AN: Sorry about the late-night upload, but I had this chapter finished and wanted to get it out.
I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with how it turned out, but I'll let you be the judge of that.
Onwards!
Chapter 70
"The finals start tomorrow," Cinder said to her accomplices, the three of them in their dorm room while the black-haired woman was doing her hair in the mirror. "Is everyone ready?"
"I was born ready," Mercury said dismissively, looking at something on his scroll.
"Me too," Emerald said, in the midst of putting makeup on.
"Just so we're clear, you both know your parts?" Cinder asked.
"I'll be fighting monkey boy in the finals," Mercury said.
"While I wait on standby with my Semblance," Emerald finished.
"Good," Cinder said. There was suddenly a knock on the door, and the trio quickly hushed, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop. Mercury answered the door, only for Yang to throw it open and jump into his arms, wearing a short black skirt, an orange crop top, and a cream jacket. Their lips met for a few seconds, before they separated with a pop sound.
"You look like you're all dolled up," Mercury said to the blonde girl. "What's the occasion?"
"You and me are going out," Yang said matter-of-factly. "We've haven't been on a date in a long time."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Mercury asked playfully. "What if my team had plans?"
"Relax, I'm sure Cindy won't mind," Yang said, looking to Cinder for confirmation. "Right?"
"…Right," Cinder said, a little hesitantly. "Go have fun."
"Sweet! Thanks, Cindy!" Yang said, grabbing hold of Mercury's hands and dragging him out of the dorm.
Cinder frowned once they were gone.
There was always something about Mercury dating Yang that made Cinder suspicious, but she was never able to put her finger on exactly what it was.
She just hoped he wasn't going to hurt her. Yang didn't need that on top of what was already going to happen. She finished doing her hair and stood up, strolling over to her Tea Leaf and putting her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Well, now that the boy's gone, what do you say you and me have a girls' day out?" she said. "After all, it is the Vytal Festival and we have the day off. Might as well enjoy it."
"That sounds great!" Emerald said happily, quickly putting her makeup kit away and standing up.
Qrow was currently trying his hand at a carnival game, trying to shoot targets with a pellet gun to win Aqua a stuffed Beowolf toy. They decided to dress a little more casually today, so he was wearing a black tee-shirt and jeans, and she was wearing a white blouse with a long blue skirt. It had been quite a while since they had been on a proper date, and they intended to enjoy every second of it. Unfortunately, his Semblance kept getting in the way of things. Every time he had a perfect shot lined up, something would happen like a kid bumping into him that threw off his aim at the last second.
It was starting to really get on his nerves. Can't a man just win a nice prize for his wife?
"Hey, there, professor," a voice called out, and Qrow and Aqua turned to look at a group of four students approaching them. There was a hyperactive ginger girl, a boy(?) with long black hair, a scraggly blond boy with armor, who was probably the one that spoke up.
And since his luck was already shitty, the fourth student happened to be Pyrrha Nikos. He found that he had a hard time making eye contact with the girl. How could he, after what they had offered to her last night? She seemed just as uncomfortable around him, instead clinging to the blond boy like a lifeline.
Somehow, that made him feel even worse about the whole thing.
In his defense, both he and Glynda had been against the use of Jimmy's soul-sucking machine, but Jimmy insisted that it was necessary and since there were honestly no better ideas, Oz had kind of overridden their votes.
"Oh, hey kids," Aqua said, greeting the team happily.
"So, is this the husband we've heard so much about?" the ginger asked with a sly grin.
"Yup," Aqua said, hugging one of Qrow's arms. "Team JNPR, meet my husband, Qrow Branwen. Qrow, these are the students of Team JNPR. They're in my class. That's Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha." The groups exchanged pleasantries, Qrow doing his best to work around how terrible he felt for putting Pyrrha through such an agonizing decision to still come off as friendly.
"So, any advice for us?" Nora asked. "If you're married to the Professor, you're probably super-strong, right?"
"I can maybe drop a pearl or two," he said, mostly addressing Pyrrha. "It doesn't matter how strong you think you are. We're nothing without the people we love. So don't be afraid to lean on them every now and again when you think you can't handle something." Pyrrha's eyes widened, and he gave her a subtle nod.
She looked over at Jaune, snuggled closer to him, and visibly seemed to relax.
If Qrow was being perfectly honest with himself, he hoped that boy would be able to talk her out of it.
Keeping Amber's powers safe was important. He knew that.
But where should they draw the line?
Emerald was happy to finally get to spend some time with Cinder, something that they had never really gotten the opportunity to do since they got to Beacon. They were perusing the fairgrounds, trying to find a fun way to pass the time. Emerald had already pickpocketed a few stupid kids while they were out there, so this day was already a success in her books. She basked in the attention, as she and Cinder were turning a lot of heads when put together.
"Emerald, right?" a voice called to her, and she turned around to see the girl she had defeated in the last round. Coco, or something like that. She wasn't wearing her sunglasses, so Emerald could see the girl's eyes roam up and down her body.
She wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.
"Yeah," Emerald said. "You want something?"
"Yeah, you owe me a pair of sunglasses," Coco said matter-of-factly. "You broke mine during our fight."
"So?" Emerald asked. "How the hell is that my fault? You're the one that chose to wear sunglasses into battle."
"Come on," Coco said. "I'll make it worth your while."
"How?" Emerald asked.
"You get to spend the day with me," Coco said, as if that was something Emerald actually wanted to do. There was only one person she wanted to spend the day with, and she was standing right next to her. "Most people would consider that reward enough."
"Yeah, well I'm not most people," Emerald snapped. "I'm busy. Beat it."
"Hey, uh, Cinder?" Ruby's voice suddenly called out, Emerald turning around to look at the red-clad girl. "C-Can I talk to you? It's kind of important."
"Sure," Cinder said, much to Emerald's shock. "Emerald, you go have fun with your friend there."
"But-!" Emerald said, only for Coco to grab her by the arm and drag her away.
How dare that little red brat?!
Emerald was supposed to be spending the day with Cinder, not wasting time buying sunglasses with this nobody! But Ruby had to go and snatch her up!
What the hell did Cinder even see in her?!
Look at me, damnit! Emerald yelled in her own mind. I'm the one who's been with you all this time! We've been there for each other when no one else was! What makes this brat so special?!
"How do these ones look?" Coco asked, holding up a pair of dark sunglasses.
"Fine," Emerald said disinterestedly.
"You know, this would go a lot faster if you actually paid attention," Coco said.
"I don't even want to be here!" Emerald snapped. "So excuse me if I don't seem to care what the hell sunglasses you get!"
"You seem upset."
"Oh, really?" Emerald asked sarcastically. "What gave it away?"
"I don't mean about me," Coco said. "You seem upset about something else. Problems with love?"
"That's none of your business," Emerald said, crossing her arms. Coco looked at her with a knowing smirk.
"I knew it." Emerald's face flushed with anger.
"Stop it," she said. "You don't even know me. Why do you care anyway?"
"Honestly?" Coco asked. "You're genuinely one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met, and far be it for me to let a beautiful girl be sad if there's anything I can do to help. If you need someone to talk to, I'm your girl. Or if you just need to relieve some stress, no-strings-attached? Again, I'm yours."
"No thank you!" Emerald said, her face red. What the hell was with this girl?! She kicked her ass, and now she offered that?!
"Suit yourself," Coco said. "Is this about the girl you were with earlier?"
"I still don't see how this is any of your business."
"It's not, but again, I can't stand to see a beautiful girl upset. If you don't want to hook up, then maybe you could at least talk about it. So come on, what's the story? Unrequited love?"
Emerald said nothing, instead choosing to look away. Evidently, that counted as an answer to the question, since Coco looked at her sympathetically.
"I get it."
"What the hell does that mean?" Emerald asked.
"I've got a similar problem," Coco said. "My teammate Velvet is a total cutie. Unfortunately, she's also totally straight."
"I don't think it's exactly the same thing," Emerald said.
"So what, is there someone else?"
"Why would I tell you?" Emerald asked.
"Just indulge me. You'll feel better."
Would she? No, that was ridiculous. She didn't even know this girl. Hell, she might not even survive what was coming.
Wait, so what was the harm? Maybe getting it off her chest really would make her feel better.
"It's that Ruby girl," Emerald said. "I just don't get it. Cinder and I have known each other for years, but then Ruby shows up, and suddenly it's like Cinder won't give me the time of day when she's around."
"Well, have you told Cinder how you feel?"
"Have you told Velvet?" Emerald countered.
"How do you think I know she's straight?"
"…Fair enough," Emerald said. "So, what, just tell her how I feel?"
"Do you love her?" Coco asked.
"…That's a difficult question to answer," Emerald said.
"Well, you need to figure out the answer. In the meantime…" Coco held out her scroll, and Emerald felt hers beep. "My number. I would regret not taking the chance, so if you decide you changed your mind, you know how to reach me." And with that, she sauntered off.
Coco was right.
Emerald did feel better.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Ruby?" Cinder asked, sitting on a bench next to the red-clad Keybearer. Ruby was fidgeting nervously, trying her best to do what Yang had told her.
Be honest. Tell her how she felt.
"U-um," she said, blushing fiercely, trying to look the black-haired woman in the eyes. "Y-you're really pretty."
Dang it!
Cinder giggled.
"Thanks. You're not too bad yourself," Cinder replied with a smile, making Ruby's blush intensify.
"N-No, what I mean is…" Ruby continued, trying her best to overcome her nervousness to find the words. "I mean, you're really pretty, and I like spending time with you, and IgetthesebutterflieswhenIthinkaboutyou." She said quickly. Cinder's head tilted in confusion.
"Huh?" Cinder asked, unable to understand what Ruby had just said.
"I, uh, I mean…" Ruby said, looking at Cinder. Her blush grew, but she couldn't find the words to explain what she was feeling.
So she chose not to say anything.
She grabbed Cinder by the shoulders, and before she could stop herself, leaned forward to kiss her on the lips.
She could feel Cinder tense up, but then to Ruby's surprise and delight, she relaxed into it, putting her hand to Ruby's cheek.
Emerald was walking back through the fairgrounds, trying to find Cinder again. After a few minutes, she saw her sitting on a bench with Ruby.
And then Ruby kissed her.
And Cinder kissed her back!
Emerald could only look at the scene in shock for a few seconds, before she turned around and stormed off.
What did Ruby have that she didn't?!
She finally stopped walking, pulled out her scroll, and opened Coco's contact.
E: Does your offer still stand? No strings attached?
C: Yup. Need to relieve some stress?
E: Yes. Two rules: No kissing, and no talking about Cinder.
C: I can do that. Meet me in my team's dorm.
Cinder was surprised when Ruby suddenly kissed her, but was even more surprised to find herself kissing her back.
They stayed there, in that moment, their lips pressed together.
Then she remembered her job.
She slowly pulled away from Ruby, her face sad. This was never going to work out. She was going to betray Ruby tomorrow, no matter how much she didn't want to.
She couldn't refuse her mistress.
"Cinder?" Ruby asked. "I-is there something wrong?"
Yes. Yes there was.
"No, there's nothing wrong," she replied, her hand still holding Ruby's cheek tenderly.
What if…
What if Ruby and Yang came back with her? Then she wouldn't have to leave them?
Wouldn't have to leave Ruby.
Yeah. That could work. Nothing in her plan would hurt them directly, so maybe she could convince them.
She never thought she'd see them again, but now she couldn't imagine them not being in her life.
"What did you want to talk about?" Jaune asked Pyrrha, his girlfriend having brought him up to their usual training spot on the roof of the dorms. They were sitting next to each other on the edge, Jaune's arm wrapped around her should so she could lean against him.
"I- I don't know what to do," Pyrrha said, looking down over Beacon. Her eyes eventually landed on Beacon Tower, knowing what, who, lied beneath it.
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked. She thought about it for a second.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
"Um," he said, clearly not expecting that question. "I-I don't know. I guess that depends on how you view it."
"When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather… some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life," she explained.
"Okay," Jaune said, trying his best to understand what she was saying. "Yeah. I can see that, sure."
"Well… What would you do if something came along that you… never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?"
"Like what?" he asked. Instead of answering that question, she just kept rambling.
"Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?"
"Pyrrha, you're not making any sense," Jaune said.
"None of this makes sense!" Pyrrha suddenly said, standing up and trying really hard to not break down. "This isn't how things were supposed to happen!"
"I'm sorry!" Jaune said, standing up too. "Please, I'm just trying to understand what's wrong."
"I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress—to protect the world…and it's become increasingly clear that my feelings were right. But… I don't know if I can do it."
Jaune pulled her into a hug, and the dam broke. She instantly started sobbing into his shoulder.
"Let me see if I got this right," Jaune said. "Something happened, that could allow you become the Huntress you've always wanted to be, but there's some kind of a price for it?" Pyrrha nodded wordlessly. "What happened?"
"I-I can't tell you that," she said. "I can't tell anyone about it."
"Okay, so what's the price?"
"…Everything."
"Okay," Jaune said, taking a deep breath. "Don't do it."
"What?" she said, looking up at him.
"Don't do it," he repeated, with more conviction this time. "It's clearly the price you have to pay that's bothering you so much, but becoming a Huntress is what you've always wanted. But trust me, you're the most incredible person I've ever met. I don't care what it is, you'll be a fantastic Huntress without it. Besides," he said with a smirk. "When has Pyrrha Nikos ever taken a shortcut?"
"Jaune…" she said, tears streaming down her face again. Only this time, they were from sheer relief. "Thank you so much."
"Pyrrha, I will do anything for you."
"I love you so much," she said to him.
"I love you too."
They leaned towards each other, kissing passionately. It was unlike anything they had ever done before.
And it told Pyrrha everything she needed to know.
She had spent her whole like living for the sake of others. Just this once, she felt she was allowed to be selfish.
It was like Jaune said, she would still be the best Huntress she could be, even without the Maiden's powers.
And if taking them meant losing Jaune, the most important person in her life, then she wouldn't do it.
Their kiss deepened, spurred on by Pyrrha's newfound passion and conviction, eventually resulting in her shoving him to the ground, straddling his waist.
Without thinking about what she was doing next, she started undoing the straps of his chest armor.
"Hold on," he said. "Are we really doing this?"
"Jaune, right now nothing would make me happier," she said. "Right now, I want you. I need you. All of you."
"Okay," he said. They dove back into the kiss, and she felt his hands travel behind her, beginning to undo the straps on the back of her breastplate.
She smiled against his lips.
"Uh, hello?" Ruby said, having opened the door and revealing a giant man in the hallway.
"Is this Team RWBY's dorm?" the man asked, his voice deep and booming.
"Yes," Ruby answered warily.
"Ozpin sent me. Told me Marlene was staying here." Ruby looked behind her to the girl, who was playing a board game with Weiss and Blake. Yang hadn't come back yet, even though it was late.
"She is," Ruby said.
"The name's Barret Wallace," the man said. "I'm her uncle. Sort of."
"Oh, you're here to pick her up?" Ruby asked. "Come on in!" He had to duck slightly to fit under the doorway, and that's when she noticed it.
"OH MY GOSH, YOU HAVE A GUN FOR AN ARM!" Ruby shouted excitedly. "THAT'S SO COOL!"
"You like it?" he asked with a smirk. "It sure beats the original."
"Uncle Barret!" Marlene said happily, running up to the man and hugging his leg.
"Aw, hey there, baby girl," he said, easily picking her up with his remaining hand and perching her on his left shoulder. "Thank you all for taking care of her. Her father was my teammate, Dyne. He went missing a few weeks ago. Ozpin told me what happened."
"We're so sorry for your loss," Weiss said.
"We couldn't save them," Ruby added sadly.
"Well, you saved Marlene, and that's what's important. "We're gonna be staying for the rest of the Festival, so she can watch your matches."
"Yay!" Marlene cheered. Barret chuckled at the display.
"So, I never caught your names."
"Oh, I'm Ruby Rose."
"I'm Weiss Schnee.
"And I'm Blake Belladonna."
"Where's your fourth teammate?" he asked.
"Oh, that's my sister Yang," Ruby said. "She's out on a date and hasn't come back yet. Hopefully, there's nothing to worry about there."
Mercury kicked open the door to their hotel room, his lips locked tightly with Yang's. He was carrying his girlfriend into the room, her legs wrapped around his waist. He stepped into the room and quickly deposited her on the bed before climbing in after her.
They continued their makeout for a few blissful minutes before Mercury pulled back.
"So, are we going all the way tonight?" She blushed fiercely, and nodded.
"You're going back to Haven when the tournament's over, so I want to end the festival with no regrets," she said. "Besides, I…um… I love you." He smiled.
"I love you too," he said. To her surprise, he stood up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom. "Just let me freshen up for a second."
He disappeared into the other room, leaving Yang to ponder the situation.
She had never done this before.
What was she supposed to do now?
Should she get naked? She looked down at herself. The outfit she had on was already pretty good looking. Showed off her cleavage, legs, and stomach. Her best qualities in her opinion.
Should she let him do the honors? He might like that better. She chose to lay there, her clothes still on, striking a pose she felt was provocative enough, and waited.
When he emerged, she could feel the lust radiating off of him.
She couldn't help but feel excited.
"Where is he?" Cinder asked impatiently the next morning, waiting for Mercury to come back. He hadn't returned to Beacon the previous night, leading him to believe that he was with Yang all night. "If he's late, I'm going to roast him alive."
For some reason, Emerald hadn't really spoken to her since last night, and she hadn't seen much of her, either.
The door suddenly opened, and Mercury stepped in, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Finally!" Cinder said. "The tournament's going to start soon. Do you know your job?"
"Yeah," he said. "Can I take a look one more time?" She sighed, and tossed the scroll to him that she was using to hack into the randomizer.
"In the final rounds, you'll be fighting Sun Wukong," she explained. "You're going to lose the fight, but make it convincing." She looked at Emerald. "That's when you come in. You'll use your Semblance to make Sun think Mercury attacked him after the fight is over, but the rest of the crowd will see a Faunus attacking a defeated human opponent."
"Got it," Emerald said.
"We'll get it done," Mercury said, handing the scroll back to Cinder.
"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Port announced. "The one-on-one finals!" The remaining fighters were gathered in the middle of the arena, waiting for the matches to be decided, including Yang, Sun, Penny, Pyrrha, and Mercury. Cinder watched intently, making sure that everything went smoothly. Emerald was sitting next to her, and Neo was on standby for her part of the plan.
"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?"
"Ah, it's quite simple, Peter!" Oobleck said. "Instead of the bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"
"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!"
"Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" the randomizer appeared above the arena, spinning the portraits of the remaining fighters. "Mercury Black!" Cinder smirked. "Versus Yang Xaio Long!"
"What?!" Cinder exclaimed, pulling out her scroll. To her shock, the randomizer had been tampered with on her end, now having Mercury fighting Yang instead of Sun like they had planned.
How did-?
Wait. Mercury asked to look at the scroll back in the dorm.
Had he changed it? Why?
"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Emerald asked.
Cinder didn't know.
And she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
AN: So, I know that having Emerald and Coco hookup seemed kind of random, but there's a reason for it. This Emerald still has the same backstory as canon, only she was taken in by a nicer Cinder. Emerald has a tendency to latch on to specific people, those being the ones that indicate that they care about her, likely because he's been starved of affection. She obviously latched on to Cinder, since she took her off the streets, but then in Cinder's absence in Volume 6, she latched on to Hazel, since he cared about her wellbeing. Then, after she switched sides, she seems to have latched on to Oscar, since he was the one that vouched for her. I also see her as someone who would accept love when it's offered, especially I feel that with a nicer Cinder, she's not as closed-off emotionally. So, Coco, who openly admitted that she thought Emerald was beautiful, offering a no-strings-attached hookup, especially when she's frustrated by Cinder paying more attention to Ruby, would seem appealing.
However, I'm not sure I'm satisfied with how I handled Emerald's conversation with Coco, Ruby's confession, or Cinder's reaction to it. Something just feels off about it to me, and I'm not sure what.
Also, yes, I had three couples have sex in this chapter: Emerald and Coco, Jaune and Pyrrha, and Yang and Mercury. Plus Ruby confessing to Cinder. I guess love is in the air at Beacon.
Also, Mercury going rouge at the end there and altering the plan. What's he planning to do? Find out next time!
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!