46

Chapter 46: Rekindle

Downtown Vale, Roman's Safehouse

"You want how many guns?!"

Neo watched from the couch as Roman paced around the living room, yelling into his scroll. It was a rare instance where he wasn't in his full suit, decked out solely in his black shirt and slacks. He'd yet to replace his missing bowler hat and ruined jacket, deciding to lay low after the whole Paladin fiasco had ended with his name plastered all over the city.

Somehow (he'd wager a solid bet on Little Red and her freak parade ratting him out), the Atlassian Military knew that he was the one who'd gone on a rampage down the westbound highway. According to the news, despite throwing cars around like freaking children's toys, bizarrely no one had died, so he didn't have any murder charges headed his way. But given the numerous broken bones, major concussions, one unlucky bastard in a coma, and two miles of wrecked freeway, Roman felt that staying the hell away from anything resembling the public was an even better idea than normal.

So, he'd spent the last few days relaxing (i.e., recovering) in his safehouse. Aside from Cinder calling to scream at him, he'd had all the time in the world to just kick back, lie down…

...and try to figure out what the hell he was going to do about his newly discovered… conflict of interest.

Not that Neo knew what that was. Sticking around just in case a bunch of cops busted through the door, she had spent the better part of three days binge-watching TV, listening to Roman muttering as he putted around the apartment, eyes always glued to his scroll. Anytime she shot him a questioning look, he'd just wave her off, saying it was 'personal'. Whatever that meant.

At least, that's what he had been doing. Then Taurus called out of the blue and had managed to make Roman both pissed off and freaked out in a nanosecond.

"What do you even need that many guns for, we have hundreds of 'em! ...what do you mean you can't use them, we have a warehouse full of 'em!"

Neo strained her ears, trying to hear what Taurus was saying. To her annoyance, the White Fang leader was keeping his tone calm and quiet.

Neo cocked her head when Roman suddenly laughed lowly, grinning smugly. "Oh… Matchstick finally pulled your leash, didn't she?"

Once again, Neo had to question Roman's sanity. Cinder and Taurus were two of the most dangerous people she'd ever met, and she was convinced that neither of them were all there. Yet, time and time again, Roman antagonized both of them at every chance he got. He either had a death wish, or he was just as crazy as they were.

Whatever Taurus said in response, despite being just as quiet as before, it quickly wiped away Roman's mirth, replacing it with uncomfortable worry. He covered his face with his hand, groaning. "Look, Bully Boy, you can't just spring this on me on such short notice. I'm good, but I'm not a miracle worker."

Taurus said something else, making Roman throw his hands up in exasperation. "It doesn't matter how much money you can pay me, I can't just pull eighty machine guns out of my ass!" He paused, listening to Taurus. His face slacked, looking rather stunned. "That's a lot of money." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head violently. "No! No, I… ugh… look, I'll get back to you, alright? ...yeah, next week, I get it, just… whatever, bye!"

Roman clicked his scroll off, then just stared at it for a moment. Letting out a frustrated growl, he flopped down on the sagging couch, leaning his head back as he threw an arm over his eyes.

Neo eyed him curiously. What he'd said made no sense. She knew off the top of her head at least three places she could steal twice that amount of guns. Heck, for one of them, Roman wouldn't even need her help, he could do it himself. Why make it sound like it was so hard to do?

"...of course that's what he wants, what else could it be but…"

Neo raised a brow. Roman was grumbling under his breath again like he always did when he was agitated. Trying not to be too obvious, she tried to listen in.

"...gotta be going after Kitty-Cat… but then, Little Red and Sunshine will show up, and Taurus will go after them… but, Matchstick is already gunning for them, so they're already screwed… aw, Dust dammit, WHAT THE HELL DO I DO?"

Neo jumped as Roman suddenly slammed his fist down on the armrest of the couch. He breathed heavily through his nose, glaring up at the ceiling so hard, Neo was surprised it didn't burst into flames.

Hesitantly, she leaned over and poked him in the shoulder. He looked over at her, his green eyes smoldering in anger. She gave him her best 'what-the-heck?' expression.

He held her stare, then let out a deep sigh, like he was exhausted. "Trust me, Neo, it's beyond complicated. But the short and vague of it?" He waited for her to roll her eyes, glaring 'go on!'. He turned back towards the ceiling. "I think I'm growing back the one thing I really do not need right now." Roman scoffed to himself, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "A conscience."

Neo's eyes widened, incredulous. It was one of the few moments she wished she could talk, wanting to get in his face and say, "After all the things I know you've done, now you grow a conscience? Over what?!"

Roman either didn't see or didn't care about any of this, just staring at the ceiling. Then, with a disgusted groan, he pushed himself off the couch. He walked over to the window, staring out at the Vale skyline. Shifting his eyes a bit, he could just see the edge of Beacon Academy.

Neo watched him from the couch. Then, at the edge of her hearing, she could just hear him mutter,

"...dammit, Sis…"

Confused (she'd heard Roman use a lot of nicknames, but never that one), Neo frowned as he turned around and lifted his scroll back up. Leaning against the windowsill, he flipped his thumb across its surface a few times. Then he just stared at it intently, his brow furrowed in apprehension. With a huff, he scowled up at the ceiling, as if the heavens themselves had offended him.

"I can't believe I'm doing this… Neo."

Unprepared, Neo flinched as Roman's green eyes bored into her. 'What?', she asked with a tilt of her head.

Roman pointed at her like he was giving an order. "Don't distract me during this."

Neo glowered at him. He did not just say that to her.

Again, Roman either didn't notice or didn't care. He looked back down at his scroll like it was an active bomb. With a heavy sigh, he tapped the screen, then pulled it apart, widening it for video.

Through the translucent blue screen, Neo could see the cursor spinning, trying to connect Roman's mystery call. She narrowed her eyes at it. Something was going on here besides the usual business, and she was getting sick of Roman keeping her in the dark. He told her not to 'distract' him but didn't say anything about listening in.

After ten seconds passed, Roman groaned, glaring at the screen. "The hell did I expect?" he grumbled to himself angrily. "Like she'd keep the same number after seven-"

DING!

At the sudden tone, Roman stared dumbly as the words 'CONNECTION ESTABLISHED' blinked across the screen.

"Holy shit…" he breathed.

The blank screen blinked to life, and Neo could see… she wasn't quite sure what, to be honest. Through the reversed, blue-tinted view she had, she thought she could see someone in a mask. She thought it was a White Fang member at first, but she didn't recognize the design.

"How did-" A rough, female voice came across the screen, sounding seven different kinds of angry. The woman cut herself off suddenly, Neo thinking she could just barely see her red eyes widen through the mask's eye slits. Her voice lowered to a stunned whisper. "Roman?"

Roman, who had been staring incredulously at the screen after it had opened, suddenly broke out into the widest, most honest smile Neo had ever seen from him. It disappeared in an instant, replaced by his normal smarmy grin, but Neo knew what she'd seen. Not that it made any sense. "Yes, I'm sorry. I'm trying to reach tall, dark, and ill-tempered. Could you please direct me?"

This was apparently the wrong thing to say. Whatever shock Neo could see through the woman's mask vanished in an instant. Her red eyes narrowed, a sharp breath of disbelief sounding across the connection. "Seven years, and that's the first thing you say?"

Roman shrugged, not caring about her anger in the slightest. "Oh, I can think of a few other things, but that seemed the one least likely to make you kill me."

The woman scoffed. "What do you want, Roman?"

Roman adopted a fake look of confusion. "What, I'm not allowed to call a friend now and then?"

A flat look was her response.

Roman held her stare for a moment before, to Neo's surprise, his smirk fell away. He rolled his eyes and huffed. "Look, I need a few things clarified and… maybe I need some advice." He looked slightly ill at the end of his sentence like the words had left a bad taste in his mouth.

The woman gave a startled, disbelieving laugh, which she cut off almost instantly. "You need help? From me? Now?"

Roman scowled at her, growling. "Well, considering the subject matter, my only other options were Musclehead and Bird Brain. Considering how well things went last time I talked to them, you seemed like my best option."

The woman paused, eyes suddenly wary. "What are you talking about?"

His scowl faded in favor of an annoyed glower. "I'm talking about the mini Summer and blonde you I keep running into."

Red eyes widened. The woman quickly turned away from the screen, looking up and behind herself. "You've seen Yang and Ruby?" she hissed.

Roman couldn't help but scoff. "Seen," he muttered humorously. "Yeah, you could say I've 'seen' them. Unless someone cloned you both. Or they're both robots." His eyes suddenly lit up with almost manic hope. "Are they robots? Please tell me they're robots. That would make everything so much easier."

The woman just stared for a moment. Neo couldn't tell what she was thinking behind that mask, but she seemed agitated. Not that unusual for someone talking with Roman, but it didn't seem to stem from anger or annoyance so much as worry.

Suddenly the woman's eyes narrowed. "Are you alone?" she asked forcefully.

Roman blinked. He glanced up from the screen, green eyes meeting Neo's mismatched pink and brown. "Nooo…" Roman said slowly, looking back down at his scroll. "There's one person with me."

Red eyes narrowed further. "How trustworthy are they?"

Roman gave Neo another look. He moved his shoulders side to side as if weighing his options. "Honestly?" With a shrug and a sigh, he turned away from Neo, pointedly avoiding her eyes. "At this point, she's the only person I trust right now."

Neo's brow shot high, her spine straightening in surprise. This was news to her. As far as she knew, Roman didn't trust anyone, not even the guys who worked for him.

The woman didn't seem convinced, her voice lowering. "But can I trust her?"

"What?" Roman asked with a smug grin. "You don't believe me?"

"No," came the blunt answer.

Roman pouted at the screen, then smirked. He looked back towards Neo and winked. When he turned back to his scroll, Roman's smile was almost too wide. "Cross my heart, I swear she won't say a word."

Neo gave him her darkest 'you-did-not-just-say-that' look.

"...fine," the woman said after a moment, apparently accepting Roman's word (She must not know him that well then, Neo thought idly). "I'll be there in a second."

Roman blinked. "Wait, what?" His eyes bugged out when his scroll went dark, showing only a blank screen, save the words 'CONNECTION LOST' flashing in the corner. "Rea?" he questioned uselessly.

Neo tilted her head at him, just as confused. The mystery woman made it sound like she was coming to them. But, how? Roman didn't tell her where they were.

Roman squinted at the screen. "The hell's she mean she'll be here in…" His face suddenly went slack in realization, paling. "Oh, is she gonna-Gah!"

Wa-wumpwumpwump…

Roman fell back in fright as what looked like an angry red storm cloud formed in front of him.

Every hair on Neo's head stood up as her instincts told her to move. What felt like an electric charge passed through the room, and the cloud, which had now spread out and turned flat, continued to make the most unreal noise she'd ever heard. In a flash, she shot to her feet, parasol in a death grip as she backpedaled away from the Hellmouth in front of her.

As easy as walking through a door, the same woman Roman had been talking to stepped out of the cloud. Once she was out, the cloud-portal-whatever snapped closed with an audible crack.

The woman's eyes scanned the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. To the dismay of Neo's pounding heart, red eyes locked onto her almost instantly. A chill ran up her spine as the woman rested her hand over the gigantic scabbard on her hip.

One of the things Neo prided herself on, and something Roman was always eager to exploit, was her ability to size up an opponent. No matter the situation, all it took was a quick look over someone for her to know how a fight would go. Whether it would be no effort, a hard-fought victory, or if she'd need to regroup.

As this woman in black and red armor stared her down, red eyes seeming to burn right through to her very soul, Neo's senses all said the same thing: run. She wanted to shatter and flee, as far as she could go, because fighting this woman would be her worst, last mistake.

"Ugh…"

The one-sided staredown was broken, mercifully, by Roman's groan as he pushed himself to his feet. The woman's gaze slowly shifted towards him, and Neo breathed a silent gasp of relief. Taking the distraction, she bolted into the kitchenette, peeking over the counter as Roman turned.

"Jeez…" he muttered as he dusted off his pants. "I forgot just how creepy those things were." He looked up, green eyes meeting red for the first time since the woman's arrival. To Neo's dismay, he smirked. "Raven," he greeted, his tone much too relaxed for Neo's liking. "Long time, no see."

"Roman." The newly dubbed Raven looked the conman up and down, eyes trailing over his bandaged arm and scabbed forehead. The corners of her eyes crinkled in what Neo guessed was a grin. "You look like crap."

Roman chuckled, much to Neo's surprise. "Yeah, well… that tends to happen when a mech starts blowing up around you."

Raven nodded, a smirk in her voice. "I heard about that. Surprised me a bit, to be honest. Last I heard, you liked to stay out of sight."

Roman's smirk changed to a scowl. "Didn't exactly plan on getting my face plastered on the evening news." Then he gave her a confused look. "Surprised you didn't already hunt me down once you heard."

Raven tilted her head slightly. "Why would I do that? You made it fairly clear last time you didn't want our help anymore."

Roman's brow shot up, confusion evident. He opened his mouth, only to immediately snap it shut. His eyes trailed up to the ceiling, both nervous and contemplative as he slowly paced back and forth across the tiny living room. "Okay, so you don't know everything. That, um… huh. Not sure if that complicates things or not."

"Roman…" Raven said in a warning tone. "Start making sense. Now."

With a groan, Roman threw up his hands in mock defense. "Fine, just… I'm trying to figure out how to phrase this without getting stabbed." He suddenly grimaced in annoyance as he met Raven's eyes. "Could… could you lose the mask already? I see enough of those damn things as is without you hiding behind one."

Raven glared for a moment, before rolling her eyes. Grasping the bottom of the faceplate, she pulled the mask off in a single fluid motion, her long locks falling unrestrained around her face.

Without meaning to, Neo sucked in a sharp, silent breath. Swap out the black hair for blonde, and this Raven woman would be the spitting image of the girl Roman had dubbed 'Sunshine'. Though, looking hard enough, she noticed that the woman's face was slightly narrower than the blonde teen, her chin a tad sharper. Still, the resemblance was uncanny.

Running a hand through her unkempt mane, Raven fixed Roman with an annoyed stare. "Better?"

Roman grinned. "Being able to see all your dark beauty again? Much."

"Roman… Talk. Now."

A groan passed Roman's lips. "Ugh. Fine. Just, uh… promise me something?"

Raven raised a suspicious brow. "What?"

Neo watched as Roman looked around awkwardly. "Uh… don't kill me?"

Raven's eyes darkened dangerously. "Roman, I'm losing my patience."

"...please?"

She glared at him hard, then relented reluctantly. "Fine. I promise."

After the tense moment, Roman sighed. "Look, how much do you know about my little… mishap Saturday night?"

Frowning, Raven crossed her arms. "Just what the news has been saying. That you stole an Atlassian warmech and went on a rampage down the freeway. That a bunch of local hunters stopped you, but you got away." Her flat stare became a glare once again. "That you're lucky no one died, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered asking for your arrest and gone straight to 'shoot on sight'."

Roman swallowed nervously. Okay, didn't think about that last one. "Did they give any specifics about the Hunters I fought?"

Raven's eyes narrowed. "No…"

Roman chuckled with little humor. "Well, the thing is, those Hunters weren't really Hunters, exactly. They, uh…" He shrank slightly when he saw Raven tilt her head. "They were actually a bunch of Beacon freshmen?"

Raven looked confused for all of a moment before her eyes widened in realization. Her arms dropped to her sides. When her eyes narrowed, a red light seemed to build in them.

A bead of sweat trickled down Roman's forehead. "Wanna, heh… w-wanna guess which ones they were?"

Neo's instincts went haywire as she watched Raven's eyes go from glowing to burning. Her shoulders tensed, her hands clenched into fists. With a look that screamed murder, she took a step forward.

Roman backpedaled instantly, throwing up his hands in panic. "Rea, wait!" Raven paid no heed to his words, rapidly closing on him with every step. Roman kept backing up until his back hit the wall. "C'mon, you promised-gah!"

With terrifying speed, Raven's arm shot out, her fist connecting with Roman's mouth so hard his head whiplashed off the wall. Before he could hold his aching jaw, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down the three-inch height difference. Nose to nose with him, she snarled. "What did you do, you idiot?!"

"Nothing!" he shouted with panicked green eyes. Realizing just how stupid that sounded, he instantly relented. "Okay, something, but… Look, all I wanted was to make sure that Little Red and Sunshine really were who I thought they were. Things… just got a little out of hand!"

Raven responded through clenched teeth. "You attacked them with a twenty-foot war machine."

Roman swallowed. "Okay, a lot out of hand. I was getting desperate! ...could you let me up, please? You're killing my spine!"

Raven held him down, giving him the fullest view of her blazing eyes. With a growl, she shoved him away, taking a step back. "You have one minute before I make you regret calling me. Explain, now."

Roman rubbed his sore jaw. "Kinda do already," he muttered under his breath. When the glow of Raven's eyes seemed to grow deeper, he quickly started to explain. "Look, I'll give you the short version. 'Bout a year ago, this chick shows up with a job for me. Real easy stuff, just stealing Dust and guns. Except, she offered me stupid money to do it, so long as I don't ask no questions." At this point, Roman started pacing back and forth around the room, not even looking at Raven as he spouted his tale. "I do a good job, don't go sticking my nose where it ain't supposed to go, she offered me more jobs. This goes on for a few months, I get them more stuff, I get the best paydays of my life. Everyone's happy, life is good."

"Then," He chuckled with a hint of mania. "Then one day, me and the boys go to hit this little mom-and-pop store. Things are going great when suddenly one of my guys goes flying across the store like he was shot out of a cannon. I turn around, and right there in the middle of the store is the second-coming of Summer, silver eyes and all, slicing and dicing my gang with a freaking scythe bigger than she is." He barked out a laugh, throwing his arms out wide in mock amazement, fueled on by Raven's look of disbelief as her eyes followed him around the room. "And ever since that day, every freaking time I turn around, she and her little freak parade have been right there, screwing everything up."

Raven's eyes narrowed, her confusion outweighing her anger. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Roman stopped pacing, his voice rising as his words slowly turned to ranting. "She just keeps showing up! I try to knock over this little mom-and-pop store, suddenly she's there kicking my guys' asses. I try to move some stuff at the docks, she shows up and kicks more of my guys' asses! I go to a freaking recruitment rally for the White Fang, her Kitty Cat girlfriend is there, and sure enough, five minutes later, she shows up to kick my ass, this time with her big sister in tow."

Raven hummed to herself, taking in the information. How she felt about it, Neo didn't know. The woman's face never seemed to change from 'mild interest' aside from the slight smirk. "I'll admit, it's odd that you keep crossing paths. But what did you mean by knowing 'if they were who you thought they were'?"

Roman shrugged. "It just seemed way too weird. All these years and suddenly Summer's kid shows up, just to start screwing with my life? It wouldn't be the first time someone I pissed off tried to mess with me. I figured she was either a lookalike or a robot." At Raven's unimpressed brow, Roman got defensive. "Hey, I know there's at least one running around that looks human! My employer's going nuts trying to track down who it is."

At that, Raven frowned. "Who exactly are you working for?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "A bunch of ill-tempered crazy people with too much money and delusions of grandeur." Waving the subject off, he continued. "Look, the point is, I needed to know if Red and Sunshine were the real deal. The Paladin might have been a bit overkill, but it worked."

"How?"

Roman grinned like he was a genius. "The eyes. Made them both mad enough at me to give an honest angry look." He chuckled while looking up as if reminiscing on a happy memory. "Blazing red and deep silver, giving me a death glare at the same time. Only two other people who could pull that off."

After taking a moment to digest Roman's story, Raven shook her head with a slight grin. "Still, you let things reach that point before calling one of us? Tai or Qrow could have cleared everything up with a scroll call."

Roman snorted. "Yeah, that would have gone well. They probably would have told me right after Musclehead beat me to a bloody pulp and Bird Brain stabbed me a couple dozen times. They don't exactly like me, Rea."

Raven just shook her head, deciding not to push the issue. "So, you convinced they're real yet, or do you need me to confirm it?"

"No, but maybe you can clear something up for me." He crossed his arms, now frowning. "Maybe my math's off, but the kid's only fifteen, right?"

Frowning, Raven nodded. "Yes."

Roman threw his arm out in exasperation, gesturing towards Beacon's spires shining off in the distance. "Then what the heck is she doing here?!"

Raven looked out the window, following his hand. After a moment, she smirked slightly. "Apparently, she got early admittance by impressing Ozpin."

Roman scoffed in disbelief. "By two years? The heck did she do?"

"Single-handedly stopped an armed robbery."

Roman blinked. Rapidly. His shoulders fell, and his face went slack. "Please tell me you're joking."

Raven's widening smirk was all the answer he needed.

Roman facepalmed with an audible smack! "You have got to be kidding… no, you know what?" He threw up his hands, grinning like a madman. "That… That makes perfect sense. Of course, that's how she got in. Of course, that's how she started showing up all the time." He laughed, and Neo couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or if he somehow genuinely found the situation funny. "I did this to myself!"

Raven apparently thought it was the latter, sporting the largest grin she'd gotten since entering the room. "Sounds like it."

Roman chuckled to himself, before taking a deep breath. "Well, thanks, I guess. The age thing was my big hang-up for why she was here. But…" The humor on Roman's face faded, leaving him with a troubled frown. "Now that I know she and Sunshine are the real deal, that leaves us with one hell of a problem."

Raven sighed. "I didn't think you called me just to reminisce."

Roman grimaced. "'Fraid not. It's about Little Red and Sunshine. I think they're about to have all hell rain down on them."

Raven's lips curved down in a slight frown, her eyes turning sharper. "Why?"

"Remember the ill-tempered employers I work for? Well, I ain't the only person who works for them. The other one is Adam Taurus."

For the first time, Raven looked genuinely shocked. "You work with that psychopath?"

"Oh, so you've met him," Roman commented with a smirk. "Technically, yeah, though I try to stay out of his way as much as I can. The guy is not all there… which is kinda the problem. You know the cat Faunus on Little Red's team?"

Raven nodded, unsure about the change in subject. "Yes…?"

"Well, after Red and Sunshine blew up my Paladin, which, by the way, I stole for the White Fang originally, Taurus called me to ask what the hell. After I mentioned Kitty Cat, he completely flipped his lid. I thought that seemed a little extreme, even for him, so I started poking around. Asking some White Fang members with loose lips if they knew anything."

"I assume they did?"

Roman chuckled darkly. "Oh, big time. Turns out, little miss Blake Belladonna? She's Taurus' ex-Mate."

Raven's face paled. "Oh… no…" she groaned, putting a hand to her face.

"Oh, yes," Roman confirmed, his smile just shy of a grimace. "Little side-note: since I had no idea what 'ex-Mate' really meant, I looked it up. Which lead me to another discovery." He cocked a brow at Raven, some humor bleeding into his grin. "The Faunus princess and the Schnee heiress? Girls can't do anything small, can they?"

Raven didn't answer, just giving another groan. She slowly lifted her head, face tight with resignation. "Any idea what he's going to do?"

Roman shook his head, resuming his pacing. "Vaguely. Right before I called you, he called me asking for me to find him no less than eighty machine guns by next week. He's planning something real bad for his ex, and if Red and Sunshine are as close to her as I think they are…"

"They're going to be right there in the thick of it," Raven finished, looking both troubled and annoyed.

Roman nodded, breathing out a chuckle. "Yep. So… you need to get them out of here."

Raven blinked in surprise, her shoulders tensing up. "What?"

"Get them the hell out of Vale." Roman started gesturing as he spoke, completely missing the blindsided look on Raven's face as she watched him move. "Send them back to Patch for a couple weeks. Or, hell, hide them with your band of not-so-merry men."

After a moment of stunned silence, Raven looked off to the side, as if in contemplation. "Roman…" she tried to say, with a look Neo could only describe as apprehensive.

Roman didn't notice, talking more to himself than Raven as he continued pacing. "Look, Taurus is beyond pissed. Get the girls, have them take their little girlfriends, and make them disappear for a while."

"Roman."

"Our employer's probably ticked about this already. I rat him out to her, she'll yank his leash hard, and then maybe-"

"Roman!"

The conman flinched at Raven's sudden yell. "What?" He whirled around, being faced with Raven's blank face.

"I… can't do that."

Roman cocked his head, frowning in confusion. "Why not? Just call them and tell 'em…" Roman trailed off, suddenly looking thoughtful as he stared at Raven's tight expression. His face slowly slackened when he realized Raven was refusing to meet his eyes. "No way…" He shook his head lightly, eyes narrowing in denial. "They still don't know?"

Raven turned back with a slight scowl, now looking Roman dead on. "Why are you surprised? They didn't recognize you."

Roman stared at Raven with something akin to shock. "Are you…?"

From behind her mediocre cover, Neo watched with wide eyes. Up until now, the exchange between Roman and his apparent friend made little to no sense to her. He'd been trying to kill those girls from Beacon for almost a month, and now he was trying to protect them? Why? And who was this woman, who Neo had a sneaking suspicion could end her before she even realized it? What was her connection to those girls? Better yet, what was her connection to Roman?

All these thoughts came to a screeching halt when Neo saw Roman's face change. Ice filled her veins.

She'd seen a lot of Roman's sides over the few years she'd known him. She'd seen him frustrated, happy, annoyed, disappointed; she thought she had seen him angry. When she saw his face now, though, she realized she was wrong.

Roman was livid.

"Are you kidding me?!" he shouted, loudly enough that Neo worried about other people in the building hearing him. Roman apparently didn't care, actually taking a step forward so he could tower over Raven. "I… I am a criminal mastermind wanted in nearly every Kingdom. I expect you to leave me out. You… I…" He spluttered, his words running together in a raging jumble. He took a deep breath, but it just seemed to fuel the flames. "Thirteen years! The three of you couldn't grow a pair between you in thirteen years?!"

"It's not that simple-"

"It's really fucking simple!" Roman cut off Raven's protests before she could even start. "Do… do they know anything?"

Raven held his desperate glare evenly, no emotion on her face. "Yang knows that I'm her birth mother."

Roman waited for her to go on. When she didn't, he waved his hand with a bewildered look on his face. "And?"

Raven gave no answer, save her eyes flicking downward.

Roman's form slumped in disbelief. "So… they know nothing." He then scoffed with little humor. "Except that there's another mother mixed in with all the crap they were told. Yeah, I'm sure that totally didn't confuse the hell out of them."

Raven's face suddenly darkened, her lips set into a firm scowl. "Why do you even care, Roman? You left before all of this."

Roman gave a sharp bark of a laugh. "I left because I didn't want any part of this convoluted mess. But I thought, at some point, you all at least would think to… but no. No, no, you… you three just stuck to this, didn't you?" He scoffed, his smile bitter and scornful. "Wow. You three really were lost when Summer disappeared, weren't you?"

Neo blinked. That name again. Who was Summer?

Now it was Raven's turn to step forward, nose to nose with the conman as her eyes blazed. "That is not fair, Roman." Her voice came out as an angry hiss.

Roman was too angry to be afraid. "What do I care? It's true! You all heaped everything on her, your great fearless leader, and the moment she was gone, you all fell apart."

"How can you judge us?" Raven fired back, going on the defensive. "It's not like you did any better. Losing Summer hurt all of us, but we tried to make the best decisions we could. You just cussed us out and left."

Roman grit his teeth, snarling. "Well, I'm sure it was damn easy for you to keep your stupid plan going without her! It's not like you missed much."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" They were right in each other's faces now, screaming. "Why would you think losing her would be easy on any of us?!"

"Because you all just lost a teammate. I lost my sister!"

Neo's mouth fell open.

Raven's eyes blazed, her whole body coiled like a spring. She looked like any second she was going to launch herself across the room to beat Roman senseless, or worse. But just as Neo was about to make the suicidal move to try to stop her… it ended. The burning glow faded from her eyes, her shoulders relaxing as she dipped her head down, arms falling limply to her sides. All traces of aggression bled out of her in seconds, replaced with a look of… Neo wasn't sure what. Sadness? Bitterness? Regret? Neo was so baffled by the sudden change, she almost missed it when Raven muttered quietly.

"...I lost more than that, Roman."

Roman kept up his glare for a minute. But without Raven's fury to feed off of, it didn't last long. His face fell, not sad exactly, but… resigned. With a huff, he turned away from Raven, falling back onto the couch. He placed his elbows on his knees, burying his head in his hands with a groan.

Raven watched him for a moment, looking unsure of what to do next. She looked towards the door, then the window and Neo wondered if she was going to just leave. Then she slowly panned back towards Roman. With a small sigh, she walked over and sat on the opposite end of the couch, her Nevermore mask sitting in her lap.

As the two sat in awkward, tense silence, Neo's mind raced. Roman had a sister? How did she not know this? Well, the answer was pretty obvious: she wasn't around anymore. He'd said she'd 'disappeared', but Roman had eyes and ears all over Remnant. The only way he didn't know where she was as if she was purposefully hiding from him… or she was dead.

Neo felt a twinge of pity for Roman at the thought, frowning lightly.

Seconds ticked by as the two… were they even friends? Neo had no idea… continued to ignore each other. Raven stared down at her mask, fingertips trailing over the intricate designs in random patterns, while Roman just stared down at nothing. He'd let one of his arms fall limp, propping his head up on the other. Neo felt another twinge. They both just looked so… drained. Defeated.

"...we are going to tell them."

Roman looked over at Raven's quiet admission, only able to express mild interest in the form of a raised eyebrow.

Raven didn't look at him, instead staring at her mask as if it was the focus of her thoughts. "After Ruby got admitted early, Tai and Qrow suggested it was a good a time as any. We're going to tell them after Ruby turns sixteen."

Roman gave her a long look, then turned away with a scoff. "In other words, they strong-armed you into telling. You still don't want to."

Raven frowned at his dismissal. "There's no reason to. They're all grown up." She hesitated, her voice growing a touch softer. "They don't need a mother anymore."

"Bullshit." Roman's curse held no anger or scorn, just the bluntness of cold fact. "You just know they're going to be pissed when they find out they've been lied to all this time." He smirked when she scowled slightly. A chuckle passed his lips. "Mistral's badass Bandit Queen, scared of a couple of teenagers. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic."

Raven slowly turned to face him, her expression blank save for her narrowed eyes. "...I could warp you to Tai's front room right now."

Roman held her stare for a moment. Then his eyes hardened a bit, his smirk growing. "...you know what? Go for it. Knowing him and Qrow, this might be the one time the three of us are on the same page."

Raven held his gaze, before looking off with a grunt. Roman chuckled at her, then leaned back on the couch, putting his arms behind his head. "Well, even if I believed you, that won't work either. If Taurus gets his way, Little Red, Sunshine, and both their little bed buddies won't make it to the end of next week, let alone Red's sweet sixteenth."

Raven stared down at her mask, arms crossed. She then sighed, looking to Roman reluctantly. "So what do you suggest?"

Roman scoffed. "Hey, you're the Brainy Bird, not me. I had a plan, but you just blew it all to hell with your long-ass game of 'missing mom'. It's your turn."

A growl escaped Raven's lips. "Do you at least know where Taurus is?"

"No," Roman admitted with a shrug. "But I know how to find out. Bully Boy wants me to scrounge up eighty guns before next Saturday. If I'm lucky, either he'll be there for the drop off himself, or his right-hand man will be."

Raven hummed. "What will you do if it is him?"

Roman grinned carelessly. "Shoot him in the back of the head and run?"

Raven scoffed, even as her lips twitched. "Even you're not that stupid."

The grin widened. "You can't prove that."

An actual laugh passed Raven's lips, soft and nearly soundless, easily mistakable for a sharp exhale. She looked thoughtful for a moment, asking, "You do know that if Taurus goes down, you'll probably lose whatever deal you have worked out with your 'employer'?"

Roman hummed. "Maybe. But even if I do…" He smirked at her. "I've given a lot of expensive goodies to Taurus and his goons. If he suddenly went 'poof!', the White Fang will lose their shit. Meaning, all that Dust, the guns, the money, the toys… all just sitting there while they freak out, nobody paying attention? I'll make five times the money I was paid to steal it by selling it over again."

Raven raised a brow. "...that your only reason?"

"...the only one I'll admit to." If possible, Roman's grin turned smarmier. "Besides, things are getting a little… heated between the three of us. Might be better for my health if I end this with a bang and disappear."

Raven smirked in response. "Okay. You find out where Taurus is, maybe we can stop this before it begins." Her eyes then darted up. "What about your friend over there? Will she keep quiet about this?"

Roman followed her gaze. Neo, who was still crouched behind the counter, flinched away at the unwanted attention, mismatched eyes darting from him to Raven with nervous energy. Roman gave a wide grin. "Neo? I told you. She won't say a word."

Neo's eyes widened, screaming 'are-you-kidding-me?!'. Raven noticed this, saying to Roman, "I'd feel better hearing it from her."

Neo squirmed as Raven looked to her expectantly. Her fight-or-flight response was shouting at her, and all she could do was give Roman her darkest death glare. Raven, in turn, sent Roman a questioning look.

Roman looked between them, acting confused. Then he let out a long "Ohhhh," his mock-understanding ruined by his giant grin. "Did I forget to mention she's mute?"

Raven's eyes shot wide, only to narrow sharply. Her response matched what Neo was thinking perfectly.

She whacked him upside the head.

Hard.

Betaed by Covert Weapon

Old A/n: Confused? Good.

Obviously, the Raven and Roman from my story are WAY different from their canon counterparts, for good reason. When I started this story, Roman had just become Grimm chow, and Raven had barely been seen in the show. If they seem OOC, Raven in particular, that's why. I want to keep them somewhat accurate to their Canon personalities, but both of them have lived altered lives from their Canon versions, so I have to reflect that.

Honestly, though? As hard as this was to write, it was still really fun having these two characters bounce off each other, especially since they never interacted in the show proper.

Poor Neo. I need to be nicer to her at some point.

Next chapter, some bonding between elder siblings, some insight on Yang's mindset, and Ruby freaks everyone out by being accidentally awesome.

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