~ Welcome back, everyone. It's been a little while since the last chapter, but I've been kind of occupied with... responsibilities. It sucks. But hey, I got most of them out of the way for now, so enjoy.
Neo looked on at this supposed 'Professor' Port in a half conscious state, on the verge of falling back to sleep again. She had been rudely awoken by Weiss, who sat by her side, whispering something among the lines of "You shouldn't stay up all night on your phone" and "This stuff might come in handy one day". Truely an irrelevant excuse if Neo had ever heard one.
Her mismatched eyes drifted towards a certain blonde knight also in the class, in the row below her. He had supposedly been infamous for also falling asleep in this class, along with several others, for which she could completely understand why.
But today was...different from that description. In fact, Jaune had been acting differently for about a week now.
No doubt it was because he had learnt about Ozpin's past, the truth about the Huntsman academies…
...Salem.
Since then, he had been distancing himself from his team. Showing up to class late, not coming to lunch, dark bags under the eyes, that sort of thing.
Neo felt... sorry for him, despite barely knowing him. His dreams of becoming a Huntsman were more or less shattered after that night.
But The Dreaded saw something in him. Something...special, unique. Meaning, by extension, she did as well...whether she liked it or not.
Being given orders to keep an eye on a boy she barely knew, likely devoid of any hope or happiness, didn't exactly sound like a thrilling task, nor was it something she was familiar with. But again, she had to do it, whether she liked it or not.
The blonde in question was actually awake, for the time being, but his gaze was distant, likely deep in thought.
So deep in thought, in fact, that he hadn't noticed the afternoon bell ring.
"-Oh blast, I was just getting to the good part," Professor Port muttered under his breath, checking the time on the clock. "Well then students, remember what I said! Danger is out there, even where we least expect it! We must stay vigilant!"
Students began dispersing through the exit, leaving teams RWBN and JNPR the last to leave.
"We're going back to the dorm to play some board games… are you sure you don't want to join us?" Pyrrha asked her partner, who had just risen to his feet.
"Yeah, I just have some...stuff to deal with. I'll be back later tonight, I promise Pyrrha." Was his reply, sounding more forced than genuine, which she likely picked up on.
"...I see. Well, you know where we are. See you tonight."
He gave a nod, before the rest of his team left, as were team RWBN. Neo tapped Blake on the shoulder just before she could reach the door, getting her attention.
"Yes?"
Neo gestured towards Jaune, who was distracted by the nearby window, before doing a sad expression.
"Yes, Jaune has seemed a bit… sad lately. But he seems like he wants to keep it to himself."
Neo nodded in agreement, before gesturing to him, then to herself, and then doing a cheering expression.
"You want to cheer up Jaune?" -Blake- asked, which Neo nodded to. To the side, Ruby failed to hide her snicker.
"Of course she wants to cheer him up, Blake. She's his special someone, if you know what I mean."
Neo groaned, shaking her head.
She had told them that-
Wait, no, that wasn't right.
She had texted them that she wanted his number not because they were dating, but for something else. Relationships weren't her style. They, of course, didn't believe her, thinking that she'd just throw herself at the first blonde, muscley guy that she'd seen in Beacon.
Neo had to use all of her self control to not stab Weiss that night. That annoyed her even more. Restraint was not her forte, and it had been such a tempting impulse too…
Her team were such idiots.
"You're right, Ruby. Let's not interrupt a private moment between these two lovebirds." Blake said with a smirk, quickly ducking under Neo's swing.
Curse her feline reflexes.
Neo growled, an involuntary reaction to how pissed off she was. At that moment she felt like strangling the girl right there, but with all the witnesses around, she settled for giving her the flattest stare she could conjure.
The cat didn't bat an eye.
"Have fun you two~!" Blake quickly whispered to Neo, before slamming the door on her, stopping her sudden kick from connecting to the faunus' face.
Idiot. Blake was such an idiot. She'd seen what kind of books the girl read in class. Looking down on her? Talk about sexually repressed...
With a silent sigh, Neo turned around to the source of her irritation, only to find him missing. Odd. How had he managed to sneak past her? Another reason to get back at Blake… Whatever the reason, the classroom was empty. Content on finding him, she approached the other exit on the far side of the room. As she opened it, she could hear footsteps faintly at the end of the hallway to her right. Target acquired she thought, following after the retreating noise. Though she didn't care how she looked, she at least attempted some discretion around the other students.
She continued to follow the footsteps down the hallway, then to the left, up the stairs, across the other hallway, to the other left, pass the library, to the right, before her patience finally got the better of her, breaking into a full out run.
How big is this damn school anyway?! She'd seen alleyways in Vale that were easier to navigate...
Neo bolted down a third hallway before finally spotting her blonde haired target, bobbing in and out of a crowd of students.
What's got him in such a rush? She grumbled silently. Making her chase after him like this. It was going to cost him… she felt a smile forming at the thought.
She quickly wove between students and teachers, zeroing onto the sight of blonde hair so it wouldn't escape her attention. The image grew closer as she slipped through Beacons hallways, before she finally was upon him; grabbing his arm and grinding him to a halt. She was thrilled at the prospect.
Finally. Mission accomplished…
…Wait.
Since when did Jaune have a tail?
When she finally met eyes with her victim, she realised dawning horror that she had somehow followed the wrong blue-eyed muscled blonde.
"-Wh- Oh, hey! You're that new chick, right? Blake's new partner?" Sun said, sounding overly eager to meet her and something she definitely didn't have time for. Neo attempted to gesture that this was all a mistake, but Sun saw it as a confirmation.
"Oh sweet! And your name was- Wait wait wait! I can remember it!" He said, suddenly concentrating a lot harder than he should have. "Oh yeah, I remember now!"
Good for him. She thought, turning away.
"Newto!"
Neo's eye twitched. Turning back to him, her eyebrows rose, and she crossed her arms in mock disbelief.
"No?" Sun asked, scratching his head. "Uh, was it….Neon?"
Neo's death glare remained.
"Um… Nessus?"
Nope.
"Nashi?"
Nuh uh.
"Noose?"
…
"How about Nikolai?"
At this point, Neo had slapped her forehead from his mere stupidity.
"...Nudu?"
...was he just making names up at this point? Defeated at any hopes of him learning her name, Neo then gestured to his hair.
"My hair? What about it?" She gestured to it again.
"Yes. My hair. It's blonde." He said flatly. She clicked her fingers at the mention of blonde, which caused Sun to think for a moment.
"Oh. Are you looking for that Arc guy?"
…
How was he able to figure that out first try, but he couldn't—
No. Neo wasn't even going to ask.
She nodded, and found herself feeling tired being around Sun, both physically and mentally.
"Oh yeah, I know him. Kinda. He's been down in the dumps lately though, which sucks. He- oh man, what was his name?"
"No," Neo pleaded to the gods. "Please, not again."
"...Oh, right! I definitely remember his name."
...great.
"His name was John!"
Neo felt her eye twitch again.
You know what? Close enough.
She nodded in 'confirmation' at the name, hoping for all of this to be over soon. "Yeah, I think he might be on the roof of the southern building. I saw him there the other night, star gazing…or something."
"A better lead than none," Neo thought to herself. She nodded and before bowing, thanking him for the info. He smiled.
"Hey, no problemo. See ya around, Neo."
With him finally gone, she could-
Did he just use her name?
She turned back to him only to find that he had already fled. Neo could feel her blood begin to boil.
"Oh, that sneaky, deceiving little motherfu-"
20 Minutes Later, Southern Beacon Rooftop
After painfully making her way to the southern Beacon rooftop, Neo found herself face to face with a door with a keypad, blocking access to the roof.
She quickly glanced to her left then right, checking nobody was around, which was thankfully the case. Knowing better than to sit there all day and try to guess the code, Neo pulled out her scroll and opened a scanning app, designed specifically in mind for keypads such as this.
A short moment later the app cracked the code, unlocking the door with a soft hiss.
She went up a short staircase before finally arriving on the roof, immediately greeted by the sight of Jaune, silently gazing over Beacon.
She cleared her throat to make her presence known, which briefly startled Jaune until he saw who it was.
"Oh. It's you." He said, voice lacking any sort of emotion. "You figure out the code too?"
Neo chose to nod, to which Jaune couldn't help but smile slightly. "Heh. Tends to happen when the code is 1111."
Silence followed, and his smile dropped as quickly as it had been formed. Neo slowly, hesitantly, approached him, joining him at the side of the ledge. He didn't seem to react, his eyes fixated on the scenery before him.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" He said, referring to the sight of Beacon. She nodded in agreement, taking in the view herself. Despite the dark grey clouds in the sky, it did little to disguise the academy's beauty. Though it was a bit to clean for her tastes.
Another quiet, yet comfortable silence ensued, the two enjoying the sight before them.
Eventually, Neo brought out her scroll, quickly typing the inevitable question. She showed it to him, his gaze meeting her message.
Why are u here?
His eyes briefly met hers, before looking away with a sigh.
"I come here to think," He answered. "Think about my… life choices, the decisions I've made. I think about my dream- ...I used to think about my dream, but that's obviously all changed."
The words stopped for a moment, allowing Neo to digest. But eventually the silence seemed to much, and he continued to fill it.
"—Some days, I used to think about stupid things, like where I would go when I graduated. Recently, I've thought about my place, here in Beacon. Whether I actually deserve to be here or not. And as for the last couple of days, well… let's just say that there's a reason I'm this close to the ledge."
Had she been able to speak, Neo would have been rendered speechless. Those were loaded words if she had ever heard them. Suddenly conscious of how high up they were, she glanced downward. They were at least 30 stories above ground…and she doubted his aura could protect him from such a fall. Or anyone else's aura, for that matter. From here, they'd become a rather large mess on the pavement.
The wind began to pick up a little, and Neo felt her muscles tense and it tried to pull her forward. Jayne didn't seem to care as the wind tugged against his clothes. She felt the beginnings of rain start to fall.
"So. Why are you here?" Jaune asked, eyes fixed off into the distance. "I doubt you're here by choice. Did Ruby send you?"
He glanced at her as Neo softly shook her head. "Blake didn't send you, did she?" He asked, this time sounding sceptical. She shook her head, to which he snorted. "And it wouldn't of been Weiss, she wouldn't give me the time of day, meaning it must be The Dreaded. Unless…Pyrrha?"
She looked down, lightly shrugging. His gaze drifted back to the view.
"Thought as much."
Neo felt… something uncomfortable squirming inside her chest. It was an odd sensation, but it wasn't something she could convey. But how would she be able to tell him that? She needed to show him that she cared, somehow. Texting would mean little to nothing, for it would be nothing compared to real words. A frown crossed her lips.
How could she… help him?
"Would anyone notice?" Jaune's voice suddenly hitched. Neo looked up to realise he was dangerously close to the ledge, looking down at the ground. She gasped, and took a step towards him.
"Would anyone notice if I just… disappeared? Would it actually change anything?"
Tears brimmed down his face as the rain began to hit harder. His voice rose.
"I'm meaningless! Everything here is meaningless!" He said, throwing his hands out over Beacon. A bitter chuckle slipped from his throat.
"There's no point, is there!? To-"
Jaune was suddenly cut short at the loss of his balance, slowly beginning to tip over the ledge. Whether it was caused by the wind or by choice, Neo was uncertain. But she wasn't willing to wait and find out.
She leapt up, throwing herself onto Jaune and directing her weight and shifting his momentum sideways. Her plan worked, as the two ungraciously fell back onto the hard concrete rooftop, by then the rain was is full force, drenching both of them. Jaunes breath came out in harsh pants.
Neo felt something in her heart break at the sound of it. Something she hadn't felt before. She couldn't explain it, but it just felt so wrong. Like an owner neglecting an animal. Thrown out onto the street and forced to fend for itself. All it had ever knew in life torn away in an instant.
It sounded so familiar...
Was that rain obscuring her eyes, or was it tears?
…
No.
Not today. Not if she could help it.
She knelt beside him, and pulled on his arm, encouraging him to get up. It took a moment for him to actually notice her prescence by his side. He allowed her to drag him upward without resistance.
She slumped inside the darkened stairway. Damp and shivering. A wet slump leaned against her side, still dripping from the rain. His breathing was still raw and emotional.
Neo's grip on his forearm softened, and slowly made its way down his arm, until her hand found his. Jaune's breathing hitched in surprise, his bloodshot eyes meeting hers. She offered the most reassuring smile that she could muster, before leaning back against him. Contributing her bodies meagre warmth. Her other arm wrapped around him, firmly locking them in place.
Jaune's eyes fell slowly, as if he didn't want them to close. But as the adrenaline fell, his breathing resumed, this time slower and more even. The lines on his face smoothened, and he leaned into the embrace as well, without any resistance.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned into what felt like hours. Eventually, Neo felt Jaune slump onto her shoulder.
As Jaune drifted into sleep, Neo knew one thing for certain: Her heart told her to protect this boy. To help guide him. And she always knew that she should listen to her heart.
Besides… she could allow to indulge herself just this once. Misery likes company after all. She smiled, as she shifted herself further into the embrace.
The two sat together for what felt like an eternity, huddled for warmth, as the rain continued to fall onto the roof outside.
Meanwhile, in the team JNLR Dormitory…
"He turned down the board games again?" Nora asked, sounding surprised. "We all know how much he loves board games, even the boring ones! Something has definitely gone wrong."
"Jaune started acting differently around a week ago," Ren added, sharing his concern. "Do you think any family issues have arisen?"
"No, Jaune's usually fine with talking about his family." Pyrrha replied, looking through the window, gaze distant. "This is different. He doesn't usually like hiding things…"
Nobody spoke for a moment, the situation dire.
"...Well, I say we approach him at… some stage." Nora quietly suggested. "For all we know, this could be something personal to Jaune."
Pyrrha nodded in agreement, as did Ren.
"I agree. The dance is coming up so… should we ask him around then?"
"The dance might be the first day in a long time where Jaune might actually get to enjoy himself." Ren pointed out. "I say we wait until sometime afterwards, maybe before the missions."
"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea. Speaking of the dance, Pyrrha, you haven't happened to… y'know…"
The girl in question sighed, having heard the question before. "No, I still haven't, Nora. I want to give Jaune the space he wants."
The redhead grunted at the response, jumping to her feet from her bed.
"And that's a good idea, buuut, we want Jaune to have a good time at the dance, right? Why don't you be the reason behind the good time? Surely he'd let loose a little, open up somehow?"
Nora stood in front of Pyrrha, face to face with her.
"Because if anyone's able to get an answer out of him, it'll be you." She said, poking Pyrrha's chest for effect.
"So go gettem!" She suddenly added, smacking her behind while giving an encouraging push towards the door.
"Nora." Ren calmly warned, giving her a slight side glare. "Don't listen to her, Pyrrha. You don't have to find him right now."
A blushing Pyrrha cleared her throat before taking a seat on her bed.
She eventually laid down, gaze set on the ceiling. She let her thoughts wonder for a moment, all the while listening to the pleasant sound of rain hitting the window. All thoughts lingered back to the same thing, though.
Jaune.
"Just what are you hiding, Jaune?"
Meanwhile, in Vale Central Hospital...
Rain hammered against the bedside window, doing little to warm up the room, the cold ever present.
A pair of purple eyes fell downcast to the floor. Yang sighed, and swore she could see her breath. She lifted up her bedsheet covers above her shoulders, struggling to find warmth in the cold room.
A knock on the door made sounded. It opened when she didn't reply.
"Hey Sunshine, I'm ba- Jesus! It's freezing in here!" Taiyang said with a shiver, entering the room with a hurricane of energy. His outfit was definitely more revealing than her hospital gown, but certainly tamer compared to her usual outfit… Which she hadn't worn since. She shook the thoughts from her head with a sigh. "Heh, yeah," Yang replied with a small smile. "The aircon kind of just… died. I would have tried to fix it but, Y'know, I'm kinda glued to this deathbed."
"Don't call it that," Tai grumbled under his breath as he approached the air conditioning, giving a smack. It coughed back to life, a wave of warm air beginning to fill the room.
"Ah, that's better," he said as he rubbed his shoulders, before taking a seat beside Yang. He flashed her a smirk.
"Sup?"
Yang rolled her eyes, an unwanted smile spreading across her face.
"Dad, please. Never use terms that kids use. It hurts."
"What? Don't think I'm rad enough for these streets?" He replied with wide arms, as if making a show. "I'm the pure definition of 'badass'."
Yang facepalmed, cringing at her father's display. "Please stop." She quickly requested.
"Ugh, you're no fun sometimes." Tai said with a huff, slumping back into the chair beside Yang.
The two sat in a momentary silence, before Tai broke it with a sigh.
"Still nervous?" Yang spared him a side glance, along with a slight chuckle.
"That obvious, huh?" She replied, rubbing her shoulders for warmth. "Yeah, I'm still nervous. I know that my chances of being able to walk again are getting better, but… it feels like a coin toss with how the doctors have described it."
Tai hummed in acknowledgment.
"Well, a coin toss is still better than nothing. We just gotta stay hopeful. Who knows, maybe your luck will turn around."
Is that why Uncle Qrow won't see me? Yang almost scoffed at her words. why would I get spooked at his stupid sembelence, I just want to see my family again… "Ugh, talk about luck. I feel like I ran out of that a long time ago, if I'm being honest."
Tai was about to reply, but his scroll alerting him beat him to it. He pulled it out and checked it, and couldn't help but smile at the message.
"Oh, I don't think so," He said, rising to his feet, and approaching the door. "I think your luck is just fine."
He opened the door, for a volley of rose petals to be launched throughout the room, suddenly dispersing by Yang's side.
"Yang! It's so good to see yooooou!" Ruby chirped, giving her a meaningful side hug.
"Ruby?" Yang asked in surprise, returning the hug the best she could. "What're you doing here?"
"Seriously?" She replied, finding the question silly. "We came to visit you, of course!"
"We?"
"Yes, we," Weiss responded as she entered the room, Blake following behind her. They both wore genuine, happy smiles. "You think that your team wouldn't visit you? How childish."
Yang would've usually replied with a snappy comeback in any other case. But this?
This was different.
"Y-You guys…" Yang said with a shaky voice, struggling to hold back tears.
"Group hug!" Ruby cried, gesturing for Weiss and Blake to join her.
With a slight shrug from Blake, and a roll of the eyes from Weiss, the two joined Ruby and Yang in the embrace.
"Guys…" Yang sniffled, tears of joy spilling down her face.
Tai beamed at the sight, tears of his own threatening to form. "Heheh, toldja. I'll give you guys some privacy." He said, giving Ruby's hair a playful ruffle before making his leave.
The girls broke into a conversation about a variety of things.
The latest news, ongoing developments, even Neo.
"So… what's she like?" Yang asked, curious. "My uh...replacement."
"Don't use that word," Weiss berated, flicking her forehead. "And she is… adequate."
Blake snorted. "That's one word for her. One time I found her on her phone at five in the morning browsing memes. She said I wouldn't understand."
Yang shook her head. "She sounds wonderful. Kind of."
"She isn't that bad," Ruby added. "She seems like she wants to help out Jaune, and I think that's a great thi-"
"Uhm, Yang?"
The four turned their heads to the door, where Tai held it open for a doctor with a clipboard.
Yang's voice died in her throat as she attempted to reply.
There was only one reason why the doctor was here.
For a test.
For the test.
"O-oh, apologies, I didn't realise I was interrupting something," The doctor said as he saw the four. "I can come back another time, if you want-"
"NO!"
The room fell silent at Yang's sudden outburst.
"S-sorry. No. Please, do the test. I don't want to wait any longer." She said, her voice uneasy.
"Very well," The doctor replied, approaching Yang's bed. Ruby, Weiss and Blake moved to the side.
"These should be a relatively simple test, so don't worry," He explained as he lifted up the blanket on the bed, revealing her legs.
He pulled out a sharp pin, and poked it on her right shin.
"Can you feel that?"
Yang nodded. He repeated with her left shin.
"How about that?"
She nodded again. The doctor scribbled something onto his clipboard.
"Alright. Now try to raise your arms upwards, above your head. As high as you can manage."
She did so as instructed, without any problems. "Okay, good. Now try turning left and right. Slowly."
Yang nodded, slowly turning to the left, and then the right. "Any pain at all?" He asked. Yang shook her head.
"Hmm." The doctor hummed, scribbling again on his clipboard. "Looks good so far. One more test, the most important."
He grabbed his pin again, and lightly jabbed at certain spots on her feet. She flinched.
"That... tickles." Yang muttered under her breath.
"It tickles?" He asked in surprise, writing on his clipboard once again.
"O-oh uhm, yeah. Is that a… bad thing?" "Goodness, no. That's a good thing. A great thing even." He replied as he finished writing.
"Good news. You'll be able to walk again."
It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room.
"I….wow. I…" Yang stuttered, at a loss for words.
"That's amazing news!" Tai shouted, violently shaking the doctor. "When can she walk again?!"
"I-in time," The doctor said shakily, readjusting his glasses. "With the proper care and therapy, you should be ready to leave in, say, two months? Maybe a bit less?"
He spared a glance down at Yang with a warm smile.
"But judging at your speedy recovery, I wouldn't be surprised if the time frame is much shorter."
Yang's sigh of relief was probably audible for the next room.
She looked to her friends, who wore cheerful smiles all around. Tai looked as if he was about to cry from happiness, something he had not done in a long time.
She smiled to herself.
"Perfect."
Later that night, Vale outskirts…
"I'm serious, Em. What if the government has listening devices everywhere, and the G-men are just waitin' to pound on us?"
"Mercury, please, shut up."
"Just think about it. I mean, are birds actually real? For all we know, they could be drones which charge by sitting on power lines. It's scary to think about."
"Shut. Up."
"You don't seem to be taking this seriously, Em. Shame on you."
"...ugh. I swear, if Cinder heard any of this bullshit, she'd literally roast you alive."
"Oh, I know. That's why I'm saving it all just for you."
For the third time tonight, Emerald asked herself why she couldn't just stab Mercury in the gut, and leave him in a ditch while he bleeds out.
Nobody would miss him. It would be so easy…
But alas, such dreams were out of the question. For the time being, at least.
"Sooo, on a more serious note… when do you think we start the big stuff that we have planned? Y'know, for the big day." Mercury said, dropping his usually smug attitude.
"We start when Cinder tells us to," Emerald replied, finding the question stupid. "She has a plan, so we stick to it."
"I know that Cinder has a plan, but c'mon, surely you think that we should have done just a little something by now, right? With Torchwick gone, she still has a bunch of loose ends to fix up. Why don't we help her out?"
As much as Emerald hated to agree with him, he did raise a valid point. Sitting around doing nothing didn't feel like 'contributing to the plan' at all, as good as Cinder made it sound.
"I... can't believe I'm about to say this...what did you have in mind?" She begrudgingly asked.
"Hey, hey! That sounds more like it!" Mercury cheered, much to her annoyance. He leaned in closer, his voice a whisper.
"Y'know that bookstore guy Roman was meant to take care of? Ex White Fang, name was… Turkish, or something like that. I say we sneak in through the back of his store, and take him out while he sleeps."
Emerald hummed at the plan, giving it a moment of thought.
It sounds somewhat idiot-proof…
"Just imagine how Cinder will feel when she finds out we did this for her."
Well… it would be nice I guess.
"How she'll look at you in approval. You may even be rewarded."
She could feel heat creeping up her neck as she pictured it.
His voice seemed to get even softer. "So why don't we take some of the workload off her hands…"
"Fine!" She relented, pushing past him to check her scroll for the bookstore address. She also used the moment to take multiple breaths of cold air. "So long as you keep your mouth shut."
Mercury made a mouth zip gesture, but failed to hide his smirk.
True to his promise though, he did remain silent on the trip over to the bookstore. After a couple of minutes, the two had arrived.
"Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun," Mercury said, reading the front sign.
"Let's hope he's home."
Slipping the tools from her pouch, she went to work on the door. The lock was old, probably part of the building it came with. It was honestly insulting how little resistance it gave. Flexing the worn metal pins, the door opened with a soft click.
Child's play.
She eased the door open with her shoulder, the building opening up into an apartment annex that joined up with the bookstore. There didn't seem to be any notice of her presence yet. Not that it seemed occupied in the first place. The room stretched backwards into shadow. She glanced back at her teammate, motioning him to stay at the entranceway. He simply shrugged in response. Leaning back into the doorway like he owned the place. But the time for banter had passed, even as he settled down his eyes took on a harder glint to them.
He knew how to act on a job.
Emerald nodded and moved ahead of him. She ignored the sounds from outside, focusing her thoughts inward. Mercury had her back, regardless of how he sometimes acted. So she didn't wait for a response.
With a final nod of confirmation, she stepped inside.
Somewhere in the room above her, a clock ticked away.
The room was dark. What little light filtered in from the windows failed to penetrate the oppressive shadow. Bookshelves loomed above her head, remaining silent and eerily still. They did nothing but help obscure her vision.
She took a hesitant step forward.
Squeak.
She held her breath, waiting for some sort of reaction, or response. It never came.
Damned floorboards.
Exhaling, she crept forwards again, step by step, still barely able to make out anything in the room.
But in the corner of her eye, she just managed to make out something on the floor. Emerald hesitantly approached the weird looking mass, shifting it over with her foot.
Tukson's lifeless eyes stared back at her.
"Shit..." she hissed.
Something shuffled to her side and her weapon lashed out, the wisp of steel meeting nothing but air.
Her heartbeat hammered in her chest.
Calm down… think this through Em.
In the corner of her vision, something flicked. She almost died right there.
Instincts screaming, she dodged backwards behind a bookshelf, a knife just missing her eye, before retreating into the dark.
Aura didn't protect the eyes… whoever was after her knew she was huntress trained. That didn't bode well for her. And she couldn't use her semblance in the dark…shit.
She squeezed off a few shots in the general direction of the attack, not caring for how much noise she made. Bullets lit up the room in a flash of gunpowder. A large presence filtered behind the bookshelves, still dodging her attacks despite its size. Her attacker wore some sort of cloak, but that was all she was able to decipher before they melted back into the darkness.
She fired again, blindly this time, not stopping until the clip was empty. What the hell is this thing? She needed to get out of here—
Something slammed into her from behind, launching her into a nearby bookshelf. Paper and wood rained down around her.
Cursing she attempted to rise, Emerald barely had enough time to prepare her aura for the inevitable blow that struck her shoulder. She hissed as she rolled to the side, slashing her weapon at her attacker, narrowly missing them.
The room fell silent once again, and Emerald flinched as she felt a sharp pain in her side. It felt warm, and wet. It was bleeding, bad at that.
There was no way that she could win this. Not without help.
"Mer-!"
A hand clamped over her mouth, from behind and her vision was filled with the jagged blade of a dagger. Who– what? Were they White fang? Emeralds thoughts flew thick and fast. She struggled against her assailant, but she found herself pinned.
"This is the best the Witch can muster?" A voice rasped into her ear. It moved the blade closer towards her face. "How pathetic."
Emerald made another attempt to call out for help, but her voice came out as nothing but suppressed muffles.
"Shhh. Silence, child. I only need a moment of time," The Dreaded said.
"Where is Cinder Fall?"
Emerald body stilled, she didn't trust herself to speak.
She felt warm breath against her neck.
"Where is she? What are her plans?" He growled, holding the blade to her neck.
Her silence persisted. The Dreaded sighed.
"Disappointing. I thought it would be more interesting than this. Maybe your friend outside could make it up to me."
Emeralds eyes widened. Wait..!
She could see her life flashing before her eyes.
Then she saw nothing at all.
...
Meanwhile outside, Mercury remained with his gaze still set on the front entrance. He had heard the shots, but decided to stay on watch incase anyone came to investigate. Emerald could take care of whatever popped up. But now the sounds of fighting were met with eerie silence. He sighed, and shook his head.
"I'll do it, she said. So I don't stuff it up, she said," He grumbled as he approached the door.
"Yo, Em. You done in there?" He whispered.
No response.
His eyes narrowed.
Surely some Ex-Fang member wouldn't be able to best her… right?
"Emerald," He repeated, louder this time, peeking his head through the door. "You okay in there?"
"No, she isn't."
The door exploded open, Mercury barely having enough time to shield his eyes the shards of wood that stabbed outwards.
However, it gave him a perfect view to watch Emerald's body collide with the floor. Her throat slashed ear to ear.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
Coming to his senses, Mercury bolted down the street, arms and metal legs pumping as the ground rushed beneath him.
Mercury rounded a corner at the last second, flinching as something wooden exploded in the spot he'd just occupied. Did he just throw a bookshelf at me! Who the hell is this guy?
As he ran, his mind was racing, recalling the prior events.
Was this the guy Cinder warned us about? The one that offed Roman?!
His tried to keep his breathing even as he ducked between alleys and side streets, trying to throw his pursuer of his tail.
"Emerald couldn't have been in there for longer than two minutes. If he was able to make such short work of her… then there's no hope for me."
He heard the sounds of impending footsteps, figuring his hiding spot had been made. He ran in the opposite direction, down a short alleyway.
"...Cinder. She'll know what to do."
He spared a quick glance around himself, taking in his surroundings. He was close to the docks, meaning bullheads where within just a couple hundred feet.
"You're only delaying the inevitable if you keep running!" An angered voice shouted from behind. "Tell me where Cinder Fall is!"
...No, to hell with that. He didn't want to end up like Emerald.
The chase continued until Mercury was beside the Vale pier. He grabbed onto the nearby railing for support, finding it too hard to even keep his arms up.
The dark waters below him shifted dangerously. Yeah, no way he was going in that. Exhausted, he checked behind him for his attacker, whom he had finally seemed to leave behind. Sighing in relief hands on his knees, he gasped for breath, sweat dripping down his face.
"So weak."
Mercury's legs were up in guard in an instant to meet The Dreaded's attack, but it proved to be a near immovable force. He was thrown onto the railing, pain lancing up his back as he struck it with a dull clang.
The Bastard then approached him, grabbed him by the neck, and held him over the edge. He brought his weapon up, a monster longsword almost larger than he was, and pressed into his stomach. Mercury cursed as it dug into his stomach, the weapons pressure gradually increasing until his aura flared.
"One last time. Where is Cinder Fall?"
Mercury found it hard to speak, the iron grip around his neck cutting off almost any circulation. Is this how Emerald and Roman felt…? He gasped for air, but he could only barely reply.
"G….Go to... hell."
The Dreaded huffed in amusement. "Fine."
He threw Mercury's body upwards, and readied his longsword for a hard swing. Mercury, instincts flaring, tried to shift himself in midair at an off-angle. As gravity did its part bringing him back down, the longsword connected with his legs with a horrific screech of metal on metal.
"Fucken-!"
Where his final words, before all three pieces of him fell into the sea. The Dreaded peered over the railing, watching for any kind of movement.
Movement that never came. He sheathed his sword.
"Another pest out of the way."
~ I didn't occur to me until now, but this is actually the longest chapter yet. Isn't that fancy?