crying over weiss throwing her arms around yang in the camp

god but there is something so Xiao Long about Ruby's breakdown in Risk

granted: we don't know Summer, we don't know how Summer would react situations like this, part of the REASON why Ruby's so upset right now is because she doesn't know either, but:

the same resentment to comfort, the same muted emotional devastation, the same walling-off, and, oh--Ruby is literally the same age now that Yang had been. given what we know about how Tai reacted after Summer's death, i think they both got it from their dad.

and Ruby "i'm seventeen we sent out a message 24 hours ago EVERYBODY DIDN'T IMMEDIATELY TELEPORT IN EVERYTHING IS A FAILURE" Rose isn't ready to recognize it yet, but i certainly take heart in it, regardless of how the Summer stuff ultimately shakes out.

on one level it's just that Yang has been depressed before, and she can help Ruby through it now, but even beyond that: what Yang went through after Beacon and what Ruby is going through right now parallel each other at a core level. it's about experiencing intense loss and alienation, focalized through the actual/potential loss of a part of the body. Yang lost her arm, but she also lost Blake, lost Weiss, lost Raven, lost Summer, even lost Tai for a while, and the despair comes from the fact that it's start to feel inevitable--that everyone leaves her behind. a piece of me is gone. and it's never coming back. there's a horrible fatalism to it.

Ruby's eyes have marked her and isolated her since the very beginning of the show, long before she even knew why, and the more she finds out, the more awful it gets. and now she's learned something that feels like the final piece for the puzzle of her life: that her mother might not have died heroically, or died at all, and the loss isn't better but much worse, because now Ruby might meet her, and have to destroy her, WITH her eyes. the eyes that are her link to Summer, that also caused whatever happened to Summer, that are part of why everyone is suffering now; the eyes that made her special, and placed so much responsibility on her, and it's all just too much. she'd said to Yang it's not pointless, and look where it got her. we shouldn't lie to ourselves. she's just one more person on the same inevitable trajectory, and things only get worse.

so much of Ruby's identity has always been wrapped up in how much she wants to live up to Summer, and she is neck deep in that crisis right now, but...i'm suddenly thinking of End of the Beginning, when Qrow was first telling Ruby about her eyes: you're special, Ruby. and not in the Daddy loves his special angel kind of way. that's always raised my hackles, because...well, because it's just a shitty thing to say to a fifteen year old who just came out of a COMA AND THE MOST TRAUMATIC NIGHT OF HER LIFE, but also: Ruby is special because her father loves her. it's been hammered home repeatedly in the show that not everyone gets that. the fact that she is echoing the mannerisms of her sister and father even in the depths of her Summer-related horror means something. it means she has her father, even if he's not physically with her right now. it means she has her sister, who is. it means she has her team, her friends, her...Penny--hell, it means she has the whole world, because she got the message out using Amity, and she said: my name is Ruby Rose. i'm a Huntress. everyone knows who she is.

and she might not feel it right now, but with all of that, the weight of the world can be eased. the weight of her mother, which feels even heavier--that can be eased, too.

it is, after all, just a part of her.

Firen Lhain: Chapter 703: Minas Levain:  Part II/III

"Wait?" Yang asked, "Does that means he actually wants her to give him a blowjob?"

"She's hot," Jaune stated, "and cute, but as I said, I'm not looking for more wives. Four is plenty."

"Then, perchance?.." Weiss asked.

"I was raised to mean what I say." Jaune replied, "Kind of important for a knight and whatnot, but, I honestly believe that the only way this is going to work is if we are completely honest with each other. We're here for each other, and no one is being forced into this."

"He does have a point." Ruby said, "Wait, does that mean you are going to spank us if we lie?"

"Yes." Jaune simply stated.

"I didn't think I was asking?.." Ruby asked.

"Rhetorical." Weiss stated.

"Literal." Blake said, looking at Jaune, "So, my choices here are let Aurora stay in exchange for blowing Jaune when we need it, or getting a spanking."

"You should go for the spanking." Yang said, and everyone quickly looked at her.

"Qrow did say you are like Raven?" Ruby asked.

"What does mom have to do with this?" Yang asked.

"That you seem to take after your mother." Weiss stated, "And aside from her hair, once you think about it, the resemblance is uncanny."

"And you called her mom." Blake stated.

"What does Raven have to do with this?" Yang asked.

"Nice save, sis." Ruby said to her.

"Uh-huh, yeah, thanks..." Yang sarcastically said.

"I do think we should be completely honest with each other." Weiss stated.

"Even if we get spankings?" Ruby asked her.

"If my pert posterior has to be sacrificed?.." Weiss happily asked.

"Try not to sound too eager." Yang said to her.

"...then it will be sufficient if it means harmony amongst our family." Weiss finished.

"So?," Ruby nervously asked, "are... we going to let Aurora give Jaune blowjobs, or?.."

"Am I the only one who's ever given one?" Blake asked. Ruby and Weiss would be expected, but Blake just glared at Yang.

"I may..." Yang voiced, "or may not - be all talk. I've never actually..." she said, and trailed off.

"You have?" Ruby asked, "How was it?"

"Nothing quite like that feeling of direct sevice..." Blake whistfully said, "though, my memories... I'd rather replace them with someone who's not a monster, nor will turn into one."

"Are you?.." he said and paused, "That confident in me?" Jaune asked her.

"Of all of us here, you are the least likely to turn to the darkside."

"The I don't give a fuckery," Yang stated, "is strong with him."

"Stolid." Blake quipped, and Weiss eagerly nodded at that.

"Implacable." Weiss added.

"Even when I was... you know... crying?.." Jaune asked.

"Give the circumstances," Weiss stated, "that was understandable."

"The ancients created tragedies to give men an excuse to cry." Blake added, "But the pain of that loss marked your soul. I can see the scar burning, a scar you never want to happen again."

Tears started to form on Jaune's face.

"What about me?" Ruby asked, raising her hand.

"You," Blake said to her, "are like me, you can do the wrong thing because you believe it's right. I honestly don't know what I believe anymore."

"What about me?" Yang sheepishly asked.

"Your strength needs strength to temper it." Blake said to her.

"And... if I might ask?.." Weiss asked.

Blake looked her deep in the eyes, "What you want most is to do what is right." Subtle tears started to form on Weiss' face.

"And?.." Yang asked.

"And?," Blake asked Yang, and looked back to Weiss, "what is that?" Weiss looked lost and distant in reply. "That's the thing." Blake stated, "we don't have to do this alone." She stepped forward to embrace Weiss in a deep hug. "We love you." Blake whispered, and then stepped back. "To think I'd love a Schnee. You were like Satan or Dark Brother."

"And, no offence," Weiss stated, "but you as well."

Yang powerfully punched her fists together, "Heaven help us. Hell's afraid of us."

"The power of RWJBY!" (ruj-by) Ruby exclaimed.

"I do believe we need to work on that." Weiss stated.

"Or we just call ourselves Arcs." Blake stated, "That is how it traditionally works."

"Because we're so traditonal." Jaune sarcastically stated.

"A knight and his concubines?" Weiss asked.

"Well, yeah?," Yang asked, "but wouldn't one of us be his wife?" Weiss and Blake looked at her curiously, "I mean, the knights always had wives right?, and concubines aren't wives, which means he had to have a wife and maybe concubines?" RWBY eyed each other narrowly, as if a fight could break out at any time.

"No fighting!" Jaune's deep baritone stated, and the girls quickly relaxed.

"Now that this is resolved," Weiss said, and looked at Blake, "don't think we forgot what you said about Aurora."

"Are we really doing this?" Blake asked.

"Indeed." Weiss stated.

"But?.." Blake asked, and then trailed off. "No, I'm the one who said it, so I'll have to stand by it."

"Who knew Blake was that kinky?" Yang asked.

"I suspected." Weiss said to her, and then turned to Aurora. "Aurora?" Aurora simply nodded. "Well, now that this is out in the open, I'll have to object."

"WHAT?!" Blake and Yang shouted.

"Did you really think I would accept this?" Weiss asked.

"I'm honestly completely lost here." Yang stated.

"I knew you would decline." Aurora stated.

"Then?.." Weiss asked.

"Then," Aurora said, "I have made myself clear."

"And then," Jaune stated, "she can't stay in the master's apartments."

"You heard his daddy voice." Yang stated.

"I'd pefer a mommy voice." Aurora said, and then with a shocked look, looked about bashfully.

"Well, that explains it." Blake stated.

"Explains what?" Weiss asked.

"She's a lesbian submissive." Blake stated nonchalantly.

"That," Yang voiced, "doesn't really explain as much as you think it does."

"Hm?" Blake asked, and Yang vigorously pointed between Aurora and Jaune.

"I think we've embarassed her enough for the moment." Jaune stated, "Aurora?," he asked, "guest apartments or servants quarters?"

"The guests apartments are closer to my mistress," she stated, "unless they are otherwise needed, in which case I will take the servants quarters."

"She's part of the family, isn't she?" Ruby asked, and everyone looked at her.

"Yes," Blake said with a smile, "just not in that way."

"Alright," Jaune stated, "I'm going to go check out the kitchen. Assuming Contrary is going to explore the library."

"I will accompany Jaune-dear," Weiss stated, "and prepare us coffee."

"The library is like an entire floor, so I'm sure she's going to love it." Yang stated.

"And what are the sisters going to do?" Weiss asked asked.

"I know this is going to sound corny," Yang replied, "but I'm going to guard our... apartments."

Before she knew what was happening, Jaune had pulled her in for a passionate kiss, causing Ruby to huff. When Jaune pulled away he opened his arms, and in a burst of rose petals Ruby was there, and he picked her to kiss her before putting her back down.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"I'm going to see how Ilia is doing." Ruby stated.

"Very well." Weiss said, and gave her a peck on the cheek. * * *

Ruby used Crescent Rose to launch herself from the roof of the tower. Mid-way she burst into rose petals to cover the remaining distance. She reverted as she landed on the roof of the turret. She looked at the parapets, unsure of what they were. I mean, all castles had them, right? She looked around, opened the trap door, and started running down the stairway. The turret was round, about 20-30 feet across that descended anticlockwise. It was about four floors high, but the floors were much lower than the main tower. More like a regular house. The 4th floor was a large, open room with 3 beds. Ruby Petal Burst across the room to the next flight of stairs down. She got down on all fours and looked at the 3rd floor, to see Ilia looking through drawings. "Hey!" Ruby exclaimed, and Ilia turned towards her.

"Hello." she said.

"Getting comfy?" Ruby asked, and Ilia just looked at her for a moment.

"Yes." she said. "I've never been comfortable in luxury..."

"It is like REALLY BIG." Ruby stated, "But also REALLY OLD. Nora and Ren have gone to look for the ghost."

Ilia smiled, "I doubt there's a ghost."

"Well, yeah, but," Ruby stated, "REALLY OLD. And it's all ours. Isn't it exciting?"

Ilia turned to sit on a bed. She was still smiling, just a bit more weak than before, "It's all yours." Ilia stated. "I'm just tagging along. You are Huntresses, and I'm?.." Ilia asked, and flopped back on her bed, "an... assassin?" Ruby ran down on all fours and ended up at the end of Ilia's bed. When Ruby didn't say anything, Ilia nervously lifted her head. "That... isn't?.."

"You WERE an assassin!" Ruby said, wagging her tail.

With this Ilia sat up and looked at her questioningly, "Isn't that," she nervously voiced, "a problem?"

"I really don't know?" Ruby asked, "I mean, everyone else seems good with it, and I'm not really the best socially... Jaune's happy to have you."

"He is?" Ilia asked.

"He relies on you." Ruby stated.

"Doesn't make me part of the family."

"FFIINNE!" Ruby exclaimed, "We'll just hire you."

"As a what?," Ilia asked, "assassin?"

"I don't know?" Ruby asked, and stood up properly, "What's between Huntress and assassin?" Ilia just rolled her eyes. "Okay?," Ruby asked, "but Uncle Qrow was apparently a bandit, and he's still my uncle."

"So?.." Ilia nervously asked, looking at her hands, "you're... fine with it..."

"Nope." Ruby said with glee, "I mean... this is awkward... that an inside joke with me and Jaune." She stood up properly, pointing at Ilia, "Anyways!, you can't change what you've done, but you want to help us save the world, so you can't be all bad, can you?"

Ilia flopped back on the bed, and her colours changed to camouflage herself into it. Ruby pounced on Ilia. "As someone who hides in her cloak, I know how well that doesn't work."

"Can't you leave me to mope?" Ilia.

"Nope," Ruby excitedly said as she stood from the bed and held our her hand, "Weiss is making Coffeee." Ilia took Ruby's hand and let herself get pulled to her feet.

Silverlight (RWBY) - Chapter 2

Chapter 2! This fic literally my life rn besides school...

Link to the fic on AO3: Chapter 1

  It wasn’t something she absolutely hated, but she shifted uncomfortably under the gazes bearing into her. Normally, going into bars were nothing to her. Maybe it was because this one was crowded with people she didn’t know. Maybe it’s because she wasn’t searching for her mother this time. Either way she was sure the faster she left, the better.   Was it that obvious she didn’t belong here? Did they all think she was going to try to bust them? She was in the heart of the black market, but she wasn’t stupid. Any wrong move and there’d be seven knives and hatchets pressed to her back. Still, she thought it was pretty clear she was a Huntress and that none of them would be stupid enough to go toe-to-toe with her, but she didn’t particularly want to test it.   She approached the bartender and sat down on one of the stools, resting both arms on the counter in front of her. Slowly, the older woman standing behind the bar cleaning glasses moved over toward her with an interested expression. The busty, crimson-lipped bartender gave her a once over and her smile appeared more amused as she tucked a loss strand of burgundy hair behind her ear.   “Doll, aren’t you a little young to be here?” She asked with a sultry voice.   “I get that a lot. Heard this is the heart of the town. Just here to ask something.”   “You’ll get an answer depending on what it is you want, sweetie,” there was an ominous, daring tone to the woman’s voice now, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.   Still, she knew to play coy. “I don’t know why everyone’s so suspicious of me. Just looking for someone selling a bike around here. Working condition, I don’t have time to fix her up.”   The bartender looked her up and down once again, some coldness disappearing from her expression. “We’re just not very fond of people who come around carrying themselves as righteous as you do. But if you’re just here for the business, I think I’ve got something for you. Heard there’s a man on the north end of town who’s got his hand on a nearly brand-new motorcycle. No questions asked where he got it, and it’s yours. Provided you can pay.”   “I don’t think that’ll be an issue. Thanks for the tip, Miss... uh... sorry, I never caught your name.”   “Mathilda,” she answered with a smirk, a sultry gaze fixated on the young Huntress in front of her. “Mathilda Applegate. But don’t go thinkin’ just cuz you’re cute that you can name drop me all over town, sweetheart.”   “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she saluted the older woman with two fingers as she got off the barstool. “Thanks for the tip, Mathilda. Hope I see you around!”   With that, she took one final look around the bar before pushing the door to the outside back open with a bright yellow arm that caught the bartender’s eye for the first time.   “That must be the Branwen Clan’s girl,” the older woman mumbled to herself as the door closed behind the girl with golden hair.   Yang blew out a breath as the doors closed behind her, taking a moment to stretch before continuing on with the information the bartender had given her. If there was no bike, she was going to be really freaking pissed. The whole situation made her miss BMBLB more than anything. Though she could hardly say that she regretted the actions that had befallen her beautiful bike - running over a psychotic terrorist who had tormented her best friend for years and had caused her disability was wonderfully therapeutic - she did regret other things that this was reminding her of. Therefore, the faster she got a new ride, the better.   Her scroll went off just as she had started her trek to the northern side of lower Mistral. Yang walked with a carefree attitude, but unlocked her Ember Celica just in case anyone thought it would be a good idea to jump her while she was distracted.   “Hey sis, what’s up?”   “Oh, nothing. Just wanted to check up on you. You’ve been gone for a bit now.”   Yang laughed. “Ruby, it’s only been a couple days. I think I’ll be okay.”   “I know I know, if anyone would, it’d be you,” her sister replied. “General Ironwood said he wants our ship to Vacuo leaving as soon as possible, though. He doesn’t know we’re only waiting on you.”   “I mean, if he’s going to make a big deal about it, you guys can leave and I’ll catch up. Or just a few of you can go.”   “You know we don’t want to split up again unless we’re forced to,” Ruby said with a downtrodden expression.   Yang felt a sense of nostalgia and guilt twisting in her stomach at that. Though she was perhaps the only member of Team RWBY to pick up and leave everyone behind after what happened at Beacon, Yang knew that mentally, she’d been gone. Ruby had left with Jaune, Ren, and Nora because Yang had not been ready to go with them.   “I don’t want to split up unless we have to either,” she mumbled, before her expression became sunny again. “Listen, I think I’ve found a guy. As long as the bike’s in working condition, I’ll be back on the train to Argus by tonight! Doesn’t that sound great?”   “Yeah, but Yang...” Ruby squinted her eyes on the small screen. “Where are you?”   “In Mistral?”   “That doesn’t look anything like when we were there before!”   Yang glanced around herself before offering a sheepish smile. “I miiiiight be in the bottom levels of the city... where Qrow told us never to go...”   Her sister’s eyes grew wide. “Yang! He told us not to go there because it was dangerous!”   “I know, but where else was I gonna get a bike? Besides, I think I’m okay,” The tone of her voice portraying the actual meaning of her words, I don’t think anyone is going to mess with me, and I’m going to leave as soon as I get the bike so that I don’t test it.   Ruby sighed. “Okay Yang, just... be careful. Please.”   “When have I ever given you a chance to worry?” She offered in a sort of playful tone, watching as her sister’s expression darkened once again. There were plenty of times. Guilt sunk in Yang’s stomach again as she almost found herself sunken back into her memories. Before she could be completely swallowed, however, a sudden commotion behind her caught the blonde brawler’s attention.   “Yang? What is it?” Ruby asked, though her sister did not hear her. Yang had put her scroll down to her side as she turned, where she saw a small group of men huddled around an alleyway. As she watched, one of the men raised a gun to the sky and fired off several warning shots.   “C’mon kid!” The man was laughing. “If you don’t hand everything you got over, we’ll just have to take it from ya!”   “Pretty boy shouldn’t have anything on the bunch of us,” said another within Yang’s line of vision, warming up his fists by hitting them together in a similar manner to her. When he did, she could see sparks from electric dust come off his bracelets.   A familiar sensation made its way to the surface from inside her, of hitting thugs where it hurt when she was just starting out fighting. Of dueling her mother’s bandits on her search for Ruby and the others. Of being tricked and lied to, over and over again by people who just didn’t care about others. She remembered looking into the gray eyes of a man who had lied to her, who had used her, who had turned everyone against her and turned into a damn puppet and laughed about it the whole time. She remembered how much she really, really hated that feeling and her eyes went red.   Were these guys some slimy Huntsmen? Or just low-lifes who got their hands on Huntsmen weaponry? Yang guessed to the latter, since this was the area of notorious black market deals of Mistral. That’s why she was here, after all.   “Yang! YANG!” Ruby was still calling from beside her. She rose her scroll back to her face. Her sister looked concerned. “What’s going on?!”   “I’m fine Ruby, but I gotta go! I have to help him!” Yang explained quickly.   “Wait, don’t-“ she cut Ruby off by hanging up on her and stuffing her scroll back in her pocket. Taking off by letting out a blast from both her Ember Celica and the gun on her prosthetic arm reminiscent of the old days, Yang went flying at the men laughing and firing intimidation shots into the sky.   So much for laying low, echoed in the back of her mind, but as Yang swung her fist at the first asshole she came up on, she remembered that laying low had never really been her style. ~   It had been longer than 24 hours since leaving Salem’s palace, and what a quiet few hours it had been. Mercury wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. In that time he’d bounced between taverns, keeping his ears open as he listened to the mumbling between tavern drunkards and sketchy shopkeeps for any jobs that caught his fancy.   He had to start from scratch. He wasn’t going to ride on what he’d done for Salem and Cinder, and the idea of using Marcus for legacy left a bad taste in his mouth. That meant he’d need to take the dirtiest jobs he could find, the ones that not just any assassin would take. He figured becoming a regular mercenary wasn’t a bad idea either, since all he knew was how to fight and he saw no point in limiting himself further. Anything that gave him a new reputation and a neutral place in the world, and made it clear that no one could mess with him.   Every voice that triggered a memory made him jump though, every flash of red, green, or gold made him freeze. He was so freaked out at the prospect of being recognized that he hadn’t been able to sleep. This was the life that he was leading now, and he knew he’d have to get used to it. A fake sense of freedom while he ran from everything he had left behind. Mercury was glad he’d remembered his money in his haste to leave Salem’s palace, after getting himself some food and restocking supplies of dust and ammo that he loaded into his greaves. An assassin caught without his weapons was a dead one, though he knew he could overwhelm anyone with his kicks he didn’t want to risk it. Especially with so many people after him.   He was just leaving the shop, and glanced up toward the higher levels of Mistral along the side of the mountain when another familiar caught in his ears. It rattled in his head, causing his breath to catch in his throat.   “Thanks for the tip, Mathilda!” Called the worst possible voice he could hear right now, even worse than Salem’s. “Hope I see you around!”   Mercury whipped around, looking for the source of the voice. Had he imagined it? Was he literally so paranoid at this point that he was hallucinating? If he was going insane though, he could handle that. Anything was better than actually running into anyone. Than running into her.   But then the flash of gold caught his eye. There she stood, a hand on her forehead to block the sun from her eyes as she looked around. Blonde hair just as wild and free as he remembered. Same clothes, with a purple bandana tied around her leg that should’ve given away that it was her. But what really convinced Mercury was the lemon-yellow paint job on her prosthetic arm.   He stood, frozen, for some time, staring at her as if he couldn’t believe she was real. He was staring with his mouth agape too, and vaguely saw people giving him odd looks as they passed by. They probably just thought he was perverted or something, which was perfectly fine by him. Anything was better than being spotted by her.   What was she doing here? Why was she in Mistral? The last thing he knew about her and the others, they’d been in Atlas. They had already gotten the Relic from Haven - he’d chosen to hide in Mistral over Vacuo for that exact reason. Because he knew they wouldn’t be here. What the hell was she doing here?   Mercury finally steadied himself, and backed away slowly. He noticed she had started to walk in the opposite direction with her scroll up to her face, speaking to someone, and he breathed a sigh of relief. This was it, he thought as he watched her form moving further away from him, her golden hair getting swallowed by the crowd of loners and mercenaries. This was his escape from the old life.   But you could ask her why.   The voice was so sudden, so unexpected, that Mercury looked around himself, expecting someone to have crept up behind him and whispered in his ear. When he found no one, he realized that voice was his. The traitorous Mercury had returned, the one who had kept reminding him of her and her arm before.   Before he could even wonder what it was that he wanted to know, it struck him. Before he could even think about what he was doing, Mercury was moving swiftly through the crowd toward. He shouldered people out of his way, just barely holding on to the last he could see of her golden hair. It was as if his feet were moving on his own as he drifted behind her. He couldn’t make out who she was talking to, but he caught some of the words.   “-Listen, I think I’ve found a guy. As long as the bike’s in working condition, I’ll be back on the train to Argus by tonight! Doesn’t that sound great?”   So she was in Mistral looking for someone, and the rest of the team was in Argus. What were they doing back in Anima though? Had Ozpin directed them there? If so, he was incredibly stupid. Going back to Argus was just as predictable as going to Vacuo. Salem would surely go after them there. At least he knew now to stay as far away from Argus as he possible.   “In Mistral?” He heard her ask as he got closer, still keeping distance to prevent her from noticing him and to keep anyone from noticing that he was following her. He had garnered some of his senses by this point, remembering that he needed to be inconspicuous. The question sounded less like an inquiry, however, and more of an effort on Yang’s end to answer whatever the person she was talking to had asked; a coverup, if Mercury had ever seen one.   Finally, he made out the voice on the other end of the call, and Mercury ducked into a nearby alley after realizing how close he was to her.   “That doesn’t look anything like when we were there before!”   Of course it was Little Red, the irritatingly hyper leader of their team and her younger sister.   “I miiiiight be in the bottom levels of the city... where Qrow told us never to go...”   He heard her sister begin to whine in protest, but Mercury was suddenly knocked to his knees from a blow to the back of his head. Stars covered his vision for a moment from the impact as his entire body was immediately on edge, sense of survival alerting him instantly to a group of people having now surrounded him. In a burst of adrenaline, Mercury whipped his body around so that he had a better angle to defend himself from. He finally shook the stars out of his eyes and faced the group above him.   On instinct, he took them all in. Five people, four men and one woman holding what appeared to be a modified falchion. A gunshot went off in his ear, but no pain registered to him. Mercury looked down to his legs, but saw no bullet hole. Instead, the bastard with the gun was just standing there, grinning down at him with the barrel raised to the sky, smoking from his warning shot.   “That’s an awful fancy pair of boots you got, sweetie,” the woman with the falchion purred. “Mind if I have a look?”   “C’mon kid!” The first man laughed when Mercury didn’t reply. “If you don’t hand everything you got over, we’ll just have to take it from ya!”   Mercury geared up into a fighting stance in response, glowering at the thugs from behind his messy gray hair.   “Pretty boy shouldn’t have anything on the bunch of us,” spoke one of the other men, who slammed his fists together. The bracelets around his wrists crackled with electric dust, but what really got Mercury was how much that pose reminded him of the girl he’d been tailing. He shook his head though, pushing her to the back of his mind. This wasn’t about her anymore. This was about his survival on the streets.   A warning shot, huh? What a group of morons.   Mercury lunged forward at the nearest adversary, a third man holding a surprisingly vanilla knife. They were just a bunch of wannabes. They couldn’t hold a candle to the real deal. The knife collided with the armor covering his bicep, and all he could do was smirk at the dumb expression on the man’s face as Mercury swept his feet out from underneath him, and then spun around and nailed him in the cheek with his other boot. As the man went flying, he turned around to face the others.   “You should’ve taken the shot and gotten the upper hand on me when you had the chance,” he mocked, lifting his leg into the air and cocking the pistol in his boot. Before he could take his own shot, a deafening, high-pitched yell echoed back from the main street and sent chills down Mercury’s spine.   A flash of gold erupted in front of his eyes, brilliant and blinding and the combination of the worst possible thing he could imagine in that moment. Her own gauntlets went off as her fist collided with the man holding the gun, sending him flying in a similar manner to what he’d done to the man with the regular knife. Mercury didn’t really know why, but he froze when he realized she’d come to help him.   “Hey, leave him alone you freaks!” Yang exclaimed, before turning her gaze toward where he stood in the middle of the group. “Are you okay ma-“ he watched her eyes grow wide, shock and fury increasing by the second as recognition fell over her. “Mercury?!”   Unsurprisingly, she had come to his assistance without knowing it was him.  He wondered if she was going to regret that punch in the long run. He sure was.   Mercury lifted his chin up in her direction, offering her the same smirk he’d given her when they reunited at Haven Academy. He wasn’t quite sure what was possessing him, but he couldn’t stop smiling.   “How’s it going, Blondie?” ~   The wind that whistled through the valley and the cries of the nightmare creatures being birthed of the pools of tar around the castle were the only noises around as Emerald entered Salem’s throne room. She disliked the palace’s grand view very much, especially since Salem had never fixed the shattered glass windows. Her hair whipped around as she stepped forward, getting down on her knees.   “You wanted to see me, your Grace?”   The witch turned around when she spoke, looking down with indifference toward her pawn. No, at this point Emerald had become at least a Rook. Cinder was the Pawn now. And the loss of one of her Knights greatly displeased Salem.   “I did, yes,” she spoke in that soft tone, the one she used when appealing to her conspirators’ needs. “I wanted to talk to you because it has come to my attention that Mercury has left. You two are rather close, aren’t you? Did he tell you where he was going?”   Emerald faltered, shifting awkwardly. “No, he didn’t say anything to me. And we aren’t that close,” she looked down toward her feet. “We worked together because we both worked for Cinder. And then, you.”   “I can tell when you lie, Emerald,” Salem sounded displeased, but not angry. “You care about him.”   “Only because he’s some of the only family I’ve had. You and Cinder are more important to me.”   “Good,” Salem’s voice came from right above her now. Emerald hadn’t even realized she had been walking closer to her. “I’m glad to hear you say that. Because I have reason to believe that our poor, dear Mercury left with the intention of running away from our cause.”   Her eyes widened at her mistress’s words. “No... no, there’s no way! There’s no way he would walk away from this!”   Emerald immediately flinched, years spent with Cinder instantly reminding her that to speak disbelief, to argue even with the older woman’s best interest in mind was inviting punishment. But Salem did nothing. When she looked up toward the witch, Salem was almost looking at her with pity.   “I’m very sorry to be the one who tells you this,” there was no sympathy in her voice though. Salem, physically, didn’t have the capacity for such a thing. “But Mercury Black has fled. He not only forfeits his place in my world and the desires I would have gifted him, but he has also forfeited his life. I will not be sending you after him, as I have more important things for you to accomplish and I feel that my Grimm will find him soon enough, but you must understand Emerald... if you were to run into him out in the world of Remnant, you are to kill him.”   There was another silent moment of horror as she took in Salem’s orders. She had worked with him, ended up trusting her back to him. He was some of the only family she’d ever had. But at the same time, the news of his abandonment burned an anger within her unlike anything she had ever felt before, even after she believed Cinder had died. When she had been doubting their allegiance, he had scorned her. Insulted her. And he’d constantly made fun of her for caring about Cinder all the while before. Now he had left her alone.   Salem was right, she realized bitterly. Mercury was either with them or dead. He didn’t get a choice any other way.   Emerald closed her eyes and bowed her head very so slightly. “Of course, your Highness.”   Salem stopped at the tone of her voice, turning around toward the young woman with a smile.   “Very good.”