"Would you like a beverage, sir?" Asked a waiter as he held up a silver platter of fine alcohols.
Crocodile said nothing and plucked an olive martini and turned his attention back to the festivities that surrounded him.
The banquet hall which neighbored the main stairway was filled with posh people of every brand. From rich bloodlines who'd earned their fortunes from their ancestors, to the up and coming business folk who reached a high enough status to be considered on par with the wealthy nobles. Crocodile assumed he fell under the latter, as neither he nor Daz shared any history on Remnant prior to their booming dust company.
"Ah, so you must be Mr. Crocodylus?" Hummed a confident tone.
Crocodile turned to address the man who called him. He was a slim sort with slicked black hair and ovular spectacles. Adorned in a gray suit, the man reached out an open hand for a shake but faltered when he saw the warlord's golden hook.
Crocodile didn't accept the handshake, but he at least maintained eye contact. Though he usually had to look down in order to do so and this instance was no different.
"I've heard of the many successful endeavors of your company over the years and was wondering if you were looking to expand further into the southern sections of Mistral." The man rambled on as if he were trying to sell something of high value.
"In fact, a few of my colleagues and I were planning on hiring a large group of skilled hunters and huntresses along with a handful of Atlas soldiers in order to reclaim what was lost by our fellow man."
Crocodile's lips fell into a neutral line. He'd read all about the lost Mistralian territories seeing that Mistral was where his company resided, and he did entertain the idea of leveling the abandoned towns and claiming them as his own. However, he also knew that exterminating the current Grimm hordes would do little in the long run. Sure, he could whip up a sandstorm and blow away all the foul beasts on a whim, but what would happen after he leaves to tend to his business elsewhere?
No, the warlord would need to pay the wages of competent soldiers to keep his conquered land intact and protect those hired under the RDI. Not to mention that he would have to start investing in a monthly tax to the Mistralian government, as the greedy snobs who controlled the country of Anima still argued that they owned those abandoned southern settlements.
"And what do you want from me in return for allowing me an ear in this plan of yours?" Crocodile already knew what was expected from him, but he was getting bored and decided to entertain the businessman to get through the night.
"I'm glad you asked!" The spectacled man grinned. "I've heard that you're searching for a new place to expand, and while you're already stationed in Anima, I'm sure that you understand how much potential lies in those abandoned settlements?"
"You never answered my question." Crocodile sighed lazily.
The man's smile twitched but was quick to regain its enthusiasm.
"It's well worth the price considering the southern sections of Mistral are up for the grabs, and since the capital of your company has been steadily rising for the past six years..."
"You want me to fund the majority of the campaign while you and your colleagues save your pennies and claim all the glory? Hmph, I'm not as dull as you think I am, and I make sure to track down every single lien that's owed to me. So while I could consider signing a contract with you, I'd need your absolute word that I get everything I paid back, plus interest."
The businessman's eyes narrowed. "This isn't a mission for personal gain, it's to reclaim-"
"By reclaim, I'm sure you mean to steal from the less fortunate who couldn't keep their homes. I can see right through your humanitarian facade, as I'm sure that you're not going to give back the reclaimed territories to the former Mistralian inhabitants." Crocodile smirked as the man's face began to twist in frustration.
"Well, if it's Atlas' soldiers who are risking their lives to save the abandoned towns..."
"Then it should be the Atlas folk who keep it despite the suffering of their fellow man." Crocodile finished then fished a cigar from his coat.
"Though I am curious as to why you're asking me instead of the owners of the sleazy SDC. What, are you trying to break away from Atlas' monopoly so you can stuff your own pockets without anyone noticing?"
The businessman gave a short rebuke on Crocodile's claims then left in a hurry to invest his time in a more receiving audience. As for the warlord, before he had a chance to light his cigar, he was asked by a timid servant to burn his tobacco stick on the second floor's balconies as that place had been designated for smoking.
Crocodile stared at the servant with a deadpanned visage, but eventually complied as while the dog-eared servant's knees were shaking, he still held his ground despite his obvious fear.
Peering around with an unlit cigar between his teeth, Crocodile narrowed his sights at a group of girls who seemed to be getting chummy with Neo. That is until he noticed the faint wetness of tears behind her heterochromatic eyes. In the blink of an eye, his daughter disappeared much to the surprise of the girls pointing and laughing at her, with her brother and the Winchester kid looking on with worry from the dessert table.
/-/
"Come on, Cardin, we're going to teach those girls a lesson!" Roman pulled up his sleeves and rubbed his hands together in a mischievous manner.
"Wait, we can't do that!" Cardin protested as he stuffed a fluffy creampuff between his jaws. "At least when there's still so many people around."
"Those jerks would never bully my sister if this were any other place, but Neo knows that if she causes a ruckus she'll be getting a punishment from pops." Roman shivered. "And there's no way in Oum Neo and I want the hook of discipline."
"Which noble families do those girls belong to, anyway?"
Cardin shrugged. "I'm not too sure, I don't usually visit big fancy parties like these and my dad isn't much a fan of them either. My mom likes them though, but she only comes for the gossip and potential business expansions of our family hotel."
Roman rolled his eyes as it looked like he was going to have to pull out a clean slate from his bowler hat and start from the beginning. Cupping his chin in a classic thinker pose, the son of the RDI observed his surroundings and found his sights locking on the half-eaten creampuff in his cohort's hand.
"What?" Cardin asked in confusion. "Do I have cream on my face?"
"Hey," Roman snapped his fingers as an imaginary exclamation mark poofed above him, "how many creampuffs can you carry?"
Cardin juggled the bitten creampuff in his right hand then flexed his arm.
"Probably ten?" He said.
"Alright, and with me carrying another ten that makes twenty."
"Er... what are you planning, Roman?" Cardin tilted his head and finished his creampuff with a satisfied gulp.
"Just grab a bunch of those delicious pastries and follow me my fellow ginger, we're going to give those bullies a Torchwick surprise!"
"A Torchwick surprise? Did you just come up with that name?" Cardin hummed as he wrapped his arms around several creampuffs.
"I made it on the fly, alright, the brilliance of genius is best done with a lot of patience. So shut your yap and let's hurry to the balconies. I didn't see anyone go up there, so we should be in the clear."
"I thought the saying was brilliance happens like a lightning bolt?" Cardin suggested.
Roman shook his head dismissively and led his new friend to the giant knight statues so they could hide behind them until the party guests were distracted by the shift in the song that queued the beginning of the scheduled ballroom dancing.
Once all was clear, Roman and Cardin scampered away with bundles of puffy desserts in their arms. However, the son of the RDI still had a lot to learn in regards to stealth as he and his colleague were unfortunately spotted by a pair of young, ice-blue eyes.
/-/
"Weiss, what are you looking at?" The stern voice of her father broke the young girl out of her curious musings
"N-Nothing father," Weiss replied nervously and adjusted her posture, "I was simply looking at the polished knight statues. I really like the new silver varnish that you chose."
Jacques stared down at his daughter suspiciously for a few seconds, but eventually took the compliment with a practiced smile and returned to his conversation with a gray-suited businessman who proposed that the SDC aid him and his colleagues in reclaiming the lost towns in Anima.
Weiss gave a short sigh of boredom beneath her breath. Her long ponytail swaying from side to side, her fingers gripped the cuffs around them as she tried her best to appear proper. All the while, however, the elegant blue dress her mother had chosen did little to distract her, but at least she was allowed to wear comfortable flat slippers.
Weiss giggled at the memory of Winter and her sneaking into their mother's closet to try on her fancy clothing. She remembered the gray stocking being too long for winter, and the heels much too big for her own feet. This led to happy laughs and the unfortunate discovery of their naughty activities by none other than their mother.
Weiss expected that she and her sister would be punished, but instead of throwing a haughty tantrum, Willow decided to join in on their antics and show them how to properly dress. Ah, that was a good time.
"I also noticed that you haven't spoken to the owner of the RDI yet, if I may ask, why did you invite an upcoming rival to a simple celebration such as this?" The loud tone of the gray-suited businessman popped Weiss' joyful memory which made her puff her cheeks in frustration.
As her father drawled about reasonings for keeping an eye on the competition and potential collaborations between Mistral and Atlas, all Weiss could do was hide another sigh until she caught a glimpse of the two gingers who'd caught her attention moments prior.
The one with the bowler hat appeared to be the brains of the operation as he led his ginger-haired cohort across the long empty mezzanines that occupied the second floor. They appeared to be carrying a large bundle of puffy morsels, at least that's what Weiss assumed, and quickly scurried into an open hallway that led to the balconies that oversaw the courtyard gardens.
"And we mustn't forget the importance of the Mistralian economy..." Jacques said loudly, but his voice seemed to dampen as his daughter's conscience drifted to the two young boys and their antics.
The conversation between Jacques and the businessman lengthened by the arrival of several more posh nobles and opportunists, Weiss hadn't even realized that her feet had begun to move on their own and she was soon climbing the stairway to the second floor...
/-/
"Hurry up, Cardin, we only have an hour before the balconies open up for all the guests." Roman huffed as he and his friend shoved the balcony doors open with their shoulders.
"I still don't get why we can't just eat these creampuffs. Plus my mom and dad are gonna be mad that I got my suit dirty." Cardin panted.
"Yet you're still with me as a true pal despite the inevitable punishment from your parents," Roman smirked. "So we might as well go all the way right?"
The Winchester shrugged and continued to trail his partner in crime's footsteps, that is until the two were met with an obstacle they hadn't anticipated.
With ears on high alert for security guards or any other adult, the two turned around at the faint tapping of slippers that quickly grew louder along with a quick call out to their location.
Neither boy turned around, but they did share a sideways glance at each other.
"Hey, is that your sister calling out to us?" Cardin asked.
"No, she wouldn't be calling out to us to get our attention," Roman grumbled.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Said a disappointed voice that definitely belonged to a little girl.
Forced to confront the sudden presence, the ginger duo turned around and peeked over their puffy desserts.
"Aha, so the confrontation between the questionable SDC and the mighty RDI has finally come to pass has it?" Roman smirked as he spoke in a confident tone.
Though, given the fact that his face was mostly blocked by the creampuffs he held, the Schnee girl could only see his wiggling eyebrows and his bobbing bowler hat.
"Hi, my name's Parfdin Pwinphuster." The second boy said in a muffled voice. The Schnee nodded at him as she was able to make eye contact thanks to the boy's lesser pile of creampuffs, but it appeared that he didn't have anything else to say and simply poked his chin out so he could consume another sweet dessert.
"Cardin, you'd better not be eating more of the ammunition!" The bowler-hatted boy scolded.
"Impf not!" The boy now addressed as Cardin refuted.
"You totally are, I can see bites in your creampuffs!"
"Nu-uh, those were already there, to begin with!" Cardin replied after a heavy swallow.
"Then how do you have fewer creampuffs than me?"
"I dropped a few on the stairs," Cardin defended, "and I can prove it because there are custard bits on the girl's shoes."
The girl in question looked down at her shoes and squeaked in alarm. Her nice black slippers had been ruined by the antics of these two boys and they were going to pay in full.
"So, you got a name, little girl of the questionable SDC? Or am I gonna have to call you Schnee girl from now on?"
"My name is Weiss Schnee of the Schnee household, and you are?" The girl replied indignantly.
"Roman Torchwick Crocodylus, proud son of the owner of Reptile Dust Industries and soon to be capitalist extraordinaire." The son of Crocodile praised himself with gusto.
"I see..." Weiss paused as the two boys appeared to be scuttling very slowly away from her. "Where are you going with all those creampuffs?"
"We're going to chuck them at the bullies who made fun of Roman's little sister," Cardin replied but his partner was quick to reprimand him for it.
"You can't do that!" Weiss gasped in horror. "The people in the courtyard are all highly respected nobles and businessmen who are very important in the economy of Atlas and Mantle!"
"And you!" Weiss pointed an accusing finger at Cardin and the ginger furrowed his brows in response. "Your father, Griffin Winchester, is regarded as one of the best warriors Atlas has to offer! How can you drag his honorable name through the mud by enacting this ridiculous ploy of revenge?"
"Actually," Cardin said after a thoughtful blink, "my dad was born in Vale. He only moved to Atlas after he married my mother, and his hunter license is actually valid for Vale, Mantle, and Atlas' territories. So technically my dad is the best huntsman Vale has to offer."
Weiss' jaw dropped for but a moment before she shifted her ire towards the son of the RDI.
"I'd recommend that you put those creampuffs back to where you got them and apologize for all the trouble you've caused. Or else I'll be forced to alert my father of your rebellious behavior."
Roman rolled his eyes, but Weiss didn't see it.
"Oh look, Cardin, we've got ourselves an uptight tattletale who's scared of a few creampuffs." He drawled and swiftly spun on his heels so his back faced his ridiculer.
Roman gave Cardin a mocking smile, and the Winchester boy caught on to his friend's antics. At least he thought he did and followed Roman's example.
"H-Hey, where are you two going?" Weiss protested but refused to move from where she stood.
"To exact some much-needed revenge, ain't that right, Cardin?" Roman laughed and put a sassy sway in his hips that Weiss definitely noticed.
"Yup, that's right, nothing like a few creampuff volleys to pass the time at a boring party!" Cardin confirmed as he chowed down on another sugary treat.
"I-I'm going to call my father!" Weiss called with crossed arms.
"Then you'll also be in trouble," the son of the RDI declared lazily, "because you've also got irremovable evidence stuck to the bottom of your slippers."
Cheeks red in embarrassment, Weiss cursed the messy Winchester boy as he shared a mocking laugh with his new pal Roman.
"You might as well join us," Roman egged on, "because let's be honest here; you were so bored that you decided to follow two strangers to the second floor where the other guests aren't even allowed to go yet. And if that's the case, then you're just as much of a guilty verdict as we are."
"That sure is right!" Cardin agreed though he seemed a tad confused about his friend's reasoning as he was only half-listening due to his stomach being the main motivator for his actions.
"For the last time, Cardin, stop eating your ammunition! We need to hit Neo's bully's as many times as we can! That is until they finally look up to where we're throwing."
"Right!" His accomplice agreed after an obnoxious burp.
Soon enough, the hesitant pitter-patter of a certain white-haired girl clicked behind the chuckling duo.
"What's this, have we gained another accomplice?" Roman smirked.
"I-I'm just making sure that the two of you stay out of trouble!" Weiss huffed with her arms flat on her sides, her hands balled into fists, and her reddened visage down towards the floor.
"We totally believe you!" Roman and Cardin snickered.
/-/
Meanwhile, in a darkened corner of the third floor's balconies that overlooked the courtyards, a pink and brown-haired girl stifled her sobs but found her breath hitching when something hard and cold tapped the top of her head.
"Oi, why are you here and not with your brother and his new lackey?"
Neo blinked rapidly and furiously tried to clean the tears off her face. At least she tried until the hook of her adoptive father snatched her by the back of her collar which had a convenient hole for him to pluck through. The hole there totally wasn't planned for when Neo was being naughty.
"Hm, didn't you hear me?"
Neo didn't respond to Crocodile's dull voice. Instead, she looked away and gripped the belt around her waist with a trembling grip.
"Hmpf, you try to act as the more stoic of the siblings, but you're actually the more emotional one aren't you?"
Again, Neo showed no signs of entertaining her pops, yet he pushed on and gently put her down so that she didn't have a hard time breathing.
"Is it because of what those pompous brats were saying about you?"
Neo visibly shuddered and the tears in her eyes began to reappear.
"Hit the subject on the nail didn't I?"
As the broken moon of Remnant shined endlessly over the spanning darkness, the bright glimmer of a cigar and the glimmer of a golden hook proceeded to take over the empty balcony on the third floor. As for the three kids who occupied the second, the two gingers were loaded with creampuffs and the girl of the trio reluctantly observed from a few footsteps away.
Yet as all of this was happening, where was the former assassin who served as Crocodile's right hand?