A/N: Well here is the chapter 7! Took me a while to write since I've been in quite a slump. Writers block and a lot of headaches for the past two weeks.
Regardless though, I hope you enjoy my efforts!
It's Not Fair
He looked around him warily, searching for the telltale signs of being followed.
It was only three in the afternoon so there were plenty of people around, meaning he had to be extra subtle. He made as few sudden and jerky movements possible as he pathed out large looping circles and confusing paths, hopefully losing anyone who could have been following him.
As he came to a large warehouse, he drew his hoodie upwards, doing his best to cover the remainder of his face.
A man in a black suit gave him a raised eyebrow as he opened the warehouse doors and lead the young man inside.
Jaune let out a small sigh of relief, letting his tight posture relax to its slouching form once again.
"Neo, did you see that? What was he doing out there?" Roman said, lips quirking slightly as he released a small puff of smoke. His security cameras had caught Jaune literally walking in circles with his head twitching left and right randomly.
What the hell? Was he trying to make people think he was disabled so they wouldn't bother him or something?
Neo's covered her mouth with a slender hand as she silently laughed. Teaching him was going to be a massive pain in the rear, she mused to herself.
"Alright, let's go get him before he makes a fool out of himself." Roman said. He paused for just a moment before sighing. "Well, more of a fool that is."
He walked out the office with Neo, grabbing his cane on the way and tossing his cigar into an ashtray. Jaune slowly entered his view now, standing awkwardly as his goons toiled tirelessly around him. The kid perked up at seeing him, one hand going up in a tentative greeting.
"Roman!"
"Jaune! Good to see you again kiddo, you have the payments from Emily?" Roman asked boisterously. He clapped one hand onto the blond boy's shoulder and shook him lightly, smiling all the while.
Jaune's face twisted in confusion. "Who is Em-Mmph!"
Jaune flailed as Roman smoothly smothered his mouth with a single hand while transitioning into a classic bro shoulder hug. An advanced technique he was certain, but not appreciated at all.
Roman held tight as he lead Jaune away from the warehouse main grounds and into their personal training room. He didn't need anyone else in the organization finding out that he was training Jaune and possibly leaking it to Cinder.
"Exactly kiddo, Neo's teaching you today alright, and let's make sure to keep this training a little secret between the three of us though. Okay?" He said, removing the hand as he closed the door behind him, sliding a massive metal beam into place across the door, sealing it shut.
Jaune gasped for breath and glared hard before speaking. "Yeah."
"Perfect!" Roman exclaimed, clapping his hands. Cinders little surprise visit had left him a bit rattled so he didn't want Jaune causing problems right now. "Neo, take it away and start your lesson." He snickered and pulled the small girl forwards. She frowned at Roman, her eyes narrowed and she huffed indignantly.
"You do have a lesson right?" Roman asked. She didn't plan on adlibbing this…right?
She yawned tiredly, rolling her eyes and stretching exaggeratedly. She turned on her heels to face the blond boy. She strutted up to him, standing on the tips of her toes, craning her neck to meet his gaze.
Jaune just swallowed nervously.
"U-um…so what are we-" She stopped his words by putting a finger to his lips, she smiled coyly and leaned in.
Jaune tensed as his mind went into overdrive at the sight of an attractive girl putting herself so close to him. It's like she wanted to…to…
"He-Hey-URK!" He doubled over as she drove her knee into his stomach, launching him backwards. He skidded a bit before coming to a rest. Neo happily trotted after him.
"Neo," Roman asked, stifling the laughter bubbling to his lips. She sent to kid flying like a soccer ball which was hilarious -no doubt- but it didn't seem all that important for him to learn. Pain training was HIS stress relie- lesson plan. Lesson plan. "What the hell was that?"
She flipped her hair over her shoulder, pulling out her umbrella and pointing it at Jaune, who slowly stood up.
"Do-Does that mean we're just doing pain training again?" He wheezed out. Great…what another wonderful lesson. He had been hoping for something a little less painful but apparently his new teacher was also a sadist like his last one.
Surprisingly, Neo shook her head and unfurled her umbrella obscuring her from Jaune's point of view.
Even Roman paused at the sight as the girl disappeared into thin air from his sight. She was always so difficult to read, what with her unpredictable semblance and mute mannerisms. She reappeared right in front of Jaune, rudely poking him in the face, prompting him to flail backwards.
She kneed him again.
Jaune groaned as he stood up, this time drawing his sword and shield, intent on defending himself from the viscous assault. "Alright then, so sparring then right?" He thought aloud. But Neo shook her head before rushing him again.
He raised his shield, intent on blocking the next knee but found himself toppling to the floor as Neo twisted around his guard, sweeping his feet while reaching something from inside her pocket.
Is that? Roman's musing were cut short when Jaune screamed loudly and fell to the floor, clutching his face in anguish. Yup, that's Mistral Desert Pepper seasoning alright…
"What the hell!?" Jaune screamed as he rubbed his eyes, only exacerbating the pain. What the hell was that supposed to be, she threw fucking pepper dust into his face! What the hell was that supposed to teach him!?
Neo just laughed silently as she threw him a water bottle to clean the spicy condiment off his face and out of his eyes.
"Here's a tip kiddo, how about fighting back for once instead staying on the defensive?" Roman added sarcastically, his hands reaching into his coat, fishing for another cigar. This was gonna be a great session.
He could feel it!
"Yeah, how about you tell me something I don't know already." Jaune mumbled quietly to himself as his eyes finally stopped watering. He squinted at the tiny girl ruefully. He drew himself to full size, brought his shield back in front of him, and charged at her, roaring with intent.
"HAHHH! Jaune screamed when Neo closed the distance herself and stepped on his foot making him trip. She rolled her eyes as he rolled over quickly and repositioned himself.
"Hey kid-" Roman started off, only to be cut off by Jaune's confident roaring again.
"HAHHH!" His body slammed into the floor again as Neo spat in his face and punched him in the kidney.
"Yeah…kid you might wanna try-" He was cut off again when Jaune slammed his hands into the floor and stood back up shakily. He rushed off again, roaring of course.
"HAHHH!" Roman watched lazily as Neo quite literally raked her slender fingers down his face, forcing him to back off. She then kneed him, as was custom.
"I really think you shoul-" Roman sighed as Jaune got up again, rushing the girl with all his might, sword raised high, shield completely abandoned. Well at least he has spir-
"eep…" Jaune squeaked out in a tinny voice. Roman's eyes widened in fear as he cringed in phantom pain. As Jaune slowly tipped over onto the floor, Roman opened his mouth to say something.
"Neo…di-did you just knee the kid in the crotch?" He asked hesitantly.
Neo nodded proudly and confidently, her face filling with pleasure as Jaune sunk into the floor. Unable to stand up for another charge.
"Oh God…Alrighty then…" Roman carefully picked his way around Neo, taking due diligence to stay the hell away from her knee. "You alright there kiddo?"
"eeeee…" Jaune merely let out a high pitched whine as he shakily looked up at the criminal. His face was twisted in pain but his eyes still spoke his words loud and true.
WHAT. THE. HELL?
"If you would have just listened to me first you would have figured it out you know." Roman chuckled quietly. "You fight really linearly you know that?" He paused to look at Jaune, making sure the kid was at least trying to pay attention. He wouldn't really blame him if he didn't thought… "You fight while constraining yourself to a lot of rules. Some written down, others I imagine you just picked up on from TV or something."
"wh-what?" Jaune finally managed to gasp out, his hands still gently nurturing his injured pride.
"You fight fair." Roman simply said. He sighed at Jaune's confused expression. The furrowed brow, the open mouth, he knew them too well. Kid was still innocent at heart.
Either that or he was still in pain from the crotch blaster he had just taken moments earlier. Really it came down to a coin toss.
"Out there kid," he waved an arm behind him, gesturing towards the door, "there are no rules. When you fight, you fight to win. And if you limit yourself to some preconceived notion of honor or something-" he paused to take a long drag from his cigar, smoke left his lips with every word following, "-You. Wont. Win."
"O-Oh…" Jaune quietly mumbled. What else could he say? Fighting…dirty? It was blatant cheating and hunters were supposed to be honorable and upright. There was no way he could ever utilize these kinds of techniques into his repertoire. Roman was insane if he thought that he would just…just…
…
Lose every single fight he ran into with someone slightly stronger than him? Be unable to keep up because of 'honor'? Not be able to protect someone because he would rather hold onto his own sense of pride?
"Alright then…" He groaned out, slowly standing up onto his shaky legs. This wasn't ideal –true- but he could understand it. "So how exactly, should I be 'fighting dirty'?"
Roman grinned and patted Jaune on the back, his cigar glowed bright in the dimly lit pseudo-training room.
"Well kid, Neo's gonna teach you that. So how bout you ask her."
Jaune looked over to see the girl lazily drawing shapes into the ground with the tip of her umbrella, a bemused expression appeared on her face as she took notice of Jaune's standing form. He forced his eyes to stay on her face as she sashayed her way towards him, her hips swaying with every step.
Eyes up! Eyes up! Eyes up! Eyes up! Brain! You remember what happened the last time you got distracted!
Wap!
His eyes didn't stay up.
"Ow…"
"So what did you learn?" Roman asked as he led Jaune down another dark hallway. He absentmindedly tapped his cane along the ground rhythmically, waiting for an answer. He didn't have to wait long.
"That you and your partner are massive sadistic pieces of-OW!" Jaune screeched as Neo shattered to life in front of him and kicked him harshly in the shin. He bounced on one foot, cradling the injured other half. "You see what I mean?"
Neo huffed and turned her nose up at the boy. Her arms folded across her chest as she walked stiffly away from them.
After she disappeared from his sight Jaune decided to speak again.
"Is she always like that?" Jaune whispered to Roman, lowering his foot back to the floor slowly.
Roman shrugged his shoulders.
"Great…" Well that was great. Not only did he have a criminal teacher, he also had one that was testy all the time. It was funny though, Neo was attractive enough but her temperament was…difficult to handle. He turned to Roman and lowered his voice to a whisper again. "You know, I thought I would be happy having a really pretty girl like that as my teacher."
Roman's eye widened as Jaune spoke, he waved one hand rapidly at the boy –he needed to stop this train of thought immediately- as subtly as he could.
"I always liked short girls growing up but-" Jaune paused as he noticed Roman's crazy hand motions. "Um…you alright there Roman?"
Said criminal stopped abruptly. Slowly his hand fell to his side, landing on the inside of his pocket. Oh boy…
"Roman?" Jaune hesitantly asked. He was acting…okay so he was always a bit strange –but this was definitely out of his ordinary behavior!
Roman coughed, a sad smile formed on his lips as he put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. His head shook slowly, as though he was trying to force the pity he was feeling through his arm and into Jaune.
"…" As the cogs of Jaune's mind turned slowly. Grinding away, the realization hit him.
"Is she behind me?"
"You write your will yet?"
"…Is that a-" Jaune was interrupted when he felt a slender hand grab the back of his shirt. "Wh-"
The air broke apart and took him away before he could finish.
Roman sighed, he plucked the cigar from his lips and threw it in a trashcan not too far from him. Hopefully Neo didn't do anything to drastic to him.
"Ah…speak of the devil, back so soon." He said when Neo appeared in front of him once again. "So where did you drop the kid off?"
Neo huffed silently, she strutted up to Roman and kicked him lightly in the shin in protest.
"What? We're in this together right?" He laughed and swung his cane in wide circles. "Don't tell me you wanna stop teaching him just cause he didn't one hundred percent appreciate your lesson?"
She shook her head fiercely, a small blush adorned her face as she rolled her eyes. Neo gave her boss one last withering glare before disappearing once again.
Guess she dislikes the kid a bit. What. A. Shame. He thought to himself sarcastically. Though he did want to know where she had dropped him off.
After all, he still needed the boy alive for just a bit longer.
Jaune flailed as they came back into existence far away from the hideout.
*Splash!
Neo dumped him into a small pond located in one of Beacon's ever so illustrious gardens. Jaune surfaced, spitting water from his lungs and shot a rueful glare at his teacher.
"Thanks…"
She blew him a raspberry…
How old is she? Jaune thought to himself as he dragged himself out from the water. She seemed pretty young but that was mainly due to her height.
Neo planted another foot into his face, knowing just by his expression he was thinking about how small she was.
"Gah!" Jaune stumbled back into the pond. "Damn it! Now I'm gonna be freezing when I get back to the dorm!"
Warm.
No, blistering was probably the better word. A gloved hand wiped another trailing bead of sweat away, only for another bead to replace it. It was impressive that this heat was all being produced by a single woman, the lonesome guard thought to himself as his eyes trailed up Cinder's exposed, soft, and milky white leg.
He was snapped out of his reverie when the beautiful goddess spoke.
"Wine." A simple command got him rushing towards the center of the heat storm. He picked the small glass from the table and walked away, his mind wholly focused on steadying his shaky legs.
"You know Adam," She smiled brightly, his pores popped to life, "you should be prouder of your soldiers." She gracefully accepted another glass from the poor -it seemed like some canine faunus type but she really didn't care- boy who struggled to reach her through the sweltering air.
It was cute really, he was trying so hard to impress her.
"They are-"
"I didn't ask for a response." She cut through his words like a swearing hot blade through flesh, smile still present on her face. When she had heard about Adam's refusal to commit to the next phase of the plan she felt an uncharacteristic emotion fill her heart.
Wrath.
Probably why his seat was slowly melting and he kept having to get a new one.
"I should have made this clearer, now that I look back at it." She began with a sigh. It was quite bothersome, that Adam somehow believed them to be of equal footing just because she had been so kind to him in the past couple of days. And to think, she once believed Adam would be different from Roman. "I am not asking you work with Roman," she leaned over towards him, "I am ordering you to."
She let the seconds tick by in silence as she sipped her alcohol. Adam's tense neck and furrowed brow were all she needed to see to know he was doing everything to reign in his defiant streak. Eventually she put her glass down and shut her eyes, sighing all the while.
"Clearly you've forgotten your place Adam." Her eyes flashed open, one side brimming bright with untold power as she shot upwards into the air. The table flipped over and sent Adam sprawling to the floor. He scooted back on his feet as the air whipped around them like a tornado. Cinder watched, unimpressed as he shakily got to his feet, eyes still brimming with disobedience.
How incorrigible.
With a wave of her arm she sent tendrils of fire after him, each one twisting like a serpent in the air, searching tirelessly for prey.
"I-I wasn't disobeying," Adam heaved the words out, his breathing tense and quick as the fiery snakes surrounded him, "I was going to send members immediately."
"Immediately? Now Adam," she lowered to the floor, flames split in half to give her a path, as though she were the apocalyptic version of Moses, "they were supposed to be there yesterday. Not next week, not tomorrow, and certainly NOT TODAY." She punctuated her words by lifting him off the floor, she forced a stream of hot air into his lungs, not doubt an uncomfortable experience judging by the wild shaking of his legs.
"Shinder-reash-ack" Adam choked on his words as the air refused to move.
The lone guard watched silently as his boss was completely manhandled by the beautiful avatar of fire.
"Now Adam, I'll make this as clear as possible -for your sake of course!" Cinder added calmly. She quelled the air and lowered him to the floor gently. She embraced him tightly, arms enveloped and gently caressed him. "If you ever –and I truly mean this next part- ever disobey me so blatantly again, I'll have you put down." She whispered into his ear, her gentle voice a stark contrast to her message.
"Ye-yes…" Adam mumbled quietly, frozen solid despite the heated exchange he had just had.
"Good. So go send your men now. I'll forgive this infraction of yours Adam, I'm kind enough to understand your problems with Roman. But next time," her high heels clicked and her voice gently faded as she stepped out of the room, "obey first, voice questions never."
Adam breathed heavily, doing his best to fill his lungs back up with the now regular temperature air. He looked at the open door where the war maiden had left through, his mind filled with incredulous rage.
How dare a human order a proud faunus like him around! It was unbelievable, completely unthinkable. He would have to do more research into killing her soon. For now, however, he would –as much as he didn't want to- obey.
He was smart enough to know the chasm that separated their powers was wider than the Vacuan Valley of the Gods.
As Adam nursed his wounded pride, the lone guard stared in awe at the woman who had just walked out. It was as though God herself had decided to grace them with her presence. Adam always prattled on about the superiority of Faunus to humans and the fact that a goddess would choose their side had firmly cemented it into his mind.
How could the White Fang lose with such power on its side?
His eyes roved over to his defeated leader.
And who was Adam, to question God?
"Alright so let me get this straight," Roman rubbed his temples slowly, frustration building on his brow, "we need to steal a paladin."
"No Roman, we need to steal several paladins." Between Adam's sudden disobedience and Roman's well-rehearsed doubt, Cinder was beginning to think that she was losing her touch at ruling. Though violence didn't seem to work with Roman, it just made him even more bothersome. Sure, it got him to work for her in the first place but that's where the positives wore off.
Roman seemed to work best when he had the illusion of control.
"So you want me," he made sure to emphasize this next part for her sake, "to commit grand larceny of military property belonging to the Atlesian Government." Roman's hands clasped together and shook with every word. This wasn't like stealing dust –stealing dust could be a bit difficult sure, but they only had to deal with the SDC- this was stealing from the Atlas Armed Forces. Not only was it the largest military division in all of remnant, it was also the most secure.
And she wanted him to just stroll in and take what was essentially their biggest project to date…without arousing any suspicion.
Fucking amazing.
"I have contacts that will get you in Roman, don't worry-"
"No I have every reason to worry." He cut her off and the temperature went to unbearable almost instantly –fuck the consequences though, she needed to hear him out for this. "This isn't something they'll write off Cinder. This isn't something they'll keep quiet about. The moment Ironwood finds out –and he absolutely will, don't say he won't- he'll go straight on the attack. We're talking a total lockdown of every single military branch. He'll comb through every single person involved with a fine comb, and let me be clear here. HE. WILL. FIND. US."
"Roman," she grit her teeth as the words barely left her lips. How dare he! This wasn't just doubt, this was complete insubordination! Clearly she had been TOO kind with him in the recent days. It was time to nip this behavior before it had time to grow. "If you read the whole outline, I can assure-"
"I have the damn thing memorized Cinder, don't worry about that." He paused to take a breath, no matter how searing the air was getting he couldn't stop. "What you're not getting is this, we're not stealing the blueprints or just the core schematics –that'd be easy- you want to steal an entire fucking legion of already built paladins. How are they not going to notice this?"
"They will but by the time they do it'll be too-"
"What'll happen in reality is that they'll find out instantly when quite literally billions of lien worth of military equipment go missing over-fucking-night. Instantly Cinder, instantly." He resisted the urge to wipe the beads of sweat pouring down his face and instead opted to continue speaking –shouting really.
"And you can't transport something like this without leaving a trail. Dust can fit into neat little boxes that can be snuck everywhere, this is a multistory fighting robot armed with rocket launchers, machine guns, and the most advanced laser tracking system ever developed. " He noted Cinders violent expression and weighed the odds of him surviving this as pretty low. "They won't just have these things unguarded either, there will absolutely be multi-layered security surrounding each one. "
This was insane. Stealing from the SDC was bad enough but this was just unbelievable. Could they steal it? Absolutely. No question in his mind that he could get these things out of their factories with a little legwork and elbow grease, he was a genius after all. But he couldn't hide them, at least not long enough for her plans to take effect.
He finally wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief. He wasn't smoldering ash just yet so clearly his words got through to her on some level.
Either that or she was just ruminating on which method of death would cause the greatest amount of pain.
Seconds ticked by in silence, neither party budged, Cinder's expression stayed monstrous.
Seconds became minutes, each one trudging along longer than the last. Cinder's expression started to falter.
They reached a dozen minutes passing before Cinder finally spoke –with words instead of fire.
"So what would you recommend Roman?" She asked sarcastically. It hurt her pride so much to ask him but he made valid points. She was used to fighting for what she wanted, grabbing hold of fate with her own two hands and wringing its pathetic neck until it bended to her whim. But the Atlesian military wasn't something she could simply wring.
And it was true, when she came up with the plan she hadn't thought too deeply on how the Atlesian military would respond.
"We don't steal the paladins at all." He said quite curtly. Slowly but surely, the air began to turn back to normal.
"Unacceptable, we need them."
"Why? What purpose will they even serve?" Roman seriously wasn't seeing their benefits.
"As weapons."
"That's what they're built as Cinder. But nothing here explains why we'll need so many." He knew what dangerous waters he was treading into now.
"…" Cinder weighed her options carefully. She would never trust him with their full plan but…he was integral to their success. "I intend to hack them and override their autopilot features."
"Once again, why do we need so many? One would suffice –which by the way would still leave us with the same problem. Even one is one too many for Atlas to just misplace."
"Mountain Glenn will be filled with dangerous grimm, we'll need the firepower."
"The only thing a paladin does is increase the likely hood of an early tunnel collapse, completely derailing," somewhere in Beacon, a young blond girl sneezed, "that plan."
"It's a matter of power projection Roman."
"You alone have more than enough power projection." The closest thing to a compliment he had ever paid her.
"I…" Cinder wracked her brain for an answer. Why did she need these damn things? It's not like they were going to bring a massive army to their borders. The plan was to cause the collapse from within.
"You may be strong, but Ironwood and his army -who won't sit idly by as we do something this reckless by the way- have the man power to contest you. You dislike recklessness right? Why not go the simpler direction?" A hook.
"What 'simpler direction'?" Taken.
"In your plan you said that you have access to the factory the paladins are being built in. Whoever is there, tell them to grab you schematics of the core processor; how it works, what language its firmware is written in, and if they can somehow grab a copy of that firmware, you're golden." A line.
"And that will do what?" She was skeptical of course.
"It lets you do the hacking without having to steal a multi-ton fighting machine. As long as you have the brain of that bot, you can hack it and run as many simulations needed."
"Wouldn't that mean we need to steal a core processor?"
"No, we just need the schematics and the firmware. All easily copied without a trace."
"And what, pray tell, does that get us?"
"We can make our own core processor." It was Cinder's turn to laugh this time.
"You're just going to make an entire paladin from scratch?"
"We don't make the paladin Cinder, just the processor, the brain." God she could be frustrating sometimes.
"And this will let us hack other paladins?"
"Yes."
"I see…" Thrown.
She desperately wanted to refuse his idea, burn him alive, and throw him in a ditch…
But, as begrudging as she was to admit it, he was right.
"So how do you want to do this?" The sinker.
"Oh, so it's my choice now?" She asked derisively. "Last time I checked you were getting quite uppity with my decisions."
"I get uppity with everyone's decisions, mainly when it concerns my personal well-being." Selfish and self-absorbed; his two most well-known qualities, no reason to deviate now and cause suspicions.
"…You can make this work?"
"Absolutely."
"No mistakes."
"None at all."
"…" She wanted to so desperately wipe his smug grin off the face of Remnant right then and there.
Roman waited patiently, watching every movement of hers with rapt attention. This was his do or die moment -quite literally if you looked back just a few minutes ago.
Finally she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in an uncharacteristic show of annoyance. Roman caused far too many headaches to count.
"…Fine." And with that Roman let out a relieved mental sigh.
"I'll get started on it right now."
"You do that Roman," she briskly turned around and walked out the door, but before she left fully, Cinder threw in one last comment, "and just for future reference."
"Wh-OW!" He jumped when a tendril of flame lit the edge of his coat on fire.
"Next time you act so insubordinate, I'll make sure to light the rest of you on fire."
He grumbled to himself as she walked out and shut the door.
What a massive b-
"-itch."
"What was that vomit boy?" Yang raised a threatening fist at the blond leader. Jaune put his hands up in defense.
"I was just saying that the grass makes me itch!"
"Sure you were…" She cracked her knuckles and walked menacingly towards him.
Pyrrha sighed as Yang put her leader into a harsh headlock. They were supposed to be gathering tree sap and it was going…
"Nora stop eating the sap!" Ren shouted, stealing another jar away from the excitable girl.
…slowly. Team RWBY had boldly declared that they would be combining their woman power to create the ultimate tree sap gathering group. The helpful idea appealed to both teams.
"Ow! Don't pull my hair out! Ruby, help me!"
"I'll pull every luscious blond lock right out until you take your words back vomit boy!"
"Yang! Don't be so rough!"
Helpful being a…subjective term of course. Pyrrha looked at Blake then Weiss, both of whom looked back at her and shot her tired grins. Apparently Yang was always like this so they were already used to it.
Pyrrha took a deep breath of the fall air. The foliage of Forever Fall was dyed in the million shades of red, it suited her tastes quite well. It felt so crisp and natural and while the threat of grimm was still present out here, she still felt quite relaxed.
Which was why she having trouble understanding the awkward air around her right now.
On her left, Blake screwed another jar shut and planted it firmly in their assigned container, on her right, Weiss did the same, with slightly more vigor.
…
"So…how has team RWBY been?" Pyrrha asked innocently. A simple probing question with an obvious answer, but it wasn't the words they used to answer she cared for particularly, it was all about the tone.
"Good." They answered at the exact same time with the exact same neutral tone. That doesn't bode well at all, Pyrrha mused to herself. They glanced at each other for a moment before looking away awkwardly again.
She looked to Ren for assistance but he was too busy trying to stop Nora from eating their batch of tree sap. Jaune was now stuck in a Boston Crab courtesy of Yang and Ruby was hitting her with tiny balled fists in a futile attempt to end his torment.
"Have you guys thought about what kind of mission you'll be looking to take?" Hopefully some small talk would help alleviate whatever stress they were feeling.
"No." Two monotone voices spoke in tandem.
"Oh…" Pyrrha coughed into her arm and decided to try another approach. "Our team is going to a village in the outskirts. Have either of you been that far out?"
"No." Weiss answered but Blake remained silent this time. She bit her lips and flicked her grim eyes at her white haired teammate. She chose her words carefully.
"I've…been out there a few times -just some camping adventures though!" She quickly amended when Weiss shot her a look and raised an eyebrow.
Pyrrha stopped from asking the question that naturally bubbled to her lips. Blake didn't seem quite keen on talking about her 'camping adventures' –as she put them- so she decided to simply drop it.
Weiss frowned.
Her mouth opened, ready to ask a question but closed again –as though she were unsure about the nature of asking itself. She slowly closed her lips and an inquisitive look befell her face. It still didn't make sense to her at all; for Blake to so staunchly defend the White Fang with ease as she had. It hurt her so much, that a supposed friend would be okay with a group that killed so many family members.
Finally she gathered her courage and began her line of questioning.
"What kind of 'camping adventures'?"
"Just regular camping."
"Where did you guys go?"
"The forest."
"What were you all doing?"
"Like I said before, camping."
"Who were you with?"
"Fa-" Blake choked on her words. She had almost said family for a moment before she had stopped herself. "Just some people I knew."
"Some people you knew…"
"Yes. Why? What does it matter now?"
That was a good question wasn't it, Weiss thought to herself. Why did it matter? It could easily just be some old friends that she felt sorely about. But…What if it wasn't? What if her suspicions were right?
…
What if Blake was…
She shook her head slightly, dispelling those thoughts. No matter how bad they had fought earlier she still considered Blake a friend. She was certain her assumption was wrong.
So she dropped her questioning.
"You're right. It doesn't."
Such a simple end, but Weiss felt neither satisfied nor happy with the answer. She felt a stirring inside of her that yearned for more information.
No…
It yearned for confirmation.
Pyrrha made as little noise as possible as the exchange happened, listening carefully as Blake gave her curt replies to every question. It was strange seeing them like this, she thought to herself slightly worried. While neither Blake nor Weiss were known to have excitable personalities like their other two members, they usually brought a life of their own to any situation.
"Hey," Yang appeared within their midst, now holding Jaune in another headlock as she dragged ruby by her cloak. "Watch out, asshole at our 12." Heads turned just in time to see Cardin Winchester and the rest of team CRDL swaggering their way towards them.
"Can't even handle your woman Arc?" The brawny leader spat out while derisive laughter. Jaune sighed and tapped Yang's arm, prompting the girl to let him out. "Have to ask permission from mommy for release?"
Jaune straightened up and leveled Cardin with a hard glare. "What do you want, Cardin?"
"I can't come here to talk to a friend?"
"The only friend you have is your right hand." Yang said rather loudly, prompting laughter from her teammates.
Inwardly Pyrrha felt some slight relief, seeing team RWBY unite together again -Blake and Weiss putting whatever small feud they had in lieu of focusing on Cardin.
"You looking to take its place blondie?" He leered at Yang and raised a suggestive eyebrow. To his disappointment, Yang didn't react disgusted or frustrated, she just rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Didn't know you were gay Cardin. Must be great to be on an all-male team then though."
"What? I was asking you-"
"No." She stopped him immediately. "I'm sure you were referring to Jaune with that statement since even the most uneducated backwater hick would be able to tell I'm too far out of your league."
Snickers filled the small clearing as Cardin's face turned red.
"Cardin, how about you leave before you get into any more trouble." Jaune said as he stepped in.
"Oh, you trying to step in for your woman Arc?" Cardin was disappointed again though when Jaune's visage didn't change at all. Not even a blush.
"No, but I always wanted to be a Hero," Cardin looked confused at that statement but Jaune barreled on, "so I decided to start by saving you from the slaughter Yang's putting you through."
He bristled at the insult but shook it off quickly.
"Makes sense now that I think about it. After all if I'm not in her league then there's no chance for you."
Jaune got ready to speak up but Yang stepped in and put a finger on his lips. She smiled cruelly at Cardin.
"Guess you're as blind as you are dumb, since Jaune here beats you out the water."
"Oh really, and what's Jaune got that I don't?"
Yang swirled around and planted a firm kiss on her fellow blonde's lips. She quickly turned back around to see a pleasantly stunned Cardin.
"He's got more experience kissing girls than you, for one."
Cardin's mouth was left gaping.
"You leave that mouth open any longer I'm gonna assume you're asking for Jaune to give you some 'experience'." Yang smirked and folded her arms across her chest. "And we already know you're batting for the other team already anyways."
He snapped his mouth shut and grimaced. Cardin shook his head and flipped them the bird as he walked off, his team firmly in tow as they quietly followed their leader.
Yang felt pleased -she loved winning these small little spats that rose up with assholes. She turned around only to be met with several open mouths and –she laughed a bit to herself here- some slightly jealous stares.
Jaune was apparently still in some strange shell-shock mode since he hadn't moved after the small kiss. It was kind of sad and kind of cute at the same time –apparently he was that innocent.
"Don't think too much into it vomit boy." She said as she strutted past him, slapping him lightly on the chest. "I just wanted to one up Cardin."
"Yeah…" Jaune replied, coughing into his sleeve as his brain finally caught up to the situation.
Blushing –activated.
Heart rate –ludicrous speed.
Conscious thought –still loading.
Hiding her feelings underneath and easy smile, Pyrrha felt her heart twinge slightly at the scene. She couldn't place why exactly it made her uncomfortable but it certainly did. Moreover, she didn't know how to fix it –nothing she had learned had ever really prepared her to deal with a situation quite like this.
So she sat there, her smile slightly strained as she scooted just a bit closer to her leader.
"YANG!" Ruby wasn't quite as reserved though. She could place exactly what she was feeling but her young mind was still struggling to come to terms with the feeling. Jealousy was bad, her father and sister had taught her that much growing up, so this terrible feeling gnawing on her chest made her want to lash out so badly.
"Yes Rubes?" Yang asked, putting on her most innocent of expressions.
No one really bought it.
"You…You can't just…" The smaller girl struggled to put her thoughts into words. She knew what she wanted to say –no question about it- but she knew saying it would leave her vulnerable to her sister's eternal torment. "I mean-"
Yang stopped her by placing a placating hand on her head and rubbed. Quite dog-like but it suited her and her ever increasing desire to please the people around her. Ruby quieted down as she felt the comforting hand of her sister.
"Once again Rubes, it meant literally nothing, so just calm down and don't think too deep into it."
"Mmkay…" Ruby mumbled quietly. She sat back down -more embarrassed than anything at this point- and went back to filling jars with tree sap with the rest of their team.
For a small period of time, it was uncharacteristically quiet in the small clearing, the only sound being the clinking of jars.
Then Cardin came out of nowhere and threw a jar of tree sap at Jaune.
Roman's warehouse was a frenzy of activity, his goons running back and forth from place to place, huge crates of dust being moved into several freightliner trucks, and –most surprisingly- several White Fang members stood at attention as Roman addressed them.
"Alright then, who's in charge?" Roman asked the congregation of faunus.
"That would be me." A deep voice sounded from the crowd. Roman raised a single eyebrow. He sighed when a respectably large man swaggered up to him –and judging by the scowl and tight posture, he looked about as happy to work with Roman as Roman was to work with Cinder.
Perfect.
Does he have a saw on his back? Roman thought to himself with slight incredulity. What the hell was that supposed to be? A weapon?
"Oh, and who exactly are you supposed to be?" Roman asked lazily, even as the imposing faunus decided to step as close as possible and stare him down. He didn't even raise his eyes to meet the White Fang member's own pair.
"Adam's lieutenant in the White Fang." He snarled out.
Roman just shrugged his shoulders and pulled out another cigar, lighting it up slowly, taking his time as the so called lieutenant began to sneer. He took a deep drag and opened his mouth, letting the smoke exit his lungs at their own pace.
"So you read Cinders little pamphlet for this mission?"
"I have."
"So you know who your current boss is, right?"
Oh, that definitely touched a nerve, Roman thought to himself as the White Fang leader bristled and flared his nostrils.
"Yes, and my only boss is Adam Taurus, I don't listen to humans." Spittle flew with his words, small splotches landing on Romans face. Roman reached into his coat, pulled out a small handkerchief, and wiped the spit off his face.
The cigar glowed brightly.
"I see." A simple reply. Short, curt, and easily understood.
*WACK*
"ARGH!"
Just like the wailing Roman decided to dish out on the man. His cane shot out and slammed into the lieutenant's knee, causing it to collapse. Several other members took up their arms and readied themselves for to fight but Roman merely stalked around the lieutenant, his cane swinging in wide arcing circles.
"So you don't take orders from 'humans'?" He said sarcastically even as the man got up and drew his massive saw weapon. Roman stifled a laugh when the 'leader' came running at him, the teeth of his saw turning madly.
The blade came crashing down, throwing dust up when it dug into the hard concrete floor. Roman lashed out again with his cane, smashing the end into the faunus' face, sending him flying back.
"You ready to take orders now mister 'Adam's lieutenant'?" It was pathetic really, the man barely had any combat sense, relying instead on pure brawn. Easily overcome by anyone with a modicum of skill. Judging by his flared nostrils and heaving chest though, Roman assumed the answer to his question to be a resounding 'no'.
"Fuck you. I've heard all about you Torchwick. A pathetic excuse even amongst other humans. Cinder can give me all the orders she wants but I only listen to Adam Taurus. A racist piece of shit like you has no right to order me!"
Roman pinched the bridge of his nose, stemming the oncoming wave of headaches that hit him. In the moment he closed his eyes, Roman also stepped to the side, dodging another terribly aimed blow while lashing the hooked end of his cane out to wrap around the man's neck.
He pulled sharply to the floor then spun around his falling form. Roman placed a knee into his back as he pulled on his cane, choking the brash lieutenant.
"Alright then, let's clear the record. I don't like you. I don't like Adam either for that matter. In fact, let me make this clear, I hate all of you," the faunus behind him snarled in protest –the one in front of him tried but quite literally choked on his words- "but not for the reasons you're probably thinking of, because I don't give a shit if you're a faunus."
That drew several confused looks.
"Your cute little animal traits –the ones you keep prattling on about all the time- they mean nothing to me. No, the reason I hate you is far simpler." He fished out a cigar and lit it slowly.
"You're sloppy." Such a simple statement that grabbed their attention.
"It's a problem I've found even with my own organization. Sloppiness leads to failure and failure usually leads to cuffs. So of course I don't like you, but not because your look like some furry wannabe, but –and I need your full attention here- because you're going to get me killed and I don't like people who actively shorten my lifespan."
He continued, even as the faunus below him struggled twice as hard.
"So let me make this clear, I'm not going to let you get me killed. I don't care if you pledged yourself to only follow Adam's orders. If you don't follow my orders to a 'T'," Roman leaned in, whispering the last words harshly and letting the smoke seep into the lieutenant's ear, "I'll personally introduce you to the floor, and I promise, the meeting, will be intimate."
"…Fu-"
Roman slammed his head into the floor. HARD. Cracks appeared in the concrete where he dug the White Fang members head into the ground.
"You ready to listen now?" He grabbed the man's skull and pulled upwards, dragging it out of the tough stone. "Or do you want another date?"
"Ugh…" The faunus let out hacking coughs, blood trailed down his forehead and covered his face in crimson lines. "…fuck-"
*BOOM*
Roman slammed his face back into the concrete, digging it further into the ground.
"Not the right answer. Ah, one moment please." He looked up at the rest of the faunus, many of whom had their weapons drawn but had hesitant looks on their face. "Anyone else feel like getting involved? No? I thought so."
He brought the increasingly bloodied face back up, it seemed like he had broken some teeth with that last slam. Looked quite painful he noted to himself.
"So, are you ready now?"
"I'd rather die."
Roman sighed to himself, smoke drifted into the air. These fanatical types were always the most difficult to deal with –no empathy really, it's like they never thought of how it impacted him! So he decided to take a different route.
"Ugh…What is it going to take to get you to just work with me?" He asked carefully, taking care not to give any room for true negotiation to take place.
"There is nothing you can do to get me to work for you." If looks could kill, Roman would have died thrice over by now.
"Didn't Adam send you here to work with me?" Seriously, was every White Fang member this imbecilic? It was like they were trying to be as obstructive as possible.
"Don't be so presumptuous-"
"Wow, I'm impressed you know such a large word. Adam must have trained you quite well."
"Fuck off. Adam would never allow the White Fang to heel for a human!" He shouted loudly, raising his saw up once again. Roman sighed quietly to himself.
"And exactly what makes you think I'm asking you to heel?" Oh god… Roman thought to himself as the truth began to dawn on him. This idiot thought working with humans was heeling to them.
"You expect us to follow the orders of a human!"
"Ok then." Oh for the love of God…Roman's thoughts turned violent for a brief flash at the reply. Today was just getting worse and worse as it went on. "Look how about this then; I won't order you around," the White Fang leader snarled at him but allowed him to continue, "you and your friends over there-" Roman waved a hand nonchalantly, "-don't have to do a single thing I say."
Roman let the information sink in for a moment, allowing the idea to ruminate in their heads before continuing.
"All I'm asking, is that we work TOGETHER –I said together by the way, so please put your little saw sword thing away- and come up with a plan." Roman finished with a small wave of his hands and a smile. If this worked somehow…
"What entails working together?" It was actually working…Good lord these peons were also morons apparently.
"We sit down and talk; figure out a general plan where you lead your faunus friends and I lead my goons, and together we accomplish our goals."
"And pray tell, what are your goals?"
"To make sure Cinder doesn't turn me into ash." That answer got a scoff from several of the gathered faunus, though it didn't bother Roman at all –survival came first and Roman liked looking out for numero uno. "Look, you can even consult with Adam, ask him how you should proceed, I won't stop you as long as the end result is me living."
"Do you care about anything other than yourself?" He snarled out. This human was just like the rest; selfish, arrogant, evil, and greedy. He could see it in his eyes, his posture, everything.
"Nope." Another truthful statement! He was certainly on a roll now. "But let's be honest, would you expect anything else from a guy like me?" He spread his arms wide and held his posture with complete and utter confidence.
"Of course not." Another scathing reply, but it bothered Roman little. "Fine then human, I'll consult with Adam about this matter, but let me warn you, if he tells me to kill you…" He let the threat hang in the air as he stalked back towards his fellow White Fang members.
It was Roman's turn to scoff now as he rolled his eyes and spun his cane again. It's like he forgot the massive beat down Roman had happily given to him just moments earlier.
"Yeah, you go do that." Roman replied as he walked away, heading back into his office.
What a fucking day.
"Yeah man, the White Fang are in town!" Otis said excitedly to his friend, slamming a beer onto the oak table. Spittle flew from his mouth as he continued. "Adam Taurus himself is here! Says he's going to end the hostility aimed at faunus here in Vale!"
Tukson gingerly reached for his own mug of alcohol as he listened to his friend rant on about the White Fang. Once he say the posters he immediately decided to scope out some other White Fang sympathizers and find out what they knew. So far the experience was…
"They say they got these crazy super soldiers that can fights hunters and shit man!"
…eye opening to say the least. Tukson grinned back at his associate and motioned for him to continue.
"You've worked with 'em before right man?" Otis asked, his voice dropping to a whisper despite the fact they were both sitting in Tukson's bookstore with the blinds closed, doors locked, and cameras off. Tukson just sighed and nodded in affirmation.
"Nice, so that means I'll see you at the rally right?" Tukson perked up at the question. Rally? What the hell was this all about? No one had told him about a rally coming up, well, until now that was.
"I actually haven't heard, what's this rally all about?" Otis' jaw dropped at Tukson's question, he slapped his knee and gestured his beer towards him.
"What d'ya mean you ain't heard? Adam Taurus is scheduling a special rally for faunus across Vale who are interested in becoming full-fledged White Fang members. You're going right?" He asked, eyes narrowing slightly as he took another deep gulp.
Tukson felt a bead of sweat pool up on his brow. A recruitment rally here in Vale was the last thing he wanted to hear about.
"Yeah, I'll be there. Gotta go show my support you know." He answered absentmindedly. What a damn shit show… he thought to himself darkly. Adam Taurus in town, recruitment rallies going on, and he had no clue what the hell it was all for. The White Fang usually stayed away from Vale, focusing most of its resources in Atlas, where discrimination was more prevalent. Vale was a nice place now that he had lived here for so long, the people were friendly and no one gave the White Fang any attention.
Hell, he would say that people were so friendly to faunus here because the White Fang didn't intervene.
God he didn't want to leave yet.
"You alright there Tuk?" Otis asked worriedly to his friend.
"What?" Tukson snapped his head upwards and grinned lightly, shaking his head of his thoughts and coming back to reality. "Yeah, I'm just thinking about how far we've all come."
"Yeah, the White Fang have really made the difference in this fight haven't they man. It's finally happening, the rise of the faunus!" Otis waved his hands as he said that, as though he were talking about some fabled prophecy. Tukson knew better though, his hands gripping tightly to his beer, the White Fang had done nothing but made it so much worse for them.
He bit his lips, stopping the traitorous words from exiting his lips. Otis was another fanatic he had known for a little bit back when he ran propaganda jobs for the White Fang. Back in the day, Otis used to be so excited to know an actual White Fang member. If he found out that Tukson had backed out of his White Fang life…
"So a rally right? Where is it being held?" Tukson asked. He had already decided to commit himself to helping stall the spread of White Fang influence in Vale so at the very least going to a rally would keep the target off his back as he worked.
"It's supposed to be at some warehouse in the Corvix district." Tukson nearly choked on his beer when he heard that. Otis roughly pounded on his back as he continued speaking. "Yeah, surprised me too, Corvix district is where mister fancy pants operates. You think Adam got him to work for him?" Tukson continued letting out a hacking cough. Roman Torchwick working with the White Fang –no fucking way that could ever happen.
"Well I guess we'll find out when we get there right?" Tukson said wearily. Hopefully that faunus girl was staying out of all this shit, it'd be a shame to see her get radicalized in a city as nice as Vale.
"So you are going! Nice cause I kind of need a ride there." Otis said, laughing throatily as he slapped an arm around Tukson's shoulder.
Tukson laughed as well -a fake laugh certainly, but Otis was about as bright as a box of crayons put into a trash compactor.
God damn…What a shit show…Tukson thought to himself grimly.
A/N: Gonna be a short authors note here this time but I was pleased with the end result for this chapter, it felt a bit weak at certain parts but I put the work in to finish it and I'm proud of that. Aside from that thanks to all of you who chose to favorite, review, or follow!
I'm loving the election cycle even more as well for anyone participating. If you are keeping up, leave a review or pm me what candidate you're supporting and why. I might actually start a blog site detailing each candidate and their policies for the layman.
If you're interested in that kind of thing tell me! Also I think I'll be starting another story soon!
So look forward to that!
