Mercury sat still on his bed, his eyes fixated on his legs. He didn't do this often, but he felt it was important to remind himself of what the true state of his body was. As useful as they were, he associated those legs with work, and having to perform generally unpleasant tasks. He felt like a killer when he wore them, and right now, he just wanted to be Mercury.

Coming to terms with his disability was a strange process for him. He hadn't had much time to think about it before the night that changed his life. Since then, he had been… busy. Fighting the Fall Maiden, fighting in the Vytal Festival, reducing Vale to a pile of smoldering ash, all of these had things prevented him from taking the time to really reflect on his situation. By the time he had come to this castle, it was already a fact of life for him. He had no legs, and he used mechanical ones; it was as simple as that. He wasn't afforded the opportunity to sulk and wallow in mourning or self-pity, and even if he did have the chance, it was highly unlikely that he would have. It was hardly the first time he'd felt pain, nor was it the first time he had lost something dear to him. Whatever the case, when he looked at the stubs halfway down his thighs, he felt nothing.

He had conflicting feelings about that. On one hand, he was glad to have bypassed the process that would normally come with losing limbs. It allowed him to keep his head clear and do his job to the best of his ability. There was no doubt that a different Mercury distracted by doubt and depression would not have survived a confrontation with the Fall Maiden. On the other hand, it worried him deeply. Mercury was used to not feeling. All his life, he was trained to not feel, taking lives without the slightest amount of remorse. This… this was different; this was him. What kind of person gave up parts of his body without so much as a second thought? Who was left to care for him if he didn't even care for himself?

"Is this a bad time?"

Mercury's head turned toward his open door to see Cinder watching him with a curious gaze. It definitely was a bad time, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "Not at all, come in." The Fall Maiden readily complied and saw herself in.

"Your voice is getting better," Mercury noted. "Where's your lapdog?"

"She chose not to come." Cinder replied.

"I thought she followed you everywhere."

"Not here, it seems. What are you doing?"

"Just a little something to keep my head clear. Why? Is it weird? I can put them back on if you want."

Cinder waved passively, ensuring the young man that it would not be necessary. "I need you to tell me something. How did I get off of Beacon tower?"

Mercury sighed at the question. "Can't Emerald tell you? She was there too."

"She told me to come to you because she wasn't there. That means you acted alone. Now tell me, how did I escape?"

"You didn't escape," Mercury answered as he swung what remained of his legs to the edge of his bed, "We did."

"We?"

"I escaped, technically. You weren't even conscious. Look, do we have to talk about this?"

"Yes, we do. I want to know everything."

Mercury let out an elongated sigh. "Okay. I guess I'll just start where you left us."

(LINE BREAK)

"How much longer should we wait before we go in after her?"

The assassin briefly turned away from his scroll to look at his green-haired partner in crime. Her body was as still as the stars in the night sky, and her eyes remained locked on the entrance to Beacon tower. Her focus was so intense, he wondered if she would even notice if she started to fall over the edge of the rooftop they were standing on. "What do you mean 'we'?" he eventually replied. "If Cinder fails, the Fall Maiden's power is going to you. Hell, you should be thankful she even let you watch from so close; if it were up to me you'd already be on your way back to Mistral."

"I know, it's just—I can't stand waiting around here doing nothing. I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to her while I was up here just waiting. I owe her so much more than that."

Mercury rolled his eyes at the thief. "You're worrying too much. Sure, the old man has a little help, but that Arc kid isn't worth his armor, and that Nikos girl wouldn't even be a match for me without that semblance. She's got this."

Emerald shook her head. "I know what you're saying makes sense, but I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"Okay, if it gets you to stop talking, how 'bout we wait for another five or so minutes, and if nothing changes, I give you my scroll to continue the broadcast and head in there myself. Does that sound good to you?"

"You'd do that?" Emerald asked.

"Sure," Mercury answered. "But if the Maiden powers come to you, you have to leave. Otherwise all of this would be pointless."

"Okay, deal. But only five, got it?"

"Sure." Then, only moments after he returned his attention back to his scroll, his partner broke their sacred pact.

"Look!"

"Hey, it hasn't even been ten seconds. What happened to our- "

"Shut up and look! There's someone at the entrance to the tower. I can't see from here, but it looks like JNPR kids."

Mercury quickly focused his scroll's camera on the emerging pair. "Yeah, it's definitely them."

"Can you tell what's happening? Did Cinder lose?"

"There's no way… there's hardly a scratch on either of them," he observed. "They look panicked; they ran."

Before either of them could get another word in, Cinder rose to the top of the tower in a pillar of flame, signaling her victory over Vale's oldest guardian. The two watched on as her ensuing fight with Pyrrha obliterated Ozpin's office at the top of the tower, and reinforcements came in the form of Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. Despite the evolving situation and numbers stacking higher and higher against Cinder, Mercury and Emerald did not act. Emerald had to keep a safe distance at all costs, and Mercury refused to risk a fight against the Schnee heiress. While he far outmatched her in skill in melee combat, she had a serious advantage in terms of dust usage and availability. It would only take one lucky shot to freeze Mercury in place and potentially end everything for him right there.

Instead, they watched on as the flames atop the tower signaled to them that Cinder was still going strong. With the feats she had displayed so far, it was clear to the duo that she had obtained the remainder of the Fall Maiden's power. It was because of this that they stayed their hands in confidence of their master's victory when Ruby scaled the tower with the help of Weiss's glyphs. It took only one instant to prove that their complacence had been a mistake. Upon Ruby's arrival to the battle, a brilliant flash of silver light flared, sending waves of unease flowing down their spines.

"Wait, she doesn't… does she?" Emerald asked.

Mercury took a second to recall the young girl's face. "Dammit, she does. Take this." he said, passing his scroll to his partner. "I'm going. You need to get out of here, now."

"Mercury," Emerald called as the assassin leapt off of the roof, "make sure she makes it back."

The silver-haired assassin sprinted toward the entrance to the tower, pushing his body and prosthetic limbs to their limits. Cinder had told him about people bearing silver eyes, and the immense power that they possess. As far as he knew, Cinder should have been able to defeat a silver eyed warrior even without her maiden powers, especially if they were only in their first year of a major huntsman academy. She shouldn't fall here, but the presence of a silver eyed warrior was not something they had prepared for, and Mercury wasn't nearly dumb enough to leave this up to chance.

After a few short moments of running, Mercury came upon a terribly damaged elevator shaft, courtesy of Pyrrha Nikos. Scaling it would be difficult, but with his legs, it was possible. Without a second's hesitation, he jumped into the elevator shaft, firing off a round as he kicked off of the wall opposite him, continuing this pattern as he ascended. The scene that awaited him was his worst case scenario. Cinder lie motionless and unconscious, more bloody than not. Ruby was exhausted, and sprawled out on the floor. He could kill her, but Cinder's aura must have been completely depleted for her to have suffered such grievous wounds, and with no aura, she wouldn't heal. If he did take the time to finish her off, Cinder could die depending on the severity of her wounds. His choice was clear.

Ignoring the collapsed student, Mercury carefully hoisted Cinder's limp body onto his back and leapt off of the tower, firing his boots at maximum power to break his fall as he neared the ground. The sudden force caused by the inertia of his deceleration could cause permanent damage to Cinder depending on her injuries, but he was more than willing to risk such things if it meant she survived. The assassin took a moment to gather himself as he landed with a less than comfortable impact. Mercury sprinted away from the spire with unparalleled haste, racking his brain for a place he could take Cinder as he ran. He wouldn't lose her like this. He couldn't.

(LINE BREAK)

"You carried me?"

"I did."

"I suppose I should thank you, then."

"Don't. It's my fault you're in the state you're in. If I had just been a little bit faster, you wouldn't need to wear that mask or speak through other people."

Cinder broke eye contact with her student as she considered his feelings. After moment that seemed like an eternity, she placed her hand on her mask and slowly removed it from her face, revealing a wholly white eye and the remainder of the scar that marred her.

"Do you see this?" the Fall Maiden asked. "This is my fault, not yours. I will never be the way I once was, that much is true. But I wouldn't even be here to regret that loss if it weren't for your efforts. I owe you my life, and as such, I will hear no more of this. You performed your duty to the fullest extent of your abilities, and anyone who disagrees is a fool. Are you a fool, Mercury Black?"

It came as a shock to Mercury that she didn't blame him for her state even in the slightest. He had gone all of this time hoping to avoid this topic so that Cinder wouldn't realize that his failure had led to her current state. Now, everything had changed. If she found no fault in his actions that night, how could he?

"I—no, I'm not."

"Good. I have no use for fools. Tell me, did any of Ozpin's circle interfere? Did they try to stop you?"

"No. I managed leave the area before anyone important came to help the old man. I guess I should be grateful."

"And what would you have done if they had?"

"For you? My best, though it'd probably get me killed."

"You wouldn't have run?" Cinder asked incredulously. The laugh Mercury let out as he heard her question made her wonder if she had crossed a line somewhere.

"Run where?" he asked. "You're all I've got, remember?"

Cinder fell silent, her remaining good eye lingering on her apprentice. Her mind drifted to how this all began, how her fate and his became intertwined. She had been alone for so long, and because of him, she wasn't. "You know, you're the first person I've ever known that would die for me."

"Emerald would, I think," Mercury answered.

"She would try, but the girl lacks the conviction. But you… you made up your mind the moment you left that rooftop, and I'm still here because of it." The Fall Maiden moved her face just a bit closer to her apprentice's. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have you."

Mercury was unsure of how to react. The guise of a seductress was a common card for her to play, but never with him. She wasn't some moron that would be swayed by a pair of batting eyelashes. With him, she was just Cinder. If she wanted something, she made it known. There was no act, no façade to guise her intentions. Even so, he sat paralyzed by her aggression. Here she was… no act, no façade… and apparently, no reservations.

"And to think you wanted my dad…"

Cinder smiled and answered, her voice as smooth and sultry as she could manage. "Well, that's what you're here for, isn't it? To help me fix my mistakes?" Cinder planted her lips against his in a soft, chaste kiss.

"You know, I might be a mistake."

"A mistake worth making." Despite her enthusiastic tone, the Fall Maiden pulled away from her companion, taking a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure. "But no mistakes… not today. I'll be needing my energy for my training tomorrow. If I stay… well, I'm sure you understand."

Mercury watched her feminine form closely as she made her way to his door, his eyes careful to commit her curves to memory.

"It was a bad time, wasn't it?" she asked, not turning back to face him.

"Only until you showed up."

Cinder shook her head, a near undetectable smile pulling at her lips. How did she ever end up finding a man like him?