First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2015 o_o crikey, time flies. But anyhoo, I'm here with a slightly different chapter for you guys.

This chapter is told from MERCURY'S POV so you get a little back story on what's going on with Cinder and his thoughts in general. I hope you guys like it! Enjoy!


Chapter Nine


Behind Enemy Lines


"Will you sit down already? Your constant pacing is giving me whiplash," Emerald snapped, leaning her head back against the leather padding of her chair.

Mercury lashed out a hand, smacking against the stack of papers piled up on the nearest desk sending the sheets tumbling into a storm of white paper. They fluttered around him, falling to the ground in a mess. Emerald frowned at him.

"Well, that was necessary." She sat up straight. "What crawled up your rear and died?"

When he didn't respond, he heard her growl through gritted teeth.

"HEY!"

Mercury sighed, running a hand over his face slowly before running his fingers through his hair, frustrated. He turned to finally look at Emerald who was silently glaring, her jaws tight from clenching her teeth together. She was hardly one to enjoy being ignored. In fact, she was currently acting his role at the very moment which somewhat sucked. He hated being riled up but there was a good reason for that.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door to the drawing room chamber flew open followed by the sharp sounds of glass coming into contact with the ground. He looked back over his shoulder to see Cinder walk into the room with a somewhat pleased look on her face. The White Fang guards tailed behind like obedient pets, which in this case, was exactly what they were.

Upon seeing the scattered papers, Cinder narrowed her eyes sharply before setting accusing glances at both Mercury and Emerald.

"Don't look at me, he made the mess," Emerald raised her hands up in surrender.

Mercury felt all eyes turn on him, the disapproving look Cinder was giving him made him grumble in defeat.

"Sorry. I lost my temper." It was all he could say.

"And why is that?" Cinder inquired, raising an eyebrow. She proceeded to place the silver case she had taken with her when going to visit the cells, on top of the desk before opening it up and pulling out a new syringe.

Mercury followed the glow of the liquid filled with magical qualities before grimacing.

"I just don't understand why you're going to such lengths to persuade that irritating brat to join you! What is the need to waste a perfectly good syringe on her?" He was breathing a little heavily now, his hands balled into fists to stop them from lashing out again.

He was furious. In fact, furious would be an understatement. Cinder had been keeping her plans on the down low for a while now, she barely shared a word of her plans to him or Emerald regarding the two prisoners they held down below. Cinder was being awfully generous to the brat which he couldn't even begin to understand why. The kid already had said no. So why was Cinder pushing this? Going as far as to use one of their precious healing syringes as a bribe to tempt Ruby. He wasn't happy.

Cinder turned, holding one of the cylinder's in her hands as she eyed it with precision. Her lips curled into a sleek smile.

"Where you see waste, I see an opportunity," she said with a murmur. Her eyes flickered up to meet Mercury's with intensity. "We can sacrifice one measly syringe for an outcome that would play greatly in our favour."

Mercury exchanged glances with Emerald who remained seated in her chair. Even she looked just as surprised if not a little befuddled with this 'opportunity' Cinder was implying. He couldn't see any potential advantages that would come out from Ruby joining their flanks.

Mercury shook his head.

"What makes you think Ruby would even remain loyal? She's not exactly your number one fan."

"Irrelevant." Cinder raised the syringe as the liquid inside was radiant and swirled around inside the glass. Her eyes seem to glow and focus on it making Mercury wonder what she was thinking.

"Mercury does bring up a good point. In my opinion, I don't see why we need this pretentious child at all. She is not our priority," Emerald stated, standing up. She glanced at Mercury, nodding once in sync. When Cinder merely continued to smile with no further answers, even Emerald began to lose patience. Mercury shot her a warning look.

"What is with that look on your faces?" Cinder placed down the syringe, eyeing them both in amusement. She turned round and placed the syringe back into the case before closing it.

"Well we can hardly celebrate whatever you seem to have achieved because we haven't a clue with what is going on!" Emerald cried out defiantly.

There was a sudden moment as objects around the room were set ablaze and exploded, fuelled by Cinder's anger. Mercury hesitated but kept level headed. This was their chance to speak up.

"You've been really quiet with us these past few weeks, but we pressed it aside because we support your decisions without question. But whatever is going on with the kid and that mug sitting in the cells downstairs... it's confusing us Cinder."

Mercury couldn't have worded it any better himself. He nodded in approval at Emerald before turning back to wait for Cinder's reaction. She could easily burn them to ashes in their spots but he knew better. She wouldn't.

Cinder turned around. Her face unreadable as she kept it blank. He could see the animosity building up like a wild fire in her eyes as she eyed them both. Mercury felt something tighten in his stomach.

"Are you both really that naive? Do I have such dense supporters?" Cinder frowned.

Mercury could feel his temper flare. Clearly we're the dense ones. He thought Cinder as a little dubious ever since she had ordered for Roman to be imprisoned. It was worse when she ordered for him not to be killed even after when they had planned to get rid of him two years ago. Cinder seemed to be on edge since then, and he wasn't exactly sure why and he didn't dare to ask. Both he and Emerald came to an agreement never to question Cinder when she was pissed.

It wouldn't be pretty.

So what exactly was he missing here? What hidden opportunity was concealed from his mind? How would anything change if Ruby agreed to Cinder's offer? It would just give her an opportunity to betray them and work from the inside. He wasn't stupid. Even he would do the same. It would be so easy.

A mental image of her scuffed face came into view inside his mind, injured and defeated inside the cold dark cell underground. He stiffened. The desperate look in her eyes, pleading. It opened up unwanted feelings of regret inside him that he banished away. He wouldn't dare step in that corner. Yet... he continued to see the picture of the girl in his mind.

From what he learnt, she was underage when she joined Beacon so it was obvious that the girl was exemplary and skilled in battle, she knew what she was doing. It was impressive. Of course she had grown since he had first met her in the dorm corridors of Beacon when they had infiltrated the academy. He thought of her as an irritating preppy child.

How she has changed.

He shook away all thoughts and focused on the matter at hand. He still hadn't found a loophole in Cinder's plan so he kept his mouth shut. Emerald looked just as annoyed for not coming up with any answers. Instead they both followed Cinder who walked past them both towards the large map pinned to the wall behind them. It's yellowing paper old and ancient, but there were pins and strings attached in all areas.

Red pins to mark the areas they had successfully taken over.

Blue for the areas there was a supposed Resistance camp.

Yellow for food and water supplies that were controlled by them.

Then there were the strange green pins that he always believed were the areas the Grimm inhabited when they weren't out hunting and wreaking havoc. But they were randomly placed all over the land of Remnant.

Cinder raised a hand to her chin as she stared at the map. The room had fallen silent. They watched in anticipation as Cinder moved a hand towards the map, hovering her fingers over the kingdom of Vale where a large black pin had been placed.

Ruby's camp.

Of course they knew where it was, but it was heavily guarded. He would know. He still had the bruises left over from the shock of the force field when he tried to kick it.

Blasted Hunter's and Huntresses.

He hated them all.

Cinder picked out the black pin and turned to face them slowly. She had a smile on her lips as she twiddled with the pin.

"The girl is desperate. Her beloved sister lies in a coma and her composure has shattered after losing her dear friend. Ruby is a lost cause," she paused, turning her eyes up to meet their gazes animatedly "and knowledgeable."

Mercury arched an eyebrow. "Is there a point here? Or have I missed it?"

"The point, Mercury, is that the girl holds certain significance in our plan."

Emerald folded her arms over her chest. "Which is?"

Cinder paused, keeping them in suspense with her bittersweet smiles and her fiddling with the pin.

"Ozpin."

"Ozpin?!"

There was a murmur of the name as it was called out in unison, repeating after Cinder. Mercury could hardly remember the last time Cinder had mentioned Beacon's headmaster who had mysteriously disappeared during the siege of the academy. To think the man was rumoured to be one of the best huntsmen and abandoned his school and students, it was hilarious.

Yet Cinder was furious. She had every right to be.

But why now? He thought.

"I doubt the brat even knows where Ozpin has gone, the old Professor would have shown himself by now," Mercury replied. "And even if she did know the whereabouts of the guy, I don't see her confiding in us like best friends."

Emerald shuddered, making Mercury grin.

Cinder walked up towards him, the glass clinking softly against the ground and he could feel the vibrations through his boots. Cinder always liked to be intimidating. Though he was taller, he felt smaller when she came toe to toe with him. She raised a free hand and gently brushed his bangs aside – the simple movement causing bundles of electricity that he could feel it through the roots of his hair.

"Don't look so worried. Trust in me, I know what I'm doing," she said softly, her voice practically a whisper.

"This isn't about trust because you know I'd never doubt you. But this deal with the girl? You can't trust her Cinder. She would take the first chance to betray you after everything you've worked to gain," he said exasperatedly.

Why couldn't Cinder see how bad of an idea it was, and how pointless it was to pursue Ruby? She knew nothing and keeping her alive just wouldn't do. She was a loose end.

He could feel a heated sensation on his cheek as Cinder ran a finger across his skin. Then without saying a word she turned and walked away, opposite the wall that had the map. Mercury sighed inwardly. He hated it when Cinder did that. Toying around then ignoring him completely as if he said nothing of importance. Across of him, he could see the raging fire in Emerald's bright eyes glaring right at him. She stuck her tongue out at him in a huff before looking away.

He smirked.

"Let the girl believe she has the advantage. She would be setting the field for us nicely, and she won't even realise she's doing it." Cinder turned back round to face them all. She held the black pin between her forefinger and thumb, keeping it an inch away from her eyes. "If anyone can find Ozpin, it's her. Leave the details to me."

Using Ruby to find Ozpin? But how would she execute this plan of hers? How was any of this relevant to the first issue – of Ruby turning tables as soon as they let her out? But from the look on Cinder's face, perhaps he shouldn't worry so much. They had come this far, yes with difficulties, but it was a success. They had control over Remnant. All they had left to do was wipe out the infestation of the pitiful Resistance.

Cinder smiled to herself, looking calm.

"She will lead us straight to him."

And with that, she threw the pin with such force that Mercury could see the smoke circling the black plastic as it tore through the air and landed straight on the spot of Ruby's camp – its previous position with complete accuracy.


"What are you doing?"

Mercury looked up over the edges of his comic book to see Emerald enter his room. He turned his attention back to the colourful pictures that always amused him opposed to the boring writing of books.

"I didn't hear you knock. That's rude you know."

"What do you care?" she retorted, dropping down on the edge of his bed. "I came to discuss what ha-"

"-what happened in the drawing room, I know." He finished the sentence off for her, grinning when he saw the familiar look of irritation on her face.

He turned his attention back to the comic.

"What are we doing Mercury?"

"Well I'm trying to read my comic in peace."

He felt a smack on his arm making him drop his comic.

"Touchy," he chuckled. "All right, what?"

Emerald, as usual was hardly in the mood to joke around, not that it stopped him. But she looked somewhat lost in thought and it didn't take a genius to know what about. He sighed, sitting up straight.

"Look, we've never questioned her motives or her plans till date so what has changed?"

Emerald turned towards him, looking at him in disbelief. "Are you seriously asking me that? How about the fact she's hiding her plans from us? She gives the orders and we follow. But what have we done lately Mercury? Clearing up mess after mess those pathetic Resistance rebels are leaving around? Planning raids? It's peasant's work!" She cried out.

"All leads to a Remnant ruled by us, have you forgotten?" he reminded her.

She grimaced, pushing herself off the bed and began pacing.

"Grr! I wish I could just drive my blades through that brat! It would make everything so much easier yet I don't see why Cinder thinks we need her. It pisses me off!"

Mercury barked out a laugh. "Aw, you sound jealous."

She stopped to glower at him darkly. He snickered to himself before stretching, feeling every muscle relax and turn numb for a moment.

"Anyway, if Cinder isn't worried, then we shouldn't be. Hey, if this works out then you and Ruby will really be best friends!" He raised his voice to be high pitched mockingly.

Emerald scowled. "If I remember correctly, you seemed to have spent a lot of time with that girl back at the academy."

Mercury wiped off his smile in an instant.

"I would so kick your butt for that comment."

But she rose her head up, now grinning on having the upper hand. "Oh? Did I say something wrong?"

He frowned, picking up his comic and ignoring his companion. He didn't want to think about Ruby, at all. It just reminded him of her filthy face back in the cell. That look of desperation.

"I would even go as far to say that you became genuine friends," Emerald pressed in her teasing tone.

Mercury slammed his comic book shut and shifted off his bed, grabbing his jacket and barging past Emerald. He was close to throwing something at her and he didn't like the feelings he was having.

"You're boring me, I'm going to practice."

He slammed the door behind him without a care and made his way down to the lower ground. All the while he couldn't stop thinking about the time during Beacon when they had entered as false students. Their enemies happened to be everywhere they were, which meant he saw Ruby's foursome group a lot. As 'visitors' from another school, everyone seemed to welcome them with open arms. It was a little sickening if he had to be honest.

It also meant Ruby, being the naive kid she was, always offered her friendship when she found an opportunity. There were classes he had even been paired with the girl and he could hardly throw a kick in her face. Cinder forbade it. So he bit down his rage and dealt with the suffocating friendliness. At one point, he had gotten used to it. Or to an extent at least.

Who needs friends? Friends are useless. A liability. A burden.

His objective was to kill her. That hasn't changed.

Anyhow, he would blow off some steam in the training room. Knocking out a couple groups of White Fang members should satisfy him for a few hours before he went to bed. But instead of heading out into the hallway towards the training room, he found himself staring at the stairs leading down to the dungeons.

A moment later he was walking down them.


Why was he even down here? He asked himself over and over and even turned back at one point before stopping and heading back down. His feet had a mind of their own as they continued to pad down the steps quietly.

The temperatures dropped, the air becoming more dense and icy until he could see his own breath before him clouding up. As he descended onto flat ground of the basement level of the dungeons he was stalled by an abrupt screaming coming from the cells. The high pitch tone made it obvious that it was Ruby. He hurried towards the cells, stopping at the entrance. He hid within the shadows the dungeons had to offer, cowering behind the entrance to the cells, peering out to the far off cell where he could see the dim lighting and the two figures on the ground behind the bars. He was slightly flabbergasted by what he saw.

"Hey Red, hey, calm down. It's me. It's me!"

Ruby seemed to be curled up on the thin bedding – or she was - but she was sat up, gasping as she clutched onto Roman's arms almost like she was trying to defend herself from an attack. But something was different about the way she was acting.

She was vulnerable.

The air was racked with sounds of her stifled sobs, the pain evident in her shaky breaths. Mercury remained still.

"B-Blake... and Yang! She was... I-"

"Hey hey, shh, it was just a nightmare kid. Get a hold of yourself." Roman was crouched beside her, holding onto her upper arms, shaking her slowly as if to knock sense into the girl.

Ruby seemed to come to grips and rubbed her cheeks harshly before inching back away from Roman, her face hesitant and uncomfortable. Yet she didn't look disgusted to be pacified by a person he believed to be her enemy. Mercury felt his eyebrows arch in surprise. If he didn't know any better, one might think those two were friends. The idea seemed preposterous of course. Roman Torchwick and that little brat? He could laugh.

But seeing them like this, especially Roman...

It was startling. There were alarm bells ringing in Mercury's head. An alliance between those two could be dangerous...

But was that what really bothered him? He wasn't sure anymore. He frowned, hoping that Cinder would forget her ideas to use Ruby and just kill her instead.

With that, he turned back toward the stairs and left without another word.


Let me know what you thought and if you would like more chapters from Mercury's POV. I might do one or two more if you'd like me to :-) but not right away of course!

We'll see Ruby again next chapter!

Oh and did anyone else find the finale of RWBY Volume 2 a little disappointing? I mean, it was good and I loved the battle scene but... it just seemed rushed and not as epic as I hoped. Might just be me. Still liked it though! RAVEN IS TOTALLY YANG'S MOM. I like to think so.

Anyway, as always thanks so much for the reviews guys. I love the feedback some of you are giving and your theories!

DiamondStarz8: My book went very well thanks for asking! Just need to finish it and edit it up :D

Thanks to SpringFallionLettuce, Mr Ruffles, Zephyrus Genesis, UNknown123, DiamondStarz8, bowow0708, Fourze, Onedisturbedchild, Guest and Rwbyobsessed! Your reviews made me so happy!

Until next time x