The cool Argus air blew past her, sending a shiver down her spine, and her hair fluttering behind her. She shut her eyes as she walked, breathing deeply, drinking in the fresh air. It was a refreshing change of pace. Sure, she had more or less been traveling for weeks now, but it was the first time in a while she had had a chance to take it all in, without worrying about anything else.
"Are you really okay with just leaving them here?" Blake asked, shattering her loosely held peace.
Yang opened her eyes, her face turning into a frown. So much for that. "Why does it matter? Didn't you want them to be left alone?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I figured it would be the best move for all of us. But you didn't. Or at least, I thought you didn't."
Yang grinned. "What, you think I can't be reasonable once in a while?"
Blake's eyes shifted away from her own. "It isn't that…"
Her own lilac eyes widened. "It totally is!" She laughed. "What did you expect? Me to barge into Jaune's sister's house and trash the place? Try and wring Mercury and Emerald by the neck and drag them off to the nearest police station?"
Blake shrugged. "Well, yeah, kind of. You weren't exactly happy when Jaune told us."
"None of us were," Yang reminded her.
"But none of us were as adamant about it as you were," She pointed out. "None of us…" Her eyes drifted down to Yang's prosthetic, almost on their own.
She rolled her eyes, tugging the sleeve of her coat down a little further. "Anyone ever teach you it's rude to stare?" She teased.
Blake blushed. "S-sorry," She mumbled in apology.
Yang brushed her off. "No worries. Look, I…obviously, I was angry. Pissed beyond belief. But I'm not an idiot. In the end, Jaune was right. It would be more trouble than it would be worth getting into a fight we might not win. Even if we were sure we could, something could always go wrong. I'm not the same person I was when you left, Blake. I wasn't going to rush into that, and get someone hurt."
"I know you wouldn't," Blake smiled. "But still…this feels too easy. They're getting off basically scot free, and they don't even have to do anything for it. Part of your terms were them helping us get to Atlas. What if we don't even need their help?"
Yang shrugged. "Then we don't need their help, and we get to put an ocean between us and them. I don't exactly like them getting off without any consequences either, but it's better than the alternative. And I meant what I said. If they play nice and keep the Cotta-Arc's safe in Argus, I'll put in a good word with the General for them. They don't deserve it, but if they want to leave their past behind them, then I'm not going to fight them on it."
Blake nodded in agreement. "Of course, we have to actually get to Atlas first," She noted.
They had gotten up bright and early to pay a visit to the Atlas military base. Jaune had said his goodbyes, and promised to call and write as soon as they made it to Atlas. Mercury and Emerald had been noticeably absent then.
And now, as they approached, she had to hand it to Atlas. The base was certainly impressive. Ren said it was the largest foreign military base for Atlas, and she could believe it. Situated at the end of a very long suspension bridge, the base oozed authority. Where Argus was more familiar, almost homey, the base was nothing less than professional.
It was also barred.
"Lovely," Qrow scoffed. "Just what we needed. More problems."
Ruby ignored him, walking up to the gate. "Uhm, Excuse me? Hello?" She waved her arms through the fence, trying to get the attention of the guards.
Yang sighed. This isn't going to end well.
"I can't believe those people!" Blake huffed. "Seriously! Okay, I get not letting a bunch of random kids through, sure, but Qrow is a huntsman, and a friend of the general! Plus, there's Weiss!"
"To be fair, they were willing to take Weiss to Atlas," Ruby pointed out. "Just…no one other than Weiss."
Things had played out more or less how Yang had expected them to, with the exception that she was now a part of an old lady grudge war. She scowled. I'm never eating a stupid cashew again…
So much for doing things the easy way. "On the plus side," Yang said, trying to focus on the positive. "There's a reason we had a backup. There's always Mercury and Emerald. They agreed to help us if we needed it."
She wasn't exactly thrilled at having to see those two again, but it was better than the alternative. At least Emerald's semblance would make things simple. "They offered to take Weiss back if she came alone," Yang said. "We just have to make them think we're following their rules, then have Emerald sneak the rest of us onboard when it's time to go. Easy as pie."
Weiss nodded. "I agree. We should probably wait at least until tomorrow, though, or they may suspect something if I change my mind all of a sudden. Even better, a couple days."
Yang groaned. She understood why it was a better idea to wait, but still! "So what, we're just supposed to wait around at Saphron's place?" Lovely. Just what she was looking forward to. More time forced to be around two of the people who had ruined her life. "No offense Jaune, but I really don't want to go back right now."
"Then why don't we wait a little?" Blake suggested. "We don't have to go back immediately. We have a few days, after all. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving. How about we go to that place Jaune took us to yesterday, and we can all relax with some food in our stomachs?"
Yang perked up. It wasn't…the worst idea. If nothing else, it would take away a little of the frustration Cordovin's flat refusal had brought them. Give them some time to calm down a little, before they were inevitably forced to head back to the Cotta-Arc's. She nodded. "I'm game. You think you'd be able to find the way back, vomit boy?"
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Seriously?" He asked, crossing his arms.
Yang shrugged. Jaune shook his head, sighing while struggling to resist smiling. "Sure I could," He answered. "It wasn't all that far from the gate."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Ruby interjected. "A couple of sandwiches sounds perfect right about now!" She leapt forward, eager to get moving, but more than that, she was eager to distract them all from their failure to leave Argus.
Yang wasn't blind to her sister's little scheme. Neither was she blind to the fact that she was more than a little hungry. She was also eager to find something to release her anger on, and if that happened to manifest by viciously tearing into a poor, innocent burger, well so be it.
As Jaune promised, it wasn't any great difficulty finding their way back to the nice little cafe they had visited yesterday. Olive's Garden. It was a smaller place, but large enough to give them a bit of privacy, thankfully. She had a feeling they would need it.
They managed to take their seats without causing an international incident, which she counted as a plus. She wasn't positive they weren't going to start one by the time they left Argus. They were getting to Atlas, one way or another.
A small, nervous looking waitress stumbled before catching herself, brushing her hair behind her ear and clearing her throat. "Sorry, uhm, hi! Welcome to Olive's Garden! How can I help?"
Yang tuned out as the others gave the lady their orders. Hm. Emerald's semblance was their ticket out, yeah, but what if things didn't exactly go according to plan? Nothing they tried ever did, after all. They couldn't very well let Weiss go on to Atlas alone. How pissed would the General be if we used Cordovin as a political hostage? Maria would be down for sure. That old lady was scary when she wanted to be.
A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face, making her jump in her seat. "Yang?" Ruby asked, frowning. "You in there? We're waiting for our food, and figured now was as good a time as ever to talk."
"About?" Yang asked.
Ruby shrugged. "Everything. I mean, there's Cordovin, Atlas, Mercury and Emerald. Take your pick." She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. "We've, uh, kind of had a hectic few days."
Understatement of the century. She didn't think anything could possibly have topped the Fall of Beacon, and the weeks that had ensued. Between the loss of her arm, and Ruby falling into a coma, she had been a wreck. But at least things made some sense.
"I mean, there isn't a whole lot to talk about, is there?" Yang said. "We have a plan for dealing with Cordovin. We can't really do anything about it until at least tomorrow. And we've gone over just about everything there is to go over about Mercury and Emerald. There isn't anything worth dredging up."
"Oh really?" Her uncle scoffed, pulling out his flask. "Sure, sure. Let's just ignore them bringing down Beacon. Let's ignore them hunting down an innocent girl."
Yang sighed. "Uncle Qrow…"
"Hey, you kids do whatever you want!" He shrugged dismissively. "I don't care. You're all old enough to make your own decisions."
She frowned. Ever since Brunswick, her Uncle had changed, and not for the better. No, ever since Jinn. They all took the revelations the lamp had brought them hard, but Qrow took it worse than all the rest. And she could see why. He had devoted his life to Ozpin's cause, only to learn he had been lied to the entire time. He'd fallen into a slump, and to be honest, she believed him when he said he didn't care about what they did with Mercury and Emerald. He didn't seem like he cared about much of anything recently that didn't come out of his flask.
Qrow had been an alcoholic for pretty much as long as she could remember, but it was different now. Before, he could at least manage himself. He was careful not to drink too much around her and Ruby, and always brightened their day whenever he showed up.
After Brunswick, he seemed sluggish, more bitter. Defeated. She hated seeing him like that. And judging by Ruby pointedly avoiding looking at him, and Nora casting worried frowns his way every few minutes, she wasn't the only one.
Someone was going to have to have a talk with her Uncle sooner or later, for his own good if nothing else. But that was a talk meant for another place, another time. For now, they had other matters at hand. Her eyes widened. "We never told you guys about Oz," She said suddenly.
Jaune frowned. "Oh yeah. You said he was radio silent, but you left it at that. What…what exactly happened?" He sounded hesitant. "Did it have something to do with Brunswick?"
A grim shadow passed over them at the reminder of that awful place, but Yang tried her best to ignore it. It was important that the others knew. She shook her head. "No. It was before that. Right after the crash."
"I think I'll head back to the Cotta-Arc's place," Her Uncle said suddenly, pushing his chair back and rising to his feet. She cursed herself for blurting everything out. Great idea, Yang! Why not bring up the exact reason your Uncle is drinking himself into a stupor right after another setback?
And now he was off to who knows where. She doubted it was where he said he was going. Probably another bar.
Jaune cleared his throat. "Uhm, what exactly happened after the crash?" He asked, trying to avoid looking at her Uncle stumble out of the cafe.
She shared a look with Ruby, who sighed. "Well…" Her sister began. "It wasn't just the Relic Ozpin was lying about."
Ruby did her best to explain everything Jinn had shown them, keeping her voice low and looking over her shoulder every once in a while to make sure they weren't overheard. Her sister's explanation was brief, but it did the trick if the other's expressions were anything to go off of.
Jaune groaned, rubbing his temple. "I can't believe this. This whole war, everything we've given our lives to, what thousands of people have given their lives to for who knows how long, is nothing more than a messy breakup?"
"That's a really bad way of putting it," Oscar frowned. "Dumbing it down like that makes it seem pointless."
He snorted. "Isn't it? Salem's immortal. Like, actually, full on unkillable. What chance could we possibly have against that? Oz knew, this entire time, and let us keep fumbling around in the dark. We could have died never knowing the truth. Pyrrha did die without knowing, and so did countless others."
"I'm not saying he did the right thing," Oscar said. "No one forced him to lie. But he's also lived a lot longer than any of us, experienced more than all of our lifetimes combined. And he was pretty much the only constant, outside of Salem. That would get to anyone, I think. And going against Salem isn't pointless," He affirmed. "Maybe Ozpin thought we didn't have a chance, but none of us are willing to just give it all up." Not after Brunswick, He left unsaid, Yang noticed.
Jaune sighed. "I know, I know. It's just rough to take in all at once. I honestly thought we were the ones who had an exciting time after the crash." He laughed bitterly. "You know, I'm not even all that mad, to be honest."
"Really?" Yang asked, genuinely surprised. After how angry he was at Cinder, he figured he'd be fuming over learning Pyrrha died for nothing.
He nodded glumly. "I'm exhausted. Too tired to be angry. I spent all my frustrations on Mercury and Emerald, when we found out they were here." He paused. "And I guess, after hearing their story, it makes it a little easier to understand where Oz was coming from. He's still an ass for lying, and I agree, we shouldn't just follow what he says blindly anymore. But it's hard to blame him for everything."
"What do you mean, after hearing their story?" Blake asked curiously. "Did they tell you anything?"
Jaune nodded once more. "A bit about their past, and how they got wrapped up with Cinder. They told us while we were still trying to figure out what to do with them. You can ask them yourselves, if you're interested, but I can't promise they'll be very talkative."
"I'm amazed nobody died before we got here," Weiss said. "I'm even more amazed nobody died once we did. At the very least, I would have expected a fight. Some bruises, maybe broken bones."
Jaune laughed. "You have no idea how close it actually came to that. Thankfully they chose to run off instead of sticking around for a fight. I'm not sure we would have won, if things had gone a little differently."
"Come on, have a little faith in yourselves!" Yang laughed, patting him on the back. "I'm sure Nora would have put up a good fight."
He gave her a flat look. "Is a potentially life threatening situation amusing to you Yang?"
She shrugged. "In hindsight, knowing it all worked out in the end? Absolutely. It's Hilarious. Gut-busting. Better than laughing at a crappy movie."
Jaune tried to maintain a serious expression, but gave up somewhere between Ren's disappointing shake of his head at their antics, and Ruby trying to grab Weiss's tiara for…some reason. He broke out into laughter, and for a moment, things were back to normal.
She could almost forget they would have to go back to Mercury and Emerald.
"Do you think they'll actually be able to convince the base to let go to Atlas?" She asked. "Just like that? Without needing us?"
Mercury snorted. "Of course not. They'll come crawling back before long, just watch. An Atlas military base charged with specifically not letting people fly to Atlas aren't going to make an exception just because a few kids ask nicely."
Emerald scowled. "You realize it's a good thing for us if they do, right? Less risk for us, and less we have to do. And they get out of our hair all the sooner."
"Hey, I'm not saying I wouldn't want things to go our way for once," Mercury amended. "But really, when have they ever?"
"I'd say we got extremely lucky the last few days," Emerald pointed out. "Compared to what we were expecting? How it could have gone down? We just about got the perfect outcome."
Mercury inclined his head, conceding the point. "Fair. But besides that, I mean. Luck isn't exactly our biggest fan Em, and I'd wager we just used the last of ours making sure we didn't get kicked to the curb. I guarantee you they're on their way back, dragging their feet and moping all the while as we speak."
"I guess we'll see," Emerald shrugged. It didn't really matter either way. If it came to helping them out, it'd be a small price to pay for what they risked losing. She was just trying to pass the time with a bit of small talk.
It wasn't like they had much else to do. Terra was at work, and Saphron had taken Adrian out into town not long after Jaune and the others left. That left her and Mercury alone at home, waiting for something to happen. It was boring and nerve-wracking all at once, and it was starting to annoy her.
Get used to it, She thought to herself. This is your life now. It would be boring, a lot of the time. That's what life was like for most normal people.
And she was glad for it! Really, she was! It would just…take some getting used to, that's all. She frowned. Brothers, Mercury's going to go insane in a week. Especially now that they didn't have anything like Jadis to distract them.
She'll figure something out. There was plenty of stuff they could keep themselves busy with once everything died down a bit more. Like figuring something out to pass the time. Maybe once Yang spoke to the General, they might be able to actually try their hand at some Huntsmen work?
She shook her head. Bad idea. There were too many people who suffered at Beacon, too many people who would see it as an insult if they even thought about it. Besides, that would still be a long way away, even if it was an option. They needed something more immediate to take their minds off things.
A thought popped into her head. "Hey, Merc?" She asked softly.
He frowned. "Yeah? What's up?"
"You know, I've been thinking a lot lately…" She started. How was she going to put this? "Things have been a bit of a roller coaster ever since we dealt with Jadis. Neither of us have had anytime to sit and really…deal with anything that's been happening. With everything going on around us." She paused. "With us."
Mercury didn't interrupt her, or cut in with some snarky remark, so she took that as a sign to keep going. "It just…it seems like nothing's really changed between us," She finally said. "I thought they would. I thought it would be different, new now that we're not both so confused about it all."
He shrugged. "Is that so bad?" He asked. "Personally, I don't think it feels like anything changed because nothing really has. At the end of the day, we're still together. We've got each other's backs, and we know what we are to each other. I don't think we need anything more than that."
"We don't," Emerald agreed. "But it might be fun to do something new, you know?"
"Like what?" He scoffed.
She grinned, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Well…I've never been on a date before," She teased. "We could go grab something to eat one of these days."
He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? After all that about wanting to do something new and different, your first suggestion is to do something we've done a thousand times before?"
Emerald shook her head. "It's different now," She insisted. "That was just us getting something to eat because we were either bored or hungry. And it was as friends. It's completely different when it's a date."
"I fail to see how," He snarked.
"Which is why everyone thinks you're an asshole," She smirked. "It's different. Just trust me on this." Her grin faltered a little, and doubt crept in. "I mean, it's just an idea. A suggestion, that's all. We don't have to do anything, if you don't want to. I was just thinking-"
"Em," He said gently, cutting her off. "Relax. I never said I didn't want to. It's a good idea. It gives us something to do that gets us out of the house. And hey, it might end up being a bit of fun! You never know."
She felt a weight lift off her shoulders at his reassurance. She hated how she immediately tried walking back. She trusted Mercury. She knew she could trust Mercury. She didn't have to choose her words around him, not like with Cinder.
"You're doing better," He remarked, picking up on her frustration without her saying a word. "Seriously, I don't mind. I get it." He was…being weirdly polite about it.
She waved him off. "It's fine." They sat together in a comfortable silence, letting the conversation drop for the moment. I could sit like this for hours, She thought happily. This. This was what they had been missing their entire lives. Somewhere they could be comfortable, where they could let their guards down. Somewhere they could call home.
A grin spread across her face. "Hey, Merc?" She asked again. "There's something I forgot to mention. Something else I've been thinking about."
He sighed. "And what's that?"
Without warning, she spun out from underneath his arm, turning to face him as she straddled his waist. Their eyes met for only a moment, confusion written on Mercury's face, before Emerald bent down to capture his lips with her own.
A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine, and she moaned at the loss of warmth when they pulled apart. She was sweating, she realized, out of nervousness, excitement, or more likely both. She smiled. "I've been wanting to do that a bit more often."
Mercury smiled, and it struck her that it was one of the only times she's seen him really smile. No mirth, no joke, no teasing, just an honest smile brought on by a joy that matched her own. "I guess I wouldn't mind that much if a few things changed…" He said.
The sound of the front door cracking open rang out like a gunshot to her ears. Her eyes bulged, her facing immediately turning a darker shade of red than it ever had before. She quickly pushed herself off Mercury, trying desperately to calm herself down.
Mercury, of course, had no trouble at all.
Jaune was the first to catch sight of them. Emerald frowned. Mercury was right then. They'd end up needing their help after all. He groaned, taking a seat across from them. "Things went…less than great at the Argus military base," He started.
Weiss snorted, following not far behind him. "That's an understatement. I thought they were going to arrest us as soon as those old hags recognized each other."
"And just who do you think you're calling an old hag, young lady?" The old hag asked. Emerald never caught her name.
"The one who is currently the main reason we can't get to Atlas," Weiss growled. "Because of a stupid pack of cashews."
The old lady shrugged. "I don't have to explain myself to you."
Weiss seemed like she was about to explode, but Blake put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back. She turned to her and Mercury. "There is a silver lining," She said. "Cordovin, the lady in charge, agreed to take Weiss back if she went alone. We're thinking we have her pretend to agree, and you can use your semblance to sneak the rest of us onto the Bullhead. We can handle things from there."
"We'll have to wait a few days," Weiss said, apparently willing to ignore the old lady for now. "To make it seem realistic. Otherwise, they might get suspicious if I just turn on a dime immediately."
Emerald nodded. "Makes sense. I guess you'll be needing our help after all, huh?"
"Hey, has my Uncle been here?" Ruby asked suddenly, frowning. "He said he was heading back. He should have been here by now."
Mercury shook his head. "Nobody's been here since Saphron went out with Adrian."
Yang scoffed. "Which means he's at a bar, I'm sure." Her anger faded, replaced with something almost mournful. "Damnit, Qrow," She muttered under her breath.
Ruby cleared her throat. "So, yeah, just wanted to let you two know. We're going to end up needing your help."
"Emerald's help, you mean," Mercury corrected. It wasn't like they were going to need anything other than her semblance.
"Well…yeah," Ruby said sheepishly.
She shrugged. "That shouldn't be a problem." She hadn't had much of a chance to test out her semblance's new capabilities. Mercury thought the stress of being discovered was what caused her semblance to evolve, but she would have to test it out a little, to make sure it wasn't a fluke.
And then, once it was over, once the others were well on their way to Atlas…
Then she and Mercury were both truly out of this war.
The cool Argus air blew past her, sending her cloak billowing in the wind. She enjoyed the cold, at this altitude, moving through the air at such speeds. It was exhilarating, and never failed to send her heart racing, like she might fall out of the bullhead at any moment. The cold bit into her skin, painfully, but she didn't balk.
"We'll have to set down soon," She told her companion, who was piloting their craft. "Any closer and we'll be picked up by radar."
A grunt of compliance was all she received in answer, and the nose of the Bullhead dipped, slowly bringing them into a landing. It was a shoddy thing, quickly stolen in their escape from Haven. It would never have been able to slip past the blockade around Atlas, but it got them to Argus well enough, and she was glad for that at least. Too much had gone wrong for her of late. It was refreshing to experience a change of fortune.
Cinder's good eye flickered over to the mute who had tried to kill her only days ago. She still wasn't certain whether it was good or ill that their paths had crossed, but she couldn't deny that Neo had her uses. It was thanks to her semblance they had managed to acquire the Bullhead in the first place and without it she would never have reached Argus in time to catch up with Ruby Rose.
She scowled. Little Silver-eyed bitch. She would enjoy taking her revenge out on the girl. Her and all her little friends.
Ah, but they weren't the only ones she had come for, were they? No, Argus held a variety of little gifts for her. Mercury and Emerald. Her two treacherous little lackeys. Spineless wretches. They had thought they might betray her and escape her wrath. They thought to hide out in the gutters, and hope she passes them by.
They would have been right, had it not been for a stroke of luck. Lil Miss Malachite had proven even more of a boon than she had thought, her connections confirming where they had ended up. Salem had forbidden her from seeking them out, but if they were already in the very same city as Ruby Rose…
It wouldn't be difficult to spin a story that excused her deeds. She could say Mercury and Emerald had learned of her coming, and ambushed her in the city, forcing her to defend herself. She could say they allied themselves with Ruby's little group. She could save herself the trouble and simply say Neo sought them out on her own, without her knowledge.
Excuses and details could come later. First came the deeds. She would have to gain entry to the city, and find her wayward servants before any action could be taken.
Ruby takes priority, She reminded herself. From what Lil Miss told her, Mercury and Emerald had been in the city for some time, and had no reason to leave anytime soon. Ruby and her friends would be making all haste to Atlas with the Relic, spending as little time as possible in Argus. She had to act fast on their account. Mercury and Emerald could wait, if it came down to it.
She took one last look at the city before they disappeared underneath the treetops. Hm. For all the idiocy they displayed in going against her, she had to admit Argus was a good choice, based on what information they had. Outdated information, of course, but they had no way of knowing that. Argus was large enough to get lost in, but didn't hold any relics, or any other reason for her to go there. And Vacuo was supposed to be next on Salem's agenda.
But then, I'm not working off of Salem's agenda. Her master likely didn't even know she had survived Haven. Yet another unintended boon.
Cinder grinned, stepping off the Bullhead. Soon, she thought.
Within a matter of days, everyone who had wronged her would be lying in a puddle of their own blood and she would return to Salem with the Relic of Knowledge in hand.
If you enjoyed this week's chapter, then please leave a comment! I love reading everyone's thoughts on my work.
I crosspost on AO3!
Next Chapter: Tuesday, August 13th