Sharp pain. Burning lungs. Light spearing into her eyes, hot concrete under her.
Dizzy as she was, Emerald tried to gather her surroundings. The car was close to where she lay sprawled, engine still running, the hood and front seats littered with pieces of the shattered windshield. The passenger door was wide open, though she couldn't remember having opened it – that must have happened before she was sent flying, or during it.
There was shouting at the other side of the car. She recognized Mercury's voice, but not the other person's, and the words were nonsense to her pounding head. The fighting, though, was hard not to recognize.
Emerald rolled over and tried to stand, but her left leg failed her. She fell to her knees, and instead crawled forward, bit by bit. One moment her vision was crystal clear, the next she could see nothing past a blurry veil.
Crawling around the hood of the car, Emerald saw them. Mercury's foe was taller than him, lanky but rippling with strength, his face marked by a scruffy beard and deep red eyes. The way he fought seemed at odds with itself – he moved with almost stifling guardedness, feet always planted firmly on the ground, until the moment he struck, and he would become just as reckless and vicious as any of the lowlifes Emerald had grown up around.
Mercury, in turn, fought like a cornered beast, swinging his fists and legs with enough force to shatter bone, leaving footprints in the concrete as he constantly repositioned himself. He was tired, probably hurt, but he wasn't going down without taking a pound of flesh first.
It was a stalemate, and it seemed it might break at any moment on either person's favor. But something about the look in the Beacon agent's eyes bothered Emerald. For someone engaging a world-class assassin all by his lonesome, with the presence of Grimm not that far away, he seemed way too confident this was going to go his way.
Emerald crawled back the way she came, searching the ground for her stolen pistol. She'd still had it on her before the crash, but it wasn't where she had ended up on the road or anywhere nearby. Was it still inside the car, or was it missing entirely?
A moment later, Emerald realized it would be useless anyway. She had already used up all the Dust.
She heard a startled cry from Mercury, and then the sound of a body hitting the hood of the car.
"Let go of me!" Mercury yelled.
"Trouble with the leg?" the Beacon agent replied in a gravelly voice. "Awful bad timing."
"I'll shove it up your-"
"Don't care."
Something banged against the car again. Emerald craned her neck to peek through the windshield – the agent had a hold of Mercury's hands behind his back, while he pressed his head against the hood with the other.
"Fall," the agent said. "Where she's headed. What she's planning. Tell me everything you know."
"Asshole, do I look like I know anything about whatever crazy shit Cinder is up to?"
"Again, really don't care for the theatrics. You'll talk now, or after I throw you back in your cell. You should know that I don't like having my time wasted."
Emerald looked around, searching for anything else she might use as a weapon. A shard from the windshield? Only useful if she got up close, and even then, it probably wouldn't be very effective. If fighting wasn't an option, could she make a run for it?
"Green hair chick," the man spoke, barely raising his head, and she froze. "Don't try any tricks. I'll get to you in a sec."
That moment of panic, ironically, was exactly what Emerald needed to clear her thoughts. If the agent had found her and Mercury so fast after they escaped, that meant he had communicated with the people in the prison, and they had informed him about the pistol she'd taken. For all he knew, she still had it. And that was all she needed.
Her leg screamed as she stood up, but this time Emerald managed to keep on her feet. She met the agent's eyes and raised her hand, a perfect illusion of the stolen pistol grasped in it. She pressed the trigger, and the air ignited with Dust – far too explosive for any rounds the firearm could have realistically carry. The agent flinched and stumbled back as if he'd actually been hit.
By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late. He'd let go, and Mercury was spinning, bringing his leg around in a roundhouse kick that connected devastatingly with the agent's head.
Emerald saw the telltale flicker of Aura, still strong, but it didn't matter if you were wearing a helmet when a truck collided with your skull. The man tumbled over, his eyes rolling back inside his head.
Emerald leaned on the car door, breathing hard. "Finish him off," she told Mercury through gritted teeth, before tossing herself onto the passenger seat.
Looking down, the weakness in her leg suddenly made a lot of sense. There was a piece of glass rammed deep in the inside of her left thigh. Now that she was aware of it, the pain went from a dull burning to something impossible to ignore.
Biting her cheek, Emerald grabbed the glass and pulled it out.
Blood started to flow from the wound like a damn river. Well, that was dumb. Hastily, Emerald ripped a strip of fabric from her pants and wrapped it around her thigh. She was growing faint by the second, and she couldn't tell if it was due to the blood loss, the splitting headache, or one of her hundred other issues at the moment.
The car jostled as Mercury plopped behind the wheel, brushing the glass off the seat first. He slammed his door shut, then tapped his fingers on the wheel, his face twisted between a wince and a scowl.
"The car still good?" Emerald mumbled.
Mercury stepped on the gas, and the car blazed down the hallway. The wind buffeted Emerald's face, forcing her to slide further down her seat.
"Gotta ditch this piece of junk the first chance we get," Mercury said.
"Yeah," Emerald agreed faintly, "but first, just keep driving. Gotta make distance. They'll be coming for us."
She'd let her guard down too soon. She wouldn't make that mistake twice.
"You look like the ghost of Winter's Day past," Mercury said, glancing at her. "And you're bleeding."
Emerald rubbed her thigh. "I know."
"Didn't mean the leg. Higher."
Instinctively, Emerald brought her hand to her nose. Blood marred her fingers.
"Peachy," she muttered to herself.
The adrenaline from the fight and the escape was still pumping through her veins, but it wasn't cutting it anymore. Her eyelids fluttered violently as she fought to keep them open.
Not dropping my guard.
She must have said that out loud, because Mercury turned to her again. "Stop being an idiot and take a nap. I need you at full capacity the next time a bird-man drops on top of us out of nowhere," he said. "Believe me, if that happens, you'll be able to tell by the way I'll scream bloody murder."
Sleep was the last thing Emerald wanted, but her body disagreed with her. Her eyes closed, and she couldn't open them again.
"My rate just tripled, by the way," Mercury grumbled. "I should have stayed in the stupid
(the boy thrashed on his way to the ground, splashing dirty water up Emerald's legs as he fell on a puddle.
"I found him clawing through your stash, the little rat," Cinder said casually, looking down at the trembling kid like he was less than the dirt under her heels. "I thought I would do you a favor and hold him still until you got back from your errands."
Emerald nodded, because speaking would betray the nerves she felt. She could vividly remember the last time Cinder had intervened like this on her behalf, which just so happened to also have been the first time they'd met. No more than two weeks ago, but the recency had little to do with how sharp the memories were.
"I hope you'll forgive my allowing myself inside," Cinder said, giving a cursory look to the abandoned basement Emerald called her hideout. "I had been waiting for you to extend the invitation first, but I saw him break in, and well, I couldn't very well let that lie. Consider it a show of good faith?"
Emerald hadn't told Cinder where she hid, which meant she had figured it out on her own, probably by trailing her around the city. Or had she known before they'd even met?
She'd been using this basement for more than a year now, and despite herself, she had grown fond of it. There wasn't a comfortable corner to sleep – and she had tried every surface the first few weeks, to no avail – but the walls were sturdy, so she didn't have to worry about the building collapsing on her while she slept. More importantly, it was well hidden from prying eyes.
Not a dream home by any means, but it was safe. Yet as Cinder's eyes scoured it, Emerald couldn't help the shame creeping up her neck. Cinder probably slept in a penthouse somewhere, or in some luxurious state where she was surrounded by minions that did her every bidding. Like the Little Miss, or any of the other crime bosses.
"You were waiting for me?" Emerald asked, voice tremulant. "Why?"
"I made you an offer, and after giving you the appropriate time to consider it, I believe I am owed my answer," Cinder said, for the first time fixing her eyes on Emerald only. "You understood there was always an expiration date on that, I hope?"
"I know. I-"
Emerald stopped herself. It was difficult to keep her cool when Cinder was looking at her like that. She had half the mind to try and slip away with her Semblance, but somehow she doubted Cinder would be fooled by any illusion.
"I've been thinking about it," she finished lamely. Was this the moment she got stabbed through the heart?
Cinder raised an eyebrow, which was somehow almost as devastating. "Good. We may discuss the matter further if that will help you come to a decision, but for now, I'm afraid that must wait a little longer. It wouldn't do for us to discuss intimate matters in front of your guest, after all."
She turned her eyes to the boy again. Emerald forced herself to look at him. He hadn't moved from where he'd fallen, his head bowed and shoulders trembling as his eyes shifted between her and Cinder. It struck Emerald that he hadn't made a single sound since she'd walked in.
"Well? How do you intend to deal with him?" Cinder asked.
Emerald startled. "Me?"
"Naturally. It's your territory he violated. That isn't something that can go unpunished."
Emerald didn't think her anxiety could get any worse, but that did the job. What did Cinder expect of her? For Emerald to do as she would, and deliver uncompromising vengeance?
"I can't just let him go," Emerald said. It was a dumb observation to make, but she just needed time to think.
"No, I don't suppose you can."
Except Emerald really didn't want to do the alternative – whatever that meant.
"But maybe I can? I mean, he's already terrified, that's obvious. I don't think he'll try to mess with me again."
"He likely won't, not personally," Cinder mused. "But he knows where you sleep now, and you, Emerald, have collected a great number of enemies in Haven. Will you be able to close your eyes and rest, knowing all it would take to bring you ruin would be for him to whisper your secret in the wrong ears?"
"I'll just find a new place, then. That's what I've always done."
Cinder's expression barely changed, but Emerald immediately understood that had been one of the worst responses she could have given.
"He invaded your space, intended to steal all your possessions, and who knows what else he was planning," Cinder said, "and from all of that, you've concluded that you are the one who should pay for his transgressions. Did I get that right?"
"It's not that simple," Emerald replied, tripping over her words. "I – I understand that he shouldn't get off scot-free, but I can't just kill him for this."
"Why not? Do you think he would afford you the same grace if your positions were reversed?"
"No. But that doesn't mean I'm capable of that. I'm not-"
She stopped herself again. I'm not like you.
Cinder sighed. "You still fail to grasp your own worth." She stared at Emerald for a moment, as if measuring every particle of her. "Killing him would not be my advice, anyway. Why make a corpse when you can make an example?"
She walked over to the boy. Grabbing him by the chin, she forced him to lift his head.
"You think he's terrified? I don't think he's felt a tenth of the terror he and his ilk have inflicted on you over the years," Cinder said. "Make him look you in the eyes. Show him that terror. Then, and only then, set him free. You'll never have to sleep with one eye open again."
The proposition was too tempting for Emerald to dismiss. Everything she'd been subjected to, living in fear for as long as she could remember – just the thought of being free of that, of getting even a modicum of payback, was intoxicating.
"I don't think I've got that in me," Emerald said, and she wasn't sure that it was Cinder she was trying to convince.
"Of course you do. I wouldn't have approached you if I didn't see it," Cinder said. "Deep down, you understand how the world works. There are two kinds of people – the ones who play nice, who let others grind them into the dirt, willing victims of a grim reality they're too scared to change. And then there's the people who show their teeth. The ones who draw blood and thrive."
Cinder let go of the boy and stepped back, lingering behind Emerald.
"I know which kind I am, and I know which kind youare," Cinder said. "The question is, do you, Emerald?"
The boy shivered where he kneeled, wide eyes fixed on Emerald. He started to beg, like she had so many times before,and suddenly Emerald knew her answer.
His voice rose into a scream)
she woke up, and though there was still a faint throbbing between her eyes, Emerald's head was no longer killing her. By focusing a bit, she even managed to string two, and then three thoughts together. Four, even, with a little more effort.
Progress.
It was dark inside the car, and silent except for the occasional jostling caused by a bump on the road. Maybe in another life that might have lured Emerald back to sleep, but years spent in that infernal cell had taught her that silence was just a promise of peace waiting to be broken.
It was no different out here. Worse, even. She would not close her eyes again.
Mercury was just a silhouette in the dark, one hand tapping on the wheel while he steered with the other. Emerald sat up and felt around for his elbow, shaking it lightly.
"Where are we?" she whispered.
Mercury pressed a button on the dashboard, and a ceiling light came on. "Road."
"I know that. But where exactly? And how long have I been out?" Emerald asked. Outside her window, the moon loomed high in the sky.
"Long enough to start snoring in my ear," Mercury said, shooting her a mild glare from the corner of his eyes. "Been driving non-stop, straight line. We passed through a few towns, some gas stations. Thought about stopping to grab us a new car, but you were snoring, so."
"You're the one who insisted I sleep," Emerald said. "Did you happen to catch the name of those towns?"
"Not really. I was more concerned about leaving our friends the Beacon pigs in the dust."
"Right, I apologize. I forgot you're physically incapable of using your brain for anything more than one task at a time."
"That's the only reason I haven't kicked you out the door yet, yeah. Can't do that while I'm driving, we'd crash."
In the interest of keeping her migraine down, Emerald chose to ignore him for the next minute.
Pulling loose the fabric around her thigh, she saw that the wound from the glass shard was nearly completely healed. A small scar was the only vestige of it, and that too would probably fade in a few hours.
"I can amputate that for you, if you need," Mercury said dryly. "I'm qualified."
"Thanks, I'll pass." Emerald opened the window and tossed the bloodied rag out. "Listen, we need to figure out a plan, and to do that, first we need to figure out where we are."
"The planet Remnant, still. At least I hope so." Mercury turned his head to stare straight at her. "But who can be sure, these days?"
Emerald groaned. "Mercury, can you take this seriously for two seconds? We're in deep enough shit without you acting like a complete tool."
"Hey, don't get huffy with me! I'm doing my part. Meanwhile you're the one who was all gung-ho about staging an escape, except now that we're out, you're screeching in my ear because you never had an actual plan beyond that."
"I am not screeching!" Emerald scoffed. "And if you're so unhappy with being out, why didn't you go wait in your cell like a good little boy while the pigs cleared out the Grimm, huh? I mean, someone's gonna need to lick their boots clean after that mess, and here you are, leaving them hanging."
"Because gift horses and mouths, Emerald!"
Mercury slammed his hands on the wheel.
Light flooded the car from behind. Emerald grabbed onto the car door and froze, waiting for the telltale noise of gunfire, screeching tires, shouting – but nothing came. The light dimmed, and a moment later a truck drove past them, overtaking the car and then disappearing down the road.
Minutes seemed to pass before Emerald could release her breath. She looked to Mercury, who had the steering wheel in a death grip, and slowly sank into her seat.
"I wasn't screeching," she muttered.
Mercury sighed. "You were reaching a dangerous pitch." He let go of the wheel and rubbed his brow. "Can we just, not shout right now? You're not the only one who gets headaches."
"Mine beat yours by a mile. But fine."
Except not twenty seconds later, she realized it was not fine. The silence was creeping back in, and she would take even Mercury's incessant nonsense over that. Better yet…
"I'll just get this."
She reached over to the sound system, ignoring Mercury's protests. The unlucky owner of the car had been in the middle of listening to some terrible podcast. After some fiddling, Emerald tuned into a radio station playing a pop song that was only slightly less terrible.
Emerald's shoulders sagged. "Did music get awful while we were in prison?"
"Music's always been awful," Mercury said.
"Not all music." Emerald reached for the console again. "There's gotta be some station playing Britney Spearmint, right? She's gotta be popular still."
Mercury slapped her hand away. "I'll turn this car around and drop you on Beacon's doorstep."
He switched to another station.
"-preliminary reports that the building is safe, and that the district is expected to be open to business as usual in the morning. The only confirmed casualty of the bombing remains Vale Councilman Peter Port. Atlas Councilman James Ironwood suffered grievous injuries but was reported to have been stabilized at the scene. Of other victims, it seems there was no serious harm except for some mild smoke inhalation-
Mercury turned the volume up. "You hearing this?"
"I have ears," Emerald mumbled, leaning forward.
"In an official statement released just an hour ago, Beacon assured the citizens of Vale that they have no cause to fear further bombings, which seems to imply this was a targeted attack on the Council. Well, that's what they're saying, and it's a tough pill to swallow when they're not telling us who's the culprit, and their motivations."
Emerald and Mercury met eyes.
"No," Mercury said.
"What?" Emerald asked. Mercury turned off the radio and glared at her. "What?!"
"We're not running off to join Cinder."
Emerald felt like her face had been shoved inside a furnace, it felt so hot. "I didn't even say anything!" she yelled. "Besides, we don't even know if Cinder is behind those bombings."
A moment of silence passed.
"Okay, fine, we can agree she probably had something to do with that," Emerald said. "But even so. Why shouldn't we go looking for her?"
"Because, Emerald, the whole reason we got tossed behind bars in the first place is because we got caught up in her crazy schemes. For some reason I can't imagine she'll be aiming for a cozy lifestyle drinking mimosas on the beach this time around, so yeah, I don't think I'll be repeating that mistake."
"Beacon will be hunting us anyway, so what difference does it make? At least with Cinder, we'd have some serious firepower on our side."
"Yeah, and she'll protect us, just like she did back in the prison when the Grimm wanted to eat us alive." Mercury slapped his forehead. "Oh wait, no, that was me who did that!"
Emerald eyed the steering wheel, the thought of grabbing it from Mercury and sending them spinning off the road becoming a serious temptation. Her Aura was still low enough that the crash would hurt like hell, but at least it would get him to stop speaking.
"You can pout all you want, but you know I'm right," Mercury said. "The best thing we can do is get as far away from Cinder as we can."
"Maybe for you, that's true." Emerald looked out the window. "I could just ditch you."
"And then what? You can't dodge Beacon with your Semblance forever. You'll slip up eventually, or you'll tire yourself out, and then what are you gonna do when stupid Mercury isn't there to clobber them for you?"
"I can defend myself."
"If you could, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Mercury shook his head. "Look, bottom line is we're stuck with each other. I don't like you, you don't like me, but I'll have your back if you'll have mine. That's not gonna happen with Cinder."
Not for you, Emerald wanted to tell him. But that conviction fizzled out of her, leaving a hole inside where the anger had burned. Because Cinder was gone. Cinder had left her, and she wasn't coming back for her. Emerald didn't even know where to find her again.
She sunk into her seat, as if somehow that could stop the world from falling to pieces around her.
"Fine."
"Fine what?" Mercury said brusquely, not even looking her way. "Say it with your chest."
"I said fine! You're right, is that what you want to hear?" Emerald spat. "We'll get away. Disappear, and never see her again. I hope that makes you happy."
He looked like he wanted to continue arguing, but something stopped him. That was a relief. It meant Emerald didn't have to crash the car after all.
"I'm ecstatic," Mercury said, finally. "Jubilant, even."
Emerald crossed her arms and turned away from him. "Fuck you. I'm going back to sleep."
Where had he even learned that word anyway?
Disappearing was easier said than done.
Any other time, Emerald would have sneaked herself and Mercury into an airplane, bullhead or airship, to slip outside Vale's borders and leave Beacon oblivious in their trail. With everyone holding their breath like the world was about to go up in flames at any second, though, that was a no-go.
Her Semblance didn't work so well on people so strung-up with paranoia. Not to mention that it took a lot out of her, and the more she used it, the easier it would be for Beacon to catch her scent.
The prudent thing was to take their time. The hellhole Beacon had held them in was high up the Valean west coast, they'd figured out. Three days and two swapped vehicles later, she and Mercury had arrived at a town in the near opposite corner of the peninsula. It was a quieter town, distant from the other big cities, but it had its own airport.
"Vacuo, remember," Mercury had told her as she left the car to scout ahead.
Now, Emerald grunted in discontent as she scanned the scheduled flights in one of the airport's empty offices. There was a bullhead leaving for Mistral in less than an hour, and she would much rather go there than the sandy shithole that was Vacuo. She had connections in Mistral, at least, even if she didn't like them, and it was a slightly more livable shithole.
They had agreed, though. Mistral was far too packed, and loath as she was to admit it, there was a reason behind the cliche of wanted criminals fleeing to Vacuo.
Maybe that was where Cinder had fled to as well. If that were the case, Emerald certainly wouldn't be tracking her down there. That would be like trying to find a needle in a big, big, big desert.
"Focus," she told herself in the silence of the room. Continuing to scan the schedule, she found a flight to Vacuo in five hours. The whole trip would take almost a full day, but she didn't see any better options.
She was not looking forward to spending hours stuck inside the cargo hold of a plane with Mercury.
Things were just as quiet outside the office. Eerily so. As she walked down the hallway towards the airport lobby, Emerald caught a wisp of conversation as she passed unnoticed by a pair of flight attendants.
"-you don't think they'll cancel all flights?"
"It's been talked about, but they've never actually done it before. I asked around the boss' office but nobody's sure what's going on-"
Emerald looked over her shoulder at the pair as they vanished around a corner, her mind racing. Canceled flights? Because of the bombings, maybe?
She found herself almost breaking into a run, all but slamming open the door at the end of the hallway. The lobby was empty save for a half dozen people waiting for their flights. By the time they looked up at the noise she'd made, Emerald had already locked on to their minds, and all they saw was the door swinging shut behind her.
There was a woman standing near the center of the lobby, clutching her hands tight as she looked up at a TV mounted to the ceiling. Her heart hammering inside her chest, Emerald went to stand beside her.
A news broadcast. Confusion and chaos in Haven. A full-blown evacuation of the city. Beacon and local forces working on containing the situation, whatever it was. The Hunt on their way. Cinder Fall sighted. Grimm.
That one word, repeated over and over. Everything else seemed of trivial consequence. Grimm. Grimm. Grimm. Was this localized? Would the attacks echo worldwide? Was this a repeat of Vale three years ago, or something even worse?
They had Grimm forecasts now, Emerald realized.
"Of course they do. Why wouldn't they?"
Emerald heard Cinder's voice in her ear, felt the weight of her arm wrap around her shoulders.
"This is the world we made."
Emerald jumped. She heard the woman beside her gasp, and then she was sprinting across the lobby, barging into the nearest restroom.
The air was trapped inside her lungs. She splashed cold water on her face and leaned on the sink, gasping, her legs threatening to crumble under her. She looked up at her reflection and flinched.
That wasn't her.
The restroom door opened and closed. Emerald felt a touch on her arm and spun around, slapping the hand away. The woman from the lobby looked at her, concern etched on her face.
"Are you alright, miss? Do you need me to call someone?" The woman made to touch her shoulder, but seemed to think twice about it and drew back her hand. When Emerald didn't respond, she spoke again, in an even softer voice. "The news looks scary, but I wouldn't worry. I'm sure they've got everything under-"
The woman stopped mid-sentence. Her mouth hung open as she stared, eyes widening in recognition. Emerald's stomach roiled.
The woman took a step back.
"Don't move," Emerald said curtly.
The woman froze. "I won't tell anyone."
"Won't tell anyone what?" Emerald gripped the edge of the sink with one hand, the blood thrumming in her ears.
"Anything. I swear."
Emerald's eyes flicked to the door, at the same time the woman's did.
"See, I'd like to believe you," Emerald said. "But you walked in here to, what, comfort a stranger? Instead you stumbled on something much scarier. Perfect angel that you are, somehow I doubt you're not gonna blab about this to the first person you find."
"I really won't say anything." The woman slid back an inch, and Emerald stepped towards her to match the distance. "Listen! No one has to get hurt here, okay? We'll both just walk away, and I'll pretend I didn't see anything!"
"That would be the smart thing for you to do, but scared people rarely do the smart thing, do they? And you're shaking."
The woman raised her hands, pleading. "Please. I won't say anything."
Emerald looked at the door again, then at the woman.
"No," she said. "You won't."
The best illusions worked not by conjuring something out of nothing, but by shaping something out of the emotions on the forefront of a person's mind. And Emerald had found, through the course of her life, that there was nothing more malleable than the terror borne from a moment of unadulterated panic.
She took a step forward, and her skin peeled off her, falling around her feet to reveal discolored veins and raw, blood-tinted flesh. She took another step, and her limbs slowly stretched to double their size, her bones jutting out of her shoulders and knees with a horrible crack. Another step, and she opened her jaw wide, wide, wider, revealing rows of knife-sharp teeth.
A last step to close the distance, and she swooped down, biting savagely.
The woman clutched her head and fell, a scream dying in her throat before it could escape her lips. She lay on her back, silent, unmoving except for the rise and fall of her chest.
Blank eyes stared at the ceiling.
Emerald stared for what felt like hours, until a voice in the back of her head reminded her that someone could walk in at any moment. She splashed water on her face again, pausing to look in the mirror. Her reflection stared back, straight-faced, unaccusatory.
It was only her.
"You shouldn't have walked in," she told the woman on the floor.
No reply was forthcoming. Emerald grabbed the woman by the legs and dragged her towards one of the stalls.
"No, we're talking about this. We agreed on Vacuo-"
Emerald shoved Mercury deeper into the bullhead's cargo bay. He tripped on someone's suitcase and yelped. Outside, one of the staff loading baggage into the bay lifted their head, and Emerald pressed her hand to Mercury's mouth and hissed.
"Quiet the fuck down, Mercury. I can't hide us if you're screaming like a banshee."
Mercury glared at her. "We're talking about this," he repeated, muffled by her hand.
She continued to push him until they got to the very back of the bay. Only once all the baggage was loaded and the bay closed, did she let go of his face. Mercury immediately whirled on her.
"Explain, and make it good."
"There's nothing to explain," Emerald said. "The world's going crazy again, and we might not get the chance to catch another flight before they shut everything down. The Vacuo plan's a bust."
"That's what you think. We don't know that for sure."
"Do you want to take the risk of getting stranded in Vale for who knows how long?"
Mercury crossed his arms and glowered, but he had no answer to that, because of course he didn't. All he ever did was complain.
The bay shook lightly as the bullhead started to rise into the air. Emerald picked a suitcase near a wall and sat atop it. Mercury paced for a minute or so, before he stopped and exhaled deeply.
"You done having a fit?" Emerald asked.
"Just about." Mercury shrugged. "Mistral, though. Not exactly the best place for us to lay low. What do you propose we do there?"
"Same plan as before. We disappear," Emerald said. "I say Haven."
"Haven," Mercury repeated, shaking his head. "Did you hear the part about Mistral not being the best place for us to lay low? Because that city is the worst place."
"Maybe if you didn't have me. But I know the city inside out," Emerald said, "and I know Malachite."
"Malachite. This just gets better and better."
"You're free to do whatever you wanna do. I have some ambition for my future, which if I remember correctly, used to be your whole thing when we were in prison."
Mercury stood in front of her, staring at her with a look like he thought he could figure her out if he pressed her long enough.
"That's not all," he said. "Something's off with you, and I don't like it."
Emerald lifted her chin and looked him in the eyes. For a moment, she felt her lip tremble, before she mastered herself.
Not all the best tricks were of the mind. With a sigh, she looked away and leaned against the wall.
"I know this wasn't the plan, okay? I had to improvise fast," she said. "I lost my focus back at the airport, and a woman recognized me. My very sincere apologies if I'm still out of sorts after that."
"Shit." Mercury frowned. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"No. I took care of it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mercury asked.
Emerald rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes.
"I showed my teeth."
Mercury grumbled something under his breath, but he didn't bother her for the rest of the flight.