Chapter Text
It all began with an innocuous photo: The graduating class of... well, the numbers didn't matter so much as the memories themselves. Ren stood beside Nora, putting up with the 'bunny ears' that she thought were the most adorable thing ever. It was worth it, really. Fair was fair. She had been called 'Braceface' one too many times, and this was the least he could do for her.
That photograph of their childhood innocence now rested between the lithe yet calloused fingers of one devious Mercury Black. His lips were twisted into that of a mocking foe and not the charismatic upperclassman Mercury had led Ren to believe he was. "Cute, isn't she? I don't think they're dating, though."
The image passed between Mercury and an elegant lady clad in crimson. Her voice reminded Ren of silk, "And what would their status matter to me? It's clear that she means a lot to the boy."
"That's all we care about, right?" came yet another voice, this one much more jovial than the woman who came before. "I'm surprised, though, I didn't think he'd be so sentimental."
Ren watched the three of them jeer and tease as if he was not present. Anger, if not sheer indignation, lit his veins. He had said nothing since Mercury shoved him onto the floor before Ms. Cinder Fall, and he had no reason to break his self-imposed silence yet. His stoicism must have been grating on Emerald's nerves, though, because she watched him the way a cat scorned a stupid mutt.
"Well?" Emerald said as she stepped towards Ren. "Would it bother you if Mercury blew her brains out on your carpet?"
Ren showed no sign of responding until Cinder snapped her fingers and summoned a spark. Like a wave meeting the shoreline, she caressed the sweet little flame upon her palm until it brushed against the edge of Nora's thigh; the fire snaked up her body until her entire visage was engulfed. Cinder cast the burning photo at Ren before stomping out the flames. All that was left uncharred was Ren himself who had forced an awkward smile for the photographer's sake.
Cinder cupped Ren's chin and coaxed his gaze upwards: "You resemble your father, Lie Ren."
Roman was considerably less creepy than the enigmatic trio who had hauled Ren into the depths of some ominous basement just to taunt him. For one thing, the criminal had class. Intimidation tactics weren't beneath him, but they didn't involve Cinder's particular brand of humiliation either.
Peering out the tinted window, Ren stared at the quiet sleepy streets of Vale. He rarely went out as a student. As his father's little protégé? Well, he had thought those days long since behind him. Yet there he was, cooped up in a limousine like a purebred pomeranian that had lost the will to bark. Ren could scarcely manage a groan even.
As such, Roman spoke to the rear-view mirror more so than he did Ren, "I thought I was getting a set of helping hands. Now she's turned me into a babysitter."
Ren lifted his head up off of his palm. A bitter laugh spilled from his lips. "Don't worry. I'll get you in the vault." His neck itched. Ren hated wearing his hair down, but Emerald had stolen his cord as 'collateral' whatever that was supposed to mean. He didn't particularly care for his new wardrobe either, silently griping over the way the neckline swooped down. Just an inch lower and the whole world would have been able to play witness to the ink that marred his skin. As if no one would pick him out in a line-up thanks to his little swatch of magenta.
"Oh really. And how do you propose we do that?" Roman wanted an answer within the next three minutes. Anything to take off the edge of all these damnable red lights.
For whatever reason, Roman's mounting irritation did well to complement Ren's placid nature. "I was under the impression that blowing up a hole in the wall would suffice-The light turned green.-We are working under the assumption that we'll have to make a run for it, aren't we?"
Roman eased the car alongside the curb. Reverse. Forward. Reverse. Nailed it. He threw a glance over his shoulder as he groped around for the seat buckle. "I've a question for you, Streak. If you're blowing up the wall, how are you ensuring that the vault's contents don't go up in flames? People in my line of work, we call these things 'heists' because they require delicacy."
"I never said I was blowing up the wall to the vault. I'm your decoy." Ren slid out of the car. He clacked as he stepped onto the street. His old shoes were all that remained from his previous outfit. As the wind whipped around him, Ren let out a sigh.
Ren heard stifled laughter bubble up behind him. Looking to Roman, he noted how the man's shoulders kept twitching. "A decoy? This must be her way of thanking me. Crazy woman," - Roman tipped his hat - "All right, Pinkie. Time for you and me to take over the world. See you in ten."
While Roman strolled off towards the Dust repository, Ren marched further down the block. Ren slipped his hands into his breast pocket and retrieved the last component of his guise: A White Fang mask. It was a clever touch, courtesy of Roman upon pick-up. With both hands, Ren fixed the mask over his now jaded eyes and set off to do as he had promised. His target was none other than the Schnee Company's local branch.
Tracing the glass-lined wall with his fingertips, Ren rounded the building offices until he found the storage rooms. At this hour, it would be the least likely place for the employees to linger in. Ren took a deep breath. Focusing his aura, he thrust his palm flat against the building's surface: Glass flew everywhere as the wall imploded upon itself. Within a matter of milliseconds, the Schnee Company's alarm system began to blare like mad. Ren bolted.
Feet slamming upon the cold untrodden backroads of the industrial sector, Ren realized that his escape plan consisted of little more than running as far away from their escape vehicle as possible in order to head off the cops. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
Ren turned the next corner and slammed into the last person he expected.
"Okay, you nutty cultist," - Ren found himself with a bo staff pointed at his throat - "What kind of thief blows up the side of a building and then makes a run for it without grabbing any of the goods? You're making the rest of us look insane. Seriously."
Were it not for the adrenaline racing through his body, Ren might have held his hands up and called it quits then and there. Instead, he used what little aura he had left to decimate the very ground beneath them.
"Whoa, dude!" Kudos to that faunus for managing to dodge his explosion. "Hey! Get back here! Blake's gonna kill me if I let another one of you get away!"
Right, the mask. Ren hadn't even considered that factor. He just kept running, aura depletion be damned-- his legs gave way.
The world spun as the last thing that entered his conscious mind was Sun Wukong uttering his name in shock.