Neo took pleasure in many things. From calm walks through the streets, eating frozen treats, and slowly snipping away at the veins of her latest playthings to keep them from bleeding out to quickly; she liked to consider herself a simple girl.

So when she was told that the plan would have her making a mess of one of her most interesting toys she jumped at the opportunity. Neo hated Cinder, but for all that hate she couldn't stop herself from wearing a twisted prideful grin as she skipped down the halls with the two lower grunts.

Emerald was naturally the most boring of the two, and considering it was her job to keep their little escort hidden Neo decided to hold off on any moves to spice things up. Mercury was much more interesting however, and his way of attracting the lone reporter through half-truths brought out a smidge of joy in her heart.

At first they wanted to bring a whole crew of the cattle and make the game more fun, but Emerald just had to be a pansy and suggest they bring a single one.

"All we need is one to record and release the footage. A whole group presents too many variables and potential issues. With just one it'll be easier to control her while we sneak in.".

Neo's smirk lost a tad of it's luster as she thought back to the act of cowardice. In truth Neo was sure the only reason Emerald even brought that up was because she was too afraid of getting caught. But as much as she wanted to laugh she herself understood just how much of a problem failure would be, and how Cinder would react. Neo especially hated just how much control the bitch had over everything.

The self-proclaimed mistress of frozen dairy was anything but stupid, and she knew when and how to play her cards. Along with Roman she'd seen the woman's flames, but that wasn't what had her on guard. Cinder walked around like she owned the place, and while any old idiot could do that, not just anyone could prove it.

Neo cringed as she recalled the act, feeling a shiver go up her spine as the picture cleared itself in her head.

The way it coiled around her, tendrils sliding under the scarlet dress as the orb glowed a menacing crimson, as if burning with primal hatred. The miniature assassin had never seen such a Grimm, and the way it growled in an almost purring manor had her twitch. It didn't exactly look strong, and Neo was certain Cinder only showed off the Grimm 'jellyfish' as a way to try and frighten them.

It worked.

V had the same power supposedly, but Cinder had complete control whereas he looked to stumble upon it by accident. Being able to control Grimm, to command and enslave the predators of humanity, it brought out a special emotion in her heart, one she'd never felt in years. The very thought that she could feel such a thing had her wanting to puke at her own weakness, but even so she shivered as it consumed her. She hated it, maybe even more than Cinder, and felt reviled to even admit to it's infliction within her, but she acknowledged it.

Fear.

Pure and raw, one of the most powerful and deadly illnesses to grace mankind, and one she'd spent years staving off. Neo wanted to take hold of it, to drown it, to skin it and bury it in burning salt. She'd build a mountain of corpses to cage it, all in a move to keep it's madness in check. Neo hated fear, and she'd be damned if she let it sway her in even the tiniest form.

"And this is the dorm, V and I tend to meet up out here every time we hang."

Mercury's false happiness broke her from the tide of thought, and Neo sent a look to the man. She watched with curiosity as he guided the reporter around the building, all the while she recorded on her little camera.

He was one of the more... tolerable people she'd met since her alliance with the flame whore, and while she still hated him at least he had the balls to admit why he stood by the wannabe princess.

"Let's be real here, you're with Cinder for the same reason we are: to be on the winning side."

He'd told them that when Roman asked why they shouldn't just run. Of course Cinder made a point of showing her power every chance she got, and it became rather annoying to get the smell of burnt flesh off her suit. Regardless Neo still felt they may have had a better chance at running away than Mercury made it seem.

Neo wasn't all too upset at the moment though, and even got a kick out of the look their little toy was showing. She was absolutely ecstatic, and Neo spent a good second admiring the face she made as they led her through the building. A smirk broke out for a moment before Neo squashed the action away, calming her excitement. Soon enough chaos would ensue, and she was going to be the first to witness it.

Question was how would their Grimm friend react? She couldn't wait to find out.

"And this as you can see is the park... well, what counts as a park anyway. Beacon is filled with so many places like this it's hard to tell what's what." Mercury said as they passed through the garden. Neo knew they were in the garden as she read the sign they passed a few feet back; the one Mercury appeared to miss.

The reporter didn't seem to care, and actively flurried her camera about in wild succession to the point she actually drew some attention from the other students. Most rolled their eyes and avoided them as they trekked through, while others laughed quietly and pointed.

"Oh, hey, there he is." Mercury spoke as he waved to Vermillion in the distance. "Hey V! Got someone who wants to meet you, come say hi!"

Neo cast a glance back as V made his way over, noticing how the woman shook slightly as he got closer. With a silent giggle Neo looked around before pulling out her scroll and opening up the school map, making sure they were in the perfect position. Cinder needed them near the bushes or any other type of covering, and told them to lure both targets over if not close enough. They also needed a good crowd for the show, and with the reporter already making a scene with all her questions just as the boy showed up there was no worry about that.

"Is it true you're attending as a student of Beacon?"

"I-"

"Popular word says you can control Grimm, is this true?"

"Well-"

"What do you think of the nicknames thrown around?"

"It's-"

The poor guy couldn't even get a word out before being bombarded with more questions. Neo let her gaze travel from the attention and over to the clock mounted on a nearby video map as she noticed the time, and a rush of glee shot through her. Any moment now and she'd get the action she wanted.

"What's going on over here!?"

The voice drew everyone's attention, and Neo in particular wanted to swear under her breath. Just when things were about to get interesting one of the staff just had to show up. It didn't matter, and would only make the ensuing game even more hectic.

"Oh, hello there. What's your relationship with the Grimm Faunus?"

"Excuse me!? And just who are you!?"

Mrs. Goodwitch didn't look too pleased with the sudden question.

"Oh, you don't know?" The woman swiped her hair back. "I'm-"

With a crunch blood sprayed across the grass, and the students started screaming. Neo sighed with relief that the stupid broad had finally shut up, and a sense of pleasure welled up inside her at the sight of the lifeless body being flung by the Beowolf. She leapt backwards as the corpse flew past, all the while a roar filled the air.

The beast rushed ahead, tearing and clawing at anything in it's path, yet never straying too far past V. Neo smirked fully as Emerald unleashed a flurry of bullets at the creature, all of which looked to only tickle it's hide. The Grimm roared and rushed for them.

It's jaws widened as it went for the kill, and Neo in particular knew at least six different methods of grinding it's fangs to dust. Unfortunately she also knew it wasn't time to kill the beast yet, so she settled on making a show, avoiding the boney ball of death by mere millimeters in a bid to look outmatched. She was in no real danger, but judging by the screams around her after each dodge Neo was sure she made it look real.

The assassin secretly smirked as she dashed around, lashing quickly at the limbs of the Grimm, only feeling slight annoyance at having to use a standard weapon and not her own; having to play the part was tedious, but oh so fun in her opinion. A claw came down next to her and she sidestepped it as Mercury jumped in with a kick, seemingly breaking the offending paw as the monster let out a wail. It thrashed and flung itself backwards, standing guard over V as it let out a growl. She saw it; Mercury and Emerald saw it; Goodwitch saw it; the entirety of the student body saw it.

Vermillion summoned a Grimm from nowhere and killed that poor reporter.

Neo wanted to laugh, to roll over and wheeze, but she settled on looking shocked like the rest. It seemed Cinder's word was good, and now they had one less wildcard to deal with.

Question was what would Beacon do with V now?

.

.

Ozpin was having a good day. He got team RWBY on lookout, he dealt with frenzied reporters, and he even got an extra shipment of hot coco approved for the school budget. So it was to great - and tired - surprise when he got a call from Glynda of all people.

"GRIMM ON SCHOOL GROUNDS!" She'd shouted, doing her best to raise the words above that of the screaming in the background.

Worst of all the call cut out before she could say more, and he was left rushing to the scene blind as he called for backup.

"James-"

"I know, we're on the move as we speak." The man spoke as the elevator dinged and Ozpin rushed out.

"Do we have any information on what happened?"

"It's all over the net, someone leaked a video already and I have my teams doing damage control; not that it'll help much anyway." Ironwood told as Ozpin grimaced.

"Send it to me."

"Done."

Ozpin rushed out, casting quick glances down at the scroll as he maneuvered around stray students. The video showed everything in gruesome detail, depicting the very second the massive alpha Beowolf leapt out and sunk it's jaws into a woman's torso; breaking through the neck and upper torso. It swung her around like a ragdoll for a moment before flinging her away, all the while Vermillion stood behind seemingly frozen in place.

Yet something was amiss, and Ozpin shut off the video before calling Ironwood again.

"James, something's wrong."

"You noticed it too, then it's safe to assume she has a presence here."

"Not directly, however this all but guarantees her agents are in Vale. You remember what he told you right?"

"He can only use his powers when the armor is active yes I know. But the people don't know that. As far as they know he just murdered a woman senselessly, and combined with his supposed 'mental instability' he'll be considered a loose cannon." Ironwood told as Ozpin cringed. Ironically his one move to protect the boy would be the very thing that brought him down, and while he hated it Ozpin knew he'd have to face the consequences this time.

There's no protecting Vermillion, not from this.

"You know what we need to do." Ironwood told as Ozpin scowled with a sigh.

"Have your men on standby."

With that Ozpin cut the call and broke through the students before him, shoving them aside in a fight to get through. With a push he shot out, delivering a solid kick to the side of the Grimm, and leaping off as he extended his cane. He landed with a bow, waltzing to the side as it rushed to swipe it's one good claw.

With several whips and lashes Ozpin skipped back as it tried yet again to strike for him, only this time it froze seemingly in place. He cast a look back to see Glynda had stepped in, sending her a slight smile as he rushed in again. With another few strikes Ozpin went for the kill and forced the tip of his cane through it's eye and out the other side of it's head.

The Grimm twitched for a bit before going limp as it dropped to the ground, smoke began to form as it dissipated. Ozpin turned at the sounds of rushed footsteps just in time to see James and his soldiers arrive. All of them had weapons pointed towards Vermillion, who wore a plain look; yet Ozpin could see the confusion in the slight twitch of the boy's lips.

With a sigh he faced his once champion, keeping a calm voice as he spoke.

"Surrender."

It was a direct order, not forceful, not emotional, but calm and serious. Ozpin watched with bated breath as the knight looked past and too the men behind, His hands twitched for a moment. His lips curled slightly into a vicious scowl, and his eyes slammed shut as his arms slowly rose up.

Ozpin sighed as the men behind approached the boy, linking his hands in restraints as several others crowded him. A circle was formed around him as they passed the crowd of shouting students; each sending hateful words of their own. He let out a tired breath as he followed the men.

Here we go again.

Author's note

...

Short one this time. Spending the holidays with family, so tomorrows release is today.

At least we get to move things ahead, even if I'm not fully happy with this one. Personally I think I could have done a bit better, maybe better build up or execution. But I wanted to focus a bit on Neo this time as it's been a while.

Anyway that's it this time, see you later.