RWBY Through Worlds (End)

BC58: Capital Loss (Raven's team & Co.)--2

A day or so went by with no word from the Belladonnas.

Blake and Sun headed back to the Capital anyway.

Cinder tried not to go stir crazy.

Emerald was cleared for work again, and a visit from Jaune to help her recover didn't hurt.

She had gotten a lot of sympathy messages from people she'd worked with, even some of the refugees and homeless people who were still in the area and had been helped by her project.

She also had used her time off to go visit the orphanage in person, since she figured she could keep track of what they were really doing. And by then, the staff there, many of whom worked with the militia and huntsmen, had heard the whole story.

And it had gotten a little out of hand.

"Seriously," she told Cinder, when she stopped by to check on her--really to hear in person how the covert ops mission had gone, since she wasn't satisfied with Raven's summarized version of it, "you would think I was in a skirmish. And from what they thought, even the kids, I should have broken half the bones in my body. I told them it was a little bump on the head, is all. They almost looked disappointed. I feel ridiculous--back in the day, I wouldn't have let that stop me from fighting. I can't believe Raven made me sit out this long."

"A few days, big deal." Cinder was not in a sympathetic mood.... When was she ever?

"Hey, but thanks for defending me," Emerald said. "I really didn't want to have to get too rough with that punk. I wouldn't want to give him nightmares."

That was so much like something she would have said back in their villain days that Cinder almost had to laugh.

Emerald was learning how to talk to her in a way that didn't make her as uncomfortable, and it showed.

"Maybe I should have just let you fight him." Cinder clenched a fist. "I was too easy on him. But I didn't want him to have an excuse to write me up."

"Good call, they'd just love to be the victims here." Emerald shook her head. "A--h---s. But honestly.... Did you know that Jeff quit? Not just him, his whole team...JETT, I think."

"I know that. I was there," Cinder said.

"Oh, right, I forgot. They said it was right after the fight," Emerald said. "But quitting? Over that? That's so weak."

"Well, they are weak." Cinder frowned. "But I don't think we have to worry about them picking a fight on their own. They must be afraid of us, for all their big words. Why else wait till the fight was already started to jump Zapato?"

"I feel bad about that." Emerald rubbed her arm. "Like we dragged him into our crazy lives. With Merc it wasn't so bad. He's one of us--I didn't have to feel guilty...but with anyone else, now I think, do they really deserve this?"

"Why should it matter to them if other people want to be pricks to you?" Cinder said ironically. "You seem to be pretty well liked."

"Do not ask me how that even happened," Emerald said. "I thought I was just barely squeezing by, and now...like, even Babs, that one girl who was with us when we found you that first time, remember? Bat ears? Even she told me today that no one should mess with Argus OPs, and especially not some Vale losers. I guess people here took it as a personal insult that a team from another kingdom would start s--- with us."

"I could see why. The former Atlesians are in a tenuous enough position without this making it worse," Cinder said.

"That's a good point. We're barely considered a kingdom now," Emerald said. "Not even a kingdom, just a nationality.... I said we. That's funny--I'm not Atlesian."