Oh, hello there! The name's Roman. Roman Torchwick. Acting director of the Remnant Resistance Front. So, you want to know how I got into this mess? Well, it's a long story. Ever since The Onslaught, Vekk-Torr's attack on Remnant, where he took control of the Grimm and a bunch of other shit, things took a turn for the worse. When he took over, he brainwashed all the Huntsmen and Huntresses across the whole thing as mindless soldiers, ready to squash any rebellious force threatening the conquered planet. Which is possibly getting destroyed—If nobody had the guts to interfere with it. Luckily, that's where the humble assholes, including me, came in.

Vale
One week since The Onslaught

In the sunsetting afternoon in Vale, Roman was running through an alleyway with two VekkTroopers pursuing him. As he ran out of breath, the two robot soldiers pulled out their weapons and fired at Torchwick.

"Freeze, White Fang scum. You are under arrest for social unrest." One of them ordered.

"Social unrest?" questioned Roman. "More like peacefully protesting, am I right?"

"Silence, human." The other VekkTrooper demanded.

Suddenly, they were shot in the head by a crossbow. As they fell to the ground, a figure emerged from the shadows to face Torchwick eye to eye.

"Robyn Hill." greeted Roman. "Funny to see you here."

"You know why it's odd to see me here? Those robots have taken over Atlas." Robyn hissed.

"Oh right, robots." Roman recognized. "If they're not Atlesian, shoot 'em!"

"Well, not all Camylonians are hostile." Another figure said.

The figure revealed himself to the other two as the fire-headed Knight of the Core.

"My name is Vuur-Cival." She introduced herself to the duo. "One of the legendary Knights of the Core of Camylon and the Ruby Guardians House leader."

"Knights of the Core? Ruby Guardians House?" Robyn asked.

"We need some explanation, ma'am," Roman demanded.

"Okay, I will tell you both about those. In Camylon, there are four houses. Each of them affiliating with one of the four elements. Earth, represented by the Emerald Sentinels. Led by the strong-willed and mighty Erde-Vere, they are the strongest warriors in the known omniverse. Air, portrayed by the intelligent Citrine Squadron, commanded by cunning and wise Ea-Wain. Water, where Vetta-Had leads the Sapphire Brigade, the bravest fighters anyone has ever known."

"So that means you and your Ruby Guardians represent fire?" Roman interrupted.

"Correct," answered Vuur-Cival. "We specialize in leading the charge of battle,"

"And commanding entire armies?" Robyn chimed in.

"Yes, that too." Vuur-Cival acknowledged.

"Looks like you all got everything AND the kitchen sink," Roman noted.

"Yes." She chuckled. "I honestly knew that."

"What are you doing here, hothead?" Robyn asked.

The Knight of the Core paused and turned to Roman.

"Roman Torchwick, your skills are required for a job." She declared.

"You son of a bitch, I'm in." accepted Roman.

"You raggedy bitch, I'm out." declined Robyn.

Roman gave a concerned look to Robyn.

"You don't trust these guys?" Roman asked.

"Ever since The Onslaught? Yes!" Robyn responded.

"If you choose to help us, Ms. Hill, we will help your colleagues." Vuur-Cival offered.

"Under one condition, distance me away from that scumbag." requested Robyn.

"Come on. We instantly got good chemistry together!" Roman bragged.

"Fine." Robyn accepted. "Only if I am working with a fellow Happy Huntress."

Once the trio arrived at the hideout, an abandoned ice cream parlor, they met the rest of the group: Neo Politan, Roman's criminal partner, and master thief, Emerald Sustrai.

"You gotta be shitting me." Robyn scorned.

"Hey, it's what I can find," Vuur-Cival informed.

"Not to mention that one of your colleagues is alive," Emerald noted.

Suddenly, she transformed into May Marigold. As she did that, Neo Revealed herself to the group and waved hello.

"May!" gasped Robyn as she ran towards her and hugged her.

"Wait. if that's May and Neo playing tricks on us." Roman realized. "Then-"

"Over here, dummy." Emerald hinted.

Roman turned around to see Emerald, now having muscular arms, donning black chaps attached to her brown belt, and Talaria, the weapon that once belonged to her deceased ally, Mercury Black, replacing her lower legs, which got severed in The Onslaught.

"You look… different," Roman noted.

"From the last time? Couldn't disagree." Emerald remarked.

"Everyone, front and center!" Vuur-Cival ordered.

Everyone came to the table of the Knight of the Core to discuss the plan

"As of this point, Vale, both the city and the kingdom, are under the control of Braane-Strom," explained Roman. "And as of this, these robot gargoyle… things are watching us."

"The Sinister Statues," Vuur-Cival explained. "They are described as one thing: trouble."

"Anything else you can describe these freaks?" Emerald questioned.

"Yes," Vuur-Cival responded as she pulled a dice-sized black cube with neon orange edges from her pocket and placed it on the table. It then stretched across the table and created a 3D map of Vale and the files of each member of the Sinister Statues. "Let's get to know who you're up against."

"And I thought the police here know everything." Roman chuckled.

"Roman, your hatred of the law is nothing compared to how much we despise Vekk-Torr's iron-fisted rule across Remnant.." griped Robyn.

"The group's leader is Moses, a relentless monster combining brute strength and high intelligence. He and his crew surveyed the street every single night to make sure no signs of resistance showed up to threaten Vekk-Torr's reign." Vuur-Cival explained. "To thin his group's ranks, we must take down each member individually."

"Luckily, I examined their files, identified their weaknesses, and assigned you a specific target." Roman bespoke.

"You have?" asked the Knight.

"Why yes, ma'am." He replied.

Robyn raised an eyebrow, notifying Roman that he had a plan.

"To turn Deleware into rust, we must separate him from his loyal pet, Chestnut. Ms. Marigold, this task is right up your alley." Roman bespoke.

"Easy enough." the Happy Huntress approved.

"Neo will be masquerading as Elfreth to lure Schuylkill away from his post. I will follow suit and take down the former." He continued.

Neo gave a nod of approval to Roman's order to her.

"Fantastic." He said. "On removing Walnut, AKA' Mr. I Got You In My Sights', Emerald's big arms will need to snap his puny neck before he even knows it."

"I can also use my newly acquired boots as well." Emerald hinted.

Robyn chuckled at Em's counterargument as she turned to Roman.

"What about me?" She asked.

"The brutish Broad is aggressive in combat but lacks a brain. Something that is going to be suited to you. Once he's out, you can assist May in eliminating Deleware and Chestnut." He concluded.

"Sounds like you got this command thing in the bag, Roman." Vuur-Civial praised the criminal mind.

"Thank you, Vuurcy." acknowledged Roman. "All we need is a decoy."

Roman pulled out his scroll and called an associate from before The Onslaught.

"Hello, Junior?" He asked.

Later on that night, Junior was approaching From Dust Till Dawn, a local Dust shop in Vale. As he walked up to the door, he and his goons entered the building with their guns at the shopkeep's face, forcing him to cower in fear. As it was happening, Walnut was overseeing it at a worn-down gas station via the cameras the group hacked into. As he noticed this, he began to contact Broad.

"Yo, Broad." He informed." We got a robbery: Dust shop, a few blocks from where you are."

After a few seconds of no response, Walnut, the gold Sinister Statue, repeated the message.

"Broad. Come in." He ordered. "Do you copy?"

In the alleyway towards Tukson's Book Trade, Robyn struggled to hide Broad's dead, blue body, which Emerald gladly assisted her into a dumpster.

"Thanks." Robyn nodded.

"Anytime. Upper body strength never fails." Emerald retorted as she flexed her arms.

"Birdie, Kiddo, we still have five more targets," Roman informed on his team's comms.

"Not to mention the big cheese himself, Moses," Vuur-Cival added.

"Roger." May agreed. "Pursuing Deleware and Chestnut."

In the streets, Chestnut, the emerald green robot gargoyle boar, was sniffing the ground to find the footsteps of Junior and his goons. But then, someone threw a slab of bacon on the ground to get his attention. As he ran toward it, he barged into the donut shop when he snagged it. Suddenly, May pursued him into the donut shop. Once she approached the boar-like Sinister statue member, she used her weapon in its staff mode to impale him in the neck while her opposition was digesting the slab of meat he picked up. She then decapitated the housepet of the Sinister Statues before running off, signaling to take out Deleware, the red, elderly Sinister Statue donning a chest armor and pauldrons. As she did that, she fired an explosive arrow at Deleware as he ran toward the donut shop. It then pierced his chest, making him explode, killing him.

"Three down, four to go," Robyn told Roman on the comms.

Walnut was watching this elsewhere, thanks to the hacked cameras.

"Boss." informed the brains of the team. "Broad, Chestnut, and Deleware are down. Presumably KIA."

"Alert the others and Braane-Strom. We need to find the ones responsible for their deaths." Moses ordered.

"Affirmative," Walnut replied.

Suddenly, he contacted the two remaining Sinister Statue members.

"Schuylkill, stop that robbery. Elfreth, find our colleagues' killers." He ordered.

"Righty-o, Nuts," Schuylkill responded. "We'll stop 'em."

"Thanks." He acknowledged as he saw the Happy Huntresses escape in an alleyway. "And now—"

"You shut up." A voice retorted.

"Who's there?" He asked.

As he got up, he looked around the building to find who said that. But then Emerald emerged from behind the counter, climbed over it carefully, and preceded to blow his head off his body with Talaria before he could turn around. Elsewhere, the heist concluded at From Dust Till Dawn with Junior and company exiting the store with sacks full of Dust on their backs. They immediately head to the car to go to the rendezvous point set by Roman. Suddenly, a pair of robotic gargoyles, one masculine and maroon and masculine, and the other feminine and charcoal, land on the roof of their car.

"Not so fast, humans." One of them said.

"It's Schuylkill and Elfreth!" exclaimed one of the goons.

The two robot gargoyles immediately tackled the goons, making them drop the sacks of Dust. Junior hesitated and put them in the car as fast as he could.

"Let's go-oh shit!" Hue exclaimed as he turned around to see the two robotic gargoyles point their weapons at him.

"Roman, we got company!" He informed him while calling him on the comms with the group.

"I know, it's them," replied Roman. "Birdie, Goldilocks, take care of them pronto!"

"Copy that, Big Bill." May retorted as she and Robyn ran toward the scene of the fight.

"Why does he get the cooler names?" thought Robyn.

The two Happy Huntresses leaped into action with their weapons in tow. As they struck the two robot gargoyles with their weapons, they immediately turned around to jostle with their new foes.

"Once I kill you, your head will become a water spout, "The maroon Sinister Statue told Robyn.

"Spare the homicidal crap, Schuylkill," She growled as she wrestled her weapon free of his grasp.

"So you do know me," Schuylkill noted.

"Read your criminal file from Camylon," responded Robyn. "Pretty nasty record from you and your crew."

Schuylkill threw Robyn aside, got his assault rifle, and fired at her. The former accidentally shot his teammate in the back as the latter evaded the gunfire.

"Hey, be careful when taking your shot!" His teammate informed.

"Sorry, Elfie." apologized Schuylkill.

Suddenly, the two noticed their opponents were not underneath them, and they immediately turned around to see them charge at them.

"Be careful when taking your shot, huh? Thanks for the tip!" May acknowledged.

The two robot gargoyles immediately got struck by their assailors. As they fell to the ground, May used her weapon in staff mode to slice off Elfreth's right hand.

"Nobody hurts my love in combat!" Schuylkill exclaimed.

He then proceeded to fire at May until Robyn tackled him. Robyn then gave a few punches to the maroon Statue. Schuylkill then turned around, grabbed her fist, and kicked her in the stomach, staggering her. He then grabbed her and flew off, with Elfreth following behind. May grabbed her weapon and threw it like a javelin, making it pierce Elfreth's right wing.

"Elf!" Schuylkill exclaimed.

Suddenly, Roman shot him in the left wing, sending him plummeting into the ground. As he crash-landed, Robyn got loose from his grasp.

As Robyn got up, Roman helped her by giving her a hand.

"For a crook, you are the most altruistic." Robyn quipped.

"Thanks," Roman replied. "But now isn't the time for compliments."

They got into fighting stances, charged at the downed Statue, and struck him. Meanwhile, Elfreth was recovering from the nasty fall she just took, only to realize that a vehicle was approaching her.

"Oh," She noticed. "You got to be cra-"

She was then run over by the speeding car, making her body a crippled mess on the asphalt.

"What the hell was that?" One of the goons in the car questioned.

"One of those goons to look out for," Junior answered. "Not a big deal."

Back on the street, May caught up with her. She picked up her weapon and approached the downed Statue. As she prepared to strike, Neo came behind and slit Elfreth's throat.

"She was mine," May said.

Neo gave her a wink and a pat on the back in response.

"Okay," she sighed. "It was OUR kill."

Meanwhile, Schuylkill was in a jostle with Roman and Robyn. As Roman struck him with his cane, Robyn slashed him in the left optic with her weapon in shield form, making him stagger.

"Crap!" exclaimed the Statue.

Robyn fired an arrow at Schuylkill's right optic, making him blind.

"Oi, who turned out the lights?" He shouted.

Suddenly, Junior's car drives up to the blinded Statue, and Roman and Robyn get out of their way. As Schuylkill turned around, he got run over by it.

"Take that, robot filth!" He taunted.

With the Statue down, Roman and Robyn ran toward their downed foe. As they stopped, Roman bowed and presented her with the honor of killing him.

"M'lady, it is all yours." He presented to her.

Robyn then curb-stomped his head into the asphalt, crushing it.

"Six down, one to go." She complimented.

"Thanks," acknowledged Roman. "All we need to do is-"

Then, a large orange Statue with a wingspan the size of a sedan swooped down, grabbed him by the neck, and dragged him across the asphalt. It then threw him into a storefront window.

"That's for my clan, cretin." It said.

Robyn ran towards it and fired a few arrows at it. As they struck him on his back, it turned around and leaped at her. It then slashed her face with its sharp claws and broke her legs. As Neo and May ran toward the scene of the fight, the Statue kicked down the street lamp next to him and hurled at it the two. As it pierced them, they shattered into a million pieces.

"What?!" It growled.

Suddenly, May gave it a low blow, and Neo gave a dive kick to its face. As May prepared to land another blow, it grabbed her weapon, threw it aside, picked her up, and thrust her body toward its knee, breaking her back.

"You dare strike the almighty Moses, leader of the Sinister Statues?!" It bellowed as it threw May aside.

Neo gritted her teeth and bolted to Moses, who immediately focused on her. As the two jostled and parried each other's attacks, Moses used his tail to knock her on her ass.

"Trivia Vanille, your pestilence ends here." He boasted.

Suddenly, Roman's cane struck him in the back of the head as the criminal threw it to get his attention.

"I felt that you scumbag," Moses grunted.

He then leaped into the store, where Roman recovered from being thrown earlier. He then pursued him inside the store as he ran off to safety. As the chase occurred, he threw obstacles in the Statue's way to slow him down and barged through the door, escaping it before he could find him. Suddenly, the Statue barged through the wall at the back of the store and managed to pursue him. As they got into the street, Neo struck Moses from behind, and he retaliated by punching her in the chest, damaging her sternum. This attack would make her drop to the ground, breathing like she was out of breath.

"NEO!" quaked Roman.

Moses threw Neo aside like a ragdoll and walked towards Romanm with a smirk. Roman walked back to distance himself from his menacing foe but tripped on his cane as he stepped on it.

"Party's over, Candlestick." He quipped.

Roman picked up his cand, and the two engaged in a close-quarters battle. Roman managed to get a few hits, but Moses's more powerful hits proved too much for him. As he got knocked out, he used his cane for stability to make sure he did not slip.

"Glad you use that cane. It'll help you remember the last thing you'll ever see." Moses chuckled as she choked Roman.

He soared toward the sky and prepared to drop Roman to his doom.

So, there I was. Ready to die in the hands of a robot gargoyle. All my allies were watching in horror at this. Em, Neo, May, Robyn, and even Junior and his friends were watching this. And, as surprising as this may sound, I did the most unexpected thing as he basked in his victory. Check out what I do next.

As Moses dropped Roman, the latter used his cane to hook himself to his right foot.

"What?" Moses gasped.

"Surprise, dummy!" Roman taunted as he used his momentum to jump on his back.

"Hop off of me, you bastard!" Moses ordered.

"How about this instead?" Roman said as he fired at Moses's chest and wings, igniting the latter body part on fire and sending them plummeting into the street below. As she saw this, Robyn threw Hush at Roman like a spear. As he caught it, he activated it in its umbrella form, jumped off Moses's back, now a burning, metallic, screaming cadaver, and floated safely on the ground while the Statue met an explosive demise.

"Thanks for the save." Roman thanked Robyn.

"No problem," She replied.

Emerald came from behind, carrying the injured May and Neo.

"We did it." She said."

"Yes." Roman smiled. "We sure flippin' did."

Suddenly, Vuur-Cival came before the group, applauding them for what they did that night.

"Good job, Torchwick." she congratulated. "You and your motley crew manage to put a dent into Braane-Strom's control of Vale."

"But it wasn't possible without a few screw-ups here and there," Emerald noted. "We need to get these guys somewhere safe."

Roman and Robyn nodded their heads in agreement. At the hospital, Neo and May were in two rooms not too far from each other. And in Neo's room, Roman conversed with his recovering colleague.

"Good times don't last forever, Neo, but good guys do," He told her.

Neo responded with a chuckle and a wink. He then leaves the room so that Neo can recover in a matter of time. As he did that, Robyn also exited May's room with a smile on her face.

"So, what's the plan?" Robyn asked.

"Take Remnant back." He responded. "Vekk-Torr took it over by force and now rules this dystopian utopia with an iron-fisted rule. I need folks like you and your Happy Huntresses to fight against that robotic tyrant."

"You son of a bitch, I'm in." She added.

To his surprise, he welcomed the invitation with a smile.

"From this day forth, you are now a member of the Remnant Resistance Front!" He announced.

Emerald interrupted the conversation by jumping in the way.

"Count me in!" She interjected. "And these guys, too!"

The three then saw a group of White Fang members, each not wearing masks as they should daily.

"Let's get started," Robyn smiled as she slightly punched Roman's shoulder. "Amigo."

Vale
Eight days since The Onslaught

The next day, Roman was in a copy shop that was printing flyers, posters, and brochures for enlistment to join the RRF. Once he exited it, he tipped his hat to the bystanders in surprise at what they saw.

"Giving Remnant a fighting chance." He explained. "Anyone like to join?"

Then, a few individuals raised their hands, and he gave a few flyers about the RRF. As news spread about it like popcorn, Roman experienced something new—fame. All of it was positive. Then, Roman passed out flyers to every volunteer who raised their hand in the air, and they headed off to spread the message across Remnant. Soon, a few groups of citizens joined the small resistance group.

"Looks like business is already booming." He thought.

And that's how I went against my status quo and found a common enemy with the rest of Remnant.

Silica City, Remnant Resistance Front Hideout
15 days since The Onslaught

Heartbroken about her sister going rogue and committing suicide in front of her, Ruby sat quietly with a frown. As Roman walked up to her, he sat down next to her.

"What's bugging you, Red?" He asked.

"Yang…" sighed Ruby. "Why did she go rouge?"

Roman paused and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Sometimes, we make mistakes. But with Knockout, going rouge may be a time of reflection." He responded.

Joyworld

In the abandoned theme park, Yang sat in one of the teacups in the teacup ride in the morning sun, looking at the bracelets Erde-Vere placed in front of her last night. As she was about to throw them into the next cup on her right, she saw flashes of images of her past before she got concealed in her crystal cocoon. All of them, not just with Ruby, but also with Weiss and Blake, her teammates on Team RWBY, and her family. As they flashed in her mind like a camera lens, she leaped out of her cup and bolted towards the exit.

"Shut up!" She demanded.

She ran towards the entrance gate of the ride and ripped the door off its hinges. As another flashed before her eyes, she stopped and held her head.

"FUCK OFF!" She screamed.

She then grabbed a pole, ripped it off the ground, and stabbed herself multiple times. As she impaled herself with it, she closed her eyes, hoping it would put her out of her misery. A few minutes later, the wounds she gave herself somehow healed. Opening her eyes, she saw the damage she had done to herself recovered. In anger, Yang bolted to the concession stand, and once she got there, she knelt and looked up toward the sky.

"WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DIE?!" She shouted.