The three of them kept running. Berserker maintained its pace with them, not really leading nor was it falling behind. There were too many enemies and the Grimm only followed the orders of Berserker. Cthnonians have begun to attack them as well with a special interest towards either Emerald or Cinder herself. Mercury was being left behind but Cinder didn't bother to look back nor did she bother to protect him; Cinder didn't protect Emerald either. Only Berserker was protecting the two of them.
There was no mistaking it. The god of light had been wounded. If it had been wounded, it can be killed. If it can be killed, then the same could be said about Salem. There was no denying that near-manic grin that Cinder had. Emerald herself was unsure of what to think.
For the longest time, Cinder Fall had been someone cool, reserved, and always with a plan. Never was she someone who would fall behind due to emotions; those things were reserved for simpletons who didn't know any better, for children still stuck in the fairytales of yesterday.
But the moment that Rider, the Rusted Knight, had appeared, Emerald could see those cracks immediately. It wasn't subtle. It hadn't been secretive. Cinder Fall quickly devolved into something not at all like she had been. Easily manipulated and difficult to return into good graces, whatever faults that Mercury and Berserker had committed was something that they could work their entire lives for and it still wouldn't be enough. Not even the death of Ozpin himself had given them that victorious feeling; it was immediately replaced by the revelation of the brother god of light's wounds and those implications.
"That putrid smartass!" Cinder cursed. "When I get my hands on Watts and Archer, I will make sure that those two will pay for their crimes. You hear me?" She was screaming into the skies. Emerald worried that the brother god was still listening somewhere in the heavens above. "I will get my hands on that elitist prick!"
They kept running even after they had long since exhausted themselves. Berserker had to carry the two of them just to keep up with Cinder's nimbler pace. She could weave past the thicker trunks and branches and burn away those too thin and soft. The Grimm ignored them under Berserker's commands and defended them from the straying Cthnonians.
Salem was moving away from them. They had no transportation towards Atlas. But it was clear enough that they won't be returning there anytime soon.
The density of forestry eventually forced them all to slow down. Cinder didn't stop to rest and kept pacing back and forth. She walked in circles as ideas began to sprinkle in among her rants against Watts and Salem. Cinder had been their pawn in their own machinations, Watts especially. All of them had been pawns to Watts' plans. No. It had to be Archer's as Cinder's ramblings evidenced it.
Berserker remained to the side, keeping watch and control of the Grimm that got near. Mercury himself was held back, grumbling to himself about the lack of his tools. His prosthetics needed repair after all that. Emerald's own weapons needed repair. Aura may extend itself to their weapons but that had its fair share of limitations. Only Cinder, who could create new weapons had no worry about it in the slightest.
While Cinder was pacing in a circle, her eyes on the ground below here, Mercury and Berserker remained at one another's side. Emerald managed to catch some information on Cinder's own personal history; she had done that before too that Emerald had begun to piece together the details.
"Thanks man," said Mercury. "Wouldn't have made it here without you."
Berserker said nothing and nodded.
"Glad to know one guy is out of this Grail War and it's your victory, too."
Berserker still remained silent. Emerald noticed that Mercury was looking at Cinder. Cinder's focus was on other things. Mercury sighed and shook his head.
Emerald sat next to Mercury. She leaned closer and whispered: "what are you doing?"
Mercury didn't bother to lower his voice as he replied: "giving Berserker the damn praise it should have been getting. We got one Servant down. That's one less Servant to deal with and I say we need to celebrate whatever damn victories we got considering everything is against us."
He removed his prosthetic legs and examined them. What little he could repair, Mercury did it by hand before he put the prosthetics back. Cinder remained in her pacing that the Grimm had begun to idle themselves into slumber. Berserker itself was like a dog with how it had laid down.
"I mean," Mercury added suddenly. "First we got enemy Servants and these other Masters. Salem and her posse isn't going to make it easy for us, especially now that her immortality isn't as guaranteed; if anything, Salem would be thanking us if we did it for her. Those wannabe heroes have their thing going and don't get me started on the fraud-turned-hero. Those Companions aren't our companions, that's for sure. It's just you, me, and Berserker here doing the work."
Mercury patted a napping Berserker. There was a sudden jolt before Berserker relaxed back into slumber.
"And I just feel like someone has to do a little bit of rewarding here even if it is just a pat in the back. I'm not therapist, nor am I some kind of life-coach or something, but I think that rewarding for a job well-done is in order when one actually does their job. It's one of the things I'm honestly glad my dad taught me, faker than plastic his was."
Cinder still paid them no mind. Emerald could see annoyance building inside of Mercury. Emerald had to grab hold of Mercury; she felt that he was about to make a terrible mistake and Emerald would rather that it would happen when they're not surrounded by Grimm; Berserker is bound to Cinder and should listen to her rather than them.
Mercury didn't like it but he was forced to comply when Emerald refused to loosen her grip. They kept resting and waited for any sort of order from Cinder. She continued to pace in that circle that her feet had to be aching by now; there was no way that walking around in glass shoes could be good, especially when those shoes were heeled.
Then, Cinder stopped pacing. She began to laugh to herself and the skies above.
She addressed them saying: "we will move as soon as we are able. Berserker! Ready the Grimm. Keep a few near and loyal only to us. You wish to make yourself useful, do that. We'll let those heroes play their part, sacrificing themselves for the greater good. We will watch them from a distance, coming in only when there is one left."
"And the Companions?" Emerald asked.
"We'll take them out. Berserker is useless as an Assassin but we can make due enough. How good are you with your illusions, Emerald?"
She shook her head. "These Servants could resist for longer periods. I'll need full concentration and for them to literally stand still."
A ball of flame blasted from Cinder's palm. But it did not hit Emerald nor Mercury; it struck a nearby patch of grass. Thankfully, the flame didn't spread.
Emerald's eyes traced towards Mercury. She could see the seriousness in his face. There was an annoyance there and she nearly missed the fists that Mercury was making. He kept his hands glued to his legs. But he did not move. He did not say anything. Not yet, Emerald thought.
Mercury's legs kept on shaking as his fingers kept on tapping. His eyes, that of an assassin-for-hire's, never once left Cinder. Berserker wouldn't let Mercury close for it kept itself close to Cinder, even as Cinder didn't bother to give her own Servant the time of day. The Grimm had their low growls and it was only out of some kind of fondness that he had for Berserker that stayed his hand.
He sighed and shook his head. "It isn't right."
"Who are you to say what is and what isn't right?"
"Look, we've done our part. Berserker here has done its part. You've heard her ramblings, about being abused in some fancy household because the step-family didn't want to pay for basically slave labor. I don't know about you, Em, but Cinder is becoming more and more like that step-mother she harps about in her sleep."
"You listen to her while she sleeps? Creep." Emerald looked away; she didn't want to hear about it.
But Mercury only looked at her in suspicion. "You telling me she actually does? I didn't mean it literally, Em!" He was jolted back into obedience with the sudden shush of Emerald. The Grimm seemed ready to pounce in that moment. "She thinks she's entitled to everything just because she suffered; she wants appreciation is what I'm seeing. But she's no different from them with how she's treating Berserker."
"Berserker doesn't seem to mind."
"Berserker doesn't have any other choice. You think those goody two shoes on the other side would treat their Servants like this? No. No, they won't. You and I both know that it'd be stupid to bet otherwise."
Emerald got herself ready to sleep.
"You think it's a good idea to be sleeping at this time?"
"The Grimm wouldn't be attacking us," Emerald replied. "Berserker wouldn't allow it. Cinder wouldn't command Berserker to do it."
"Even if she did, there wouldn't be any reward for it after."
"What is it with you and reward? We got you when we wanted your father, remember?"
"I know that. I'm as disposable as they come. But here's one thing that I know that my father would demand from you guys: payment. My old man may be a bastard. He'd beat me every day and call it training. He'd take away my semblance and call it a clutch if I use it too much. I killed him myself and I still didn't get it back. But you know? He always told me never to do a job without some kind of compensation. People like us, me and my dad, we don't get the niceties of a thank you. No. We get paid to do what we do."
He stood up and made sure to stroke Berserker as though he were petting a sleeping cat.
"Berserker over here doesn't even get a fake thanks for its services. My dad was like that too; always seeing the problems in anything and everything I do. Not once did he give me praise for what I did and Cinder's ramblings tells me it's the same for her. You'd think that for someone who went through that sort of thing you'd either not want it to happen to anyone else or pay back the very people that did it to you."
"And she's doing it," Emerald defended. "She's going to win the Grail and—"
"You mean the Grail that she only knew about by putting herself back in that shock collar? Oh, don't get me wrong. She's not wearing the collar of her step-mother. Obsessed with that Rider guy, I won't be surprised if that had been her original intent. Salem, or someone else, made sure she didn't. We learned of Amber because of her and she only knew it from Salem. She's being sent here to do Salem's bidding so that Salem could sit cozy up there in the skies. Cinder isn't wearing her step-mother's shock collar anymore; she's wearing Salem's. Even now with that god of light, she's still wearing that collar."
Mercury did his best to keep his voice low. But Cinder did not stir; her back was towards them.
"She thinks she's entitled to everything just because she suffered. But suffering isn't enough, Em. She can't just callously throw away her only Servant, who takes in all that abuse, while still needing that Servant by her side; monster or not, I'd bet you that Berserker would do way better had Cinder actually acted like she gave shit about it. She can't just assume that Rider is going to join her side after killing his Master; he's going to resent her and would take the first chance to kill himself if he can't betray her down the line."
Emerald raised both hands. She could feel the Grimm looking at their direction.
"But all that she's ever been is some stunted brat who's pissed off that her fairytale hero didn't come in to rescue her. But the monster in the closet, the boogeyman under the bed, did. And that deserves some damn recognition."
Emerald was the first between the two to go to sleep. Cinder's back was towards them and despite Mercury's ramblings getting a little louder, she did not stir. Mercury kept himself up even as sleep took over Emerald.
The sleep was light that no dreams came for Emerald. There was a moment that she felt something nuzzle around her face which drowned out any sounds that could have been made. No one had been there to wake her up. Only the light of the next day, peeking through the leaves and branches that kept her in the shade, had stirred her eyes to open. The campfire had long since died out. Only ashes that had been long cold and dead remained. There was no one else around her.
Then, Emerald began to panic. There was no one else around her. No Mercury. No Cinder. No Berserker. No Grimm. She quickly grabbed her weapon but only the rustling of leaves and the breaking of branches sounded. She had been abandoned.
Her breathing hastened as her eyes looked everywhere but couldn't see anything; all things were blurred to her pupils. She even yelped when her back touched a tree trunk. Her breathing continued to quicken that her head begun to spin. She stumbled and fell as the disturbance in the ground and sharp things slightly poked at her aura.
It took another minute or so before Emerald began to calm down enough to slow her breathing. Cinder must have abandoned them both and took Berserker with her. Mercury must have chased after them, leaving Emerald behind. There were shards of glass where she had fell.
When calmness replaced panic, Emerald screamed to the heavens. There were no Grimm around and so there was no fear of drawing them towards her.
"They left me! They both left me!"
Emerald quickly faced towards the source of the slight disturbance. She caught a pair of eyes staring at her. She identified those eyes immediately.
"You don't have to hide, Cat." Emerald kept her weapons up.
Curious Cat stepped out of the trees. No longer did they bear the face of Charles-Henri Sanson. This was the Cat that Emerald remembered reading about. Still, Emerald kept her weapons up; Cat's loyalty wasn't to Cinder's and she was sure that the Cat didn't reach out to her out of the kindness of their heart.
The Cat tutted. "Shame! For shame! Dearest Emerald, always so willing to serve others, always wanting to make her mistress Cinder happy. Now, she's left behind when the spring of her usefulness has dried up. Even dear Mercury didn't see fit to stay close to you and chased after her. I am quite curious myself if that is because he loves her or hates her."
"You know," Emerald said. "I know for a fact that you weren't much of a combatant even when you possessed Sanson's body." She shuffled her feet. "And now that you don't even have that, what reason do I have to fear you?"
Curious Cat raised one eyebrow. "Well, my dear. You certainly aren't wrong. As a Caster, I'm not quite the barbaric brute in coming in headfirst for a bout of fisticuffs. Or is it fist-i-claws? Not important, I suppose. But it is true. Against other Servants, I am quite useless."
Suddenly, Cat vanished from Emerald's sight and appeared behind her.
"But you do well to remember, Emerald," Cat whispered into her ear. "The key is that I'm useless fighting against other Servants, something that you're not."
Emerald wasn't given a chance to scream before a massive claw covered her mouth. Cat, now larger and more bipedal in movement, ran deeper into the forests. The trees' branches hinted at the destination that Cat had in store for them. Cat's sped by the Grimm. Soon, the Grimm were replaced by Cthnonians. She did her best to pull away Cat's claws. Even as it threatened to scratch away her eyes, Emerald struggled to break free.
But the sight of Monstra and the Nevermore bringing Cat there was unmistakable: Caster had made plans and needed someone like Emerald along.
"Truly, I am sorry, my dear," said Cat, not at all sounding like it. "I personally would have gone for Cindy myself. Jabby may rip me apart, but I'm sure that having another Master take Salem's place would be much more welcome than someone like you. That and Caster still needs another Servant for that book of his and I am not quite keen of being that addition. It's not you, it's me."
Emerald continued to fruitlessly struggle against the Cat's iron grip. Soon, all she could see was the black of Monstra's side. Then, she was thrown back into the hallways of the flying Grimm. Cthnonian walked these halls now. Each one were of solemn silence and obedience. There was a strange and cold professionalism that was had here.
Curious Cat brought Emerald closer to the throne room. There standing by Salem's side was Caster. Caster lacked the usual depraved face that she had come to get used to. This new face felt worse than the last. His eyes narrowed at her; there was no interest there. Absent was the desire to commit atrocities in those eyes.
"Well," said Cat. They still refused to let Emerald go. "I said I'll bring the replacement so here you go."
Caster turned to Salem. "Master?"
"No news on Cinder?" Salem asked.
"She's already gone ahead," Curious Cat said. "I believe that she intends to obtain that Harpe for herself."
Caster's eyes turned red with anger. Tentacles appeared around them. But Salem raised her hand and the mass of tentacles had to stand down.
"We would not be having this issue had you told me of Harpe's existence, Caster," Salem said coolly. "Had you been truly ignorant of it, I would have forgiven you. But you knew of it and knew of its capabilities, and kept it from me. Your wish of being my end has motivated you to keep me alive. But I am gracious enough, Caster. My wish remains the same: I will die. I will simply have dear Emerald here take my place. Then, you are free to do with Emerald as you would have done me."
Caster bowed cordially. There was no joy behind it. "As you wish, my Master."
"Caster. Should I find anything else that you've hidden from me." She showed hand; there was one Command Spell left. When did she use it? "I will have you answer for it."
Rather than have the tentacles do her bidding, Caster held Emerald himself. He ripped a piece of his own cape to bind Emerald's hands behind her back. Curious Cat had been there, following Caster from behind.
"This Grail War has turned against my desires," declared Caster. "Oh how I wished that Salem would become my final bride. An immortal who craves death and a serial killer looking for the next life to subject to his murderous whims, what greater combination could there be?" He took a tight hold of Emerald's face. "You will have to do for now. But there is one feline who is a better fit to be in your place. Then and only then will your chance of survival be, miss Sutrai."
"Well," Curious Cat declared. "I'm glad that all things have been arranged but I must be going and see what else—"
A tentacle held the Cat in place. Caster turned around to address them. "I'm afraid that my Master has no further need of your services, Companion. You've known this just as well as I did and you held it back from her as well."
"Only because you demanded me to!" Curious Cat began to claw their way. But more tentacles came to hold them in place. More Cthnonians have begun to appear and surrounded the Cat.
The Cat breathed energies like a dragon breathes fire. Soon, the Cat's form turned to that bipedal form again. With a change in color, closer to white and black, Cat furiously fought against the Cthnonians that Emerald wondered where that had been this whole time.
"So, now cornered like the very rats you prey on, you've shown your true combat capabilities, Cat," commented Caster. He pulled out a book, Salem's spellbook. "How curious."
The Cat growled against Caster and kept fighting in a desperate bid to survive. Attempts to escape were futile for Cthnonians surrounded every pathway and there were too many for Cat to deal with. Even as the ones that they managed to get into their control would fall eventually.
"Why don't you join him?" Caster asked. The spellbook loomed closer over Cat's standing hairs. "Sasaki Kojirou has been quite lonely."
It was unceremonious. There were no cries of aid nor was there any sort of begging. Cat simply fought furiously as they eventually fell to Caster's endless familiars' harassment.
Caster sighed. "Not even this is enough to bring back my spark." He looked up to the ceilings as if expecting some divine answer. Then, Emerald began to see traces of tears falling down his face. Caster was weeping. Emerald couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her own semblance had to be working on her right now.
But even as Emerald tried her hardest, it wasn't her semblance acting against her. Caster really was weeping in sadness. He even buried his face in his palms as he wailed and lamented at his failure. Emerald struggled to break free from her bondage; the bind was too tight.
Then, Caster stood back up. His face filthy from the tears that fell down his face. Emerald shuffled herself as far away from Caster as she could. She hit a wall and she still wished to move away. Caster's big eyes wanted to jump out of their sockets. Even when he was not looking at her direction, the bulge in that face had to hurt and cause some kind of bleeding.
"I will make up for this sin!" Caster declared. "You have suffered countless lifetimes under the bondage of the god of light. In that immortality, I've sought only to pleasure myself and kept you as though you are my plaything. Master, oh master! Forgive me my trespasses as I forgive others for theirs!"
When did Tyrian take over Caster? Emerald shook her head and still struggled to break free. Then, she felt the Cthnonians gather around her and held her in place. There was moving her anymore.
"God of light!" Caster declared. "You will pay for the crimes committed against the innocent maiden. Oh Berserker! You will perish for failing to kill her with thy Noble Phantasm but succeeded in the death thou bring upon the Infinite Man! Lancer will pay as the Silver-Eyed criminals are the Grimm's natural enemy. Rider! You, I will personally kill by my blade. If I be bonded to Gilles de Rais, then our confrontation is fated to be as you are bonded to Jeanne d'Arc!"
Caster kept going, spouting all sorts of declarations and promises towards everyone and everything. He even went back to those he had already mentioned before and gave a different promise, forgetting the one he had just given. Emerald couldn't use this time to escape for the Cthnonians were simply too many for her to sneak past; she had no hope of fighting her way out.
So, Emerald Sustrai laid there. Now that she was alone with nothing else, she began to weep herself.
Cinder Fall had abandoned her. Mercury Black didn't stay to wake her. She was left alone and picked up against her will.
Emerald Sustrai didn't hold out for any hope that someone would rescue her.
/-/
It had been sudden that Mercury didn't have time to scream. It lasted only for a moment but he saw the Grimm wrap itself around Emerald's ears. Cinder had her hand on his throat as she used him as to make a trench in the ground. She flew them further and further away until Mercury was so low on aura that the final throw broke it all.
Berserker would have leapt at Mercury but Cinder raised her hand. "You want to make yourself useful, Berserker, then find a Nevermore and get us both to Atlas."
The fires that burned from Cinder's eyes were bright that it outshone even the coming of the dawn.
Mercury spat. "It isn't enough. You can't just be strong; you have to be smart. You can't just be deserving; you have to earn it first. Once, I thought that about you, Cindy." That nickname only made the fires burned hotter. "I thought you could have the world at your fingertips. All for what? Because you wanted a fairytale hero and got the boogeyman instead? You're still wearing the shock collar around your neck."
Cinder said nothing and conjured a ball flame. Mercury closed his eyes as he expected to be burned. But Berserker had appeared, pissing Cinder off, and it brought with it the Nevermore that Cinder requested. Once again, not a single thanks came from that mouth of hers.
"I'd bet that your step-mom knew some manners!" Mercury called out. He struggled to get back to his feet. The damage was too much that he could only crawl. "Bet that even your step-siblings could appreciate when someone more deserving actually does something for them!"
Cinder looked back, her teeth grinding and her eyes burning. Mercury stared at them with his own intense flame.
But then, Cinder turned around. "Let's go Berserker." The two did not yet leave for another minute. "You… did well."
Berserker turned to Mercury. He nodded only once. Berserker nodded back and left with Cinder Fall, leaving him for the Grimm, a Beowolf that had followed Berserker along with the Nevermore.
The Beowolf growled as it approached Mercury. He may not have his legs anymore but he still had his hands. The Beowolf's jaws gripped his clothes and carried him back to their temporary camp. One last act of kindness from Berserker was enough to bring Mercury's heart to warmth.
But when they arrived, Emerald was gone. There was no sign of a struggle. There was no sign of other Grimm in the area. As Mercury examined the place, he noticed the markings of a feline, a cat most curious.
"Damn it," he cursed. "There's no way that Cinder's going to do it."
He swallowed his prize. Berserker gave him a kindness and Mercury couldn't believe what he was about to do: he intends to pay it forward.
"Take me close to Vale," said Mercury. "Then leave. You'll be hunted down otherwise."
The Beowolf barked and did as it was told. But the Beowolf didn't understand the importance of safe travel. Bugs and shrubbery competed for a place between Mercury's teeth as his recovering aura kept trickling back down as the Grimm brought it to the nearest place. When any huntsman was within sight, Mercury was left there and he began to crawl his way back.
His prosthetic legs didn't alarm the ignorant huntsmen; all they saw was a young man who had lost his weapons and was moving towards survival. He was immediately brought towards the medical area that had been set up. He was cared for as one of the found survivors of the attack on Vale.
But word of his presence and return to Vale would soon reach those heroes. Mercury knew that and he was expecting it. However, it wasn't any of those wannabe heroes that met with Mercury. What he was met with was another set of Maiden eyes on one that he recognized on sight: Winter Schnee.
"You will not abuse our hospitality, Mercury Black," she declared. "You will be charged for your crimes. Even if you decide to cooperate, your sentence could not be lightened enough with a lifetime of invaluable service."
"Yeah, I figured," Mercury replied. "I don't expect anything from any of you other than a new pair of legs to walk with."
"It will be non-lethal. You will not be allowed to have it weaponized."
"Look, I don't care what you're going to do to it, just give me a pair of legs to walk with and I'll even tell you what age I was when I was still wetting the bed, do we have that much of an agreement?"
Winter Schnee raised an eyebrow. Those eyes, though on fire with the Maiden's powers, were ice-cold. "And? There is more to your being here than mere prosthetics, Black."
"Yeah, I was thinking of you could find Emerald while you're at it. Save her from this Grail War hell."
A new pair of legs was hastily made for Mercury. It wasn't much and could only move so crudely. They weren't lying when they said that he couldn't weaponized it; they didn't allow anything other than walking with some running.
He waited for his request to reach them. When a group of four approached Mercury, he could only groan. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Hey there, Mercury," said Yang Xiao Long. With her were the three members of CRDL; the three boys had their weapons ready. "Afraid that the ones you're looking for are busy at the moment. But good news! I'm the messenger today. What you say to me will be said to them." She looked down on those legs. "Prosthetic legs, huh? Mind if I break them again for old time's sake?"
AN: Ah Mercury, it was nice knowing your new legs buddy.