So this is what it's like to die...
To be surrounded by complete and utter darkness, both unable to move and... wet?
Let's be real here; Cinder finally assigning her to Mountain Glenn should have been the kicker which knocked some sense and caution into her. Neo had, unsurprisingly, been moved over to aid the White Fang in their job of loading up the train with dust, grimm, and perhaps most critical of all: explosives.
But she'd never noticed any of that, as her mind had been, as it was during most of her down time, directed elsewhere. Granted, she didn't expect her last peaceful moments before everything went up in smoke to be spent texting the equivalent of 'good night' to Ruby.
"Sounds loopy."
"He's not that bad."
The conversation had derailed into their personal opinions on the actions and behaviors of one Bartholomew Oobleck, whose immense intrigue in history and ravenous, downright insane need to detail and break down the facts for his students had put him in a rather sticky bind. Nothing too serious, honestly, but going from one hundred to zero, only to crank it back up seventy percent or so had left the girls in a state of perpetual "huh?"
"How do you even catch what he's saying? Back in class it was all a blur for me." Granted, Neo treated his oddities much like she had RWBY's. Maybe it was true what they say: huntsmen life was two sips of scotch away from being a stand-up routine. But even Neo could only enjoy the silly nature of Remnant's defenders so much before it became worrisome.
"I don't. Please don't tell anyone."
Neo wouldn't, but keeping a secret came with its cost, and right then she'd began fingering through possible plans for repayment. Sadly, Neo had to brush those ideas aside, because honestly, Ruby was a student; AKA, she was broke.
Ain't no way she could afford all that ice-cream.
"Fine, but you owe me."
"I have 3 lien."
"Ooooh~ Now we're talking!"
"Miss Politan? Miss Politan, are you here?"
But as fate would have it, her fun with Ruby had come to its unsatisfying conclusion.
"Sorry, gtg. Pops is calling me about something."
"Np ttyl."
Shoving her scroll where the sun don't shine - her pocket, you creeps - Neo slid off the crate she'd been sitting on, plopping down to the floor silently, and subsequently freaking out the boy ahead of her by tapping him on the back of the neck; kind of a dick move on her part, but that's what made it fun.
"Oooo!" Flailing around for a second, the young murderer in training whipped back with his gun drawn, but Neo already had her hand on the barrel and had begun lowering it down. Midway through, and proving that not every peacock of the Fang was a total idiot, the boy registered her presence. "Oh..." Clearing his throat, his voice deepened into a mocking show of toughness. "Oh, Miss Politan, there you are."
Neo let go, giving the lad a polite nod whilst holding back her laughter; geeks like this always tried to act tough around pretty girls, and who could ever stand toe-to-toe with her in that regard? Still, sexiness aside, none of these goons would be coming after her without a reason, especially since she had a reputation for self-inflicted necromancy - turns out these overzealous types were somewhat superstitious... or maybe it was just the White Fang.
"Mister Torchwick requests your presence; he says it's urgent."
Mister Torchwick, huh? She had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes. The highs and lows of which Remnant's criminal underbelly scaled between was astounding. This one in particular was trying excessively to sound prim and proper, and while ridiculous, she couldn't help but admire his effort; not enough to give genuine respect, but enough that she didn't instantly write him off like she had so many others.
Bidding him to lead the way, Neo followed the nobody all the way out towards the end of the train and into the last car where she saw Roman standing right there waiting.
"Glad you could make it," he greeted, using one hand to shoo away the boy beside her, leaving them in solitude. Roman seemed to note her chipper mood. "Someone's happy today."
Neo nodded, and he shook his head dismissively, but with a smile.
"Ah... You know, sometimes I wish I could share in your casual disregard of mortal danger." He scoffed near the end, pouting. "It sure beats fretting over Cinder's wrath."
Patting him on the back, Neo offered her sympathies by recounting through sign language that she too found the woman an insufferable bitch. Earning her chuckle from Roman, the man rolled his eyes without a care in the world.
"Yeah yeah; it's the same all around, I see it." Settling into a less jumpy state, Roman went on to explain himself. "Anyways, there's been a change of plans I needed to let you know of." His lips twisted into a mocking snarl. "Guess who it's from."
Neo mocked choking down a spike.
"Yep; she's still a real sucker." Collecting himself again, Roman's eyes narrowed. "Cinder wants you watching over the dust compensatory a little further up from now on; apparently, you'll be no good left behind on cleanup. She said, and I quote, "Neo works best alone as the last line of defense." That mean anything to you?"
It meant Cinder wanted her to scare the shit out of whatever wayward heroes may have been spying on the White Fang.
Rolling her eyes, Neo nodded, but not before making a nagging puppet out of her righty. So basically, her orders were to not stay behind and ensure the under-city is cleared away of their presence, but instead to sit on her ass in a room full of dust for the next few days, apparently getting used to her new position. Theoretically boring, but it was only until the job was over. Roman and her would swoop out right after all the bombs went off, and in the ensuing chaos, they'd have the chance to bag some prizes from a few unsuspecting shops.
This might not be so bad after all.
.
.
With Neo making her way back up near the front of the train, Roman decided he'd take a breather. Cinder never did know the meaning of the word "restraint," did she?
At least the job's simple; suppose I should be thankful for that at least.
Giving thanks was for beggars receiving handouts, and politicians practicing new deceptive techniques for winning over their mindless voters. But Roman felt it was warranted this time, because they weren't being thrown into stealing every little scrap of dust again. Sure, Neo was probably plotting to rob a few places when scampered off during the show, but while they were there he could get a good look and see if any new materials were up for grabs; his poor Melodic Cudgel was in due for some fine tuning.
Oh, who was he kidding? First stop on Neo's list was the dairy aisle.
Honestly, he really should work on getting Neo out of her bad habits, but an ice-cream addiction stood a few notches above hard drugs, prostitution, and all manner of psychotic indulgences she could have started up instead. Technically, this little coping mechanism for boredom and other issues probably owed some credit to him. But really, what better way was there to convince a kid you were trustworthy than handing them a brand new scoop of classic chocolate swirl?
Damn him and his pity. The budding Roman Torchwick: totally unable to just ignore the empty stare of a lone little girl. Thing was, when you were staring down a blood-soaked street urchin sitting in the muddy alleyway just across from a burning church, how else was anyone supposed to react?
Would it help his case if he admitted she had his wallet in her hands?
Now, while Roman would have loved to continue arguing to himself on his trip down memory lane, he was released from that interesting trial of his early life by a couple of the boys.
"Hey, boss man." Roman, feeling a little merciful today, gave them a standard shot of attention - no secret lacings of disappointment here. "You might want to come and see this."
"Why, what is it?" Quickly following, Roman soon began to pick up speed when the second man explained.
"We were watching the entrance, like usual, when the ceiling caved in a few meters away. We rushed over to see if the roof had fallen down completely, but then we saw a little girl in the rubble."
"What?"
"Yeah, pretty weird, right? But that's not the strangest part. From what we can tell, she's human."
A human, out here? The fact she'd fallen in from the ceiling meant she'd been wandering around the city above. Nobody was insane enough to beg for a grimm attack like that, other than hunters. Bracing himself for a potential fight, Roman wasted no time with questioning and instead let the men lead him upwards. Crossing over a few pathways erected between the broken buildings of this dump, and up another little tunnel, Roman found himself shrinking inwards when he spied the commonplace splinter in his side, laying down flat and tied with basic rope; at least they'd taken some precautions before coming to get him.
"You again..." What a pain, running into Little Red here of all places.
"What should we do?"
"Grab her." Roman was not doing this tonight, especially when he had work to do. "She'll remember falling down here, so even if we bring her up top, she'll just wander back down while trying to see if falling down was just a dream. Kid's predictable like that."
The goobers caught on quickly, but one of them voiced their concerns.
"She might cause trouble once she wakes up."
"I know that." Roman countered, shutting the man down. Reeling back the sails of his mood, he laid out the facts of the matter. "But leaving her out here won't be much different. At least we have better ties on the train. Now move; I don't want her waking up before she's secure."
Oh Little Red... You never cease to annoy me.
.
.
Tonight just wasn't her night.
It was going so well too. Ruby had just gotten settled under the cover of her sleeping bag, but then everyone started going off about their wants, dreams, aspirations, and a whole other lot of things that revealed to her just how shallow her own reasoning behind becoming a huntress had been. Ruby wanted to be like her mom: a hero, both as a person, and to the people she protected.
It was a good thing Zwei was around; his dopey snout of worriless glee always made her feel better when things were beating her down.
Unfortunately, it was also Zwei who ended up leading her towards trouble, but she didn't blame him for that. Ruby was actually thankful for the family dog, as without him they'd be completely oblivious to the fact that the White Fang were working out of Mountain Glenn. Sadly, she didn't get the chance to do anything with that information.
How was she supposed to know the ground would collapse?
Ow... ow ow ouch. She hurt all over, but not enough to really double up in pain - not that she could at the moment. For some odd reason, upon waking up she'd been greeted with darkness, only to then spy a slip of light against the far wall. A bit of wiggling proved she'd been tied up, and her weapon was missing too - suddenly, bringing it along on the off chance grimm showed up had proven to be an unlucky call.
But binds were binds, and while she couldn't move normally, all it took was a quick zip and she was out - thank you semblance! Free from the lackluster trap, Ruby pressed herself against the wall, listening for anything that may be outside. When nothing came through, she took her chance and escaped through the crack.
Being grounded wasn't good when you didn't know where you were, so the first thing she did upon touching down outside was to zip up to the first perch she spied, which just so happened to be the top of her prison. Turns out, she was in a train, and now she lay flat on her tummy atop a car, peering over the edge of the other end and watching as the White Fang went about loading several other cars up ahead.
What's going on?
Was this where they were keeping all the stolen dust? She and the others already knew the White Fang was working with Torchwick, but she couldn't see him anywhere. You'd think he'd be around overlooking the operation. Well, it didn't matter at the moment; finding her weapon did. Assuming it was the White Fang who tied her up - because who else could it be - Ruby figured one of them might be carrying it. If not, then it must have been stuffed in one of the cars. In other words, her top priority was to pick a car and search it.
This was the string of thought which led her right on ahead and into the cargo hold carrying a certain someone.
.
.
Shit!
Like a deer in the headlights, Neo stared down Ruby, who mimicked her surprise.
"Uh..." lifting a hand and shaking it a little, the crimson-cloaked girl muttered, "Hi."
How Ruby got this far in... No, that didn't matter. However, her current circumstance here did. Neo may not have been sporting her Mint disguise, but both of them shared a certain spiciness to their actions and visible mood. Her gothic outfit in Beacon matched the saucy arrogance and playful nature of her usual array of characteristics; Neo was aware of this wholeheartedly.
Meaning Neo Politan, the incognito partner of Roman Torchwick, would need to act differently.
Thing was, Neo liked Ruby, and saw her more as that impressionable girl next door who, while ultimately childish, had done nothing to evoke the true wrath of Vale's Ghoul Princess. Ruby wasn't all that better it seems, as she lacked her weapon. Ruby had gone on during the second day of their "blooming friendship" about how adamant her family was about hand-to-hand martial arts combat, and how she wasn't all that good at it. Apparently, Ruby couldn't find the time or motivation to improve.
This was to say that, right now, Ruby wasn't exactly a threat, and the girl knew this.
Carefully, Neo returned the wave, blinking and tilting her head; never once smirking or smiling, but instead keeping a passive flat stare. Taking up a professional posture, Neo waved for Ruby to carry on with whatever she was going to do or say, and the little leader of Beacon's infamous team RWBY gulped.
"I... um, I don't suppose you've seen a contractible sniper scythe around here by chance, have you?"
Neo shook her head 'no,' and Ruby deflated a bit, keeping up her jittery guard.
"Right." The staring contest continued for another few seconds before Ruby opened up again. "Then... do you mind if I just have a peak around?"
Neo's response was to make a shooing motion with her hand, indicating clearly her denial. If Ruby's weapon was anywhere, it would probably be a little further back; unless, of course, one of the Fang boys took it as a souvenir. Neo really wanted to question how Ruby managed to get down here in the first place; yeah, they weren't exactly far apart, but she highly doubted that Oobleck fellow intended his students to take a trip down to the abandoned city.
"You in here Ruby!?" And there it was: the cavalry had arrived. Based on the voice, it appeared as though 'big sis,' led the charge, barging in from just behind the little one through the door on the other end. Ruby whipped her head back just in time to see Yang, before the woman shot to her side, quickly checking for wounds, and returning her glare forward. Great, now she had two children to contend with, which became three, and immediately five - big teach himself jumped in last, leaving everyone in the midst of a classic Vacuan stand-off.
"Guys!?" Ruby was promptly handed her missing scythe, and before she could inquire, got her unasked answer from Weiss.
"One of the White Fang was carrying it in the previous car."
"How you doing back here Neo-" Roman froze behind her, and while he held back an obvious swear, Neo was struggling to conceptualize the sheer luck it took for everyone of any significance to all show up in this one tiny train car; all they needed was Adam and the whole gang would be here. Right at that moment, the train began to move, and Roman's apparent hopes for an ordinary night vanished, just like his positive atmosphere. "Oh for the love of-"
"Hands up, both of you!" Weiss called, flashing her rapier. "We have you surrounded!"
Really, they were just across from each other, but Neo wasn't wasting time explaining specifics like that.
"Why am I not surprised?" Roman sighed, appearing more annoyed than anything. Apparently, his lack of any immediate defensive action had the Beacon kids confused, because the dark-haired one, Blake, spoke up with a tough frown.
"What are you up to?"
"Well, obviously I'm on a little train ride." He tossed out, shaking his head and turning around; disregarding them as a threat. "Why don't you kiddies just hop off while you can? Believe me, you don't want to see where this ride ends."
"Not a chance!" Yang declared, taking a hard step forward and throwing up her fists, ready for a brawl.
Roman's immediate response was to slowly grab Neo by the shoulder, carefully lead her behind him, and slightly push her out the open back door, causing the others ahead to just... watch. Weren't they going to do something? Apparently not, because the teacher, Dr Oobleck himself, then tossed his thoughts into the fray.
"I'd advise you not to make any immediate moves; there are many of us, and apparently, soon to be only one of you."
"Glad you see it that way." Roman tapped his cane on the floor, making an almost playful pose, which just so happened to point the barrel at Melodic Cudgel's end towards the carrying crates containing all their collected dust. "But your math is a bit off there. The way I see it, there are none of us."
And as anyone in the know could have guessed, he took a pot shot right at the stagnant fuel, igniting everything and sending both Beacon's group and themselves rocketing out both ends of the train, crashing into the cars opposing the initial stand-off. Cheeky bastard face-tanked the damage, knowing full well his aura would be shredded. Unfortunately, so too was Neo's, but since she had significantly less aura herself, he didn't have much of a choice but to absorb most of the blow himself - well, he could have just let her body get eaten up, but he clearly didn't fancy that.
She sent him a look once they pulled themselves up off the floor, one that said "did you really have to do that?" which he translated flawlessly.
"Sadly, yes." Roman coughed, shaking his head and prompting her to follow as they took off towards the front of the train. "Red's a speedy little road-runner; best chance of us booking it out is to lay them down on their rear ends."
Personally, Neo would have just slowly backed out the door and closed it behind her, but then again, that teacher of theirs was supposedly smart, meaning he probably wouldn't end up stupefied like the kids would. Still, at least they'd put some space between themselves, meaning Neo had time to quickly text him a question. It pinged Roman's scroll, and he spared only a second's glance.
"And Cindy's dust?"
"Apparently this is what it's for." Roman's disappointment cut off when the train behind them rattled: one of the bombs went off, meaning team RWBY had realistically realized by now what the purpose of the train and dust was. Grinning, Roman picked up speed. "We'll let Cinder be disappointed by her decision later, right now we need to move. Let's hold out in the conductor's car until it's time to bail; it's easier to escape when everyone's distracted. That sound good to you?"
Neo had no qualms against it, but apparently, somebody did.
"Miss Politan." Not two steps inside their designation and she was being called on. Strangely, it was that same posh wannabe from before. He bolted over, glancing at Roman and laying down new orders. "Cinder wants you to ensure the train stays moving. I'm to join your partner in defending her post."
"Excuse me?" Roman scoffed, grumbling. "And when did-"
"I don't like it either, believe me, but Cinder was adamant about this."
"News flash, buddy, but the rules have changed. We've got a whole deck of weirdos on our ass, and right now the only thing keeping that scuffed pack of aces from dealing a full house on us is the fireworks show on display. We're moving ahead of schedule; the show's starting now."
"I know." Apparently, this kid wouldn't take no for an answer. "I contacted Cinder once I heard the commotion; these are her orders."
"You contacted-" Slapping his forehead, Roman brushed past the kid. "Whatever." Mumbling "idiots" right as he got up to the front, he turned back with a disgruntled snarl. "Fine. Do what you have to do; we'll discuss this later."
Neo had a feeling her dad had a more suitable punishment in place for these idiots after everything blew over; calling Cinder, while not damning, made things a whole lot worse. Perhaps had she stuck around after that, she might have heard Roman's blubber of confusion, as upon checking the call logs of the scroll he swiped from the kid while pushing past him, Roman noticed that no such call was made, and as he turned back to try and leave, he found the door barred from the outside.
But Neo didn't care about the strange actions of the young Fang killer, because she'd dashed into her assigned car all alone, more or less wanting to get everything over with, and sure she could hold out long enough for things to finish up. After a few seconds of radio silence from behind, she grew curious. Sure, the kid was slow, but she hadn't been that fast. Wanting to retrace her steps and see what was holding up the idiot, Neo ended up discovering she couldn't open the door back out.
A quick trip to the other end of the car provided the same results, and she knew then she'd been locked in.
This particular car didn't have any windows, but there was a latch in the roof; shame it was welded shut.
While Neo was in the midst of wondering what was going on, she heard something strange. It was minor before, so small you'd never hear it over the chaos, but during her trips around the car in search of a way out, she heard this faint sort of hissing, and a strange smell in the air. Focusing her ears, Neo creeped towards the right side, and noticed something wedged behind the few crates stacked up. Reaching in to take it, the strange object fought against her, but with a solid yank, she managed to rip it from its restraints.
In her hands sat a grenade now missing its pin... in a sealed room filled to the brim with stolen dust. That smell, from the looks of it, came from a broken pipe located right behind the crates, now visible due to her removal of the handheld bomb, whose pin sat on the floor below, with the string tied to it leading back and around the pipe.
Not the wildest trap she'd seen, but certainly a convoluted one; befitting of the White Fang.
In the scattered seconds before she ejected from her body on instinct, everything clicked for her, and she was afforded a single thought before the room lit up, eviscerating her body in its entirety, along with the train car as a whole.
Damnit Cinder.
Author's note
...
Whelp, we're going to see what happens when Neo loses her body entirely. Again, the pacing is rapid-fire, probably to the story's detriment. I'll probably readjust the speed of this tale a little going forward, but we'll just have to wait and see.
I don't have much to add this time, because the next chapter is where things start to go a little off the rails. This is were things start getting... funky.
Until next time.