This is what she wanted.
Atlas had fallen. Its people were scattered, with the majority fleeing the destruction in a makeshift flotilla of SDC, civilian, and military airships. The relics of Creation and Knowledge had fallen into Salem's hands, bringing her inevitable victory even closer. And in the midst of all that chaos, Cinder had managed to capture herself quite a prize. Ruby Rose.
The young huntress had stayed behind when her compatriots led the evacuation of the kingdom, holding Cinder and the rest of Salem's forces off for as long as she could manage, trying to ensure that the ships escaped unharmed. While she'd been successful at that task, she couldn't hope to protect herself. Ruby had been taken alive, as Salem ordered, brought back to Monstra and delivered to the dark queen. A trophy of their victory.
And now, here Ruby was, aboard the cavernous chamber within Monstra's head that served as Salem's throne room. Inky black arms of grimm protruded from one of the walls, conjured by Salem herself to hold the huntress in place a few feet off the ground. A thick blindfold covered her silver eyes, preventing her from firing off any blasts if she could even muster the energy to do so. Her weapon was on the ground in front of her, that beautiful, deadly scythe, smashed into countless pieces.
Salem stood grandly in the center of the room, watching Ruby hang limply, a soft smile sitting upon her face. Occasionally she would gesture toward the girl, a torrent of burning magical energy erupting from her hand and arcing toward Ruby, the air quickly being filled with a cacophony of pained screams. At other times she would speak softly, admonishing Ruby for fighting so hard against the inevitable, reminding her that everything she'd done had been for nothing, and insisting that if she just gave in all this pain could end. And the whole while, there stood Cinder off to the side, watching the scene unfold with a blank stare.
This is what she wanted.
Wasn't it?
Cinder hated Ruby. The huntress had been nothing but a thorn in her side since they first met. Constantly getting in the way back in Vale, making everything more difficult, and then... she'd hurt Cinder. Right when she was finally victorious, basking in her triumph, Ruby had hurt her, scarred her deeper than anyone had before. Taken her eye, her arm. Humiliated her. Cinder had dreamed of killing Ruby countless times, imagined getting to make her suffer over and over.
So now that she finally had that, was finally watching the girl feel pain and despair, why did it all feel so wrong? Watching Ruby hurt like this was supposed to be cathartic, freeing, supposed to make up for all that pain, but instead she just felt sick. No matter how hard she tried to remind herself that this was her enemy, her most hated rival, when she looked at Ruby all she could see was… was…
Was a young girl who just wanted to be happy, to live her life, instead trapped and tortured relentlessly. Made to suffer, with no one willing to lift a hand to save her. Isolated and desperate. Expected to be a slave to those more powerful than her.
Cinder's hand was shaking. She tore her gaze away from the girl, and instead looked to Salem. But instead, all she saw was an older woman, a madame, filled with nothing but vicious cruelty. Inflicting pain on those below her simply because she could. Demanding obedience through fear. Trying to infect the girl's mind with her words, insisting that her existence was worthless and meaningless.
Her gaze shifted again, looking down at herself. She saw an older girl, one just as full of malice as the madame. One who watched the young girl's suffering and not only did nothing to stop it, but reveled in it, enjoyed it, and did everything she could to make it worse.
"You became exactly what we hated," a voice called to her. It was intensely familiar, and yet it still took a few moments for Cinder to recognise it as her own. When she looked back up at Ruby, all she could see was herself as a child, staring back at her sadly. "Don't you remember how much it hurt? How many nights we spent cursing the ones who did this to us? How desperately we wished that someone, anyone, would save us?"
Her throat was dry, and it took an immense amount of effort for her to just stammer out "I-I'm not-"
"You are. You let them win, let them turn you into one of them." As the child Cinder spoke, a thin stream of tears began to fall down her cheek, and dully Cinder realised a matching one was falling down her own. "Looking at you makes me sick."
With that the vision faded away, and yet its words continued to ricochet through Cinder's head. She was exactly like them. Like her adoptive sisters, like all the people who'd watched her suffer and done nothing. She really had become the very thing that she'd hated oh, so passionately.
When did this happen? It'd been so gradual that she'd never noticed it, but now that she realised it was clear as day. When had she gone from killing people who deserved it, the ones who tormented her, to hurting people just to feel strong? She understood what her younger self had meant, when she thought about what she was doing right now she felt sick too.
"Oh, look at you, feeling all bad about yourself. But you're still not doing anything, are you?" The young voice echoed through her mind, although with no more accompanying vision.
But… she could do something, couldn't she? No, even just the thought was terrifying. It was impossible, was effectively just signing her own death warrant. She couldn't.
"Oh, and I'm sure all the people who just watched us were scared too. Did that make their inaction okay?"
Of course not! They could've still done something, anything. But… but that was different, they didn't have to contend with Salem. Cinder could never hope to beat her in a fight, the witch could survive any attack she could muster, and had power that she could never hope to match.
"But we don't need to kill her to stop this. We just need to get the girl away from her."
That… that was right. She couldn't beat Salem in a straight fight, but… maybe she could do something, even if it wasn't much.
Without even realising, she'd taken a step forward. Even if it was Ruby, someone she hated with a passion, she couldn't just watch any longer. Even if it was just this one time, she'd be the saviour she always dreamed of.
The next shaky step forward, now that she was more aware of what she was doing, was the hardest, seemed to take a monumental amount of effort, but from there it only got easier. Another step, then another, and another, and right as Salem was about to raise her hand again, about to unleash another burning torrent of energy at Ruby, Cinder stood between them. "Stop," she said, voice incredibly steady when compared to the turmoil of emotions still swirling about inside her.
Salem regarded her curiously for a few moments, eyebrow quirking. "What is it, Cinder?"
Cinder took a deep breath. "Stop hurting her."
It was just for a moment, but Salem's eyes widened in genuine surprise. Almost immediately however she steadied herself, and slowly began to glide closer to Cinder. She was massive, imposing, and terrifying, and when she spoke her voice seemed to reverberate all throughout the chamber. "I must be misunderstanding, because it sounded like you were just trying to give me an order. Have you forgotten your place, Cinder? If this is about getting your own turn, then I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait."
"I said," Cinder reached deep inside herself, dredging up every last bit of rage she had towards the Madame, accessing as much of her magical power as she could manage, and focusing it all on Salem, "STOP HURTING HER!"
She flung her hands forward as she spoke, and on cue an explosive wave of flame burst outwards. The force was so great that it sent Cinder flying back a short distance, landing heavily on the bone-like floor of the room. She looked up, back to where Salem had been standing and sucked in a sharp gasp when she realised that she'd just completely blasted off the top half of Salem's body.
Beside her, Cinder heard the sound of Ruby falling down to the ground, the arms that had been holding her up disappearing without Salem to maintain them. Cinder staggered back up to her feet. She'd… she'd done it. Oh no, oh no no no. She'd done it. Even as she watched, Salem's body bubbled, slowly began to reform, a swirling cloud of smoke appearing around what was left of her. Cinder had just attacked Salem, and now the witch was pissed.
"What the?" a voice called out weakly. Cinder looked beside her and saw that Ruby had pushed herself up onto her knees, pulled her blindfold off, and was now looking back and forth between the regenerating Salem and the panicked Cinder.
Realising that she now had very little time left to live, Cinder didn't bother saying anything to Ruby, and instead just reached down, took one of the huntress's hands into her own, and then tore out of the throne room as fast as she could, dragging Ruby along with her. Monstra's insides were built like a maze, but thankfully Cinder knew her way around pretty well. Well enough to put as much distance as possible between her and Salem, at the very least. She knew it wouldn't be enough though, her heart was pounding a million miles an hour from sheer terror, her mind was racing to find any way she could survive this and coming up blank, and she felt like she was liable to vomit at any moment.
Between all of that, and the fact that she was attempting to drag a very unsteady Ruby along with her, it was no small wonder that she eventually tripped, crashing down to the ground. Ruby groaned in pain beside her as Cinder attempted to reach for the wall, use it to steady herself so she could stand, but the way she was all of a sudden shaking so intensely was making that next to impossible.
"Cinder what… what is all of this? What are you doing?" Ruby's voice sounded like it was a million miles away, even though Cinder could quite clearly see that the huntress was right beside her.
What was Cinder doing? Good question. "I think I'm having a panic attack," She replied dazedly, finally managing to pull herself up onto her feet.
Ruby just stared at her, completely incredulous for a few seconds. "What?"
Thankfully, Cinder was saved from having to answer by an unearthly scream that echoed down the corridor they stood in, clearly coming from back in the throne room, alongside a burning sensation that started to build in her grimm arm. A sharp cry forced its way out of her throat at the sudden pain, her good hand shooting over to clutch at the inky black flesh of her grimm one, but she quickly grit her teeth, not wanting to give Salem nor Ruby the satisfaction of seeing her hurt.
"Cinder?" Ruby was clearly alarmed, talking a half step toward her, one hand raised uncertainly.
"She's almost back," Cinder spoke through gritted teeth. "If you follow this corridor for a while longer, there should be a big door on the left that leads out to the landing pads. Just… get out of here. I'll occupy her."
Ruby blinked slowly, then frowned. She extended her hand out, lightly touching Cinder's hand, and then before the maiden could react the two of them had transformed into a cloud of rose petals.
It was a strange feeling, being separated into a disconnected miasma like that. Cinder couldn't say it was entirely pleasant, but at the very least it made the pain in her arm vanish for a few moments. It was a little like floating underwater, except if all your limbs started to drift off in different directions.
They reformed a good distance further down the corridor, with Ruby having spent what little aura she had remaining to gain them a little more ground. And now Ruby was the one racing as fast as her legs could carry her, while dragging a surprised Cinder along with her. They skidded to a stop in front of the door that Cinder had described, the one that led out to the landing pads, right as a second horrific scream echoed after them. This time, however, it was met by an answering roar from the hordes of flying grimm that circled around Monstra.
As Cinder and Ruby looked out past the landing pads, past the lone ship parked on one of them, their eyes were met by the sight of those countless monsters. Manticores, Sphinxes, and Teryx, oh my, there seemed no end to the creatures as they swooped through the dark clouds that surrounded Monstra, all very clearly eager to put an end to any would-be escapees.
The pain in Cinder's arm was back in full force now, but she did her best to ignore it as much as possible, snatching her human hand away from Ruby and snarling at the girl. "Don't touch me."
"Fine," Ruby replied breathlessly. With that, she started to walk toward the lone airship as quickly as she could manage. There was a noticeable limp in her stride, and her breathing was clearly very strained.
Cinder felt a twinge of sympathy as she noticed that, as well as some regret when she thought of how the huntress had dragged her that last stretch of distance down the corridor. She growled in annoyance at herself. It wasn't as if she made Ruby do that, the girl chose to. Cinder had been perfectly happy to stay back where she was and accept the fate she'd earned. Still… as long as she was here, she may as well join Ruby in escaping Monstra. She dashed forward, reaching the ship as quickly as possible.
It was a sleek little Atlesian thing, the same ship she'd arrived here on just a few days ago, alongside Neo. Gods… that felt like a lifetime ago already. She hit the button to pop open the ship's canopy, hopping up into the cockpit as smoothly as she could manage. The pain in her arm was only getting worse, a sure sign that Salem was getting closer and closer to reforming completely. Remembering Ruby's limp, and assorted other injuries, Cinder turned round to see her struggling to climb up.
In a smooth motion, Cinder reached down, grabbed onto the back of Ruby's hood, and hoisted her up in the pilot's seat. Ruby yelped out in surprise, but then stammered out a "Thanks," when she realised that Cinder was helping her. She was quiet for a few seconds, then turned to look at Cinder, "... Why did you put me in the front up here? And why are you sitting in the back away from the controls?"
Cinder stared at her like she was an idiot. "So you can fly the ship."
"Oh…" Ruby looked back to the control panel in front of her. "And uh… is there a reason why you aren't doing it?"
The grimm arm was beginning to writhe about more and more intensely as the pain grew, and by way of answer Cinder just growled back at the huntress. There was also the fact that Cinder was a very bad pilot, but Ruby didn't need to know that.
"Right, right. I uh, I can do this." Ruby stared down at the controls for a few more seconds, and then reached out and hesitantly pressed the ignition button. The ship lurched forward with a start, heading straight toward Monstra's body. Thankfully, Ruby had quick enough reflexes to yank the control stick to the side, managing a tight turn that sent them racing away from the gigantic grimm, and instead out towards the seemingly endless horde of smaller ones.
Cinder breathed a sigh of relief. As the distance between her and Salem grew, the pain in her arm lessened. This, then, was immediately followed by a cry of alarm as the ship began to shake violently. The turbulent artificial storms that surrounded Monstra were bad enough, but on top of those Ruby was being forced to weave the ship back and forth in a desperate attempt to avoid all the grimm that were trying their hardest to tear them to pieces. In particular, there was a pack of Manticore right on their tail, harrying the ship with a storm of fireballs. It was clear that, at this rate, they weren't going to make it. At the very least, unless Cinder did something right now.
"Get ready!" Cinder shouted over the din, pushing herself up to her feet.
Ruby shot a brief glance back, confusion clear on her face. "Ready for wha-"
Cinder pulled her fist back, and then swung forward into the reinforced glass of the ship's canopy, which shattered nearly instantly from her sheer strength. The roar of wind racing past them filled the cockpit, drowning out all other noise, although that wasn't too big of a deal since she was pretty sure Ruby was too busy screaming in alarm to say anything important. Calmly, Cinder stood up through the hole she'd created, looking behind the ship and locking her eye onto the closest Manticore.
Thankfully, Ruby seemed to understand what Cinder was going for, and kept the ship as steady as possible. A tongue of flame erupted out of Cinder's eye as she raised her arm, took a moment to aim, and then unleashed a powerful fireball back at their pursuers.
It was a dead-on impact, the explosive blast incinerating not only the creature she'd been aiming at, but two more that had been nearby as well. She didn't exactly have time to celebrate though, because almost immediately more grimm came pouring out from the cover of the dark clouds to join the pursuit
Cinder roared in defiance, tossing a volley of flame back at the grimm, killing them as fast as she could manage, and using her magic to deflect most of the flaming projectiles that the Manticores and Sphinxes launched back at them. They were making good distance now, they were surely going to make it. They were going to escape.
As if on cue, they shot forward out of the last of the dark storms, emerging into the light of the sun at last. Now that they had clear visibility, Cinder could see that they were gaining more and more distance away from the grimm, away from Monstra, and away from Salem. Cinder finally felt like she could relax, even if just a little as she picked off the last of their pursuers, most refusing to stray too far away from their queen. Well, she could relax for a couple of minutes, at least, which was when she noticed Ruby frantically tugging on her cape, trying to get her attention.
The wind was still too strong for them to actually talk, but nonetheless Cinder turned around to see Ruby in a panic, gesturing at a big flashing warning that was lighting up the main control panel. Reading… wasn't exactly a strong suit of Cinder's at the best of times, she could manage it for the most part, but it was a little bit of a struggle, especially when it came to more complicated words. Thus, it took a few seconds of her squinting to finally understand what the warning was saying.
ENGINE FAILURE, ALTITUDE DROPPING RAPIDLY
Well, that was pretty typical. Right as she finally thought things were going well, it all fell apart. Why did the universe just refuse to ever do anything good for her? Well, it was unfair of her to blame the universe, clearly this was her fault, just like it was always her fault. She'd been the one trying to defend the ship, and clearly she'd failed. This was just what she deserved.
This train of thought was interrupted by Ruby once again reaching for her, this time grabbing firmly onto her hand. In a flash the pair were once again transformed into a burst of petals, racing up and away from the airship, arcing gracefully through the air. Ruby ran out of what little energy she'd managed to recover while they were still descending, the two girls reforming a short distance above the ground and slamming painfully down, each being sent skidding through the snow.
Still, it was a better fate than what had awaited them aboard the ship, which crashed straight down into the ground, erupting into a spectacular explosion a good distance away. Their one and only method of transport, gone in an instant.
Once the noise from the explosion faded away, replaced with only the dull crackle of flames and whistle of the wind, Cinder slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. She looked up, eye meeting that swirling mass of black and red storms that contained Monstra. Contained her. It seemed so far away, and yet nowhere near far enough. She looked forlornly over to the smoking remains of the ship and just… stared.
She felt so tired at that moment. It was all just… so pointless. Why had she bothered with any of this? She'd stopped Salem hurting Ruby, sure, but for how long? And in exchange for that little bit of time, she'd thrown away her life. Her shoulders sank, and she suddenly became intimately aware with all the aches and pains that had been building inside her body. Without the ship, they'd never be able to outrun Salem. Hell, even with it she was only delaying the inevitable. She'd accomplished nothing. And now even if she ran for the rest of her life, she'd never be able to truly escape. Maybe it was better to just… give up, right here. Wait, shivering in the cold, for the end. She was so stupid, such an idiot, why did she think any of this was a good idea, think that she'd be able to do something. She was nothing, after all.
"Cinder," Ruby's voice rang out, clear and true, cutting through the fog that was filling her mind. When Cinder looked over, she saw Ruby standing beside her, hand extended to help her up. "Are you coming?"
Cinder stared at her. At the person that she hated. At the person who, by all rights, should hate her. At the girl she'd just betrayed Salem to save. At the girl who, for some reason, seemed to want to help her. She looked into those silver eyes and saw… determination. Hope. For whatever reason, as foolish as it may have been, Ruby wasn't giving up. And so, slowly, unsteadily, Cinder reached out and took that hand. Maybe she wouldn't give up just yet either.