Sorry for how long it's been, but for once I actually have a legitimate excuse. I haven't ever mentioned this, but I run on my school's varsity Cross Country team, and I had several difficult races these past few weeks that I had to train really hard for, one of them being the State Meet. Between that, studying for my ACT test, and rewriting this chapter several times because I didn't like how it was going, it's been very difficult to get this done. Fortunately, my schedule's begun to clear up now that I've taken the ACT and my Cross Country season is over, but without a doubt the main reason this chapter came out was because of RWBY Volume 8 starting. Hopefully I'll continue to be inspired to write more, because I've missed doing it.
Just a heads up: this chapter is really long. I didn't want to just cut it off in the middle, because while there are a few points where I could've ended it I didn't want to disrupt my flow. I guess you can consider it making up for lost time. But seriously, this chapter is like 10,000 words long.
Beta'd by: Fazadragonhart
As the trio of girls reached the bottom of the ladder, Weiss quickly took in her surroundings. They were in an open area that formed a rough circle. Scattered around the room was a variety of boxes and barrels, all opened and empty. On the other end of the room was a tunnel cut through the smooth stone that stretched on further than they could see.
Once they had finished checking all of the boxes for anything of note, they all looked towards the tunnel. Seeing no lights, Weiss decided to draw a small light-emitting glyph with the tip of her sword. Giving a quiet nod to the others, Blake led the way through the tunnel, her superior faunus vision and innate magic strengthening her eyesight.
Behind Blake was Yang, who intentionally placed herself between the white-haired heiress and her feline companion. Her hand gripped her sword tightly, and she frequently adjusted her shield to be prepared for a strike from behind. Weiss wanted to scoff at the idea; she had made it no secret of her dislike for the criminal named Blake, but it wasn't like she was going to attack her for no reason.
They walked down the dark tunnel in silence, twisting and turning as the walls did. Weiss held her blade towards the ceiling, balancing a ball of light on the tip that cast long shadows across the walls. None of them spoke even a single word, but whether that was because they had nothing left to say or if they were trying to stay hidden was anyone's guess.
Ruby, for her part, alternated between running ahead and running behind, acting as a scout of sorts. She generated a soft light herself, though only she and Weiss could see it. She would have run all the way ahead, but an invisible force always held her back from getting too far from Weiss. After returning from her latest scouting trip, she stopped and began to speak with Weiss.
"Hey, are you okay?" She asked, silver eyes filled with worry for her friend. Weiss didn't respond verbally, instead only raising an eyebrow as she stared at her friend with a questioning look. "It's just that you still seem a bit... shaken up, from what happened up in that store," Ruby said cautiously. Weiss lowered her eyebrow and gave her friend a reassuring nod.
"Is it really so obvious? I suppose I must be losing my touch. If I still lived with Father, I would've been helpless if I wore my emotions so blatantly," Weiss thought darkly to herself. The thought of her father caused her to clench her fist tightly around Myrtenaster, causing the blade to shake unsteadily for a moment. Yang and Blake both glanced back at her, but turned around when they saw she was ok.
Ruby looked at her empathetically, before her eyes lit up with an idea and she began to smile. "This is so cool though! We're sneaking into the hideout of the White Fang, a vicious organization of criminals. It's just like one of Uncle Qrow's stories, only the hero in this one is my best friend!" The spirit chattered excitedly, drawing a small but genuine smile to Weiss's lips.
The ex-noble just shook her head as if to deny that her current situation was anything like one of the stories Ruby heard from her uncle. That man was a knight, fighting criminals and Grimm alike to protect the citizens of his country, wielding his blade in service of the Valean crown. She was just a girl who was in way over her head, fighting for selfish reasons and an active practitioner of a form of magic that was outlawed in all of the Four Kingdoms.
"No, you're right. This isn't anything like Uncle Qrow's stories. His always ended with him getting drunk in a bar or getting kicked out of an inn for sleeping with the innkeeper's daughter. I can't see you doing either of those things," Ruby joked, causing Weiss to smile a bit more. "And Uncle Qrow always talks about how he only fights because he's ordered to. You're choosing to fight to help me, which is way nobler!" She exclaimed excitedly.
Weiss felt a bit of heat rush to her cheeks, but gave Ruby a wider, thankful smile regardless. This encouraged Ruby even more, who promptly declared. "Besides, you're way prettier than Uncle Qrow is!" Weiss's face lit up with a blush at that. She knew it wasn't that big of a compliment; after all, it'd be rather pathetic if a forty-year-old knight was prettier than a young noble, but something about being called pretty was nice.
"No, I've been called pretty before. Nobles interested in wedding me, servants trying to get in my good graces, and all sorts of other times, yet not once did I feel this happy about it. Even when Klein or Winter complimented my looks, I never felt anything close to this!" Weiss thought deeply to herself. Her thinking was interrupted when Blake held out a hand for them to stop.
Yang and Weiss both froze, straining to hear what their companion heard with her superior set of ears. The raven-haired faunus turned around and gestured at the light balancing on Weiss's sword. The white-haired girl nodded and dismissed the glyph, bathing them in nearly pitch-black darkness.
Weiss felt Yang grab her forearm, and looking ahead she could see the vague outline of Blake holding onto Yang's arm. She could make out a faint glow around where Blake's eyes would be, and reasoned that her companion but be using some kind of magic to enhance her ability to see in the dark. Nodding to the faunus up front, she followed along and they were led deeper into the tunnel.
As they progressed, they could hear a faint noise that sounded like people grunting up ahead. Eventually, they reached a large, open area at the end of the tunnel, lit with torches and braziers and filled with even more boxes and barrels. At the center of the other side of the room was a large wooden door. Weiss peaked out from the tunnel and saw that all along the rear wall where they were hiding were several tunnels, all twisting off into different directions.
It was from one of these tunnels that a trio of faunus emerged. They wore grey masks and a black tunic and pants. Over their tunics, they had a white vest and a dark grey belt. Hoods covered their heads, with one of the faunus having a modified hood to allow his ram horns to poke free. Two of the faunus were carrying heavy-looking crates, while the one in the lead carried a sharp curved scimitar.
"All right, that's the last of the boxes from the northern warehouse. Let's help them get these loaded up onto the ships!" The faunus wielding the scimitar boldly stated, his grey and white dog tail wagging in anticipation.
"Piss off, man! Give us a moment to rest!" The ram faunus exclaimed as he set his crate down heavily. "We've been working tirelessly all week for that human, and I'm about to collapse!" He spat out.
"Yeah! Why are we even working with that ssscum anyway?" The third faunus, a woman with scales along her neck and a forked tongue shouted as she set her box down with a loud thud!
"Oi, you idiots! Be careful with that, unless you want to kill us all!" The dog faunus exclaimed in a panicked tone. "Do you have any idea what's in those crates?" Receiving two unsure shakes of their heads he screamed. "Dust crystals! We've been carrying Dust crystals! Do you want to kill us all?"
At his words, a look of horror crossed the faces of the grunts, who quickly pried the lids of their crates to check if any of their cargo had been cracked. Weiss and her companions couldn't see inside the crates from their hiding spot against the tunnel wall, but given the grunts' sighs of relief, they wagered that nothing had been cracked.
Dust was a volatile substance, easily activated by the slightest amount of aura or force. A crate that full of dust would've killed all three of the grunts and them, and likely would've collapsed the cave on them.
"S-sorry boss! W-we didn't know!" The ram faunus yelled out. Before he could say anything else, the dog faunus held up a hand.
"Don't. I don't want to hear it. And as to your question," He turned toward the snake faunus and continued. "We are working with Roman Torchwick because he's the only one in all of Vale who can help us smuggle these supplies to... well, I can't say. But it's important that they get there, so do your jobs and get these onto the boat!"
Both faunus stood straight up. "Yes sir!" They exclaimed with a salute. Both of them lifted up the crates and walked towards the large doors on the other end of the room. Once they were gone, Weiss and Blake creeped out from the tunnel they'd been hiding in, followed almost immediately by Yang.
"Dust? They're transporting dust?" Weiss questioned incredulously.
"That's not what I'm curious about. The White Fang, or any army for that matter, always needs Dust. With it, even someone incapable of any form of magic can cause massive damage. And that's not even getting into its more complex uses. Powering large glyphs, siege weapons, enchanting, hell, it's even used for stuff as simple as keeping food cooled," Blake explained.
"What I want to know is where they're sending this. Atlas is too well-protected for the Fang to consider fighting them in open war, and Mistral is pretty neutral towards the Fang, given their situation. And there's nothing worth attacking out in Vacuo, so this makes no sense. The only place that would require this much Dust to take down would be Vale, but they're sending it away. How curious," Blake pondered, ears falling flat as she spoke.
"Who cares about that right now? We heard what that guy said. Torchwick is definitely working with the White Fang, so once we capture him we'll be able to interrogate him and find out that way," Yang declared, marching towards the door on the other side of the room. Weiss bit her cheek to stop herself from making a sarcastic comment and followed behind.
Blake just rolled her eyes fondly at Yang's actions and ran up to join them. The three of them hardened their expressions and slowly opened the door just wide enough for them to slip through. They found themselves in a large square room, with wooden walls and a paved stone floor. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, lighting the room with an orange glow. Several boxes were stacked along the walls of the room, which they quickly ducked behind.
To the left was another large wooden door, and they could hear a large clamor and the sound of waves on the other side. "That door must lead out to the docks," Weiss reasoned, before turning to the right. On the right end of the room was a passage that led to a stone staircase. The trio hid behind several boxes for several minutes as the occasional faunus came through the room, usually coming down the staircase, but occasionally coming from the door they had entered from.
Suddenly, Weiss heard a familiar voice coming down the staircase. Looking up at Ruby, who had thus far been checking the inside of the boxes, she subtly gestured her head towards the staircase. Nodding in return, Ruby ran up the staircase and investigated.
"Weiss! It's Torchwick and that girl! They're coming down!" Ruby called out, and Weiss promptly relayed to Yang and Blake that the voice coming down the stairs belonged to Torchwick.
"Are you sure?" Blake asked.
"Yes. I remember it distinctly," Weiss reassured them. "I can block the door on the left with my glyphs, so if one of you can get behind them we can trap them in here."
"So you want to take out the leader, then have Jaune and the reinforcements he's bringing clean up the rest?" Yang asked, to which Weiss gave a determined nod. "Not a bad strategy. The White Fang will probably panic and scatter if we manage to take Torchwick, meaning it'll be easy for the city guard to pick them off."
"But this plan hinges on us being able to catch Torchwick. We'll need to be quick, because that glyph you plan on making won't hold for long once the workers on the other side start trying to break in," Blake warned.
"I understand. We'll just have to be quick about this, then," Weiss stated, drawing her sword and beginning to create her glyph.
"Here they come!" She heard Ruby shout out as the sound of a conversation drifted down the stairs. Weiss's sword blurred through the air as she quickly drew a circle, then an intricate design within said circle. The glyph would hold whatever object it was drawn on in place and prevent it from moving. Outside the glyph, she drew another, wider circle, and drew a series of complex lines connecting it to the interior circle. This added layer would lengthen the duration of the glyph, preventing it from expiring to prematurely and letting uninvited guests from joining.
"And how long will that take?" Weiss heard Torchwick ask an unidentified person.
"We'll have all the ships loaded by sunset. We can depart in the morning," A gruff voice responded.
"Not fast enough. Leave at night," Torchwick responded immediately.
"Why you... with all due respect, sir, it would be risky to do so. The rocks around this area of the coast will sink one's ship if they aren't careful, and none of my men know how to navigate through them. We'd be sure to sink!"
"Do you think I don't know that? I've been sending ships through here for years. I've used this place to smuggle goods into and out of Vale for years. I'll lend you some of my men to help you navigate your way through, so just relax."
"I see. However, I'm afraid that the risk is still too great for me to risk losing my men for me to consider sending them out there blind."
"Well if you don't want them to be out there at night, get the ships loaded before sunset. I want them out of Valean waters by tomorrow night."
Torchwick finally reached the bottom of the stairs, flanked by the multi-colored girl, Neo, and a large, muscular faunus with an ornate mask and a neatly shaved head. Tattoos ran up his arms, which held a large, cruel-looking axe that was stained with dry blood.
"Human, I must ask you to reconsi..." The faunus began, but Torchwick held up his hand to cut him off. The flamboyant man lifted his can and pointed it at the door where Weiss had placed the glyph and asked.
"What. On Remnant. Is that?" He asked, pausing as he spoke to enunciate his words. The large glyph Weiss had drawn across the door was hard to make out, but if one focused they could see the dim light it cast from across the room. Roman and Neo approached the glyph, followed by a reluctant faunus. "What's this glyph doing here?"
Before his companions could respond, Blake leapt from her hiding spot and positioned herself between them and the staircase. "Roman Torchwick!" She called out, drawing her two blades and adopting a battle stance. Neo's multicolored eyes widened with recognition, before narrowing into a cruel glare. "For the crime of working with the White Fang, as well as the numerous accounts of theft, murder, extortion, and many other crimes, I am placing you under arrest!"
Roman just laughed heartily. "Oh, and on whose authority? You certainly don't look like a knight, or one of the city guard. You're probably just a mercenary or bounty hunter. Oh, and if you haven't noticed, there's three of us and one of you," he mocked, not noticing both of his companions' worried looks at the feline faunus.
"Who said anything about her being alone?" Yang said as she stepped out from behind the crate she'd been hiding behind. "And while she may not actually have the authority to arrest you, I do!" She declared as she pointed her sword towards the orange-haired man, who let out a tch in response.
"Oi, Bane! You hold off the knight while Neo and I take care of the faunus!" Torchwick called out as he hefted his cane and began to charge Blake, Neo right on his heels.
"Fine." The faunus, now identified as Bane, said as he lifted his axe. He swung in a controlled but powerful arc, which Yang was forced to dodge rather than block with her shield. The knight-in-training tried to counter with a thrust, but Bane was able to lift his axe in time to deflect the blow up with his handle. Yang leapt back to avoid being cleaved in two by a powerful downward swing.
Torchwick dashed forward towards Blake, but quickly saw a glint out of the corner of his eye. Following his instincts, which had been honed by years of assasaination attempts and break-ins gone wrong, the thief was able to lift his cane up in time to deflect Weiss's strike upwards. The white-haired heiress, who had been hiding behind several crates to ambush and incapacitate Roman, was pushed backwards.
"Damnit! The Schnee? Are you kidding me?" Roman cried out as he swung at Weiss, who blocked the strike and locked blades with him. The thief managed to dodge and continue to talk. "I assume you're here for the book, huh? Well to bad, because I don't have any intention of handing it over!" He yelled out as he pushed Weiss backwards to create distance between them.
Neo leapt past them, stiletto daggers drawn as she blocked a strike from Blake's wakizashi and pushed her back, only to leap away and create an opening for Roman. The orange-haired man leapt forward, activating the magic in his cane and increasing its weight drastically before slamming it down. Blake managed to throw herself to the side and land in a roll to avoid the attack.
When the suddenly heavy cane slammed into the spot where Blake had just been standing, the paved floor cracked under its weight. Blake let out an aggressive flurry of blows from her wakizashi and tanto, which Torchwick barely managed to dodge. Weiss came up behind him and prepared to strike him while his back was turned, but was cut off by a loud roar and a wall of muscle slamming into her and sending her sprawling across the ground.
She lifted her head just in time to see Bane standing over her, raising his axe high above her head. "Schnee!" He cried out in a wild, almost animalistic tone as he brought the heavy weapon down towards her. She rolled to the right before it severed her head, but the large faunus was able to redirect its momentum to swing it parallel to the ground. Weiss threw herself backwards and rolled to her feet, but Bane was already charging her again.
The man roared as he swung his axe wildly, with his strikes bearing no resemblance to the controlled yet powerful blows she'd seen him use against Yang. Weiss knew that if he struck her, even with her enchanted armor, she'd have at the very least broken bones. But because of the tattooed man's size and furious swings, she wasn't able to get close enough to strike him.
Deciding to take a risk, Weiss ducked under one of the masked man's swings and pulled her sword back to strike. However, before she could, a knee slammed into her face, stunning her. As she recoiled in pain, a muscular fist shot into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her rolling across the ground. Her armor had been able to absorb most of the impact, but she was still quite hurt from that blow.
Strangely, Bane didn't press the attack like he'd been doing. Rather, he lowered his axe and began to speak in a raspy voice, drawing the attention of the other occupants of the room away from their battles and towards him.
"So, Schnee, we meet at last!" Bane spat as he said her name. "I have wanted for so, so long to make you pay for what you did to me. Or rather, what you made me do," He declared, hefting his axe over his shoulder.
At Weiss's blank look, he just growled. "You ripped me from my home, put me in shackles, and forced me and my people to work in your wretched Dust mines to support your war to keep your slaves. How ironic. We were forced to work until our bodies were broken so you could keep making others do the same. It wasn't the last time you made me betray my own people."
"It was in those vile Atlesian mines where I grew strong. After having been beaten and broken by the guards, I repaired myself, only for it all to happen again. Many died, unable to continue any longer, but I sustained myself with the hope that I would one day have revenge against my captors and liberate us all from bondage. The guards knew this, and thus decided not to break my body, but my spirit instead."
Weiss didn't know where he was going with this, but she was using this opportunity to catch her breath, not knowing that his next words would knock it right back out of her lungs. "I was forced to act as executioner for my fellow faunus. When one couldn't work any longer, or when they showed signs of rebellion, or sometimes even when there just hadn't been an execution in a while, the guards gave me this axe and told me to kill. And so I did."
Weiss's mind was racing at his words. He didn't seem to be lying, but how could such a thing have happened. Surely her father wouldn't have just allowed such a thing to happen? Did it occur in some far off mine, too distant from her father's influence for him to manage, or did such a thing happen just outside the walls of Atlas, close enough for her father to do something but unchecked because he didn't care?
"Weiss..." Ruby said, looking at her friend with worry. This was hardly a time for her to be distracted, regardless of what he was saying. Yang and Blake were similarly glancing at her with worry, and Torchwick and Neo looked unsure themselves.
"I recall each and every faunus I killed in your father's... no, in your name. Each night, their souls haunt me, refusing to leave and let me move on with life. Each time I took the life of one of my brothers and sisters, I made a promise. I vowed that yours would be the last blood I spill, Schnee. After that, I can die, and leave the rest to the others," Bane spoke softly.
"The others? What the hell do you mean?" Blake asked. The ominous man looked back at her slightly and continued.
"The White Fang is built on the promise of a new world, a better world, for us faunus. But it is our duty to usher in that world. I believe that is the duty of people like Sienna Khan, or General Adam. Once, I counted you among them, Belladonna. But to see you siding with a Schnee... You've thrown away your pride as a faunus!" Blake growled and tensed up to attack, but Yang held out her hand to stop her.
"That's all nice, Bane, but you're missing one important detail," Roman spoke up. "We have a deal. You provide me with manpower, I let you use my smuggling routes and information networks. We're both working for the same thing here, and in the interest of keeping our relationship civil I suggest you don't mess with my... merchandise."
"Especially one I've worked so hard to lure out," The thief continued, drawing a familiar book out of his overcoat. Weiss's eyes widened as she recognized it as the translator tome Neo had stolen. The tattooed faunus just growled.
"I've killed a great many humans, Torchwick," He spat out. "And unless you have an interest in being the latest in that long line, I suggest you stay out of my way!" Bane warned as he lowered his axe from its resting place on his shoulder and entered a fighting stance.
Weiss brought her foot back and entered a familiar stance, readying herself to explode into motion at a moment's notice. "So despite being forced by my father to kill for you, you still continue to kill? I'd have thought that you'd been sick of all of it."
"There's a difference. What your father made me do was murder. What I choose to do is justice!"
"Funny. You sound just like the humans who use the White Fang as an excuse to mistreat faunus," Weiss countered.
"I will trample over as many corpses as it takes to achieve my goal!"
"And that is?" Weiss goaded.
"The annihilation of your wretched bloodline!" Bane screamed hoarsely, spit flying out of his mouth. He panted a bit before straightening up growling. "You bear your father's blood; thus, you are guilty of his same crimes. The souls that haunt me... will they be appeased by your death?"
Weiss just scoffed. "You White Fang are blinded by that mask you wear. You fail to see the similarities between yourselves and my father. And you fail to see the difference between him and me!" She taunted, leveling her sword towards him and bracing herself. Ruby gave her a determined nod before dissipating into silver flames to avoid distracting her.
Bane just laughed at her words. "You are a Schnee! You are no different from your father. You're just an extension of his will!" Weiss's eyes narrowed at his words, and responded with just two of her own, memories of the years she spent being exactly that flashing through her mind.
"Not. Anymore." She hissed before dashing towards him with a powerful thrust. Magic flooded her muscles as she tried to end this fight as quickly as she could. However, Bane was able to lift his axe in time to knock Myrternater's blade away with the flat end of his axe. A cruel smile crossed his face as he let out a savage yell.
"I'll sever your vile head, from your wretched body!" Bane cried out as he pushed Weiss backwards. At that, the room exploded into motion. Blake and Yang both rushed towards Torchwick, trying to take him down quickly. Blake managed to reach him and let loose a flurry of slashes that he desperately tried to block. Yang, however, was cut off by Neo, who began dancing in and out of her reach, trying to overwhelm the knight-in-training with quick strikes from her twin stiletto daggers.
Weiss, however, was cautiously dodging Bane's wild blows, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Occasionally, the faunus would overextend slightly, allowing Weiss to punish with a quick swipe with her rapier before she was forced to fall back and avoid being cleaved in half. Because of Bane's aggressive attacking style and the smaller size of the room, Weiss was unable to use her greatest strength; her glyphs.
Each time she managed to put some distance between them Bane would start to close it. And due to the nature of his weapon of choice, a bloodstained double-bladed axe, she couldn't just block his attacks. She also had to be careful of his arms and legs, as she'd learned earlier that he was able to lash out with them and catch her off guard when she got too close.
Ironically, the only opponent Weiss had ever had that fought this way was Winter. The elder Schnee sister had always been the aggressor in their duels, setting the pace while forcing Weiss to keep up. The ex-heiress strained her memory to try and remember how she dealt with Winter whenever they dueled.
Throwing herself out of the way of a downward swing, Weiss felt Bane's hand slam into her breast plate and throw her backwards. As she quickly rose to her feet, Bane charged her and prepared to body check her. To his surprise, a streak of fire shot out of the tip of her sword and crashed into him. The faunus tried to steady himself, but a series of quick thrusts from Myrternaster forced him to back up.
Bane swung his arm out at her, but Weiss managed to roll backwards and create a small cyclone of dust to blind him. She thrust her hand forward and made a fist lifting several small stones from the floor and sending them flying into Bane's legs and torso. A golden light covered her sword, which she promptly flicked downwards, causing a whip made of the aforementioned light to wrap around the faunus's arm and pull him towards her.
Stumbling, Bane tried to lift his axe to block her inevitable slash, but his momentum made it difficult to do so while keeping his balance, leaving him helpless as Weiss's rapier created a long cut across his forearm. Unwilling to give up her advantage, Weiss pressed the attack, thrusting her blade into his shoulder and twisting it, forcing him to let out a grunt of pain.
Weiss's greatest strength in combat was her prodigious skill with her glyphs. With them, she could use powerful magic without tiring herself. She had memorized hundreds of different types, some being directly harmful, and others requiring a more cunning mind to use in combat. She had often been praised by Winter and her magic instructors for her skill with glyphs. She was considered a prodigy, able to memorize complex glyphs that took most mages years to learn in a matter of months, as well as being able to form moderately complex glyphs in a matter of seconds.
While her skills with enhancement magic were not nearly so great, she was still considered quite skilled in using it. Many warriors did not fully grasp how to use their Aura, instead only vaguely knowing how to make their strikes stronger by pushing their Aura. Weiss, however, knew exactly how to move her Aura about her body, filling her muscles with magical energy on command.
Of the three types of magic she knew how to use, innate magic was by far her weakest. Using innate magic required focus and control, as it used the sheer force of one's will to control the spells. Weiss much prefered the ordered glyphs, that had measurable variables and did not rely on the user to be intensely focused on controlling it.
That wasn't to say she was bad at using innate magic; if anything, she was above average. But for about a year now, she hadn't really practiced with it, so she was out of touch. The only times she'd been using innate magic recently had been while performing necromancy, which often required precise control and thus couldn't be done with a glyph, but using necromancy here would create more problems than it would solve.
Needless to say, Weiss was rather magically exhausted after using so much aura to dodge Bane's attacks than unleashing three innate spells in quick succession. She panted to catch her breath, which Bane saw as an opening. He charged forward and swung his axe, which Weiss ducked under. The tattooed man tried to knee her in the face again, but Weiss jerked to the side and rapidly thrusted her rapier towards him.
He tried to raise his axe to strike the Schnee, but she continued her assault, giving him no time to regain his bearings. Eventually, he was forced to jump backwards and swing to prevent her from closing the gap again, unknowingly playing right into her hands. As he leapt back, so too did Weiss, who quickly activated the dust in her blade, cloaking it in fire.
Weiss slashed at the air with her sword, sending an arc of flames out towards Bane, who crossed his arms instinctively to protect himself. As the intense heat crashed into him, blowing him backwards and scorching his arms, he let out a loud grunt of pain. Shaking his head to snap out of the pain, he charged towards the Schnee once more, only to find a glowing white glyph between them.
Bane saw a slight smirk cross the noble's pale face as she tapped the glyph with the tip of her sword. Suddenly, a loud boom echoed throughout the room, shaking the walls from it's sheer volume alone. A powerful shockwave shot out from the glyph and slammed into Bane, sending him flying into the pile of crates behind him. He groaned as he shakily rose to his feet, but let out a loud laugh when he saw what was behind the Schnee.
"Weiss, behind you!" Ruby called out as she reformed from silver flames. Weiss tried to react in time, but as she began to leap to the side she felt a heavy weight slam into the side of her head, sending her sprawling across the floor. Her vision began to blur, but she could make out the sound of a heavy set of footsteps running right at her. In a brief moment of clarity, she was able to make out Bane standing right over her, axe swinging right towards her unprotected neck.
As soon as Bane had begun his assault, Yang charged towards Torchwick. She knew that he was the only one here who could undo the glyph Weiss had made, and he wouldn't hesitate to use Bane as a distraction to get away. She just had to hope that Weiss could survive against that big guy long enough for Yang to take him down. It seemed her partner was having similar thoughts, as she darted forwards and began to relentlessly attack the thief.
Yang, however, was cut off by Neo. Blocking a strike from a stiletto with her shield, she was forced back as Neo's blades tried to find a weak point in her guard. Growling as she was pushed back, Yang took a chance and pushed her shield back when she felt one of the daggers strike it, opening Neo to a counterattack. Swinging her sword horizontally, she forced the mute girl to dodge backwards and smirked.
The blonde's lilac eyes began to turn crimson as she felt her competitive spirit get ignited. She decided to cast her shield to the side and wield her sword with two hands, a decision that got her a curious look from Neo. Yang paid her no mind and rushed her, letting loose an onslaught of slashes, parries, and thrusts. Her opponent was forced to give everything she had just to endure her attacks, not even having a second to breath.
Purposefully leaving a gap in her defenses, Yang overextended on a thrust, anticipating a counter. When Neo crossed her twin daggers in an x-shape and caught her blade, she feigned surprise. With a deceptively strong push, Yang's sword was pushed high above her head, exposing her neck to the assassin, who lunged forward in an attempt to slash her throat.
Before the stiletto's blade could reach her, however, a gauntleted hand wrapped around it and caught it. Neo's heterochromic eyes widened in surprise as she was jerked forward by Yang, only to have an armored knee slam into her stomach with enough force to make her keel over. Dropping her daggers, Neo glanced up at her in fear as Yang levelled her sword to her throat.
"Yield," The knight-in-training ordered, but a bitter scowl on Neo's face told her that wasn't happening. Sure enough, Neo rolled away and drew a hidden knife from her boot, clutching it with a wild look in her eyes. She flung the knife towards Yang, who merely raised her sword slightly and deflected it harmlessly to the ground.
Yang had to admit, this girl had spirit. She fought with none of that 'honor' that the other trainees did, but she also didn't fight like a coward. She wasn't above using dirty tricks to win, but that wasn't her only strength. She wasn't trying to fight without getting hurt, she was fighting to kill Yang in the fastest way possible. Yang could admire that about her.
She also had quite the instincts for enhancement magic. She was not only able to instinctually manipulate her aura to strengthen her individual limbs, but also control it to some degree. Most thugs didn't even know how to do the first thing, and this girl was probably the only person she knew who could do the second thing without any training. Or at the very least, the only person still alive.
Yang felt a memory surface, one of many that she'd repressed for the past year. She'd once been in a similar situation to this, having the advantage against a much smaller opponent, but cautious of said opponents skill, knowing they had a trick up their sleeve. The difference was that Neo was a criminal and a mute, while Ruby was the most innocent soul she'd ever met and would talk her ears off for hours.
A sense of bitterness filled her. It wasn't fair that Ruby had been taken away, while this bitch got to live and cause even more trouble for people. But she couldn't bring Ruby back, so she had to do the next best thing: bring this girl to justice!
With a yell, she charged Neo once again, slashing and thrusting in a powerful yet controlled manner. The mute was forced to expend much of her aura trying to avoid being struck by Yang's strikes, quickly burning through her endurance. In a war of attrition between a thief used to ending fights in a few blows, and one of the most promising recruits to the Valean Knights in years, the winner was obvious.
As Neo leaped back, she bumped into the wall, causing her to let out a panicked gasp. Her eyes widened as she realized there was nowhere left to run. Yang charged forward, ready to strike her with the flat of her blade in order to knock her out when Neo's eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a cruel smirk.
Leaping to the right as Yang struck, she quickly drew something from her pocket and threw it at Yang's sword. A rusty-looking sewing needle bounced harmlessly off the blade, but to Yang it felt like she'd tried to block a stampeding Goliath. The needle must've been one of Torchwick's stolen enchanted items, and given the shockwaves she felt travelling up her arm she had a good idea why they'd kept that one.
Unfortunately for Neo, the needle didn't actually strike with any more force than a normal needle. It only caused phantom pains on whoever it struck. And given that the needle had crumpled into a pile of rust upon hitting the floor, Neo was willing to guess that she wouldn't be getting any more uses out of it.
The precious few seconds Neo had bought herself were spent dashing to pick up her lost daggers and whirling around to face Yang, who had overcome the pain and was once again launching her assault on Neo.
"Neo, duck!" Roman Torchwick cried out. Yang lifted her sword to protect herself from whatever he was planning as Neo threw herself to the ground. A cube of wax hurtled towards her, but she was able to cleanly slice it in two. Unfortunately for her, however, the wax quickly reformed around her sword before rapidly hardening, leaving the blade dull and essentially useless.
Neo rushed forwards to capitalize on her mistake, but was held back when a ribbon of black and purple energy shot out from her shadow and wrapped around her ankle, whipping her backwards and leaving her defenceless as Blake rushed towards her. Torchwick managed to reach them in time to block a strike from her wakizashi, but let out a his of pain as her tanto slashed across his leg.
He swung his cane to push her back before pointing to her with a ringed finger. A golden band topped with a glowing green stone wrapped around his finger, which quickly released a jet of bright green liquid that hissed and bubbled. Blake barely managed to contort her body to avoid getting splashed by the acid, but hissed in pain as a little bit landed on her leg, burning through her pants and a few layers of skin.
"Are you alright?" Yang asked, worry evident on her face. Blake just gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'm good, just grazed me," She reassured before turning attention to Yang's sword, which was still covered in enchanted wax. "More importantly, are you going to be able to do something about that, or do you need my help?" Blake questioned, receiving a cocky smirk in response.
"Nah, I'm working on it. I'll be good to go in just a second!" Yang declared. Torchwick and Neo both charged the two of them, cane and stilettos darting towards Blake. The feline faunus merely backflipped and sheathed her blades before quickly drawing them again, activating the enchantments that lined the sheaths and releasing an arc of razor sharp wind. Yang let out a low whistle. No matter how many times she saw Blake do it, she'd never get tired of seeing that move.
Torchwick flipped a coin up into the air, which promptly created a large wall of refracted light, which shattered after being struck by Blake's attack. He then raised his cane into the air, creating an orb of fire about the same size as Yang's head, which split into four orbs each a quarter of the size of the original. He slammed his cane into each of the orbs, sending them shooting towards the pair of them and creating small explosions whenever they struck.
As the fourth and final orb of fire flew towards the spot between them, Yang and Blake both rolled in opposite directions. "I'm getting real tired of all of these magic items, Torchwick," Yang said as she adopted a fighting stance. "How 'bout I show you what mine can do?" She asked as she swung her sword through the air.
The wax covering her sword promptly exploded outwards as golden flames began to dance across the blade, her crimson eyes narrowing into a glare. Blake just nodded and snapped her fingers, bathing herself in pitch balck shadows that parted to reveal she had disappeared. Bursting out from Torchwick's shadow, she prepared to deliver a decisive blow, only for the entire room to shake and throw herself off balance.
On the other side of the room, Bane was flung into a wall of crates and barrels, leaving him a groaning mess. Weiss was panting heavily, clearly exhausted from dealing with him on her own. Yang felt a twinge of pity for her; she was unlikable, but she didn't deserve to have to fight for her life against a lunatic all alone. It wasn't like Yang had chosen not to help her out of spite.
Torchwick and Neo quickly regained their balance after the room shook and managed to put some distance between themselves and the duo, whose attention was briefly drawn to a motion at the door they had entered from. Yang's crimson eyes widened as she saw a White Fang grunt enter the room behind Weiss and lift his cudgel up into the air, but she was unable to open her mouth in time to warn her.
Weiss was sent sprawling across the floor, left dazed and helpless as Bane rose shakily to his feet and ran towards her, gripping his axe tightly. Blake and Yang both rushed in to stop him, leaving Torchwick and Neo momentarily forgotten as they charged forward to help Weiss. Unfortunately, they were cut of as several more White Fang grunts entered the room and blocked their way.
"You deal with the Schnee, commander! We'll deal with the traitor and her friend!" One of the grunts called out to Bane, who likely didn't even hear him. Bane stood towering over Weiss, lifting his axe and swinging it down on her neck, letting loose a desperate cry as he did so.
"Your death will set me free!" He cried out as his bloodstained axe ripped through the air towards the pale noble's neck, Yang and Blake helpless to do anything but watch as it did so.
Weiss's eyes widened in a single moment of clarity, instinct taking over and forcing her to roll to her side, avoiding the axe by a few millimeters at most. As the weapon bounced off the stone floor, sparks flew out and blinded Weiss.
She struggled to rise to a crouch, but felt a large hand grab her throat and lift her into the air. She was dimly aware of someone calling her name, as well as the sound of a struggle, but all of it sounded so far away from her. Her head was pounding, and it was only thanks to her adrenaline that she was able to remain conscious.
Her mind raced a mile a minute as it tried to think of a way out of this situation. That blow to the head had left her dazed and confused, and she was already exhausted from fighting Bane. It didn't help that said faunus was currently holding her aloft by her neck, squeezing her neck and preventing any oxygen from reaching her brain.
She strained for a way out of this situation. At this angle, she couldn't land a decent strike. She didn't have much aura left, and there was no way he'd just let her create a glyph. So Weiss did the only thing she could think to do. She dropped Myrternaster and struggled against his grip, trying to pry herself away from him.
"Don't struggle!" Bane let out a laugh that seemed to echo throughout her ears, causing her to wince in pain. What little aura she had left was being used to repair the damage that blow to her head had done, but healing through one's aura was a slow process, and she had very little left to use.
As Bane's grip tightened around her throat, Weiss desperately tried to think of a way to survive, before suddenly getting an idea. Desperate to get out of his grasp, she cast aside her paranoia and called upon what little remained of her aura, using it to perform a form of magic she had experimented with countless times over the past year.
Ghostly hands began to wrap around Bane's arms and torso, pulling him backwards and forcing him to let go of her. As she fell to the floor, the ex-heiress began to gasp for air, desperately trying to replace the oxygen she'd lost. She could hear Ruby screaming her name, but her attention was more focused on the large faunus who had nearly killed her. She needed to repay the favor.
As Bane struggled against the ghostly apparitions she'd summoned with her necromancy, Weiss once again picked up Myrtenaster. She knew that seeing ghosts would be terrifying to anyone, but especially frightening against a foe who so clearly felt haunted by what he'd done in the past. Overall, the ghosts were a minor annoyance, merely draining a miniscule amount of aura from the large man, but their intention was not to kill him, but rather to distract him.
The ghosts weren't even his victims; they were just some lost souls she'd called from the afterlife. She didn't exactly have the time to be picky. Bane thrashed about, dropping his axe to focus more on trying to wrest the draining hands off of him. Seeing that he had dropped his guards, Weiss took the chance to explode into motion, forcing her rapier into his chest, it's silver blade emerging from his back dyed red with blood.
Bane let out a grunt of pain as the ghosts disappeared, unable to sustain themselves in the world of the living without Weiss's aura, which had finally given out. The faunus's eyes narrowed with hate as he tried to lift his arms to crush her head, but he soon fell limp and his eyes glazed over. Myrternaster slid out of his chest as he fell down with a heavy thump that drew the attention of everyone in the room.
Weiss saw that Blake and Yang had taken out four of the six grunts that had burst into the room. The cat-eared girl capitalized on her foes distraction and swept her feet out from underneath her before plunging her tanto into her stomach. Her fellow grunt let out a shout of surprise, but Yang's sword, burning a brilliant gold, cleaved through his leather vest with the ease of a hot knife slicing through butter.
Ruby was looking down at her with an expression a mixture of fear and concern, but Weiss didn't have time to focus on that at the moment. Turning her attention to the other end of the room, she prepared to stand up and fight Torchwick, only to let out a panicked shout as the thief managed to undo the glyph she'd placed on the door.
The magic circle flickered briefly before extinguishing, allowing the doors to be thrown open and a crowd of dozens of faunus wearing the outfits of White Fang grunts to burst into the room. Upon seeing Bane's corpse lying at the far end of the room, they froze and began to shout amongst themselves.
"The Schnee! She killed Lieutenant Bane!" One furious voice rose above all the rest.
"Is he really dead? What do we do?" A panicked grunt asked loud enough for all the others to hear.
"We need the lieutenant! Without him, who will lead us?" The dog faunus they'd spied on before entering the room shouted. At his words, the clamor quickly devolved into a panicked frenzy as the White Fang grunts debated what to do.
"Shut your yapping, you animals!" Roman Torchwick screamed out, slamming his cane into the floor hard enough to get their attention. "You can sort that out later. For now, why don't we deal with these girls before they get away, alright?" He reasoned, twirling his cane to point it at the three of them. Neo let out a vicious smirk as the grunts nodded amongst themselves and charged, weapons drawn.
Yang shifted her stance, holding her sword high above her head as the flames emanating from it began to intensify. As the grunts reached her position, she gave a cocky smirk and slammed her blade into the ground, creating a burst of golden flames that sent over a dozen flying backwards into their comrades. The ground where she'd struck was scorched and cracked, but her sword no longer blazed with radiant fire.
The faunus, now unsure of what to do after seeing many of their comrades be thrown back like that, hesitated. This gave Blake the opportunity to clap her hands together, creating a magical explosion of smoke and a loud noise that disoriented her foes. Several of them dropped their weapons, and many more cautiously began to back up, but Torchwick rallied them with a shout.
"You idiots! They're barely able to stand after that attack! They're just trying to scare you off!" At his words, the faunus regained their bearings. Many of the faunus who'd been knocked over in Yang's explosion rose shakily to their feet, and those who'd dropped their weapons quickly picked them up. Weiss hobbled over to where Yang and Blake were standing and grimaced: things weren't looking good.
"Yang... any chance you can do that trick again?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
Yang just shook her head. "Nah, it's a once a day kinda attack. The enchantment takes hours to charge, so I don't like using it unless I'm desperate," The blonde explained to Weiss with a slightly sheepish look. The noble turned to Blake, only for the former White Fang to shake her head regretfully.
"I don't have any tricks up my sleeve. At least, not one that could take care of so many people. I'm more suited to ambushes and assassinations than crowd control," She explained. Weiss frowned, but accepted the answer nonetheless. She knew a number of glyphs that could help in this situation, but neither the time nor the aura left to create them. She could carve one into the floor, but stone was a poor conductor of aura and wouldn't be very helpful.
"I swear, Neo, it's like trying to teach a Grimm with these animals. They just don't learn!" Torchwick cried out as the faunus began to encircle the trio, cutting off any means of escape. "The fearsome White Fang, quaking in their boots at the sight of a mere three teenagers! How terrifying," He deadpanned.
"Surrender, Schnee, and we'll make your death swift!" One fanus called out. Weiss just rolled her eyes at the thought. The White Fang would never be so kind, not to her and her family. Yet despite their numbers, none of the faunus seemed willing to be the first one to strike. It was only after one particularly brave grunt, the dog faunus who'd been wielding a scimitar, attacked Yang, that they began to tighten the circle.
Yang was able to block the curved sword's three consecutive strikes and disarm the grunt, who dodged her counterattack with surprising skill and grace. As she did so, however, she left her guard exposed, allowing more grunts to rush in and strike her with their spears. She began to swing wildly with her sword, but the criminals kept coming, striking uselessly against her armor. Weiss and Blake weren't failing much better.
"Well, looks like the animals might be good for something after all," Roman said as he dipped a hand into his coat pocket, Neo nodding alongside him. "And with the money selling that Schnee brat is going to get us, we might just get away with this."
In a cosmic twist of fate, just as he said this the doors leading to the tunnels were blown from their hinges, flinging themselves into the crowd of White Fang members and throwing many of them into the floor. A cloud of smoke began to roll through the room, and from the smoke stepped a solitary figure.
The figure wore a long, white dress with a black cape draped over her shoulders, the inside of which was a rich purple. Her blonde hair was pulled into a neat bun, with a curl on the right side breaking the otherwise symmetrical hairstyle. Her green eyes were narrowed behind ornate, oval shaped glasses, and from her neck hung a teal pendant that matched her earrings.
There was not a single person in the room who did not recognize Glynda Goodwitch as she strode into the room without a care in the world, as if the White Fang were barely a threat to her. Which, to be fair, was likely true, given her unparalleled level of magical strength. She was a brilliant strategist, befitting her rank as the Valean Mage General. A disorganized branch of the White Fang was nothing compared to the hordes of Ancient Grimm she was said to have slain.
"Roman Torchwick. Under orders from his majesty, King Ozpin I, hearby place you under arrest for the crime of murder, theft, and treason. Stand down, and don't make this difficult for either of us," She said, adjusting her glasses. From behind her, several members of the Valean city guard burst into the room, immediately charging towards the crowd of faunus surrounding the trio. Many of the faunus were forced to the floor, but several managed to flee out the doors to the left.
Flanking Glynda on either side was Jaune and a large man wearing heavy-looking armor and carrying a spiked mace. Weiss faintly recognized him from the first night she'd encountered Torchwick, but couldn't recall his name. The orange-haired criminal let out a bitter laugh as more and more men poured into the room, until there were easily a dozen members of the city guard plowing through the confused grunts.
"You've got to be kidding me. What god did I piss off to have them curse me to be so unlucky! Of all the people to find out about this operation, Glynda Goodwitch has to be the worst!" Roman ranted as he looked up at the ceiling, subtly fishing through his pockets for something to get him out of this situation.
"It was inevitable, Roman. The Valean Royal Court was willing to tolerate your existence, as we were to occupied with more pressing matters to send one of our top knights on a wild goose chase for a petty thief, but after siding with the White Fang I'm afraid we can no longer overlook your crimes," Glynda said, raising her hand and gathering magical energy.
Torchwick just snarled and pulled out two cigarettes wrapped in black paper with strange markings on it. He tossed one to the multi-colored girl at his side, and Weiss let out a brief gasp of recognition. He had used one just like that to get away after their first encounter! She cried out to stop him, but the thief snapped his fingers, creating a spark at the ends of both cigarettes.
Unfortunately for him, Glynda was able to create an orb of water which she launched at the pair of thieves. Upon landing between them, the orb rapidly expanded and slammed into them with enough force to knock the breath from their lungs, as well as soaking the cigarettes and ruining them.
"You won't be slinking away this time, snake!" Glynda cried out as she waved her hand about the air, quickly forming a large purple glyph that she activated with the palm of her hand. Several bolts of lightning shot out from the glyph, striking several spots on Torchwick's body, along with his cane. The cane was able to survive the attack, but given the wisps of smoke rising from Torchwick's various pockets many of his other enchanted artifacts had not.
With a snap of her fingers, Glynda caused the doors next to him to slam shut with a ferocity that made Weiss wince, the loud noise sounding like an explosion to her. The blonde mage thrust her arm into the air, palm first, causing a large wall of rock to spring up in front of the staircase, cutting off their last chance of escape.
"Dammit! You bitch!" Torchwick raved as he desperately began to search his pockets for something to help him out of this situation, but given his dejected look he had come up empty.
"There will be no escape. Come quietly, and I promise you that you will receive a fair trial," Glynda offered, to which Torchwick just laughed bitterly.
"It's not you lot that I'm worried about!" He spat out with a frenzied look in his eye. Glynda raised an eyebrow at that, but began to create a complex glyph that Weiss recognized as one used to teleport someone short distances. Weiss's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she did so; such a glyph would've taken her around half an hour to draw correctly and here this woman was, forming having it half done after only twenty seconds.
Yet that was all the time they needed. Before anyone in the room could react, Neo tackled Roman in a tight hug, desperately clutching the mirror she'd used to escape at Mountain Glenn. Weiss and Yang shouted out a warning, but Glynda was unable to either finish or dismiss her glyph in time to do anything, and the other guards were to far away.
Right before their eyes, Torchwick and Neo fractured into pieces that were absorbed into the mirror, expressions of surprise and determination on their respective faces. Glynda let out an annoyed tch, and Yang slammed her fist into the floor in frustration. The armored man on Glynda's right ran to the spot where Torchwick had just been standing and looked around, bewildered by their disappearance.
"Dammit! I should've destroyed the girl's enchanted items, too," Glynda admonished herself as Jaune ran towards the trio of girls with a worried expression on his face. He seemed to be sweating quite a lot, but that was to be expected with how quickly he had been able to bring backup.
"Are you guys alright? I got help as quickly as I could!" He rushed to say, but Blake just raised an eyebrow as she directed her gaze at the mage. "Oh, Lady Goodwitch? She was in a meeting with the captain of the guard, and immediately offered her help after I mentioned Torchwick was working with the White Fang," He explained.
"And even with the help of the most powerful mage in Vale, maybe even all of Remnant, he still got away!" Yang spat out with a scowl. "Damn it! Will we ever catch that snake, or is he just going to keep making a laughingstock of Vale?"
"Yang, it's okay. After all, I doubt they're going to just let him get away," Blake reasoned, trying to calm her friend, who shot her a curious look. "I'm certain that Glynda will mobilize the entire city guard to raid any location that has even a clue as to where Roman Torchwick is or is heading. After all, he was caught working with the White Fang, and that is a threat they have to take seriously."
Yang just nodded in agreement. "Yeah, fine. I guess that makes sense," She conceded, before a mocking grin crossed her face. "But I bet you're getting pretty annoyed that they keep getting away from you, huh, Weiss?" She asked in a condescending tone, but paused when she heard no reaction. "Weiss, are you good?" She asked, turning to face her.
Weiss didn't respond, her vision getting blurry and her hearing getting distant. It felt like she was submerged in water, but she was dimly aware of several panicked shouts around her, as well as the worried expressions of her companions. Several figures began to rush towards her, but the adrenaline that had been keeping her standing finally gave out, forcing her to close her eyes and let the darkness of sleep overtake her.
Man, this was an interesting chapter to write. If it wasn't obvious, Bane was meant to be the White Fang Lieutenant from Volume 2. I named him that because he kinda reminded me of Bane from the Batman Comics with his appearance, and kept it because I couldn't come up with a better name for him.
I really enjoy when RWBY adds small little one-off villains like him; strong enough to pose a threat, but unimportant enough to be disposed of pretty quickly. The White Fang Lieutenant has very little personality outside of being loyal to Adam and hating the Schnee family, which describes most of the White Fang. Because of this, I essentially had a blank slate with which to create a character, so I chose to make him a deranged, revenge obsessed edgelord with an axe. I know I could've done better, but I highly doubt there are any people out there who are extremely invested in the character of a random White Fang Lieutenant in this fantasy Whiterose AU.
Speaking of Whiterose, there were some hints of it earlier in this behemoth of a chapter. I swear that their relationship will progress beyond just being "Weiss I'm worried about you," and "Don't worry Ruby, I'm only doing actions detrimental to my physical and mental health to accomplish my goal at any cost. I'm fine," Which is, while fun to write, obviously something that can't go unaddressed. However, the past few chapters have all occurred within the span of a single morning, and thus there hasn't been a lot of time for any drastic growth in their relationship.
As I stated in the Author's Note at the beginning of this chapter, I had to rewrite this several times. I kept feeling dissatisfied with how the chapter was going, erasing large sections to try and work it out only to scrape the entire draft and restart with a fresh slate. Because of this, I was getting somewhat frusterated due to the lack of progress I was making. Eventually, I decided to just power through the chapter and get it over with so I can move on to the end of this story arc.
Regardless of that, I could've done better, as it's very clear to me how much I've done wrong in this chapter. Bane has a rushed character introduction, the fight scene was rather choppy, and Torchwick and Neo getting away was somewhat of an asspull. I had already established that Neo had a mirror capable of helping them escape, but I definitely didn't make it convincing that they managed to get away. Maybe someday I'll get around to rewriting this chapter, along with several others that I'm not proud off, but for now I'll just push through until I get to the more interesting parts of this story.
Overall, this was a pain to write, and I'm just glad its done. Please feel free to give constructive criticism, or even just plain old criticism so that I can hopefully do better in the future. I hope that you all were able to at least somewhat enjoy this chapter, and I plan on making the next few chapters good enough to make up for this ones flaws. Until next time, I hope you all have a wonderful day.
