There were startled screams as the bouncer's body hit the ground.
Emerald didn't stick around to see the scene unfold. She burst through the window, ignoring the stray scratches of broken glass, and hit the ground running. She sprinted across the street, narrowly dodging swerving cars as she ran for the nearest alley.
Emerald knew what she was up against- her chances of beating a proper Blessed in combat were zero. Evasion was her only chance at survival- no matter how fast or strong Branwen was, he couldn't kill her if he couldn't catch her-
-He was at the other end of the alley.
He stood, blocking her path, posture radiating a calm fury.
"Where do you think you're going-"
Emerald whipped out Thief's Respite and pulled the trigger.
Click.
It jammed.
Her weapon jammed.
Her revolver jammed.
"How?" She whispered.
Her target grinned. "Not your lucky day."
Qrow was on her in an instant.
Emerald shifted her weapon to its sickle form, but before she could swing the older man twisted her wrist and forced the blade out of her hands. Her weapon clattered to the ground as Qrow's fist collided with her stomach, knocking the wind out of her in a single blow.
He spun her around, wrapping an arm around her neck.
"Fight's over." He said harshly. "But you and I are just getting started."
Emerald struggled feebly as he put heavy pressure on her windpipe. Qrow could snap her neck in an instant… but he was a spy, wasn't he? He had her at his mercy, why waste an opportunity for information: about her mission, her friends, maybe even other Blessed. Emerald was fairly sure she wouldn't break under torture, but she had no desire to find out.
She reached for her second pistol, but once she had so much as twitched, Qrow caught her arm and twisted it behind her back.
"I said you're done." He growled into her ears.
Maybe he wasn't trying to take her alive. As her vision faded Emerald saw a bright light, like people always said you did right before you died.
…Were there supposed to be two bright lights?
And how were they getting brighter?
"Shit." Qrow spat, tossing her to the ground as he sprinted away from the oncoming headlights.
Emerald took a deep gasp of air as she fell to the ground.
A speeding truck narrowly missed her as it barreled after the Blessed.
Qrow was fast, but he wasn't faster than a 400 horsepower engine, and in the narrow confines of a back alley there wasn't much room to maneuver.
Qrow knew that, so he leapt from the ground and tried running on the wall, hoping to get high enough off the ground to miss the car as it sped forward and regroup. There wasn't enough room for a u-turn and the truck would be more unwieldy in reverse.
Unfortunately, the driver had the same kind of reaction time as Qrow, and as soon as the man took the first leap he swerved and accelerated into his target's torso, slamming Qrow right into a wall.
The impact dented the car's chassis and sent a spiderweb of cracks through the surrounding concrete.
Emerald rose to her feet and picked up her discarded weapon, cautiously approaching the wreckage.
Mercury stepped out of the cab, popping an airbag in his way like it was bubble wrap.
The truck he had just splattered Qrow with had several propane tanks in the back and was not the car they came with.
"You jacked a car?"
He was wearing a ski mask to hide his face, but Emerald knew he was grinning underneath. "Told you I was gonna make some noise."
She knew he was crazy, but jerryrigging a civilian vehicle into a high yield I.E.D was…
…exactly the kind of shit she should've expected.
"You're lucky the impact didn't set those tanks off." She spat. " Who taught you how to drive, anyway?!"
"Pops, obviously." Merc said. "What's got your panties in a twist?"
"You could've killed me!"
The assassin shrugged. "Could've. Didn't. You're welcome, by the way."
The sound of bending metal caught their attention.
Even after being hit with a two ton slab of speeding steel, Branwen was still kicking. But he was pinned. He dug his fingers into the metal, leaving dents as he pushed it back, but he had virtually no leverage. Still, little by little, the vehicle started to move.
As long as the man was still breathing he was dangerous.
"Let's finish this." Emerald said.
She inspected her weapon. One of the bullets had slipped forward in its case and locked up the cylinder, making the weapon impossible to fire or reload. The recoil of her last could have loosened them, but the bullets were well made; it was the sort of freak accident that almost never happened- and it wasn't a malfunction she could clear in the field.
Good thing she always carried a spare.
Qrow started thrashing even more once he realized the danger, still pinned under the weight of the truck.
Emerald got just close enough to have a guaranteed shot- wouldn't want luck throwing her off again, would she?
Bang.
Qrow winced as the heavy caliber round hit his body, and a dull red field lit up around him.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Emerald opened up the cylinder and reloaded as quickly as she could. She resisted the temptation to save time by closing in and slashing at him- if she got too close, he could grab her, and kill her. She had to finish him now, while he couldn't move.
And she had to keep her distance.
"Shit." Qrow muttered, pushing with all his might. "Shit. Shit. Shit!"
Aura was an incredibly powerful tool, both offensively and defensively. But it had its limits. After tanking the impact of the truck, emptying a revolver into him once or twice should be enough punishment to break it. How many more rounds would it take? 3? 4?
She cocked her hammer and fired at the helpless superman.
Bang. Bang.
Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh.
Emerald let out a startled cry as a thin, strong cable wrapped around her like a lasso and pinned her arms against her sides.
'Is that… fishing line?'
"What the fuck?"
Mercury, who had stood on the sidelines, watching her intently, moved into action to free her, but before he could her body was pulled back, reeled in like she was the catch of the day before her back slammed into a brick wall.
She let out a dull whimper of pain as the impact sent tremors across her spine. Then she turned to face her attacker.
'Oh no.'
Qrow chuckled. "...Took you long enough."
Mercury cursed loudly.
"Are you fucking serious? Another Blessed!?"
"I shot him in the head and he didn't die, what do you think!?"
The bouncer took a step forward, not a mark on him.
Merc took a step back.
"I can't believe you let a little girl lay you out like that." Qrow said.
Clover exhaled. "... It was a .357 at point blank and she caught me off-"
"GAAAAAAH!"
Mercury lunged forward in an explosive kick, slamming into the man with a concussive blast.
Clover raised an x-block to avoid a direct body hit but the force of the blow still pushed him back several yards.
"Jeez, this kid hits like a truck!"
Qrow grumbled discontentedly.
Clover took in his surroundings and had the decency to look slightly embarrassed before Mercury swung another round kick at his head, clipping the bouncer in a glancing blow.
"Clover, be careful!" Qrow yelled. "We still don't know this kid's semblance!"
'...Wonder how long that bluff will hold.'
At first it seemed like Mercury had the advantage. Clover's weapon, which was some strange cross between a crowbar and a fishing hook, was weighed down by Emerald, and he had no options at range. Mercury, on the other hand, ruthlessly abused Talaria, leaping from wall to wall and peppering the brunet with hypersonic jets of air.
With a frustrated grunt, Clover unhooked the cord from the pole and swung the bare body of the weapon as a bludgeon, smacking Mercury as he whizzed by.
Emerald tried to wriggle herself free, but the cord didn't go slack. Instead, the connector between the cable and the pole swung around and magnetically connected to the weapon's hook, keeping her wrapped up tight.
Clover didn't seem to be doing so poorly anymore. Now he could move unencumbered, and he was slowly adapting to the younger boy's movements.
At first Mercury landed five blows for every one he took. Then it was three. Soon they were evenly matched.
The longer this fight went on the worse their chances got.
Mercury knew that, so he increased the intensity of his attacks, putting more of his aura into the dust rounds he blasted out of his boots. Clover dodged most of them- the impacts shattered the walls of the structures he'd been in front of, peppering the ground with debris.
Still, it did force the older fighter back, at least for a bit.
One of Merc's shots whiffed, though, glancing off a wall and ricocheting to a nearby manhole, blowing the cover off into the air and exposing an entrance to the sewer below.
Clover hardly noticed- two more rounds careening his way kept him very busy, but Emerald didn't miss her partner's sleight of hand.
'Mercury you beautiful bastard.'
This fight was still touch and go- it wouldn't hurt to open up another escape route.
'Okay, new plan.' She told herself, slowly rolling over to the open hole. She would avoid getting any attention, slip away and call for backup. Mercury might follow her, or he might not. Either way, she wasn't much use in a fight like this. She had to focus on getting this information back to Cinder. Merc… Merc was a fighter, he wouldn't get taken out like this. He would be fine.
As she rolled over she managed to activate the mechashift on Thief's Respite- even after Clover immobilized her she still had it in her hand. She had to be mindful not to cut herself, but if she could angle the blade just right, she could break free-
-Qrow broke free.
That was when everything went down the drain.
He moved like a whirlwind and struck like a cobra, belting Merc in the back of the head. Mercury was surrounded on both sides by two Blessed, each older and more experienced than himself.
The beatdown was brutal.
Seeing them in motion, Emerald could make out all the little details that separated the boys from the men.
Mercury was a skilled assassin, but his style relied on unorthodox movements, very fast and unpredictable. There was a brutal elegance to the way the older men moved- a flawless economy of motion. Not a single ounce of force was wasted as they pummeled their target into the ground.
Emerald suddenly noticed the metal rings on each of Qrows hands, which concentrated the force of his blows down to a small area, making it harder for aura to disperse. How he struck one area hard, concentrating Mercury's shield there, only to place his next blow at the opposite end of the body, forcing Merc's focus all over the place. Shoulder. Knee. Head. Groin.
He was a whole other level.
And everything that could go wrong would.
Merc managed to secure a brief respite by blasting the ground and forcing the two men back. His own reserves were running low, but they had almost exhausted Qrow's at the start, so he zeroed in during the chaos, eager to take the more dangerous of the pair out of the fight.
He tripped on a stray piece of concrete.
Qrow slammed his knee into Mercury's stomach and punted the boy back over the Clover.
Each of these men were battle hardened Blessed, and they were whacking Mercury back and forth between them like a ping pong ball. The only reason she and Merc had done any damage at all to them was because they had the element of surprise. Without it, they were dead. So very, very dead…
…No. She still had one last card to play.
Emerald bit her lip as she steeled her resolve. 'Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die!'
At that moment Mercury's aura finally started to flicker.
"I've got you!" Clover cried.
Then he hit Qrow dead in the chest.
"Fuck, friendly fire!" He cried, aura crackling and patchy.
The illusion broke.
Clover stopped dead, seconds away from killing his friend.
Mercury didn't finish Qrow off in the confusion. Instead, he ran for Emerald, and ran for the manhole. With the last of her strength Emerald tossed him her weapon, shifting it back into pistol form.
It skidded across the ground to Mercury's hand. He grabbed it, grabbed her, then dove for the hole.
Then he fired right into one of the truck's propane tanks.
The pair vanished in a burst of flames.
Mercury sprinted for what felt like miles, ducking into random side paths every chance he got. Left, right, right, right, left, upward, downward, the only set direction was away. As far away as possible.
The explosion had bought them time, but not much. The sewers were dark and dank, so it was unlikely that the other men would be able to track them by sight or scent… but the splashing water beneath his feet was far from ideal. Still, it couldn't be helped. Mercury could not risk slowing down: not for a moment.
His aura had tanked the bulk of the explosion, but it was almost gone now. There was nothing to soothe the ache in his legs, the fire in his chest or the burning of his arms.
He had his partner in a bridal carry; Emerald was dazed, and her breathing was shaky. Strands of fire had slipped past his body and licked at the edges of hers. He had to keep her as far away from the sewage as possible- wouldn't want any of that frothing shit to get in an open wound.
Finally, he came to a halt.
"Em." He whispered urgently. "You still with me?"
She nodded.
"...You used your semblance, didn't you?"
"...Yeah."
"That could have killed you."
"Could've." Her body trembled. "Didn't." She winced. " You're...welcome… by the way."
Mercury barked out a laugh. "You're stealing jokes now, too?"
Em chuckled weakly. "...Fuck you."
Emerald's wig had fallen off as they jumped- hopefully it had gotten caught in the fire. They had been very lucky to escape with their lives, but their target- targets, now- would be looking for them soon enough. They couldn't give any hint of their true identities.
Emerald was thinking the same thing. "We need to move." she whispered.
Mercury shook his head." We need to rest." he countered. "We'll be okay here, for a while. This place is a maze. The only way they could find us is dumb luck-"
They heard the splashing of approaching footsteps.
Mercury's heart pounded as the sound got closer and closer. He couldn't move. Not without giving away their position. All he could do was wait. And hope.
Suddenly the brown haired man from the fight was standing at the other end of the passageway.
Mercury braced himself for a fight but Emerald squeezed him tightly. "Don't." She mouthed.
No one moved for a long moment. The man's eyes ran over them several times as it passed over the hall, searching.
"Clover!" A distant voice called. "Found something?"
He shook his head. "Negative." He said. "They must have taken the other turn." Then he left.
Mercury was still for several moments, before turning downward in horror.
His partner's eyes were unfocused and began to roll into the back of her head.
"Emerald?" He breathed, watching the woman go limp in his arms. "Emerald?!"
"OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" Cinder screamed, as she and her lover came together, her master filling her pussy to the brim with his thick, burning essence, while she clenched down on him like a vice, coaxing out every drop while holding on for dear life.
This is what she lived for. This was what she wanted. Only this.
As they came down from their peaks, Cinder looked up into her master's eyes, dazed and exuberant, a look of pure adulation on her face.
Regretfully, he pulled out.
Cinder let out an involuntary whine as a stream of seed spilled out behind him, dripping down her red, swollen cunt.
Jaune relaxed as he laid down next to her, adjusting her body so the pair were face to face.
"...We need to talk."
Cinder sighed, trying to tamp down the fires of her own lust. This was how it should be, after all. Jaune should seek her out for counsel, advice, knowledge. For all his power, he was still young, naive and malleable. She didn't just exist to get fucked into the ground, she was meant to train him, guide him, shape him into the power he was meant to be. She was his master as much as he was hers-
-His member burned as it twitched against the skin of her stomach.
…It was so hard to remember that.
"Are you sure?" She teased, one hand caressing his chest while the other made its way down his abdomen to his massive manhood, still as hard as diamond. "You seem tense, and even more riled up than usual."
Jaune let out a sigh of contentment as she began stroking his shaft, still unable to wrap her hand all the way around. "That's what I wanted to talk about."
He explained the meeting with Ozpin, the coffee, his unusual questions, his strange curiosity, Jaune's own suspicions about the situation.
"I just wanted to know if you think I'm imagining things-"
Cinder's eyes had gone cold and harsh as she heard him out. Her hand had stopped moving.
"You need to leave Beacon." She said. "Now."
"But-"
"No buts." She said harshly. "You haven't seen what I've seen. If Ozpin is what you think he is, and he finds out what you are, he will kill you."
"He doesn't know."
"But he might learn." Cinder countered. "Every second you spend in that school is a second he can observe you." Seeing he was unconvinced, Cinder went for the big guns, and really started twisting the knife. " I know you're attached to your friends, but you're doing them no favors by sticking around. At best, they'll have to watch you die. At worst, they'll be caught in the crossfire."
Jaune shook his head. "You're not thinking clearly-"
"-I'm not thinking clearly-"
"-You know better than anyone that I'd sacrifice my own happiness to protect my friends. But this isn't about that. Ozpin suspects I'm a Blessed." Jaune said. "If I run now, what other reason would I have? It'll confirm everything. He's my headmaster, he has access to plenty of my photos, my international ID, all my friends and family, and he could pass that all on. Running now means running for the rest of my life." Jaune wasn't the kind of man to do that, the kind who could spend his days cowering in the shadows, jumping at every breeze. For all his reservations, he was an Arc. A proud, powerful, arrogant fucking Arc.
Cinder knew that too, but she had to convince him anyway.
"It's better than dying tomorrow."
"-But." Jaune continued. "If I stay, he's not sure. Maybe he even writes me off as a false lead. If he was sure, and he wanted to kill me, he already could've."
"Or he could be waiting for a better opportunity to lure you into a trap."
"I'm aware of that." Jaune said. "And I'll stay on my toes. But you're not seeing the opportunity this is for us."
Cinder blinked. "...What are you talking about?"
Jaune smiled. "Ozpin might suspect me." He explained. "But we suspect him. And he knows nothing about you."
Jaune could read her like a book- he could see the gears turning in Cinder's head.
"I keep my head down and keep a close eye on him, you and your people do the same. We'll out-spy him, and if there's something there, we'll find it. Isn't discovering the secrets of the Blessed your life mission? How could you pass up a chance like this?"
He saw a strange mixture of emotions in his lover's eyes. There was the ambition and lust for power he had seen in their first encounter, but there was something else there, too.
"...Jaune." She said softly, face inches from his. "If we do this, there's one thing you need to understand. You're not just playing with your life. You're playing with mine." She peered into his soul. "Are you sure?"
Jaune nodded, closing the distance between them to give her a gentle kiss.
"Of course I am." He said, cupping her cheek. "And I play to win."
Cinder sighed, before deciding to get frisky. "Well, Master," she crooned, pressing her body against his- "now that you've got me worked up, are you going to take responsibility and help your sweet little Cindy calm down?"
Jaune stopped. "Yeah, but, just to get it all out there, there's one more thing I need to tell you about."
'Oh god, there's more.'
To her pleasant surprise, her master did not give a heart attack, and Jaune recounted most of his encounter with Coco and Velvet.
Cinder listened with interest, and even arousal at the raunchier moments, but as soon as he finished she started laughing.
"I'm sorry." She cried, breath tickling his chest as he glared at her. "But for someone so strong and brutal, sometimes you can be so precious."
"This is serious."
"Is it?" She cooed. "Your 'problem' is that a woman, who by your admission is one of the most beautiful you know, is completely infatuated with you. Why not just sleep with her?"
"I would ruin her." He growled.
Cinder smiled, pressing her lips against his. "You didn't seem to mind ruining me when you made me your perfect little fuckdoll for the last two hours." And giving her dozens of mind shattering orgasms in the process.
Jaune laid a possessive smack on her rear. "You can take it." He said huskily. "She can't."
Cinder moaned in delight as the impact rippled across her flesh, straddling her master eagerly.
"I can take it." She agreed, rubbing her eager snatch against his bitchbreaker of a cock. "I can take everything you can give me."
Jaune smirked as he lined himself up, and slid inside.
He met every thrust as Cinder rode him, rolling her hips on to his like a bucking bronco.
"You're so big! It's so deep! I'm fucking CUMMING AGAIN!"
Jaune grinned as his slut sprayed him with her love juices, splattering his crotch as she tightened around him. Even as she spasmed in ecstasy he kept thrusting, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her down onto his chest, splaying her naked warmth over his body.
"You like that?" He whispered.
"I LOVE IT!" Cinder moaned. "IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD! CUM IN ME, PLEASE CUM IN ME!"
Jaune obliged.
With a few guttural grunts he unloaded the contents of his balls into Cinder's willing womb. The girl shuddered as he pulsed inside her, gushing and churning.
"...Master." she whimpered as her body gave out and she slackened on top of him.
Jaune smiled as the warm, sweaty body above him used him like a mattress.
Cinder was another Blessed, and he could push her harder than any of the other girls. But it was better like this. Let her have a little break between rounds, and the lovemaking could go on so much longer.
Besides- cuddling was still nice. Cinder's soft breasts were pressed against his firm body; her skin, smooth and covered in sweat, felt perfect against his own. There was always a burst of pride at seeing such a powerful woman brought to this, so vulnerable, so needy, so his . One hand caressed her back while the other ran through her dark curls. He nuzzled his chin against the top of her head.
"What about Adel?"
Jaune shifted to meet her eyes. "...What about her?"
Cinder's golden orbs glowed with lust and mirth. "You went to a lot of trouble to make her submit. You're going to fuck her too, aren't you?"
Cinder knew he had other lovers, though on principle he kept the details to the bare minimum. She hardly seemed bothered by it- on the contrary, she seemed pleased whenever she saw signs of another conquest.
Jaune smirked. "Eventually, yeah."
"...You're going to make her wait even more?" She asked.
"Coco's a real 'Alpha Bitch'." Jaune said matter of factly. "Thinks she runs the world. You know the type."
Cinder giggled. "Oh, they're the worst ."
"Yeah." Jaune agreed, hand drifting down to her womanhood. "But they're so much fun to break in."
Cinder whimpered as he teased her labia.
"You've gotta be careful not to give too much too fast. If you show any weakness, any lack of control, they'll pounce. They won't submit to just anyone. If you really want to own them, you have to force them to admit that they need you more than you need them . Give them a taste, sure, but once they're hooked, wait until they're ready to beg. They always do."
Cinder's body trembled as he applied light pressure to her clitoris, still hypersensitive from the fierce fucking she'd received earlier.
"Master." She begged. "Don't tease me."
Jaune manhandled her into his desired position, a full nelson, her back facing him as his cock pressed against her front.
"Why not?" He said, nipping at her neck. "You thought it was so hot when I did it to Coco."
She did. The overwhelming power he was able to exert over another person, the desperation, the helplessness. She was drenched .
Jaune chuckled as he felt her slick cunt press against him. "She held out longer than you." He said. "So does that mean you're an even weaker bitch, or am I just losing my touch?"
Cinder wriggled against him futilely, hating and loving the fact that there was nothing she could do to break free. "She doesn't know her place." Cinder whimpered. "She doesn't know what she needs. I do."
"What is your place?" Jaune breathed.
Cinder answered without hesitation. "Your lap. Your bed. Your side. My knees. Wherever you want me."
He shifted his manhood right against her core. "And what do you need?"
"Your cock." Cinder. "Your big, fat, juicy-"
BRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING. BRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.
Cinder's eyes came back into focus as something vibrated on her bedside table.
The object was unlike any phone he'd ever seen. It was too small: a thin, white rectangle with no screen and a golden rhombus connecting the two different ends.
Cinder glared at it, willing it to stop.
It didn't.
"...I need to take this."
For a moment, she thought Jaune wouldn't let her. But he did, loosening his hold and watching her shift across the bed to scoop it up with a scowl. She pressed down on the central diamond and pulled the ends apart to form a hard-light screen, before raising the device to her ear.
"What?" She asked testily.
It was hard to focus on what was being said: Jaune had pulled her back into his lap, one arm around her waist while his other hand cupped her breast.
"S-say again." She said, fighting the hitch in her voice as Jaune left a trail of kisses down her collarbone.
Then she stiffened in his grasp.
"I'll be right there." She said. Then she hung up.
Cinder the sex toy was gone. Cinder the spymaster was back.
She turned to her master with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, but something very important has come up. For both of us. I-"
"It's fine." Jaune said, gently squeezing her shoulder.
"...It is?"
"Of course." He said. "Daddy could use a nap anyway." He tucked himself under the covers. " Go play with your little friends, Cindy- just be sure to bring that sweet ass back when you're done."
She grinned sensually. "Of course."
Then she swayed over to her dresser, giving her mate a parting view as she looked for something to wear.
She used some tissues to wipe a few streams of cum off her legs- she was going out in public after all. Cinder debated taking a quick shower before deciding against it. Her underlings already knew she was fucking Jaune, it was a waste of time trying to hide his scent.
Especially when she enjoyed it.
She threw on a pair of panties to stop any more of Jaune's seed from leaking out, and slipped into a tight dress. As she walked to the door, her legs stopped cooperating and she stumbled. Jaune was at her side in an instant.
"When most men say 'you won't be able to walk when I'm done with you', it isn't literal." She teased, as he helped her up.
Jaune smirked down at her, resting a hand on the small of her back. "I'm not 'most men.'" He said. "But this oughta help."
Cinder started as his hand glowed a bright white.
The soreness evaporated from her body. Her aura swelled as it melded and harmonized with his. His power was coursing through her, amplifying her own, invigorating her. She had never felt stronger, never felt Jaune's aura so profoundly before. And she knew he was only using a fraction of his strength.
"...What is this?" She marveled.
"My semblance, maybe. Or not." He shrugged. "It's a new trick I figured out today. I forgot to mention it earlier. Pretty cool, right?"
Her mind raced as she thought of the possibilities. She sent her master a sultry look, embers of ambition and arousal in her eyes.
"Very."
Then she hurried out of the room before she could give in to temptation and mount him there and then.
It was dark.
That was hardly unusual- poorly lit streets were a trademark of the hellholes that were scattered across the fringes and underbelly of the proud Kingdom of Mistral. But Emerald still didn't know where she was.
The last thing she remembered, she was in an alleyway, rifling through some poor sap's wallet, when a mysterious figure had approached her from behind and placed a chloroform rag over her mouth.
Her panic grew as she came to. She was being carried by a well built man- one strong enough to hold her with a single arm as he strolled down the street. She couldn't see his face, but she could make out a red muscle shirt, dark black pants, and green combat boots.
Her wrists and ankles were tied together, and there was duct tape over her mouth.
"You're awake." Her captor noted. "Don't struggle."
She didn't listen, obviously, wriggling desperately out of his grasp.
He dropped her.
Then he her kicked her hard in the stomach.
"Your funeral." He said dryly, before picking her up again. Emerald didn't struggle.
What was the point? She was completely at his mercy, and couldn't run away. She could try and get some attention, but even that might be pointless. No one here was going to do anything, no one was going to help her. No one ever did.
Emerald's eyes widened as the man opened the back door to a familiar looking building. As soon as she saw the bright, fluorescent lights she realized that she knew exactlywhere she was.
Soon she was in a laboratory, unceremoniously dropped to the ground.
"I got the girl you wanted, doc." Her captor said, looking at a kook in a lab coat. " Alive."
Doctor Alejandro Sangria was a dumpy little man, balding, with a long, unkempt beard that had once been blood red, but was peppered with wisps of gray. He had a misshapen nose that had been broken one too many times, and beady, wild eyes.
"Thank you, Marcus, for your professionalism and restraint." He said jovially. "Now, who is this thief of ours?"
Emerald turned to look at Marcus, who seemed middle aged but had white hair, grey eyes, and harsh, unforgiving features.
"Her name is Emerald Sustrai, VID: MIS-1225-61-HF-LN5XPH. Abandoned at birth, she ran away from her home orphanage-a rathole that could barely afford food- before she turned 12. She's been out of the public record ever since, but it looks like she's been stealing to get by."
"Well, isn't that tragic?" Sangria said. "Take the tape off."
Marcus obliged.
"Now, Miss Sustrai." The doctor said casually. "Tell me a little about yourself."
Emerald looked him in the eye. "What's the point? You already know everything."
The doctor chuckled. "Well, not quite, but I do know a great deal. I know you broke in last week-"
"-How?" Emerald asked. She had killed the security cameras, she was sure of it.
Sangria smiled. "I kept my webcam on and facing the rest of the room." He said. "Sometimes it pays to be paranoid. Now, as I was saying, I have footage which shows you stealing some of my most sensitive files. I know your name, I know your aliases, and thanks to the fine work of one Marcus Black, I have access to all your records. I know your MO and your face. And I know teenage street rats like you don't break into laboratories in their spare time." His voice had gone from friendly to menacing on a dime. "Who paid you?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think this is a game!" He shouted fiercely. "Or are you really so delusional that you're willing to die for 'honor among thieves'?"
"No, I really don't know!" Emerald shouted. "The guy didn't pay me enough to keep quiet, he just never told me his name! He was some weirdo with red eyes and a goatee-"
"-Victor!" Sangria spat. "That son of a bitch!' He began pacing the room, gesticulating wildly. "Merlot thinks he can waltz in here and steal myresearch, for his own crackpottheories!"
Emerald had a sinking suspicion that the crackpot was calling the kettle black, but she kept that to herself.
Marcus interrupted the Doctor. "Do you want me to take care of him?"
The Doctor shook his head. "I'd like nothing better, but knowing the esteemed 'Doctor' he probably had the good sense to get out of the country by now." He turned to Marcus. " How much do you charge for overseas assassinations?"
"Ⱡ100,000,000." Marcus said. "Minimum."
Sangria grimaced. "The fool isn't worth that much. I have back up files, and I know my own data. But it's the principle of the thing! I-" he stopped short as he turned to Emerald. "I suppose I really ought to thank Victor." He said calmly. "He's brought me such a valuable test subject."
Emerald felt the blood drain from her face.
Marcus spoke up. "With respect, this is a young, untraceable woman with no obvious health problems. Even if she's not quite old enough for the brothels, there are still people who would pay a pretty penny to have her, if you know who to talk to."
"Forget the Families, or the Conclave." Sangria spat. "My research will drive all of them into the ash bin of history where they belong! It's more important than any bloodline." Seeing that Marcus was unconvinced, he added. "I'll pay you the difference to keep her."
Marcus frowned. "You're the boss." He said.
"Something wrong?"
Marcus shrugged. "It's just sad, seeing such a pretty little thing get carved up."
...
"NO!" Emerald shrieked. "Let me go, you insane motherfucker, let me the fuck out!"
"My, my, such a mouth." the doctor said, laughing. "Throw her on the table. Tie her down.":
Emerald was once again amazed by the inhuman strength and speed of Marcus Black. Before she could even put up a fight he had slung her over his shoulder and then, only somewhat more delicately than before, set her down on the cold metal of an operating table. He untied her wrists, then wrenched her arms up before she could strike.
"Gentle, now." Sangria said. "If I'm paying a premium, I want her in mint condition."
In no time at all she tied back down, splayed and defenseless. Seeing his job was done, Marcus left the room. The doctor approached her, needles and wires in hand.
"Please. Don't do this." She begged. "Let me go! I'll do anything, I'll give you anything you want!"
"Oh, I know you will." he said, making her wince as he slipped his instruments under her skin. He stepped back, and turned on a machine, which ran a strange light over her body.
"Lets see… healthy girl in her mid-teens, no major diseases or parasites, aura level… just a hair below average. Perfect for a control."
Powerless to fight back, Emerald looked at him pleadingly, at least wanting to know what it was she was going to die for. "What are you gonna do to me?"
Sangria hummed. "You, Emerald, are going to help me restore Humanity to its former glory. You might even live to see it. Now." He said, flipping a switch. "Let's see if we can't squeeze something out of that seal."
PAIN.
So much pain.
When Emerald woke up, she was lying on a couch.
She had a splitting headache. Her eyes burned, and her vision blurred, but she did her best to take in her surroundings
Mercury was on the other side of the room, facing her but with his eyes on his scroll.
"You're awake." he said. "You look like shit."
'I feel like shit.' She thought, lurching up off her back.
"...Guess I know what it's like being you."
Merc rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He said. "You want me."
Emerald looked at her arms- there were fresh bandages covering her cuts and burns.
"...How long was I out?"
"More than an hour." Merc said. "Less than two."
Emerald rose to her feet, then stumbled in a sudden bout of vertigo. She put a hand to her mouth, nauseous. She smelled awful.
"I'm gonna take a shower." She wheezed, pushing away Mercury's offered hand as she stumbled to the door. As an afterthought, she added. "No peeking."
Mercury scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself."
Emerald stuck her tongue out at him before the door shut behind her. Then she looked in the mirror.
'Yeah, I don't like looking at this either.'
Emerald was a mess- her 'disguise' was smeared down her face, and while Mercury must have cleaned and bandaged her wounds, there were still bits of filth and debris clinging to her clothes. Her eyes were sunken and bloodshot- partly because of exhaustion, partly because she had slept with her contacts in.
She rinsed off her face and washed her hands over and over before trusting them enough to pluck the contacts out of her eyes, replacing the fake green with her natural red.
Her appearance made parts of her job harder. A thief and a spy shouldn't stand out in a crowd, but mint green hair, crimson eyes and chocolate skin were hardly a typical hair and eyes were hardly natural at all- they were meant to stand out.
Only a handful of Mistrali subjects had been selectively bred over centuries to produce and exaggerate those kinds of colors. Pink, purple, blue and green were not naturally occurring hair colors, but the Emperor wanted every kind of woman he could find for his harem, and certain slavers specialized in bringing about new varieties, mixing a tinge with a tinge to get more and more vibrant combinations. Some of that blood would make its way into the noble houses that slept with them, elevated freeman, illegitimate sons, given rank or title. The Vibranti- not exactly a race, since all the different peoples of Anima had bred some, really just a catch all meaning 'those of the vibrant colors'- were either near the top of Mistrali society or right at the bottom.
Emerald fell into the latter category.
Still, she was striking for more than just her rare combination of features. Emerald was a fit young woman, and her body was a valuable tool. She was strong and athletic, but also lithe and with plenty of feminine charm. Her breasts were full and firm, right on the border between a B and C cup, and her rear was toned and round, with wide hips and a tight, narrow waist. She had a pretty face and a perfect complexion- when she wasn't covered in cuts, burns and bruises.
If she had been born a century earlier Emerald almost certainly would have been snatched up by the imperial harem- living her life as a prized maidservant, belly dancer and concubine. Instead she became a thief- and her looks still had their uses.
Emerald had a killer body and she wasn't ashamed to show any of it off either. Her casual outfits showed a lot of skin- low cut, bare midriff, tight fit- they were easy to move in, and if a man's attention was on her tits that meant it wasn't on his wallet.
Her feminine wiles certainly served her as a spy. She was no seductress, but most men dropped a lot of IQ points when they spoke to a woman of her caliber- so eager to impress, so willing to tell her things they really shouldn't. She wasn't as masterful at it as her boss, but on her best days she was almost as beautiful as Cinder.
This was not one of her best days.
There was a knock on the door.
"Hey." Mercury teased. "Need a hand in there?"
Emerald flicked him off- she knew he knew, even if he couldn't see it- then stripped down and stepped in the shower.
She kept the water cold: it soothed her burns and aches.
Her bandages would inevitably get wet too, and the sweat and grime rolling off her body would seep into them the longer they sat. She'd have to dress and clean her wounds again when she was done. It was no great loss- she could hardly count on Mercury to do the job right. He had an aura, so he hardly ever got injured and scrapes and burns like this would vanish in less than a day.
Emerald's body would be flawless again before the weekend.
She wasn't like Cinder or Mercury. She wasn't a Blessed.
But she wasn't normal either. The 'doctor' had seen to that.
Emerald was in the middle of a second lather when a sharp rapping came from
"Merc, I don't have any clean clothes in here, and I'm not coming out until you leave!" She said. "So if you're still waiting for a peak, you should just go the fuck home and-"
"I need to speak to you." An authoritative voice said. "Now."
"R-right away, ma'am." She stuttered, throwing a towel around her body.
Cinder and Mercury were sitting down in her living room. Cinder looked impatient and disheveled, Mercury looked nervous. His eyebrows rose as he saw Emerald's state of dress.
"Don't." She said, glared at him as he opened his mouth.
He closed it. 'Yeah, think I'm just gonna take the win and enjoy the view.'
"Mercury has filled me in on the broader points."Cinder said. "But I want to hear from you."
So, Emerald filled her in on all the intelligence she gathered. The current leader of the Tribe was Raven Branwen, a very powerful Blessed, and the twin sister of Qrow, a defector tied to the mythical Section 4 of the Valean Secret Service. There was a third Blessed, the bouncer, about 6'3, with short brown hair and-
"Ebi." Cinder noted. " Clover Ebi." She pinched her temples. "...How could I have missed this?"
"Ma'am?"
"Clover Ebi is one of Qrow's closest associates, an employee at both his businesses… and a former operative for the Atlesian Special Forces." She shook her head. "How deep does this go…?"
"Ma'am," Emerald cut in. "there are two more Blessed we've ID'd."
Cinder arched an eyebrow. "Oh?" She said. "Go on."
"The first is Mason Arc." Emerald said carefully. "And the second is your good friend, Jaune."
Cinder smirked. "...Don't you think I'd already know that?"
"So do the others." Emerald cut in.
Cinder's smile fell. "How much do they know?"
"Raven's gunning for him." Emerald said. " And he lives with Qrow."
Cinder swore under her breath. "...That… complicates things."
"Things seem real simple to me." Mercury said. "Blondie's a massive security risk. We should just drop this guy, cut him out of the picture. Kill him if we have to-"
"-No."
Mercury stood his ground. "Cinder." he said. "Branwen and Ebi, the men who just tried to kill us, work with Arc. They pay his salary, they give him a place to stay. And if he knows anything about us, he could lead them right to us."
"He won't."
"Damn it, Cinder, I'm not going to die so you get some dic-"
Cinder's fingers were suddenly red hot, and millimeters away from Mercury's jugular.
"Are you challenging me?" She asked calmly.
Mercury's aura was still drained. He shook his head carefully. "Of course not. I'd lose."
Cinder smiled, but she didn't pull back her hand. "Of course you would. Because I'm stronger than you." She took her other hand and began walking her fingers up Mercury's arm. "Now, 'Blondie ' is stronger than me."
The blood drained from Mercury's face.
"We are not abandoning Jaune." She said simply. "He is too powerful, too important. He is our best chance at creating an empire. And he's more valuable than you. Now, you're either with us or against us. Choose."
Mercury looked at Emerald. "...I'm whatever is least likely to get me killed."
Cinder smiled as she deactivated her semblance. "That's what I like about you." She said. "I always know where you stand."
"...Cinder." Emerald said. "There's… one more thing you need to know."
Cinder gestured for her to continue. "Do tell. I don't have all night."
"The Arcs… they… Raven thinks… well, Raven is a sensor, like you, and she thinks that the Arcs have… powers… that… bend the minds of the women around them. And that… Jaune… his aura, I mean, is… exceptionally potent at-"
"He's magnificent, isn't he?" Cinder said.
She was smiling brightly, with genuine joy and affection.
Emerald swallowed. "...Gods, Cinder… you're-"
"-I'm exactly where I want to be." she said harshly. "And I'm more than capable of handling myself."
She turned to Mercury.
"Did any of the other Blessed see either of your faces?" She asked.
"No."
"Keep it that way. Keep your distance from Branwen. Keep a low profile- no more late night bombings. The last thing we need is another Atlas fiasco."
"Agreed." Mercury said.
Cinder rose, picking out a bottle of champagne from Emerald's cabinet and passing each of her subordinates a glass. "My congratulations to you both. Barring some hiccups, tonight has been an incredible success-we've protected our identities and discovered several of the most valuable pieces on the board. I think we all deserve some R&R for a job well done. This is only the beginning."