A/N: I'm so sorry for not having updated any of my stories in so long. I've been struggling with mental health issues and they have been flaring up far worse recently. I'll do my best to update the stories so as not to keep everyone waiting on them. Again, I'm so sorry for the delay.
There was no time for Neo to process her newfound powers. In fact, there was barely any time for her to even regain control over her own body before a familiar figure in white and blue came launching toward her with the help of a crystal-shaped glyph.
Despite her shock at what was happening to her own soul, Neo wasn't caught off-guard by Weiss Schnee's assault. Her figure shattered in an explosion of pink glass, and behind her she could hear the girl give an exasperated scream.
"You're going to pay for what you've done! Both of you!" Weiss roared to Neo and Cinder, her blue eyes streaming hot tears as she charged the two maidens.
Hurriedly drawing on her newfound abilities, Neo threw her attention into the unfamiliar task of conjuring up dozens of small, razor-sharp blades made of ice. She almost smiled as she instinctively used her semblance to make it look as if thousands of the elemental daggers were raining down on Weiss' form.
The white-haired girl gasped and staggered back as her aura took the brunt of the assault, flickering dangerously. Neo watched, mismatched eyes widening as a ball of flame shot past her and struck Weiss squarely in the chest, splintering her aura in a haze of blue. For a split second, Neo wondered if the fire had come from her, but then she felt a familiar Grimm claw tighten around her gloved wrist and pull her away from Weiss' unconscious body.
"Time's up. We've got to go," Cinder hissed hastily. And they ran.
It felt strange to Neo to be running from a fight— yet they weren't; the fight was over, wasn't it? Little Red and her sister had gone tumbling into the abyss, along with that annoying cat faunus, and the Schnee girl was as good as dead. They'd retrieved the Relic of Creation and the powers of the Winter Maiden.
Why were they running?
But the two maidens ran anyway, blasting away anyone who tried to interfere with fire and frigid wind. Neo's breath was coming heavily and her legs were starting to ache. For some reason, Cinder kept a death grip on Neo's wrist as they dashed toward the nearest portal.
Neo wanted to ask what the plan was— if there even was a plan beyond snatching the relic and getting their tails out of there— but there was no time to ask questions or even to process everything that had happened. They were almost to the glowing, mirror-shaped doorway.
And then Neo realized that it wasn't a portal back to Atlas. It led to Vacuo.
A brief pang of sickly fear echoed through Neo's brain. Salem. Her orders to Cinder and Neo had been to retrieve the Staff of Creation and return it to her— and as far as they knew, her physical form was still reshaping itself back in the ruins of Atlas. She would be awaiting her prize. Almost more importantly, she'd be waiting to see the level of their loyalty.
Neo dug her fingers into Cinder's wrist insistently, using her free hand to sign. What are you doing? You're going to get us killed!
Cinder growled low in her throat. "We're not going back to her, Neo." She tightened her Grimm hand around Neo's gloved one. The smaller girl could feel the bony limb twitching and quaking, almost as if it was violently rebelling against Cinder's words. Neo squeezed the clawlike fingers hard and didn't let go.
They were mere feet away from the portal when Cinder felt it.
The ground quaked under their feet and a low, ominous roar hummed distantly in the air. It forced itself into Cinder's ears, snaking down through her bones and exploding in the monstrous appendage that was her left arm. Searing pain blossomed in the Grimm flesh and bone, dragging a cry out of her as her vision went red for a few seconds.
She's back.
Cinder's Grimm hand twisted and contorted out of her control. Neo grabbed onto it, sensing what was happening; her mismatched eyes switched erratically between pink and white. She tried to say something, but of course nothing came out.
Cinder felt a crushing pressure on her skull as a familiar voice invaded it.
Stop defying me!
Cinder's bony limb twisted violently again with an explosion of fresh pain, sending Neo flying away from her. The petite girl's aura shattered as she hit the ground and rolled across the platform, frantically clawing for the edge as her eyes shone pure white.
"Neo!"
Cinder forgot everything and dove forward in an attempt to reach Neo. A frantic, sickly horror flooded her when Grimm claws brushed against white-gloved fingers, and then suddenly Neo was falling. And then she was gone.
Something snapped inside of Cinder. Maybe it was the scream that tore out of her, ragged and raw. Maybe it was the crimson that splashed across her vision like blood. Maybe it was the burning pain when she grabbed her Grimm hand with her human one, burning it, holding it as it tried to convulse out of her grip.
She ran to the edge of the platform and jumped into the dark.