I'm not dead yet!

Well it certainly has been a while hasn't it guys, like four, five months I think? Any way now I'm back and we can get a start on the RWBY cannon timeline, or what's left of it anyway. Odds are that this story will be primarily about crime rather than Salem and her band of nut jobs. That doesn't we won't be seeing any of those characters but that will most likely not form up the bulk of this story.

Now about your concerns of Yami, or Mason's other personality. I will freely admit it was both an impulsive decision and experiment to see how everyone reacted to him. Right now, he will most likely be a one-off thing, but I might have him make cameo appearances here and there throughout the story. Let me know how you guys feel about that.

Also now that D2 forsaken is out I suppose Cinder might just have to follow The Way of a Thousand Cuts wont she.

Anyway, onto the reviews!

Crimson Grave: I'm glad you thought it was cute! And the idea of Ruby being anything at all like Revy is an absolutely terrifying prospect.

TheBake: I'm glad it's one of your favorites!

Cra0007: Don't worry there will be more family time in the future!

Rockman1159: You'll just have to wait and see!

Dekuton: Yeah, I know. Again, Yami is most likely a one-off experiment so don't expect to see a lot of him in the future.

Judaz: That is actually a fantastically hilarious idea! I might just add that in at some point!

True to the it 666: Feel free to, this is fanfiction after all

Cobalt Marvel: Glad to see people binge this story! It gives me a happy feeling all over!

The WovenMantis: Thanks for the follow mate! And all that starts this chapter!

Anonymous: I give you kudos sir for being the only person to point that out!

Any way lets get on with the chapter!

Chapter 12: Dusty Horizons

~Cinder Age: 20, Ruby Age: 15, Mason Age: Unknown, Estimated: 40~

~Start of the Canonical Timeline~

Cinder considered herself to be a patient woman. She had to be to constantly put up with her father's shenanigans, even if they were endearing and loveable, and dealing with incompetent hired help. However something about the man she was currently working with just annoyed her to no end.

She swore this was her father's way to get back at her for slipping laxatives into his morning coffee a week ago.

"Oi, princess you ready with that bullhead?" A smooth voice drawled over Cinder's handheld radio.

Sighing in annoyance at her unfortunate nickname Cinder radioed in her conformation. "Yes, Candlestick I'm all set at our rendezvous point a few buildings over."

"Awe, You don't sound happy to be working with me Princess. Didn't you miss your dear uncle Roman?" The voice said with a mocking tone over the radio.

"You act more like the annoying elder sibling than my uncle Roman." Cinder said.

"Eh." The radio chirped. "Your probably right. Quite the strange family we have, don't we?"

"Just get to work Roman. It's supposed to be game night tonight back home with the others and I'd rather not miss any more of it than I have too." Cinder said before shutting off her radio.

~000~

A man with shocking orange hair with a bowler hat and a white suit sighed in an alley as he slipped the radio into his pocket. "Sheesh It's almost as if she doesn't like me!"

"Uh Roman, boss?" One of several thugs said from behind Roman "I don't think she does."

Roman turned to the thug that spoke and stared at him for a moment.

"Jerry." Roman said.

"Uh yeah boss?" The thug now named Jerry asked.

"I pay you to rob dust shops late at night, not state the obvious and answer rhetorical questions." Roman said lightly smacking the thug in the back of his head with his cane. "Now come on, our ride is in position so let's get this over with."

With that the crime boss strode out of the alley followed by several hired thugs. Casually the group of criminals made their way down the street to one of the only dust shops open late at night.

From Dust to Dawn was a quaint shop. Nothing to fancy and one might confuse it for a convenience store at first glance. To the left as Roman walked through the door were powdered dust dispensers filled with the five most basic and common dust types, Burn, Freeze, Earth, Thunder, and Gale. Along the front counter was a special glass case that held the shops more high-quality items. These were larger raw dust crystals or specifically cut crystals. Sitting on top of the case was an advertisement for the dust combinations the store carried, Gravity, Demolition, and Storm. Off to the right of the counter was a section dedicated to magazines and newspapers.

Roman lit a cigar as he walked up to the counter manned by a blading older man with a grey shirt and red apron.

Tapping the ashes off the end of his cigar Roman looked at the store clerk.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a dust shop open this late at night." Roman asked rhetorically.

"You… You're-" the clerk started to say.

"Ap ap ap ap." Roman cut him off. "I know who I am and I'm in no need for you to say my name."

"Just take my Lien and leave." The old store clerk said frightfully.

"Calm down. We're not here for your Lien." Roman puffed his cigar before turning to the thugs behind him. "Grab the dust."

Each thug took out two canisters and made their way over to the dispensers and began to drain the dust. Others began setting the crystals not in the front show case in padded briefcases.

Roman in the mean time had the store clerk fill a briefcase with the dust crystals in the front showcase. "You know old man. You should really think about retiring."

The old man just continued to put crystals into the briefcase.

Roman sighed and puffed his cigar again. "Why does no one ever want to have a conversation! It's like they think I'm going to kill them, sheesh."

"Seriously, old man, things are going to be getting quite hectic soon, so I'd recommend finding a new job or-"

CRASH

"God dammit." Roman muttered taking out the radio in his pocket. "Princess we seem to have company so get ready to receive."

"Is it the police or a huntsman?" The radio crackled back.

"Not the police, if it was I'd already be on my way to you, might be a huntsman but Im not sure yet." Roman moved over to the now broken window. "Just be ready. We're cutting this run short."

"Roger that."

Roman looked out the window to see a young girl dressed in a red and black combat skirt, red cloak, and black combat boots standing over one of his unconscious goons. Resting on her shoulder was a massive scythe.

"Well someone's compensating for something." Roman lightly whistled to himself.

"Well?" Roman nodded from his men towards the girl. "Don't just stand there, get her."

The six remaining goons ran out the front door while Roman slowly followed setting the now filled briefcase of dust crystals against the wall gently palming one of the burn crystals.

Looking up from the crystal in his hand Roman watched the fight.

The young girl was clearly better than his goons given that out of the six he had sent after her, four were now on the ground either unconscious or groaning in pain in the time it took for him to walk outside and set his briefcase down.

"Well shit. Guess it's a huntress in training then." Roman muttered to himself as he watched the girl swing her scythe around and clothesline one of the two remaining thugs with the long pole that served as the weapons handle.

The last thug swung his machete like sword at the girl from behind only for the girl to disappear in a flash of red rose petals and reappear swinging around her scythe into the ground transferring its momentum into her body before planting both her feet into the thug's face and sending him flying right next to where Roman stood.

Looking down at the thug who had boot prints stamped onto his face next to him Roman only shook his head.

"You were worth every penny Jerry. Truly you were." Roman muttered sarcastically before dropping his cigar onto the ground and crushing it with the end of his cane.

"Well Red," Roman turned his attention back to the red and black clad girl. "I do believe you've cut short my time at this fine establishment so I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

Roman pointed his cane at the girl and pressed a button in its handle. The end of the cane popped open revealing a crosshair.

Reacting quickly the girl disappeared in a flash of rose petals again just as a multicolored missile came exploding out of the cane.

Meanwhile, while the girl was recovering from nearly being shot by what appeared to be a firework, Roman grabbed the case of dust, took off down the street, and was soon climbing up a fire escape that had been set up earlier for when he and his men finished robbing the dust shop.

Reaching the roof Roman ran to the opposite side just as he heard a gun shot and saw the girl in red from before getting launched onto the roof he was on.

"Geeze how light is she to be able to do that?" Roman said as he turned around. "Cinder better have that bullhead ready."

Roman smirked to himself looking at the girls slightly deshelved appearance before tossing the burn dust crystal from his pocket into the middle of the roof.

Throwing his arms out to the sides Roman let himself fall off the side of the building lightly snickering to himself when he heard the dismayed cry on the young huntress to be. He fell for about two seconds before he rolled into the passenger bay of the awaiting bullhead.

"Take us up." He shouted to the cockpit.

Standing up, dusting himself off, and readjusting his bowler hat, Roman waited for the bullhead to crest the roof before laughing at the stunned look on the girl's face.

Roman lifted his cane once more and shouted "End of the line Red." Before firing at the burn crystal he had tossed onto the roof earlier.

The shot hit the crystal and the ensuing explosion nearly caved the roof of the building down. Laughing Roman missed the purple glow that had seemed to surround the explosion.

Roman was interrupted in his laughter when he felt the bullhead suddenly jerk and saw that the debris from the explosion were being held aloft by a purple glow and no longer was it just the girl on the roof. Now joining her was a blond-haired woman wearing a black skirt, white blouse and a pair of glasses. In one hand was a riding crop that seemed to glow a slight purple.

Scowling Roman ran to the cockpit of the bullhead.

"Oi Cinder we got a huntress."

"HA." Cinder laughed before handing the controls over to Roman. "Neo's going to be pissed when she finds out we ran into a huntress the one time you didn't take her with you."

Dashing back to the passenger bay Cinder braced herself when the bullhead jerked once more as a large javelin of broken stone tore a hole in the roof of the craft.

"Dam." Cinder muttered.

Cinder's hands began to glow a fiery orange as she readied her semblance.

Not soon after a large glyph with a strange fiery crown design appeared on the ruined rooftop.

Reacting quickly the blond huntress grabbed the red colored girl and jumped outside the glyph just as the area was consumed in a large pillar of flame.

Lightly frowning the blond huntress split her rock javelin into three and threw them at the bullhead again.

Glyphs appeared in Cinders palms as she threw a blinding white fire ball at each javelin, destroying them before they could do any more damage to the already ruined bullhead.

Wanting to get into the fight as well, the red clad girl shifted her scythe into a rectangular looking rifle and began to fire at the airship.

Frustrated at the constant attacks on her ship Cinder launched more fire at the incoming bullets, trying to minimize any further damage.

Unfortunately, being distracted by the bullets, Cinder missed the storm cloud forming overhead.

Using Cinders distracted state to her advantage the blond huntress unleashed a rain of blindingly sharp icicles from the storm cloud and peppered the bullhead with hundreds of foot long Ice spikes.

Growling, Cinder put her two hands together and formed a perfectly spherical ball of blinding white flame. Launching the ball at the roof top the blond huntress put up a barrier of debris to protect herself from the oncoming projectile.

The ensuing explosion caused the already unstable roof to finally give way and caused the huntress and huntress in training to fall into the building below.

Huffing with exertion from her last attack Cinder made her way back to the cockpit to sit down only to find several icicles turning her seat into a large pin cushion. Looking to Roman she saw that he was lightly sweating.

An icicle had pinned his bowler hat to the seat and he had a large cut on the inside of his right leg where one of the ice spikes had nearly took his leg off.

Wiping the slight sheen of sweat off her forehead, Cinder lightly shook her head.

''I'd ask what took us so long to leave but I think I know the answer to that question." Cinder said sitting on the floor of the cockpit and resting her head against the wall. Brushing her long black hair out of her face.

Her words seemed to jolt Roman out of his shocked state. "You think?" he said. "And I just bought these pants too."

Cinder laughed lightly at the attempt at humor. "Did we at least get the dust?"

Roman nodded his head towards the area next to his seat where his briefcase sat. "Just the high-quality display case stuff. The guys had everything else and they're… well…" Roman trailed off.

"Well at least it wasn't a total bust then."

Roman snorted. "As if with the amount its going to cost to repair this thing." Roman patted the dashboard of the aircraft. "We lost almost two full heists like that worth, unless by some miracle all the damage we took was cosmetic but given the fact I can see the fuel batteries are sitting at a quarter power rather than three quarters Its safe to assume that that huntress managed to nail the dust batteries."

"Dam that's going to be expensive." Cinder muttered, taking out a knife she had strapped to her upper right arm, she began to toss it in her hand.

Roman looked away from where he was flying to Cinder.

"Somethings bugging you, you don't start tossing that knife of yours unless your bored or somethings wrong, so what's up? I can't have my temporary partner having issues."

"I'm worried." Cinder said after a moment of thought. "Dad is in Atlas with Neo working on faking our contact in the Schnee family's death so while I know he can handle himself, I can't help but worry for him. But also…" Cinder muttered something Roman couldn't quite here.

"You mind repeating that last part princess. Didn't quite catch that."

"That was my younger sister Ruby…" Cinder said. "The girl in red I mean."

Roman fell quiet. Mason had talked to him about the daughter he had to give away but refused to stop seeing, so Roman knew all about how it was Ruby's goal to see her sister and second father brought to justice.

"How old is she?" Roman asked.

"Fifteen."

Roman lightly whistled to himself. "Dam. She's got some skill with that scythe of hers, so we better be careful then."

"Yeah…" Cinder said. "Yeah we should."

~000~

Ruby sat at a metal table with a dejected look on her face in a dimly lit room inside the local VCPD station. She had been here for ten minutes after that blond huntress had apprehended her after fighting off that bowler hat guy with her.

What did she do wrong all she did was try and help that poor old shop keeper and defend herself when one of those thugs were trying to rob her?

Suddenly the door to the room opened and in walked the blond huntress from before.

Crossing her arms beneath her large bust the woman leveled a powerful glare at Ruby.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was?" The woman chastised. "What would have happened if that building you had been on was occupied and not for sale?"

Ruby hung her head, an almost visible cloud of depression forming around her.

The blond huntress sighed and adjusted her glasses. "If it were up to me you'd be sent home."

Ruby's depression seemed to deepen.

"With a pat on the back."

Followed by a suddenly blindingly bright smile.

"And a harsh slap on the wrist."

Followed by the immediate return of her soul crushing depression.

"But there is someone who wishes to see you." The huntress let out another sigh only this one seemed to be more tired than annoyed.

Stepping to the side the huntress slowed a man to walk through the door. The wore and dark green suit with a thin silver scarf and small circle rimmed glasses. The man's eyes were slightly squinted and colored a light green and his hair was a dull pewter color.

"Thank you Glynda." Gently setting a plate of cookies down on the table and taking a sip from a rather large coffee mug, the man sat down across from Ruby as she hesitantly began to eat the cookies on the plate.

"Ruby Rose…" The man said as Ruby paused in her eating. "You have… Silver eyes."

Ruby smiled nervously. "Yeah that's me."

"I'm glad to meet you. You put on quite a show back there. Though I am curious." The man took another sip from his mug. "How did someone so young become so skilled at wielding one of Remnants most dangerous weapons?"

Ruby smiled sheepishly. "Well I go to Signal sir. I'm a second year so I'd like to think that I'm pretty good with my baby."

"Your… baby?" The man raised an amused eyebrow.

"Yeah, my baby, Crescent Rose. I learned all about how to use her while at Signal Academy." Ruby chirped.

"I wasn't aware that there was a class that taught children how to use a war scythe." The man said with thinly veiled amusement.

"Well…" Ruby lightly poked her fingers together. "It was one teacher in particular…"

"As a matter of fact, the only person I know of who is even as remotely as skilled as you is an old acquaintance of mine. A dusty old crow." The man said his eyes taking an almost fond look to them.

"Hey that's my Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said excitedly. "He occasionally teaches at Signal whenever he's not on missions."

"Really?" The silver haired man had a soft smile on his face. "And you say that he taught you how to wield a war scythe?"

"Mmhmm" Ruby nodded as she finished off the last of the cookies.

"Well color me impressed. I would assume that because you are attending a preliminary huntsmen academy that you wish to become a huntress."

"Yup." Ruby grinned. "I'm going to be the strongest huntress in the world."

"Hoh." The man chuckled lightly. "That's quite the lofty goal. So you wish to fight the strongest monsters."

"Well not just that." Ruby was practically vibrating in her seat, before the dam burst and she spoke so fast that the man and huntress could just barely understand her. "I also want to fight crime, but the police are so boring, but fighting monsters is really cool and being a huntress is so much more romantic and exciting and I made a promise a while ago that I'd be the strongest, but I also want to help people."

"You're… a very animated person… aren't you." The man said lightly.

"Yeah I get that a lot." Ruby rubbed her arm blushing slightly. "That or scatterbrained."

The man smiled. "Tell me do you know who I am?"

Ruby looked at the man for a moment. "You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy."

"And you wish to be a huntress?" The now named Ozpin asked.

"Yes sir. More than anything." Ruby said with utmost seriousness.

"Well I believe we have a few extra spots available this year. Would you like to attend my school?"

"Ozpin sir, She's just-" the huntress went to say something but was stopped with a wave of Ozpin's hand.

"Your answer Ms. Rose."

"Yes sir. It'd be a dream come true!" Ruby said.

"Well." Ozpin leaned back in his chair and took another sip from his mug. "I do believe we have a new student attending this coming semester Mrs. Goodwitch. Please set up the necessary documentation and paperwork for young Ruby here."

Goodwitch's hand tightened slightly around her riding crop. "Yes sir."

Ozpin stood up from the table and made his way to the exit. "I'll see you at initiation in a week Ms. Rose."

With that the enigmatic man left the young huntress-to-be with her thoughts.

~000~

"You know for the home of a billionaire this place has some pretty lax security." Mason said to himself before looking down at his diminutive partner. "Then again when your partner can create illusions and perform short distance teleports within said illusions most security would be relatively simple to get through."

The short woman leveled a smug grin at Mason, here duel colored eyes swapping from a chocolatey brown to a heterochromia of soft pink and vanilla. She wore a low-cut chocolate sweater under a cream-colored jacket and brown jeans, with pink tipped white knee-high high heeled boots. Gently she slid a long thin sword from her umbrella and gently slid it between the crack of a door. Gently lifting it undoing the latch on the opposite side.

"I suppose her being a smug little ice-cream girl isn't much of a downside either." Mason muttered before slowly peaking around the corner.

"Neir, how's security looking?" Mason said.

"All good here." Neir said over Mason's ear piece. "I have a constant loop playing over the cameras, so you should be good and the next guard to come down your hall is still a minute away."

Mason nodded towards his partner. "Alright understood. How close are we to the target?"

"Her room is just down the hall." Neir said.

"And the fake body?" Mason asked. "Has that been discovered yet?"

"Negative. I don't think anyone should discover it until a few days from now and since it's been burnt beyond recognition I doubt anyone will be able to tell it's not her." Neir said. "Especially since she gave us her wedding ring to use. That was a clever idea on her part."

"Mmm" Mason hummed in conversation and his partner opened another door. This one leading to the familiar bedroom of one Weich Schnee.

The room looked just as Mason remembered. A large queen-sized bed in the center of the right wall. To the left was a large walk-in closet. Hanging from the ceiling was a large glass chandelier that had a distinct snowflake pattern incorporate into its design. A relatively large blue and white throw rug rested in the center of the room.

In fact the only difference that Mason could see between the last time he was here and now was that the two windows in the room now had bars over them.

Silently Mason shut the door behind his partner.

"Neo." Mason said to his partner and tossed her a spray-paint can. "Get to work."

Grinning evilly Neo took the can and made her way over to one of the empty walls and began her work.

"Well Weich I do believe I told you your husband would hire me to murder you and well here I am."

A small lump on the large bed stirred at the sound of his voice.

Sitting up with her hair a mess and nightgown hanging slightly off her right shoulder Weich Schnee scowled a Mason.

"Did it have to be so dam early in the morning." The Schnee matriarch growled out.

"What? Did you think I'd murder you in broad daylight snowflake?" Mason casually raised an eyebrow.

Weich didn't dignify him with an answer, instead opting to flop back down onto her bed and tug the covers over her face.

"Now now, Snowflake. Time to wake up I have to get busy murdering you, don't I?" Mason said with faux cheerfulness.

A muffled 'fuck off' was the only indication the Schnee matriarch had heard him.

"Ok. I guess a bed side murder it is then." Mason shrugged before making his way over to the bed and drawing a knife from his belt.

Splaying his left hand out and resting it on the bed, Mason twirled his knife in his right before stabbing it down just between his fingers and precariously close to Weich's midsection.

"Oh…." Mason began. "I got all my fingers… the knife goes chop chop chop."

Mason merrily sang as he slowly inched the knife and his hand closer to Weich.

"And if I miss spaces in between, my fingers will come off! And if I hit my fingers, the blood will soon come out! But all the same I play this game 'cause that's what it's all about!"

Mason raised the Knife once more before jamming it down faster and with more force. "OH! CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP I'm picking up the speed! And if I hit my fingers then my hand will start to bleed!"

Just as he finished Mason scraped his knife along where Weich was laying causing her nightgown to tear and a little blood to flow from a shallow cut. Weich let out a startled yelp, jerking out of the way.

"Now now, I can't kill you if your moving so stay still."

"Oi." Weich said as she threw herself off the bed. "Watch where your stabbing that thing!"

"But Snowflake! It's not a proper murder if it's not bloody!" Mason whined.

"Then let me do the cutting! And quit it with the deranged murderer act, It's creepy!" Weich nearly shouted.

"Fine, fine." Mason waved her off, dropping the deranged grin that had worked its way onto his face. "But that's how I'm supposed to look!"

Tossing his knife to Weich, he leaned against the wall and waited for her to cut her fingers and rub the blood on the sheets.

Turning to look at where Neo was, he let a smirk worm its way onto his face. Upon the far wall of the room, covering the sliding door of the walk-in closet, was written in massive red lettering 'LET THE REVOLUTION PROSPER!'

Beneath it Neo was writing a series of numbers that Mason recognized as the Schnee bank routing numbers, pins, and various other passwords.

Walking over to where Neo was, Mason plucked the can of spray paint out of her hands and wrote his own little message. 'VACUO SENDS THEIR REGARDS'. Next to it he put a little tiger head with three claw marks slashed through it.

"Well that ought to keep any suspicion off anyone from Vale." Mason said, lightly tossing the can back to Neo so she could finish. "And put all the suspicion on those jackasses who stiffed me in the White Fang."

Turning back to Weich he was slightly confused by just how… meticulous… she was being.

"Lets see… Most of the blood is around by the pillows so that would look like a slit neck but if I put more down near…" she was quietly muttering unaware she was tapping bloody fingers on her cheek.

"Seriously?" Mason asked. "Ol' Jackie Schnee paid me to kill you and dispose of the body. So long as your body isn't here, and they find the corpse I burnt to be completely unrecognizable with your wedding ring that I hid out in the forest, then how the blood falls shouldn't matter. Make it look like a struggle. It's that easy."

Weich paused in her thoughts. "You killed someone to make this more believable?"

"It was your idea to put the wedding ring on the corpses hand. Did you forget? And no I didn't. I Just bought a corpse from a contact I know." Mason shrugged. "You'd be surprised what else I could buy but that's a conversation for another time. Just cut your hand and smear it around a bit and let's get out of here."

Frowning Weich slashed her palm open and smeared it around her bed, covering her sheets and pillows in blood.

"Good." Mason nodded. "Now common we need to get out of here. The windows are a no go since those bars are wired with sensors and I can't afford to reveal that I have a man who can hack into the electrical grid of this house. We need to get out another way, preferably a window in another room."

"Why on earth would you want to go out a window? We're on the third floor?" Weich looked at Mason disbelievingly.

Both Neo and Mason stared at Weich with deadpan expressions.

"Weich…" Mason said. "I can jump on air and Neo can teleport… is it really that surprising that we want to go out the third-floor window?"

Weich blushed having forgotten just what abilities the man she was talking to had.

"W-Well let's go then! What are you waiting for." Weich spun around and marched off towards the door.

"Uh Weich." Mason said. "You might want to put on some actual clothes. That nightgown isn't going to be much help in the cold."

Pausing in her march, Weich turned around, muttering obscenities to herself while both Neo and Mason snickered to each other.

With Weich in a new change of clothes and their message left. The trio of people were soon out of the Schnee manor and on their way to Vale.

It would be weeks before the Newspapers and internet calmed down after the discovery of the assassination of the matriarch of the Schnee family.

AN

HUZZA ITS DONE!

And so cannon starts next chapter. Or at least what's left of cannon any way.

Who else in a part of Cinders strange family? What happened at game night? Will Weich ever manage to get into Masons pants?

Find out later when I actually manage to get off my ass and type the next chapter!

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and always remember to leave a review and PM me if you have any questions

Have a good one everyone!

-Zeak-