Chapter 23: Sugar-lovin’ Killer Queen

This just wasn’t what she wanted. This was far from what she had expected for today.

But Blake perhaps should’ve expected things to go awry one way or another. Especially after she had dodged a serious bullet by letting Yang know about the truth.

With the blonde actually coming to accept this situation after forcing some agreements on both the Cat Faunus and Sid, there hadn’t been any of that explosive inferno that she had expected to happen when the truth was unraveled.

And because of that, destiny itself decided to barge in unannounced and fairly unforgiving as it dropped in an element of chaos itself.

The sight of an uneasy Adam tied up with ropes of all kind to a chair in front of her was surprisingly bringing plenty of unpleasant thoughts over what was going to happen now that he was here.

The first question that came to mind when this strange gift arrived at the doorstep was why, or rather who had decided to leave the former leader of the Vale Branch of the White Fang for them to deal on their own.

The easiest solution would’ve been to just press the Bull Faunus to speak about the matter. And much to their surprise, Adam himself had sounded quite eager as to reveal the name of his assailant… only to stop in a cold sweat as Sid noticed that there was something else written on the paper.

If this package decide to sing an unwanted tune, I will come and pay a visit to silence said package.

The subtle threat was easy to spot within the message, but the very sentence was more than enough to draw the usually brazen redhead to a complete stop.

Having removed his bandages covering his upper face, it was easy to see the dread spreading out from his blue eyes.

The scar created by the mark impressed years ago by the SDC was long ignored by the two other occupants in the room, with Yang mostly fussing over the fact that this wasn’t a stripper.

The brawler was quite inconsolable at the fact that she hadn’t been blessed with such an appeasing gift, almost whining over having not asked for one instead of the two favors.

But crying over spoiled milk wasn’t Yang’s specialty, and the girl was subsequently poking some questions at the restricted Bull Prime.

“So you mean to tell me that your semblance is based about taking damage and then turning it in firepower?”

Adam nodded quietly.

It was odd to see these two individuals share a simple discussion as if nothing was wrong with the situation itself. Maybe it had to do with Yang being reluctant in accepting that the guy tied to the chair and looking fairly frightened could be some devious and brutal leader to the White Fang.

Or maybe it was more correlated to the fact that she had been giving him a mirthful look since they had him put by the living room.

“I generally use my sword to synchronize with my Semblance. I can’t use it with my own body because of the Aura creating interference, so I generally have my weapon become the catalyst for my semblance.”

A giggle left the brawler’s lips at that, and Blake could tell that it had to do with the ‘similar abilities’ both shared.

“It’s kind of like mine then!” The blonde added with a small grin. “The more damage I take, the stronger I get as I use my Semblance.”

The Bull Faunus blinked in minor surprise, completely taken by the conversation and ignoring the fact that both Blake and Sid were discussing about this absurd development.

“They seem to be having fun talking with each other,” The young man pointed out with a curious look.

“Yang could befriend anything that has a brain and a smile. Especially if it’s a man,” The dark-haired beauty remarked. “I would say she is restraining herself well enough after we told her what Adam has done.”

He gave a quiet nod at this but then… he let out a perplexed blink.

“What do we do with him?” The human inquired quietly at the Cat Faunus, getting a shocked look from her.

“Call the cops and get him in jail?” The woman suggested rhetorically. “We can’t keep him in here.”

The young man tensed at the affirmation, possibly highlighting how his view of the situation differed from Blake’s.

“Oh, I’m against this myself as I really don’t want to house a potential terrorist with love issues,” Sid rebuked with a sigh. “But do consider the circumstances that brought him here. I think you can guess that there is only a group of people that could’ve done that.”

A grimace appeared on Blake’s face as she thought well over what the young man was alluding to.

What if this was all a ruse created by the ones that had kidnapped her back then? What if this was an effort to see the kind of reactions they would get at this sudden ‘offering’?

The more she thought about it, the less pleased she was by the ramifications of said theory. It would deepen up the extent of their reaches, and render valid the worry shown by Sid over this topic from the very beginning.

It was chilling to see how this could happen without a warning. And the idea that they were currently being monitored was enough to tap into Blake’s natural sense of paranoia and distrust over the world surrounding her.

“We- you can’t keep him here.”

“In a normal situation, I would agree with you… but I think it would be best if we keep him around to see what happens next,” The human rebuked grimly. “And before doing that, I think we should check if his reasoning about his attitude is legitimate or not.”

She huffed. “You can’t believe what he said. While I know Ilia could get possessive, I don’t see her doing something as devious… and to stay close to me.”

There was a moment of silence at this, with Sid offering a pause as Blake needed to think. She needed to think how someone she had trusted for long could’ve done something like that if this proved to be correct.

Adam was known to lie in his words, but this very case saw him being undeniably genuine about it. Something about his voice just struck her as the truth and… that couldn’t just be.

Ilia was violent, yes. She was rather attached to Blake, and the Cat Faunus was quite sure that Ilia had only had her as a friend.

Her thoughts were dropped to silence when she felt a hand reaching for her shoulder. Giving her a soft squeeze, Sid showed a calm smile as he waited for her to look up at him.

“I’m not going to accuse anyone you feel trusting like this,” He admitted with a hint of kindness. “I understand that it’s tough and… I can’t just relate with everything you have, so I will not throw any baseless accusations about it. But I wish to see if Adam said the truth or not, if we can trust him to behave well or not.”

…

Blake sighed in defeat. Yet she couldn’t actually attempt to reach out Ilia. Not after so much time had passed and… because of the fact that she had bailed from the Fang.

“I can’t call Ilia. She wouldn’t tell anything about this if it’s true- and I don’t want to ask her that so directly and-”

Sid nodded. “I was thinking of asking your father to check for any of these conversations Adam had with her.”

And that suggestion was easy to understand. Since her father was the Chieftain of Menagerie, it would be easy for him to check for any footage that could prove Adam’s alibi. While Menagerie didn’t have any surveillance system as the one here in Vale or in Mistral, it still had some cameras within the Chieftain Palace and other important buildings in the island.

But still-

“I can’t call my father for-”

“Either that or you can call your mother,” The young man interjected dryly. “Last time I did you the favor of talking to them about the current situation, but I can’t just become your intermediary to speak with your parents.”

Blake actually flinched at that comment. Last time she had promised that she would’ve taken it upon herself to speak with her own parents… but to think that the chance would come up so suddenly and so quickly just didn’t sit well with her.

Maybe if there had been some more notice and… time to ponder how she was supposed to tackle the matter.

But right now? She didn’t have that luxury.

With a little scowl pending on her face, Blake slowly retrieved her Scroll and started to go through her contact list.

The waiting time wasn’t even that long as Kali Belladonna picked up the call almost instantly.

“Hello? Blake dear, is that you?”

A quiet sigh. “Hi mom-”

“It’s so good to hear from you so soon, sweetie,” The woman said before offering a giggle. “I hope everything’s fine. Has been there any issues? Do you need something, hun?”

Her cat ears went flat at the prelude of what sounded to be a storm of questions. Yep, now Blake could remember why she had trouble calling her own mother.

“Not truly, mom. I just needed to check something on Menagerie,” The younger Cat Faunus answered quickly. “Something that I know Dad should be able to check on.”

“Hmm? Is it important? A document or a certificate for Beacon, or-”

“Security footage,” She replied again curtly. “It’s about a couple of conversations that Adam had with Ilia.”

“Did something happen?” Her mother swiftly inquired, knowing that the strange request warranted plenty of worry and confusion. “Did Adam try to hurt you or kidnap you again?”

“No, it’s… it’s just that… what do I tell her?” Blake whispered the last bit to Sid, feeling uneasy at how she was supposed to tell her mother about what had just happened.

The young man offered a quick sigh before taking the Scroll off the girl’s hands.

“Ms. Belladonna-”

“Kali, and hello Sid,” The woman corrected and greeted with a cheerful tone. “I hope everything is fine wherever you two are.”

“Things are mostly well, Kali,” Sid replied swiftly, knowing that wasting too much time would create just unwanted misunderstandings. “It’s just that we ended up receiving a strange gift in the form of a tied up Adam Taurus and… he said some things that got us thinking about issues at Menagerie.”

“Care to elaborate, dear?”

Blake frowned at the way Sid was explaining all of this so bluntly and without looking even just for a moment nervous of explaining this situation to her mother.

“Someone rung at the doorbell and we found him standing there with some ropes tying him up,” He continued calmly. “Blake and I think that it’s the same group that kidnapped her a while ago trying to play games at us and… Adam said some things that we just can’t confirm nor deny without checking on some security footage in Menagerie.”

“Is Adam still tied up?” The Belladonna matriarch inquired with a strange voice, getting a quick ‘yes’ from the young man. “Then, Sid, could you be a dear and take a photo of him right now?”

A smile twitched on the human’s face as he complied with the request. The dark-haired beauty was still confused as to what her mother needed with such a picture, but she still allowed this to happen.

After a couple of quiet seconds, Kali hummed giddily. “It’s quite ironic how he ended up in such a situation, at the mercy of my lovely daughter and- can you tell me who is the young blonde near to him?”

“Oh, that’s Yang,” Sid replied with a nod. “She is Blake’s partner.”

“Yang? Can I talk to her for a moment about-”

“M-Mom,” Blake interjected with a nervous voice. “Dad. The footage.”

Kali sighed at that, perhaps even shaking her head disappointingly at her daughter’s insistence.

“I will let him know about this once he’s back from a reunion with the head of the Bank. He should be back in an hour or so,” The fellow Cat Faunus responded. “So I don’t see any issues to not speak with the young woman.”

Panic exploded within Blake’s mind at that, knowing that disaster was now around the corner.

But instead of being ‘smart’ about this apocalyptic scenario, Sid did the unthinkable and turned to glance at the blonde.

“Yang, can you come here for a moment?”

The brawler’s lilac eyes turned to glance curiously at the young man, ending the conversation she had entertained with their ‘prisoner’ and leading Adam to stare at them too.

Blinking in surprise as she was offered the Scroll once she was close enough, Sid stood out of his seat by the couch to offer the seat to the girl. Yang accepted quietly the offer and brought the device by her ear.

“Hello?”

Blake felt the world growing colder the more she stood there doing nothing to stop this madness from completely unfold before her eyes and… she glared momentarily at the young man as he retreated to take Yang’s former seat by the lone chair in front of Adam’s.

She should’ve spoke with her mother on her own. Now she could see that this was all a ploy to punish her for being too hesitant in talking with her own mother. The smug look on Sid’s face was enough to cement this thought as the truth in her mind.

It was embarrassing already as it was after so much time had passed since she had a regular schedule to call both her parents, but now she was here to make damage control with what Yang was going to say now that she was speaking with Kali.

Sighing, the Cat Faunus began correcting Yang’s giddy approach at her mother’s words, knowing that the blonde had plenty of reasons to further tease her by speaking with the older woman in front of her. Especially if the topics of the conversation were centered around Blake’s bad habits back before the battle at the Docks.

She scowled, snarled, was close to a full mental collapse and… she groaned as she saw Sid actually entertaining a conversation with Adam while she was busy with Yang.

This- This was going to be hell to go through!

Goddammit Sid!

---------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d----------

~Neo’s POV~

Silently tip-toeing around the quiet room of the warehouse, Neo patiently waited for her boss to be done with the final calculations of the Vytal Heists.

Roman was drowned in the paperwork. This wasn’t the first time she saw the man delving so deeply in the planning side of their work, but this was possibly a rare occasion since the paper was far less than the usual workload.

Which translated in more free time that the crook got once he was done with this, and in Neo getting the opportunity of spending a break together with him. It’s been ages since she had the chance of having some time alone with Roman and… they both needed to chat about the recent developments.

This very thought was more than enough to keep her quiet to not distract the already-tired crime boss. The man had to deal with the unfair times for his heists, especially with Cinder pressuring him to do more of those despite the legitimate concerns over the police finally finding them.

But Cinder, being the massive bitch that Neo had learned to know and despise, decided to ignore Roman’s reluctance, preferring to offer another threat in case he failed to keep up with the schedule.

It was unpleasant, but Neo herself knew that there wasn’t much to do about it. Roman couldn’t defend himself from Cinder, and the short young woman was unsure if her own Semblance would give her enough edge to kill the dark-haired hag.

And that was if they ignored the two morons that brown-nosed to the bitch. Emerald would’ve been easy to dispatch, but Mercury would genuinely be an issue to put down. The young man, albeit cocky and somewhat stupider compared to his partner, still had a degree of battle analysis that rendered him a troublesome threat to kill.

He was also aware of part of her Semblance’s scope, which meant that any prolonged fight would see him get the secrets of her ability unveiled and countered. And that was incredibly far from ideal for both of them.

Still, despite the negative outlook over their near future, Neo was happy enough with the current state of things that she didn’t feel the need to gloom around and influence her boss. Not when he was already feeling down with the situation itself.

But while she lingered around in the purest act of silence, her mere presence was enough to bring a distraction to the tired man. It wasn’t that he was finding her to be an issue, or something he didn’t need to look at from time to time.

It was more of a… moment of utter tiredness. He had dealt with much worse than this, and yet the reason that got him to be reluctant to swiftly put an end to this paperwork was the unwillingness to think back at their current predicament.

He sighed, allowing his right hand to remove the spent cigar off from his lips.

“Neo,” Roman muttered quietly. His voice was just enough for the girl to pause in her aimless twirling and actually approach him.

Another sigh, and then he gave her a serious look.

This was going to be important. Neo could tell from the way he looked so active and drained at the same time.

“You know that when Vytal turns towards its end, we will be dealing with a situation that might see us both dying,” He started crudely, drawing a surprised look from his henchman over the matter. “Which is why I want you to promise me that, when the time comes, you will abandon your position and leave Vale altogether.”

…

What?

Her mind short-circuited at this sudden order. It was so absurd- no, it was insane.

She would never dare to abandon her position in no circumstances, and yet her boss was asking her to do this… why?

A joke? Was this an attempt to a prank? Maybe Roman’s mind had been so stressed that he really needed a walk after all.

A long one. One accompanied with a large amount of relaxing ice cream.

So she stared tensely at him, hoping for him to deliver an affirmation that would confirm these last words to be wrong. That those were stupid, fake, and not worth to be ever thought about.

But there was just silence and the crime boss was staring at her with an intense look. It was the same intense look from back then.

She could remember it, the time when she had been so young and hungry. So desperate and so… hopeful.

He had been there, holding out a cone with her favorite ice cream. She had been wearing a large shirt as her clothes, having long forsaken a normal life by becoming a street thief.

When she stole from Roman… the man didn’t yell at her. He didn’t rush furiously and with the intentions of punishing her.

He merely cornered her by a dead end and… crouched in front of her. His eyes were so intense, but instead of the tired scowl that he had now, she was blessed with a dazzling but kind smile.

“Look at you. A diamond in the rough,” He had said with so much interest and caution. She had been so nervous, so tense… and he had been so careful to not scare her with sudden actions. “I’ve this ice cream. I wanted to try it since some of my stupid goons said it was good but… you can keep it.”

It became her favorite Ice Cream flavor, from the very moment she took a lick at the delicious snack.

From there, the downhill that had been her life changed in a complete rise to better days.

New clothes, a proper room, her own food, her own toys and… her own good life.

She was happy for some time… but then things changed when people started to rally against Roman.

He had been softer than now. He had offered mercy and kindness to those that really needed it.

Some of the hardliners in his original gang didn’t like it. They wanted a tougher boss and… a brief civil war ensued.

Neither Roman nor Neo came close to harm during these hard times, but there was a major change in their lives.

Frugality became a must to avoid being caught by the police’s investigations, Roman became colder the more old friends he was supposed to put down.

Neo was idle at first, but soon started to refine her knowledge of fighting. She was silly with her early stances, but soon she acquired experience and wisdom thanks to the hardship.

Life wasn’t as good as it had been back in the latter parts of her childhood, but it was still more than enough to leave her smiling by the end of the day.

Or so that was until Cinder came around and put her boss in a troublesome position.

Things didn’t improve from that point onward… but maybe with Sid now in her reach, Neo could make something fun happen.

Something so fun that Cinder will be caught between her own tears if everything proceed as planned.

“Neo, this isn’t a game,” Roman added with a sterner voice. “I don’t think I can get her off my ass before Vale starts to explode. But you can because she has nothing tying you to her.”

The girl blinked in renewed surprise, but before the man could’ve said more she aimed the tip of her shut parasol at him. He snorted in brief amusement.

“As flattering as it is that you care for scum like me, we both know that it will not work well for us if we stick together to the very end,” He reminded dryly. “If I die, you can still live. If you die because of me, I still end up dying.”

She huffed, drawing her arms below her bosom as she sported the best annoyed look she could muster.

Roman wasn’t impressed.

“You’re stubborn, and I’m really glad that you stuck around long enough to see me rise and fall in quite the brilliant flair. But I didn’t pick you up from the streets so that you could one day met your demise the very day I did,” The crime boss added. “I didn’t take you as part of my family because I would’ve used you as a fine tool against my opponent. I remind you of the time I really didn’t want you to hold that blasted parasol.”

Neo clenched Hush’s hilt tightly in her hands, flinching as she remembered how much time was spent trying to convince the man to let her fight too.

It had taken so long and… now it wouldn’t matter much if he died like this.

But he couldn’t die like this. Not when she had the chance to do something about it.

The young woman knew she could and… she knew exactly what to do about it.

Bringing up her trusty sign to make some conversation.

But what if you don’t die?

Roman blinked and… sighed. “Sounds like you got something. What is it?”

Neo’s smile widened at his words, and she twirled her sign once.

Sid Tremaine is the key to kill Cinder’s Plan altogether.

Raising a curious eyebrow, the crime boss showed some interest at this sudden development.

“The kid? You mentioned that it was her little brother. Do you plan to kidnap him or-”

Oh no! I’m not risking myself against him.

He blinked. “That’s quite a quick refusal. Any reasons?”

Illusions work badly against smoke. Especially when one of his abilities render stealth actions futile against him.

Roman tapped at the table. “Then what do you plan to do with the kid?”

Her smile peaked in a mix of angelic and deviousness.

We set Sid against Cinder… right when she can’t avoid the confrontation. And when her minions are busy elsewhere.

“This doesn’t open much window of opportunity,” The boss mentioned with a sigh. “But I assume you got a little more than some flashy explanation.”

She nodded, having thought about this matter for a long time now. Before Vytal truly begins, Teams in Beacon were going to make experience with their first missions as Hunters.

By setting Blake Belladonna’s team in a mission close to where Mountain Glenn was, Cinder would be forced to dispatch both her attack dogs to hinder any lasting damage in her theater of operations… leaving the bitch alone for her brother to approach.

It would be easy to force the young man to track down the woman, but it will be incredibly difficult to prepare him in a mood that wouldn’t leave much space to talk.

Ambitious, difficult, different, and overall funny.

The very moment everything will come to fruition, Neo would end up with an interesting fight to spectate while Roman made his own preparations to leave.

“Would that really kill her?”

Neo let out a grimace at that unpleasant question, as she knew that Sid wouldn’t have been able to put down her bitch of a sister. The guy was strong and his semblance was sublime against someone that manipulated fire, but the chances of him winning a struggle against Cinder were close to none.

Nope. But that’s not what you would be worried about while you’re leaving for Mistral.

Roman’s eyes widened in realization and an amused smile spread on his face. “You want their fight to be a distraction for me to bail?”

She nodded happily, but she soon sobered up when she noticed her confused look.

“And what about you? What do you think will happen when I leave?”

Now, that was a question she was more than happy to answer to.

I will stay behind, make plans and… kill a fire bitch.

“I thought you didn’t want to risk your position,” The man reminded swiftly. “And I didn’t teach you to risk your life for any revenge. If you want to kill someone-”

Let them die at the hand of someone else. But I will not be the one to strike at her dead.

“At least I know that my lessons were wasted when you were younger,” He admitted with a sigh.

She nodded, twirling around as she pondered about that idyllic sight.

Cinder dying, Sid weeping and the short young woman staring from afar and preparing to comfort the poor young man.

It would be tragic for him, but he would learn to find an ally in someone like Neo in due time. And maybe also offer her a space in that comfy flat.

It’s been a while since she had her own warm room to occupy at her own leisure.

She saw potential in him. Potential to become a helping hand, but also the potential of turning him in her personal ice cream maker.

The chances were endless and all scenarios available struck her as the truest winner.

Who care about love when you got an endless reserve of ice cream?!

Neo wanted to giggle at the mere thought, but she was against showing Roman signs of some serious deviation.

It wasn’t her fault Ice Cream had yet to turn her its back.

Instead of portraying her inner giddiness, the young woman resumed with her twirling while Roman returned to what was left of his paperwork.

Their conversation had taken quite some time from the planned schedule, and they didn’t need to waste further time in digressing in the past and in the future.

The present was rich as it was with chaotic chances of screwing with their enemies, but they still needed time to recharge their batteries.

And Neo braced for what was going to be the ride of her lifetime. The one where this gamble of hers can leave her the greatest of winners or the sorest of losers.

Now it was only a matter of time and effort. And Ice Cream. Lots of it.