Yo.

Not a ton to say, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 36

Cinder couldn't help but feel that her reaction had been fair.

After all, it was not every day that one was informed that the thing they'd been working towards for so long, fighting and clawing away at with every passing moment, was to be suddenly, and without any further effort, handed to them on a silver platter.

And yet, there she stood, that exact thing on the precipice of occurring.

It was…

…

Cinder was not entirely sure how to feel. Mostly, because there were a good million and a half other thoughts raging through her head at that very moment, not the least of which was why, why had they chosen her for this?

She would not claim that she was not more than capable, because of course she was. She already was the Fall Maiden. This was but a formality. But…

To select her, out of every candidate… why would they…

That thought was rather abruptly cut off by the sound of a knock on the bathroom door.

"Uhm, Cinder?" Emerald called to her. "Are you alright? You've been in there a while? Are your chest wrappings stained by the wine?"

That was likely the case, yes, although Cinder had not really thought to concern herself with such things. In fact, a quick glance down towards her attire revealed that, yes, as Emerald had pointed out, the once white wrappings that she'd applied to her torso to keep her breasts stable and firm whilst working as a 'martial artist' were now pink in several places, and they smelt of wine as well.

She would need to change.

She called out something noncommittal to Emerald, who hummed something back that Cinder missed. She reached down to the bottom of the sink, and pulled out the linen wrappings that she normally applied.

It was mind-numbing work, wrapping a new set around herself, which was perhaps exactly what she needed in that moment. Something that her body could do while her mind went away on an adventure.

As she tore off the vest she wore atop her wrappings, she found her mind considering all of the little angles that would change now with Ozpin apparently giving the Fall Maiden's power to her.

For one, their stay in Beacon Academy might no longer be cut short. It wasn't as if they were going to need to flee now, given that the entire attack on the Festival was, essentially, moot. In fact, Cinder would likely obtain at least cursory knowledge of the location of Beacon's vault, where the Relic of Choice was hidden, at some point. She could perhaps continue being a student here, continue onwards at Beacon.

Continue onwards with G–

The part of Cinder that hated whenever that woman was brought up revolted, and she hissed as she shook her head, feeling a headache coming on already.

It was… it was not a poor idea. Stick around. Inform Salem of what she was doing. Her teammates would likely see no real trouble, for it was no secret that Emerald, at least, had become just as compromised as she had. Mercury… well, Cinder had never been quite as adept at reading him as she was Emerald, but she had a feeling that what he was hiding from her at least tangentially related to that Team JNPR.

If she'd had less on her plate, she might've investigated that. As it was, she simply didn't have the time, or the energy.

Yes… yes, that could work. That way, they could simply disappear and not come back after going on break for the end of term. Cinder doubted she would be allowed to leave, but Emerald and Mercury returning to Mistral wouldn't be the least bit odd, would it?

No. It would not be. And during that time, Cinder could sneak in, grab the Relic of Choice, and be gone before anyone was the wiser.

By the time they suspected them of anything, it would be far too late.

…

The final piece of that plan, of leaving and disappearing into the night as soon as she was given opportunity to do so, perhaps at the end of the semester, which rapidly approached…

She decided to consider that particular bit later.

What else needed to be done, and how quickly could it be done? Cinder had always considered herself adept at adjusting on the fly, at utilizing contingencies, at planning for every outcome, but even she had not thought to consider this.

Well, if their attack on Vytal was not going to be happening, then Adam Taurus, as loathe as Cinder was to speak with him, would need to be informed. He would surely throw a hissy-fit about Cinder sacrificing his soldiers for what would amount to nothing on his end, but frankly, he'd been paid more than well enough.

Cinder was not terribly concerned about the man, in all honesty.

There would need to be small adjustments made in multiple places. She would have to contact Watts, and tell him that he would no longer be needed. Or, well, perhaps that particular call she would take just a bit more pleasure in than normal, being allowed to tell Watts that he was useless to her.

Ah, she couldn't help but imagine it already.

And of course, she supposed that Roman wouldn't need to be arrested. In fact, he and his little minion could be cut loose the moment this job was done. Cinder would never need to see them again. They could take their riches and retire to Menagerie for all she cared.

They'd served their purpose more than well enough, and frankly, neither knew enough about her to do any real damage after she'd made her move. Only her appearance and her name, but both of those things were already known to the people of Beacon already.

Neopolitan would likely be pleased as well. She would still need to attend Beacon, but she could afford to pay the two off for their trouble for however long it took for Cinder to execute her plan, and steal the Relic of Choice.

Yes… yes. It would work.

It would work.

…

It… it would work, correct?

Then why did Cinder feel like she was forgetting something?

She ran through the plan again in her head. Cancel the attack on Vytal by talking to Taurus and Watts. Continue on as a student until the opportunity to take the Relic of Creation came up. Keep Neo on payroll long enough for this to happen, but eventually, she and Roman could–

Roman.

Cinder's blood turned to ice.

The call that Cinder had been expecting when Lionheart suddenly contacted her out of the blue…

It had been from him. From Roman.

He was to make a move to get himself arrested. He was going to let her know the moment he acted.

And the operation was happening tonight.

She ripped her scroll from out of her pocket, realized that it had gone kaput due to having wine spat on it, and instead reached for the scroll that she reserved purely for calls to the other agents of Salem. She activated it, nearly dropped the thing in her haste, and her eyes widened as she spotted the time…

Because Roman's operation had been set to begin a good fifteen minutes ago.

/

Out in the city of Vale, a crook wearing a bowler hat, smoking a cigar, and leaning on his cane, seemed to miss the way that the phone in his back pocket buzzed. He was, after all, far too distracted to care much about such a thing.

Mostly because of the rumbling of the van they were in, that was currently hurtling towards one of the largest Schnee Dust Company Buildings in the city. It was a bank for wealthy patrons only, the kind of place that almost asked to be robbed.

A surefire spot to steal some dough, and more importantly, to get caught stealing some dough.

After all, it was completely reasonable that Roman Torchwick would get too big for his britches. That he'd extend himself just a little bit too far, and pay the price for it.

That was Cinder's plan, after all.

Speaking of the lovely lady…

"I think you have a call, boss." One of his guy's, Rufus, called out to him, gesturing towards his vibrating pocket.

"Yeah, I know. It's the boss lady."

"You're not picking up?"

"Nope." He gave what he knew was a devilish grin.

"But, uh…" Rufus seemed rather confused. "Weren't you supposed to call her, boss?"

"Eh, technically. But what's she going to do about it? She needs me for her plan, and I'm going to be in prison. Not like she can give me an earful about this." He gave Rufus a wink. "Between you and me, I've heard enough of her voice to last a lifetime."

The henchman he'd been chatting with laughed. "A'ight, I can't say I'd mess around with her, but you do you, boss."

He smirked. "Hey, when haven't I?"

Suddenly, the van they were holed up in stopped, and their driver pounded on the back of the cabin wall.

Roman's heart began to beat just that little bit faster.

He'd been asked before. Why he did it. Why he chose a life of crime.

Well, leaving out all that garbage with Malachite …

The answer was fairly simple, in his eyes.

Because he was damned good at it, and it was a helluva good time.

"Alright boys," He smirked as he stood, and placed both his hands on the van's back doors.

"I do believe that's our cue."

/

It had been a long time since Mercury had seen Cinder genuinely concerned.

He actually had trouble remembering back to it. She'd been bothered, on occasion, here in Beacon. More than a few times she'd been caught off-guard by Goodwitch, or Emerald, or hell, even Pyrrha. But concern…

Yeah, it had been, what, since they'd failed to capture the Fall Maiden, no?

He could remember back to that time. The plan had seemed so simple, then.

Use Emerald's illusions to get her to dismount her horse, scare the thing off while the woman was distracted, and then pounce.

It had gone so well, up until Branwen showed up.

That man always seemed to make a habit of showing up at the most unfortunate times.

Still, Mercury found himself feeling just a bit of that same emotion that was currently consuming Cinder. That same small panic.

"Cinder?" Emerald was the first to address it. "What's wrong? You don't look–"

"Do not speak." Cinder cut her off before she could get any further. "I am going to fill you in on the situation. Do not interrupt, or give input in any way, understood?"

When was the last time Cinder had commanded such a thing? At least a few months, now. She'd… it felt like she'd changed. Become just a little bit softer.

But that look in Cinder's eye demanded their full attention. It was enough, even, for Neo to take off her headphones, and sit up from her bed, a small frown appearing on her face.

"Ozpin means to make me the Fall Maiden."

It was… well, it wasn't exactly a bomb-drop, but it was close. Hearing that their entire goal in coming to Beacon in the first place was, essentially, being dropped into their laps was…

Well, Mercury thought it was pretty cool.

They'd been told not to interrupt, though, and Mercury had the odd feeling that if that was the good news…

"Which means that our attack on Amity is no longer required. In fact, it will make things far easier if it doesn't happen. The problem with that is rather simple. Roman Torchwick is currently on his way to be arrested at the SDC Partners Bank. According to our plan, he would have started his operation seventeen minutes ago."

Mercury's heart stopped.

Torchwick. Roman Torchwick.

How had he forgotten? How had he managed to overlook something so…

…Torchwick was going to be caught.

Of course, he was. Of course, he was.

Because that had always been the plan. It had always been the plan.

And Mercury had forgotten. Had quite literally drawn a blank.

Sneak into Beacon. Wait for the Breach. Use it to both cause public outcry against Atlas and Vale, and get Roman into prison where they need him. From there, utilize him and Adam to take over the Atlas fleet and Beacon Academy itself.

…The problem there, or course, was that Mercury had lied.

He'd told Jaune Arc that the reason that he didn't want to give up Neo's information was because Roman would turn on her and her friend. That they just had to wait until he'd finished and left, and then Neo's 'friend' would be released. The entire lie he'd told Jaune, the entire thing that his side of the story hinged on, was Roman Torchwick being free and out in the world. If the man was put behind bars, then…

Then Neo's 'friend' would be safe, wouldn't she?

And they'd have no reason not to take all of what Neo had done to Ozpin.

It was, after all, the right thing to do, was it not?

He'd missed some of what Cinder had to say, but he got the basics of it with the way that Neo was already drawing out hush from its place under her mattress, the umbrella-knife combo that she was partial to.

She was off to war.

"Neo will go alone." Cinder declared, and Mercury's stomach caught. "The rest of us are staying here."

"What!?" Mercury interjected; despite being specifically told not to. "So, what, we just sit here!?"

"Our faces are far too recognizable!" Cinder snarled at him, and it was the first time in a long time that Mercury felt genuine fear from having her gaze upon him. "If any of us were seen, then do you not think this entire plan would fall to pieces in an instant!? Do you truly think the rest of us would not fall with them, were that to happen!?"

Mercury's jaw clacked shut as his teeth impacted against each other. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Neo moved towards the door, disguising Hush as a case for some sort of musical instrument, before she – with far more calmness than Mercury would've possessed in her position – opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Once she was out of Beacon, and down into Vale, proper, she would likely switch from her Mint persona – which she had dyed her hair and changed her outfit to match – into her normal look as Neopolitan.

The problem with that, of course, was that Neo's illusions were fed by her aura. It wouldn't be probable, but if her aura were to crack, then…

Well, the jig would be up that way, too.

Thusly, Mercury felt the need to insist.

"Let me go." He stepped up in front of Cinder. "I'll stick to the shadows, draw a hood up, wear a mask–"

"Mercury." Cinder spoke his name in a completely even tone, one that let him know that any further arguments would come with consequences. "You are staying here."

He growled as he turned around, and ignored Cinder shouting out his name as he ripped open his dresser, grabbed a hoodie and mask from out of it, and ran towards the door. He yanked it open and sprinted down the corridor.

It couldn't end like this. It simply couldn't.

Mercury wouldn't let it.

He… he couldn't.

Neo must've been far quicker than he was, for she was long gone by the time he got on the next flight out into Vale. The other people on the airbus seemed almost confused as to why he was so out of breath, why his leg continued to bob up and down as if he were in a panic.

He was, of course, so that would be why.

He was running again the moment he was off of the airbus, having gotten lucky with the schedule on a bus that pulled up a few seconds later. He rode it for a few blocks, before getting out, taking to an alleyway, and drawing up a disguise.

It wasn't the best. Had he more time, and had he thought about this a bit more, or been more prepared, or any number of other things that his nerve-wracked mind really didn't have the energy to worry about, he might've been able to conjure up something vaguely impressive.

As it was, it was all he could do to sling on a black hoodie, draw the hood up, and pull a mask over his mouth and nose.

His hair, luckily, was short enough that if he tightened the drawstrings of his hood, and tied them, then it was lost underneath the material.

And then, of course, he heard an explosion, and he was running once again.

The Schnee Dust Company Partner's Bank, the building that had apparently been chosen for Roman to be arrested at, was not a subtle place, and it was that, in large part, that allowed Mercury to locate it so quickly.

Well, that and the firefight happening outside its walls.

Something wasn't going according to plan, it seemed, judging by the way that Roman's goons were looking back and forth between the Atlas security detail they were exchanging fire with, and Roman Torchwick, who seemed to be just as confused as they were.

Luckily for Mercury, someone had gotten there faster than he had.

Neopolitan pulled on Roman's sleeve. She seemed to be trying to get him away from the action, and to a location where she could activate her Semblance safely, and make him disappear.

This was, unfortunately, not nearly as easy as it should have been, because Neo couldn't speak.

And thusly, Roman couldn't exactly be told the updated plan.

His band of goons were completely surrounded, too. They had the SDC security detail who'd been inside of the bank itself to the front, and the police who'd likely arrived to oversee Torchwick's arrest. Whether or not Torchwick had been in custody already before Neo arrived… well, Mercury didn't really think too much on that.

He found himself noticing the amount of both police and security, however, and the armaments both seemed to be wielding. They were not at all standard fare, and both sides had numbers tens higher than Mercury would've assumed from either.

This had been expected.

Bait.

Because of course, Roman Torchwick, the man who'd been stealing dust from the SDC for over eight months, would want to target the SDC partners bank. Of course, he would. That was perhaps, in the police's eyes, his entire MO. Targeting the SDC.

They were wrong, of course, but it was a fair enough assessment to make.

Of course, in their original scenario, that would have worked even better for them. Roman had wanted to be put into custody quick and easy, putting up a minor fight for the purposes of not being suspected, but otherwise allowing himself to daintily bow out of the fighting.

But now… now that wasn't an option.

Against just this force, Mercury was still pretty sure that Neo and Roman could've gotten away. They were slippery, those two, and they'd been hard even for Cinder to initially get a handle on. It had taken them a good month or so of cat and mouse to finally corner those two, and get them on payroll.

But the problem was the newest arrival.

Namely, a figure that had appeared from out of nowhere atop the Bank's ornate roof carvings. The figure leapt from the roof, pirouetted midair, and landed with a sort of grace that completely belied their figure.

"Hah. Y'know, Jimmy had a feeling you might try and ransack this place. I admit, I thought you were smarter than to take the bait." Qrow Branwen, Qrow fucking Branwen, laughed as he spun his scythe, aptly named Harbinger, around his arm. "Eh, but I suppose if you were smart, you wouldn't be in this life in the first place, would'ya?"

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

This couldn't… this couldn't actually be…

Mercury… no matter how much he wanted to jump in there, he knew that Cinder was right. He couldn't get involved. His face was an unknown, and it had to stay that way. If this man saw him, then there entire work in Beacon was for nothing.

And… and worse than that…

…Mercury swallowed on nothing.

It was up to Neo and Roman now, on their own.

And from what he'd very briefly seen when facing Branwen himself… well, this was going to be close, at best.

The man wasted no time. The police and security both gave the man room to work, backing away and hiding behind reinforced barriers. In but a moment, Branwen had broken into Torchwick's ranks, taking down multiple goons before any of the chaff could process it. Neo moved in to attack the man, and at that point, apparently, Roman was starting to get the idea that something was wrong, because he joined in, too.

It didn't seem to matter very much. Mercury knew that Neo was good – hell, on the streets where people like them had grown up, Neo was one of the very best – but against someone who'd basically been born into combat, a man who'd fought since the very moment he'd been reared into this world…

It was simply different.

Qrow Branwen moved in a way that defied normality. He was as graceful as Neo, hit as hard as Mercury, and his weapon moved with the same poise and precision as Roman's. Harbinger cut a deadly path through the air, scything through anything that was foolish enough to be in its way.

One of Roman's goons tried to get a word in, and he was annihilated before he could get a single attack off. Pushed into the rubble of the street beneath him with a sickening crack.

Mercury wasn't even sure if inserting himself into the situation would've changed anything. Perhaps they could've drawn the battle, what with a three-on-one being rather in their favor, but at the same time, there was no way they could defeat Qrow Branwen before back-up arrived.

Nor was there any way that the three of them would be able to work together well enough to coordinate a streamlined front.

That, however, was perhaps the one advantage that Roman and Neo did have. The two shared a glance, then, and whatever passed between them – it was a series of shoulder gestures, eyebrow raises, and little cheek movements – it was enough for them to plan out something.

And it was in the next moment that Mercury realized Neo's plan.

The two charged in, bobbing, and weaving around each other as they charged at their assailant. Qrow Branwen simply sat still, completely ready to take them on once they made it to him.

And yet Mercury noticed the small sheen of white light that coursed over their forms.

The telltale sign of Neo's illusionary semblance taking over.

They were running, then.

It was a good plan. It was, honestly, what Mercury would have suggested, were he able to insert himself into the battle at all. As it was, all he could do was let out a breath of relief as Neo and Roman shattered into glass the moment that Qrow Branwen struck out at both of them.

The man had a brief moment of confusion, mixed with anger, and then–

And then Neo's illusion broke as she – one of the most graceful people that Mercury had ever met – tripped over her own feet. Her face impacted against the asphalt in a way that had Mercury wincing, and it was more than enough of a hit to break the glass-like effect that had hidden the two of them from view.

"Illusionary Semblance, huh?" Branwen laughed as he stepped forward, spinning his great scythe idly. "But man, what a time to fall flat on your face, huh? It seems someone got a little unlucky there. Usually it's me, but hey, I'll take a freebie every once in a while."

Neo glared back at the man, but barely had the time to bring Hush up to block the man's next attack before she was launched backwards. Mercury felt his teeth gritting together as he watched Neo's shoulder strike the pavement. With her aura up, it wasn't going to be too harsh a blow, but it would've taken more than a chunk out of her to keep all of her bones and muscles from breaking or tearing.

Branwen didn't even give her a moment, either. He was on her immediately – perhaps correctly recognizing her as the far superior threat between Roman and herself – swinging with what seemed to be reckless abandon, but what Mercury realized was a calculated precision.

A part of Mercury was fairly certain that Branwen might've even been able to take Cinder, although he wasn't willing to bet on it.

And the truth of the matter was that Cinder far eclipsed Neo in terms of power. Perhaps not so much in skill, but in raw strength…

His mind was pulled away from its musing by a sudden shift in the paradigm of the fight. All of a sudden, a strike that had seemed destined to take Neo out of the fight just…

Didn't happen.

Instead, Branwen's scythe briefly jammed, the mechanism inside faulting for just a moment, and it was enough for Neo to plant both feet between Branwen's eyes, sending him spiraling backwards.

He landed in a heap, much the same way as she had. And just as Branwen had done, Neo and Roman wasted no time getting to him.

Roman fired off one of his flares from Melodic Cudgel, and Neo actually hurled the bladed edge of Hush towards the man's prone form.

They hit at the same time, and cast up a great big blast of smoke and rubble.

For just a moment, Mercury thought they'd done it. They'd lucked out, in a way, by the man's weapon jamming however briefly, but then again, he'd gotten lucky once already.

But, of course, things couldn't be that simple, could they?

For as the dust cleared, another figure was revealed. It was not Qrow Branwen standing there, their weapons drawn and standing resolute. No. This person was decked in pure, almost spotless white, and despite the smoke barreling around them, their blades shining in the moonlit night.

And then they let out a quiet chuckle.

"Well, well, Branwen," A haughty, confident voice called out. "You seem to be struggling."

"Oh, shut up, Ice Queen." The man below her let out in an aggravated laugh as he forced himself to his feet. "Still… for once, you have some good timing."

Mercury's chest turned, rather appropriately, to ice.

Winter Schnee, of all the fucking people to show up…

"When did you get to Vale, by the way?" Branwen asked her. "I'd heard you weren't showing up until after the first matches."

"Ironwood requested my presence. In case Ozpin had a change of heart on certain matters."

"Ah, I see. About our sick friend?"

"Indeed."

It didn't seem like the kind of conversation one should have in the middle of a battle, but apparently Branwen wasn't even recognizing Neo's illusions as a threat any longer, or perhaps he – rightly – assumed that she no longer had the aura left to cloak two people.

Neo's semblance was nearly limitless in its applications. It could be applied to biological life, to machines, hell, it could be applied to things like buildings and other people without them even knowing.

But that limitlessness came with a drawback.

Cloaking herself was easy.

Cloaking others was far harder.

A cloak on herself did not drain her aura because the aura she pulled into the cloak knew how it would have to move. If Neo applied her semblance to her own body, then the aura that was coating her was acting, effectively, no differently to how her normal aura would.

Aura pumped into a static object was the same. Coating something like an airship or a vehicle wasn't hard because the aura didn't have to move at all. It simply stayed still.

But coating another person, someone who also had aura, meant that her aura had to adapt to them. It had to continuously try and keep up with their movements, their body. And that strained Neo's semblance to the limit.

To place an effective illusion past that cost quite a bit.

Even now, with her aura low – likely around thirty percent – Neo had more than enough to keep herself cloaked for a good hour or so.

She likely couldn't manage to do the same on Roman for more than a minute, and if she failed after that?

She'd be spent.

The fight, if it could even be called that from then on, ended quickly. One of Winter Schnee or Qrow Branwen on their own likely could've handled Neo and Roman, but together?

It wasn't even close.

Eventually, Roman was disarmed, and Neo was blasted back.

She was…

Her aura was fluctuating. She had maybe five percent left, if that. If she took another hit…

Her disguise would falter completely. 'Mint' would be revealed.

She'd been defeated. Well and truly defeated.

Mercury's mouth tasted of iron.

Because he knew there was no option. No fallback pattern. No final, desperate play.

Neo knew the same. She grit her teeth, shot Roman a desperate, terrified look…

And then she disappeared with a shattering of glass.

And that was it. It was over.

"Well, well, well." Qrow Branwen sounded cocky. "Seems your little accomplice has up and run off on you."

"…Seems so." Despite everything, Roman played it cool, shooting Branwen and Schnee a winning smile. Mercury could respect that. The man held his hands in front of him, close together. "Well, I don't have all night, folks."

"Cute." Winter Schnee spat out, before reaching behind her back, and pulling out a pair of cuffs. "Perhaps you'll consider talking just as much during interrogation."

Mercury… he just sort of sat and watched. Watched as a bullhead carrying the insignia of Atlas landed in the middle of the square, as Roman Torchwick was loaded into it, along with Winter Schnee and Qrow Branwen. As the police rounded up Roman's men and fed them into the back of a smattering of cruisers, and then began to pull away.

There was nothing he could do. He knew that.

And so, with defeat the only thing on his mind, he slipped away, back into the dark.

/

Jaune's scroll beeped as a text crossed its face, and he glanced down at it idly before he nearly spit out his cereal.

"Jaune?" Nora tilted her head towards him. "What, that fruity bran not sitting well with you?"

"N-No, it's uh…" He shook his head. "Well. I just got a text from Blake. Apparently… apparently Roman Torchwick was just arrested in Vale."

None of them had any real connection to the issue. He understood that. So the way that they smiled and nodded their heads casually made sense.

Even if he himself had a few more pressing matters to attend to.

He excused himself, took the hallway to make for RWBY's room, and found Blake already standing there in the corridor, seemingly having had the same idea.

"Is it true!?"

"Do you think I would've messaged you some rumor, Jaune?" Blake shot him a raised eyebrow. "I got the news straight from one of my old contacts in the Fang. Apparently there was an attempted robbery on an SDC bank here in Vale. It was a bait laid by Atlas. Torchwick sprung it, and he paid the price."

Jaune was grinning from ear to ear.

"You know what that means, right?"

Blake's easy smile said she did. "Indeed. I must say, it's a rather nice feeling."

"Hah, definitely!" Jaune laughed. "I mean, thinking about the fact that that monster can't go around hurting people anymore… that's what's important. Especially people like 'Mint'."

"Not to mention a certain other friend of ours."

Jaune hadn't forgotten. He found himself chuckling again.

"Oh, definitely." He agreed.

"Mercury's gotta' be thrilled!"

/

Mercury loaded back into the airbus towards Beacon without any real emotion, or feeling. In fact, the only thing he was truly cognizant of was the view out of the window beside him, and the feeling of movement in his stomach.

…Roman Torchwick had been arrested.

It had been the plan. It had always been the plan.

Mercury had just… he'd just forgot. Like some imbecile. He was supposed to be an agent to the most dangerous woman in the world, not an idiot.

"I know that… I know it's a bit underhanded, and it doesn't feel right to let a criminal like Torchwick do whatever he wants, but Jaune, you have to understand that she's doing her best to get out from under Torchwick's thumb. She just needs more time."

It hadn't been Neo asking for more time at all. It had always been himself. More time for him to fool himself, fool those around him. To lie, and keep up the façade he'd been wearing for going on four or five months.

He was a killer. And he was going to be made to remember, no matter how much he wanted to be something… else.

Mercury just felt numb.

Completely and totally numb.

Vale passed by beneath him, growing smaller and smaller and smaller, and the lights of the buildings below, gradually shrinking as they rose higher and higher into the sky, looked just a little like those lights from back then. Just a little like the reds and greens and blues of those lights that had hung in his room.

…

He would take them down. When he got back.

Because it was over.

It was all…

It was all over.

End Chapter 36

Now it's Mercury's turn to ride the Suffer-Mobile. Don't be shy, young man, everyone gets to go!

In all seriousness, see you all next week!