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“Merc.”
Mercury looked up, silver eyes meeting red ones. Emerald shifted awkwardly in place, rubbing her thumb against the red beads of the bracelet on her left wrist. She let the door slide shut, the musty smell of she shack overpowering them, and muffling Watts’s humming outside. “I need to talk to you.”
He looked away, rolling his eyes, and scratching awkwardly at the bandage on his face, covering the bruise he had gotten on their first failed invasion. “Fine.” He huffed. “But make it quick.”
Emerald ignored him, opting to sit down on the mat he had laid out on the floor instead. “Rude.” Mercury remarked. “I’m trying to fix my legs here. You mind giving me some space?”
“There’s plenty of space for your legs here.” Emerald teased, patting her legs as an invitation. Grumbling, Mercury threw his metal legs over hers, leaning over and continuing to fiddle with the screws. Emerald winced at the weight. “Jeez you’re heavy.”
“Hey, there’s like, fifty good pounds of solid metal there, what did you expect.”
Silence, save for the sound of the screwdriver Mercury was driving into his legs squeaking repeatedly. Emerald fidgeted nervously again, pulling at the cuff of her jacket. How the hell was she supposed to approach the topic? Mercury was one of the most stubborn people she knew, and convincing him of anything was not gonna be easy. Not to mention, whenever she brought this up, he always got so pissed off at her -
“Just spit it out already.” Mercury huffed. “You wanna say it, say it.”
Emerald took that as an opening, taking a deep breath.
“...Do you think this plan is gonna work?”
Mercury looked up from his meddling. “...What do you mean?” he asked.
“Like… the Beacon vault.” Emerald continued. “Like, do you actually think we’ll be able to get the relic?”
Mercury sighed, leaning back and throwing his legs out, Emerald sighing at the release of all the weight. Looking around to see if anyone was listening, Mercury turned back, leaning in. “If I’m gonna be honest, no.” He replied. “I mean, we didn’t get the relic the first time. What makes Cinder think that doing it again is gonna be any different? I mean, it’s only been three weeks. No way they’ve let their guard down by now.”
“Yeah, that’s about what I thought.” Truth be told, Emerald was 99% sure that the only reason that they were doing it again was so Cinder didn’t have to go back to Salem empty handed. Failing to get the Staff of Creation was bad enough, but not managing to nab the Crown? Salem would flip. And they’d get caught in the crossfire, because that’s what always happened.
And once upon a time, Emerald would have been resigned to her fate, if not for a realization she had the other day.
“I don’t want to do this.”
Mercury looked up, arching a thin eyebrow, leaking oil from his legs trickling onto his mat, staining the white sheets. “...Excuse me?” He asked.
“I don’t want to do this.” Emerald repeated. “Merc - you know what’s gonna happen, I know what’s gonna happen. This is a lost cause.”
“Look, just because Cinder failed this one mission, doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel.” Mercury shot back, crossing his arms. “It’s not even our fault anyways-”
“I meant in general.”
A tense silence falls over the shack, silver eyes widening in surprise.
“...What.” Mercury said blankly.
“I don’t want to serve Salem anymore.” Emerald confessed. “I don’t want to be here anymore - Merc, I don’t even know why I’m doing this!”
“You said it yourself!” Mercury countered. “Aren’t you doing this for Cinder?”
Cinder.
Cinder had been… the only person Emerald had for a long, long time. Cinder was all Emerald had to look forward to, the only person to cling on to, the only one she cared about.
Except that wasn’t true.
Because over the past few months, she had figured something out.
That her world was wider than just who she thought about.
“I know this place.”
Emerald tore her eyes away from the ruins of Mantle below them, swinging her feet against wind. Oscar sat perched on top of the whale, Monstra, knees pulled towards his chest, white alabaster mask gleaming in the twilight.
“...No you don’t.” That’s a lie, of course. This was, after all, where he had been ‘picked up’ by Salem. “You’ve never been here before.”
“No I - I have.” Fainty, she can see the start of the large gash Salem had given him under his mask, stretching down to his neck. “I know I have.”
“Even if that’s true, we’re here for reconnaissance.” Emerald interjected. “To see if Atlas shows any signs of coming back -”
“No, I’ve been here before. ” The sudden human desperation in the boy’s voice is what caught Emerald off guard. It was the most emotion she had heard from him… ever. Clutching her sleeve, he continued, face drawn and pale. “You don’t understand I - something important happened here -”
“Dude, calm down!” His arm was shaking so violently, that Emerald was afraid that he would fall off Monstra and die. “You’re gonna knock us both off!”
But he wasn’t listening anymore, tremors getting worse. “This is important , I know it is, why can’t I - why don’t I remember - where did everyone else go -”
“Oscar-!”
Oscar jerked up at that, hand still firmly grasping Emerald’s sleeve, jolting forward, -
-And pitching them both into the air below.
Emerald wants to scream. Emerald has to scream, she really should scream -
But her hands act before her, pulling out Thief’s Respite and firing the blade, chain slinking silently through the air. Emerald prayed her aim was true, wind rushing past her face -
And they stopped, the grip on Emerald’s arm becoming so tight it burns.
The chain had wrapped itself around one of the many crystals that adorned the top of Monstra’s head, pulsing slightly. Emerald heaved a sigh of relief, moving to pull them back up, a hard task with only one arm. “You okay?” She asked.
Oscar didn’t answer.
“Hey.”
Still no answer.
“...Oscar-?”
“I’m not stupid.” He unsheathed his sword, wrapping the whip around the same crystal and hauling himself up. Emerald, mildly bewildered at his erratic behavior, hoisted herself up as well. The two together heave up back on to the top of the whale, gasping for breath.
“Jeez - don’t - don’t do that again.” Emerald huffed, rolling over onto her back. “You nearly killed us!”
Oscar didn’t reply.
(She really shouldn’t be talking to him. He was a tool to be used, for Salem, for Cinder, for everyone. But Emerald, if nothing else, is soft hearted.)
“...No one said you were stupid.” She replied.
A pause.
“I know you know something.” He started, pulling his mask off and exhaling. The black grimm oozed off his face, droplets blowing away in the wind. Emerald winced, looking away. “About me, I mean.”
“...Never said I did.”
“But you do, don’t you?” He gestured to nothing in particular, rolling his black eyes. “Everyone here does. But - after the mines - no, I couldn’t have just… shown up. I knew her.”
“Ruby?” Emerald finished.
“...Yes.” He replied, pulling his knees back up to his chest. “I do.”
(Emerald had been told to report to Watts immediately if the boy showed any signs of regaining his memory. But she didn’t move.)
“...And what’s the verdict?” She opted to ask instead.
There’s a tense pause, evening wind whipping by their faces.
If Emerald strains to listen, she could hear grimm howling in the distance.
“...I think I hate her.” Oscar replied, looking away.
(Cinder had never been honest with her)
The inside of Evernight was cold, black marble frigid under Emerald’s bare feet. The moon was high in the sky, reflecting off the walls. Emerald squinted, tip-toeing down the long hallways. She didn’t really know why she was up and about, too much restless energy in her veins to think of sleeping. She hadn’t even put her shoes or jacket on, simply getting up, and walking out, closing the door quietly behind her.
A familiar hissing jolted Emerald out of her trance, and she jerked back, pressing herself against the wall. Ducking out from behind the corner, she watched one of the Seer Grimm float down the hall, strange utterings sending a shiver down her spine. Not daring to move until it passed.
A sniffing sound broke the silence.
The Seer Grimm stopped.
Emerald turned, hearing it around the corner, cursing silently to no one in particular. The Grimm began to turn, red tentacles rustling like river reeds, flowing with the current. Quickly, silently, Emerald shuffled down the hall, still in the shadows, stepping with the heel of her foot so as to not make any noise. The Grimm turned the corner, and she followed, hand outstretched and semblance flaring -
And it floated on by, tentacles not even brushing near Neopolitan, who was curled up in a call, frozen in place.
Emerald watched it turn down the hall, only bothering to deactivate her semblance when it had safely vanished from sight. Turning back, she saw Neo’s pink and brown eyes locked on her, rimmed with red.
“...A ‘you’re welcome’ would be nice.” Emerald snarked, trying to defuse the tension.
Neo didn’t respond, instead opting to put her head back down. Emerald exhaled, feeling a bit awkward. Not entirely sure of what to do, she instead opted to just kind of stand in place.
No one said anything for a few seconds.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Neo looked back up at her, scowling, signing something out with her hands. Emerald, who still wasn’t very versed in sign, squinted, trying to catch what she could understand. She caught the sign for ‘here’ and ‘still’, and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. “Can you translate, please?” She mumbled.
If looks could kill, Emerald would be dead on the spot, Neo glaring daggers at her and whipping out her scroll. She mashed a few keys on it, brow scrunched up, before shoving it in Emerald’s face. She backed up, gingerly taking it out of Neo’s hands.
why r u still standing here, It read.
Emerald handed the scroll back to Neo, shoving her hands into her baggy pant pockets. “...I dunno.” She replied hesitantly. “You just… look dude, are you good?” Neo shot Emerald another look, and Emerald backtracked, sweat beading on her brow. “I - I mean, it’s late, and cold, and like - why would you even be sitting out here anyways?” Wrong move, as the intensity of the glare only increased. Emerald stuttered out something else, internally throttling herself. God, it was so hard to talk to Neo sometimes.
Neo looked back down, typing something else out on her scroll, passing it back to Emerald.
I dont know if it was obvious 2 u but i came out here so no 1 wld bug me, The scroll read. Emerald looked down at the message, then back up at Neo.
“...Your grammar sucks.” Is the only thing she could say.
Neo didn’t respond, crossing her arms.
“...Alright, I get it. I’ll go.” Emerald turned to leave, embarrassment and maybe pity churning in her gut.
A quiet whistle cut through the silence of the hall. Emerald turned back, to see Neo holding out her scroll.
Nvm
Emerald arched an eyebrow. Neo typed out something else, sticking her tongue out in concentration, before sticking it back out. im cool as long as u dont annoy me, It said.
Emerald perked up a little bit. “Oh - oh. Okay.” She turned back, sliding down the wall and sitting next to Neo. The marble floor was cold and uncomfortable, and Emerald winced. It would warm up soon enough anyways. Cold floors always did.
It’s silent for a minute, less uncomfortable then before. Emerald fiddled with the long strands of her hair, twisting it around her finger until it went blue. She had no idea why Neo was out here, or what she even wanted. Hell, Neo was just kind of an enigma to her in general - to everyone at Evernight, really. Briefly, she wondered what it would be like to not be able to speak, be stuck in your own brain. Emerald liked talking. She liked relying on her wits, and having that taken sounded - well, sounded shitty. She wondered how Neo had managed to do so well for herself all these years.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a quiet sniffle.
Emerald turned to look at the woman next to her, heart dropping into her shoes because Neopolitan, the great, unshakable, badass Neopolitan -
-was crying.
It’s quiet, like all things about her, barely even audible from far away. But Emerald could hear it quite clearly, the shaky, unsteady huffs of breath as Neo pulled her arms tighter around her legs, face buried in her chest. Emerald looked down, seeing that Neo had pulled the bowler hat she always wore off of her head.
(It looked kind of familiar. But for the life of her, she didn’t know whose it was.)
No really sure what to do, she picked the hat up, handing it back to Neo. Neo looked up, eyes red and full of unshed tears. Gingerly, she took it, pressing the hat close to her chest, feather adorning the rim crumpling up. Emerald wanted to say something, something comforting, anything really, but nothing comes to mind. So instead, she nods, looking out.
Neo took her hands, and Emerald jolted, if only a little.
Tracing her palm, Neo began to spell out letters, finger cold and clammy.
T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U
(Cinder had never thanked her)
Emerald wanted to be cold. She wanted to be ruthless, calculating, unstoppable. She wanted to be like Cinder.
She was a bad guy. She had always been a bad guy.
But despite that, she had always had a big heart. Maybe too big for her own good. It always stopped her, made her hesitate, at Beacon, at Haven, with Mercury, Oscar, Neo -
It had always been a weakness. Something she didn’t listen to.
But she was starting to realize that maybe she should have.
“...Not anymore.” Emerald replied, looking away from Mercury, breathing in the musty air of the shack. Gingerly, she traced the same letters Neo had written into her palm, curling the ‘Y’ inwards. “Not anymore.”
Mercury opened his mouth and then closed it. Something had changed between the two of them, the atmosphere in the shack feeling more tense, alert. Like the world could sense the conviction in her words.
“...So you’re leaving.” Mercury finished, looking away.
“Yeah.” Emerald replied. “I am.”
Silence. Outside, Watts’s voice faded into the distance, presumably to go find Cinder.
“Mercury, I had people who I cared about.” She started, stuttering on her words a bit. “Here. And - and Salem… Salem doesn’t care.” Hands shaking, she pushed at a strip of skin next to her thumb, red blood leaking out. “I - this isn’t a cause about people. And that’s not what I came here for.” Emerald stood, weight in her chest. “So I’m done.” She said, finality in her voice. “I’m done.”
A pause. Mercury stared at her, some unidentifiable emotion flashing behind his eyes.
“They’ll find you.” He said after a minute. “You won’t get away.”
“I will.” Emerald shot back. “I’m quick.”
“Not quick enough.”
“Not without you.”
That stopped Mercury in his tracks, blinking in surprise. “...What?” He murmured.
Oh boy. Here we go. Emerald was never really great at articulating how she felt, but she tried to anyways. “When I… When I said I had people I cared about, that meant you .” Mercury opened his mouth to say something, but Emerald cut him off. “And I know you’re just gonna say something about being a cold hard killer, blah blah. But that’s dumb, and I’m not letting you stay here.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my friend .” Emerald finished, looking at him in the eyes. “And I just had a big speech about not compromising my friends for a mission I don’t really believe in anymore. And like it or not dumbass, that includes you.”
Mercury didn’t say anything, looking away, at anything other than Emerald, eyes flitting across the room. “I -” He stuttered. “I don’t - fuck.” Standing, wobbling on the leg that was still being worked on, he walked forward, towards the door. “Em, I can’t.” He finally said. “You know I can’t.”
“Yes you can.” Emerald said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’re gonna run away from this, and never look back.”
Mercury looked back at her.
“Never.” She repeated.
(If Emerald was looking closely, she could have seen Mercury’s left eye shimmer, if only for a brief second, a tear at the corner.)
“...We’ll get killed.” Mercury mumbled.
“No we won’t.” Emerald replied, crossing her arms. “We’ll make it out, I promise.”
If Oscar couldn’t, at least we can, was the unspoken sentence between them.
“...Fine.” Mercury muttered, cheeks red. “After the mission.”
“Yeah.” Emerald finished, smiling. “After the mission. We’ll fake dead.”
“Fake dead.” Mercury took Emerald’s hand, palms cold and clammy. “Good plan.”
Someone knocked at the door, and the two of them jumped, jolting apart. Swiveling, Emerald’s eyes met Neo’s, and she paled. Shit. They had been found out.
But instead, Neo held up her scroll, a smug smile on her face.
nice speech sustrai. was i on the list of ppl u like or what?
Mercury and Emerald continued to stare at Neo, bewildered, and Neo rolled her eyes, typing out something else.
i want in.
