Within the dark halls of machines and chatting guards, Roman tapped his foot anxiously as the tournament goes on. It has been weeks since his failed breach on Vale and was tossed into this cramped and cold cell in the Atlassian flagship, though when he busts out, he can brag to everybody that knew him that Roman Torchwick was locked up in the ship Ironwood commanded.

If everyone he knew weren't all dead within the next few hours.

He could care less if they all died, less scum in the world for all he knew. Sure, he was also scum, but a scum with priorities. Roman doesn't like the bloodshed he did, he left that to his crew and times where he had to were out of annoyance.

If ever he had to kill one more just because his men didn't,  may as well do it all by himself again. It may be harder, but a lot less slow than those statues they call hench-men.

While he grieved about the thought, he heard the sounds of boots tapping at the iron floor of the ship. Roman would have easily thought it was a lone guard passing by, but years of thievery and eluding the authorities allowed him to have a sense of sorts to figure out who this person is.

Before he could get a thought in, the person was actually the general himself. Not only that, but he's brought some of his men as well. Most criminals would immediately count their sins but Roman wasn't those wussies, he stared death countless times and this wasn't the first time he had a face to face with James Ironwood and his men of idiots.

Ironwood stopped before the cell Roman was in and the men all gathered around it. Feeling prideful, he wondered if the general will talk to him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Atlas' top dog. How goes the sight? I hear it's lovely seeing all of them from below. Make's you wanna... rile them up, don't you think?

"..."

Roman crossed his brows as the general didn't react to his words. "What's the matter, Jimmy? Afraid I'll cuss you out of your men?"

"..."

Nothing again. Roman thought he was playing dumb with him since mostly everyone should have reacted somehow. When he looked at the soldiers, he saw that they didn't budge from the spots. Almost like machines.

And Ironwood, sure the man has shown to not sway by anything in his career as general. But even then he has to make some marks.

Roman was now suspicious of the man before him as he narrowed his eyes. "... Your not the general, are you?"

"..." Now, he did something.

The general motioned his hands as Roman heard more footsteps coming closer. Not only that, but it also sounded like they were dragging something.

Could it be money? He can already guess what is happening, so it must be.

Or a collection of all the bad deeds he did? A clean slate would be nice.

Or... perhaps the best one of them all...

A state-of-the-art Golden Atlassian Wrist Watch. Now that was something even he would kill for.

Roman amicably waited as the soldiers were now within his sight. But instead of a sack of loot for him, but rather...

"A person?.." Roman wordlessly muttered as he looked at the general's cold face. It was a small person, covered up by a dirty carp around the figure. The soldiers carried the person's arms and held it tightly. Roman could assume that the figure was a small woman, likely someone he had some connections to.

"What's going on here?"

Fear and despair all rise up within him as he had never heard the general of Atlas doing something like this to him. Sure he is bad, as bad to every fiber in his body but even he would turn away from this deal.

Slaves and such were not his favorite style of robbing, as they could all talk and have him arrested for a better life. Not only that but they're about as reliable as the one selling them are. And even then, it could be a scam, he's already seen enough in Mistral.

As Roman looked at the body being carried, Ironwood walked behind it and slowly grabbed the tarp covering around the woman. The anticipation was nearly killing him as the woman before could be a random citizen or a client he had worked with and established as his connections.

With a swift tug, the tarp was thrown away and Roman had his heart plummet to the floor.

"NEO!"

That's right. His accomplice, his bodyguard, and his protege since the very beginning were now at the mercy of Ironwood's soldiers. She struggled at the soldier's strength to free herself as she saw Roman with tears in her eyes.

Roman jumped from his seat and banged the bars in an attempt to save her. "Damn you! Is this your plan, to make Neo as your hostage?!"

"No," Ironwood spoke at last and drew his pistol out of his sheath. "This is."

Roman widened his eyes as the pistol aimed dead center on her forehead as Neo could only stare at the barrel. The thief was about to watch one of his companions die in front of him and called out to him.

"Wait! Wait! Can we work something out?! What do you want?! Money?! Fame?! Anything! Just don't-"

*BANG*

Time stopped for Roman as he felt every part of his body is numb from shock. he stared endlessly as the body slowly fell with eyes full of fear and a snot-filled nose.

He did it. The mad bastard did it. He did the one thing no one ever expected from him at all.

Roman would have thought that he would reunite with the apprentice as soon as she appeared. That was all fleeting away from him the moment Ironwood pointed at her head.

He was prepared to lose everything to Ironwood. What's the point anyways? He could just, steal it again if he had the time and opportunity.

And now... Neo had died right in front of him.

Neo fell to the floor with a small hole on her forehead, slowly releasing blood in her body. Roman slumped to the floor as the small puddle nearly reached him and his hands fell to the liquid.

The feeling of warm blood around his fingertips was all familiar yet all the same as he had seen and felt the same thing over and over but couldn't remember it at all. All he could remember was the face she made at the end.

Ironwood calmly stepped over the body as he stood before the fallen criminal. "You have two choices, Roman. Either rot in the jail... or..."

He fished out a Scroll and handed it to him. "Give us the access code on your Scroll."

Roman didn't reply soon. He brought up the hand that touched the blood as it trickled down his arm, the same arm that Neo constantly held in appreciation.

He stared at the blood endlessly as Ironwood didn't move from his spot. The soldiers didn't even flinch when the shot rang through, even the one who held her didn't seem to acknowledge the corpse at all.

With the choices presented to him, Roman let his arm fall to the ground, letting no tears fall on his face.

"Heh... I think I'll just join her."

What was the point anyway? With the plan coming forward in the next few hours, Vale and Beacon were about to become a ruin of Grimm. That not even General Ironwood can do it all. The backdoor she made was rather foolproof and he had access to it as well.

Might as well stay on course and sink with the ship.

"Is that so? Then..." Ironwood retracted his hand from the cell and aimed once more. "Atlas will not be transporting any prisoners after all. Goodbye, Roman Torchwick."

With only a sigh and eyes being closed, he accepted his death from his hands.

'Neo. I'm coming. Wait for me, alright?'

*BANG*

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A body jerked upright before limping and jerked again. The man constantly jerked around the metal cell as his face expressed constant pain.

The ones outside the cell merely sat calmly, not unhindered by the state Roman was going through. He kept his pose calm and his concentration on Roman.

The general looked with patience as he waited for the results of this torture. He couldn't imagine the sight Roman was going through around his head and didn't want to. As each jerk reminded him of the old days of information gathering, pain, and guilt to get what they wanted.

Crude, but effective. Some may be inhumane, but what isn't humane in this world?

The soldier near him shuddered in fear as he turned to his superior. "Umm... G-G-General?"

"Yes?"

"U-Uhmm... what is... what is he... doing to him, sir?"

Ironwood spared a look on the recruits' face as he shivered from the sight before him. He mentally sighed at how young the man is as he expected this question to be brought up.

"With time now pressed against us, desperate measures are to be taken place in order to gain an upper-hand. Right now, he is interrogating Torchwick with information."

"R-Right. I get that he's doing. But... isn't this illegal?"

Another look, this time was filled with anger shooked the soldier to his boots. He sighed and dismissed the anger in his heart and addressed the soldier.

"It may look like that, but our enemy has already breached the gates of this kingdom and is now starting her plan to raze Vale and Beacon to the ground."

"What?" The recruit wordlessly said, unsure what to think of Ironwood's words.

"So, I can only ask that you trust me. And hope that this will all be just a bad dream."

He dismissed the soldier as soon as Y/N stood up. Roman stopped moving from his position and laid there like a broken doll. Y/N walked to where the general was and handed him the Scroll unlocked.

Ironwood gave it to the soldier who saluted him and ran to the central bridge. He looked at Roman's relaxed figure and asked his tormentor. "What did you-?"

"Oh that. I figure he earns a reward for all that. So, I just gave him all the money in the world and a luxury cruise on your most prized battleship around the world."

He gave off an incredulous look as Y/N nonchalantly gave Roman a vacation. "...In his dream. As soon as he wakes up, he will not remember a thing."

"...Remind me to ask you about that. I've been meaning for a break myself."

"Is that so? Then just call me and I'll do it on the call. It can be whatever you want it to be anyway."

"Hehehe... it seems I greatly underestimated magic."

"Yep... it does that. Now let's proceed."

The two left the peaceful Roman to his dreams and walked to the bridge, where the first phase is about to begin.

Entering the command center, many typed tirelessly on the computers built in the ship as they went through everything in it.

Contacts information, secret texts, hideout locations, and the backdoor to their systems.

Ironwood couldn't believe it when he saw it, but someone penetrated the defenses and firewall Atlas personally made and installed a backdoor for anyone to use. The reason why it was so horrific to know this was that the backdoor leads to the CCT Tower's main code. If someone were to tamper with the delicate code, then the entire structure that Atlas has worked so hard on will crumble like cards.

The general looked at the teen who exposed this information to him with certainty as a way to stop the enemy. He has ruled out his allegiance towards Salem since if this was left unchecked, then Beacon will fall and Atlas humiliated.

So for that reason, he deeply thanked Y/N from the bottom of his heart as he single-handedly prevented a war breaking out.

"Sir." One of the crew members announced his arrival and presented him with a tablet.

"What's this?"

"The backdoor, sir. We now have full access and control over it. Atlas and the CCT Tower is safe, thanks to you, sir."

Ironwood breathed out a sigh of relief he didn't know he had as the hard part was done. Now with the virus contained, Ironwood was about to exact vengeance on Cinder, the enemy within.

"James." Y/N called out to him as he said the next plan. "The duel is about to start."

"Right. All cameras in the arena, record the fight, and give it to Mr. L/N. He will handle the editing and safety of the footage."

The order was taken as the main screen changed into the camera on the Amity Colosseum and just as he said it, the duel is about to begin.

Yang VS Mercury.

"I'm heading down." Y/N announced to James as he stepped away. "Send me the file as soon as it ends. I want it all."

Ironwood nodded as Y/N cast {Teleportation Magic} around the room and left the ship.

As soon as he left, Ironwood walked to the nearest technician with a grim face.

"Run an analysis on the backdoor. I wanna know who made it and where this son uva bitch is."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Y/N entered his room without noise as the portal behind him closes without a trace. There, sitting on a bed was Aigis who stood up when his father was here.

"Y/N."

"Aigis. Prepare for battle, Cinder won't go down without a fight."

"Then... Is it happening?"

"Yes."

"I will prepare it."

Aigis knew what he meant since he told her after all. Sharing the same soul allowed her to share memories with the host as long as the host agrees with it. Within, Aigis saw it all happen before her as she watched the outcome of the Vytal Festival.

So now armed with the knowledge of Volume 3, Y/N and Aigis will spearhead the fight and make sure that Beacon and the CCT tower will not fall under the hands of Grimm. He swears it.

With nothing to do, Y/N opened his Scroll and expanded it into a tablet as the Duels are underway.

(So... Don't hate me for this but... I couldn't find a video about the duel at all. Any video I tried was immediately deleted because Wattpad doesn't recognize it. So now... umm...)

(Timeskip)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Y/N watched with no emotion shown and closed his Scroll without watching the final moments. He waited for it to happen as the Scroll now shown a file.

He opened it and saw a message from Ironwood.

[Whatever you do with it, I hope that this will clear up her name.]

"And I do."

He connected his Scroll to his computer nearby and opened the video file.

It showed him and Aigis of the last moments of the fight; Yang circling around a downed Mercury before shooting a slug on his leg.

The clip ended there as Y/N briefly pounded the desk with enough force to crack a building in half.

He calmed himself a bit as his eyes now burned with determination. 'Dexterity, don't fail me now.'

With mana infused fingertips, Y/N set to work on editing and removing the fake scene with the actual one. This was no mere hacking trick since Atlas can easily see through it so it must be infused with some of Cinder's magic to keep it legit. With no counter on magic, they thought that no one else can find the real footage, they were wrong.

Not only did she fool the camera, but the entire audience as well. That must have taken a lot of concentration and focus to pull it off, all that work is about to crumble before him.

He sped through the many keys on the keyboard with precision and expertise, as if he had done this many times over. All for the effort of clearing up Yang's name.

While he worked, the night quickly changed to the next afternoon as the day passed by him. Nothing seemed to be relevant to him as all of his focus was now right in front of him.

...

...

...

...

...

With a final press of a key, the footage changed.

It literally melted right in front of him as the illusion bled out of the original one and was revealed bare.

Playing the video, it showed EXACTLY what happened in the fight; with Mercury attempting to attack her back, only for Yang to counter.

With a satisfied nod, he transferred the video into a file on his Scroll and closed the computer.

'Wait. If the plan goes through and Grimm attacks the school...' He slowly looked at the cool computer Ozpin gave him in the initiation and felt pity for such a masterpiece.

So, he put all of it into his {Inventory} for later use or something else. Point is, he is saving this computer.

Who knows? Maybe after killing Salem and Ozpin, the gods can allow him to return with this set-up. That would be fucking awesome to think about.

He could care less about others prying about, he just wants this computer.

With the computer in, he nodded at Aigis as they exited the room to comfort a dragon.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Outside, RWBY and JNPR all had downcasted faces as now, Yang was disqualified from the tournament and branded a cheater from the public. She can never show her face again.

Y/N walked to the door and noticed all of them staring at him. "Hey, guys..."

"Hey, Y/N..."

The mood was down and felt like the world was against them, Y/N knew what they are feeling as this was the same one that started the {Persona 5} plotline. Feeling down as the world stomps over them.

"How's..."

"Yang?" Ruby answered his question with a sigh and shook her head. "Not doing so great."

"That's putting it lightly," Weiss added in.

"She's fine. Just... not in the best mood right now." Blake shook her head as now, Yang wanted some alone time.

"Yeah... I can tell." Y/N said to them with a heavy heart.

A nearby door opened as Jaune peeked out from it. "She doing OK?"

Blake looked back at the door and gave a weak smile. "She's doing the best she can."

"I heard Mercury and his team rushed back to Haven to be with his family. So, until they land, no one can really question what happened." Ruby chippered the information.

Ren from his dorm offered his help. "If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

Feeling more down, Ruby turned to the only person left in the tournament. "Alright then. If that's the case... Pyrrha?"

The girl who sat on her bed turned to Ruby with a confused expression.

"Hm?"

"You be sure to win one for Beacon, okay?"

Weiss and Blake nodded with her, as though this is now her fight. "It's what Yang would want."

Pyrrha quickly turned around and looked back with a faked confident look. "I'll... do my best."

"I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you get picked!"

The worry was now stronger since Ruby wanted Pyrrha to fight and now, it dampened a bit.

"After that fight, I'm not sure about fighting anytime soon."

"Ditto." Weiss turned to Y/N with a small smile and gave an option. "Coffee?"

Y/N politely declined her offer as he turned to RWBY's dorm.

"Sorry but... I want to be with Yang for a while."

The girls all looked at each other with worry etched across their faces. For one reason or another, they would not let anyone get in.

Because they might think that some questions will be hard on her and that it will only make it worse.

But... if it's Y/N...

"Just... try to be sensitive about it, OK?" Y/N nodded at Blake's words as he steeled himself.

Without a moment of hesitation, he knocked three times on RWBY's door.

*Knock*

*Knock*

*Knock*

"Go away..." Her voice came through from the inside. She sounded very sad and in despair.

"Yang. I want to help." Y/N asked her in a calm voice. "I know you didn't do it and I wanted to tell you that. Face to face."

"... You won't ask me why I did it?"

"No. Because that's not the Yang I know. So please, can I come in?"

"... Go ahead."

Y/N opened and closed the door quickly as the blonde boxer stared at the setting sun outside of Beacon. She was hurt and in pain, so he will help her.

He took a seat near her and waited for Yang to look at him.

Yet, once again, she quickly went past his defenses and hugged his body. 'Seriously, how many times is that? It's going to get me killed one day.'

"Yang?"

His calm voice stirred her emotions to a still as his voice was the only thing she can hear right now. "You.. ?"

"Huh?"

She looked at him with tearful eyes and said it once more. "You believe me?"

He sighed and gave a soft smile as he grabbed her head and leaned it at his chest. She can hear his heart beating softly and calmly as he stroked her golden hair.

"I do. Because the Yang I know would protect people. Never hurt them. You didn't do it, I believe you and I always will. Don't forget that."

It calmed her, making all that happened last night a nightmare. She softly cried on his chest and hold tightly to him.

"I won't. I promise."

"Then that's all I need. So stop blaming yourself and learn from this. People make mistakes all the time, that's why... it's good to make them early on in life."

"And why's that?"

"So you can become a person with great success." 

Yang softly sighed at his words and let his brush her hair. His hand felt big and warm, calm, and smooth on her prized possession as she calmed her raging doubt in her mind. Right now, she is just focusing on the hand.

They stayed like this for a couple of minutes since Yang wanted for him to calm her down. She continued to hear his soft heartbeat on his chest and wide back as they care for each other in a warm embrace.

"... Hey, Y/N."

"Hm?"

"... What... what do you think... of me?"

"Where's this coming-"

"Please. Tell me, please."

He stopped his stroking and held her shoulders. Y/N thought about it and wanted to give her a genuine answer.

Yang was now flushing from anticipation as now, he gets to speak about her.

"... I think, that you're the boldest of the group."

"Huh?"

Y/N spoke from his heart, not what he knows about Yang but what he feels about her. Everything about her personality to her attitude.

"You inspire others, help them, save them, comfort them. You are the most reliable teammate ever. And not only that, but you even lend a shoulder when they needed it the most. Sure, you come off as taunting and daunting but that's just your charm. You just do it for the fun, I'm sure. So what I'm trying to say here... is that you are the brightest person I've ever seen. Like a sun shining down on a gloomy day. That's what I think of you."

"..." Yang didn't say anything as everything he said was now deeply locked in her heart. Y/N had told her everything he initially thought of her when he first saw Yang. As bright and powerful as the sun, she will take down any challenge with a smile.

A few moments pass as Yang smirked like he thought she would do. "That's really kind, Y/N. Thanks."

"No problem. Just remember, there are more people out there who will support you. You just need to find them."

Yang nodded as Y/N gave a small smile.

"Hey, now that I see it... You have something on you're lips."

"There is?"

With a tug from his shirt, Yang deeply kissed him with her eyes closed. Y/N's brain nearly went haywire from the soft contact on his cheeks and didn't think anything but the lips.

The kiss stopped later as Y/N was now a blushing mess. Yang merely had a flirtatious smirk as she touched her lips seductively.

"I-I-I I U-u-Uhm... Wow." Y/N gave of an answer he could think of. The lips are still fresh in his mind.

"Heh. Congrats, you just took my first kiss. And mine as well~"

"O-Oh... I guess I did?"

Yang broke out a laugh while Y/N was controlling his emotions.

"How cute..." A rough voice stopped the teens as they looked who spoke.

Qrow leaned at the doorway with a frown on his face and held a flask on one hand.

Yang sighed deeply this time and confronted him. "Hey, Qrow."

"Firecracker." He looked at Y/N and motioned his head outside.

With a cough from his hand, Y/N walked out of the room and closed the door to let the drunk talk her niece.

Y/N walked briskly away from the dorm and rounded a corner. With no one in sight, he just let his inner mind do its thing.

'WHAAAAAA!!! I JUST KISSED A GIRL!!!! IT WAS SO SOFT!!! WHY DOES IT TASTE LIKE SUNFLOWER SEEDS!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-'

His Scroll vibrated on his pocket and he picked it up. "Yellow?"

"[Y/N.]"

"Ah, General Ironwood. How can I help?"

"[The file.]"

"Huh? Oh yeah, hold on." He then sent the true video to him in hopes of getting a drop on Cinder. "You got it?"

"[... File received. I will broadcast this in live television after the match, correct?]"

"Yes. Is Penny there?"

"[Yes. Why?]"

"Because we're gonna need her for the last phase. After the next fight, the Grimm will come in hordes and tear Vale and its citizens apart."

"[I understand. Is there anyone you would like to be escorted out during this?]"

"Yeah. Ms. Belle in Monty's. I want her out of the fight and somewhere else. She isn't a part of this at all."

"[Of course. I will prepare a special bullhead for her.]"

"Thank you, General. I hope this all turns out alright."

"[As do I. Ironwood, out.]"

Y/N ended the call quickly and walked out of the hallway.

And ended with a skip to his step.