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Act III

Scene 33:

Fallout

A/n:

And I'm back.

In time for the One Year Anniversary of this fic.

And I've finally passed 300k words

I also passed 300 Favs during my Haitus.

Nice.

Now, in my family, we always opened one present on the night of Christmas Eve.

So think of this as that one present.

The rest will come in the morning.

Which also might be because I'm tired as fuck and don't feel like doing it right now


Torchwick pov

The plane rumbled quietly as the air slammed into the extended flaps, decelerating the craft. I could feel the frame shake as the engine nacelles swiveled into place to provide lift as we lost speed. I angled the nose toward the discrete location, keeping an eye out to make sure no one tried to shoot us down by mistake.

Soon, the landing pad hidden in the forest was in sight. With a silent, smooth grace unparalleled in any other craft I had piloted, the Owl all but glided onto the clear pad, setting down with only the slightest rumble.

To my surprise, however, there was no welcoming committee to great us. It was as if they didn't even know we were even here.

Well, I've got to say that that's the biggest compliment to this machine yet. I thought, patting the dashboard affectionately.

Getting out of my seat, I turned around to enter the main compartment.

"Well, ladies, we're here." I greeted as I stepped through the door.

The sight that greeted me, to my surprise, was in some ways adorable, in others bizarre, and for me personally, a horrifying scene of things to come.

Red, or Ruby, was fast asleep, no surprise considering she said she was going to take a nap as soon as we started cruising. What was surprising, however, was the fact that she was resting in Neo's lap, who was also asleep. Neo's arms were crossed around the girl, securing her in place. Red was actually so small that she made Neo look like a normal sized person, by comparison, fitting quite perfectly in her lap like a child, as opposed to a 15-year-old in the arms of a midget. Neo's head was lolled to the side against the headrest, lazily dreaming about something, either ice cream or torture.

Probably both.

Deciding to end this little scene before it was twisted into a nightmare of itself that somehow involved me, I decided to poke Neo in the cheek with Melodic Cudgel.

"Get up, you narcoleptic midget." I teased as I prodded her.

She soon stirred, sending me a tired and halfhearted glare for the gibe, before smiling down at the girl in her arms. Neo decided that, instead of pretending like nothing had ever happened and putting red in the seat next to her before she got up, she'd instead relentlessly pinch and play with Red's cheeks until she got up.

"Neo, I don't think-" I began, but it was too little too late.

The air in the cabin felt like it dropped in temperature, hovering just outside of comfortable. A tingling in my mind developed as a buzzing in my ears rung. I could smell ozone and decay in the air. The darkness seemed to grow and shift, like some dark abomination was slithering in the shadows.

Then her eyes flew open.

Neo was about to make a move, but then she froze. Her whole body just…froze. Her face was contorted in a look of mute confusion and fear as control over her own body was wrested from her. Red stiffened, her face twisting into a dark scowl as she pushed herself off of Neo's lap and onto the floor. She spun around, her tattered red cloak fluttering in the air with the twirl, and faced the object of her ire.

She held her hand outstretched in tense manner, as if she was about to snap her fingers, and looked Neo in the eye as she spoke.

"Do NOT touch me." Red commanded, "Understood?"

Neo's only reaction was to stiffen further, her back arching and pushing her chest into the air for some unknown reason.

Then I saw it.

Her chest wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing.

Somehow, Red had managed to stop Neo from being able to draw breath, and given how Neo's face was reddening, it was taking it's toll.

"I said, understood?" Red reiterated.

I could see the defiance in her eyes as she tried to resist, but I could also see the panic mixing in with it. It was growing, slowly but steadily. She was at Red's complete mercy right now, and as the more time went on the more she realized it.

"Neo…" I whispered, trying to get her to just agree for her own sake.

Finally, she gave the shallowest of nods, the best she could do under the circumstances.

"Good." Red all but smiled.

Snap

And just like that, Neo was released from her hold. She collapsed onto the ground, sucking in precious breath after precious breath. Meanwhile, Red turned and walked away, not even bothering to waste more time on Neo. As she did, I could see her cradling the side of her head in some kind of unseen pain.

"Why must they be so troublesome?" I heard her murmur.

Shaking my head of the thoughts of how…disturbing…the girl was, I turned back to Neo.

"Neo, are you okay?" I asked as I crouched down to her level to help her up.

However, my concern lasted only until Neo looked up at me with a sick grin on her face.

"Oh no." I said flatly.

"Neo, no, that is a terrible idea." I insisted.

But her grin just got wider and wider.

"Neo, there is a saying, 'don't stick your dick in crazy'." I argued.

And yet, it only grew further as silent chuckles escaped her lips.

"You know what, if she kills you, it'll be your own damn fault." I finally relented, knowing that there was really no changing Neo's mind once she became obsessed with something.

Her only response was to beam brightly at me, as if I had given her my glowing approval.

Moments later the two of us stepped out of the aircraft, Neo finally recovered from her little…episode. I found Red to be by the main gate, just standing there waiting for us.

"Hey Red, why didn't you go on inside by yourself? I know you could pop it open with your fancy magic tricks." I called out to her.

Waiting until I was within normal talking distance, she responded by saying, "I'd rather not get shot by them if I opened the door."

"It's just a little lead, it won't kill you." I quipped

"No, it won't, but it would be annoying." She responded seriously.

"...why do I say these things if I'm only going to regret the answer?" I murmured as I walked to the panel beside the door.

I quickly put in the code without pause. I didn't even need to really think about it. It was just muscle memory by this point. A practice I tried to keep up with every code I learned.

"I usually feel like being rude is unnecessarily malign when being polite and respectful is so easy and can mean so much," She spoke, "I mean, humans may often be crude creatures, but that's no reason to disrespect them."

"…However…" she paused.

"When they invade your personal space and violate you, then it becomes another matter entirely." She glared at Neo, who looked away with a pointedly innocent grin.

"Right~" I drawled.

Not waiting for a new, somewhat one-sided, argument to spring up, I pressed the final key in the code. The panel chimed in a positive confirmation, and I began to hear the loud grind of the gears of the door turning. The hanger doors were massive, but all in all about the normal size for hanger doors. As the giant slabs of metal slid apart, I could see White Fang guards, masks, white clothes and all, approaching us with their weapons raised.

Looking at them I almost sighed out loud. To be honest, most of them were little more than angry people with dangerous weapons. At best, they were thugs, at worst they were a mob of angry peasants. Though to be honest, I'd prefer actual thugs, since they can actually be professional.

These guys though? All heart and no brain.

A fact that was made glaringly obvious by how they approached the door with no real strategy or purpose. They didn't have a stance ready for combat, they just kinda…held the guns.

"Hands in the air!" One of them yelled.

"Awe common kiddos, it's just your Uncle Roman! Back with presents for all the little boys and girls." I smiled easily, allowing myself to exude nothing but complete confidence.

"Roman?" One of them questioned.

"Now don't tell me you forgot already? It's only been a few months." I chided mockingly.

"Isn't he supposed to be that one human?" The girl on the right with deer antlers asked the man with rabbit ears.

"Maybe?" The guy responded.

"Well, maybe this'll jog your memory," I said as held my hand out behind me, as a silent signal to my silent partner.

The second a felt her hand in mine, I spun her around to display her before me.

At the sight of her infamous grin tinged with sinister sweetness, they all froze and paled.

"Oh fuck, it's that crazy bitch." One with dog ears cursed.

"Oh, good, you've met." I smiled.

"So why don't you all be good sports," I began as I placed my hands on Neo's shoulders, leaning over her for extra effect, "And let me in."

"R-right." The girl with a furred tail of some kind agreed.

At her words, they all backed off, lowering their weapons and allowing us inside.

"Great!" I cheered, getting off Neo and wasting no time in walking inside.

"I can't wait to have a grand old chat with my oh so benevolent employer."

I paused.

"She is here, right?" I asked, turning to deer girl.

"Uh, who?" She asked, confused.

"Scary woman, raven black hair, amber eyes, red cocktail dress, hot body, looks like she'd set you on fire just to hear you scream?" I offered.

"Oh…" She realized, "Her."

"Yes, her," I repeated.

"Yeah, she's here."

"Fantastic, now we can chat about the terms of my further employment."

With that issue resolved, I looked around to see if they'd done anything with the décor. To my surprise, they had actually cleaned up a bit. It actually looked like people lived here. The vines were gone, the dirt and dust had been swept away, the rubble cleared up. It was almost nice.

The hanger itself held three Bullheads and a plethora of spare parts, with plenty of space for two more aircraft. And this wasn't even their only base, just the primary one. In fact, this place used to be a base for the Vale Army that was going to be based at the Mountain Glenn expansion. But when that went to shit, they all just hightailed it out of here as fast as possible to avoid the Grimm. They left so fast that the Grimm didn't even actually hit the base, leaving it perfectly intact, if dilapidated, for people like us to use.

Its proximity to the Mountain Glenn expansion site was another bonus, especially the tunnels that ran to it. Since Mountain Glenn was the base for the Breach Operation, as well as something of the primary residential HQ.

So as a result, most of the base was made in a similar way to the Police Station I had been staying in. Technically this one was built more recently, but the Police Station had regular renovations. That, and Vale wasn't exactly at the bleeding edge of tech, unlike Atlas.

That meant lots of stone, steel, and dark wood.

Not that that was a bad thing.

To my…immense pleasure, I was greeted with a surprise meeting when my escorts opened the next set of doors leading into the main building.

"Roman."

"Adam." I said with a polite smile.

The high ranking, and frankly most dangerous, member of the White Fang stood not 10 feet before me. He was wearing all the normal trimmings, that custom fitted suit Cinder insisted he wear, that creepy Grimm mask with the four eye slits that covered all of his upper face, and worst of all, that sword of his.

In reality, he had two. Wilt and Blush was sort of the first one, being both a Katana and a Gun Sheath. But that one was relatively normal, all things considered, and it was the one he usually used.

It was the nameless one on his belt that always raised the hair on the back of my neck.

I had never seen him draw it, and I hoped I never did. Something gave me the impression that he'd only draw if he intended on spilling blood. Lots of blood. As opposed to most of his ensemble, this unnamed blade was carried in a simple white sheath. The hilt, however, looked like it had been crafted from the pieces of a human vertebra. The handle looked like it was made using the radius and ulna of the forearm, all bound together with some kind of blood red crystalline material.

I had seen weapons made to look like they were made from body parts or bones, but something told me that this wasn't a cheap trick or an expensive decoration.

And considering all the crazy stuff I've seen Aura do, which is the manifestation of one's soul, I didn't want to chance a sword made from another man's bones not having some crazy voodoo involved in it as well. For all I knew it ignored Aura entirely, or could turn a man's skeleton to dust with a single touch.

They say you can tell a lot about a man by the weapons he uses. A saying that struck true for Adam. He was a man of action, not of words. He ruled not by passionate speeches, but by leading with sheer presence of force, will power, and determination. Everyone else just followed in his wake.

It also meant he could be an intimidating and difficult man to talk to.

Especially because he didn't like me.

"Shouldn't you be in jail?" He asked with what I can only assume was a raised brow.

"6 or so hours ago, sure." I shrugged.

In way of response he just stared at me silently, his hand drumming against the handle of Wilt and Blush impatiently.

"Right…" I said, resisting the urge to nervously avert my gaze from his masked face.

"Red here," I began, turning to Red, who was standing a respectable distance behind me, "Broke me out."

"Kinda fitting, since she was the one to put me in there in the first place." I said jokingly, trying anything to lighten the mood.

"Is she now?" He questioned slowly, turning his head to her.

"Yup, couldn't have done it without her." I said, patting her back, an action that earned me a mild glare from her.

Right, no touching I internally grimaced.

"So…" Adam began, crouching down to Red's level so he could look her in the eye, "You're the one who blew up the station."

"Y-you already knew about that?" I stammered, a bit taken off guard by that.

"It wasn't exactly subtle." He pointed out.

"Then why did you ask if I should be jail?" I asked.

If he already knew the police station blew up, shouldn't he have known I broke out?

"I had hoped it was a coincidence, and that you were in a different one." He said

Then, tilting his head up to look at me with what felt like a disapproving glare, he added, "Or better yet, buried in the rubble."

Ah…that explains it. I realized, because he hates me

Disguising a nervous breath as a casual sigh, I pulled out a cigar I had cut on the way here.

"Well, that's a pretty mean thing to say to your business partner, Adam." I said as I lit the stogie

"We are not partners." He all but growled.

"Boss lady says otherwise." I pointed out dully as I clicked the lighter shut and took my first real drag of the cigar.

Already I could feel it calming my nerves and filling me with warmth.

I swear, every time I deal with these guys I need a new box just because of how fucking intense they are I internally gripped.

Letting out a puff of smoke I gestured to the way we had just came, "We got a bunch of stuff and a shiny new jet. Should probably bring all that stuff inside sooner, rather than later."

"Especially with the woman in there." I murmured under my breath.

"Girl?" One of the escorts asked.

"Yeah…" I began, wondering how to put this in a way that had me coming out alive.

"Er, Neo and Red wanted to take a…hostage…of sorts." I said.

Seeing Neo pout in the corner of my eye, I amended that statement, "Well, Neo wanted a plaything."

"She got some dumb human cop to torture?" One of the men chuckled.

"Well…" I dragged out, pausing to take a long drag of the cigar to give me the courage to say what I was.

I considered lying, but they were going to find out sooner or later. Better to have them know now and just be pissed for kidnapping a Faunus, than know later and be mad at me for kidnapping a Faunus and lying about it.

"She isn't exactly human."

The instant I uttered those words, the whole room went dead silent. The already high tension in the air skyrocketed. It felt like there was a physical and real pressure in the air baring down on me. It took all the years of experience as a thief, conman, and legitimate businessman to not buckle under it.

Instead, I just took another casual drag of my cigar.

Finally, the silence was broken.

"…You what?" Adam seethed

Already I could see the beginning of his telltale rage. His crimson and black hair began to glow a dark and sinister mix, making the obsidian horns sticking out of the crown of his head and bending back into his hair stand out even more.

"Neo and Red kidnapped a Faunus police officer for their own entertainment," I answered cooly.

Neo, I knew, would be fine with me putting it like that. She'd probably be a bit miffed if I tried taking any credit, seeing as how I honestly was not interested at all. I mean, I even said back at the station that it was their problem.

Red, on the other hand, might see it as a betrayal. Or she might like my honesty.

I didn't know, but I was sure I was going to find out.

Adam, on the other hand, did much of what I expected him to.

Bristling in rage he turned back to Red. Red just stood there and looked at him with a cocked head, like there was something strange and interesting about Adam to her. What she probably didn't expect, however, was for Adam to lash out.

In a flash, Adam's hand surged forward and wrapped its fingers around her small throat. Hoisting her up in the air as he stood back up to his full height, her legs dangled helplessly below her.

But despite her new predicament, she didn't panic. She remained just as calm as before, if mildly annoyed.

"So you took a hardworking Faunus girl, just for your own entertainment." He growled at her.

"Please." She scoffed.

"I didn't go through the trouble of leaving her alive for my own amusement."

"Oh, then what did you have in mind?" He questioned.

"I wanted to use her for some experiments."

Adam paused, almost stunned, "Experiments?"

"Yes."

"You mean to use her as some kind of…lab rat? A test subject for your twisted science?" He prodded more forcefully.

"After a fashion."

After that, Adam got extremely calm. Too calm. His shoulders relaxed, he let out a cool breath, and his hair stopped it's ominus glow.

"I see…" He trailed off.

CRUNCH!

With a quick twitch of his wrist combined with the clenching of his hand, red's body went limp. He threw her body to the ground behind him like a discarded doll.

I stopped, stunned by Adam's violent reaction. I couldn't help but look at the girl, lying on the ground with her neck bent at an impossible angle. You could even see the place where her spine was trying to poke out of her pale skin.

Slowly my eyes slid from her body, back to the man who did it.

"Roman, " Adam began in a tense and calm voice, his hand once again resting on the pommel of his sword of choice, "I will allow you to live despite this transgression because of Cinder."

"But." He said, suddenly taking a quick step toward me, his hand now clenching around the handle of his blade. "I would not test my luck, if I were you."

"Understood?" He growled with bared teeth, entering my personal space.

"Right, got i-"

I was interrupted by the loud sound of metal clattering onto stone.

Looking behind Adam to see the source, I found, to my surprise, all of our Escorts shivering in raw fear. One had even dropped their gun, the source of the noise.

Then, my eyes widened as I saw it.

In reality, I shouldn't really have been surprised. But what can I say? It's not every day you see a little girl cloaked in red rise from the dead.

But that's what she was doing.

She was standing back up straight, her head lolled to one side with her spine all but jutting out. Then, slowly, her hands reached up to grab hold of her head. The tilted her head back into place, moving into position over the spine. Then with a crack it snapped back into place.

"Well…" She murmured in a dull tone

"That was rude." She said, turning back to glance at us from the corner of her eye.

She was greeted, however, with Adam's sword pressed to her neck.

"What are you?" Adam commanded.

"I…" She began, searching for the words.

"Am tired." She finally said.

Turning her gaze from Adam, she looked at me and said, "Roman, I'm not going to be talking with Cinder today after all. It can wait until tomorrow. I'm too tired to deal with this right now."

"It's sort of already tomorrow." I pointed out, not really knowing what else to say.

"Then let me clarify." She said, turning around, "I'll see her in roughly 28 hours."

"Right…" I dragged out, not knowing how to react.

Given Adam's like of aggression, I don't think he did either.

Neo walked past me, offering a helpless smile, before joining up with Red and leading her to where she could stay. For a moment, the rest of us just stood there, processing what had happened.

Finally, Adam broke the silence.

"Who is she?" He asked, pointing his sword in the direction she went.

"She…" I started, taking another desperately needed drag from my cigar.

"Is someone who scared even Cinder." I admitted

Adam silently scowled at the implications of that.

"A piece of advice for you." I said, looking Adam in the eye as I tried to do everything I could to make him take this advice seriously.

"Do not piss Ruby Rose off."


Ruby pov

I felt…satisfaction

Truth be told, as cold and empty as I could be much of the time, I had a sadistic side. Granted, it rarely came out. Usually only when someone attacked me or I otherwise felt like they deserved it. When it did, though. Well…

That happens I thought, thinking back on the towering blaze of my own creation.

My mouth twitched as the smallest of smiles tugged at my lips. After months of planning, changes, and waiting, things had finally moved along. I had retrieved Roman from jail, so now I could finally work on some of my other projects.

Hopefully, at least.

Sure, the Rose and Thorn were interesting and I loved them, but they were so small scale. Simply individual weapons systems just for me. The grazed my passion, they didn't immerse me in it. I needed something big, something to test the limits of this Dust, of Aura, of everything I had learned. And everything I had picked up in the last several weeks would go a long way toward making that happen.

Most of all, however, I felt satisfaction for my revenge. They all deserved it for their slights and attacks against me and mine. They might not have known the truth behind what they did, but they did it willingly and with passion. And for that, they deserved to burn.

In truth, the original plan for Roman hadn't involved burning down the station. But plans changed, opportunities open up, and wounds fester.

Still, I had paid for it. Roman knew a bit more about me than I would have liked, but he hardly had the whole story, nor did he have anything he could actually use against me. Plus…I liked him. He was fun to banter with, and he had a good sensible head on his shoulders. I also used a fair number of resources making those bombs.

At least the show had been worth it.

Most of all, in the short term at least, I had a massive headache. Not surprising, considering what I had done. I figured I would probably need about 18 hours or more of sleep to fully recover. Considering I had class in about 2, not the greatest thing, but I had planned for that.

Of the pros, I had successfully gotten my revenge, broken Roman out of jail, obtained significant research materials and subjects, and most of all, put on a show.

In addition, Aveline had survived, thankfully. I was a bit worried that the last blast would have gotten her too, but I was confident that her Aura would see her through. And I was right.

Which is good, now Jaune won't be mad at me.

I also had a feeling Roman had been sufficiently cowed. At least for now. I liked him, I could understand him more than most people, but that also meant I understood how underhanded and suspicious he could be. It wasn't as bad as some people, it wasn't filled with irrational paranoia or emotional attachments, so it was easier for me to wrap my head around.

But just because I understand why he would do something, didn't make it any less dangerous if not attended to.

And there's also Cinder to think of I realized.

Cinder would, no doubt, raise some kind of fit over all of this. While I could weather her temper tantrum like a boulder through a storm, it didn't mean that it wouldn't grind against me. I learned a while ago that scared humans could be dangerous humans. More dangerous than any other animal, in fact.

Most tended to think fear would simply keep someone down and suppressed, but they often over looked that fear could lead to hate and desperation, and that could lead to action. Dangerous action.

Still, if used correctly and sparingly, it could be quite useful.

But I thought as I cradled my pulsing head.

That can wait till after I've rested.

Seeing as how I didn't actually get tired, and instead got headaches, I had grown to equate that with tiredness since it generally meant the same thing. And right now, I had a massive headache.

Thankfully, Neo had been kind enough to direct me to her room, which she said I could use. To be honest, I didn't exactly trust her not to try to touch me again.

But that was an issue for well rested me, not brain damaged and exhausted me. I couldn't even muster up enough effort to seriously threaten Neo the first time, let alone actually retaliate against Adam when he tried to kill me.

Though, I can't exactly blame Adam. Basically, everyone I've met has tried to kill me, or at least had the gut instinct to do so, when I first met them. Pyrrha almost took my head off and Blake nearly shot me. I mean, my own father wants to kill me for being, well, me. By comparison, Adam probably was the first one to actually have a legitimate complaint.

Yes, in hindsight bringing Ludmila in for experimentation to an extremist Faunus Rights base wasn't the brightest idea, was it? I thought as I entered the room.

Turning to Neo, I sent her a silent impression of "Thank you."

She responded by smiling and bringing the thought of, "You're welcome! Tonight was amazing. You deserve a good nights rest."

I paused, looking her over again carefully, suspicious of why she was being so cheery.

"You're not going to try anything while I'm asleep, are you?"

Instead of giving me an answer, she just grinned widely at me.

"...Pachol Nahuy" I decided, turning into the room and plopping down on the modest bed, not even taking the time to register what was in her room other than the bed, a desk, and a large chest at the foot of the bed.

The second I felt the softness of the mattress caress my body, I let my mind slip from my physical form and fall into Purgatory.


Aveline pov

"So…what do we know?"

We were all standing in the mobile command center, one of many situated at ground zero. This one had been vacated to act as a private meeting place so Commissioner Caldwell could debrief the survivors and investigators.

"Based on witness testimony, there were hundreds of explosives used, but the general detonation points." One of the Investigators, Detective Allens, reported.

"How many witnesses managed to survive to tell you that?" the Commissioner asked.

The man sighed, pushing up his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose, "…Only 9"

"To be honest, Detective Arc is the best witness we have. The others are civilians who don't really know what they saw." He admitted.

"Very well." The Commissioner nodded.

"Detective Arc," He began, turning to me, "What can you tell me about the explosions?"

"I wasn't there for the first one. I got the call to come to the station. The secondaries came soon after, sir." I reported. "Because of that, I'm lead to believe that the first explosion acted as bait."

"Bait?" One of the other officers, Detective Barnes questioned.

"If the terrorists wanted to just destroy the building, then the second explosion that took out the supports would have been enough. It would have also killed every officer inside. Instead, the first explosion was big and flashy, waking everyone up and drawing their attention." I explained.

"Like moths to a flame." Detective Dickens suggested.

"Tragically accurate, in this case." Allens noted.

"Once enough people were in the kill zone, the second and third detonations went off, which were far more devastating and effective." I finished.

"I believe that the second and third explosions were also there to remove evidence." Ymir spoke up.

"…That makes sense." Allens considered.

"The second explosion buries the evidence, and the third melts it all in a pool of rubble." The Commissioner mused, rubbing his grey stubble.

"Did it work?" He asked, turning to one of the techs, Dr. Brown.

"Well, it's a bit to early to know for certain, but it's going to be one hell of a challenge to recover anything useful from a pool of cooling magma. Especially since, given what you've told us ,Detective Arc, it seems like it was made by a large-scale Dust explosion, which made a ball of plasma." He answered.

"So what do we have?" The commissioner asked.

"Well…" Dr. Brown trailed off.

"We have this." I announced, holding up the Black Book in a gloved hand.

"And that is…?" Allens asked.

"This is, as you can tell, a Black Book. The calling card of Le Livre Noir."

"The assassin?" The Commissioner asked.

"The very one." I nodded, "Le Livre Noir is a case I've been working for a long time. That's how they got the name, it's my family tongue for 'The Black Book'. So named because at every crime scene, they left a Black Book with the White Fang symbol on it, and an explanation for their attack." I explained.

"Does this fit Le Livre Noir MO?" Dickens asked.

"Le Livre Noir has been known to use explosives before. Never on this level, but they never struck a target like this before either." I Answered.

"What does the book say?" Allens asked.

"I figured I'd rather leave the techs to do that." I responded.

"Why's that?" Brown asked.

"Because on three occasions in the past, the book was booby trapped with a potent poison." I explained.

At that, many of the officers in the room paled and flinched back from the book.

"So you're saying the White Fang is responsible?" the Commissioner inquired.

"Yes, sir." I affirmed with grim confidence, "The only people that knew about the Black Book pattern were people that worked the case with me. It was kept from the public so no one would try to copycat them, or freak out at the sight of every black book."

"So only Le Livre Noir would have known" Allens reasoned.

"Exactly." I agreed.

"What else do we know about Le Livre Noir?" The commissioner asked.

"Almost nothing." I sighed. "I have a feeling that Le Livre Noir is actually a group, rather than just one person. Or at the very least two partners."

"What makes you think that?" Allens asked.

"Their skill set just seems to be too far and varied for it to be one person. Whoever they are, they're an expert hacker, infiltrator, bomb maker, strategist, marksman, swordsman, and CQC specialist." I listed.

"Not to mention there were times they seemed to be in two places at once." I added.

"But I'm guessing it's not inconceivable that it's just one person, right?" Allens suggested.

"Yeah, especially if they have a semblance that could account for some of those things. It's why it's just a suspicion, rather than a fact." I acknowledged.

"So that's it? We just have Le Livre Noir MO and a suspicion that it might be a team?" Brown complained.

"Well, several months ago Le Livre Noir went dark. At first, I thought they might've gone into hiding or something, but maybe they were just building up for this? Bigger jobs take more preparation." I answered.

"So we should look into lots of movement, people acquiring lots of supplies and explosives, and anyone who might've been casing the Station." Allen put forward.

"That's what I was thinking." I agreed.

"Any ideas on where to start?" Brown asked.

"Actually, sir." I said, turning to the commissioner, "I'd like to bring in some outside help."

Just then, there was a knocking on the outside of the door. We all looked at each other for a brief moment, before Barnes got up to open it. It swung aside to reveal, to our surprise, two individuals.

One was a man wearing what faintly resembled silver chainmail armor wearing a full head silver helmet, wrapped in a silvery and Lincoln green cloak. Behind him was a man in a dark over coat, his collar popped up and a hat on with a pipe sticking out of his mouth.

Outside I could see rain pouring down from overcast skies. Despite the fact it was 8 in the morning, the sky was still dark. Like the God-Creator himself was crying for this tragedy that had occurred. In the distance, I could hear thunder rumble, flashes of light spark, and sirens echo.

The rain had been somewhat of a mixed blessing when it came. It helped suppress the fires, but it also made collecting any evidence difficult, since what little wasn't incinerated was being washed away.

Both of the men looked soaked in their outfits, yet neither really seemed to mind.

"Captain, glad you could finally join us." I said with a grim smile, glad that at least something had gone right today.

"Well, I had to try to convince him to come. He's something of a right bastard." Robin admitted as he stepped in, a bit of his old North Vale accent slipping in.

"Captain, I was wondering where you were." The Commissioner said, making his presence known.

"Sorry, sir, I was just picking somebody up." He said, taking off his helmet.

The mystery man himself stepped inside the room and took off his hat, revealing a pale face with a messy head of black hair and smooth shaved face. His face was aged, but not ancient. It spoke of a man who's seen a lot in his life, but still had much more yet to see. He looked around the room, his blue eyes taking in every last detail. They never lingered, either. At least, not on the normal. When they roamed over me, I felt for a moment as if I had been placed under a microscope, every last detail being taken, picked apart and scrutinized for the smallest detail.

"So, who is this?" The Commissioner asked, getting up from his place leaning against the table.

"My name is Sir Conan Baker." The man in brown introduced himself in a much thicker North Vale accent.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said, extending his hand.

"The pleasure is mine." The Commissioner greeted, shaking the given hand, "I've heard about your work helping the police before."

"Well, if what the Captain told me, this will be a whole different kettle of fish." Sir Baker said, flashing a predatory grin.

"After all, I've never caught a team of Assassins."


The girl was lead through the crowded and clogged streets by the woman in a flowing white toga before her. Behind her, she could see several of the armed men in black she that always accompanied the woman.

Passing by beggars, street urchin, and the homeless, they finally arrived at a large building, once a school gymnasium, now repurposed by private investors. The bright sunny sky was shut out by the dark dank interior of the building. The smell of iron, sweat, food, and perfume flooded her nose as she stepped foot inside.

All of the lights were off in the main area of the building, save for a few surrounding a makeshift ring in the center. All the ring was, really, was a painted out circle on concrete. It was there that she found the smell of iron. Bloodstains were splattered all around the ring. Two teenagers, one on the ground, one standing up, were in the ring, both bruised and bloodied.

She was pulled from the sight by the strong hand of her new mistress. The woman guided her to one of the booths on the side of the room. Walking right up to the man at the counter, she made her presence known.

"Ah, Lady Agathe!" The man in the white suit cheerfully greeted.

"What can the White Lotus do for you?" The man grinned

He was of eastern Mistralian descent, having the accent and facial features. He had beady black eyes and short slick black hair. The White suit was as crisp and clean as the rest of him, but the way he shifted around constantly helped give away the truth of him.

"I would like to enter in a new contender." Lady Agathe, my mistress, said

"Oh, getting into the games yourself now, are you?" He asked as he reached under the counter to pull out a form.

"I found an intriguing young girl. Managed to kill a man with his own gun." She smiled with a sinister edge.

"Oh?" He inquired, peeking over the counter to take a look at the girl standing behind the woman. Most of her was unremarkable. Her clothes were just grey rags, her mistress not wanting to spend too much on something that might turn out to be nothing special. But her blood red hair stood out. Like the only mark of color in a black and white world, it seemed to scream that she existed, while the rest of her stayed quiet.

"hmm." He hummed in thought, "Fascinating to find talent in one so young."

"I'm hoping." Lady Agathe grinned.

"Using this as a test?" He questioned.

"Indeed I am."

"Good choice. We have lots of candidates to pick from, especially from her age group. I'm assuming you want to start her off with an equal opponent?"

"You assume correctly."

"Good, good." He nodded, filling out the form.

"How old is she?"

"Not sure, I acquired her in…a recent 'transaction'"

"Ah." He nodded, understanding the implied meaning.

"Well…" he thought looking over the girl, "She looks like she could be five or six. Maybe seven."

"I'll say six. Maybe give her the luck of the devil, no?" He grinned.

"That's fine." She smiled amiably.

"Does she have a name?"

"Kokkinos."

"Scarlet?"

"Well when I first found she was covered in the blood of her first victim. And with that hair, well it only seemed appropriate." She explained.

"True." He nodded.

"Alright." He said, signing the bottom of the form, "It's all done, I'll just need your signature and a fingerprint of the girl."

Once that was wrapped up, the man took the form and went into the back room. The Woman took the girl to the side for a word alone. She took her hand and bent the girl's head up so she was forced to look her mistress in the eye.

"Now Kokkinos, today is your one and only chance to prove your worth to me, do you understand?" Lady Agathe asked.

The girl nodded quietly and fearfully.

"I want to hear it." She commanded.

"Yes, Mistress Agathe." The girl whimpered.

"You will not get another chance if you fail. I will leave you in the slums and you will become another forgotten face among thousands." She said, telling the girl what was at stake.

"But if you succeed, I will make you famous. You will be an invaluable tool to me, and I will make your name one that draws the attention of hundreds of thousands at its mere mention."

"Today is the day your life either ends, or begins. And it all depends on you."

"Will you let me down?" She asked a sneer.

"N-no, mistress." The girl stammered, trying to bring up any semblance of confidence in the presence of such an intense woman.

"You are certain?" She clarified, "You won't be a disappointing failure like so many worthless others."

"N-no. I won't let you down, Mistress." The girl confirmed.

The woman looked her over for a moment, holding her gaze.

Then her frown broke into an arrogant smile, "Perfect," she purred.

Moments later the girl's name was called over the intercom.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to show me what you're made of." Lady Agathe stated as she lead Kokkinos through the crowd.

Finally arriving at the ring, they saw that there was already a boy in there, nothing more than a few rags acting as some kind of loincloth to protect his modesty.

"Well, off you go." Lady Agathe said as she pushed Kokkinos into the ring. Stumbling for a moment, she looked back at her mistress, almost expecting some kind of instruction on what to do.

"Just remember what I said, and don't disappoint me." The woman grinned.

Nodding with trepidation, the girl turned back to look at her opponent.

Bracing herself for what she knew she had to do, she steeled herself to fight again.

Maybe…maybe after this I won't have to fight again? She told herself.

The fight itself felt like it went by in an instant. It wasn't easy, but Kokkinos gave as much as she took. She pounded into the kid, beating his body down while weathering her own injuries. All the while the gathered crowd roared and cheered. By the end of it, the kid was on the ground moaning in pain, while she stood above huffing and puffing.

"I-I give up." The boy said "I surrender."

The crowd grew silent at first, and the girl thought it was over.

Then a voice came out of the silence, threatening to stop her heart.

"Finish it" Someone said.

The girl's eyes widened and she turned, only to see Lady Agathe sitting there in the stands with an expectant look on her face.

"You heard me." She said.

Just then, the sound of wood falling on stone echoed throughout the quiet room. Spinning around, Kokkinos found that a broken chair leg had been tossed into the arena. Much to her disgust, she knew what they wanted her to do.

"You don't have to do this," The child pleaded, looking up at her with big blue eyes, filled with so much fear and desperation.

The girl froze. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to kill him, she never wanted to kill again, but…

"Finish it" Lady Agathe's voice repeated.

And like that, the silent tension slowly broke. One by one the crowd repeated her, chanting it over and over again."

"Finish it" They commanded.

"Finish it" They demanded.

They had come here to see blood, and they would get it.

One way or another.

So, much to her reluctance, the girl wrapped her fingers around the wooden chair leg. It scraped across the ground loudly as she dragged it into her hands, drowning out the rest of the noise for a moment.

As she held it in her hands, she realized the magnitude of what she was about to do. She was going to take a life. A life just like hers.

The boy wanted to live as much as she did. And in the end, they weren't' so different.

What if I was in his shoes? She thought, looking down at his pleading form.

And yet, she could feel the crowd growing restless. They were hungry for the savagery. They wanted it, need it, craved it.

She looked back to her mistress, silently pleading for her not to make her do this. But instead she saw a look of boredom upon Lady Agathe's face. She saw her Mistress shake her head. She saw her one chance in life get up out of her chair.

She saw that her window of opportunity was closing. There was only one chance for her to get what she needed. One moment that could give her all she wanted.

All she had to do was one little thing

So as she looked back at the little boy, she realized something.

I don't want to kill him. She thought, reluctantly.

But

I need to live She clenched the makeshift club tightly.

crack

"Stop!" The boy cried out in pain "I give up!"

She swings again

crack

"Please!" He cried out, holding up his arms in a futile attempt to defend himself

She swings again

Crack

The leg crashes against his fragile arms. She can feel it bounced back from the impact, the recoil traveling up her arms.

"Stop hurting me!"

She swings again.

Crack

She can tell it's not working, she needs to swing harder

"Just let me go!"

She swings again.

Crack!

She can feel the slight give of his bone. It's working.

"You win! Just let me-!"

She swings again.

Crack!

The bone snaps in half under the crushing force of her assault.

"Owe!"

She swings again

CRACK!

She can feel her arms going numb, but she can't stop now. She has to swinger harder and faster. She has to end this.

"Stop!"

She swings again.

CRACK!

She doesn't want to do this. She hates his screams, they haunt her. She wants nothing more than to stop, to have them both walk away happy. Maybe even be friends.

But she can't stop.

She needs to finish this.

She wants to live.

"Plea-"

She swings again

CRUNCH!

Finally, the bat smashes into the boy's skull, harder and faster than ever before. The boy falls silent, going limp on the ground.

But she doesn't stop.

CRUNCH!

She can't stop.

CRUNCH!

She swings again

CRUNCH!

And again

CRUNCH!

And again.

SQUISH!

His skull finally gives way, caving under the force of her blows.

SQUISH!

Her wooden bludgeon crushes his brain inside it's bone bowl. She can feel the gelatinous mass collapse under her power.

SQUISH!

Blood and brain matter fly out, splattering her in his dead juices. But she doesn't think about that. She just thinks about ending this.

SQUISH!

She just swings.

SQUISH!

And swings.

CRUNCH!

Until finally.

CRACK!

The chair leg cracks and breaks in half as she slams it into the stone floor with all the force she can muster.

She stops, realizing what's happened. The snapping of her weapon similarly snapping her out of her desperate daze. She looks down to see the boy who was so like her. To her horror and ever growing disgust, his head is gone. In its place, a bloody stain on the ground, like a spilled soup made of his head, brain matter and bone sticking out of it.

He's dead she realizes

I...I Killed him.

Then, she feels a weight on her shoulders. Looking up, she sees her mistress, Lady Agathe, standing over her. Looking around, she realizes that she can hear people cheering and talking excitedly. A few even laugh. They all sport thrilled and predatory grins. They shine like beacons of depravity in the darkness.

She sees their suits and dresses. These are the elite of Mistral. The Rich and powerful. The best of the best, and yet they take such perverse joy in watching two street urchin beat each other to death.

But she doesn't care right now.

She doesn't care, because right now her mistress is looking down at her with a proud and pleased smile.

I did it she thinks as tears streaked down her bloodied face.

I'm going to live.


A/n:

And Yall laughed when she said she trained to kill with a chair leg.

Are you laughing now?

If you belong here

yes

Cause I loved writing that part. Wrote with a big sadistic grin on my face.

Hopefully, that helps provide some insight into why Pyrrha's so fucked up mentally. She wasn't born into the broken person she is today, she was fractured by the society that created her.

That little memory dream sequence is also the full version of the one she had in Scene 17.

You know, I originally wasn't going to include that part in this Scene, but I decided I needed a little extra brutality for my return.

And man, it feels good to be back.

And yes, with my return I'm bringing my "presents" with me

Translation: I did the samples of the new fics

And there's three of them

Hunger of Death, my corruption of Frozen

Silver Serpent, Harry Potter flipped on it's head

and Vanguard, The Percy Jackson and the Olympians universe being broken by the Vanguard of Destiny

Now, some of you might not like the subject material for some of them. I'd honestly be surprised if a great many of my readers liked Frozen.

But if you like my writing style, then that's what you should focus on. I'm not trying to stay true to the themes and feeling of the core material. Not nessecerily, anyway. Instead, I'm starting with a basic idea and using it to break canon in half wiht my own special twist.

So, if you're not sure if you'll be interested, give each one a chance. I'm going to start out with posting one chapter, then go up to 4. The 4th chapter will mark the end of the "trial period". After that, I'll see which fic did the best, and work on that one in conjunction with Madness.

Unless you hate all of them, in which case I'll just work on Madness.

Chapter one for each will be coming out in a few hours on Christmas morning. To be honest, one chapter isn't a lot to hook into, which is why I'm going to try to get the other three for each out by...lets say the end of January. I might surprise myself and finish early, but I'd rather not set myself up for crushing failure.

But back to Madness, I'm probably going to be slowing my update cycle, in large part because of the additional stories I'll be writing. At this point, I'm looking at once a month, but it might happen more frequently. It could also happen less frequently, but we'll see. I'm aiming for a minimum of one act a year.

And Yes, I've seen V4. Got all caught up on that. I can talk more about that in upcoming Scenes of Madness, but for right now I'm just going to say this.

Blake's and Orphan.

That was the plan, that's what I based her character around. In here she got the old Batman treatment, watching her parents getting killed right in front of her. Except...Catwoman, I guess.

I don't consider this a spoiler because...well I already thought she was an orphan in canon. I mean, what kind of loving parents let their child be part of a terrorist organization, then desert said organization and try to become a huntress all on their own. Like, everything she did gave me the whole "my parents are dead" vibe. Like how she never mentioned them, despite how everyone else mentioned theirs. I mean, even Pyrrha mentioned her mom once.

Blake?

Nothing.

Though I could be wrong. I didn't exactly decide to go over all of RWBY with a fine-toothed comb to find the slightest and smallest of references.

Cause I have better shit to do.

Anyways, I already hinted at her lack of parents in Scene 21 at the cafeteria.

I had to think long and hard about what I was going to do, since she not only has parents, but is also, in a sense, a princess.

I mean, that, more than anything else I've seen so far, really just fucked me.

But I've fixed it, and I've decided her parents are 100% dead.

120%, really.

I'm probably going to have to go back and change a few things, but they're dead. Still the same people as in canon, but now they're honestly more dead than they were before. I considered letting them live, but it would have complicated late game plans too much, and didn't fit the character I have for her.

So going forward, Keep in mind that this Blake is a Blake that watched her parents murdered before her very eyes.

I'm still working out every specific detail, but the rest of that plan is a secret for now.

But speaking of the future, it's looking bright. Or, well, dark.

My old Art Teacher for college left us with a piece of advice on the last day of class.

"Art is shit"

While hilarious, what he meant was that art is based on what you seen. You take in life. What you watch, what you hear, what you experience, and you shit it out into your art.

And during my Hiatus I've taken in a lot of things. Penny Dreadful, Skillet's Unleashed Album, and Skyrim Special Edition to name a few. And I must say, they have helped me map out quite the beautiful canvas for this story. More so than actually watching the show.

Case in point, Adam.

Wasn't too sure what to do with him, just what not to do. But I got quite the inspiration for how to write him from several places.

End result?

Madness Adam is going to be rather important in the future. And not, ironically, the crazed psycho stalker he appeared to be in canon.