Mercury and Emerald were shocked when they saw Cinder being escorted by four Hunters. Somehow the Fall Maiden had been defeated.
"We have to help her," Emerald said.
"How?" Mercury asked, "She's surrounded by four of the best Hunters on the planet."
"We have to do something!"
"No, we don't, not unless she tells us to."
"Well she will, and we won't have to break into prison if we do it now."
Mercury pursed his lips for a moment before he conceded and asked, "Alright, how are we going to get Cinder out of the clutches of four of the best fighters on Remnant?"
"I'll use my semblance," Emerald answered.
"Are you sure you can use it on four people for long enough?" Mercury asked.
"I'm gonna have to be able to," Emerald said before she jumped off the rooftop and landed on the street without making a noise.
Mercury sighed, and jumped down to join her. Careful not to make a sound, Emerald and Mercury began approaching the Hunters escorting Cinder towards certain doom. The drunk who had saved Amber from Cinder was in the back. Emerald used her semblance to cloak Mercury and he snuck between the drunk and the general and grabbed Cinder, pulling her out of the group and leaving behind her image in four minds.
Mercury pulled Cinder between the drunk and the general and ran as fast as Cinder would keep up. After running what must have been half a mile, the trio stopped at the cliffs. Sweating, Emerald finally let the illusion drop. Although she couldn't see or hear the Hunters, she could imagine what was going on between them. Turning to Cinder, Emerald finally got a look at the extent of the damage done to her. Most of the left half of her face was burnt to a crisp and her left arm was missing as well.
"Cinder…" Emerald said, covering her mouth with one hand and reaching towards Cinder.
"Get away from me!" Cinder snarled, slapping Emerald's hand away.
"I hate to interrupt the reunion but we should really get going," Mercury interrupted.
"Right, right," Emerald said, taking out Thief's Respite and sinking the blade into the dirt before turning to Cinder, "Can you get down on your own?"
Cinder looked away for a moment before shamefully saying, "No."
Emerald gingerly wrapped her arm around Cinder's waist and began to rappel down the cliff face. Mercury jumped off the cliff and waited until the last moment to activate Talaria to slow his descent. Once Mercury landed, the trio set out into the woods where an airship was waiting for them. When they climbed into the airship they found Hazel in the pilot's seat. He took a look at Cinder and asked, "Didn't go too well?"
"Just get us out of here," Emerald barked.
As the airship lifted off the ground, Emerald approached Cinder with some bandages and started wrapping them around Cinder's arm. When she was done, she took a deep breath and asked, "What happened up there?"
Cinder grit her teeth before answering, "I defeated the Nikos girl but before I could kill her someone else showed up. Someone likely more powerful than any Hunter alive. Perhaps —with some training— even more powerful than a Maiden, and while I was fighting him those Rogues and the Rose girl that had been causing Roman so much trouble showed up. It was six against one."
"More powerful than a Maiden?" Emerald asked.
"Yes," Cinder replied before turning away, signaling she was done with the discussion.
Roman Torchwick's eyes shot open and he found every inch of his body was in excruciating pain. As he struggled to move his body, his mind flashed back to the last thing he remembered. Just as the plan was coming together, he'd been interrupted by Storm Sorcerer or whatever his name was. During their scuffle, Roman had been blown off the airship but he had managed to take that windy freak down with him which led to a dramatic midair brawl over the bastard's wand that… Well…Roman clearly had not come out on top. Roman began to lift his arm but it was gently grabbed by a pair of hands and guided back down onto the soft bed he was lying on. With great effort, Roman opened his eyes and a mismatched pair looked back into his own.
"Ne…o?" Roman croaked before he sucked in a breath. It hurt to even talk.
Neo nodded in confirmation before putting her finger in front of her mouth and then putting her hands together and resting her head on them.
Roman got the message and closed his eyes. He didn't know how long he had been out for or if his Aura was even regenerated. Then, a terrifying thought came to the surface of Roman's mind. What if this was all his Aura could do? Would he be a cripple in horrible pain for the rest of his life? No. Roman wouldn't let that happen. Using all his willpower, Roman summoned his Aura and felt what little of the bright orange protection was left wash over him and relieve his pain just a little bit. With the pain lessened, Roman's eyes began to feel heavy before he slipped away to The Dreaming.
Barry followed the man at a distance. A few minutes after leaving the crowd he joined up with more men and women, each carrying a complex weapon and headed towards the monster-infested school. Barry followed at a close distance, zipping from cover to cover in order to stay close but out of sight. Barry streaked into an alley before peeking his head out to keep track of the man when he heard sniffles coming from behind him. Turning around, Barry spotted a pile of rubble. Carefully approaching the rubble, Barry peered above it and found a young boy no more than four years old crying softly and clutching a stuffed rabbit to his chest. Barry took a moment to consider his options. He couldn't leave the boy alone but helping him would mean losing track of his 'father'. Sighing, he knew that this boy was truly more important than his own suspicions. Walking over to the boy and squatting down next to him, Barry gently touched his shoulder and said, "Hey, bud, you okay?"
The boy looked up, saw Barry and said, "I can't find my mommy and daddy."
Barry breathed deeply and knew that if he helped the boy he would lose track of the man, but that didn't matter. Someone needed help and he was the only one around who could.
Turning around, Barry looked back and said, "Hop on my back, I'll help you find them."
Waiting for a brief moment, Barry felt the boy climb on and then took off. Not wanting to hurt the boy, Barry ran relatively slow. As the safe zone came into view, Barry's vision was fragmented and he fell to the ground, his arms not leaving the boy. His feet left the ground but Barry did everything in his power not to roll. Sliding across the ground, Barry was lucky that his face didn't touch the ground but the scraping pain across the rest of the front of his body was intense.
Barry tried to get up but his attempts were in vain. Looking up, Barry saw he was caught in a net of some kind and heard scuttling behind him. Looking behind him as best he could, Barry caught sight of a massive spider approaching him and the boy, clicking its mandibles together. Barry tried desperately to break out of what he now assumed was a web but his efforts bore no fruit. Positioning himself on top of the boy, Barry told him, "That thing is going to have to tear open the web to get to us so when it grabs me… you run, okay?"
The boy nodded.
"Okay, good," Barry said.
Barry was never a religious man but he decided now would be a good time to start. Closing his eyes and saying a prayer to any god who would hear him, Barry accepted his fate when the report of a gun met his ears and the sounds of slashing and screeching followed. Barry heard footsteps approaching him and the boy. He heard the whistle of a blade and the web went slack. Turning his head, Barry saw that the web had been cut open. Grabbing the boy, Barry crawled out of the net and found a ringed hand offered to him. Grabbing the hand and standing up, Barry came face to face with a scruffy middle-aged man with a clockwork sword.
Looking past him, Barry saw the disintegrating carcass of the large spider that was about to make Barry his breakfast and asked, "Did you kill that?"
"Yup," the man replied before reaching into his pocket and taking a swig from a flask.
"Thank you," Barry said.
"You're welcome."
"Well, I gotta get this kid to his parents. Maybe I'll see you again?" Barry said.
"Actually, there's someone who wants to speak with you. I'll get this kid to his parents," the man said.
"Why should I trust you to protect him?"
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white rectangle with a yellow diamond in the middle. The rectangle expanded and a picture of the man popped up on a blue screen that read, 'Huntsman License' with the name 'Branwen, Qrow' on it.
"I think I've got more qualification than you, kid," Qrow said.
"Why does a hunting license make you more qualified than me?" Barry asked.
Qrow looked at Barry strangely for a moment before Barry put the pieces together and said, "Wait… you hunt those things don't you?"
"Yeah, I hunt Grimm."
"I guess you are more qualified than I am," Barry said, looking down at the boy and said, "You be good for him, okay?"
The boy nodded.
"Alright, kid, let's get going," Qrow said, offering the boy his hand and walking away but before they got far, Barry said, "Wait, who wants to talk to me?"
"He's behind you," Qrow said.
Whipping around, Barry came face to face with the old man he had saved earlier.
"Hello, sir. I have a proposition for you."
Thanks to Punisher143 for editing this chapter for me.