Chapter 26 – No Ordinary Cough…
Cinder
Oh gods…
What the hell is this? It hurts… oh, by the gods, it hurts so bad…
I can't breathe…
I can't breathe…
I can't…
It felt like her chest was on fire, like someone had stuck a burning hot poker into her lungs. She gasped for air, coughing violently on the floor where she collapsed. Her vision came to, the corners of her vision were swelling with a haunting red pallet. To say Cinder was scared would be the greatest understatement of all.
This isn't just from the sea water… the hell is wrong with me?
"Miss? Miss, are you okay? Ma'am, please!" She could hear a man calling out to her. As her vision slowly returned, she saw him stood over her. He was carefully waving his hand in front of her face, trying to see if she could see him. She coughed again, tasting the repulsive metallic fluid in her mouth. "Are you okay, Ma'am?" The stranger asked her.
"W-Where am I?" Cinder winced painfully.
"Y-You're in Vale… we all saw you hit the ground. I… I don't understand how you were flying but… you don't look well." He advised. Cinder looked around and saw a group of people observing the scene with concern on their faces.
She struggled to get up onto her feet, pressing her hands against the tarmac, hearing the beeping of cars. "Hey knock it off! This woman is very sick!" a lady yelled angrily at the driver behind the car. Cinder stumbled through the street.
"I'm… I'm fine…" But Cinder fell to the ground once again.
"Ma'am!" the stranger called out, just catch her fall. He helped drag her out of the road, and he leant her against the wall. The man crouched down in front of her and pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. "Gods… you're burning up. Okay, I'm gonna take you to the nearest doctor. He's a good man, he can help you. He helps everyone." The man said, helping Cinder up.
The lady who was with the stranger stayed close to Cinder, hands at the ready in case she collapsed once again. Cinder's breathing was heavily laboured, wheezing and extremely ill sounding. Cinder could not help but massage her burning throat as she weakly walked, coughing now and then.
"How… far… is this doctor?" Cinder wheezed as she followed the man.
"He isn't far, don't worry. Just down this street, his name is Doctor Pietro Polendina, the man can do… well… anything." The lady chuckled. Cinder tried to laugh, but it made her hack up a cough once again, grabbing her chest. The Lady kept Cinder from collapsing again. She fell to one knee as she desperately tried to breathe. She could feel the air trying to get to her lungs, but it was like they were closing just before the oxygen could reach her. It was unbearably painful.
Then she tasted and saw blood splattering all over her hand. She rubbed her wrist across her lips, smudging the blood over her skin.
"Come on, Madam, you're so close." The Stranger gestured, taking her hand to help her keep moving forward.
"Pietro… Polendina…" Cinder chuckled.
"What?" the lady asked.
"N-Never mind."
The very man we're looking for? And I crashed land right next to his clinic? And then get a nasty cough which could help me find him?
What are the fucking odds of that?
I swear if those gods in Pyrrha's head are doing this… I'm gonna kill em myself for making me feel this shit.
Cinder followed the two extremely kind people round the corner, and the man opened the door for her. "Here you are. He'll help you, he helps everyone." He promised.
"Tha-Thank you…" Cinder weakly said to the two of them. They both smiled and let her walk into the Pharmacy.
"I hope she'll be okay… that was a lot of blood." The Lady said.
"I know… I hope so too…" the man agreed. Cinder stumbled forward and pressed herself against the wall, wheezing weakly. The woman at the reception was a young, pretty Faunus Woman. She stood up and her short wolf ears flicked up when she saw Cinder there. It was only here when Cinder saw her reflection and she saw how bad she looked. Her face had gone purple, and her lips gone blue, alongside dark bruising under her eye. And her neck had swelled up and gone red.
Oh… fuck… this… this is bad…
This was worse than just some nasty cough. At first, she genuinely thought it was from nearly drowning and she was having adverse side effects.
No…
… this was no ordinary cough.
"Can I help you, Miss?" She asked Cinder.
"I…" She coughed again, gasping for air, but it passed, allowing her to get the words out. "I need a doctor…"
"Right away." She swiftly went to call him, but it was clear he already heard her coughing. The door opened, and she saw the man they came here to find… the man who could save Penny Polendina from Watts' virus.
Pietro was an elderly man with dark skin and short, balding white hair. He wore a green cap with oval-shaped glasses. He wore a red vest over a cream shirt with a pink bowtie. His dark mustard pants and leather boots matched with his cap and red-brown belt.
Pietro used a special chair to aid himself with movement. This chair was built to have four moveable legs, and was white and green, with yellow accents. His voice normally sounded joyful but, he saw she was not in the right state to be filled with funny jokes to make her laugh. She could barely breathe, let alone laugh at his sense of humour. "Good afternoon, Miss. Please come in, I'll have a look at you." Pietro assured, although judging from his expression the second he saw her?
He knew exactly who he was.
Gods… he remembers me. I'm the bitch who caused the death of his daughter a decade ago…
… this will be awkward…
She walked towards him as he let her enter first. His mechanical chair walked in behind her. "Sir… I think I need help…" she wheezed.
"That seems very clear." Pietro chuckled. "And it's Doctor Mister, so you know." He joked.
"I'm sorry." Cinder weakly replied.
He softly chuckled. "I was only kidding. I apologise, my humour can sometimes be poorly placed." He said as he helped her sit down on the chair. It was cold to the touch, and she wiped her sore lips with her fingers. Cinder coughed again. Her voice even sounded laboured, growing weaker and weaker with every word she uttered. "Ooh… yeah, yeah that does not sound too good, now, does it?" Pietro chuckled, which made Cinder chuckle as well.
"No… it don't feel great either, to tell you the truth." Cinder answered.
He… he still hasn't said anything… why?
Isn't he… apprehensive at least?
He definitely recognises me…
Why is he being so nice to the woman who killed his daughter? Or set it up? Played a part… gods I dunno… my head's all over the place…
"Okay then, tell me… what are your symptoms?" He asked her, shuffling close to her in his chair.
"The cough… it's the worst I've ever had. It… It feels like my frickn' lungs are on fire, I can barely even breathe." She wheezed.
"Did you lose consciousness at any point when the coughing started?" He asked her.
"Yeah… just as it started." Cinder explained, rubbing her head, which ached something awful.
"Okay…" Pietro's calm and friendly demeanour really made this whole traumatic experience a little easier for Cinder. Despite how frightened she really was. "I've noticed the blood, and the discolouring. Was there blood all the time with your coughing? Have you experienced that before?"
"No… never… this is a first." Cinder answered. He gave her a thermometer, and he saw her temperature was extremely high.
"Hmm… okay, your temperature is very high." He muttered as he looked at the readings from the thermometer. His chair walked over and he reached for his stethoscope, picking it up and he plugged it into his ears. "Okay, I'm going to listen to your breathing, see what the situation is."
He pressed the icy cold stethoscope against her chest after he gently opened up a few buttons of her shirt to press it there. "Okay, now breathe for me." She requested it was extremely hard for her. She had to take deep breaths just to do as he asked. And every breath was severely painful, like a hot iron kept getting pressed against her sternum. She felt the pain everywhere though, in her arms and legs… it was terrible.
He took the Stethoscope away and looked at her and narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to have to check your eye. Open it as wide as you can." He requested, so she did and he shone his small flashlight in there, and he saw the worst part. There was blood welling up in her eye, not bloodshot, actually bleeding. His eyes widened and then they closed with… almost grief for her. His chair walked him away from her and he set the Stethoscope and flashlight down on the table.
She looked at him, and her heart ached with fear for what he would tell her. "Well? What is it?" She asked.
"It's not good news I'm afraid, Miss Fall." The first time he actually acknowledged he knew who she was.
"I kinda guessed that." Cinder replied, watching as he washed his hands.
"You have Noctis Putrida. I'm so sorry." He revealed, Cinder felt sick to her stomach when she heard him say that.
"W-What? What do you mean? I… I…" Cinder stammered fearfully.
Cinder had seen people dying in the streets from this disease. It was… a horrible way for a person to die.
Even for someone like her, which was clearly why he seemed so upset for her.
"You're really sick, Miss. Noctis Putrida is a disease caused by either excessive smoking or from prolonged inhalation or exposure to dust. We've seen it in acute cases recently in the Faunus Community, poor workers who were enslaved in those mines… this is like an ultimate insult for them. And… I am afraid there is no cure for it."
Cinder stared at him with a horrified expression. She looked like she was about to cry. This was not what she wanted. She never wanted to die like this, a slow, painful end from a blade that she could not deflect.
Just a sickness…
That was what got her in the end.
But… something did not add up.
"Wait… you said it happens to people who smoke too much or have too much exposure to Dust, right?" She asked him.
"I'm afraid so…" He confirmed.
"But… that doesn't make sense. I don't smoke, I have never smoked. And I have only started using dust in my clothing again recently. I haven't used that technique in over ten years." Cinder explained that caught his attention.
"That… no… it makes little sense…" He admitted. "The disease would have taken effect within a few years after forming in the victim, but… never over a decade. You would have felt the affects long before now." He stated with confusion in his eyes. He walked around in his chair, trying to think of how she could have possibly contracted this disease.
Cinder weakly chuckled. "I guess it's… fitting then… for a monster like myself."
"I'm sorry?" He asked.
"Come on… you know who I am. You can't tell me you are glad… to see me get the justice I deserve for my crimes. I guess this is what it is… Divine Justice for my sins." Cinder sighed, resting her head against the back of the chair. Pietro stared at her and his hand tightly gripped the chair.
"I never forgot what you did… but I know my little girl is still out there. Somewhere…" Pietro said as he looked out the window.
"Yeah… she's near alright. I'm part of her team… and she needs your help. They're probably trying to find you right now…" Cinder panted. His eyes lit up, and he walked over to her side.
"You've changed… you really have." Pietro said.
"No… people like me don't get to. This just proves that fact. I'm nothing more than an ugly soul… fitting I have an ugly end." Cinder said as he bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, Cinder." Pietro said.
"Yeah, well… thanks doc… I'm gonna wait outside… for them to get here. When they do… please don't tell them." Cinder begged, but he stopped her.
"Hold on… here, take this. It will boost you up, give you some energy for the rest of the day. And Cinder… try to take it easy. I don't know how long you've got… but maybe it isn't too late for you to make things right." Pietro stated. He held the needle with the adrenaline booster in his hand and injected it into her arm. She winced and walked away when it was done.
She pushed the door open and stood there for a few moments, and she just sat down on the steps. She rested her arms on her knees, and it felt like everyone, the entire world, just did not exist around her… like it was just her and her thoughts.
Her memories.
I'm… I'm gonna die…
I'm gonna die a slow… painful death…
So many things piled up in the back of her mind, and even the voices of things she and others said echoed within her.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
"Yes…"
Destiny?
What was I destined to do? To die? To die from a sickness?
How do I tell Amber? Oh, gods… sweetheart… I'm so sorry…
"It's not about overpowering the enemy. It's about taking away what power they have!"
So stupid…
So fucking stupid…
Why did I cling to power so much? All the power I have now… the Fall Maiden Powers? None of that can save me, not from this…
"I hope I don't regret saving you…" Raven's voice echoed in the back of her mind.
I'm so sorry, Raven…
… you saved me for nothing…
I failed you too..
Cinder lifted her head and looked down the street, and she saw someone stood there, a beautiful young woman with golden blonde hair. Cinder knew immediately who it was. "Amber…" she whispered, reaching out for her.
I wish I'd be able to see you grow up, honey…
… but I'm sorry…
… I don't think I will be able to now…
These thoughts just flooded her mind, and a tear streamed down her eye. She wiped it aside and saw the blood had receded. She stared down at her reflection in the water. The purple skin tone and blue lips had faded, but the bruising around her eye and the reddening on her throat were still there. Looked like it was only after an attack did she look her worst.
She sighed, shoving the tear away, then she could hear them.
"Cinder!" Ruby's voice was so familiar that it snapped her back to reality. She and Pyrrha were both carrying Penny together.
"There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you…" Pyrrha sighed with relief.
"You okay?" Ruby asked.
"Yep… never better." Cinder lied. Her voice still sounded raspy, but she stood back up. "Won't believe who I found."
The door burst open immediately and Pietro stared with his eyes wide and mouth agape, seeing Penny immediately. He looked at Pyrrha with additional surprise, since she had been dead for six years, but stayed quiet about that and focused instead on his daughter. "Penny!" He gasped.
"Doctor, we need your help. Penny… Watts uploaded the Black Queen Virus into her software. We need you to help us get it out." Ruby begged. He smiled and nodded.
"Everyone in." He ordered. He looked down both paths to make sure no Black Gallows or Grimm had spotted them, and once Team C.P.P.R were all inside, he closed the doors, locking them up tight.
Eryka
Getting off that airship full of rich, snobby Salem-Worshipping degenerates was the best thing that could have happened.
It was only so long before Eryka would have snapped.
In fact, all of them were very close to detonating, especially May and Saphron. Jaune's sister held Adrien's hand as he walked close to her. He looked very uncomfortable in this heat. "It's so hot." He complained.
"Yeah… just remembered why I never came back here." Terra chuckled. Eryka walked up the steps with Winter and Robyn beside her, and they looked out at the Vacuo horizon. Despite how desolate it sometimes looked, it had its own kind of beauty. The sunlight seemed to make the sand glow, like it was a sea of light that just rolled on forever. And in the distance were the old ruins of the once great city of Vacuo, long abandoned by the drought that just never seemed to end.
"It looks worse than it did before…" Eryka sighed, remembering back when they came here six years ago.
"Yeah…" Robyn agreed, also remembering those days. Back when she posed as Veronica Chamberlain. The place where she and Killian got together, and when they went on their date together. And of course, Team R.W.B.Y and J.N.P.R would remember this place well too, for it was the first time they came to blows over the Vytal Consensus.
"How much longer do you think this Kingdom will be here?" Joanna curiously asked.
"You mean if we stop Salem and Killian and make sure his bombs underneath all the Kingdoms don't get detonated?" Robyn asked.
"Yeah." Joanna answered, though that helped them remember how intense things were getting in Remnant with that threat constantly in the back of their minds.
"Maybe a few more years… if they're lucky. From what the news says these days, emigration from this Kingdom just grows more and more by the day. And the Draught is just making water, even scarcer." Robyn stated.
Eryka scoffed.
"You'd think their magical queen could save them, huh? Use her beautiful powers to summon rain to help end the drought. Never did though, did she?" Eryka stated, crossing her arms.
"That's how it goes. All these new rulers claim they want to help us… but they all end up doing the same damn thing." May sighed, crossing her arms. "Before long, this entire Kingdom will be abandoned, forgotten. It's a shame… they could have been something amazing. But the U.G.R did their damage, and Salem did nothing to fix it."
"I just hope the people wise up and leave this place before it's too late." Fiona softly said, touching her arm.
They walked down the adobe steps, seeing the many homeless who were leaning against the walls. They kept their hoods up, for the Black Gallows may not be in Vacuo as much as they used to be, but the criminals here would be more than happy to claim the bounties on all their heads. You leave one danger in a Kingdom and find yourself in another a few moments later.
'Tis the way of the new world.
"So? What's the plan? How do we get to that spot your mother mentioned?" Robyn asked, as she walked beside Eryka.
"I'm not sure. We can't go on foot, though. Vacuo's Dune Sea is far too dangerous. The Blind Worms out there will gobble us up in seconds. And that's not even mentioning the extreme heat." Eryka explained, but Joanna walked ahead of them and she planted her hands on her hips.
"I got an idea." She said with a smile, looking out at the distance.
"And that is?" Terra inquired.
"You see those dust clouds over there? Near the edge of the Kingdom?" Joanna asked them. They all looked ahead, and Terra stood beside her.
"Ah… that's a good idea." She agreed.
"What is it?" Winter asked.
"The Vacuans have many methods of traversing the Dune Sea. One of the fastest methods is by using Sidewinders." Joanna explained. "I used to live in these parts before I ended up in Atlas, used to play around on those things all the time as a kid. Been a while since I used one, but it'd easily fit us all in it. Hell, it'll even be fun for little Adrien here." Joanna said with a wink.
"Yeah, I remember the crazy races they used to do out there. Remember that investigation that caused me to come out here? I got to watch one of those races on those days." Terra explained, turning to Saphron.
"So, how do we get our hands on one? Steal it?" Fiona asked, shrugging her shoulders.
"Pretty much, but we'll have to be careful. Saph and Terra will have to stay somewhere safe, maybe with Fiona and Robyn. The rest of us will go in there, the Thugs that protect those things are pretty deadly." Joanna explained.
"You speaking from experience there, Joanna?" Robyn asked curiously. She turned and smirked.
"What? No…" She lied.
Robyn laughed, shaking her head as she walked with them. "We take one of them and pick the rest of you up, then head out into the Dune Sea. Then we go to the location that Lavinia marked for us."
"It's gonna be dangerous. You sure one of those Sidewinders can survive the storms out there?" Eryka asked.
"I'm not saying it'll be easy, but it's the best option we have." Joanna explained. Everyone looked at each other, as if they were all looking for someone to come up with a better idea, but nobody had any plan that was any better than what she came up with.
"Alright then. Sounds like a good plan. Let's do this." Winter agreed, walking ahead with Joanna. May and Eryka followed as they headed down the steps, whilst Robyn took Fiona, Saphron and Terra to somewhere safe that they can pick them up later.
Blake
The Ferry arrived at Menagerie at long last, clad with the scarring of the Sea Feilong and the Syren attack. The civilians all departed off the vessel with their brave saviours at the back. Though they were not foolish, they knew to be careful and keep their hoods up. Even here in Menagerie, Salem had countless allies. Even here, either the Black Gallows or the Feral Ones were known.
And Grimm was patrolling here as well. There was even a Seer, watching the townsfolk as they walked around. They kept their faces away from the creepy creature as it floated across the path. Blake walked beside Yang. She could not see the beautiful place, but she knew it like the back of her hand. And she knew exactly where they needed to go, but she felt her hand quake at the idea of it.
She exhaled shakily. "Hey…" Yang softly said, bumping her shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah… just… it's been a long time since I've seen my parents. And it's been even longer since I've been here… not since I lost…" It was like she couldn't say his name anymore. Even after six years, it endlessly brought her great torment.
She missed Sun… she missed him so badly.
Maybe she always would.
"Take as long as you need." Yang assured.
"No, no… I'm good. We need them to find Sienna… and… well… it'd be good for them to know I'm okay." Blake said.
"And for you." Weiss reminded.
"Yeah, try to think about yourself for once." Nora chuckled as she walked with Ren. Nora looked at her husband, saw that he was staring at something. She looked as well, and she gasped, noticing what he was staring at.
It was graffiti on the wall of the building that was next to them. The markings were identical to Adam's mask, a marking left by the Feral Ones. "Damn it, of course they're here in force." She sighed.
"This is where the Feral Ones are at their most dangerous. They disguise themselves to look just like the civilians do, no uniforms, nothing. It makes things even more dangerous, so whatever you do, keep your heads down." Blake warned. They kept walking through the streets. Yang looked around subtly, though, and her big lilac eyes widened in awe.
"Whoa… this is where you were born, Blake? It's beautiful." Yang said, looking at her with a smile.
"Thanks." Blake smiled back.
"Guess it makes sense." Yang quietly said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"Hm? Oh, n-nothing." Yang stammered. Nora smiled and rolled her blue eyes. Oscar stayed in pace with them, always keeping his hand close to where The Long Memory was holstered. These days, he always had to expect a fight to erupt at any second.
Even somewhere as beautiful and tropical as this.
"Despite everything, this is an amazing place to live." Nora commented.
"This is the one place all Faunus felt they could be safe, from Humans… after everything they had been through? They all just wanted to be left alone." Blake explained.
"Well, you could always do worse than this." Nora shrugged.
"We didn't really have a choice. It was this… or nothing." Blake explained. Nora looked at her as she spoke. "I remember what Sun once said to me when I took him here. He didn't really understand most of it at first, but I remember him asking me why it always felt so cramped."
"What did you tell him?" Oscar inquired.
"When you try to take an entire species and fit them on an island, that's two third's desert, yeah it is cramped." She sighed. "I wish I hadn't been so snarky at him…"
"Blake… don't do that to yourself." Oscar said. She sighed.
"I dunno what else I can do… I just… always think about all the times I should have been more patient with him. Now… now I can't even apologise for it." Blake sadly said.
It was hard to find the words to help her, but Yang just stood close to her as they walked, and it comforted Blake. Slowly but surely, she was healing from what happened in the Atlesian Wildlands, as was Weiss. Seeing the real Yang and not the one that was unleashed by a side of her semblance she never knew was in there helped them see her for who she really was.
Ren stopped them as he walked, and they saw someone being thrown out of a bar. It was a Faunus, and he whimpered in pain, his head was bleeding. They saw the men who were attacking him, a pair of Feral Ones. They stormed over and beat the hell out of him. "That's right! This is our town! And when we say we want something, we get it!" The Feral One yelled, spitting down at him.
He groaned in pain, and Blake just stood there, clenching her hand into a fist. "This was supposed to be a peaceful place." She hissed, storming ahead. She didn't care if people recognised her. She crouched down to the man and offered him a sip from her canteen. "I'm so sorry this happened."
"Please… just go…" He sniffled, spitting out blood. "We can't stop the Feral Ones now."
Salem's created something… even if we kill her and destroy her forces…
The Feral Ones won't go away. This will be a problem whether we like it. So many Faunus who were abused by Humans now had all the power they needed to throw it back. I've seen it everywhere, humans being beaten up by Feral Ones for just walking past. And now the same thing is happening here, but against their own kind.
These kinds of people have become the very thing that they hated… I can't let this keep happening after Salem's gone.
I won't.
This has to end.
The Feral Ones are a disgrace to the Faunus who who we really are.
The man got up and walked away, holding his bruised and aching side as he made his way back to wherever he came from. Blake stood tall and kept her head held low, then her friends caught up with her. She could still picture the path and she walked ahead, knowing that her home was right ahead. Yang stared wide eyed at the giant house, amazed by it – she always knew Ghira and Kali were wealthy and that Blake was kinda treated like a Princess for the White Fang, since her father used to be the High Leader… but to see it like that?
It was quite the sight.
"To think I thought she was just a quiet weirdo once." Yang chuckled. Oscar stood beside her and turned.
"What do you mean?" He asked her.
"Back when I first met Blake? It was before we even had dorms. We slept on the floor. It was so uncomfortable. But… Ruby wanted to make friends. She and I didn't really get along at first, but… she bonded to Ruby fast. They both liked books… to say I was surprised when we became friends would be a colossal understatement." Yang chuckled.
"Just friends?" Oscar asked. Yang's eyes widened, and she stared at him.
"I…" Yang gasped. Then she sighed, closing her eyes. "I messed up… as much as I wish that was possible… she deserves better than a monster like me." She sighed, walking away from Oscar.
He lowered his head in grief for her.
"I hope in time… she will learn to forgive herself." Ozpin said in the back of Oscar's mind.
"Yeah, me too." He agreed.
They all walked down the hill towards the Belladonna Estate, and Blake approached the huge mahogany door. She raised her hand to the door and went to knock the handle against it. But she hesitated. "Go on." Weiss said.
"Is this a bad idea? I mean… they've mourned me." Blake stated.
Yang smiled at her. "So did we… but seeing you again made things better. It will for them too, and the same for you." Blake exhaled swiftly, then she swallowed her fear and grabbed the circular handle and slammed it against the door. Yang's eyes widened, at just how loud that was. "Okay, if we're being honest, that was kinda intimidating." Yang giggled, which made Blake giggle, too.
The door opened, and they saw her.
Blake's ears flicked up when she heard Kali gasp, and she looked at her. The aura she saw perfectly shaped her mother, but she looked so different. So tired… and her hair was longer than it was before, in a ponytail as well. She dropped her tray, and the tea set shattered on the floor. "… Blake?" Kali gasped.
It took so much for her to finally speak. "Hi… Mom…" Blake trembled. Kali stared at her, then she suddenly shot forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter. She broke down immediately, sobbing against her cheek. Blake was stiff, but she melted and cried into her shoulder. The two of them dropped to their knees as they cried together.
"My… baby girl… you… you're alive!" She sobbed with joy.
"Kali? What's wrong?" Ghira asked. He walked to the doors and he gasped. His amber eyes widened so wide, and he immediately rushed to his daughter and held her so tight he lifted her off the floor.
Blake laughed so hard she snorted, but still cried with joy as she held her father.
Yang smiled and wiped a tear from her eye.
Blake wasn't the only person who needed that.
Ruby
Penny may have had a heart of gold, but she felt like she weighed a couple of tonnes. Carrying her inside was quite the burdensome task, but they got her onto the table where Pietro asked them to bring her. Cinder looked around with wide eyes, surprised that in the same pharmacy was all this high-tech equipment.
He had been preparing for this, the day he could get his little girl back. His mechanical chair swiftly moved him across the room and he quickly booted the machines up. There were so many huge hard drives in here, it was all very overwhelming.
"What is all this?" Ruby questioned – finally someone asked what this was.
"Your mutual friend – Dutch – he informed me you were bringing Penny back to me." Pietro answered.
"Of course he did. Y'know I wish he would keep us informed." Ruby grumbled with a frustrated face.
"I must admit, I was not expecting to see all of you here. It makes me glad. I'm glad she could be surrounded by trustworthy friends… especially you my dear." He said with a kind smile on his face.
Ruby smiled. "You know, Penny told me all about you, Miss Rose. She spoke fondly about you… and well… I am thrilled to see you haven't given up on her, my dear."
"I never will." Ruby choked up when she said those words.
Cinder coughed slightly in the corner. "So, Doc… you think you can get this thing out of her head? With all this?"
"I taught Watts everything he knows, but I know a thing or two that he does not. Penny's consciousness is separate from her body, and that is what the virus attacks. It is not hardware, but software, so to speak. It is attached to her mind… so to free her… I am going to have to use this machine to delve into her consciousness and remove it. Like a tumour." He explained as he quickly moved around.
"But… she's offline right now." Pyrrha said, that was where Pietro exhaled nervously.
"Yes… that is the scary part. We will have to relaunch her systems, but in doing so the virus will take full control again." He stated. Cinder looked at the restraints, noticing they were where her arms and legs were.
"Those make sense now." She sighed.
"I do not know if it will be enough to stop her… and I know she is armed with many weapons. The virus will fight back against us when I try to extract it." He stated.
"We can't destroy the virus, though. We can use it against our enemies. It carries information that will prove our innocence and condemn the Black Gallows and Salem's minions for the murder of the U.G.R." Ruby explained.
"Yes… Dutch mentioned that in his message, Robyn Hill's idea, yes?" He asked out of curiosity.
"Nail on the head." Pyrrha chuckled.
"Sounds like an idea of hers. I admire it… although I could do more with that virus too… I don't know yet, I'll have to study it." Pietro explained.
They began strapping Penny down. Ruby paced back and forth, chewing her nails nervously as she looked at her girlfriend.
Please… I just want her to be free… I don't want this goddamn virus in her head anymore…
Watts will pay for everything he has done to her…
Pietro connected the cable to his systems, and the screens came up, showing a successful connection to her consciousness, which was currently offline. But once they reactivated her, they had to be ready for anything.
"Everyone ready? This is going to be scary." Ruby asked. Cinder nodded and stood her ground, clenching her hands into fists. Pyrrha stood firm too, then Pietro gently kissed the top of her head.
"C'mon baby girl…" He whispered. "You can do this."
He found the switch in her head, exhaled… and turned it.
Her eyes suddenly shone red, immediately, and she screamed with rage, writhing like a while animal. "BURN THEM ALL! BURN THEM ALL!" Penny screamed viciously as the virus howled its only command. It was haunting to hear her voice screaming like that, but they stood their ground.
"Pietro? Have you got it?" Pyrrha called out.
"Not yet!" He answered, rooting through her consciousness. It was spiking violently with neurons, but deep within, he could see the imperfection of red in the blue. He just had to find the correct one and siphon it into his systems and secure it. Ruby was shaking now, not even trembling, just rattling.
"Come on, Penny…" she whimpered.
Pietro kept digging deeper, then Penny's eyes narrowed, and she gritted her teeth. Suddenly, they saw a sword burst through the side of the chair and narrowly missed Pyrrha. She then grunted, hit in the chest by an incoming sword that blew her against the wall.
"I! MUST! COMPLETE! MY! MISSION!" Penny howled. Ruby ran up to her, then more swords came flying out. She drew Black Thorn and cut them down, protecting Pietro from the swords.
The virus was trying to free itself from what Pietro was trying to do. "Damn it, her temperature gauge is going critical!" Pietro called out.
"Oh, crap." Ruby gasped, then suddenly her vents burst open, blasting out searing hot air into the entire room. Cinder grunted, throwing a constant gale of icy cold air right back at her, coughing violently as she tried to hold Penny's onslaught back. As Cinder held her back, she turned and looked at the sword, and it was aimed towards the restraint.
"Oh, shit… RUBY!" she yelled. Ruby gasped and sprinted forward. She leapt on top of Penny, holding her down.
"Penny! Penny it's me! It's Ruby! Please look at me! Look at my eyes!" Ruby begged her. Penny stared back at her and for a moment her eyes flickered green, but the eyes kept turning back red. The Virus was constantly taking control, then she saw crackling green electricity bursting from her body.
Penny suddenly ripped her arm free from where the sword was cutting and her hand grabbed Ruby by the throat, tightly squeezing so hard it was crushing her windpipe. And then she blasted all the hot air from her vents directly into Ruby. Penny viciously gritted her teeth together, glaring at Ruby as she tried to kill her.
"Pietro! We're out of time, get it out of her! Pietro! DO IT NOW!" Pyrrha yelled.
"I'm nearly there, I… SHIT! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!" He yelled. "The virus is attacking her core, it's trying to end her before I can extract it!"
Ruby gasped for air as Penny choked her, constantly burning her aura away with the steam, but Ruby just pushed through the burning hot air. She opened her arms and just closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around Penny and burying her head in her shoulder.
Then she whispered, "I will always love you, Penny… and I won't lose you again. Not again…" she whispered, barely able to get the words out.
Her eyes flickered green and Pietro saw the Virus' hold weaken just enough.
"GOTCHA!" Pietro cheered, using his code breaker to latch onto the virus and Cinder turned to the huge hard drives as the virus became trapped inside of them. They turned red, but they were not connected to anything it could use.
It was a Virus Prison.
Penny strained then gasped, her eyes widened and the red flickered away completely. She groaned, and her green irises slowly closed and her body dropped down to the table again. Her hand released Ruby and she gasped for air again. Cinder ceased blasting icy cold air back at the hot gusts of wind that Penny created, and she immediately approached the two of them.
Ruby's red aura burst and crumbled away, and she slumped forward, pressing her hand against the table. She had a couple of burns, but she glanced down at Penny, caressing her cheek. "Penny? Penny?" Ruby nervously stammered as she held her in her arms, cradling her over her knee.
"It worked… it's out…" Pietro gasped in awe and Pyrrha smiled, glad to finally see that damned virus contained.
"Penny, please wake up… please don't leave me… I love you so much…" Ruby cried.
She looked down at Penny, and then… finally… her eyes slowly opened, revealing those perfect emerald irises within. "R-Ruby?" She stammered.
Cinder smiled… glad to see someone was having a happy day.
Ruby laughed with joy, lovingly kissing her on the lips and hugging her.
"Am… am I okay now?" Penny asked nervously.
"Yeah… we got it out of you, Penny. It's over… it's gone." Ruby promised. Penny turned and saw her dad, who smiled happily.
"Hey sweetpea…" He tearfully said, Penny smiled happily at her father, then back at Ruby as she pressed her head against hers.
Finally…
… Penny was free.
Author Note - What a chapter... full of emotions
Cinder's fate has been revealed, I wonder how many people remembered those people I mentioned dying from Noctis Putrida. It is a horrible sickness, and it is heartbreaking for her to now have it. But of course it raises the really strange question - how did she get it? She shouldn't be able to contract it due to not experiencing any of the ways of forming it. So what caused it?
Eryka and the Happy Huntresses are finally at Vacuo, hopefully they can get to Lavinia. And I really liked the part with Blake, seeing Kali and Ghira see her alive was so wholesome, and I love Yang. SHE NEEDS TO STOP HATING HERSELF FOR WHAT HAPPENED AHHH
And of course, the end - with Penny. She's finally free, I loved writing this moment with Pietro and C.P.P.R getting that virus out of her, and man was it tense with the virus trying to kill her. But she is finally free.
I love her and Ruby... their bond is so touching
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!
Stay tuned for the next chapter - The Stars...
- Matt