Nora struggled as she was roughly pushed through the gardens. She desperately tried to dig her feet into the ground, trying to slow their progress. Clover didn't react to her struggles. Whatever this thing was, although it looked unnervingly like Clover, showed none of his emotions. He was a silent guard who would not hesitate to end his life if Tyrian gave the command. For now however, it seemed they needed her alive but certainly for nothing good.
Valerian had a few ideas why Tyrian was insane but there was a method to his madness. What use would killing either Maiden be to his beloved queen if the next person to inherit their powers wasn't already under her trawl? No, he couldn't kill them, not until the appropriate host was present.
The shadow of Shade Academy loomed darkly over them, the sky was stained in hues of red and pinks. Val looked up at it. It should have been beautiful but looking at it filled her with foreboding. It was the same colour as blood. From the distance the Academy had seemed quiet and undisturbed but up close she could see that the signs of battle had begun to spread across its facade. Cracks had already spread across the limestone walls. Glass had nestled itself within the surrounding shrubbery, glistening colourless shards amongst the greens. Many of the windows were cracked and somewhere also completely bare, the original home of the glass that was now at their feet.
A painful feeling of dread settled within both Nora and Valerian's stomachs. This feeling spread across the rest of their bodies at the sight of the academy. Their thoughts were racing towards those they cared about that were hidden inside those now damaged walls. Hundreds of questions flooded their minds but not a single answer.
Nora desperately sprained her eyes to try catch a glimpse of Ren or Jaune or any of the others but the only movement she saw was from the topmost level and it was not a welcome observation.
Cinder Fall was standing in the empty frame, her short hair twirling in her self-generated wind. Crimson flames surrounded her eyes and legs, allowing her to hover slightly over the ground, to make up for the difference between her and her captive. In each hand she held a large blade made of solidified flame, which she had pressed to headmaster Theodore's throat. With an unrefined movement she forced the headmaster to watch as Tyrian marched the two Maidens to a halt.
Theodore's dark eyes were wide when Val finally looked up. He wished his eyes were deceiving him. Valerian Carrie could not be there, she could not be standing in the shadow of his Academy. The Summer Maiden could be captured by Tyrian Callows. She had been their final layer of their net.
For a moment, Valerian's eyes locked with Theodore's, sending him the only message she could.
Do not tell them anything.
But that was not what Theodore saw. He saw a friend he'd hoped had been safe, however was clearly anything but that.
"What is it, Theodore?" Bellamy's voice was small, fearing his brother's answer.
Theodore swallowed heavily, not wanting his voice to betray him. "It's that bastard Tyrian… He's got Val and some ginger haired girl."
Ruby's stomach dropped at his words. Some ginger haired girl… There had been only one Huntress amongst them to fit that description since Atlas - Nora Valkyrie.
Salem had succeeded in capturing the Winter Maiden.
She tried to push against the Grimm arms that held her down, her desperation giving her renewed energy.
They had failed… again
However, for Oscar this revelation was far worse. Never had the youth sensed such fear and agitation emitted from the man with whom he shared his body with. It was almost indescribable how overwhelming the emotions were. Never, in all the years since this cursed war had begun, had Salem had three of the Maidens within her grasp. If they didn't do something now, if they didn't stop her now, Cinder would acquire the power of two Maidens in one swell swoop. If such a surge in power did not destroy the woman, the only thing standing between Salem and the Final Judgement was Raven Branwen. Raven may be a formidable and skilled foe but she was still simply human. She was as human as had been all the previous Maidens, and all had fallen.
However the most severe reaction came from the usually calm doctor. His brother's words seemed to have cut the fine thread that had been holding him together throughout this ordeal. However now it all escaped him like a damn cracked. Even after all these years he could noy control or react to this concoction of emotion that he himself created - anger, fear, distress, desperation. He had only felt such turmoil twice before- when he had not been allowed to be at Amelia's side when she had been killed… and when his daughter had been taken away from him.
"Let go of her!" He yelled, his struggling intensifying to the point that Mercury had to tighten his grip until Bellamy grimaced in pain.
"So, headmaster Theodore." Cinder leered, pleased with the reaction her companions' arrival had induced. "You said something about a net? I admit, I commend your plan, but Salem's been in this game for longer… She knows how to play it with the skill of a master. It is now only a matter of time before you talk." The Fall Maiden ominously looked around the room at the Huntsmen incapacitated around them. " How many hostages do you think it will take to make you talk? If we run out, we can always get fresh blood from the city..."
"You need them alive." Growled Bellamy, but he could feel the pressure in her voice. There was an underlying ferocity of a woman who wouldn't hesitate to do anything to get what she wanted. She would trample on gods if it meant she won.
"We just need those two brats over there, the rest are can slowly kill until it's only you, your brother and the ghosts to walk through these halls." Cinder smirked. "The Nemusa made quick work of your teachers, it would actually be a mercy to end their suffering now. It's too bad there isn't a doctor in the house. " That last jab she directed with a smile to Bellamy. "We also don't really need the woman, just the Summer Maiden's power. I can just kill her and take that for myself - solve one problem with a snap of my fingers and a little fire power."
"Don't you dare touch her!" Bellamy yelled. Mercury raised an eyebrow. He'd heard of the doctor at Shade academy and, from the brief encounters he'd had with him, he could believe the notion that a brick wall usually showed more emotion than him. But Cinder's threats definitely seemed to push all the right buttons to get him to react.
"Then tell me how to find and get into the Vault and I'll let her live." Cinder declared with the confidence of one who knew they'd won this round.
"You're lying!" Bellamy spat. Emerald had told them Salem's plans for the Maidens. There was no way she would let Valerian live. Even if they chose to help Cinder acquire the Relic, there was no way she'd let her go.
"I've done it before." Cooly answered Cinder, looking at the other man, sensing that he would be the first to waver from the two brothers. She just had to push a little more. "The Spring Maiden is still alive."
"Only because she escaped!" Ruby struggled to yell, barely able to breath. One of the clawed hands moved up her neck to cover her mouth, gagging her and efficiently stopping any more protests from the youth.
Bellamy desperately looked between his brother and Cinder. He would do anything to save Valerian, even if the chance was stupidly slim, he'd grasp at it. He'd succeeded with her sickness. Although the chance had been abysmal, his medication had allowed her to live beyond what anyone had expected. He could do it again. He would find a way to get her out of this… somehow.
What would be the price he'd have to pay for that chance?
Was even the slight possibility of saying Valerian's life really worth Salem acquiring the Relic of Destruction?
Was one life really worth thousands?
No. Whispered his ever logical mind. One life could not outweigh thousands,
Yes, it could. His heart screamed in protest.
The struggle behind Bellamy's eyes was blindingly clear. The code to enter the Vault was on the tip of his tongue. One word, that was all it was. One word and Valerian could be kept alive a while longer. One word and Salem would be one step closer to destroying the world.
One word.
"I would never blame them for betraying me." Ozpin's voice was unexpected in Oscar's muffled mind. " If I had been presented with the chance to save someone I cared for, I would have done the same."
An unfamiliar pang of sadness spread across Oscar's body. Never had he felt such a strong and prominent emotion from the man. But, although he carefully prodded at the memories that echoed such feelings, they were grasped away from him. But their shadow continued to linger, overpowering all other thoughts.
No one present would have blamed Bellamy for telling Cinder the password.
However the choice was snatched from him.
"Fine." Sighed Theodore. If he could move he would have shook his head.
He would not allow his younger brother to live with the guilt of the consequences such a choice would ultimately have. Bellamy already had to carry too much- Amelia, Valerian, Eleanora- he would not allow him to take on this one as well. He was headmaster of Shade, this was meant to be his responsibility, his burden.
"You continue to surprise me." Laughed Cinder, however there was no humour in her laughter, simply cruelty. "You're smarter than you look."
"Theodore… you can't." Began Bellamy. But his older brother would not allow him to finish.
"We'll only help you if you promise not to kill anyone." He boldly declared."Any of us here or on the other floors."
Cinder shrugged at his terms. " I can promise that."
"Theodore, you can't possibly believe she'd keep her promise!" Yelled Qrow, struggling where he was restrained. "She'll kill everyone once she gets what she wants!"
"But maybe, like this, we'll buy you enough time." Calmly concluded Theodore, but he was not addressing Bellamy now, but Qrow and the rest of the captives. "Like this some of you could survive to fight again."
Cinder rolled her eyes at the headmaster's words. Their naivety was appalling.
"We'll need to get to the garden." Theodore eventually continued
Theodore half hoped they would have taken the stairs, at least that way he could see what had happened to the staff members that should have been guarding the lowest floor of the academy. But instead Cinder almost pushed him out the window, an annoyingly pleasant wind building around them as the Fall Maiden flew out the shattered windows to the ground below to where Tyrian Callows was waiting with his captives.
Even as Penny released Theodore, not once did Cinder's blades let up, preventing him from escaping. Theodore was closely followed by Bellamy and his captors, whose appearance shifted to that of the winged Faunus that had posed as a Shade student for months. A handful of wing beats later and the pair had landed beside him.
The Necrogrimm that had initially accompanied Cinder had been ordered to remain with the hostages, forbidding it from letting a single one escape. But that seemed unnecessary for, no matter how much Ruby and the rest struggled and strained they could not even loosen the grip Penny had on them.
"Theodore, you can't help them!'' Valerian yelled, her struggles increasing but all it earned her was a gasped breath and the cold pressure of Tyrian's pincer pressed to her temple.
"It's the only way." Reluctantly admitted Theodore. "Whatever we do, people will die, this way has the least casualties."
"But if Salem gets what she wants, everyone will die!" Loudly added Nora but she didn't dare move against Clover.
"I will not have more people die on these grounds." Countered Theodore.
He didn't know which of Qrow's wards had been captured alongside Valerian but in many ways she reminded him of the Valerian from her youth. They seemed to both have the same stubborn energy.
His voice was heavy with sadness as memories of the night his father and sister had died played behind his eyes.
"You're too young to understand that."
"You're not the only one to lose people." Nora muttered in a voice so low he could barely hear her.
However Cinder spoke over her, her hold on Theodore's shoulders tightening.
"Enough chit chat. Show us to the Vault."
Cinder pressed the tip of one of her blades to the back of Theodore's neck for emphasis. However it was not needed. With a reluctant sigh the headmaster led his captors and the rest back through the maze of paths that made up the Shade Academy gardens. The shadows had deepened with the progression of the day, enlarging and emerging to create indistinguishable shapes of gruesome creatures of darkness that seemed ready to lunge at them the instant the sun finally disappeared from the sky.
Nora followed the headmaster, her feet walking the paths with the same itch of familiarity they had done before, when she'd first stumbled upon Valerian. But when Theodore did finally stop, Nora recognised the location with ease. It was the same place she'd first met the sick Huntress. The memorial plaque still gleamed in the crimson light. Even as the Necrogrimm forced her to stop, Bellamy and Valerian not far ahead of her, she could make out the words engraved upon it.
"Though our lives are limited by years on earth,
Our dreams won't be bound inside
The goal's not to live forever
'Cause eternity loves the creations of times."
"Where's the Vault?" Cinder demanded, pressing both her blades to Theodore's neck in warning. "If you tricked us…"
"We are standing on it." He finally choked out, the pressure making it difficult to breathe. "Bellamy has to use the first password on the plaque here."
"First password?" Mercury questioned, catching on the headmaster's choice of words.
"You'll need a second one inside." Thedore explained.
Cinder gave out an irritated 'tsk'.
"He was always a paranoid one." Laughed Tyrian, unphased by all the loops the Dell brothers had forced them to jump through.
"Let's just hurry and get this over with." Sighed Mercury, pushing Bellamy towards the plaque and kicking his legs from under him. The doctor had no choice but to land on one leg to keep his balance.
Bellamy forced his head round seeing Val slowly shake her head. He couldn't do it, too many would die if they lost here. But Theodore's dark eyes then met his own, he'd mentioned a second password for a reason. He could remember what password he was referring to. He remembered what that password did. He knew his brother's final pay. Every move Theodore had made had been in an attempt to keep them alive. Now he'd reached his final hand.
Bellamy reluctantly turned back to the plaque, the passwords swimming through the gaps in his memories the Relic of Destruction had created. He looked at the plaque but could see no buttons. For years he'd looked at this inscription without once thinking that the Vault lay hidden beneath.
"Hurry it up, Doc." Sneered Tyrian, tightening his hold on Valerian's neck, causing her to involuntarily gag.
"I'm trying!" He hissed back, the problem was he had the password but not the method to input it.
He allowed a single finger to trace the words etched on the metal but, as if his body remembered what his mind could not, he gently pressed his finger across a select few of the letters until he had spelled out the passwords- Amelia .
Bellamy awkwardly paused when he was done, feeling foolish. But as he continued to look at the words, one by one in the order he had pressed them, a faint light began to glow. Mercury pulled at his collar and forced Bellamy back on his feet and away from the plaque, the sound of turning gears suddenly filling the quiet air. The earth under their feet began to shift under them, forcing the small group to take several steps away. The bushes and grasses began to part until a staircase was unearthed at their feet, the stone steps vanishing into darkness.
"You'll need Bellamy for the second password." Repeated Theodore, emphasising the fact that both Valerian and Bellamy were still needed beyond this point, as was the girl. Keeping Nora stopped Valerian from fighting and, by keeping Valerian alive Bellamy would continue to comply.
"But now you're just dead weight." Cinder curelly observed, voicing the fact Theodore already knew.
Theodore's eyes widened when he felt an unexpected warmth spread from his core. He forced himself to look down to see the tip of Cinder's blade protruding from his stomach. His Semblance had numbed the pain to the point that he could not feel the damage she had inflicted on him. Not until his body began to dwindle from the damage, his Aura vanishing in a flicker of brown when the blade was extracted. The edges of his vision began to darken, his vision blurring.
"Theodore!" Valerian and Bellamy's voices rose with fear when they saw the older Huntsman collapse to the ground. Sapphire flames erupted from Valerian's eyes until they were forcefully extinguished when Tyrian tightened his hold around her neck, threatening to strangle her.
"You promised not to kill them!" Nora shrieked, trying to fight past Clover but the cold pressure of the needle tip forced her to stop despite herself.
"Oh but I didn't kill him." Innocently said Cinder, poking Theodore with the tip of her shoe. The man groaned in pain as a response. "If the doctor acts quickly enough he can still save him."
"You're a monster!" Nora yelled, remembering all the others Cinder had killed before. How could she extinguish lives as if they were worth nothing? Cinder was not human, she was as much a monster as Salem.
"Tick tock." Cinder cruelly answered, walking forward with the captives being forced to follow. Theodore struggled on the ground, fighting against the pain as he watched his family vanish down the stairs into the darkness, Cinder's flames producing a burning yet warmthless light.
Please. Theodore prayed, unsure of who he was talking to. He got them this far alive, please let them survive.
He didn't care if he didn't make it… but they had to live.
And with that thought, pain and darkness claimed the headmaster of Shade Academy.
And that's another chapter uploaded! Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it. See you all next week :D