Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-114.79.60.17-20160626164308/@comment-5428260-20180629100441

Rion Dragonheart wrote: @Chisio: That's very interesting but it also means if Mercury will be persuaded, it might be by someone in the protagonists' group. It may happen, since he had a taste of as much normalcy as Remnant could offer in the form of school. Yang has hade more interactions with him than most, so it'd probably be sparked by her.

Or I was thinking that he might simply want out. Like you've said, he seems like he tagged along only because he had nothing better to do. The end of volume 5 may make him realize that this is the time to get out since there's a possibility that he's not on the winning team anymore. Or maybe when he realizes everything will end if Salem wins. Mercury probably won't be doing a heel face turn, but he may turn into an anti-villain at the very least.

The reason why I was thinking of his relationship with Emerald was because he might've grown fond of her at this point. This might cause him to have a bit of loyalty towards her at least. Amongst the baddies, Mercury is the only one who does not have any reason to continue fighting against Team RWBY and their companions. He can most certainly break off from Salem and go on the run on his own. Emerald, on the other hand, may stay on that side to avenge Cinder. If Mercury is concerned about her (platonic loyalty at the least or romantic feelings at the most) then that may be the only reason he would stick around.

In the end, I'm just using all these things to think of a situation where Mercury will use (if he is just hiding it) or discover (if he hasn't yet) his Semblance. :)

I was thinking about that too and am actually writing a fanfiction about that. I'll give you a few lines to go with it:

"He wanted to stop. Leave Salem and this part of his life behind. As he had done with his father. Maybe fighting and killing was all he could do, but even if he'd continue doing that, he'd do it on his own terms.

Not as some voiceless henchman.

He should take Emerald with him. They were friends after all. Even if they had started out a bit rocky. But that meant he couldn't leave right now. He had to follow Hazel and wait until Em woke up.

Maybe this time she would want to come, too. There shouldn't be anything holding her now. Cinder was gone.

They could exact their revenge. On their own. Without having to wait for orders."

I think it's a valid motivation and course of action. (See how I inserted the "voiceless henchman" to illustrate his lack of lines in V4?)