"Freaky, ain't it?" Mercury didn't sound too afraid; more so slightly unnerved. Emerald didn't blame him, because if that was an illusion, then it was a pretty damn creative one.
"And supposedly, she isn't limited to just one person."
In Emerald's own case, she could only deceive one person directly at a time, but here they were up on the rooftops watching Neo stroll away from the trap Cinder had set for her without a care in the world. Seeing as she couldn't have known they were watching, Emerald had to assume the illusion was visible to everyone.
"Damn." Mercury handed out a long whistle, smirking as he shot her a sideways glance. "She's like a superior you."
Emerald rolled her eyes to that. For as true as it was, if the rumors were to be believed, Neo only ever dealt in death. Not that it meant she'd explicitly take up killing jobs, such as contracted assassinations and the like, but rather that all her illusions involved her dying in some way. Few believed the rumors in full, with most thinking that maybe Neo would just fake her death beforehand to catch her opponents off guard. And yet, for every trap Cinder had drawn her in, they got to watch Neo die over, and over, and over again.
She always stood back up, shattering like glass and erasing every wound that had once slathered her body.
"You got the video?" Emerald asked, and Mercury raised up his scroll, shaking it carelessly with a grin.
"You bet."
"Good." Casting one last look out, Emerald backed away from the edge of the roof. "I'll ring her up in a second and see if she spots anything this time."
"I doubt it." With a noticeable lax in his posture, Mercury dropped his bottom upon the edge of their outlook, leaning back and basking in the moonlight. Sure, he was subsequently soaking himself in the rain, but he never really did care about getting dirty or wet, much like Emerald herself. His voice carried that same attitude of 'talk to me later' that she'd long grown accustomed to. "Besides, it's not like anything noticeably different went down this time." He chuckled a little after that, adding, "you think Neo's finally caught on to Cinder's meddling?"
"Definitely." Emerald wouldn't even lie; with how overtly Cinder's commands were, Neo would need to be an utter moron not to know it was her who'd constructed all these events. "But that hardly matters."
"You're right." Mercury smiled lazily, leaning forward and pulling himself to his feet with a grunt. Dusting off his soaked trousers - as if any dust remained in this rain - he settled into a loose, but still playful, pose. "Besides, Cinder doesn't plan on doing anything different either, right?"
"At least you're paying attention." He was right though, not that Emerald would ever tell him that directly. Cinder was well aware that Neo was onto her, but there was no reason to do anything about it. Both Roman and her were at Cinder's beck and call, otherwise they'd be dead. Sure, Neo was forced to face trap after trap, but she'd survived all of them. That same ending would not occur should she directly rebel; Cinder would end her life personally.
Cinder wasn't actively trying to kill her per say; rather, she wanted to discover the secret to Neo's sensibilities: as in, why did she let herself "die" during every encounter.
That, at least, was how Emerald herself saw it. Only Cinder herself knew the real reasons behind the attempts on Neo's life, and the chances of her spilling the beans before she got what she wanted were a step below zero. With this in mind, Emerald ceased their dallying and made the call, ready to, once again, question if their leader had made her sought after breakthrough.
.
.
Biting her lip and glaring at the screen, Cinder had, once again, been left in a spot of bother.
Oh sure, the idiots carried out their contract flawlessly, and as expected of her, Neo took the drive. Not that it really mattered much; Cinder suspected Neo was more than aware of her tampering, and that drive would serve to muddy the idea, albeit in a way that would, simultaneously, stick Roman for a loop as well. The pair of crooks were inseparable, but still ultimately necessary for her plans going forward.
However, Neo was a liability, and thus would need to be dealt with before all was said and done.
Her scroll made its little routine rings aloud, jingling to tell her Emerald was on the line. Taking the call, she let all irritations and tension fade from her face. Despite her constant blabbering and kissing up, Cinder found it amusing how totally Emerald had devoted herself to the cause, that being Cinder herself. The woman wore that same serious mask she'd always had on for business, unlike Mercury, who'd appeared natural and careless in any given situation.
"Ma'am." Emerald nodded, and Cinder gave a pleased smile, even if she knew her own eyes betrayed any sense of genuine kindness. She'd always had this sultry edge to her visage: resting bitch face, as her less favored of allies came to calling it. Regardless of how questionable her natural approval appeared to others, Emerald and Mercury always knew when she was truly pleased.
She'd lay off on any direct critiques, for now.
"I see the ambush went off without a hitch."
"Of course." Emerald kept a calm expression throughout. "However we weren't able to spot anything in regards to specifics about her semblance."
"That's fine." As much as she loathed her next words, Cinder knew there was no reason to claim otherwise. "Regretfully, I don't have anything on my end either."
She'd say she hated it wholeheartedly, but that wasn't quite the case. Neo was, and forever will be, a threat to be exterminated. This didn't mean she needed to outright hate the woman; far from it in fact. Cinder, although none would ever be permitted to know, somewhat respected Neo. Her power, her fearlessness, and her unique habit of always letting herself appear to die was... intriguing, to say the least.
In some regards, Cinder pitied Neo, for it was clear from a glance that she'd not had the kindest of upbringings. She herself knew the scars a troubled past left, and regretfully, she'd found herself almost feeling merciful towards the little minx. Problem was: mercy was a luxury she could seldom spare, especially towards one who aptly needed to die.
Neo, unfortunately, held within her hands both the capability to rise up against her, and the reasons to seek rebellion. She loved this stupid city, and its equally idiotic quirks. Because of this, it would be a mistake to allow her to keep going; that was just how the cookie crumbled.
Killing her would be done when it was necessary, though, as for right now she needed the overgrown ice-cream cone to see her assault of Vale through.
"Right." Emerald held it back, but she shared in the disappointment that Cinder bore. "Shall we be executing another event, or will we lay off for a bit?"
"The latter." Cinder answered, leaning back and falling into the sofa that had come with the hotel room. While not the most appropriate place for one so powerful and important as her, Cinder knew she'd need to make due. "No need to rush things. As of yet, she's still got her uses."
"So... about a week, give or take?"
"Yes." That didn't sound so bad: give the girl some time to laze about before tossing her to the metaphorical wolves again - or perhaps a literal pack this time. "You're dismissed."
"Of course." Emerald may not have known it, but Cinder saw the way the corner of her lip twitched on one end. She was, at least a little, relieved by this decision. Tired goons made for sloppy goons, and Cinder would hence keep an eye on how much she pushed her gremlins. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Letting her saucy voice drop off into a casual spit, she allowed a brief fatigue to fill her to the brim as she commented, "now get out of the rain; I can see it rolling down your neck."
She couldn't have two of the only useful henchmen within her spoils put out of commission via something so stupid as a cold.
"Or course." And with that, the call cut, and Cinder instead replayed the video Mercury had sent her. Once more she was greeted to the sight of Neo's untimely death, before her inevitable revival. She'd offer up points for detail; it really did look like Neo had been run through with the knife. Now if only she could get the answers she really wanted.
Why did Neo always let herself appear to die?
This had been bugging her since the third 'test' on the woman's life. Neo would make it through every battle, but every time she used her semblance, she'd always chosen to "die" first. In the beginning, Cinder believed it a quirk. Maybe Neo just liked scaring her opponents. However that couldn't have been the case. She pulled the same damn stunt every time she got into a fight, and rumors of her habit had become so widespread that casual crooks of the underground had up and dubbed her the "Ghoul Princess."
Not a name Cinder herself would have chosen, but a good enough descriptor nonetheless.
Neo pranced about like she owned the place, and the overly gruesome displays she'd left in her wake appeared so real that people, even knowing it was the act of an illusion based semblance, actually believed she'd come back to life, as if it were just that easy for a single woman to wake from death.
Realistically, it shouldn't have bothered her, but Cinder couldn't shake the feeling there was more to these "resurrections" than meets the eye. But to prove this the case, she'd need to discover just how Neo's semblance really worked, and her best bet was discovering the reasons behind the Ghoul Princess's gory play. The first time she'd seen it had been during a botched transport, where one of the morons of the White Fang had triggered a massive dust explosion which killed seven of their kind. Neo had been caught in it, and her partially disintegrated corpse fell before Cinder's own feet.
Oddly, Neo had turned and seen the goober trip up on the second story grating of their warehouse walkways before the box containing the explosive dust fell to the pavement below, and while she could have tried to dodge, Neo had merely crossed her arms and put on an annoyed look.
Losing a decent pawn had been mildly irritating, especially as Neo had been so fun to watch, but soon the girl's body shattered into a perfect replica of her original state, and she stood, wiping herself off casually. It had intrigued Cinder in a way no one else had, and thus she opted to press the extent of Neo's semblance, just to see how it functioned. Hence, she'd learned only one thing for certain.
Neo's "deaths" were the secret to her life.
.
.
"Welcome home Neo-!" Roman's playful smile fell into shock, before waddling off as he cringed. Seeing him make that ridiculous little 'oh' with his lips did not improve her instantaneously soured mood. She held her nose fiercely with her free hand, glaring through quickly forming tears.
Roman, in turn, paid out a wary chuckle, rubbing at the back of his neck as she backed up and he opened the door fully.
"Ah... heh heh. Sorry about that."
Well he should be, but she had a feeling he knew that already. Neo had been going for the door handle herself, thinking that maybe he was off complaining to himself about something stupid in their living room, so no one could blame her when the sudden opening of their front door caught her off guard and damn near broke her nose. Okay, so maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration, what with her aura having recovered on the walk back, but it still hurt her nose dammit! Blasted thing stung like a hornet, and Neo was already thinking up methods of payback.
But that was action for later, and after refraining from letting the few treacherous droplets edging along her eyelids fall free, she stepped inside with a huff. Roman just sighed, rolling his eyes as he shut the entrance behind her.
"Oh come on. You're a big girl now; considering the fights we've been getting into, that little snock couldn't have hurt that much."
Excuses excuses; had he been paying better attention he would have known she was too close to the door. She had been considering some dry clothes, but she knew how much soaked couch cushions irritated the man, and so opted to forgo any cleaning up. That was what Roman earned for his lapse in judgment; besides, she'd dry off after an hour or two, so she didn't care about messing up the living room - Roman was the one cleaning it anyways.
Heading into the kitchen, Neo replaced her rage with a better, more apt substitute. Fending off Cinder's lackeys again, while not all that rare, at least rewarded her with more spending money. Sure, Roman got them everything they needed, and personally picked up whatever she wished, but some things just felt better to get yourself.
Ice cream was one of those things.
Stepping into the living room, she was aghast at the sight before her. Roman, there, sitting on the sofa like nothing was the matter. This travesty in the making would not fly by Neo, and she quickly went to work. Diligently, she laid her bowl on the coffee table just before the couch, walked right around - earning an eye from Roman himself - and stared hatefully at the offending object.
A miniature beowolf figurine, slightly worn and with half its paint scratched off, lay on the floor by her usual spot.
Grumbling soundlessly under her breath, Neo reached down and rescued the toy from its carpeted resting place. And, with the steady hand of a surgeon, gently stood it back on the stand to the left of the couch. With that settled away, she whipped back around, crossing her arms and stabbing her partner and father over, and over, and over again with all the smoldering rage her glare could muster.
Roman, though, merely cocked a brow for a second. He hadn't been paying that much attention to why she was so furious; just heading in to crash on the couch for the night. She came in with her bowl, as she always did after a long day, and was staring at him all sookie like. He wanted to call it a glare, and he would have if he was any ordinary man.
Problem was, all Roman could see was a cute little pout.
Neo saw the smirk behind his flat expression, just knowing he was probably laughing at her. She straightened her posture, stepped back, and pointed sternly at the toy. Roman finally appeared to have caught on.
"Oh, that." He squinted, rubbing his chin. It took a bit, but he seemed to have put the final puzzle piece in place. "Ah." Leaning back on the couch carelessly, and rolling his wrist, he pretty much dismissed her very valid concerns. "Let me guess, it got knocked over again?"
With a rusty nod, Neo watched him breathe tiredly, as if she wasn't upset by that too.
"Look." He began, leveling a plain, careless gaze. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't try to knock it over. You know I like vacuuming the carpet twice a week." His lips curled, more than a little disgusted. "Although I'm probably going to tidy it up again tonight when you go to bed."
Neo didn't budge, and so he leaned forward, letting that carelessness tip off into a touch more of genuine remorse. He knew how much her toy meant to her, but he just kept forgetting to move it. The problem wasn't that he knocked it over, but rather that he couldn't be bothered to check half the time.
Sitting with a huff again, Neo took her bowl and began angrily scooping a mix of butterscotch and chocolate into her mouth - they were all out of her usual favorite the last time she went shopping, and so she had to make due.
"Don't be like that." He tried, but he'd get no mercy from her. "That thing's tiny; heck, it fits in your palm effortlessly. Can't you just, I don't know, put it in a glass case or something next time? I didn't even see it on the floor until you just picked it up."
Sliding her sights over to him, she noted how Roman wore his 'forgive me' face. Neo debated for a bit in her head. She was mad, yeah, but her toy was also, just as he said, small. There was a good chance he hadn't seen it, legitimately, and this wasn't a case of him not wanting to get off his ass. Eyeing him one more time provided that pitiful look again, and Neo finally gave into her more... shall we say 'lenient' side.
Swinging her spoon in the air, she pointed to the TV.
"Glad to know you're seeing reason."
Yeah yeah, whatever matchstick. There wasn't any "seeing reason" about it; she was just so merciful that it would be weird if she didn't forgive him. Letting herself sink in the cushions, she watched as Roman flicked through the channels. Not much caught their attention, other than Roman's soaps, but apparently that wasn't on tonight, and so they were surfing the waves of public broadcast.
"In other news, three men were found dead tonight in what authorities are calling a gang related incident."
"Huh." Roman settled on the news... how original. Neo didn't care, but soon did when she noticed where the reporter was standing. "Hello~" Roman leaned in, shooting up a grin across his lips. "Hey, Neo, you didn't happen to hear about any of this, did you?"
Hear about it? No. However she did just so happen to be there, killing three men earlier. Huh, what a strange coincidence that would never be officially mentioned publicly. Not that she cared all that much; the dribble those newscasters were peddling was old news. And so, with a swift hop to each step, she jollied on over and clicked a single button on their old fashioned TV.
Did they have the money for a much better one? Yes. Did they have a superior safehouse, one which they'd lived in before candle-cunt began having her way with them? Also yes.
Roman, upon seeing she hadn't turned the thing off, but instead flicked it to the input channel - a channel reserved in some of Remnant's older style of television boxes for connecting to and viewing additional content with the aid of additional peripherals - leaned back with a cocky hum.
"Got something special for tonight?"
Oh yes, yes she most certainly did, and upon setting her scroll up, she connected it via cord to an adaptor which fed into their TV. From here, she whipped out the flash drive, shaking it teasingly at Roman before punching it too into the adaptor. This allowed her scroll to sift through and read the files stored on the device, and upon seeing only a single video present, she opened it up, and the image mirrored on both her scroll, and their TV.
Neo, cheerful as could be, merely muted her scroll, set it down, and let the TV do all the work. Plopping her backside down in its designated resting place on their sofa, Neo prepared for the show, with the unbreakable joy of a six-year old child.
The scene opened up on Cinder herself, and Neo internally cheered at having finally caught the bitch with something she could actually complain about. Before it was all background bullshit, and mainly suspicion, but thanks to this, she could prove that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Cinder was doing double-duty.
"My congratulations to you. If you're seeing this tape, then that means your mission was a success, and our... undesirables, have been granted their pink slip."
Internally, Neo squealed, which was an odd experience when she never had a voice to begin with, so she just imagined Cinder's own voice crying out in pain, which only made the little, outwardly dubbed psycho, all the happier.
"Huh?" Roman tossed a glance, half grinning as he thumbed to the picture. "Never thought she had it in her to congratulate anyone."
No, but Neo was just waiting for what was to come. Finally, Cinder would be revealed and Roman would have no choice but to flee with her, and Neo herself wouldn't even have to do a thing. Running away was the first suggestion, but without proof that Cinder was targeting them outwardly, Roman had been too cautious as to try their luck, hoping that, maybe, Cinder was just someone who looked like she'd slay you regardless - the woman had made it clear in previous encounters that she'd kill anyone who tried to betray her or run away, so that itself was always the last, penultimate option. Maybe that's why she couldn't feel Cinder's death anywhere in the near future; perhaps they're not the ones to kill her in the first place.
Both returned their eyes to the screen, and the recording continued.
"I really should be thanking you in person, Neo." And just like that, all her excitement died. Contrastingly, the Cinder on screen gave a soft sigh, leaning back and interweaving her fingers. "Alas, I have work to attend to. What? Are you shocked?"
She was, but she couldn't exactly tell that to a recording. Well, she thought, there goes our reason to run. Roman wouldn't risk it without proof that their benefactor was trying to murder them, no matter how many suspicions they amassed. Proof was everything in his eyes, and Neo had learned just how true that statement was. But that was a problem for another day, and so she settled, disappointed, back on the recording.
"I assume you must be, seeing as you've most likely just taken the device with this recording on it from the cold, dead hands of the ones I would be asking you to kill. Sadly, I couldn't make it a formal request. No, no, I need both you and your little handler, Roman, working on other duties." A devious smirk crossed Cinder's features, and Neo's blood boiled. "But I have a feeling this will get to you anyways. The lowlifes you've just assumedly killed were rather jealous of you for supposedly stealing all the glory of the higher paying "gigs" so to speak. I believe they'd once worked under your man, Roman himself, although you'd have to ask him about that."
Neo shot a hard, almost betrayed looking glare at her dad, who tossed on his thinking cap, accentuating the appearance by stroking his chin with both his index finger and thumb.
"Huh... That doesn't really narrow it down." Roman shrugged. "Meh. They couldn't have been that important if I can't even remember them."
Not that important, eh? And yet, those unimportant jerkwads were capable enough to kill her - granted, that was mostly Cinder's plotting in the background, along with destiny sticking its dick up her ass yet again for the umpteenth time in a row. But hey, Neo still had to blame someone, and her life would have ended had she not stepped outside of time to say no.
But Roman didn't know that, and deciding her anger was best spent on the target in her eye, Neo returned her attention to the recorded image of that target, who clapped her hands together and threw out that irritatingly punchable smirk.
"Knowing them, they've probably conjured up a moronic plan to try and get the drop on you, as if that will have any effect on Vale's Ghoul Princess." Some fake laughter, and soon Cinder relaxed. "But what's done is done. You know... they really did come to me asking for help with securing other gigs, and so I told them, "if you can get this flash drive into the hands of Roman Torchwick himself, I'll consider sending one your way."
"Oh boy." Roman covered his eyes, exhaling exhaustedly. "So that's how she did it."
"Seeing as you're Roman's favorite little helper, I've assumed they'd just try and use it as an excuse to get to you. Knowing those bozos, they'd attempt killing you regardless of what they were told, rather than take the sensible route and just bring this drive to Roman himself. At this point you'll kill them, and find this flash drive. Everything thus comes full circle in the end~"
Cinder then, weirdly, stalled, before switching up the tone entirely.
"Actually… maybe not. Roman, if they really did just hand you this drive and you're seeing this, then I guess you now know the details of what I want done. I lied about their potential gig, and I want them dead. I... I suppose this is a little embarrassing, but just... just toss this mission to Neo. Have her be a dear and do them in for me, if you please."
Roman snorted, laughing under his breath, and Neo just had to go along with it. With nothing but a pout, she crossed her arms as the recording suddenly ended. Really, she'd expected Cinder to throw some extra nonsense about quality somewhere in the end, or even a reminder of their job. But no, it just stopped, right on the image of Cinder looking slightly uncomfortable.
Sometimes, or rather many times, Neo wondered what people saw in the lady.
"Ha! Never thought I'd see the day where Cindy herself was forced to admit a mistake." His giggling soon fell off, and with one more calming breath, he leaned his head back. "But I guess it's better to cover all avenues. Ah well, seeing as the news is currently covering three mysterious deaths, I wouldn't be wrong in assuming her prediction was spot on, would I?"
Neo puffed her cheeks, suddenly not feeling the urge to munch down on her remaining frozen treat. Picking it from her lap, she set it on the table before her, and sank deeper into her space. Roman, at the very least, seemed able to tell she wasn't in a joking mood, and wisely changed the topic.
"Ah well, dead is dead I suppose." His voice took a turn, which earned Neo's interest as he began to sound irritated. "Besides, kicking the asses of three goons beats dealing with an annoying runt any day."
Ah... he was still on about that? Lifting her own brow, Neo didn't know whether to laugh, or just wave him off. Roman had been whining about "Little Red" for weeks now, to the point he was well beyond that of a broken record and more akin to a factory press with how much he copied the same points over and over with his constant blabbering. Sheesh, would it kill him to just get over her already?
She got the point, "Little Red" was a menace who'd caught him with his pants down.
Things tend to get old when repeated constantly, and while Neo loved the regularity of their lives before Cinder weaseled her way into them, she wasn't all that receptive to Roman spending the night bitching when he should be doing more important tasks, such as making sure to schedule their appointments at local casinos and the such.
But with how things were going, they had little time to party or gamble, not when Cinder was demanding every drop of dust in the bloody kingdom.
Resigning herself to fate yet again, Neo relented on any form of reaction, taking the remote and flipping the TV back to its regular channels, content to just let Roman talk himself into a rut. He'd tire out eventually, and Neo would simply tune him out; if it was anything important, he'd tap her on the shoulders or something, like he usually did.
Letting Roman's voice drone in the background, and increasing the volume of the TV, Neo settled on some cartoons.
Heh heh… the funny bird was outrunning the coyote again.
Author's note
...
Okay, so here's another one.
L&K still isn't done, but I got this finished up anyways, so you can have it. We have a moment with Cinder herself this time, and from the looks of it, she isn't aware of how extreme Neo's power is. Granted, nobody knows but Neo, but whatever.
Roman shows himself, and Cinder gets the one-up in the end. Neo wanted proof, and yet Cinder pulled some nonsense out of her backside. Oh well, at least they get a supposed week or so of freedom from the half-maiden's meddling.
With the dynamic set, we can soon start getting into things.
We got a bit of lingo in here too, so I'll quickly translate for those of you who don't get it:
- Snock: think like a cross between a smack and knock. Akin to a bop, but harder.
- Sookie: pouty and whiny, somewhat like bitchy, but a touch more innocent and harmless - usually reserved for describing children when they act up.
That's all for now.
Until next time.