RWBY Through Worlds (End)

BC40: Mercury's Home Insurance (Mercury & Co.)-2

Royal didn't particularly know what to make of Shine's slip, but a lot of things made sense.

Why no one ever talked about where Shine and Wally were from. Why they said things that didn't sound quite right, like they weren't used to Remnant's ways.

Why something about them just looked different, though you couldn't put your finger on what.

He caught some of their conversation with Cinder, but pretended he hadn't heard.

He had heard of other worlds.... In fact he'd read The Girl Who Fell Through The World.

But it was...well, it was so...miraculously out there...how could such things be?

He had to turn his attention more to Mercury, though. After some walking they had come out to open road. Then they saw a house.

It wasn't that big, though bigger than two people might have needed.

It was partially burnt, but the fire appeared to have gone out before it consumed all of the house.

Mercury was slowing more the closer they got.

Emerald walked almost as slow, staring at it.

No Grimm...at least in sight.

"This is it?" Hazel asked, though it wasn't much of a question.

"Yeah." Wally recognized it from pictures. "It really doesn't look so scary this way."

Shine shook her head silently.

They kept walking till the house loomed closer, and suddenly they were just at the end of the walk up to the door, without really knowing how they'd gotten there.

Cinder tensed. She hadn't seen more of this house before this point, but she could well imagine.

And she could just...sense the darkness from here.

The husk of Marcus Black was nowhere to be seen. Probably it had been eaten by Grimm or other creatures a long time ago.

Just as well. Shine thought she'd have thrown up if it was there.

"Is this okay?" Emerald said. "Or do we...go in?"

"Up to you," Shine said.

"Can I check into it?" Wally was a little curious.

Mercury didn't say no. He was looking at the house with a hard to read expression.

Wally sped up to the door and pushed it. It swung open and then fell off its hinges; they were rusted away.

The smell of smoke was still in the walls.

"I think I've seen enough from out here," Cinder said.

Mercury moved to the door.

Without a word they followed him.

Cinder, despite her words, did not like to be left alone out there, so she followed them.

"What happened to this place?" Royal asked her in a low voice.

"I only saw the end of the fight," Cinder said. "It was brutal enough. Impressively so."

But then she checked herself. This was not the time for her crazy way of talking about it.

"Anyway the house must have been set on fire from something they did, but it was a small fire, could have blown out. I'm surprised so much is still standing, but it's not all wood, I guess."

"Why were they fighting?" Royal wondered.

"I don't know. I assume Marcus Black started it, from what I've heard." Cinder looked at the wall. It had black soot marks along it. She touched it and some of it came off in her hand.