Chapter One: Best Day Ever
The woosh of an airship above cutting through the sky resonated through the streets of Vale. In front of his shop, the owner of From Dust Til Dawn was standing on a tall ladder and hanging up a GRAND REOPENING sign on the doorframe. After that robbery a few months back had been foiled by that cute little girl, he had been trying to find a new pane of glass for the shop, and it had been closed until now. He tacked the final nail in place and began to step down, but his ladder was suddenly jostled by something and he fell down with a startled cry. Shaking his head, he looked up to see who had bumped the ladder.
A teenage girl stood over him. Her skin was dark, chocolate-colored, and her hair was mint-green and came down in twin, smooth pigtails over her shoulders. She wore a set of white straps around her neck and shoulders that supported her tan top. Where her exposed midriff ended, she wore a pair of white shorts, and over those were a pair of thigh-high, brown leather chaps. The chaps were held up by a simple leather belt. It seemed as if her entire outfit, although clean, had been cobbled together from a random assortment of different types of clothing. She wore an apologetic smile on her face, and her crimson eyes glittered brightly.
The girl gave a small, sheepish laugh. "'Scuse me, sorry. I'm not really from around here." She hoisted the shopkeeper to his feet and asked, "Would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?" She pulled out a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it.
The old man looked at it and gave an affirmative, "Mmhmm." He pointed, and the girl began to walk in that direction. She waved to him as she rounded the corner.
"I knew you were lost." Mercury's voice was cocky as he leaned against the wall with one leg up.
"Mercury," Emerald sighed, "I will seriously pay you to shut up."
The other teen stared at her hand, in which she held a wallet full of Lien. He still couldn't figure out how she did that. Reflexively, his hand lowered protectively over his pocket as he replied, "That's not your money."
"But it could be yours, for five minutes of silence," she offered.
Mercury looked thoughtful for a moment. He was a little bit taller than her, his outfit simpler. Long black pants that flowed down to his matching boots, and his gray vest with more touches of black. Segments of metal ran from his elbow to his wrist as makeshift armor, and his vest matched the color of his long gray hair and eyes. Mercury quirked his lips in a small frown. "No deal."
With an annoyed growl, Emerald threw away the stolen wallet after pocketing the Lien for herself and walked away, Mercury beginning to follow after her. "Fine."
He scoffed. "Whatever. You want me."
They headed through the streets, following the directions that the shopkeeper had given, taking in the variety of citizens
"So how much farther?" Mercury asked.
"A few blocks," she responded curtly.
He groaned. "Ugh, this place is so dull."
"Eh," said Emerald, "I kinda like it. Tall buildings, diverse culture…"
"And nice, dopey people who are easy to pickpocket," he teased her.
"That's every city," she said as she turned to face him
He adopted a mock-pleading voice and a begging stance. "Oh, Emerald! Master Thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by!"
She shot him a look and walked past him with another growl, and he sighed. "Ugh… you're no fun today."
The door to Tukson's Book Trade opened with a jingle of its bell. Emerald and Mercury walked in and made themselves at home. Someone, presumably Tukson, was heard humming a tune in the back of the shop. Mercury took a moment to look at some books near the door. Emerald stepped up to the counter and rang a small, metal bell.
"Be right there!" came a deep, male voice from the back. A moment later, a large man in a red shirt came bustling through a door behind the counter, carrying an armful of books that obstructed his view as he walked out backwards. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun." He set down the armful of books and turned towards Emerald. "How may I…" He paused mid sentence, a flicker of recognition scurrying across his face before he regained his composure. Emerald merely smiled politely.
"How can I help you?" Tukson tried again.
Mercury held an open book in his hand, but his eyes were staring directly at Tukson. "Just browsing," the metallic boy replied as he shut the book loudly with a snap.
Emerald leaned forward on the counter. "Actually, I was wondering… do you have any copies of The Thief and the Butcher?"
"Yes we do," came Tukson's reply.
"That's great!"
Slightly confused, the owner asked, "Would you… like a copy?"
"No, just wondering," she replied brightly. Tukson's gaze was drawn over her shoulder when Mercury closed another book with a startling slam. "Oh, oh!" Emerald said suddenly. "What about Violet's Garden, in paperback?"
"He's got it," came Mercury's voice from behind. "Hardback, too." He held up the book.
"Ooh, options are nice," commented Emerald.
Mercury opened the book. "Eh, no pictures." He slammed it shut. "Hey! Do you have any comics?"
"Near the front," Tukson supplied.
"Oh, no, wait!" She leaned forward further, and her smile darkened just a fraction. "What… about… Third Crusade?"
Tukson seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Um… I…" The teens both stared at him cautiously. "... don't believe we carry that one," the owner said.
"Oh." Mercury slammed another book shut.
"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked.
"Tukson's Book Trade," said Tukson, not enjoying the conversation.
"And you're Tukson?"
"That's right."
"So then I take it that you're the one that came up with the catchphrase?"
"Yes," replied the man.
"And what was it again?" Mercury chimed in.
Tukson sighed. "Tukson's Book Trade, home of every book under the sun.'"
"Except the Third Crusade," Mercury corrected.
"It's just a catchphrase," Tukson protested weakly.
"It's false advertising!" Mercury shot back with slight indignation.
For the first time, Emerald's kind smile slipped from her face. "You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson." Mercury's hand found a switch on the wall, and slowly, the windows began to darken, making the inside of the shop unseeable to outside observers. "I hear that you're planning on leaving," Emerald continued. "Moving all the way to Vacuo." Another window darkened. "Your brothers in the White Fang won't be happy to hear that." Mercury smiled sinisterly at Tukson as he darkened the last window. "And neither are we," Emerald finished. The teens stared Tukson down for a moment.
"You know who we are, don't you?" asked Emerald.
"Yes," Tukson said slowly, a new look crossing his face.
"And you know why we're here?"
"Yes."
"So… are you going to fight back?" Emerald looked at him expectantly.
"Yes!" Tukson brought his hands up and snarled, claws springing from his fingers. He leaped up onto the countertop as Emerald and Mercury assumed fighting stances, backing up slightly. Tukson flew forward at Emerald with a swipe at her face, only for her to quickly dodge out of the way. Tukson could only look forward in surprise as his momentum carried him towards Mercury. The boy brought up one leg and kicked towards Tukson. A white flash and a bang came from Mercury's boot; then, everything went black.
No one paid much mind to the two teens that exited Tukson's Book Trade a few minutes later. Then again, no one had heard the loud bang from within the shop either.
Anyone close enough to hear would have heard the girl with the green hair ask her friend, "What's with that?" pointing to the comic in his hand. The boy shrugged. "I like the pictures."
The sketches on the page were images she had drawn a long time ago. A different lifetime. The new emblem, with the claws scratched across the wolf's head. The rose on the back of his coat, which she had never been able to get exactly perfect. A profile sketch of him from the back that he hadn't known she had drawn.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Nothing," Blake said hastily as she closed the notebook. "Just going over notes from last semester.
A grape was flung into Yang's waiting mouth from another table. "Lame!" she said. Across the space between the tables, Nora giggled and fit another grape into her spoon. Yang caught another one, giving Nora a thumbs up and an appreciative, "Mmhmm!"
From the side, a large white binder was slammed onto the table. The words Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee had been hastily crossed out and written over in large, red letters by a marker with the new words Best Day Ever Activities. Ruby Rose grinned as she cleared her throat and addressed her teammates over the general din of the cafeteria.
"Sisters… friends… Weiss!"
"Hey!" complained the heiress.
Ruby, unperturbed, continued, "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream!"
"This ought to be good," Yang said dryly before catching another grape in her mouth.
"A dream," Ruby continued, "that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had… ever!"
Weiss, just noticing what Ruby had placed on the table, suddenly asked, "Did you steal my binder?"
To which Ruby replied, "I am not a crook!"
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.
The leader pointed at her Faunus friend. "I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!"
"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" quipped her sister. "Eh? Guys? Am I right?"
Everyone's face showed their chagrin at her jokes. Yang was infamous for her bad puns. Nora threw an apple from JNPR's table that hit Yang square in the face in protest with a "Boo!" that drew a glare from the yellow-themed girl.
"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks, and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great. But classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today!" Ruby said chipperly.
"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss said. Yang, still a bit mad, grabbed a fruit of her own and hurled it at Nora, who ducked with a giggle as it soared over her head and hit another student.
"I don't know," Blake said with a frown. "I think I might sit this one out."
"Sit out or not, I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team!" Weiss said with a reassuring look at Blake. Ever since their reconciliation at the docks, the heiress had been trying to stick by her friend as best she could. Blake gave Weiss an appreciative look, and Weiss stood.
"I for one think that—" Weiss began, before she was cut off unexpectedly. Nora was heard shouting, "I got it!" and a pie suddenly came hurtling across the room to hit Weiss square in the face mid sentence. Team RWBY looked over at JNPR's table. Pyrrha was watching with a shocked hand over her mouth, Jaune was watching with a wide-eyed expression with his head resting on a hand, Ren had his face in a palm, and Nora sheepishly smiled and pointed at Ren for responsibility.
"Man, that's harsh!" said Sun's friend Neptune as they walked along the side of the cafeteria building. Neptune Vasilias was one of Sun's closest friends, the "N" on their team, SSSN, pronounced like Sun's name. He was a hair taller than Sun, and his hair was a bright, almost neon blue. He wore a red sports jacket that opened at the neck to reveal a white undershirt and gray pants, and a pair of orange goggles were stretched across his brow. Neptune, along with their other two teammates – Scarlet and Sage – had just arrived a day or so ago on an incoming boat from Mistral, while Sun had stowed away and arrived two weeks earlier from Vacuo, where he had been visiting family. Currently, Sun was regaling Neptune with his tale of how he had met Blake and their titanic battle with the White Fang and Roman Torchwick at the docks a couple weeks prior.
"I know!" Sun went on energetically. "We were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome."
"Nice!" replied his blue-haired friend.
"Right? And the best part is, she's a Faunus!" Sun suddenly grew more serious, as if he had divulged a secret. "But that's a secret, okay?"
"Got it," Neptune said.
"And not a, 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back' secret, I'm talking secret secret."
"Woah, chill out, man, okay? I got it!" Neptune flashed him a smile. "I got it!"
"You better. I just don't want to screw this up, you know?" The duo walked on, unaware as stains began to appear on the windows of the cafeteria beside them and a foodfight began to erupt. "The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys."
"None taken," Neptune said smoothly.
They turned the corner and stopped in front of the main entrance to the cafeteria. "They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay?" Sun gave his friend another serious look. "You're gonna be cool, right?"
"Dude." Neptune crossed his arms and adopted his most charming smile, his teeth glinting in the sun. Neptune was known to be the king of cool at Haven.
Sun nodded. "Good point," he admitted.
They turned and pushed open the doors to the cafeteria, then were almost bowled over by the stampede of fleeing students, some covered in food stains. "Foodfight!" someone yelled. Sun wore an open-mouthed smile, while Neptune was staring with a look of worried shock at the scene before them.
At the far side of the cafeteria, it seemed like most of the tables had been either thrown or stacked into a ramshackle wooden mountain. Pyrrha, Ren, Jaune, and Nora stood atop the stacked tower, Nora letting out a crazy laugh. "Ahahahahaha! I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" she sang in her singsong voice.
Across the room, Ruby stared down team JNPR. "Justice will be swift!" she cried, with a milk carton in one hand and the other pointed at the other team. "Justice will be painful!" She crushed the milk carton and punched the fist into the air. "It will be… delicious!"
Behind her, Blake, Yang, and Weiss let out similar cries, and Team RWBY rushed forward. The foodfight began.
Nora cried, "Off with their heads!" gleefully as she and her teammates leaped down from their makeshift tower. Ren began to kick dropped watermelons from the kitchen towards the approaching girls. Jaune and Pyrrha hurled the green fruits rapidly, while Nora flipped a table of the cannonball-sized produce and sent a storm of watermelons hurtling towards Team RWBY.
"Yang, turkey!" cried Ruby, pointing to two discarded meals on the ground. Yang leaped forward and fit a turkey on each wrist, banging them together like her gauntlets as she began to punch down the rain of watermelons in bright bursts of juicy red color. Blake leaped in front of her and grabbed two long baguettes that she wielded as swords, joining Yang in her destruction of the fruity missiles. They cut through the watermelons with ease, Yang hurling the turkeys on her wrists towards JNPR.
Pyrrha ducked out of the way, but Jaune wasn't as quick, and the birds caught him square in the head, sending him back, then onto his back. Pyrrha recovered and seized her own loaf of bread, locking in an intense face-off with Blake, who leaped in to engage her. The girls traded blows, with Blake decoying around to avoid some strikes and get better angles of attack. She jumped up into the air and hurled one of her long weapons like a spear, sending the projectile towards Pyrrha. The redhead dodged out of the way, leaving the baguette broken on the ground, and charged forward, striking Blake right as she fell. Her own weapon broken, Pyrrha seized Blake's as the Faunus girl lost her grip and was thrown backwards. Adopting Blake's strategy, Pyrrha began to hurl the bread like spears at the other team.
Yang managed to block two before a third caught her in an open spot and knocked her off of the table she had been standing on. Ruby came in on a cafeteria tray as her sister went down, riding the plastic tray skateboard-style along the table as she knocked plates and cups in all directions. She flipped up and used the tray to block another spear from Pyrrha, who dodged as the bread was sent back to her. Ruby came back down on her feet, riding along until she made contact with Pyrrha. The older girl blocked, but Ruby pushed back off of the tray, her momentum sending Pyrrha tumbling onto her back as the reaper flipped clear.
Ren and Nora jumped in where Pyrrha had fallen, rushing forward to Ruby. However, Ruby merely ducked back as Weiss appeared in front of her, wielding a bottle of ketchup. With a strong squeeze, Weiss unleashed the sauce onto the floor, causing Ren to slip and go crashing into a pile of tables. Nora managed to avoid the hazard and leaped into the air, seizing a vacant flagpole protruding from the wall. The metal rod in hand, she sank the end into a watermelon and began to battle the way she was most comfortable: with a hammer.
Ruby took the hit for Weiss, flying backwards from Nora's powerful strike. Weiss searched for a weapon and came up with a swordfish in hand. What student had been eating the swordfish, Weiss could only guess, but the long tip was not unsimilar to her own weapon. Makeshift rapier in hand, Weiss dashed forward and delivered a blow that knocked Nora back. She came back forward, and the heiress proceeded to engage Nora in a furious flurry of strikes and slashes. In the end, Nora's weapon had the upper hand with its longer reach, and Weiss went flying back into one of the cafeteria's large columns with a loud crash. Ruby was there to catch her friend, who had been hit pretty hard and was out in her arms.
"Weiss, Weiss! Don't leave me!" Ruby cried dramatically. As the column collapsed behind her, Ruby unleashed a theatrical "Noooooo!", while Yang decided to reenter the fight. The blond boxer grabbed two more turkeys from the floor, and looked forward to meet her challenger.
Ren, just emerging from the tables, stepped up to the challenge, finding a pair of leeks and meeting Yang head on. He blocked her first strike, and for a moment, they sized each other up, her foot blocked by his weapon. Then, they began.
She kicked high, and he ducked, sending a knee into her midsection. Yang absorbed the blow and dodged his second strike, replying with a left hook that sent him back a step. She advanced, raining down the blows and blocking his, until she finally launched the unfortunate man into the air. Undeterred, Ren threw the leeks, which Yang easily dodged before jumping up to meet him with a devastating punch that sent him back down into the cluttered and by now severely damaged tables in an explosion of wood, plates, cups, and food.
Nora, seeing where her friend had fallen, eagerly rushed to his aid, forcing Yang back with her melon hammer. The girls rushed forward and let out a battle cry as one, Yang's fist sailing for Nora's face while Nora's hammer swept upward towards Yang's torso. In the end, the hammer once again prevailed, as Yang was sent spinning up into the sky, actually crashing through the roof above from the power of the blow.
Blake, who had been stealthily observing the battle, dodged backwards as the debris from the ceiling fell. Seizing a chain of sausage links like a whip, she twirled the rope of meat around her and lashed into Nora, who crashed back into a soda machine. The orange-haired girl took notice of the cans lying strewn about on the floor and used them to her advantage, shaking one up and tossing it at Blake like a grenade. The Faunus flipped backwards in escape, bobbing and weaving as Nora chucked more of the fizzy drinks at her.
Pyrrha picked up on Nora's strategy and utilized her Semblance, magnetizing the cans and sending hundreds of them flying towards Blake. Blake had no hope of dodging so many of the cans at once and was helplessly pummeled in place by the explosions of color. In the end, Blake was launched back across the cafeteria by the sticky explosions, leaving Ruby as the last member of her team standing against Team JNPR.
Ruby dashed forward, utilizing her own Semblance in a unique way. She sprinted down the cafeteria's tables and began to twist herself as she ran, creating a vortex of speed that began to suck up everything in the cafeteria. Ruby stopped at the wall, the sudden absence of speed cracking its surface, before she leaped clear. Plates, cups, food, tables, chairs, and Team JNPR were all sucked up by the vacuum and hurled against the wall. The students hit first and could only watch as the food and drink hurtled towards them, staining them all kinds of different colors as the windy storm finally abated and Ruby came down on a table, with Team JNPR slowly sliding down the wall.
Sun, who had watched the whole thing and managed to somehow stay clean, turned to Neptune, who hadn't been so fortunate, evidenced by the large purple splotches covering his face and upper body. "I love these guys," Sun said to his messy friend. Both of them turned as the door behind them opened and an angry blond woman with glasses and a purple cape that they'd never seen before walked in.
Glynda glowered at the mess that had befallen the cafeteria, then stretched out her wand and activated her telekinesis. Chairs, tables, plates, cups, even food and drink that had been thrown aside or broken or splattered began to fly through the air and be fixed. A few moments later, the only evidence of the fight were the stained wall and the hole in the ceiling where Yang had been sent flying.
Glynda fixed the two messy teams with a pointed stare as she pushed up her glasses. "Children, please, do not play with your food."
The teams gathered in the center of the cafeteria, completely exhausted and covered in stains and splotches from food and drink. Nora let out a loud burp, and Yang finally returned to Remnant, creating another hole in the ceiling as she crashed back into the mess hall.
Glynda grimaced as the children began to laugh, but a soothing voice from behind her stopped her teacherly lecture. "Let it go," Ozpin said in that calm voice of his, and Glynda sighed.
"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world," Glynda softly protested as the two teachers gazed upon the group of friends as they laughed and joked about their food fight. Yang shot the teachers a thumbs-up with a huge, beaming smile on her face.
"And they will be," Ozpin agreed, "but right now, they're still children." He paused. Glynda turned to look at him as he continued, "So why not let them play the part?" He turned and walked away, finishing ominously, "After all… it isn't a role they'll have forever."
The warehouse was alive with activity when Emerald and Mercury returned that afternoon. White Fang soldiers rushed here and there with different responsibilities, some unloading a nearby Bullhead, others pushing or stacking crates of Dust. The sounds of welding and machinery were loud, and a metallic scent hung thick in the air.
Roman Torchwick turned from where he had been inspecting his map of Vale, and his eyes lit up in a faux smile at the sight of the two teens. "Oh, look, she sent the kids again!" he said as he walked towards them. He pulled them into a three-person hug from behind, arms around their heads. "This is turning out just like the divorce."
Emerald shuddered. "Uhh. Spare us the thought of you procreating."
"That was a joke," Torchwick said, the mirth gone from his voice as he walked past them, Melodic Cudgel in hand. "And this…" he continued as he held up a small slip of paper, "just might tell me where you two have been all day."
"Wha–?" Emerald let out a surprised gasp as she felt around her person and realized that the address of Tukson's Book Trade was missing. To her disbelieving gaze, Roman grinned. "I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something." His smile vanished as he inspected the paper. "Why do you have this address?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald said spitefully.
"Yeah, I would!" Torchwick shot back. "Now, where have you two been all day?"
"Cleaning up your problems," Mercury put in. "One of them, at least."
"I had that under control," Roman bit out in an edged voice.
"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise," Mercury replied defiantly.
"Listen, you little punk!" Roman spat. "If it were up to me, I would take you and your little street rat friend here and I would-"
"Do what, Roman?" a new voice said from above, a voice that was silken and practiced to have an alluring tone. All three of them found their attention drawn behind Emerald and Mercury, to where an elevator to the catwalk above was built. Atop the elevator platform, a woman walked into view. She gazed down upon the confrontation with fiery amber eyes, her short red dress meeting her long, raven hair at the shoulders and neckline. The golden designs on the dress' sleeves seemed to shimmer and glow slightly, and the blue feather at her waist fluttered a bit as the service elevator began to lower.
Torchwick, not prepared for the arrival of his boss, chuckled nervously. "I'd, ah… not kill them?"
"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed, obviously both surprised and happy to see her mentor, her first genuine smile of the day spreading across her face.
"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would-be runaway?" Cinder made it more a statement than a question, her honey-smooth voice fixing Roman on the spot.
Between gritted teeth, Roman ground out, "I was going to…"
Emerald cut in. "He was going to escape to Vacuo," she said of Tukson. "Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat."
"I think he was some sort of cat, actually," Mercury mused.
The green-haired girl turned to him. "What, like a puma?" she chuckled.
"Yeah, there you go."
"Quiet." The command was delivered calmly and softly, yet the intimidation in immediately silenced both teens as they fixed their attention on Cinder. "Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?" Roman, enjoying their predicament, quietly snickered and pointed at them from behind Cinder.
"I just thought…" Emerald began.
"Don't think. Obey." Cinder gave the order with the same quiet menace she always seemed to carry about her. Roman drew a finger over his neck at them in mockery.
"Yes, ma'am," Emerald acceded, humbled. "It won't happen again."
"And you." Roman let out another laugh of trepidation as Cinder focused her gaze on him. "Why wasn't this job done sooner?"
"Uhh… eh? Eh? Eh?!" Torchwick motioned with his cane and his hands at the activity and equipment around them at the moment. "Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom!" he protested.
"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask," Mercury said sarcastically.
"Look around, kid; I've got this town running scared." Roman gestured to Mercury with Melodic Cudgel with each point he made. "Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and, we're sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with!"
He spun towards Cinder. "Speaking of which," he said, his confidence growing, "if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!"
Rather than be angered, Cinder adopted a soothing tone as she walked towards the criminal. "Oh Roman, have a little faith." She placed a hand under his chin and looked directly into his eyes. "You'll know what you need when you need to know." As if a reminder of who was in charge, her eyes narrowed and glowed slightly, as well as the designs up her arm.
Roman gave a frustrated grunt and looked away.
"Besides," she said, her hand dropping away, "we're done with Dust." Emerald and Mercury exchanged a glance. Apparently, it was news to them as well.
"Okaaay…" Roman said, "then what now?"
"We're moving." Cinder began to walk away, speaking to him over his shoulder. "Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."
"Coordinates?" Roman repeated, eyes narrowing in confusion.
She turned and gave him a smile. "We're proceeding to phase two." With that, she continued walking, apparently done with her instructions, and Mercury and Emerald followed after her.
With another annoyed sigh, Roman reached into his coat and pulled out a cigar as he watched them go. He felt for his lighter in both pockets when he heard it being lit in front of him. He looked up and saw the lit metal casing in Emerald's hand, who stuck out her tongue at him before she shut the lighter and walked away.