Note:
I have my stupid awards ceremony and speech coming up again soon (3rd October) and need to take a week off around it to prepare. I really thought the business would be closed before getting to it, but it appears not ffs.
As such, there will be no updates from Monday 30th Sept to Sunday 6th October. Both to let me get some prep down before, and to have a chance to unwind after it's over. Thankfully this is the last time I'll ever have to do it.
Cover Art: Mystery White Flame
Chapter 22
The impact was a blur in Roman's mind. They had been falling, then there had been groaning metal, then explosions – and everything between that and looking down to see Red draped over his chest was an indistinct mess. The stupid brat looked up at him, all wide eyed, and said, "You saved me."
Roman tossed her off him. Red landed with a crash and a squawk.
"You used me as a human cushion," he growled, pushing himself up. "There was no saving involved. Claim otherwise and my lawyers will be in touch." He raised his voice. "Neo! Are you alive, Neo? Speak to me!"
A pebble struck the back of his head. Neo was limping, a bloody streak down her face, but she still managed to look offended as she pointed at her mute mouth. Roman snorted and stomped over, looking her up and down. Her clothing was ripped in places, but he supposed he could overlook the lapse in fashion this once.
"I do believe it's time for us to skedaddle," he told her. "Preferably before everyone recovers. Let Ironwood, Cinder and these lot fight it out to the death—"
Neo smirked, her red eyes narrowing.
It was all the warning Roman got to shunt his aura up before "Neo" stabbed him in the gut. The blades penetrated a little, maybe half an inch, before his aura stopped the rest. Groaning, he clasped his hand around the curved weapon as the hallucination ended and Emerald Fucking Sustrai appeared before him with a sneer.
"This is what you get for betraying Cinder!"
Teeth gritted, Roman clasped his hands on her shoulders. "And this is what you get for following her," he rasped, and drove his knee up between her legs.
There was a common misconception among most men (and only men, for obvious reasons) that women felt nothing at an impact between the legs. This was nonsense. There were a whole lot of nerve endings there the same as there were for men – more in some areas – and while they might not have been dangling down, they were still very much vulnerable.
Emerald's eyes shrank to tiny pinpricks, and she made a strangled, nauseous gasp, clutching her stomach and dropping like a rock to lay in the foetal position. Yanking her blade out himself, Roman swung it down, but pain had forced her to lock not just her body up, but her aura as well. It bounced off her, and while he could have hacked and slashed until it drained, that would mean ignoring the battle around him.
And he had a mute adopted daughter to find.
"You're lucky I appreciate Neo more than I do ending you," he hissed, hurling her weapon over the treetops so she wouldn't find it anytime soon. He gave her body a kick for good measure. "Fanatical bitch."
Fanatics were the worst. Unless they were his, of course, but that was a different matter.
With Emerald's illusion gone, he was able to properly see the wreck Ironwood's flagship had become. It had burst open like a rotten grapefruit, leaving behind a skeletal ribcage of metal with burning components. At this rate, there might be a forest fire. Eh. Vale's problem. Roman trudged past a few unconscious Atlas Specialists, the brutes not having had the sense to brace for impact – or find a human cushion as Red had.
Her own team weren't much better. The Schnee was out of it, slumped unconscious on the ground, while the feline tended to her. Blondie was up and about, too blonde to realise she should have a concussion and currently beating Mercury's face in. He'd give her props for that.
Now, where were Neo and Cinder—
"ROMAN!"
Ah, there she was. The murderous scream – with a wonderful peak – sounded out over the wreckage and drew all eyes to be bedraggled and dirty woman. Cinder was smeared with soot and ash, which Roman had to assume he was as well – but he made it work. Cinder didn't. Her hair was dishevelled and not in the sexy bedhead way, and her dress was torn in places, but also not in the sexy way.
It was in the desperate "about-to-lose" kind of way.
Roman rather thought it suited her.
"Roman," she seethed, holding one arm and a sword over Neo's throat. His little apprentice-slash-adopted-daughter looked exhausted. He could tell she was out of aura from the resigned look in her normally murderous eyes. Roman stopped on the spot. "Roman," Cinder repeated, hissing with every breath. "Roman, Roman, Roman."
"Do I need to pull the disc out of you and blow it clean, Cinder?"
"SHUT UP!" she screeched. "You have ruined everything! Your constant failures—"
"Ah, come now. You're not this stupid, Cinder. My constant failures were never failures. You know that. I was betraying you from the first."
Roman laughed mockingly but looked past her for any help. Ironwood was being helped up by one of hi goons, but how much help would that be? He'd gladly kill Cinder and Neo both. Most of Atlas would to be honest. This was bad.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Cinder raged, tightening her arm around Neo's throat. "I'll kill her, Roman! You care for her, don't you?"
"Pft. Not really." He rolled his eyes. "Go for it."
Cinder, in fact, went for it, and made to slice her throat open. Neo closed her eyes, and Roman made a desperate lunge forward.
He was stopped only by Cinder's vicious smirk. "Not really, hmmm?"
"Tch. Fine. You have Neo and I want her back. How about this for a deal, eh? You let her go and I'll let you run away from Vale with your tail tucked between your legs. It's a good deal. You're fucked here, Cinder. You've burned too many bridges to stay. So, let her go and I'll distract the goodies while you escape."
It was a good deal, better than she deserved.
But Cinder smirked. "No. No, I think I'll end things with my victory."
"Cinder, you arrogant bitch," he groaned. "There is no victory for you here. It's fucked, it's over. You've lost. The intelligent thing to do is retreat, learn from this, and come back later."
Again, it wasn't a lie. He was too tired to bullshit. The smarter criminals were those who learned to prioritise their own lives and freedom first, and success after. You could always make more money, always pull more heists, but death was final. Incarceration could be as well if you were as dangerous as she was. That was another lesson the good criminals learned; never be so big a threat that the authorities drop everything to put you down.
Cinder didn't get it. Or maybe she did, but she just had to have the final word. Just had to go further, just had to win. Or to not lose. There was probably some dark and tragic story behind it but Roman would be damned if he cared to hear it.
"No, Roman. You'll do my bidding or she will die. That's the deal."
Bitch! Roman glanced about again. Ironwood was up and ready, gun drawn and marching forward to shoot through Neo and into Cinder. In that moment, Roman knew there was only one person who could help him.
Only one person he could rely on.
Ruby "Red" Rose.
Though it probably wasn't the type of "relying on" that she expected of him.
Lunging, he grabbed her.
And promptly took her hostage.
"What!?" Ruby squeaked. "Why me!?"
"What?" Cinder deadpanned. "Why her?"
Roman held his stolen cane over the girl's neck and ignored her furious stamps on his feet. They didn't hurt all that much. "Now you're not the only one with a hostage, Cinder."
Cinder stared at him, utterly perplexed. Bamboozled, even. "But… why would I care about her…?" she asked. "I'd gladly see her dead."
Good question.
Roman wracked his brain for an answer.
"W—Well, think of the bigger picture!" he bullshitted. Ironwood was holding back now, and that gave him an opening. "Taking Neo as a hostage does well to keep me from splashing your brains across the floor but she and I are still baddies. These good guys won't care if you threaten her. I mean, Ironwood would see it as a two-for-one deal. Shoot one, get one free!"
Cinder eyed the general, who did in fact have his gun trained on her.
And on Neo.
"Then there's Qrow Branwen, one of the strongest huntsmen in Vale – and who just so happens to be this brat's dad!"
"Uncle," Red corrected.
"Really? Huh. Okay, whatever. Her uncle! Yes, that's right. Not only does this lovely hostage protect you from Ironwood, but it can also serve as the perfect human shield against the huntsman over there – and probably against Ozpin as well, since he's almost certainly on his way right now."
Cinder's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to sell me your hostage…?"
"Yeah," Red growled. "Are you trying to sell me like a used car?"
"I prefer the term hostage trade personally," Roman said. "And all I'm doing is pointing out how versatile this model of hostage is compared to the one you currently have. This one comes with all kinds of optional extras." He cupped Ruby's chin and squeezed her cheeks with his fingers and thumbs to force a bizarre smile out of her. "Look how cute she is! Like a puppy. Cute hostages like her work far better than psychopathic ones like Neo. I mean, who is going to care about her other than me? No offence, Neo."
Neo shrugged in Cinder's grip, knowing it was true. While she was small and pretty, there was just something a little too "murder-hobo" about her for anyone to feel like she was an innocent victim. Red, on the other hand, had "cute little victim" all over her.
"And today, this hostage can be yours for the low, low price of one Neo! How about that? This hostage even comes with speech!" He poked her cheek. "Say something."
Red opened her mouth. "Roman Torchwick is my secret boyfriend."
"Erk!" Roman clapped a hand over her mouth. "What the fuck, kid?"
Red glared at him over his fingers, her angry silver eyes making it clear she was prepared to hit him where it hurt – in the reputation.
Okay, fair, he'd taken her hostage and was trying to hand her over to Cinder, but she was a huntress – and one of those heroic types, too. Weren't they supposed to be all about sacrificing themselves to protect others? He'd have thought she'd be happy offering herself up to reunite a father and daughter.
Apparently, she was not.
Cinder, on the other hand, was looking at Ruby with pursed lips. Now that the adrenaline was fading and she could take in just how utterly screwed the situation was for her, she'd started to realise that killing Neo and him would only net her a brief thrill of victory before she was put down. Dragging things out had given her caution and preservation instincts time to wrestle down her anger and exert themselves.
And bullshittery or not, Ruby would be a better hostage than Neo.
"Trade?" Cinder offered.
"Trade," Roman agreed.
"I hate this," Ruby grumbled. "You both suck."
Had Cinder been a little less panicky and angry, she might have connected the other dots in his little deal, however. Yes, Red would make for the perfect hostage to keep Ironwood, Branwen and Ozpin from immediately killing her, but Red would also force all three of them to laser focus on her.
What was the harm in letting two petty thieves escape? Better to stop the megalomaniacal witch who had an innocent huntress hostage, a huntress who was the niece of one of the people here. Branwen wouldn't give two hoots about him once Cinder had a hold of the girl.
Roman leaned down to whisper to Red. "Trust me. I have a plan."
Red went still. "Yeah?"
"Have a little faith."
The whole fight had come to a halt, everyone having at least some reason not to intrude. For 99% of them, that was Red being a hostage. No one other than he cared about Neo's safety. Atlas, Branwen, Team Red Friends. They were all there biting their nails as he marched Red forward and Cinder did the same with Neo. They came close, dangerously close, and then Cinder held out her free hand. Roman did the same.
Everyone tensed.
Cinder's eyes narrowed.
Roman's lips curled.
"On three?" said Cinder, fully preparing to betray him.
"On three," he agreed, fully preparing to betray her.
"One," they counted in unison. "Two, three!"
Cinder pushed Neo at him violently, and Roman pushed Red at her the same. In her free hand, Cinder summoned a ball of fire that she sent hurtling at Neo's unprotected back. Roman, meanwhile, planted his boot in Red's unprotected back and kicked. Red flew forward with a yelp and smacked into Cinder, her forehead striking the woman's chin.
Roman, meanwhile, yanked Neo behind him and turned his own back to take the hit for her, roaring in what he hoped was an appropriately manly amount of pain. That shit burnt! The moment he could, he flung himself and Neo away, cradling her to his chest and rolling to safety.
Cinder wrestled Red under control and against her chest, summoning a new sword.
"I have a hostage!" she shouted. "A better hostage!"
"What was your plan?" Red howled.
Roman winked back at her. "The plan was to save Neo. Mission success."
"ROMAN, YOU— YOU PRICK! WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS, I'M GOING TO FEED SO MANY BASELESS RUMOURS ABOUT YOU! I'LL WEAR A PILLOW UNDER MY UNIFORM AND TELL EVERYONE YOU GOT ME PREGNANT! I'LL—"
Cinder yanked on her neck to shut her up.
The goodies all tensed up, focusing their full attentions on Cinder and the new hostage situation, and dismissing him entirely. It was one of the few times he was happy to be dismissed like that, and he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Right, so…" Roman pulled himself and Neo up and began to slide away. "Since this is now an epic battle between good and evil, I suppose we can leave—" Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch appeared at the treeline, along with Peter Port and him. "Or not," Roman seethed. "Gee. I really can't catch a break, can I?"
"Roman," said Bartholomew Oobleck.
"Scum," Roman replied, with a polite nod. "Kill any innocent people lately?"
"Roman, I—"
"Not now. Not here." Ozpin was stern. "Mr Torchwick, you have something that belongs to me." The headmaster winced when Glynda elbowed his side. "And by that, I mean you have my students, who I care for deeply."
Roman jerked a hand over his shoulder. "Cinder has them. Deal with her."
"You have still broken numerous laws, Roman. You must pay for your crimes."
"If I throw this cane, will you chase after it like a dog with a stick?"
Ozpin scowled. "No."
Roman made to throw it. Ozpin flinched.
"Heh. Sentimental, is it?"
"In ways you cannot possibly comprehend. I need that weapon, Mr Torchwick. It is more important than simple money. The fate of the world rests upon me having it."
"Sounds like a crock of shit to me but how about a deal, eh? You deal with Cinder and let me go, and I'll give you this back."
Glynda scowled. "That's ridic—"
"We accept."
"OZPIN! He's exhausted! We can take him!"
"We have bigger concerns," Ozpin said. "Far greater concerns than a petty thief and his accomplice who have, to the best of my knowledge, never taken a life."
Good thing he wasn't omniscient then. Neo had taken quite a few. Never innocent, though. He'd done a good job of making sure she pointed her rage in the right directions as to keep her out of trouble with the law. It was his responsibility as best dad in Vale, even if Neo would never admit it.
"But, Mr Torchwick," Ozpin continued. "That doesn't mean you will be free of all you've done." He smiled then. "But if you were to make a show of assisting us in this final battle… well… that might change things."
Roman snorted at the cheeky offer. "As if I haven't assisted you enough already."
/-/
Ruby hated her life.
Maybe that was a little dramatic of her to think but it felt like everything that could go wrong had of late. They'd broken onto the airship, made enemies of Atlas, caught Roman when they were meant to catch Cinder, and now crashed it into the Emerald Forest. Getting suckered into being Cinder's new hostage was just chocolate on the cookie, frankly.
At least her team had dealt with Mercury and Emerald, knocking them both out, even if her uncle Qrow knocking out Weiss' sister ought to have been more of a problem. Weiss herself was unconscious from the crash.
We really made a mess of this one…
Ruby's thoughts were halted when Cinder yanked her between her and Uncle Qrow, who had tried to sneak closer. Ruby's aura was dangerously low, which was the main reason she hadn't broken free on her own. If Roman hadn't cushioned her on the impact, she might well have died.
Not that she was especially grateful to him considering what he did after.
"No closer!" Cinder spat. "I will kill her. I'll slice her throat and make you all watch her bleed out. I want a Bullhead – a Bullhead, and Mercury and Emerald handed back to me. And Amber, the fall maiden. I know you have her. I want her!"
"Anything else while you're at it?" Qrow sneered. "The crown of Vale, ten billion lien, your own continent?"
"DON'T MOCK ME!" Cinder roared. There was a hysterical element to her voice. A manic quality that bordered on outright insanity. Oh goodie, Cinder had lost her mind. Ruby sighed. "And don't you mock me either!" Cinder hissed at her. "I'll kill you! I'll end your pathetic life!"
"Hey, my life has been fine so far," Ruby grumbled.
"Cinder Fall, surrender." Ironwood barked. "You're outnumbered, surrounded, your allies are down. It's over. You've lost. Stop making things harder for yourself."
Cinder cackled. "I haven't lost yet!"
"You really have," said Ruby, almost rolling her eyes. "I mean, Torchwick totally outplayed you. You've failed at everything you set out to do. Even if you kill me here, what will that do? You'll be killed as well. It won't achieve anything."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up—"
"Cinder Fall!" It was Ozpin's voice. The headmaster came from the treeline, flanked by Miss Goodwitch – who looked furious. Uh-oh – and by Doctor Oobleck pushing, of all things, a stretcher. On it lay a body, most of it covered by a white cloth but with dark brown hair poking out the top.
Cinder sucked in a sharp breath.
"We managed to save her from the wreckage," Ozpin told Ironwood, who looked just a little confused to Ruby. Cinder wasn't paying attention to him, however. "Amber survived the crash thanks to your safety precautions. We were fortunate."
"Ozpin, what—" Ironwood began.
"However!" Ozpin interrupted. "I cannot allow the life of one of my precious students to be in jeopardy. You want the fall maiden, Miss Fall? I would be willing to exchange her for my student's safety but know this. The power of the fall maiden will not help you escape us. It will not avail you."
Cinder's hold on Ruby tightened. "G—Give her to me! Now!"
Was she not even listening? Ruby didn't know what a "fall maiden" was but she knew how likely it was Cinder could fight off her team, Ironwood, Uncle Qrow, Ozpin and three teachers of Beacon at once and on her own.
Not flipping lightly!
It didn't matter how good you were against those odds, and yet Cinder was salivating over (and onto) Ruby's shoulder. "Ugh," she grunted. "I preferred when Torchwick had me hostage. Gross."
"Give her to me!" Cinder repeated. "Bring her here now. Right now!" When Ozpin began to push, Cinder suddenly wised up. "No! Not you. Goodwitch's Semblance. Push the bed with your semblance. No one comes close."
Ozpin frowned. "And Miss Rose?"
"What do I care for her?" Cinder sneered. "Once I have this power, I'll be unstoppable!"
"Amber wasn't and she had years to learn to use it. What makes you think you'll be any different?"
"Fool. I'm different because I'm me. I'm better than her!"
Crazier, more like, Ruby thought. Sheesh. Torchwick beating her has sent her over the edge. It's like she's refusing to see reality because it would mean admitting she lost to him. I should have stayed in bed.
Ozpin nodded to Glynda, who used her Semblance to slowly roll the medical bed out of Ozpin's hands and across the ruined grass toward Cinder. It was a bumpy ride, the brown hair bouncing about and the cloth slipping away just a little bit. Enough to see dark skin beneath, and the hint of a woman's delicate arm. Cinder's entire body began to shiver.
"Yes. Yes," she whispered, with only Ruby hearing it. "Once I have this power, everything will be fixed. Roman, Vale, Salem, everything. I'll be powerful enough to mould the world as I see fit."
Yep. Lost her mind completely.
The medical bed came to a rest in front of her.
"There," said Ozpin. "Now release Miss Rose—"
Cinder snarled and pushed her forward – but not toward safety. Cinder forced her down over the medical bed and the body on it and raised her other hand, summoning a sword to drive down through both Ruby and the woman on the bed in the same motion. Her team screamed, and Uncle Qrow lunged forward in a burst of speed.
He wasn't fast enough to close the distance before Cinder stabbed down.
But "Amber" was closer.
In an explosion of dazzling light and a shatter of mirrored glass, the body of the woman on the bed became a grinning face with a shock of orange hair. Roman wrapped his arms around Ruby and yanked her off her feet, rolling off the side of the medical bed as Cinder stabbed her sword down through solid metal.
They landed on the floor together, Roman once again cradling her and rolling them both violently to the side. Cinder shrieked, but a hail of gunfire and Uncle Qrow blurring over their bodies forced her back.
"NO! NO! NO!" Cinder screamed. "IT'S MINE! MY POWER!"
"She's off her rocker," Roman said, "Does she even know the one she's after isn't here anymore?"
"I don't think so," Ruby replied. "You really broke her."
And Cinder was well and truly broken. Screaming like a banshee, she lashed into Uncle Qrow, absolutely sure in the fact she could take him. Her eyes were wild, her hair a mess, and she hacked away at Qrow like a woodcutter at a tree. But trees stood still. Trees didn't fight back.
Trees didn't have twenty years' experience in combat over a person.
And Qrow was not a weak man. He parried every blow and drove Cinder back, disarmed her and kicked her toward Ironwood. The General of Atlas wasted no time in aiming his weapon and pulling the trigger. The first shot exploded on Cinder's back, the second did the same with a shatter of aura. Legally speaking, Ironwood should have lowered his weapon and arrested her. And, perhaps, in the official records to come it would be said that he had, and that Cinder had refused her opportunity to surrender.
Ruby had a feeling that Ironwood planting a third shot in her skull and ending her life would be one of those things she and her team were meant to keep quiet on. At this point, it hardly even felt like murder.
More like putting down a poor animal with rabies.
"Is it over…?" asked Ruby. "Is it done?"
"Nearly," said Roman, helping her to her feet.
And then clutching her to his chest and holding his arm over her neck.
"I have a hostage!"
Ruby groaned. "Oh, come on! Three for three!?"
Ironwood looked entirely unimpressed, and Qrow just a little confused. Ozpin, however, somehow in possession of his cane once more, simply waved his hand. "What shall be your demands then, Mr Torchwick?"
Eh? They were just going ahead with it…?
"I demand that myself and my associate be allowed to escape with our ill-gotten gains!"
"What gains?" asked Ironwood. "You've stolen nothing."
"Eh. We stole your flagship, of course. The fact we crashed it a moment later was bad luck on our parts."
Ironwood scoffed. "You expect the world to believe that?"
"Well it's either we stole your flagship and crashed it or you recklessly endangered the lives of the people of Vale by having it be boarded, taken over, and almost land on the city killing loads of innocent people." Roman let that thought hang in the air for a moment. "So, I stole your flagship. Right?"
"Yes." Ironwood hated himself for agreeing, but even he could see the diplomatic disaster that would be admitting anything else. Better to accept the humiliation of losing to Torchwick than be called out on crashing his owns hip. Heck, a lot of people had lost to him, so it wouldn't even be that big a blow. "Yes, you took over and stole my flagship. Damn you and your ways, Torchwick."
"Heh. That's what I thought. I also bested you and Winter Schnee in combat—"
"Don't push it!"
"Ah, fine." Roman rolled his eyes. "My second demand is that you put Red and her team through as many detentions as is humanly possible."
"WHAT!?" Ruby cried. "TRAITOR!"
"Granted." Glynda said, answering for Ozpin. "Very much granted."
"Oh, come on! It's not my fault I got taken hostage three times!" Ruby elbowed back into the meanie. "I am so ruining your reputation," she hissed. "Just you wait and see. I'll capture you in the most humiliating way possible!"
"Heh. I wouldn't expect anything less of my nemesis." He raised his voice. "My final demand is the death of Bartholomew Oobleck!"
"I refuse," said Ozpin, still smiling.
"Eh. Worth a shot. In that case I demand an hour's head start on running away."
"Much more reasonable." Ozpin waved his hand. "I reluctantly accept on behalf of Beacon and Vale. Let all who are here recall that we had no choice but to let him escape, and that he would have surely done terrible things to Miss Rose if we had not. Naturally, we had no choice but to negotiate with him."
"But he's right there!" Blake cried. "And Ruby isn't even frightened!"
"That'll be an extra detention for you, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin said. "My hands are tied. There is no way we can best him. He has won."
"No he hasn't!"
"There. Is. No. Way."
"But—"
Yang closed her hand over Blake's mouth. "We get the hint, sir."
General Ironwood snarled and holstered his gun. "I don't agree with this, but the night has been a shitshow already. Can we at least assume you don't have any intentions with the maiden?"
Roman grimaced. "Contrary to popular belief, Red and I have nothing going on between us."
"That's not what I— You don't even know what the maiden is. Do you?"
"Of course I do!" Roman lied, sounding just a little offended. He then said, "I just don't want to say what it is because it's super-secret. Wouldn't want the brats to overhear. Tch. Not know about the maiden. Me? You underestimate me, General."
Ironwood didn't look convinced, staring at Roman before rolling his eyes. "Let the girl go and piss off," he grunted. "You can have a whole decade's head start for all I care. You're not even important enough to chase."
Ruby had a feeling those words would come back to haunt the general, especially since Roman looked just a little huffy as he released her. Ruby wheeled on her heel and drove her fist straight for his balls, but he seemed to have expected it and dodged away.
"Feisty little hostage."
"I am not a hostage!" Ruby seethed. "And you better make good use of that hour, you asshole! Because I – Ruby Rose – will personally bring you to justice!"
"Huh. I thought your name was Red."
"I WILL SALT THE GROUND WITH YOUR ASHES!"
Headmaster Ozpin smiled to himself as Roman Torchwick took the offered amnesty and jogged off into the Emerald Forest with his assistant in tow. Long Memory was back in his possession, and the threat had been dealt with. As for Team RWBY, well, there were worse things to focus their time on than pursuing a criminal who had shown a vested interest in preserving his life and reputation by not harming his pursuers.
"Ozpin," James said, stomping over to him. "I hope to hell you have a good explanation for all this."
"I'm sure I do, James. I'm sure I do. Why don't we discuss it more in my office?"
That ought to give him time to think up some good excuses.
Last chapter in two weeks. This was always meant to be a shorter story comparatively – just some of an amusing jaunt of Roman being an egotistical idiot and having his own way.
Though when I say last chapter in two weeks, I mean three because of the awards ceremony I have to run. Welp.
Next Chapter: 8th October
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