I do not own RWBY. I do however own the Original Characters.
Hey everybody! Guess who!?
I am super sorry with how long this took guys, I really am. I did not expect to take this long and am really disappointed with myself. This chapter was a bitch to write for multiple reasons, the primary reason being I wrote myself into a corner. I had an idea for how I wanted things to go, but I couldn't figure out a way to get it to paper and have it seem believable. I also had a ton of homework and papers I needed to do, but I also started to loose interest in writing Grimm Heir (or this chapter at least).
I love Grimm Heir, but recently it has been becoming harder and harder for me to actually want to just sit down and write the story. Hell, I until last week, I hadn't even been working on it at all. Those of you who read the Grimm Heir Short Stories have already heard this, but for those of you how don't, I recently stated I would be taking a break from Grimm Heir. However, I tend to change my mind quite frequently, and I admit, I announced my hiatus when I was struggling to write this stuff down. I will be going on hiatus, but I am no longer sure if I'll be doing that now, or a few chapters later, as I have recently gotten my writing mojo back, thanks in part to my good friend DragonBlitz85 (who helped me get me out of my writing's block) and Nomad of Nowhere. That show is fucking great, after watching the first episode I was already back to writing.
I also want to announce that after this chapter, I will no longer be answering review questions via chapter updates. You guys have waited three months for answers and have probably figured out or forgotten your questions by now, plus they have been taking up a significant amount of space. I will still probably answer the questions of people who (for some reason) don't have a account through the chapter updates, but only if they are actual questions.
And finally, I have decided to start writing my own book! Won't give out too many details, but it's a fantasy story based off the legend of Spartacus and will feature half-dragons, dwarves, and elves as the bad guys everyone wants them to be.
Here are the last review question answers!
Dragonsaga1993: I am happy you didn't think they were out of character. Did you mean to write Qrow? I'm asking because you said 'if wrote lived' which confused me a bit.
Guest-james: Originally, I was going to go for something like that, the part with Silver getting captured and interrogated anyway.
S058: It doesn't matter if the soldiers had cameras, there were dozens of eye-witnesses. A lot of stuff is coming to light now, and the Overlord won't be able to stop it. (Also, the idea of PSAs regarding beings like Silver makes me think of the Family Guy 'You've got a gay' PSA, which is funny).
WildlyLaughing: By this point, I'm not sure which episode you are referring to. The final half of Volume 5 was very disappointing to me however.
Nightmaster000: You are not the only one, hehehehe.
Shadow Walker of Fire: I will admit that I have tinkered with the idea. Not sure if I'll actually use it or not though.
TheHappyTyranid: We all want to see Cinder be brutally murdered, you are not alone. As for Big O, you'll have to wait and see how he reacts to all this.
Natstateguy: She will, and you'll need to find out.
The watchmen: Thank you, and don't worry, we get a Rojo point of view this time.
Somas35: Keep in mind, he had a VERY bad day with everything lead up to that point, so something like what he did is to be expected to a degree. And hey, if Hazel can try to kill minors while condemning Ozpin for the exact same thing, then I think Rojo can try to shoot Yang for protecting the thing that literally murdered his family.
Antoninjohn: Uh… Silver has killed a fair number of people, but not THAT many. Yeah, she can take credit for the first train wreck, but the rest weren't done by her. Also, I feel like the villages in RWBY are a lot smaller than the ones in real-life. So, I guess a few thousand? I'm not really sure, math makes my brain hurt.
5 Coloured Walker: It can be argued that Ironwood was using his authority as a Huntsman, or that the Vale Council had already started reaching out to him regarding security. Still you make a fair point, I just couldn't think of a better way to write that scene. Plus, they took Roman Torchwick into custody in the original show, why can't they do the same with Silver?
Hirshja: Again, they were allowed to take Roman into custody in the show before the council gave them the authority to.
Yolocakes: I probably, maybe, will!
Anon Person: I would say Rojo is the personification of either vengeance or justice, the rest I feel are pretty on spot.
Dandaman5: What are the consequences for my actions?
Guest: I am going to include the relics, but not in the way many people would expect. I am going to include Ozpin's power to reincarnate, but it will be something he cast on himself rather than it being a curse from the Gods. The Overlord is incredibly powerful, how much so, I won't say because that is for a future chapter. I am thinking of incorporating something along the lines of what you are asking in later chapters, but still not sure.
Anthonym3: Soon, but it will be VERY different from cannon.
Rockhound119: A lot of reasons.
Guest: It depends vastly on the individual who is receiving the blood. Might kill them, might change them into a horrible mutant, might make them into a hybrid. A lot of variables.
CADIA Is Fine: That was a very nice little one-shot.
American Blitzkrieg: That isn't happening.
And now, onto the chapter! Hope you all like it!
Grimm Heir
Chapter Thirty-Four: Repercussions II
"Let go of me! I need to find her, I need to make sure she's safe!" Yang begged as she struggled weakly against Nora's grip.
It showed how utterly drained recent events had left the blonde brawler that she could not even free herself from Nora, but it also displayed her bullheaded stubbornness too. Despite everything that just happened, despite the evidence and the death, Yang was still determined to find and protect her long lost sister.
Even when that sister had committed murder right in front of her eyes.
"Yang, stop this!" Weiss said for what had to be the fourth time. "You can't go after her, she'll kill you!"
"Yeah!" Nora agreed, her usual cheer greatly subdued. "So, can you please stop trying to run after the crazy Grimm-girl?"
"No, she won't!" Yang denied, tears starting to flow down her cheeks again. "Ruby wouldn't do that, Weiss. Something's making her do it! Ruby would never do something like that! She's a good girl. She wouldn't…"
"Yang, you need to calm down," Jaune Arc tried. "I get your worried about your… sister, I really do, but she's… well, she's…"
"She's committed murder." Ren finished coldly, earning winces from Neptune and Sun, and a teary, red-eyed glare from Yang as the blonde continued to deny everything.
Despite Team JNPR's assistance, Yang still refused to listen to them. She kept insisting that her sister wouldn't do what everyone saw her do, that something was controlling her sister's mind or something. She spoke these assumptions with such desperate conviction that Blake was starting to feel herself choke up from pitying sympathy.
Blake had experienced what Yang was going through, the denial of facts right in front of you, the desperation of learning everything you fought for might be a lie. She didn't see Yang Xiao Long trying to save a long-lost sibling, but a young Blake Belladonna clinging hopelessly to a regime that no longer stood for what it once did.
Just as she saw Adam Taurus instead of Rojo Toro…
The sharpshooter in question was no longer present. Like most of the crowd, Rojo had left the square following the sudden departure of Yang's sister. He was dead set on hunting the girl down and killing her. Blake and Weiss tried to stop him, as did the rest of their friends, but Rojo rebuked them, harshly. He called them all lying traitors, less-than-dirt for trying to protect the one he blamed for his parents' deaths. Rojo told Blake he wished he never stood up for her when they found out she was a faunus, revealing the girl's most guarded secret to anyone within earshot. He punched Sun in the gut when the monkey faunus got in his face for yelling at Blake. He snapped at Jaune for being a coward and a cheater when the young knight tried to calm him down. Shouted at Pyrrha when the redhead tried to back her leader up. And Yang… he told Yang he never wanted to see her again…
He spoke with unbelievable hatred, but it was the feeling of betrayal Blake heard most in her leader's voice. He truly felt betrayed by them for doing what he perceived as not only an insult to his family's memory but a sin against humanity itself.
He saw Yang's sister – if she truly was her sister – not only as the murderer of his parents, but as the reaper of every life lost during the Week of Red Railways. He viewed this girl in almost the exact same way Adam viewed humans, the only difference being that while Adam was fueled by spite, Rojo was fueled by vengeance.
They didn't go after him. Partly because they were too stunned by the venom in his voice and partly because Yang was having a complete breakdown.
"God damnit, let go of me!" Yang demanded hoarsely, her voice tainted with sorrow and denial. "I have to save her! I can't lose her again! I can't let the monster steal her again!"
But Blake knew they had to go after him. Anger made people do and say crazy and terrible things, and if left alone that anger would fester into something truly horrifying. Rojo had said those things out of grief for his family, because he wanted vengeance for what was taken from him.
Blake's thoughts briefly flashed to her own parents, the ones she spurned and called cowards for leaving the White Fang. The ones she desperately wanted to apologize to and the ones that had every right to ignore her apology. Blake still loved them, though she understood if they no longer loved her, and if they were murdered like Rojo's were, and their killer was at her feet…
Blake realized she would have done the same thing as Rojo…
And she would have regretted it.
What Rojo sought was revenge, and to achieve it he was willing to murder a defenseless girl. Maybe the girl really was behind all of this, maybe she was unwilling participant, maybe she was completely innocent like Yang said, it didn't matter.
To kill a helpless individual, whatever their sins, was wrong. It was not what Huntsmen and Huntresses did.
They needed to remind Rojo about that. Remind him he came to Beacon to become a proud protector of the innocent, not a heartless executioner. Before it was too late.
But first, they had to calm down Yang.
"I said: let me go!" The blonde in question said as she pulled against Nora's grip one more time, calling on what little of her strength remained to finally break free of the ginger's hold. She stumbled forward a bit, but righted herself and tried to make a run for it.
Only for Blake to catch her in an embrace. The faunus wrapped her arms tightly around the blonde, in a way that mirrored how Yang had done the same to her that evening before the dance. The irony might have warranted a smile even, if the circumstances weren't so grim.
"Yang, you have to stop." Blake pleaded with her friend as she struggled to break free. "I know you don't want to hear this, but you can't keep ignoring the facts. If you go out there like this, you'll die. That girl will kill you."
"No," Yang gasped back, her voice breaking. "No, you're wrong! Ruby's just confused! She's scared… she needs my help… before the monster shows up… before the monster takes her again… please let me go, Blake…"
Blake felt so much pity for Yang right then, "I'm sorry, Yang, but I can't do that."
Yang only took that as a sign to keep struggling. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go, Blake! Let! Me! Go-!?"
A blur, a sudden strike, then stunned silence. Yang went rigid for a moment, then relaxed as she slumped into into Blake's arms, unconscious. The faunus girl took a knee as the brawler's body leaned went limp on her in order to compensate for the added weight. Everyone else watching gawked at the sight a Beacon faculty member knocking one of his students out with a chop to the beck of the neck.
"Professor?!" Weiss, Sun, Neptune, and three of Team JNPR exclaimed, surprised by the history teacher's actions.
"Doctor." He corrected instantly. "I do apologize for my sudden action, children. But, as you can all attest, Miss Xiao Long is in no condition to go off looking for the individual that could very well be behind this entire attack. Physically, mentally, or emotionally speaking."
They all knew he was right. They all knew how stubborn Yang was, how difficult she could get when she wanted something. And it was obvious she wanted to find that girl and keep her safe, regardless of the dangers.
"I recommend you all return to Beacon Academy immediately," Oobleck instructed. "You have all had a strenuous and exhausting day and are in need of a good night's sleep."
"We will handle the cleanup." Professor Goodwitch added, her gaze briefly flashing towards Yang before returning to the rest of them. "For now, return to Beacon with the other students."
The teenagers hesitated, unsure if they should comply.
"What about Rojo?" Weiss asked, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over them. "Shouldn't we go after him? He's still out there!"
Strange expressions played out on the three professors' faces, though Goodwitch's was hidden behind her hand. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sight that sounded both parts frustrated and disappointed. "Due to his actions today involving Miss Xiao Long and the fugitive, Mr. Toro is to be expelled from Beacon Academy."
Blake expected that response, it was the only logical outcome for what transpired today. Rojo hadn't hesitated to shoot Yang when she stood in the way of his revenge, not to mention how he beat up two Atlesian soldiers and screamed at Goodwitch. Blake was not at all surprised that Rojo would be expelled from Beacon.
But that didn't mean she liked hearing it.
"So, you're just going to leave him out there!?"
And neither did Weiss, apparently.
"Miss Schnee, calm down." Professor Port began, holding up his hands in a calming manner. "We do not plan on leaving young Rojo to trek through a battle torn Vale, but you must understand. By seeking to harm another student – one of his teammates no less – Rojo has violated Beacon's code of conduct in a way that cannot be overlooked."
"What Rojo Toro has done is inexcusable," Goodwitch added in, "and once this mess is sorted out, he will be handed over into police custody following his expulsion."
"Police custody!?" Weiss repeated. The heiress seemed ready to launch into a tirade, but the glare Goodwitch sent made Weiss hold her tongue.
"Yes. Now, as I told you all early." The professor glared at them all with a look of complete authority. "Stand down and return to Beacon."
A standoff then ensued between Academy Professor and Academy students. It lasted only a few seconds however, the students couldn't last against the infamous death glare of Glynda Goodwitch. They backed down, unwilling to risk whatever punishment the disciplinarian might have in store for them should they disobey. Even Weiss seemed cowed by the Huntress' gaze, turning her head to avoid those intimidating eyes. Seeing that the teenagers were properly subdued, the professor reached down for her Scroll. "Good. I'll call for a Bullhead-"
VWOOSH-SHING!
A gust of cold wind, and the sound of wind-chimes tinkling in the breeze were the only warnings Blake received before Weiss shot past her on one of her speed glyhps. Before anyone could react to the heiress' sudden departure she was already gone.
Goodwitch blinked, then cursed under her breath. After a moment, she turned back to the remaining students, her renewed glare causing some of the Huntsmen-and-Huntresses-in-training to actually flinch back in fear.
The professor didn't say anything to them, she didn't need to. They all knew what her glare was telling them: Do as I say or suffer my wrath. The teens all nodded their consent, fearing what might happen to them should they not.
After a few tense seconds, Goodwitch seemed satisfied and brought out her Scroll to call for pickup, though she made sure to keep the students in her peripheral. Once the call was finished Goodwitch instructed Professors Port and Oobleck to go after the heiress and bring her back to Beacon.
Once Goodwitch was finished, the two Huntsmen nodded and made off in the direction Weiss had gone, leaving Goodwitch to watch over the students. An awkward silence fell over the group, everyone was too afraid of sparking the Huntress' ire to talk. So, they simply waited for the Bullhead to arrive.
When the aircraft showed up, everyone got on board without complaint. Goodwitch instructed the pilot to return to Beacon with the students while she remained behind to assist in the cleanup effort. As the Bullhead took off from the square and the compartment doors slid closed, Sun Wukong broke the uneasy silence that had fallen over them.
"Do you really think Weiss will find Rojo?" He asked.
Blake wasn't surprised that Sun came to the conclusion that Weiss was going after Rojo, she thought the same. Weiss could be quite defiant when she wanted to be, especially when her friends were involved. Blake nodded her head, "I do."
"How though?" Nora asked, worry clear in her voice.
Blake looked over to Yang, her unconscious body strapped into one the Bullhead's seats to keep her secured. "I don't know," She admitted after a long moment. "But something tells me, she'll find him."
~o0o~
ROOA-BOOM!
The roars of the Grimm were abruptly cut short by an explosion. The monsters were blown to pieces by the blast, leaving only a cloud of dust and smoke in their wake. Not waiting for the cloud to dissipate, Rojo Toro ran through the smoke with a determined sprint.
When he came out on the other side, he was greeted by a masked man rising back to his feet. Rojo swiftly brought up Red Redemption and, without breaking his stride, swung the rifle into the man's covered face. The butt of the weapon smashed against the mask like a hammer, shattering it to pieces and sending the man back down to the ground.
His head cracked hard against the asphalt of the road, but Rojo didn't stop to check if the man was alright. He didn't have time to check and he didn't care to check. These bastards had brought the Siren to Vale, a crime he could never forgive. They weren't people behind those masks of theirs, they were just monsters.
And it was a Huntsman's duty to kill monsters.
A duty that Rojo Toro was more than willing to fulfill.
Even if his friends weren't...
Rojo clenched his teeth at the thought of those backstabbing traitors. He had told them what the Siren had taken from him, they knew about the massacres, and yet when they came face-to-face with the monster itself, when they were gifted a chance to stop it from harming another innocent ever again, what did they do?
They protected it. They attacked him. They let it escape. They let it kill more people. They let it tear more families apart, orphan more children, and for what!? Because it was wounded? Because it looked like a human girl? Because it cried like a human girl? Because of Yang's delusional claim it was her sister!?
That thing wasn't human. It wasn't a little girl. It wasn't Yang's sister.
Little girls didn't have giant claws. Little girls didn't have sharp fangs. Little girls didn't have black blood. Little girls didn't turn people into dried-up corpses just by touching them. Little girls didn't scream like banshees. Little girls didn't murder people.
It wasn't a little girl, it was a monster! And all monsters ever deserved was a bullet to the head!
And that's what Rojo Toro planned to do. Once he found the Siren, once he tracked down the monster that had claimed the lives of his parents and so many others, he'd put a bullet through its skull.
For his family…
For all the people it had killed…
For the years of pain he suffered through…
The Siren would die…
SQUEEEEAALL!
It lunged out at him, just as he was about to turn a corner. A boarbatusk barreled into the sharpshooter with the force of a speeding car. It threw him back several yards, his back colliding with a nearby lamppost. The impact stunned angry teenager for a moment, but he managed to regain his senses in time to dive out of the way as the Grimm delivered its follow-up attack, uprooting the lamppost entirely and sending it flying into someone's car.
The Grimm turned itself to face him, snorting and squealing in anger as it readied another charge. Rojo answered with an angry roar of his own as he unloaded into the porcine monster. The attack was one made in futility as the bullets glanced off the boarbatusk's thick skull plating, serving only to agitate the Grimm even further.
It let out a furious squeal and started spinning. Dust clouds formed behind it as the boarbatusk readied up its signature attack, but just as it was about to charge Rojo four shining projectiles struck its side. The attacks pushed the Grimm away, causing it to go off course and ram itself into a wall instead of Rojo. The boarbatusk was still alive, but Rojo fixed that with a rock to its rump.
The bit of rubble bounced off the Grimm's behind before detonating with the tremendous force, blowing the boarbatusk into a thousand pieces that evaporated into nothingness before even touching the ground.
"ROJO!"
And with that shout, the identity of his savior was revealed. With narrowed eyes, Rojo turned to see Weiss Schnee marching her way up to him with a furious scowl plastered on her face.
Rojo had seen Weiss angry plenty of times before, yet this was different. It was not an anger born out of irritation or frustration, but betrayal and… disappointment, perhaps? He resisted the urge to shake his head. It didn't matter. He knew exactly what she was angry about, it didn't take much to figure it out.
And knowing the reason only served to deepen Rojo's own anger.
As the heiress drew closer, the sharpshooter turned to leave. "Go back to Beacon, Weiss," He growled at her, not wanting to look her or anyone he had mistitled as his 'friends'. "This is something that has to be done. That monster can't be allowed to-"
A hand gripped Rojo's shoulder suddenly and pulled the young sharpshooter around. A brief glimpse of Weiss' icy scowl is all he saw before his sight was abruptly set on an empty street of Vale and his right cheek stung with unexpected pain.
SLAP!
The sound echoed around the two teenagers, as if it were the only sound to be heard for miles around. Shock from the blow froze Rojo, but his boiling temper quickly thawed him out of his stasis. He slowly turned his head back to face his partner, meeting her cold glare with one of fiery rage. He opened his mouth and-
"Is this what you think they'd want?"
The question caught Rojo off guard. He blinked. "What-"
"Do you think this is what your parents wanted from you, Rojo?" Wiess elaborated, "for you to become like some madman obsessed with getting revenge?"
Rojo's brow furrowed and he glared at the heiress, his anger reignited. How dare she-
"After what happened in the square, when you tried to shoot Yang – one of your closest friends – because she was in the way of what you think was the Siren, you didn't hesitate. Is that what you think they want, Rojo? For you to become a murderer in their names? Is tha-"
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT THEM!" Rojo shouted, his voice loud and hoarse. "You don't know anything! Don't understand what it's like!"
Rojo moved into Weiss' space, bending down so his face was mere inches away from her own. "You don't know what it's like, to see other families pass by you. Seeing that carefree togetherness you'll never experience again! Knowing you'll never get the chance to say your sorry for all the trouble you caused them! That you'll never hear them say 'I love you' ever again! That you'll be haunted every fucking day with the fact that it was ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT THEY'RE DEAD!"
His eyes stung as the memory of his younger self popped up, begging his parents to take the train instead of taking a passenger ship. He didn't know how to swim and was scared he might fall overboard and drown, or that a Grimm would swallow him whole.
Weiss' face started to become blurry and his voice started cracking, but Rojo didn't care. "You don't know anything, Weiss! You still have a family in Atlas, all I have is this gun and this hat! That's all I have to remember them by!"
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Weiss shouted as she pushed Rojo down.
"I do know what it's like, Rojo. I know what it's like to lose a family member. I've lost dozens of relatives to the White Fang just because they share the same last name as me! All my life, I've harbored resentment and hatred for the White Fang for the pain they've inflicted on my family," Weiss paused for a moment to take a breath, then continued. "And when I found out that Blake used to be one of them, I felt just as angry and betrayed as you feel right now. I want to make her pay for what the White Fang did to me and my family. I didn't want to listen to her side, I didn't want to understand… I just wanted to make the pain go away…"
She knelt down in front of Rojo and wrapped her arms around him, bringing the sharpshooter into a firm yet gentle hug. Rojo tensed up, but didn't resist the embrace, even as Weiss rested her chin against his shoulder.
"Then you reminded me that she was our friend," Weiss whispered. "You told me that she wasn't a terrorist, or a murderer, or a thief, but our friend and that she was more terrified than I was. I was so focused on what the White Fang did to me, on wanting some kind of revenge, that I couldn't see Blake as anything but a criminal. And you snapped me out of it.
"I know you want justice for your parents, but this isn't the way. This isn't you." Weiss squeezed Rojo tighter. "You were willing to shoot Yang, Rojo, your teammate and friend. You were going to kill her to get to a girl you think is the Siren and she thinks is her sister. You were willing to become a murderer to satisfy your revenge."
Weiss then pulled herself away just enough so that the two of them were once again face to face. She stared deep into his eyes, and he stared right back into hers. In them he saw sympathy, understanding, and a refusal to back down until he understood.
"Please, Rojo," Wiess begged, tears sliding down her cheeks as she pressed herself against him one again. "Please, just stop. I don't want to lose another family."
Family…
The word clenched his heart like an iron fist, as did the rest of Weiss' words because they were true. Ever since they became Team RWBY, they had experienced so much together. They had gone through heartache, adventures, conspiracies, and more in the months since their initiation. Each experience brought the four of them closer and closer to each other until they had become much more than just another team.
They were a family... His family…
And he had just ripped it apart…
In his overwhelming lust for revenge, Rojo had torn his new family apart with a single bullet. It didn't matter that he didn't hit Yang, it mattered that he had been willing to shoot Yang at all. Yang, his best friend. He had pointed Red Redemption right at her and pulled the trigger.
He… he tried to kill her…
Rojo slowly wrapped his arms around Weiss and pulled the heiress closer to him as the revelation of his actions finally set in. "What have I done?" Tears trickled down his face as the words left his mouth. "What have I done?" Weiss started weeping with him and the two teammates cried into each other's embrace. They remained that way for what felt like hours, venting their sorrows. Even when their tears dried, and their crying stopped, the two did not break away from each other, finding comfort in their shared embrace.
"What have I done?" Rojo asked again, to no one in particular.
"Something that no-one should ever feel the need to do," Spoke a deep, familiar voice that was unusually quiet and contained.
He looked up and saw professors Port and Oobleck standing just a few yards away from the two teens with somber expressions on their faces.
It took Rojo a moment for his emotionally exhausted brain to process why the two Huntsmen were here. Then he remembered. Both he and Weiss stood up shakily, releasing the hold they had on each other and ending the moment between them. When the heiress looked at the two Beacon professors, she opened her mouth to say something, but a hand on her shoulder from Rojo stopped her.
The two stared at each other and Rojo shook his head at the heiress before walking over to the professors. He knew what he had done, he understood the consequences.
Without saying a word, the sharpshooter held out Red Redemption for the mustached teacher to take. Port took the rifle with equal silence, and though much of his face was hidden behind thick facial hair and eyebrows, Rojo felt as if the older Huntsman was looking at him with great deal of sympathy.
"Come along, children." Oobleck said softly, his usual enthusiastic tone gone. "We must go."
They didn't argue, and the two children followed the Huntsmen back to the square where this whole fiasco had started. Yet as they walked, the dulled sound of a far-off explosion caught Rojo's attention. He looked back and saw a pillar of smoke that had not been there before rising skywards.
A thought suddenly flashed in his mind; that that was where the Siren was hiding. But before he could think to act on it, he felt something gently pull his arm. He looked forward and saw Weiss holding his hand. A pleading expression was on her face, she had heard the explosion too it seemed. He stared at the smoke for a moment then at Wiess before resuming the walk back to the square.
~o0o~
When Cinder confronted the Red Wolves in their little hideaway, she did so with the complete confidence that they would be too exhausted to resist her. She had planned to intimidate them into submission – with her Maiden powers if it came to it – and interrogate the ones smart enough not to oppose her will.
Cinder would have all their secrets laid bare to her. Their numbers, their range of influence, the true identity of their leader, how they really controlled the Grimm, and most importantly, the identity and importance of that Grimm hybrid girl that killed Roman in the square.
That was something she desperately wanted to know, both for her own curiosity and for her Mistress, Salem. If that girl was anything like her Mistress, then a whole plethora of new possibilities were now open to the Maiden and her conspirators. Possibilities that could not be ignored.
So, once she tracked down the Red Wolves in possession of the girl, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald followed them to the abandoned storage facility they had claimed for their safehouse. When she was certain they were all inside, Cinder revealed herself to the Red Wolves and their Grimm servants with her usual air of menacing confidence.
There were only a few dozen Wolves and a handful of lesser Grimm to deal with, after all. Nothing she nor her two followers couldn't handle, not that they would need to. Their quarry was beaten and demoralized, too tired to even think of resisting-
"KILL HER!"
The warehouse erupted in a cacophony of gunfire as every Red Wolf with a gun opened fire on Cinder. Thinking fast, the Fall Maiden called upon the magic within her and summoned forth a barrier to protect herself.
Hundreds of bullets impacted against her force field, threatening to break it. Cinder struggled to keep the barrier up. Had she possessed the whole of the Fall Maiden's power, this would have been over before it started. As it was, she held only half of the power, which was barely enough to hold back the barrage of Dust she now endured.
Thankfully, she had not come alone.
As the Maiden held back the tide of bullets, her followers struck. Jumping down from the ceiling where they had snuck in from, Emerald and Mercury landed amongst the Red Wolves and their Grimm minions and quickly went to work.
Many of the Red Wolves shifted their aim to the two humans suddenly in their midst, giving Cinder the chance to retaliate. Her barrier became engulfed in flames, and with great effort, the Maiden pushed it into the Red Wolves that were directly in front of her. A few manages to duck out of the way, but more didn't and were consumed in magic flames.
With the reprieve she bought, Cinder summoned forth her two obsidian blades and took a fighting stance. A wise move, as she was quickly beset by both Grimm and Wolves that rushed her with murderous intent.
Cinder dodged a beowolf's claws and parried a Red Wolf's weapon with one blade as she unleashed a fiery slash on another. She pushed back the Wolf she parried with a kick to the stomach then stabbed both her blades straight through the mouth of the beowolf as it lunged at her.
As she pulled the blades out, a creep charged into her side, knocking her off her feet and throwing her into a mob of Red Wolves. They swarmed over Cinder, like starving jackals. Had she been any other woman, she would have been ripped apart by them then and there. But she was not just any woman. She was the Fall Maiden.
With a furious roar, Cinder unleashed a blast of searing flame that washed over her attackers like a wave. Their Auras were rendered useless as their skin melted off and their bones blackened. The fire devoured the Red Wolves whole, quickly reducing them to nothing but ashes that clung to the Fall Maiden's body as she rose back up. As she did so, Emerald and Mercury rushed to her side, fighting through the remaining Wolves and Grimm to reach her.
"Are you alright?" Emerald asked as she and Mercury placed themselves between Cinder and the mob of Red Wolves. The Maiden didn't answer, she was too busy sucking in oxygen. Instead, she glared at the faunus and their pets, her eyes glowing with unnatural energies.
There were very few of them left. Only a dozen Red Wolves remained, and most of the Grimm were dead, save a few kokushi and that giant, scorpion-tailed feline. And yet they still showed no sign of surrender, even after seeing her power and watching her immolate their comrades, they remained defiant.
This infuriated Cinder. They had just born witness to the majesty of a Maiden, a wielder of elemental powers beyond anything science could ever hope to achieve, and they showed no fear in facing her. They refused to grant her the respect she was entitled to, and they would be punished for it.
"You're going to regret defying me," She told them. "Had you just bowed your heads and submitted like the pawns you are, I might have let you live. But you clearly have no desire to live, so give me the girl now and I'll make your deaths quick."
Rather than take a moment to contemplate her offer, the Red Wolves threw themselves at the trio.
Had she not been so irritated by all of this, Cinder might have actually smiled at their pathetic last stand. But she was fed up with them at this point and poured what power she could into one last devasting attack. "Get behind me," she growled to her subordinates, who obeyed their Mistress without question.
As soon as Mercury and Emerald were out of the way, Cinder unleashed her power on the fanatical faunus and their pets. A ball of magical flame that flew straight into the mass of enemies before exploding into an inferno. The force of the blast sent the already exhausted Cinder stumbling back into the arms of Emerald, who caught her staggered mistress.
The thief said something, but Cinder could hear nothing but an insufferable ringing. She broke out of her apprentice's hold and tried to stand, only to find her sense of balance had also been affected by the blast. She fell to her hands and knees, panting as she tried to use her Aura to silence that terrible ringing and return her balance to her.
This proved difficult. Her Maiden's power was not full and summoning forth so much of its power like she had just now strained her body and spirit to immense degrees. Not to mention, the creature living inside her – the thing that gave her the means to take the Maiden's power in the first place – made calling upon her Aura more difficult than it should have been.
She was the one in control however, not that creature. Cinder would not be brought low by some lowly parasite. She willed her Aura forth, and it came, returning her senses. Immediately, the sound of roaring flames and a distraught Emerald filled her ears.
"Cinder!? Cinder, are you alright!? Can you hear-!?"
"Yes, Emerald!" Cinder snapped as she rose to her feet and examined the devastation she had wrought. "I'm fine."
Where there had been faunus and Grimm, a crater now lay. Tongues of fire licked the air hungrily as black smoke drifted upwards. Cinder narrowed at the column of smoke, as if glaring at it would make it go away. It didn't.
Cinder clenched her fists.
"Well," Mercury started, his voice as disinterested as it always was. "Guess we should find that girl now, right, boss?"
Before either woman could voice a retort, something shot out from behind the smoke. Cinder blinked and heard a scream of pain. She turned, and saw Mercury, impaled upon a black, spear-tipped tail. The young assassin coughed up blood as he stared at the thing skewering him with shock. He reached to grab the appendage impaling him, but before he could the tail was yanked back into the smoke, taking Mercury with it.
He screamed as he went, instinctual fear of death overriding everything his late father had taught him. Emerald fired into the smoke with her pistols, trying to kill whatever that tail belonged to, but it didn't seem to have any affect.
Mercury passed through the smoke, and in a last-ditch attempt to save her subordinate, Cinder called upon her Maiden's powers once again. She winced in pain as she struggled to summon just enough power to dispel the smoke so that Emerald would have a clear line of sight.
She succeeded, but too late.
As if blown away by a breeze that wasn't there, the smoke vanished, allowing the two women to witness the death of their comrade at the fangs of the giant feline Grimm.
Miraculously, the monster had managed to survive her attack, though not without injury. The beast was wounded badly, small fires traveled along its still burning hide, and much of its face had been melted off. Still, it clung stubbornly to life as it tore the assassin to pieces with its saber-sized fangs and massive claws.
Anger filled Cinder's being as she watched this, knowing that one of the most crucial elements of her plan was now dead. She then turned to Emerald and shouted, "SHOOT IT!"
The girl obeyed and let loose into the beast. With the smoke no longer impeding her aim, Emerald's shots hit true, and penetrated deep into the Grimm's disfigured face. It slumped to the floor, dead, its body already evaporating into black mist. Before it's disappearing corpse, the dismembered remains of Mercury lay, an unrecognizable collection of shredded meat and splintered bone. Only from the two metal legs, ripped off and crushed, could Cinder identify it as once being Mercury Black.
Silence filled the warehouse after that, heavy with frustration. What was Cinder to do now? Roman was dead, Neo was dead, Mercury was dead. All her pawns were dead. Months of planning had been made worthless in just a few hours of chaos. How was she going to retrieve the rest of her power now? How was she going to awaken the dragon now?
How could she hope to salvage this disaster in time for the Vytal Festival?
How!?
"Ha… ha… ha… pathetic..."
Cinder' gaze shot to the direction of the laugh, where the Grimm's body was. Next to it was another body, one of the Red Wolves. Like the Grimm, he had also managed to survive the explosion, but was gravely wounded. A piece of debris had severed his right leg, and much of his uniform had been scorched off, revealing singed skin underneath.
All that remained unharmed was the mask upon his face, which glared at Cinder and Emerald with spiteful glee.
The Fall Maiden stormed towards the dying man, her fury overpowering any desire to intimidate. Emerald followed close behind, the blades of her pistols exposed.
When Cinder was close enough to the faunus, she kicked him down. The man grunted strangely as he was violently removed from his place against the Grimm. Now on his back, Cinder placed a heel against his chest and pushed down, wanting to hear him scream in pain.
Instead, he laughed in a voice that did not belong to him, "You… are nothing, Cinder Fall…"
Though his comment served only to stir her anger, the voice in which he spoke gave her pause. It was not the deep growl of man hardened by years of resentment and prejudice, but the high-pitched chirp of a songbird that believed itself a serpent. It was the voice of a little girl.
Too stunned to retort, the faunus beneath her continued to taunt her. "Did you truly believe… we would bow before a cretin like you? Did you truly think you could chain us? Such foolish hubris!" The faunus laughed weakly at her.
"You're the idiots here!" Emerald countered in defense of Cinder. "You've ruined your one chance to make the kingdoms pay for what they did to your people and given the White Fang an excuse to-" The faunus' laughter intensified, interrupting the thief's truthful lie.
"There is no White Fang here, not anymore," the faunus revealed through its laughter. "Their eyes have been opened and they follow the true path now. They are no longer yours to command, witch…"
Cinder glared at the strange faunus beneath her, enraged by what the faunus was saying. She pushed down harder with her heel, drawing blood but doing nothing to halt the mocking laughter. "You… have lost…hehehehe…"
"Stop it." She snarled. "Stop laughing."
"Hehehehe…"
"Stop laughing!"
"Hehehehehehe…"
"STOP IT!"
"Hehehehe… never, failure… I will never stop laughing at you, hehehehe… never…"
Cinder seethed with anger and indignity, clenching her fists with enough force for her fingernails to pierce her skin and draw blood. Each breath she took was heavy and hateful, flaring her nostrils and exposing her teeth at this… creature that was mocking her. She had never held so much hate for a single being before. The sheer loathing, she felt towards this thing was unbearable.
With a howl of fury, Cinder tore one of Emerald's sickle-pistols from the thief's hand and raised it high above her head. "I SAID SHUT UP!" Cinder brought the sickle blade down like a hammer, striking the Red Wolf right between eyes and finally halting its infuriating laughter-
A loud, unexpected inhalation of air sounded behind the Fall Maiden and her apprentice, echoing in the empty space of the warehouse. They turned and saw two more Red Wolves by the exit Cinder had entered from. One held the hybrid girl – who was gasping for air in the faunus' arms. The hood was down, and Cinder saw that the cloth that had been wrapped around her face was gone, revealing a horrendous injury.
Their intention was clear enough, they were trying to escape. Cinder cursed herself as she realized the Red Wolf lying dead at her feet had been nothing more than a distraction, one that almost worked. Almost. Now here quarry was exposed, ripe for the taking. All she had to do was kill her two guards and-
The girl's inhuman silver eyes met Cinder's. A terrible pain erupted inside her body, robbing her of her strength and focus. She crumbled to her knees in agony as she clawed at her chest in search of the pain's source. Emerald tried to help Cinder, gripping her shoulders and shaking her while calling out her name. It didn't help.
No harm!
The thought erupted inside her mind, along with the sudden urge to… to protect the hybrid girl. Cinder found herself wanting – no, needing – to hide this girl away and protect her from anything that would seek harm on her.
But why? Why did she suddenly harbor this yearning to help the girl? She needed to capture her! To bring her to Salem and-
And…
And…
… …
… …
It was gone… The pain was gone. The desire was gone.
"CINDER!? CINDER!?"
But before she could begin to ponder what had just happened or why, she was made aware of a distraught Emerald shaking her like a ragdoll.
"I'M FINE!" She snapped, "Get off me!" and threw the concerned thief's arms off her and brought a hand to her head. She stared blankly at the floor for a moment, trying to process what she had just gone through.
Then she looked up.
The girl was gone…
~o0o~
The Thrall snarled as it lifted up the manhole cover. It pulled the metal disc away, allowing its kin to climb down the hole before following it down. The Thrall pulled the manhole cover back into place, shrouding the two Thralls and their wounded charge in the darkness of the Dustling-made waste tunnels.
Within the arms of one of her protectors, Silver fluttered in and out of consciousness. That damned ordeal with Cinder had left the heir in this peculiar state, an unexpected side effect of being violently expelled from the Thrall's mind. At least, that is what Silver thought, or did she?
She hissed as her mind throbbed with pain. Thinking was too hard right now. Silver wanted to rest, to close her eyes and sleep, but she didn't want risk it, not now. She needed to be safe first, she needed… she needed to… get out of… the nest… back to the Gulch…
Yes… the Gulch. The Gulch was a safe place. She needed to return… Daddy would be waiting for her… wondering… wondering where she was…
He… he was probably… worried about her… right…?
Disappointed…
A knife of shame and guilt stabbed into the heir's heart. No… Daddy wouldn't be worried… he wouldn't be worried about… about a disappointing failure like Silver… She had disappointed him… She had disobeyed him… she hadn't returned when he told her to… She had proven herself… unworthy of… of everything he had given to her…
His crown…
His inheritance…
His trust…
His love…
She was unworthy of it all…
As the heir's exhausted mind was consumed by regret and shame the two Thralls pressed onwards. Above, they could hear the sounds of Dustlings searching for them, muffled by layers of concrete and cement. They moved swiftly, but cautiously, not wanting to risk detection by an enemy that was literally right on top of them.
The sewers of nest were like a maze, one that neither Thrall knew the way through. They searched and searched but could not find a way out, and their mistress' discomfort was becoming worse and worse.
Eventually, they came across a large pipe, tall and wide enough for them to walk in comfortably. It was identical to all the other pipes that fed filth into the sewer, only this one was completely dry. The Thrall not carrying the heir climbed inside and traveled down the pipe's length, discovering a clogged filter grate at the end of it.
It conveyed this information to its kin, and the two brought their charge into the pipe, resting her against its rusted walls. With their mistress in a defensible location, the Thralls immediately readied their weapons and faced the way they had entered through, ready for any threat that might appear.
Meanwhile, Silver Rose wept silent tears of self-loathing, wallowing in the despair she had brought upon herself, before succumbing to her mind's desperate desire for blissful sleep.
Only, her sleep would not be blissful…
For the doubts she now held, the shame and regret, they left the door open for something to follow… Something consumed by unexplainable motivations and unnatural will… Something that wanted…
Something that knew what it wanted…
Ruby…
~o0o~
Author's Note: What did you think? Annoyed I killed off Mercury? Happy I made Cinder act like the spoiled brat she is? Conflicted by the fact I am suddenly shipping Rojo and Wiess? In all seriousness, I apologize for how long this took and for how rushed the ending half likely feels. I wanted to put more in but felt like it wouldn't fit very well. Also, for those of you wanting Ozpin's reaction, don't worry, that'll be in the beginning of the next chapter.
Also, in line with the review thing I talked about earlier, I will no longer be asking random questions for you guys to answer. I felt like too many people were answering the questions than leaving actual reviews for the story, so I'm not doing it anymore.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
As Always: Please, Fav, Follow, and Review! Thank You!
DeadRich18 Out!