The Girl Who Wanted More

"I want to be strong…"

"A beautiful ring, for a beautiful woman."

"I'm sorry?"

"I want to be feared…"

"What!? That's impossible! What did--"

"There she went that way!"

"I want to be powerful…"

"Someone call the police!"

"How in the world did she do that?"

***

"How did you do that?"

Emerald found herself cornered in one of the many alleyways that Vale had provided. There that stood before her was a young beautiful woman with a pair of golden eyes; her short black hair covering one of them. She wore a red dress that had been tied around her neck revealing her back. Underneath her dress she had on laced cropped leggings; with it she wore heels that appeared to be made out of glass. Around her ankle she had the same black diamonds like she did on her ears. On a holster that connected to her back she appeared to have double swords.

The alley that Emerald was in had been a dead end. She didn't see any other way out and went to draw her weapons.

"Don't." The woman said to her calmly, "Unless of course… You want them to hear you."

Emerald moved her hands away from her weapons when she heard voices nearby; whoever the voices belonged to, had been looking for her.

"What do you want!?" Emerald said harshly.

"I already told you what I want." The woman replied, "And I don't like repeating myself."

"I didn't do anything!" She said, "Just leave me alone!"

The woman merely gave an amused smile to her. "I know my fair share of liars and thieves." She began to say, "Stealing is an art of patience, coordination, and in a pinch a sleight of hand. But you didn't steal that ring in your pocket."

Emerald was taken back by this as she had been shocked that the woman knew such a thing.

The woman continued, "You took it right before the jeweler's eyes… And he smiled."

Emerald only looked at the woman curiously, "... Who… Who are you?"

The woman gave her an answer.

"Cinder. Cinder Fall."

***

"You will question everything you know."

"This--This is impossible!"

"I wish to take on an apprentice."

"He lives in the mountains, with his son and daughter."

"Follow me… And you'll never go hungry again."

"Thank you."

***

A young teenage girl with long gray messy hair with a pair of gray eyes, stood before Cinder and Emerald holding only a pistol. She wore a black tank top with dark green pants and around her neck she had on a scarf. Bandages were around her elbows and looked to be stained a little.

A young teenage boy had been using the girl as support as he looked to be in worse shape than the girl was. While she only had a couple of bruises, the boy looked as though he could hardly stand. He had bandages around his legs that had been stained with blood.

Emerald tried to move, but that only seemed to have agitated the girl as she fired at her feet. "Don't take another step!" The girl yelled, "Or else the next one will go in-between your eyes!"

"Easy now." Cinder said to her calmly, "We're not looking for any trouble."

"State your business!" The boy said to them, "What do you want!?"

"I'm looking for Marcus Black." Cinder replied.

The boy spit blood to the side, and gestured over to his left, "There you go."

There lay a man on the dead grassy floor. He showed no signs of movement or he wasn't breathing at all. "No way…" Emerald said shocked, "... THAT'S the assassin?"

"And YOU'RE his children." Cinder merely stated as she looked at the two of them.

The girl saw the look in Cinder's eye as she couldn't help but wonder about something. "You…" The girl soon said, "... You were watching us?"

Cinder nodded, "We were watching in the tree lines. He's taught you both well."

"Guess so." The boy said.

"What are your names?" She soon asked.

The teens looked at each other, as if they didn't know if they should answer or not. Though eventually they were compelled to. "Mercury." The teenage boy said.

The girl answered with a bit of hesitation, "... Rosario…"

Cinder smiled, "... Mercury and Rosario. Tell me… Are you two anything like your father?"

***

"What's in it for us?"

"If we were to go with you… What would we get out of it?"

"We don't need them! Everything was going fi--AH!!"

"Do NOT mistake your place."

"Our dad always said… If you need to know the city, just ask the rats."

"Well… Hello gorgeous."

***

"Let me get this straight…"

Cinder stood before one of the elite members of the White Fang by the name of Adam Taurus, while Emerald, Mercury and Rosario kneeled before him as a sign of respect before the leader of the White Fang.

Adam paced as he continued on, "You could've gone to anyone for help… You could've made a deal with a gang leader… Paid off some Huntsmen who had strayed from their righteous path… But instead… You chose to seek an audience with me."

"Your the one that we need." Cinder said, "Your skill. Your ability to lead those beneath you. You're an exceptionally valuable man Adam. And we've put a lot of thought into--"

"Then clearly your not thinking straight!" Adam said cutting her off, "If you truly understood me, than you'd know coming here was a mistake! The White Fang is not an organization for hire, we're a force of revolution!"

"I believe our plan will be beneficial for all parties involved." Cinder said, "I have… An associate in Vale. He and I are working on a revolution of our own. But we can't do that without your forces. We need--"

"What you need is to leave." Adam said, "You're asking my men to die for your because. A human cause. That is an idea I will NOT entertain."

"Very well then." Cinder said before she bowed her head. Thus the four of them took their leave. Adam watched them disappear within the forest ahead; for a moment he saw Rosario look back to him, just as he was approached by Blake.

"What was that about?" Blake asked.

"Nothing." Adam replied, "We need to finish preparing. The train will be here at dawn."

***

"... What happens now?"

"There's another task we need to attend to."

"Excuse me? I'm looking for a friend of mine."

"Ah yes, she was just here yesterday."

"Remember the plan. Exactly as discussed. Not a foot out of place."

***

The clouds had blocked out the sun, and the roads had been completely empty. Well nearly empty.

A young woman rode on the back of the white steed through a dirt road. She had on a green cloak, with her hood covering her face. She wore a top that was a white blouse with a brown vest and corset and pants they possessed the same color as her vest did.

She had on a golden bracer on her left arm and golden pauldron on her shoulder. She had on a shoulder strap that slung diagonally across her body.

As the woman continued down the road, she soon stopped in her tracks when she saw a little sitting on the ground in a fetal position next to a broken bike; She appeared to be crying. The young woman dismounted from her horse, and got something from its pouch, before she approached the little girl.

The little one picked up her, revealing her red eyes to the woman. The woman smiled a friendly warm smile. The child let out a whimper though it was revealed to be an apple that the woman had been holding; she handed it to the little one for her to take.

What the young woman didn't know however, was that there was no little girl. Instead, Emerald stood before the woman, using her semblance to mask her presence. Seeing how she had right where she wanted her, she drew her weapon.

Unfortunately it had given away her position as the woman noticed the dirt kick off on it's own and the world seemed to have stood still. She quickly jumped back and the little girl disappeared. The horse quickly ran out of fear and the cloak was removed, revealing that the woman had been Amber herself; She drew her weapon as Emerald went to charge.

She began to open fire though Amber had been quick to block the oncoming bullets. She spun the staff in her hand and she quickly created a gust of wind, and it had been able to push Emerald back. Mercury soon came rocketing in, attacking from the side; she had been able to block him and send him flying easily.

At the last second however, she blocked Rosario, as her heel almost hit her face. Round went off catching Amber by surprise though she managed to move just as it fired. Though she did the same as she did with the other two; Rosario landed just beside Mercury. Each gave a nod, before they both flew towards Amber.

Flipping her staff, they soon found themselves engulfed in fire. Though instead of burning off their aura had protected them both; part of their pants had been burned off revealing that their legs had been prosthetic.

They both kicked her at the same time, sending Amber flying back and losing her weapons. Just as Amber was about to get up Emerald jumped on top of her creating a crater just beneath her.

The three of them landed just in front of her, just as Amber started to stand up. Her eyes were soon lit a flame and for a moment they were pushed back. They soon found Amber hovering above the ground.

The three of them tried to balance themselves as they found themselves in the middle of a tornado. With simple movements from her hands, she sent lighting towards them; they were quick to move as they started to try to get behind her.

They began to fire at her, but the bullets didn't even get close to her face as there had been a barrier of some kind. With a clench of her fist, the leaves around them began to float around them. In an instant ice seemed to have covered them.

It hadn't been long before Amber used it to rain down on them as if it had been hail. They barely blocked the attack as the attack had depleted a huge amount of their Aura.

Amber soon heard running from a distance. She turned and saw Cinder running towards her. She quickly formed a fireball, before launching it towards her. Cinder jumped in the air just as the fireball hit the ground.

Using her semblance she lifted the loose rocks that had been on the ground making them into a set of spears. She used them to attack Amber, hitting her dead center as she plummeted to the ground.

When Amber picked up her head, she saw that her attackers had vanished; or so she thought. She had soon caught a glimpse of Emerald, followed by Mercury, Rosario and Cinder who had gotten her weapons out.

They charged at her head on, with Cinder attacking first, though Amber had been quick to push her back, leaving behind a trail within the dirt. Mercury and Rosario attacked on both sides though Amber had been able to hold ground as she pushed them back.

When Emerald tried to attack her from behind, she managed to flip over, giving her a punch to the back of the head making Emerald stumble on her feet. Cinder had connected two of her swords together, creating a bow.

Getting an arrow from her belt she fired three as it had surrounded Amber. The ground seemed to have lit a flame as Amber let out a cry; a shimmer of light had gone around her body as her Aura had finally been depleted.

Cinder soon approached Amber, along with Rosario, Mercury and Emerald, as she had been prepared to deliver the final blow to the young woman. The four of them suddenly found themselves pushed away by a strong gust of wind. Cinder lost her footing while she lost her bow and arrow, but the three managed to steady themselves.

Mercury and Rosario charged at Amber, each attempting to kick her though Amber had gotten the upper hand. She created a fireball as it hurt Mercury causing Rosario to halt her attack as she looked to her brother with worry.

It hadn't been long before she found herself falling to the ground when Amber attacked her with lighting, knocking her out. She sent fire in Emerald's direction; one hitting the illusion, the other hitting the real one, causing her to fall back.

Amber picked up her fallen staff before she made her way towards Emerald. She picked up her head, and found herself being started down. She lifted her staff, preparing to finish her off.

"AH!"

She felt a sharp pain in the back of her shoulder, as she fell to her knees, dropping her staff. Turns out Cinder had fired an arrow; she smirked in triumph at this. Dropping her weapons, she started to walk towards Amber as Emerald and Mercury held her down. Cinder put on what looked to be a white glove that had a red insignia in the middle of it.

As Rosario recovered from Amber's earlier attack she watched as Cinder opened her palm to Amber while Amber herself struggled against Emerald and Mercury's hold.

She and Amber nearly jumped when she saw what looked to be a bug resembling that of a Grimm came crawling out.

"Please don't…" She heard Amber beg.

Rosario stood up from the floor, "Ho--hold on… What are you--!?"

She was cut off in mid-sentence when she saw the bug spit out black goop, nearly covering Amber's face. She heard her let out a horrific cry, as she watched the power leave her and go right into Cinder. She saw her eyes lit up with fire, a red eye appeared on the floor, and the look in her eyes. She felt her body start to shake.

"N--No…" She started to say, "This isn't--This is all--"

Just as the process was about to finish, they were caught by surprise when a person, a Huntsman to be precise, came running towards them. This Huntsman had been revealed to be Qrow Branwen. He swung his sword at Cinder, cutting away whatever had been connecting to Amber; he swung his sword towards Mercury and Emerald causing them to jump away.

He caught Amber before she could hit the ground. The white glove sunk into her skin, and a black tattoo appeared on her back. Fire lit up once more as she had a smile on her face.

When Qrow looked at Amber's assailant he saw that her face had been blurred up, so he couldn't get a good look at her appearance. He didn't have time to think about it when he felt the floor heat up. He quickly moved just as the ground exploded, with Amber still in his arms.

And just like that… They were gone.

***

"The Huntsman severed the connection before it was complete--Yes. It's an emptiness. It burns. Like hunger. I like it--Yes. I will claim what is ours. Thank you."

"You can't just leave!"

"Mercury, this isn't the kind of thing I signed up for! She was killing that girl, can't you see that!?"

"So what!? People die all the time! What difference does it make anyway!?"

"... If that's the way you feel, then you can continue on. But you can continue without me."

"Let her go. She made her decision. Let's just focus on getting those useful on our side."

***

The apartment that Roman and his daughters lived in was small and a bit cramped and had seen better days. Almost every wall in that complex had been coming apart, he could almost swear that new cracks formed on every surface.

The floors creaked with every step that they took and had always been cold; he didn't know how they survived those winter days in Vale. Though he had supposed it was better than living out on the streets, and the landlord wasn't all that bad in a way.

At the moment he had been sitting over at the table to which the kitchen connected with the living room, where both of his daughters were. Cristal wearing a flannel red shirt that had been unbuttoned revealed her black tank top and a pair of worn out jeans sat on the couch, playing a game via scroll.

His youngest daughter Destiny, who wore a baggy looking shirt with pants, sat in front of the television watching whatever was on, while she had been drawing; an IV tube went into her shirt, connecting to her chest.

He had been looking through the mail; flipping through one envelope after another. One had tax, medical bills and a risk of eviction.

He grumbled angrily and mumbled something incoherent, before he ripped up the envelopes tossing them into the trash; he hit his hand on the table before he let out another groan.

"Daddy…?" He soon heard Destiny say looking at her, "... Is everything alright?"

He took a deep breath before he calmly replied, "Everything's alright Princess. Don't worry about it."

Destiny's expression softened while Cristal didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure about that?" Cristal asked with a raised eyebrow.

Before Roman could reply, they were somewhat taken back by a knock at the door. The room seemed to have gone quiet. He put a finger to his lips motioning the two of them to stay quiet which they did before he approached the door, while he picked up his weapon. He looked through the peephole to which the door had been provided and had been taken back when he saw a familiar woman with golden eyes.

"Good afternoon Roman." Cinder said, making the two girls flinch a little at the sound of her voice, "I was hoping I would find you here. Do you have a moment to talk?"

"Yeah of course." Roman replied calmly, "Just give me a minute."

He soon turned to his daughters, putting his weapon nearby, "Cristal." He whispered, "Take Destiny and hide in your room."

Cristal nodded her head silently as she quickly started to put away all evidence that they had been there.

"Dad?" Destiny whispered fearfully as she stood, "What's going on?"

"It's just some of daddy's friends wanting to talk to me, that's all." Roman told her gently, "Just wait in your room with your sister until I'm done."

"But--" Destiny started to say before she had been cut off when Cristal picked her up off the floor. "Come on, time to go." She said as she did this, picking up the bag of medicine that had been beside her. She started to make her way down the hall. Though just as they passed by Roman, he felt her tug on his shirt a little taking him back a little.

"Be careful… Okay?" The child said with a worried look in her eyes.

Roman gave her a smile, giving her a pat on the head, "Always." He said before he gave her a kiss on her forehead before turning to Cristal, "Go now. Don't come out until they're gone."

After giving her a kiss on the cheek, she gave him a nod, and quickly and quietly went down the hall, toward the second door going inside with Destiny in her arms. Roman quickly took the couple of photos of them that had been sitting on the table and placed them in a drawer; though as he closed it shut, he didn't realize that a single photograph fell to the floor. With another sigh he went and let Cinder, Emerald and Mercury inside.

"Nice to see you again." He said shutting the door and regaining his composure, "Cinder was it? Though I'm curious as to how you found my address."

"Your associate Junior was nice enough to provide us with that information." Cinder replied as she looked through his apartment; Emerald and Mercury doing the same.

"Of course." He said as he couldn't help but roll his eyes, "So what brings you and your little friends here? I know this isn't a social visit."

"Do you remember that little favor I told you about?" Cinder soon asked, "On the day we first met?"

Roman couldn't help but eye her in a certain way, "... Why do you ask?"

"It just so happens that I need your assistance." She replied, gesturing to Mercury and Emerald, "As you can plainly see… I'm short on a person."

"What? Did Rosa decide to quit while she was ahead?"

"You could say that."

"So than… What exactly do you need from me?"

He soon took notice of Mercury as he had been a bit closer to the hall. He started to feel nervous, but he kept himself together.

"Junior's also told me about your reputation." Cinder soon said, "I have to say your an incredibly talented thief. Avoiding all the officers here in Vale, and even when you were captured you always found ways to escape your confinement."

"Are you supposed to go somewhere with this?" Roman soon asked.

"As a matter of fact I am." She replied, "I require your skills to gather Dust for the coming revolution I have in mind."

This time he raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by revolution?"

"There's not much I can tell you. Once I get the White Fang on my side, let's just say this peace we have will come to an end."

He soon started to put things together with her words, "... You're not talking about starting a war are you?"

Cinder chuckled amusingly at this, "Your reputation precedes you. But like I said, I can't let you in on the information."

Roman couldn't help but sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look here…" Roman started to say, "I don't know what exactly Junior told you about me, but I only steal lien and other necessities for the benefit of others no questions asked, but you're talking about taking down an entire kingdom--Assuming that is your endgame. Simply put--I DON'T do it, because there would be no point."

Cinder seemed to have a certain look in her eye, "I think your misunderstanding the situation here… Roman."

With a wave of her hand, flames appeared just before Roman's feet, which took him back. "Either you help us…" Cinder said as her eyes glowed, "... Or you pay with your life."

Roman merely gulped, but kept it together. He grabbed a hold of his cane and armed it, aiming it towards her; she didn't seem phased by this which didn't surprise him in the slightest. "You asked me for a favor and I gave you my answer." He said, "I suggest you leave right now, before things start to get ugly."

Despite his threat, he didn't want to start a fight since his daughters happened to be in the vicinity; and judging from how Cinder was just controlling a set of flames at his very feet, she could bring down the whole building if she wanted. Though he was hoping it wouldn't have to come to that.

Before Cinder could make a move, she noticed at the corner of her eye, Emerald had picked something up from off of the floor. She saw it had been a photograph that Emerald made sure she had seen without his knowledge. She gave a smirk before she made the flames disappear; in return Roman disarmed himself.

"Very well than." Cinder had said, "I will take my leave. Have a good day."

With that, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury the small apartment, shutting the door behind them. Roman let out a sigh as he fell to his knees, looking to the floor that had been in a blackish color. The door soon creaked open and the first to step out of the room was young Destiny, followed by her older sister.

"Daddy?" Destiny said, tapping him on the shoulder, "Who… Who was she? Why was she here…?"

Roman gave her only one look, before he pulled the child into a hug. He didn't say anything as he had merely stroked the child's hair. Destiny had been caught by surprise by this gesture, but in turn returned the hug, leaning into her father's embrace.

Cristal looked to the floor, seeing it partly charred and burned. "... She's… Not gonna come back to her… Right…?" She asked her father softly.

Roman turned to his eldest daughter, before he replied, "No… You and Destiny won't see her again…" He soon mumbled as he didn't want the two of them to hear, "... I hope."

Destiny couldn't help but look to the door having but a curious look in her eyes as she wondered who the stranger could be.

***

"There could be no mistake now. They were there. What would you have done? Shall I kill them?... Oh I see… Yes. I understand. When all is set and done… I will deliver them to you."

***

Adam couldn't believe what had happened only mere hours ago. Blake Belladonna, betrayed the White Fang; turned her back on their cause. Only one question remained in the back of his mind… Why? Why would she do it?

Two people stood in the tent with him; one of them was his lieutenant who had his mask covered with a Grimm mask like so many others and the other was a young girl, who had been a young teen, having a mask covering her eyes as well. The only that seemed visible was what looked to be a set of cat ears with one looking to be chipped, and black hair that had been a cut into a pixie cut hairstyle looked to be even more pissed than Adam had been right now; she hissed angrily revealing her fangs.

"Damn you!" She cursed as she hit her fist on the table, "Damn you Blake! You dare run from us! How could you do this!?"

"Calm yourself Shae." The lieutenant reassured her, "We will find her. I swear on my life."

"See that you do!" Shae told him, "I very much like to give my eldest a piece of my mind! When I see her again I swear to God that I'll--!"

"No." Adam said, cutting her off, "Just forget it. It's time I return to Mistral and--"

This time Adam had been the one to cut off his sentence, when they heard the sound of gunfire just outside of the tent as well as they're own screaming. The three of them quickly ran outside of the tent, armed and ready to fight.

"WHAT IS THIS!?" Adam shouted as he drew his sword.

There before him, he saw it was the three people he had encountered before. Though Cinder's two had adversaries' cases held in front of them; Cinder had her swords drawn.

"Adam…" The girl named Shae said cautiously when she noticed Cinder's eyes were on Adam, "... Who is that?"

"We could've gone to anyone for help…" Cinder began to say before Adam could reply, "... But we chose you, Adam Taurus."

She tossed both of her swords down, surprising the Fanus.

"Our plan will be beneficial for both of us…"

The three of them backed up when they saw flames appear before them; they were quick to realize that Cinder had been the one that caused them.

"... Or one of us."

Emerald and Mercury soon opened the cases before them; one had dust crystals and the other was filled with money.

"So… Which will it be?"

Adam, his lieutenant, and Shae looked at one another as they were unsure. Though after a few moments, Adam and his lieutenant put their weapons away, while Shae on the other hand had been hesitant but had eventually put down her weapon. Cinder seemed to know what their answer had been.

"Good." She said as she made the flames disappear with a wave of her hand, "Now… For your first order of business."

She soon pulled out a picture before tossing it towards Adam. He had been quick to catch it, before he looked at the photo in his hand. Shae looked over her shoulder and saw there had been two people in the picture. It had been a teenage girl with a red eye, and most of her hair covering the other, while a little girl sat on her lap, having magenta and orange hair, a green eye with a black eyepatch and an IV tube connected to her chest.

"I need you to retrieve these two." Cinder said, "The child you cannot harm. Her sister is another matter, that is if she chooses to fight, but she is to be captured alive as well."

Shae looked surprised, "You want the White Fang… To kidnap humans?"

"Why?" Adam asked, "What are these two to you?"

Cinder merely gave a smile to him, "... That answer will be revealed, in time."

***

"Daddy? Is that you?"

"Destiny! Get away from there now!"

"Quick! Grab them!"

"RUN!! FIND BIG SIS!!"

"Stay down!"

"Cristal! Stop hurting her please!"

"Don't do anything stupid kid."

"Get your fingers off her you--AH!"

"I told you to stay down!"

"Daddy! Daddy help!!"

***

"DESTINY!? CRISTAL!? WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Roman had currently been in full fledged panic mode right now. He had just gotten home from one of his late night jobs courtesy of Junior; Though when he got home, he found the apartment a complete mess, and his own daughters missing.

Immediately afterwards he contacted Neo and told her about his daughters currently missing. He searched high and low for the two of them, he even checked where Cristal would usually hang out whenever she snuck out of the apartment, but no matter where he looked he couldn't find a trace.

In the end he only did the one thing he could do, and called out their name.

Eventually he ran into Vale's public park, stopping at a bench as he tried to collect his thoughts. It hadn't been long before he was approached by Neo who had looked just as worried as he was. He didn't even need to look up to see who had been in front of him.

"Tell me you at least had better luck than I did…" He said as he looked up.

Neo's eyes softened and soon shook her head in reply. "Damn it…" He said. He took out a cigar from his pocket before lighting it.

"Where in the hell could they be Neo…?" He wondered aloud, "... They can't be dead can they?"

Neo shook her head again, this time putting her hands on top of his own. Though she couldn't speak, Roman knew what she had been trying to say. "Yeah, your right." He said tapping his cigar lightly as he removed it from his mouth, "I shouldn't think like that. Still, who could've done this? Who could've trashed the apartment?"

"My, my, what's with the pitiful look on your face?"

The two jumped and turned to the sound of the voice; they saw that it had been the woman with golden eyes. The one named Cinder.

"You?" Roman said as he stood, "What the hell do you want?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd show you a little something that may peak your interest…" She replied as she pulled out her scroll.

Roman and Neo raised their eyebrows at this. They saw her pull up live footage before she turned it towards them. Their eyes widened in horror at what was on the footage exactly. The screen had been split into two; one contained Cristal and the other had Destiny.

The rooms they were in looked to be a standard prison cell, only they had no windows. Destiny had been hitting on the door, shouting something and saw that tears had covered her face, while Cristal looked to be unconscious; bandages covered parts of her arm and one was seen on her face.

He gave her a look to kill, "What the hell is all of this?"

"Call it leverage." Cinder replied calmly, "I have to say…" She pointed towards the footage containing Cristal, "... Your little gem here put up quite a fight. Too bad I wasn't the one to personally see this matter."

Roman's stare hardened before he pointed his weapon towards her, "Where are they!? What have you done to them!?"

"Rest assured, they're being taken care of by the White Fang." Cinder replied as she put her scroll away, "They'll stay that way… As long as I say so."

Roman's hand shook at the thought, though Neo on the other hand reacted differently. As her eyes changed, she actually charged at her, arming her blade. Before she could attack--

"NEO! DON'T!" Roman shouted.

Neo managed to stop herself, blade inches from Cinder's face, who only had a smile on her face; she still had her weapon armed. "You have quite the pet now don't you?" Cinder said amusingly, causing Neo to grit her teeth putting the blade closer to her cheek.

"Neo." Roman said to her in a stern voice though Neo could see that his arm had been shaking, "Please."

Neo's eyes softened at the way he spoke, before she put her weapon down to her side, just as her eyes changed to white.

Cinder soon stepped forward, "Roman Torchwick. Will O' Wisp. The Gentleman Thief. You have two options laid before you right now. Either you help us, and I give them back to you. Or… I can guarantee that your Princess, and your Gem will never be seen by anyone ever again… That is of course, if you still refuse."

Roman bit his lip as he used his other hand to stop his arm from shaking; Neo returned to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"What do you say?" She spoke again, "Will you reconsider?"

Finally Roman brought his weapon to his side, looking to Cinder eyes filled with both hate and worry.

"If I help you… You'll give them back to me…?" He asked.

"You have my word." Was what she had replied.

***

"What a way to kick off the finals!"

"YEAH! YOU DID IT SIS!"

"You put up a good fight. Though as they say, better luck next time!"

"There's not going to be a next time blondie."

"Yang Xiao Long, stand down!"

"MY LEG! MY LEG!"

***

No one couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.

One of Beacon's most prized students shot a student, when he was defenseless no less! It was unbelievable! Not even Yang herself could believe her eyes. She was frozen in place, watching what had been happening before her. Paramedics came with a stretcher running towards Emerald and Mercury.

"Please!" Emerald pleaded, "Someone help him!"

The Paramedics soon placed a stretcher beside Mercury, as they examined his wound.

"Can't you do something!?" Emerald asked with worry.

"We need to get this boy to the hospital." The Paramedic had said.

They soon helped Mercury onto the stretcher and they proceeded to make their way off the stage with Yang watching, still trying to process what had just happened.

"You don't understand!" She tried to reason, "He attacked me, I swear! You have to believe me!"

"Stow it!" The Atlas soldier said, "You already caused enough of a scene."

Yang was about to say something, though she had decided to do what they say, as she stayed silent; it hadn't been long before she was escorted off the stage.

The Paramedics quickly made their way to the shipping dock, finding an ambulance; it hadn't been long before a woman had gotten their attention. "Over here!" She said, "We got an ambulance ready to go!"

They bought Mercury inside the ship, with Emerald following beside him. The ship closed shut with a push of a button.

"Hope they'll be okay." One of them said, "That girl won't leave his side."

"We'll take good care of both of them." The woman told him with a reassuring smile.

The ship soon left without delay. Finally the woman who sat in the passenger's seat removed her hat, leaving long black hair; the paramedic had been revealed to be Cinder. She began to fix her hair, as Mercury groaned over-dramatically.

"Oh doc!" He said, being over the top, "Tell me! Will I ever walk again?"

Emerald punched him in the arm causing him to cry out in agony; he quickly sat up, "What's your deal?"

"Ugh…" Emerald groaned, "... Headache. One mind I can handle, but two is a stretch."

"Well you all performed marvelously." Cinder said, "Driver included."

Of course she had been referring to Neo, being the driver. All Neo did was give a fake smile and nod her head, careful not to show her real emotion as her eyes changed back to pink and brown.

"So…" Mercury started to say, "... Do you think it worked?"

***

-Twenty-Four Hours Later-

"A terrible event took place, during the one on one rounds in the Vytal Festival."

"I don't know what the Beacon Headmaster is teaching his students, but that was disgraceful! Completely uncalled for!"

"Despite Atlas reinforcements, local authorities are calling on any available Huntsmen to aid the suppressing spike in Grimm Activity."

The TV suddenly turned off, and Mercury couldn't help but groan as he was fixing up his leg. "I was watching that, you know!" He said to her.

"Shut up!" Emerald said annoyed.

"Is this how you treat a patient?" Mercury said, "Seriously, my sister was a better doctor than you!"

Emerald's eyebrow twitched slightly, as she purposely tightened a screw which made him cringe.

"Ow, too tight!" He exclaimed.

"Enough!" Cinder said, "Our Mercury put on quite the show. He was quite brave."

"Yeah well…" Mercury said as he started to fix up his leg again, "... These things aren't exactly cheap."

"What's next?" Emerald asked.

She soon replied, "You and I will make sure that our next matchup goes… Just as smoothly."

Cinder went to exit out of the building with Emerald following close behind her. "What about me?" Mercury asked.

"You get to lay low until the end." She replied, "We wouldn't want people to see you on your feet and have all this be for naught now would we?"

Mercury merely smirked, "Can do."