Deus Ex: Bloody Evolution
Chapter 1: Calm Before Calamity
Weiss left the CCT, her mind racing. She hadn't got any clear answers from her father, but that was to be expected. He was as clear as muddy water and about as volatile as the Dust that he mined when provoked.
From what little she had learned, it was clear that something powerful had turned its gaze onto Beacon; something so powerful that her father had decided to warn her about it. SDC was one of the most powerful corporations on Remnant. They were even close to governments in terms of economic influence. And yet, her father seemed… uneasy. What had he managed to get involved in?
Whatever it was, it would end in blood, of that Weiss was certain. She had to warn the others. But how could she even face them?
She was the heiress to an international company. She was enhanced to survive in a world of corporate warfare- a computer centric world. No, she was enhanced to thrive. And yet, it was a lonely life; so lonely that her enhancements, her connection to the outside world, became a lifeline for her sanity. So when she first came to Beacon, she felt… disconnected. Her non-vital augmentations were turned off because of the fear Vale held for the new technology. But for Weiss, the comfort of her childhood was taken away. Throughout the year, she saw the world through different eyes. Without any handicaps to her aura. That was the reason she was so accepting off Blake's past. Not because of the bond the team shared (as much as she wished it was).
No. She genuinely thought a lot about the whole thing and realized something important, something right in front of her. People like her, the augmented, were exactly the same as the Faunus in this distant land. She had seen it first hand, how the augmented were treated as outcasts the same way as the Faunus. She had spent her whole life hating the Faunus for what they had done to her family. But if this is the oppression, if only somewhat of a taste of what they lived with, is it really a surprise they fought back? Did it make her a hypocrite? Scolding those who couldn't fit into society when she didn't belong any more than they did?
She also realized how alike Blake and herself were. Both were living a lie, hiding who they really were out of fear.
And now you've both ran. She thought to herself.
A voice in Weiss's head reminded her of the real issue. Keeping these secrets… wasn't it all a betrayal? Her team trusted her and she lied to them. And to make matters worse, she attacked them. Blake didn't, and wouldn't have done that. Weiss had promised Ruby she would be the best teammate she could be, and she slammed her into a wall. That was what hurt the most. Not the physical pain of her augmentations rebooting, but the emotional pain caused by the look of hurt in Ruby's eyes.
How could she explain herself? Would she be given the chance? Yang might have something to say about that. The fiery blond was fiercely protective of her sister, even more so then her hair. There was a time when Yang's ferocity felt comforting, but now it terrified Weiss. Would she be on the receiving end when she returned?
She couldn't say she wouldn't be. But she had to try. This was bigger than her.
By this time she had arrived in Beacon grounds. The sun had long since set, leaving the academy living up to its namesake- a beacon in the dark. Weiss couldn't help but notice the atmosphere. It was… heavy. Looking around, she saw Atlas soldiers that had been stationed here running around in a large hurry.
"What's happening?" Weiss asked a passing soldier.
The soldier stopped and turned to her. "There's been an attack on the far side of Vale. I recommend you return to your room. We'll handle this." He then turned away and continued running.
"Hey, wait!" Weiss shouted after him to no avail.
This wasn't good. It had all the makings of a distraction. She needed to move fast. She quickened her pace, heading to her room to warn her teammates.
Weiss arrived in their dorm's corridor. The urgency of her movements had once again slowed and were suddenly replaced by the same uncertainty she felt when first exiting the CCT. But she wasn't going to let that stop her. She couldn't. Taking a deep breath, Weiss walked the last few paces to her room. The door into the dorm was slightly agar, and when peaking in Weiss couldn't see anyone in the common area.
Weiss gently slipped through the door and closed it as silently as she could. But as she was about to open the door into the bedroom, she thought she heard voices. Briefly activating her smart vision, she could see seven people in the room. She recognized the extra shapes as team JNPR. Hesitating, she lowered her hand from the door and tuned her ears to listen to what was being said.
"…So, yeah. You guys don't have any idea what happened?" Jaune questioned. He was sitting backwards in their desk chair. Pyrrha was standing next to him, while Nora was sitting atop their desk, and Ren was leaning against the wall and right next to the door.
"No." Weiss heard Ruby's voice, filled with worry. She spotted her young partner standing in the middle of the bedroom, and also Yang and Blake near the bunk beds. Zwei was nowhere to be found, so he was probably fast asleep somewhere hidden in the dorm again in case a Resident Assistant came by.
"She was fine one moment and the next… I'm going to go and look for her." Ruby started making here way to the door, causing Weiss to drop her smart vision and nearly give her a panic attack before she heard Blake come up and stop the red hooded girl.
"Wait!"
"I can't do nothing Blake!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I'm not asking you to. But right now the best thing we can do is give her space to think. You said she'd come back. Just have some patience and some faith in her." Blake's voice was calm, always the voice of reason.
"We gave you time to think and you never came back." Yang entered the conversation, her usual cheery attitude replaced by seriousness. "If Weiss decides to stay away like you did, she might just quit and go back to Atlas."
"She won't. She's much stronger than me. She'll come back when she's ready." There was silence for a moment before Blake's attention was seemingly back on Ruby. "Don't you trust your partner?"
"Of course I do! But-" Ruby quickly shot back; and was just as quickly counted by Blake.
"Then show it by giving her the space she needs. And if if she isn't back by morning, and you still feel the need to search, I'll help you look."
"I... I don't know…" Even through the door, it was clear how unsure Ruby felt.
"Listen to Blake, Ruby." Pyrrha 's voice came up, completely sympathetic. "If what you said is true, then I think I know what's wrong with her."
"You do?" Many of the room unisoned. Mainly Jaune and Weiss's teammates.
Ruby then followed by hurling questions without giving Pyrrha a chance to respond. "What is it? Why did this happen? Is there anything we can do?"
"I'm sorry Ruby," Pyrrha interrupted the energetic girl. "But this is something that Weiss will have to tell you herself, and only if she wants to."
Hearing Ruby whimper slightly made Weiss decide she had waited enough. They obviously weren't going to let the matter stand and she was running out of time.
Taking a deep breath, Weiss entered the room with a lowered head and closed eyes. She was expecting a bunch of questions at best and a slap at worst. And Yang no matter what...
What she didn't expect was for two arms to be thrown around her.
"Weiss! You're okay!" Ruby squealed.
Opening her eyes, Weiss saw the relieved looks of her teammates. Even from Yang, though her's was more subtle.
"Yes, I'm fine Ruby. But I…" she began, but was starting to loose her train of thought. Where should she start? Her mind was completely drawing a blank.
In Weiss's struggle to find words, Ruby released Weiss from the hug and once again bombarded questions faster than anyone could follow; never mind an answer.
"What happened? Where did you go? Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"
Weiss held up a hand to silence her partner, covering Ruby's mouth and muffling her speech. In classic Ruby fashion though, she muffled on about a dozen more questions before even realizing the change. When silent, Weiss lowered her hand, and took a deep breath.
"Ruby, please. I will answer your questions, but first there's something-" She started, hoping to gain momentum.
"No buts." Interrupted Yang as she jumped from her bed on the top bunk. She came over to Weiss, standing intimidatingly above her."You threw my sister into a wall. So I'll only ask this once. What in the name of Dust is going on?"
Weiss hesitated under the fiery glare of the brawler. She knew she had to warn them, but she also knew if she didn't answer Yang's question right now there would be problems. But now that she was face to face with them... it seemed even harder. What would they think? Would they judge her for what she was like so many in the old world judged those like her?
"...The truth is... The reason that... I..."
"You're augmented, aren't you?"
Weiss looked around to see, to her surprise, it was Pyrrha who spoke out.
"It's alright Weiss. No one here will judge you." She reassured with a smile.
Weiss responded slowly. Somehow it seemed easier since she didn't have to say the word. "…Yes. I've been augmented since a young age. I've depended on them my entire life. It's why I was so… angry when I first arrived. Adapting was extremely… difficult. In a lot of ways."
Deafening silence filled the room. So quiet that one such as Weiss could quite literally hear a pin being dropped onto the floor as Nora moved her legs atop the desk.
"What does augmented mean?" Ruby asked with a confused look on her face, thankfully breaking the ominous quiet.
"It means she's part machine. A cyborg." All eyes turned to Blake, who had a somber look on her face.
And there it was. To be judged by Blake, a Faunus. Someone who's people Weiss herself had judged. Fate loved her little ironies.
"You sound like you disapprove." Ren stated more as a fact then a question from his position, still leaning on the wall. It was almost unnatural how nothing about him seemed uncomfortable with any of this.
"Not of the augmented, or even the idea of augmentations. Just what they represent." Seeing Weiss raise a questioning eyebrow made Blake take a deep sigh.
"I heard about augments through rumours while I was with the White Fang. Stories of our people in cells from Atlas and Mistral who were becoming so augmented, it became hard to tell where they ended and the machine began. Of course our new leader did nothing about it, only saying they would help further our cause. Since then, violence has only got worse, including bombings. Those individuals had become so violent and dangerous, even the leaders of our cells wouldn't let them come into our region. Augmentations had made even our own brothers and sisters the stuff of nightmares- we had begun fearing our own kind."
Blake folded her arms, lowered her eyes and withdrew herself to her bed. She sat down. Staring at the floor for a silent moment before speaking up again.
"When I was a bit younger and heard about the possibilities augmentations brought, I truly thought that they could be used as a way to bridge the gap; That they could somehow be a way to bring humans and Faunus together by having something in common. I believed for some time they could be one way to give us a future. Except all they did was make it easier to take another's away."
Pyrrha approached Blake, sitting beside her and placing her arm around the rouge's shoulders in comfort.
"You're right. That's why I stopped when I did." Pyrrha said, shocking everyone in the room. Especially Jaune. "They make it too easy for others to take power."
"You're augmented too?" Weiss asked. "I would've thought you were pure."
Pyrrha looked at Weiss for a long moment, before briefly turning her gaze to everyone for brief instant. She then looked up at the ceiling. A sad smile took shape as she became seemingly lost in thoughts and memories. Sad, and happy ones. And many more that fit somewhere in-between.
"Yes. It's true." She said.
"What?"
"Huh?"
"You are?!" Cries came out from out from Ruby, Yang, and Jaune respectively. The reaction causing the gladiator to chuckle a bit and abandon her somber expression for a new and brighter one.
"I suppose- in a way- I'm living prove that, no matter what they've become, augmentations have a place in modern society. When I was young, I would have died of a weak heart if it wasn't for a charity event hosted by a company from Mistral, called Tai Yong Medical. They gave me a cybernetic heart to replace my failing one. And I was finally able to live a normal life after some years of being bed ridden. Then, after winning my first tournament, it was then upgraded by Darrow Industries to cope with the increased heart rate when fighting. I even got new eyes from Sarif industries for being a cereal mascot. Though, it was around then that I realized that... these people didn't care about helping others. All they cared about and all I had ever been was a chance to promote their products and make money. So I left for Beacon, a fresh and new start, and I never looked back." Pyrrha let out another soft, though humourless, laugh.
"Imagine that. The champion that everyone looks up to, aspires to… would have died in a crib if not for augmentation." She then turned her head to Blake. "So while augmentations may be abominations to you, I owe them too big a debt to just reject them wholeheartedly."
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't know." Blake said sympathetically.
"Don't be. What you said is true in some aspects. Augmentation has caused a lot of bad. Especially in recent years. But it has also caused some good."
"Yeah, like me!" Norah shouted, attracting everyone's attention as she sprang to her feet.
"You too?" Jaune exasperated. His brain was beginning to fry from all this.
"Yup yup. I developed stomach cancer caused by a dormant gene, whatever that means. I had to have my whole stomach replaced! But I'm fine now." She finished with a grin.
"Apart from an unusual side effect." Ren said with a smile. "Her cybernetic stomach processes food quicker, meaning she has too eat more; faster to feel full."
"That explains a lot." Yang said, pinching between her brow as she shook her head. "Too much actually."
"The point I was trying to make, is that you are not alone Weiss." Pyrrha regained control of the conversation. She stood back up and approached Weiss. "We're all here for you."
"I… Thank you." Weiss was almost at a loss for words.
This was a lot to take in. So many things she didn't expect to hear. Weiss had a much more diverse group of friends then she could ever ask for. It was such a great feeling that she could feel tears starting to form in her eyes. Which of course she quickly wiped away as not to make a scene or ruin her image.
"You said adapting was difficult. What did you mean?" Jaune asked. His face and tone was one of uncharacteristic solemn and thought. His mind racing with all of this revelation- especially on his own team.
Weiss and Pyrrha looked uneasy at the question. Eventually, Weiss responded.
"Augmentation technology is only prominent in Atlas and Mistral. Vale and Vacuo seem to fear it, to the point not many know of its existance. It is illegal to enter these kingdoms without having all non-vital augmentations deactivated; no exceptions. What happened in the library was my augmentations reactivating after a long time dormant." Weiss' tone suddenly changed to one of complete panic. "Listen, you can't tell anyone. If they found out-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Yang said waving her arms. "What has you worried?"
"The laws against augmentation are the harshest in Vale." Pyrrha explained. "Depending on how augmented the person is, the punishment can be a jail sentence, exile, or even death. Punishment can even extend to those involved, augmented or not. Depending on the circumstances."
"That's horrible…" Ruby said, shocked that people would go that far to keep augmentations quiet.
"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." Ren said.
His comment was met with confirming nods from all but Blake, who seemed hesitant as she remained secluded on her bed. Everyone took on different looks of concern, and Weiss was about to panic when her friend spoke up slowly.
"You gave me a chance when not many would." She stood up from her bed, and approached the group. She stared down Weiss as she ended with:
"The least I can do is the same for you."
"Thank you!" Weiss happily cheered. She jumped forward, giving a brief hug to Blake before breaking off. She then grabbed Blake by the hands and jumped in place with them as she happily let out, "You have no idea what this means to me!"
The sight was strange, and a bit scary for everyone. Blake though seemed unfazed by the alien reaction. She only raised an eyebrow to Weiss after she was done; Quickly calling forth a follow up as Weiss looked down, slightly blushing from embarrassment.
"Okay... Maybe you do."
Weiss then let go of Blake's hands, awkwardly turning away for a moment to let out some very obvious forced coughs and fidget with her clothes. Everyone else just found the experience surreal, and all mentally agreed they would probably NEVER see another reaction like that out of Weiss as long as any of them lived.
"Sooooo…" Ruby said, breaking the awkward moment. "What kind of augmentations do you have? Do you have any special abilities?"
Her rising excitement was blatantly obvious, and Weiss couldn't help but suddenly feel uncomfortable that Ruby was now starting to look at her the same way she did with her scythe. And Ruby whispered and talked to that thing in private! That thought alone was enough to give Weiss chills and goosebumps...
"Alright Ruby." Yang said, calming her sister down and saving Weiss. "It's getting late and we all need some sleep."
With that, JNPR left RWBY's dorm room for their own. Ren and Nora walked away slightly ahead, with Jaune not far behind them. His head was lowered, and he avoid Pyrrha's attempt to catch up to him and talk.
WWWWWWWW
A tall man in full armour and a helmet under his right arm walked through the halls of the warship; A serious and determined expression plastered almost permanently on his face. He was an older man, mid-thirties, and had a large head of curly, dark brown hair with a great bushy beard to go with it. His completely cybernetic left eye shined a brilliant golden colour all over, and was surrounded by scaring which he got during an accident in the augmentation surgery. The armour he wore was different to the other Atlas forces. Where theirs was white, his was jet black and far thicker. His armour was also highlighted in a golden-yellow hue, and completely clean of any marks- sharp and presentable.
The man arrived at his destination; a small and secure meeting room locked to those without authority. After pressing his hand to a scanner, the doors opened and the man entered. Inside an even older man in his later forties was sat on a chair with his feet resting on the room's round table, right beside his own helmet. In his hands was a discarded cybernetic arm that he was tinkering with, and on his face he wore a content smile as he did so. He was bald at the top of his head, revealing the usually subtle cybernetic implant of a Neural Hub. On the side of his head, grey hair would run down to his shoulders if it wasn't concealed in his armour. His beard was just as grey and long, slowly becoming braided as it went down, hanging free and loose . This older man also wore jet black armour with golden-yellow highlights, but his armour bore symbols and patterns on it that suggested he was a leader or of someone of importance.
Realizing he hadn't been spotted, the younger man at the door spoke up. "You wanted to see me Captain Sovann?"
Sovann looked up from the arm, faking brief surprise at the man's appearance before returning to his tinkering.
"Ah, Megas. Didn't hear you come in. Guess its time to get the old hearing aids upgraded to something more permanent, wouldn't you say?"
Megas's expression did not change, and he did not answer. Finding his attempt at having some fun with the lad failing, Sovann moved on to businesses.
"I wanted to make sure everything was ready for the mission."
"Yes sir." Megas Eunoia confirmed with a nod. "We're just waiting for clearance sir."
Sovann looked up from his pass time at Megas, locking eyes. "Hmph, so formal. Has there ever been a time you weren't a stiff?"
He removed his feet from the desk and reached beside him, producing a bottle of whisky. "Come, sit down. I find a drink always helps before a high stake mission such as this."
"No thanks sir." Megas rejected immediately with a wave of his free hand. "I prefer to keep a clear head in a fight."
"Oh one drink won't make the world spin." Sovann said, rolling his eyes as he poured two drinks. "Besides, right now we're off duty. And for god's sake call me Kierran, you've known me long enough." Kierran then took both glasses in each hand, and held one of the glasses out to his still unamused comrade.
Knowing his boss wouldn't back down, Megas sighed, walked over, and took the offered drink. He began to raise it to his lips, hoping to down it quickly and leave before his boss would make him have another. Though before the young man could even get that far, Kierran stopped him by loudly clearing his throat; causing Megas to look back down at him.
"Here's to our success." Kierran happily cheered, raising his own glass in a toast. The younger man however did not follow suit.
"We've got to win yet." Megas responded before emptying the glass and placing it back on the table, leaving Kierran holding his glass high.
Kierran lowered his glass with a sigh. "One day you'll learn to relax."
It was then that a voice came over the comms built into their heads.
"Deus Novo has departed. Titans, you are clear to storm Olympus."
"Well, time to earn our pay." Kierran said, rising to his feet and then downed his drink. "Let's move."
"Yes sir." Megas said, placing his bird shaped helmet on his head.
"Oh, one more thing." Kierran said reaching for his own helmet.
"Sir?"
"We are on duty now. Codenames only." Kierran said as he placed his helmet on his head, sounding serious for the first time this encounter.
"Understood, Cronus." Megas confirmed, briefly saluting.
"Well then." Kierran set aside his favorite scotch back into a tiny cabinet under the round table, along with the arm he'd been working on. "Come along Prometheus. We shouldn't keep the others waiting."
The two then left the meeting room. They walked side by side as they made their way to the hanger area.
"Do you remember the plan?"
"Of course sir." Prometheus said, leaving no room for doubt.
"Tell me." Cronus ordered. It wasn't that he doubted those under him. He always tested them to check that they had all the details, especially his second in command.
"Very well." Prometheus obeyed without hesitation. "Mnemosyne is running coordination between the teams. Coeus is to infiltrate the outside communication building, shutting down all possible calls for assistance. When he gives the all clear, I am to lead Themis, Hyperion and Phoebe as a distraction team. Hyperion is to detonate an explosive, attracting all personnel to us and causing non-combatants to initiate emergency protocols."
"You mean hide? Bit ironic considering who the 'non-combatants' are, don't ya think?" Cronus said with a laugh.
Ignoring his boss, Prometheus continued. "Our mission is to distract. While this is going on, you and Atlas are to infiltrate and eliminate the target, designation Zeus. When that is done, we will fall back and pick you up during extraction. If we need to abort, the procedure's the same."
"And?" Cronus further questioned.
"Nothing. That's everything."
"No, it's not. You forgot the most important detail." Cronus said. "Even with the cut communications, we only have a limited window before the Atlas forces have to act. They don't know about the mission. If we're not gone before they arrive, they will attack us. To monitor this window is Mnemosyne's second role."
"Time does not matter to me. It takes as long as it takes. We will hold no matter what comes." Prometheus said confidently.
"No." Cronus said with as much certainty. "I'd like to think we're good, but not that good. And I'd rather we didn't kill our own brothers and sisters in arms. Or do you not feel that same comradeship?"
Prometheus knew better not to answer that question.
The two arrived in the hanger and proceeded to a stealth drop ship at the back. They entered at the cargo hold to see the rest of the team already waiting. The one that stood out the most was a slender woman sat at a large collection of computers. Instead of a helmet, she wore a hood and face mask to conceal her features.
"Word from Coeus. He has infiltrated the building and will have communications down in fifteen minutes." She said without turning away from the screens.
"Thank you Mnemosyne." Cronus said as he and Prometheus took their seats. "We're ready Themis, let's go."
"Yes sir." A voice said from the front.
The ship took off and left the hanger. And so it was that strike Titan left on a mission that would change everything… For better or for worse.
WWWWWWWW
As his vision returned, the ginger haired prisoner only saw the floor and wall as one bright shade of red. Though before he could rejoice in the fact his new friends hadn't beaten him to death (yet), he felt a sharp pain as the bigger grunt- the one with the red trimmed armor- kicked at his stomach one last time. The impact started another violent coughing fit, and the criminal's vision began to tunnel again. He could taste copper in his mouth with every painful hack, which oddly tasted slightly different from the blood that was leaking from his broken nose.
"Come on. Let's get out of here before the General shows up." The smaller, yellow trimmed grunt said.
As his coughing began to settle and the grunts began to leave, the man in the once fancy suit called after them.
"Oh do stay longer next time. I always enjoy these little visits!"
The automatic door closed behind the men, and the locks reengaged; trapping Torchwick once more in the complete darkness of his cell.
This was the seventh little "visit" that Roman has had since being imprisoned on this Atlas warship. And every time it was the same routine, but always with different soldiers. He'd know it was coming whenever he could hear his normal guards walking away. The door to his insanely small cell would open, and then the master thief's whole body would begin surging with electricity from a taser weapon. After the first few assaults, Torchwick had even tried rushing out and surprising his attackers as they were opening the door… Though that didn't end well for him. That little fiasco only gave the guards a free excuse to break his leg with the cameras rolling.
In the infirmary, after said leg breaking attack, Roman could remember having to step to a lower level and try begging Ironwood to stop the attacks. His body couldn't take much more, and anything he tried to do to make it stop only got him beaten worse. Unfortunately, that conversation went about as well as you'd expect.
"At this rate, you might as well just say goodbye to your only source of information. Because by the time that festival rolls around, I'm going to be in a coma!"
"Well, I haven't seen any of these attacks, the cameras around your cell have no footage of such events, and the fine men and women on this ship have heard no rumors of these supposed beatings."
"Supposed? Supposed! Are you so thick in the head that you would honestly think I would BREAK MY OWN LEG?!"
"I'll have you know that I only deal with facts. And all I know for certain is that twice now, you have attempted to attack my men and attempted to escape. From first glance, that could easily explain all you injuries. And frankly it is your word against the word of my trusted soldiers. So, with those facts in mind, I see no reason to look into this matter further. Those injuries are completely justifiable. Take him back to his cell."
"...Wait! Alright, you win. I can see now that this has all been a huge play to get me to talk. And you know, I can respect that. I mean, I would do the same thing. I can see now that your boys have been just itching to take a swing at me since I caused that 'little incident' and delayed the festival and nearly killed a bunch of people and yadayada- really, I get it. So, how about this? Call off your mutts, and we can have a good old sit down; just like you've been wanting for awhile eh? What do ya say, Jamesy old boy! Deal?"
"... I told you before Mr. Torchwick: We have all the time in the world to talk. But right now, I have a very important matter to attend to. So, I'm sure you can wait just a little bit longer. Now, good day."
"Wait! But...You… You said...You... You SON OF A-"
So much for plan A. But overall, Roman was glad that things worked out like this. After all, it wouldn't look good for his legacy if he died begging like some snot nosed brat. If he was going to die, he might as well die with some shred of dignity left.
As Roman turned on his stomach, using his arms to slowly lift himself back onto his feet, he mumbled to himself:
"Oh what am I thinking. I'm not gonna die here."
He lifted himself up, then took a seat on his only piece of furniture, a small seat attached to the wall. His vision was still pulsing with red, but that would wear off soon; Probably. He removed both his scarf and his signature coat; using the scarf to clean up his face and stop the bleeding, and taking the coat off since it was torn in several places and covered in blood both old and new. It was ruined. Everything… ruined.
"Whatever they are up to, they better do something fast." He grumbled to himself.
The thought that the real mastermind, Cinder and her other cohorts, had left him to die here had crossed his mind more than once. Though Roman, like idiots he'd made fun of before, prayed and hoped that someone, anyone, would rescue him. For despite years of people calling him a psycho maniac, Roman really was a smart man. With his initial sarcastic introductions to the General aside, he knew quite well the reality of where he was, and of the people who were holding him. Atlas has the greatest technology and military on Remnant, and he was given over to them completely; To a people where capital punishment was a harsh reality for many criminals.
So with his record? Forget it. As soon as Roman were to spill his guts, Ironwood would have it promptly done literally.
Sure, at the beginning he knew what he was getting into when Emerald and Mercury handed him over, but Roman had been sure they'd come get him by now. Frankly waiting was his only choice at this point- other than a miraculous escape. With all the sarcasm and vulgarity he's thrown out at Ironwood, he had guaranteed himself that there was no deal making to be made (if there ever was). And even if he had made a deal, who's to say Ironwood wouldn't have killed him anyway? Not to mention They would be after him.
And then it hit him. Just as he had stopped the bleeding of his nose and cleaned his face up, it hit him like an slap from an Ursa.
Maybe he had been played the entire time. Perhaps Cinder had a different goal than the one he had thought; perhaps that whole Majestic thing he had heard about was nothing more than a ploy made by Them? Maybe it was all a lie to begin with?
They had to be up to something. No doubt. But perhaps… Perhaps Roman's employers had never even considered rewarding him in the end. Maybe in the end… He truly was nothing more than that woman's pawn.
"Damn." The thief whispered solemnly to himself.
Silence followed. Torchwick sat there, hanging his head and running a hand through his bangs. A wave of complete defeat completely washed over him- something he wasn't used to feeling- and completely anchored itself in his chest. He could also feel a headache coming on, among other things. Suddenly his usual cocky and confident persona was starting to wear thin, and seemed childish. Perhaps this was him coming to acceptance?
"...No."
Suddenly, anger surged through the classy crook. The defeatist attitude was swiftly tossed aside as his blood abruptly felt like it was boiling, and he could feel his heart starting to pick up the pace once again.
"No. No way is this how I am going to end!" He shouted out into his cell. He stood up, nearly toppling over in pain, and started banging on the door to his cell with both of his fists.
"DO YOU HEAR ME! I'M GOING TO SURVIVE! I WILL NOT FALL! NOT BY ANY OF YOUR HANDS! I GO ON MY TERMS!"
He just kept banging and yelling out. He kept punching and smashing into that cold, hard door until his gloves began to tear at the seams. Then until his knuckles began to bleed. Roman didn't stop shouting until his voice gave out completely, and later he only stopped his assault on the door after all of his energy had completely faded. He sank to his knees, breathing heavily, with his forehead resting on the cold metal door; All of his anger and frustration made against it hadn't even made a single scratch. All he had managed to do was make it filthy. Quite the allegory.
"Heh..." He quietly, insanely laughed to himself. "What a drag."
Roman must have fallen asleep like that- or more likely passed out- but was awoken when he felt something. It was subtle, something one wouldn't notice unless they were at the right spot on an airship and if they were as perfectly still as he had been. The ship was moving differently.
In the many weeks since being aboard, whatever this ship was called, Roman could not recall once it deviating from its standard low and slow patrol from Vale to Beacon and back. There had been once where the ship had landed, but that was different from this. They were heading somewhere else.
The thief then pressed his ear to his cell door, feeling the cold seep into his head, but not even noticing that as murky sounds traveled through. At some point during his sleep, some new guards must have finally returned to their positions on both sides of his cell. They were talking, and their voices carried a sense of urgency noticeable even through the thick door.
"What do you think is going on? You think it's another drill?"
"We don't have class two drills, so this must be for real."
"If it is real, I can't believe that we're the ones that have to deal with it. If it is a Valian village under attack, then the Valian forces should deal with it. Or at least some hunters."
"Well, if it's a massive Grimm attack, maybe they need a small army with some serious firepower to deal with it."
"...Aw man. I didn't think about that! Geeze, now I'm really praying that it's some kind of drill. I don't wanna go up against an entire army of Grimm!"
"I wouldn't get your hopes up."
Yes. So they were heading away from Vale. But, something seemed off. Something just didn't feel right to Torchwick. Call it years of experience or from his time with Cinder and Them, but this just screamed a whole choir of wrong. Roman couldn't explain the gut feeling.
However… He thought to himself. This is an excellent opportunity to make a play...
As he finished that thought, Roman then was reminded quickly of why he was sitting here; having passed out in front of a slightly bloodied door with bruised and filthy knuckles.
Or, perhaps I should try a different approach? I'm on my own, so maybe it's time to go back to basics and start looking out for who's important. And maybe I could use the General to get back at the-
"... Well then I'll just check on him real quick, and if he's still out cold, I'll just make a run back to dorms and bring it back. Besides, even if he's up it's not like he can get out."
Roman had been so caught up in his own internal debate, he just barely caught that last line from one of his guards before they popped open his cell door.
He acted quickly and on the fly, closing his eyes and going limp as the door open. He landed face first out of his cell and onto the hard floor outside. He used all his willpower to make himself completely still, and to make his breathing slow to a crawl. Not to mention make himself not laugh at the soldiers he had apparently startled.
"Oh man, I didn't think he was pressed right up against the door!" The hopeful guard on Roman's left said.
The guard on the right, the more serious one, only growled and sent a kick into Torchwick's right side. And even with all his will to stay still, Roman couldn't stop his body from twitching in pain; the best he could do was keep his eyes closed and hold in a yelp on the inside.
"I wish the General would just let us kill this guy…" The right guard thought aloud to her partner. "He's never gonna talk. And I'm getting tired of putting myself out on a limb trying to help the General. Do you know that Ironwood already sent Rouge home because of this guy?"
"Hence why I didn't want to be apart of that." Lefty then sighed. "Come on, help me lift him up."
"Hold on, are you sure he's out cold?" Ms. Righty asked, poking Torchwick with the tip of her gun.
Oh for the love of- YES! Roman screamed in his head.
"By the looks of it, yeah. He's out like a light. Maybe in coma." The left boy concluded. "In that case, we're gonna need to get him to medical."
Suddenly Righty seemed to perk up, with her tone clearing into a more optimistic beat.
"Well lets just throw him back in the cell, and head there together. He's not going anywhere, and dorms are on the way to medical. I'm telling ya, it'll calm your nerves and I'm sure you're gonna start loving Proenergy bars. They finally added flavor to those thing, and they're delicious!"
"But you don't even have augments. Why do you buy them anyway? Why not just by non-augmented focused energy bars? They're a lot cheaper anyway." The boy asked, seemingly ignoring Torchwick still just lying there.
Oh for the love of… shoot me! I don't care anymore, SHOOT ME! Roman groaned in his head. Do all these soldiers do is stand around and talk!?
Roman decided to make a risky move. He let a soft moan pass from his lips, as natural as he could make it. It seemed to do the trick, because immediately both of the imbeciles became quiet and a silence hung in the air for a long few seconds.
"Come on. Help me out and then tell me on the way." The boy said.
Roman could then feel both guards taking him by the arms, and then feel himself being lifted up by their shoulders- his arms hanging limply behind their backs and his head drooping from both of their shoulders. Though just as Roman finally achieved what he wanted… they started talking again.
"Man, he's surprisingly heavy. At least he's eating." Ms. Righty started in.
"Now hold on. You're concern is not that you and your friends are beating him up- against the General's orders by the way- but that he's eating his meals?" Mr. Left pointed out.
"No way. I'm just pointing it out. And I feel like I'm doing all the lifting, so shut it and help me!"
As interesting as that last line was, Roman couldn't agree more with the girl. Though not a moment later and it seemed even the lady guard wasn't going follow her own advice. For as soon as the two set Roman down on his seat, she began babbling about something else as the two exited.
"It's weird seeing him without his coat on."
"I think it's weirder that his undershirt is a sleeveless, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd wear one. I wonder, do you think he worked out?"
"Max… Don't go there. I'm tired of having to be your therapist, and I can tell where this line of thinking is gonna end up."
"Look, you know I don't mean to do that. I just miss him is all. I mean after he left me for-"
And the door closed, cutting the boy off and throwing Roman back into darkness- back into complete, blissful silence. The only sound that could be faintly heard was the taps of the soldiers' boots as they walked away from his cell, and even that grew quieter with every moment. But Roman didn't open his eyes or even move until he couldn't hear the thumps anymore.
As soon as the taps faded out, Torchwick opened his eyes let out a loud groan.
"Finally."
The crook reached into his pocket, and pulled out the prizes he snatched from those idiots by sleight of hand. A small box of taser darts, and a small foldable weapon that read along the side, 'Buzzkill TND'.
Roman began laughing to himself, proclaiming proudly: "Still got it."
It took Roman a minute to find both places where the locks engaged. Once found, he loaded a dart into the taser, tried his best to aim into the upper cracks of door, and fired. He could feel the gun in his hands recoil slightly, and his cell grew bright blue for a brief moment. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But as he was loading in another dart, Roman could hear a soft clunk sound from the door.
Torchwick did the same thing for the other locking mechanism near the floor, and the same soft clunk sound also happened. The door wasn't locked anymore, but now came the really challenging part- moving the door aside. Though first Roman felt around for his signature coat and scarf he had tossed aside, putting them both back on. He then stuffed his new best friend into his coat pocket, and felt around again for the edges of his door.
"Oh, this is gonna be a pain isn't it?" Roman complained aloud, already feeling his tired and bruised body protesting at just the mere idea.
Regardless of his second thoughts, Roman grabbed a firm hold on the door, and then pulled with all his strength to the left. He could feel his legs starting to shake and buckle beneath him, his arms began burning like they were completely on fire, and he could feel every individual bruise on his back and torso hollering like banshees in agony.
"Yeee-uup. I. Kneeeew. Thiiisss. Waaaasss. Gooonaaa. Suuuck." Was all the thief could let out before his rapid breathing prevented any other snark from getting loose.
It had to have weighed near a ton- at least to Roman it did. Though it was moving. Ever so slightly, the door was moving aside; gliding inch by inch out of his way. To move the thing it felt like Roman was receiving all of those beatings all over again, but as soon as the door moved enough for an open crack to appear; with a sliver of evening light seeping through; he wasn't about to stop.
He had listened in before starting, and it didn't sound like the guards had returned. But he couldn't stop to see out of the now open crack to make sure again. He could feel it in every burning muscle; if he stopped pulling, he wouldn't have the strength to start again. And he was so close. So close to…
"There!" Roman huffed, letting go of the door. It was open enough. Opened wide enough that he could just slide through. Freedom!
Roman looked out the open crack, checking for guards. But he also couldn't help enjoying the feeling of basking in the sunset's light. Any other day before this, and he wouldn't have even given that ball of gas a second thought. But today, after all this, the man who had been a thief all his life wanted nothing more than the sunlight itself.
When it appeared to be clear, Roman slipped through the crack and out into the large open room. He started walking casually- both hands in his coat pockets- across the room, and then took a left and down to the main window where the sunset was shining into this depressing brig. He was slightly paranoid that his loud steps echoing in this room could be heard all over the ship, but with some convincing of himself he knew if that was true the alarms would be going off.
Once reaching the large window, he looked over the landscape of the countryside. Green fields both flat and with hills, forests both small and large, what appeared to be a small village off in the distance, and Roman could just barely make out a mountain in the far distance behind the sunlight- Mountain Glenn and its aptly named city ruins.
They were definitely not near Vale anymore…
"Where the hell are we going?" Roman pondered, squinting as he leaned against the large glass window; hoping to at least see Vale. "Didn't that idiot soldier say something about there being an attack?"
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed… odd. That gut feeling was still firmly planted at the pit of Roman's stomach, and he couldn't shake the feeling of something not being right. Then again, maybe he was just hungry. His rations sucked.
Roman then began smiling to himself, day dreaming how nice it would be to go find those two idiot guards and give them a taste of their own shock therapy. And while he was at it, he would probably steal that energy bar those morons were going on about. Torchwick had tried those things before, and he couldn't understand how cyborgs could even stand the things. But hey, food is food. Better than the slop he's been given.
The ginger thief shook his head, wiping away his smile and his daydream. It was time to get to work getting off this flying rust bucket.
Roman stepped away from the window, stepping back to a small control panel stationed in front of it. He started to power the system up, wondering both who owes him enough favors to come rescue him and how much time he'd have before the alarms sounded from the outgoing transmission.
Maybe instead, I could just take care of the guards when they come back and steal a uniform? The boy may be my size. Then I would have a weapon, and an easy path to the hangar. And I wouldn't have to worry about the cam-
Torchwick froze; His finger barely above the hologram projection button. Suddenly he felt like the biggest idiot in the world for forgetting something so vital. He'd been so caught up his own freedom that he forgot the reason why those idiot guards could leave him completely alone.
He turned his head to the right, and found himself staring directly into the lens of an active security camera mounted on the wall. One of many stationed all over this brig.
"...Cameras." Torchwick finished his thought.
With that, Roman's fingers moved like the wind. He turned his head back to the computer and forwent the flashy holograms entirely to work as fast as he could. He scrambled through menus, desperately looking for the operation to engage communications. At any moment a team of Atlas soldiers could come rushing in, and they wouldn't need to sound the alarm. In fact, for all Torchwick knew there was no alarm installed in this holding area so prisoners didn't know what was happening.
Curses of all varieties and languages flowed like a stream from Torchwick's mouth. He needed to go faster. Faster! FASTER!
"One day you'll learn to relax."
The sudden audio from the consoles speakers busted to life; echoing off the walls to give a booming effect; nearly made Roman jump out of both his coat and skin. Followed by the natural gut reaction of:
"Daughters of a bastard!" Roman yelped out in an embarrassingly higher pitch.
When he calmed down, the ginger haired thief noticed he was indeed on the communications system. Though it appeared in his frantic typing he had accidentally jumped in on a different transmission; A secure transmission that nobody could probably get into unless they were already on the inside.
Suddenly another voice blared from the speakers. A voice that Roman recognized right away.
"Deus Novo has departed. Titans, you are clear to storm Olympus."
"Ironwood?" Roman questioned aloud. "You're attacking… Olympus?"
Roman racked his brain for Atlas folklore. Olympus was supposedly a mountain in the Atlian region where great hunters were trained; Supposedly the first great academy. The legend went that there was a small village at the bottom of the mountain, protected by the hunters. Then one day, a great army of Grimm attacked, clashing with the hunters. The hunters won, as usual, but their leaders were so devastated by the loss of so many young hunters and so many innocents that they decided to completely lock up the whole village behind Olympus and trapped the people behind a great wall and the surrounding mountains- these oppressors were called the Titans.
The Titans were so paranoid about keeping people safe and strong, that they controlled everyone's lives for the supposed better. Well, another group of younger hunters were not happy about this; they believed the people would be unhappy by the direct influence, and that they should let the people feel free and only make course corrections for them in a more subtle matter- these hunters, lead by a man named Zeus, called themselves the Olympians.
Now in the story, the Olympians fight an underground war against the Titans, and win. They banish the Titans off Olympus and make the village into a supposedly happier place. And while there's more to that story- something about the Titans returning, the people fight against both sides, a moral about control will always destroy itself, and something about letting loose a giant squid monster- Roman couldn't help but wonder the purpose for the names. It couldn't be a coincidence, because he knew he'd heard the comparison somewhere before. She said it once... before the CCT bugging operation.
Yes. It was coming back to Roman now. Cinder offhandedly mentioned that Ironwood and Schnee were nothing more than, "Titans made out of tin and wires". So if Ironwood and his robo pals are the Titans in this, then They are the Olympians. And if They are the Olympians, their Olympus- their hunter academy- is...
"No, that's crazy. They're just using those names. The general wouldn't..."
Torchwick then saw it with his own eyes. Coming from somewhere below his position, probably a hangar, came a completely black and slimmed down Bullhead. It rose out, taking to the skies, and then started flying off towards Mountain Glenn. Towards Vale.
"Oh what the hell did I get myself into?" Roman said, stunned at what he had just heard and seen. And he thought his side was complicated. Somehow, Ironwood must have figured out that the big bad headmaster is-
"FREEZE!" A gruff sound came from behind the thief, along with the sounds of several laser grade and ballistic weapons alike being armed.
Busted.
WWWWWWWW
When the door was closed, all of RWBY began preparations for bed. Ruby herself grabbed her pajamas and headed for the bathroom to brush teeth and change. Yang just opted to jump up to her bed, pop off her shoes and sleep as she was. And Weiss had gone over to move the desk chair back where it belonged and to rearrange everything on their study desk that had been moved about by Nora. Though once finished, Weiss was surprised to see Blake still standing there in the middle of the room. Arms folded, and still watching her with those intense amber eyes of hers.
Weiss approached, starting off. "Listen, Blake-"
"Just answer me this." Blake interrupted the Heiress. "Did you have to get augmented, or did you choose to?"
Weiss's eyes widen a bit at first, before she tilted her head slightly and her brow knitted some. "Would it make a difference?"
"It makes all the difference."
The two stared at each other in the eye; Neither willing to back down. Finally, Weiss relented.
"The choice was made for me… by my father." Weiss mentioned the last bit as a whisper, but Blake still heard.
"I see." Was all she said before grabbing her PJs and disappearing into the bathroom.
"Don't worry Weiss. She'll come round. I know it." Yang called up from her bed. She was currently scrolling through her Scroll for messages.
"But how can you know that?"
"Because you came round for her. It's what a team does. Be accepting of each other. Plus she's your friend on top of that."
Weiss looked down in thought. Is it really that simple? And began loosing herself in deep thought.
The Heiress then thought she heard Yang say something else. When surfacing back into the real world, she looked up at Yang and said, "Could you repeat that?"
Yang broke her eyes away from her Scroll and centered them on Weiss, repeating herself.
"I said, why didn't you tell us sooner? Like when Blake was telling us her secrets? Surely it would have been better then to get them all out at once."
Weiss broke off from Yang and started staring out their open window into some far off sight no one but her could see. She stayed quiet for a moment before answering.
"Everyone has secrets Yang. And some people, like me, will lie to keep it that way. It's not because we want to. It's because we have too, either for safety or out of shame for what we have done. Or what we... have become." Weiss explained. She then looked down at her hands. She flexed each of her fingers, one by one; watching as data, maps, and all sorts of pop ups appeared before her that only she could notice. To Yang, all she could see was her sad teammate's glowing golden eyes.
"Hey now." Yang gently punched Weiss on the shoulder, breaking her from her trance. She didn't even notice Yang had jumped down to cheer her up.
"Augmented or not, you're still the same old Ice Queen to me."
"But what if not having the augments made me like that? You never knew me before. What if I could have been someone different? I've had my augments taken for so long, that now I have them back, I'm starting to realize just how... different one can be without them. It's like, for a long time I've been on withdraw. So angry... And so cold."
Weiss raised her left hand back to her face, and began staring it down again.
"...Or maybe... I'm just going crazy and imagining things now that I've got all my system's back online. And it's not like I can just turn them off now- not without getting myself or you all into serious trouble. And how am I going to continue my life here at Beacon now?"
"...Weiss," Yang said. "Look at me."
Weiss put her hand down, and focused her entire attention on Yang's face. Her expression went flat and serious
"There's nothing to be gained from talking like that. What is… What could have been… It doesn't change anything. Who you are is my friend, and I wouldn't have it, or you, any other way. And we'll figure this all out together. As a team." Yang's eyes and expression then turned soft. So motherly and comforting, that Weiss couldn't help but feel a bit better inside.
"Thanks Yang." Weiss said with a small smile.
Yang nodded and turned to head to the bathroom, though instead stopped and instantly started chuckling. Weiss followed Yang's gaze and saw Ruby standing there, fidgeting. It actually looked a little cute to her.
"Something wrong Ruby?" Weiss asked.
"I uh, just… wondered if, you know, you'd tell me more about you're... augments." Ruby asked nervously.
"Ruby, I already said it's time for bed. We've all had a very tiring and very emotional day. It can wait for tomorrow." Yang said.
Ruby pouted but still went to her bed… reluctantly. Smiling, Yang turned back to Weiss. "I'd get to sleep while you can. Ruby's going to have a lot of questions in the morning." She then walked off to the bathroom for her quick pit stop before bed.
Blake came out of the bathroom right then, walking right past Yang, and was heading over to her own bed. Weiss couldn't help but wonder if she had been listening the whole time.
"Blake-"
"There's no need to say anything Weiss." Blake said when walking past her. "I've already said I'll give you a chance. Besides, who am I to blame you for what you're father did?" Blake then got into bed without another word.
It didn't seem like much, but to Weiss it was everything. Blake had accepted her for who she was, despite everything her family and augmentations had done to her. It was a weight off her shoulders.
Weiss- after changing and freshening up- turned out the lights and went to bed herself... her troubles faced and forgotten in the realm of sleep.
Including her warning with them.