New Game Plus, GOTY Edition

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.

Betad by Priapus, Marethyu, Mike God of Lore, Beans

New Game Plus, GOTY Edition

Chapter 09: Still a better love story than Twilight.

– Cinder Fall –

Roman was either braver than she thought or dumber. Having Roman go radio silent was not a good sign. She was sure that he wouldn't try to flee without Neo, but if he'd freed Neo and immediately skipped town…

No, she'd been watching for any attempt to escape. Which meant the next most likely scenario was that Roman had been befallen by the same fate as Neo herself. Neo had been spying on Shiro before she vanished, and Roman had been trying to find his pet assassin and had now also disappeared.

Was Shiro more dangerous than they realised? Or had Roman simply underestimated Shiro and fallen into a trap?

As much as she enjoyed the idea of Roman being humbled, it was inconvenient for her to have Roman and Neo out of operation. She needed them back, and this was a chance to get them in her debt. She didn't know what Shiro had done, but she could only hope that he had not killed them.

She almost sent Emerald to investigate before she stopped herself. She liked to think she wasn't stupid, and sending Emerald into the same mansion that Neo and now Roman had vanished in seemed like it might be more than a little stupid.

Neo hadn't stopped responding until after Shiro had upgraded from a small apartment to an expensive mansion. Shiro was also an engineer, apparently a talented one at that. Neo had almost certainly run afoul of some high-tech security system and then Roman had likely done the exact same thing. Sending Emerald into the same mansion was going to end with Emerald vanishing as well.

So, she had to make alternate plans. 

– Roman Torchwick –

Sitting in his cell, in nothing but his boxers, he sighed.

"Okay, but we've already established that I am very much not putting anything of mine near your teeth," Shiro argued, utterly ignoring him as Neo negotiated on their behalf.

He couldn't see Neo, but he watched Shiro, who was looking into Neo's cell.

"Hm, you make a good point, but alternatively, why should I? You don't have anything that I can't take from you," Shiro replied smugly.

With both of them locked away, Neo was negotiating with the one thing she still had: her body. In any other situation, he'd take offence to his pseudo-daughter trying to sell herself to save him… but that wasn't what she was negotiating for.

Was Neo negotiating for their freedom? Nope. She wanted ice cream. Neo was trying to pimp herself out to get some treats. So once again, Roman sighed as Shiro ignored him, and Roman ignored the pair of idiots right back. 

These cells were annoyingly advanced. It felt more like he was in a max-security Atlas prison than some rich engineer's basement. The heavy-duty collar that he'd woken up with wasn't one he was familiar with, and his one attempt to tamper had ended… painfully. 

With no tools, he wasn't picking the collar open. Even if he did, the 'glass' wall of his cell was electrified and far stronger than it looked. Escaping was going to be difficult, though Neo seemed to have a plan of her own.

Not that she was eager to let him in on it. Okay, fine, he'd underestimated Shiro a little but she was being way too grumpy over this little mess. They had been in worse situations, and he'd always gotten them out.

– Neo Politan –

She was so fucking bored.

Honestly, she was both impressed with Shiro and annoyed at Roman. She'd gotten caught, and he'd still just walked in and expected things to go his way. You'd think becoming Cindy's bitch would be enough of a humbling experience, but Roman's ego was bulletproof.

Continuing her negotiation, she gestured to the collar and then made the illusion of some ropes to suggest that Shiro simply tie her up and have his way with her to get his payment. Shiro was amused by her negotiation, especially since she hadn't even tried to convince him to let her go. He found her attractive, and she saw an opportunity here.

"Hm. Payment up front," Shiro demanded, making her pause as she pushed a finger against her cheek and mimed thinking before she nodded easily. In the worst case, she got her itch scratched and got some ice cream. "Then we have a deal. You do whatever I want for the night, and I'll give you your ice cream for the rest of your stay."

Obviously, if she saw a way out, she was going to stab Shiro, but that was expected. If he made the mistake of not properly securing her, he was asking to be stabbed. Once again, her cell was flooded with gas.

She mockingly waved at Shiro and blew him a kiss as she breathed in the knock-out drug that Shiro had flooded the cell with, falling to the ground.

When she woke up, she blinked the tiredness away and looked around.

Shiro wasn't taking chances, as she was being held in the air by her restraints, on her back facing the ceiling. Thin black metal straps were wrapped around her stomach, thighs, ankle, arm and wrist along with her collar, and despite not being attached to anything, she was floating at waist height as Shiro typed away at a terminal of some sort. This time, her underwear was missing as she floated there. 

Her eyes were drawn to a large screen, showing a bunch of different data that she could barely understand but realised was her information. Aura levels were down at nothing, which was correct from what she could feel. How had her aura gotten so low?

"I hope you weren't intending to use this as a chance to escape," Shiro said smugly, and she just tried her best to shrug. She would have escaped if she had the chance, but she was indifferent, to be honest. "I wanted an opportunity to test out my new restraints."

With a gesture, her arms moved diagonally above her head, and her legs spread to expose her naked pussy to Shiro, his eyes roaming her body.

"You know, I really wasn't going to do anything to you two. I was going to ransom you back to Roman. I figured Roman would be smarter than this. I didn't expect him to just walk right into a trap," Shiro admitted, making her shrug. "Then I considered ransoming you back to Miss Fall, but from the sounds of it, she doesn't have the resources anymore."

Roman had turned on Cindy in an instant after being caught, being as loyal to Cindy and her cause as Neo herself was. Which was to say, not at all. Not that either of them knew her full plan; Cindy wasn't that stupid.

"So then I considered giving you to the police, two infamous criminals handed over to increase my reputation," Shiro admitted, her eyes narrowing as he smirked. "But you'd escape and become my problem. Vale's finest couldn't hold you on their best day, could they?"

Neo gave him a smug smirk, pleased he understood that. As he spoke, he moved closer and ran his hands up her legs, stroking her smooth thighs.

"And it would just be a waste to kill you or hand you over to the Fang," Shiro admitted, admiring her body. "So, what's an upcoming crime lord to do with the assassin and the thief in his basement?"

With her aura so low, she couldn't use her illusions to communicate, but she wiggled her eyebrows and looked down at his crotch. She hoped he hadn't tied her up in some high-tech BDSM gear just for show. She was very bored and a fuck sounded like a way to pass the time.

"Heh, a fair point," Shiro admitted, his hands continuing their adventure along her body as they slid up her stomach and to her breasts. "You know, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

As he spoke, his hands groped her chest, sinking into the bountiful flesh as he played with her marshmallowy mounds. She gave him a smirk, shrugging as best she could to once again make her breasts jiggle.

As Shiro undid his belt, she watched with eager eyes because she could tell something about Shiro that had gotten her attention over her time watching him. She recognised a fellow sociopath. Sure, he wasn't exactly like her, being far more ambitious, but he was a monster through and through. He toyed with his pet cat and had her gutting criminals for him in a matter of days, killing those who got in his way without batting an eye.

As he pulled out a nice cock, slapping it against her wet pussy, she wiggled her eyebrows at him enticingly. It was a shame that she was so securely bound, but she wouldn't have trusted her either. 

She expected him to take her without hesitation, but he gestured again, and she spun around in the air. Still hanging at waist height, her head hung upside down as she looked at the cock now dangling inches from her face. She opened her mouth obediently, fully intending to bite down if he was that dumb. 

Instead, he just chuckled to himself and moved to the side, coming back with a metal ring gag. Her lips snapped shut as he tried to pry her mouth open. Despite the bindings, she didn't see this as rape, but she also wasn't going to make it easy for him. She wanted him angry as she snapped at his fingers.

"Tut, tut," Shiro taunted, slapping her across the face roughly. Without her aura, it stung a little as he finally forced her mouth open enough to shove the gag in, securing it. She wasn't biting through it as he gripped her throat with one hand and slid into her forcibly parted lips. Defenceless, she could do nothing but uselessly bite down on the gag as her tongue pushed against the cock that was now thrusting into her mouth. Upside down, she couldn't even see anything as he moved his hands to her tits to steady himself as the restraints kept her head in place. His hands roughly groped and slapped her tits as he caught on, her pussy growing wetter.

She liked it rough, and he clearly knew it.

He didn't hold back, fucking her face with no mercy as she gagged and choked on his fat cock. He was using her, abusing her throat with no hesitation. She'd watched him a lot, seen the way he treated those around him. Shiro was a good actor, but he was a monster. Maybe just a baby monster, still learning to walk, but a monster all the same.

He moved her again, her body hanging upside down as her legs lifted into the air. Her eyes widened as she felt his mouth latch onto her pussy, a standing sixty-nine as his tongue skillfully delved into her depths.

His hands wrapped around her waist to grab her ass as he ate her out, and her head finally began to move as best it could. Her tongue stopped fighting as she began to lick and suck on the cock currently pounding her face. 

Shiro knew what he was doing, and it wasn't long before she felt herself getting closer to cumming. Shiro's skilful tongue pushed her to the edge… but then he pulled back. She felt her eyes widen in fury as her climax was denied.

As he pulled out of her mouth, drool leaking down her face, she happened to notice that his attention wasn't on her body but on the screens. One of the bars on the screen was almost full, a smirk on his lips.

Wait, was that her pleasure? 

It slowly ticked down as Shiro typed away, using her as a test subject for something before he once again gestured, her body flipping over so she was hovering face down with her legs dangling down. A spank on her ass saw the meter increase slightly.

"Someone enjoys a little pain," Shiro chuckled, his hand reaching around to grope her tits again as another found its way between her legs. The meter grew with her pleasure, but once more, just as she was about to cum, he stopped.

She let out a primal growl, her teeth once again trying to bite down on the gag so she could bite the bastard, a mixture of pleasure and anger growing in her.

"So fierce," Shiro teased, slapping her right between the legs. "Don't worry, I just wanted you in the right state for this," Shiro promised, clicking his fingers as the restraints moved her back onto his cock.

Her eyes widened at the sudden fullness, his entire cock inside of her soaked pussy. Edged as she was, she came the instant he was inside her, and she let out a lewd moan, the first sound he'd heard from her as he began to pound into her, spanking her ass as one hand roughly gripped her hair.

"You know, I don't believe for a second that your grand plan was just to whore yourself out for some snacks," Shiro said, trying to sound casual despite the way his voice hitched as her pussy clenched down on his shaft. "You're up to something."

Clicking his fingers, she spun in the air as she was laid on her back again, facing him as she stared at him. She couldn't even smirk with the gag in her mouth, but her eyes looked smug enough as he railed her. Making a mocking noise, she tried her best to hum something vaguely similar to the words 'no shit'. His smirk just grew.

"Something including Cindy, who has your dear old boss in chains?" Shiro asked, making her freeze. Then, she hummed in agreement. "I think we need to have a long talk, Neo. Well, later. First, we need to get you your cream, don't we?"

Pleasure before business. She really was starting to like Shiro. His grip on her hips was tight enough to bruise, the thrusts forceful and demanding as he had his way with her bound body, and she just gave him a dangerous grin.

Don't get her wrong, she'd still stab him if she got the chance, she had to get even for his bullshit tricks, but he really was a fun one.

Their 'conversation' ended as Shiro focused on what mattered: her body. He pounded into her, slapping and groping her body for his amusement and her pleasure. Without her aura, she felt each tweak of her nipples, each spank and the way his fingers were gripping tightly enough to bruise.

Removing her gag, he took a chance and stole a kiss. Naturally, he barely pulled back in time to avoid her attempted bite, a smirk on his lips as he continued to hammer into her soaked pussy.

"I'm going to have to be careful with you, aren't I?" Shiro asked, making her nod shamelessly. He liked the danger, stroking her cheek as he once again barely avoided a bite, his hand moving to her throat as he began to choke her as he pounded her cunt.

He was going to pull out, right? She didn't mind risks on the battlefield, but she didn't let any of the few guys she'd let into her bed cum inside her. The way his hips were moving told her that there was no way she was avoiding a creampie, his movements becoming more feral and jerky as his own climax approached. 

She gave him a warning look but bound as she was, she had no way to stop him as he sheathed himself inside her with a final desperate thrust, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt his seed flood her body. She came again, despite her irritation, her cunt milking his cock for every last drop of cum.

He rested for a moment before he gestured, and she floated away from him and was held spread-eagle in the air. These shackles were interesting. He wasn't moving her, but using the straps around her body to position her, but how did it work? 

Had he made them just for her? She was flattered and amused that he very clearly knew that if she were free, she'd have stabbed him already.

His semen dripped down her thigh, barely escaping her tight cunt as he examined his handiwork. 

Then, he clicked his fingers and she was moved again. Forced to the floor, her body positioned itself on her hands and knees, legs spread as he moved behind her and without a word, he was inside her again.

She could move her head for once, turning to face him with a look that was best described as a mixture of threatening and challenging, and whatever he saw… he liked.

– Later –

In the dining room, she ate her ice cream happily. Still nude except for the straps, she ignored Shiro for a moment as she satisfied her true addiction. Sex was great, but she could masturbate in her cell. She couldn't get ice cream.

As she finished the first tub, she gave Shiro a demanding look, getting a raised eyebrow as he patted the second tub. 

"First things first," Shiro warned, making her pout. "You're scheming something, and despite everything… I don't think it's me who needs to be afraid, is it?"

Neo just smirked, shrugging in an exaggerated fashion to make her breasts bounce.

"Roman is being forced to work for Cindy. He got in over his head, and you want to get him out. You want to use me to get him out," Shiro continued, getting a mildly impressed look from her as she nodded unashamedly.

Cindy's plans were falling apart; she'd lost the Fang, and she needed a new way to get whatever the hell she was aiming for. Even now, she didn't know what the bitchy terrorist wanted. 

"So, why should I help you?" Shiro asked, and she used the little Aura he'd allowed her to make a new illusion. Cinder and Emerald, on their knees wearing nothing but a pair of pretty golden collars. "I won't deny that they look good, but that's not a reason to help you. You're right. Cindy is getting desperate. She lost the Fang, and now she misplaced Roman and the assassin, Mercury was it? Yeah, Mercury is out of commission. I can get them and keep you. I've always had a sweet tooth, and I like the idea of having ice cream on demand."

As she negotiated, she tried her best to explain her own (admittedly barely formed) plan. She had told Roman that Fall was bad news from the start. There was something off about her, a kind of crazy that even Neo didn't want to tangle with.

"Hm. Maybe I'm willing to aid you, in exchange for some aid of your own, of course," Shiro finally said as she finished her explanation, pushing over the second tub, which she greedily devoured. "But you aren't much of a planner, are you?"

She kicked him under the table, letting out a yelp as every one of the straps all electrified at once, shocking every inch of her body. He just smirked back at her.

"So let's see if I can't… improve things."

Kicking her feet, she ate her ice cream as Shiro did his favourite thing, scheming. She'd watched him a lot. He was an egomaniac who loved the sound of his own voice, making a plan that would be better than hers because Shiro had to be better. 

Still, as she listened, she had to admit. He had a natural talent for this kind of thing. Roman lacked ambition, content to just be the best thief around, even if he let his ego get him into trouble far too often, but Shiro wanted more. So, so much more. 

She was kinda interested in seeing just how far the ambitious little monster would go.

– Cinder Fall –

As Neo arrived at their hotel room, Cinder hid her surprise as she gave Neo an annoyed look.

"You're late," Cinder said simply, disapproval clear on her face.

Neo rolled her eyes, tugging at her top to reveal the metal collar underneath her unusually concealing outfit. Immediately, she realised that Neo's entire outfit was an illusion.

"You got caught then? How very amateurish of you. I take it Roman also got caught?" Cinder asked, watching Neo's eyes narrow. Slowly, she nodded. So, Roman had wandered into a trap?

Still, they were both alive, so this was something she could recover from.

Something shimmered, Emerald jumping into position as a holographic figure appeared from something Neo was holding. She gestured for Emerald to calm down. Neo wouldn't have carried a bomb back. This fuck-up aside, Neo wasn't that stupid or naive.

"Shiro Eis, I take it?" Cinder asked, watching the figure take shape. The young man smirked, giving her an almost casual, smug wave. She'd seen pictures of him when Roman brought him to her attention, and he had a rather striking look.

"I would have invited you to my mansion to discuss matters, but something told me you wouldn't have taken my invitation," Shiro admitted. "You sent Neo to spy on me."

"Technically, Roman did. I just told him to," Cinder admitted shamelessly. "Of course, you were just a little smuggler when I did that. You've gone up in the world."

"And you've come down, Miss Fall. The White Fang has a bounty on your head, but it pales in comparison to the one that Atlas has placed on you. Weirdly enough, the crimes you're accused of are incredibly vague," Shiro said, her eyes narrowing. Well, she didn't expect to be able to keep that a secret. Her face had been plastered on the most wanted lists after the failed hit on the Maiden. "You know, neither Roman nor the lovely Miss Politan would tell me what it is you are planning, and I don't think it's out of loyalty."

"Would you trust either of them with your plans?" Cinder finally asked, making him chuckle. "I had hoped to use your Smuggling Semblance to smuggle the Dust I've had Roman stealing, but that's no longer an issue."

"The Fang stole it?" Shiro predicted, making her scowl. 

Adam could be directed, but Rengar had evidently decided that all that Dust was the property of the Fang and she simply didn't have the strength to stop him from taking it. It was likely already on its way back to Menagerie. 

"And yet, here you are. Vale's Most Wanted, hunted by the Fang, and you're still in Vale," Shiro pointed out. "You don't give up easily, do you?"

"I don't fail," Cinder agreed, a slight growl leaving her. Not at him, but in anger at the situation she'd been forced into. 

"So, the question of the hour. What is so important that you would stick around for it? You want something in Vale, desperately," Shiro correctly theorised. 

"So do you," Cinder countered, but Shiro just laughed.

"I don't want something in Vale. I want Vale. I deserve better than the life of an orphan, smuggling for petty criminals," Shiro said with a look she recognised far too well. Ambition. "What I want to know is… can our goals co-exist?"

He could have sent the Fang her way or even just leaked her location to law enforcement, and she'd have a team of Huntsmen kicking her door down. Her original plan had been the destruction of Vale, but what Salem wanted was the Relic. Nothing else really mattered, she just wanted to impress Salem and prove her worth by crushing the city Ozpin protected.

With everything that had happened, she had to accept that achieving that was no longer viable.

"There's something in Beacon that I need," Cinder finally admitted, seeing Emerald look at her in surprise. She had hoped to recruit Shiro, but pure pragmatism forced her to accept reality. She had fallen while he had risen. He wasn't in a position where she could threaten him into joining her, so she had to be smarter about this. "My employer is very powerful and extremely well-connected. Help me get what she wants, and she can get you Vale."

"I'll send a car to bring you to my mansion. I can shelter you from the law and the White Fang," Shiro finally replied, making her eyes narrow. The same mansion where Roman and Neo had gotten captured? Shiro smirked at her suspicion. "Call it a leap of faith. If I wanted you gone, I'd have sent a less polite message. I'll even fix up Mr Black."

"And if I don't?" Cinder asked, making him chuckle.

"Then I'll assume you're going to be a problem, and my next message will be delivered by the Atlas Specialists that are in the city, looking for you," Shiro admitted shamelessly. She could run, but then what? How many times could she run until she had nowhere to go but back to Salem in failure?

She didn't actually blame him. He was being very pragmatic. Whatever she was doing, she was either an ally or a threat to his plans. She'd do the same in his shoes. It didn't mean she was happy, but she could understand his position. First, Neo had stalked him, and then Roman had broken into his house. Both worked for her, which meant she was a potential threat.

She also knew too much about his illegal actions, since Neo had watched them all. 

"I'll be there," Cinder agreed, making him nod. 

"Then I'll see you soon," Shiro agreed, the hologram fading as Neo poked at the device. 

"Cinder-"

"I know what I'm doing," Cinder said, cutting Emerald off with a look. Atlas was already scouring the city for her, and her forces consisted of a cripple with no working legs, Emerald and her. She couldn't count on Neo because Neo wouldn't help her as long as Shiro had Roman. Assuming she even could fight with that collar on. "How did he capture you?"

Neo gestured, and a field of light appeared around her, filling with gas. Some kind of forcefield system inside his house? His mansion was very well-defended, apparently. A leap of faith, walking into the well-fortified base owned by a new crime lord.

Logic said to flee, ditch this hideout and find somewhere else. But he was right. The walls were closing in on her. She didn't have many more places to hide. Vale knew her face. She couldn't even risk going outside. 

Take a risk with Shiro or go back to Salem with her head bowed and admit she had failed. 

In the end, the choice was obvious as the car pulled into the garage of Shiro's large mansion at the edge of the city. She wasn't going back to Salem without the Relic in hand. 

Emerald was bad at hiding her concern as they headed into the building, Mercury in a wheelchair, thanks to his ruined prosthetics. The wounds from Rengar had healed up as his Aura had returned, but his artificial legs were a different matter entirely, having been reduced to scrap metal by Rengar.

Entering the lobby, she admitted that Shiro had done well for himself as Neo led them to a wall which retracted to reveal an elevator. Heading down beneath the cellar, they exited into smooth metal hallways. The entire underground area was well-lit, with strips of white lights running along the walls to illuminate the area, giving it an almost sci-fi look as Neo led them to a conference room, Shiro standing by the large table.

"You have upgraded from smuggling," Cinder praised, stroking his ego as she got her first look at the man in the flesh. He gestured for them to take a seat, each facing the other from each end of the table. Emerald and Mercury sat at either side of her, but Neo sat next to Shiro.

"I needed a place to do my tinkering in peace. It just happened that I could easily adapt part of my underground bunker into a prison when it became necessary," Shiro admitted. He took her in for a moment, his eyes moving down her body in admiration before he returned eye contact. She wasn't offended, giving him a sultry smile. "How fast do you need this item from Beacon?" 

"My employer is patient," Cinder said, understating it a considerable amount. Immortality gave Salem a way of seeing the big picture that nobody but Ozpin could truly understand. She had plans that would take decades to begin to bear fruit. "But the vault can only be opened by one person. I tried to take down that person and underestimated the precautions Ozpin took."

"That would be Amber, correct?" Shiro asked, making her hesitate. "I do my research. Shortly after you showed up on every most wanted poster, one 'Amber' joined the staff at Beacon with no last name and very little background. I confirmed the rest from some data I copied from my father's Scroll."

"I was under the impression you were an orphan," Cinder said.

"So was I until I got an utter mess dropped in my lap. My mother is Willow Schnee, something Jacques Schnee sees as problematic since if she acknowledges me, I become the heir of the SDC. My father, however, is Qrow Branwen, quite the lineage, no?" Shiro asked, and immediately, she stiffened. Ozpin's top agent is…"Relax, he doesn't know about you. I've met the man once, and have no loyalty to him or Ozpin. I created a program that clones Scroll data. It won't hack locked Scrolls, but if you unlock your Scroll in range, say… in my club when Qrow was coming to meet his long-thought-dead son, it copies over the data. Qrow, for an agent, is bad at data management. Most of it is in code, of course, but he mentioned an attack on one Amber right before you became the most wanted woman in the Kingdoms."

She relaxed, ever-so-slightly, even as her mind raced. Shiro had access to Qrow's data. He had eyes in Ozpin's circles. More than that, how much information was he going to get access too when his club opened? How many Scrolls would pass through it every single night?

"If your employer can wait, I plan to extend my intel network into Beacon with the start of the new year," Shiro continued. "I can keep you hidden away down here. I'd request that you avoid the main mansion for now. My father could spring a surprise visit on me, and my little battle maid isn't quite… flexible enough to work with someone wanted for 'crimes against humanity, faunus and omnics'. I'm working on that."

"She can. They'll be too on guard for an attempt now, anyway," Cinder admitted. That first failure was where everything had started to unravel. That damn sniper that took out the beetle had ruined everything. "So the question is… what do you want for the help you're granting?"

"I am working on a device that functions similarly to Neo's semblance to allow you to leave the safety of the lair. What I want is your assistance in bringing Vale's underworld to its knees," Shiro admitted. 

"You really think you can do that?" Emerald asked, making Shiro raise an eyebrow.

"If everything goes smoothly, I intend to have Vale's criminal underbelly secured by the start of Beacon's new year. My Euphoria is already flooding the streets, and that's just the start. My nightclub is almost ready to open, the first of many fronts. That said, while I have Blake, I lack firepower. I can hire men from Junior, but while I have an alliance with him, I can't make my own group by leaning on him so much; otherwise, I'll just end up under him," Shiro explained. "Mercury Black, son of a world-famous assassin. Cinder Fall, a woman capable of scaring Roman Torchwick into submission. Neo Poltian, a sexy little sociopath, and… whoever you are. Neo has already agreed to work off her sentence. Hers and Roman's, actually."

Neo smiled smugly at his description, and something in her body language told her that there was more going on there.

"Where is Roman?" Cinder asked, buying time to think.

"Oh, I left him in his cell. I figured his opinion didn't really matter since either you have him by the balls or I do," Shiro admitted shamelessly, pressing something on his Scroll as the screen behind him turned on and showed a very grumpy Roman sitting on a bed in a small cell, in nothing but his boxers. "Plus, he's sulking."

She glanced at Neo, but Neo just rolled her eyes. Spotting her look, Neo wrote out three letters in the air for her. E. G. O. Ah, Neo wasn't happy that Roman had gotten himself caught so easily? At least Neo had been genuinely caught by surprise. What excuse did Roman have?

"You said you could fix my legs? I'm not much good to anyone like this," Mercury said easily, and Shiro snorted.

"Fix? I can improve your legs, assuming Rengar left more than scrap metal once he was done with them, and I'm not working from scratch. If nothing else, I can put you in one of my powered exo-suits for now while I work on your legs," Shiro said with an easy, confident smile. Mercury perked up at that. He hid it behind his sarcastic attitude, but he hated it when his legs were out of commission. "Do we have a deal?"

This alliance would see her working under Shiro, paying off her 'rent' by helping him spread his influence, and her pride took offence at that. But, that said, what better option did she have?

She could work with this. Shiro was young and inexperienced but clearly a master of his craft. His tech could become her tech, and the data he was harvesting and his connection to Qrow could serve her ends. Even if she didn't backstab him, getting an ally in a position of power in the criminal underworld was still a useful tool. 

She would not fail.

Her smile grew, moving around the table as she offered her hand to Shiro, amused when he took it and kissed it. 

"I believe we do," Cinder agreed, seeing the potential before her. Shiro was going to be her tool.

– Neo Politan –

As Cinder and the others settled into the base, she hid a malicious smile. She had hoped Shiro would just use his traps and kill the three of them, but Shiro hated the idea of wasting what he could use.

Shiro gave her a knowing look, which turned hungry as she dismissed the illusion of clothing, still nude except for the straps. She was staying in the cells, for the most part, playing the prisoner. The more Cinder looked down on her, the better.

"Time to get you back to your room, I think," Shiro said, his hand on her ass as she smirked before she frowned and shook her head. "Ah, how could I forget? I'll have a drone bring down your payment."

Smiling smugly, she nodded. Cinder was fucked, wandering into a spider's web because she thought she was too big to ensnare. The thought put a skip in her step, even as she continued her own scheming. Shiro really was fun, and unlike Roman, he wasn't so worried about keeping his head down that he wouldn't let her out to… play.

– Roman Torchwick –

Laying on his bed in this incredibly boring cell, he stared at the ceiling in annoyance. Okay, he wasn't too proud to admit that he had… somewhat fucked up. Shiro shouldn't have had time to fortify his mansion to this level. It was ridiculous. 

And now, because Shiro could apparently build entire security systems and underground lairs in a matter of days, he was trapped in this cell. Still, he could look on the bright side. The Fang wouldn't find him down here, and they had short memories (for the most part). They'd find someone else to hunt, and Rengar wouldn't be able to keep looking for him. This place was safe and secure and he was treated rather decently as far as prisons went. This was hardly his first prison jaunt, after all.

As the sounds drifted in from Neo's cell, he took a deep breath. A moan, some gasps and the consistent clapping of flesh on flesh. 

Grabbing his pillow, he pulled it over his head. If he thought Neo wasn't willing or downright eager, his reaction would be different, but he was just left with annoyance as his adopted daughter figure was fucked in the next room. He did not want to hear this, but something told him that Shiro didn't care.

Who was he kidding? Neo didn't care, either. A grunt, some squelching and the sounds stopped, and Roman let out a sigh of relief. 

For all of a minute before they started again, more intense and louder than ever. Banging on the wall, the sounds stopped for just a moment before he realised his mistake. The banging that returned was rhythmic, consistent and far louder.

Fucking brats. Oh gods, he was getting old.

— Bonus Scene — Camille Ferros

As she arrived in Vale, she looked over the mission brief one last time. 

The ice-blue eyes staring back at her just screamed Schnee, even if it was not the name that Eis used. Even the name was similar. Shiro was certainly Willow's bastard, but that wasn't the main reason that she was all the way in Vale for him.

His technology was already making waves, with videos of his drones hard at work deconstructing the desolate buildings he had purchased and rapidly building new structures in their place. His drones were of interest to Atlas because they'd seen where this could lead.

Atlas had gone down this path before, leading to the Omnic Crisis. She didn't know if Shiro Eis was truly making artificial intelligence, but he was clearly a very talented inventor… and unrestrained genius had nearly destroyed the world once before.

Her goal was simple. Ensure that Shiro Eis wasn't about to start a second Omnic Crisis by trying to make his own AI, and discover the truth of his parentage. If Shiro was a threat, he needed to be either dealt with or recruited so Atlas could put his genius to use without it causing an apocalypse.