Chapter XLIV: The Master Tax Evader

Ruby eyed the dangling key uneasily. The disembodied hand jangled it once more, daring her to reach out and take it. Keeping her eyes on the woman, Ruby allowed her hand to reach out and claim the prize. The woman let her have it, the hand retreating once the key was in her hands. From the corner of her eye, she watched the limb disperse into nothing, leaving a vague cloud of petals behind.

Still keeping her eyes locked on the woman, Ruby backed out into the hallway. Once she was past the doorway, she took off down the hall. Whoever that lady was, she made Ruby uncomfortable. She doubted the lady was that Dr. Evil was the person from the plaque. If she was, then this key was only meant to mess with her.

The pause caused Ruby to freeze in place. Glancing down, she studied the metal object. Did she really trust this key? What if it was a false one that caused something bad to happen when used on the collars. Should she go back and find the other key? Shaking her head, she pressed on forward. Hesitation could be just as bad in this situation. It could be just as likely that the woman was buying time for reinforcements to arrive. Then why did she look so confident?

Questions and doubts were still swirling in her mind when she arrived back at the cell block. Her mind had become so clouded that she bumped right into the back of one of the guards. He seemed just as surprised as she was, enough so that she was able to give him a swift kick to the head before he could react. His body slumping to the floor caught the attention of the prisoners. Initially, they had been too despondent to pay her any mind as she snuck in. Now they seemed curious, though none seemed to hold any hope. That was going to change, dammit.

Ruby tried the key she got on the nearest cell door, but it didn't work. Either she had been tricked, or they were just two separate keys. Quelling the thoughts that the former might be true, she searched the knocked-out guard and found what she was looking for. The cell door gave a metallic thunk as she turned the new key in its lock. With a high squeal, it swung open.

"Oi, oi, stay back." The first prisoner in the cell warned her. "You can't just take these off, you know?"

Ruby pulled out the first key as she neared him. "I got this from the leader's room. It should remove them without any issues." She did her best to sound more confident than she really was.

It seemed to be enough for the prisoner as he shut his eyes and tilted his head to present the small keyhole on the side of his collar. Carefully, Ruby placed the key into the hole and turned. There was a soft click followed by silence. Ruby's blood froze as nothing happened. Was it a trick after all? Did she just kill this man? His eyes met hers, pleading as if he knew it too. Just as carefully, she removed the key and took a step back. The moment the key left the collar, part of the side shifted. Then it fell to the floor with a clang. Though it was quiet, it felt deafening in that moment.

The prisoner stood back up, rubbing his neck as if he had just gotten back something he had lost long ago. Ruby handed him the cell key. "Go open up the other cells, please."

From there, she went to work freeing the other prisoners in that cell before moving onto the next one. Before long, the final collar dropped to the floor, and the worries that had clouded her mind were little more than a distant dream.

The door to the cell block swung open to reveal another guard. He froze, then his head began swiveling as he looked for a specific person. "Who the hell captured that gambler again!"

While Ruby had no idea who he was talking about, she didn't care to stick around and find out. She began ushering the ex-prisoners to leave, and they were very eager to comply. She didn't stop running when she was back outside, and the natural light washed away the bitter lighting from inside.

The guard, and several more with him, continued their chase; however, Ruby wasn't alone either. Blake was quick to pepper them with fire from her shadowed position. Penny tossed Ruby her scythe, giving her a chance to surprise the guards with a quick pirouette. In a matter of moments, Ruby's escape turned into an ambush on her pursuers. It was nearly laughable how quickly the guards went down. Left and right they fell, surrounded by the Straw Hats. Ruby would have felt sympathetic for them, but the relief of the ex-prisoners filled her with apathy for the guards.

"I'll take the key back now." A sudden silence blanketed them as the woman from earlier had come from seemingly nowhere. She was sitting on the roof of the auction house, her legs crossed, and her head tilted lazily to the side.

"Do you know her, Ruby?" Jaune walked up to stand beside her.

"No — well, she gave me the key, but I have no idea who she is."

The woman smiled, resting her chin in her palm as if watching a rather amusing scene. "I'm just a fellow tax evader," she supplied an answer.

"Fellow?" Penny tilted her head, not entirely following the interaction.

"Don't be surprised that people are learning about your crew," said the woman, her tone teasing. "They've even come to christen you, Straw Hat Jaune, and some other rookies that have been causing issues. They call you the Most Fucking Annoying Generation."

Blake, who had just arrived from her elevated position, made a displeased expression. "Excuse me?"

The woman was unfazed. "Not my wording. There's quite a few of that group here right now. Your captain, of course, as well as Salty Whitley, Obsidian Feather Raven, Goat Thief Oscar, Cqrow with a C, and Laffy the Immortal."

"Who were those last two," asked Jaune, his interest piqued. "And is that Obsidian Feather related to Onyx Feather in any way?"

Rather than respond, the woman simply tilted her head farther. Accompanied by several flower petals, an arm bloomed out of the ground near Ruby. To everyone that had not seen it before, the sudden event had them tensing for action.

"You should give me back the key," the woman returned to the issue at hand. "At the moment, they might not know how you unlocked the collars. After all, there have been some other methods at play." Her eyes lingered on Penny, causing Ruby to wonder if the woman had seen Penny's earlier actions. "They might change the locks if they find out the key is missing."

Tentatively, Ruby placed the key in the palm. The disembodied hand flicked the key, throwing it into the woman's outreached hand.

"Why did you help us," Ruby asked, furrowing her brows.

"I'm not a fan of Rob Lucci," was her simple reply.

Yang had not spoken since their fight. In fact, she had dug her heels as much as she could, leaving Pyrrha to take care of their small vessel both in navigation and taking the helm. Pyrrha couldn't find it in herself to feel frustrated. There wasn't any sort of lighting that could excuse how she had acted, but they were already this far. After settling the matter, they would head back to Sabaody, get their friends, and everything would work out.

The waves were far more noticeable in their smaller boat. The hull bobbed up and down along the arcs of the water, crashing and cutting through them as they moved along. With the barren expanse before them, it was difficult to navigate. All she had was an eternal pose to Sabaody, a map of their area, and a report of what may have been revolutionary activity. As much as she hated to admit it, they were wandering while hoping to get lucky.

Silently, Yang stood and crossed the boat to peer over the edge. Curiously, Pyrrha joined her to see what had caught her attention. Headed their way was a marine ship, recognizable from the uniform colors; however, this one had a blazing set of playing cards painted on its hull. The ship moved quickly, reaching them in no time at all.

A freckled man leaned over the railing. "What's a small boat doing out here?" He tipped his hat up to block the sun to better look at them.

"We're fellow marines," Pyrrha called back. "We've been looking for the Revolutionary Army's base." The man stared at her before bursting out laughing. Despite not sensing any cruelty behind his laugh, Pyrrha still felt her cheeks burn at his reaction.

When he calmed down, he shouted back. "My name's Ace! My crew and I were just headed out to do the same thing. Why don't you hop aboard so you're not going to war on your own?" Ace tossed a rope to them with the last sentence.

"I think we're —" Before Pyrrha could finish her sentence, the rope lurched as Yang began to climb it. "I guess we are, then." By the time Pyrrha reached the railing herself, Yang had already made it across the deck, putting space between them.

"Yeesh," commented Ace. "Forgive me for being nosy, but she seems pissed."

"Yeah," Pyrrha admitted. "It has to do with her sister. I — I might have made a mistake involving her."

Ace's expression was unreadable. "I get it. I'm an older brother, and while that brat can cause a lot of trouble, I care about him more than anything else." Then his face grew frustrated. "That being said, there's now a 'Laffy,' an inanimate puppet based on my brother, which has gone rogue somehow."

Shaking his head, Ace changed the subject, "So, were the reports you were hearing about a stolen devil fruit?"

"Right," Pyrrha welcomed the change in topic. She could live without an explanation for a rogue puppet.

"That's exactly what we're here for," clarified Ace. He began to rummage through his loose jacket. He wore the top of his uniform as if he would rather be shirtless, but a parent had forced the clothes onto him.

After a moment, he produced a cluttered mess of papers. "My other brother, Sabo, wrote out this statement. The perpetrator made off with the yuki yuki no mi — a snow logia devil fruit."

"And they were last seen around here?" Pyrrha turned to look back over the sea.

"Sabo was about two hours farther south," Ace responded, pointing in the direction the ship was sailing. "So, until then, you may as well rest. And you may want to make things up before we get into any danger." Ace nodded at Yang, and Pyrrha sighed. He was right, but she didn't really know what to say.

Making her way over to Yang felt like walking to her death sentence. This conversation would be easier with Ruby back, then Yang could have calmed down. However, this wasn't something she should just let sit. While she was confident everything would be alright in the end, there was always the chance it could get prolonged yet again.

Yang noticed her, glancing up with eyes that dared her to speak. "Look, Yang. I —" Yang stood up with enough force to cause the marines around her to jump. She spun on her heel and began walking away.

"Yang!" Pyrrha let a bit more determination slip into her voice. "Look, I'm sorry that I wasn't honest with you. I promise that I still care about our friends. We will bring them back home, safe and sound."

Yang gave her a foul look that caused her to flinch. For the first time since their fight, Yang spoke. "Do you really think I'd just believe you that easily? No; the sad part is you probably believe yourself. I know that Ruby and my friends will be coming home with me. I don't know if you'll be helping, though."

Neptune barely avoided tripping over a bump in the ground. Sun had to help stabilize him so he didn't slip down into the water below. "You should be more careful, man. Stay away from the edges of the roots. With your devil fruit, I'll have to swim in after you." Neo nodded along, miming him drowning.

"Sorry," Neptune apologized. "I was just texting that Beacon professor about that weird stone we found in Skypiea. He seems to know about them despite them being from the Grand Line. Evidently a few had made their way out to Remnant, though there was never anyone that could read them."

"And yet you can," clarified Sun.

Neptune nodded. "Yeah, Dr. Oobleck is calling it my 'anti-dyslexia.' I'm not sure, though. It kind of feels like he just pulled that out of his ass. Wait, never mind. He just texted me that it's totally scientifically accurate and his source is 'just trust me, bro.' I mean, there's no way I could possibly doubt him now, right?" Neptune rolled his eyes, clearly not buying the professor's credibility.

"I'm sure there's some sort of explanation for — hey, is that a goat?"

A tan boy shakily dismounted a white goat, slumping to the ground in exhaustion. Looking around, haphazardly hiding his gaze, the boy snuck off into some alleyway.

Sun spoke first. "I'm not the only one that finds that weird, right?"

"I've never seen a goat look guilty in my life before now," admitted Neptune. Neo added her two cents, which was to walk off toward the alley the boy disappeared into. Deciding they had no choice but to make sure disaster didn't follow, Sun and Neptune went after Neo into the alley.

The noisy streets muffled into distant static as they walked farther in. The boy was resting on the ground, the goat sitting by his side. He glanced at them, turned away, then realized he wasn't alone. It didn't take any incredible insight to see just how frazzled the boy was as he scrambled to his feet.

"Hold on a second," he pleaded. "D-don't arrest me. I swear —"

"Whoa, hey," interrupted Sun. "We're not marines. You don't have to worry about us." The boy visibly calmed, his shoulders slacking and his hands lowering. It only lasted a second. His head tilted, as if listening to some silent voice, and then his eyes widened.

"You're the Straw Hat pirates!" Declared the boy, though it was closer to a question.

Neo raised her head proudly, and Sun answered, "Sure are. We can kick any marine's ass if you need us to."

The boy shook his head, settling into a fighting stance. "S-sorry about this, but — I'm Oscar Pines. I'm going to capture you and turn you in!"

The three pirates shared a look before nodding in unison. Neo strode forward, reaching into a pocket before producing a small, yellow object.

"Why are you pulling out cheese?" Oscar was completely lost. "Wait — why are you telling me to run?" Sun wasn't sure whom Oscar was asking, nor did he care to find out. Instead, he and Neptune turned their head, praying that the boy wouldn't be too traumatized.

Weiss stared blankly at the box sitting before her. It was all too much to take in. No one could say it was easy to have their entire life turned upside down in a matter of moments. Was she upset, disgusted, fearful, or numb? Whichever it was, if any, she couldn't say. She had seen so much in the past few days that had turned upside down everything she had ever known, and it had left her mentally exhausted.

What first came to mind was her mother. Willow Schnee — the drunkard that was so far drowned in her glasses that she might as well have been absent in her life. It was all an act. How was she supposed to feel? Elated that her mother actually gave a shit about her? Or should she feel betrayed that her mother left her to fend for herself all this time? Did anyone else in her family know; were they hiding it from her?

Weiss sunk back into her chair, rubbing her temples. The entire situation was a mess, but at least she wasn't stuck in a fashionista's burlap sack anymore. Sure, it was a militaristic uniform not unlike the marine attire she had been wearing, but she had little room to complain.

Some tea would surely calm her mind, but the cold glass at the corner of her desk involved the second shock she had. Adam Taurus, ex-leader of the White Fang, had also been a lie. When she first saw him in the revolutionaries' base, her blood froze and boiled simultaneously. A man she so greatly hated — a fear monger that had all but declared war on her family — calmly greeted her and welcomed her to their base. It was him, not too long ago, whom had ordered for her to be brought a cup of tea. Why did he care about her wellbeing? It would have been far easier if he tried to kill her on sight.

The third shock was the box sitting on the desk before her. Ignoring the surprise of what it contained was the trust it implied. That they trusted her to freely give her this treasure confused her more than anything else. Desperately, she wanted to reject it. It would have been too easy to ask them to give the box to another. Yet here it was, sitting before her.

The Revolutionary Army wasn't evil, she had seen that firsthand by now. Their methods were radical, fighting to break the system rather than just changing it. That being said, something stirred within her. There was a reason Weiss had gone to Beacon, and that was to help others. Yes, she had wanted to escape her father's control, but she could have done that in numerous other ways. She chose to follow the life of becoming a huntress.

Weiss clenched her fist; a friend's words echoing in her mind. "I've been running away," she told herself. "From father, from control, and now from the marines. No longer! I want — no, I need to run forward."

Weiss opened the box revealing an odd-looking fruit. After a deep breath, she brought it to her lips and took a deep bite. Instantly, she regretted it, spitting a glob of the fruit back on the table and gagging.

"How did Pyrrha eat one of these?" She hollered. "No, I just need a bite. Only a bite."

With much less enthusiasm, Weiss took a bite of the devil fruit.

AN:

It was my plan since the moment I created team PWNY that they would fall apart. It has a lesson to it, I assure you. The team itself was a representation of a resistance to change, in the same way that the Straw Hats represent a push for a change. Team PWNY was determined to make everything go back to exactly how it was, but that's impossible now. So much has already changed, people included. I was trying to write Pyrrha as the epitome of this, believing that everything would just fix itself and be normal again, which is why she was so easy to take side tangents in their mission. Maybe I didn't do it perfectly, but that's not for me to say, and what's done is done.

This has been a crazy journey so far, and I only have one more chapter left in this part 1. I'm going to have to sit and remember any loose ends I may have left that need to be wrapped up for now. I want it to be a true To Be Continued with everything at the forefront. I may make the chapter longer if needed to get everything in it, but only if needed.

Anyways, next chapter: I'm Becoming the King of the Pirates