Here we go.
Cover Art: Mystery White Flame
Chapter 7
Neo considered it a miracle that they got the truck and the stupid robot to a warehouse without being spotted. There had been occasions where police cars had rolled by and she'd worried Roman might provoke them just to make the headlines, but there were headlines he wanted and headlines he didn't – and being caught with a weapon like this was a no-no in his book. Neo didn't really understand it all, but then she barely understood anything of his need for recognition.
All she needed to be happy was a couch and some ice-cream.
"And here we are," said Roman, holding his arms out to help her off the truck like she was some kind of small child. "Come on." Neo scowled and hopped past him, only for him to lunge and catch her under her armpits. "There we go!"
Arms crossed, she resisted the urge to kick him in the face as he set her down.
"Perry, you panicky little shit. Turn the engine off. Good lord, you're about ready to tear the steering wheel off and eat it." He sighed. "All we did was drive through the city. Why are you even in your little terrorist boy scouts club if you don't have the guts for it?"
"I—I want to make a change, sir," whimpered the boy.
And he might have been older than her, but he was a "boy" if he was going to act like that. Roman was as impressed as she, but capable of vocalising it.
"Change!? Goodness me, change. The only change you'll be introducing is that tossed into charity buckets for people harmed by your actions. The White Fang hasn't changed a thing in over thirty years."
Perry climbed down and hunched his shoulders. "We're changing things now. People are paying attention to us now we're... we're..."
Roman smiled sarcastically. "Murdering innocent people?"
A strangled noise came from the boy.
"It is what it is, Perry. Don't hide away and pretend otherwise." He chuckled and tore off his wig, throwing it to the floor. His bowler hat soon replaced it. "But between you and me, kid, you've been doing the violent terrorist angle for years now and there's still no change. No, I tell a lie, there has been one change." He fished out a cigar and pointed it at the boy. "Racism against faunus has increased. Good job on that. You're really sabotaging your fellow faunus – though maybe that's the point, eh? Happy faunus don't want to be terrorists. It must have been getting hard for the bigwigs back on Menagerie to recruit impressionable young cannon fodder like yourself."
Neo smirked and bounced from foot to foot. She loved it when Roman was in a vicious mockery mood. He didn't always bother, because it came across as picking on children – something that could reflect on him badly – but when his temper was really riled, he would let loose like this, picking apart people's motives until he left them a shaking wreck.
A grunt came from the back of the truck. "Don't listen."
The hulking form of the seven-foot faunus apparently known as "Banesaw" – and Neo snickered internally at the name – crunched his way toward Roman, looming over him with his chainsaw hanging at his side. Roman simply set his cigar between his teeth, lit it, and puffed a cloud of smoke toward the faunus.
"And here we have our chainsaw wielding friend – a walking stereotype that'll set faunus back twenty years. Let me guess, that chainsaw is called Schnee-Render or something. Am I close?"
"It has no name," growled Banesaw. "Though it will rend a Schnee's flesh."
"How remarkably predictable. Though, to be clear, that won't do a thing to a Schnee. Tickle their aura, maybe. You'd be better off using it to cut trees—"
The chainsaw was suddenly at Roman's throat, the chain and blade whirring. Neo's hand was on her sword but the faunus kept the edge a few inches away from Roman's skin. Naturally, Roman remained unperturbed. He would have tried to look that even if he were surrounded by Grimm. It was just his style.
"Oh-hoh. Did I say something a little close to home?"
"Do. Not. Mock!" hissed the giant. "You know nothing of our suffering."
"You're right. I don't."
Quick as a snake, Roman lashed out and caught the chainsaw blade in his right hand. The sound of the motor and serrated blades grinding against his aura was horrific, and smoke billowed from the engine. After a few seconds, however, Roman's aura won. The chainsaw blade stopped. Perry looked horrified, and Banesaw stunned.
"But I do know how to fight. Something the two of you clearly don't. This little toy might impress the civilians the White Fang are looking to recruit, but it won't do a damn thing to a huntress – and it'll just confuse law enforcement. They'll take one look at you using a melee weapon, assume you have aura, shoot you full of holes and then be horrified when it kills you. `But he ran at us with a chainsaw`, they'll say. `We assumed he had aura. Why else would he do that?` And then there'll be a nice little inquiry that will absolve the officers of all responsibility and your suicidal antics will fade into memory."
Roman shoved the chainsaw back into the man's chest, forcing the seven-foot giant to stumble. Size and strength meant a lot, but only if you had the power to leverage it. Without aura, they weren't anything to someone like Roman. In fact, they would have lost to those teenagers who showed up at the docks.
"Buy a gun if you want to accomplish anything," Roman said. "Or, better yet, think a little more closely about your life choices. No aura, no training, no equipment. The only place you'll be terrorising is the graveyard."
"We have the robot," hissed Banesaw.
"You sure do. Congrats. Atlas has hundreds of them." Roman snorted and turned his back on the two of them. "Come on, Neo. We're done here. Let's leave Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum to fawn over their new murder machine. You can keep the warehouse," he added. Under his breath he said, "Heavens know I don't want anything to do with it now this thing is here."
Neo turned before they left, stuck out her tongue, and offered the faunus the middle finger.
They scowled impotently at her back.
The moment they were outside, Roman hissed, stuck the hand he'd caught the chainsaw with under his other elbow and hopped from foot to foot. "Fuck! Shit! Piss! Owwww!" His cigar bounced on the ground as he groaned and pinched it tight to his side. "Aghhhh, that shit burns!"
That was what he got for choosing to catch a chainsaw blade. Sure, his aura had proven enough to win against the motor, but that didn't mean he hadn't felt every tooth pinching into his skin. The friction alone must have been agonising. With a loud click of her teeth, Neo took his hand and looked at the red, raw skin. Then, she shot him a sarcastic expression.
"Did I look cool, though?" he asked, almost whimpering. "It looked impressive, right?"
Neo smiled, nodded, and then rewarded him with a low-five.
On his wounded hand.
Roman's shriek sent birds scattering from nearby trees.
/-/
"We need to make another heist!"
Neo groaned and mimed putting a mask over her face.
"Yes, we did just technically steal a robot into the city, but no one knows that was us – and they'll continue not knowing ideally." In an ideal world, the machine wouldn't ever be used. Roman didn't believe in ideal worlds. "Point is, I think us being seen elsewhere today could serve as a good alibi, and also a good bit of media attention."
Crossing her arms, Neo glanced at the TV.
"No, this isn't just because I'm no longer on the news." Her eyebrow rose. "Really, Neo! Do you think me so vain?"
She nodded.
"W—Well you're wrong," he coughed. "And I'm hurt. Positively wounded! This is about more than just fame and television coverage—" Though those helped. "—it is about reinforcing our brand as gentleman and gentlewoman thieves. It is about differentiating ourselves from the violent thugs that are the White Fang."
Because it was bad enough his name was being bandied about with theirs already.
"And I have just the target in mind. You see, my dear Neo, we have a problem. I am without a weapon?"
Neo pointed to herself and raised an eyebrow, as if to ask what "we" he was talking about when she had a perfectly usable sword-umbrella.
"Ahah. Yes, you have a weapon, but Melodic Cudgel... well..." He coughed. "It served me well but, alas, its sacrifice was necessary at the bank."
Neo pointed at him and smirked.
"No, I did not lose it by mistake. I intentionally used it to detonate the vault door. Anyway!" He pushed on before she could pick on him even more. "I'm in need of a new weapon, especially with how dangerous things are getting around here with the White Fang and Cinder. It's not a good idea to be unarmed, and obviously I'm not going to buy one. Ugh." He shuddered. "Think of the brand damage if I'm seen doing that. No, we're going to steal one."
Neo looked relieved at that, and quickly snatched up a weapons magazine, pointing to an advertisement on the back cover for a local weapons store in Vale. It would be an easy heist, little more than threatening the owner and making off with a weapon of their choice. The person would probably let them, too. Easier to allow them to steal one item and claim it off insurance than it was to risk a fight. Roman chuckled and plucked the magazine out her hand, then ruffled her hair.
"Are you trying to help plan the heist? That's adorable. And very sweet." He tossed the magazine away and brought out his scroll. "But, as you know, I can't be seen wielding something as gauche as a sword or axe – even mechashift! It's all so pedestrian and brutish. No, I need a gentleman's weapon. Something sophisticated."
Melodic Cudgel had been just that, a lovely cane with which to flip and posture, but with an explosive surprise when he needed it. The cane was a part of his brand now and replacing it with something lesser would dilute his image.
"The only problem is that there aren't many cane-based weapons in the city. Not enough gentlemen," he added, with a loud sigh. "But I was able to find one beautiful specimen that I think will look positively splendid on me!"
He showed her a zoomed-in image on his scroll. It was a black cane with a silver handle, inlaid with a bronze clockwork mechanism and featuring a silver handguard-trigger. Rather a little gaudier than what he had used before, but pretty enough in its own way. Well-made too, by all accounts.
Neo reached for his scroll.
Roman yanked it back. "Ah-ah. There's no need—"
She managed to hook her foot under his, trip him back onto the couch and straddle his hips, and though she couldn't quite wrestle the scroll out his hand, she was able to stretch her body and swipe the screen, making the image zoom back out and show the full thing.
Of Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy holding his signature weapon.
Neo's jaw dropped.
"Think about it!" said Roman. "It'd be the heist of the century!"
She shook her head wildly.
"Oh, come now. Beacon is hardly impregnable. I mean, I went there in the past. I know its layout. And there'll be hundreds of people to hide among."
Neo held her arms up in a big x-shape in front of her.
"Oh, come now. You can't actually be suggesting a heist on Beacon is beyond me."
Her head bobbed up and down.
"Seriously?"
More nodding.
Huh.
Wow.
That kind of hurt. Roman didn't pout – it was much more of an artistic frown – but he did feel a little bummed at Neo's casual disregard for his skill. The way she was acting, he got the feeling she was ready to stop him if needs be. He did appreciate her concern, especially her willingness to look out for him, but the hit to his ego smarted.
"Very well. I'll abandon that plan and we can go for something simpler."
Her body slackened atop his and she nodded.
"How about I look up some lesser canes and get back to you on that?" he offered. Neo smiled. "See? Isn't that better. I can be reasonable when I need to be." He chuckled and showed her a museum instead. "How about this? There's an old exhibit here that's allegedly from King Ozma, and which will be showed off before the Vytal Festival."
Neo was nodding furiously, much happier with the idea of a simple snatch and grab at a museum. It'd still be high-profile, still newsworthy, but so much easier than infiltrating a school for huntsmen. Compared to that, she was practically hopping with excitement.
"See? I can be reasonable. Though you needn't tackle and straddle me like this."
Neo sat up on his crotch and cocked an eyebrow.
"Not that I don't appreciate a pretty lady on top of me but I prefer mine a little older, fuller and... well... taller." Her hand pounded down into his stomach, winding him. Roman rolled over, spilling her off as he hacked for air. "I, hack-hack, I might have deserved that!"
Pouting, Neo nodded and stamped her heel on the floor, turning away and stomping to the kitchen for some ice-cream.
Now he just had to plot a heist.
/-/
Neo was still surprised at just how quickly Roman had given in on the Beacon idea.
It was suspicious.
Naturally, she wasn't dumb enough to think he'd just let it go, so she hovered around him all evening as he plotted a heist on the museum and, to her surprise, he did just as he said he would. He had museum floor plans, exhibit details and various images out. And not a single one was of Beacon. It was a relief, but it was still making her paranoid.
Roman didn't like to give up when he had an idea in his head.
And he especially didn't like being called out on not being able to do something. He took it as a challenge, and then he started to feel like he needed to prove a person wrong. Neo even started flicking through his notes, ostensibly to check over them for her own parts but mostly to make sure he wasn't tricking her.
Nothing.
It was a heist on the museum.
Curiously, she tapped the time set – which was in the late afternoon but not, oddly enough, at night.
"Well, we need to have an audience, don't we?" he said, making her roll her eyes. "And can you imagine how poor the shots would be if it was pitch black? The newspapers won't run such a low quality image. But late afternoon, with the sun setting, silhouetting us against an orange sky—ouch!"
He winced and rubbed his hand, which she'd pinched.
Neo would put up with his theatrics but she sure as hell wasn't going to encourage them.
"It'll also give us plenty of distractions to keep security busy," he grumbled, giving her a more reasonable answer. "There won't actually be any less security at night, and we'll only stand out more once we break in. Like this, we can waltz into the museum in disguise, take what we want, then rely on the chaos and confusion to make our escape."
That was more like it. Of course, they could also just take the goods under her Semblance and sneak out without anyone realising, but she knew Roman wouldn't let that happen. A good thief didn't steal things and vanish into the night. A good thief had to give people a chance to stop him, and then prove his superiority by escaping all the same.
His words, obviously. Not hers.
But she'd take what she could get. Roman had compromised on the stupid Ozpin idea, so she would compromise on common sense. It hardly felt like a fair trade, but then this was Roman. "Fair" wasn't something he used other than to describe his complexion, and typically any online comment that sang his praises. Anyone who so much as expressed any other opinion was, of course, horrifically biased.
Still, a heist during the day wasn't unusual or overly dangerous. They'd have a lot of hostages, not that Roman would ever call them that or use them as such, and that would slow down response times and incentivise the authorities to take it easy on them. No need to push her and Roman to fight when any old museumgoer could get caught in the crossfire. It would honestly be easier to let them escape with the goods, then focus on finding them later. Safer for everyone that way, and the police were nothing if not rise-averse in Vale. They had to be when a random thug could have aura and a Semblance and you wouldn't know it until they'd turned an officer inside out.
Better the devil you knew and, for all his faults, Roman was a showman more than he was a wicked killer. Vale would prefer him to the White Fang, and certainly to someone like Cinder. Neo considered it more of a weakness, but his methods worked.
And it wasn't like Roman wasn't a very dangerous man.
He just kept that part of himself hidden.
For now, however, she played along with his games and took the shower before him, then did her "duty" in brushing and drying her hair, styling it, polishing her boots. Roman was very picky on their aesthetics and would obsess over them looking their best. Sure enough, when it was time to go, he stopped her.
"Hang on. Let me give you a look over."
Neo sighed and held her arms out like she was being frisked at an airport. Instead, it was a fastidious fop looking over her clothes to make sure she was at her best. He tugged on her waistband, tightened her pants a buckle, then sighed and brushed some of her multicoloured hair back. Neo pouted, caught between enjoying the treatment – it felt nice when he brushed her hair – and hating the patronising aspects of it, because she could damn well dress herself, thank you very much!
"You need to look your best on camera," he said, rubbing a gloved finger over her lip to brush away some smudged ice-cream. "You're my special accomplice and I won't have anyone criticising you for having a strand of hair out of place."
Yes dad, Neo wished she could say in a sarcastic drone.
The best she could do was convey her feelings with a heavy eye roll.
Eventually, and after much fussing, they were out and about, wearing a pair of brown wigs and overcoats to hide themselves. Over the top, Neo layered an illusion of her own, but illusions could and did fail when people walked through them, so it was a good idea to have a second layer of protection just in case. It wouldn't matter come the museum when Roman would go and reveal himself for the cameras, but they still had to get to the museum and it'd be embarrassing for them to be harassed and chased by huntsmen and police on the way there.
The Vale Royal Museum was a new building with an old name, named more for how the antiquities within were from a period where Vale had royalty, than because the building itself had any connection to them. There hadn't been a king or queen for hundreds of years, and the last place to even have royals was Vacuo. Even that was a hundred years before she was born.
People liked their history, though. It reminded them that Vale had survived with less technological advancement than now, which made them feel safer about the Grimm. Obviously, if the people had survived back then, that meant they had nothing to worry about now they had bigger walls, better weapons, and so on. Such was the idea. Neo didn't know if it worked or not, because she'd always been of the opinion that the only way to feel safe was to be strong enough to look after yourself. Trusting others was all well and good, and she did trust Roman, but what happened when Roman was injured? He'd need someone to bail him out. You couldn't rely on others forever because people were fallible. That went for her as well.
It was good to have someone to rely on. Even if he could be such a narcissistic fop at times.
"This is the museum," he said, making her roll her eyes. Obviously. "So, the exhibit we're after is being opened today – King Ozma's tomb, or so they say. Hard to know for sure, but that doesn't much matter. What matters is that people think the artifacts are valuable."
Neo wriggled her fingers and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I'm still after my new weapon," said Roman, chuckling to himself. "That hasn't changed."
Did King Ozma use a cane? Neo couldn't remember, never having cared for history, but she imagined he'd have used a sword because most ancient kings were pictured with those. It was the noble weapon or some such. Peasants used spears and shields, knights used swords, kings used fancier swords. Maybe that was his idea; Roman called swords brutish before, but if it was a gaudy showpiece then that might satisfy him.
Together, they slipped into the museum among a crowd of some thirty people. Roman kept his head low while she... well, she just walked normally. Most people were taller than her anyway, creating a natural barrier without any effort on her part.
The bastards.
Didn't they know good things came in small packages? Hmph!
"This way," Roman murmured, dragging her along.
He knew the way, thanks to his pre-planning, and he could actually see over all the tall people blocking her vision. Neo trusted him and they soon found their way into a wider hallway where they stepped over a knotted red rope blocking off the exhibit.
"They're having the grand opening tomorrow morning," he whispered to her. "Won't it be a delightful surprise when a piece is missing?"
Neo nodded, already looking around. While she wasn't normally too fussed with money other than as a tool to buy things, she still liked things that sparkled. It wasn't an obsession, just a happy thing to see gems inlaid in a crown or on golden cutlery. In fact, she preferred stones to gold itself. Gold just looked lame and tacky, whereas gemstones in bright shades of red, green and blue always caught her attention.
But they'd be heavy to lift and close to impossible to fence, sadly. Art pieces were notoriously tricky to shift unless you had a commission to steal one by some eccentric collector who had the means to keep it hidden. Otherwise, good luck finding someone willing to buy a world-famous painting that everyone could recognise. It just wasn't going to happen.
They were soon standing in front of a gaudy tomb surrounded by antiques. It was elevated on a pedestal with lights shining down on it from different angles. Neo glanced over it for a weapon, but she couldn't see anything that would fit the bill.
And why was Roman checking the time on his scroll?
A click echoed on the tiles behind them. "Ahem," someone coughed.
Neo whirled, while Roman did the same but more flamboyantly, tucking his hand down and under and then up so that his white coattails completed a full circle. He'd practiced it in front of the mirror enough times. Neo's hand darted down to her weapon, before her eyes widened and she froze, mouth hanging open.
"Well, this is awkward," said Headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy, stood in front of a small group of politicians and celebrities and flanked and followed by camera crews. Lisa Lavender was there as well, urgently pushing the camera to focus on them. "Might I ask what you're doing here, Mr Torchwick."
Neo gawked.
"I'm taking in the history," said Roman.
Ozpin's smile was relaxed. "That's good of you but the public hours begin tomorrow."
"Then what are you doing here?" equally calm.
"This is a private press party to drum up hype for the exhibit."
"That's odd," said Roman, tapping his chin. "I don't remember receiving an invitation. And I am, after all, one of the most famous men in Vale. More so than half the celebrities here. Really, I'd almost think you were lumping me in as just another member of the public." Roman shuddered. "How very insulting."
"Forgive me, then." Ozpin smiled and tapped his cane on the ground. "But, you realise—"
Neo pointed angrily at Ozpin.
The man paused. "Is there a problem, Miss?"
Neo jabbed her hand at him, at his cane, then rounded on Roman and jabbed her finger at him, eyes ablaze and eyebrows dragged down.
Roman refused to meet her eyes. "I've no idea what you're talking about, Neo."
Angrily, she pointed at the cane and stomped her foot.
"You're not suggesting I planned this, are you? Me!? Heavens no. I must have simply... forgotten about the fact the headmaster and this entourage were coming here."
Ozpin smiled calmly, saying, "It was publicised, Mr Torchwick. And I find the fact you're here at this exact moment to be somewhat suspect." Neo nodded, pointed, and snarled silently. "Your associate seems a little upset with you."
"Ah, Neo is just a little bit of a worrywart. That's all."
Roman patted her head, despite that she wanted to bite his hand off.
He'd lied to her, tricked her!
And Neo didn't know what was worse – the fact that he would or the fact that she'd fallen for it!
"But here we are, with our backs to the walls and with no option but to fight for our survival," said Roman, with a heavy sigh.
"Actually, I'd rather not risk the people here," said Ozpin. "So, I'll let you leave if—"
"Our backs to the wall and no choice at all."
Neo glared at him.
Roman scratched his chin. "Alas, I suppose we must fight."
Ozpin raised his cane. "If we must..."
His legs tensed.
Roman brought his hands up before his face.
Neo fumbled her sword out, still glaring at the side of Roman's head.
"Wait, wait, wait!" someone screamed.
The world froze.
Lisa Lavender came running between them, then past them. She set up one of her cameras on the left, ushering a cameraman into place, and then ran back across the middle of the fight to tell another to set up there.
"Okay!" she said, smiling cheerfully. "You can have your deathmatch now. I just wanted the best angles for the shot."
"I think I'm in love," Roman said.
Neo wished for a meteorite to strike the museum and kill everyone in it, herself included, just to spare her from these stupid idiots.
Roman wants his fancy new cane.
Next Chapter: 13th February
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