That's right I'm back with a brand new chapter to lead us closer to the end. It feels like times been flying as of late and now my weekend is over. (sigh) how time flies when your having fun.
This wasn't something he could honestly say happened every time he used his semblance on somebody, but given what he was attempting it didn't come as a shock. Jaune looked around the space he was in but saw nothing of significance until a voice reached his ear. "Who are you"? The blondes head swiveled in the direction the voice came from and saw a woman sitting on the floor. He couldn't really say she was all there because half of her body was missing, leaving only her left half in front of him.
"My name is jaune arc" he said to the woman "and I take it you must be amber, right"? The woman stared at him for a moment before looking to the ground "I was, until your friends came". Jaune felt his muscles tense "how do you know I'm connected to the ones who did this to you"? Amber tilted her head slightly as she smiled up at him "because you and I are connected". It took jaune a moment to understand before his eye's widened in surprise "your looking into my memoires"?! Amber nodded her head "after being like this for so long you learn a few tricks on how to use your soul".
"You couldn't have learned to do this without practice so how..." jaune went silent for a moment as realization dawned on him "cinder...your connected to her as well, aren't you"?
Amber looked to the side of her body that was missing "ozpin did tell you how I became like this right? Well with my other half trapped in that damn woman, I've been stuck here in this place. It's not exactly fun per say but it does give me a look into the mind of that woman you call cinder. After everything I've seen rattling around inside her head I can say for sure she's gone off the deep end. In more ways then one". Amber met his eye's with a knowing smile on her lips.
"what"? Jaune asked clearly confused by her expression. The brunette chuckled "you" she answered. "If you could see the things inside that womans head like I can then you'd see that her head is filled with things about you". That caught jaunes attention so he decided to ask "what does she think about me"? Amber went silent for a moment as she peered into cinders mind once more before speaking. "Jealousy, admiration, hate, sadness, love and fear. These thing go through her mind every time she thinks about you and what your capable of".
"I don't get why she would think that about me" he said.
Amber watched him curiously for a second before breaking out into an uncontrollable laughter "I'm sorry" she tried in between fits of laughter. Jaune could only frown at her reaction. It took amber a second to get herself under control but when she did she met his gaze once more "back when you were a kid weren't you the leader of your little team AVC (avarice)"? Jaune couldn't help but smile at that old name he gave them when they were smaller. They used to get into so much trouble back then.
"From the look on your face I can see you definitely remember". Jaune shrugged his shoulders "of course I remember, I may have been a kid at the time but those were some of my best days despite nearly dying a couple of times". Amber nodded her head "a team learns to put their trust their team leader but it also allows the team to know exactly what their leader is capable of. After all that you accomplished as a kid can you honestly say you don't know why cinder would be scared of you"? Jaune tried to think about it in reverse and it did explain why he'd taken the steps he has to stop her, but that was to be expected since he knew her so well".
"Now your starting to get it" amber said with a smile "fear can make us do things we never would have normally, it's why she taking everything she knows about you and is using it to keep you a bay. Between you and your master I can see how hard it was to work up the resolve to kill one of you". Jaunes eye's hardened "cinder killed alec"?!
"yup".
Jaunes jaw clenched and the anger he felt in that moment was replaced by another more powerful emotion. Amber watched the blonde turn away from her but despite jaunes intent to hide his emotions it just made it easier to figure out. "I'm sorry, I know how much he meant to you" she said. Jaunes head tilted slightly "I would appreciate if you stopped looking through my memories. Just because they're accessible to you doesn't mean you fully understand nor appreciate them to the same extent I do".
Silence filled the area until jaune let out a sigh "I'm sorry...that was uncalled for". The brunette smiled "apology accepted, now you came here for a reason so how about we get to that"? The change in subject was what jaune needed so he wiped his face before turning back to her. He knelt in front of her and held out his hand out with his palm facing her "I'm not entirely sure if this will help at all but I did tell ozpin I would try". With that small explanation out of the way jaune focused his semblance on the brunette. Amber watched as the blonde teen poured his aura into her and she was almost certain it would fail, that was until the halve that was missing began to slowly reform.
Excitement bubbled in her breast until jaune shut off his semblance all of a sudden and fell backwards. Amber tried to move towards him but nearly fell over from the attempt, so instead she called out to him. "Jaune are you okay"?!
Jaune gasped for breath as he tried to pull himself off the ground, but unfortunately the most he managed to do was push himself into a sitting position. He looked down at his right hand when he held it up to inspect. His aura flickered to life and cloaked his hand for a moment before receding back into his body.
"Jaune"!
The blonde looked over to amber and saw the worry in her eye "I'm good" he assured her "just felt a little drained". His words didn't convince her as much as he hoped it would. "Jaune you didn't just looked drained, you practically passed out after just a minute of using your semblance on me" she said. "Tell me what happened and don't lie, I can tell if you are by reading your memories if you try".
"Well that's nice to know" he thought. Jaune nodded before telling her the truth "It felt like almost all my aura nearly got pulled out of me before I even knew what happened. I haven't felt this drained since that time when me and pyrrha found vernal in mistral and I tried to wake her aura to save her". Amber took a quick peek into his memories to see what he meant and couldn't help but agree with the comparison after she saw. She also couldn't help but feel disheartened cause it meant that they would make little progress in her recovery if it took this much out of the blonde.
Jaune placed his hands together an took a deep breath before activating his semblance on himself. When he finished he held his hands out to amber once more only for the brunette to stop him before he could start. "What are you doing? You've barely had a chance to recover from the first time you used your semblance on me" she said. Jaune looked at her with confusion in his eyes before realizing that she had no idea how his semblance fully worked. He smiled knowingly "Trust me I know what I'm doing".
Amber made to protest but stopped when jaune started up his semblance once more. Her eyes widened in surprise as the blonde before her exerted more power then before. Unlike last time, jaune wasn't forced to stop but instead took periods to break off so he could recuperate his aura before returning to the task at hand. "How are you doing that" she asked curiously. Jaune smiled and explained that unlike most people who had a specific amount of aura, he practically had an unlimited amount thanks to his semblance. "All I need is just a small bit of time and I can recover my own aura...so long as I still have enough in the tank to activate my semblance in the first place".
Amber smiled mischievously "I guess miss kitty cat is gonna have a grand time when you two finally do the deed".
Jaune couldn't help but blush at the remark "can you please not do that" he whined as he continued to work.
/
MT. Glenn / Hideout
Cinder looked over the map once more to make sure there wasn't anything she missed when the maiden power sparked to life and set fire to the very map she'd been looking over. She took a step back away from the table and waved her hand to try and dispell the flames engulfing it. After a minute or two the surge of power vanished just as quickly as it had come only for it to restart once more causing more damage to her surroundings. The fire and destruction didn't go unnoticed and adam came rushing into the room to see what exactly was happening.
"Cinder what are you doing"?!
The raven haired woman stood still as the flames engulfed her entire being, and why wouldn't she when the flames had no effect on her. Instead of flipping out like most would if their powers went wild, she focused on the cause deep within and the familiar feeling of power rushing through her person. "Jaune" the name slipped from her lips the moment she recognized the feel of his semblance. It should have been impossible that he could have this effect on her from wherever he was but then again she only had part of the maidens power.
Cinder focused her mind and quelled the fire roaring around her before looking to adam "jaune is interfering with my connection to the maiden". The bull faunus couldn't help the confused expression that showed on his face as he asked "how's that possible"? Cinder walked back over to the table where the remainder of the map was laid out "he must have access to her and is trying to restore what I took from her with his semblance".
"Is that possible"?
"I don't know but if jaune is working this hard to see her restored then there is a chance he's had some amount of success". Cinder looked over the map once more "has neo already left for the CCT tower"?
"She been gone for nearly an hour already so she should already be there".
Cinder smiled at the bull faunus "perfect" she said happily. Adam raised a brow "with these new developments happening are we still sure waiting is the right option"? Cinder considered adams warning for a moment "your right, waiting any longer gives them time to work on bringing the fall maiden back to help them". Amber eye's narrowed on the academy on the map "once neo uploads the virus and shuts down communication we'll begin the fall of vale". Just as she said those words the scroll on the table pinged with a message from neo that said she had finished on her end.
Cinder raised a brow at the bull faunus "time to get your companions ready for war". Adam huffed "we were born ready". As he began to leave, cinder told him to send roman to his assigned post with neo. The bull faunus nodded and closed the door behind him leaving cinder alone in her room. She continued to feel the intervals of power rush through her body but other then that she did her best to ignore and control it as she poured herself some red whine. Cinder took a small sip from her glass and took the moment she had to relax "soon this will all be over" she whispered to herself.
/
White realm
Jaune broke off his semblance once more so he could recharge. As he focused his semblance on himself once more he took the time to see how far he had gotten. Ambers body had slowly but surely reformed to the point where only her face was still missing her eye and a little bit of her cheek but other then that he was nearly done. "Just a little more" he reassured her. The brunette smiled happily at the news "man I can't wait to get out of this place already, I'm sorely in need of a good drink".
"Well I know this great place where they make some of the best drinks around if your interested"?
Amber chuckled "The bar huh? Not exactly a catchy name but seeing as it's got good drinks and great music I think I can let the name slide". The blonde reached over so his hand was just over the right side of her face as he put the finishing touches on her soul. When his hand drew back, the missing eye and cheek amber had been missing finally returned to there rightful place. "There we go, perfect" jaune said. Amber blushed lightly "careful now, wouldn't want to try something that will upset your girlfriend now would you"?
Jaune rolled his eye's with a smile "sorry amber it's not you it's me, I hope you can understand that". The brunette pushed her hand over her heart and pretended to have been struck by something "Oh my aching heart, how will I go on" she said dramatically. After a moment the two descended into giggles. Once they managed to get themselves under control jaune rose to his feet and looked around "so any ideas on how I get out of here now"?
Amber stretched her limbs to see if there was any problems. When there wasn't she pushed herself up and took a few steps to get a feeling of how her newly restored limbs reacted. Again she felt no problems at all and turn to the other resident of this white world. Jaune was lost in thought trying to figure a way out of this place without ever once realizing that it was she who was keeping him tethered to this world. When their souls connected through his semblance she pulled his subconscious mind here after seeing what he was trying to do and being afraid of his true intentions.
Now after all that she had seen within the blondes memories, she was even more positive that she had made the right decision in bringing him here. In his mind there was no answer to the big question that was ever present. "The princess and the knight". Jaune snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the brunette "what"? "The princess and the knight" she repeated "If I recall it was your favorite book that you had salem read to you when you were younger".
Jaune nodded slowly as he watched the fall maiden walk around the empty space.
"The story is about a knight that is ever loyal to the king until he falls in love with the princess he is sworn to protect. Outraged by their love, the king does everything in his power to keep the two lovers apart, even going so far as to become a tyrant to his own people because of the loyalty and devotion the knight gained from them while in his service".
Jaune continued to watch and listen in silence as amber continued laying out the story he had loved as a child.
"With the suffering of the people in one hand and the love of his princess in the other, the knight is forced to rebel against his king in order to protect the two things he loved most in this world". Amber came to a stop before turning to look his way "when you were young and living with salem, you believed salem was the princess and ozpin the king. But now that isn't what you believe, is it?
Jaune met her gaze for a moment before looking away "what do you want from me" he asked. Amber wore a blank expression that couldn't be read when she answered "your decision". Jaune usually had an answer and most of the time he chose to side with salem because she was his family. Even now he wanted to say he was still loyal, but if he did he could never be with the friends he made here in Beacon again. He would have to turn his back on them because he knew blake only did the things she did to protect the people she cared about and ruby was so innocent that even stealing a cookie caused her to feel terrible.
The rest would be no different and ozpin would be sure to tell them why he'd done what he did to keep them from coming after him. Then there was what he'd have to do to amber in order to complete his mission.
Amber could see the struggle in his eye's and knew that whatever he decided would change his life forever, so she asked only one thing "is salem really your princess or the king you must rebel against"?
/
Beacon Vault
Ozpin tapped his finger against pommel of his cane as he waited for jaune to come back to them. When all of this started they tried to snap the young man out of it when he refused to respond to their questions but as they got close to him the maidens power sparked to life to defend the boy. It was an unexpected result, but then again this whole procedure went well beyond the norm.
"What do you think he's doing to her oz" ironwood asked as he paced back and forth for the seventh time in the span of a few minutes. The general wasn't the only one to feel nervous with the situation the way it was. Glynda, for all her practice at keeping her cool under pressure kept tapping her left arm with her finger from the right. "Honestly I don't have a clue as to what's happening but I'm certain jaune won't do anything to danger amber with us three here" ozpin assured the general.
Just as the old wizard finished calming his colleagues down the life return to jaunes eye's before he backed away from the platform with amber on it.
Ozpin was the first to reach the young blonde when he staggered backwards. "Jaune what happened? Were you successful" the old wizard asked, clearly worried about the results. Jaune broke free from ozpins grasp and held out a hand when the man tried to reach out for him once more "she should be fine now" he said.
"Then why hasn't she opened her eyes yet" ironwood asked angrily. Jaune looked over to the brunette and let out a sigh before walking over to her side. Ironwood reached for his weapon, as did glynda but froze when ozpin held up his hand to stop them. They watched jaune approach the platform and place a hand against ambers cheek before pulling away and delivering a hard slap to her face.
"Aaaahhhhh" the brunette yelled as she rolled to the side "what the hell was that for"?! All the tension in the room vanished when the three saw jaune and amber bickering like children. "You know damn well why" jaune yelled as amber grabbed his cheeks and started pulling. Jaune grabbed amber by the face and pushed her away from him "now quit playing around and put some actual clothes on, we got work to do". Amber slouched on the platform and rubbed the cheek he slapped "alright" she complained "but couldn't you have woken me up a little nicer? I wouldn't have told little miss kitty if you stole a taste" she said as she passed a finger over her bottom lip.
Jaune rolled his eyes at ambers teasing. When the brunette saw that he was unaffected by her teasing she decided to take advantage of the opening he gave her and kissed his cheek when he wasn't looking. Jaune stumbled backwards and held a hand over the part of his face that she kissed while blushing greatly. His reaction brought a giggle from ambers lips before she turn to the two headmasters and the deputy headmistress. "I'd say it's good to see you again oz but then I'd be lying and you know that".
Ozpin sighed but wore a friendly smile "if you had heeded my advice you wouldn't have been nearly killed as you were". Amber shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly "yeah well if I hadn't I'd have been stuck in Beacon until I turned into an old sourpuss like glynda over there". The deputy headmistress spluttered at the brunettes words but ultimately went ignored when amber took on a serious expression and addressed the real problem to come. "All joking aside" she started "we have a serious problem to contend with".
From how serious the brunette was, everybody went quiet as she explained what cinders plan was and how she learned of it in the time she was out. "while I was under I got a look at all she was planning and saw that she isn't just going to be targeting Beacon but all of vale". Ironwood shook his head " that's impossible, if she had a force strong enough to wage war on vale she would have done so already".
"She does" amber answered "the white fang are only one part of her weapon in the fight against us, she also has the grimm that she intends to unleash within vales walls and the mechs she plans to steal right out from under you". Ironwood looked unconcerned and even smiled without worry "she may try as she might but unless she somehow knows how to get passed our highly encrypted atlesian tech I doubt she'll cause that much trouble".
"Arthur watts".
The name caused ironwood to freeze in his tracks. "He knows how to get passed your security measures and he works for salem" jaune said from ambers side "do you think she's not that much of a threat now with him on her side"? Ironwood said nothing so ozpin spoke up "with this foreknowledge we at least stand a better chance then before, tell us when she plans to start moving forward with her plan"? Jaune and amber exchanged looks with one another before looking at the old wizard.
Before they could answer, a loud bang caused the ground to shake and the lights to flicker. "What the hell was that" ironwood asked.
Amber let out a tired sigh before she spoke "that would be cinder".
I started writing this on friday but only did bit and pieces of it throughout the weekend cause there was so much to do besides be on my laptop all day. Anyways for this chapter it's quite literally the beginning of the end with cinder on the move to bring not only Beacon but all of vale down to the ground. Bringing together the full force of the white fang, the grimm and ironwoods atlesian knights to bare down on vale, well let's just say there will be no safe haven and plenty are going to die on both sides.
You know with what cinder was able to accomplish in canon with so little, she could have actual conquered vale if she truly had all of the white fang on her side instead of a small branch. Just something to think about cause I mean she played everyone so easily that nobody could really oppose her. But instead of taking it that far and having a kingdom under her control she settled for just being a criminal. Wasted potential.