Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

Two Days After Cinder Was Exposed

"Bitch, you're not even my superior anymore."

"Well, that's because YOU TWO have been INCOMPETENT BACK IN SPACE! You could've backed me up and we would've easily taken down that space hag, but no! You couldn't even take down four damned teenagers!"

"Not our fault we didn't know how team JINX worked as a team… and how the hell were we supposed to know Nyx's semblance was gonna no sell Emerald's own semblance just like that? And for the record, even if we did knock them down… we still would've had trouble with Rosalina because of her cosmic powers!"

"We took her down once! It shouldn't have been that difficult a second time!"

"Yeah, that's because we took her by surprise… but now she was more prepared. You wanted to catch cosmic lightning in a bottle twice and look where that got you! Honestly, you're a very incompetent woman!"

"I'M INCOMPETENT?! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU TWO! AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, I'D BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU TWO BECAUSE ALL OF THIS WAS YOUR DAMN FAULTS!"

"Tch… whatever. Have fun being forever alone."

Mercury's argument with Cinder echoed in his head as he had his hands in his pockets while lightly kicking a rock against the pavement, watching it bounce into a pile of snow. "Tch…" He mumbled under his breath. "Should've left her a long time ago…"

He continued to walk along the snow, miles away from Toad Town, and he just kept walking away from it. He could've sworn Emerald was right behind him after he left, but apparently she went her own way. Not like it mattered, she was still pretty much Cinder's lap dog. Anything she did, she obeyed without question.

"Don't think. Obey."

He let out a growl. He looked out for Emerald… but as far as he was concerned, she was hopeless. Never wanting to listen to a word he said whenever Cinder was concerned. Stil a faithful puppy… though he had hoped that she left her as well. It was a small part of him because he knew Emerald wasn't a lost cause.

He actually worried about her. If she left Cinder, great. That woman deserves to be alone. But he wished she was with him. He hated to admit it, but he's actually bored without her around. The sassy, snarky commentary she would give him, the glares when he teased her... He hated to admit it, but he was also lonely.

He had heard a rumor that Emerald was under the care of General Esdeath and had become one of the Winter Ops. He let out a chuckle. As long as Emerald was safe… that's all that mattered.

He just wished he was right alongside her.

"Dammit, Em… why didn't you run off in the same direction as I did?" He mumbled to himself, looking down at the snow while traversing through a forest.

He was lost. He was cold. He was miserable. He was lonely.

…And he was hungry.

"My my, looks like we got ourselves a lost traveler."

Mercury snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to see that he was face to face with Ghirahim. "Nngh!" He grunted in surprise. "Who the hell are-"

"You look hungry… come, we were just about to have some dinner." Ghirahim said, walking away as Mercury wanted to go the other way… but the smell of food made him walk toward the source. When he got close to the campsite, what he saw was enough to make his stomach turn.

A skeletal Koopa casually sitting on a rock, a jester nearly drooling at the side of the food. A woman who looked like she had a bad hair day… wait, were those snakes?

And to top it all off… he saw a Grimmified Ruby who was looking ready to dine on the food. "Hey, found a straggler here." Ghirahim said.

"My my~!" Dimentio spotted him. "You're one of Cinder's loyal henchmen, are you not?"

"Ex-henchman to be exact."

"Ah, wonderful!" Dimentio smiled. "So you're nothing more than a lost hermit. Well, we can fit you right in! Come, have a seat. The roasted Deerling is about done!"

Mercury grimaced as Dimentio teleported behind him and nudged him over to the fire, where he would quickly noticed the fire was blue. He sat down… he didn't want to be a part of it but that meat was sure enticing.

He glanced over at Grimm Ruby. "Ruby…?"

"Do I know you? Don't talk to me, asshole."

"Don't mind her. She's always a sourpuss." Medusa said.

"It's done." The Dry Emperor said as Ghirahim chopped it up and gave everyoe a serving, including Mercury. He hesitated, looking at his food. Wasn't Deerling a Pokemon? This didn't seem right… and yet, he hesitantly took a bite.

"How is it?" Dimentio asked.

"…Tastes like chicken."

"Wonderful~!" Dimentio smiled. "Say, I've got an idea. How about you side with the winners here? We're all looking for domination here and you'll be perfect!" He grinned. "All in favor of him joining our squad?"

"I'm not opposed." Ghirahim said.

"He has potential." Medusa nodded.

"Just as long as he doesn't get in my way." Grimm Ruby mumbled.

Dry Bowser put his hand on Mercury's shoulder. The bony hand was enough to make him jump. "Welcome to the winning team. Hope you like conquest."

Mercury grimaced. "I'll… do my best." He said as they nodded and happily enjoyed their meal, though the Emperor himself didn't eat.

What did I get myself into? He thought as he closed his eyes, silently praying and hoping Emerald would come find him and get him out of there before things got ugly fast.

Ibuki: Oh dear...

Yup... poor guy got caught with the wrong crowd.