The Name of the Game

a RWBY/The Gamer crossover, SI.

Arc 3: Rogue and Thief

Chapter 12: Red Cinderella

Neo squealed as we flew through the air between buildings, going weightless for a moment at the apex of our arc. My line launcher fired, catching another building as we began falling, building momentum into a fast swing. Moving parallel to the building, I shifted our gravity to make the building down for us and latched onto the mirrored glass surface with mana as I ran around the corner and leapt out into open air. Neo's squeal picked up a few decibels and I was pretty sure she could be heard across most of Vale. 'I swear, the girl is an adrenaline junkie,' I mused as I caught sight of our destination, applying drag and flaring gravity to bring us in for a soft landing.

"That was awesome!" Neo cheered, hopping down from my grip and twirling around, umbrella unfolding over her as she twirled it in her hands. I had to admit, the sight of her in a corset and skirt was pretty damn appealing, and I made a mental note to see about keeping her in them the next time we wound up in a bed together, or on a couch. 'Maybe, given how tight that thing is, she has either a corset fetish or a constriction fetish. Something to figure out later.'

Pulling myself from my thoughts since we had business to attend to, I grinned as I asked, "So, you'll want to do that again later, right?"

"Fuck yes!" the ice cream themed girl crowed, beaming me an ear-to-ear grin. Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a long sigh and visibly calmed. "Okay. I'm good. I'm good," she assured me. "Let's go."

"Are you sure?" I asked, my tone faintly teasing. I received a raspberry in answer and Neo stepped off the side of the building, her umbrella slowing her descent into the alley behind Cinder's hideout. I dropped down behind her, allowing my Aura to absorb the drop. "Sure you're up for this?"

Neo nodded, taking a steadying breath and raising one gloved hand to knock at the door. "Let's get it over with."

The door opened a moment later, Emerald's green haired form greeting us from behind the partly closed door, red eyes tracking first to Neo and then behind her, to me. Green eyebrows moved towards Emerald's hairline momentarily before she shrugged, opening the door and moving aside for us to pass. She clearly wanted to say something and just as clearly had been given explicit instructions to keep her mouth shut. I locked eyes with her, red contacts meeting natural red eyes, and smiled under my mask as I actively pulled up charisma. "Hello again."

"Uh, hi," she returned, unsure how to respond and a faint blush dusting her cheeks for a moment. Shaking her head, she closed the door and followed us inside, expression shifting back to neutral. "They showed up together," she said by way of explanation as Cinder's golden gaze found her the moment the red witch came in sight, seated in a leather recliner and reading a book—The Story of the Seasons, from the gold-embossed title. Idly, I wondered if it was one of the ones I'd delivered.

The book closed around a piece of paper being used as a bookmark and Cinder placed it on the small table at her side, under the reading lamp she'd been using. "You know each other?"

I chuckled, affecting an embarrassed tone and rubbing at the back of my head in a sheepish gesture. "Actually, we met in a bar the other night," I answered truthfully. "We met each other on the way here."

At my side, Neo nodded, back to her silent routine by mutual agreement. Cinder was apparently acquainted with Neo's mannerisms from her time dealing with Roman, so if she was bothered by the silent treatment it didn't show. "To business, then. Please, be seated," she gestured towards a couple of chairs across a small table from her seat. Once we were seated, she fixed her attention on Neopolitan's mis-matched eyes. "Did you know Roman was intending to run, after his failure?"

Neo shook her head and I sat back and, feigning confused interest, I asked. "Someone I should know?"

Cinder shrugged one slender shoulder, her molten gold gaze shifting to me. "A former business associate. Now arrested, soon to be deceased."

I blinked, pretending to think it over before snapping my fingers in seeming recognition. "The news this morning said something about some guy named Roman getting arrested on a flight between here and Vacuo. That him?"

"It was," Cinder admitted, sitting back in her chair and steeping her fingers as she shifted her gaze back to Neo. "Are Roman's operation and assets still intact?"

Neo tilted her lead left and right, waving one hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. Cinder wasn't having any of that, however, as she narrowed her eyes at the ice cream themed girl. "Neopolitan, I do not possess Roman's ability to interpret your body language and lack the patience to try. Speak, now, or I will replace you with someone easier to communicate with."

Neo made a small, alarmed sound in the back of her throat. "I," she started, then cleared her throat. "I don't… I don't know. They scattered. It's not my—"

"I don't want excuses," Cinder frowned, silencing the ice cream themed girl beside me. "You were Roman's second in command. You should know how his operations are run and have the respect or fear of his men. Reclaiming Roman's gang should not be beyond your capabilities."

"Yes, I know how things were run, but Roman didn't have a second in command. He didn't want anyone stealing the gang out from under him," Neo admitted quietly. This was something Neo had suggested herself—downplaying her own role in Roman's gang while playing up her reticent/nervous act. "I was eye candy and muscle."

Cinder glared but kept any reaction beyond that contained. "I'll deal with you later. I need to think on what you've said." Turning her gaze back to me, she eyed the metal and leather tube on an adjustable sling that I'd worn inside and placed down beside the chair when I sat, alongside my new backpack. "I hope you have better news?"

Picking up the tube, I stood and moved to the largest table. There were more maps here, schematics of equipment including ships and what looked like some sort of robot, even a detailed listing of ships in Atlas's navy. I say navy, but these were all airships—so really, it would be a combined air force and navy. Opening the tube, I pulled out the rolled up schematics for Beacon and began laying them out on the table, using books already there to hold down the edges. "Any other impossible-to-steal stuff you'd like stolen?" I asked, shooting the woman a grin under my mask as she stood and made her way over. From where she had been hanging around out of sight, Emerald made her way to the table as well, looking the plans over.

"How did you get these?" she asked, a reluctant note of impressed awe in her voice. "It hasn't quite been a full day yet since we even asked for them. A job like the Repository should have taken days to plan! It did take days, and we determined it was impossible without either a crew and there was a high probability of getting caught…"

I shrugged, deciding to have a bit of fun. "It wasn't really that hard. I didn't even trip any alarms. You say you spent days planning this? Well, maybe if you'd had more time to research…"

Emerald growled, red eyes narrowing into a glare focused on me before Cinder cut off any retort she may have made, a throaty chuckle passing her lips as she leaned over the plans across from me to study them. My eyes shifted focus as though drawn by a magnet, taking in the sight she'd presented me straight down the front of her dress, showcasing her cleavage nicely—and was that a hint of pink aureole I spied? Was she doing it on purpose?

Molten gold eyes met my red contacts and I realized that's exactly what she'd done as a small smirk crossed her lips. 'Is she flirting?' I wondered, raising an eyebrow and purposefully taking another long look when she did nothing to protest. I had my answer when that small smirk went wider and my Semblance gave her away, her mood creeping slowly upwards into something approaching lukewarm. 'Yeah, I had her pegged right. She likes having her ego stroked and success is a huge turn on for her.'

"This is good," Cinder purred, those gold eyes boring into my own with an intensity I'd rarely seen from anyone else. "Very good. It seems I chose correctly in trusting you with this."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I smirked under my mask. "Of course. And my pay?"

"Yes, of course. Emerald, if you would?" Cinder directed, never breaking eye contact with me as she sent Emerald to collect my payment.

Emerald gave a disgruntled sigh as she left the room to head upstairs, returning a few moments later with a black duffel bag, which she dropped onto the table between Cinder and I, breaking our stare down. Looking down I opened the bag and look note of the pile of wrapped stacks of bills. My Semblance announced the completion of the quest Operation Infiltration: Steal the Blueprints, awarding me 40k EXP and bumping me up from level 21 to 23. I'd add the money to inventory later, once I got away from prying eyes.

A quest has been updated!

Romancing Remnant: Red Cinderella has been unlocked!

By completing the seemingly impossible task she had set before you, you have garnered the interest of Cinder Fall. Get closer to Cinder—gain her confidence, loyalty, and possibly love in order to turn her from the path she has sworn herself to.

Success: 600,000 EXP, increased closeness with Cinder Fall, +1 love interest, quest unlock. Failure: death*, destruction, mayhem, quest unlock. *Time of failure will determine death toll.

I carefully ignored the quest window as I zipped up the duffel bag and moved it beside the chair where I'd been sitting, dismissing the notification while my hands were out of view of the two women at the table. I would have to read over the details later, but the words 'death toll' stood out. Meeting Neo's eyes, I winked before turning back. "So, now what?"

Cinder hummed, standing straight and looking speculatively between Neo and myself for a moment. "I believe I have another job offer for you…"

"Oh?" I asked, sitting on the arm of the chair and gesturing for her to continue. "If it pays as well as this last one, I'm all ears."

Cinder's smirk returned in force. "Oh, this is a job that will guarantee continued payment for a long time to come, assuming you're up to it and in any way capable."

Shooting the woman an amused look, I gestured towards the blueprints on the table. "I'd say the evidence of my capability speaks for itself. What's the job?"

"How would you like a promotion?" she asked, a chuckle working its way past her lips. "You've already gone from delivery boy to thief, why not continue that rise and move from thief to gang leader?"

A quest has been created!

Operation Infiltration: Sinner's Row

Cinder Fall would like you to take on another job: become the leader of Roman Torchwick's former gang. Taking over the gang will grant you closer access to Cinder's operations, however, you will be expected to provide results where Roman failed.

Success: 15000 EXP, permanent lien revenue while leader of the faction. Unlocks faction operations. Unlocks faction quests. Unlocks faction takeover campaign. Increased closeness with Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, Neopolitan, and the Malachite Twins. Failure: faction-related options remain unavailable, Neopolitan is forced to assume control of the gang, companion death*. *Should Neopolitan fail to rebuild the gang, she will be executed for her failure by Cinder.

That last bit there was worrying. "What makes you think Roman's little cadre of minions will do my bidding willingly?"

Molten gold eyes locked with mine and a small, vicious little smile tugged at Cinder's lips. "No one said anything about it being willingly."

Turning around, I locked eyes with Neo and carefully tapped the accept button for the quest. "What do you think?"

Neo's eyes darted between me and Cinder for a moment before she nodded, sitting back in her chair and looking away. "Excellent," Cinder purred from her place at the table. "Emerald, why don't you and Neopolitan go see to securing the remnants of Roman's little band whilst Shiro and I work out the details?"

Emerald shot an annoyed, upset look between Cinder and myself and it took me a moment to figure out what was going on. Cinder hadn't just secured the thief's loyalty, it seemed. As they were leaving, I called, "Neo?"

The ice cream themed girl turned, regarding me with a curious look. "Yes?"

I knew all of this was part of the plan, but I still wanted to reassure her that I wouldn't leave her alone with Cinder's pet assassin for long—and that I wasn't planning to abandon her. "I'll catch up with you and we can go over everything we need to know to be partners in this later, okay?"

With a nod, Neo followed Emerald out, the door closing behind them. "You seem fond of her," Cinder pointed out quietly, drawing my attention back to her, where we once more locked eyes. There was no accusation or suspicion in her voice, simply statement of fact.

"She's cute and I don't think this Roman guy knew what he had," I admitted. Still, it was best to keep her mind off any potential connections between Neo and myself… "But then, I don't think I have to tell you about finding those who have been abandoned by others and giving them a purpose, do I?"

Chuckling, Cinder gave a small nod acknowledging my point as she moved around the table before sitting on the arm of one of her chairs as I had earlier. With her skirt riding up her crossed legs to mid-thigh, she made it look a lot better than I ever would. "No, I don't believe so. It seems we share that in common—the ability to find the best in society's castoffs."

"So, then," I grinned, clapping once, "Does this mean I've taken Roman's place as your 'business associate?'"

Cinder hummed, considering the question as she eyed me. "I suppose that depends. Roman had to be coerced into the position. You, on the other hand… You are not afraid of me. Why is that? Part of me wonders if it's simple ignorance or something else."

"No," I admitted, digging into the backpack I'd brought. "Just because a thing is dangerous is no reason to fear it. Study it, learn how it works or behaves, and always make sure to show it the proper respect, yes."

Cinder watched as I pulled out one of the large, square LP sleeves and moved over to her record player. Removing the record from its sleeve, I placed it on the turntable and moved the needle down before flipping it on. Strings and piano filled the room as some jazzy piece I didn't know the name of began playing. "And this is you studying me?" the woman asked, raising one perfect eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh, no," I denied, moving back to the backpack and digging out the other half of my plan—a very old bottle of bourbon and two glasses. It had cost me a pretty penny, as it had come out of Hei's private stash, but it was worth every lien if it worked. "I've already done that. After all, who wouldn't want to know about their dangerous and powerful new business partner? I know you enjoy good music and take your bourbon straight," I grinned, pouring a bit into each glass and handing her one before placing the bottle on the table. "Now, the question is, are you the kind of woman who likes to dance to her music?"

"You have done your homework," Cinder admitted, shooting an amused glance between our glasses and my mask. Pushing herself up from her chair, she stalked over to where I stood leaning against the table, stopping close enough that I could feel the body heat radiating off of her. "However, I barely know anything about you. It's kind of hard to trust someone who wears a mask all the time."

"Is that all?" I removed the mask and Cinder blinked, studying my face for a moment before laughing—an honest laugh, as opposed to her usual sexy laugh. "What? Have I got something on my face?" I asked, wagging my eyebrows in amusement and drawing another laugh from her before letting Invisibility drop off the bottom half of my face. "How about that? Is that better?"

Getting her laughter under control, Cinder hummed in thought before moving closer, the hand not holding her glass reaching out and cupping my face. She spent a long moment studying my features, committing them to memory. "Yes, I believe so," she murmured, her eyes going half-lidded as she downed her glass of bourbon in one go. I copied her, placing the glass on the table beside hers. With a single step, she closed the distance between us, her arms going around my shoulders as she began to sway in time to the music. "Tell me, do you know what your Semblance does to women?"

"Beyond what you asked last time I was here?" I asked, wondering where she was going with this. There was a tone I recognized in her voice as something approaching need—and she confirmed it a moment later.

Looking up, molten gold eyes met mine and she gave me an amused look. "Emerald and I compared notes—and I'll bet if we were to ask Neopolitan, she would confirm my theory. After a while, it's like a physical ache—a sensation of emptiness begging to be filled."

"Is that why she's so annoyed?" I asked, an amused smile playing over my face. "You're saying I blue-balled Emerald?"

Cinder snorted, quietly. "One of many reasons, I fear."

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "And what about yourself? Aren't you angry my Aura does that to you?"

Shaking her head, Cinder pulled away long enough to fix herself another glass before picking up where she'd left off. "No, I'm not," the woman in my arms admitted, smirking up at me. "Mostly because I have a proposition… a mutually beneficial amendment to our working relationship."

I shook my head, laughing quietly at her wording. "I'm listening."

"I have needs. You will fulfill them." I was surprised when Cinder took the initiative and leaned forward, her lips slowly caressing mine, tongue slipping past her lips to steal a taste of my mouth. The kiss itself was slow, languid even, as she took her time exploring and I did the same. My hands slid down her sides, cupping her rear and lifting her a few inches up, her legs going around my waist as I turned around and planted her on the table. She wasn't wearing any panties under that dress, I noticed—in addition to having skipped wearing a bra, as I'd found out earlier.

"Did you plan this?" I pulled back enough to ask, her eyes opening to meet mine.

"Yes," the woman in my arms admitted. "Though, it seems you've done some planning yourself."

I grinned, my lips meeting hers momentarily. She had answered bluntly, so I returned the favor. "Yes. Like you said, it seems it's worked out to be mutually beneficial."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" she purred, squeezing her thighs around my waist and reaching down to begin undoing my belt and pants.

Reaching into my side pouch, I came out with a square, foil packet. "Came prepared," I grinned, waving the little square between us. There were more like it where that came from—really, between the twins and Neo I might as well start buying stock in Schnee Medical, since they were the ones who produced the damn things. Observe had told me the girls were all safe—disease free, that is—but we were all justifiably wary of 'accidents' at this point.

Having finished freeing me from the confines of my boxers, Cinder snatched the foil packet from my fingers and eyed it with contempt. "I don't think so," she murmured, giving the condom a casual flick towards a trash can across the room—her aim, it seemed, was impeccable. That would make Cinder the second woman on Remnant I'd met with an absolute loathing for the things. I wasn't entirely worried—there were other options available, after all. Schnee Medical had even developed a contraceptive for men in addition to those I'd expected to find for women. I'd never had one of the infamous 'pregnancy scare' issues in my previous life and I wasn't intending to have one here, either. After that night with Joan, I had taken the time to stop by a pharmacy and check out my options.

Molten gold eyes met my red contacts and she squeezed her thighs around me again, urging me forward. In the back of my head, I could swear I faintly heard a voice singing, 'Don't stick your dick in crazy.' That voice was promptly ignored. After all, it was entirely too late for that, given the whole situation with Joan. Besides, that rule didn't necessarily apply here. Cinder registered as sane on my sliding scale of crazy, after all. Driven by some purpose or vendetta, certainly, but sane—and all the more dangerous for it. Joan, on the other hand, was not entirely sane but about the safest person to be around.

Any thoughts towards her sanity or lack thereof were driven from my mind as Cinder resumed our kiss and I completed our union, burying my shaft in her wet heat—and she was hot, almost uncomfortably so. What came after was like that first kiss—slow, methodical, and completely thorough as we explored and enjoyed each other. It was also intimate on a level I hadn't expected from her—but then, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. Cinder seemed like the kind of girl for whom 'trust issues' was an understatement. Her eyes remained open, half-lidded and locked with mine the entire time with the intensity I was coming to expect from her.

I slid my hands under her dress, running them up her thighs and across her flanks as I slowly thrust into her, her hips shifting forward to meet mine and match my pace. Unlike many of the other girls I'd been with, she was not entirely bare—a bush of thick, dark hair sitting neatly trimmed above her slit, while everything below was shaved bare. Her own hands were not idle, as she found the catch for my armor and began working to get it off. Chuckling, I extricated my hands and helped her, tossing it onto the floor, followed by my shirt. Bringing my hands back to her dress, I worked it up and off her, where it joined the small pile of my own clothes, leaving her beautiful, pale flesh on display. Her breasts were a nice size, neither too large nor too small, perky and firm to the touch and capped with small, bright pink nipples that just begged to be played with. So I did.

Cinder sucked in a quiet breath as I captured and softly squeezed her breasts, pressing them together and gently tugging on the nipples at their peaks. Her back arched, pressing her pert breasts more firmly into my palms and changing the angle of my slow thrusts enough to draw a groan from us both. Her hands came up to run along my back and I felt her sharp nails digging small lines into my back. Releasing one of her tits, I reached up and slid my hand beneath her head, fisting a handful of her hair and pulling it tight as I drove into her harder, as she silently urged me on.

Her breath began to come in short gasps and pants and her fingers curled, digging her claws into my back as I felt her growing tighter around me, and even hotter—though at that point it almost seemed impossible she could get any hotter. Her hands came off my back, one grasping a fistful of my hair much as I had hers while the other came around the back of my neck and with both she hauled me down to her lips, where their met mine with a silent hunger I hadn't expected of her. Her eyes lidded and she went rigid, the small convulsions of orgasm rocking her body as she wrapped herself tight around me, her sheath tightening almost painfully and bringing me over the edge as well.

We lay there for several long moments, catching our breath as I felt her slowly clenching around my shaft. Eventually, her fingers unclenched and came free of my hair, bringing a few black strands with them. "That was… nice," she murmured, a teasing grin stretching across her lips as she attempted to downplay how much she'd enjoyed it.

Having none of that, I rolled my eyes before making my cock jump inside her, promptly drawing a gasp from her lips. "Only 'nice,' huh?" I asked, making my cock jump again and smirking as she bit her bottom lip. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to keep trying until I manage to actually impress you."

"That you shall," she agreed, her hands going to my chest to push me up. "Let's move this to my bedroom. I don't believe the table would survive anything more enthusiastic."

I pushed myself off and helped her up, letting her lead the way and delivering a quick swat to her ass as she passed me. "I don't know that your bed could survive, either."

Taking that as a challenge, she took my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. "Let's find out."

It was early the next morning before I left Cinder's base of operations, the sky over the city just beginning to lighten. Like every other woman of Remnant I'd had the fortune to bed, she was insatiable. I was honestly beginning to suspect it was related to my Semblance—specifically, some synergy between Dating Mode, Marital Arts, and my high charisma mod feeding whatever desire was already there and ramping it up slowly over time.

I would have to ask the twins and Neo, having had the most encounters with those three. I would ask Joan, but given her level and high natural stamina, I had a feeling she'd have responded the same way with or without that synergy in play. Either way, the results seemed to be similar across the board—no one wanted to stop until they physically couldn't continue any longer. It was doing wonders for improving my VIT and STR scores, along with DEX and CHA. I was just a little worried someone was going to hurt something if this kept up—namely, me. Friction burns are not fun. At all.

Coming in for a landing on the apartment roof, my eyes narrowed as I caught a splash of color that shouldn't be there—green. Emerald was posted up on my roof, watching the sky around the apartment from an angle that would put her in the shadow of the roof access door, had I been coming from Cinder's temporary home. It was only my finely honed paranoia that saved me here—I never used the same route twice, always circled around the apartment to scope out the roof before landing, and always traveled under Invisibility. Considering I was trying to avoid exactly this sort of situation by going to those lengths, I'd say it was time well spent.

Applying drag to my line and flaring gravity, I came in for a silent landing and snuck across the roof until I was behind her. "Confuse. Dominate."

She fought—a lot harder than Roman. I suppose her Semblance gave her some natural resistance to mental attacks. It didn't help her much though, considering I'd cast Confuse specifically to account for any sort of innate resistance. After a short struggle, she relaxed and I felt the spell settle properly. "What are you doing here?" I growled, pulling up charisma, Bluff, and Intimidate and backing them all up with my Aura. I had a proper Batman voice, even.

You have created the skill Intent!

Intent: Level 1. Active. Through synergy between skills, you have learned to psychically project your Intent through your Aura to those around you. Effect: targets within the range of your Intent or the focus of your Intent must make a Will save against your combined CHA and INT or be swayed by the Intent used. Depending upon the type of Intent used, this can leave an opponent Shaken, under Fear, or subject to other mental status effects. Beneficial status effects are also possible if the Intent is directed at an ally or party member. Cost: 10MP/minute. Range: 10M radius around caster, 20M within line of sight to a single target.

Current Intent unlocked: Killing Intent.

I smirked as I reread that. 'So, essentially, an AOE fear or other effects, or AOE buffs. It's like… weaponized Dating Mode. In fact, I bet money 'Lustful Intent' is a thing. Happosai would be proud.'

Under the influence of Killing Intent and Dominate, Emerald was swift to answer. "I-I wanted to find out where you lived! I followed Neo after we finished rounding up the rest of Roman's gang. Oh please god, don't kill me!" she whimpered, animal instinct to flee warring with my iron control over her through Dominate.

"Did Cinder order you to do this?!" I yelled, moving closer and allowing Invisibility to drop.

Emerald's red eyes locked onto mine for a moment before being drawn to where I'd rested my left hand on my sword's scabbard. "No! She-she told me not to interfere."

Stepping closer, until I stood over her to force her to look up to meet my gaze, I ground out, "So you're here on your own initiative?"

"Yes! I just, I wanted to be useful," she finished lamely, averting her eyes for a moment before I used Dominate to force her to look up and meet my gaze again.

Studying her face for a moment, I asked the question I'd had since she left with Neo that evening. "You love her, don't you?"

For a moment, she found the will to fight back and attempt to resist, before I poured more mana into Dominate. Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she spat out, "Yes."

I wasn't really surprised—whatever Cinder had done to gain her loyalty had worked marvelously. Hell, I should probably be taking notes, since that was exactly the sort of loyalty I was going to need from those following me if I wanted to pull this off. The only difference between Cinder and I on that front was our methods—I intended to earn that loyalty, not simply take advantage of people in bad situations. It seemed we had more in common than I'd realized. Out of curiosity, I asked, "And you hate me?" When Emerald nodded, I followed it up with, "Why?"

"She doesn't look at me that way," she admitted quietly. A subtle prod towards the spell had her elaborating. "I'm forced to stand there and watch her willingly choose to make this horrible decision, knowing it won't—can't—possiblywork out, and it hurts. It hurts to know that she doesn't trust me enough to listen. It hurts that she's willing to choose to make the mistake of trusting you, allowing you into her life, when I know she'll never choose me."

I snorted quietly, shaking my head. 'It's almost scary, when you think about it—I'm doing the exact same thing in trying to get close to her and convince her not to do whatever it is she has planned. I know damn well this is a mistake, that I'm wasting my time, and yet…' Pulling myself from my thoughts, I turned my attention back to the greenette. "Sweetie, sometimes adults choose to make decisions they know are bad for them. We know it's stupid, but we do it anyway—because otherwise, there's a part of us that will always regret not making the stupid choice." Gods know, I'd made my fair share of those. It's a human failing—and being wiser now didn't necessarily mean I wouldn't do it anyway.

Maybe, though, wisdom was in attempting to trust people anyway, even if you knew they could and likely would disappoint you—because to do otherwise, well… I had tried that, once, after one too many betrayals and heartbreaks. Some of us can live without human interaction for a while, but it is psychologically damaging—humans are social animals, after all. You stop really noticing how much it hurts, until you suddenly find yourself no longer alone. Of course, losing that closeness after being alone so long leaves one desperate and willing to compromise on a lot of things…

"Well, I hope it was worth it, because I am going to kill you," Emerald admitted, pulling me from my introspection. It was not a threat, just a simple statement of fact.

I smirked, a devious thought springing to mind. I leaned closer, my masked lips brushing her ear as I spoke—digging into Intent and unlocking Lustful Intent as I'd suspected I would. "I'll keep that in mind. The next time I have Cinder bent over that big table screaming my name, I'll make sure you're there. I won't even have to do anything—I'll suggest the idea to her and Cinder, with her obsession with power and dominance struggles, will order you to watch. If you're really, really lucky, we might just let you join in."

I pulled back and met her eyes. Her expression was mixed, equal parts desire, rage, and disgust. Grinning, I asked, "And do you know what the best part is?"

"What?" she hissed, once more fighting against Dominate.

"Sleep."

I caught her before she hit the ground, laying her out on the roof as I began working. "Confuse, Confuse, Confuse, Confuse," I chanted, overpowering each cast, before hitting her with Observe. Sure she was thoroughly whammied, I moved on to phase three. "Forget." Feeling the spell take effect, I wiped everything from the point where she and Neo had parted ways. Then I hit her with Forget twice more to be sure. She knew where I lived and had threatened to kill me. I wasn't taking any risks. She was damn lucky I didn't decide to deal with her the way I'd almost dealt with Roman. It was only the fact that Cinder would be annoyed—but more importantly, suspicious—that stayed my hand.

The fact that Emerald could repeatedly fight while under the effects of Dominate told me her Will save was a lot higher than I'd imagined, since I couldn't directly Observe it. No, I intended to abuse the shit out of my spells in this instance. Asleep, she couldn't resist. Confuse would lower any innate resistance to the point that it may as well not be there, especially while under Sleep. Spamming Confuse multiple times was the spell equivalent of forcing someone to get blackout drunk as far as cognizance was concerned. Hitting her with Forget not once but thrice would make sure she wouldn't be remembering anything from tonight beyond what I wanted her to. Combined, however? I had no idea. I hoped she would make up a story for herself, but I wasn't planning on Luck working in my favor. Instead, a plan was already forming.

Hefting the small girl in my arms, I took off at top speed for Cinder's base. I hit Emerald with Sleep twice more on the way, to make damn sure she wouldn't be waking up any time soon, as we flew across the city at break-neck speed. Slipping into Cinder's home, I dropped Emerald into Cinder's preferred chair. Looking around, I found the mostly-full bottle of bourbon I'd brought. Moving back to where she was seated, I hummed in thought before casting Dominate again. Surprisingly, the spell took effect—I had thought for sure that being asleep would be a natural defense against it. Shrugging it off as something to study later, I lifted the bottle to her lips and ordered Emerald to drink as I poured the alcohol down her throat. She spluttered and coughed a couple of times, but didn't spill any. Once the bottle was down to less than half of what it'd started with, I had her stop.

Adjusting the greenette in the leather chair, I shifted one of her arms to look as though she had been drinking straight from the bottle until she'd passed out, then dropped it—which left a fairly sizable spill on the floor that I had a feeling would annoy Cinder. That was good, because I needed the red witch good and riled up over this—the angrier she was, she less likely she was to question circumstances. And just to seal the deal, I slipped upstairs to where I'd seen the laundry room in passing. Snagging a pair of Cinder's dirty panties, I peeked in on her as I passed her room, finding her exactly where and how I'd left her—buried under her blankets and a small smile gracing her lips. For a potential murderess, she looked downright peaceful in her sleep, after a good lay. I almost regretted having to leave—I knew we would have both enjoyed waking up together, even if it would have been a bit awkward. Like me, she was a lonely person—something I suppose I had recognized in her from the start.

Evidence in hand, I went back down and set about finishing up the crime scene. First, I undid the button and zipper on Emerald's tights, then I took her free hand and forced it down her panties. Next, I mussed her shirt and vest so that it looked like she'd been thorough in her fondling of herself. Finally, as the coup de grace, I opened her mouth and stuck the crotch of Cinder's thong inside before gently pressing her jaw closed around the object. "Emerald, it looks like you've been a bad, bad girl. Drinking your boss's booze and masturbating with her panties? For shame," I murmured, smirking as I dug out my scroll and took a few pictures. Dropping Dominate, I slapped her with one last Confuse, Sleep, Forget combo and threw Charm in for laughs before heading out.

Stopping on the roof adjacent to Cinder's building, I composed a scroll message. 'So… came across something awkward this morning as I was leaving—sorry about that, by the way, but I'm sure you understand. The job calls and all that. Now, I'm sure we've all had one of those nights of getting drunk and passing out fapping in a chair, but I have to ask… are those her panties, or yours? If they're yours, I must say, I approve of your taste in lingerie. Though, it seems Emerald does too… Yeah, that was a horrible pun. Left a bad taste in my mouth.' Attaching the picture I'd taken, I cackled as I sent the message to Cinder. Oh, this was going to be good. It was just a damn shame I wouldn't get to watch the fallout from this in person. Idly, I wondered if Cinder went nuclear, whether or not I'd be able to see the mushroom cloud from my apartment—the windows did face that general direction…

Making my way back across town, I circled around from a different route as I came in for a landing on the roof, where I found Neo waiting. Wondering what she could be doing out there, I dropped Invisibility as I approached. The ice cream themed girl beamed a smile, skipping up and wrapping her arms around me in a hug. "I'm sorry," she apologized. When I hummed a question, she elaborated, "I didn't realize Emerald had followed me. Our Semblances interact strangely. When we actually worked together, well…" She shrugged. "So, what was all that earlier?"

Sighing, I took her hand and lead her inside. "Are the twins back?"

Neo nodded. "They went to bed a couple of hours ago."

I nodded, leading her into the apartment and locking the door behind us before switching out of my Shiro disguise. "How much of that did you see?"

"I heard you yelling and came up. I caught most of the end," the shorter girl admitted.

I thought over my options for a moment before taking her umbrella and dropping it on the couch, then taking her hand and leading her towards the bedroom. "I promise I'll explain and try to answer any questions you have. I probably can't answer everything…"

"That's fine," Neo agreed quickly. "That was part of our agreement, remember? We're allowed some secrets."

Making our way into the bedroom, I eyed the master bed, already partly taken up by the twins. Thankfully, we had come to an arrangement to pick sides instead of just sleeping in the middle. Four would have been a bit of a squeeze, but the twins and Neo were tiny. We undressed and climbed in, Neo spooned in my arms and Melanie moving to press against my back the moment I was under the covers, seeking more warmth in her sleep, since the more outspoken twin tended to run cold in her sleep—I didn't complain, mostly because Neo and Miltia ran a bit warm at night. Despite not being tired, I was mentally exhausted—drained, really. I could have gone without sleep, but at this point, I didn't want to. I wanted to enjoy my twins and Neo and sleep for a few hours—especially since I wasn't taking the opportunity to do the same with Cinder. I could deal with other stuff later. I dropped my buffs and slipped into Meditation as I allowed sleep to claim me.

"So, a knowledge-based Semblance that allows you to create new abilities?" Neo asked, glancing between myself and the twins.

Melanie shrugged. "Close enough."

From my immediate left, Miltia nodded in agreement with her sister. "It's the official story we're running with if asked, at any rate. And even that sounds kind of, well, unfair. Half the stuff his Semblance does, someone likely has as a Semblance all to itself."

Focusing on me, Neo asked, "And the reality? Cause what I saw… well. I've never seen it done before."

"What did you see?" Melanie asked, raising an eyebrow, her tone verging on challenging.

When Neo shot me a questioning look, I groaned and palmed my face with both hands as I leaned back on the couch across from her. Running my hands through my hair I wondered how to handle this. "It's times like this, I wish I were a less scrupulous individual. It'd make things easier."

Neo's face paled slightly, clearly remembering what she'd seen on the roof. She didn't move from her seat or break eye contact with me, however… A quick Observe told me what I needed to know, since the last time I'd leveled it Observe had begun spitting out a loyalty level stat as a percentage in addition to other stats—at least, for Neo and the Malachite twins. I hadn't seen it on anyone else's profile yet, which made me suspect it would only show up under special circumstances—either I'd have to romance them first, or I'd have to gain their loyalty in order to get that stat to become visible. It made sense—companion loyalty balancing and quests were a time honored tradition in some games, Bioware games especially. Except in real life, you couldn't just give your companions a few gifts to game the system. "You do that a lot," Neo pointed out, drawing my attention and confusion momentarily, before I realized she'd noticed my subvocalizing.

I knew I likely shouldn't tell them anything—a quick round of Sleep, Confuse, and Forget would see this problem going away, at least until someone caught me doing it again. The problem there was, I really wasn't that unscrupulous. Funny, really—I'd seriously considered killing Roman Torchwick in cold blood, yet I was loathe to tamper with the minds of those who trusted me. I still felt bad about the necessity of doing it to Miltia the one time, and that was with her consent. 'Maybe Loyalty, as a stat, is a two-way street,' I mused, before blinking as the idea really clicked. I'd noticed before that my Semblance had a habit of sometimes manipulating those around me, but why couldn't that apply to myself as well? I'd been toying with the idea pretty much since waking up in Remnant, but I'd always just brushed it off as something not worth worrying with. Could that, in and of itself, be a mental effect as well? 'Something to look into later. Deal with this now.'

"Okay, fuck it. We're all in this together, right?" I asked, getting a trio of nods in answer. "You all trust me, so I should probably trust you a bit more than I have been. Sorry about that, by the way. I've been running under the premise of OpSec—sorry, Operational Security—where I could, but I suppose that won't really work from here out. So, I'll tell you what I can, but there are things I really shouldn't—not now, at least. If you're not okay with that, tell me now."

The trio exchanged glances before collectively nodding. "Pretty sure we're okay with that," Melanie confirmed.

Taking in and letting out a long, slow breath to prepare myself, I dove in head first. "Okay. Party, for testing purposes," I began, directing the command at Neo as I named the group. Mismatched eyes blinked in surprise, focusing on the window in front of her as she reached out to tap the 'Accept' button. "That's my Semblance. It treats reality around me like a video game. Spells, quests, parties, inventory—the whole nine yards. It appears to be pulling stuff from a variety of sources—traditional RPG video games, some elements I know some from tabletop games, dating sims or H-games—maybe both—and so on. After the stuff with Cinder last night, I even got factions and territory control elements. It seems to react to my environment, adding things on the fly as needed. What you saw on the roof? That was me abusing the shit out of spells to cover our asses."

"How so? What exactly did she see?" Melanie asked, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Better yet," Miltia cut in, "what happened that put you both up there at the same time? When we came in, you hadn't come in yet and Neo was sitting up waiting. Congrats on the official takeover, by the way."

The ice cream themed girl groaned quietly. "It was my fault. Jaune was cleaning up my mess," she admitted. "Emerald followed me here. Our Semblances interact oddly—she has some kind of mind-related Semblance and while I can hide myself in illusions, I can't tell if she's there or not when she uses it. I split off a dozen illusory clones to throw her off, but…" she shrugged.

"Having no mind means she can no-sell the technique if her Semblance doesn't work on them and she gets any sort of feedback on whether it takes or not," Melanie guessed, frowning in thought. "That could be problematic. Especially if she decides to follow us again later." Still not to be swayed from her questions, her green eyes turned back to my blue. "Well?"

"I mind-raped her," I deadpanned, drawing a pair of blinks from the twins but no reaction other than that. "I forced her to answer my questions then put her to sleep and made her forget everything from after parting ways with Neo. Then I took her back to Cinder's place and forged a crime scene to ruin any credibility she may possibly have with her 'boss' if she tries to blame this on me or Neo." Taking out my scroll, I navigated to the pictures I'd taken before passing it to Miltia.

The girl on my left let out a high squeak of a giggle before covering her mouth, eyes going wide. She quickly passed the scroll to her sister. "Whose panties are those?" Melanie asked, her face looking as though she couldn't decide whether to be amused or mortified for the greenette.

"Cinder's," I smirked as Melanie passed the scroll to Neo, whose grin went positively fox-like. "Emerald has a girl-crush on Cinder something bad. She's a bit jealous. …To the point that she followed Neo here then promised to kill me."

"Dangerous and crazy, lovely combination," Melanie snarked.

Humming, Miltia took on a thoughtful look before a small smirk quickly crossed her lips. "I'm more curious to know more about these spells. What are they? What do they do?"

"How can we use them?" Melanie finished for her twin.

I rolled my eyes. Of course the twins would be looking to turn a profit somehow. "Fine, on the condition that this stays between us."

"And anyone else," Miltia was quick to add, drawing a nod from Melanie.

Neo blinked mint-colored eyes, throwing a look between the twins. "Wait, isn't the count already at four or five?" She turned her attention to me and asked, "Does Cinder even count?"

"Only if I manage to succeed there," I shrugged. "She's a hard sell and a true believer in whatever cause it is she's fighting for."

Beside me, Miltia raised her hand slightly to get my attention, taking on a pensive look as she asked, "If she's that much trouble, why not just kill her now and be done with it?"

I debated my answer for a moment before I finally decided how to word it without giving away that I knew a lot more than I was letting on. "Cinder's a threat, yes—no mistake there. But she's an agitator—she's just here to stir shit up. She's not the one pulling the strings. She's got backing, but I have no idea who—and that's the problem. Could be just about anyone from one of the other nations to some powerful individual with an eye for picking out people. Either way, Cinder is the devil we know. We know where she is, we're in a place where we can gather intel and figure out how she's planning to move and then step in when it's needed. Neo, what did she have Roman doing, before?"

Sitting up a little straighter, Neo was quick with an answer. "As it stood last, she had him building up funds through illicit drug trade and black market grimm harvesting—things Roman was already doing, just ramping up onto a larger scale. Roman was looking to outsource men from the Axe Gang to do some B&E work and was making plans to start knocking over Dust shops around Vale."

"About what I figured," I murmured, thinking it over. "Screw that. I'm not peddling drugs. Grimm parts, I have no problem trading, though. If we're supposed to be making money, we'll need to find another way."

Neo hummed, thinking it over. "Roman had a few regular cons running on our territory… Protection, gambling, that sort of thing. We even have a few legitimate businesses, but Roman kept the paperwork for all of that locked away."

"Where?" I asked, already knowing exactly which paperwork she was referring to.

The ice cream themed girl shrugged. "Not a clue. Odds are good he took it with him when he left."

Well, then it was a good thing I'd had Roman keep the papers—there was no way I could have used them anyway, considering. Instead, I asked, "What about copies? Think we can get some?"

Neo shrugged, sheepish as she admitted, "I wouldn't know how to go about doing that."

"We do," Melanie supplied. "We're in the gang though, right?"

I laughed quietly, nodding. "Yes, you're in."

"Yes, yes, that's nice and all," Miltia agreed, waving a hand dismissively. "Get back to the important part. You got distracted. We can deal with sorting out Roman's shit later. Spells! What do you have, what can they do?"

Reaching out, I mussed the girl's hair, earning a half-annoyed look even as she pushed herself harder into my hand. "Well, I've got a few categories worth of spells at the moment. Breaking them down, I've got passive skills, active skills, buffs, debuffs, direct damage, travel, and a few utility spells and skills."

The twin under my hand narrowed her eyes further. "You're evading. What did you use on Emerald? What did Neo see?"

Rolling my eyes, I looked over to find Melanie with her arms crossed on my right and an expectant look on her face. Across from me, Neo grinned and looked to be enjoying the show. "Okay, fine. I used a combination of Confuse, Dominate, Sleep, and Forget. The spells do pretty much exactly what it says in the name."

The twins shared a look between themselves before turning to Neo for confirmation. When they got it, in the form of a nod, they turned back to me. "You can put people to sleep? And make them forget things?"

"Yes," I deadpanned, wondering idly if Miltia hadn't simply broken the instance of that spell I'd cast on her. "And before any of you asks, no, I haven't used them on you against your will."

"Well, that's good to—wait a damn minute!" Melanie began, eyes going wide as my wording registered. "What do you mean, 'against our will?' You've made us forget stuff before?"

I locked eyes with the more outspoken twin before answering. "One of you, yes. Voluntarily on her part."

"Why would we ever—?" Melanie began before Miltia cut her off.

"'Operational security,' right?" Miltia asked, earning a short nod from me in answer. "The old saying 'two can keep a secret if one of them is dead' doesn't really apply when you can just mind-wipe someone. And if questioned, or put under the effect of a mind-altering Semblance, you can truthfully answer that you don't know if someone tries to question you."

"Or," Neo spoke up, drawing our attention, "You can avoid killing someone inconvenient by removing their memory of something they shouldn't know—like Emerald. If she turned up dead or disappeared, it would raise too many questions. The way Jaune did it, she'll come off looking crazy if she accuses him of anything because of this."

"It's called 'gaslighting,'" I clarified. "Essentially, making someone think they're going crazy or making others think that person is going crazy."

Green eyes shifting between us, Melanie asked, "So instead of just killing the little rat and bringing up uncomfortable questions from the crazy woman holding her leash, you've decided to 'gaslight' her? Do you think this will keep her off our backs?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged, wagging the scroll in front of me for a moment. "With photographic evidence, it's impossible for her to deny what I saw. No idea if the lesson will stick or if she'll need her nose rubbed in it again, though."

Nodding in acceptance of that, Melanie decided to return to the pursuit of her original inquiry. "Who did you mind-wipe?"

Miltia sighed, rolling her eyes at her sister. "Does it matter, if we agreed to it?" Judging by Melanie's glare, it did to her. "Telling us who volunteered to forget something important pretty much makes the entire point of doing it moot. Even knowing he can do it is a risk. Likewise, a safe word or phrase to let us know it's been done would also be a bad idea. I highly doubt Jaune is the only person out there with a Semblance capable of manipulating the mind, and if someone goes digging around and finds stuff like that then that person will know where to start digging."

Growling, Melanie threw up her hands. "Fine! You know I hate it when you double-team me," she grumbled. "And yes, I see the necessity, but that doesn't mean I agree with it!"

Reaching out, I pulled the resisting twin into a hug that she quickly settled in to and returned. "Neither do I. You think I enjoy having to do that?" Blinking, I thought on it a moment before quietly admitting, "Yeah, there's a pretty big rush knowing you can do whatever you want… but that's why the spells are so goddamn dangerous. I know the danger is there though and I don't intend to abuse them." Even if, technically, I suppose things like Observe, Dating Mode, and even my quest system already did that…

"We trust you not to take advantage," Neo smiled—and she really did, at least according to my Semblance.

Eying her twin latched onto my side, a small smirk stretched over Miltia's lips as she asked, "So… Confuse, Sleep, Forget… those all sound pretty straightforward. What about 'Dominate?' What's that do?"

"Mind control," I answered shortly, wondering where she was going with this. "I've got a few others in the same mental spell class, like Charm and Intent…"

"Uh huh, right," Miltia nodded distractedly. "Why don't you give us a demonstration?"

I blinked. "What? A demonstration of what? Dominate?"

"Yeah, show us how it works," the girl encouraged, trying and failing to hide the smirk slowly forming. "I'll even volunteer."

Watching her mood creep upwards, I nearly face palmed. "You sure?" I asked, getting a nod in answer that was just shy of enthusiastic. "Okay… Dominate."

There was absolutely no resistance to the spell as the submissive twin relented. A small grin played across my face as I saw where she was going with this. "Miltia, do you have a mind control fetish?" I teased.

"I do now," the girl grinned, and I realized I'd made the question an order—or rather, ordered her to answer.

From her place on the chair across from us, Neo sat forward in her seat. "What's it like? Is he in complete control, or what?"

Miltia shook her head, holding out a hand and tilting it side to side in a so-so gesture. "I'm still here. It's kind of like… being in a car. You're driving along and suddenly, someone's sitting in the passenger seat telling you where to go. I don't mind having a passenger, so I'm not fighting it—then again, Jaune's not really telling me to do anything yet. He's just sort of there. Let's test that."

I felt the girl begin to resist, to fight back against the spell, but it was absolutely different from every other time I'd used it. Against Roman, there had been no resistance because I'd hit him with both Confuse and Charm. Against the mooks I'd first used it on, there had been no real fight before I'd simply steamrolled over them with my higher stats. Emerald had fought tooth and nail when she could, resenting it and hating me the entire way. Miltiades, however… her 'resistance' was the same sort of resistance she put up in the bedroom—token at best and an excuse to make me force her to do what I wanted, which was exactly the sort of thing that turned her on. Her mood redlining as I pushed a bit more mana into the spell and forced her to submit pretty much proved that—as if her blush wasn't clue enough.

Still, I was gaining valuable insight into how the spell worked. For instance, Miltia could still blush. My will hadn't completely subsumed her own, as she's said, and her body still reacted to subconscious cues. In her car metaphor, I would likely be holding her arm or something to force her to go where I wanted—I wasn't the person behind the wheel. As opposed to convincing Roman he was my friend with Charm and politely asking him to go where I wanted, or reaching over and grabbing the steering wheel with the mooks. …Or putting a gun to Emerald's head and pulling back the hammer and telling her to drive or I would pull the trigger. Continuing with the car metaphor, doing that with Emerald or someone like her capable of resisting hard enough may result in them running the car into a tree intentionally. It was something to keep in mind.

"Yep, he can take control," Miltia whimpered as I forced her to stand and kneel in front of me. "Totally not doing this on my own—though, I'm not complaining about where it's going."

I rolled my eyes, reaching out and petting the girl's head as I ordered her to undo my belt and fly. "More like she's loving every second of it."

"That's…" Neo began, eyes going slightly wide as Miltia went to work enthusiastically, no apparent shame whatsoever about being forced to give a blowjob in front of other people. Then again, considering we'd all done worse with and to each other, I could see why it wouldn't really phase her. "Really hot, actually. I vote we table the discussion for later and move on to team-building exercises."

"Seconded," Melanie absently agreed from beside me, watching her sister working for a moment before turning her gaze towards Neo.

That contest of wills lasted all of three seconds before the ice cream themed girl shrugged and moved from her chair to kneel beside Miltia. Reaching out to push the white-clad twin's skirt up, she began removing an equally white set of panties as she pointed out, "We'll never get any work done at this rate, you know?"

"Sure we will," Melanie denied. "We'll just have to figure out some sort of time management scheme." She hissed, bringing a hand up to her lips and biting a knuckle as Neo's lips found their mark. "Miltia, you figure it out."

Green eyes met mine from my lap and the red-clad twin rolled her eyes, grinning around a mouthful before bringing her hand up and making a 'yap-yap-yap' gesture. Shaking my head, I glanced over to where Neo was working over the second twin. 'Back to work, you. And while you're at it, reach over there and give Neo some attention.'

In spite of what one would think, managing a submissive with a kinky streak a mile wide and expanding is much more work than managing a more dominant girl. With the dominant girl, you have three options: dominate, allow yourself to be dominated, or distract her. With Melanie, I'd found a balance of all three that seemed to keep her happy—push her down when she was in the mood for it, let her have her way occasionally, or sic either Miltia or Neo on her. Subs, conversely, require more input and creativity—especially the more intelligent ones—lest things get boring. And there was no denying that Miltiades was intelligent—she was actually the smarter of the twins, based on stats alone, with Melanie being the wiser. They balanced each other nicely, in that way.

I suppose my Semblance was right—I would be constantly having to balance the twins' wants and needs, sexual and otherwise, if I wanted to keep them around. I wasn't complaining, though, because they were worth it. It was mildly worrying how accurate it was in that regard, but at the moment my worries were miles away and I could at least convincingly lie to myself that they would stay that way for a while. The green-eyed girl in my lap wanted my full attention—and she deserved at least that much. I wasn't stupid—I knew exactly what she'd done, letting me control her like this. Yes, it fulfilled her need for kink, but it would also convince her sister and Neo that while what I could do was dangerous, it wasn't dangerous to them. Lucky for me, she was also completely loyal. I would just have to keep working to earn that sort of loyalty.