Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 17


Roman never had any plans to play the hero. Heroes died early deaths and were quickly forgotten by the masses after a few grandiose speeches. Worse yet, the public loved tearing a hero down into the mud and bringing them down to the level of mortals, be it scandal or just a failure to meet the expectations levied on them. Villains never faced that. They were decried and derided, but people also loved them – when they weren't abject monsters, that was. Given a choice between being a rich and famous villain or yet another broken hero, Roman knew what he'd pick.

But he also never intended to play the part of the mass-murderer, either. Running from this after being seen by Lisa Lavender would paint him as an accomplice, and people would jump to the conclusion he'd been scouting out the carnival for a White Fang hit. All the good he'd done to build up his rep would turn to ash instantly.

So, with a scowl, Roman stepped in front of Lisa and twirled his stolen cane.

"Behind me," he ground out. "Bloody terrorists."

"They're going to kill innocent people!" Lisa whispered. "You have to do something!"

"Do I...?" he asked, then noticed her scroll camera recording. Trust a journalist to be thinking of their next scoop even in the midst of a tragedy. He was convinced people like her would record their own deaths if they thought they could. "Tch. Fine." Again, his rep would be in tatters if he backed down now. "I'm afraid this will be without my usual flair, and with far less fashion." He flipped his hoodie down, wishing idly he was in his beautiful coat. "But come the hour, come the thief—"

"Less speech and more action!"

Sighing, Roman jogged forward, making sure he wasn't going so fast that Lisa couldn't keep up. Neo was ahead of him, having no such worries of outrunning the camera. She stuffed the last of her candy floss in her mouth and bit down, wiping the sharp wooden stick clean before reversing it in her grip like a knife. Thin as it was, Roman didn't doubt it'd end up in some faunus' eyeball before long.

"To me!" he shouted at the fleeing civilians. A little lie wouldn't hurt. "Huntsman! To me! Go! I'll cover your escape!"

Not all heard, but enough did, and they heeded the call with reckless abandon, mothers and fathers carrying children and a pair of teenagers even carrying an elderly woman between them. Roman sauntered through them as they fled on by, his eyes scanning for the typical masked fanatics.

It didn't take long to find them.

Luckily, if one could call it that, they weren't using guns. Smuggling those in was harder than melee weapons, and the White Fang had suffered something of a loss of dust thanks to the actions of someone who would remain unspoken. All that dust he'd stolen being stolen back by the authorities had left them out of pocket and out of munitions, so it was no great surprise to see three faunus chasing down a father carrying a screaming young girl.

"Less of that," said Roman, stepping in behind the man as he ran by. He flicked his cane in a graceful pirouette and stabbed it down, then proceeded to lean on it with both hands, one foot cocked behind his other. It was a practiced pose, and while it wouldn't look nearly as good without his fashionable coat and hat, a man had to make do when the camera was rolling. "Gentlemen – and I use the term lightly – you appear to have mistaken this carnival for a masked ball. Or are you escapees from the circus tent? I'm afraid even clows are more intimidating than you."

"TRAITOR!" roared one, pointing at him.

"Traitor? Moi? But I am no faunus, so how could I have ever been a part of your merry group of fuckwits in the first place?"

It didn't hurt to make that abundantly clear for Lisa and her future broadcast about this. Might as well get that in early, and Cinder wouldn't fault him for it since he was fairly sure this was never supposed to happen in the first place.

"KILL HIM!"

The faunus charged.

"Counter proposal. Sit, boy. Sit!"

Roman swept into them and ducked low, slicing his cane across their shins and whipping their feet out from under them. The weapon might have been slim, but Ozpin had done a good job in crafting it for him, and it held up beautifully. Two of the faunus went down, sitting as commanded, while the third stumbled forward, recovered and tried to plant an axe in Roman's skull.

"Ah, ah, ah." Roman caught it with his bare hand, pushing aura to his skin to hold it in place. He could have dodged, yes, but he hadn't learned tricks like this to not show them off. "If you cannot be trusted with a sharp object, it will be taken away from you." He kneed the faunus in the crotch to make his grip loosen, whipped the ace out his hand and then swung it by the head, catching the faunus in the throat with the wooden haft. "But, by all means, have it back!"

The faunus dropped with a choked rasp, struggling to draw breath. The other two lurched up, one lunging from a kneeling position with a sword. Never a good idea. Everyone intellectually knew fighting from height was better, but those not used to actual combat never really grasped just how bad an experience it was. Roman knew better, slapping the weak thrust away with his hand and driving his fist into the idiot's face. The mask shattered along with the guy's nose.

Idiot number three tried to get past Roman and at Lisa, somehow imagining he'd be fine turning his back on someone who had taken out two of his friends. Lisa shrieked, but it didn't last any longer than the time it took Roman to turn and crack the cane down over the idiot's skull, sending him to sleep with a groan.

"Really, Lisa. Did you think three terrorists could best me?"

"N—No," she lied. "But, um, where is your friend?"

Neo? Oh, she was straddling a very unhappy faunus as she stabbed her wooden stick down again and again. She and the stick, and the faunus to be fair, were drenched in blood already. Laughing awkwardly, Roman took Lisa by the shoulder, drawing her away and also preventing her turning to look – or the camera seeing.

"Oh, she's covering our rear. No need to worry." Or see. Neo may not care for her reputation, but he did. And, as always, he had to look out for the poor, murderous little munchkin. "But we have innocent lives to save, Lisa. Really, though. Where are the huntsmen? What do we all pay taxes for, hm?"

"Do you pay taxes...?"

"I pay sales taxes on the things I buy in stores."

When he bought them. Mostly, it was cigars. While he absolutely could have robbed places blind for them, it would damage their profits and then they wouldn't have enough money to order in the good ones. There was no need to put his preferred cigar store out of business like that, so it was one of the rare places in Vale he'd never steal from. That and the lovely old laundromat woman who cleaned and repaired his coat. Wonderful woman. Blind as a bat, never recognised him, but always invited him in for cakes as she used touch along to repair his coat.

"And income tax...?" Lisa asked.

"Well, I – oh look! Terrorism! My apologies, Lisa. Duty calls."

Slipping between more people fleeing for their lives, Roman cut down faunus left and right. They were admittedly quite a bit tougher than the ones he'd been saddled with in Mountain Glenn, but then he was still a former huntsman. These ones might be combat-trained and veterans when it came to fighting law enforcement and basic security companies guarding SDC mines, but they weren't Grimm. The difference in skill really just meant that they went a few rounds with him before going down, and that he had to parry and strike multiple times instead of brute forcing his way through.

But they were good enough to kill innocent people, and bodies littered the carnival floor. Dead men and women, even a few children. Not many of the latter. It seemed the adults had given their lives to let the children flee, as good parents should. Roman was selfish enough to not feel too bad for them, but it did upset him a little.

Replace this bright outdoor space with a cramped tunnel and it might even have triggered a few memories. The White Fang wouldn't like that. There was a time his flamboyance had been replaced with ruthless efficiency.

The old him wasn't nearly so photogenic, so Roman suppressed it.

"Look at you," he said to a masked faunus as he disarmed and caught the woman by her throat. "Little more than a wild animal lashing out at people because you're unhappy. Do you imagine this will change anything?" Roman picked her up and slammed her into another, knocking both to the ground. "Do you think this will help other faunus? I doubt it. You all are greatly in need of someone with even the smallest knowledge of public relations."

"Human scum!"

"Well, you're half right, my dear." Roman stomped on the woman's face, knocking her out. "But half right doesn't win any prizes."

"ROMAAAN!"

The familiar voice screamed his name before Red came to a skidding stop in front of him. The brat had her gardening tool out, which he didn't think he'd ever be thankful for before now. Her red cape fluttered as she came to a stop.

"Red," he replied, with a nod.

The scythe dipped. "Wait... you're not on their side...?"

It looked like she'd taken a moment to look around before making assumptions, which was a new but much appreciated bit of character development as far as he was concerned. The fact that he was standing one foot atop some defeated terrorists made his allegiance plenty obvious.

"Oh, you know how it is, Red. Just me and my adoptive daughter out enjoying the fun when some idiots show up. And it looks like they're not alone." Roman nodded to the faunus gathering around them. "Stuck fighting beside my nemesis, eh? Can't say I saw this coming."

Red grinned. "What about fighting beside a friend?"

"Ew. No. You can cut that shit out." Roman gagged. "Take that kiddie friendship-is-magic bullshit far away from me."

"Hey! I was trying to sound cool!"

"Yeah? Well, you failed. Practice in front of a mirror next time, you little cringe fiend."

"W—What? I'm not cringe! You're cringe!"

"Very mature—"

"CHILDREN!" Lisa screamed, as the White Fang got close to her. "LESS ARGUING AND MORE HELPING!"

Ah, right. The White Fang. And the camera, couldn't forget that one. Roman rushed back to save the camera – and Lisa, of course – slamming into the White Fang there while Red darted ahead to take on the others. The faunus were no better than the last, falling like chaff before him and even before a fifteen-year-old girl.

That was, in Roman's book, the main reason to train as a huntsman. Obviously, there was always going to be someone stronger than you out there, but being bested by a child was just embarrassing. And since children could and did become huntsmen and huntresses, it only made sense to become the same.

"Your hero has come to the rescue," Roman waxed, drawing Lisa into a one-armed hug as the faunus dropped. "And it looks like Red has dealt with the rest. Really, a scythe combined with a sniper rifle and she uses it to non-lethally take people down. Not that I'll dismiss the skill required, but it almost seems a little wasteful. You'd think she'd slap a tazer on it if she wanted to incapacitate without harm."

"I'm done!" Red said.

"Bravo." Roman clapped with one arm around Lisa. "And where is your team, might I ask? Partly because we could use more help, and partly because I don't fancy your feline friend jumping to the conclusion that I'm responsible for all this."

"Blake wouldn't— I mean, well, Blake would, but they're at the entrance. I was fast enough to slip through. They're making a cordon to get the civilians out with the other students. I came in to find stragglers."

"Truly heroic."

"Yeah, well, I want to be a hero like my mom was..."

Ew. Feelings. Roman put a stop to that. "You're on camera, by the way. I hope you realise this is all going on the news later."

He pointed to the scroll in Lisa's hand, which Red only just noticed. Predictably, the girl turned as red as her namesake, fidgeting and tugging at her skirt and suddenly a thousand times less confident in herself.

Good. Wouldn't do for her to steal his thunder.

"Help me! Help m—slckk—"

A fairground ride operator dropped to his knees, his head sliding off his neck and rolling away in a spray of blood. Lisa gasped and trembled, while Roman frowned. Red, to her credit, held her ground and didn't hesitate, levelling her scythe that way. Her training was taking over even as she herself dealt with the sudden shock.

The faunus responsible flicked his crimson blade to shed the blood, stalking out from between brightly coloured tents. His black boots and suit almost looked a counter for how Roman's white suit normally did. His red hair was slicked back revealing small bull horns, and an angular mask that looked a little more custom-made than the rest of the White Fang's took them in.

"I'm sorry," he said, in a low and threatening voice. "Did I interrupt you?"

"Not at all," Roman replied, since everyone else was too stunned. "Ah, let me guess. Broody expression, bloody clothing, attacking those who can't hope to fight back. You must be Adam! I've heard so much about you." Roman sauntered away from Lisa, putting enough room between them that he could manoeuvre. "I've heard so much about you. Last I heard, you were taking the fight to Atlas and against their soldiers. What happened? Did things go so poorly that you're back to massacring civilians?"

Adam snorted, pointing the sword his way. "I've little interest in theatrics."

"Perhaps that's why the White Fang has stagnated. If you were more focused on the show and the meaning behind it, your little ragtag group might reach a wider audience. As it is, you're little more than thugs."

"Enough." Adam lunged in. "Die like the dog you are."

No talk, eh? That wouldn't do. Roman backpedalled for distance and flicked his cane up to deflect the blow. Unlike the others, Adam rolled with it, performing a picture-perfect moulinet to bring his sword back around and down.

He knew how to use that weapon, then. It wasn't just something picked up to use.

How bothersome.

"Red," he hissed. "Cover Lisa. Lisa, cover me."

"HOW!?"

"He means keep recording him," Red groaned, darting over in front of Lisa Lavender. "Please stand behind me, miss. A—And don't record me. I get nervous."

Adorable as that was, Roman had a few more imminent concerns as Adam did his best to cut his arms from his shoulders. The swordsman was quick, strong, and had solid footwork that Roman couldn't disrupt like he'd done with the others. This was someone who was huntsman trained, maybe even qualified. Roman was no less in many ways, but he was also – though he'd never admit it out loud – quite a bit older.

Though he'd stick to claiming he was twenty-five to whomever asked, and until the day he died, the truth was his back ached and his body wasn't what it used to be. Time, the age-old killer, had not been kind to him.

But, with a camera rolling, he could do no less than fight this man head on.

"I have to wonder why you think this is a good idea," Roman chirped, partly to show off for the camera but mostly because he hoped it might disrupt Adam's tempo. "Do you think this will do anything for your little cub scout group?"

"We'll be remembered. No one will forget this."

Roman laughed, smashing the sword away and aiming a punch at Adam's face. Adam's free hand came up to deflect it, proving he was more than just good with a blade. That didn't stop Roman pushing him back with the hit. It gave him just enough time to twirl his cane and loosen some muscles and adapt his footing a little wider for balance.

"Remembered? Do you really believe that? I was fighting down in the tunnels when Mountain Glenn collapsed, the greatest tragedy of the century they called it. And do you know what people remember nowadays?"

Snarling, he launched into an attack of his own. Better to be the aggressor than not.

"Bugger all, Adam! Fuck all! They don't remember the names of the fallen, the number, or even the names of those of us that fought to hold the Grimm back. The only thing anyone remembers is that there's a minute of silence on the day, and even then half of them forget about it until they realise they're the only ones talking and every other fucker in the area is looking at them weird!"

Roman laughed harshly.

"The only thing anyone remembers is the awkward silences. That's it. This!? No one will remember this and no one will remember you. Deaths like this are a lien a dozen outside the city. Whole villages wiped away by the Grimm and no one gives a rat's ass!"

"Then I'll kill thousands!" Adam roared, lunging back and overcoming his assault. Roman cursed as he was suddenly forced to give ground – which couldn't look good on camera. "I'll kill and kill until Vale can't forget! Until the pile of bodies eclipses the tallest skyscrapers!"

"Edgy."

Not unsurprising, either. Roman would admit that he'd had his edgy period too, back when his team were slaughtered in the collapsed tunnels and the city abandoned them. He'd considered forcing his way into the Council of Vale and killing each and every one of them, of going out in a blaze of glory that would never be forgotten.

But he'd realised soon after the pointlessness of such a decision. It would be forgotten, and the council would have been replaced with a new one. It was on its way out after Mountain Glenn failed anyway, disbanded in absolute disgrace, so he wouldn't have achieved much other than to kill a few old men.

It was the tendency of younger people to be edgy.

"You understand nothing of what we've been through—"

"Yeah, but, in all fairness, I also don't care." Roman enjoyed the furious look on Adam's face. "Like, I get that it bothers you but most people can't really understand the suffering of those outside their orbit. It's just so distant, so far away. But I suppose that's your real reason, isn't it? This was never about equality or being remembered, you just desperately want to make other people feel as powerless as you do." Roman smirked. "How pathetic."

"LIES! This is us sending a message!"

"You're like a victim of a school bully who holds a grudge long after school ends," Roman said. "And twenty years later, when the bully is destitute, you rock up and lord your success over them, expecting them to cave and break down crying – only to be shocked when it turns out they can't even remember who you are!"

Adam slashed for his throat, becoming just a little sloppier. Roman blocked it and pushed on.

"But that's the thing, isn't it? The victim who has moved on likes to tell the world he's past it and that they have the final laugh because of their success, but doesn't that just mean they never really let it go? They never moved on. They kept fighting and fighting to prove a schoolyard bully wrong, and in doing so wasted years of their life trying to right a wrong that was little more than kids being kids. That's you, isn't it? Someone – I'm guessing the SDC – fucked you over, and now you're desperately trying to make them and the world at large regret it."

"SHUT UP!"

"Ah, did I strike a nerve?" Roman laughed mockingly, even as he struggled to keep up with the furious assault. "I hate to break it to you, Adam, but the SDC probably doesn't even remember who you are. And Jacques Schnee sure doesn't. You can struggle against that all you like, but all the world will remember of you is that you were some wild, aggressive animal that had to be put down. No one will even think to dig deeper into the reasons."

Adam sheathed his sword and drew in a rapid motion, unleashing a wave of crimson that Roman hadn't really been ready for. A Semblance. Joy. And Cinder hadn't felt the need to clue him in. Swearing, Roman pushed his aura forward and took the hit head on, riding it back several feet, his body screaming in pain.

"Shit," he grunted, feeling his knee wobble. Not in front of the camera, damn it. "Looks like someone has some anger problems, eh?" He smiled cockily up at Adam. "But, you know, living a life like yours leads to a few weaknesses, Adam. I've got something up my sleeve that you don't have."

"And what," snarled Adam, raising his sword. "Would that be?"

"The power of friendship."

Adam twisted, parrying Red's scythe at the last millisecond. He staggered back but managed to grab the girl's arm with his free hand and flip her onto Roman, sending them both to the ground. Red's momentum was so great that Roman skidded back with her.

"Damn it, Red! You had an open shot!"

"You warned him!" Red howled, indignantly. "You literally told him I was coming with that line! What is wrong with you!?"

"It was for theatrical effect—"

Roman saw the sword coming and flipped Red over onto her back against his chest and positioned her in front of the attack. Not keen on the whole "dying" thing, and still having all of her aura on her, Ruby's stomach managed to block the attack and send it skidding to the side, even as the girl wheezed in pain.

"Y—You used me – gah – as a human shield!"

"Or, alternatively, I hold your aura control in the utmost of faith, and you didn't disappoint me."

"No! You totally just tried to get me killed!"

"Enough of this bickering." Adam pressed a foot to Red's chest and pinned her down, which coincidentally held Roman down as well under her. The faunus raised his sword above them, the tip angled down, his lips drawn back in a sneer. "You two fools deserve one another."

"Ah, actually, we're not together—" Roman tried.

"Birds of a feather get to die toget—urk!"

Adam lurched forward.

Propelled by the dark red arrowhead that had appeared out the front of his throat, splashing blood across Red's face. Grasping it with one hand, Adam looked back, spotting Cinder Fall balanced atop a carnival tent, in a Haven school uniform, with her bow in hand.

"W—Why?" Adam managed to choke out.

Cinder's response was two more arrows, one punching into the middle of his back to push him off Roman and Ruby, and another slamming into the back of his head, silencing him forever. The terrorist dropped, the arrows dissolving into motes of black dust. In three shots, Cinder had both covered her bases and cleaned up the evidence. There was no one alive but him to attest to her being allied with Adam.

"Well," Roman said, aware that she still had her bow out. "It looks like Haven Academy managed to beat Mistral to the punch in saving the day. Take a look, Red. That's what a real huntress does."

Cinder nodded, dismissing her bow, satisfied that Roman wasn't about to blab.

"I would have stopped him if you hadn't literally warned him I was coming!" Ruby snarled and drove her elbow down into his gut. "And you totally tried to use me as a human shield! I could have died! I tried to save you!"

"And save me, you did. As a human shield. Rejoice."

Sitting, then standing, Roman dusted himself down and looked over to make sure Lisa was okay. Hopefully, she hadn't gotten the right idea with his human shield stunt. The streaming footage also limited what Cinder could do, because neither of them could be certain this wasn't a live feed.

"Well, I do hate to cut and run but it seems the terrorists are dealt with and I'd hate for General Ironwood to get the wrong idea and think I was involved. His blood pressure is high enough whenever I'm involved. Also, Headmaster Ozpin might get some crazy idea about how this cane belongs to him." Roman scoffed. "Imagine that!"

He swooped over to take and kiss Cinder's hand, swept back to ruffle Ruby's hair, then dipped in to pull Lisa against his chest. His body was on the verge of collapse, but he would be damned if he let this end without some flair.

"To you two fair ladies and one loud child—"

"HEY!"

"I bid farewell."

Neo appeared before him and used her Semblance. On their end, it probably looked very impressive with the air shattering and them vanishing. On their side, it was far less fancy, as Roman and Neo jogged away in broad daylight.

/-/

Cinder fumed but didn't let it show.

Killing Adam was a necessity, but also a great loss. She'd required his forces to storm Beacon and those were now very much dead, as was he. It wasn't as though Roman had taken them from her, though. Adam had decided this on his own, which meant there was no salvaging the situation when he went rogue. Better to cut him off quickly before he could let slip her involvement.

At least Roman had kept silent on that front.

Losing Adam and the White Fang, not to mention all that dust, means I've little to no chance of attacking and destroying Beacon now. Damn it. Not all is lost, though. I can still kill the maiden and get out of here with that power.

But if she couldn't get in to the maiden and kill Ozpin, then she needed someone to get to the maiden on her behalf.

What she needed was a master thief.

And to swallow her own pride in asking the arrogant fop for his assistance.

But, for now, Cinder swallowed her frustration and rage, and smiled for the officials who came to shake her hand and thank her for her brave actions. General Ironwood and even Ozpin himself expressed their gratitude to her and offered numerous assurances that they'd not let her face any legal challenges for killing Adam.

To be protected by them, who she had tried so hard and so many times to outmanoeuvre and attack, only to be foiled each and every time by things that felt outside her control. By Roman stealing Amity, by the police finding all the dust, and now by Adam going off the deep end. It was never her fault, nor ever a failure on her part, but always those beneath her getting their wires crossed or outright losing their minds.

It would have been comical if she wasn't so angry.


Next Chapter: 16th July

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