A/N: I'd like to thank Scham from the Cinder Discord for Beta reading this chapter. Ya'll should go read his works, especially Grotto by the Pond.
Cinder's options were dwindling, and so, she returned to the closest lead she had to Emerald and Mercury. The friend she had been told about by RWBY, Pyrrha Nikos.
She held her student in high esteem. Most teachers at Beacon did, she was the most talented and hardworking of all students. Yet, the reason had a good opinion of her was…
Do you believe in destiny?
Cinder shook her head. That was unnecessary, she didn't want to let feelings get in the way of what she needed to do. Especially not when it came to proving Yang's innocence. For her, she'd do anything.
Thus, she brought Winter and Rhodes to the waiting rooms of the Vytal Colosseum, reserved for students who didn't want to hassle themselves with returning to the fairgrounds. It had some amenities and, of course, vending machines for food and drinks.
Cinder found team JNPR there, having fun and smiling as Nora Valkyrie held Jaune Arc in a Chokehold. The squalid boy, of course, could only struggle to break free.
Cinder fought down a smile as she approached. Now was not the time to show that kind of weakness.
"Cinder… what are we doing here?" Rhodes asked from behind her. She looked at him over her shoulder, but only said one thing.
"Just follow my lead," she said, taking a deep breath as she approached the group.
Lie Ren was the first to notice her presence.
"Professor Cinder," he said with a bow, sporting his usual unreadable expression. The rest of JNPR left their activities to look at her directly. "W-what brings you here? Is something wrong?"
Cinder closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of what to say as she sat down in the same table they were on. "Afraid so."
"What's wrong teach?" Jaune asked. At this, Winter stepped up.
"I'm sure you all are aware of what happened in the doubles rounds," Winter said, addressing all members of the team with her usual cold expression. "We are looking to identify the true perpetrators."
"The true perpetrator is Yang, no?" Pyrrha asked, almost immediately. "Why is this even an investigation? We all saw that."
Cinder narrowed her eyes, while the rest of JNPR stared at her.
"Well, we don't want to leave any stone unturned," Rhodes stated then, crossing his arms.
"Alright. So why us?" Jaune asked, going to sit at Pyrrha's side.
"Pyrrha is friends with Emerald and Mercury, right?" Cinder asked. Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.
"Yes…" she said, waiting for Cinder to elaborate.
"Well… I was hoping you could tell me what her Semblance is," Cinder said. Winter and Rhodes turned to her with widened eyes, while Pyrrha stiffened.
"Her Semblance? Emerald had nothing to do with this," Pyrrha said, leaning away from the table.
"That was not my question," Cinder said, resting her head on top of her hands, which were crossed with each other. "Please answer. It's important."
"Y-you can't do that…!" Pyrrha said, outrage clear in her voice, which made JNPR looked at her with worry.
"My question Pyrrha. Please," she said, voice impassive.
"Miss Nikos, please cooperate," Winter said. "Unless she never told you about her semblance."
Pyrrha's eyes darted from Cinder to Winter rapidly, teeth clenched.
"Y-you can't do this," Pyrrha said, finally.
"We can and we must. Now answer!" Cinder said, her patience wearing thin. "What. Is. Her. Semblance."
"D-don't you have files on that kind of thing?" Jaune asked, putting his hand outwards. He was clearly trying to play mediator.
"The data we have is… contradictory," Cinder lied. "We want to make sure that what we have is correct."
"I'm not going to incriminate my friend, not when she's innocent!" Pyrrha argued. Cinder closed her eyes, trying to contain her anger.
"We don't know that." Cinder said.
"This is crazy!" Ren said, raising his voice and making all eyes turn to him. "What you are doing is not fair! You're trying to intimidate us to reveal information you are going to use against Emerald anyways. That is not how an investigation should be done, Professor. That is not how huntsmen should act, and you should be ashamed."
His voice was harsh, but Cinder simply shrugged his complaints off. He was misguided, all of them were.
Still, that seemed to give Pyrrha the last push to not budge on the issue, and now all of JNPR were glaring at her. She had no other options.
"Please, we need to make sure there are no loose threads, we won't use it against her," Cinder said. Pyrrha looked at her with suspicion, seemingly not buying her argument.
"It is true. While I don't believe this Yang girl is innocent, we still need to make sure the call to expel her is the correct one, and that Emerald and Mercury are cleared of suspicion. It would be wonderful if you could help us," Rhodes said. Cinder turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow but said nothing else.
At this, Pyrrha sighed. "Alright. The truth is, Emerald has no semblance, neither does Mercury."
Cinder's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" Pyrrha replied, nearly slamming her hands against the table.
Cinder was stunned. Something horrible entered her mind. The thought that Yang lied, that she wasn't innocent.
She destroyed that thought in an instant. It couldn't be. There had to be something else, but what?
A thought lingered in her mind. Pyrrha didn't know anything, although…
Why did she try so hard to not tell them?
That was a question for another time. Pyrrha was a good woman, she cared for her teammates and worked harder than anyone despite her already high status as champion.
"Alright. We are done here," Cinder said, getting up from the chair and leaving quickly. She felt somewhat embarrassed for her wrong assumptions.
"Thank you for your time," added Winter, following her closely. Rhodes simply bowed his head at team JNPR and left as well.
Cinder paced around the room. They had gone back to Winter's office, and this time Winter took the lead while Cinder sulked.
"Alright. So, the documents match," Winter said, sitting on her hastily put together desk and chair. Cinder sat opposite of her, while Rhodes stood near a wall with his arms crossed. "That rules out Emerald and Mercury."
Cinder nodded. Her insides were burning with frustration, however.
"So, what now?" Cinder asked. "Guess we'll have to check out food or something."
Winter closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm afraid we won't have time. The Doubles rounds are well underway by now."
Cinder clenched her fists. "So what? We just give up on Yang?" She asked, looking Winter dead in the eyes. Her friend simply looked at her, eyebrows lowered. It was the first time she had seen Winter look sad before.
"I…"
"Cinder," Rhodes called to her. Cinder turned around, but barely enough to look at him with one eye.
"What?" She asked, tone sharp enough to cut through steel. Rhodes did not move an inch.
"Why do you try so much for her?" He asked. Cinder narrowed her eyes, was he stupid or something?
"I already told you. She's my family, I love her, and you don't abandon those you love," she said. It was somewhat embarrassing, but it was true.
Rhodes sighed. Cinder almost wanted to explode on him, however, he simply raised a hand and looked at it as it turned to steel for a moment.
"Really now…" he muttered, closing his eyes for a moment. He looked far older than she remembered. "… alright. I might have a last-ditch effort. But I can't guarantee you'll like… her."
Cinder raised an eyebrow but did not hesitate. "Then lead the way."
Rhodes nodded, and so, the three of them departed. As Rhodes lead them out of the Vytal Colosseum, Cinder couldn't help but feel warm on the chest. Rhodes was doing something nice for her?
She shook her head. He was just trying to make up, to make himself feel better, nothing else. That's just how he was.
Forgiving him was out of the question.
Still, the surprise still made her feel distracted.
Ruby and Blake followed the ambulance to Vale, although it was much, much harder than intended. Not only did they have to take an airship that was already bloated with people but keeping up with a vehicle was hard. Luckily, Blake was there to take the lead.
Ruby followed Blake. The Faunus moved swiftly from corner to corner, ledge to ledge and cover to cover. In comparison Ruby was quite clumsy, but she had speed to make up for it.
Through the packed streets of Vale they followed, stalking the ambulance Ruby dearly hoped as not an innocent vehicle heading to a hospital.
They jumped from roof to roof, keeping up with the vehicle down below. They reached a roundabout that had a statue of the old King of Vale, who looked oddly like Professor Ozpin, and had to stop, since there were not any other tall buildings around.
"Dang, they got away," Ruby muttered under her breath.
"Come on, we can swing with Gambol Shroud," Blake said, offering her hand to Ruby. The reaper nodded, looking away to hide her blush.
Blake swung Gambol shroud on a nearby pole, holding Ruby by the waist and close to her body, which made her an even darker shade of crimson.
They swung towards a building on the other side of the roundabout, landing deftly on the roof. Blake quickly sheathed Gambol Shroud and kept on running. "Come on, Ruby."
Ruby followed, dispersing her thoughts. They saw the vehicle on the streets below once again and followed it. They were starting to get away from the residential district centre and toward the industrial district, closer to the wall, where anyone hardly wanted to live in due to the occasional Grimm attack.
Houses were more modest, but nothing too bad. Or so Ruby thought. Markets were smaller and there was nary a sight of any skyscrapers, but the atmosphere did look gloomier there, due to smog.
The vehicle parked once the houses stopped and abandoned factories began taking their place.
Blake and Ruby stopped as well, hiding behind a chimney.
There, they observed how Emerald, and Mercury exited the ambulance, well and good. Emerald still had a bandage around her torso, but she looked far better than when she had been in the hospital.
"Guess our hunch was right," Blake said. Ruby nodded, eyes narrowing as she watched the group leave towards an old dust refinery.
"Then let's catch some bad guys," Ruby said, not a hint of a smile on her face. They had framed Yang, her big sister, and it was unforgivable.
"Shouldn't we call for Yang?" Blake asked. Ruby looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Well… I don't think she can leave," Ruby said.
"And Weiss?" Blake asked again.
"I don't want to leave Yang alone," Ruby replied. Blake rolled her eyes.
"Then what about Cinder?" Blake asked. Ruby closed her eyes for a moment. Going in alone was reckless. But… they had little time, and besides…
"I can't count on Cinder forever. I need to be able to fend for myself," Ruby said, remembering how powerless she had been to stop her train from crashing, or helping Blake who has trapped under the rubble.
"At least… we should call for someone. Going at it alone is not safe," Blake said, eyes narrowed. Ruby looked away, blushing. Of course, Blake was right.
"Okay," Ruby said, pulling out her scroll. She dialled Cinder's number. Quickly, Cinder picked up.
"Ruby?" Cinder asked on the other side. She sounded somewhat agitated.
"Cinder. We've been following Emerald and Mercury. They're in the industrial district, near an old dust refinery."
"What?!"
"Yeah. They are not injured at all, and they are with White Fang members."
"Shit! Ruby, listen to me, I'll be right there, don't–"
Suddenly, Ruby's scroll was flung out of her hand by an invisible force. Both Blake and Ruby turned to the direction it went to, and they found it in the hand of a figure in a black, slightly plated skin-tight suit. It was a woman for sure, but her face was completely covered by a mask. Still, a ponytail did exit through the back of her head.
"Hello girls, what are you doing in a place like this?" The figure asked, voice distorted.
Rhodes had taken Winter and Cinder away from Beacon, and towards Vale, although Cinder still didn't know what he was planning. And she was suspicious.
"Where are we going?" Cinder asked as they stepped out of an airship.
"To see a friend. She fancies bars," Rhodes said, scratching the back of his head. Cinder crossed her arms, as did Winter.
"Is she trustworthy?" Winter asked. Rhodes seemed even more sheepish now.
"She won't double cross us without good cause, it that's what you are asking," Cinder rolled her eyes.
"Reassuring," she said.
"Yeah. Sorry," Rhodes said as he began walking. "I talked to her before Specialist Schnee called me. She told me she'd be in Sapphire's Rumble."
Cinder nodded. Shortly after, they took a cab towards that bar. Cinder liked it, it was one of the fancier ones and she loved it.
It didn't take long to arrive. Sapphire's Rumble was somewhat old fashioned, with a wooden décor and warm lights, with a circular bar sitting in the middle, surrounding a large pillar.
They entered it, Rhodes taking the lead. Cinder scanned the area. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Normal people, with normal lives, no huntsmen or anything of the sort. Everyone was watching a match of the Vytal Festival.
However, something did catch her eye. A Faunus woman, sitting at the counter. Pink haired, with fox ears and a fluffy tail matching the colour of her hair, dressed in white clothes with some gold and fur. Rhodes was taking them directly to her.
"Rhodes?" Cinder asked. He said nothing as he continued approaching her.
The woman's ears twitched, and she turned around just to see Rhodes approach her. She smiled from ear to ear. Her face was extremely pretty, with green eyes that seemed to shine in an alluring manner.
"Rhodey!" She said, almost singing his voice. "You done? Care to join me?"
"Not exactly, Koyan. I need to your help," she looked at the new arrivals, then at Rhodes again. Her smile didn't fade.
"I see. I see. It always comes down to that, I'm almost hurt," she said, ears dropping. Cinder wanted to roll her eyes.
"You know I love spending time with you, but this is important," he said, almost sheepish. Why was it this woman seemed to break through his otherwise uninterested demeanour?
'Koyan' looked at Cinder directly in the eye, as if analysing her. "I can see it. Is she the girl you told me about? The one that's almost like a daughter or something?"
Cinder felt herself go still, as did Rhodes. In fact, his face was red now.
"Koyan!" he whined. The fox woman simply laughed.
"Sorry! I'm just teasing you! It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Anika Koyanskaya," she said, extending her hand. Stiff as a plank, Cinder accepted it.
"Cinder," she said, shaking her hand.
"Oh, I know, Rhodes told me about you," Cinder looked at him, but he simply turned away.
"I assume you are a Huntress?" Winter said, not phased at all by the situation.
"Quite. I was Rhodes' partner during his Atlas Academy days, but we just got back together recently," she said, raising her eyebrows a few times.
"You mean…?" Cinder asked.
"As Huntsmen partners," Rhodes clarified. A disappointed look took hold over Koyanskaya's face.
"Indeed. So, what is it you need?" She asked, crossing her legs clad in thigh high white boots.
"We have a situation. A confusing one. We need to know if these documents are false," Cinder said, pulling out her scroll with Emerald and Mercury's profile.
Koyanskaya put her glass on the counter, before looking at the picture with squinted eyes.
"Hmm. Could I have it for a moment?" She asked. Cinder nodded and handed her the scroll. Koyanskaya took it, and pulled it closer to her face, sweeping the screen up and down as she read it with a keen eye.
A minute passed, and her face seemed to become strained at times.
"Well now. This is quite the work," she said, her tone now serious.
"How so?" Cinder asked. She looked at her, face irritated.
"Well, the document itself looks completely official. I don't know where you got this–"
"It's directly from Headmaster Lionheart," Winter added, standing straight. Koyanskaya raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really. Well, I'm sorry to say but while the document is as official as it can get," she turned back to Cinder, leaning forward. "The data is obviously fake."
Cinder's heart nearly stopped. From both fear and glee. "How so?" She asked. Her mind swam with thoughts, most prominent being that Yang was innocent.
"It's too perfect," Koyanskaya said, leaning back to rest her back on the counter as if she owned the place. "When making a forgery, you want some things to be… peculiar. Imperfect. No one is flawless, nothing is, in fact. So… when something or someone comes to you and has no cracks, no mistakes, you either lucked out or…"
"They're lying," Cinder finished.
"Indeed. Glad to see some people can see things for how they are," she commented, winking at Cinder.
"Are we sure she is reputable?" Winter asked Rhodes. Her tone was laced with steel. "The implications of what she says have grave consequences."
"She's been doing this for years. There is no one able to spot deception like her," he said. Winter narrowed her eyes but said nothing else.
"If you give me a few days, I could make a good case. Of course, I'll expect payment," Koyanskaya said.
"We don't have a few days. Even so, will you still help us?" Cinder asked.
The Faunus looked at her, then back at Rhodes, then back at her.
"Anything for Rhodey's little darling," she said with a smile. Cinder blushed but said nothing else.
"Okay, let's go back to Beacon so we can–"
Cinder's scroll, which was in Koyanskaya's hand, began ringing. The woman looked at it and answered.
"Hey!" Cinder said. It was too late, however.
"For you," said Koyan, winking.
Cinder took it with force and saw that the caller was Ruby.
"Cinder. We've been following Emerald and Mercury. They're in the industrial district."
"What?!"
"Yeah. They are not injured at all, and they are with White Fang members."
"Shit! Ruby, listen to me, I'll be right there, don't–"
Before she could continue, Ruby's voice trailed off. She could barely make out a new one in the background. A distorted voice she knew way too well.
"Hello girls, what are you doing in a place like this?" Cinder grit her teeth, feeling as if an invisible hand had grabbed hold of her chest.
"We need to leave. Right now!" Cinder said, putting away her scroll and beginning to walk away in a rush.
"Wait!" Winter said, grabbing her shoulder. "What's going on!?"
"My sisters in danger," Cinder said, turning to look at Winter. "But I was right, Emerald and Mercury are up to something."
Winter's face strained upon hearing this. "I see. Lead the way," she said. Cinder nodded, and then Winter turned to Rhodes. "Are you coming?"
Rhodes nodded, beginning to follow them. Koyanskaya smiled and proceeded to stretch. "Alright. I guess I'll help too."
Cinder looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You sure?"
"Yes. Anything for my Rhodey," she said, going to wrap her arms around Rhodes. Cinder shook her head while scowling.
"Alright. Let's go," with that they left the bar. Cinder looked around and headed for the first car she saw. A red, fairly standard model that a man was getting out of.
She approached him with heightened pace, and the man seemed to sense her presence as he turned to her with some fear in his eyes.
"C-can I help you? Have I done something?" He asked, hands raised in defence.
"I need your car. Huntress business," she said, approaching him and taking his keys from his hand.
"W-what?! Y-y-you can't do that!" he said. However, he cowered even more once he saw the rest of Cinder's team get into the car.
"Here," Winter said, writing a paper while leaning out a window. "Call me in an hour. We'll return your car."
Cinder started the engine, and they began heading towards the industrial district. The man was left there, stranded, and holding a small piece of paper.
Ruby took a step back, hand reaching for Crescent Rose.
The figure tilted her head. There was nothing to identify her for.
"Ruby Rose. Roman was right, you do like sticking your head where you shouldn't," She said as she pulled out two Sai.
"So, you're with them," Ruby answered. She eyed Blake, who nodded, hands hovering over Gambol Shroud. "Why are you doing this?"
"Why? The world is changing, and Beacon must fall. Otherwise, Ozpin will keep us on this loop forever," she said.
"Changing?" Ruby asked. The figure jumped down from her elevated position, leaving them at the same height. The roof was big enough to move around.
"Yes. That's how things are. Things change, and we are the agents of that," the woman said.
"Does your change involve the sufferings of thousands?" Blake asked, raising her voice. With her support, Ruby felt her confidence soar.
"Yeah! We don't need violence or suffering for things to change!" Ruby added, however, this only made the figure chuckle.
"Oh Ruby. Change hurts. But no one really wants to hurt, do they? They won't change if they can help it. They need a little push. My mistress knows that well. Do you?" Ruby grit her teeth. Her mind was made up.
"You're crazy. We're going to stop you, right now," she drew Crescent Rose, swinging it over her shoulders. Blake drew Gambol Shroud as well.
The woman sighed, slumping her shoulders. "Why do I even bother. Fine, have it your way."
The woman threw one of her Sai, making Ruby have to block it with the shaft of Crescent Rose. It ricocheted off to oblivion.
Blake rushed the woman, attacking her at close range. However, the enemy swiftly dodged all strikes, kicking Blake in her legs and torso whenever an opening was left.
Ruby shot Crescent Rose, using the recoil to prepare a long swing while she advanced. The woman pushed Blake off but was not fast enough. Ruby was sure to get a hit in.
The swing missed by inches. The woman then kicked her in the stomach, pushing her back while engaging Blake.
Ruby saw her opponent extend her hand, and her Sai fly back to her hand as if it where magnetized.
Ruby shook her head, and once again went against her opponent, trying to swing Crescent Rose when Blake wasn't attacking, a coordinated attack of in and out.
It wasn't getting many results, most strikes were missing, despite having precision and speed by their side.
Ruby looked at Blake on the periphery and nodded. Both Huntresses retreated, and then dashed in a combined attack. Ruby using her semblance to flank her on one side, Blake using hers to flank her from the other.
Both huntresses struck, but the woman simply blocked them with her Sai, easily locking both weapons with them.
Ruby was almost paralysed from the surprise. How did she have enough strength to handle Crescent Rose with one arm?
Her mind raced, and she realized that Crescent Rose wasn't being lifted from one spot, but from every spot, as if something was grabbing it from all sides.
The woman didn't leave her time to think, instead using both her Sai to push both huntresses back towards the edge of the roof they were on.
"Damnit," Blake said, turning Gambol Shroud into her pistol form.
Ruby nodded, breathing heavily. Their opponent was too nimble, and while her Aura could keep up, Blake's was running low.
Meanwhile, their opponent wasn't even winded.
"Yeah. We need to figure out her Semblance," As Ruby spoke, all of them heard loud sounds from the Dust Refinery as a variety of airships left.
"Well," The woman said, sheathing her Sai. "Guess my job here is done."
"No, it's not!" Ruby said, getting to her feet. "You are not getting away!"
The woman sighed. "Still trying to play superhero? Alright." She pulled something from her belt, three spheres with red, glowing lines in the middle. "You'll have a lot of time to play later."
She threw the spheres towards them, and they sped up along the ground as if pushed, while beeping sounds exited them. Ruby knew in that instant what it was.
Fire dust grenades.
"Blake!" She shouted, grabbing the Faunus by the arm and making them both jump off the ledge.
A tremendous explosion sounded behind them, along with an orange light and heat hitting her in the back. They were approaching the ground fast, and Ruby knew Aura would not save them this time.
Bringing Blake close to her, Ruby quickly activated her semblance, enveloping the pair of them in it. All her thoughts focused on saving her Faunas friend.
She felt herself turn to roses, light as petals, but she had something else. Another presence in the cloud.
Ruby forced her body near the wall and ran along it until they were near the floor. Then, jumping off and deactivating her Semblance when she was far enough from the falling rubble.
She and Blake left the cloud, standing near another rundown building.
The moment she deactivated her Semblance, Ruby felt a huge weight lifted off her, both physically and mentally. Blake, on the other hand, seemed more scared than anything.
So tired she was, that she allowed her jelly-like legs to give out, falling onto the floor.
She had done it. She had saved Blake with her Semblance.
"Ruby…" Blake muttered. Ruby looked up at her, panting. "...what was that?"
"M-my Semblance…" Ruby muttered, looking away. She had held her, close, very close, but at the time it didn't matter.
"Was your Semblance always able to do that?" Blake asked, voice shaky.
"I… no, I don't think so," Ruby replied, looking into Blake's eyes. The Faunus seemed to relax a little.
Then, Ruby's mind was brought back to urgent matters. She looked up to the now burning building but found that the woman was no longer there.
"She's gone," Blake stated turgidly.
"Yeah. You alright?" Ruby asked, trying to get up, legs still shaky.
"Thanks to you," Blake answered, smiling from side to side. Seeing that, Ruby felt a smile involuntarily take over her features. Aware of it, she turned around.
"I-I'm glad," Ruby muttered.
"Ruby!" Came a yelling call from behind them.
Both women turned around to see someone else approach. A woman in red and black, wielding a bow.
"Cinder!" Ruby said. As soon as she called out, Cinder dashed towards her with a speed unlike any the young Huntress has seen. Immediately, her big sister was looking all over her form.
"Ruby. You're alright," Cinder said, grabbing her shoulders, sighing with relief.
"Y-yeah. I'm okay," She answered. Her chest felt warm, and hollow. She didn't like seeing Cinder so worried. Or anyone really. Especially not if it was because of her.
"Ok. What about you?" Cinder asked, turning her sights towards Blake.
"I'm fine," she answered. Cinder nodded and let go of Ruby.
"Winter! Over here!" The Professor shouted. From out of the corner of a building, Winter popped out with weapons drawn. Behind her came the Huntsman Cinder had met before, and a Faunus woman with a beautiful face and pink hair.
"Are you two alright? Where's your attacker?" Winter asked, looking around.
"I… I think she left," Blake said, rubbing her arm.
"Her?" Winter asked.
"Y-yes. It was a woman, I think so anyway," Blake answered.
"It was definitely a woman," Ruby added, raising her finger. Winter looked at the ground, as if pondering.
"And the White Fang?" Asked the Huntsman. His tone was somewhat… still, but his eyes were tender.
"I think they left. We saw airships flying off the Dust Refinery," Ruby said.
"Then shall we check?" Asked the Faunus woman.
"Ok. Ruby, Blake, follow me," Cinder said, once again holding her bow at the ready.
"Yes!" Ruby answered, drawing Crescent Rose.
They approached the building, crossing a street and a small courtyard to get to it. It was eerily quiet, so much that Cinder placed her ear on the door.
Winter was at her side, and with a single look, Winter nodded.
Cinder and Winter stepped back, and then the specialist used her sword to point towards the floor. A glyph, much like Weiss', began spinning on the ground. And out from it, a white Alpha Boarbatusk emerged, big and imposing.
"Woah! Can Weiss do that too?" Ruby asked the elder sister.
"She will, one day. Hopefully," Was the dry answer Winter provided. Coinciding with her pointing her sword at the door. Soon, the summoned Grimm charged at it, breaking it, and blowing dust back.
Quickly, the Huntsmen rushed the door, Ruby and Blake following closely. They pushed through the smoke, standing closely together. The Faunus woman did not have a weapon, something that worried Ruby for a second.
The Dust Refinery was empty. Not even old machines remained, only puddles of water, twigs, rotted leaves, and the stench of moisture.
The huntsmen looked around, but after a few moments, they lowered their weapons.
"We're too late," Cinder said, walking towards the middle of the room with more force on her steps than necessary.
"Seems like it," said the Huntsman, sheathing his weapons.
"Great," Cinder said, rubbing her temple.
Winter then turned to Ruby and Blake. "You told Cinder you saw Emerald and Mercury come here?"
"Y-yes," Ruby said. Winter's gaze was ten times as penetrating and intimidating as Weiss'. "I took some photos on my scroll, I… uh…"
Ruby began touching herself all over but did not find the familiar rectangular shape of her scroll.
"You, have it?" Winter asked.
"I…" Then her memory came back. "That woman took it!"
Winter said nothing as she turned around, Ruby could feel the aura of disappointment from her. She had let down a true huntress. It was unacceptable. "Blake! Did you take–"
"–Sorry," Blake answered, shrugging her shoulders.
"Fantastic," Cinder muttered.
"We still have their testimony. If they really were leaving in such a hurry that they had to send someone to stop these two, then I doubt they didn't leave anything," said the Faunus woman, rubbing her chin with a smile.
Cinder let out a long sigh. "Alright. Ok," she said, and then turned to Winter. "Could you see if this place has something left?"
Winter nodded.
"Alright. Koyanskaya, could you help her?" Asked Cinder to the pink haired Faunus, Koyanskaya.
"Oh! Rat hunting! Love it!" She said, genuinely delighted.
"Alright. Rhodes, we'll go back to Beacon, see if Ruby's testimony can convince Ironwood to get off Yang's back," Cinder said. Rhodes nodded. "Ruby, Blake, come with me."
Ruby nodded strongly. With that, she, Rhodes, and Blake headed towards the door.
However, Cinder lagged behind the group. Causing Ruby to similarly slow up and look off towards her sister.
Cinder was close to Winter. Very close.
"Thanks, Winter," Cinder huffed. That was surprising, the look on Cinder's face was soft, like the time she had let her walls down around her and Yang after mountain Glenn. "Really."
"Think nothing of it, my friend," said Winter, placing a hand on Cinder's shoulder. Her elder sister then smiled, warmly. "We were working to right a wrong. Enforce justice."
It made Ruby giddy. While she liked her though-as-nails elder sister, seeing Cinder happy was something special indeed.
"Ok, I'll see you later then," With that Cinder left, catching Ruby looking at her. The reaper turned around quickly, hoping her sister hadn't seen her.
The group of four exited the building and began walking the streets, towards… somewhere. Perhaps a vehicle.
"Ruby," Ruby turned, seeing Cinder walk at her side. She was back to being a grumpy, glaring woman. "Don't get any funny ideas."
"About what?" Ruby asked, trying her best to hide her happiness.
Cinder shut up then, lips becoming pursed, and cheeks tinted red. "N-nothing. Come on, we gotta go back to the car."
"You have a car?" Ruby asked.
"Stole a car," Cinder replied.
"Stole!" Ruby shouted, which made Blake and Rhodes turn, while Cinder recoiled. "That's not what a Huntress does!"
"It was an emergency. My license allows it," Cinder replied.
"It does not, unless it's a true emergency," The Huntsman said, raising a finger.
"Not now, Rhodes" Cinder growled. So, Rhodes was his name. He looked alright, although knowing what Cinder told them, she found herself unable to determine what to think of him.
Regardless, after that, the group went quietly back to Beacon.
Pyrrha Nikos rode an airship back to the Colosseum. Her match was already starting.
Her scroll rang. She answered it as fast as possible.
"I'm almost there, Nora," she said into it.
"Nora?" That was Roman, not Nora. Pyrrha sighed.
"What do you want?"
"Your two squires almost got caught, and you with them," Roman said. She could hear his mocking tone over the phone.
"Nobody suspects a thing. In fact, they are now chasing them. We are but a smudge on their lens," Pyrrha replied, trying to keep her cool. Never show someone was getting to you, always have control on the situation. That was what Salem taught her.
"Oh, so you decided to use my plan. Finally, someone clever," Roman replied.
"I didn't use it. It was an accident!" Pyrrha responded, outraged at the thought of using Emerald and Mercury like tools.
"Sure. Whatever. Are there people around?" Roman asked. Pyrrha looked around. Few people were on the airship, since the matches had already started.
"No…"
"Then why are you acting like a good girl still?" Roman's word froze Pyrrha for a second. "Whatever. I'm still waiting here with Neo and Lord Edge."
"Ok. The singles are almost here. Just wait for the signal," Pyrrha said, snapping out of her stupor.
"And what will that be?"
Pyrrha went near a window, seeing one of the holographic billboards of the next fight. It showed a display of Penny and Fiona, who had beaten another Atlas team. Now, the billboard displayed the next fight, Pyrrha and Nora vs Coco and Yatsuhashi.
"You'll know."
A/N: And that's it for now. Rhodes' partner is introduced, based on Koyanskaya from F/GO. At first I didn't mean to include her too blatantly but... I thought her name was Russian at first, so I just wanted to make an Atlas huntsman. Should have done more research. But now it's too late so I'm just rolling with it.
Anyway, next up, the singles rounds start, as well as Cinder's meet up with Ozpin and Ironwood. Who knows what awaits her.
That is all for now, Chiao!