RWBY Through Worlds

76: There's a Light

"You were gone all that time together?" Shine said when Qrow and Winter finally made it back.

"She wouldn't leave me alone," Qrow said.

"We were just finishing the mission," Winter said, with a glare at him. "Whatever that buffoon says."

"I think Shine is just surprised you didn't decapitate each other," Wally said.

"Winter!" Weiss cried. "What happened, you look like you were in a fight."

Winter looked at her clothes. "I was going to have to replace these anyway..." she sighed.

"That wasn't a no..." Wally said.

"Oh shut it, West." Winter walked past him haughtily.

"Good news, I think we found somewhere to hide," Qrow said.

"Good, I hope that Roman was just as successful," Shine said.

"Why do you trust him to do it?" Qrow said. "He's probably going to set up something on the side."

"Well, whatever he does, he's usually reliable if you're paying him," Shine said.

Mercury thought that was kind of funny in a cynical way--then he realized she'd said "Roman."

"Wait a minute," Qrow saw him. "What the h-- is he doing here?"

"Who?" Winter hadn't even seen him, but she turned back and looked.

Mercury tensed.

Emerald stepped in front of him and held up her hands. "Remember we were going to find him?" she said. "I thought we were cool with this."

"I was never that jazzed about it," Qrow said. "But after all that work, what did he just walk in here?"

"No, of course not," Emerald said. "I ran into him in the market area, some punks were trying to shank me and he stepped in."

That didn't sound suspicious to them, but Mercury's sullen look wasn't very reassuring.

"Still we should at least give him a fair chance," Ruby spoke up. "I mean, Emerald and Hazel are both with us now."

"Where is the big guy?" Wally asked.

"Not far," Raven entered the room looking as downcast as the day before, but she stopped and stared at Mercury.

Mercury stared back because he hadn't experienced her to walk right in like that...She was here? And Theo hadn't noticed...what a moron.

Of course if Theo hadn't spent so much time spying on them outside the school, he probably would have spotted her by now, but no one knew that was the reason.

Raven's eyes flashed fire.

"You," she said, springing across the room.

"Hey stop it," Emerald said, but Raven went right past her.

"Were you part of it, punk?" Raven slammed Mercury into the wall before he could even move.

"What's going on," Hazel walked in right then, hearing the commotion. He'd been dealing with some strange grimm outside the kingdom, but of course he wanted to come back in time to hear about Watts.

But seeing this, he said. "What are you doing to the boy? When did you find him?"

"Hey Lady, get off me," Mercury said. "I didn't touch your d--- tribe, all right?"

"But you knew about it," Raven said.

"Like as of yesterday," Mercury said.

Raven frowned.