We don't own RWBY! And I hope you leave an awesome review! HEADS UP THIS IS A DUAL CHAPTER! That means we posted two! Haha Go read Ch. 10 before you read this!
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"Finally!" Mercury said as they returned back to the warehouse. The young man, quickly finding the living space set up in a back corner and falling on the couch with a loud sigh of relief.
"Shut up, Mercury or you'll wake them back up." Emerald snapped as she set the fitfully sleeping duo down on the small recliner before pulling out her weapons to inspect.
"Why did we have to get them anyway? I ripped my favorite jeans!" Mercury groaned, making Emerald roll her eyes in annoyance. Both froze when Weiss whimpered in her sleep, the little heiress' face twisted in a nightmare as she cried out incoherently before turning against Ruby and cuddling against her.
"Look what you almost did you ass!" Emerald hissed, throwing a cup coaster at the other man only for him to bat it away and hit a large metal cargo crate.
"What are you two doing here?" A new voice spoke up, making the silver and green duo look up with looks of boredom as Roman walked towards them, a cigar in the corner of his mouth. "Some people are trying to sleep!" He snapped at them, looking back and forth between them as they went back to whatever they had been doing.
"Mom…ma…" A whimper sounded under Roman, making the crime leader look down in his recliner to see a pair of restlessly sleeping toddlers cuddling against each other.
"Tell me, Emmy girl." Roman said, flinging his cigar away from him and using Emerald's 'favorite' nickname, as he continued to stare down at the two toddlers. "Why are there kids here?" He asked, his voice unnaturally calm given the situation.
"Cinder said to bring them here." Emerald answered with a shrug and watched with a touch of surprise as Roman pulled off his signature white coat and draped it around the duo.
"You couldn't have taken them to an orphanage or some rich guy's house? I hear rich guys are always looking to adopt." Roman muttered, just loud enough for them to hear as he moved around the chair and picked up the duo. "I don't want to know how or why right now. But next time, give them a blanket or they'll get sick." He snapped at the criminal duo, before walking to the stairs that led to the make shift house in the rafters of the warehouse.
"That was unexpected. Who would've guessed Roman's a softie for kids?" Mercury said, and hissed a curse when an umbrella smacked him between the eyes. "What the fu-OW! Get the hell aw-Shit! Emerald! Get the mute away!" Mercury snarled, finally getting to his feet and glaring at Neo, who in turn glared back and held her umbrella threateningly.
"No way! This is too funny!" Emerald laughed, pulling out her scroll to film Mercury getting his ass handed to him every time he cursed.
`…`…`…`
The next day was proving to Roman why he hated kids, minus Neo of course.
"Don't touch that!" He snapped as he swatted at Ruby's hand to keep from messing with a knife someone had left out. He growled under his breath as he quickly picked the throwing knife up and threw it into an already heavy bag in his other hand. Child proofing was not his forte and it was made even more difficult with the amount of weaponry and Dust lying around the living area.
"Neo! Please tell me you've got something for these two?" Roman called out, a touch desperate as he tied the bag off and looked over at where Ruby had run back to Weiss, the white haired child sitting in a corner under one of the many tables with her head buried in her arms. Roman sighed, a bit relieved at least one of the toddlers wasn't running around.
"Hey Roman," a familiar man dressed in the White Fang uniform said as he walked into the living space. "One of the guys said you needed help?" He asked, looking around at the room in confusion before a bag of weapons was shoved into one hand and a case was shoved into the other.
"Hi Perry, I need your help toddler proofing this place." Roman said with a bit of sarcasm as the White Fang member gaped at him in confusion. "Don't just stand there! Move!" Roman finally snapped, sending Perry back the way he came with the bags in his arms.
"Neo! Wha-oh, what do you need? Please tell me you've got something for those two?" Roman asked as Neo walked into the room with a tray and raised a brow at him, her eyes switching back and forth with pink and brown colors. Without speaking, she set the tray down on a low coffee table and clapped her hands together, drawing the toddlers' attention.
"Time to eat." Neo signed to the duo, before motioning to the small plates of peanut butter waffles and cups of milk. Ruby was the first to crawl out from beneath the table, her eyes glued to the food for a few seconds before she went back under the table.
"C'mon you two. You need to eat." Roman said, walking over to the table and leaning down and reaching towards Weiss. "Son'va!" Roman yelled, jumping up and hitting his head on the table as he jerked his hand back.
"What's wrong?" Neo signed, worry on her face as she walked over to Roman, the orange haired man inspecting his hand where Neo could see a small bite mark.
"That little devil!" Roman growled as he looked under the table to a pair of angry silver eyes glaring back at him. "You little Red, need to learn not to bite!" Roman told the toddler as she stuck her tongue out at him and sat in front of Weiss with her arms crossed. Neo silently laughed at the sight, ignoring the look of disbelief from Roman as she gave Ruby a thumbs up.
"Roman." A familiar voice said, making a chill go down Roman's spine as Neo turned to look at their visitor before getting up and walking away. "I trust you've met our newest." Cinder said as she smirked down at Roman, the man giving her an annoyed look before standing up and brushing off his shirt.
"Yeah, be nice if you explained why they're here." He spat at her, giving her a look of disgust that made her frown slightly. "Toddlers? Really? I'm a bad guy, yeah, but even I have boundaries." He told her with a tone of finality as he set his jaw and prepared himself for whatever came next.
"Very good." Cinder purred, stepping closer to Roman and softly trailing a nail under his chin as the man leaned back from her touch with a hint of fear in his eyes. "You'll be keeping the children here for now. I want them to stay out of sight." Cinder told him, walking away but letting her fingers leave a small burn just under Roman's chin.
"Your joking. I can't keep them here!" Roman snapped, rubbing his chin as his aura worked to heal the small burn. "What if they get hurt?" Roman asked, following Cinder as she walked out of the living space and down the stairs with Roman trailing after her like an angry hound.
"Once everything settles, I will pick up the red one." Cinder told him a tone that somehow mixed a threat and a seductive purr in it. "Till then, keep them out of sight." She said, her eyes glowing a burning as she turned her head to look back at him.
"What about the other one?" He asked, curious why she wanted little Red and not both.
"She is for you to do as you please. She is a Schnee after all." Cinder laughed, as if talking to a child as Roman's eyes grew wide. Yeah, he had heard the rumors but when he looked into them he hadn't come up with anything other than some shifty information even he wouldn't trust.
"Why is Little Red so important?" Roman asked, looking at Cinder as she gave him a tempting look. "I figured you would want the Schnee." He said and gulped when Cinder's eyes flashed with power and something else.
"That's for only me to know, dear Roman." Cinder told him with a look that promised pain if he continued.
"Whatever." Roman finally spit out, knowing he couldn't say anything else without his life being on the line. "Don't expect me to play babysitter for long." He growled as he watched Cinder leave, her two lackeys trailing behind her like loyal dogs as a cold laugh echoed.
"Perry!" Roman yelled, frustrated to no end as he turned on his heels and started marching towards the stairs.
"Yeah?" The man yelled back, jogging over to him and following him up the stairs, ignoring a few of his comrades looks as he did.
"I want you and Neo to go get Red and White some clothes. And whatever else you can think of." Roman said, throwing the Faunus a credit card and walking over to the table the duo still sat under. "C'mere Red, I need to see what size you wear." Roman said, reaching for Ruby and being careful of her teeth.
"No!" Ruby yelled as Roman managed to grab the back of her purple nightgown and began pulling her out from under their hiding spot.
"Uby, no!" Weiss yelled, shooting up and grabbing Ruby while sending up a few small glyphs that blocked Roman's hand.
"She's a Schnee!" Perry said in amazement, the eyes behind his mask widening before returning to normal with a look of confusion. "We haven't even heard of a new Schnee! She looks around five. How did we miss it?" Roman heard Perry mumble under his breath as a few curses flew through his head. Before he could attempt to grab either child again, a plate of cooled waffles slipped by him and towards the duo.
"What? I won't let them starve!" Neo signed as both men looked at her, rolling her eyes a bit as Roman opened his mouth to probably say just that. "Just wait." Neo told them, crawling under the table to sit next to the duo and move the plate closer. Roman watched as Ruby reached for the food, immediately diving in and getting peanut butter on her face. Weiss on the other hand, just looked at the food before turning away and curling up next to the wall.
"Is she sick or something?" Perry asked as he got down on his knees to look under the table as well. Roman shrugged and carefully reached forward to grab Weiss only to be stopped by a silver glare.
"Okay then." Roman said, easing back until the silver glare was gone and looking over at a silently laughing Neo. "Funny." He said sarcastically and watched as Neo casually flipped the collar on the nightgown Ruby wore before holding up the number 4 and making the sign for the letter T.
"Perry, go out and buy some 4Ts in shirts, make a guess at the pants." Roman said as he nodded at Neo and stood up. "While you're at it, buy some kid food." He added, heading to the kitchen as he remembered the alcohol he kept in the lower cabinets.
"Okay," Perry called after him, waving a quick good bye to Neo before leaving.
`…`…`…`…`
"Any luck?" Yang asked as she met back up with Blake at a small café in Vale. The girls had been missing for two days at that point, and everyone was beginning to lose patience with their search since no one had found any new leads. Blake didn't answer, continuing to stare into her hot coffee and rest her head on her hands. "We'll find them." Yang said, sitting down across from Blake and gently resting her hand atop Blake's.
"Let's go. Junior said he'd be able to tell us anything by now." She told the still silent Blake, pulling her to her feet and hugging her tightly when she saw the tired and red rimmed eyes of her girlfriend. "After that, we can check in with Winter and Uncle Qrow, see if they found anything leaving Vale." Yang told her, trying to reassure her as she led the way to where she had parked Bumblebee.
"Wait, I- I think I may know someone who might know if they were taken by the White Fang." Blake said, pulling away from Yang and grabbing her scroll. "I just hope he answers." Blake said, a mix of fear and hope in her eyes as she pulled up a number on her scroll.
`…`…`…`…`
"Now press that button." A friendly Mouse Faunus said, pointing to a red button in front of Ruby as another Faunus, a young deer, looked on with wide eyes.
"No!" The other Faunus groaned good naturedly as Ruby laughed and a cheer went up around them. "Nice shot Red!" The woman congratulated, high fiving the four year old as the screen showed Player 1 to be the victor.
"Hey Scott! Feel like going another round?" Someone asked from behind the Mouse Faunus as he lifted Ruby up onto his shoulders. Weiss was sitting next to him, a hand on his jacket as she leaned forward to look at the controller.
"Sure!" The man yelled, laughing as he reset the game and carefully pulled Weiss into his lap. "C'mon White, your turn to play." He said as he waited for Weiss to relax a bit before shifting to be more comfortable and play.
"Round 1!" The game yelled as Scott's opponent, a familiar book keeper, sat down and grinned.
"You're going down boy!" Tuckson laughed as the holoscreen flashed begin and the fighting game started.
"Let's show 'em what we got White." Scott said softly as he started rapidly firing off combos, listening to the mix of cheers echo around him and Tuckson as they fought, both evenly matched.
"I think if I win, you work at my shop! For free!" Tuckson yelled over the crowd, earning loud ooo's from the people that heard and a grin from Scott.
"You're on Old Man!" Scott said, turning slightly to get a better hit at his digital opponent and making Ruby laugh at the sudden shift. "But if I win! I get three books for free AND you have to admit defeat!" Scott laughed, drawing bets from everyone on who would win the three round match.
"In your dreams!" Tuckson barked and leaned forward with his remote.
"Go Scott!" Ruby yelled, raising a fist in the air as she cheered for the mouse and made a few people grin at the cute sight.
Roman looked on from where he sat in his office, attempting to plan another heist. Really though he was enjoying the sight of all the Faunus enjoying themselves with a video game and the two toddlers. At first he had been apprehensive when he saw Neo take the toddlers over to a well-liked Mouse Faunus named Scott but after watching the man interact with them he was more worried about what would happen if an outsider tried to take them. In the span of a couple days, the duo had managed to wrap the small group of thirty-forty Faunus around their little fingers.
"I'm back!" Perry yelled as he walked over to the group with a few small bags of clothes in one hand and a stack of pizza boxes in the other.
"Yo! Perry!" Several people greeted the Faunus out of uniform, a few moving to help him, passing the pizza boxes around so everyone got some. Perry was pretty average looking if you ignored a few things. Dressed in a pair of old jeans and a red plaid shirt he could almost pass for human, save for his webbed hands and the brown fur on top of his head in place of hair.
"Food!" Scott's previous opponent yelled, gracefully moving inbetween others to set a box of pizza down between the two gamers. Roman watched as the woman used a knife at her waist to slice a piece of the pizza in half before passing it up to Ruby, the girl hesitant to take it at first before watching as the other half of the slice was offered to her little friend. Roman smiled slightly at the sight of the toddlers eating and surrounded by what was considered the deadliest group of terrorist on Remnant. The irony of it wasn't lost on him, that was for certain.
"Yo Tuckson! Is that your little girl?" Someone called out as Tuckson's scroll went off with a recording of a little girl singing 'she's my best friend! Best of all best friends!'
"Yeah, so back off or I'll let her skin you!" Tuckson yelled, earning a few laughs as he answered his scroll, walking away to talk a bit more privately.
"Hello?" Tuckson said into his scroll, curious and a little worried why he would be getting a call from this specific person.
"Tuck?" A female said on the other end, the sounds of cars going past evident in the background.
"Blake? You haven't been by the store lately. Is everything okay?" Tuckson asked as he leaned back against a metal crate and crossed one of his arms over his chest.
"I'm fine," Blake said only to have someone near her say otherwise. "Listen, I need a favor." She asked, making Tuckson frown as he noticed the exhaustion in the young woman's voice.
"Blake, cub, are you really okay?" Tuckson asked softly, his concern growing as he heard Blake take a shaky breath.
"It's a long story but two of my teammates were taken two days ago. I think the White Fang has them." Blake told him, making him blink and wonder if one of them was the blond that she talked about with him. "They were turned into kids because of an accident and we haven't been able to find anything." Blake went on, her words a bit faster than normal as she spoke, that in and of itself telling Tuckson just how worried she was.
"Which ones are missing?" Tuckson asked, the sound of laughter reaching his ears from behind as he listened to Blake say something away from the scroll before focusing on him.
"Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. Ruby was wearing a little purple nightgown and Weiss was wearing a red one with a puppy on the front." Blake told him and describing a few other things, but Tuckson wasn't listening. Instead he was staring off into space as his breath caught in his throat. "Tuck?" Blake asked into the scroll, her tone making Tuckson snap out of it and shake his head.
"Meet me at my shop in an hour. Usual way." He told her and hung up, with a deep breath.
"I hope you weren't thinking about leaving." A familiar voice spoke up, making Tuckson's hair stand on end as he spun towards the sound with his claws out. "Because I need a favor." Roman said as he gave Tuckson a look that made the old mountain cat narrow his eyes.
`…`…`
"Awe! They're so cute!" Dawn, the Deer Faunus who had played Scott, cooed as she looked at Ruby and Weiss in their new outfits. "Great job picking out their clothes. These are even cuter than yesterday's outfits." Dawn said, looking over at a blushing Perry as a few others congratulated him as well.
"Thanks," Perry said with a smile as Neo took a few pictures of the duo, smiling brightly at the two. Ruby and Weiss were both dressed in cute overalls with long sleeved shirts that had Grimm hoods on the back. Weiss had a cute bunny Grimm hood that had long ears that could be bent thanks to wires inside them, and Ruby had a cute Ursa hood, the eyes able to light up thanks to a set of buttons at the end of strings attached to the hood. As well as that both girls each been given a set of purple and pink snow boots with the laces tied in bows and held in place with Velcro straps.
"You guys want to go play outside?" Tuckson asked with a grin, laughing when Ruby started to bounce in place while Weiss' eyes grew and she looked up at them.
"Cutest Fauna I've ever seen." Tuckson heard someone say behind him as he lifted both girls up into his arms and walked over to Scott, who was holding two heavy coats for him.
"With all that snow outside they'll probably get buried." Scott joked, helping Tuckson slip the coats on the girls, a bright blue for Ruby and a pale purple for Weiss.
"Eh, they'll be fine. Besides, Neo's going to be playing with them so she'll keep them from getting lost in the snow." Tuckson said with a shrug as he fixed Weiss' coat and tucked her hair into the rabbit hood.
"Alright," Scott said as he tossed Ruby up into the air, drawing a loud peel of laughter from her. "Wish Torchwick 'd let us off." He bemoaned as Tuckson rolled his eyes and swiped Ruby from his hands, making the young man blink in surprise while Ruby hung upside in Tuckson's arm.
"C'mere Squirt!" Tuckson laughed, easily flipping the child upright before bending down and lifting Weiss up into his other arm. "Let's go build a snowman~." Tuckson sang to the tune of 'Let's Go Fly a Kite', his deep voice and swinging motions making the two toddlers laugh and hold onto him.
Neo followed a few steps, her umbrella at her side and wearing a pale pink winter coat. Scott and a few others shook their heads as the group vanished, getting back to work so Roman wouldn't yell at them now that the two youngest were gone.
"Tell me when we're far enough away." Tuckson whispered softly to Neo, the later giving no signs of having heard as she continued to walk alongside him.
"Where we goin'?" Ruby chirped, bouncing in Tuckson's arm as Weiss looked around at all the fresh snow with a smile on her face.
"To the park." Tuckson said, the words making Ruby's face light up as she clapped her hands together.
"I swing?" Weiss asked, pulling on the collar of Tuckson's jacket to draw his attention. Tuckson smiled at the child, nodding his head as he shifted them in his arms and turned off of the warehouse street and onto a busier business street.
"Sure, we can swing all you want." Tuckson told Weiss and toned the duo out as his eyes began to casually scan the crowds. Neo slipped behind him, changing her appearance a bit to where she had simple dark brown hair and eyes and slightly paler skin. As she slipped back into step next to Tuckson, both heard the soft sound of music flow through the air.
"Think we got time for a song?" Tuckson said as he altered his path towards the sound of the music, spotting a hobo playing his guitar next to a coffee shop. "Good music, what's it called?" Tuckson asked as he listened to the fast paced music.
"A Promise That I'll Keep, good sir." The hobo said, looking up from under his ragged hood to nod at Tuckson as a regal woman with long brown hair and blue eyes walked out of the shop. Tuckson tensed a bit, even he could tell the woman was angry and of a higher standing than anyone else in the street. "Beautiful lady, have you come to grace us?" The hobo asked, bowing slightly from his seated position as the woman gave Tuckson a blank look, her eyes lingering on Weiss a bit before landing on the hobo.
"Leave filth." The woman spat, kicking snow towards the man before storming off and getting into a sleek vehicle a few shops down.
"Ah, it's going to take forever to get the water out of here." The hobo moaned, looking over his guitar as Tuckson set the toddlers down and held a hand out for the man.
"Here let me help." He offered, the other man taking his hand and pulling himself to his feet. "Branwen." Tuckson gasped as he came face to face with the man under the hood.
"Pleasure." Qrow said and jerked the man forward, flipping him over his shoulder and into the brick wall with a loud crack.
"Ko!" Ruby yelled in surprise as Qrow's hood fell back to reveal who he was.
"Hey kiddo," Qrow said and lunged forward to grab her and Weiss, only to miss as Neo pulled them into her arms and danced out of the way. "Yang!" Qrow yelled, summoning the blond from where she had been hiding in an alley.
"Look out!" She yelled, making Neo stumble as her attention was torn to Yang. The disguised girl barely managing to flip back as Yang swung a punch toward her face.
"I'll take these." A new voice said, managing to grab Weiss away from Neo but not Ruby. Even with the brown hair gone, the woman was easily recognized as the same from earlier. "Give me Ruby." Winter demanded as Neo flipped her umbrella out and smirked at the group.
"'Ang?" Ruby called out, looking around at everyone fearfully as Neo shifted her hold on the small child so she was held against her chest instead of on her hip.
"Ruby, be very still." Yang ordered, her eyes red and trained on Neo as the other woman watched them.
"Got you." Blake whispered as she used her clone to dark in front of Neo, moving into the space between her and the umbrella. Neo's eyes widened as Ruby was taken from her in a split second.
"NOW!" Qrow roared, making a few other Huntsmen and Huntresses move out of hiding and surround the girl and giving Blake and Yang the chance to dive into Winter's car with Weiss and Ruby.
"BLAKE/YANG!" The duo cried, diving for both girls as soon as the older pair dove into the car. Blake easily caught Weiss, the little heiress scrambling into her lap and holding onto her tightly while Ruby blurred and hit Yang hard enough to knock her head back against the head rest.
"Oof!" Yang said as Ruby started to bawl and cling to her, Weiss doing the same, though a bit softer. Winter watched with a touch of envy as Blake comforted her little sister, whispering softly into her ear and brushing her hair back with her fingers. Yang did the same, hugging her sister tight and humming faintly, kissing her forehead every now and then as tears pricked the corner of her eyes.
"Ms. Schnee, we've arrived." The diver said, knocking on the window behind Winter to get her attention.
"Thank you, are you sure we weren't followed?" Winter asked before anyone got out of the car.
"Yes ma'am." The driver said and waited as everyone climbed out of the car before taking off with a call of good luck.
"I can't believe that plan worked." Yang said as she and Blake followed Winter to the bullhead, both still carrying their charges and full of relief.
"It's not over yet. We still need to get you to the cabin." Winter said as she walked onto the bullhead with the others in tow.