Vale burned.
The fires of destruction rose into the sky without pause or concern, joining the clouds to create a blanket of gray over the capital of the Kingdom. The air was split with a cacophony of noise, alarms from emergency services, the roar of engines, the sounds of a city in crisis.
Cinder watched from on high, a smirk upon her lips as she viewed the chaos and calamity. Sure, the Huntsmen from Beacon had been successful in closing the Breach, but there were still plenty of Grimm that had escaped in the interim that would need to be tracked down. To say nothing of all the criminal activity that had doubtlessly sprung up in the wake of this.
There was only two problems with this whole picture, as far as she was concerned. The first was simple; the fact that it was happening at all. The Breach had been scheduled for far later, during the Vytal Festival itself. That would have caused a maximum of carnage and panic, especially when her computer virus went into effect.
Obviously though, something had gone very wrong there.
That directly tied into the other problem. Specifically, Roman had been captured. She was hardly fond of the thief, but he was still useful. And while she'd done her best to keep him out of the loop, he still had a lot of information that he could spill to Ozpin's lot if given the chance.
But she let none of that show on the surface. She had to put on a front for her subordinates after all, to ensure that they maintained their confidence in her. With who she was dealing with, it was practically a necessity.
"Very good Emerald, Mercury," she said, head tilting towards the two as they stood to her sides. "I would call today a great success." That was one term to use for what had happened, she supposed.
As expected though, at least one of her subordinates was less sure. "We lost a lot of Faunus down there in the caves," Mercury noted, his arms folded across his chest. "How do we know that they're still going to listen to us?"
Cinder was about to answer that, only for the arriving Faunus to do so for her. "They'll listen to me," Adam said, in a way that bode no arguments. And if he said it, then she knew that that was how it would be.
Ostensibly, Adam was her equal in this venture. She needed him as much as he needed her. But she tried to negate that as best she could, for her own safety if nothing else. She was well aware that this was an alliance of convenience, and she would not be the one with the dagger in her back when it fell apart.
Dealing with him was always dangerous, and that was why she did what she did. If he knew the true state of affairs, there was no telling what might happen. "Good. This is merely another step in achieving our goals."
The only problem was that that mask of his made it hard to tell what Adam was thinking, but luckily enough he didn't ask what was supposed to come next. She wasn't about to tell him without motivation to do so, at least at the moment.
Instead she had a nice distraction, provided courtesy of Emerald. "So what do you want us to do now that Torchwick's been locked up?"
Cinder glanced over to the young girl then, providing her the answer that she sought. "For now we do nothing. Roman's situation will be handled in time. Instead, I want you two to return to Beacon, to allay any suspicions that might arise." She would get back to them after a bit, but she had some things to do right now.
"Got it," Mercury replied with a sigh, showing how much importance he put to that topic. "I doubt anyone's going to notice though."
He might have a point, however Cinder wasn't about to risk it. It was more that she needed something for the two of them to do, and not drawing the gaze of the administration was also an important task. She knew that Ozpin was looking for her, and she wouldn't give him any help in the process.
Fortunately, Emerald was much more accommodating. "Got it. Come on Mercury," she said before walking off, just as a good subordinate should. Cinder knew where her preferences laid in that regard.
Mercury shrugged before following after Emerald, the two of them quickly departing the rooftop to return to the street. That left Cinder with Adam, the odd duo standing side by side, yet with some distance between them, in what could be a statement about their relationship. But she held her tongue, waiting to see if Adam would speak first.
"I don't appreciate what happened to my people down there," Adam said at last. You would never tell by the way he said it, but Cinder could discern that he was less than amused. As he rightfully should be. That didn't mean she had to simply let him roll over her though.
So she didn't. "What happened to them was not my fault," she pointed out calmly. "We had no way of expecting that a team from Beacon would fall into the Mountain Glenn base, much less force Torchwick to undertake the breaching operation far ahead of schedule."
That was the truth, and after a minute or so it seemed that he was willing to accept that, though it wasn't hard to guess that he still wasn't happy about it. "We're going to have to deal with them sooner or later."
"I know," Cinder placated, wearing a knowing smirk as she resisted the urge to use her powers. "And we will, in time. For now, see to the Fang. Make sure that they stay loyal to the cause. We will need them soon enough."
Adam nodded, turning around as he prepared to leave. Before he did though he glanced over to Cinder, head bowed slightly as his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. "I'll do that. You just hold up your end of the deal."
That almost earned some irritation of Cinder's part, but she managed to keep it repressed as Adam walked off to go to wherever the White Fang were hiding. With him gone she could finally let out a sigh, glowering at the scene before her.
Her hands clenched tight as her smirk disappeared like snow in heat, and she could feel her own inner fire rising. Now that there was no one to see it, there was no need to hold back. She could only last so long on bluffing.
But she managed to catch herself before she could cut lose. Here, there was too much attention here. She needed to get somewhere where she could...vent, in private. That would be for the best.
With that decision reached she relaxed a bit, letting an aura of calm return at the same time. She had the self restraint to hold back for now. So she turned and walked away, headed for the edge of the rooftop. From there it was a quick hop down to the street, where she could make her way to her destination.
Clad in the school uniform that she had selected for herself, Cinder moved away at a brisk pace from the site of the Breach. Undoubtedly the police were on alert, and so she did what was necessary to avoid drawing their gaze as they looked for the ones responsible for this, any accomplices Roman might have left.
Down then, to the less respectable parts of town where the arm of the law was severely hamstrung. It would make a good place to avoid their reach, and that was why, unsurprisingly, there was a hideout there. One of Roman's, but she had no problem using it while he was in jail.
As she neared the safehouse, she could feel the eyes upon her, the people watching her every move ad judging her. They might not know who she was, but they knew that she was to be feared. There had been enough examples made to reinforce that notion amongst them.
That was why she walked with a confident gait, tall and serious, to keep them from getting any ideas. She couldn't risk things slipping further, not after the events of today. It would be an intolerable setback to her plans, that much she knew for sure.
At last she arrived at her destination, unmolested thus far. She came to a stop in front of an apartment complex that was seemingly run down and home only to squatters. That was the attempted impression, and Cinder would admit that Roman had done a good job on it. It certainly worked in her favor.
Ignoring those who must be watching her, Cinder walked forward and stepped inside, entering the dilapidated lobby. It definitely played the necessary part with peeling paint strips, splotches of off place colors all around, and furniture that looked like it was on the verge of falling apart at the slightest bit of pressure.
Even the stairs emitted distressing creaks as she walked up them, and upon arriving at the second floor landing Cinder paused, making a note to talk to someone about that. Maintaining the deception was all well and good, but she didn't want to risk landing in the basement while trying to climb the stairs. That would just be humiliating even if it wasn't painful.
The safehouse was on the third floor, and Cinder soon arrived at that level of the apartment complex. It was still an unpleasant walk though, with scribbles on the walls, the carpet torn in spots, and piles of junk and garbage dotting the way ahead.
She made her way past that with a quick step, walking down the hall until she arrived at the remembered room number. The lack of a key on her part was a hindrance, but Dust managed to solve that problem quite easily as she reshaped it to fit the door. The lock clicked with a twist, and the door swung open to admit her inside.
In contrast to the surroundings, the interior of the apartment was well furbished and maintained. It was no penthouse suite, sure, but it was obvious that Roman had invested quite a bit of money into making this a comfortable place to take refuge in. Perfect.
Cinder was quick to step inside before slamming the door, cutting her off from the sight of anyone who might be watching. A shudder ran through her body then as she slumped against the door, dropping the mask and letting her stress and frustration reveal itself.
Her hands clenched into fists, fingernails digging into her palms even as her rage tore free. "Roman, you imbecile," she snarled, her eyes flaring orange as her features contorted in a dark look.
She pushed away from the door then, striding into the living room as she focused on her source of ire. Her body coiled with power, energy emanating, welling to the surface as she felt her inhibitions go in a moment.
So she lashed out, a sweeping blade of Fire Dust slashing through a nightstand like it was nothing. And as the two separate halves fell to the floor, she let her true feelings be known. "All that money, time, supplies, lost because you couldn't handle a couple teenage girls!"
Perhaps she was being petulant and unfair to the thief, but at that moment she didn't really care. She needed to vent, this was as good a place as any, and Roman made an easy target. It wasn't as if he was here to defend himself from Cinder's anger. Though it was probably a good thing that he wasn't, at least for his own safety.
But she didn't particularly care about that at the moment, using her Dust to form a brilliant sword and stabbing a lamp, shattering it with a single strike. "And then you had to go and get yourself captured, and put everything that I worked for in jeopardy."
She spun around on her heels, still in full force even as she fixed on that particular point. "I should just let Ironwood do what he wants with you. It would save me the trouble, even if whatever he does is too good for you."
Fire spouted from Dust, burning the air as it scorched at wood, and burned fabric. If Roman were here right now...well, she knew a lot of ways to use Dust. And she was sure that she could make his end very long and very painful. For what the thief had done, he deserved it.
Of course, there was plenty else she could rage about, and she did consider her hatred of the Fang, who continued to also let her down at every opportunity. "And why is it that I can't get any decent allies," she growled to herself as she stalked out of the living room, headed for the master bedroom. "Just one, that's all I ask. But no, apparently even that is too much. Because why should anything I try go easily?"
Even the infiltration of the CCT Tower, which should have been a cakewalk, had been disrupted by that Rose girl. It seemed that people like her existed to make Cinder's life miserable, whether they recognized it or not.
"It's like I'm completely surrounded by incompetent morons!" Such furious lamentations continued as she arrived at the master bedroom. It was a nice room, which made this all the better as she walked over to the bed and picked up one of the soft and fluffy white pillows. God forbid that things go her way when she was getting somewhere at last.
Once more Fire Dust ignited, slowly burning the pillow from the bottom up as she held it in one hand. "The White Fang want to kill me. Junior only cares about his club. The other criminals are useless. Roman can't win a single fight. I might as well just do their jobs myself!" Feathers burned in the air, so much as ash by the time they hit the floor.
At last the pillow finished burning and Cinder moved on to the next in the bunch. There was just something satisfying about how nothing was left, making it easier on her as a whole. She wouldn't have to deal with annoying debris, and she was grateful for it, since it meant less to deal with in terms of the aftermath.
"Fine," she spat out, aimed at everyone else. "I will show all of Vale what I can do, and I will achieve my goals. Let the universe try and stop me."
Still, for all her confidence and bravado, her grip tightened on the pillow until her hand practically shook Then, in a moment, she whipped it at the wall, the pillow practically exploding in a half burned storm of fabric.
"Gaaah!" With a cry her hand waved down, sword stabbing into the bed frame before ripping away. Words failed for the moment as she burned, hacking and stabbing, cutting and slashing, until the bed was reduced to a torn, heavily damaged wreck.
Her other hand swept out, backhanding a lamp and sending it crashing down, the ceramic cracking and shattering as it hit the ground. The devastation to the room accumulated as more and more of Roman's stuff was damaged, without pause or regard on Cinder's part.
"...And in what world is running a battlesuit through downtown Vale on a high speed chase subtle?! As if I should assume that the thief would care about having some stealth." Cinder stalked about, flash burning the closet and all it's contents (such as white suits and bowler hats) in the process as she lashed out at whatever caught her eye.
Her rage had expanded and now it consumed. She destroyed for the sake of destruction, taking out her anger at Roman and everyone else on his stuff. And every blow she delivered sent off a burst of cruel sadism and mirth inside her.
At last the room lay in cinders and shambles, Cinder panting in the middle of it all. Her eyes stayed a near constant orange while her hands flexed and trembled. "Ozpin. This is all your fault, isn't it. Determined to stop me at every turn." Of course it was. Who else would be so adamant about resisting her efforts?
That said, she walked back to the living room to resume her venting. It would be fixed or replaced later, but for now there was no one to stop her, and if they did they would regret it. Though it was impressive that the fire alarm hadn't gone off yet, but she wouldn't complain.
"It could have been glorious! So much bloodshed and chaos to be unleashed during the festival, even if it failed. But no, you had to ruin it!"
Perhaps it wasn't that integral to the plan, but she couldn't help her frustration. The mech chase and the early Breach, they only made it obvious to her opposition how much of a threat she was to Vale and peace. And in turn, it could only motivate them more to hunt her down.
Passing by anther closet, she stopped to swing it open, looking over the contents within before scoffing. "Of course, you would have something like this," she sneered as she examined the fine towels. The man did enjoy his comforts.
Once the door had swung shut she stabbed through it with her swords, letting off small blasts of Fire Dust with each solid impact. Soon there was nothing left in there, beyond tattered remnants, and she moved on to the living room at last.
The couch went down in a crash and a groan, almost immediately disassembled by sword, fist, and Fire Dust. Even in her rage, she still knew what she was doing. And that made her all the more dangerous to deal with, no matter who might do so.
"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You." At last the couch practically exploded when Cinder was done, and she moved on to the next thing in the room.
Like the bedroom, the living room was rapidly destroyed and reduced to shattered furniture. A hole was punched in the tv screen before it was sent toppling to the ground as well. She was profligate in her actions, and her emotions burned and consumed all around her when free from her control.
Soon enough though, it began to fade away, her fuel exhausted as calm and reason began to return to her. Cinder stood near the middle of the portrait of destruction, shoulders heaving as she recovered. Her eyes faded back to their normal color, and she brushed her shoulders off at the same time.
Looking around, Cinder's gaze narrowed in resumed annoyance as she saw Neo positioned in the corner of the room, wearing a smirk as she made no effort to draw attention to herself. Yet upon being noticed an eyebrow lifted in silent question, which only set Cinder on edge.
After a moment, she ignited a flame in her palm as she stepped towards the intruder, getting a smirk of her own as she let the light cast dangerous shadows. "Neo, I hope you don't plan on telling anyone about this. I'd hate to ruin our perfectly good relationship."
Neo merely winked, twirling her parasol as a finger raised to tap silent lips, before she turned and walked off. Well then, it seemed that violence would be avoided this time. Which was good since Neo was one of her more competent followers. And Cinder knew that she could hold her to her promises.
Cinder watched her go until the door slammed shut, before sighing once more. She walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle and then retrieving a wine glass. This all would be cleaned later. For now she would relax, and poured herself a drink to do so. She deserved it.