Yang's bike skidded to a stop a dozen meters before the large fenced entrance to a warehouse complex in the more outlying area of Vale, in the direction of the mountain range that protected it from Grimm.
"This is the place?" Cinder looked at her sister, orange helmet doing it's best to hide her wild mane of hair.
"Your friend's directions say so." She said, taking off her own helmet.
"Looks deserted." Yang commented, leaving the bike parked near a lamppost.
"That's what worries me. A complex such as this should have at least one sleep deprived guard." The huntress walked towards the entrance that had an empty security boot.
"White Fang?" Yang asked, putting her hands on her hips. Cinder neared a metal linked fence and touched it with her hand. It quickly started turning a bright orange colour and hissing before it fell apart. Soon, there was a sizzling hole in it.
"Most likely. Come on." With that order, both sisters entered the compound. It was like any other storing complex, with various large silos and garages and warehouses separated by streets and alleys. Each place was marked by a letter and number except the first which was only a letter, and there seemed to be no activity coming from any of them. Everything was as silent as the night.
Cinder looked above, behind, at the sides and even below, all in search of a trap or an ambush.
"Relax Sis, we got this." Said Yang, who was walking more causally than her, without a care in the world. It was one thing to be confident in your skills and another to think you were invincible. Yang did the latter, and that irritated the huntress. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, moving forwards without stopping was something that Cinder liked about Yang, but if those traits led to her being hurt while her elder sister did nothing, Cinder would not be able forgive herself.
"Yang, I know we have this; but we need to be careful. Not everything can be faced head on with brute force." At this, her sister scowled.
"It has worked so far." Cinder looked over her shoulder with narrowed eyes.
"And when it doesn't? What then? That wound should have taught you a lesson." She said, pointing at Yang's forehead. The brawler touched it and winced slightly. It was little more than a purple bruise now, perfectly hidden behind her fringe. It would be healed completely come the next day.
"It was just an accident. A slip up. It won't happen again." Cinder now turned towards Yang completely, fixing her with a hard stare.
"You cannot guarantee that. No one can. What would happen if you died because you are careless? What would Ruby think?" She said, her voice losing her level tone. Yang looked at her with widened eyes, then her expression turned soft and a small smile appeared on her face.
"I'm glad you are worried about me, but I can take care of myself. I already told you." Cinder relaxed, if just a bit. She needed a cool head for this. It was true. The small girl she met all those years ago had grown into a strong warrior. That's why she thought that, maybe, she could leave things to her. But being with her again made something inside her fail to see that.
"I just want to make sure." With that, Cinder once again turned around and began walking. They still had a mission after all. Sister talk could wait.
Warehouse E was empty. Warehouse F was also empty. Warehouse G was filled with red containers from Vacuo.
They crossed another gap between buildings when Cinder noticed a figure in one of the rooftops. Then another, and one more. All wearing white masks, wielding firearms. She ducked behind a corner, and signalled Yang to come over quickly. The brawler did so a little more lazily than she expected.
"Did you see them?" Asked her sister.
"Yeah. At least three of them." She answered, peeking once again to confirm her suspicion.
"So we found them. Is that really Warehouse H?" Cinder leaned forwards a little, and caught the big white letter on the side of the building.
"This is it." She heard some sort of weapon being loaded behind her.
"Let's do this." Said Yang as she stepped casually out of cover, Ember Celica raised towards the air like a power lifter flexing muscles. The huntress quickly yanked her sister's collar, dragging her back and almost making her lose her balance.
"Wow. You're strong." She commented, rubbing her neck. Cinder limited herself to glare at her.
"We did this your way at the club. Now we do it my way." Yang frowned, but Cinder did not care. Her former teammates had many times objected to her plans for being reckless, ruthless or not conforming to their tastes. She never once cared, and never once did they fail.
"So what do we do then?" She asked.
"Help me get on the roof." Cinder drew Midnight, and in a swift motion stuck the ends of the pommels together. They clicked, and then both blades were facing opposing directions, perfectly lined up. A nail shot downwards from the upper sword and connected a string to the bottom sword. The blades sectioned, allowing them to curve.
She looked at Yang, who nodded while cupping her hands downwards. The huntress ran to her, and her sister lifted her. Enhanced by Aura, Cinder was propelled towards the rooftop. She landed near a large ventilator, and hid behind it.
White Fang security was scarce. They only had six members watching one roof. No guards or anything in adjacent ones. Either they were confident, or almost done with their mission. Regardless, Cinder decided they had to speed things up.
She drew six arrows from her quiver. The huntress carried a variety of them, all infused with different types of dust to deal with multitude of situations. Her most common being fire and regular steel arrows for Grimm and bandits no one would care about. However, sometimes as a huntress she had to take down targets alive, such as wanted criminals.
In those cases, lightning arrows and ice arrows became useful. This time, she needed to knock them down into the ground. Lightning was the best choice.
She leaned over the ventilation unit, doing her best to stay hidden. She drew her bow, towards the closes White Fang guard who was watching in her general direction. She took a breath, fixed her eyes on her target, and channeled some aura into her arrow. As she let go if it, it became engulfed in yellow bolts as it flew towards her target.
The guard was electrocuted, convulsed, and then fell to the ground. This caught the attention of two others, but Cinder was already firing, knocking them both out as well. One more noticed, and pointed his weapon everywhere. She took that one down as well. Two more were oblivious, and never saw her lightning arrows come.
When all of them were down, she looked down from the rooftop, at the waiting Yang. She gestured her to come up. With a single, aura enhanced jump Yang was at her side. They approached the edge of Warehouse H. They could see the lights were still on.
The sisters jumped into the rooftop proper. Cinder scanned the guards, making sure all of them were unconscious before heading towards a skylight with Yang in tow.
She peered inside, and it almost was what she expected. A few trucks being loaded with various metal boxes painted white and red who were strewn about in piles. Their design, red stripes and metallic material signalled it was fire dust of some sort, that was well contained for distribution. The trucks were civilian, and anyone would not pay them any mind if they crossed the street. However, there was something else. A gigantic wooden box, strapped to a wheeled platform with ropes. She could not imagine what sort of thing they had in there.
"There! It's Torchwick! We got him." Yang hissed, pointing towards the man with red hair and bowler hat. He was talking to a White Fang member, near one of the truck doors.
"What do we do?" Yang asked. Cinder took a moment, grabbing her chin while looking at the situation in front of them.
Two armed guards at each entrance to the warehouse. Front was closed, back open. The other ten to fifteen White Fang members were too focused on moving the boxes. And they did it with some care, meaning it was the refined, volatile form of Dust. They could not fire their weapons without killing everyone. That gave her an idea.
"Alright. We go for Roman. Take out his companion."
"And the others?"
"They won't be able to do much. Any sort of stray shot will blow this place to the beyond. Which means you too have to be careful." Cinder explained, pointing to Ember Celica at the end of her sentence.
"Don't worry sis. Fisting is my specialty." Cinder's brow raised, while Yang took some time to realize what she just said.
"You know what I meant." Cinder chuckled at her sister's blush. Leave it to yang to talk without a care for implications.
"Let's do this." With that, Cinder positioned herself in the skylight as close to the thief, and dropped in front of him. Yang did the same, falling onto a guard who was knocked out immediately. As she landed, Cinder sniped every close White Fang member that dared draw their weapons towards them. However, a few remained. The woman beside Torchwick panicked as she took cover inside the truck, but the kingpin didn't make a move.
After a few tense moments, Roman Torchwick turned towards them, lips slightly curled upwards as the two huntresses drew their weapons.
"Well if it isn't Blondie. Where's Little Red?" That was not the answer Cinder was expecting. Surprise, fear, confidence, all of those were possible when dealing with criminals like him. But this was almost like he was expecting them, or at least expecting her little sister. She was instantly put on alert, knocking an arrow in her bow, aimed at his head.
"She's not here. And you're coming with us." Said Yang, reading one Ember Celica to fire, while de other was in front of her as a form of defence.
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen. I have places to be, you know." he said, turning around. Cinder hated overconfident people, strutting around like they knew everything and everyone. She let her arrow lose, scrapping his face and landing near the truck.
"Next one goes to your head, or your balls. So you better come with us, now." She said, drawing another shot.
"And you are…" He said, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Cinder."
"Nice name. Did you get it at Edge Academy? Not like I care. However, I do have some dust to deliver. But don't worry, there is someone who wishes to meet you girls. I'll leave you to him." He said, climbing into the truck and taking his hat off for a moment. She saw the other White Fang members climb inside the trucks and start the engines.
"Oh no you don't!" Yang ran towards the truck that Roman was boarding while Cinder aimed for the tires, but their attacks were blocked by a gust of air. Without a hitch, Torchwick made his escape as the trucks skidded and drifted from the exit, leaving the sisters behind.
Now in the empty warehouse with the left behind dust crates, Cinder could do nothing but stare in shock at the new arrival.
"Master Isshin." She whispered, lowering her weapon. Clad in white Mistralian robes, half bald head with a bun, decrepit and wrinkled body that looked like a twig with a katana on his hip. Yes, this was the same Isshin she trained and met with.
"That old sucker is here?" Yang asked.
"It's been some time Xiao Long. It seems you still haven't learned respect." he said, stopping a few meters in front of them. Cinder's hand trembled slightly, but she managed to maintain her passive expression. 'Gramps' was here, not to stop Torchwick, but to stop them.
She turned towards Yang slightly, always with her gaze on her opponent.
"Yang. Where are Ruby and the others?" Her sister looked at her with widened eyes, before pulling her scroll for a moment. Isshin did nothing but stand there, smirking a bit. His eyes were so small it was hard to tell their colour or intent.
"At the entrance." Isshin reacted at the news, almost like it was a good thing. Her heart was, for a moment, caught in her throat. What did a monster like him want with Team RWBY?
"Get out of here." She told her sister.
"What?"
"Go with Ruby, and stop Roman. He can't have gone too far, the streets are too packed."
"I'm not letting you face him alone! I'm not gonna get…"
"Are you a huntress or not?!" She asked her sister with a shout. Yang recoiled at the tone of voice.
"What?" Her sister's voice was but a whimper.
"You have to do what must be done. You have to put me aside and stop Torchwick. I'll deal with this." That was not the truth at all. Yes, Yang would be of great help. But, she had to face her old Master on her own. She had trusted him, everyone did. She could not let this old bastard make a fool out of her.
"I'll come back."
"You will not. Now go." She could see the hurt in Yang's face. It didn't matter. All that mattered was beating her opponent. Keeping her sisters safe.
With no more words, Yang ran out of the scene. Isshin made no attempts to stop her. Cinder once again made eye contact with the Huntsman.
"Isshin. Why?" She asked simply, returning Midnight to it's swords form.
"Why indeed." He answered, closing his eyes and drawing his engraved long sword. He was a traditionalist, he didn't have a transforming weapon, or a sidearm. "I told you girl. You hesitate, and you lose." He got into a stance, sword held in the middle of his body pointing forward.
Cinder did the same, except with one sword upfront, and the other reared back. He was not answering, merely dodging the question. That infuriated her more. "Was the pay so bad that you became a petty criminal? Willing to work with terrorists?" She asked. At this, Isshin laughed with all his heart like he had heard a good joke. The huntress retreated slightly, unsure of his next action.
"Oh girl. You think I'm a criminal? Far from it. That pompous asshole is just an insufferable ally. Nothing more. My aims are much bigger."
"Then what do you want?"
"What my mistress wants. And that, is for Beacon to fall, and the girl with silver." Cinder felt her heart stop for a moment. He, and Tochwick, wanted Ruby. For what reason, she did not know. She knew the legend of the Silver Eyes, but that was it. A legend. Or perhaps… that's why Summer never came home. If she let this monster alive, then, not only her family, but all those students at Beacon that she totally didn't care about would be in danger.
Fighting for her pride, her anger and other's safety. A very convenient combination to justify taking a life.
"She'll be disappointed." She said.
"Hmm. Perhaps. Or maybe…" He bent his knees. It was slight, but she caught sight of it. In a blur, he was clashing swords with her. "… You'll be the one disappointing her." He said, now face to face with her. Despite his age, he could push back against Midnight.
With a snarl, Cinder kicked him back and readied her swords. Isshin recovered, holding his sword one handed, goading her to attack.
After a moment, the two huntsmen assaulted each other once again, intent on killing their opponent.
Ruby ran ahead, using her semblance to boost herself trough the rooftops of Vale, watching out for enemies in the vicinity. Behind her were Weiss, Blake and a member of a Team from Haven Academy whose name was Sun Wukong. She didn't know much about him, but he wanted to come along and was very insistent, so she allowed it. More hands on deck was always better.
Facing the mountains of Vale she found the location they were looking for, a large row of Warehouses behind a fence. Ruby landed in front of it, hesitating at the sight. How were they supposed to find it?
Nearby, she saw a flash of orange, and her hopes were lifted. Yang had left Bumblebee nearby, meaning she was waiting for them. But… had she also gone ahead?
She heard footsteps behind her. The remaining members of her team had already caught up with her.
"Anything?" Sun asked, barely winded.
"We found the place. Looks like Yang was here before us." Blake said, pointing to the bike.
"Then where is that brute?" Weiss asked in the middle of taking breaths.
"She probably went ahead. Look." Ruby neared the fence, were a sizable was carved on it. Her sister was alone, fighting by herself.
"We gotta hurry!" She said, using her Semblance to pass trough. She did not care about subtlety, she had to help her sister. She trusted Yang, she knew she was strong, but she was also reckless. She needed to be there for her.
But the first corner she rounded, she crashed into someone, landing them both onto the floor. Regaining her senses, she found herself on something… comfortable. And warm.
"Sis, I know my pillows are ice, but we gotta get up." She heard Yang's familiar voice as she was lifted and put upright by her sister.
"What's going on Yang?" Ruby asked as the rest of her companions joined them.
"There you are! Why did you rush ahead?!" Weiss asked, giving the blonde a glare.
"We found Torchwick." Yang pointed behind her, towards the 'street' lined up with Warehouses that were both numbered and inscribed with a letter.
"We?" Blake asked.
"Cinder came along." At this, Ruby began looking around for her second favourite person. If she was here, then everything would be fine.
"Where?" Asked the red reaper.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. Torchwick is escaping in civilian trucks! We gotta chase after them!" Said Yang, heading towards the entrance.
"But what about Cinder?"
"She can take care of herself." Yang was right. Cinder was a powerful huntress, but even so, Ruby could not fathom leaving her on her own.
"We have to help her!" She argued. Her sister stopped dead in her tracks, but did not turn to face her.
"No, we need to do what's right. Stopping Torchwick is what a huntress would do." It was a low blow, to appeal to the duty of a huntress. But Yang was also right. She had to catch Torchwick, and also help her sister.
"We could do both. Split up." Blake suggested.
"That's right! Like me and my clones!" Sun added.
"What do your clones have to do with anything?" Blake's deadpan was almost hilarious. That, and Ruby felt happy that at least she was taking her side for a change.
"Well, sometimes I split them. It works wonders. We could do the same." He said, rubbing the back of his head with a smile.
"He's right, in a way. We shouldn't leave Cinder alone. Even if she's capable, huntsmen should stick together. Otherwise, why would they insist on us being on teams?" Weiss suggested. Ruby smiled at her friend, and then focused her mind. They were wasting time.
"Alright. Yang, Blake, Sun, go after Torchwick." Blake and Sun nodded, while Yang wordlessly walked towards Bumblebee.
"Weiss, you and I are going to help Cinder." Weiss nodded. Ruby forgot to say please or Is that okay?; but she was also the leader. They had to follow her.
"Got it." With that said. Both groups split. Weiss and Ruby rounded the corner and drew their weapons as they ran towards Warehouse H. She did not know what battle awaited her, but she was excited, as out of place as it was, to fight alongside her sister.
What else could she be fighting other than White Fang members?
(A/N: Play "Bad Apple" from Touhou. Preferably the english cover by RichaardEB. )
Sparks flew as blurs of silver flew against each other. One long blade clashing against two short ones. The young huntress attack at every chance, but was always intercepted by another incoming attack from the older huntsman. She was an aggressive and brutal combatant, so having another fighter one up her in that category was making her angry, and prone to mistakes.
An attack came faster than her counter, and she reeled back to avoid it to no avail. The blade scrapped against her aura as she jumped back. But the old man did not give reprieve. With another twist of his knees he flew at her as if pushed by the very wind.
She blocked the attack, was pushed back by sheer force, and then engaged again. Isshin truly was a monster. His technique left no openings and targeted the limbs to immobilize both humans and Grimm. A slip would mean an arm was lost. Or worse, her head.
If this were an honourable duel, she would stand no chance. But Cinder was not honourable in the slightest. She still had tricks under her sleeve. She parried an attack, and used the opportunity to kick him in the stomach. The man avoided it and countered with a trust that she avoided. This was her chance.
She reached for her gauntlet in the right hand, and grabbed an object she had stored in there. A small compartment holding small paper cylinders filled with small fire dust crystals. These were not volatile, and they needed some amount of energy to activate. She used her semblance and aura to charge and spread them towards her opponent. Soon, they glowed red and ignited. Loud, deafening bangs where heard as orange lights flared in front of his eyes. No damage was done, but Isshin was confused and forced to retreat while covering his eyes.
"Firecrackers," he hissed. Cinder smirked, and jumped into the cloud of explosions that was ending, forcing her swords forward in a stabbing motion.
Isshin blocked them of course, but he was now in the defensive.
"Cheeky little girl," the old man growled, but also smiled.
"You always taught us to prepare for anything. Maybe start following your own advice!" She forced the sword away and elbowed him on the face. Yes, he had a powerful semblance and technique, along a large amount of aura, but he was still and old man, and she a young fit woman.
Isshin stumbled back, grabbing his face. Cinder transformed midnight and readied an ice arrow. At best, he would be frozen in place, at worst, he'd die a popsicle.
However, her projectile never reached it's target. A gust of wind coming from the staggered old man swept it away.
"Tch." Cinder cursed, knocking another arrow on her bow.
"I see you want to get serious. Very well." Isshin recovered as the huntress let out a barrage of arrows in rapid succession. She needed to keep him pinned. However, not even that was enough. Isshin took a stance, holding his sword at length towards his left side. She could feel the air coil around it as extreme pressure began building up.
Isshin's semblance was named 'Projected Force' by the students. He could accumulate air and pressure and release it trough his body and weapons. There was no blocking it. You either avoided it, or ended up like sliced meat.
The old man swung, and a distortion flew towards her. Cinder jumped out of the way in a combat roll before readying another arrow. But it was already too late, the man was already on her. She could not detransform midnight in time. She was stuck with a bow on a sword fight.
The slashes came. Her bow could block them well enough, but it could damage the mechanism. She had to take a risk.
She dodged a slash and used her bow to strike him. He blocked it, and she knocked an electric arrow while he held the weapon in place. It would hit him on the face, if he hadn't pushed the bow away.
He struck with his semblance enhanced palm, throwing her back. Then he charged another air slash. She could not evade in time. So she did the second best thing. She blocked it, holding her bow vertically in front of her.
The strike was strong. Like a steel wall falling on you and pushing back. Sparks flew from her bow as if a saw was trying to cut trough it, and it did. Midnight separated and the huntress was struck, flying trough the air into a bunch of boxes. Her aura had broken, and she was barely holding to her consciousness as Isshin strode towards her, a shadow over his eyes.
"Farewell." He raised his sword to finish her. But even in her final moments, Cinder still looked for a way out. A plan, a chance, something no one had seen. But there was nothing.
Suddenly, Isshin's head shot back as something flew past his face from his right side, followed by a shot ringing out. Then two more. He jumped back, and then blocked one, but the force behind it pushed him.
Cinder looked towards her left, and saw her saviour. Ruby, along with the Schnee girl, stood out with their weapons drawn.
"No…" She whispered, trying her best to get up. Her sister was going to get killed. Her chest hurt horribly, along a stinging sensation. She looked down, and saw a pulsing red stroke across it. Isshin's attack had gone trough her Aura. Blood gushed out, but it did not seem to have hit anything vital other than muscle.
"Cinder!" Ruby shot once more, forcing the old huntsman to retreat as she went to her side, alongside her friend. "You okay?" She asked upon reaching her.
"Get out of here." She groaned.
"Don't worry sis. We got this." Ruby smiled. It was misplaced, she could not win this. She was defenceless against him.
"Professor Isshin, why?" Weiss asked, stepping forward with Myrtenaster raised. The old Master lowered his weapon, eyes now shadowed by the fact he had to kill two young people.
"I grow tired of that question. It does not matter now. But…" he pointed his sword towards Ruby. "… Come with me, and both your friends may leave." At this proposition, Ruby narrowed her eyes.
"No." Was her answer. Once again, Isshin's brow furrowed.
"Fine. Then I'll kill them, and then take you by force. Prepare." He went into the same stance again. Cinder had to do something. Help her sister, but the only thing her body gave her was pain and blood.
"Stay still, please!" Weiss sounded, worried. Why? For her?
Both girls stood their ground, watching the old man as he remained in his position. Both sides were still, waiting for someone to make a move. Ruby and Weiss were the first to do so.
Ruby shot sniper round while Weiss dashed forward with her glyphs, engaging Isshin in melee combat with a barrage of thrusts that the old man easily parried. It didn't take long for the offensive to shift. However, upon noticing that, Weiss used a gravity glyph to push Isshin down.
A bullet hit him in the head while he was down, followed by an assault from both girls.
With a shout of rage, a gust of wind pushed the huntresses-in-training away. Isshin sheathed his sword, ready to unleash his semblance once again. Not wanting to give him time to recover, Ruby used her own to dash forward and attack.
The moment Ruby's scythe neared him, Isshin lifted one foot and stomped on the blade. The loss of momentum translated to Ruby, and her weapon was dropped. The old man dashed forwards once again, and not bothering to unsheathe his sword. The huntsman proceeded to use various palm and knee strikes to assault her sister.
Not only that, but he was boosting himself with his semblance. She could hear Ruby cry out and gasp as she was pummelled without mercy. Cinder struggled to upright herself, and caught a glimpse of Midnight. One blade was bent and damaged, but the other seemed fine. She picked it up, and tried her best to get up.
Ahead of her, Isshin was about to deliver another kick to Ruby, who had her aura nearly depleted and was panting on the ground. He loved beating overconfident people into the curb.
A flash of white interrupted him. Weiss had used her glyphs to move at high speeds and strike. She held Myrtenaster with one hand on the hilt, another under the blade; then she boosted herself again, dashing like a missile and thrusting with her weapon. Isshin was caught off guard and took the hit. Weiss dug her heels and stopped her momentum before quickly dashing again.
One, two, three and many more flashes of white attacked Isshin from all directions, knocking him off balance like some dummy nailed to the ground. He was no dummy however. He began to focus, and identified a pattern. She would strike north to south, south to east, east to north, east to south, and then…
He struck west, and caught the Schnee with a fist to her stomach, stopping al movement. He was not done, as he used his semblance and delivered a point blank blast of air. The girl was blown away towards a nearby pillar, breaking both it and her aura. She then fell to the ground, without a twitch or breath.
"WEISS!"
Cinder heard the scream. She barely managed to stand up as she saw Weiss Schnee, a very skilled huntress-in-training that her sister seemed to like dearly, get launched into a pillar and left unconscious. She was a Schnee, an Atlas elite, and yet, she was Ruby's partner. Ruby's friend. And her student. It was unforgivable.
Isshin moved towards Ruby, who was now disarmed, unable to reach her Scythe as it was too near her opponent. At the very least she was putting up a very basic boxing stance mimicking Yang's own.
"Nothing without your weapon. How disappointing. I taught you kids better, but you always ignored me. You lot truly are doomed." he said with disgust as he neared the Red Reaper. Cinder would not allow it.
She swallowed her pain, her need to reduce it by screaming or hitting something. She had one last thing. She ran, as fast as her legs could carry her. Isshin saw her coming, hand to his sword, ready to deliver a fatal blow.
She threw her firecrackers at him. And once again, he was distracted by the loud noises and lights, but not stunned. She saw his blade cut trough them, aiming for her head. She ducked and jumped forwards as the cloud disappeared.
Isshin also saw that, and grabbed her right hand, stopping the working half of Midnight. Relishing his victory, he drew his katana, ready to slice her in half. But she expected that, and grabbed his wrist.
They were locked in that struggle for a moment, neither warrior willing to give in. Yet, Cinder was not done. She used her last bit of Aura that had regenerated, and used her semblance on the hand that held his sword. His hand heated up, sizzling and smoking. The old man let out a scream while doing his best to hold on to his weapon; but in the end he dropped it.
She slammed her head on his. His aura was depleted. She tore her right hand from her wrist, and thrust Midnight towards his stomach. With no Aura, he had no semblance, and no defense. He was just an old man at that point.
Midnight plunged deep into his chest as Cinder leaned her entire body into it. It reminded her of that night. The night she stabbed her step sister trough the chest.
With a gasp, she quickly retracted her sword. Isshin grabbed his wound with one hand, but the blood came out anyways trough it and his mouth as he stumbled forwards, still intent on fighting her. She dashed behind him and raised Midnight. He was still a danger.
There were memories. Of course, there were memories with everyone, including her step family from Atlas. But… with Isshin, she had some good ones. And even some of the bad ones had some fondness in them. She really was going to end all of that. Even if he was a traitor, could she do it?
Of course she could, she had already done so. Yet…
"Forgive me, Master Isshin." She brought down the weapon, slashing his back. He fell to the ground with a loud and dry sound.
"You've… gotten strong… Cinder…" That was his last breath. He was dead.
(A/N: Song end.)
But that didn't matter. What mattered was her sister.
She looked where she last saw her, panting. There, near some crates, she was sitting on her knees, looking at her with wide eyes. Her horrified gaze made her chest tighten. Still, the huntress dashed towards her.
"Ruby?" She grabbed her shoulders. She was shaking.
"You killed him…" Of course she did. Huntsmen killed. Sometimes, you killed to protect someone else. Or so they told them on the later years once they undertook missions closer to the 'real' thing. Yet, Ruby had also skipped two years. She was not ready.
"I did. I had to. Look at me…" She cupped her face, trying to make her eyes focus. And they did, but on something else.
"Weiss!" Ruby left her hands, dashing towards the unconscious girl. Cinder did the same. They could talk later.
Ruby kneeled near her partner, and shook her slightly. As Cinder arrived, the shaking stopped.
"She's not… waking." At her fearful words, the older sister kneeled, turned the heiress around and touched a little along her chest and neck.
"She's alive. Her Aura was depleted too fast, that's all. We can move her." She heard Ruby breathe a sigh of relief, before gasping again.
"You're hurt." Said the Red Reaper. Cinder looked at her chest wound, still dark red but no longer bleeding. Her aura had helped some on that, but it still hurt a lot.
"I'm fine. Come on, let's get out of here." Without another word, Ruby and Cinder carried Weiss out of the empty warehouse.
"What now?" Ruby asked. Before Cinder could answer, they heard the sound of spinning blades. Soon after, a gust of wind was felt. A bullhead was coming, shining it's lights upon them.
Ruby readied the recovered Crescent Rose, but out of the door came Glynda Goodwitch, with a frown deep enough that it accentuated the minimal wrinkles age had given her.
"Professor?" Ruby asked, confused.
"Get in. I want to hear all about this."
Yang speeded trough the streets, avoiding traffic lights, civilians and street level police officers. Blake grabbed tightly to her waist, while Sun Wukong was barely holding onto the tail of the motorbike. She did not like him touching her baby, but they had no choice.
"Anything!?" She yelled.
"No!" Yang cursed internally. Had they missed them?
"There! Over there!" Sun pointed towards a diagonal street that cut trough an avenue. Out of sight went an innocuous van pulling a platform with an enormous wooden box on it. The same as she saw on the warehouse.
"Here we go!" Yang accelerated, avoiding cars on her way. They reached the van in no time, and it was alone.
"You're up!" With a nod, Blake and Sun sat up and balanced on the bike before Yang drove near their objective and both teens jumped off. Yang would have too if not for a nearby car forcing her to back away from the van.
They entered a long tunnel, and Two White Fang goons climbed out of the vehicle's cabin, while two motorcycles began flanking Yang. There were no nearby cars, so they had more mobility, but the brawler also had the liberty to act without fear of civilian harm.
She fired one shot at one of them, making the bike go skidding on the floor along it's rider. The other drew out a small sword and tried to slice at the huntress-in-training. Yang ducked, and proceeded to fire at him, making the bike also go down.
Yang laughed, relishing in her victory, before more motorcycles popped up, all manned by masked individuals.
"I hope Blake and Sun are having a better time."
Blake dodged another strike, using her clone as a distraction. This opened the door for Sun to deliver a kick that sent their opponent into the street.
"I hope that dude's okay!" Blake groaned at his naivety. That man was not okay, but he chose this. One enemy remained. He began firing at their position. Blake deflected the shots and rushed his position, engaging him in close combat with Gambol Shroud.
"Watch out!" She heard Sun scream. Behind them, a street sign was approaching, way too close to the Van's roof. Suddenly, Blake was knocked to the ground by a glowing figure, and the White Fang member was knocked off by the sign. "You okay?" She heard Sun ask, trying to keep his balance.
"Thanks! We gotta stop this, come on!" She said, advancing towards the front of the van. Suddenly, it began jerking from one side to another as they exited the tunnel into an avenue.
"Woah!" Sun once again lost his balance as he was thrown around by the hard curves the van was making.
"Hold on!" Blake said. She had better balance, and could stick Gambol Shroud into the roof to keep her balance. Slowly she reached the front, and reached for the open right side door.
The woman driving looked at her in surprise before going for a weapon near a cup holder. As she did, Blake stomped on her hand before drawing Gambol Shroud's gun form.
"Stop the truck!" She yelled, pointing the gun at her.
"Traitor! You betrayed our cause, Adam should have never trusted you." Blake froze at the mention of that name. Adam knew where she was? How? What would he do with that info? No, it did not matter now. She shook her head and once again pointed her gun at her head.
"I said stop!" The woman kept driving. She could end it now, but, she did not want to hurt anyone, not anymore. So she grabbed the wheel, twisting it in order to make the van make a sharp turn and stop.
But the woman was strong, she was not letting her do it completely. Blake looked at the windshield, and saw a bunch of Faunus gathered around, protesting for something.
Both women cursed as they tried to stop the speeding van.
It turned, it's wheel stopped, but it was not enough as the vehicle drifted. The crowd, seeing the threat, scattered before the van tipped due to the weight inside of it. It hit the ground, and slid while sending sparks and smoke everywhere. The cabin shook both women around like pinballs before the vehicle ground to a halt in front of the stairs to some place.
Blake ended up atop the woman, who was unconscious. The shook her head. She was alright, the vehicle was tipped, but she was fine. She had to get the woman out of there. She heard the door facing the sky open.
"Blake! You okay?" Sun asked, giving her a hand.
"I'm fine. Take her." She said, grabbing the surprisingly light White Fang member and lifting her towards him. Sun did as he was told, before reaching again and pulling her out of the Van.
They were in the middle of the street, surrounded by shocked and terrified Faunus protesters, along with the sounds of sirens and mutterings. Blake looked behind her, at the mess they had made.
"You guys are crazier then me." She glared at Sun for his comment.
"Not the time. We need to find Yang and get out of here." She said, looking again at the crowd.
"You're not going anywhere." Said a voice. Both teens froze, held in place by an invisible force.
"What?! My body…"
"Relax, Miss Belladona. Just a safety measure. Now, I hope you have an explanation for this." They were turned around. Behind them was Miss Goodwitch, holding her weapon; Ironwood was behind her, observing them with narrowed eyes as Atlesian Knights and policemen rushed to the scene from various vehicles and Bullheads.
"Miss Goodwitch?" Blake asked. She felt gripped by an invisible hand. "How did you find…?"
"Salutations, friend of Ruby!" If Blake had the energy to groan, she would have done so. From behind Ironwood came Penny, a strange girl from Atlas Ruby had met last semester.
"You were lucky Penny here spotted you on time. Now…" From the corner of her view, she saw Yang, being put near them, flanked by Atlesian knights. It was not ideal, but she was safe at least.
"… Where is the rest of your team?"
A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry this took so long, I got a tremendous downer combined with writer's block, but I finally made it.
Good!Cinder's theme is Bad Apple from Touhou Project. The best version would be RichaadEB's english cover. Tell me later what you think of that choice.
I hope you liked this chapter. Next one should be the fallout of all of this, along with the start of shipper's favorite arc, the Beacon Dance! Tell me what you liked, what you hated and any questions and tips on the comments. See ya next chapter!