It was the greatest gathering of evil the world had probably ever seen.
Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, Adam Taurus, Neopolitan Torchwick, and one other sat in front of Cinder Fall. If there ever was a more wretched hive of scum and villainy, it certainly couldn't be found on Remnant.
Cinder was the first to speak.
"So. We have, as you may all have noticed, been flying under the radar for the last few years. Mercury, Emerald, Neo, and I have infiltrated Beacon, but we have not achieved anything of note."
She stood up and walked over to a screen on the wall of the room they were in.
"There is, of course, a reason. I wouldn't leave you all hanging."
The screen lit up, displaying the latest mug shot of Roman Torchwick. He was mostly uninjured, with the same "I-know-more-than-you" smirk as always.
"We have managed to acquire almost all the Dust we need to move forward with the plan, without suffering any major casualties. However, the only way to pull this off quietly will be to acquire all the Dust we still need in one large heist on a Schnee Dust vault or convoy."
The unnamed man groaned. If more light had been in evidence in the room, an observer might have noticed his powerful build, hair completely marble-white, and the giant claymore strapped across his back.
"Cinder, I thought we agreed to stop any direct robbery of the SDC."
Cinder smiled at the man, in a way which conveyed both apology and profound indifference to his views.
"I know, Blutrot, I know. But rest assured, any financial damages you suffer will be minor. In any event, the primary issue is that this heist would need to be pulled off in such a manner as to not appear easy, given that an easy theft from SDC would arouse suspicion. And the only person I know who possesses the skills necessary to create that illusion is Roman Torchwick. Unless, Neo, he chose to impart any of his skills to you."
Neo giggled.
"Nah. Roman always was a little mean to me. Seriously, what self-respecting thief doesn't buy their little sister a pony?"
Cinder frowned slightly.
"Not specifically important, Neo. In any event, we have one advantage. The 41st Vytal Festival is being held in Vale again, and, as we know, that means our favorite general will have moved all his troops into the area to protect Amity Coliseum and the tournament participants. With the chaos of the tournament going on, retrieving Roman should be relatively easy. Besides…"
The screen shifted to show an image of James Ironwood's commanding ship.
"With all the attention he'll be paying to protecting everyone else, James will have forgotten entirely about his need to protect himself."
Mercury raised an eyebrow.
"How would you know that? You have any history with Ironwood you're not telling us about?"
Cinder laughed at that.
"I did know James, once. But I doubt he'll recognize me. It's been a while, to say the least."
Emerald was next to voice a question.
"Cinder, while we're on the subject of people we're surprised you know, who's the new guy? We haven't been introduced, and all I can tell is that you've put him very far away from Adam."
Although it was theoretically impossible to tell given his mask, everyone knew Adam was glaring as the bull Faunus directed his eyes at the man named Blutrot.
"Let's just say he and I have some…history together," Adam growled.
Cinder sighed.
"I know, Adam, I know you two hate each other, but he is vital to the plan. Which reminds me, Blutrot, would you care to introduce yourself?"
Blutrot stood up and walked to Cinder. As he entered the light, it was plainly visible to all that Neo was no longer their team's oddly colored member—two red irises clearly marked the man as albino. And suddenly, everyone recognized him.
How could they not? They'd seen this face a thousand times on TV screens, next to Faunus rights violations, record profit highs, and White Fang attacks. They'd seen this face very often captioned with the phrase "richest man in the world."
"Greetings, all. I am Blutrot Schnee…"
The screen shifted over to a crest reminiscent of a snowflake.
"…current CEO of the Schnee Dust Company."