The Good Guys

Destroying a city took a lot of effort. It was enough to take a lot of energy out of someone. And an exhausted man was often a hungry man.

Mercury Black was no exception. Which was why, several months after the Fall Of Beacon had brought terror, paranoia and chaos to people all across Remnant, he found himself sitting outside a small, suburban diner, munching on some of the best dumplings he'd ever had in his life.

"Mmm-mmm, now that hits the spot," he slurred through a stuffed mouth, careful not to bite his tongue while chewing. The smooth but crispy texture of the dough, the perfect blend of pork, onions and shrimp, and the tangy dark seasoning that it seemed like they sprinkled in goddamn everything around these parts - it seemed like it had all been crafted by professional hands.

Back in boring old Vale, this sort of meal would only have been found in one of those fancy rich-guy restaurants that cost half a fortune if you were paying honestly (which he rarely did, but the point was still valid). But here in the majestic kingdom of Mistral? This sort of culinary paradise felt like it was just the norm. I could seriously get used to this.

"Co….oon….eady…?" Someone's voice was coming to him, from very nearby, but it could have been from a whole other world for all he cared. Mercury just wanted to sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice lunch for once. The kicking, the shooting, and the killing could wait until after the bill had been paid.

"...ey...sshole...isten...e?" The same voice again, a bit clearer this time. Mercury felt a brief tinge of annoyance. He downed his glass of traditional herbal tea, taking in the warm, vaguely bitter flavour, hoping the sensation would drown out the voices.

"Hey Mercury, I'm talking to you." It did no good. With a resigned sigh, Mercury lowered his gaze to where his partner sat, just across the table, glaring daggers at him with a pair of crimson eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I can hear you - I'm not deaf," he grumbled. "So what's going on, Emerald?"

Emerald Sustrai's eyes narrowed even further. Just a bit more and they'd be nothing more than deep red slits - like something you might see on an outdated Atlesian robot. The mental image almost made Mercury laugh, which would have pissed her off even more. "Don't 'what's going on' me," she snapped. "We've got a job to do, remember?"

Of course he remembered. The job was the only reason the two of them were here, and quite frankly he was grateful for the opportunity. Not just because he had been introduced to the best dumplings in Remnant, and not because it was a chance to wreak some havoc for the first time in what felt like forever. No, simply put, it was because the Evernight Realm creeped him the hell out, and he was glad to be as far away from it as possible.

He still remembered the moment when the three of them - him, Emerald, and their...mutual benefactor, Cinder - had emerged from the dark void together, setting foot in the realm of the Dark Queen, Salem.

Mercury had watched, his eyes widened and his jaw open, as the nightmares of his childhood came to life right before him, emerging from a world he had long dismissed as nothing but stupid fantasies. But maybe it should have dawned on him much earlier that, ever since meeting Cinder and Emerald, his life had basically been a crazy fantasy - a fairy tale, if you would. And in this tale, he was pretty sure they were the villains. Hell, they even had a big, dark castle to go with it!

Salem herself had been something else entirely. This utterly pale, eerily calm woman, who seemed more of a monstrous Creature of Grimm than the humanoid figure she appeared as. Despite looking like every monster he had ever seen in his dreams, or had seen hiding under his bed in his child's imagination, she spoke softly, almost gently, smiling at the three like a mother praising her children.

She had complimented them on a job well done - thanks to their efforts, the mighty Beacon Tower was no more, and one of the four Grand Huntsman Academies, the symbols of hope for all mankind, had been reduced to rubble. Most importantly, Professor Ozpin, one of their most powerful enemies, had been struck down by Cinder's own hand.

But the victory had not been without a cost, and they all knew it. Cinder had been wounded during the final battle, almost within an inch of her life, and not by the great professor, oh no. It had been the work of his student, that weapon-humping wench of a girl, Ruby Rose.

How Cinder could possibly have been beaten by the little brat Mercury had casually swatted aside just hours before, he had no idea. What he did know was that the boss had been positively seething all the way back, and he was glad to be away from that walking firebomb.

Not to mention the other disciples of Salem, who all seemed to mock and belittle the three of them despite everything they'd just accomplished. He wanted a break from it all - a return to something familiar, back when all he had to worry about was whose sorry neck he had to snap for the day's pay.

And he'd gotten it. Salem had offered him and Emerald an 'opportunity', as she'd eloquently called it.

A major crime organization had recently risen to power in the kingdom of Mistral, likely in response to the fallout of Beacon's destruction. And as long as they were terrorizing the people of the kingdom, there was the possibility of them complicating Salem's operation. After all, it would be much easier to attack a city that wasn't in a constant state of suspicion due to criminal activity. Someone had to...clean up the streets. To make sure that the right bad guys were calling the shots.

Mercury, of course, had accepted without a second thought. His partner had needed some convincing.

"Not while Cinder's still hurt," Emerald had insisted."Her condition could worsen again, and if that happens, I have to be here to make sure she's alright! I-I know a little bit of medicine, so I could help-"

"So your bond with young Cinder is that powerful? Interesting...but while I admire your loyalty, child, I will not be refused. And what your friend is suffering from is something no mere salve or drug can cure. I will see to her treatment...personally." The pale woman had smiled, a smile that contained what seemed to be genuine curiosity, but no kindness at all.

"Then...she'll be fine? She'll recover?"

"I promise, you have nothing to worry about." With that, still displaying that cold, uncompassionate smile, Salem had walked - no, the right word would be she had faded - away into the dark halls of her castle, leaving Emerald and Mercury alone. Alone with an offer that they both knew was not a choice.

"Notice how she didn't actually answer your question?" he had asked.

"Shut up," she had snapped back.

And that had been that. And now here they were in Mistral, very much relieved to be in someplace that felt like the real world again. And once again, the two of them were being put to work, doing what they did best: wreaking havoc.

In other words, it was just like the old days. And while he would have never be caught dead saying it, Mercury had missed the old days.

Just within view of the diner they were sitting at, a dark tower stood above the other buildings and houses in the area. Decorated with a set of large, obnoxious, neon lights which contrasted with the old-fashioned design of the building, like a temple of worship playing dubstep music.

Speaking of which, even from where they sat, Mercury and Emerald could hear the sounds of rock music coming from the tower. Red like roses, fills my head with dreams and finds me...always closer….to the emptiness and sadness that has come to take the place of you….

"I hate this song," Emerald complained. The waitress had come to collect their bill - a tall, friendly-looking brunette, attractive but not quite Mercury's type - and was happily accepting her payment of a 20 Lien card, despite it being a full fifty below the proper cost for their meal. Emerald's ability to confuse people with illusions really could be used in all sorts of creative ways. Normally he would be okay with this, but today was an exception.

Smiling at the cute waitress, Mercury took out a 50 Lien card and handed it to her. With his free hand, he leaned over and tightly pinched Emerald's shoulder, eliciting a yelp of pain from her. "Sorry, my partner's on her off-day today, if you catch my drift," he said. "It happens a lot, don't worry."

"Hmm?" The waitress blinked, looking at the cards in her hand, finally seeing their true nature. "Oh, um, thanks," she muttered, and walked away, still looking a bit confused.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Emerald hissed at him. "What's next, are you going to donate to a sick kids' charity?!"

He shrugged, in that sort of devil-may-care way that he knew was sure to piss her off even more. "C'mon Em...have a heart. The dumplings, the tea, even those meat pancakes with those perfect little crispy onions...how could we possibly cheat them like that? It's only fair we pay them the full amount."

"'Have a heart' - like you're one to talk," she snapped. "Oh, whatever. We've already wasted more time than we can afford to lose. The organization's boss could be leaving the building any moment now - if we want to take them out, this is our best chance!"

Mercury couldn't argue there. As exemplary as the food in Mistral was, and how much he enjoyed messing with Emerald, she was right - completing their mission was the top priority. And if it meant turning off whatever godforsaken radio was playing that music, he was up for it. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."

The dark tower, looking more ominous still with the shattered moon behind it, had an equally large and obnoxious neon sign above the front entrance, denoting the building as Cundall Temple & Nightclub. Mercury threw his head back and laughed. "Place of worship by day, strip club by night," he chuckled. "You could come here to get your nephew baptized, and then return a few hours later for a lap dance."

"Shut up," Emerald replied.

A bouncer stood in front of the door, glaring at passerby with an unpleasant scowl seemingly glued onto his face. He was wearing a jet-black suit and pants, and his eyes were covered by a pair of bright red sunglasses. How the hell he could see anything with those on, Mercury had no idea, but he didn't care. He had a feeling the bouncer didn't care, either.

"Okay, stick to the plan," Emerald murmured as they approached, trying to look as casual as possible - just a couple of young adults looking to have a fun, reckless night at the club, nothing to see here. "We walk up to him, I make him see the VIP cards in our hands, we go in. Their leader should be in there somewhere."

"Right, right, I won't mess this up," he whispered back. "Just grab him once we find out who he is, right?"

"Get him someplace private, where we can negotiate," she corrected him. "Tell them to leave Mistral at once and take their whole operation somewhere else, at least until next year. Apparently, once we tell them who we are, they'll know this is an offer they can't refuse. I guess whoever they are, they've had a run-in with Salem's group before."

"Okay, I hear you. And if we mess it up?" At this point, they were standing right in front of the bouncer. Any closer and he would definitely hear them.

"If things go wrong? Then we unleash some hell," Emerald said bluntly, with the faintest hint of a smile. "I know that's one thing you're good at."

Damn right I am. Mercury had been itching for a chance to, as she had said, unleash hell onto some unsuspecting idiots. As fun as the Fall of Beacon had been to watch, it was disappointing that he had actually done little more than stand by on the sidelines and watch the Grimm monsters unleash chaos onto the streets. He had deserved better than just beating up one little girl. It was time for him to really let loose.

"Hey, good evening," Emerald said in a friendly tone. The two of them walked up to the bouncer, who was looking over them with a narrowed brow. "I hear this place is supposed to be the best night out in all of Mistral."

"You two don't look over eighteen," the man growled. He sounded like if a grizzly bear was woken up at 6 am on a weekend. "And the last time we let a kid into our club, the whole building got blown up in five minutes. Don't ask."

"Sounds like you did a bad job, buddy," Mercury said. He just couldn't help himself. Still, what the bouncer said sounded vaguely familiar. He could have sworn he'd heard a similar story about something like that happening over in Vale.

To his relief, the bouncer didn't immediately try to punch him in the face, although he would have welcomed the attempt - he was that desperate for a fight. "I suppose we did, little guy," he snarled. "Which is why I'm making extra sure it never, ever, happens again. Now then, your IDs, if you would." Mercury was sure that under those obscenely red shades, the man's eyes were slits of pure, undistilled venom.

"Of course. Here you go, sir." Unfazed, Emerald held out her palm. Two gold-coloured pieces of paper lay atop each other, with the words "SUCK A DICK" written in bold, permanent marker on both of them. The bouncer stared at them, his mouth widening in mild surprise. To him, the papers would look like two golden VIP tickets, with their names engraved in a glittery, ornate font.

In his heart of hearts, Mercury wished that Emerald's illusion would break for just a split second, and he could read what was actually written on the 'tickets'. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

"...Huh?" The guy seemed to be at a loss for words. "This is...you can't possibly…"

"The proof's there for you to see, man," Mercury said agreeably. "You've done your job - you're making sure that only legit people get to pass through these doors. Now c'mon, let us through - the night's still young, as they say."

Without another word, the bouncer reluctantly opened the door, allowing Emerald and Mercury into the club. As they walked past, Mercury noticed that the man's gaze never left them until they were out of sight.

The inside of the Cundall Nightclub was every bit as loud and vibrant as Mercury had imagined. It was a busy night, and there were hundreds of revelers on the dance floor, most of them just convulsing randomly instead of performing any sort of recognizable dance. Squinting through the flashing red lights, he looked around for anyone who might look like the boss. But there was no chance of seeing anything in this darkness, and he knew it.

Well, at least a different song was playing. It was still every bit as obnoxious as the last one, though, so Mercury would hardly consider it an improvement. He glanced at the club DJ, who stood with his equipment in the middle of the dance floor, bumping his head to the beat while being constantly bathed in a rainbow of coloured fog.

He made a mental note that if they were forced to go loud, he would beat the crap out of the DJ along with the big boss himself. The DJ wasn't the one making the music choices, so there was no real reason for it - he just figured it would be fun.

"See anything?" Emerald whispered to him as they wandered through the club, doing their best to look inconspicuous. They might have gotten into the building, but they were still a pair of teenagers wandering through a card of big, burly men who looked like they belonged in a heist movie. Occasionally one of them would turn to look at them for just a second too long, and he would tense up, ready to fight at any moment.

Mercury shook his head. "Can't see anything in here," he complained. "Let's ask around and see if anyone knows the guy."

"We shouldn't attract any attention to ourselves," Emerald replied, staring at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world. "And if someone asks to see our tickets, with a bunch of people watching? We're screwed. I can't trick that many at once, especially if they already distrust us."

"Right," Mercury said. "So then we should just beat up some people until we get the right man."

"No!" she hissed. "God, would you quit playing around and get serious for one damn moment?! If there's one thing you should have figured out by now, it's that the head honcho sure as hell isn't gonna be dancing the can-can out here in the open! He'll probably be in his private lounge or something."

"Yeah? And how do you know that?"

Silently, Emerald pointed to a gold-plated staircase in the corner of the nightclub, with five thugs standing guard and several others walking up and down the stairs. As the neon lights flashed once more, Mercury could see a sign labeled "VIP Lounge" with an arrow pointing upward. He immediately felt a bit stupid.

"Now the problem is…" Emerald murmured. "How are we gonna get up there?"

"Well, the sign says it's a lounge for VIPs, right? And as far as the guards here are concerned, we are."

"No, as far as the guard at the entrance is concerned, we are. But to everyone else, we're just a couple of trespassing teenagers."

"Then just do the trick again, but on those guys."

"You think I haven't thought of that, genius?! Look at how many thugs are guarding that staircase! Do you expect me to just use my Semblance on all of them? You know I can't do that!"

"Just try harder," he encouraged her, only half-sarcastically. "I'm sure you can manage."

"Thanks a lot. You're so helpful." Emerald rolled her eyes. The two of them stood there for a few moments, looking lost and stupid in a crowd of well-built, sunglasses-wearing men and women. "Okay, screw it," she sighed. "I can't think of anything better. Let's do the...let's do that."

They walked up to the guards at the staircase. Emerald took a deep breath and, without a word, held out the fake tickets to them, staring at them with such intensity that that alone might have given away the ruse. All five of them slowly passed the 'tickets' around to each other, each of them checking its authenticity.

Mercury turned to look at his partner. To his dismay, he saw she was starting to wobble on her feet, and her breathing was growing quicker and shorter. This is bad. Starting to panic, he balled up his fists, expecting the worst.

"Yeah go ahead," one of them muttered, handing back the papers. "No idea what the boss could possibly want with you kids, but he knows what's he's doing." Sighing in relief, Mercury stealthily caught Emerald's shoulder as she fell over, waving goodbye to the guards as he carried her up the steps.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Hmmm…?" Murmuring something incomprehensible, she straightened herself up and swatted away Mercury's hand. "Oh gods, let's never do that again." Her walking was still a bit uneven, but it seemed she was no longer in danger of collapsing.

"Nice one," he said to her, and meant it. "Five guys at the same time - that's a new record for you!"

"Please don't word it like that," Emerald muttered sleepily.

They reached the top floor of the club. Mercury looked around at the opulent walls, the chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, as well as the baskets of free crackers scattered around the halls, and decided that this sort of life didn't seem so bad. Now where, oh where could this boss man be?

As it turned out, speak of the devil, and he would appear. A rugged man of large stature came stumbling out of one of the rooms, a lady on each arm. He was clearly a bit drunk, as he held an empty bottle of whisky in his hand. The two women didn't seem like the romantic type - they both looked annoyed at having to hoist him up.

"C'mon, boss," the woman in red muttered. "Let's get you home before anyone sees you like this."

"Yeah, you look like crap, boss," said the woman in white.

"Hey!" Mercury nudged Emerald, who was beginning to nod off again. "Looks like we found our guy."

Unfortunately, he said it a bit too loudly, because the man and the two girls turned around at the sound of his voice, immediately glaring at him with suspicion. Oh crap. He may or may not have just blown their entire operation.

"What the hell are a couple brats doing in my private lounge?" the man slurred, looking over the two of them like a couple of cockroaches on the bathroom floor. "I swear to the gods, if those stupid guards messed up again...I can't be held responsible for what's gonna happen to 'em…"

"Uhh...well, we're actually, we're supposed to be here," Mercury said, desperately trying to think of an excuse. "It's something important. You wouldn't mind if we talked to you in private, right?"

The boss sighed. "The sooner I get you out of my sight, the better. Screw the lounge, just spit it out right now. What, do you need some of thugs for something? Because just so you're aware, things didn't turn out so good for the last person who bought from me."

At that moment, Mercury realized who the guy was. He'd never met him in person before, but he had heard the late not-so-great Roman Torchwick complain about the "grumbling, bearded buffoon" he'd once contracted for a heist. This must be the man himself - Hei Xiong Jr., otherwise known as simply "Junior".

Well, that should be fine. The two of them had never actually crossed paths, so there was zero chance that Junior would recognize him-

"...Now wait just a damn moment," Junior grumbled, squinting at them through his beady eyes. "Let me see your tickets. Right now."

Feeling a sudden and imminent sense of dread, Mercury gulped, and nodded his head. "Yeah, alright. Hey, Emerald, show them."

He motioned for her, but even then he knew it was no use. She was still completely exhausted, and even at her full concentration, creating an illusion strong enough to fool three people would have taken a huge effort. Junior pushed him aside and snatched the fake VIP slips right out of Emerald's hands.

"Heh...I should have known," he muttered. "It's you, isn't it, lady? You stole from me once...tricked me into signing a fake contract, swindled me of my money, almost got my whole business shut down…! And now I bet you're back to take some more, right? Well tough luck, because I'm not falling for the same trick twice!"

Merucry stared at Emerald in surprise. She was looking at Junior and the two girls, looking equally surprised, even as a look of realization slowly dawned on her tired face. "...Oh," was all she could say.

There exists a single moment in a situation that one might call 'the point of no return' - at which there is no longer any room for negotiation, retreating, or any hope of peaceful resolution, and the only things left are the gunshots, the broken bones, and the smell of fresh blood in the air. Mercury could tell that they were well past that point, and it was without a moment's hesitation that he jumped up, and thrust his right foot straight into Junior's face.

The gangster let out a sharp cry of pain, stumbling backwards as his two proteges ran to steady his fall. Mercury took this one moment of opportunity and activated his gun greaves, shooting them both with two quick blasts of Dust energy. "C'mon!" he yelled at his partner, running for the stairs. "Time to unleash hell!"

"Right!" Emerald pulled out her twin scythe-pistols, running at a pace slightly behind Mercury. "Cover me," she said as she loaded the chambers with wind Dust. They were halfway down the staircase now, and three of the guards seemed to have heard the commotion above.

"Hey, you brats!" one of them growled. "What was that noise just now? What the hell is going on up th-"

Mercury didn't give him the chance to finish. He drove his heel upward into the man's chin, feeling the satisfying crunch of his cheekbones breaking. The other two raised their guns, but he incapacitated them both before they could get off a shot. Another guard came running in from outside his view, but Emerald quickly put a bullet into the man's chest.

When they returned to the dance floor, Mercury was surprised to see how little reaction there was to what had just happened. The music, still as obnoxious and as ear-piercing as ever, had drowned out most of the fighting. That was good, for it meant they still had the advantage of surprise - but it wouldn't last, especially since a few more thugs had taken notice of the commotion by the stairs, and were coming to investigate.

Two guards coming in from the left, one on the right. Mercury gave Emerald a light tap on the shoulder, and signaled to the right. Wordlessly, she nodded and headed off, as he casually began walking to the left, feeling the weight of the Dust bullets, locked and loaded inside his greaves. His blood was pumping now; finally, here was the action he'd been hoping for!

He didn't waste a second. As soon as the guards were within range, he fired off a bullet from his left greave, timing the shot with the music. He saw one of them fall to the floor, clutching his abdomen.

"Oh, now this is a damn good song," he muttered. The revelers were dancing along to the rhythm, and Mercury joined them in his own way. As the beat dropped, and the other guard rushed toward him, he raised his leg in tandem with the other dancers, striking the man in the chest and cracking his ribs.

This would be more fun if they could use Aura, he thought to himself. No one had noticed the bodies yet, but just in case he hoisted them up, making sure no one could see them sprawled out on the dance floor. He glanced over at Emerald, who was in the process of subduing the third guard.

He was having fun and all, but they were still no closer to accomplishing their mission. They had to bring Junior's new crime organization down in flames, starting with this stupid nightclub of his. Mercury looked around at the building's walls, beautifully designed with some of the finest - and most flammable - mahogany wood in all of Mistral. Perhaps the 'down in flames' would have to be taken literally.

A chandelier was hanging above one of the upper floors, dangling precariously with its intricate pattern of candles. A very poor design choice in terms of safety, but one that would be a huge boon to them. Without a moment's hesitation, he fired a greave shot that struck the oversized lamp down from its string, collapsing in a sea of flames.

Immediately, everyone in the club began screaming in terror. It was almost comedic how quickly the mood of the room shifted from that of revelry to a blind panic, as people of all sizes began barreling over each other in a mad rush to get to the exit.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emerald yelled, running over to him. Her furious red eyes appeared almost demonic against the backdrop of the flames. "This wasn't part of the plan."

"The plan now is to 'unleash some hell'," Mercury retorted. "And this is one way to bring down a whole organization, isn't it? Just burn down the whole thing! Worked pretty damn well back at Beacon, didn't it?!"

He figured she would either agree with him, or just get even angrier. Instead, her face simply fell for a moment, and she opened her mouth as if to voice a reply, but nothing came out. After a few seconds, while the building was collapsing in flames around them, Emerald raised her pistols. "Fine. Whatever. Not like we can just un-burn this place now."

"That's the spirit!" Mercury exclaimed. Emerald really could be fun from time to time. It seemed like whenever Cinder was absent for a while, the girl entered a state of understanding that she lived in a world containing more than just herself and her 'Cindy'. Maybe it would be better if Cinder stayed in her sorry state for a while longer after all…

The pair began firing their weapons at anything they could see, and anything that could catch fire, which were basically the same criteria at this point. Soon it seemed like the entire insides of the club were fire itself, and the heat was slowly becoming unbearable. But even as sweat dripped down Mercury's brow, and he found it harder to breathe, he was grinning from ear to ear.

God, this brings back some memories, he thought blissfully. He accidentally breathed in a waft of thick smoke, and nearly coughed up his own lungs.

"Mercury, we gotta go!" Emerald yelled, frantically gesturing to him. "We can't just stand around here like idiots! If we get killed by a fire of all things, Cinder will be ashamed of us!"

Mercury wanted to say that he couldn't possibly care less about how Cinder felt, and he especially wanted (not for the first time) to tell her that the dark-haired sorceress almost certainly didn't give a damn whether the two of them died. But the first part of her plea was correct - they had to get out, immediately.

"Not so fast!" A familiar, gruff voice cried out from behind them. Mercury spun around, his eyes widening as he saw the missile flying right towards his face. Time itself seemed to slow down as it approached, and he could see the image of a smiling cartoon bear's face imprinted on the projectile. He found himself quite annoyed by this sight, and said rush of irritation gave him the reflexes needed to duck just in time.

The bear-missile flew over his head and exploded against the wall, sending huge chunks of debris falling down in front of the main door. "Our exit!" Emerald yelled.

"You damn brats…" Junior snarled, walking into view with an enormous rocket launcher hoisted over his shoulder. Even with the flames raging all around him, the giant didn't seem fazed at all. His Aura had already healed the bruises from their earlier scuffle. "That's two of my nightclubs wrecked in less than a year! I didn't really want to do this, but I've gotta keep my reputation around these parts. I'm gonna send you both home in boxes!"

Snarling, he fired another rocket, but this time Mercury was prepared. With a well-timed kick, he reflected the projectile back at Junior, who transformed his launcher into a hammer and knocked it upward. Crashing into the ceiling, chunks of rock and steel fell down between the crime boss and the two ruffians, obscuring him from their view.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Emerald grumbled, coughing as the smoke rose higher and higher.

"I think I might have an idea," Mercury admitted, struggling to breathe as his eyes began to water. "Remember that story Blondie kept telling everyone? About how she busted up a nightclub and beat the crap out of the guy in charge? And that guy also used a rocket launcher? I think this is the same chump!"

Emerald turned her gaze to the wall of rubble, which was beginning to shake with several loud rumblings. Angry yelling and cursing could be heard from the other side. "The bimbo? He lost to her?" she muttered. "Hmmm. Get to work on our escape - I know how to handle this guy."

Mercury nodded. Running over to the blockade in front of the door, he began kicking at the debris, blasting it away bit by bit with his greave shots. Behind him, he heard an explosion as Junior emerged with his rocket launcher. He couldn't make out his words over the sound of his own attacks, but he was pretty sure the guy was mad.

He heard a sharp crackling sound as Emerald activated her Semblance. "What?!" Junior screamed, his voice suddenly becoming more high-pitched and afraid. "Don't tell me you're with them, too?!" Looking back, Mercury saw him flailing his weapon around, firing rockets aimlessly at the walls of his own club.

"Fine! Come get some, Blondie!" he howled. "You're not gettin' away from me this time! Once I'm done with you, I'm comin' for each and every one with your stupid friends too! Everyone's gonna know they're dealing with the most powerful kingpin in all of-"

He didn't get to finish because in his distracted state, firing at an enemy that wasn't there, he had left himself wide open. Emerald fired her pistol, knocking him backwards just as a giant stone pillar was falling from above. Junior let out an indignant yell as he disappeared underneath it.

"He doesn't know how to shut up, does he?" Emerald grumbled.

"Hrahhh!" Putting all his energy into a final strike, Mercury blasted the last of the rubble away, securing their escape. Without a moment's hesitation, the two of them ran out into the night, breathing in generous gulps of the fresh, cold air. They both sighed in relief - they had just barely escaped death, and they knew it.

Surprisingly, the authorities had yet to arrive. A crowd of people had gathered around the wreckage of the club, but they were packed so closely together that the two easily slipped into their ranks. Mercury supposed that buildings burning down was just an everyday, ordinary part of the Mistral life. He was liking this kingdom more and more with every second.

Weee-wooo...WEEE-WOOOOO….

Or maybe not. The sound of sirens blared in the distance, getting closer and closer. If the police found two teenagers standing in front of a blazing nightclub, with weapons in their hands (which was a common sight no matter where you went) they would likely assume the worst. And in their current situation, they wouldn't have Cinder to bail them out.

"More running, I guess," Mercury said cheerfully, pulling Emerald along as they fled from the scene of the crime. Expelling some of the wind Dust in his greaves, he quickened his pace, and soon the two of them were dashing past people on the sidewalks, their figures being nothing but colourful blurs to him.

All that time, he still held on to her arm, ensuring she could keep up with him. Were he to speed up any more, he probably would have snapped her arm clean off, Aura or no. The thought didn't cross his mind until much later, however.

Once Mercury was satisfied with their distance, he screeched to a halt all at once. "Phew!" he sighed, wiping his brow as he stretched out his arms. "Now that was a workout. You think if the scary lady's pleased with our work here, she'll let us do more stuff like this?"

"Hahhh, ha…." Emerald panted, her face looking almost as green as her hair. Her hand was over her mouth, and she looked just about ready to vomit. "You can't just stop so suddenly," she grumbled, her voice quiet and pained. "Not when we're running so fast. Haven't you ever heard of whiplash?"

Mercury ignored her. "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time my dad and I burned down a place just like this? It was for one of my 'training missions'. Haha, the old man just didn't care much for regular, non-life threatening practice drills! Of course, the second time I set a building on fire, it didn't end so well for him…"

"Is this some kind of game to you?" Emerald hissed cutting off his reminiscence. He glanced at her, surprised by the sharp anger in her eyes. He had a feeling he should choose his words wisely, lest she curse him with an illusion of giant spider Grimm or something.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He grumbled. "C'mon. Even you had to have had found some fun in that."

"That's what I mean! You really aren't taking this seriously at all, do you?" She shook her head anxiously. "Everything is so...different now. We're not just doing Dust robberies or random petty crimes. Hell, I don't think we're even working for Cinder anymore. That Salem...Cinder's boss...she can actually kill us. Will kill us, if we don't do exactly what she says."

She raised her head, and to Mercury's astonishment, he realized that she was afraid. "Everything at Beacon - the stuff we helped do - that was her. You saw the way she talks to Cinder, treating her l-like she's just a small child. If she sees Cinder as just a pawn, then...what exactly are we to her?" Emerald buried her face in her hands.

Mercury stared at her, not saying a word. He wanted to make fun of her, to laugh about how Emerald "No-Fun-Allowed" Sustrai was making everything way too boring and serious, like always. But he thought of Salem, of her cold, eerily detached demeanor, of that smile that was so close to being friendly, yet was not quite human...and despite himself, and despite the fact that he could still feel the fire and the smoke from the nightclub, he shivered.

"...Come on," he muttered, and noted that his own voice was unusually soft. "It's gettin' late. Let's crash at the hotel and report back to Cin - er, Salem...whatever. It'll be fine - we'll be fine." He wasn't sure why he added that last part, and he wasn't sure who he was reassuring, either.

Their hotel was some two-star inn planted smack-dab in the outskirts of town. Not the flashiest place to spend the night, and certainly not very comfortable, but it was good for keeping a low profile. And you only occasionally found a swarm of bugs hiding in your bedsheets, which was another plus.

Police are still searching for the perpetrators behind the attack on the Cundall Temple & Nightclub that occurred earlier this evening, came the voice from the television. Mercury recognized the petite, purple-haired figure of Lisa Lavender, the same person who had reported on the Fall of Beacon. Sometimes he wondered if she was the only news anchor in the whole world, because he simply couldn't remember a major story she hadn't reported on.

Thankfully, it appears as though there were no civilian casualties, though several people were recovered from the wreckage with life-threatening injuries, Lavender continued. Based on evidence from the crime scene, police have confirmed their long-held suspicion that the nightclub was in fact a front for an emerging crime syndicate, led by one Hei Xiong Jr. A mugshot of Junior flashed across the screen. Xiong and some of his associates are believed to have escaped the destruction of the building, and are still at large.

"...Could he look any more like a stereotypical thug?" Emerald grumbled. She was lying against her pillows on the other bed, feverishly twirling the remote around her fingers. "I can't tell if he's uglier in the photo or in real life."

While the prevailing theory is that this attack was carried out by some rival syndicate, there is currently no evidence pointing to a specific suspect. We will provide more updates as this story unfolds. Lisa Lavender bowed solemnly to the camera, and the commercial break started. To Mercury's amusement, the first one that came up was that stupid Pumpkin Pete's Cereal ad starring Pyrrha Nikos.

"Looks like someone's not up to date," he laughed, lying on his stomach after his usual set of push-ups. "Unless they're introducing a new charcoal flavour, am I right?"

Emerald abruptly turned off the TV. "...Sometimes I wonder why I even chose to work with you," she muttered, shooting him a withering glance. "...And then I remember that no, I didn't choose."

An awkward silence. "...I mean, technically this is your fault," Mercury grumbled, getting back up on his feet. "Now on a personal level, I don't mind that the operation went completely to hell. But if you're gonna get moody about it, just remember that things were going just fine until Junior recognized you."

"Oh, sure. It's my fault. I should have known, all that time ago, when I was stealing from some stupid idiot on the street, that it would have consequences years down the line." She rolled her eyes. "And for the record, things weren't 'going just fine'. He would have found out our tickets were fake no matter what happened."

Emerald sighed, flopping over onto her side and snuggling against her pillow. "It doesn't matter. We couldn't help it. That's right, it was no one's fault." She yawned. "No one's fault, no one's fault…" She muttered the phrase over and over again.

Has she actually lost it? Mercury thought in amazement. "Okay, well…" he muttered. "Sweet dreams, I guess. I'm gonna go get myself a midnight snack." He wasn't really hungry, but he would rather not be in the same room as her right now. Without waiting for an answer, he slipped out into the hall.

"Just need some chips to clear my head," he said to himself, making his way downstairs. Thankfully, even this worthless dump at least had a functioning vending machine, so it wasn't entirely divorced from civilization. Yawning, he made his selection, his sudden wave of fatigue preventing him from noticing the other person that had just entered the building.

As he waited for his bag of Carnelia's Crisps to drop down into the slot, he reflected on the nightclub they had burned down that night. Fire's a wonderful thing, isn't it? His father had told him that, once. It can be a symbol of death, but also rebirth. It can give life to new creations, but it can also destroy anything in just a matter of seconds. Like any assassin's tool, you have to use it wisely. Don't burn more than what you need to.

That had been back in the good old days. Before the old man's conscience had gotten the better of him. Before he'd turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism. Before he'd started to overdo it, leaving his son to face the consequences…

Well, at the very least, Mercury could say that his advice had been right on the money. Plenty of stuff had been destroyed the night he'd burned down their house, with his father still inside. But it had also granted him the opportunity of a lifetime - his own personal rebirth. For that same night, he had been given a chance, from the enchanting woman who could birth flames from her own hands...a chance to change the world.

Of course, she was less enchanting now, with her voice destroyed and half her face gone, along with her arm. And so much for 'changing the world' - so far, everything seemed to be just as god-awful as it had always been.

Still, it hadn't all been so bad. He was able eat lots of great food, travel around the world, not get his ribs and shins broken every other night...he'd even made a few friends, though 'friends' would have to surrounded by several pairs of quotation marks.

"Look at me," Mercury said out loud. "Reflecting on the past like I'm some withered old fart. Guess I'm hungrier than I thought." He eagerly began to tear the bag open.

However, he would not be able to savor a single bite of Carnelia's Crisps, BBQ-flavoured. Before he could even reach into the bag for a chip, he suddenly felt a heavy weight on the back of his head. He knew immediately what had just happened, but it was already far too late.

Mercury didn't have the chance to cry out. He simply collapsed, motionless, onto the cold floor, going limp as his vision spiraled down into the darkness.

The room was pitch black. Gusts of heavy wind could be heard outside, along with the occasionally blaring of a car engine, but otherwise it may as well have been an empty void.

And right now, that was just now Emerald liked it. For the first time in a while, she was alone, and for the first time in her life, she rather enjoyed the sensation. She hugged her pillow, waiting for the sensation of sleep to take her.

"Alone? Don't be silly, Emerald," came a voice that seemed to be from nearby. "You know you're never alone...because you'll always have me." Looking over on the side of her bed, she saw the tall, graceful form of Cinder Fall standing above her. "If you have something bothering you, you can rely on me to help you."

Emerald stayed silent, turning her gaze upward at her smiling face. "I've always been there when you've need it, right?" The sultry brunette reached out towards her, and for just a moment, she believed that if she were to extend her own hand, she would actually be able to touch her.

But of course that was impossible - it was just her own, silly delusion. How ironic that she could inflict illusions on others, and yet she was permanently trapped in an illusion of her own. No Aura or Semblance here - Emerald was just crazy, and she supposed she had to accept that.

She closed her eyes. "You're not here. You're not real," she said out loud. "And even if you were, you're not really Cinder." A hint of bitterness crept into her voice, which made her feel terrible. She knew that it wasn't Cinder's fault. She couldn't help the sorry state she was in, for surely it was something none of them could have seen coming.

But that itself was the problem, wasn't it? Suddenly, the Cinder she'd known for almost two years, the Cinder who always knew the solution to everything, who would overcome every single obstacle no matter what, was gone. Maybe she had ever really existed in the first place.

Ever since the aftermath of the Fall Of Beacon, there had been one thing that had always terrified her. The idea that Emerald had never truly known Cinder at all, until that meeting in the Evernight Realm, where those horrible men had belittled her for her mistake, laughing at her injuries, and she had been reduced to a silent, helpless wreck. To them, she really was just a child.

A helpless, weak child...just like Emerald herself.

And if the Cinder she had known all this time wasn't 'real', per say, then what did that say about all the things she had done for her? The robberies, she would have done that on her own. But the assassinations, the terrorist attacks, and the Fall Of Beacon itself...all that had been to make Cinder happy. In the hopes that Cinder would feel the same way she did.

Had it all been pointless, then? All the lies, all that destruction, just to please someone who was never real - someone who was just one of her illusions.

When Emerald opened her eyes, 'Cinder' was no longer there. She breathed a sigh of relief, only to jump up in surprise as her Scroll began ringing. "What the hell?" she muttered, reaching for the device. The number that was calling her definitely wasn't Mercury's. "Why's someone calling me this late at night…?"

She placed the Scroll to her ear and listened. A few moments later, her eyes widened in shock. Let's just get right to the point, came a woman's voice. We've got your stupid little kick-friend, and if you don't come rescue him by dawn, he's as good as dead.

"...What?" Emerald snarled, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "You've...captured Mercury? That's ridiculous. How do you expect me to believe what you're saying?"

Another voice - similar, but clearly that of a different woman - laughed mockingly. Because we found your number, genius. Once we got the kid all nice and tied up, we took off his Scroll and voila - we found out how to contact the other idiot who tried to cross us tonight.

"Cross you?" Emerald's heart sank. Somehow, she knew something like this might happen. Nine times out of ten, you just couldn't burn down a crime boss' nightclub and expect to get away consequence-free. And like an idiot, they had completely forgotten about the two female henchmen who had been with Junior during their first confrontation.

So like we said, the first woman drawled, her voice oozing with sadistic delight, if you want your buddy back, you're gonna have to come find us. We're keepin' him company at the bathhouse on Monsoon Street. Don't forget, you're on a time limit~!" With that, they hung up.

"...Dammit," Emerald muttered softly, her Scroll trembling in her shaking hand. "DAMMIT!" She would have thrown the stupid thing straight into the TV, but it had too much sentimental value - it was one of the few things she owned that she hadn't stolen. Besides, she had already caused enough property damage for one night.

This was bad. She had no idea how Mercury could possibly have gotten himself kidnapped - he certainly didn't seem the type who would get caught off guard - but there was no option but to believe it. Emerald was used to bailing him out of trouble, but not in a situation like this. Because make no mistake, this was a trap. The enemy's plan was to lure her out, and then capture her, as well. A blind man could see it.

She could do what she did best - sneak her way in. There would be guards both inside and outside the bathhouse, but as long as she was careful, and used her Semblance sparingly, she could slip by them. But on the other hand, what if something went wrong again? If these guys could take out Mercury, how would she stand a chance if things came to blows? She didn't have Cinder to plan for her, to resolve for her, to fight alongside her.

Screw Cinder, she thought. It was a sudden, horrible idea, but it was undoubtedly her own. You already know the truth. Cinder is not who you thought she was. There's no reason to make everything and anything about her.

Indeed...the woman Emerald had devoted her life to wasn't real. She never had been. She didn't have to rely on her guidance anymore...but at the same time, why should she have to fight for her anymore? Emerald certainly had no love for Salem, or whatever grand plans she was setting in motion.

So why not run? Just leave Mercury to his fate - just like her, he deserved to rot for the things he'd done. She could leave Mistral and the Haven Plan behind, and just go back to the way things once were. Back when she didn't have to care about anyone or anything, when she stole jewelry and warm clothes instead of people's lives…

...What a joke. Was she really looking back on her old life that way? Like it was the 'good old days' or some crap? No, those years she'd spent on the streets had been nothing short of a complete hellhole. Every single day was a struggle for life - fighting against hunger, against exposure, against those awful thugs for whom she was just their type.

Even if Cinder wasn't who she'd thought she was, she had been the one to save her. So no matter what, it was Emerald's duty to fulfill her wish, to make her happy. So rescuing her other apprentice was simply something she had to do, regardless of whether she liked the guy.

Emerald sat on her bed, silently. She half-expected her delusion of Cinder to appear again, but it was silent this time. She really was alone.

"...Screw it," she said out loud. In a frenzy, she grabbed everything she needed - her weapons, clothes, wallet, some food - and left. Within a few minutes, she was running out of the hotel, fleeing into the cold, dark night.

The moment Mercury woke up, he knew he'd screwed up. Royally.

Firstly, his hands and legs were tied, which was a bad sign in all but a select few situations. And judging from the position his body was in, whoever had carried him here must have simply tossed him onto the floor without a thought. That upset Mercury immensely - surely he was worth handling with a little more care, right?

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he began to take in his surroundings. The floor beneath him smelled and felt like mildly rotting wood, and he could sense a heavy gust of steam from somewhere nearby. The entire place felt very humid. Mercury had already begun to sweat while he was unconscious, and he found that breathing was unusually difficult here.

A sudden, subdued noise in the vicinity caused him to raise his head - well, as best as he could in his current state. Making out a humanoid shape in the darkness, he realized he was not alone in wherever he was - some kind of sauna, if he had to guess. In fact, there were several other people tied up in similar positions. Some of them were futilely struggling against their bonds, while others were clearly unconscious.

From the way they're placed, he thought, noticing that most of the captives were lined up in pretty little rows, I doubt this was some one-time operation. Looks like this is something they do regularly here. I just wasn't part of the plan.

There was no question in his mind as to why he was in this predicament. Some assholes from Junior's group - probably ones who worked in this very building - got the jump on him, and sooner or later they were going to take their revenge. Well, he was grateful to them for not killing him on the spot, but now came the question of how to get out.

Halfheartedly, he tried to burn off the ropes with a greave shot, but as he had expected, his captors had removed all of his weapons. Clearly, they weren't babbling morons, which would make dealing with them a little more difficult. He tried pulling the ropes apart with brute force, but that was no good either. Whoever had tied him up must have had a Huntsman's degree in knot-tying.

While he was still struggling to pull himself free, he heard the door in front of him open. His heart sank as he saw two men enter, dressed in the same garb as the thugs from the nightclub. One of them held a spiked metal bat in his hands.

Uh-oh, Mercury thought. If I don't think of something, quick, that thing's about to look a whole lot messier.

"How're you doing, champ?" One of them asked mockingly. "Did you have fun at the club tonight?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," he shot back. "Your buddies sure as hell didn't, though. I don't know how many of 'em actually died in that fire, but tell me when the funeral is, alright? I want to piss on all their graves."

The other thug gave him a swift kick in the chest. He let out an involuntary gasp of pain, his vision going red for a moment. "Quit your jokes," he grumbled. "And you're not going to anyone's funeral but your own, kid. You've got about one minute left for your partner to come rescue you, or else the boss has given us full permission to cave your stupid skull in."

"...Well, damn. No pressure," Mercury said, trying to hide his growing panic. He didn't have much faith in Emerald during the best of times, but if she was really his only hope now, the best he could do was buy her some time. "Speaking of pressure, why is it so damn stuffy in here? This your personal gay bathhouse or something?"

The baseball thug scowled at him. "...In a way, yes actually. You'd be surprised at how profitable this place is, especially during a stressful time like the one we're in. People going about their busy day, looking up at the sky and thinking a giant Grimm dragon is gonna come down and kill everyone, or blow up the other half of the moon...when life sucks, they'd do anything for a nice, hot bath."

"Nice sales pitch," Mercury replied. "I bet it doesn't rake in nearly as much as its other function, right?" He nodded his head toward one of the still bodies.

"Heheheh...you're astute. There's only one thing that blows off more steam than a hot bath...and turns out, we've got plenty of that, too. Most of our current stock are Faunus, which might disappoint some customers...but hey, lots of people are into that stuff, y'know? And besides, they're Faunus - you can bet the police aren't wasting precious time looking for 'em!"

Mercury shook his head. "Man, you guys are messed up. Weren't you supposed to be just some petty thieves from Vale? Who decided you should be goddamn human traffickers, too?"

"Hard times, man," he said, shrugging. "That old business wasn't working out - we almost got shut down by a single teenage girl. Boss figured we needed to get more extreme - and this is about as extreme as you can get. Seems like we made the right choice, too - it's been paying great dividends!"

"...I'm so happy for you," Mercury sneered.

"I wouldn't be. Thanks to you, we've been put in jeopardy yet again, and this time the boss is absolutely fuming! There's no guarantee he won't just chop our heads off for failing him once he recovers...so just in case, we'll make sure we at least get the satisfaction of clobbering you first!" The thug raised his baseball bat.

Well, so much for that. He should have known better than to assume someone like Emerald would risk her own ass just to save him. Unfortunately, he wasn't a beautiful, voluptuous brunette with a sultry voice and a revealing red dress, so he might as well not exist. He could never blame her for not liking him, but right now he really wished he had meant more to her.

Suddenly, the thug tensed up. "Huh…?" he muttered, his eyes widening. He turned to his companion, who was completely oblivious...and brought the bat down. With a loud thud, he other thug dropped to the floor, motionless. The baseball thug blinked, seemingly returning to his senses, glancing down at him in confusion. "What in the-"

Something swung around from behind him, striking him in the back of the head. Without a word, he crumpled, the baseball bat still tightly clenched in his hand. The light-green weapon swung back on its chain, returning to its handle. "...Oh look, you're still alive," Emerald muttered, standing in the doorway with her scythe-pistols drawn. "Guess I got my hopes up for nothing?"

"Emerald? Seriously?" Mercury asked, his mouth open in genuine surprise. "...Huh. You know, I'd completely given up on you just a few seconds ago."

"Hmmph. I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Emerald sighed. She walked over to him and cut open his bonds. The sensation of being free was immediate and refreshing, and he couldn't help letting out as ecstatic sigh. It felt as though he had been stuck there for a hundred years, not one hour.

Emerald scanned the area. "We can't go back to the hotel, obviously. We might have to flee the city entirely...spend the night somewhere they can't find us. After that, we can just contact Salem as planned. It looks like we at least hurt Junior enough that he won't be a problem anymore." Her voice suddenly became softer. "So let's...just go…"

"You don't sound so sure," Mercury noted. He glanced around the room, at the numerous people who had been tied up, just like him. He saw that many of them were indeed Faunus - some had big, fluffy tails, a few had fins, but the majority had some form of cute feline ears protruding from their heads.

Ah, screw it, he thought. Might as well say it before the moment passes. These don't come often, after all. "Why don't we save the prisoners while we're here?" he suggested.

"...What?" Emerald stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "Can...can you say that again?"

"We should free the other people they've got tied up here," he said. "Yeah, the thugs were about to kill me, but these guys are gonna suffer something way worse. Trust me, I know all about it. So let's get 'em out of here."

Emerald still looked unconvinced - as a matter of fact, she looked flabbergasted. "I still don't think I understand - I mean, I heard the words coming out of your mouth, but I'm not sure how they got there. Since when have you ever wanted to help anymore?"

Mercury smiled wearily, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, if you want a reason...my dad also taught me about karma, y'know. If you do something really good or bad, then good or bad things will happen to you in return. Now obviously, I always thought it was bull - especially since that belief was what made him take the bottle in the first place - but hey, it's nice to try new things, right?"

"...Wow," Emerald shook her head slowly, but Mercury saw that she was smiling now. "That might be the only selfless thing you've ever said. I'm kinda impressed."

"Once we're done though, we should see if Junior and his girls are here," Mercury added, pumping his fists together. "And then we beat the ever-living shit out of them."

Emerald chuckled. "Okay, that's more like it."

One by one, they freed the remaining prisoners. Mercury tried to ignore their cries of gratitude and their happy smiles - before long, he would probably be hired to kill them or something; such was the life of an assassin. Once they were all untied, Emerald guided them out of the building, past several dead guards.

"...And I'll be taking that back, thank you kindly," Mercury muttered, snatching back his greaves from one of the corpses.

"Okay, so now let's take care of the big man himself," Emerald said, once the Faunus were all outside. "Obviously I can't stop them from calling the authorities on this joint, so we don't have long. He and the ladies should be on the upper floors...let's make this quick and messy."

Mercury grinned. "Sounds good to me!"

The two of them made their way up the stairs, never letting down their guard. Occasionally they would run into some stray thugs, most of whom were either napping at their post or chatting among themselves, and swiftly dispatch them. Seemed like no matter how 'extreme' these chumps got, some things never changed. Once a low-level mook, always a low-level mook.

"Hmmm…" Emerald muttered as they wandered through what looked like a deserted hallway. "It's...quiet. Too quiet. I don't like this."

A gunshot rang out, and they both turned in surprise, narrowly avoiding a bright red bullet that flew right between their heads. There, at the other end of the hall, was the woman in red from before, wielding pairs of sharp steel claws with gun barrels attached to her palms. One of them was currently smoking.

"Well, it's not quiet anymore," Mercury said.

"On second thought, I think I preferred it that way," his partner replied. "Looks like it's about to get way too loud." She turned around, where the other girl - the one in white - had appeared at the other end of the hallway.

"Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson, Miltia," the woman in white said.

"I agree, Melanie - they're going to know just who they've been messing with," the woman in red said.

Standing there back to back in the dark, narrow hallway, Emerald and Mercury instantly felt the mood in the air change - both were all too familiar with the killing intent that could be felt everywhere. They silently readied their weapons, Mercury facing Miltia and Emerald facing Melanie.

With a sharp cry, Miltia lunged forward, her claws leaving scratches in the walls as she swung at him. Mercury matched her striked blow for blow with his greaves, feeling steel scraping against steel as he held off her advance. He could feel Emerald's back against his, as she fired in Melanie's direction.

Mercury fired off some shots from his greaves, but Miltia was fast. Even at such a close range, she sliced up his Dust bullets with lightning precision. Pushed back by the recoil, she raised her palms and prepared to fire back.

Gritting his teeth, Mercury raised his right foot. Time seemed to slow down as he let his instincts take over, canceling out the girl's shots with his own bullets, blasting them out of the air. Empty shells of used Dust fell to the floor, filling the room with a wretched stench.

She's really good, he noted. They both are. We could probably hold our own against them for a while, but time's not really on our side.

It seemed like Emerald had come to the same conclusion. "On my mark, switch," she hissed, blocking a strike from Melanie's bladed heel. "One...two…"

"Three!" said both of them together as they switched sides. Mercury was now facing the girl in the white dress - Melanie - who was aiming her weapon right where Emerald's neck would have been. Mercury's perception of time was still slowed down, and he raised his own leg in time to counter her attack.

She may have been fast and grateful, but Mercury had the advantage in pure strength. His foot crashed against hers, sending her sprawling back from the impact. Melanie's one moment of imbalance was all he needed. Yelling, Mercury put all his strength into his follow-up kick, striking the girl square in the nose. She was anything but graceful as her body barreled down the hallway, crashing through the wall and out of sight.

Behind him, Emerald now had the other henchwoman on the ropes - quite literally. She had wrapped her weapon's chains around Miltia's claws, immobilizing her. With an effort, she swung the girl sideways into the window, making a large crack in the glass as the two collided.

Without pause, Emerald pulled Miltia back in, knocking her into unconsciousness with a blow to her forehead. The girl in red fell to the floor like a ragdoll, and was still.

Mercury gave a sigh of relief. "Well, if he didn't know we were coming for him before, he definitely does now," he mused. He felt his senses slowly returning to normal. "C'mon. Let's go nab the big fish before he gets away." Emerald nodded in agreement.

As they approached the roof of the building, the two heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter's rotor. Soon they emerged into the cool, midnight air, where their target stood on the other edge, watching his escape vehicle descend from the sky.

"If only you'd just been a few seconds late," Junior grumbled, turning to them with his rocket launcher in his left hand. The man was in bad shape - his face was covered in burn scars that even Aura couldn't immediately heal, and his other arm was tied up in a sling. "Ugh...talk about a string of bad luck for me. Oh well. If I can take you out, then I guess it's not all bad!"

A large mounted turret emerged from beneath the helicopter. Oh, crap. Mercury looked up and saw the pilot's face through the windshield. "Hey Emerald, can you take care of him?"

"Easy," she replied, focusing her gaze on him. Suddenly, the helicopter's gun aimed to the side, firing randomly into the sky.

"What the hell are you doing?" Junior snapped, shaking his fist at the pilot angrily.

"S-sir, I swear I just saw a giant Grimm," he replied, his voice audible through his boss' radio. "It was right over there a second ago, I-"

At that moment, several things happened at once. With a shot from his greaves, Mercury propelled himself into the air, kicking the helicopter's turret and lodging the barrel into the vehicle itself. In a panic, the pilot pulled the trigger, pumping a full round directly into his own cockpit. Mercury shielded himself as the helicopter came down in a fiery blaze.

Meanwhile, down below, Junior fired his rocket launcher. However, he was no longer using his dominant arm, and his aim wasn't as precise as it had once been. Emerald easily dodged the missile, and grabbed it in midair with her chain. With all her might, she swung the projectile around, returning it to the sender.

"Oh, son of a-" Junior didn't get to finish before he felt the simultaneous force of a rocket and the falling wreckage of a helicopter, disappearing in a mighty explosion. Mercury landed next to to Emerald as she put away her weapons, a wide grin on his face.

"Hahaha, now that was awesome!" he yelled.

They heard a pained groan in front of them, and went to investigate. Beyond the flaming wreckage, hanging onto the building's edge for dear life, was Junior, somehow looking even worse for wear than he had been a few moments ago. "Goddamn it," he groaned.

Emerald and Mercury walked over to him. Down below, they saw that a veritable army of police cars had gathered in front of the bathhouse. "It's all ruined now," Junior complained, dangling precariously from the edge. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone, huh? Why'd you have to do this? And...and...just who are you?!"

Mercury smiled, raising his foot above the big man's hand. "Well, if you must know...she's Emerald, my name's Mercury, and...we're the good guys." He brought his foot down.

Junior let out a scream of pain as he let go, flailing wildly as he fell down, down, down, making a rather messy dent on the police car that he landed on. "...You think the police can handle the rest?" Emerald asked, looking down with a look o amusement.

"For once in my life, I think so," Mercury replied. "Junior will probably be alright, too. Y'know, despite literally everything, like the fact that he tried to kill us at least twice, I think I like him."

"No you don't," his partner grumbled. "Now, let's get out of here."

They were stopped by the police on their way out. "You two!" one of them boomed. "What were you doing in there? Are you both Huntsmen?"

"Sure are, Officer," Emerald said in a falsely cheery voice. She quickly showed him their fake identification cards. To him, their faces, as well as the ones on the cards, would look slightly different. "We're Haven students. We heard a reliable report about his place and came to check it out."

"I see." The officer frowned. "Hmmm...forgive me, but haven't I seen you somewhere before? This may sound insensitive, but...were you two present at the Beacon incident a few months back?"

Oops. Looks like it wasn't enough. "Oh yeah, it was a bad scene," Mercury said, not missing a beat. "Helped as much as we could, but...I guess sometimes it's just not enough."

"Well, I'm sorry you had to see it. Then I assume you must be the young man who was attacked by that crazy girl from Vale?"

Mercury smiled, reaching toward his leg to soothe a pain that wasn't there. "I guess I am. Sure is great that I recovered so quickly, haha. But I don't really blame her - it wasn't her fault, y'know. In fact, I hear that whole stunt was just part of some big conspiracy! Can you believe it?"

He was laughing as they left the policeman with that last statement, looking very confused. They decided that even though Junior and his thugs would no longer be a threat, it was probably better to be safe than sorry. Instead of returning to their hotel room, they decided to spend the night at a different joint.

"Heh, now this is more like it," Mercury grinned as he glanced around their room. Pristine bedsheets, air conditioning, a king-sized couch, and free crackers - it was everything you could ask for in a luxury hotel. "How much do you think the room service costs?"

"I can't believe we're doing this," his partner sighed, not answering his quesetion. "Three hundred Lien a night, and we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning...what a ripoff." She pulled a small bag out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Forget your stupid room service. You wanted a midnight snack, right? Just have some chips."

Mercury eagerly dug in. "So," he muttered, feeling righteous enough to swallow before talking. "We did a good thing today."

"I guess we did," Emerald replied.

"We shouldn't let it get to our heads, y'know," he warned her, though he had a feeling he was talking to himself, too. "That Salem woman's got her eyes on this city. I don't know what she wants, but if it's anything like Beacon...in a few months, who knows? We'll probably be sent back to destroy the place."

She nodded. "Yeah...I know. If it's Cinder's will, then we'll have to do it. Just like at Beacon."

"I don't care," Mercury said bluntly. "I couldn't give less of a damn what Cinder wants or not. What I want is just a nice seat to watch some fireworks, and maybe set off a few myself. That's why I helped you guys with Beacon, and that's why I helped you out this time. Nothing's changed."

"And if - when we attack Haven...you'll still be wanting the same thing, won't you?"

"I guess so. That being said…" He shrugged, tossing away his now-empty bag of chips. "I don't care about Cinder, but you do. And seeing how you did save my ass tonight...I guess I owe you one. So if what you want is to help Cinder...then next time, it'll be what I want, too."

Emerald smiled. "How honourable of you. You almost sounded selfless again. Are you sure those thugs didn't clobber you too hard?"

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises." Mercury jumped back-first onto the bed, enjoying how soft and comfortable the silken sheets were. He had come so close to admitting it, but had stopped at the last second. If Emerald had heard him say it, then she'd be convinced he really had lost his mind. To hear that helping other people in need had...actually felt quite nice to him.

He closed his eyes and relaxed, feeling that he'd earned his rest. After all, destroying a city took a lot of effort, but saving a city took even more.