Roman Torchwick's heeled shoes clacked loudly upon the tile floor of the mall, followed by several other sets of footsteps. Though the inside of the cavernous structure was familiar to the man from several years prior, it looked anything but after the situation in Sanus had changed. Most of the storefronts were left wide open, though they were unguarded and unoccupied. Articles of clothing, broken mannequins, salvaged electronics, and several other odds and ends were scattered about inside of the open shops, as though they had been carelessly looted. Some others had their security gates down, the items behind them untouched. Roman took note of the few that seemed useful as he led the pack of hunters along the bottom floor.
"…fuckin' mannequins," the man muttered as he kicked aside a fallen head that had rolled out into the central path from a nearby storefront. "Stupid things creep me out."
"I can understand why," Yatsuhashi said pensively. "They are a mockery of life. Soulless. Unfeeling. Not quite right, when you look at them for long enough. Somewhat like the grimm."
"…you're really comparing a clothing display stand to grimm?" Sage asked in a flat tone. "Mannequins can't kill you."
"Somebody hasn't seen a lot of horror movies," Roman mocked.
"Children," Velvet said as she rolled her eyes, "can we please focus? We're on assignment, and this place hasn't been cleared just yet. We need to stay alert."
"What are we focusing on, exactly?" Roman asked as he turned to face the faunus while walking backwards. "There's no grimm goop or whatever the hell it's actually called, and we scoped out the surrounding area. We beat Salem to the punch, for once. Now, we just need to figure out where to fortify temporarily and then see if we can't call in some people to hold this place down permanently."
As if on cue, Roman's scroll began to buzz in his pocket and the man took out the device to look it over.
"…or they could call us, that works, too…"
"Who is it?" Velvet asked, her ears twitching slightly as the scroll continued to vibrate.
"Ren, that kid from Team JNPR," Roman answered. The man cracked his neck before coming to a stop and putting the scroll on speakerphone as he held it flat in his palm. "What's up?"
"Ruby's crew ran into some professional hunters out in the forest, including her father" Ren began. "With the sudden additions to their party, she suggested that Nora and I move to support you at the mall. She thinks that leaving the professors as the only available emergency backup is best, and that you and yours should be the more immediate priority."
Yatsuhashi furrowed his brows and pulled a face as he exchanged an uncertain glance with Velvet.
"…but do you know what they're walking into, even with additional support? The lakeside resort is farther from Beacon, and they left later."
"We don't," Nora chimed in over the line. "And… Ruby was being evasive when we tried to talk to her. I've been trying to get her to open up for weeks now, and she just… it's all surface level. I can't get anything more than 'I'm frustrated right now' or 'it'll be fine' out of her."
"Surprise, surprise," Roman mocked. "Little Red does have a bad habit of taking things on that she can't handle and trying to hold up the world on her shoulders."
"…didn't she kick your ass?" Velvet asked. "You know, when Beacon was under siege?"
"Correction- a gryphon kicked my ass," Roman replied with one finger up in the air. "And then I kicked its ass from inside of it. If that grimm hadn't come along, she'd be dead right now from biting off more than she could chew and rushing in to be hero of the week. I told her as much when we went at it. Sounds like the lesson didn't quite sink in."
"…he is on our side, right?" Sage asked as he eyed the older man suspiciously.
"I'm on the side of staying alive, kid," Roman answered with a smirk. "And that means I'm against Salem."
"So… you think Ruby isn't making the right call?" Ren asked. "Is that what you're saying?"
"You really wanna know what I think?" Roman said with a shrug. "She's your friend, and my… let's go with 'coworker', for now. I'd say I'm worried about her for the sake of the overall mission, based off what I've been seeing. It's not like I want the kid to wind up dead out of spite- even I'm not that petty. She's got heart, and a better moral compass than me… but those two aren't enough, together. That's why you recruit an asshole like me to patch in the gaps. She's making big calls based on minor successes, and without all the information. As far as I'm concerned, I'd say she's compromised. Or an idiot. Probably both."
"Tell us how you really feel," Velvet snarked as she rolled her eyes.
"Always do," Roman replied with a wink.
"I… can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with you," Nora admitted. "So, your advice would be to either stay on standby, or go to her instead of you?"
Yatsuhashi cleared his throat and leaned slightly forward to be closer to the scroll as he spoke.
"We've already arrived at the mall, and so far as we can tell, the surrounding area is clear of grimm. We should have time to make rudimentary fortifications before any get within a distance that is cause for concern. Our crew could wait for the professors and hold out if need be."
"Never did I think that we would be reaching out to an infamous criminal for advice on supporting our friend," Ren mused. "But… I cannot deny that you're speaking more sense than she is, of late. We'll head for the lakeside. Thank you."
"Pick me up a souvenir," Roman suggested as he brought the scroll back toward himself. "And good luck, I guess. With everything.."
Sage watched with curiosity as Roman ended the call and pocketed his scroll.
"You know… it's getting hard to tell if you're a total asshole, or you actually care about people."
Roman chuckled softly as he turned away from the teen and swung his cane up to rest across his shoulders. The man began to walk again, his pace more leisurely and confident than before.
"Thing is… those aren't mutually exclusive."
It had started slowly at first, and Mercury had thought little of it at the time. As the days went on, however, it had become more and more problematic. He was losing sleep. Losing any sense of stability and security. Losing his nerve. All it had taken to shake him was eyes, and he had a feeling that there was no going back to his usual self-assured certainty.
Not long after saving Neopolitan from Salem's clutches down in the basement, he had started to notice that she was watching him intently. He would be on patrol or out on a balcony watching the surrounding area as it was slowly terraformed into blackened goo and ruined peaks of dead material, and it would happen almost without fail. Somehow, eventually, he would notice her staring. Sometimes, she made herself plainly visible. Others, she hid herself just well enough that Mercury wouldn't see her at first. He had no idea what she wanted, and after a while, he had gotten used to being watched. It had almost become reassuring to know that someone else was there… or so he thought.
The problems really began when he started noticing other pairs of eyes trailing him around the resort. As grimm had begun to move into the area, they had taken to patrolling along with Mercury and his ragtag companions. They would stare, their expressions just as blank and unreadable as Neopolitan's. Even so, he could sense a faint hunger within their soulless expressions. The grimm had a singular purpose, and it carried through with every glance they gave to Mercury. Unsettling though it was, they weren't the only ones… or the worst offenders.
Tyrian Callows would stare as well, though the man hardly ever moved. The scorpion faunus could often be found on a beach chair by the indoor pool, relaxed as could be with his hands behind his head. He would stare out the glass toward the countryside, seemingly watching something. Perhaps waiting. It was like he knew where to look, but not when. Even so, whenever Mercury would pass by, Tyrian's attention would snap to him, and he would simply smile. It was unnerving. It was expectant. Combined with everything else, it put Mercury on edge, though he would never admit it.
"Feeling ready?" Tyrian would ask without fail. Mercury wasn't sure how to respond and would usually just nod. Once, the faunus had continued. "It's happening soon, I'd imagine. Our goddess is poised to strike, and once she has the lamp… our work here will be complete. Do you know what that means for us?"
Mercury didn't know, and he felt like he didn't want to know, either. He had simply snorted and left the room, well aware that Tyrian's eyes were still upon his back. As he had pushed through the doors to the pool and emerged into the next hallway, he froze in place. It was the first time that the hallway had been completely covered in grimm material, and the first time he had seen her outside of the basement.
A singular red eye was staring straight through him from its place embedded within the pulsating living tissue of the wall. As he came into its line of sight, the pupil refocused to his face, and the eye narrowed slightly. No voice accompanied the motion, but he knew that Salem was watching him. Watching all of them, from wherever she might have been. Mercury had made a quick exit into the next hallway, only to find more eyes along the way. He tried his best to ignore them and keep busy. At least, until they began showing up in other locations around the building… including his room.
It was like she was there, waiting along with Tyrian and watching events transpire within the hotel. Even when he was in bed, he could feel the eyes upon him through the darkness. Though he would eventually drift off to a few fitful hours of sleep, every night, he would stare back at the darkened walls, wondering if she was actively watching. Wondering why she said nothing at all, if she was. After a few days, it became too much. He rose from his bed at three in the morning, strapped on his synthetic legs beneath his pajama bottoms, and set out into the hallway, looking for any way to escape Salem's watch.
Mercury had no plan as he exited the hotel entirely and began to move toward the nearby forest. There was no destination in mind, and no rhyme or reason to his actions as he weaved through the bushes and branches. There was also no surprise when he noticed Neopolitan following him, her umbrella in hand and her gaze locked onto his bare back. His flesh crawled as the bitter wind sent a literal chill across his spine, and he turned to face her.
"What?" Mercury demanded. "Why are you here? What do you care where I'm going?"
Neopolitan stopped walking as well and simply leaned against a tree as she gave her colleague a shrug. Her face betrayed no intentions, and Mercury sneered in response.
"…whatever. Not like you can tell the others where I went, anyway. I'll come back before dawn, alright? I just needed to get the hell out of that place for bit."
Neopolitan just nodded, her facial expression blank as ever. Mercury met her eyes for a moment, trying to see if she would blink before he did.
She didn't.
"…you're seeing them too, right?" Mercury asked desperately as he ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "Salem's eyes? In the walls, on the ceilings… we're being watched. Everything we do in there is under surveillance."
Neopolitan nodded and gave her umbrella a little twirl.
"…and you don't seem bothered at all," Mercury observed.
Neopolitan shook her head and continued twirling her umbrella. The woman disappeared behind her tree and re-emerged as an exact copy of Hazel Rainart, standing far taller than before. She continued walking, only to disappear behind another tree and walk back out as Tyrian, her illusory tail curling behind her. Mercury couldn't help but chuckle at the image of the faunus carrying a frilly parasol.
"That's a dangerous game you're playing," Mercury warned, though he couldn't hide his amusement. "Especially after she already threatened you. So, again, why are you so interested in me, then? I see you following me all the time. You're not quite as smooth as you think you are."
With a pink flicker, Neopolitan assumed her regular body once again and began to approach Mercury. He didn't move as she closed the distance, nor did he react as she stood on her tiptoes and gave him yet another noncommittal shrug.
"…great," Mercury deadpanned as he brought a hand up to his forehead. "That's just brilliant. I need another woman in my life who has no idea what the hell she wants and has no idea why she sticks around. Why is it that so many people can't just do their damned jobs and stop making mine harder?"
Neopolitan tilted her head for a moment, before a veil of pink petals creeped up from the ground, coating her in another illusion. Seconds later, Emerald Sustrai stood in her place, and Mercury drew in a deep breath as he tried to keep his cool.
"Put that… put her away," Mercury warned. "I'm not dealing with that right now on top of everything else, and you have no idea what you're dredging up."
As he tried to walk past, he felt a hand much smaller than his own on his wrist. The grip was surprisingly strong, though he knew he could break it if he really tried. Somehow, though, through a combination of stress and exhaustion, he didn't have the heart to even try.
"Are you trying to piss me off? Or do you want to help? Is that it?" Mercury asked as he turned to face Neopolitan once again. "Is that what you're doing? Trying to figure me out because I saved your sorry ass?"
For whatever reason, Mercury found himself surprised when he received a nod. Neopolitan pulled her hand back, remaining in the form of Emerald. Mercury just stared for a while, trying to think of what to even say.
"…fine, if it'll get you to drop it and go away. It's not that complicated," he lied. "We parted on bad terms. I didn't get to say everything I wanted to, and neither did she. That's it. I'd feel better about a lot of things if we had one more chance to sort things out and say some shit that needed to be said… but I don't have that luxury. We ran out of time. That's all there is to it."
Neopolitan shifted forms again, growing taller to assume the shape of Roman Torchwick. It took Mercury a moment to understand what she was getting at, and then it clicked.
"…yeah. Maybe you know what that feels like… but it's too late, now. We've got a job to do, whether those two like it or not. Doesn't matter. They're not here, and we are. So… I'm going back inside to try to get some sleep and do my job. Stay focused… and do yours."
Neopolitan watched as Mercury stomped back toward the hotel. She cast one last glance off into the trees behind her before moving to follow along.
Author's Note:
Next week- Blake, and some of Sun's crew.
-RD