Chapter Text
Emerald lazily struts past a Dust shop, pretending to be distracted by a transport flying overhead, and ‘stumbles’ into an old man hanging a, sending him tumbling.
“Excuse me!” She says, “Sorry, I’m not really from around here.” Emerald holds out a hand, knowing the man wouldn’t pay any attention to what the other was doing. She then shows him a paper with the name of their target’s bookshop, asking, “Um, would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?” The old man nods; thankfully, it’s not far. She waves goodbye to the old man as she returns to her silver-haired ally an alley over.
“I knew you were lost,” he says.
“Mercury,” she holds out the old man’s wallet, “I will seriously pay you to shut up.”
“That’s not your money,” he snickers. Emerald huffs; why did Kai get to stay with her girlfriend while she was stuck with this jackass? She waves the wallet tantalizingly in front of his face.
“But it could be yours for five minutes of silence,” she teases. He tilts his head making an over exaggerated thinking sound, grinning as he responds.
“No deal.”
“Fine.” Emerald mutters, annoyed. She takes the cash out and then tosses the wallet vaguely in the direction of the man’s shop. Hopefully, he’ll think he dropped it on the way to work.
“Whatever, you want me.” He snips, laughing.
“Cinder would kill you if she heard you say that.” She bites back. The comment conjures an image in her mind: Cinder in her brilliant red dress, smirking as Mercury is consumed by fire. It’s both alluring and terrifying.
“Please, don't tell her I said that.” He says nervously as they make their way to the shop. The two take up a bit of banter as they walk the couple blocks to the shop, talking about the city and its easily-pickpocketed people. Entering the shop, Mercury takes to fiddling with a book on the shelf as Emerald heads to the counter and rings the bell.
“Be right there!” A masculine voice calls from the back. A man comes out a moment later, hauling a large stack of books and giving Emerald pause. They were here for a Faunus, but the shop owner hardly looked the part, aside from being a bit hairy. He grunts, “Welcome to Tukson’s Book Trade: Home to every book under the sun. How may I help you?”
“Just browsing,” Mercury chimes in helpfully.
”Actually,” Emerald smiles up at the man, “I was wondering; do you have any copies of The Thief and The Butcher?”
“Yes, we do.” He says warmly.
“That’s great!”
“Would you like a copy?”
“No, just wondering.” She says as Mercury slams his book shut. The shop owner narrows his eyes suspiciously.
“Oh, oh,” she asks, trying to keep him distracted, “What about Violet’s Garden in paperback?”
“He’s got it,” Mercury pipes up unhelpfully, “and hardback too.”
“Ooh, options are nice.” She murmurs, touching her chin thoughtfully.
“Ehh, no pictures.” Mercury scoffs. Slamming another book shut, he asks if the shop carries any comics.
“Near the front." Tukson says, struggling to keep his “Customer Service” tone.
“Oh! No, wait. What about The Third Crusade?” Emerald asks hurriedly. Tuskon pauses, wracking his brain through the shop’s catalogue.
“I don’t believe we carry that one.” He says somberly. Mercury—apparently committed to the bit—slams a third book shut. Emerald realizes then and there why she was babysitting him: Kai would never forgive him for treating books so flippantly, and would probably kill him over it.
“What’s this place called again?” Emerald wonders aloud.
“Tukson’s Book Trade.” The eponymous owner says nervously.
“And… you’re Tukson?”
“That’s right.” He confirms.
“So, I take it you're the one who came up with the catchphrase?”
“Yes.” He murmurs.
“And what was it again?” Mercury asks mockingly.
“Tukson’s Book Trade, home to every book under the sun.” He says with a heavy sigh.
“Except The Third Crusade.” Mercury says happily, all too excited to play with his food.
“It’s just a catchphrase, son.” Tukson rolls his eyes as Mercury sneers. Calling him “son” was just about the worst thing the shopkeep could’ve said, and she’s pretty sure it just sealed his fate.
“It’s false advertising!” Mercury shouts. She needs to wrap this up before he gets even more out of hand…
“You shouldn’t make a promise you can’t keep, Tukson. I hear you’re planning on leaving.” Behind her, Mercury flicks a switch, tinting the windows as she presses, “Moving all the way to Vacuo. Your brothers in the White Fang wouldn’t be happy to hear that and neither are we. You know who we are don’t you?”
He stiffens and admits quietly, “Yes.”
“And you know why we’re here?”
“Yes,” he says a little louder, backing away from them.
“So, are you going to fight back?” She asks bluntly.
“Yes.” He snarls, unsheathing a wicked set of claws and jumps onto the counter. The both of them instinctively step back. He leaps at Emerald, growling as he swipes. She simply ducks under his attack, and—well, not much survives one of Mercury’s kicks directly to the head. Not when every kick unleashes a high-powered Dust round.
The two leave with an arm load of books. Mercury swiped some comics for himself, while Emerald grabbed The Butcher and The Thief for herself, as well as a sweet romance for Cinder. When she sees a pretty, illustrated copy of The Girl in The Tower, she swipes it for Kai, knowing it’s her favorite story.
˚⟡⊰⋆: 𖣂𖢻❀:⋆⊱⟡˚
Blake pours quietly over her theories on what the Fang is up to scribbled next to sketches of the White Fang’s icon, Adam and his blade, and the wilting rose that is his insignia. Dread and uncertainty fills her heart, her thoughts swirling together uselessly.
“Whatcha doing?” Yang asks, popping up over her shoulder, provoking a startled hiss as she shuts her book frantically.
“Just going over last semester's notes,” she mutters, tucking her book away. Maggie’s subtle head tilt means the girl can tell she’s lying, but mercifully she keeps quiet as Yang teasingly pokes her side.
“Lame!” She sighs, pausing to catch a pea out of the air. Across the way, Nora launches them from a spoon as Double B and Yang compete to see who can catch the most.
Their game is interrupted as Ruby slams a large binder on the table. Its title had originally read “Vytal Festival Activities by Weiss Schnee,” but Ruby had scribbled it out and wrote in big, bold, red glitter pen, “Best Day ever ACTIVITIES," underlined and with far more exclamation points than Blake thinks is necessary. Her leader grins, clearing her throat.
“Sisters! Friends! Weiss!” Blake barely suppresses a chuckle as the other girl gives a disgruntled shout in protest. Ruby continues, undaunted, “Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream.”
“This ought to be good.” Yang laughs, leaning in front of BB to intercept a treat being launched her way, causing the other girl to swat at her. Blake just tries to focus on her leader as she continues.
“A dream that the four of us would come together as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had! Ever!” She squeaks, waving her arms excitedly.
“Did you steal my binder?” Weiss asks.
“I am not a crook?” She offers a meek smile in lieu of an apology.
“She asked me to do it.” Maggie says calmly.
“What are you talking about?” Blake sighs, indulging her leader
“I’m talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!” Ruby responds. Blake can hardly believe it’s already been a semester. It feels like just yesterday she had arrived at Beacon, still wearing that bow of hers.
“I always kick off my semesters off with a Yang! Ehh?! Guys? Am I right?” Weiss and herself both give Yang the side eye, but Maggie bursts into laughter. Lilly chucks a grape at Yang, while BB takes the distraction to get a lead in the food catching game.
“You don’t have to indulge her, Maggie,” Blake says.
“But it was funny,” the squirrel protests, shrinking a bit.
“No it wasn’t.” Lilly and Sakura say in unison. The former immediately grabs Sakura’s face, stunning the other girl as she brings her close and says, “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks?” The Mistrali noble says, flustered. “I guess you really do understand me.” Yang tells Maggie; Blake has to fight down a hiss.
“Look,” Ruby retakes control of the conversation, “Guys, it’s been a good few weeks. And between more exchange students arriving, and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But classes start back up tomorrow. Which is why I’ve taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today!”
“I don’t know whether to be proud of you, or scared of what you have in store.” Weiss murmured, stunned by their leader. Blake sighs glancing at her book of speculation. She doesn’t notice Yang chuck a fruit back at Lily.
“I don’t know,” the cat Faunus murmurs, “I think I might sit this one out.”
“Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team.” Weiss says assuredly, standing up, “I, for one, think that—” her teammate is cut off by a rouge dessert, meant for the others’ game, slamming her in the face, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt.
Weiss takes a breath, remnants of the pie sloughing off her face and onto the table. Nora, who threw the pie, laughs nervously as Ren quietly chides her poor aim.
“I have a suggestion,” Weiss’ tone is ice cold, sending shivers down everyone’s spines, “On this day, why don’t we start a new tradition here at Beacon?”
“A… tradition…?” Ruby murmurs, tilting her head curiously. Only Sakura seems to understand what the heiress is thinking, a grin spreading across her face. In the next moment, she slams her palms on the table, the reverb knocking a few fruits into the air. Weiss catches two effortlessly.
“It’s a food fight!” She calls, grinning madly, “You ready?” Expressions range from excitement to sheer terror.
“I’m so proud of you!” Lilly yells, and is immediately pelted with an orange. Such a strike demands retaliation, and soon all hell breaks loose as the three teams begin duking it out.
˚⟡⊰⋆: 𖣂𖢻❀:⋆⊱⟡˚
“I’m Queen of the Castle, I’m Queen of the Castle!” Nora sings from atop her mountain of stacked tables and vending machines. Her allies in Team JNPR stand tall on their own layers of the so-called castle. On the other end of the hall, Ruby stomps her foot on the table as she stands up.
“Justice will be swift!” She shouts, one hand pointing an accusing finger at her foes as the other holds a milk carton, “Justice will be painful! It will be… delicious!” She thrusts her fist into the air, her teammates roaring a battlecry in response. Between the two teams, BLSM stands spread out across the cafeteria, their allegiances unclear.
“Off with their heads!” Nora declares, leaping down from her pedestal. Her allies leap into action, hurling watermelons as Lilly takes flight. The other first years know to flee. From there, the only word to describe the scene they create is “chaos.”
JNPR hurls a barrage of watermelons, only for Yang to punch them apart with turkey-shielded hands. Lilly is a skyborne terror, haphazardly spraying condiments against anyone who dares cross her sight. Nearby, Blake and Pyrrha engage in a relentless back-and-forth duel—albeit with baguettes as their blades of choice. The bout is interrupted by a heavy blow to the back of Blake’s head; Maggie has arrived, armed with a footlong sub as her weapon.
“Magnolia!” Blake gasps, staring wide-eyed at the traitor, “How could you?”
“All’s fair in love and war.” Maggie shrugs, before striking her again with the sub, turning the duel into a three-part brawl as Yang launches her turkey-gauntlets into Jaune’s chest.
Elsewhere, Nora and Ren charge at Weiss and Ruby. Though Weiss is able to trip up Ren with a spray of ketchup, Nora turns a flagpole and a melon into a makeshift hammer, forcing Ruby to step in and deflect the blow aimed at her partner with a lunch tray. Said partner scoops up a swordfish and jumps back into the fray without missing a beat.
Her charge is halted, however, by Sakura, lashing out with a chain of sausage links, wielding it like a whip. The two trade blows briefly before a spray of condiments rain down from above. Sakura turns her head skyward, glaring at her teammate.
“Hey!” She yells, “I’m on your team!”
“No loyalties! Only cha—” Lilly’s proclamation is cut off abruptly as Yang slams into her, the pair tearing through the roof. Not that the blonde did so intentionally, instead being knocked upward by a powerful hammer blow from Nora. Weiss takes advantage of Sakura’s stunned state to knock her down with the swordfish, only to be knocked back and into a wall by Ren wielding a pair of leeks.
“Weiss! Weiss!” Ruby cries, catching her partner as she falls. The heiress can’t suppress the grin on her face, even as she lays limp in Ruby’s arms. Especially when she plays into the bit, dramatically wailing, “Don’t leave me! No!!” Her dramatic fury is further justified as Blake is thrown back by a tidal wave of soda cans thrown by Pyrrha’s Polarity.
Now with vengeance on her mind, Ruby moves to win the bout in a single, decisive blow. She races forward in a dead sprint, the vacuum left in her wake creating a gale that scoops up any loose bit of food in her surroundings. Before reaching Team JNPR, she activates Petal Burst, turning into a spiraling mass of petals turns the gale into a whirlwind that pulls her foes off the ground, pinning them to the wall and pelting them relentlessly with culinary debris.
Professor Goodwitch storms in, flicking her riding crop and using her Semblance to deflect some stray food hurled her way. She gives a growl of annoyance, her Aura shedding violet light around her. In a stunning display of power, her Semblance takes hold of the tables and vending machines they’d moved into forts or toppled in the chaos. She directs them like a symphonic conductor, each piece of debris hovering through the air and tumbling to their proper places.
“Children,” the Deputy Headmistress chides, her tone ice cold, “please do not play with your food.” The students all look at her, each covered in a mess. Nora burps. Professor Goodwitch’s seething only abates when Ozpin touches her shoulder.
“Let it go.” He says, calm as ever.
“They’re supposed to be the defenders of the world.” She sighs.
“And they will be, but right now they’re still children. So why not let them play the part?” He looks at the laughing students, “After all, it isn’t a role they'll have forever.”
“Fine, but I expect more of my protégé, at least.” Glynda says, causing the blind squirrel Faunus to nearly jump out of her skin. She was going to pay for this in her next extra training session.
˚⟡⊰⋆: 𖣂𖢻❀:⋆⊱⟡˚
Mercury and Emerald walk into the White Fang hanger casually, ignoring the masked members of the Fang and heading for Cinder’s favorite tool. Roman Torchwick rolls his eyes as they approach; Mercury already wants to kick his teeth in before he’s even opened his mouth.
“Oh look, she sent the kids again.” Roman circles around behind them, grabbing them by the shoulders in a mockery of a hug, “This is turning out just like the divorce” Mercury throws up in his mouth a little, not least because Cinder is only a year older than the two of them
“Spare us the thought of you procreating,” Emerald snarls as the two push him away.
“That was a joke.” Roman rolls his eyes. Striding away, he holds up a slip of paper Emerald was carrying, “And this might tell me where you’ve been all day.”
“What?” She gasps
“I’m a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you’ll learn something. Why do you have this address?” he demands.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She says pointing at him.
“Yeah, I would.” He gets in Emerald’s face, towering over her, “Now, where have you been all day?” Mercury interposes himself between them, trying to make himself the target of the mobster’s ire.
“Cleaning up your problems,” he snarls, “One of them, at least.”
“I had that under control,” the criminal growls back.
“Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale says otherwise,” he says cooly.
“Listen here you little punk.” Roman harshly shoves finger in his face, “If it were up to me, I would take you and your little street-rat friend here and I would—”
“Do what, Roman?” Cinder’s voice echoes down from the catwalk. Suddenly, Kai is behind him, Remedy’s axe blade leveled at his neck.
“I don’t appreciate you talking to my family like that.” Kai’s voice is cold as ice, yet Mercury’s never been so happy to see her creepy ass in his life. Her red eyes met his dull blue-grey ones with a smile. Cinder rides a lift down from her perch, approaching the four of them.
“I’d uh…” Roman squirms, laughing anxiously, “Not kill them.”
“Cinder!” Emerald calls, face lighting up as she sees her girlfriend rushing toward her. The girl in red smiles, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist.
“I thought I made it clear you were to eliminate the would-be run away.” Their leader levels her gaze at Roman.
“I was going to,” Roman says, shifting uncomfortably. Kai’s Remedy doesn’t budge as her eyes flick to Cinder, waiting for the command.
“He was going to escape to Vacuo,” Emerald informs, annoyed, “Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat.”
“I think he was some sort of cat actually,” Mercury jokes.
“What, like a puma?” Emerald jokes, comfortably cuddling into Cinder’s side.
“Yeah, there ya go.” He says. With the whole team present, Roman wasn’t anything to be afraid of, and he’d make sure the asshole knew it.
“Quiet!” Cinder snaps her grip on Emerald tightening, causing her to wince, “Did I not specifically instruct you three to keep your hands clean while in Vale?” Roman looks smug until Kai pointedly scoffs, reminding him of the axe at his throat.
“I just thought—” Emerald’s protest is cut off by Cinder.
“Don’t think, darling,” Cinder gives a saccharine smile, “Obey.”
“It won’t happen again, my love.” Emerald bows her head and nuzzles into her girlfriend's side.
“And you—” Cinder turns back to Roman, eyes burning like hot coals, “Why wasn’t this job done sooner?”
“I’m sorry if I’ve been a little busy stealing every spec of dust in this kingdom!” Roman gestures wildly at the crates of Dust surrounding them.
“You’re an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a Ski-Mask.” Mercury rolls his eyes.
“Look around, kid. I’ve got this town running scared. Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we’re sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with.”
“And I have an axe to your neck.” Kai says pale grey fingers tightening on Remedy’s hilt. Leave it to the princess to keep his ego in check.
“R-Right,” Roman clears his throat, trying to regain his composure, “Well, if you guys wouldn’t mind filling me in on your ‘grand master plan,’ it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother.” Cinder gestures and Kai lowers her weapon, but not her guard.
Cinder releases Emerald, walking up to Roman and touching his cheek. Her smile does nothing to hide the fury behind her eyes as she sneers, “Oh Roman, have a little faith. You’ll know what you need when you need to know it.” He grunts, unsatisfied with that explanation. She drops her hand and sighs, disappointed.
“Fine. Here’s what you need to know: one, we’re done with the robberies; and two, if you harm so much as a hair on Emerald’s head, I’ll reduce your darling Neopolitan to ash.”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Mercury asks, offended he isn’t being afforded the same protection. Kai gives him a consolatory pat on the back, murmuring that she would avenge him, but he’s otherwise ignored.
“Okay, then,” Roman asks nervously, “What now?”
“We’re moving, Cinder orders, “Have the White Fang clear out this building. I’ll send you details and coordinates tonight.”
“Coordinates?” He asks.
“We're proceeding to Phase Two.” She says as though that would mean anything to the mobster. Mercury watches him take out a cigar, only to fumble around, unable to find his lighter. Emerald holds it out, sticking out her tongue at him as they walk off.