"She had this longing in her eyes, and as she spoke with that gentle loving care, I knew then the lad in her arms was there more for her sake, than his. I pitied her, now knowing exactly the despair which burrowed deep within her soul. My wife once bore that same sort of pity, but nowadays she seemed incapable of feeling at all."
Ruby stared down at the words, having read them but unable to really take them in. It was weird how just a single bit of knowledge could plummet her down so deep into the winding tunnels of confusion and dread, so much so she needed a way to cope.
Ruby Rose...
Her uncle Qrow had handed her the scroll, and like he asked she started to read. He'd left her on a particular page, one presenting the writings of a man laid defenseless and broken on his 'to be' death bed. It was a depressing read, and made clear just how broken the man was. However at the very bottom of the page, when the mysterious woman left, he'd asked a specific question; her name.
Ruby Rose... I...
To say it tore her mind into shambles would be putting it nicely. Ruby herself didn't know what to think at first, reading and re-reading the two words over and over again, trying to make sense of it all. In truth it had a very simple answer; the woman he spoke with had the same name as her. That itself wouldn't be all that crazy; interesting, but not mind blowing. Most people were named after family members of the past, and it was never that wild for them.
Her dreams were what made it wrong.
Suddenly, upon reading that single name, Ruby was taken back to that dream, recalling the woman who shared a bed with the little boy, the younger V. Maybe it was a form or narcissism from all the stress recently, but Ruby couldn't help but imagine herself as that woman. No longer did the dream play off as her mind's desperate attempt to deal with the reminder of her lost mom, instead inserting herself into the roll of the clearly older woman.
She'd looked up to her uncle, confusion splattered across her face. She never said anything, but was sure he knew what riddled her thoughts.
"I don't know squirt, I'm sorry." It was the first time he'd shown genuine emotion since the train crash, emotion that wasn't born of necessity or a by-product of alcohol anyway.
Logic would dictate it was just a case of shared names, but V's existence in both the past, present, and her dreams put even logic itself up in the air. Her entire person nearly broke down at that point, and she distinctly recalled her uncle wiping a few tears from her cheeks, pulling her into a short, but comforting, hug. Why didn't anything make sense anymore? Why did they need to save the world from an immortal monster? They were just kids doing their best to stay alive; why did the responsibility of everything seemed to fall on their shoulders?
Ruby, at that point, turned back through the pages, starting over from the beginning of the story, and read the beginning few entries of the journal, a journal that belonged to Thorn Rose, which was another set of questions altogether.
She didn't care about that though; Ruby simply needed an escape.
She needed a break from it all, some sort of tale to draw her in and distract her vivid imagination from all the gloom and doom at every corner, just like how the stories of her childhood brought out fantasies of wonder and heroism. The first thing Ruby noticed while reading was how vague almost all of it was, never really having any of it explained unless it was necessary. He mentioned a wife, and even named her too, along with a son. Strangely enough though, he never named the son, just calling him that: son, or boy, or lad, or any other acronym that wasn't a name.
Ignoring the oddities, Ruby had read on, finding some excitement in the few moments where he described how the various weapons he'd used in his journey worked. The sparks of design drew out her imagination, and against her own control, Ruby began theorizing on how such weapons could be improved to be even better than they were spoken of in the writing. Gravity Dust was good for extending range, yes, but if the user were to instead weave the inside of the barrel with a little of the stuff and then fire the bullet, it would, rather than apply the effects to the bullet itself, instead apply them to the surrounding and incoming air. This shift in gravity would make it fire faster, retaining the same distance increasing effects of the Dust, but without the speed loss that infusing the bullet itself would cause.
It was these minor corrections and modern day solutions that erased some of the panic and fear from Ruby's heart, and even made her excited to continue reading the tales. There was heroism at points, and even a few damsels in destress at times; the types of classic hero stores that made you cheer, even if a little cliché.
And then he met the woman, Gem Scarlet, and Ruby was reminded of the lady's true name.
She'd sucked up the dread, blowing it away to the winds as she focused on the story instead. Strangely enough, the woman had been a house maid, at least from what Ruby herself could understand, and this 'Gem' lady had apparently looked after Thorn's son along with her usual duties, all of which lead up to the current section of the tale.
"Yet, miss Scarlet seems to hold onto that ability to love, much to my own shameful jealousy. Veronica could do with some emotion again, rather than drowning herself in our cupboards, but I'd be a hypocrite to suggest she be better; the bottle has been my close friend for some time now, always lulling away the pain."
Yep, it's uncle Qrow in a nutshell. Perhaps it wasn't the best mindset to start linking certain actions to people in her life, but her uncle had been out of it too long. Where was the fun-loving guy who always snuck Yang and her cookies before lunch, even though dad was always trying to stop him? He'd been a balloon of playful mischief, ready to pop at any second, and yet, even though he was busy most days, he always had time to spare for them, even if it was only a few seconds. Cocky, chaotic, and cool; what more could Yang or her have asked for?
Ruby had to stop herself there, she was falling into that trap again, and so she went back to her reading... or at least she tried too, before Nora popped her head in the kitchen.
"So hey... uh, you coming out anytime soon." The ginger was sporting a somewhat cross and curious glare. "You've been in here for the past hour, and we're planning to head out and grab a bite to eat later; take some time to relax before tomorrow."
"What's going on tomorrow?" She questioned, not remembering them really planning anything.
"Oh yeah, you were in here..." Nora clapped her hands. "Okay, so the basic gist of it is: we'll be heading to the docks, and seeing if Weiss can talk a ride out of them. She's from Atlas anyways, and while that hasn't been the best route for most people, we think her status as a Schnee can grease the hands of the hot-shots up there, enough to let us through hopefully."
Use her place as someone important to manipulate their way around the rules. It wasn't a bad idea, all things considered, even if it did scrape the edges of trickery. They'd be taking advantage of the soldiers own willingness to break certain rules, an advantage which ordinary people didn't have. Ruby wasn't sure how to feel about the unfairness of it, but then again, ordinary people didn't have to worry about a looming evil trying to kill them all, so she figured it might as well have been a fair trade.
"Wait..." Ruby said, pausing a second, her mind trailing back to the last time they attempted this idea. "Didn't we try this already?"
"A little." Nora admitted, scratching behind her ear. "But we were more concerned about getting information, rather than actually trying to hitch a ride."
"But I thought Cordo only offered to take Weiss along?"
"Who?"
That single word shot through Ruby like a volt down the power line, and she had to take a second to re-evaluate what she just said. Cordo... it had been what Maria called the other woman, when they visited the military base for the... first... time.
We... never went there as a team before... I... haven't even seen it yet? Why do I... The idea, the visualization of it all, it was so clear in her mind, but at the same time it wasn't. She herself had passed out and woke up in Jaune's sister's spare bedroom. Even that was a bit iffy now. There, just at the corners of her mind, was the shattered idea that she'd rode on the back of a trailer. That was wrong, she wasn't awake to see it, and still, somehow, she could imagine bits and pieces of it, of Yang driving them along on her bike.
A bike that was here, in Argus, during the time they were stranded. The back of her hand tingled a little bit.
"Are you okay, Ruby?" Nora was at her side, poking her arm and humming as she narrowed her eyes. "Nothing's been jumbled up in that brain of yours right? Don't think I haven't seen you reading; you know books are evil."
"I'm just tired." Lying through her teeth probably wasn't the best decision, and in truth it made her a bit of a hypocrite, but she didn't know what the hay was going on herself, so she wasn't quite sure how to explain it to anybody else.
Well... there was probably one person who had some semblance of an idea about what she was going through.
"Where's Pyrrha?"
"Pyrrha?" Nora blinked, and settled down a little. "I think she went to the park about a half-hour ago; said she wanted to enjoy the peace a little. Do you know where it is?"
"Maybe."
"Do you need help getting there?" Nora's more excitable tone had washed away now, leaving behind nothing but a cautious film.
"No, no I'm good. I can just use the local network to get a map on my scroll anyway."
"Okay... well, if you need help, the rest of us will be hanging around here; Jaune's sis is showing us a few old board games she has, and it's fun watching our fearless leader lose to a toddler."
"Thanks." A little mean, really, but it was so expectedly Nora, and so she knew it wasn't meant to be an insult. Ruby stood, making her way from the kitchen and towards the door. She caught the tail end of their recent game from the corner of her eye, and saw how Jaune played up quite the animated defeat, making the small boy ahead of him laugh victoriously. She teased a tiny smile across her lips, feeling a small sense of relaxing comfort bloom at the peaceful sight.
The streets were chilly tonight, and Ruby was glad she took her warmer outfit. Yeah, she kind of missed her old black dress, but this newer one worked pretty good in keeping her warm, plus it was a little less restrictive - the fabric never got in the way as much as her old dress. For a hunter, mobility and style were the most important aspects, unless your aura was too fragile to reliably protect you, in which case you'd usually need to beef up your outfit.
A hunter... that's what she was, right? A hunter who protects people; a hunter who chases away the Grimm and other monsters of the night; a hunter who could be relied upon and always come out on top; a hunter who cared about the world, and the people in it. It was these traits that made up a hunter, and despite knowing this, Ruby had an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach, an ache that just wouldn't go away.
Hunters were supposed to be fearless heroes, and yet all she could feel towards the idea was fear.
She put a pin in it as she traveled along, her eyes taking in the small hues and glows of the night. People were mostly settled away in their homes, with only the last grains of life sat diligently on their porches or stairs, taking in the midnight air. It wasn't quite midnight yet really, but it sure felt like it with how quiet things had become. In a way it was just like back home; even the stars of the sky could be seen clearly again.
Argus was large, but not overly so that the simple moments such as a quiet night were shooed way by the noise, and so Ruby enjoyed the familiarity while she could, sucking in the fresh settled air. She received a few nods from the people she passed, pleasantly surprised by how friendly they seemed towards a total stranger. Most people in the city couldn't give two lien about one another, to the point where you'd be seen as a creep for even being a little bit courteous; it wasn't right, but it was the price you paid in a larger space where anybody could be out to get you.
Caution born of both fear, and necessity.
Ruby slowed her pace as she came across the opening across the street, feeling a little shocked that she came upon what looked like the park so quickly. The young woman had been so caught up in her mind that she hadn't paid attention to where she was going, just moving with the flow. At least she didn't have to search up a guide. She crossed the road, and started down the path deeper in.
Most of it was open space, with a few bumps and hills. There were trees scattered here and there, but ultimately she could look from one end to the other with no issue, which was how she spotted Pyrrha so easily, seated on the other end and lying against a tree. Her hair was down, cascading over her shoulders and breaking up some of the black of Ruby's own old dress. She had many, many copies, so it wasn't an issue lending some of them out, but seeing it still brought back memories of better times, even though they all agreed it made Pyrrha look like a punk; much to their friend's displeasure.
Walking over, she noticed her pale friend look up to her, offering a calm smile and patting the space at her side. Ruby nodded, heading over and taking her place.
"How was the walk?" She offered with a soothing voice, and Ruby let a little smile show.
"Relaxing, a lot more than Beacon was."
"Yes, and certainly much quieter." Pyrrha looked up to the stars. "I missed places like this; small communities where everybody knew each other, and where crime is on the lower end."
"Yeah." Ruby agreed, getting comfortable and slipping off her cloak. The hooded red cloth was placed next to her, along with her weapon, and Ruby felt a small invigoration at the chill kissing her exposed neck. "It reminds me of home."
"I see." Pyrrha threw a look her way, with a mild face of wonder. "You never really told us much about your home, but then again we were the same... would it be weird of me to say I'm curious now?"
"A little, but I don't mind." Ruby let her eyes wander upwards, in search of her favorite constellations, flicking between each of them as she spoke. "Yang and I grew up in Patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. It was cozy, and peaceful - not counting the Grimm anyway."
"I see..." Pyrrha allowed her eyes to find their previous resting place, directed back towards the stars. "I've heard Patch has a lot of open land, untouched by most of civilization."
"It does..." Ruby returned her focus to Pyrrha again, just as the woman did the same. "But most of it isn't all that useful. It's really just a bunch of forests and cliffs; good for lumber work, but not much else."
"Hmm?" Pyrrha drew on a slightly off look. "Were there many people in that field?"
"There were some, but most of them stayed around the bigger towns where it was safe. Our family was more in an offshoot neck of the woods, so I never got to see them much, except when we went with dad or Uncle Qrow, or when we were at school." Ruby couldn't stifle the slight embarrassment that crossed her. "Believe it or not, we'd actually tried helping out sometimes when we were in the city."
"Really? You and Yang were... lumberjacks?" Pyrrha's cross expression made it seem like she was having a hard time believing it, and Ruby could understand why.
"Yeah. There wasn't much to do around the few places we had, and I only had a few friends who were regularly available. Almost everybody tried it a little bit in their lives, at least for us." A small chuckle escaped her. "It's actually where I first started working on my weapon."
"Crescent Rose." Pyrrha slapped on another odd face. "How did lumberjacking give you the idea to make a sniper-scythe?"
Ruby fiddled with her fingers for a second.
"Well... actually, it was originally going to be a cross between an ordinary rifle and an axe. Thing is though, when uncle Qrow saw how I moved around, he had the idea that I should use a scythe like him. He said it would be good to pair with my speed, and make it easy to trip people up, or chop limbs off the Grimm."
"Okay..." Pyrrha relaxed a little more, her face still holding that twist of confusion. "So that explains the scythe, but why did you go from a regular rifle to sniper rifle. Was it your uncle Qrow's doing as well?"
"Guilty again." Ruby sat up a little, reaching over and laying her weapon from its place at her side to her lap. She inspected the metal, before raising it up and letting it ripple alive. The shaft extended, and Crescent Rose glistened against the moonlight. Bringing it back down again, Ruby rubbed her fingers across its shaft. "He said it was better I focus on a much longer range, because my fighting style already covered close combat with the scythe. Yang was never all that accurate with her aim, which was why she chose to go for a shotgun style with her gauntlets, whereas I was much better with it."
"How good are you at aiming anyways?" Pyrrha tossed out. "I never really got to see you use Crescent Rose at all that long of a distance."
"I once spent an evening shooting pebbles off the top of a cliff... from my bedroom window. Needless to say my dad caught me and told me to stop; I was wasting too much ammo apparently." A cheeky blush patted her cheeks. "I, uh... I learned how expensive it was later that month, when he made me buy back all that ammunition I used from the shop in town; three allowances right down the drain." Her face shifted into one of playful excitement. "Needless to say I never took bullets for granted again!"
The little cheer she let out at the end had Pyrrha giggling, and she calmed down after a few seconds. It was nice, the comfort of night. With how bad things were going for them recently, Ruby couldn't help but wish they had more of these moments now, where both of them were relaxed and safe, where no worries of darkness could ruin their spirits.
"Quite." Pyrrha let out a smooth breath, looking over casually. "Now then, I don't suppose you just came out here to speak about home, right? You looked lost in thought earlier; until you spotted me anyway. Is there anything you want to talk about? I'm always willing to listen."
Ruby wanted to say no, to just bask in the easy night, but nothing would change by backing out now.
"Actually." She started, her voice growing a little more serious. "There was. I wanted to ask you about your memories, you know, the ones that didn't happen."
"Ah." Pyrrha's tone matched her own perfectly. "That." She sighed, steading herself. "Alright then, what do you want to know?"
"Well... I think..." Why was this so hard, all she needed to do was tell her. "I think I'm... I-I-"
Come on! Say it already! Why was it so hard? It was only a few simple words, and still, for some reason it kept getting caught in her throat. Ruby never had trouble speaking about things before, so why did this topic frighten her so much?
"It's okay." Pyrrha's hand softly caressed her back, somewhat quelling the rapid beating of her heart. "Take your time, and if you don't feel up to it, you can tell me later."
"No... no I... I need to do this, right now." Ruby swallowed hard, and forced the words from their hiding place in her throat. "I've been having dreams, and memories... like you, I think."
Pyrrha was quiet for a bit, and then spoke. Concern coated her voice, and yet it remained stable.
"How muck like me?"
"Cordo..." Ruby paused, taking a second to breath. "She's one of the commanders at the military base here in Argus. I know what she looks like, and how she acts... but I haven't seen her before; I just... somehow know."
"Like you've been through it already?" Pyrrha finished for her, and Ruby offered a pitiful nod.
"Yeah... but, I haven't been through it before."
"And for some reason it feels like you have." Pyrrha placed her hand over Ruby's, rubbing it as she spoke. "Trust me, I know just how startling it is. In my dreams I've seen things not from my own perspective, but someone else's. Usually it's yours... but, once before, I saw it from what I think was V's perspective."
"V's?" Ruby looked up, and Pyrrha closed her eyes and nodded, opening them back up with a spark of dampened life.
"Yes. It was back when we were fighting Tyrian. It was the only time I've had a dream so vividly there, 'in the moment' if that makes any sense. Every other time I saw the world from your perspective, and while I could feel most of it, everything just seemed... distant."
Ruby stayed quiet for a bit, thinking it over, and then after making a decision spoke.
"I've had one of those... right before I woke up here in Argus. I was in bed, looking at that woman from Jinn's vison. They were talking about V's trip to the castle, so I think it was a little before what we saw. But it doesn't make sense either, because we only saw him at the castle, not before."
Pyrrha hummed, her face taking on this empathetic and leathery smile.
"You know, in the dreams where I watched from your eyes, I noticed how V was never around. We would be doing something, but not once did anyone ever mention him. Is this true for you as well?"
It was, and Ruby didn't know what to make of it.
"Yeah. I haven't had many of these dreams so far, but from the ones I saw, even the worst, he was never there... at least, I don't think. My head's been feeling kind of fuzzy, so I can't say for sure what I think anymore. Hey Pyrrha?"
"Yes?" She faced her with a mild look of interest, and Ruby, despite being comforted by the friendly aura it offered, dulled her question a bit.
"What do you think about the scene Jinn showed us, the one with V I mean."
"Honestly, I don't know. If it really was him, then it means he's been around for quite a while."
"Or he suddenly found his way here." Ruby threw to the wind. "He might have found a way here without having to wait the thousand or so years it would take."
"Maybe..." Pyrrha smirked faintly. "So are you falling in line with Nora's idea?"
"I don't know." Ruby pulled back a little. "I know it sounds impossible, but... things are just changing so fast that I can't help but question what's even possible or impossible anymore."
"I know. It's all been so hectic almost every step of the way." Pyrrha allowed some curiosity to sprinkle her expression. "Is there any particular reason you find yourself thinking about that idea?"
"I... well..." Ruby swallowed hard; it was now or never, and she didn't want to be the only one in the know. "It's probably best you read it for yourself."
"Read?"
Instead of giving an answer, Ruby pulled out Adam's scroll. She messed with it a bit, bringing up the particular page which held the mentally straining information, and handed it to Pyrrha. The shadowy girl took it, and for a bit read silently. Ruby was patient, and never said a word as Pyrrha's confusion turned to focus, and then intrigue, and then finished with a mild shock. Eyes just barely widened, and with a noticeable grit along her jaw. The woman breathed before breaking the silence.
"So this is why." She handed the scroll back, and Ruby put it away again.
"I know it's probably just a coincidence, but after seeing V in Jinn's vision-"
"You're wondering if a trip is not only possible, but can go both ways." Once more, Pyrrha hit the nail on the head. Ruby watched the mild array of conflicting emotions dance across her face, and while she didn't want to interrupt her friend's thoughts, she felt the urge to get the next statement off her chest.
"I just don't know what to do with this."
"Neither would I." Pyrrha said, her face hardening. "Have you told anyone else?"
"No." Ruby shut her eyes, calming down a bit as she carried on. "But uncle Qrow knows. He was the one who showed it to me, but I don't think he told the others yet."
"Will you tell them?" Pyrrha's face was nearly unreadable, but even so it wouldn't have changed Ruby's answer anyways, because not even she herself had one.
"I don't know, Should I?"
"There isn't much to lose if we do." Pyrrha said, leaning back a little more, trying to restore the lost comfort. "Sure, they might go into a fit at the idea of you hopping through time, and the paradoxes that might unfold, but if it truly exists, then doesn't that mean you go back anyway?" Pyrrha grew a grin. "Think about how crazy it would be, living a fantasy like that?"
"If it's true." Ruby corrected, leaning back as well and trying to relax, just like her friend. "We might just be going crazy; heck, it might just be a fantasy."
"Maybe..." Pyrrha said, her voice stirring to life. "But then again, we don't necessarily have to speculate, now do we?"
"What do you mean?" Ruby looked over, and Pyrrha's devious grin drew out a sublime aura of mischief, one she thought had been lost back when Beacon fell. Somehow, the 'Grimm' - quite literally at this point - partner of Jaune had drawn forth a form of excitement, one real enough to make Ruby's skin crawl with anticipation.
"Don't we have the answer to Remnant's every question sitting neatly back at the house?"
"I-" Jinn, Pyrrha was talking about Jinn, and Ruby suddenly felt stupid. "Huh... I guess we do." Her excitement mellowed. "But we'd need to convince the others about using the it; we'd be taking a huge risk as well."
"Yes, but it could make things easier. Think about it; if that really is 'you' that the journal is talking about, that means you go back no matter what. That's how time works, doesn't it?" Pyrrha's smirk became a full-blown smile now. "Whatever we ask, and whatever happens: you go back."
"Maybe..." It couldn't hurt to ask, could it? Regardless of the idea, Ruby felt a little bit of wonder well up inside at the prospect, especially with how excited Pyrrha looked. "Either way, you seem a happy about it."
"O-oh!" Pyrrha cleared her throat, putting on an apologetic mask. "Sorry, sorry, it's just that I've always had a soft spot for that particular type of fiction. Stories featuring such robust and outlandish topics... they tickle a sort of soft spot in my imagination. I've always dreamed of seeing a tale like that unfold in real life, even though I knew it was impossible."
"Impossible." Ruby offered a small smile. "Well, maybe it won't be so impossible after all."
.
.
"Hey, kid!" Roman yelled into the room, watching as the young man stirred in the bed. The boy was still somewhat asleep, and so in typical fashion, he employed a much less ignorable method of provoking an answer. "Whelp, you've asked for it." He tapped the tip of his boot against the floor. "Neo?"
He never saw her, but Roman was certain the little gipsy was smirking. He wanted to roll his eyes at the idea, but he'd rather not have Neo in a fit for the next week, and so he relented and just waited for her to do her thing. It was a good thing nobody else was around, otherwise he'd need to wake V on his own. His eyes trailed upwards to the small security camera in the corner of the room, and Roman offered a wave to the thing before the light clicked off. No doubt the cavalry crew were now trying to figure out what happened, and most likely blaming him. At best he had ten minutes before they came running down the hall.
He never needed that time however, as V was - quite literally - ruffled awake.
Neo was, shall we say, less than gentle when waking the grunts, preferring to use a more... intense approach. V fell violently to the floor, groaning a little as he got up on his feet, at which point Roman walked over with open arms.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty; we've got places to be!" Roman watched as the guy steadied himself, staying quiet as he got a hold of his bearings. It was at this point Roman cocked a brow; no witty comeback of complaint, now that was odd. "Hey, you awake yet? I said we need to go.
Again with the silence, but this time a small nod escaped the dreaded lack of action. Immediately Roman felt something was wrong, not from the lack of talk, but rather the face he saw. When V rose his head, Roman was given a front row seat to the absolute nothing that was the kid's expression. He'd seen people appear blank before, but nothing on the levels of this; V's whole mojo was no different than those creepy-ass mannequins most clothing stores loved to collect. It wasn't just an empty look either, it honestly felt like there had never been life in that face to begin with.
His crimson pupils appeared dulled to the point of almost looking purple.
"Uh..." Roman crossed his arms. "You alive, or do I need to jolt you back into the world of the living?"
Again he was met with a nod rather than speech, and seeing as this was quickly turning into a losing game, Roman relented.
"Whatever." He tossed his arm aside, planting it in his coat pocket. "Just follow me. We've got places to be."
"Where?"
Now that sent a chill up his spine, or rather, it stabbed the trail of nerves with a shard of ice. Never once had anything sounded so wrong and right at the same time, and damn if he didn't nearly piss himself. Roman collected his person, now wondering just what the fuck happened to the lad. He chanced a glance back, keeping up his flawlessly brave façade as he answered.
"It's time to get you back home, now come on." He turned away, now even more unnerved. Somehow, his pale skin looked even more drained of color, with the veins almost appearing to smoke against the skin, almost like the spindly web had grown. Roman shook his head a little, gritting his teeth. He'd never once lost his cool as bad as right now, and he wasn't about to let some uppity punk bring him down to the level of a frightful child.
"Home?"
There it was again, and Roman forced himself to stop holding his breath.
"Yeah. General harass wants you back, so we are going on a little trip. Don't tell Robyn about it though; she won't like it."
"I see." Okay, that last one wasn't so bad; apparently he was getting to the boy, and while Roman didn't know exactly what he was getting at, he knew it was better than whatever state the creep was in right now.
With a mildly renewed courage, not that he'd admit to being afraid anyway, Roman lead V along throughout the empty halls of Robyn's little dollhouse, careful to take the preplanned path he'd set up. Why oh why the general wanted V back now of all times was a mystery, but it would at least get rid of one potential issue... or well, it would have, had Robyn not stumbled into them from what looked like one of the bathrooms.
Wonderful, just wonderful. Any other surprises to greet me today?
"Roman?" Robyn crossed her arms, raising a single brow as her eyes shot between the two, and shivering a little at the sight of the kid; it was miniscule, but Roman's eyes were more than trained to catch such tiny shifts. "What are you doing?"
"Well, coaxing our guest from his room, obviously." He crossed his arms as well, flinging on his signature grin once more. "As you can see, the kid's awake again, albeit a bit lazy."
"I can see that." She sent her gaze towards him casually, with only a mild amount of concern hidden beneath the oceans of infernal annoyance. Roman had faith she wouldn't question him further, which was proven when she started questioning V instead; he wasn't sure that was a good thing. "How are you feeling."
"Alive." It trickled out lifelessly, only enhanced in its unbelievability by how groggy he looked. Kid had returned from death - apparently a trend if his other powers were taken into account - and he looked like it.
"Good... good." Robyn seemed to be having a bit of trouble responding to what she saw, and so Roman, as any good deceiver would do, took his chance.
"Right... yeah." He flicked an eyeroll at Robyn, who mustered up a scowl. "I'm going to be taking him out on the town for a bit. Hopefully, with a little bit of work - and a heck of a lot of luck - he'll be good as new."
"Are you certain that's a good idea?" Robyn questioned; Roman was really hoping she wouldn't, but when has he ever gotten what he hoped for anyway? "Security's been bumped up a lot more since election season started in full force last night, and I'm not certain on whether Atlas has reprogramed their machines to look for him yet."
"Well, it's either I take him out and jumpstart his cables again, or you try to do the same thing here. I mean, look at him, do you really want to deal with this little weasel right now?"
"Uh huh, right." Robyn's face grew mean - it was quite a feat really, as Roman truthfully didn't believe her mug could get much worse than it already was. "And why do you care so much?"
"Lien." He threw out from the top of his head, with a gesture that made it seem as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Even on the down low, V here looks freaky as heck to most people. Couple this with the fact most people remember him from the attack at Beacon, and you have a winning recipe for the perfect strong-arm."
"You're ringing money from innocent people. Roman, what part of that idea made you even consider the possibility I'd allow it, really, I'm curious." Yep, she was pissed, luckily for him he'd dealt with her like this many times before.
"Simple. We're not dealing with the average innocent; we-" Roman pulled V's almost static body into him for added effect; secretly shivering at how dead it felt. "Are going to be tackling a few business owners who still think kicking the local Faunus population around is a good idea. Really, you'd think being beaten down by our motely crew would be enough of a warning, but they just never listen."
"And is there any other reason you're choosing them specifically?" Robyn tried again, most certainly trying to coax some sort of stagger from him, thus incriminating him in her eyes. Unfortunately, miss vigilante seemed to forget who she was speaking to, and Roman made sure his voice had a hefty amount of sass as he offered up his 'reasoning'.
"Because they're the only people you'll let me rob without issue." He leaned back on one heel, pulling up his signature cigar and lighting it, flicking his bangs to the side. "Honey, I'm a crook, and when daddy has an itch, he needs to scratch it. There's no problem if my crimes only hurt the guilty, right?"
"I guess." Her glare flickered a bit, and she shook her head with a sigh. Miss hero could have tried her semblance, but it seemed she was smarter than that; that thing, while useful for some situations, depended entirely on wordplay and specifics, and he knew she understood this, which was why she was so adverse to use it in most scenarios. Roman knew he'd already won before she even opened her mouth to continue. "Fine. Go out and have your evening, but I swear, if I end up needing to break you out of Ironwood's grip again, so help me, we'll have words, got it?"
"Crystal clear." Roman gave a jolly smile, playful as ever, despite knowing he was in for some real shit later. Their capture wasn't so much chance as it was a guarantee; all they needed to do was get to the extraction point without being tailed, meaning he had to lose them first. This was actually the fun part, as it mean he really did get to strong-arm a few suckers from their wealth - and who said crime didn't pay?
"Whatever, just get out of my sight." Robyn started off, a little more sulky than usual, now that she hadn't gotten her way, but that wasn't so much an issue. They'd be 'caught', Roman himself would 'escape', and Robyn will have her 'told you so' moment. A cocky Robyn was a careless Robyn. Yes, his pride would take a hit, but she wouldn't be popping him with questions or really paying that much attention at all afterwards.
He just needed to play the game, and Roman was a professional when it came to games like this.
"Well, you heard her." Roman gave V a good few pats on the back. "Let's head out!"
V merely pattered along, pulled by the leash, and Roman was left hoping that the general had a way to inject some life back in him, otherwise they were in some deep, deep shit going forward.
Author's note
...
And that's another one down.
Oh boy, was this one... strange. Ruby's clearly jumping the gun, but when you've seen the things they have, you'd probably be a little out of it too. On the bright side, we got a little of our blooming protagonist's backstory, as well as the origin of Crescent Rose's creation, even if it was a little bland.
Roman's our hero of the day, dragging the aloof executioner out of bed. V's not doing so hot, obviously, but what does this mean for out not so innocent hero, and what does it mean for our paranoid general?
Find out next time, on the slightly more readable chapters of this story.
Seriously, real talk here, I have no idea how any of you looked at those first thirty or so chapters and thought 'yep, this is acceptable'. It physically hurts me to see how I wrote; not so much the story itself, but the word choice and sentence structure.
So many repeats and grammar mistakes; ouch.
Anyway, we're past that now, so get ready for the coming few chapters, where - I'm certain on this, even if I don't quite like it myself - the tale takes a twist, and most likely shreds any understanding you've had about everything up to this point.
I swear it's not as unbelievable or nonsensical as it'll seem. It's actually simple, please, believe me! You just need a little out of the box thinking!
Catch you later.