Chapter 3: Setting Things In Motion
Life has sucked for the past few years. One could wonder why life sucks so much, but when a bunch of children ruin your evil plans, resulting in you getting sent to a maximum security military operated prison and are forced to wear a straight jacket and sleep on a piece of metal hanging off the wall, it becomes pretty obvious why life sucks.
Cinder had everything. She had looks, she had power, she had evil lackeys and a sizable paycheck from her employers, and the eyes of every person in Remnant were on her. She had everything she could've wanted, and then a bunch of Ozpin's children from Beacon Academy ripped all that down and ruined everything. The Atlesian military took her custody into their own hands, meaning no trial, no bail, and no way for The Coalition to get her out of it. Roman Torchwick, after escaping prison the first time, was captured with her, General Ironwood giving the security of the two extra attention. Torchwick's partner Neo escaped the scene and is still at large, and word has it that Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black are making a name for themselves in the criminal underground. The White Fang was crippled, but managed to hold on after Adam Taurus replaced a member of The Coalition's leadership, his predecessor having died in an "accident" after a series of failures. Cinder sat on her metal bed in her cramped and cold prison cell and wondered what her life would be like if that red hooded brat hadn't gotten in her way. She was snapped out of her thoughts, however, when a voice came from outside her cell.
"You looked a lot better in the pictures on the news." the voice came from an unusually tall man with grayish skin and red eyes. His messy black hair hung down to his waist in back and hung over his eyes in front. He wore a black tank top with baggy black pants and black boots under a black sleeveless high-collared duster. Sheathed on his back was what appeared to be a longsword with the handle wrapped in dark red cloth. He clearly was not one of the guards.
"Can I help you?" Cinder quipped back sarcastically, glaring back at the man.
"Actually, you can." the man replied, causing Cinder to raise an eyebrow. "I'm looking for people with a specific disposition. Yourself, as well as a colleague of yours by the name of Roman Torchwick, both seem to fit this criteria, as well as members of a group you were once associated with." the man paused to let his words sink in. "I have a proposition for you. If you serve me and carry out my will unquestioningly, I will free you from this prison and protect you from the forces that put you here in the first place."
"Look, whoever you are," Cinder began, glaring at the individual outside her cell "that sounds great and all, but I'm not exactly in the business of being an evil minion, and how am I even supposed to trust that you can get me out of here AND prevent me from being brought back in?"
"This is a maximum security detainment center, is it not? Yet I am standing here unobstructed by those whose duty it is to guard this facility. I have created no commotion, raised no alarms, yet I stand before you. That alone should be enough proof of my abilities."
Cinder thought about this for a moment. This was supposed to be a state-of-the-art detention facility. To break in, even for an experienced Huntsman or Huntress, would be nearly impossible, breaking out from within not even being worth considering. Yet there was a strange man who clearly should not have been allowed into the facility standing unnoticed, except for by herself, in front of her cell.
"Let's say I accept your offer," Cinder began, "I can't help you much without the right equipment and resources. My abilities were largely connected to my dust infused clothing, which I obviously do not possess, and much of the power I had relied on the connections I had to the criminal underground which are likely irreparably severed. How exactly am I supposed to be of any use?"
"The minds of mortals are easily corrupted, setting up an infrastructure in the criminal underground will not be an issue. As for your 'dust' infused clothing, I can obtain the materials you would need to recreate and improve upon it as you so desire." the tall man stared inquisitively back at Cinder, clearly awaiting a response.
"One last question." this time, it was the tall man's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Am I being paid for this?"
"Your loyalty will be compensated more than adequately with whatever you may desire."
"You two are ten minutes late, what took you so long?" Weiss was visibly irritated with her teammates' tardiness. She wore a tight white long sleeved jacket with black accenting with the top few buttons undone, exposing her upper chest and part of the silvery blouse underneath, with a white skirt and white high heeled thigh high boots. Sheathed on her right side was an ornate silver short sword and revolver set.
"Sorry, Blake and I were… uhhh… talking." Yang rattled her mind for an excuse. She wore a brown leather jacket with the collar up over a revealing yellow sports bra with black shorts and brown combat boots, along with her signature aviator sunglasses.
"Right, 'talking'. We're perfectly aware of how you to spend your private time sis." Ruby quipped back at her sister. She had changed into a dark red sleeveless top with a red skirt and black knee high boots. Her hood was down, showing her long, crimson hair, a little bit of it hanging in front of her silver eyes.
"So, where are we eating?" Blake chimed in as an attempt to change the subject. She wore a black zip-up sleeveless vest, unzipped to reveal a bit of her chest, with a short black slit skirt, black high heeled knee high boots, and dark purple stockings, all under a long black jacket. She chose to leave her cat ears exposed after graduating from Beacon instead of leaving them hidden under a bow.
"Ruby suggested that we try out this new restaurant downtown, apparently the food is really good there." Weiss chimed back, clearly caring more about getting food in her stomach than complaining about her friends' tardiness. After all, it was almost 2 in the afternoon.
"Sounds like a plan to me, allons-y!" Yang pumped her fist in the air, marching off and leading the party down the street.
The restaurant, named Edgar's Cuisine, was rather busy for the time of day, but Team RWBY had no trouble finding a table. After ordering their food, the four of them began discussing the events at hand.
"So what are we going to do about all this?" Blake started. "Obviously we have to investigate this stranger that appeared out of nowhere, but we also have to find more leads on The Coalition and the White Fang."
"The Atlesian Intelligence Committee should be able to handle tracking down more leads on The Coalition, so we should probably focus our attention on tracking down this stranger, especially if he could be a threat." Weiss chimed in.
"That sounds like a good idea and all, but all we really know is that he's freakishly tall, has red eyes, black hair, a sword, wears all black, and has a god complex." Yang replied. "We're literally looking for a stereotypical super villain. If we were to ask around, all we'd get is weird looks and no answers."
"We have a name as well." Blake cut in. "He said his name was Kelas Sackrain… or something like that."
"So we're looking for a super villain named Kelas." Yang slumped back in her chair, deciding to pet Blake's cat ears.
"If you ask me, someone like that would stick out like a sore thumb." Weiss chimed back. "If I saw someone like that walking around I'd have a lot of trouble forgetting it."
"Maybe we should call Ozpin." Ruby spoke for the first time since the conversation started. "If we learned one thing about him while we were at Beacon, it's that he has connections in every major organisation in Remnant. If we talk to him, we could get an all points bulletin put out on the guy and maybe get an idea of where to start looking."
"That sounds like a great idea." Weiss chimed back. "What do you two think?"
Yang simply gave a thumbs up with her free hand, having been distracting a purring Blake for the past couple of minutes with her other.
Cinder, now happily back in her usual outfit, marched briskly through the slums on the outskirts of Atlas, her new employer in tow. They didn't have much choice in transportation for the moment, as the trick that the unusual man had used to get them out of the prison only works if he knows where he's going, so Cinder had to guide them through the streets and alleyways to get them to their destination.
"Keep up the pace or we'll attract too much attention." she ordered back at the man following her.
"Don't worry about it, we won't be noticed." the man calmly replied.
"Sorry but we're not exactly the most inconspicuous pair of criminals at the moment." she shot back, irritated by the lack of a sense of urgency in her follower.
"That's why I've put up a perception filter." the man replied, as calmly as before.
Cinder stopped, turned on her heel and looked the man towering over her straight in the eye. "If I'm going to be able to get anything done, I can't put up with any games you play with your subordinates, now what the fuck is a perception filter and why should I care?"
"A perception filter quite literally filters the perceptions of those around us. As far as all the people here are concerned, we are two ordinary people of no consequence walking down the street. They hardly even notice that we are standing here, let alone what we look like." the tall man stated matter-of-factually.
Cinder sighed, turned back around and continued on towards the pair's destination, but at a slightly slower pace. She felt, just for a moment, that there was something terribly amiss with the man's presence.
A young brown haired business man sits in his office looking out over Atlas. His chair is made with the finest leather, his desk of the finest wood, his floor of the finest marble, his decorations of the finest gold and silver, his suit of the finest silk. In his right hand he holds a glass made of the finest crystal, and in it is the finest wine. On his left hand, around his middle finger is a ring made from the finest platinum and seated in it is the finest emerald. He is a king, his company is his kingdom, The Coalition his right hand. The only thing that he does not have is the finest bride. He looks longingly out across the city of Atlas, eyes locked on a skyscraper emblazoned with the logo of the Schnee Dust Company. The communications panel on his desk rings, crying out for attention and interrupting his thoughts. He turns himself towards his desk and answers the needy device.
"What is it?" he asks the panel in a bored tone.
The electronic device relays a female voice, "Uhhm, a Doctor Nacht Zichermann is requesting to see you sir, should-"
"Send him in." the young king interrupts.
"Right away, sir." the com panel spits back before retreating into its alcove in the desk.
The doors open and a tall man with messy gray haired dressed in a lab coat and wearing rimless rectangular glasses steps in.
"Mr. Greene Parson, how kind of you to see me right away! I know you're such a busy-" the doctor was cut off.
"What did I say about private meetings between the members? If any of us are exposed, it would implicate the other as well." the young man shot back with a glare. "So, explain to me why you've come to my office in the middle of the day."
"Well, you see, there's been an interesting little piece of gossip floating around the Atlesian government." the scientist planted his hands on his colleague's desk and leaned forward, locking eyes. "Word has it that Mr. Torchwick and Ms. Fall were found missing from their prison cells last night." the scientist's grin widens. "Apparently, there was no record of anyone entering or leaving their cell block between the last patrol that saw them there and the one that found them missing, and no sign of a break in or break out. Just vanished into thin air." the scientist stands up and slumps back into one of the chairs meant for visitors. "I just don't know what to think about all of that. Do you think it could have something to do with the mysterious man from the White Fang safe house?"
The young business man sighs, unable to contain his interest with the rumor brought to his attention. "A strange man shows up at a secure safe house, though his presence there should be impossible. The next day, two notorious prisoners vanish from the most secure prison in Remnant. A strange coincidence indeed." the man looks up at the scientist who is still grinning wildly. "Gather all the information you can about both incidents and put out a notice for everyone to keep an eye out for this man, as well as Torchwick and Cinder. My guess is that if the two events are connected, the strange man is quite possibly going to find his way to us."
"Wonderful!" the scientist exclaims, jumping up from his chair and doing a spin before slamming his hands back on the other man's desk. "I'll get to that right away boss!" the scientist turns around and starts marching for the door, before getting stopped by the younger man.
"One more thing, what does that statue look like to you?" he asks, gesturing towards a gold statue on the far side of the room.
"Well what is is supposed to be?" the scientist asks, moving closer to inspect the figure.
"The auctioneer said it's supposed to be a big cat of some sort." the young man responds.
"What, like a puma?"
"Yea, that must be it."