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Chapter 51: Keikaku (Means Plan)

It had been a week since the doubles round of the Vytal Tournament, a week Gangrel and Mercury had spent being mercilessly drilled by Winter; the Special Operative had informed the two of them after classes ended on Monday that she had personally rigged the match ups for the first fight of the singles round and they would face each other when matches recommenced on Friday evening her reasoning being that having the two of them who knew the plan face each other controlled for all variables and Gangrel beating Mercury seemed more believable than some of the other possible outcomes; Mercury had bristled at that
"And for our next match up" Professor Port announced snapping the silver haired teen from his reverie, the screen rapidly cycling through eligible competitors before settling on his face, Mercury hopped from the front row of the stands where the fighters that made it into the first round of singles matches were situated to the sounds of cheering interspersed with several boos and jibes
"Mercury 'Merc with a mouth' Black representing Team MELO and the Haven Academy of Mistral….And the crowd seem to have mixed feeling about him" Qrow announced, his smirk evident, the hired gun briefly wondered how much Qrow knew as he he entered the arena, giving mocking bows to his detractors. The second half of the screen began cycling through students to match him up with an opponent; Mercury bounced on the balls of his heels readying himself for the upcoming bout, he knew he had to lose but he at least intended to give a good showing
"His opponent will be" Mercury's eyes widened for a moment when he saw the face on the screen "Yang 'Ground and pound, but only if you ask nicely' Xiao Long!"
That he thought to himself was not meant to happen

Yang cracked her knuckles as she heard her name called, frowning at her uncles introduction she wondered if he was deliberately trying to rile her up to trigger her Semblance and give her an edge
"Hey" she turned to see Blake in the row behind her and was pulled into a tight hug before her girlfriend whispered in her ear "You know who is, you know who he works for. Be careful Yang" the blonde gave her a cocky smirk
"I'm gonna kick his ass Blake, it'll be a medical Em-Merc-ancy" before the Faunus could respond she leapt over the railings and into arena, her gauntlets forming over her fists as she strode towards her opponent the cheers of the crowd giving way to a single unified chant
"Get him Xiao Long! Get him Xiao Long! Get him Xiao Long!"
"And it seems the crowd have a clear favourite in mind, let's hope Mercury isn't too intimidated by his opponent's home town advantage" Oobleck's voice sounded over the speakers, Mercury snorted
"Something funny?" Yang asked as she raised her guard "You should say it now, before I make you Mercury Black out"
"When we're done here" he grinned "Your face is going to look like an avocado had sex with an older avocado"
"What the fuck?" Yang mouthed silently
"Seriously" he continued "It's gonna be haunting, like Freddy Krueger's face fucked a topographical map of Mistral"
"Three, two, one. Begin!" Mercury's speed was blinding, Yang led off with a left jab only for Mercury to swiftly dodge to the right his left foot connecting with the back of her knee, buckling the limb bringing her head to the perfect height for him to deliver a knee strike to her temple with his left and extend his leg as she fell, the blast from his weapon sending the blonde skidding across the floor
"An impressive opening from Mercury Black" Port noted sounding as though he was thoroughly enjoying the match, more engrossed in the display of skill than any particular fighter
"You can do be better than that, surely" Mercury smirked, Yang leapt to her feet and charged him with a roar, the silver haired teen leapt over her haymaker and used a Gravity Dust round to propel himself forwards, giving his knee connecting with her nose even more of an impact
"Now, I'm about to do to you what Limp Bizkit did to music in the late nineties"
"YANG FOR THE LOVE OF OUM WHATEVER HE'S SAYING TUNE IT OUT AND GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!" Qrow roared into the microphone, Yang rose to her feet and fired a few shots from her gauntlets, the first of which clipped Mercury's shoulder before he dodged the rest, returning to his stance he saw that she had done the same, left arm held in a position from which she could block, shoot or throw punches, the two of them circled one another tension mounting between them until Mercury caught sight of Winter glowering at him front the row of the crowd, Atlesian Knights flanking her as she ostensibly attended to security
"Any time you want to quit stalling and actually land a punch" he drawled to his opponent, it had been fun but it was time to end things

Emerald watched nervously from the crowd, her whole body rigid as she watched the two fighters rush towards each other once again, Yang brought her left arm up to her right shoulder deflecting Mercury's kick with her elbow before firing a Gravity Dust round behind her to propel herself forwards her elbow catching him squarely in the collarbone, she followed this up with a right hook as she discharged an explosive round against his cheek, pressing the advantage a left-handed uppercut and a kidney punch followed opening the flood gates for a seemingly endless barrage of punches that Mercury seemed powerless to prevent. A glimmer of hope appeared and was quickly taken away as Emerald watched Mercury get both hands behind the blonde's head and force her face down into his knee, as she jerked back he made to deliver a kick to the inside of her left leg and crumple the limb Yang managed to sidestep the attack and throw him off of her, her hair glowing with her Semblance and Emerald could see from the stands that her eyes had turned red
"No, no, no, this isn't meant to happen" her voice came out in a panicked whisper as she watched the blonde deliver a brutal combo to her lover, batting him around the arena like a cat with ball of yarn before ending the match by dropping low to the ground and delivering a vicious left to Mercury's knee taking the leg from under him and following up with a straight right to the chest as she discharged Ember Celica, pitching him backwards almost over the edge of the arena. Emerald felt as if she had ice in her veins as the announcers declared Yang the winner, Cinder had given her clear instructions on what to do if Mercury failed, her hands trembled as she tried to clear her mind enough to activate her Semblance
"I'm sorry Merc"

Yang made to leave the arena, refusing to give into temptation and throw a parting shot over her shoulder at her beaten opponent, Mercury however seemingly wanted to find out just how far her patience extended
"I bet that broke your hand….still I suppose you and your sister match now, y'know after you weren't there to look after her" Yang's eye twitched as she turned to face him
"What did you just say?" her voice was a harsh, furious whisper
"I wonder what else happened to her that she doesn't want to tell you about, I've been to a few White Fang meetings and names like 'chew toy' and 'scratching post' get thrown around a hell of a lot" Yang took a deep breath as she retracted her gauntlets back to their dormant mode as stalked towards him
"You monster!" she spat as she hoisted him up by the scruff of the neck, releasing her grip as she landed a haymaker on his jaw
"Get up!" she roared dragging him to his feet again and delivering a series of punches to his face, chest and anywhere else she could reach before throwing him from the arena now that the shields were down and leaping down after him she grabbed the back of his head, repeatedly smashing it against the railing of the stands.
"Yang stop right now or I will hurt you" Yang was brought to an immediate halt by the feeling of blade pressed against her neck, turning she saw Qrow with his weapon draw, his expression livid
"Uncle Qrow he-"
"STAND DOWN AND DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW YANG!" he roared, Yang made to comply placing Ember Celicia on the ground before stepping and back and kneeling with her hands behind her head, her rage turned to panic as she felt cuffs being placed around her wrists and an Aura dampening collar lock into place around her neck
"Take her to the my ship"
"Ma'am protocol dictates"
"Protocol dictates that you follow my orders private" Yang dared to look over her shoulder and saw that the speaker was Weiss's older sister "Take her to my ship and place her in the brig, solo cell. I will deal with this matter personally after I've attended to Mister Black" Yang was pulled to her feet by the Atlesian soldiers and escorted towards a transport, she tried to pretend that she couldn't she her team-mates shocked expressions clearly in the crowd.

Emerald entered Cinder's office not even bothering to disguise the way her whole body shook in her presence
"Mercury's failure was anticipated and prepared for" Cinder began, her voice remaining calm, an illusion shattered by the flames wreathing her hands and the golden light emanating from her right eye "Yours however was not, explain it to me"
"Cinder I-I" her voice faltered under the wave of sheer malevolence her master seemed to exude "I used my Semblance like you ordered, I made her see and hear Mercury saying the vilest thing I could pluck from her own mind"
"You worthless, foolish child!" Cinder spat immolating a portion of the desk "I ordered you to ensure that Mercury died if he couldn't fulfil his role in the plan, the plan requires blood"
"I can fix this Cinder, please
"You can and you will, if I didn't believe that you'd already be dead. I knew Mercury was smitten with you but I was a fool for not realising you had feelings for him"
"Cinder please, I'm begging you-" Emerald was once again silenced
"Our plans are at least suspected" she hissed "Watt's system detected another person trying to rig Mercury's match and force him to face a stronger opponent. I am not fool enough to think him losing to someone he should have been easily able to defeat or that this newcomer are coincidences….But I am merciful Emerald and your failed attempt has not been without results, when the tournament reconvenes you are to play your part once again, with no mistakes. Succeed and this will never be spoken of again, fail and I will kill Mercury and make you watch before I put you out of your misery"

"What in Oum's name were you thinking you simple-minded buffoon?" Winter demanded furiously as the door closed behind her, Mercury was aboard her ship, the infirmary having been emptied of personnel
"Can you shout a little louder, I'm sure there's a couple people in Mistral who don't know who you're pissed off at" Mercury shot back "Seriously, you saw what happened I fail to see how this is is my fault"
"How did Cinder change the match up from what we planned?"
"Obviously she has her own way into the system" Mercury sneered "Surely you figured that part out"
"And what on Remnant possessed you to provoke Yang after the match ended? So help me Mercury if you double cross me I will ensure you never see the light of day again"
"I think we're past double crossing at this point" he laughed, wincing as pain shot through his head at the movement "I didn't provoke her. That must be what Emerald is here for, she's an illusionist Cinder must have planned to use her as a backup in case I failed"
"She needs to be taken into custody-" Mercury halted her with a glare
"No" he spat simply "Even if you could catch her, which I'm not convinced of, we had a deal if you touch her I blow this whole thing open, I'll drag Cinder out into the public eye but you and Ironwood will go down with her, do you really want to be implicated in dealing with killers for hire and White Fang ranking officers? You're not in Atlas now"
"And suppose you never left this room?" Mercury laughed at Winter's attempt at a threat
"Go ahead, the whole world saw what happened, saw me leave with you, your sister is on the same team as the person who attacked me. You lose either way"
"Grimm activity has already had a noticeable spike in the last two hours, outlying villages have been attacked and the sentry guns at the Emerald Forest have barely stopped firing since the match" Winter fought to restrain herself from punching a wall "You would really cause more panic and draw the Grimm, exactly what it is you say Cinder wants all for the sake of your partner?" Mercury rose from the bed he was on and looked Winter in the eye unwavering
"Those people out there mean nothing to me, I love Emerald. There's no contest I would burn the world for her"

Yang was led into the Dormitory by Qrow and Winter, her team waiting for her
"Yang, what happened out there?" Yang couldn't bring herself to meet Blake's eyes
"Mercury's partner can trigger hallucinations" Qrow said stiffly "We can't prove anything but Mercury gave us the information, she looked into Yang's mind and found what it would take to make her lash out" Blake rose from her bunk and cupped Yang's face in her hands forcing her to look at her
"What did she make you see?"
"Blake I-" Yang made to pull away
"I need to know what she did to you"
"I heard Mercury telling me that the White Fang raped Ruby at Mountain Glenn, I just saw red….I'm sorry Blake" the Faunus pulled her into a tight embrace, stroking her hair to soothe her
"I'm sorry Yang" it was Ruby who spoke, her voice timid
"Not your fault" her sister mumbled, her head still buried in Blake's shoulder
"She's right it's not" Qrow said with a sigh "It's a disgusting tactic and unfortunately like I said we can't prove anything, the whole world saw Yang go berserk on Mercury"
"So what happens now?" Weiss asked
"Team RWBY are disqualified from the Vytal tournament" Winter stated simply "Yang is banned from the stadium as is Mercury's partner, we'll ensure that nothing else like this happens again. One positive is that no charges are being pressed against Yang"
"That's something right?" Weiss gave her blonde team-mate a hopeful glance
"I guess" Yang sighed "Can you give me and Blake some space?" Qrow gave her an understanding nod
"No problem firecracker and don't worry I'll talk to Tai and square this up"
"Thanks Uncle Qrow" she managed a weak smile as she watched the others follow him out of the dorm
"What's wrong?" Blake asked her the moment the door closed
"I'm sorry" Yang's voice was muffled due to her position but Blake could tell she was in tears "I keep letting you down Blake, I keep turning into a monster like Adam-"
"Do not ever" Blake snapped as she pulled Yang up to meet her eyes "Call yourself a monster or compare yourself to Adam Taurus again"
"Blake I-"
"What happened at Mountain Glenn, what happened at the breach, it was traumatic for all of us Emerald played on that specifically because she knew it would get that response. You reacted against a threat to your family, Adam killed people who were the closest thing to family he had; you are not the same" She planted a soft kiss on her partner's forehead, Yang pulled her close
"I love you Blake, I really love you, thank you for always managing to see the best in me"
"You did the same for me, you've always been here for me" Blake mumbled into the taller girl's chest "And I love you too firecracker"

Emerald's hands shot to her mouth at the sight of Mercury's battered face when he entered the dorm
"You two, out" he motioned to the other half of his team whose names he made a point of not learning, as soon as the door closed behind him he turned to his partner
"Emerald I love you, but what the fuck happened out there?"
"Cinder's orders, she wanted me to have you killed if you failed….I didn't go through with it, I couldn't" Mercury crossed the room and cupped her chin
"Em, we need to go, I warned you about this she's going to throw us under the bus. I have a way out arranged"
"The same people that tried to rig the fight so you'd loose?" Emerald asked "I'm not stupid Merc you could have beaten Yang"
"Yeah it's the same people" Mercury admitted "The Atlesian Military are onto Cinder and they've given Spec-Ops free reign to do what ever they need, I'm not sure who's going to win between them and Cinder I just know that I refuse to be caught a crossfire between two people that will happily fuck us over at a moments notice"
"Cinder demanded to see me" Emerald whispered, sounding terrified at the memory "She says I have a chance to make things right and she'll forget what happened today"
"And you believe her?" Mercury snapped "Listen to yourself Em, I know she took you in but surely you understand she's going to leave us both for dead the second it becomes convenient"
"I know" Emerald sighed "But if I don't do this she threatened, she threatened to make me watch when you were killed"
"She's welcome to try" Mercury spat
"You can't go against her Merc, you know that" Emerald pulled him close to her "I'm not losing you, I have had to fight and claw for everything I've got in life and nobody is taking you from me, you mean too much" her voice grew more resolute with every word, Mercury sighed kissing her forehead
"I'll make the arrangements to leave, you get up there and take care of your mission for Cinder as soon as the job is finished we meet up and we get as far away from here as we can, hopefully Cinder won't have a reason to follow us if we finish the job"
"Okay" Emerald's voice wavered "The only question is which would outrage the world more, the invincible girl being murdered on camera or being the murderer"

Authors Notes:

So to summarise:
Yes the title for this chapter is a Death Note reference (I blame Drake187 for referring to Cinder's plan as a Keikaku).
So yeah, Watt's hacking is better than the last minute job Winter managed to pull, Cinder's Keikaku trumps Winter Keikaku.
Yes there were Deadpool references.
Cinder wanted Emerald to have Mercury's opponent kill him if he failed, he'd served his purpose. Emerald wouldn't do it but she's too scared of Cinder to outright refuse so she made Yang beat the stuffing out of him instead.
It effectively had the same result as Canon, Yang is disqualified, the public are outraged, the Grimm are agitated.
I know Merc an Em are meant to be parallels to Yang and Blake, but in once sense I see them as a parallel to Ren and Nora: they've got nobody except each other and they will do literally anything to protect each other.

Thank you to Drake187 and 6TailedNinja for their reviews on the last chapter:
Arkos indeed my friend and yes Jaune's density would make better protection than his gargantuan Aura (There's a thought, do you think maybe being that dense is a manifestation of his Aura/Semblance like Ruby's rose petals or Yang being on fire/having red eye when she activates her Semblance)
The fat needed to be trimmed, the story being told in canon was for the readers benefit, the characters should have already known it and that is just bad exposition.
Stranger Danger….Seriously imagine any of the more serious characters that aren't Ren having to deal with Nora for any amount of time, imagine Ironwood having to deal with her.
Your dread is warranted.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.