A/N: Long chapter ahoy and an early update, as promised~! Looking forward to your feeback~!

Nearly uploaded this yesterday, but it would've been rushed and short.

Hopefully taking the extra day to polish this chapter up pays off in the long run. Here we go~!

Last chapter blew past the past the early update threshold and then some! If by some miracle this makes it past 350 reviews-feasible given its already well past 260!- I'll be happy to update it earlier yet again. Suppose that depends on the fan feedback.

Maybe I should look into a bloody Pat-reon after all; work is cutting hours and doing all this for free is bloody rough. Next month might be hectic with an update almost every day.

But then this would feel like a job...would that be a good thing?

I just don't know sometimes.

With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.

So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.

I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.

Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.

In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!

Outfit change for Emerald is a go!

"Nice semblance ya got there. It would be a shame...

...if something...happened to it.

Yoink~!"

~?

Give and Take

What did Mercury want from her?

Emerald knew he had to be after something. He must. Everyone was. They always were.

And yet this "Mercury" hadn't made so much as a single demand of her since he'd met her. Not a one!

Far from it; rather than order her around, he'd taken her to the first diner he could find, and summarily treated her to a full course meal. It was more food than she'd ever seen in her life. Burgers and steak and even cake. Cake! Actual chocolate cake! Not too-sweet or too sugary either; the kind with decadent frosting that absolutely melted in your mouth. Emerald could barely remember the last time she had cake. She dimly recalled eating some when she was very young, but beyond that, nothing.

Nor did Mercury stop there.

Not only did he let her eat her fill until she was full, but he let her pack up the leftovers -of which there was a great deal- in neat little containers supplied by the diner. A few patrons had scoffed and turned up their noses at her for that, but Emerald didn't give a flying fig for what they thought. You didn't leave good food. Anyone who was anyone knew that. These people had money, they could afford to eat here all the time. She didn't and she couldn't, so she damn well wouldn't waste what she'd been given.

Mercury just...paid for it.

All of it. Every bit. Like it was nothing!

Just how much lien did this guy have on him...?

Now, with her aching stomach full and her frazzled nerves soothed, Emerald stared at herself in the mirror.

She scarcely recognized the stranger gazing back at her. She had new clothes and no idea what to do with them. They were...what was the world? Comfortable? Yeah, that was it. She'd grown so used to wearing rages or whatever she could get her hands on, but these...these were nice. He'd helped her replace her old outfit and pick a new one of her choosing.

In place of the battered, dirty outfit she'd worn only yesterday, she now found herself clad in a mint green crop top with the shoulders pulled back beneath a cropped white-quilted leather double breasted jacket contrasted with black notch lapels and a belt looping at the bottom of the jacket's hem. Finishing off the ensemble were white skinny jeans and brown chaps that ended at her thighs with straps on her calves, the better to secure her weapons on her back. On a whim she'd completed her outfit with a pair of brown ankle boots with metal plating over the toes for added protection. She'd even picked out a bit of jewelry for herself at Mercury's behest, a deep red ruby pendant that she now wore round her neck.

"Is this really me...?"

She dared a smile, and pivoted a little, cocking one hip to the side, even as her reflection mirrored her. She looked good. She looked badass. She looked like a huntress. Oh gods, did he expect her to pay him back? With what?! Panic reared its ugly head in her heart and sent her thoughts into a tizzy

She turned a glare on her savior's back, trying to figure him out. Needless to say she failed spectacularly.

Because he baffled her! She knew he preferred the name Naruto and used Mercury as an alias, but beyond that...nothing. Barely a hint of his intentions, whatever they were. He had been chipper and jovial with her for the most part after he'd taken her to this hotel -not one of those hotels, thank the brothers- and just finished dressing himself after a brisk shower.

Wasn't a bad room either; it hosted a shower in its bathroom, a small mini-fridge near the entrance just large enough to store her leftovers, and a television besides. She'd tried the latter. It didn't work. All in all, the room wasn't that bad at all, if you liked cramped quarters, two threadbare beds and grey.

Slate really was big on grey. Emerald hated grey. Give her green any day.

"There." Mercury stepped out the bathroom, idly running a towel though his still-damp hair. "How are you feeling?"

...alright." she hazarded the word, deathly afraid of displeasing him.

"You can use the shower next, if you want." he plonked down onto the bed opposite her. "Saved most of the hot water for you. There's a laundromat downstairs too, if you wanna wash your old outfit for later."

Later? She wasn't used to having a later. Her every waking moment had been spent in the...well, moment.

"Well?"

Emerald bobbed her head in a quick nod, not trusting herself to words. The idea of a shower sounded absolutely divine, as did clean clothes; wearing them even moreso. It still begged the question as to why he wanted her clean -she didn't dare ask- but she'd damn well take his kindness while it lasted.

"Good." Mercury took his silence for acceptance and flung himself back onto his bed with a pleased sigh. "We won't be staying here long if I can help it. Maybe a day or two at most."

"Hmm."

He raised his head to look her way. "You can talk, you know, Emerald. I won't get mad. No matter what you say."

Could she? Could she really? Could she speak her mind without consequences?

"I...

"Go ahead." he waved her on. "Take your time."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" The words burst out of her like a dam and that was it, she couldn't stop herself anymore; fear gave her heart wings and she started babbling. "You've treated me to dinner, bought me nice clothes, and now you want me to take a shower? What do you get out of this?"

"A strong and happy ally, I hope." He offered her his hand. "You have a powerful semblance-

She cut him off with a glower. "So you just want me for my ability?"

He startled her with a peal of laughter.

"Hahaha-no." His mirth cut off abruptly with a fearsome frown. It was a surprisingly frightening expression. "Look," he ran a hand through his hair, "If I wanted your Semblance I would take it." those eerie eyes of his were gold for a moment, white the next, then suddenly silver again. "But I don't, and I won't. You seem to have a good set of skills. We can build on those-

Emerald worried her lower lip between her teeth. "I'm not a whore!"

"Yeeeesh, so feisty." Mercury heaved a sigh, but remained unflappable as ever, even now in the teeth of her suspicion. ""I never said you were one of those. I think you're in need of a helping hand. I won't force you to do something you don't want to do. You're welcome to walk out of here right now. I won't stop you."

She didn't budge.

"No?" he laughed at her hesitation. "Should've expected that. You're like me." a roguish grin tugged at whiskered cheeks. "You've had a taste of the high life and you can't bear to let it go."

She really had. Emerald liked living this way; after a life spent on the streets of Slate, it wasn't something she wanted to give up. Her semblance had its limits; no matter how many pockets she pilfered or jewelry she took the fact remained that she'd come from nothing. She couldn't even remember who her parents were, or if she even had any. Her earliest memory consisted of a man running with her in his arms. Beyond that, nothing. All her memories were here, in this awful town. She'd thought she would die here.

Until now.

She gulped once, tried to swallow her words, then lost her nerve. "What do you want?

"This again?" he laughed. "I already told you. I want everything."

Her brow furrowed. "What's everything?"

"Everything is...well, everything." that grin of his gained an rueful edge. "All of it. I wanna change the world, I wanna live a happy life, and most of all, I wanna find the bastards and monsters of this world...and put them down like the dogs they are. Not you, of course." he amended with a rueful laugh when she tensed. "I'm talking about the irredeemable, the villains, real nasty types who don't give a damn about anyone but themselves. You were picking pockets just to survive. I can sympathize with that."

She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. "...you can?"

"Of course I can." Her savior sat up without warning, startling her terribly. "I know what its like to be an outcast." something hardened in those silver eyes as he regarded her. "To not be wanted, to be cast out, rejected by those who were supposed to protect you." Quick as can be he leaned forward, reached across the space between them, and too her hands in his. "You either die with dignity or live, by whatever means necessary. There's no shame in you? Ya did what you had to survive. You're not the villain here, Emerald. You never were. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

His words were a warm blanket, wrapping around Emeralds' very soul. She hiccuped a little and sniffled despite herself. "M'kay...

"There, there." Mercury took one hand from hers and patted her head. "I meant what I said earlier. In the world I'm going to create, people like you will never go hungry again. And speaking of hungry," he released her an leaned back a bit, considering her. "I don't suppose you'd know of any gangs in the area?

"Not really." she squirmed under his expectant stare. "Slate's a small town. We have the Red Claws and the Dynamos, but they're small time. Nobody cares enough to deal with them."

Why would they? You didn't survive on the Outskirts by following the law.

"Small time, eh?" That got his attention. "Any big fish?"

"N-Nobody I know." she stammered out.

"Emerald." he sounded almost disappointed in her. It hurt more than words. "Are you lying to me?"

"No, never!" And she wasn't! Her semblance allowed her to skirt most of the thugs in town, which she avoided like the plague. A memory struck her and she pounced on it. "There was this big bastard, came through here a couple weeks back." she mimed a gesture with both hands, trying to recreate the shape she'd glimpsed from the shadows. "Real big. Built like a mountain, voice like gravel. He was looking for a woman. Nobody touched him, and nobody's seen him since."

"Hmm." Mercury tutted once and leaned closer. "One last thing."

"Y-yes?"

"Where can I buy a scroll?"

Emerald told him as best she could.

He paused, considering her further. "Do you have a favorite color?"

Honesty really was the best policy when dealing with someone like this. "Green, why?"

"No reason." he rose from the bed with an impish smile and patted her head, idly mussing her hair. "Wait here. I'll be back in a bit. Might even have a surprise for you."

His peace said, he paced to the door and summarily flung it open. A quick backward glance then he was gone. The door clicked shut behind him.

Emerald slumped down on her bed and took a deep, shuddering breath to compose herself.

She felt as though she'd just passed a test. An important one. Loyalty always mattered.

Mercury had given her food, offered her clean clothes, warmth and protection.

She was loyal to him.

Red eyes flicked to the bathroom.

A shower really did sound nice right about now...


(.0.0.0.)


It was surprisingly easy to obtain a Scroll.

Easy, but expensive, wretchedly so. Naruto sighed softly as he regarded his dwindling funds. Amber's money had come in clutch once more, but the lien she'd lent him wouldn't last much longer. Still, this was a purchase well made. Acquiring a phone was an essential step for his future agenda. On a whim he'd acquired one for Emerald as well. Yet another hit to his reserves, but also a worthwhile expense. He needed a reliable way to keep in touch with her and besides, she would be grateful to have something to entertain herself going forward.

'Well, she did say she likes green...

In the end he'd asked after the basic models; nothing fancy, just powerful to work in any kingdom.

And well that he did; some of those newer models looked expensive. Way too many zeroes at the end of those numbers.

His silver tongue helped him haggle after the shopkeep named his price; they spent the better part of an hour hashing out a deal. Once it was done Naruto dutifully counted out the lien as the elderly man looked on. His finances had taken a significant hit today, but not a mortal one. Still he'd need to find another way to earn lien, and soon. If things continued as they were, he'd be eaten out of house and home. He disliked the idea of sinking to petty theft, but...

.

..

...no, there had to be limit. He couldn't go around fleecing civilians blind. That just didn't sit right with him, even here in his strange second life. He'd need to find an alternative source of income. What, then? The idea of working behind a desk was enough to drive him to distraction. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't. A bounty hunter, maybe? He liked the sound of that. It would be something in the interim

"My employer would be more than happy to reward you...

That stripper's voice again!

"My name is Cinder!"

"Scram already!"

"I will not." She sounded almost offended. "You took my semblance, killed me, and trapped me here. Did you really think I would go quietly?"

He scowled mentally at her. "How did I even do that?! I wasn't trying to!"

...I do not know." a rare note of confusion threaded its way through her words. "I don't feel quite like myself. Perhaps its my ego. Perhaps I'm a figment of your imagination. Perhaps this is a mad fever dream and I'll soon be dead. That said," and he could just hear the sly smile in her voice, "You did a fine job recruiting that girl. Emerald, was it? I couldn't have done better myself. She'll be a loyal pawn."

"I don't want your praise. Be quiet."

"Very well. I'll hold my tongue...for now...

"Sir?"

Crap, the clerk was staring at him.

He plastered a winning smile to his face. "Sorry about that, I spacted out. How much do I owe you again...?

He was just finishing up his purchase when he heard the door chime behind him.

Naruto paid it little need, focused as he was on getting back to the hotel.

He stayed focused on that...right up until the shopkeeper froze.

A faint click was his next warning, followed by a spike of killing intent snarling through his sixth sense.

'Really...?'

Naruto set his hands down on the counter, lien momentarily forgotten.

He heard footsteps shuffle in behind him. One. Two. Three.

No. Surely not. His luck couldn't be that bad...

.

..

...could it?

"Hands in the air!" a gritty voice growled behind him. "This is a robbery!"

Who was he kidding?! Of course it was!

Pivoting on one heel, he turned to face the speaker in question. Sure enough he found himself looking upon an anxious young man with gun in hand, flanked by two cronies. Three thugs altogether each, wearing facemasks, hoodies, and an awful lot of grey. Even their jeans and shoes were an ugly shade of such.

He immediately dubbed them Grey, Greyer, and Greyest in order of said dull color.

"Really? Really?" he clicked his tongue at them, appalled by their behavior as much as his own rotten luck. "This is a scroll store, not a dust shop. They don't keep any money here!

"Not him, you!" the leader twisted their pistol sideways, beady black eyes narrow in a vain attempt to intimidate him. "Seen you roaming 'round town with your bitch, big spender. Hitting up the diner, the shops, then the hotel an' now this? Turn out yer pockets if you know what's good for ya!"

Ohhh.

He tilted his head, mildly amused. "Are you robbing me?"

The leader sputtered incoherently. "What's it look like, dumbass?!"

"Like a massacre." Cinder's annoying voice purred in his head. "Show them what it means to challenge you."

Naruto ignored her, instead squinting at the leader, the one he'd casually dubbed Grey. He could see a faint blue sheen emanating 'round the young man's shoulders; more of a mist, really. No one else seemed to notice it. He waved a hand at the miasma, fingertips passing perilously close to the man's face. Sure enough his hand passed right through the ethereal fog.

The thug in question jerked back, fumbling with his gun. "The hell you doing, man?!

Curious. There was no "mist" around his two compatriots, or the shopkeeper. None at all. He puzzled at it for a moment more before he finally grasped a glimmer of understanding. Could he see semblances now? Who had them, and who didn't? Fascinating. That was a useful ability...

"Just kill them!"

His brow twitched. "I've had just about enough of you. HUSH."

Scowling, he mentally reached inside himself, found the presence, and squeezed. Cinder subsided with a pained cry...for now.

"Say," From there craned his neck back to the terrified clerk. "Don't suppose there's a bounty on their heads?"

The man shook his balding head.

"Awww. Consider this a freebie, then."

Grey sputtered at him. "The hell do you mean-

"Shhhh." he pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "It'll all be over soon."

An open palm touched Grey's chest, fingers splayed. The man made a noise of confusion; one that warped into an agonizing shriek as a massive lance of jagged black glass exploded through the would-be robber's back in grisly relief. His companions recoiled with a shriek. Even as they did, Naruto hoisted him high reached in, shunted the man's dying resistance aside, and took his gift for his own. His soul shifted as the new semblance took root deep inside him.

"Oh!" he heard Cinder gasp in his head. "That semblance feels...rather nice...

Naruto scoffed despite himself. Some semblance.

It could barely be called one.

He felt it shimmer to life in his chest and experienced a profound swell of disappointment once he realized what he'd grasped. Apparently this particular semblance granted its owner the ability shoot sparks -that is to say an electrical current- from their fingertips. Hardly worth having, but once he trained it up, boosted it with chakra, maybe he could use it to shoot lightning at fools? Now there was an appealing thought-

A bullet bounced harmlessly off his forehead and a frightened yelp drew him back to reality.

"Oh, right." he turned to face Grey's remaining companions, still quivering and covered in their friend's blood. "Forgot about the two of you." looming over them, he brandished his widest, toothiest grin, hopping to unman them entirely. "GET."

They did not get.

One opened fire on him; the others screamed profanities and rushed him, crowbar in hand. It made little difference.

He raised his right hand and conjured his new semblance.

"Sorry about the mess." some minutes later, he turned to face the dazed shopkeep with a bemused grin as their broken, charred bodies smoldered all over the floor. "I still need to pay, don't I? Just let me get my wallet."

"Take them!" The poor man all but shoved the Scrolls into his hands. "Just take them! They're already activated! I don't want any trouble!"

"Trouble?" his brow furrowed in concern. "Now wait just a second. You've got it all wrong-

The man frantically slapped something beneath his desk. Once. Twice. Thrice.

He heard the answering wail of a siren in the distance and sighed.

Bloody blasted panic button. He should have known better.

Seemed his stay in Slate would be a brief one after all.


.0.0.0.


"Time to go!"

Emerald jolted upright, towel fumbling from her hands as Mercury burst through the door.

There was blood all over him, but he'd never been happier; no, he looked downright triumphant.

She squinted at him. "What did you do...?"

"Had a bit of an altercation, nothing major. Here." he threw a green scroll at her, forcing her to catch it, her damp hair forgotten. "Don't suppose you know an easy way out of town?"

She fumbled with her Scroll -what a fist- hastily stowing it in her pocket. as she stood. He was clearly waiting for an answer. Thankfully she had one this time.

"Well, there's a train running in the depot," she hazarded. "It passes through Forever Fall and a few more settlements-

"Sounds grand!" he grabbed her hand and bolted for the door. "We're hitching a ride!"


(.0.0.0.)


Amber's scroll beeped.

Perhaps that wasn't the right word; it went absolutely berserk in her pocket, squawking and shrieking at her like some possessed Grimm. She jolted awake in the saddle and flailed for it, nearly falling off her horse and only narrowly managing to right herself at the last moment. Fumbling fingers pried it free. Golden eyes glared at it, not quite comprehending.

A singular line of text awaited her within.

"Miss me~?"

She shot back a quick text of her own, mildly confused. "Who is this?"

A pause. And then. "Sorry, don't have a deer for you this time. Will a smile suffice?"

And she smiled. "Hello yourself, Mercury."

He'd kept his promise.

A tear rolled out the corner of her eye.

It had been so...very long since someone kept their promise to her.


(.0.0.0.)


Blake ran.

Sometimes she felt that was all she was good for. Running. Fleeing. Escaping. Anything that kept her safe. Don't like mom and dad? Run away. Don't like the White Fang? Run away. Don't want to face your painful past with the White Fang? Run away. Run. Run. Run. Run away, run far, far away. She'd tried to run again today, and in doing so, keep Adam from doing something horrible. From detonating the bombs, killing all those people with the Dust they'd taken.

But it hadn't worked.

It should have been simple. She'd thought it would be. Cut the cable connecting the cars and run like hell. She hadn't expected Adam to jump after her.

In hindsight she should have; he was furious, his bloody was up from all those mech he'd slaughtered and she'd gotten in his way.

Did you really think you could leave the White Fang?! Leave me?! Never! I won't allow it!

"I have to go my own way!"

She saw her face staring back at her from the edge of his blade, felt cold steel kiss her neck.

He'd lost his mind.

"If you're not with me," he hissed. "Then you're against me and if I can't have you-

Adam's blade cut down at her.

A shadow struck his side and kicked him away. Blake toppled to the side, clutching her throat.

"For crying out loud!" an unfamiliar voice drawled in her still-ringing ears." THE ONE TIME I RIDE A TRAIN! AND SOMEONE TRIES TO BLOW IT UP!"

Wilt whistled in at his head. It met a metal-shod shoe. Both slid back, boots biting into the train car.

She had time enough to glimpse her savior's face, grey hair, eyes nearly gone silver, and whiskered cheeks dimpled in a smile. Then he was firmly between the two of them. There was a girl with him and idly she took her in as well, noting green hair, red eyes and dark skin, her face set in a thunderous scowl.

"Emerald," the unnamed boy directed, "Stay with the girl, would you?"

...understood, Mercury."

Was that his name?

"Hey buddy." he turned a winning smile on the still-recovering Adam. "Mind explaining yourself now that the two of you are down with your lovers spat...?!

Adam scoffed. "I will not justify myself to you. Stand aside or die."

"Funny you should mention that." the boy -Mercury?- cracked his neck. "I've died before. So why don't we just sit down talk this out and-

CLANG!

Wilt scrapped off a metal vambrace, narrowly saving his arm arm.

Adam pressed down on his blade, teeth bared in a snarl. "You're a faunus! How could you work with them?!

"Work for the Schnee? Is that what you think?" he leered back at him. "Sure, sure, just profile me like that. "Adam Taurus, right?" the self-proclaimed assassin considered him for a long moment, unfazed as he held his blade at bay. "You know, my old man mentioned you once or twice. I'm afraid we're not the usual bargain basement Schnee guards you've grown used to...

A spinning kick rocked his head to the side, breaking the deadlock. Mercury lunged after him.

...you're playing with the big boys now!

"Die, traitor!"

Adam snarled and became a bloody blender of motion, Wilt and Blush carving a crimson swathe before him. Mercury dodged it all. His grin grew with each near miss. He was poetry in motion, wind given form, always moving, ever in motion.

"You know," he laughed between blows, "I always wanted to fight on a train. On more thing to put off my bucket list. Don't suppose you'd be willing to back down?"

"Never!"

"Violence it is, then! RASENGAN!"

Adam howled in surprise as a snarling sphere slammed into his chest and smashed him down into a train car, leaving a gaping hole behind. He came tearing out of the pity a moment later, aura crackling, teeth bared in a furious snarl, semblance flaring.

His blade met another metal shod boot.

They went mad from there; Blake couldn't hope to follow half of it; streaks of scarlet and silver, of black and white, of blood and pain. She wasn't sure how long it lasted. Seconds? Minutes? It felt like an eternity watching them rage back and forth like lunatics. Something had to give sooner or later, surely. They couldn't keep this up forever...could they?

Kick and Parry. Riposte and counter. Lunge and stab. Mercury was a marvel of motion and Adam an angry avalanche. What happened when an unstoppable force met another unstoppable force? Blake didn't know. She was about to find out. Someone had to make a mistake sooner or later.

Adam did.

Spinning away from an axe-kick, he thrust Wilt in Mercury's face. Rather than retreat, the lunatic actually grabbed it. Sparks sizzled up his arm and raced down the length of the blade, shocking him.

Adam recoiled with an angry grunt, rubbing his numbed armb. "More tricks?!"

"This is fun!" Mercury kicked backwards and vaulted away, putting distance between them . His right hand rose, reaching toward the heavens. "Emerald, stand back."

Silvery eyes briefly gleamed golden, burning from within.

Then the heavens rained glass.

Jagged pillars of it, sharp enough pierce steel wherever they went. Adam vaulted away from the one, swatted aside a second, only for the third to rake across his back and send him sprawling. A fourth found him as he rolled, followed by a fifth and a sixth. Aura crackled dully as he tumbled away, trying to shield his face with one arm.

The moment he rose, a fist caught him in the jaw.

"Thought I couldn't use my hands, did you?" Mercury weaved back from his counter and drove a punishing knee into his solar plexus. "Too bad!"

Adam garbed angrily, clutching his jaw. Mercury grabbed him and shocked him again, driving him down to a knee.

Blake recoiled for other reasons. Two semblances?!

That wasn't possible. It...it just wasn't possible. You could only have the one!

As though sensing that very thought, Mercury moved in for the kill.

"Say, that's a nice semblance ya got there...

Adam balked. "What?"

Mercury closed in.

"...!"

Grinning ear to ear, the assassin dodged a black of buckshot from Adam's shotgun sheathe, stepped in and raked an open palm across his chest, fingers clenched into a cruel claw. Adam tried to twist away, for all the good it did him. Mercury simple adjusted his aim and struck down. Bits of his aura bled off at his touch and for a moment -just a moment- Blake saw something come away with them. Something bright, a glowing sphere of raw red light. The assassin grasped it in his hand and absorbed it into his palm even as she looked on. Then it was gone. She blinked, wondering if she'd imagined it.

Adam certainly hadn't; because he staggered. "What have you done?"

Mercury beckoned. "Come and find out, horn boy."

"Impudent brat...!"

Taurus closed with him in an instant. Blake noticed the difference straight away. He seemed slower somehow, more sluggish than before. By contrast, Mercury moved ever faster; weaving in an out of his path, delivering brutal blows that rocked her former flame from side to side. If Adam was a blender, this one was a hurricane.

A massacre followed; Adam defended himself as best he could, but anyone could see he was outmatched. He was pummeled, bones broke and

A fist slammed into Adam's shoulder at speed, nearly sending him spinning off the car and into the forest. He corrected himself at the last moment and countered with a slash, only for the assassin to smack it aside and retaliate with a devastating kick of his own. Naturally, he blocked with his blade and dropped to a knee, sheathing his blade to use his semblance again...

.

..

...nothing happened.

Mercury feed him a knuckle sandwich for his efforts.

"What is this?!" he recoiled, clutching his face. "What did you do to me?!"

"I warned you." The assassin shrugged a shoulder, grinning ear to ear. "You wouldn't listen. Now you'll play the price for the rest of your life. What's yours is now mine~!"

A cold nugget of coal coalesced in Blake's heart. Had he really just...?"

"No!" Adam lurched at him, slashing wildly. "NO! Give it back!"

"I think...not."

Mercury simultaneously broke his his wrists and disarmed him with a sweeping kick. Wilt and Blush sailed through the air. He caught the former and thrust it into Adam's side, piercing his hip, drawing a furious snarl from him. With his free hand he caught of Adam's throat and slammed him down, forcing him to the ground. The train car dented painfully as he pressed him against the metal.

"You're beaten." he declared, all the mirth gone from his voice. "No point in kicking a dog while he's down...and I don't need another voice in my head. Leave this place and I'll let you live."

It seemed like he would, too; he took the blade from his throat and walked away, leaving him sprawled atop the train car.

Blake froze, torn between fight or flight.

"Wait!" Adam righted himself behind them, swaying dangerously. "This isn't over!"

Emerald tutted softly. "Yes, it is. Just stay down and you'll live."

"No!" Adam was too crazed to hear her. He only had eyes for Mercury. "Why spare me?!"

"Isn't obvious?" Mercury looked back at him, a look of annoyance flashing across his face. "You're weak."


(.0.0.0.)


How could this happen to him?

All his life he'd lived for vengeance, justice, retribution against the humans. To be battered about by a fellow faunus, to be broken humiliated, and left alive at the end of it all...there could be no greater shame. Worse still, His semblance was gone. He was not so foolish as to think himself nothing without it, but it was a part of him, his fighting style, his very soul. It was, for all intensive purposes, him. Now that precious piece of him was gone, snatched away, never to be returned.

And then his foe twisted the proverbial knife.

"Isn't obvious? You're weak."

His world went red.


(.0.0.0.)


"You're weak."

It was the wrong thing to say.

Blake knew it the moment it was said; just as she knew the reaction it would evoke.

Adam twitched.

Then he rushed him with a feral roar.

Mercury tutted and turned to face the enraged swordman, blade in hand. "They never learn, do they...

Blake saw it all unfold slowly. Oh so slowly, all the colors of the world bleeding away to a sullen grey. Adam had lost himself to passion and charged him in the heat of the moment. No weapon, his aura lower, stamina and spirit shattered. It was foolish, reckless, the height of stupidity. There could be only one outcome.

Blake saw it. Blake knew it. Blake tried to warn him.

Too little, too late.

CRUNCH.

Adam blinked in surprise, staring down at the blade now jutting from his chest.

No, Blake realized, blades. Mercury hadn't moved. The blade's in her beloved's chest weren't red.

Color rushed back as Emerald stepped out behind Adam, wicked sickles in hand. She could see the green blades buried in his back, jutting out his shoulder. For a moment, she wondered if he might live...right up until Mercury stepped in and finished what his companion started. His borrowed blade pierced Adam's heart and burst out his back. Death was quick. Nearly instantaneous. Adam had time enough to cough-a weak, startled rattle of sound, to glare at her in spite, in utter hate...

"Damn...you...!"

...then he was gone, slumping against the assassin with a soft sigh.

Mercury and Emerald gave him no respite; together they ripped kicked him off their blades and cast him away, hurling his body into Forever Fall. In a matter of moments he was gone, lost among the blurring trees.

It was, in every way, an execution.

Blake couldn't even bring herself to be angry about it; not after a fight like that. Maybe it was the shock. The numbness of watching a man she'd once loved die in cold blood. She was sure she'd feel it later, but right now, all she felt was numb. Adam had been given every opportunity to surrender, countless chances to retreat, and he'd wasted them all. He would have attacked her or worse; she didn't even want to consider it.

Mercury looked her way. "Good job, Emerald."

"Thank you, sir." she preened beneath his gaze, cheeks flushing.

"You know, I always wanted a blade of my own." he sheathed Wilt with Blush in a singular flourish and held the latter at his side. "This'll do. I'm sure he won't mind."

Then he saw her. Blake stiffened beneath his gaze. Those cold, silver eyes stared right through her, piercing her very soul.

Blake tensed, ready to flee at the slightest provocation...but she couldn't.

The moment those silver eyes met hers, her knees locked up.

She couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe.

Because she saw him. And he saw her.

She also saw her.

There was someone lurking behind Mercury, the spectral figure of a beautiful smirking woman clad in a red dress, her golden eyes narrow, dark hair framing her face in a bleak halo. For a moment she could've sworn she saw Adam standing beside her. She blinked and he was gone. Had she imagined it...?

"Run away, kitten." the woman cooed at her. "Unless you want to end up like me."

A hand closed around Blakes face. Blake stiffened, ready for death.

She felt something tug against her very soul...!

And then, just like that, Mercury let her go.

"Clone semblance." the madman muttered to himself as she tumbled back, gasping for air. "Don't need that. Run along now if you don't want to fight. Hide in one of the back cars if you have to. Make something better of your life." so saying, he turned his back on her. If I catch you trying to blow up trains again-

"I will! I mean, I won't." she babbled, half-mad with fear and grief and utter mind-numbing terror that she might be next to die. "The blowing up part. Who are you?"

"Nope." he smacked his lips. "Learned my lesson from that. Run along now, kitty kat...and don't tell anyone what you saw here."

Blake didn't need to be told twice.

She bolted.

A/N: Poor Blake, but it was that or death for her.

Worry not, we'll see her again...eventually.

We're still a little ways out from the events of volume one here, but we're getting closer...

Hope you enjoyed this little ficlet.

As ever, the Embers rule still persists. If folks don't like this story? Well...I'll not continue it. I can't bear to write something no one likes. That's no joke. So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourself heard! Your reviews matter! Really, they do! I'm literally working every day now, so I have less and less time to write. Daily updates might...slow down in the interim, but I know that would upset a lot of people.

So, in the Immortal words of Atlas...

...review, would you kindly?

And of course, enjoy the previews! Rough, though they are...

(Previews)

Travelng the world sounds nice.

"Hmm." Emerald looked up from her book. "Do you," she curled one finger around her pale tresses, "Like girls with long hair?

"Mercury" blinked at that, just a little too quickly. By contrast, his reply took several seconds.

...I do."

Oh! Ohhh! That was good to know. Maybe she wouldn't cut her hair after all.

"Why did you ask?"

...was curious." No way was she telling him. Not yet.

"Alright. G'night, Emerald."

"Goodnight, sir."

"I told you to call me by my name."

The ghost of a smile touched her lips. "I'll think about it, sir."

She waited until he'd closed the door, until his footsteps had receded, until he was well and truly gone.

And then:

Her head hit the pillow, narrowly muffling a happy squeal.


"No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong, Jaune! If you want something, you have to fight for it! Don't sit there and mope! You have two years 'till Beacon! USE! THEM!"


He could fight!

Pyrrha flew backwards with a startled yelp and crashed through a wall. The people of Mistral just didn't build things to last.

"You alright there, Red?" a familiar voice called through the smoke. "Did I kick ya too hard?"

Green eyes narrowed. "Not...yet...


"You're a good singer. Might wanna work on that temper a bit, though."

Excuse me? Who are you?"

No one important. Have a nice night~!"


Ruby squeaked. "Meep!"

The boy tilted his head. ...that's your name? Meep?"

Shame. Embarrassment. Ruby's face burned redder than her namesake.

Oh gods, she wanted to curl up and die. "N-No! That's not it at all! I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!"

"Huh." That actually got a grin out of the silver-haired warrior. "Neat. Like the color, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah! So how did you do that?" her confidence surge gack waved her hands excitedly, mimicking the motions and high kicks alongsdie the punches she'd seen him use. "You were all "hyah!" and "boom" and "kapow" back there!"

...you saw that, huh?" For some reason that seemed to embarrass him and set him to scratching a whiskered cheek. "Practice, and not the good kind. These idiots didn't even have aura or semblances...they weren't worth my time."

"You mean someone taught you to fight like that?!"

"Well, yeah, like I said before, it took practice-

Ruby latched onto his leg. "Teach meeee~!"


"Hmm...going to a school full of beautiful women like you? Sounds fun buuuut I'll have to decline." he crossed both hands behind his head and walked away. "I'm not a fan of being stuck in one place for one year, let alone four. Hard pass. Later, firecracker."

"Ha?"

"Sorry, school just ain't for me."


Roman took one look at the ruined city block and shook his head.

"Nope. Not getting involved with that. Neo! Time to go-

A hand settled on his shoulder. "Hello...friend."

Ahhh, crapbaskets.


EDIT: Hope you enjoyed~! Have a great day/night~!

R&R~!