Project Viper: Sleeping Cinders (Part 1) (Patreon)

This week, a Project Viper story commissioned by one of my patrons - the first of a little series, and the Project decides to take another shot at fixing RWBY's problems... Cinder never seems to get a break with these guys, does she?

-

Operation Proposal:

Project VPRS have continued to monitor the world of Remnant in the wake of operation 106637 (see mission report for details). In the timeline created, Beacon suffered a critical attack, but survived and, in the aftermath, flourished, producing even greater heroes than ever before. Synchronicity response has been good as the world flourished, and the threat of an immediate cascade reaction has been averted.

However, the world still stands on a precarious precipice. With humanity fractured and a constant attacker in the form of the grimm ever present, a disaster is only ever a single villain away. VPRS has yet to determine a course of action that will stabilise the world for good – more information is required.

Thus, operation ‘DREAM STEALER’ is being submitted for approval. The operation shall be as follows: Several operatives of an enemy faction have been identified for their role in the Fall of Beacon event.

·  Neopolitan, a known criminal, formerly working with the infamous Roman Torchwick before his incarceration earlier in the target year. Specialises in illusions and disguise.

·  Mercury Black, son of famed assassin Marcus Black. Very talented in physical combat.

·  Emerald Sustrai, small-time thief. Believed to possess the power to interfere with people’s senses and generate illusions.

·  Cinder Fall, their leader, and woman of unknown origins. Possesses significant power as a result of stealing magic from a ‘Maiden’ – see Remnant’s history file for details.

These four villains possess valuable information – not just on their plot to destroy Beacon, but on their own benefactors and allies. Information which Project VPRS could use to develop a plan that would lead to a fully stable Remnant, and an end to the threat of a Synchronicity cascade.

Team Lullaby has pinpointed a moment where all four targets are together and vulnerable. During the lead up to the Vytal festival (See Remnant’s history file) the group gathered under the pretence of being students from Haven (See Remnant’s geography file). During this brief period they lived together in one of Beacon’s dorm rooms amongst their potential victims. During this time their main defence was laying undetected – thus, they could not bring other protections that would interfere with our ability to apprehend them. They were at their most vulnerable.

Team Lullaby thus proposes that Operative TELLER be permitted to align dimensional gateway R with the above temporal and geographical location and create a new timeline, where she will capture the four villains and bring them back for interrogation and conversion using Lullaby techniques. All four will be turned into VPRS assets – possibly for returning to their previous timeline and working against their original goals, or possibly for retaining as disposable assets, as best needed.

Risks are minimal, as Operative Teller is very experienced in her field. There is some risk that a new timeline will split before we can return the four villains we have taken, but as this will likely lead to a more stable timeline anyway, this is seen as acceptable by Team Lullaby.

Submitted for Operations Council review

Approved.

-

Operation Log 107325

Time Period: The run up to Beacon’s End

Target(s): Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black, Neopolitan  

Team: LULLABY

Operative: Agent Teller

-

Cinder Fall sighed and tried not to shift too uncomfortably underneath her new ‘student’ uniform. Her connections in Haven had been invaluable for sneaking into Beacon, but she definitely didn’t relish the opportunity to disguise herself as a student. It was amusing, sure, seeing her greatest enemy’s eyes skip right over her, being able to live and prepare right under their noses… But dust, it was infantilizing. She was in this business for power and respect, two things that students, very notably, got none of. The academy’s policy of accepting all applicants no matter their age was certainly convenient… And she was looking forward to being done with it.

Certainly she wasn’t going to waste her time attending classes while she was here. Beacon’s lecture circuit was available to all visiting ‘students’, but she had better things to do with herself. She’d sent Mercury and Emerald along to scout out the other hunters, of course, but she herself had spent her time planning out her infiltration of the school – the school dance was fast approaching, and it would make an excellent opportunity for her to slip her way in to some of the more guarded areas of the campus…

But her wanderings around the areas of her future heists were destined to be interrupted. As she circled the CCT tower one last time, she felt someone crash into her side, knocking her to the ground. Odd, normally her awareness of the world around her was better than that…

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Immediately there was a hand extended to help her back to her feet. Cinder blinked, and found herself looking up at a blonde woman in an unfamiliar blue uniform – or was it just a casual outfit? The jacket and flat round hat seemed rather official, if not part of any organisation that the dark haired mastermind recognised, but the dark dress and stockings, coupled with the way she wore the whole ensemble, looked far too relaxed. Irritating – Cinder prided herself on being good at this sort of analysis. Oh well, you couldn’t win them all.

“That’s quite alright,” she said amicably, ignoring the hand and pushing herself back up on her own. She couldn’t help but notice the blonde looked a touch disappointed, and felt the slightest twinge of satisfaction – no, she didn’t need anyone’s help, thank you. Especially not from a clumsy fool like this. With a half nod, she turned to walk away…

… Only to be stopped by the woman appearing in front of her again. “Wait, wait, wait,” the blonde cried, nervously waving her hands. “I’m really sorry – I’m such a clutz! Can I make it up to you? There’s a coffee stand just over there – My treat!”

Cinder stared at her. Really? Was this some silly attempt at one of those ‘meet cutes’ or whatever it was the kids called it these days? Well – she was a little flattered, of course, but then, it was only natural that someone with her looks would attract attention. Beauty was just another form of power, after all.

And she saw no reason to waste any of that power on an idiot.

“No,” she said curtly, turning away and marching off before the blonde could try again. Her control of the situation absolute.

But she missed the way that the other woman’s pout turned into a savage smirk as she left…

-

The dormitory was full when she got back that evening – her ‘team’, such as they were, had already returned and were loafing around the place. Mercury had kicked back on the bed with what looked like a cheap comic, and Emerald and Neo seemed to be engaged in some sort of card game – and honestly, Cinder wasn’t sure which one of them would be the one to bet against. Illusionist vs. Illusionist? Best not to be sat at that table if you could help it.

Of course that ended the moment she stepped in the door. “Cinder!” Emerald shot up, her cards fluttering down to the table, completely forgotten. If she’d been born a faunus, her tail would have been wagging at a hundred miles an hour. “I was worried-”

“There was no need,” the black-haired woman cut her off immediately, closing the door behind her and discarding her jacket. “There’s nothing out there that I couldn’t have handled if I needed to.”

“I- I know that!” Emerald blushed and stammered, licking her lips nervously. “I was just… I mean…”

She trailed off, uncertain, and Cinder hid a smirk. That was just where she wanted to keep the girl – always fawning for attention, never questioning her orders. The best way to make sure she stayed firmly under thumb. With that taken care of, she looked to Mercury. “How did things go?”

The grey-haired boy just shrugged without looking at her, spoiling the older woman’s mood immediately. “Eh. Nothing interesting. Normal sparring classes, bunch of idiot kids throwing semblances around and breaking stuff. No one strong up today. Boring.”

This one was less easy to control, though he wasn’t nearly as difficult as he thought he was. A pat on the head and a pay check were generally enough – plus the promise of chaos to come when their plan came together. “Good. And you?”

Neo looked at her with a polite smile, having already finished looking through Emerald’s cards and stealing the ones she wanted. This one was the hardest to manage. Neopolitan held no loyalty to her, or to her cause – all she cared about was Roman Torchwick. So long as her plans worked along with his, they would get along. The instant they didn’t… Well, it would probably be an uncomfortable day. Cinder wasn’t scared of Neo, as impressive of a fighter as she was – but Neo wasn’t scared of Cinder either, and that bothered her.

Plus, the girl didn’t ever speak a word. That kind of thing tended to make anyone nervous.

“… Good,” she decided, eventually. The small woman seemed happy enough. That would have to do. “Then everything’s going according to plan. I’ve been scouting out the grounds – everything seems to be in order. Once the night of the dance arrives-”

A shrill whistle pierced the air, and Cinder paused, looking around. Her eyes narrowed as she couldn’t locate the source of the sound. “What’s that noise?” She almost growled, her eyes flicking to Mercury. Had the idiot boy picked up some toy in the city while he was supposed to have been working?

But no, he was looking just as surprised as she was. And so were the others. Her eyes narrowed, and she called on the power that she’d sapped from the Fall Maiden. Flames began to build in her palms, just beneath the surface, ready to be pulled out and hurled at her enemies. If this was the prelude to an attack, then whoever was coming would regret it.

“Find it,” she ordered, the others jumping to their feet. All of them knew this could be something harmless – a simple Hunter prank – or the sign of an incoming assault. Emerald was the first to rush towards the door (Cinder was closer, but she wasn’t in any hurry to put herself in harms way, that was what minions were for) – but then she stopped half way across the room, reaching up to clutch at her head.

“I…” The dark-skinned girl’s face screwed up, as though she was trying to recall a painful memory. “I was… What was I doing…?”

Cinder raised an eyebrow. “You were about to look for the source of that unbearable wailing sound,” she said, her tone firm, but mildly concerned. It wasn’t like the girl to fumble like this…

“Oh.” Emerald blinked, her expression relaxing. “I get it… I’ll get right on that…”

Despite her words, she didn’t move.

This was, of course, unacceptable, and normally would have been met with immediate punishment. Cinder didn’t need another rebellious soul like Mercury on her team. But this was clearly something more. As the dark-haired mastermind watched, the light seemed to go out of Emerald’s eyes, and her arms dropped limp to her sides. She was swaying, practically boneless, staying on her feet only by the barest of threads. The shining, ruthless brightness that was so often paired with the girl’s eager need to please had utterly vanished – her eyes were dull and glassy, simply staring ahead at the door, as though she was looking right through it.

Mild concern blossomed into full-blown worry – not for Emerald, obviously, but for herself and her team. Alarmed, she turned to look at Mercury, only to find him sat back on the edge of his bed, blinking rapidly and shaking his head.

“Mercury?” She asked, her voice cutting through the wail that was steadily growing louder.

“Uh. Right. Yeah, that’s me,” he muttered, rising from the bed… only to fall back again half way. “Sorry, what’d you say? Kinda… hard to hear you…”

“Something’s wrong.” She stated the obvious as she watched the grey haired assassin’s face go just as blank as Emerald’s. “We have to get out of here. Neo?”

Flat pink and brown eyes stared up at her, occasionally flickering with other colours as the whine’s pitch waxed and waned. It seemed even the devoted criminal was suffering the effects of this… whatever it was. Cinder hissed, flames gathering around her. “Wake up, all of you!” She barked, eyes flashing. “I order you to snap out of it!”

… Nothing. Damn. She had thought that might at least work on Emerald. Cinder reached up to rub her head. The whine was growing louder now. She could feel it starting to slip into her head, the pitch wrapping around her thoughts like they were flies caught in a web, cocooning and tightening up around them, smoothing them out into nothingness. This… this signal was starting to affect even her. She needed to get out.

She turned and took a stumbling step towards the door. It wasn’t far to go. She just needed to get away from this strange brain blanking sound, get out of range of whatever this noise was. Then she could think again and… and work out what to do… She didn’t need the others, she just had to save herself… Just had to get out and…

Just had to get… something, and then she could… something…?

Another frown settled over her face for a moment as her hand reached for the door handle. What had she just…?

She’d been doing something, hadn’t she?

She was… Wait, what…

What was that…

… sound …?

Cinder Fall’s lips parted, her jaw hanging loose as her hands sank down to her sides, her expression smoothing out into passive blankness. Her eyes turned glassy, her breath drawing even. The flames that rolled around her snuffed out.

She, and the three other occupants of the dorm room, swayed gently on their feet, and thought nothing, the wailing sound ringing through their heads even when the noise finally cut out, and silence returned to the air.

The door slid open, and a gloved hand rose, a single finger pointing out to rest against Cinder’s forehead, gently pushing her backwards. She stumbled back a step without complaint or resistance, only keeping herself upright because of the lack of haste on the presser’s part. A presser who, as the dark-haired mastermind mindlessly retreated, finally entered the room.

The blonde in the blue uniform smiled, and leaned in close, whispering directly into the stunned woman’s ear. “I never take no for an answer, Lady. Lucky me that you were my target as well as a jerk~” She raised her wrist to her mouth, a small metallic device wrapped around it no larger than a calculator. “This is Teller – I have, hm, let’s see, one, two, three, yes, four pairs of brainless blinkers here, all nice and lined up for the net. I’ll set up a portal beacon in five – gimme some privacy until then, got me girls?”

Agent Teller slid past her target with a giggle and closed the door behind her, looking around and confirming that everyone else in the room was in a deep, blank trance. “Wonderful. I did worry that maybe one of you wouldn’t be so well behaved, but nope! Lucky, lucky me~ All four targets with one siren call – now that’s professionalism!” She nodded happily to herself. “We’ll see what you have to say for yourselves back at HQ, you naughty little villains. For now, you all just stay deep in your trances and start packing up your things. We have a mysterious disappearance to arrange.”

All four began to move – only for the blonde to snag Cinder around the waist. “Ah ah, not you, babe.” She grinned as she spun the entranced pyrokinetic around to face her. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re smoking hot?” The blonde grinned.

Cinder didn’t have the wit to tell her that, yes, Yang from down the hall gave her that line at least once a week whenever they saw each other. This was probably for the best.

The blonde gave her a mock pout all the same. “But so rude!” She giggled and leaned in, their faces drawing close. Sinister, shimmering blue met empty amber. “You’re so much prettier without that nasty mind to get in the way~”

And then she leaned in and caught Cinder’s lips with her own. It wasn’t a very romantic kiss – one side was simply passively accepting, while the other dove in tonsils first and refused to come up for air until there was a real risk of her face turning as blue as her jacket – but it was a deep kiss none the less, and one that went on for quite some time. By the time it finally broke, the others had all of their possessions neatly packed in suitcases and stacked on their beds, standing beside them blankly like good little drones.

Teller smacked her lips as she finally let go, savouring the taste. “Mmm. That smoky allure of yours really is hot.” That line, also one of Yang’s. “And I’ll make sure to enjoy it later. But enough of me delaying you. Go pack up your stuff, babe.” She turned the woman around and smacked her jeans wearing ass to get her moving. Cinder, of course, didn’t object – she just moved over to her closet and did as she was told.

As she worked, Teller moved over toward Emerald, smirking. “Let’s see how your little protégé compares, shall we?” She laughed, sweeping the young thief off her feet and planting another kiss straight on her lips, taking the time to grope her chest while she was at it for good measure. Naturally, neither Emerald or Cinder would ever have allowed this – but neither of them had a say anymore, and so Emerald lost what may very well have been her first kiss to the blonde agent without a single thought on the subject whatsoever.

This kiss didn’t last for near as long, though. Teller glanced at the device on her wrist and groaned, pulling back and releasing her compliant captive. “Damnit, why’d I only say five minutes? There’s like four beds I could ruin with them right here… Oh well.” She sighed and moved past Mercury without a second glance. “Out of my way, buddy, you’re not ready for me yet. You’ll get your chance. But you!” She stepped over to Neo, looking down with glee. “Oh, you’re just fantastic! Look at that outfit! That style! I wonder if they’ll let me keep you?”

Neo had nothing to say on that matter. This was less meaningful than it sounded, yes, but she had nothing to think on it either.

“Well, we’ll see. C’mere Pintsize.” The Agent grinned and scooped the smaller woman up in her arms, delivering what would have been a world searing smooch to her victim had she really been capable of properly experiencing it. Ah well – Teller certainly wasn’t going to let the opportunity go to waste. Her hands roamed and groped, exploring the multi-coloured haired woman’s body as much as she could in the time she had left-

Beep.

Which was, unfortunately for her, practically none. The alarm on her wrist went off, and the blonde broke her make-out session to give it a forlorn look, before putting her latest catch back down with a ‘humph’.

“… We’ll have more fun later, Ladies. For now, we’d best get you back. Siren call trances don’t last forever… But don’t you worry.” She gave the room a sinister grin. “We have plenty of more permanent solutions to people like you. You’ll learn all about them once we get your set up.”

She reached for her belt and plucked a small disk from it, tossing it on the ground. On contact, it flashed once, and then a bright light extended upwards from it, rising to about the height of a normal sized door before widening out. Soon, there was a round yellow portal hovering in the air.

“And there’s our ticket out of here. Take your things, everyone – you won’t be coming back here.” She paused for a second. “Well, not exactly here, anyway. I guess this timeline is going to have to make its way without you somehow~ Oh however will they manage.” She shrugged. “Well, that’s not your problem anymore. Go on, all of you, get through the portal. March. And listen to the people waiting for you on the other side. They’ll have plenty of nice easy orders for your simple little minds.”

She pointed – and without a word, all four obeyed. They gathered their things silently and, without so much as a single look back, stepped through the portal, one after the other. And after the last one, Cinder, vanished through… a strange calm settled over the room. Teller looked around, a small smile on her lips.

“Feels more peaceful already. Well, good luck, Remnant. We’ll be keeping an eye on you guys – see how a timeline free of those jerks goes forward. Hoping for the best!” She backed towards the portal, waving as though bidding goodbye to a friend. “Don’t let me down now!”

Then she was gone. The portal closed. Silence fell.

It would be some time before the four were registered as missing. Eventually it would go down as one of Remnant’s unsolved mysteries – especially when it was discovered that the four missing ‘students’ didn’t have any real records back in Haven. The four would become a riddle that puzzled conspiracy theories for years…

… But none of them would ever realise just how lucky they had been to lose them.