Chapter Text
"Was that the last one?" Asked Mercury as he ran his hand through his now sweaty silver hair.
"Do you hear any screams?" Was Emerald clever answer.
"Good point. Although I can't believe you did nothing and left me to do all the dirty work."
"It is what you're paid for."
"I'm not getting paid."
"Because you spend all your Lien on new boots."
"I mean it's not like I'm not using them."
"Yeah well Cinder doesn't care about that."
"Cinder doesn't care about a lot of things, including us."
"She cares about me! I mean us!"
"Yeah of course. Anyway, I'm tired."
"Did killing all those White Fangs really make you tired Merc, you want to take a little nap? Are you a baby?"
"No I meant I'm mentally tired, all I ever do is kill, kill, and kill some more. I need a vacation."
"Well just ask Cinder then."
"You're not funny."
"And you're not smart. Come on, let's go meet her."
"Ah, you're back, took you two long enough." Cinder was at her desk, looking through files of White Fang Members.
"Yeah well it could have been faster if Em here helped me."
"I did help you, I used my Semblance so they wouldn't escape."
"But you could have attacked them."
"Nope, I had a terrible headache since there were a lot of them."
"You can't always use this excuse and you know that!" Cinder slammed her palm on her desk and the two turned to her.
"Mercury, stop whining. Anyway, they're all dead correct?"
"Yeah yeah." Replied Mercury while rolling his eyes.
"Good, they were the last ones. We can finally move on with our plan."
"Yeah... about that." Mercury began while scratching the back of his neck.
"What is it?"
"Can I quit?"
Cinder blinked. "... Could you repeat that? I think I misheard you."
"Can I quit?"
"Quit what?"
"I'm getting bored, it's not that I dislike killing but it feels hollow. Like I could do something else you know?"
"And what would you do if I let you leave?"
"I guess I'd go to school, maybe Beacon? I don't know about after, but I'd figure it out later, down the road."
"...Fine, you can leave." Cinder said before turning back to her paperwork.
"Neat." Emerald choked on her saliva.
"Wait what!? You're letting him go just like that!?"
"Yes, if he wants to go to a school that is bound to be destroyed then that's his choice."
"But what if he tells Ozpin about our plans!?" Cinder turned to Mercury who sighed.
"I won't say anything to the big secret wizard, I promise. And you know I'm not one to lie."
"Well Emerald, do you have anything else to add?" Emerald turned to face Mercury.
"But, I... you can't..."
"What Em?"
"...As much as it pains me to admit it, I need your help. I can't do this alone, we're partners Merc. Please don't leave."
"...I have to Em, no, I need to. I feel as if my potential is wasted here, no offense Cinder. Plus, Beacon would be a good place to start over."
"But, how will I do this alone? I don't want to work with someone else, or worse be alone again."
"Emerald?"
"Yes Cinder?"
"Go with him." Emerald's eyes were wide in shock.
"What!? But what about our plan!?"
"This isn't our plan, this is my plan. Now go with him, it's an order. Mercury, I trust you to look after her even though you don't work for me anymore."
"I will, thanks Cinder... for giving me a chance." Cinder nodded.
"You're welcome, now leave before I start regretting letting my best henchmen go."
"We're your best henchmen?"
"Mercury." Cinder glared at him.
"Bye Cinder."
"I'll see you later, right?" Emerald paused at the door and turned to face her now ex-boss.
"You probably will Emerald, but I don't think you'll like how we'll meet if we do, you're on your own now. Take care of yourselves."
Emerald nodded with a sad expression and followed Mercury.
"So we're going to Beacon then?" Asked Emerald with an incredulous look.
"Yup."
"I can't believe I agreed to this, the students are all idiots."
"Yeah but they'll be our friends now."
"How can you say this with a straight face?"
"Well, they're not the worst people we've ever met. And it'll be a nice change of pace."
"Ugh, let's just do it. Wait, how do we get in?"
"Easy, we'll just talk with the big boss himself."
"...Oh no. Why are we doing this!?"
"So let me get this straight, you both want to join my academy?" Ozpin was always the first one to give a chance to people, but usually he was the one seeking and asking, not the other way around.
"Yes./Yes?"
"...And why should I accept you both?"
"Because we work well together." Simply answered Mercury.
"Maybe, but this will not be enough to join our school."
"What else do we need then?"
"Tell me, what is your reason for joining this school?"
"Well, I don't really have one, I guess it's because I don't know what I want to do. I heard that your school was the best in all of Remnant, so I ended up here in front of you."
"What about Miss Sustrai?"
"We're friends since we were children and I can't leave him. We do almost everything together... I wouldn't know what to do without him."
"...Very well, you're accepted into Beacon. However, you'll need to pass an initiation test. Everything will be explained when the school year starts, which is to say next week."
"Thank you professor Ozpin, we'll be here." Emerald declared.
"This I do not doubt, you may go now."
"I can't believe I said that, I want to throw up. 'We're' friends since we were children'? Ugh!"
"Oh come on, it wasn't that hard to lie like that was it?"
"I hate you Merc, couldn't you have kept on killing the people that Cinder told you to kill?"
"I guess I could have, but it's too late now to think about ifs. The present is now, and it's called Beacon academy."
"...Are you done with your antics?"
"Yeah, now let's gooo... Well we don't really have somewhere to go. Think we could convince Ozpin to let us borrow a dorm for a week?"
"Damn it Merc!"