And here is chapter four folks. I have to apologize for my random posting schedule as I find it a little hard to keep a set date down with my work schedule. Regardless I will always try and get a new chapter out once a week. On a Little side note this is my first time trying my hand at a fight scene so i would appreciate any feedback that you might have so that I can get better at it as my story goes on. Hope you are enjoying the ride so far and to those of you who have liked and followed I give you might heartfelt thanks, it does mean a lot to a writer to see their work appreciated.

As always I don't own any of these characters, they are all property of Rooster Teeth.


A Re-Cut Gem

Chpt 4

Emerald had to admit that she felt much better after acquiring her new clothing. The outfit that Charlotte had thrown together for her was quite comfortable and even without modification suited her new body well. For a top she wore a white halter top trimmed in olive green while over this was a emerald green corset trimmed in bronze with a low back that stopped just below where he wings extended from her back. For pants she had chosen to stick with white Capri with with harden leather chaps over this held up by a double wrapped belt over which she wore a shash of white finishing the outfit.

In the several bags she carried had similar clothing and Charlotte had promised to send more shirts and upper body garments to her new home with Jaune and Pyrrha once the alterations for her wings had been made. Even if the holsters that rested in the small of her back were empty she felt more like herself than she had in years.

Still she would have preferred not to have been molested by the kooky seamstress or at least had been given a heads up by the still snickering beret wearing huntress she was currently staring daggers at. "I honestly feel like I should be pressing charges against that woman. Is this just your way of getting even for me beating you at the Vytal tournament all those years ago?"

"Oh that is definitely part of the reason Emerald, but think of it also as a bit of an initiation test to see if we might actually get along." Replied Coco as she lifted her sunglasses to her forehead to wipe away tears of mirth before lowering them back down. "You'll be pleased to know you passed with flying colors, the only one who gave a better reaction to Charlotte was Velvet."

Emerald turned to the Faunus woman who now sported a gentle blush and a look of embarrassment and frowned. "Here I thought we might actually be getting along Vel, I'm hurt you didn't warn me."

"I-I didn't warn you because I was going along with Coco, I didn't remember as I tend to try and repress the memories of when I first met Charlotte!" Velvet said in defense earning a look of apology from Emerald as she nodded in understanding.

Pyrrha giggled as she watched the three interact, glad to see that Coco was at least warming up to Emerald while Velvet seemed to genuinely be getting along with the avian Shaded. She interrupted the three woman by clearing her throat which cause four pairs of eyes to train on her as she spoke. "Well I think that we should maybe take break for a late lunch. As much fun as shopping is, me and Emerald do need to start heading towards the airdocks soon to meet up with Juane to fly home."

"I can get behind that idea Pyrrha, shopping always leaves me peckish. Lead the way oh mighty spartan!" Coco said earning a laugh from both Emerald and Velvet as the quartet of huntresses headed to one of the several restaurants that dotted the plaza.

Pryyha picked at random and made for a close by restaurant that seems mostly empty and advertised a varity of dishes from each of the Kingdoms which meant there was a little of something for everyone. As the group approached the front door the Hostess at the outside pedestal looked up from her terminal before her eyes went wide fright at the sight of two Shaded women. Look of fright was then joined by one of awe as she recognized Pyrrha making for an odd combination of emotions of fear, awe, and anxiety emit from her body to those able to sense such things.

Pyrrha gave a forced smile as she tried to ignore the emotions she sensed as she reached the hostess."A table for four please."

"Outside on the patio if possible." Chimed in Emerald from Pyrrha's side. "I've been inside enough to last a life time and wouldn't mind the fresh air."

Coco smirked at Emerald's comment as the hostess did her best impression of a bobble-head while trying to keep a semblance of composure over her star-struck and nervous emotions. "O-of course! We have a table ready right now! I-I must say it is an honor to meet you Miss Nikos! I will make sure we give you the best service we can. It's the least we can do for someone who stopped the Kingdoms from tearing each other apart."

The forced smile on Pyrrha's face only became more strained at the hostess words and her friends frowned at the hurt they saw in her eyes as she responded. "Nikos is my maiden name, my married is Arkos and I cannot take all the credit. If it were not for my friends and their efforts I would have been a pawn for the terrorist and things would have gone very differently." Pyrrha had few chinks in her armor and the words had found the biggest one.

As the hostess hurriedly showed them to their table Emerald placed a hand gently on Pyrrha's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. Emerald knew just how much Pyrrha loathed being singled out, an occurrence that had only gotten worse after her miraculous return from the dead as the first Shaded. The public now both praised and pitied the spartan in equal measure viewing her much like a masterpiece of art that had been vandalized and then restored. They praised the piece as still a work of art but pitied it as its perfection was marred forever.

"People really need to know when to keep their mouths shut." Coco grumbled as she opened the menu and scanned the contents. Her comment earned a nod from Velvet and Emerald as the latter still quietly comforted her friend.

The group remained quiet for several minutes, allowing the equally starstruck and terrified waitress to take their orders and deliver their drinks before they began to chat again. They talked about current events and what they and the rest of their group of friends and comrades-in-arms were up to, doing their best to ignore the looks they received.

It was several minutes after their meals arrived that Velvet took the lull in the conversation to broach the subject that she and Pyrrha had discussed. "Speaking of what our friends have been up too, there is something that Pyrrha has been meaning to tell you Emerald. It's actually quite a bit jarring so try not to over react."

Coco looked up from her Minstrali salad with a quizzical look on her face as she chewed and swallowed before speaking. "What you talking about Vel? P-money here hasn't done anything major since..." Coco trailed off in her sentence before a light went of in her eyes." Oh! you're talking about Prea-"

Velvet quickly shoved a slice of bread into her friends mouth to cut her off, causing Emerald to quirk a set of eyebrows as her interest peaked. "Really Coco, this is something that Pyrrha needs to tell. It does concern Emerald in a way."

Emerald's other eyebrows rose to match the others as she turned her attention towards her anxious looking friend as she continued to work on her Vacuan curried beef dish. "OK, I'll bite. What dirty laundry do you need to air with me Pyr? Hopefully not knowledge of an world ending cult or something."

Pyrrha sighed and took a moment to collect herself before meeting Emerald's questioning gaze. "It might be a little shocking Em so please don't over react too badly and try to keep in mind that Jaune and I kept this from you as you already had so much going on at the time."

Emerald smirked before rolling her eyes and nodding. "Trust me, I doubt anything you can tell me will shock me. You and your dorky husband are so strait laced the only thing I could think of you guys keeping from me that would shock is you having a kid while I was in the slammer."

Emerald chuckled as she went to take another bite of her dish, missing the amused look that pasted between Velvet and Coco while Pyrrha flinched slightly before sighing and giving a small smile. "Well then I guess I should ask you to try and reign in your reaction. Her name is Praetoria and she is quite looking forward to finally meeting her 'Auntie Em'." Pyrrha smiled comfortingly and placed her hand gently on Emerald's knee.

Emerald froze with her fork half way to her mouth, her left side pair of eyes widening as they fixed on Pyrrha's face as the avian Shaded turned her head to bring her other pair of red eyes to bare with her mouth still agape, waiting for the food that had now slid off the fork and onto the table.

*click*

"Aaand there is the money shot folks, oh this is going in the memory album for sure!" Coco cackled as she reviewed the pictures she had just taken, earning murderous glares from both Pyrrha and Coco.

"Wha?" was all that Emerald could manage after several moments of silently working her mouth. Smoke practically poured from her ears as her mind ground to a halt as it tried to process the implications of Pyrrha's words. Velvet gently forced Emerald to lower her fork back to the table as Pyrrha gave her a look of apology.

"We didn't plan on having her when we did but when we found out I was pregnant we couldn't even think about not having her. We kept Praetoria a secret from you as you would just push our wanting to help you away to take care of her. It was not like we neglected her by taking a day or two to come see you once a month and to help you with your parole."

Emerald finally broke eye contact from Pyrrha before looking down at her meal as if it held the secrets of life. Her voice was barely audible when she finally found her voice again."H-how long ago was this?"

"I found out I was carrying her several months after the battle at Salem's palace." Pyrrha stated as she hesitantly scooted her chair closer to Emerald, afraid her friend would push her away. To her relief Emerald didn't but only so that she would be in range of the bread stick Emerald had slipped from the tablet.

Emerald brought her culinary weapon down in a blur of movement, the bread stick making an audible *thwack* as it was broken over her friend's head, causing chunks of it to get lodged in her hair and a sizable piece to get impaled on one of her horns. "YOU HAD A BABY AND DIDN'T TELL ME!? Whatever happened to "We will never lie to you Em, it was secrets that got us here" speech that you gave me when I turned myself in?!"

Emerald groaned and let her head fall to the table with enough force to make several of the dishes bounce slightly before holding up her hand. "Waiter!"

The now startled waitress that had been watching the outburst along with several other tables scurried over and forced a smile. "Y-yes? How can I help you miss."

"I need something stiff, I have a feeling this is going to be a loooong night now that I know my friend has a kid." Emerald didn't lift her head up from the table as the waitress nodded and hurried away to get her drink. after a minute Emerald picked her head up off the table and fixed Pyrrha with glare. "you better not have gotten me out of jail just to be her nanny! And did you really had to get her calling me 'Auntie Em'? It sounds like I'm supposed to be some old hag on a farm in the middle of nowhere!"

Pyrrha visibly relaxed as while there was still anger in Emerald's voice there was levity in her eyes as well. The red head chuckled gently as she began picking the pieces of bread from her hair as she motioned to Coco and Velvet that everything was fine. "We didn't mean for it happen it is just hard to teach a toddler how to pronounce Aunt Emerald."

"So you didn't keep me a secret from your little squirt hm? I feel like you just might like her more than me." Emerald joked lightly though there was still traces of annoyance in her voice. By then the waitress had come back with a drink in hand which she accepted gratefully before taking a sip and sighing.

"So you two got married around the same time I turned 22 which was 5 months after I turned myself in and the end of the battle so you and Jaune did the deed sometime before or after your wedding as I also recall you not coming by on your visits for a while, just Jaune." Emerald swirled her drink gently as she talked, watching Pyrrha blush and nod at her words. "Let me guess, she is a wedding night baby, right?"

Pyrrha's blush deepened forcing her to cover her face and nodded while Coco and Velvet covered their laughs, poorly, by faking coughing fits. Pyrrha jumped slightly as she felt an arm being slung around her shoulder and looked up to see Emerald's gentle smile. "Relax Pyr, there are way worse times to make a baby, nothing to be ashamed about. So Praetoria is what, five or so right now?"

Pyrrha smiled and nodded pulling out her scroll to show Emerald a picture of her daughter who was sitting on Jaune's shoulders. The small girl was the spitting image of her mother except for having Jaune's smile and his ocean blue eyes. Her hair was her mother's crimson red but with streaks of white that had been pulled into a pony tail just as Pyrrha wore hers. Praetoria's most noticeable features however were the two ebony black leathery wings with bone plating covering the limbs that stuck up behind her.

"She just turned 5 a few weeks ago and she is the world to Juane and I. As you can see she is a drake Shaded like me but her traits are more... pronounced than mine."

Emerald smiled and patted her friend on the back. "Well I have to say, you and Jaune do good work when making babies, she is pretty cute. Now seeing as I am going to meet little mini-you, mind filling me in on the five years I have missed so far?"

Pyrrha nodded as the group once again began chatting happily amoungst themselves. Pyrrha was more than happy to share stories about her daughter, family and friends and Emerald enjoyed seeing the joy on Pyrrha's face as she talked. Pyrrha had been though so much Emerald was glad to finally see her friend somewhere in life that truly brought her happiness.

The afternoon moved on as the group continued to chat but as the four huntresses were finishing dessert familiar movements in the crowded square began to draw Emerald's attention further and further from the conversation. At first she had thought she was just imagining things but the more she studied the crowd the more certain she became.

By the time she had confirmed her suspicions the others had stopped chatting and were looking questioningly at Emerald.

Coco broke the silence by snapping a few times to get the the avian Shaded's attention. "So Emerald, do you have something that you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Coco asked looking over her sunglasses.

"Well, yes actually." Emerald stated as she tried to look as engrossed with the others as possible, the only clue to her attention being elsewhere was her secondary right eye gazing around the plaza. "but don't just blatantly look for what I'm about to tell you and try to look as natural as you can while we talk."

Emerald's statement caused the other three woman to give each other puzzled looks before turning back to Emerald with the same looks.

"What are you talking about Emerald? Why do we need to act like we aren't doing anything when we aren't doing anything?" Velvet asked while scratching her head gently.

Coco nodded in agreement. "I'm with Bunbun here, why do we have to act like we are being watched?"

Emerald sighed a gritted her teeth gently in a mocking smile. "Because we ARE being watched. There is a ring of pickpockets fleecing the sheep as we speak and the way their two lookouts keep glancing at us they have flagged us as a potential threat."

"Wait there is a crime going on as we speak and you didn't tell us right away!?" Coco shouted which caused Emerald to groan. She turned to watch as out in the crowd two men texted hurriedly into their scrolls and moments later several other figures began to rush from the plaza in separate directions.

"Because that's why you shop-a-halic! Great now they have split up and will be that much harder to catch. OK gang, time to split up and look for cut-purses." Emerald snapped before turning to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha do you think you can track them on the ground by their emotions?"

Pyrrha nodded with a grim smile. "I can, I think I got a good look at the few that went south as well."

"Lovely, you take Vel as you and her are the fastest on foot and go after them. Me and sunglasses her will go after the group that bolted north." stated before Coco held up a questioning hand.

"Not to stall or anything but shouldn't Vel go with you if you are able to track and need someone fast on the ground?"

Emerald smirked at Coco's question before unfolding her wings from her back. "We'll we don't need someone fast on the ground with me around do we?" With a gentle hop and flap of her wings Emerald jumped onto Coco's shoulders before firmly gripping her in her talons. "Hope you aren't bad with heights Coco, just hold on tight."

Emerald channeled aura into her wings and muscles, ignoring Coco's protests as she launched herself into the air with a screaming Coco in her grasp. In moments the pair were several stories up as Emerald banked sharply to head after the northern group before they could get lost in the back allies of Vale.

Emerald gritted her teeth gently as she continued to focus aura into her wings and muscles, it was already taxing to fly any great distances by herself while relying on just flapping her wings. With Coco in tow she was starting to regret her decision. "Geez Coco, no offense but you are WAY heavier than you look. Think I might have overestimated how much I can carry."

Coco shot a venomous glare up at Emerald as she gripped the Shaded's ankles for dear life. "Are you calling me fat Sustrai!? I would kick your ass so badly if we weren't seven stories up!"

"Oh pipe down! I didn't call you fat I said you were heavier that you looked. I DO have a maximum carry limit you know!" Emerald shot back as she scanned the alleys for their targets. It didn't take long for her to spot the group of four pickpockets who had slowed to a jog.

"A-ha! found 'em! OK Coco I'm sure you can deal with the two in the back and I will deal with the two in the front. You do have a good landing strategy right? Awesome! bombs away!"

"What?! oh you Biiiiiitch!" Coco barely had time to look at Emerald in surprise before the felt the bottom of her stomach drop out as Emerald released her grip. The fashionista tumbled momentarily as she fell before righting herself and angled herself at a fire escape. The angle was shallow enough that she was able to bounce off with a hop while keeping her forward momentum.

Coco repeated the maneuver until she was only a story up and just catching up with her two targets. With a final jump and a grunt of effort Coco launched herself feet first at the two punks back and slammed into them hard enough that she was thankful to see their aura's flare visibly. As her two opponents were driven face first into the concrete Coco tucked into a roll before popping back up onto her feet to see Emerald enter into a steep dive towards the other pair of thugs.

"Oh I loath her right now..." Coco snarled as she turned back towards the two thugs who were just picking themselves up from the ground and pulling out collapsible stun batons that crackled to life. She smirked before slamming her fist into an open palm.

"OK boys, I just got dropped several stories at speed by a woman I particularly can't say I like right now. Sadly I promised some mutual friends we have I would play nice with her. Since I can't pound her into a fine feathered paste guess who gets to be her proxy?"

The look of sheer malice that radiated from Coco's eyes as she advanced pinned the two thugs in their place. They shared brief glances with each other as they began to doubt the wisdom of standing to fight before Coco launched herself at them. what followed was not a fight but a brutal use of excess force as Coco did her best to turn their faces into non-euclidean geometry.

After dropping Coco with more than a little satisfaction Emerald focused on her own targets. Free of Coco's extra mass Emerald tucked her wings in closer to her body and dropped into a dive. With the wind whistling in her ears she keep her eyes locked on the thug on the left, crossing her arms in front of her face and bracing for the impact.

The first inkling that the thug had of his approaching assailant was the impact that launched him down the alleyway with a yelp. The thug's comrade screeched to a halt as he watch his friend fly forwards and a winged woman swoop into view. The hapless man meanwhile skipped several times of the concrete before being halted by a dumpster into a crumpled heap.

Emerald grunted at the impacted but flared her wings to halt what momentum she had left before landing to watch her handy work. She gave a content smile at the out come before muttering to herself. "Well that is one down-"

The sound of a stun baton crackling to life caused her to turn around just in time to dodge out of the way. "And one to go. I don't suppose that you would consider surrendering and coming in peacefully? Not gonna lie, it has worked wonders for me."

The man snorted and settled down into a fighting stance as he began to slowly circle Emerald. "No way hell in hell am I going to listen to one of you new freak shows. Can't believe the hunters are desperate enough to actually allow a thing like you to be one."

Emerald fell into her own stance as her face darkened at the man's words. "I will make you eat those words and then we'll see if you can say them through a wired jaw."

With a snarling shout the thug swung at Emerald who skipped out of the way of the crackling baton's path before darting into the man's guard and delivering a powerful right jab that sent him stumbling back. Emerald began to follow but cried in pain as the return swing of the baton caught her in the shoulder.

Emerald held her shoulder and winced as her mechanical arm twitched uncontrollably from the shock. She glared at her opponent before darting back in, ducking another viscous swing but caught the following off handed punch to the side before delivering a shot to his sternum.

Emerald grimaced as she eyed the electrical weapon, being at a distinct disadvantage with a weapon of her own. as the thug surged forward once more in a telegraphed over hand swing Emerald decided to deal with it directly. She met his charge and caught the man's swing at the wrist, her fingers clamping close as she savagely twisted.

Her opponent screamed as his wrist was broken with and audible pop and the weapon dropped from the his now useless hand. The thug continued to howl in pain as he was shoved back and Emerald clicked her tongue as she watched the man cradled his wrist. "Oh suck it up, I've been through worse." Emerald smirked and held up her hands as the man glared hatred at her which she could feel roll off him.

"You freak! are you getting your jollies from this?!" He lunged forward, grabbing for the baton and only noticed the blur of Emerald's sweeping kick a moment before is caught him in the should of his good arm. Emerald's smirk had faded to a grimace as she watched the man stagger heavily, his wrist cracking against a dumpster, sending him howling again and crumpling to his knees.

"No, just getting some pent up aggression out. Been in the slammer for a while and have miss way too much, including the birth of my niece so I am more than a little testy." Emerald said offhandedly as she kicked the inert baton away from his reach. "Now are you going to stop and give up our are we going to keep playing 'guess which bone I break next'?"

The man had pulled himself up from the ground by now and turned when he heard footsteps coming from down the alley to see Coco dragging his two comrades over by their collars. Stuck between the two hunters he held up his one good hand in surrender.

Coco eyed the man's broken wrist and quirked an eyebrow at Emerald. "A little bit rough their Sustrai. Given the military grade stun batons these jokers had I think we can over look a broken bone or two. Oh, looks like you got a runner there. Better hurry and chase him down or he could get away."

Coco nodded her head, indicating for Emerald to look behind her to see the thug she had rammed up and groggily stumbling away with a clearly broken nose. Emerald sighed and unfold her right wing before gripping several feathers. With practiced flicks her wrist she sent the needle sharp projectiles down range, pinning the man's sleeve to the brick wall he was leaning against for support.

Emerald turned to Coco and smirked to see a look of wide eyed surprise. "Mind watching lefty here while I go collect him?" Coco nodded silently as Emerald smiled and jogged over to the feebly struggling man. After ripping his sleeve to free him of her feathers she took a moment to remove his belt and secure his arms behind him before leading him back.

The pair of huntresses spent several minutes walking their captives back down the alley way towards the plaza in silence before Coco voiced her question."you have razor quills just like a nevermore?"

Emerald rolled her eyes, a rather noticeable gesture for one with two sets. "Um, yeah. I mean it IS what I am, or at least part of what I am. Did it really shock you that much?"

Coco shook her head quick."Well a little but what I'm getting at is you have a basically an infinite number of daggers on your at all times?"

Emerald chuckled and smiled gently as she placed a hand to stead the thug that might have a concussion. "Well not infinite, I have to let them grow back or else I would look like a plucked chicken." She looked forward as they turned a corner, noticing the flashing of red and blue coming from the square and the silhouette of a certain rabbit Faunus against the lights.

"not the point! you could have started a Shiv black market while you were in prison!"Coco exclaimed as she continued her train of thought while the shouts of men in the distance went ignored.

Emerald shrugged and gave a matter-of-fact look to Coco as several Officers approached."The thought had crossed my mind but how many other prisoners have Grimm wings? 'sides they dissipate after a few hours like regular Nevermore feathers."

Coco nodded and after thinking a moment but continued to look at the Shaded Avian."Fair point, but you were still armed and dangerous at all times. You could have tried to hold a guard hostage and escaped!"

Emerald shot Coco a annoyed glare but held off talking as the several officers came to take custody of the pickpockets. It was only after handing over the criminals that Emerald set her gaze back on Coco, folding her arms across her chest.

"I doubt that would have worked and furthermore I would have wasted all the work Jaune and Pyrrha have done getting me this chance. I know you don't think highly of me and that is fine, but know that I owe those two a life debt at this point as well as Ruby. I promised them I would go strait and I intend to keep that promise. I know you will likely never trust me but trust in them and their faith in me as I will NEVER betray that trust and faith."