. This proves that blood is the key to merging organic and inorganic materials through Aura. Blood. The emulsifier of life."
"That's a lot to take in." Lucy tried to keep up with her father's info.
"Indeed, but I still need her to open up more about herself if I want to make more progress. If things go well, I will be able to make a patent and start development in Atlas in a few months." He chuckled. "As for the prototype, I would like Jack to be the first person to test it thoroughly."
"That's… That's amazing! But are you sure you want Jack to be the first to test it?" Lucy's voice couldn't hold the surprise of her father's choice.
"Of course. Doesn't he deserve it? Though I would like it if you kept it a secret. I want to surprise him when it's ready.
"Thanks, Dad. You're the best in Remnant." Lucy started hugging him and kissed him on the forehead.
"No problem, I'm sure he'll like it too. I just hope you don't go far with whatever you're doing privately. Hehehe…" The heartwarming moment got cut short when the redhead smacked her father for his prudish comment.
"Ah, come on. You're not a girl anymore."
"You just don't know how to behave, do you?" They both started laughing but soon heard Jack approaching. Dr. Carmine began to put everything away before the cowboy could see it. Jack opened the door with the suit on a hanger in his hand.
"So? Does it fit?"
"Not really. It's a tad big for me. I need a needle and some string to adjust it." Jack said as he displayed the jacket.
"Why don't you take it to a tailor?" Dr. Carmine asked.
"It'll be faster if I do it myself."
"I guess that's the perk of being the son of a tailor." Lucy chuckled.
"Yeah. Years of helping my mom with things here and there are paying off."
"I should look for a dress as well." Lucy walked out of the room alongside Jack, leaving Dr. Carmine alone in his study room. He looked at the couple as they walked far enough to close the door. He went back to his desk, moved the chair out of the way crouched underneath.
He started taking off the planks from the wooden floor until a small box could be seen in the empty hole. The box was small enough that it could have fit inside any of the shelves. It was dirty, almost as if no one touched it in years. The old doctor opened it, revealing its content: a golden bracelet, an envelope, a pocket-sized book, and a photograph. He picked the picture carefully and began gazing at it as if his soul was in it.
"Our baby girl is a grown woman now. You'd be real proud, dear." Dr. Carmine smiled as he failed to catch a spontaneous tear that fell on the picture.
"Well, that's curious…" Weiss murmured as she looked at a public computer at a CCT Café. She went there an hour ago after she was done looking for a dress with Yang. The sophisticated girl spent the time browsing information about that guy she met back at the clothing store. Ace…? That name was bugging her. It sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite remember. Was he Someone important? Was he a son of an aristocrat? Perhaps a part of the military? No matter how many times she thought about it, a clear answer eluded her.
"Where could it be?" Among the numerous files and news articles on the computer, she couldn't find any information on Atlas, Vale, or Vacuo. The CCT still hindered, so it made sense that only the local sources were available.
"Weiss?"
"Ahh!" She jumped as a hand touched her shoulder from behind.
"Blake? What are you doing here?!"
"I saw you come here when I was eating my tuna ramen. What are you doing here?"
"N-Nothing. I'm just… staying informed." Weiss kept focusing on the monitor while still browsing.
"Informed about what?"
"Any news about Atlas. I was hoping the papers in Argus would have something."
"You know you won't get anything new. Atlas is pretty much sealed shut after that embargo. And without the CCT Network, there's practically zero chance of contact."
"I know. That's why I was hoping soldiers stationed in Argus might have some information." Weiss' level of frustration was rising.
"Speaking of updates, I noticed that some people went missing recently. And not just Huntsmen."
"Yeah, I heard. A lot of people are talking about it. I thought Headmaster Leo's actions were bad enough. I guess Mistral just can't catch a break."
"Not so different from when we had to deal with Torchwick back at Vale. Every kingdom has its share of daily problems. Though I do find it weird that such things are still happening after the incident at Haven."
"I know…" Both girls sighed. "Let's change the subject. Did you find a dress for tomorrow?"
"I did, it might not be as elegant as any Atlas brands, but I don't care. I'm no longer attending a party just to look pretty.." Weiss gave a weak smile as she remembered the last time she attended a formal event. Back then, she caused a commotion that spiraled into her coming here in the first place. "Anyway, how about we go back home. It's been a long day."
"Agreed, I'm practically dead from all the work I did for the gala." Weiss logged off the computer and left the café with her cat-eared friend. The investigation could wait after the gala.
Later that night, Sal was sitting on the ground, taking notes about all the missing people. No leads. There were no traces left, and the list just kept growing. A dead end. No clues about what happened to Roger Davis either. One thing Sal wondered about but couldn't understand was about Davis' mysterious contact from Mistral. His last entries mentioned Someone but never specified any names. It was a matter of time before he would know who that person was.
Out of the blue, the Scroll started ringing. Sal looked to see who was calling, but the caller's ID was private.
"Who could it be?"
If the man in white wanted answers, he didn't have many choices other than answering it. He pressed the green button and pressed the Scroll to his ear.
"Choose your answer wisely. I know you aren't Roger Davis."
"Who are you?" Sal asked the person who he couldn't recognize the voice. It was garbled and distorted.
"Sorry, but I'm the one who asks. You better just play nice because that Scroll you're holding next to your ear has a bomb installed. Answer wrong or get on my nerves, and I'll cremate your ass for free."
"Alright, then. Go ahead. Ask." Sal said with a deep calm voice.
"Glad we could come to an understanding. First off, I know you're staying at his house. I've been watching you for the last couple of days. The Scroll has a tracker. I saw you were in bad shape, and a girl in a red hood helped you get there. Even if you throw the device away, you won't get anywhere without me knowing. So, here is my first question. What did you do to him?"
"That's something I would like to know as well. I found him lying dead outside of the walls when I regained consciousness. A pair of Boarbatusks were bumping into his corpse."
"Outside the walls? No wonder I couldn't track him; the signal was getting weak. So now I just have to trust your word that you didn't kill him. Correct?"
"I don't spill the blood of anyone who isn't my target." He sounded sure of his answer.
"Is that so? Because from where I'm standing, you look like a Huntsman. Maybe even an assassin."
"I'm neither, just to make it clear."
"Someone covered in bandages doesn't exactly exude friendliness, you know. I'm more surprised that the girl in the red hood wasn't scared of you. Under that mask, you're a real freak."
"Take it as you will."
"Alright, then. My next question. How were you able to get access to the Scroll's content? Scratch that. Davis probably didn't disable the finger scan. The real question is how much you know."
"Enough to know something is wrong in Mistral. And Sheriff Leng might have something to do with it."
"I see. I suppose you aren't that behind. Sheriff Leng, you say? That is new info I didn't expect to get after being stale. Too bad, Davis couldn't tell me sooner."
"By the way, I've been wondering. The part where you mentioned the bomb installed in this Scroll. What took you so long to call me? Why not just detonate it if you knew I wasn't him?"
"Well, aren't you clever? I needed to confirm the situation before making a choice. You don't appear as Someone that would try anything stupid, especially with those injuries. We just watched it. However, that girl kept coming back, and I couldn't risk having an innocent party get harmed..."
"I guess I should thank you for that, the apple pie she brought me was probably the best thing I ate in the past few months."
"The world has a plethora of better foods to try. Since we're now on the same wavelength, would you be willing to consider an offer?."
"Go on."
"Continue where Davis left off. I need Someone in the field to look for clues around the city and update me on anything of interest."
"Desperate much? You sound pretty resourceful yourself. You were able to keep tabs on me for days."
"This was an undercover operation. It was just the two of us in the whole city, but something unexpected happened, and limited communication is currently the biggest issue."
"If that's the case, I accept the offer, but under one condition." Sal stood up and started looking out the window. "A name. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Is that so? Who exactly are you looking for?"
"You don't need to know. That is a personal matter."
"Hmph, you are quite an interesting individual. It looks like we've got a deal. I'll send you your instructions tomorrow morning. Have you recovered enough to work?"
"I have. My vacation is over."
