If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.

Proverbs 25:21-22

/

People flitted by her like shadows, grey ghosts in the mist. Neopolitan registered each and every one briefly, instinctively sizing them up as potential threats. Most of them were uninteresting. The majority were simply White Fang grunts, barely trained. She could take out any ten of them single-handedly. A few veterans lined the catwalk above the warehouse floor or stood guard by the doors. They were slightly more dangerous, but still nowhere near Neo's level. As for the recruits flooding in, they were barely worth a glance. Clerks, cooks, waiters, dockworkers, and transient workers, come to join the White Fang, for whatever reason, Neo didn't really care to guess. None of them had seen combat, though a few moved with the trained caution that came from a life of distrust. Two in particular looked dangerous; maybe they would be worth a second glance.

Neo never got the chance, though. Roman Torchwick walked towards her, rubbing his hands together.

"Hey kiddo. You ready?" he asked, giving her a warm smile. At his reassuring grin, a knot Neo hadn't even known had been forming in her stomach relaxed. She remembered that same grin from a cold winter's day years ago, when Roman had invited her into his home for the first time.

Neo nodded emphatically. He gestured at the Atlesian Paladin, hidden behind the massive White Fang banner.

"Great. I'll do the talking, you watch my back. Just like old times, right?"

Neo nodded again, less certain this time. Ever since that Cinder woman had come along and forcibly recruited the duo, Neo had felt more and more out of her element. From small-scale robberies to massive operations, a small army of henchmen, and now military hardware, Neo felt like things were escalating, and increasingly out of their control. Roman placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting smile.

"Hey, relax. No matter what happens, we've got each other's backs, right?"

Neo smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but then she looked around at the crowd of Faunus surrounding her. It was if an invisible hand clamped itself over her throat, preventing her from speaking. She'd spent so long alone, trusting no one, even the act of speaking to a stranger went against her instincts. She tried to shake the uncomfortable feeling by tugging on Roman's sleeve. He bent down so that she could whisper in his ear. Her voice was soft, but hoarse, like steel being scraped over a whetstone, the legacy of a fire long ago that had scorched her throat and claimed her home and parents along with it.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Roman gave her another smile and ruffled her hair.

"Whatever you say, kid."

/

Neo jumped out of the Bullhead's open hatch and hit the ground running. She activated her Semblance, making herself invisible, and crouched behind a pillar to take stock of the battlefield.

She was just in time. Roman was standing up, thankfully unharmed, surrounded by the wreckage of the Paladin. He brushed himself off a made a snarky comment. Neo rolled her eyes and ignored him, instead choosing to focus on his opponents as she prepared to cast another illusion. In a split second, she sized up each of her enemies.

First was the "Little Red" she had heard so much about. Neo was surprised - she was barely a child, and she had still managed to be a thorn in Roman's side? Then there was the Schnee girl. She was poised, precise, skilled, but nothing special. Yawn. Then the Faunus from the warehouse. Neo cursed herself for not paying more attention earlier. She seemed dangerous, as Neo's first impression had told her - best to keep an eye on her.

Then there was the blonde. Instantly, Neo identified her as the heavy hitter. She literally seemed to be burning, her hair glowing like the sun and her eyes blazing red. Neo's fist clenched around her parasol. What she wouldn't give for them to meet in battle. She looked so strong, so dangerous. Neo's heart pounded in her chest.

Alas, no time for personal indulgences today. The blonde fired a blast from her gauntlets, and Neo cast her illusion. Roman dodged out of the way, but to the enemies' eyes it seemed as if Neo herself had jumped in front of him, blocking the round with her parasol.

There. Let blondie have a taste for the next time we meet.

Roman quickly caught on to the ruse, and ran away from the battlefield. While the blonde gave a roar of frustration and charged forwards, the two partners in crime beat a hasty retreat towards the Bullhead. Behind hear, Neo could hear the sound of the blonde shattering her illusion.

As the engines screamed and the airship leapt into the sky, Neo caught a fleeting glimpse of her opponent's face, contorted in fury.

Until next time.

/

Neo looked at the map uncertainly.

"Right into the middle of the city?" she asked hoarsely. Roman nodded and puffed on his cigar.

"I'm afraid so. Going to be a real mess. But you stick close to me and you'll be okay."

Neo glanced at him and smiled weakly.

"I know."

Roman frowned.

"Something's still bothering you."

Neo shrugged uncomfortably.

"I don't know. I just think...like you said, it's going to be a mess. We've never done anything on this scale before."

Roman sighed and knelt in front of her. Even though she wasn't a child, she still appreciated when he came down to her level - it felt like he was treating her as an equal, rather than an adopted daughter.

"Look, kid. What have I always said about the world?"

Neo hesitated.

"That it's a big scary place. And that we need to look out for ourselves."

"That's right. Now, I don't want to be involved in this any more than you do. But Cinder and her lackeys...they're not going to let us go. So we've got to do this."

"Yeah, I get it," Neo said. Roman sighed and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Look. I don't know what's going to happen after this. But maybe once this is all over, you and I can go back to the old life. Just you and me. Okay?"

Neo smiled.

"Okay."

Roman stood up and looked back at the map. Neo tried not to spare a thought to all the people that would get hurt. It wasn't like she had any control over this series of events, right? It wouldn't be her fault, strictly speaking. That wasn't so bad...

One of the Faunus shouted into the train car, breaking Neo out of her thoughts.

"Hey, boss! We found something you might wanna see!"

/

"You two go on ahead. This one's mine."

Neo's pulse began to race. This was what she wanted. The thrill of a fight, and at the end...

The blonde readied her fists while her two comrades raced forward. Neo let them pass - tactically speaking, all she had to do was distract one of them long enough to give the train time to reach its destination. Besides, one-on-one fights were more fun. Neo chose to focus on flipping backwards to avoid a blast from the blonde's gauntlets.

She rose to her feet and let her opponent approach her. From the way she had reacted, evidently she was looking forward to this rematch as much as Neo was. The blonde glared down at her, and Neo noticed that her eyes were not red, but a soft shade of purple. Neo blinked, causing her own eyes to switch colors.

Shall we dance?

The blonde threw the first punch. Neo couldn't resist the grin spreading across her face. She jabbed the end of her parasol into her opponent's side, causing her to not only miss but spin around entirely. As she recovered, Neo opened her parasol and set it daintily on her shoulder.

Now her opponent was angry. She lunged forward, dealing haymaker after haymaker at Neo's head. Left-right-left-right, Neo smirked as she easily dodged each and every one. So predictable, so clumsy! And yet...Neo could feel the raw power behind each and every blow.

Oh, if only you fought a little smarter, this could be a real fight!

The blonde tried to mix up her attacks with a series of kicks. In response, Neo closed her parasol and used it to deflect her blows, then spun around and knocked her down with a kick to her head. She flipped backwards, aiming another kick at the blonde, but she rolled out of the way and sprang to her feet, then lunged forward. Neo recovered and grabbed the blonde's arm, delivering an axe kick to her face. Then she released her opponent and kicked backwards, knocking her down again.

She cartwheeled past the blonde and gave her the chance to get back up again. She did, and this time when she attacked Neo used her parasol to block her attacks and jab at her stomach and face, opening and closing it as needed. Neo couldn't help but feel a little contempt as she easily shove the blonde backwards.

I'm disappointed blondie, I thought you would be more of a challenge!

The blonde screamed and aimed a blast at Neo's feet, but she was easily able to flip backwards and land daintily on a crate, parasol resting on her shoulder and her legs crossed.

The blonde walked forward again, giving Neo time to cock her head to the side curiously.

Really? So predictable?

When the blonde threw her obvious punch, Neo deflected it with her open parasol and balanced on one hand, spinning around and aiming kicks at the blonde, easily dodging every blow. She was just showing off now, hoping to make her opponent even angrier, if that were possible. Finally, she pushed into the offensive, using a series of forward flips to deal kick after kick at the blonde.

The blonde once again tried for a shot from her gauntlets, and this time Neo blocked it with style, spinning around to place her parasol over her shoulder and perch on one leg. The blonde jumped forward and aimed a punch at her parasol, and Neo used the momentum to spin around and once again use her closed parasol to deflect the blonde's clumsy blows.

She was getting bored now, it was probably time to -

The blonde grabbed her leg, and for a split second Neo's heart leapt into her throat. Her pulse sang as her opponent threw her, and Neo immediately knew she had won. If the blonde had gone for a takedown, that could have been it, but instead Neo was able to recover and sprint forward, leap up onto the blonde, grab her hand, and perform a flawless takedown of her own that slammed her against the roof of the train car. She landed flat on her back, unconscious.

Neo took a moment to savor the adrenaline rush and the sight of her opponent, defeated. She lived for this, the feeling of power that came from victory, the knowledge that she was the one with control over life and death...

And now, the finishing blow. Neo walked forward, drawing her misericorde from her parasol. All the fear she had been through, all the suffering that she carried with her from those years on the street, melted away as she prepared for a swift downward stab into the blonde's heart.

Suddenly, she heard a sound behind her. Turning, she saw a woman with a fearsome red katana lunge forward and knock Neo back. The blow was softened by her Aura, but the sheer swiftness of the attack was enough to give Neo pause. And as the new challenger's sword telescoped to impossible size, Neo felt icy fear grip her heart. Her blood, previously pounding in her head with the rush of victory, now froze, and Neo knew this was not a fight she could win.

She prepared an elaborate illusion, one that would make her opponent think she had teleported away. And as she cast it, she spared a glance at the blonde she had defeated, lying on the floor of the train car.

We have unfinished business blondie. We'll meet again.

/

The streets of Vale lay silent. The panic and terror had given way to a frightened silence. Neo watched the empty square where the train had burst forth not hours before, allowing hordes of Grimm to tear their way through the city. She felt a strange sense of horror at the scale of destruction. Strange, because she'd witnessed many terrible things in her, committed some of them, but they all seem small compared to this. She'd never had this much blood on her hands. She wasn't altogether unfamiliar with this feeling, but she hadn't felt it in a long time.

It wasn't my fault, they made me do it...

She seized on that feeling and pushed it down deeper. Forget about whose fault it was. It wasn't even worth feeling bad about. The world was a big, scary place, terrible things happened all the time. Why feel bad for, what, a few dozen people? It wasn't like they had ever done anything for her. The "heroes of Vale" had saved the city, but Roman had wound up in Ironwood's custody. The only man who had ever cared for her was punished, while the rest of the city would go on as usual. That didn't seem so fair.

"Hello, Neo."

Neo spun around, hand on her parasol, ready to draw the hidden blade if need be. She saw Cinder and her two lackeys, approaching Neo from the alleyway behind her. Instantly, her mouth dried up. There was no way she could speak to them, she physically couldn't.

"It's a shame that poor Roman had to be put away," Cinder said in her sultry tone. Neo hid her anger, choosing instead to relax her combat-ready stance and stare at the ground near Cinder's feet.

"But you'll have a chance to help him escape."

Neo raised her eyes slightly, briefly making eye contact. Fire glowed behind Cinder's eyes, windows into an inferno. Neo had briefly seen those inner fires unleashed when Cinder had recruited her and Roman. The sight had dredged up memories of the fire that had claimed Neo's home, and cowed her into submission.

"You'll need a disguise. For someone of your skills, that shouldn't be a problem. After that...you'll come with us to Beacon. How would you like to be on a team with us, Neo?"

There was a hint of amusement in Cinder's voice.

I'd like to run away with Roman and never see you again, Neo thought, but she nodded once. Emerald and Mercury were unknown quantities. They were skilled, that much Neo knew, but until she knew their weapons and Semblances, they were too dangerous to risk a fight with. And Cinder was...something more than human.

She stepped forward and placed her hand on Neo's cheek. Neo could feel her skin, hotter than any human's had a right to be, but she didn't dare shy away. She stood there, barely preventing herself from shaking, as she remembered what it was like to be helpless. To be a scared child, alone and hungry and desperate, barely able to raise a hand to defend herself. She hated those memories. She tried ever waking moment to bury them, to distance herself from that scared lonely child.

And Cinder had stripped all those carefully-built defenses away.

"We're going to do great things, Neopolitan. And you're going to be a part of them."