Search Party

Monthly P-a-t-r-e-o-n reward for Biocore! They asked for some of Normal Cinder/Neo/Emerald/Mercury. They're visiting Beacon for the Vytal Festival, basically in the AU you see them in during previous chapters. The patron asked for a specific focus on Neo, though.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

-----------------

													Chapter 57. Search Party

"Where could she have gone?"

"Hell if I know. I'm not her friggin' caretaker..."

Emerald glared at Mercury who merely stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. Cinder said nothing, but did bother to look around a bit.

Their team of four was visiting Beacon Academy for the Vytal Festival. After the morning's round of intense matches, they'd visited the bustling fairgrounds to get some lunch. They'd all sat down at a food stand where crowds and crowds of people had gathered to chat, watch the broadcasts, and eat.

Cinder had kept to herself as per usual and eaten in silence, while Mercury and Emerald had started to bicker about whatever it was they were bickering about today. Being that Neo needed to use her hands in order to eat rather than comment, she'd joined Cinder in silence.

However, about halfway through lunch, Mercury had drawn the others' attention with his question of "Um, where'd the pipsqueak go?" He'd held up the napkin that had been the only thing left in Neo's spot. Cinder had flashed Emerald an inquisitive look, as though Neo were her responsibility.

But no one knew where she was.

Presently, Emerald growled to herself as she tried to figure out where her teammate could've gone.

"Shit... She could be anywhere! This place is so massive and she's so-"

"Ridiculously tiny?" Mercury put in.

"I was going to say absentminded," she grunted as they vacated the food stand. "Everyone here's a stranger! What if someone kidnapped her or something?"

"Yo, take it easy," her partner laughed. "You really think someone could kidnap her of all people? I'd be more concerned about her like... stabbing someone by accident. I'm sure she's fine."

"You don't know that... She could be lost somewhere here. This is unfamiliar territory. What if something happens-"

"All right," Cinder intervened. "That's enough of that. Let's not be running around here like chickens without their heads, hm? Let's at least try to keep up appearances, shall we?"

Emerald wanted to protest, but she obeyed her leader's orders and tried to keep her cool.

"Okay... Did any of us see where she went? Or at least in which direction?"

Mercury shrugged, and Cinder looked away. Emerald sighed.

"Okay. Great. And she hasn't answered her scroll, either. I guess the next best thing to do is... ask around?"

"Oh, sure," Mercury said. "Ask if anyone's seen a pint-sized girl with crazy hair and even crazier eyes. She's so friggin' small, I bet no one's even seen her."

"Shut up and start searching!"

Emerald seemed to be taking this much more seriously than the others. Mercury seemed confident that Neo would turn up eventually. And Cinder didn't favor the notion of talking to the locals as though she were a mother who'd lost her child at the amusement park.

Emerald, on the other hand, was giving out Neo's description, height, and weight like it was her job. But every person she asked gave the same reaction; they hadn't seen Neo.

Before long, they'd gone through the entire fairgrounds without so much as a single lead. Emerald groaned and put her hands to her head.

"What now? What do we do now?"

Mercury shrugged again.

"How 'bout we head back to our room and start making flyers?"

"She's a human being, not a lost puppy," she snapped.

"Hey, if you got a better idea, let's hear it."

But Emerald had no comeback to that. She groaned again and threw her head back.

"Gosh, what if something happened..."

But before she could worry too much, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Cinder didn't meet her eyes, but simply spoke to her calmly.

"It might be best to go someplace quiet, where we can collect our thoughts."

Despite her apparent disinterest in the matter, Emerald could tell that her leader was worried about Neo. Just a bit.

And perhaps even Mercury was, too.

So they all headed back to the dorm room building where they were currently staying for the duration of the festival.

Emerald was trying to keep her cool as instructed, racking her brain for an idea. She was about to suggest going to the headmaster and requesting they put out an announcement when a strange sound reached her ears.

The hallways were quiet, since everyone was at the festival. But soon, the muffled sounds of words could be heard. Emerald paused and tilted her head.

"Do you guys hear that?"

The others remained quiet, and could also make out the sounds.

As they continued forward, they soon realized it to be music. Someone must've been blasting it from behind closed doors. It was a fast, hyperactive tune with high female voices singing indistinguishably.

All three of them were confused by the noises.

But they were even more confused to discover the sounds were coming from their own dorm room.

Emerald paused in front of the door where the sounds were loudest, then quickly typed in the code and burst through.

Upbeat, electric, hip-hop music blasted in her face as she and her teammates entered. Inside was their missing member, twirling around and hopping about without a care in the world, mouthing the words to the ridiculous music.

Emerald was so surprised she couldn't help but blurt out.

"There you are!"

Neo spun around to face them, a grin on her lips. She lifted her hands to sign.

/Oh, what a surprise! I didn't think you three would come back here! Care to join me?/

"What the hell are you doing?" Emerald barked. "Why didn't you tell us where you were? We were going nuts trying to find you!"

"We?" Mercury mumbled.

Neo cocked her head to one side, puzzled.

/But I did tell you. I came back here to listen to this new A-Pop album. I left a note on my napkin./

"You what-"

Emerald whipped around and glared at her partner. Mercury dug the napkin he'd found in Neo's spot out from his pocket. He looked it over casually.

"Oh, hey. So she did."

Emerald punched him in the gut.

As he staggered over to his bed, cursing and groaning, Emerald smoothed out her uniform. Cinder tapped her shoulder once again.

"See? Everything worked out, did it not?"

"Yes, chief."

Cinder went to go turn down the music.

That left Neo and Emerald alone for a moment. The smaller girl smiled up at her friend and signed for her alone.

/Thanks for worrying about me./

She threw her arms around Emerald in a brief hug. Emerald's eyes widened a bit, but she eventually sighed and returned the contact.

That simple hug made all the worrying worth it.

---------

A/N: The request was to have Neo's teammates walk in on her listening to crazy K-Pop songs (I decided to refer to the music as A-Pop, Atlesian Pop, since Korea doesn't exist on Remnant haha).

And somehow it turned into a somewhat heartwarming little story about them having lose Neo at the festival. I feel the four of them are a strange family in this. Neo is the little sister, Emerald is bigger sis, and Merc is the big brother who is always at-odds with Em. Cinder is the distant but secretly supportive mom.