Chapter 21: Moments
The rain returned. For whatever reason, Cinder did not mind it so much. The call they had received a few days prior had filled her with a sense that she had not felt in years. She did not know exactly how to describe it. She was not optimistic enough to call it hope, and she was still too afraid to call it excitement. She just felt like they had a chance, regardless of how small it was. Maybe it was surprise. Maybe it was intrigue. Either way, the dystopia did not seem so dark today.
Even Salem seemed calmer today. She still looked lost and confused, but stared at her allies with curiosity and interest. She may not have remembered their names or identities, but she at the very least recognized them as friends. She was not resistant or afraid, but rather quiet and compliant.
However, Mercury had developed a bad cold from his time in the rain. It was nothing life-threatening, but an inconvenience for all of them. Mercury spent most of the days huddled under blankets trying to get warm as he coughed and sneezed. Everyone was careful to keep a safe distance as not to get sick themselves.
Cinder pulled a pile of fabric scraps out of a backpack, and crudely wrapped them around her bare arms and tied knots. They were the best she could do to make sleeves, it would at the very least assist in keeping her warm. She pocketed a can of mole can meat and a vial of ice Dust.
"What are you doing, Cinder?" Emerald asked. Cinder did not see her approach, and jumped slightly, startled by her friend's voice.
"I'm going out," Cinder said.
"Back to the old base?" Emerald asked.
Cinder shook her head. "No. I'm going to set out further west, towards the edge of the city. We haven't cleaned out the buildings there yet."
"Well there's a few things wrong with that," Emerald said, placing her hand on her hip. Cinder turned her head slightly and gave her a side-eye. "First," Emerald said, "that's uncomfortably close to Forever Fall, where the White Fang usually convene. Second, you're not going anywhere alone. Especially not right now, with the Reaper and Lord Ozpin's forces after us."
"I am this time," Cinder replied, turning her attention back to wrapping fabric around her arms. "It's too dangerous to risk more than one person."
"It's too dangerous to risk anyone," Emerald said. "Why not wait until we can get better situated?"
"Because we're almost out of food and water, Em," Cinder huffed, grabbing her salvaged swords off of the floor next to her. "We got lucky with Lionheart, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that we are practically freezing to death in this basement, we only have a few vials of Dust, no medicine or first aid kits, our food and water supplies are limited, and I've been wearing the same itchy piece of cloth as an eyepatch for over a week. If I'm lucky, I'll find some supplies. If I'm really lucky, I might find someplace more livable that we can move into."
"And if you're not lucky?" Emerald scowled. "If P.E.N.N.Y. or the Reaper finds you?"
"Then you all have one less mouth to feed!" Cinder shouted, slamming her fist onto the hard concrete floor. She winced as she lifted her sore hand up, carefully stretching her fingers.
"That's not a good reason," another voice said, making Cinder jump again. She rolled her eye and glanced up to see Adam sitting in the nearby corner of the room, his black clothes almost hiding him in the shadows.
"Godsdammit, you people need to stop sneaking up on me!" Cinder growled.
"Look, I get it," Adam said, sitting up. "You're a leader. You care about your people more than yourself. You want to win, but you don't want them in danger. I know. But singling yourself out isn't going to make them feel any better if your group cares about you, and this group cares about you."
Cinder sighed, but did not reply. Adam stood up and put his hand on his sword.
"You best save your breath, Cinder," he said. "Emerald and I are going with you."
Cinder huffed again, but looked up at Adam with an exasperated, small smile.
Pyrrha winced and squirmed. "That thing is looking at me," she said.
"I don't think it can see at all," Jaune remarked. "See the cloth over its eyes? I think its eyes are missing."
"Well its head is turned in my direction, and it's creeping me out," Pyrrha replied. "Gods, what happened to her? Who is she?"
"I'm guessing the Reaper did that to her," Jaune said. "As for who she is, I don't know. But if she's stuck with the Reaper, I can't help but pity her."
Pyrrha nodded. "When you put it that way.." Then she shook her head. "Poor thing."
Yang was too far away to hear the Huntsman and Huntress talking about her. She was just relieved and confused at the quiet and calm of her situation. She was tied to something, but Ruby's presence was not there. Even though she could not see, she drooped her eyelids closed. She might have the first good sleep in years.
"Take a seat, Miss Rose," Lord Ozpin said, gesturing towards the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Ruby jumped into it, trying everything in her power to resist kicking her feet up onto the desk. Instead, she looked around the dark chambers.
"Nice place, Lordy," she said. "Dark, yet bold and intimidating. A bit gaudy for my taste, but still chill."
"You said you wanted to speak with me," Lord Ozpin huffed, crossing his fingers and resting his elbows on the desk. "So speak, or I will consider this time wasted."
"Okay, here's the deal, Ozzy," Ruby said, leaning in. "You hate the Resistance. Well, fun fact, I do too. First, their little ice cream cone smacks me in the face. I got her for that. Next, they evade my grasp and humiliate me at the CCT tower."
"Yes, I heard how you were involved in that little skirmish," Lord Ozpin said. "And how Ms. Schnee chased you away."
Ruby paused and gritted her teeth, her eyebrows dropping low with anger. She shook her head and tried to calm herself, which was a difficult thing to do. "That's besides the point," she said, changing the subject. "Point is, I've been losing my touch recently. I haven't killed someone in a good long while, and even then it's unfulfilling and empty. I need some targets, and you have people you want dead that I wouldn't mind slicing up. But I'm not just here to advertise myself as your hitwoman. I need some spice in my life. You've got all the power in the world, right? Share some of it with me. Give me the power to smite my enemies, and I can help you. You've got to have a long-term goal, don'tcha? Hire me to do your dirty work, and all I ask for payment is whatever power, whatever upgrades, whatever authority you can give me to make that job easier and more fun. Either way, you win." She leaned back in her chair. "Whadda say?"
Lord Ozpin scoffed. "You insult me," he growled. "What makes you think I need you? What could you possibly have to offer that I do not already posses?"
"Well," Ruby said, "I think my notoriety is a résumé in and of itself."
"What, because you're halfway decent with a scythe and have a body count?" Lord Ozpin barked, clearly annoyed. "I happen to have an army, as well as another scythe wielder currently hunting the Resistance as we speak."
Ruby laughed. "Qrow Branwen, I presume?" She smiled. "He's good, but he's so full of liquor you could stick a tap in him and open a bar. Not to mention, he hasn't been all there since your little… gift to him."
"And how do you know about that?" Lord Ozpin growled.
"We're family!" Ruby said. "Well, not by blood. He's like my half-sister's mother's brother or something convoluted like that. But you hear things through the grapevine… stories coming out of Signal Academy… and you just confirmed 'em, Lordy."
Lord Ozpin narrowed his eyes as Ruby leaned back in and continued. "Look, you know two scythes are better than one. And he may be your 'best assassin', but the Resistance has unnatural luck. And what's so wrong with a backup plan, hmm? Look, let me put it this way: you want to command all that exists, don't you? Well, like it or not, I'm something that exists. I don't care if you command me. I might have a year ago, but now? Anything that puts flesh on the scythe." She leaned back in her chair and smiled smugly. "You can either use me or kill me, Lord Ozpin. And as much as you probably want to kill me, gods know I would, I'm no good to you dead. I'm willingly offering up my services here, and for a teeny tiny little payment. Anything that gets me closer to my goal."
"And what is your goal, Miss Rose?" Lord Ozpin questioned menacingly.
Ruby lowered her head. "I want to be strong. I want to be feared. I want to be powerful."
Lord Ozpin paused, staring at Ruby. He lowered his head and locked eyes with her.
"You make a compelling argument, Miss Rose," Lord Ozpin said. He lifted his head back again. He reached out his hand. "You want power? I know just what to give you. But step out of line, and I will not hesitate to end you."
Ruby smirked and extended her own hand, gripping his hand and shaking it. "I like your style, Lord Ozpin." Ruby giggled. "You might just be as twisted as me."
In that moment, two blackened hearts were allied; a pact so evil it would have made the gods shudder.
Roman stayed behind to look after Salem. He lit a cigar he had recovered and puffed on it. When he heard Mercury cough, he decided to smoke outside as not to suffocate him or Salem. Roman, leaning on his cane, walked up the basement stairs and into the decrepit room above, and quickly stepped out the door, which was left ajar. He was surprised to see Cinder, Emerald, and Adam still there.
"I expected you to be gone already," he said, inhaling the smoke.
"We're almost done," Emerald replied. She loaded a pair of ammunition clips into her guns and sighed. She was dangerously low.
Cinder huddled next to Adam, pulling a small, worn map out of her backpack. "Everything east of here is either our old base, Beacon Fortress, the CCT Tower, or just some abandoned housing that we've already cleared out," she explained. "Where we need to go is further west, out towards the city limits."
Adam nodded. "I'm familiar with it." He pointed to a red mark on the map. "Forever Fall is right here. The White Fang convene there."
"So I've heard," Cinder said, remembering what Emerald had said earlier. "That's where I need you. I know you're not a part of the White Fang anymore, but would you have any idea if the White Fang would currently be in the area? Or which places to avoid?"
Adam glanced at the sky. The sun, or at least as much of it that could be seen behind the clouds, was high in the sky. "It's midday," he said. "That means White Fang activity will be at its highest. However, that also usually means that they're somewhere other than Forever Fall: Lord Ozpin's war offices, slave markets, refugee camps… anywhere they can go to riot or protest. And before I left, if I remember right, the usurper Blake Belladonna planned a large raid on several Schnee Dust Company mines and offices, and even their headquarters and Schnee Manor. There may be a small chance that the White Fang isn't even in Vale at the moment."
Cinder glanced up at him. "So most of them won't be in Forever Fall. I guess that's good." She looked back down that the map. "Anywhere else we should be wary of?"
Adam nodded and pointed to a small square near the edge of the city. It was almost covered by the symbols indicating the Vale Overpass. "This is the hideout of a notorious gangster. I regret to say he's Faunus, but he could not care less about the dealings of the White Fang. However, he'll do anything for a high enough price, including some… unsavory actions."
"A price?" Cinder questioned. "Like money?"
Adam slowly nodded. "Yes. Despite Lord Ozpin having control of almost all finance in Remnant, he still values Lien above all else. He'll sell weapons and Dust occasionally, but his main sources of income are his prostitution and bounty hunting businesses. He has several bounty hunters at his disposal. If you want someone dead, captured, or otherwise removed, he's the guy to talk to. I regret to say that I used his services once to get the White Fang into Atlas."
Cinder scoffed. "I wonder if we've got a bounty on our heads."
Adam shrugged. "Unlikely. Anyone who goes to him is usually just some underground scum, and you need a lot of Lien to convince him. Blake hates him from the last time the White Fang dealt with him, so the only reason she'd ever try to go there is to kill him, and Lord Ozpin and his forces would just try and shut him down. Still, I'd avoid the area and especially that building. He's unpredictable, and unpredictability is dangerous in Vale."
"Good to know," Cinder said. She was surprised that she had not heard of this individual or his organization earlier. If they had any money, she may have considered paying him a visit. However, they did not have any Lien and, with Adam's warning, she now knew better.
"All right," Emerald said, walking up to Cinder and Adam. "Ready whenever you are."
Adam nodded at Cinder, who put away the map and pulled out her blades. "Okay," she said. "Let's go."
Roman waved at them as he puffed on his cigar. Emerald waved back, then followed Cinder and Adam as they jogged back into the waste.
Blake bit down on the ring and yanked it out with her teeth. She spat the bitter metal onto the dirt, then threw the grenade as far as she could. It exploded a few seconds later, blasting fire and debris out of the pit.
Ilia swung her barbed whip, the lash striking at a Schnee Dust Company slavedriver. She whipped again, and the lash wrapped around the man's neck. He yelled and clawed at his neck as blood began to trickle down from the puncture wounds. Ilia quickly withdrew her weapon, the sharp metal sawing around the man's neck and slicing into the skin and muscle. The slavedriver gurgled and gagged as blood poured from his jugular vein, his arms falling and the rest of his body following.
Blake stabbed her blade into another slavedriver, piercing his gut and then pulling out, leaving him to collapse and die on the ground. She heard rustling to her left and readied her weapon, then turned to charge at it. However, she stopped when she saw that it was a woman, a Faunus, crawling on all fours in the dirt. She was dressed in the monochrome SDC slave uniform, chains binding her feet. She yelped as she saw Blake's aggression, and jumped back. She raised her hands as a tear fell from her eye, which ran down her check and onto her pink, porcine nose.
Blake lowered her blade and relaxed her expression. She leaned forward and extended her hand. "Do not fear me, sister," she said in an authoritative, but welcoming and strong voice. "I, as well as all of your Faunus brothers and sisters in the White Fang, have come to liberate you from oppression!"
The woman hesitated, but slowly reached up and grabbed Blake's open hand. Blake helped the Faunus to her feet, then turned her head and yelled over to Ilia. "Ilia!"
Ilia finished strangling another human, then hurried over. "Yes, High Leader Belladonna?"
Blake motioned towards the slave. "This woman has been liberated. Take her to the edge of the battlefield. Perry should have already set up a safe zone for the other freed ones."
"Yes, ma'am!" Ilia obeyed. Blake transferred the woman's hand to Ilia's and Ilia began hurrying with her back through the dust to safety.
Blake looked around. This attack on a Schnee Dust Company mine was proving successful. Still, even with all she was doing, she could not help but think about Taurus. She had elected to use that rage in the battle. He could not hide forever. Only she knew what lied behind his mask. It was only a matter of time.
"Do you see it?" Adam whispered, ducking down behind a crumbling wall.
Cinder ducked down next to him, holding her blades, and Emerald knelt down behind a toppled truck.
"No," Cinder whispered back. She peered her eye over the wall. "Where is it?"
"On the roof of the restaurant," Adam replied. "Behind the antenna."
Cinder shifted her vision. It was difficult to see at first due to the long shadows covering the rooftop Adam was describing, but as soon as it moved, she was able to see it clearly. It flapped its black wings subtly, then turned its white, plated head in their direction, its red eyes scanning the ground.
"Fuck," Cinder huffed. "It's a Griffon. If there's one, that probably means the whole damn flock is nearby."
"Not necessarily," Emerald whispered. "Griffons don't come down from the mountain that often. Maybe this one's alone."
"Can't be too careful," Adam said, readying himself to pull out his sword. "We need to either kill it before it can sound an alarm, or go another way."
Cinder sighed. "There's no other way to go. We have to kill it. But how do we shoot it without making a noise? Emerald's guns are loud."
Emerald gestured towards Cinder's blades. "Can't you string your weapons into a bow?"
Cinder nodded. "Yeah, but if I shoot an arrow at it, it's going to screech or something. We need to get it down to the ground."
The Grimm's claws clicked as it walked across the rooftop, crawling to the edge. It perched there, watching the ground. It cawed, like a raven or crow, then beat its wings.
"It looks like it's about to come down," Adam whispered.
"We need to get into position to kill it when it does," Cinder said. "Emerald, you try and get around behind it. Adam, go for the neck or head. Try to keep it from making a sound. I'll try and go for the kill."
Emerald nodded and slowly moved along the truck to get a head start on her position. Cinder ducked back down and looked at Adam's mask. It was the closest she could get to eye contact. He nodded at her.
The Griffon suddenly screeched like a hawk and extended its wings. It beat them once, causing light debris on the street below to flutter. Then it pushed itself off of the ledge and glided down to the street. Its bone-like talons dug into the concrete as it landed. It lowered its head and pecked at a stone.
"Now!" Cinder said. She and Adam simultaneously vaulted over the ow wall. The Grimm lifted its head and opened its beak. Emerald ran out behind it, unhinging the blades off of her guns and transforming them into their Kusarigama mode. She dug the blades into the Griffon's backside, causing it to turn its head towards her. Adam quickly unsheathed his blade and, with a quick motion, stabbed it downwards into the Griffon's beak. The sword struggled at first, but cracked its way through the thick plating and to the other side. The Grimm tried to open its beak and screech in pain, but the sword's hilt kept the maw from opening. Cinder dug her blades into the creature's side, tackling it as she did so. Adam grunted as the sword was pulled from his grip as the Grimm fell over. Cinder began rapidly stabbing, just trying to kill it quickly. It flailed and tried to screech again, then collapsed and died in a flurry of black smoke and blood.
Adam retrieved his sword quickly, and then looked and listened. There was no sign of any other Grimm nearby.
"Well," Emerald said, locking the blades on her weapons back down so that they were guns again, "I'd say mission accomplished."
Cinder nodded. "It would seem so. Good work, guys."
As Adam sheathed his blade, Emerald looked down a crossroad.
"Hey," she said. "I see Forever Fall."
Cinder and Adam walked up next to her and looked in the direction she was. About a mile down the abandoned grey street and under grey skies was a burst of color. It was vibrant red, painting the horizon as far as they could see. The crimson-leaved trees had trunks of brown so dark they looked black, and were nestled above a forest floor swirling with pink and white.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Adam said.
Emerald nodded. "The red… it's not like the red we usually see; blood and gore. It's more like… the sunset. Like a permanent state of autumn." She paused. "Wait, is that why it's called 'Forever Fall'"?"
Cinder could not help but smile. It was almost jarring to see so much life in one area. Everything now seemed desolate and cold… but Forever Fall was not. It was like a dream. In that moment, time slipped away, the past seemed to fade. Cinder took a breath and, for a moment, forgot about death and war. She just felt the presence of her friends beside her as she took in the sight. Her life seemed to always be filled with passing moments. Like the seasons change, they come and go. But for one second, she could make a memory that would last forever. Her own Forever Fall.
However, the moment had to end. Cinder was snapped back to reality as she saw a glimmer in a nearby store window, reflecting some of the dim sunlight. She jogged over to it and gasped.
"Em! Adam!" she called. The two of them hurried over and grinned.
In the store window was an entire case of various Dust crystals and vials. There was Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, and even a pair of black Gravity crystals. Cinder waved for Emerald and Adam to stand back as she rammed the glass with one of her blades, shattering it. She quickly opened her bag, and the three of them began shoveling the Dust into it. When they had about finished, Emerald looked up and peered into the store.
"Look!" she said. She pointed to a dark case on a counter on the far end of the room. "That looks like an ammo case. I think this place was a weapon shop."
As Cinder and Adam put the last Fire Dust crystals and vials into the bag, Emerald skipped around them and into the abandoned store. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and thick dust and dirt coated the floor and empty shelves. There were bullet casings on the ground, as well as some claw marks on the wall next to a collapsed shelf.
"It looks like someone was already here, but they were attacked by a Grimm and had to run before the got everything," Emerald observed. She ran her fingers along the claw marks, then carefully jogged over to the box. She lifted the latch and peered inside.
"Good news!" she called over. "It's ammo. Perfect kind for my guns, too."
Cinder looked down into her bag, making sure all of the Dust was packed safely so it would not break or detonate. As she was admiring their find, she heard a loud thud. She glanced up and saw two people standing inside the store: Emerald, and the silhouette of a woman about her height. She was clutching an object in her hand. Suddenly, Emerald fell to the ground, as if the figure had struck her on the back of the head with the object and knocked her out cold.
"Emerald!" Cinder yelled. She flung the backpack over her shoulder and lifted her blades. She did not bother to use the door, but rather vaulted into the window, ignoring the broken glass, and over the counter. When her feet landed on the dirty floor, they immediately began running towards the figure. The silhouette gasped as it saw Cinder charging; a clearly feminine gasp. As Cinder raised her blades, the figure leapt back, and Cinder heard a metallic bang. She glanced down to see a grey, metal cylinder bounce at her feet. As soon as she laid her eye on it, thick fumes of grey smoke began spewing from either end of the contraption. Cinder raised her arm over her mouth, trying to keep her focus on the woman.
"Cinder!" Adam yelled. He ran through the door and then towards her, but then yelled. He clutched his back, and pulled a sharp object from his shoulder blade. As soon as he did, he felt his vision get blurry and his balance vanish. He mustered up the strength to look at the object and identify it as a dart of some kind, though it looked more like a spiked bullet. Then he collapsed to the ground, blacking out.
"Adam!" Cinder shouted, turning her head to look at him. She coughed and hacked as the smoke filled her lungs, and cried as it burned her eyes. In seconds, Adam's body was obscured by thick smoke. It was only then that she realized she had turned away from the figure.
Cinder felt a blunt, solid object slam into the back of her head. It was expertly swung to hit her in just the right spot to instantly make her eyes cross and thoughts fuzzy. She groaned as a throbbing pain dulled her senses, and she fell to her knees. However, even then, she was unable to keep her composure, and she fell onto her stomach, her cheek planting into the dust. The smoke would have still stung if she could feel her sinuses. Though her ears rang and her vision blurred, she could hear footsteps and see a pair of silhouettes approach from out of the smoke. As they got closer, she could finally make out their appearances, though they were still distorted and smeared due to her state. They were both women, or rather girls, looking like they were in their late teens. One was in an expensive-looking brown outfit with a black beret, a string of pearls around her fair neck, and a pair of dark sunglasses. In her fist was a dark brown handbag, though it looked more like a small reinforced suitcase. The other was dressed in a brown jacket and shorts with gold trim, with a semi-translucent black undershirt and black leggings. She had a box strapped to her golden belt, and a rifle-like gun in her hand. Her brown eyes wore a sour expression, and a pair of long brown rabbit ears rose from her flowing brown hair.
"I think it's payday, Velvet," was the last thing Cinder heard before everything went black.
