"You really think that it's okay for me to be here?" Emerald asked as Coco handed her a cocktail and sat her down at their usual spot.
"Of course!" Coco declared, throwing her boots up onto the table and peeking at the night watch over the top of her shades. "Even you deserve a night off every now and then, and you haven't been to a single girls' night since you started working here. You have to relax. You've been working hard, and mostly because I've been putting you through the wringer trying to find Mercury. Drink as much as you want and put it on my tab."
"I don't know…" Emerald protested. Coco put her feet down and leaned forward over the table.
"Emerald, you have to move forward. Leave the past in the past. That isn't you anymore and we all know it. We're all rooting for you. We're all here to help you, whatever you need. It's how we are," Coco reassured her. Emerald looked at her drink for a long moment as Coco sat back down before slamming the beverage, drawing a raised eyebrow from Coco who chuckled. "Whatever helps."
"Adel!" Called a familiar voice that Coco didn't have to look back for to know who it had come from. She smirked, winking at Emerald before making a half-assed attempt to look back, giving up part of the way through her act. "Xiao Long better be here tonight, I didn't just come out to have drinks with the ladies."
"We're off duty now, Harriet," Coco informed her. "You can call us by our first names. Glynda isn't going to yell at you if you enjoy yourself, and Winter sure as hell isn't going to care, so how's about you grab a drink and pull up a seat."
"This is the kind of behavior that got Beacon attacked earlier this year, you know," Harriet fired off. Coco turned fully this time, standing up and marching to Harriet with unnatural speed, the two women staring each other down as they stood chest to chest.
"Maybe if you uptight militants had learned the value of rest and relaxation you wouldn't have gotten beaten by Team RWBY before Salem attacked," Coco noted. "If I recall your report said that 'They only beat us because we put in more work that week than we had during our entire previous months combined under Ironwood.'" Harriet glared at her for a long moment before glancing to the bar.
"A dirty martini, and put it on Adel's tab," Harriet shouted to him. Coco nodded and smirked.
"And I thought you were always high strung," Coco jested.
"If Elm wasn't in town to watch Taven I'd be in more of a rush, but I can spare an hour or two," Harriet noted. Coco sighed.
"At least try and enjoy yourself," Coco informed her as she sat back down.
"Coco!" Yelled another voice excitedly. Coco nearly barreled over Harriet and rushed to Velvet, picking her up off of her feet and swinging her around, kissing her on the lips.
"You got a sitter after all?" Coco asked her.
"Fox offered!" Velvet informed her.
"Hello!" Chimed in Pyrrha entering close to them.
"Looks like we've got one hell of a group tonight!" Yang shouted, making herself known."I brought May!"
"You invited her?" Coco asked, not pegging May for a socialite.
"I asked to come with," May said, stepping out from behind Yang. Coco's jaw slacked as she saw May who was showing more skin than Coco had ever seen on her. She wore her typical track pants that were a bit too baggy, but instead of a jacket wore a red crop top tank that showed off her midriff and a goodly amount of cleavage. Her beanie was nowhere to be found and was instead replaced by an eye patch, her eye wandering to Emerald who was drinking her in. Coco glanced between the two of them, slowly piecing things together.
I was wondering if you could help me get a date!
"That's it," Coco spoke softly so that only Velvet could hear her.
"What is?" Velvet questioned.
"You'll see," Coco winked. Coco walked to the bar with her wife, buying her a drink as things began to get underway, there were so many of them that they had to pull up another table, and that was moments before Nora showed up, adding even more noise to the group of women that were already getting out of control.
"So, we talking sex again?" Nora asked giggling as she slammed back another stein of ale.
"That's really your go-to every time, isn't it?" Yang laughed. Nora waved her off.
"It always seems like no matter what we talk about with sex that Pyrrha always wins," Nora hiccuped. "Looking at Jaune you'd think he's vanilla, but you two are the real freaks of the group."
"I don't know about that," Pyrrha blushed.
"Nah, just Pyrrha," Coco announced. "Jaune just fantasizes about hand-holding." They all hollered and cackled.
"Favorite roleplay?" Harriet offered for a topic. They all looked at her. "None of you roleplay?"
"Just didn't expect the question from you," Yang noted.
"You don't think Elm and I have sex?" Harriet questioned.
"That's… not what I said?" Yang stammered.
"Pet play," Coco asserted.
"Coco!" Velvet shouted blushing.
"Oh come on," Coco defended. "You know this is what we do."
"Pet play," Yang parroted.
"I like to play nurse with Ren," Nora wailed.
"That poor man," Yang stated.
"Elm and I take turns arresting each other," Harriet admitted.
"Kinky," Nora giggled, squinting at the bottom of her empty glass.
"Pyrrha?" Velvet quietly inquired.
"We don't really roleplay…" Pyrrha added. "Jaune lets me peg him though…" They all groaned and waved her off. "What?"
"Every time," Nora whined.
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha replied.
"You really hit the jackpot with that man," Yang laughed.
"Have you ever used your semblance during sex?" May asked, more or less staring at Emerald.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Nora moaned.
"A few times," Emerald answered blushing, the two of them unbearably awkward to Coco who sat on the other side of the table.
"Almost every time," Harriet replied laughing, not realizing the question was directed at the green-haired girl beside her.
"A couple of times," Pyrrha began.
"Please don't," Nora begged.
"Don't what?" Pyrrha answered.
"One up us," Nora added.
"I don't mean to," Pyrrha continued. Harriet leaned across the table towards Yang.
"You have a moment?" Harriet asked her. Yang nodded and whispered something to May who nodded back in reply. They left the bar and headed down to the docks.
"What's this about?" Yang asked her.
"The reason that I came out tonight," Harriet informed her, staring out at the sailboats that sat idle in the bay in the still of the night.
"Okay…?" Yang pondered.
"You know about the relics, right?" Harriet questioned. Yang was lost for a moment.
"Creation, Knowledge…" Yang began.
"The new ones," Harriet stopped her. Yang stared at her for a long moment.
"That knowledge isn't supposed to go beyond my team and probably not even the council," Yang gritted her teeth.
"You know Oz was wrong the first time not letting anyone in, we can agree on that much after all these years," Harriet assumed.
"Yes, but if the wrong person finds out about these stones and the staff," Yang started.
"They might," Harriet informed her. Yang took a step forward, fear and anger filling her suddenly, eyes flickering.
"What?!" Yang demanded.
"Nero knows where the Stone of Life is, most officers in the Atlesian Army do," Harriet said. "Tell whoever you need to, but you didn't get it from me."
"Why is Winter hiding it?" Yang pried.
"She doesn't trust Vacuo or Mistral," Harriet answered. "Coco has the authority to act for the council without permission first, doesn't she?"
"She doesn't, but she does anyway," Yang clarified, settling down.
"Then have Coco send someone to find him. If Nero tells the Children of Salem, Abigor will have no trouble getting to it," Harriet stated, heading back up towards the bar.
"It's in Atlas then?" Yang called after her. Harriet stared at her before leaving, Yang knew she couldn't answer that, and she knew that Winter couldn't assign extra forces to find Nero without giving them the information why or perjuring herself. They were relentless. Yang stared out at the moon… maybe Harriet had changed… the Ace Op that trained them years ago never would have broken protocol like this. She needed to tell Ruby. Or maybe Nero knew something else that they couldn't let the enemy know.
"Yang!" Coco yelled down to her. "Everything good?" Yang nodded and gave her a thumbs up with a fake smile.
"Yeah, I'll be right up!" Yang replied.
"Is it true that Ruby is faster than you?" May asked Harriet as Yang returned. Harriet rolled her eyes.
"She got lucky one time," Harriet scoffed.
"Is that all it was?" Yang chuckled. Harriet looked at her for a long moment and nodded.
"Yeah," Harriet insisted. She turned her attention to Coco. "You have any ideas for taking down Mercury? I can help with that while I'm in town."
"He's been laying low ever since we arrested the majority of his heavy hitters, so I haven't given him too much thought the last couple of weeks," Coco noted.
"But that means that this is the perfect time to take him down, right?" Harriet questioned. "You just send Emerald in there to flush him out and we take him down, that easy." Harriet looked at the girl. "Right?" Emerald nodded without making eye contact. It should have been that easy already, but every time she saw Mercury she thought about what happened in the past.
"Yeah," Emerald agreed weakly. Coco looked at her and reached across the table, touching her arm but she flinched and Coco pulled back, looking her over.
"We should change the subject," Coco suggested. Emerald stood.
"It's fine, I need to get going anyway," Emerald insisted as she stormed out, both Coco and Yang standing to stop her.
"Em!' Yang called.
"Let her go," Coco requested.
"Did I say something?" Harriet inquired.
"She's on our side now, there's no doubt about that," Coco stated. "She's just… still feeling the regret of not doing something sooner. She'll get through this. It's just going to take her some time."
"Emerald!" Mercury shouted as he chased down Emerald who was strolling along the pier, a fresh wallet in her hand that she pocketed a couple hundred lien out of before tossing it onto the beach and watching some academy-aged kids kick up sand over it as they stampeded by with a frisbee. "Emerald! Have you been down here all day, Cinder is going to have both of our asses!"
"What did you do wrong?" Emerald asked him as she looked out at the countless tourists that were there for the end of summer vacation. They were supposed to lay low until school started, and once the transfer students started filling the dorms for the festival they would make their move. There was a lot of money to be had right in front of them, and Emerald could rob all of them blind without anyone ever finding out. It would have been easy, but she and Mercury had been told to wait, Cinder insisted that once they were finished with Beacon they would never have to worry about where their next meal would come from again.
"Took way too long finding you," Mercury replied, catching a frisbee that flew by. A kid ran up and asked him for it, which Mercury replied with a prompt blast to the chest from his foot. "Get lost!"
"Merc," Emerald scolded as she helped the kid to his feet and he scrambled off.
"You're too soft," Mercury scoffed. Emerald sighed.
"I don't want to hurt people," Emerald insisted.
"What do you call taking lien?" Mercury questioned.
"I just skim some of the extra," Emerald answered as he groaned and began walking away. "What?"
"I'm surprised you haven't turned yourself in yet," Mercury offered.
"Why would I do that?" She asked, tracking him down. He turned quickly and gripped her by the arm.
"Why?" He repeated.
"Mercury!" She shouted, trying to break free.
"You can't have regrets, Emerald!" Mercury thundered. "This is the life we've been dealt, and we either have to embrace it or rot away in jail, and I for one do not want to end up in jail!"
"I don't have to hurt people!" Emerald insisted, breaking free and vanishing before his eyes. He groaned.
"Fine!" He yelled. "But if that's the case you'd better run like hell! If you leave now there's no telling what Salem and Cinder will do to you!"
Emerald wandered down the same pier, Mercury's words echoing through her head as she stumbled into the sand and steadied her breath. Mercury was out there, waiting for her to slip up. The Children of Salem would come for her, even though she had no more information to give that would help catch any of them and that Coco said that she was safe. She was crazy to listen, she should have stayed in Mistral, she was safe hiding there, no one was ever going to find her there! She could still head back before it was too late… before Coco could talk her out of it.
"Everything okay?" Came a voice from behind Emerald. She turned quickly to find May who moved down to the sand next to her, looking out at the moon, the light reflecting off of the one eye that was exposed to the night sky. Emerald was immobilized for a moment. Was this woman working for Salem? Was this it? Was this Mercury finally catching up with her? "You really left in a hurry."
"Everything is fine, yeah," Emerald tried blowing her off. Emerald began leaving before May's voice rang out again.
"I was scared for a long time too," May stated softly, stopping her in her tracks. "Nolan and Brawnz both died in the Fall of Beacon, and I thought for sure that I was the weakest on the team. The idea of coming back here terrified me, sometimes I still freeze up when Grimm attack."
"That's all my fault," Emerald pointed out.
"No," May stopped her. "If it's your fault the Grimm attacked, it's my fault for letting my teammates die, and we both know that isn't true!" Emerald stared at her, May glanced back at her with a tear rolling down her face. "We both froze up. We were both gripped by fear and we didn't move fast enough. But this is our second chance!"
"Listen," Emerald tried to interject.
"I'm not going to change your mind," May noted. "But you know as well as I do that if we keep living in the past, we'll never move past our fear." May stared out the stars a bit longer before moving past Emerald back to the boardwalk. "I hope I see you Monday." Emerald watched her walk away. Those Grimm were her fault, weren't they? She hoped to see her Monday?
If we keep living in the past, we'll never move past our fear.
If it's your fault the Grimm attacked, it's my fault for letting my teammates die. We were both gripped by fear, this is our second chance!
If you leave now there's no telling what Salem and Cinder will do to you!
She couldn't do anything then, she was gripped by fear. But she could do better now. May was right.
"He didn't want me to tell you, but I felt like it would be wrong not to tell you," Orin told Titus as they walked down the hallway towards the training field.
"I can't imagine why he wouldn't want us to know," Titus stated.
"Part of his complex probably," Ilia added. "We have a mutual agreement that I wouldn't tell anyone what I saw, but I kind of get where he's coming from. He's the worst blend of the two of us when we first arrived here last year."
"He doesn't trust anyone and has a superiority complex?" Orin questioned. Titus shot him a look and Orin chuckled. "You forget I'm Atlesian Military, I've read your file since we've started training together."
"That's the way that Winter worded it?" Titus asked.
"No, but after reading the mission details from what happened between you and Admon, I get it," Orin stated.
"That bastard," Titus gritted his teeth. "He was wrong, sometimes relying on others is necessary."
"You don't have to convince us, but maybe save that for Eren," Orin stated. They left the building, heading across one of the paths to the field where Ilia left them to join Vin and they went on their way.
"Just the four of us today?" Titus questioned. Orin smirked.
"You don't think that you and Eren can handle Talia and me?" Orin jested as they reached the middle of the field where Natalia was waiting.
"Sounds like a challenge," Titus pointed out.
"It is," Natalia agreed. Titus raised an eyebrow to her and she smirked. "I'm going all in today."
"Well, maybe go easy on Eren," Titus joked.
"No need," Eren announced appearing from behind them. Titus turned to face him.
"We need to talk," Titus insisted.
"After the fight," Orin requested, pointing at Titus. Titus nodded.
"Fine," Titus agreed.
"On three?" Natalia questioned. They moved back from each other a few steps.
"On three," Orin concurred.
"One!" Eren shouted impatiently.
"Two," Orin continued.
"Three!" Harriet yelled, a smile tugging at her lips as they spotted her up in the stands. Orin had only looked away for a second, but Eren had already reached him and he didn't have ample time to react. The fact that Eren had recognized the distraction and taking advantage of it as opposed to acknowledging it as the rest of them had spoken volumes to his fighting skills, but there was still that pesky issue of his rushing out on his own. Orin didn't move, refusing to even flinch as Natalia darted into the impossibly small gap, deflecting what would have been a shot directly into Orin's chest, the force behind her blow forcing the hand cannon out of Eren's hand. She stopped on a dime, spinning back around with blinding speed, but Eren had already blasted himself back away from her. She smirked.
His semblance might be handy for bursts of speed like hers, but he couldn't maintain it, which is where he would fall to her. This fight was over before it began. She shifted on the balls of her feet, transferring her semblance from her upper body back to her legs, and took off in an all-out sprint, slamming into a wall of stone that Titus had created by slamming his swords into the earth, a smirk covering his face as she crashed through. Realistically he knew that it wouldn't stop her, but it would give Eren a moment to find himself and cut off her visual of him if only momentarily. Eren aimed his gun at her with a taught smile, pulling the trigger as he channeled his semblance through the weapon, blasting her away from them. Orin flew over her as she slid away, barraging Titus with his staff as he sidestepped and ducked shots from Eren, almost making him feel foolish.
"He's better than I remember," Orin pointed out. Titus chuckled.
"Maybe it's because he's not trying to do everything by himself this time," Titus remarked.
"Don't forget that I'm here!" Natalia noted, her metal fingers digging hard into his shoulder, grip tight as she prepared to plant him in the earth. His shoulder coated itself instantly in stone, stopping her hard, eyes wide as she glanced at Orin in shock, Titus activating his kopides with Gravity Dust, throwing them away from him. "Since when…?"
"I didn't stop training after we went our separate ways," Titus noted. He knelt down, Eren leaping off of his shoulders at Natalia who caught him by the neck and looked him over.
"Predictable," She informed him.
"Right," he seemed to agree before trying to blast her in the chest with his semblance but it had no effect on her.
"That was your plan?" Natalia asked, peeking around Eren to look at Titus.
"Actually, it was his plan," Titus noted as he stood. He held out his hands, revealing a lack of his kopides as Eren produced them from his cloak, charging them with both Gravity Dust and his semblance. Natalia laughed nervously before he activated them, effectively throwing her hundreds of feet away, her arm still attached to his neck, refusing to release its grip despite being removed from her body. "That was unexpected."
"Orin!" Natalia shouted. Titus looked up and blocked him just in time, the bird coming down on him from above where he'd been watching and Titus had dismissed him while admiring their execution.
"How is she still controlling it if it isn't still attached?" Eren gasped trying to wrench the mechanical arm from his throat.
"Hold on!" Titus called out, tossing Orin away who spun around and fired at Titus who wasn't expecting it, taking a piece of his aura. "Dammit!"
"You can't win!" Natalia noted, dashing in once more. "Dodge this!" She came down at him with uncanny speed. He couldn't block that kind of power, and Titus couldn't block with his blades or Dust this time. This had to be it! Her fist came down, her own aura taking damage that startled her, Titus had coated his entire body and had stepped in the way of her attack, rendering it ineffective and keeping Eren from being knocked out of the fight. "Titus…"
"This might hurt," he informed her. He threw a punch that she caught, the two of them struggling against each other as they both grinned.
"Try it!" Natalia egged him on.
"You're asking for it," Titus pointed out.
"I can take you with one arm," she boasted. He threw several more punches that she caught with little effort thanks to her adrenaline enhancement semblance.
"Let's test that theory," Titus insisted. The two of them fought each other intently as Eren tossed the kopides aside, blocking Orin's bullets with the scales on his arms before removing his long dagger to fight the man off as he switched to his staff. Orin's face was unreadable, and Eren had to admit that there really was no pattern to his opponent's attacks, though it did seem like Orin knew how he would react before he did, giving him the upper hand. He was telepathic or something, right?
"You're getting better, but you're still nothing compared to Neela," Orin jested, noting how it got under Eren's skin.
"So what?" Eren asked.
"That's all you want, isn't it?" Orin grunted as Eren managed to push him back. "For Neela to acknowledge your skill?"
"You better not be in my head," Eren warned.
"All I did was read your file," Orin maintained. "You don't work well in a team. You think you're better than those around you. So, what happened?" Eren snarled, this time throwing Orin away from him with a blast.
"It's none of your business," Eren insisted. "I saved her during that dance, isn't that enough?"
"You're deflecting," Orin pried. "She's told you before if you want her to approve of you just be a better person… so what's holding you back?"
"Nothing!" Eren shouted, his face turning red. Orin shook his head. It was too easy, the angry transfer student was handing him an opening on a silver platter.
"What happened to your old team?" Orin insisted on asking.
"You know what?" Eren huffed, his face twisted into a manic smile as he held his gun out, letting all of his energy pour out into it. "I'm starting to think that you aren't a telepath after all."
"You underestimate me, though you overestimate my abilities," Orin noted. He set his feet. "Am I not the leader of my team? If we're to help you and your teammates grow stronger, I have to know what's making you tick."
"Maybe you should try fixing Neela first," Eren suggested. Just a few more seconds and he'd obliterate Orin's aura in a single shot. He just needed to keep him talking…
"Neela is a different story, Neela was fine until she lost her best friend," Orin argued. "Titus and Ilia both overcame what demons they had. You're still holding onto them for some reason. It's fascinating. Why?" Harriet shook her head, folding her arms and leaning back. She let out a laugh. It was clear that Orin was more invested in the psyche of his opponent more than the average militant would be, but usually, interrogation happened after a fight, not during it. She didn't doubt that he wanted to help Eren, but Orin was full-sending on the idea of blinding rage making this kid sloppier in battle.
"It doesn't matter," Eren huffed.
"It must, or otherwise you wouldn't guard it so closely," Orin claimed. "Did they fail you? Is that why you won't trust again? Betrayed you, perhaps?" Eren's smile faded slightly. "They failed you…"
"Ilia talked, didn't she?" Eren shouted. He blasted his finishing blow which Orin dodged by flying straight up as fast as he could manage, crashing back into Eren and pinning him to the ground under his staff.
"Ilia didn't say a thing," Orin informed him as he thrashed. "You can trust her. And Titus. And Neela. All of us. Whatever happened before, move past it. Their failure isn't your fault, and as much as it was probably theirs, you need to learn to forgive, or you're never going to gain the recognition you yearn for. I can assure you that they didn't fail on purpose. They tried their best, just as you are."
"They let my family die!" Eren snarled. Orin pinned him harder.
"Let them die?" Orin repeated. "You really think they let them die?" Eren looked up at Orin who had no intention of letting him up, his heart beating in his chest far too loudly to be comforting. "I think they tried their best and you blame yourself, and so you redirected your anger."
"Shut up!" Eren demanded. Titus stumbled back as Natalia finally overpowered him, quickly picking her arm up off of the ground and reattaching it, whipping back around and tackling him, pinning him to the ground.
"Got him!" Natalia called out and laughed victoriously. She glanced at Eren who looked panicked.
"That's enough, Orin and Natalia win," Harriet declared as she stood and made her way to the bottom of the bleachers before vaulting the railing.
"My parents sent me away when I was young to have a better life and I ended up in the slums in Atlas," Orin seethed. "The people I have now I wouldn't trade for anything, even if they failed during a mission. I know you don't think I can understand because it was your family, but you're not the only person who has had to move on from the death of a loved one. Pull yourself together, Eren."
"That's enough!" Harriet repeated, pulling Orin off of the other boy. Orin found his feet and nodded, clearing his throat and brushing himself off as he straightened his suit.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," he told Harriet.
"You okay?" She asked, helping Eren up. He nodded and picked his dagger up off of the ground, slumping away without answering.
"Is that all true?" Titus called after Eren chasing him down.
"What's it to you?!" Eren shouted at him. "Why don't you all just mind your own business!?"
"I almost lost my mother and sisters to a mad man," Titus explained. "I don't know what I would have done if I had."
"Well almost isn't the same as actually losing them," Eren scoffed. Titus gripped his shoulder and forced Eren to face him.
"That's the thing. I had to have help saving them, and I ended up the same as you," Titus explained. "What was the point of teammates if I wasn't strong enough to prevent disasters from happening?"
"That's hardly the same," Eren argued.
"Alright, so it's different but listen," Titus stopped him. Eren looked at him and sighed. "I know that I can trust you. I just ask that you trust me as well." Eren's eyes scanned Titus's before nodding slowly.
"Okay," Eren agreed. He continued on his way, still worked up about what happened.
"Oh, and Eren!" Titus continued. Eren slumped and turned around.
"What?!" He replied.
"Thanks for watching out for Neela," Titus finished. Eren looked down at his hands, they were shaking.
"Sure…"
Will they ever get Eren in line? Next week, Chapter 33: Noir!
A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.
Until next week, stay classy!