Work and school is hard :"D
Come with me, and you will never be hungry again.
The door chimed as Emerald entered the store. She swallowed, resting her hand on her stomach as it growled. The jewelry store was bright, the fluorescent lights harsh and white. Gems and jewels sat in glass cases; necklaces, rings, and watches in various cases as well.
She kept her arms at her side, walking around the other people in the store, ignoring the sharp glances they shot her. Twelve. She stopped herself from grimacing; doing more than ten was such a pain.
She stopped in front of counter, eyeing the various diamonds on display. Her mouth watered as she looked them over; at the silver and white gold and platinum rings the diamonds rested in.
"May I help you?" She looked up; the jeweler was standing in front of her, faking a smile. She smiled back at him. Thirteen.
"Yes. I was hoping to look at one of your rings." His smile grew; his teeth an unnatural shade of white.
"Of course. A woman such as yourself needs an equally beautiful ring." He pulled the display out, setting it on the glass counter. "Which one were you looking at?"
She looked over the rings, and grinned a little as her eyes rested on a white gold ring with a large diamond in it. That would fetch a fair price. She pointed at it. He nodded his head, pulling it from the display and holding it up, slowly rotating it as he spoke.
"An excellent choice, ma'am. All our gems are minded and purified in Vacuo with some help from the Schnee Dust Company. Three carats and in such a splendidly complex ring."
"How much is it?" she asked.
"Twenty-five thousand lien," he said. His eyes darted to her chest for a moment. "But for you, I can offer it at twenty-three."
She swallowed back her disgust as she smiled at him.
"Can I try it on?"
"Certainly." He gingerly took her hand, and slid the ring onto her finger. It was a little snug as she flexed her hand. She took a deep breath, closing her hand, her head throbbing as she cast the illusion.
The teller continued to smile at her as she back away from him, slipping the ring off her finger and pocketing it. She grit her teeth, her head pounding, and turned and ran, shoving the glass door open and barreling past the old woman on the street. She sprinted down the street, her breathing ragged and her head feeling like it was going to split open as she took a turn and ran down an alley way, ducking behind a dumpster.
She sat clutching her head, gasping for air, her eyes squeezed shut. She hated using it on that many people, this was worse than the time in the bakery. Her breathing began to slow, the throbbing in her head slowly disappearing. She opened her eyes, resting her head on her knees.
Twenty-five thousand. If she got all that from the pawn store she would be set for a while. No sleeping in boxes, no stealing food, no killing another person to have their blanket's during a harsh winter.
She stood up, gasping in surprise. A woman in a red dress stood near the dumpster, a polite smile on her face.
"How'd you do it?" she asked nonchalantly. Emerald narrowed her eyes at her, her hands going to her sickles. The woman frowned. "I wouldn't if I were you." She said. Emerald's eyes darted from the woman's orange eyes to the blades slung over her back.
"I didn't do anything. Now what do you want?" The woman crossed her arms.
"I've met my fair share of liars and thieves. Theft is an art form; sleight of hand, patience, coordination. And yet you do none of that. That ring in your pocket, that man had a smile on his face as he put it on your finger. And you simply walked out of there, his smile never leaving. Most impressive." Emerald frowned.
"Who ae you?" She asked.
The Red Woman's smile grew.
I can give you what your father never could.
Mercury screamed in pain as the dagger was stabbed into his knee. He kicked at his father's face, his boot slamming into his nose. His father grunted in pain, yanking the blade out, and Mercury scrambled away, hissing as a searing pain coursed through his legs. He screamed, falling to the grass, blood running down his other leg. He looked back; the blade was embedded in his calf.
His father was limping towards him, drawing his other dagger. Mercury's eyes widened in fear, and he grabbed the knife, letting out a gurgled cry as he wretched it free, his blood coating the blade. He struggled to his feet, stumbling as he knees tried to give way. His father smirked, twirling his blade. Mercury raised the knife, tightening his grip on the handle as black spots began to appear in his vision, a cold sweat coating his skin.
"You're feeling it, aren't ya, son?" His father said. He stabbed at Mercury, and Mercury parried, getting behind his father. "Taijitu venom's some nasty stuff." Mercury jabbed at his father with a grunt, his father spinning around and blocking the blow. His father grabbed his wrist, yanking him forward and slamming his head into his nose. Mercury stumbled back, crying out in pain. "Ya got some good hits in, I'll give ya that." His father lunged at him, and Mercury gasped, ducking out of his father's slashes, parrying some of them away. "But you shoulda known who you was fuckin with."
His father stabbed forward with a yell, and Mercury grabbed his father's arm, yanking his arm to the side, and stabbing his blade up through his jaw. His father dropped his blade, clawing at Mercury's hands, his body convulsing as the blood gushed down his throat. Mercury snarled, jerking the blade out and stabbing it into his father's heart. His father opened his mouth, blood oozing out, his eyes starting to glaze over. Mercury jerked the blade out, stepping out of the way as his father collapsed onto the dirt.
Mercury dropped the blade, his breathing ragged, his skin clammy and the world almost black. The fire in his legs was gone, replaced with a numbness. There was a sound of clapping and he looked over to see a woman in red slowly clapping, a horrified woman with mint hair staring at him.
He spat, blood filling his spit, and wiped his chin.
"What're you looking at!"
"We saw your fight from the tree line." She motioned to his father's corpse, the fires from their home illuminating his body. "Marcus Black, I assume."
"Yeah."
"And you're his son?" she asked. He nodded, gritting his teeth as his legs gave way. He saw the woman approach him through the black spots in his vision. "Do you have a name?" He nodded.
"Mercury," he said.
"Mercury," the Red Woman purred.
Sienna narrowed her eyes, gripping her chair. A woman in red and a woman in brown were kneeling before her, their heads bowed, their tails swishing nervously. Her guard's stood by her stiffly, the red blade of their Aura Cutter spears dull in the light.
"If I have this correct, you take me for a fool." Sienna said. The Red Woman looked up at her.
"High Leader, I think you misunderstood our offer," she said. Sienna snorted.
"No, I think you have misunderstood. The White Fang is not some petty gang. We cannot be bought out. I do not care what your employer has in mind, but I know that it will not benefit my people."
"My employer believes that you will be able to achieve your goal if you side with us. We can provide you with supplies, weapons, and funds to help the White Fang bring about a new Faunus Revolution. She wants to see the current order destroyed and bring about a new world. Is that not what you want as well? To lead your people into a new world?" The Red Woman asked.
Sienna stood up, her guard's aiming their spears at the two.
"I will not be the one to make my people slave's to a new master." She motioned towards them with her head. "Get them out of my sight."
Her horse trotted down the road, swaying her gently. Her eyes were downcast, her hood pulled up.
She should be able to reach the village Qrow had mentioned by the end of the day, if luck was on her side. It wasn't terribly far from Vale, just a week by horse. She didn't have any pressing schoolwork and the hospital was kind enough to let her have that time off.
She slowed her horse to a walk, cocking her head to the side. There was a young girl with mint green hair sitting alone and crying in the middle of the road. Amber blinked, gently pulling on the reigns to get the horse to stop. She hopped out of the saddle; she could afford a delay in her trip if it meant helping that little girl. She ruffled through her saddlebag, pulling out an apple.
She approached the little girl, crouching down in front of her. She smiled at the girl, holding out the apple. The girl sniffled, hesitating before reaching out her ha-
A bit of dust kicked up behind the girl, a faint sound of footsteps. Amber's eyes widened in shock as the girl vanished.
Amber leapt back, drawing her staff, throwing up her barrier, bullet's slamming against it. A woman with mint green hair was running at her, firing as she ran. She dropped her barrier, ducking out of the way of the gunfire, and twirled her staff, a cyclone shooting from the White Dust end.
The Mint Woman let out a cry as she was tossed off her feet, skidding against the dirt as she was blown away. Amber heard someone running and spun towards the noise, throwing up her staff, blocking a kick from a man in gray. The Gray Man flipped off her staff, laughing as he landed in the grass. She could hear Mint sprinting towards her as Gray leapt towards her.
Amber gnashed her teeth, spinning and twirling her staff, slamming the White end into Mint's belly, launching her away and spun around to face Gray, fire spewing from the Red end. She gasped in surprise, and then grunted in pain as Gray sprang from her fire, his metallic legs slamming into her jaw. She was thrown back, her staff falling into the dirt, and skidded to a halt. She coughed, struggling to her feet, Mint and Gray running towards her.
She screamed, energy coursing through her, flames springing from the ends of her eyes. Mint and Gray skidded to a halt, fear on their faces as she rose in the air. The skies turned black, inky clouds materializing above them, rain coming down in sleets, thunder booming and lightning flashing.
Mint fired at her, her bullets slamming against her barrier. Amber raised her hand, pointing at the duo. Their eye's widened as thunder shook the ground, lighting shooting down from the sky. They bolted as the lightning struck, and Amber raised her hands before swinging them down, multiple lightning bolts striking down, her hair standing on ends as they struck.
Grey and Mint leapt out of the way of the various lightning blasts, breathing heavy. Amber sneered, closing her eyes and reaching out. Her eyes snapped open, feeling leaves and trees soar towards her. She turned in the air, watching the two continue to dodge lightning. She snarled, closing her hands into fists, the ice and leaves and trees turning to ice before she hurled them at the two.
Mint screamed in pain as a tree slammed into her, knocking her to the mud, the ice shattering around her. Gray grit his teeth, the ice and frozen leaves slashing at him, ripping his clothes to shreds. Her eyes widened as she heard someone running behind her.
Amber spun around, firing off a bolt of lightning. A red woman with a bow leapt out of the way of the lightning, firing a flaming arrow at her. She threw up her hand, yelping in pain as the arrow slammed into her, shattering her barrier. She yelled as she fell, mud splashing up as she hit the ground, groaning in pain, her world spinning.
She struggled to her feet, gasping for air. Her head swiveled to and fro, where did they go? She scowled, the Red Woman and the others flickering in and out of her vision as they ran at her. Amber raised her fists, struggling to keep her hands from shaking.
The Red Woman lunged at her, her bladed bow slicing against her chest. Amber hissed, her aura crackling around her as she blocked the Red Woman's blows, the blade scraping against her arm guards. She grabbed the woman's arm, twisting it before kicking her away. The Red Woman skidded in the mud, snarling at her as Mint and Gray rushed her.
Gray kicked at her, and she jumped out of the way, twirling in the air to dodge Mint's sickles. She landed, and spun on her heel, slamming her foot into Gray's face. He grunted in pain, and Amber slammed her fist into his gut before head-butting him. He staggered back, grunting, and Amber threw up her barrier as Mint slashed at her with her sickles. Amber dropped her barrier, grabbing Mint's arms and jerking them to the side painfully before kicking Mint in the gut. Mint collapsed, groaning and clutching her stomach.
Amber's body was coated in sweat, her throat burning with each breath. She turned, her eyes widening in fear. The Red Woman smiled at her she fired three flaming arrows. Amber threw up her barrier, gasping in surprise as the arrows landed at her feet. The flames shot up the arrows shaft before exploding.
Amber screamed, her aura breaking and heat washing over her as she was blown back. She got to her feet, and cried out in pain as she fell to her knees. She looked up to see the Red Woman approaching, smiling coyly. Amber gnashed her teeth, and swung her arm, winds gusting forward and buffeting the trio. The Red Woman was blown away, her bow landing in the mud, Mint struggling to keep his footing in the mud. Amber got to her feet, lightning firing from her hand, the bolt striking him in the chest, launching him away; his scream of pain cathartic to her ears. She spun around, lighting shooting from her hands, Mint screaming as the electricity hit her, coursing through her body. Mint collapsed, smoke billowing from her.
Amber limped forward, scooping her staff up, and leaning on it for support. She stopped before Mint, towering over her. Mint weakly raised her head, her eyes bloodshot, her breathing coming out in pained gasps. Amber snarled and raised her staff, flames licking the Red end.
She gasped; a stabbing pain shot through her back. She dropped her staff, collapsing onto the ground. She felt blood start to run down her back. She grasped at the arrow, and grunted as she felt her arms get grabbed and pulled back. She screamed as Mint dug her heel into her back, Gray yanking out the arrow. The Red Woman approached, a soul less smile stretching across her face as she donned a white glove. Amber thrashed around, trying in vain to free her arms. She swallowed, her throat dry as the Red Woman stopped before her, raising her gloved hand. There was clicking, and a Grimm beetle sprang from the glove, clicking its pinchers and craning its head as its beady red eyes stared at her. Her blood turned to ice, and she thrashed harder.
"Gods, no!" she screamed. The Red Woman's smile grew. The beetle screeched, a black goo shooting from its maw and splattering against her face. Amber screamed, her face feeling like it was melting off, her body burning from the inside, her soul feeling like it was being ripped from her body.
Raven sprinted forward, breathing hard.
The Red Woman was smirking as Amber screamed in pain, her aura flickering orange around her. Raven drew her sword, leaping towards them with a yell. The woman's head jerked towards her in shock as Raven swung her blade, severing the black webbing. The woman leapt back, sneering at her. She swung her sword, the woman's two lackeys dropping Amber and ducking away from her blade.
Amber collapsed, her aura flickering. Raven looked away from her, gripping the hilt of her blade as she faced the Red Woman.
The white glove on the woman's arm faded rapidly, the veins in her arm turning ink black. The woman cackled as she looked up at her, her laugh sending a chill down Raven's spine. The woman's eyes were glowing orange, fire spewing from the corners. Raven tightened her grip, raising her sword. The woman raised her hand, smiling, her finger pointed past Raven. Raven frowned before her eyes widened.
Raven spun around, leaping towards Amber's body, grabbing her and rolling. Searing heat washed over her back, fire spewing into the air behind her. She grit her teeth, curling further around Amber, the heat excruciating.
The heat disappeared, and Raven looked over her shoulder; the woman was gone, a large char marking the mud. Raven sighed and uncurled herself from Amber, resting her in her lap. Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the remains of her face.
The left side of Amber's face had been peeled of its skin, her eye a fleshy red blob. Cuts covered the right side of her chin, blood oozing out and running down her neck, staining her shirt.
Raven sighed.
I can give you and your daughter a fresh start.
There was a banging at the door and Roman's head jerked up. He stood up, grabbing his cane, motioning for Neo to stay put. He went to the door as it banged again. He threw the door open, his cane raised, his eyes widening in surprise.
A young woman in a red dress was at his doorstep. Her bright orange eyes lacked any warmth. The woman smiled at him.
"Roman Torchwick I assume." She said. Roman narrowed his eyes, slowly lowering his cane.
"Who's asking?" The woman peeked over his shoulder, and Roman stepped in her way. "Not a smart idea," he said. The woman only smiled. He stepped forward, shutting the door behind him, towering over the woman.
"You're the best Dust trafficker in Vale, right?" she asked. His gaze was hard as he glared at her. "I have a gig for you, Roman. My employer and I are going to change this world. And I need you to do what you do best." The woman's smile grew, her canine's sharp. "And it would certainly be a travesty if Nero were to find out where you and Neo were hiding."
Roman's eyes shot open, jerking his arm up to swing his cane. He grunted in pain, biting his tongue as the woman grabbed his throat, hoisting him into the air, slamming him against the door. Flame's sputtered from the woman's eyes, her grip tightening as she spoke.
"Now, now Roman, no need for that. You don't want to lose your daughter now do you?" He struggled to shake his head, her grip a vice. She smiled coyly. "You want this gig, don't you Roman? To be on the winning side, to ensure your daughter gets to grow old in this new world." Roman swallowed, nodding. "Good boy." She released him.
He gasped for air, slumping against the door, rubbing his throat. She turned her back to him, dropping a piece of paper from her other hand.
"You and your daughter will meet me at those coordinates. Don't disappoint me." Roman watched her leave, massaging his throat.
We can break your people's chains.
Adam eyed the map pinned to the wall of his tent.
"She… she's really betrayed us? She's gone?" Adam sighed and looked over at her. Ilia's skin was a dark shade of blue, her hair and eyes black.
"She won't be for long." He said. Her eyes flashed red for a brief second before returning to black.
"You're sure you can convince her to come back?" He smiled.
"She loves me. She'll do whatever I ask her to do." Ilia frowned. The tent flaps opened behind them and they looked back; Cerise stood in the entrance, his expression hard.
"A human is here to speak with you." Adam frowned, glancing at Ilia. She returned the look, and donned her Grimm mask. He grabbed his own of his table, buckling his sword on as he left his tent.
Three humans stood before his tent; a woman in red, a woman in brown, and a man in gray. The woman in brown and the man in gray carried suitcases.
"Lieutenant Adam Taurus, leader of the Vale White Fang." The Red Woman bowed her head and looked back up at him with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you."
Adam drew his sword; the red woman's smile didn't falter.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"I have a proposition for you." The man in gray and woman in brown lowered the suitcases, opening them. They were filled with lien and Dust crystals. "My employer is as powerful as she is ambitious. With your help we plan on bringing this world into a new state. The old ways will die, the Kingdom's will be overthrown, and we will be the ones on top." She started to pace. "I gave Sienna Khan this same offer and she refused. She did not want to have the resources to begin a new Faunus Revolution. She did not want to help end the human tyranny of this world." The Red Woman stopped, motioning to the open suitcases.
"We can provide you and your organization all the tools you will need to secure your people's dominion in this new world we will be creating." The woman's smile grew. "So, what will it be, Adam?"
Adam glanced between her and the two suitcase. At his Siblings watching from their tents.
He sheathed his sword.
Yang felt the tear's slide down her face as she was jerked to her feet, the cuffs cold and heavy. Her feet felt like lead as the soldier forced her to move. She craned her neck, looking back at Mercury as two paramedics eased him onto a stretcher, his patella sticking out of his blood soaked pant leg.
"Eyes forward." The soldier ordered. Yang swallowed, looking ahead. She could hear the mech's walking behind her, the jeering from the crowd growing louder as she neared the arena exit.
Emerald jogged alongside Mercury's stretcher, holding onto his hand. He groaned and gasped in pain as the two medics carried him.
"We have an ambulance ready!" a voice shouted. The medics stopped and looked over at a woman in a medic uniform, her eyes orange. The two medics looked at each other before following after the woman as she jogged to a medical air bus.
They rested the stretcher down, and Emerald sat next to the stretcher. The two medics turned to the woman as she entered the ship.
"I can take it from here," the woman said. They nodded.
"He's hurt pretty bad." One said. The other looked at Emerald.
"He'll be alright miss, your friend will be fine." Emerald nodded at them, clutching Mercury's hand.
The two medics left, the air bus door sliding shut. Emerald dropped Mercury's hand and he let out a laugh, sitting up.
"I always told my dad I was a good actor." Mercury said. Emerald rolled her eyes, Cinder walking past them and to the pilot seat.
"I think you both did a marvelous job." Cinder said.
The ship jolted as it started, Emerald's stomach doing flips as the ship took off and started to soar through the air.
"Tragedy struck the Amity Coliseum during the One on One round tonight. Xiao Long Yang, a student of Bea-"
"What that kid did was out of line. I have no idea what goes on at those Hunter school's bu-"
"Due to the events that transpired during the Vytal Tournament tonight, there has been a large surge in Grimm activity with large Grimm have been sighted on Vale's Wall. The soldier's brought in from Atlas have so far proved ineffective against the surge and the Vale Council has issued a request from any and all Hunter's in the loca-"
The tv switched off and Mercury groaned in annoyance.
"I was watching that. I wanna see the fruits of my labor." He said. Emerald shot him a dirty look as Cinder crossed her arms.
"That's nothing compared to what comes next, Mercury." Cinder said. Mercury smirked, and reached for a small flat head.
"What do we do next?" Emerald asked. Cinder smiled, resting against the tv stand.
"You and I are going to make sure that the next round goes as smoothly as this one did. Can't leave that poor audience in want, now can we?" Mercury motioned to himself with the screwdriver.
"What do I gotta do?" he asked.
"Nothing at the moment. Just stay low until the end. That shouldn't be too hard now should it?" Mercury nodded his head, smirking.
"Can do," he said, beginning the repair work on his leg.