It had been a peaceful day in Vale. Even as the noises of the city permeated the atmosphere, it had been clear that there was a calm that blanketed the city. No Stand attacks, no robberies, no need for anime main characters to get involved in any hijinks. Yessir, it seemed as though today was just going to be a good day to relax.
"Mwahahahahahahahahaaaaa!" Up until Cinder Fall cackled and laughed, seemingly out of nowhere. "Excellent, my nefarious plans can finally come to fruition today! This lovely atmosphere, this peaceful little slice of Vale life, will lull those FOOLS into a false sense of security! That's when I, CINDER, will lash out at those pathetics huntsmen and huntresses who've opposed us for far too long."
Mercury and Emerald stood off to the side, cautious, sideways glances shared between the two, as they watched Cinder loudly monologue in the streets.
"Errr… boss, don't you think it's a little unwise for you to be doing this right out in the middle of the open? I mean, today isn't that peaceful, people are bound to notice." Emerald cautioned her boss, as Cinder just rolled her eyes.
"Emerald, darling, you give these imbeciles far too much credit! We have successfully infiltrated them for so long! What could possibly be the chance that they'd catch us now?! After all, we're-"
RING-RING-RING, RING-RING-RING
Cinder's Scroll went off just as she had been about to monologue further, the amber eyed femme fatale rolled her eyes as she picked it up. "Yes Whitesnake, what is it? I'm kind of in the middle of declaring openly and loudly how obviously evil I am. I could do without-"
"Cinder, listen to me. This is VERY important. Your life could very well depend on your following my advice to the T!" Cinder's eyes went a bit wide as Whitesnake spoke with such urgency, as the black haired woman nodded.
"Alright Whitesnake, let me hear it."
"I need you to take a step to the right."
"... What?"
"You heard me Cinder. If you don't take a step to the right at this very moment, your life will be in grave peril." Whitesnake's tone, completely and utterly serious, shook Cinder to her core, as she just nodded.
"Yes, very well Whitesnake, thank you." Cinder turned her Scroll off as she placed it back in her pocket. "Alright then, just take a step to the riiiiiiAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Mercury and Emerald's eyes went wide with shock as Cinder fell down an open manhole that had, conveniently, been directly to her right, her cry of surprise echoed out from the hole in the ground as she fell and fell and fell and fell and-
"Wow, awfully deep for a sewer." Mercury commented dryly. Just as the two were about to help Cinder out so they could rip Whitesnake a new one, they were stopped by a pair of hands that had grabbed them by the shoulder and turned them around.
To reveal one Qrow Branwen. A heavily drunk Qrow Branwen, but Qrow Branwen nonetheless.
"Hey… you twos… you two look familiar. Have we met before?" Qrow blinked at the two of them, his vision hazy, as Emerald and Mercury just sweat bullets.
"Errrr… nope, nope, haven't met you before a day in our lives Mr. Qrow Branwen, sir!" Emerald punched Mercury in the gut as he slipped up, the young woman now sure that their ass was grass as Qrow narrowed his gaze at them.
"Hmmm… you two do look familiar… do you travel around with a woman wearing a mask and with black hair?" Emerald shook her head.
"N-No sir! Just a woman with no mask and black hair, sir!" Qrow seemed to roll this around in his mind. They did look just like those guys he saw attack the Fall Maiden… but they didn't have that third person with them…
"Alright, my mistake, carry on with your day." With that, Qrow stumbled away drunk, as Emerald and Mercury just stared, dumbfounded that they had somehow gotten away with a direct encounter with Ozpin's top spy.
"That… that shouldn't have gone like that…" Mercury muttered in disbelief as Cinder, finally, pulled herself out of the sewer.
"Yes, but it did, and it was all thanks to Whitesnake's timely advice! Mwahahahahaha! Between the two of us, nothing shall be able to stop us! We shall inflict our dastardly schemes upon the World of Remnant, and these fools will be none the wiser!" Cinder Falls cackled loudly as bolts of malevolent lightning flared around her, which had drawn the immediate attention of most onlookers. The effect was somewhat diminished however by the copious amounts of sewage that Cinder herself had been covered in.
"Err... Cinder, boss, I don't think he would've put two and two together even if you were here. These people seem pretty dumb like that. Hell, we've been staying in that school for months and none of them have recognized us." Mercury said casually as Emerald just nodded.
"Yeah… I think you need to be more careful when you take Whitesnake's advice. It seems like he's just screwing with you at this point." Cinder gasped as Emerald said this.
"I can't believe it. Our confidant and ally saved us just now and you all have the temerity to cast such aspersions upon him. Why, I'd ask you two, what could have ever given you two the idea that Whitesnake would ever do such a thing? It's unthinkable!" Cinder declared with the utmost certainty.
"Emerald Becomes The New Fall Maiden"
Cinder, Mercury and Emerald all shushed each other as they peeked from around a corner, one of the Stand arrows notched in Cinder's glass bow as they watched the scene before them. Teams RWBY, JNPR and JOJO had all gathered for a nice afternoon lunch at a nearby cafe, content to just spend their peaceful day eating as they were left unaware of the danger that had stalked them from the nearby shadow.
Cinder smirked as she pulled the string of her bow taught and let the Stand arrow guide her, its golden point slowly moved over until it came to a perfectly normal looking blond man in a light purple suit, an odd, skull-themed necktie being his most standout article of clothing, along with a very nice looking watch. The Stand arrow shook and shivered as she pointed it to him, as Cinder grinned maniacally and prepared to fire.
RING-RING-RING, RING-RING-RING
Cinder groaned in annoyance as she pulled out her Scroll, a move copied by everyone else as they checked to see who had been rung up, as Cinder raised the device to her ear.
"Whitesnake, I'm kind of busy right now, can you please call me back later-"
"Cinder, if you really wish to put the hunters in peril, you'll aim for the man to the right of the person you're currently aiming at." Cinder blinked slightly as she peeked around the corner. To the left of the blond man was another blond man, although this one had far longer hair, poutier lips and was dressed far more ostentatiously. He drew his napkin over his tea cup and, with a flourish, impressed the waiting staff watching him with how he made it disappear, a loud 'Ta-daaaaa' accompanying his gesture.
"You mean the one with the longer blond hair?"
"No, to the right of him."
Cinder glanced back and frowned every so slightly. To the right of the long haired blond was another light haired man. However, this man in comparison to the relatively handsome pair before him was rotund and looked to be balding, his french-fry like hair combed over in a very obvious manner. A long moustache that curled down over his lips ended just before a very odd, mismatched goatee that the man had styled. Despite his overall appearance, he was dressed incredibly well, with an expensive outfit and pair of snazzy sunglasses that brought his look together.
"You mean the fat gangster looking one?"
"No! The one to the right of him!"
Cinder looked back one last time and this time her face twisted in disgust. To the right of the two blond men was a green haired man who had worn said green hair in a flat top supported by some sort of scarf or handkerchief… and who was positively one of the ugliest people Cinder had ever laid eyes on. His head just seemed to kind of meld into the rest of his body, so surrounded by fat it was, which had matched the rest of his torso. His eyes were sunken in and his thin lips were colored a shade of black that, combined with the rest of his appearance, just made him look grotesque.
"A-Are you sure Whitesnake?"
"I'm positive Cinder, now just shoot him."
Cinder looked over at the grotesque man and sighed, as she let loose the Stand arrow. It struck him dead on and, for a moment, Cinder thought she could see a visible Aura around him, as the man's flesh bubbled in response to the strike of the arrow. A great deal of power seemed to permeate from him as the man slowly stood from his seat and faced the hunters that had so plagued Cinder for so long.
Before he promptly keeled over and died. This had immediately drawn the attention of the three teams as they ran over and plucked the Stand arrow out of him, as they looked for any sign of who had fired it.
"I can't believe I passed over two other candidates for that and wasted one of the arrows…" Cinder growled slightly as she put her glass bow away as she ushered Mercury and Emerald off, the trio not having bothered to stick around. "That damn bastard, making me waste all that for some bastard who was just gonna fall over dead…"
The decision would prove to be a move that they'd later come to regret as news later came of the horrific Stand [Notorious B.I.G.] and how it had nearly killed the three teams of hunters. They had barely managed to pull through and had there been just one other opposing force in that fight, they'd have surely died.
That night, Cinder's aggravated and angry screams and curses had been nearly as loud as her evil laughter and monologuing.
"AFTER THEM!"
"WE HAVE YOU MYSTERIOUS, VAGUELY FAMILIAR EVIL FIGURES NOW!"
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY THIS TIME!"
Cinder, Mercury and Emerald were in quite the pickle. Disguised in such a manner where they basically looked the same but with masks on and in slightly different outfits, the three had come across the three teams of hunters who had been the banes of their existence ever since they had arrived in Vale. They had attempted to fight and now, having failed that, they made a break for it. However, no matter what they tried to do to get away, they were just a few solid steps behind them.
Finally, the trio had managed to arrange a serious roadblock to stall the progress of the huntsmen and huntresses that tailed them. The three gasped for air as they hid out on one of Vale's many shopping streets, Emerald having convinced one of the group that they'd ran in a different direction. However, it wouldn't be long before they realized they'd been sent towards and dead end and chase after them again.
"This is it, we've finally been caught." Cinder said with a shake of her head, as Mercury and Emerald just cried.
"Who could have thought that hiding under the nose of people who generally know what you look like while only disguising yourselves with masks might not always pay off…" Mercury muttered as he shook his head, as Cinder just nodded emphatically.
"I know! I severely underestimated our opponents… now, I'm afraid that we have no way of-"
RING-RING-RING, RING-RING-RING
Cinder immediately snapped her Scroll from one of her sneaking outfit's incredibly thin pockets as she brought it to her ear. "Whitesnake, we're kind of in the middle of-"
"Cinder, if you wish to escape without being captured, then you must do exactly what I say!"
Cinder seemed about ready to argue however, the telltale sound of footsteps as they pounded cement heading their way cut off her train of thought as she just sighed.
"Alright Whitesnake, what do I need to do?"
"You all need to take off your masks and you, Cinder, need to throw a stone through one of the nearby shop windows."
"... Are you sure about this Whitesnake?" Cinder asked, as she crossed her arms. "I mean, not for nothing, but so far your advice has proven to be both unnecessary and costly."
"What do you mean? Didn't my advice keep you from being caught by Qrow Branwen?"
"I mean… yes, but he was blackout drunk. I probably could've gotten him to buzz off if-"
"And didn't my advice give you the powerful Stand Notorious B.I.G.?"
"Well… yes, but if you hadn't called at all the arrow would've pierced someone it said had potential."
"The only reason that last one fell through, Cinder, is because you didn't stick around to follow my advice to its logical conclusion. Now, are you going to listen to me and get out of this, or are you going to let the hunters catch you?" Whitesnake seemed to be in a bit of a huff as Cinder bit her lip. Well, it's not like she could see any way out of this herself…
"... Fine." Cinder turned her Scroll off and pocketed it as she tore off her mask, while Mercury and Emerald immediately followed suit. After having done so, she reached out for a nearby rock and, without any grace or tact, chucked it into a nearby storefront window, the glass shattered on impact from the blow. The trio just stood there for a moment, eyes practically glazed over as they awaited whatever would come from Whitesnake's advice.
"... Okay, I don't see how this is supposed to help us-"
"STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!"
Immediately, Cinder Fall was tackled by two young teens wearing moustaches, Neptune and Sun, as they immediately cuffed her where she lay on the ground.
"Cinder Fall, you're under arrest for vandalism and destruction of property! The worst possible crime someone like you could be committing at this moment!" Neptune declared with gusto as he and Sun stood her up, the pair high-fiving each other as Cinder just blinked, awe-struck by the turn of events.
"You're going away for a long, looong time Cinder! The City of Vale won't put up with criminal acts like these!" Mercury and Emerald could only watch as Cinder was dragged away. Shortly after, Teams RWBY, JNPR and JOJO burst through the alley, all of them ready for a fight as they cast their gazes about.
"Alright, where are those three, we need to… oh hey Mercury, Emerald, what's up?" Ruby asked, her demeanor immediately shifted to a friendly one as she spotted the pair. "Hey, have you guys seen a trio of mask-wearing folks who look almost exactly like you three, but you know, wearing masks?" Mercury and Emerald could only blink in dumbfounded awe as they watched the teams before them and, after a moment of this, Josuke just shrugged.
"I guess not. Alright, come on gang, they couldn't have gotten far!" With that, the three teams sprinted off, leaving Mercury and Emerald there to just sit and stare.
"... How are they all this dumb?! HOW HAVE WE NOT BEEN CAUGHT YET!?" Emerald screamed as she grabbed her head, as Mercury suddenly realized something.
"So… how are we gonna get Cinder out of jail anyway?" The silver haired teen asked, as Emerald just stopped her ranting and, instead, turned to face him.
"... Uuuuuuuuuuhhhhh…"
City of Vale Maximum Security Prison, 3 Months Later
Sirens rang and echoed throughout the complex as an escape attempt had been made, guards of all stripes were on lookout as they scoured the maximum security prison for the escapee. Unbeknownst to them, a mile away from the actual grounds of the prison, a shovel broke through the ground as, slowly but surely, Cinder Fall pulled herself up out of the dirt. She gasped for air as she clawed her way out from the ground and immediately flopped onto her back, the normally pretty looking young woman covered in dirt and grime as she inhaled the sweet, sweet air of freedom that she'd been denied all these months.
Nearby, Mercury and Emerald stood, the silver haired teen holding a bag of popcorn while Emerald helped Cinder to her feet.
"So boss, how'd you like prison?" Mercury popped a few kernels of popcorn into his mouth as he said this, as Cinder turned her amber eyes upon him, a hateful look to her as she seemed to get ready to scream and shout.
"... Honestly, it wasn't that bad." Cinder's response surprised both as she immediately calmed down, a serene smile on her face. "Oh sure it was tough and I wasn't used to it at first, but by meeting an eclectic group of characters that helped me advance myself as a person and embrace my true nature, I found prison to become a little more of a journey of personal discovery than I had thought. It would've made for an excellent series on Netflix."
"... Really?" Mercury asked, only to be clocked upside the head with the shovel Cinder had used to dig herself out of the prison with.
"NO NOT REALLY YOU DUMB BASTARD! I GOT SHANKED! FIFTEEN TIMES! The only reason I got out was because I smuggled in enough cigarettes for the bitch who kept shanking me to get this shovel!"
"How did you smuggle those in anyway?" Emerald asked, as Cinder shuddered.
"You don't want to know…" Cinder shook her head, before she turned to look at them. "However… this will all have been worth it if Whitesnake's advice helped ensure our freedom so that we could continue our work and the expressions on your faces is telling me that it didn't and we would've been fine if we did basically nothing…" Cinder frowned as Mercury and Emerald nodded at her assessment, as Cinder tore the little black and white striped prison hat from off her head and tossed it into the ground.
"That rat bastard has been fucking with me this entire time! Every single Goddamn time he's called, it's been to have me do something that'd just ruin my plans or get me covered in sewage or have me thrown in jail with Miss Likes To Stab! Well, I've learned my lesson! I'm not going to fall for it anymore! He'll see, he'll see what happens when you mess with-"
RING-RING-RING, RING-RING-RING
All gathered parties paused as Emerald's Scroll rang, the girl pulled it out and was surprised to see that it had been Whitesnake calling for her. Immediately, Cinder reached forward, snatched it up and immediately threw it off into the distance, the black haired woman taking deep, angry breaths as she glared off after the scroll.
"NO! NO MORE OF THAT!" Cinder cast a mad gaze about as she stood her ground, a crazed chuckle escaped her lips as she tented her fingers together. "We are going to sit here and do nothing! If we do that, then nothing bad can happen and that bastard will be shown up! We'll show him that you can't mess with us! That you can't trick Cinder Fall more than a handful of times before I get it! YOU'LL SEE YOU BASTARD, I'LL SHOW YOU! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA-"
Cinder Fall was immediately cut off as, out of the blue, a safe fell right on top of her and immediately crushed her. Emerald's eyes practically bugged out of her head as she took the sight in, while Mercury just shrugged his shoulders.
"I mean really, who didn't see that one coming." The two were kept from speaking further as, in the blink of an eye, a yellow glow forced its way out from underneath the safe and flowed into Emerald, as the young woman just looked at herself.
"Uuuuuuuhhhhh…"
"Huh, wonder what Salem's going to think of this."
"... Fuck me…"
"I would but you won't let me."
Emerald took the time to slap Mercury with the power of the Fall Maiden before they both ran from the guards, who had arrived to investigate the falling safe.
"And thus Cinder Fall, hoisted by her own petard, died. All because she didn't take the obviously not evil Enrico Pucci's friendly advice which had only occasionally backfired, not because he was evil, but just due to circumstances that he couldn't have seen coming even though he possessed a book that could see the future, he swore."
Enrico Pucci closed Thoth and sighed with a slight smile to his lips, as he quickly poured himself another glass of tea and took a long, nice sip of it, the honey sweet on his tongue as he felt satisfied by his sudden but inevitable not-betrayal of Cinder Fall.
"I love this book. Such a good read." Enrico Pucci took another long sip of his tea as he just smiled.
So remember kids, sometimes your friends will give you what sounds like good advice and without meaning to, it'll end up backfiring on you in a horrific manner that no one will have seen coming. Unless of course they meant for it to, in which case they did see it coming and they were fucking with you. But that can be hard to tell, so you really need to go on a case-by-case basis, unless a pattern of behavior forms where it's obvious they're screwing with you, but sometimes they'll still come through or ignoring them will only end up screwing you over because you end up unintentionally painting yourself into a corner...
You know what, just don't be friends with evil, gay priests. That's probably a simpler moral.
Fin
Wait what, you mean Whitesnake was Enrico Pucci this entire time? Noooooo, couldn't be true.
See you all on the 14th with Skin Deep (Act 3)! It'll be the third month of continuous, once every five days updates, so that'll be a nice little milestone to look forward to! I hope you all enjoyed and have a good week.