Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

72 hours. 

Three days. 

Three days until the charity ball at Shade Academy. Three days until Oscar, Mercury, Emerald, and Neo were going to steal the Vacuo catacomb blueprints. Three days to get that out of Salem’s hands. 

Three days to prepare. 

And Oscar was ready. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Mercury asked when Oscar practically dragged the remaining three members of the group to the dingy couch in the apartment they had rented. 

“Just - hang on a sec.” Practically shoving Mercury onto the couch, which resulted in him nearly falling on top of Neo, who didn’t look pleased, Oscar raced back to the living room, eyes locking onto what he was looking for, snatching it, and running back, all at top speed. He slammed the offending object onto the scratched coffee table, proudly gesturing at it. 

“...What… is this?” Emerald asked, flipping through the pages of the scrappy notebook. 

“Just - read the title, Em!” Oscar exclaimed, flapping his arms in indignation. 

Neo picked up the offending notebook, squinting. Setting it down on her lap, she signed: Is this the plan? 

“Just about.” Oscar replied, trying to keep the pride out of his voice. “I’ve been brainstorming for the past two weeks or so of how we should go about this, and I’ve finally finished the plan I like to call; ‘Operation-Breaking-Into-Shade-And-Stealing-The-Blueprints-But-Don’t-Worry-It’s-For-A-Good-Cause’. Or OBISASTBBDWIFAGC for short.”

“I’d… actually argue that OBI… whatever is more of a mouthful then the original.” Mercury snarked which earned him an annoyed look from Oscar. “It sounds like you’re spitting hair.” 

“Well - you’re spitting hair.” Oscar mumbled, grabbing the notebook from Neo and opening it. “Essentially, this is a detailed multi-step plan on how to break into Shade and get out, hopefully without getting caught, at least if everything goes right.” 

“You seem rather excited about this.” Emerald replied, teasing lilt to her voice. Oscar blushed (or at least as much as a guy without actual blood can) and turned away, Emerald snorting good-naturedly, taking the notebook out of his hands. “...This seems like a solid plan,” She said, after flipping through a few pages. “But we’ve only got three days to set this up. You sure we can do all this?” 

“Honestly - no.” Oscar replied, voice cracking a little bit. “But it’s either this, or we just run in guns blazing, and probably get arrested.” 

I kinda like the second plan better. Neo interjected. Oscar opted to ignore her, instead turning to the first page and slamming the notebook down on the table. 

“Now,” He began, putting on his best ‘team leader’ voice, which came out more wobbly than he would have liked. “We lost a LOT of time tracking down Ali B and getting our hacker.”

All heads turned to Neo, who shrugged. Hey, I thought the information Miltia gave us was correct. She signed, rolling her eyes. Not my fault that she got her streets mixed up. 

“We wasted three days staking out over the Alexandrite Bank.” Mercury retorted. 

Well, we caught the guy in the end, didn’t we? 

“You’re way too blasie about stuff like this.” Emerald sighed, to which Neo stuck her tongue out in response to. 

“Merc does have a point,” Oscar continued, trying to redirect the conversation. “We did lose a lot of time on Ali B, so we’re just gonna have to prepare as fast as humanly possible.” 

“Not a problem for me, I’m plenty fast.” Mercury said, leaning back casually. 

“Yeah, I bet you are.” Emerald muttered, wiggling her eyebrows. Mercury flushed red, punching Emerald in the shoulder. 

Gross. Neo signed, rolling her mismatched eyes. Moving on from that, mind actually telling us what this plan is? 

“Oh - oh yeah!” Oscar said, standing up straight. “Totally forgot about that.” He picked the notebook up, flipped open to the first page, and began to explain. 

STEP 1: Get in touch with the hacker lady. Meet somewhere conspicuous.

“THIS is conspicuous?” Emerald exclaimed. 

Oscar felt inclined to agree. The bar they were standing outside of was a whole two levels, balconies and doorway decorated in neon lights, gleaming against the stone tiles it was inlaid with. A bright sign flashed above them, displaying the words: THE GOLD THREAD. In short, it was incredibly tacky, a massive eyesore, and stuck out like a sore thumb, even in Vacuo’s neon drenched streets. 

No, this makes sense actually. Neo signed, snapping her fingers twice to get everyone’s attention over the din of the roads behind them. The last place someone who wants to keep a low profile would realistically hide is a place like this, so it’s also the last place anyone would look for them. 

“Oh, so it’s like, reverse psychometry?” Mercury replied. 

“You mean psychology.” 

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Mercury sauntered up to the double doors, kicking it open with a swift motion of his feet, and strutting inside. "Let's just go already."

(“…He’s certainly pretty gung-ho about this.” Oscar mumbled, the rest of the group following behind. 

“Mercury’s… not a big fan of bars.” Emerald started, keeping her eyes trained ahead of her. “It makes sense he’d want to get this over with as fast as possible.”)

The door swung shut behind them, all natural light instantly shut out. What waited instead was a large and spacious open room, tables strewn about haphazardly. There was a section of the floor made of luminescent glass, most likely for dancing, and on the right side of the room was a bar, countertop also made out of glass. A spiral staircase in the center of the room (ALSO made out of glass, go figure) led up to the second floor, adorned with wire lamps and balconies that led outside. It was a bit fancier than Oscar was expecting, certainly more tasteful on the inside, but all and all, a fairly standard bar. 

“Welcome,” A large, burly woman with cropped black hair greeted the group, leaning against the countertop. Seeing the four of them, her one good eye narrowed, hazel eyes turning dark against her olive skin. “You lot look a little young to be in here.” 

“And you look a little old to be standing up,” Emerald retorted, crossing her arms. The lady snorted at that, like it was a joke she had heard before, and Emerald continued once it seemed like the bouncer wouldn’t throw the four of them out, pulling out her scroll to check the message that they had been sent the night before. “I’d like a… margarita on ice, three shots of cherry grenadine, two squeezes of lemon, one squeeze of lime?” Emerald asked.

There was a brief pause, in which the bouncer’s eyes narrowed to slits, before she sighed in recognition of the code phrase, pulling herself off the counter. “RHU!!” She shouted up the stairs, turning away from the group. “YOU GOT A CUSTOMER!” 

“COMING!!” There was a whooshing sensation right next to Oscar’s head, and he jumped back, hand instinctively reaching for Temporal Justice. A dusty square of plaster clattered to the floor, and the group looked up to see the source of the commotion, a ceiling tile having been kicked loose. Two gray and white sneakers poked out of the hole, and a green blur slid out of it and onto the floor below them, tucking and rolling on the impact. 

A shorter woman straightened up, brown frizzy hair in two buns, cropped orange and green hoodie dirtied with soot and oil. But the most striking part about her were her eyes, one a shade of forest green, the other a piercing gold, giving her a cat-like appearance every time she blinked. Oscar glanced over at Neo, who seemed to have noticed her heterochromia as well, as Neo’s own eyes switched colors, her Semblance going off involuntarily like it always did when she was surprised. 

“Sorry about that!” The woman said, stretching out her back casually. “The ceiling’s been leaking like crazy for the past week or so, figured I should fix it. Anyways, what can I…” The woman’s voice trailed off when she looked up at the four of them, blinking rapidly in surprise. One by one, she scanned each of them, like she was assessing for threats or problems, as if they were new machines delivered to her rather than people. Her cat-like gaze froze on Oscar, and for a split second, she almost looked as if she was going to say something, but just as quickly as they made eye contact, she looked away. 

“Well well,” The woman started, a smile cutting across her face. “Figured I’d have a few more days before y’all would show up, but I guess I underestimated you.” She stuck out her gloved hands, teeth slightly crooked as she smiled again. “Rhubarb Stilk. It’s nice to meet you!” 

“I’m guessing that’s not your real name?” Emerald interjected, taking Rhubarb’s hand and shaking it. 

“Of course not.” Rhubarb laughed. “A good hacker never gives away their identity, although I am very multi-talented in other fields. And let me guess,” She pulled away from Emerald’s handshake, opting to point at her instead. “You’re Emerald Sustrai.” Emerald let out a slight noise of surprise, before Rhubarb turned to face the other three. “Mercury Black,” Mercury scoffed in response, looking away, “Mary Knallen,” Neo went pale at that, gritting her teeth so hard that Oscar could almost hear them grinding, “And Oscar Pine.” 

Oscar swallowed. So this lady was the real deal. 

How do you know our names? Neo signed jerkily, still shaken up by Rhubarb’s assessment. Far as I’m concerned, we didn’t introduce ourselves. 

“I’m a hacker.” Rhubarb replied dryly. “Getting people’s personal information is kind of what I do?” When Neo’s glaring didn’t let up, Rhubarb sighed, looking away. “Alright, I asked Junior.” She sighed. “Way to get rid of my mystique. Though I DID do some background research. Gotta say, you did a good job erasing your presence from the net… at least for a bunch of amateurs.” 

Mercury looked like he was about to protest, but Neo cut him off. My name is Neopolitan. She signed. Don’t ever call me Mary again, or I’ll give you another scar to match the one over your lip.

“Feisty!” Rhubarb laughed, seemingly not deterred by Neo’s threat at all. “Alright, Miss Neopolitan , you have my word.” Turning, she moved to sit on top of the bar counter, completely ignoring the empty chairs in front of her. “Can I interest you in a drink?” 

“...We’re underage.” Oscar mumbled, gesturing to himself, Emerald, and Mercury. 

“Hey, I’m no snitch.” Rhubarb replied, fishing for glasses under the counter. “Besides, we’re friends, right?” 

“We’ve spoken a total of like, twenty words to you.” Mercury retorted, crossing his arms. “And we’re not interested in just sitting around. We need your help.” 

Rhubarb sighed, sliding off the countertop. “You people are no fun.” She sighed, turning towards the staircase. “Follow me.” 

As the group ascended the spiral staircase, Oscar took a brief look at Mercury, who’s knuckles were white from clenching his fists, his entire body practically screaming the phrase; I am on edge. Oscar slowed his pace, letting Rhubarb and Neo walk ahead of him, trailing behind until Mercury caught up to him. “You okay?” He whispered, quiet enough so Rhubarb couldn’t hear him. 

“‘M fine.” Mercury whispered back, exhaling. “Just hate this place.” 

“It is pretty tacky,” Oscar replied, which got a small snort out of Mercury. “One of the uglier bars I’ve been to.” 

“I’m fairly sure this is the only bar you’ve ever been to.” Mercury whispered. 

Oscar shook his head in reply. “Actually, when I first got to Haven, I had to -”

He was interrupted by Neo rapping her knuckles on the glass staircase’s railing, signifying they had gotten to the top. The group turned to Rhubarb, who was running her hand across the wall. “It should be -” She pressed down hard against the blank wall, and a panel of it slid backwards, folding into itself, revealing a doorway into another, even darker room. “Voila!” Rhubarb declared, stepping back to make room. “My hacker cave!” 

“Is that really what it’s called?” Emerald asked sarcastically, stepping over the threshold. Rhubarb snorted at her incredulous tone, rolling her multi-colored eyes. 

“Actually, the official title of it is ‘Rhubarb’s Great And Terrible Cave For Computer Related Escapades’, but I mostly just call it Fort Doom.” 

You’re kind of a weirdo. Neo signed, which earned a genuine laugh out of Rhubarb, as she shut the door behind them. 

The instant the door shut, the room came to life, blue portscreens and scrolls lighting up, bathing the room in an artificial neon glow. Kicking aside the crumpled up chip bags and wads of paper, Rhubarb sat down on the spinning chair in front of the main desk, holographic keyboard flitting to life as she slid reading glasses onto her face. “Helps with the blue light,” She explained when Oscar gave her a weird look. “Frankly, I’m surprised you’re not using glasses, considering how badly your face is marred. I mean, didn’t whatever got you try to go for the eyes too?” 

“Hey.” Mercury’s sharp tone stopped Rhubarb from any further inquiring about Oscar’s scars, the boy crossing his arms. “We still haven’t hashed out what it is that you do, anyways.” 

“I hack?” Rhubarb replied, arching a thick eyebrow. “Thought that title was kind of self explanatory.” 

“No, I mean - whatever, we need to hack into the Shade Academy security footage and database.” Emerald interjected. “Think you can do that?” 

“Sure.” The blaise answer took the whole group off guard. 

“...Sure?” That was it? “Is it really that easy?” Oscar asked.

“When you’re as talented and as good-looking as me, absolutely.” Rhubarb boasted, fingers flying across her keyboard, oblivious to everyone’s incredulous looks. “Give me a few hours. I’ll have the backdoor installed by then… Aw man, Theo’s gonna shit himself when he sees this.” The last part came out as a cheeky mumble, like Rhubarb was more talking to herself than to them.

Seeing as Rhubarb seemed pretty absorbed in what she was doing, the group turned to leave, only for Rhubarb to hold a hand up to stop them. “Hey, hold on,” She said, turning back around. “What’s the rush? We’ve got all day.” 

“Well we actually don’t, so if you’ll excuse us -” Mercury made another move to leave, but ran right into the wall. “Open the door, dumbass.” He snarled, turning back to face Rhubarb. 

“How about you tell me why you’re trying to break into Shade first?” Rhubarb retorted, crossing her arms. 

“What ever happened to client confidentiality?” Emerald snarked, putting a hand on her hip. 

“This is a pretty big project, you know. I could get arrested if this goes wrong. So you’ll have to excuse me if I want to know what I’m doing this for.” 

“I thought you said this was easy for you?” Oscar remarked. Rhubarb shrugged in response, making no move to open the door to let them leave. “...Fine. We’re going to steal the Vacuo catacomb blueprints.” 

“Oh, that? I didn’t know there was a map for it.” Rhubarb turned back around, and started typing again, the repetitive noise filling the room. “I have heard of the catacombs themselves though. Every now and then some poor schmuck wanders down there and dies of starvation or something. It’s why it’s not really a viable option for smuggling. Guess you want to be pioneers of the criminal world, huh?”

“We’re not trying to steal it for us!” Oscar exclaimed incredulously. 

Rhubarb arched an eyebrow, and the rest of the team gave Oscar a look, as he clamped a hand over his mouth. “...Oops.” He mumbled. 

“Great,” Mercury sighed. “Now we have to tell her about the notebook too, huh.” 

“Well NOW we do!” Emerald exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “Awesome job, guys!”

“There’s a notebook involved?” Rhubarb butted in. “Can I see?” 

Oscar reluctantly fished the OBISASTBBDWIFAGC notebook out of his bag, handing it over to Rhubarb. She flipped through it absent-mindily, brow furrowed in concentration, the room dead silent, as the group waiting for her verdict. 

“...Smart plan!” Rhubarb exclaimed when she was done, handing the notebook back to Oscar, who exhaled in relief. “Though, there ARE a few caveats. For example, where are you going to get three decoys?”

“That… we’re still figuring that bit out.” Oscar replied tightly. “Actually, I was wondering if maybe you could help us?” 

“Woah woah woah,” Rhubarb held up her hand to stop him, leaning back in her chair. “Hacking is one thing, ground work is another. You want my help with that, it’ll cost you.” 

I thought Junior was cashing in a favor! Neo signed indignantly. 

“For HACKING.” Rhubarb reminded her. “And that was a volunteer gig. So I’m not getting paid for this at all. So excuse me if I would like some compensation for extra work.” 

“No one’s asking you to vol-” Emerald blocked Mercury from taking a step forward and escalating the situation. She gave him a meaningful look, as if to say: That’s enough. Mercury scowled, but took a step back, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms, eyes cast to the ground. 

How much? Neo signed. 

“Let’s see… for playing decoy at the ball and having to make the trip out there, as well as getaway and outfit costs?” Rhubarb tapped her chin thoughtfully before turning back. “I’d say 20K.” 

“TWENTY THOUSAND LIEN?!” The group exclaimed. 

Rhubarb shrugged. “Hey, my services aren’t cheap. How else do you think I keep my front open? Besides,” Rhubarb turned back to her computer, a smug smile on her face. “You’re lucky it’s not more. Only reason it’s not 40K is because I ate a super tasty orange earlier, so I’m in a good mood right now.” 

Oscar looked helplessly at Neo, who shrugged in response. “...Is there any way we can lower the price for you?” He asked. “Anything you’d take instead?” 

Rhubarb swirled around suddenly, standing up and jabbing her index finger in Oscar’s face. “Listen here, pipsqueak.” She said, tone decidedly more cold. “There’s only two things in this world that are worth my time, and that’s information and lien. And since I already know most of what there is to know about you, and you lot seem to be lacking in the latter, we have no more business here.” 

“But-” Emerald started, before Rhubarb turned to glare at her, which shut her up quickly. 

“Find someone else to do your dirty work. I’ll stay here and do what I SIGNED UP to do, thank you very much. Good day!” The panel slid open, revealing the outside. The group stood and stared at it, dumbfounded. Neo was the first to move, slowly trudging out, casting a dirty look in Rhubarb’s direction, who paid her no mind. Slowly, one by one, they began to walk out, only for Mercury to stop halfway out. 

He blinked. Like an idea had dawned on him. 

Emerald turned back to face him. “Merc?” She asked. “What’s the matter?” 

Mercury whirled back on his heels, stalking up to Rhubarb’s desk. “You’re already pushing your luck by sticking around, tin can.” Rhubarb drawled, not looking up from her work. “So why don’t you -”

Mercury slammed one of his legs down on her desk, causing Rhubarb to jump back, spilling a can of soda all over the floor. 

“How about this?” Mercury shot back. “You know how much prosthetics like these cost?” 

“Mercury, what are you doing?” Oscar exclaimed. Mercury ignored him. 

“400K.” He finished. “Imagine what you could do with money like that.” 

Emerald caught on to what he was suggesting, red eyes open in horror. “Merc, no -!” 

Rhubarb turned, all attention on Mercury now, curiosity piqued. “What are you offering?” She asked. 

“You do what we asked you to, and play decoy when the charity ball happens,” Mercury continued, voice shaking just a little bit. “And in return, you can get my legs.” 

“Mercury, no!” Emerald yanked Mercury off the table, turning to face him. “What are you doing?!” 

“It’s the only option we have!!” Mercury shot back, pulling his arm out of Emerald’s grasp. “We need ground forces. And we know she can fight and hack, she’s the best option!” 

“We can find help somewhere else!” Oscar butted in. “Somewhere we don’t need to sell your legs!” 

“It’s not up to you guys!”

“It’s not up to JUST YOU EITHER!!!” Oscar’s uncharacteristic shout startled everyone in the room into silence, Oscar huffing in response. Mercury swallowed, taken aback. 

“...It’s not.” He continued. “You’re our friend, Mercury.” Mercury opened his mouth to object, but Oscar continued. “And more than that, we’re a team. All of us.” He pointed to Emerald and Neo, who were nodding in response. “And that means we make decisions as a team.”

“He’s right.” Emerald said, stepping forward. “We either make stupid decisons together,” She looked up at Mercury, red gaze soft, yet intense. “Or not at all.” Neo nodded twice, hair bobbing up and down, to emphasize Emerald’s point.

Mercury was stunned into silence, silver eyes wide. He blinked once, twice, before looking down to the floor. 

“...If we’re a team,” Mercury started, voice uncharacteristically quiet. “Then can you trust me on this?” 

There was a beat, where Mercury inhaled.

”I’ve done jack-shit this entire trip.” He said quietly. “And I want to stop Sa- stop her as much as you guys do. And if I’ve gotta give up my legs to do that, then I will. So - so let me do this, alright?”

There’s a moment of silence, where everyone sat, lost in their own thoughts. 

As much as I hate to say it, Neo signed, hand gestures small and muted. I think he’s right. 

“Neo-!” Emerald exclaimed incredulously, before she silenced her again with her hand gestures. 

This Rhubarb chick is a good fighter, she’s already in on what we’re up to, and could reasonably make a fake ID to match herself, She started. And, push comes to shove, we can steal Mercury a new pair of legs.

“Yeah,” Oscar piped up. “I mean, Vacuo IS the city of automail. How hard can it be to find a replacement?” 

“I thought you were anti-stealing.” Emerald remarked. 

“This is a special case.” Oscar replied, sticking his tongue out. 

“Wow, cute moment guys.” All heads turned to face Rhubarb, who was picking at her nails. “Really heartwarming. Thought I was gonna get an ulcer - so am I getting these legs as payment or not?” 

“We’re gonna need them for the heist.” Emerald interjected. “After that, we’ll give them to you.” 

Rhubarb tapped her chin thoughtfully again, before smiling devilishly. “Alrighty then.” She said, “We got a deal?” 

Mercury stuck out his calloused hand, and Rhubarb shook it. “Awesome. I’ll start looking for a dress. Oh -” She piped up as the team began to filter out. “One more thing.” 

Rhubarb gestured for Mercury to come over, which he reluctantly did. She fished around in the drawer under her desk, before procuring two small metal discs. Pressing the top, they glowed purple, and magnetized to both of Mercury’s legs. “Collateral.” She said, “These are trackers. If you try and pry them off, or they pick up that you’re located ANYWHERE except Vacuo, they’ll send out EMP pulses and render these bad boys useless.” She finished, slapping the side of Mercury’s prosthetics like it was a car hood. “Sounds good?” 

“...Peachy.” Mercury gritted out, clearly not thrilled about the prospect of mini-EMP-detonators being strapped to his legs at all times. 

(why does she even have something like that laying around has she done this before, Neo signed.)

“Great! See you then!” Rhubarb turned back to keep typing, and the group slowly filtered outside. 

Oscar was the last one to leave, but he stopped, a nagging feeling in his gut. Turning around, he looked at Rhubarb, face obscured by the bright light of her netscreens, head turned away from him. “...You said you volunteered for this?” He asked quietly. 

“Yup.” 

“…Why?” 

Rhubarb didn’t look up, blue light reflecting off of her glasses, eyes hidden. 

“...Let’s just say I’ve got more of a personal stake in this than you might think, and leave it at that.” Rhubarb said, tone softer than Oscar had ever heard it. “See you later, kid.” 

“Well that SUCKED.” Emerald sighed the minute they were outside again, the bright afternoon sun harsh after being in the dark for so long. Emerald turned to look at Mercury, who was resolutely staring forward. “You okay?” She asked. 

“...I’m alright.” He sighed. “Just not thrilled about having to be wheelchair-bound again.” 

We’ll make sure to get you new legs as soon as we can. Neo signed. They may not have guns in them, but hopefully we can help you mod it back in. 

“Sure.” 

There’s an awkward beat of silence, where the four of them just kind of stood there, each person wanting to speak up, but no one doing so. 

Mercury finally broke the awkward silence, kicking at the ground. “Hey -” He said, and Oscar perked up. “Did you uh - did you really mean what you said about the whole ‘team’ thing?” 

Oscar blinked, taken aback. “I - uh -” He swallowed, hazel eyes flitting back down to the ground. “If you want to be?” 

Another pause, which was somehow EXPONENTIALLY more awkward than the last. 

“I’ve never been on a team before.” Emerald finally said. “Well… I guess kinda, when I was at Beacon, but that was more a cover story.” 

I mean, I dunno. Neo signed, exhaling . I kinda like the sound of it. At least gives whatever this is - she gestured to the four of them - an actual name. 

“So… is it official?” When no one objected, Oscar kept going. “Should we come up with a name or whatever?”

"I don’t think we’re at that stage yet.” Mercury snarked, and Emerald laughed at that. “Give it like a few weeks.” 

“Sure.” Oscar said, as the four of them - their team - walked down the street to their next destination. “I’ll brainstorm names while I wait.” 

Chapter Text

Step 2: Find three people to be our decoys.

“She’s not gonna do it.” Emerald huffed, standing in front of the entrance to the club Junior was working at, the crimson-bricked building looming large over all of their heads. “She hates us.”

“Well, she doesn’t hate me.” Oscar replied, walking up to the door. “I wasn’t even at Beacon.”

“So? You’re still associated with us.” Emerald retorts, crossing her arms. It’s not like she DOESN’T want the help, it’s just more so that she doesn’t want to waste their valuable 72-hour window trying to convince someone who’s so stubborn, it would put Hazel to shame. 

Maybe she’s forgotten about it? Neo unhelpfully signed. 

“Uh, did you SEE her face when we went to Junior’s last time? She looked like she wanted to kill us.” Mercury remarked, rolling his shoulders back in a vain attempt to release tension. “I’m with Emerald on this one. It’s a waste of time, let’s go somewhere else.”

“Look,” Oscar swiveled around to face the group, his best ‘team leader’ face plastered on. “She already knows about what we’re doing, and you’ve worked with her before. Besides, would you rather ask Junior?” The three of them shuffled in place awkwardly. No matter how bad this was gonna be, working with Junior was worse. Emerald had already had enough of his whining back in Vale to last three lifetimes. “That’s what I thought.” Oscar said, turning back around and opening the door. “Trust me guys, it’ll be fine.” 

“Easy for you to say, you weren’t forced to work with these goons.” Mercury grumbled, ducking through the door into a long, dark hallway, illuminated only by dim yellow fluorescents, no natural light seeping through. At the end of the hall, was an even bigger door, flanked by two bouncers, and Emerald internally groaned. Great, on top of everything, now they had to finagle their way past these guys. 

Well, since you're so insistent on asking, you can go in first. Neo signed, a smirk crossing her face. 

“That’s - I, uh -” Oscar balked, as Neo pushed him to the front of the group. “Maybe you should go ahead? I’m technically not even allowed in here, so-”

Nose game. Neo quickly signed. 

Emerald, Mercury, and Neo all immediately tapped the bridge of their noses, leaving Oscar confused, before he realized what was going on. “H-Hey!” He exclaimed indignantly. “I wasn’t ready!”

“You’re just mad cause you lo~ost.” Mercury sing-songed, tapping his nose once again. 

“Fine.” Oscar grumbled, turning back around and approaching the bouncers, looming tall over the four of them. “Uh - excuse me?” He asked, all confidence from earlier lost. “Can we come in? We have someone we need to speak to-”

“You lot look a little young to be in here.” The first bouncer said, eyes impassable behind his dark sunglasses. (seriously, who needed dark sunglasses in this dim-ass hallway, anyways?!) “Got any ID?” 

The four of them reluctantly fork over their fakes (Save for Neo, who was actually over twenty-one), Emerald crossing her toes that the bouncer would be too stupid to notice. They weren’t terrible fake IDs, but they weren’t fantastic either, considering they had gotten them from Junior on such a short notice. The IDs were made to look like they were issued in Vale, since that was the best Junior could get on such a small timeframe, so the indication that they were from Vale was probably already a strike against them. Combine that with how grungy the team knew they looked from weeks of staking out around town and showering as little as possible to save lien? Yeah, the bouncers were on guard immediately. 

“...There’s no way you’re twenty-five.” The bouncer on the right piped up, pointing a meaty finger at Oscar. “You’re way too young.” 

“Hey, what crawled up your butt and died?” Mercury interjected before Oscar or Emerald could say anything. “‘S not my friend’s fault he’s short, okay? Buzz off.” 

“And what about you?” The bouncer on the left remarked, turning to Emerald. “You also look pretty young.” 

“Plastic surgery.” Emerald said, at the same time Oscar said: “She’s also short.” Emerald fixed Oscar a death glare, and he mouthed ‘sorry’ at her. 

“So are you short, or did you get work done?” Right-Bouncer asked, brow furrowing under his sunglasses. 

“Both.” Emerald replied, recovering her composure. “Had an accident. Burned off a good chunk of my face, so they had to reconstruct it.” 

“Must have cost a great deal.” Left-Bouncer said. “Why would someone like you be in a place like this if you have that kind of money?” 

“Because I don’t have it anymore, I spent it.” Emerald retorted, crossing her arms. “Can we stop with the interrogation, and just go in already?” 

“No, I don’t think so.” Right-Bouncer and Left-Bouncer both took a step forward, the four of them taking one back. “I don’t buy these IDs. In fact, if I had to wager, I’d say these are fake.” 

I bet you can’t even see them, with your stupid sunglasses and all. Neo signed, gritting her teeth in response. 

“...What did she say?” Right-Bouncer asked Left-Bouncer, who shrugged in response. 

“That’s it,” Mercury growled, pushing to the front of the group. “You let us in now, or so help me, I’ll-”

“BER! DWAR! What the hell are you two doing?!” 

Oh, fuck. 

The group turned to see a young woman standing in the door, hands on her hips. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, several white and red feathers sticking out of the top of it, fur adorned around her neck. She advanced forward, heels clacking against the marble floor, short red dress swishing around her. A longer piece of red fabric was tied to the diadem around her waist, flowing out behind her and shimmering with every step. Black lace gloves and stockings adorned her arms and legs, offsetting the bright red cuffs around her wrists. But contrary to her elegant and poised appearance was her face. Her bright green eyes were bloodshot and graying, as if she hadn’t slept in a while, and spread across her cheekbones and the brow of her nose were coarse, puckered burn scars, as if something had exploded in front of her. She strutted up to the two bouncers, grabbing Right-Bouncer by his black tie. “Did I ask you to harass the customers?!” She hissed. “I swear, first you fuck up attendance at the Mirage, and now this? I should fire you for-”

She stopped, realizing just who exactly the people standing in front of her were. 

“...Hey Miltia.” Emerald managed to eke out. “What’s up?” 

Miltia Malachite dropped Right-Bouncer’s tie, turning to face the group, eyes widened in a mix of surprise and anger. Caught under the scrutiny of her gaze, Emerald couldn’t help but shrink a little, doubling down on her realization that this had been a very, very bad idea. 

“...Ber, you’re unfired.” Miltia said, turning on her heel and walking back inside. Entrance unblocked, the team stood there awkwardly, no one really knowing quite what to do, until Miltia stuck her head back into the hallway. “You wanted to come in, right?” She barked. “Then get your asses in here!”

“Yes ma’am!” Oscar squeaked, scrambling inside, the three of them following suit. 

The inside of the club was just as red as the outside, if not even more so. Yellow and white lights flashed across the dance floor, and suspended above them was a balcony, full of round empty tables. The marble beneath their feet sparked in the dim light, and Emerald could spy dark, obsidian pillars, arching all the way up to the ceiling, and tucked all the way in the corner, was a small bar, red stools spread out haphazardly around it. In short, it looked like the much cheaper version of the club that Junior had been running back in Vale. Emerald was suddenly overcome with a small pang of nostalgia, a memory of sitting at the tables, smell of cheap booze all around her, lounging with Mercury while Roman and Cinder talked business with Junior. She hadn’t paid any mind to the two girls loitering around him all the time, one dressed in white and green, the other in black and red. The few times they had made eye contact, they had always looked away. But now, as Miltia stared at her, it was Emerald’s turn to gaze downward, cowed and ashamed. 

“Well?” Miltia barked, crossing her arms. “You obviously came here because you needed something, so spill. Though I’m not gonna listen unless there’s begging involved, that’s more than you criminals deserve.”

We’re the criminals?! Neo signed, indignantly taking a step forward. Aren’t you the one who’s the heir to an international crime syndicate? 

“At least The Spiders don’t destroy entire cities, killing thousands and displacing millions.” Miltia shot back. “And at least I don’t kidnap teenagers!” 

“Wait - when did we kidnap a teenager?” Mercury whispered to the three of them. “Because I feel like I would remember that.” 

“Then why is HE here?” Miltia retorted, pointing to Oscar. 

“Oh - I didn’t get kidnapped. I’m just tagging along.” Oscar replied. 

“Oh.” Miltia’s expression softened for a second into something resembling confusion, before hardening back into a mask of anger and indifference. “Well, my first point still stands!”

Emerald winced inwardly. She didn’t really have a rebuttal for that. 

“Look, Ms. Miltia -” Oscar started, before Miltia shot a searingly cold look in his direction, and he shut up. 

“Unless whatever you’re about to tell me includes at least three billion lien for property damage and a call to the police to turn yourselves in, I don’t want to hear it.” Miltia spat, red lips curled downwards into a snarl. 

“Hey, that wasn’t all our fault.” Mercury interjected. “You want to blame someone, blame Salem.” 

“Right, Salem. Let me just go call up the evil magic Grimm lady who’s somehow responsible for every bad thing that’s ever happened in the world and tell her all this.” Miltia remarked sarcastically, tossing her black hair over her shoulder. “You four are so full of shit.” 

Which is why we’re trying to fix it! Neo interjected, stomping her foot to get everyone’s attention. And we need your help if we’re gonna do that. 

“I’m sorry.” Miltia scoffed, scowling. “You mean to tell me that you came all the way here to ask me to help you?! Need I remind you of WHAT exactly you’ve done?”

“Look, Miltia, we’re sorry.” Emerald butted in. “Which is why we’re trying to-”

“Sorry?” Miltia chuckled, and then laughed, an awful, bitter sound, throwing her head back, Emerald catching a glimpse of The Spider tattoo on her tongue. “SORRY?!” The team looked around awkwardly, Emerald shuffling in place, waiting for Miltia to stop laughing. When she did, her face morphed from some curel facsimile of a laugh, to cold, hard anger. 

“Sorry isn’t gonna bring Melanie back.” 

Emerald looked down at the floor, unable to meet Miltia’s eyes. She had a feeling that Melanie may not have made it out of Vale, considering she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her every time they met up with Junior. But the first time they had seen Miltia again, when the team let Junior know that Ali B was in jail and they could get their hacker now, Miltia had been standing in the corner, all by herself. And then, Emerald knew. Miltia never went anywhere without her beloved sister Melanie with her. And if Miltia was alone, that could only really mean one thing. 

But still - hearing it directly from Miltia was a bit of a gut punch. A stark reminder of what exactly she had done. 

(As if going back to Vale wasn’t enough of one.)

“I still don’t know why Junior even entertained the idea of working with you guys.” Miltia continued, voice icy cold. “If it were me, I would have chopped you up into several pieces and thrown you into the sewers myself.” 

“...They’re coming here.” Emerald finally said, refusing to make eye contact. “The people behind Vale. And they’re not gonna stop unless we make them.” 

“We?!” Miltia exclaimed incredulously. “I’m sorry, there’s no WE in this.” 

“If you’re really sorry about Vale, then fix it!!” Emerald snapped.

The whole room fell silent. 

“...Excuse me?” Miltia snarled. Emerald stepped forward, ignoring the warning gazes of the rest of the group, anger churning in her gut. 

“You’ve been sitting here, lecturing us about Vale, but you played just as much a part in it as we did.” Emerald responded. “Need I remind you who exactly bankrolled Cinder’s antics? Whose warehouses we stored the stolen Dust in? Who got us the resources and means to even get into the Vytal Festival Tournament in the first place?!”

“NONE of us would have if we had known!!” Miltia shot back, voice cracking. “I didn’t think it’d get so many people killed, I just thought she’d steal some stuff and that’d be it!”

“Well, you still did it anyway!”

“At least I didn’t know! At least I didn’t stand back, film the whole thing, AND WATCH HALF OF VALE DIE!!” 

Silence fell on the group, the few people in the club turning to look at the commotion. Emerald balks, tongue suddenly feeling lead-like in her mouth. She’s catapulted back a year and a half ago, standing on the Vale rooftops as Cinder laughed, she and Mercury holding the cameras. The vivid memory of ash and screaming, smoke stinging her face. 

Just as quickly as the memory resurfaced, Emerald shoved it back down. “Miltia, I-”

Miltia pushed her away, green eyes molten. “Get. Out.” She spat. 

This time, no one argued with her. 

“Fuck.” Emerald sighed the minute they were back outside, harsh evening sun a relief after the cold and dark club they had been in. “God fucking dammit.” Her self-loathing is interrupted by Neo tapping her shoulder twice, Emerald turning to face her. 

That wasn’t on you, She signed. It’s on all of us. 

“Especially me.” Oscar stepped forward, hazel eyes downcast. “I didn’t realize just how bad it was between her and you guys - I’m really sorry.” 

“Don’t be, you had no way to know.” Emerald posits, slumping down to sit on the curb, the rest of the team joining her. “None of us did.” 

There’s a pensive silence, so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

…You were the ones filming it? Neo finally signed, hand gestures more muted than usual. 

Emerald looked at Mercury, whose expression is just as full of pain and regret as her’s probably is. “...Yeah.” Mercury finally says, rolling his shoulders back. “It was upon Cinder’s request, but I didn’t really protest.” 

“Oh.” Oscar looked down at the pavement, seemingly very interested in the butt of a cigarette beneath his boots. Emerald looked away as well, eyes drifting to the familiar buildings she knew so well, their normally impressive visage now looming dark and gloomy in the thick shadow of sundown. She knew she had done terrible things - horrible, awful, messed up things - but she’d been trying to ignore that reality for so long, that it almost blindsided her when it came back up again. Real people - actual living, breathing people, with lives, homes, and families - had been torn apart because of the attacks. Because of her. Because of all of them. 

Their past actions were something they had all tried not to think about, much less talk about. That rule was obvious, even in its unspoken nature. 

But now, Emerald had to speak. If at least, to get this lump out of her throat. 

“We’re not gonna let it happen again.” She said, finally. “I refuse.” 

“I know.” Mercury replied, silver eyes still cast downward. “We get it.” 

Emerald kicked the curb, white boots scuffing against the pavement. There was more she wanted to say, more she needed to say - but the lump in her throat stuck. 

Maybe that was enough for one day. 

If it makes you feel any better, Neo signed. You all seem pretty different from when we first met, so that’s something. 

“Barely anything.” Mercury mumbled. 

“It’s a start.” Oscar remarked, shrugging. 

Gods know we all need it, lay unspoken. 

“There you all are.” 

The group looked up, to see a mildly sweaty, disheveled silhouette in the setting sun. Emerald squinted against the harsh light, trying to see the person’s face throughout all the thick shadow. 

“Do we… know you?” Oscar asked. 

The person sighed, opening a parasol, muttering;  “Goddamn Vacuo heat - I hate it here.”

Underneath the umbrella’s folds, Emerald can finally make out a face, red eyes meeting ice cold blue. 

“...Whitley?” 

Whitley Schnee, in what could barely constitute being called a disguise - a pair of sunglasses and a black coat draped across his shoulders - scowled back at her, though with a hint of nervousness that was lacking in their previous interactions. 

“...I need to talk to you.”

Chapter Text

Step 3: Get a ride. (Steal an airship if we have to??)

It was only through standing right next to the guy that Neo came to the unfortunate realization that Whitley Schnee had a few inches on her. 

The five of them stalked through the crowded streets of Vacuo, Whitley’s inconspicuous black coat and parasol standing out amongst the throngs of people dressed in lighter, more casual clothes. The remaining four of them trailed awkwardly behind him, having no clue what was even happening. 

“Um… Whitley -” Whitley cut Oscar off by holding up a hand, and he snapped his mouth shut. Mercury made a noise of irritation at Whitley’s callousness, taking a step forward to smack some sense into him, but was stopped by Emerald, who shook her head in warning. 

“Let’s just hear what he has to say.” Emerald mumbled. “If it’s dumb, then you can hit him.”

“Gladly.” Mercury growled back. Neo almost missed it, but she could see Whitley stiffen up slightly in response. 

The group rounded the corner, before seeing a large, looming apartment complex tower over them. Its sleek metal plating and heavy abundance of glass was at immediate odds with everything else around it, and the group was instantly on guard, recognizing it as a more high-scale joint. 

“Relax. This is where I’m staying for the time being, and I figured it’d be safer to talk here than anywhere else.” Whitley said, opening the door. “Though you may want to disguise yourselves like you did before.” 

Neo nodded, activating her Semblance, feeling cool air wash over her and the other three. She manifested three hoity-toity looking businessmen, with pressed ties and pinstriped suits. Emerald gagged a little when she looked down at herself, and Mercury wrinkled up his nose in distaste, but they followed in after Whitley. 

The foyer was just as fancy as the building’s outside, all pristine marble and glass. Above them, dangled a silver chandelier, and Neo mentally made a note that it was hanging by a chain rather than a rope, so if they needed a distraction, Mercury would probably have to be the one to shoot it. 

“Good day. Can I see your room numbers?” The clerk asked when the four of them entered. 

“There’s no need.” Whitley interjected. “They’re with me.”

The clerk raised an eyebrow, but said nothing of it, instead pressing a button under his desk to call the elevator. The metal doors opened with a quiet ‘ping’ and the five of them stepped inside. 

The elevator was huge, probably able to fit at least twenty people inside. The walls were all lined with mirrors, Neo’s disguise staring back at her no matter which direction she turned. It was always unnerving, seeing a stranger staring back at her no matter how many times she did it. 

The doors opened with a quiet swish, and the five of them walked down the hallway, plush carpeting sinking underneath Neo’s heels. They turned a corner, before Whitley stopped at Room 926, and took out a keycard, swiping it at the doorknob. When it glowed green, the door clicked, and Whitley stepped inside, gesturing for the rest to follow. 

The room was just as nice as everything else in the building. The room spread out before them was spacious, with a large, crackling fireplace and a white couch set up next to it. There was a spiral staircase heading up to what looked to be a second floor, and another, smaller chandelier dangled above the group, Neo adding that to her mental list of things to break if an escape was needed. The minute everyone was inside, Neo slammed the door shut, disguises falling away. What do you want? She signed. 

Whitley squinted at her hands, presumably translating what she said, before taking a deep breath. “I’m not here to cause trouble.” Whitley responded, wringing his hands. “I’m sorry for the lack of an explanation, but I wanted to get us someplace where there’d be less chance of someone overhearing us.” 

“That’s fair.” Emerald admitted, rubbing the back of her head. “The streets are pretty crowded. It’d probably be super easy to eavesdrop if you’re subtle about it.” 

“You still haven’t told us what you want, anyways.” Mercury butted in, crossing his arms. “We’re on a pretty tight schedule, so I suggest you make this quick.” 

“R-right.” Whitley looked down at the carpet, shuffling in place awkwardly. Neo looked at Oscar, who shrugged in response. 

“...So?” Emerald asked. “Like Merc said, we don’t have all day -”

“I want to help.” 

The four of them blinked in surprise. 

Whitley straightened up, throwing his shoulders back and taking a deep breath. “Whatever you’re doing, I want to help.” He declared. 

“I… wait, hang on,” Emerald interrupted, waving her hands in confusion. “First off, I don’t even think you know what that sentence entails, and second, how do you even know what our plan is in the first place?” 

“This.” Whitley pulled out his scroll, showing the blue screen to the rest of the room. Neo leaned in, before blanching, realizing that the page that Whitley had open was none other than - 

“The article on the blueprints.” Oscar exclaimed, taking the scroll from Whitley’s gloved hands. “The ones Neo found on the dark web!”

“What the hell were you doing at a place like this?” Mercury remarked, snatching the scroll and glaring at it. 

“Same as you were.” Whitley admitted. “Trying to find out where exactly the Dust that was stolen from me might have gone.” He moved to sit on the white couch, throwing his trenchcoat over the side and leaning back in his seat. “It didn’t take long to find this document floating around, and what’s more, some rumored correlation with the person who stole my Dust.” 

“Tyrian.” Emerald breathed. Whitley shuddered at that, a full body reaction, and he grabbed his arm self-consciously. 

“No,” He continued, gingerly extracting his scroll from Mercury’s iron grip. “Not him. He was an enforcer, but the other person there was the real culprit.” 

The lady with the red hair? Neo signed in confusion. I thought she was just hired help. 

“Perhaps. But she’s the one who made off with all my Dust, and what’s more, she’s the one who leaked the blueprint’s existence.” Whitley swiped left on his scroll, and turned it around, showing the group an image. It seemed to be a candid photo of a woman, the same woman that the group had seen that night at Vale. Upon closer examination, Neo could see her heart shaped lips, her round face, and slender neck. She wore her red hair up in two space-buns, and her eyes were cold and calculating, despite her being mid-laugh in the picture. Like the face of a woman who had a full hand in poker and was ready to play it. 

“Her name is Amo Cardac.” Whitley explained. “She’s the daughter of Azmodius Sweeper, an incredibly wealthy businessman from Atlas.”

Oh, the arcade entrepreneur? Neo signs, leaning back against the wall. I know a guy who owns one of those places. 

“Oh yeah, we met his daughter back in Vale!” Oscar exclaimed, snapping his fingers in recognition. “Madeline, right?”

“That’s not important.” Whitley interrupted, much to Neo’s chagrin. “What’s important is that Amo has been on record several times for incredibly reckless, and quite frankly, criminal behavior. The only reason she hasn’t been detained yet is because of her wealth and influence.” 

“What’d she do?” Mercury asked. 

“She runs a casino, but she’s been involved in underground fighting rings, drug trafficking, and several gangs.” Whitley replies, shutting his scroll and putting it away. “And I have reason to believe that she’s probably involved in this blueprint nonsense as well.” He looked up, then, with an ice-cold and calculating gaze. “Just like you four.” 

The group was instantly on guard, Neo reaching for Hush, leaning against the coat rack. How do you know about that? She signed, gritting her teeth. 

“When I heard you lot were heading to Vacuo for some kind of mission, and then learned about the blueprints that could potentially be in danger, it didn’t take much for me to put two and two together.” Whitley shrugged, but eyeing Neo’s weapon with a mildly unnerved gaze. “It really doesn’t take a genius to figure you guys out.” 

“We’re not stealing it for us.” Oscar admitted, hand dropping from the hilt of Temporal Justice. “After we take it, we’re going to destroy it, so Salem can’t get her hands on it.” 

“Salem…” Whitley’s gaze turned despondent, and he looked down at the floor. “You know, a lot of people still doubt she’s real around these parts. A good chunk of them still think it was just an isolated Grimm incident.” 

“You don’t, right?” Mercury pressed. 

Whitley looked up, then, gaze steely. “Black, I had a talking Grimm break into my house and kill my mother. I only managed to escape to Mantle because she stuck me in an airship after it bit my leg off. I spent two months stuck in the ruins of Mantle filled with Grimm after Atlas left, and every day when I woke up, I saw that massive whale looming over me no matter where I went.” He clenched his fist, so hard his nails had to have been digging into his skin under his gloves. “Tell me, do you think I’d doubt Salem’s existence after that?”

The room was silent for a few moments, each of them awkwardly shuffling in place. Neo knew that the people of Mantle were mostly wiped out after Atlas’s departure, but hearing an account first hand… she could feel her gut twisting a bit. She didn’t feel good about it, that’s for sure. 

“...So why help us?” Emerald asked, crossing her arms. “Why not just take it to the police?”

“The Vacuian police?” Whitley snarked, sticking his chin out in defiance. “Do you honestly think that the Vacuian police force, universally reviled for their lack of order or honor, known for being corrupt, will be able to do anything about this? That, in the chance Amo is involved, she won’t just buy them out herself?” Whitley shook his head, looking away. “No. I’d rather take a chance with you four.”

You didn’t answer the question. Neo pressed, rapping her knuckles twice against the coat rack to get everyone’s attention. When the room turned to stare at her, she continued. Why us specifically? What makes you think you’ll have any more luck with us than with the police? 

That took Whitley aback, and he turned to look away, eyes shifting down to the carpet in pensiveness. Neo counted the seconds in her head, as the quiet dragged on, feeling antsy beneath her skin. “...I owe you a debt.” He said finally, after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence. “I had been nothing but cruel to you in Vale, and you saved my life anyways. I didn’t deserve that kindness, but you showed it nonetheless.” He looked up, then, eyes crinkling at the edges with a slight smile. “I’m glad my initial instincts about you were right, even if it was for an entirely selfish reason.” 

The group looked at each other, taken aback. Neo sensed that there might be more to his statement than what he was letting on, but decided not to push the issue. After a moment, the silence was broken by Emerald chucking. “That was surprisingly nice, coming from a hardass like you.” She snarked. 

Whitley’s expression immediately reverted back to a scowl. “Don’t take it the wrong way,” He grumbled. “This makes us allies, but not friends.” 

(“Now where have I heard that one before?” Oscar muttered, giving Neo a look, who stuck her tongue back out at him in response.)

“Well, alright then.” Emerald reached into her pocket and procured the notebook with the plan in it, much to Oscar’s shock at how she even got her hands on it in the first place. “Take a look.” 

The room was silent for a few minutes as Whitley read through the plan. Neo took the time to sit down on one of the plush chairs in the corner, and the others followed suit, Mercury sitting on the floor, Emerald on the coffee table, and Oscar on the other side of the couch. After a moment, Whitley looked up, blue eyes crinkled in annoyance. “Would it kill you to sit normally?” He muttered through gritted teeth. 

“Eh. This is more comfortable.” Mercury remarked, lying down on his back and stretching like a cat in sunlight. 

“I hardly think that a wooden floor is more comfortable than a chair, but fine, whatever.” Whitley snapped the book shut, handing it back to Emerald. “I think I may be able to help you. Your penmanship is atrocious, though.” He said. 

“Oh, don’t blame that on me, this is Oscar’s doing.” Emerald replied.

(“As if yours is any better.” Oscar retorts, crossing his arms and pouting. Neo pats his shoulder in exaggerated sympathy.)

Emerald rolls her eyes at that, and opts to ignore him. “But yeah, we do need an escape plan,” She continues, “And you could really easily get us an airship-”

“No, not with that.” Whitley said, crossing his arms. “I mean with the actual heist part.”

Neo sat up, arching a thin eyebrow. You? She signed. No offense, but that’s probably gonna require some actual combat skills. 

“I can fight.” Whitley shot back, brow furrowing. “I’ll have you know that I’m quite good with a gun.” 

“Uhuh.” Mercury remarked, rolling his neck back. “Who taught you, your sisters?”

“No one. I learned when I was stranded in Mantle.” Whitley replied.

Mercury blanched, pursing his lips awkwardly at his faux-pass. “O-oh.” He mumbled. “My bad.”

“Surviving a hostile environment is one thing, but precision is another.” Oscar interjected. “Trust me, I’d know. You can swing a sword in any way you want as long as it kills Grimm, but actually fighting another person with it is another story.” 

“Alright then.” Whitley stood up, and snatched one pistol of Thief’s Respite out of Emerald’s holsters before she could protest. He stalked over to the balcony, opening the sliding glass door, and gestured for the rest of them to come outside. 

On the balcony, the rest of Vacuo loomed large below them, with the bustling streets and crowds of people looking like tiny dots from their angle. Above, a flock of birds soared past, and the shoddier apartment complex next to them had several clotheslines out, fabric fluttering in the breeze. Whitley cocked the gun, chain dragging on the ground. “What do you want me to hit?” He asked. 

The group all looked at each other. 

“Give me a target!” Whitley exclaimed, exasperated. 

That shot Mercury into action, and he stepped forward. “Alright, let’s see…” A devious grin spread on his face, the smile of someone who knows they’ve won an argument and are two seconds away from breaking into full-blown gloating. “That pot on the windowsill in the apartment across the way, the rope of the bottom clothesline, the bird furthest to the right, and -”

BANG!!

The clay pot in the windowsill shattered into a million pieces, dirt spilling everywhere. 

BANG!!

The clothesline snapped in half, shirts and skirts fluttering away in the breeze. 

BANG!!

The pigeon furthest away let out a massive screech, before toppling down to the ground below. (Much to Neo’s horror.)

The smile slipped from Mercury’s face. 

Whitley turned to face them, grinning, barrel smoking from the shots. “How’s that?” He asked, hand on his hips. 

Emerald was the first to recover, laughing good-naturedly, and taking the gun from his outstretched hand. “Yeah, I think we can work with that.” 

“Glad to hear it.” Whitley shook her hand, something resembling relief passing over his face. “Give me your scroll numbers and address. I’ll contact you at some point tomorrow.” 

Wait. Whitley turned to see Neo staring slyly back at him, an idea occurring to her. Can you help us with something? 

“I thought I already told you that I - holy shit.” Miltia’s eyes went wide at the large stack of lien that Emerald had slammed down on the bar table. All eyes in the club turned to face the two of them, as the rest of the group flanked behind Neo, watching for anyone who might try and steal the money Whitley had given them. “Where the hell did you get this?” Miltia asked.

“A friend of ours lent it to us.” Oscar replied, stepping forward. “Would that convince you to help?” 

Miltia, visibly conflicted, looked down at the massive stack of money, then back at Emerald, then down again. “I-”

We’re not asking you to forgive us. Neo signed. We’re not even asking you to talk to us. But we’re trying to save Vacuo. We’re trying to stop what happened to Vale from happening here. And we - Neo’s hands suddenly trembled, and she had to clench her fists to stop it before continuing. And we can’t do it without you. 

Miltia sat for a second, brow furrowed in thought. “...Junior filled me in. So, you really aren't gonna do anything with the blueprints?” She asked. 

“That’s the plan.” Mercury replied. 

Miltia sighed, brushing black hair out of her scarred face. 

“Fine.” She muttered. “But just this once.” 

Neo nodded, and the four of them turned towards the door to leave. Emerald, however, stopped, turning back to face Miltia. 

“Thank you.” She said, “And I’m sorry.”

Miltia looked genuinely taken aback by Emerald’s apology, before regaining her composure, pushing the lien under the counter. “Just get out of here, Sustrai.” She mumbled. 

All in all, it was a fairly productive few days, I’d say. Neo signed, evening sun flaring against their faces as the four of them began their walk back to the crummy apartment they had rented. We got our hacker, the decoys, and now someone to bankroll our antics!

“I’m pretty sure that was a one time thing.” Oscar remarked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Whitley really didn’t look happy at that request.”

“Well, whatever, he can deal with it.” The four of them stopped by a food truck, Emerald handing the man some lien in exchange for four corndogs. “In the meantime, we need to solidify the exact chain of events.” She said, handing out the corndogs between the four of them. 

“Can we do that tomorrow? I’m tired.” Mercury whined, taking a massive bite out of his corndog, before making a face, and spitting out half of the wooden stick. “If I have to think anymore, I’m gonna melt into a pile of goo.”

“Not like you think much already.” Emerald teased, earning her a flick on the head as the four of them took a shortcut through an alleyway. “Hey! You know it’s true-”

“I found you!!” 

The four of them froze, each turning around in the direction of the call. 

Floating in the entry of the alleyway, was a familiar figure, silhouetted in the dusk’s light. And despite her hair being shaved, despite her completely unfamiliar clothes, despite the stiffer posture, and despite the fact that she was supposed to be dead - Neo recognized her instantly. 

“...Penny?” Oscar exclaimed.