AN: No, your eyes don't deceive you! Another chapter already! Well, I decided to jump right into Volume 2, had a couple hours, and banged it out in one sitting. Hope you enjoy!
Also, check out my profile for the story ideas I told you all about. PM me if anyone wants to try their hand at one of them.
Chapter 30
Emerald watched with amusement as she walked past From Dust Till Dawn, as its elderly owner fell off a ladder when he was trying to put up the sign announcing its grand re-opening.
This was gonna be easy. All she had to do was turn up the charm. She gave him a sweet little giggle as she bent forward to offer her hand.
"Excuse me," she said. "Sorry. I'm not really from around here." He gave her a once-over with his eyes, and she had to swallow her disgust and pretend she hadn't noticed to keep up the act. He took her offered hand, and she pulled him to his feet, still taking in all of her.
Emerald knew that with her dark skin, red eyes, and mint-green hair, she was considered by many to be an "exotic beauty". That had gotten her into trouble in the past, but Cinder had taught her how use it to her advantage. Just like her mentor, she had turned her good looks into a weapon. Now, she could turn most men into putty in her hand, which made stealing from them oh so much easier, and this old man was no exception.
The shirt that she wore covered little more than a bra would, and her pants were worn a little low on her hips, leaving a vast expanse of skin exposed that immediately drew the eye.
She pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and showed it to the man.
"Would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?" she asked, and after looking it over, he showed her the way, she waved goodbye, and walked away.
She made sure to use her usual strategy. Her pants were tight, and the sway of her hips as she walked kept her target's focus on a certain area of her body, rather than their empty pockets. Once she was out of sight, they were none the wiser.
Sadly, her good mood was ruined when she walked past her…ugh, partner, who was leaning up against a street corner.
"I knew you were lost," Mercury said smugly. Emerald held the old man's wallet in front of Mercury's face, waving it enticingly.
"Mercury, I will seriously pay you to shut up."
"That's not your money," he pointed out.
"But it can be yours for 5 minutes of silence," she countered. He thought about it for a second.
"No deal," he said.
"Fine." Emerald took the money out and tossed the wallet over her shoulder, walking away from him.
"Whatever," she scoffed. "You want me."
"Not even in your wildest dreams," she countered. He was so lucky they needed him. It was the only reason she put up with his crap.
The duo had finally approached the target area, a little book shop called Tukson's Book Trade. They walked through the doors, Mercury sticking to the area near the front door and opening up a book, and Emerald walking right up to the counter. She saw a little bell sitting there, so she rang it.
"Be right there!" a voice called, and a large man holding a stack of books entered from the back of the store, his back turned to them. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun!" He put the books down, still not looking at them. "How may I…?" He finally turned around, and hesitated when he saw the two of them. "How may I help you?"
"Just browsing," Mercury said nonchalantly.
"Actually, I was wondering, " Emerald said, putting on her sweet voice again, "Do you have any copies of 'The Thief and the Butcher'?"
"Yes we do," Tukson answered, still nervous.
"Oh, that's great!"
"Would you…like a copy?" he asked apprehensively.
"No, just wondering. Oh, oh! What about 'Violet's Garden'? In paperback?"
"He's got it," Mercury answered for him. "Hardback too."
"Oh, options are nice," she said.
"Eh, no pictures. Got any comics?"
"Near the front," Tukson said.
"Oh, wait!" Emerald exclaimed. "What about… 'Third Crusade'?" she asked, dropping the sweet girl act. She could see Tukson start to visibly sweat.
"Um, I…don't believe we carry that one." Mercury slammed a book shut behind him.
"Oh," the grey-haired boy said simply.
"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked him.
"Tukson's Book Trade," Tukson answered nervously.
"And you're Tukson?"
"That's right."
"So then I take it that you're the one that came up with the catchphrase?"
"Yes."
"And what was it again?" Mercury asked.
"Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun," the man recited.
"Except the 'Third Crusade'," Emerald said.
"It's just a catchphrase," Tukson said.
"It's false advertising!" Mercury snapped.
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, Tukson," Emerald threatened, while Mercury started throwing switches near the front windows to darken them. "I heard that you're planning on leaving. Moving all the way to Vacuo. Your brothers in the White Fang won't be happy to hear that." The windows were completely darkened now, preventing anyone from looking into the shop. "And neither are we. You know who we are, don't you?"
"Yes," Tukson said simply.
"And you know why we're here?"
"Yes."
"So, are you going to fight back?"
"Yes!" he yelled, jumping onto the counter and extending claws from his fingertips. He lunged off the table at Emerald, but she dodged, putting Tukson directly in the path of Mercury's weapon.
The fight was over in a matter of seconds.
"What are you doing?" Weiss asked Blake, who was looking at her notebook intently while Teams RWBY (except for Ruby herself) and JNPR were sitting in the cafeteria. Even though classes hadn't started back up yet, they were still expected to wear their uniforms since they started again the next day. Beacon's break was supposed to last for two weeks, but Team RWBY pretty much had to spend the entire break making up all that work they had missed when they were spirited away to the Realm of Darkness.
"Nothing," Blake answered. "Just going over notes from last semester."
"Seriously?" Yang asked, after catching a grape in her mouth tossed to her by Nora.. "We just finished all that work and you're still studying? Take a break, girl!" She caught another grape that Nora sent her way, giving the ginger a thumbs-up. The table suddenly shook, Ruby having slammed a massive binder down. It was white, and the words "Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee" and been crossed out and replaced with "Best Day Ever Activities". She cleared her throat and gestured dramatically at her teammates.
"Sisters!" She called out. "Friends!...Weiss."
"Hey!"
"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream!"
"This ought to be good," Yang commented, catching more fruit.
"A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had…ever!"
"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked.
"…No."
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked their young leader.
"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" Ruby answered.
"I always kick off my semesters with a Yang!" Yang said, grinding the conversation to a screeching halt so everyone could stare incredulously at her. "Eh? Guys? Am I right?" Nora threw an apple at her face, causing Yang to glare at her.
"Boo!" she yelled.
"Look guys," Ruby said to try get things back on topic. "Between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But we spent all break making up work and classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."
"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss said. Yang decided to retaliate against Nora throwing the apple back at her, but the ginger ducked, making it hit another student.
"I don't know," Blake said. "I think I might sit this one out."
"Sit out or not," Weiss said. "I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team! I for one think that…" She stood up, only to hit in the face with a pie, cutting her off and making the entire team freeze. They all looked at Nora, who is pointing at Ren, while the rest of Team JNPR looked shocked.
"Man, that's harsh," Neptune said to Sun, after the latter had finished telling the former about meeting Blake, and the fight at the docks. The rest of Sun's team had finally arrived and were getting situated at their dorm, but Sun had decided to take Neptune around to see the school.
"I know," Sun said. "We were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome!"
"Nice!" Neptune said enthusiastically.
"Right? And the best part is, she's a Faunus. But that's a secret, okay?"
"Got it," Neptune said. Sun leaned in close.
"And not a I'm-gonna-go-tell-Scarlet-the-second-Sun-turns-his-back secret, I'm talking secret secret."
"Whoa, chill out, man, okay? I got it. I got it."
"You better. I just don't want to screw this up, you know? The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys."
"None taken," Neptune said.
"They're just in here," Sun said, as they were approaching the cafeteria. "I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?"
"Dude," Neptune said as if the thought of him not being cool was ridiculous. The blue-haired teen stood with his arms crossed, a big smile on his face. Somehow, he even managed to make a tooth sparkle.
"Good point," Sun conceded. He opened the doors to the cafeteria, and they were immediately greeted by screams and students running in terror.
"Food fight!" one of them yelled.
Aqua stood in Ozpin's office with Glynda, going over last-minute details of their classes.
"And that brings us to your class, Aqua," the headmaster said, taking a sip from his mug. "A class normally requires at least 12 teams' worth of student enrolled for the class to actually be held. Unfortunately, with what happened to Team CRDL last semester, your class is down to only three. Thankfully, I have been able to find a replacement team among the transfer students." He activated his projector screen, and displayed the faces of four boys. She immediately recognized one as the blond Faunus from the docks. This must be his team. A blue-haired boy, and red-haired boy, and a boy with green hair.
"These four are team SSSN, from Haven Academy," Glynda explained. "Sun Wukong, Neptune Vasilias, Scarlet David, and Sage Ayana."
"I've met Sun already," Aqua informed then. "He was involved in that fight with Roman Torchwick last semester."
"Well, that's good," Ozpin said. "This team also comes with a recommendation from Haven's Headmaster Lionheart. From what he says, they are a little rough-around-the-edges, and Mister Wukong in particular has a bit of a rebellious streak, but I think they stand to gain a lot." The meeting was interrupted by Glynda's scroll ringing.
"They did WHAT?!" She yelled into the scroll. "I will be right there."
"What happened?" Aqua asked.
"It seems Teams RWBY and JNPR have gotten involved in a…food fight."
Glynda Goodwitch on the warpath was not a pretty sight, Aqua observed as the deputy headmistress threw the doors to the cafeteria open, revealing absolute bedlam inside. Aqua felt immensely embarrassed, as her daughters had taken part in this.
She wasn't at all surprised, though.
Glynda swung her riding crop, picking up all the fallen debris in the room and putting it back where it belonged.
"Children, please," Glynda said through grit teeth. "Do not play with your food."
Nora responded to the teacher by belching, and Yang for some reason fell through the roof. The eight teens descended into laughter, completely ignoring Glynda. The blonde teacher grumbled, but Ozpin put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Let it go," he said. Glynda sighed.
"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world," Glynda responded.
"And they will be, but right now they're still children. So why not let them play the part? After all, it's not a role they'll have forever."
"Yeah, no," Aqua said, walking past her fellow teachers. "Detention, all of you!" The students stopped their laughing and looked at her, fear in their eyes.
Roman was directing the White Fang moving crates around when Cinder's little lackeys walked in. Brothers, those two drove him insane. The girl with her wannabe femme fatale shtick, and the boy with his phony brooding tough guy act.
"Oh, look!" he said, feigning happiness. "She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce," he said, sarcastically pulling them into a group hug.
"Spare us the thought of you procreating," Emerald said, as she and Mercury pulled away from him.
"That was a joke," he said. "And this just might tell me where you two have been all day." He held up a piece of paper, causing Emerald to check her pockets, realizing that he had swiped it during that group hug.
"What?!" she exclaimed.
"I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something." He looked at the paper, and then back at them. "Why do you have this address?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald asked.
"Yes, I would. Now where have you been all day?"
"Cleaning up your problems. One of them, at least," Mercury said
"I had that under control," he said forcefully. Where the hell did these little brats get off undermining him?
"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise," Mercury countered.
"Listen you little punk," Roman said. "It of were up to me, then I would take you and your little street rat friend here and…"
"Do what, Roman?" A voice interrupted him from above. Cinder was riding down an automatic lift, ending up on the ground floor. Roman laughed nervously when he saw her.
"I'd, uh, not kill them?"
"Cinder!" Emerald said excitedly, clearly happy to be back with her mentor. Cinder, for her part, gave the girl a small smile before turning her attention back to Roman.
"I thought I made it clear that you would eliminate the would-be runaway," she said to the crime boss.
"I was going to…" Roman said weakly in his own defense.
"He was going to escape to Vacuo!" Emerald chimed in. "Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat."
Kissass.
"Emerald," Cinder addressed the girl in a scolding tone. "Didn't I say to keep your hands clean while we're in Vale?" Roman smiled at the little brat getting scolded.
"I just thought…" the girl responded sadly. Roman gestured with his thumb across his throat. Cinder sighed.
"Tea Leaf, while I appreciate you wanting to help, you need to tell me the next time you decide to do something like this. If something had gone wrong, it might have put our entire operation in jeopardy, not to mention if the police had caught you." Roman couldn't believe what he was hearing. Where the hell was this understanding attitude with him?
"I'm sorry, Cinder," Emerald said, looking like a kid that had disappointed their parent.
"Just don't let it happen again." Cinder turned to Roman. "As for you. Why wasn't this job done sooner?" Roman made big, sweeping gestures towards all the containers of Dust filling the warehouse to the brim.
"Well, sorry if I've been busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom!"
"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask," Mercury commented, making Emerald chuckle.
"Look around, kid!" he said. "I've got this town running scared! Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty on an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with! Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!"
"Oh, Roman, have a little faith," she said, placing a hand tenderly on his cheek. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it." Roman couldn't help but look into those smoldering eyes of hers. He snapped out of it, realizing she was just using her charms on him. "Besides, we don't need to you to get any more Dust." She turned around and started walking away from him, his eyes drawn to the sway of her hips.
As they say, he hated to see her go, but he loved watching her leave.
"What now, then?" he asked, deciding to take a risk and not move his eyes up higher until he knew for sure she was turning around.
"We're moving on to phase two," she said, and continued walking. Roman put a cigar in his mouth, but his lighter wasn't in his pocket. He searched for a few seconds, before realizing that Emerald was holding onto it.
She stuck her tongue out at him, and kept walking.
AN: And here we have the beginning of Volume 2. Honestly, I always thought that Mercury's whole "you want me" line was so weird, especially in hindsight.
Also, Ozpin forgiving the teams for literal property damage was weird, too. I know that it was supposed to be the start of Ozpin letting them get away with stuff that he wouldn't let others get away with, but come on. Mama Aqua is here to shut that shit down. By the way, I love that people in the reviews have been calling her "Mama Aqua".
Hopefully , you guys like some of the changes that I'm already implementing for Cinder. Basically, she's genuinely affectionate towards Emerald, and I'm kind of going for giving them an actual teacher-student relationship.
And the name she calls Emerald, "Tea Leaf", is basically an Old English phrase that means "Thief", but a nicer way to say it. Which is why it's Cinder's nickname for Emerald.
So, if you guys remember the timeline of events, we're meeting a certain Atlesian next chapter. Goodie.
So, as always, thank you guys very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!