Chapter 6: Whatever Bitter End to Bring

They gathered in the now empty communications floor, where the AI's central systems were. It was an incredibly lonely place that briefly reminded Pyrrha of Beacon's west wing, only without the marble floor and arch walls. She'd come to realize that the real similarity between both was how neither felt accommodating to anything living, breathing or feeling.

At Pyrrha's side, Ren and Nora were sitting on a built-in desk that connected to the wall. Jaune had taken the liberty of dragging an office chair from the floor below and Cinder seemed to be more comfortable standing behind them.

Glynda was unflinching and unfazed in front of them, standing more like a monolith than the teacher they'd all grown accustomed to as she heard the AI.

"So that's all that happened here?" Glynda asked.

"Y-y-yes," the AI tried to reply, her audio continually freezing, repeating and buzzing, "I am-I am so sorry for my brevity, so much of me is corrupted no-n-now."

The A.I described the events that had taken place in the new tower, despite her rapid deterioration. Something about being present to witness identity death made Pyrrha's chest feel tight, more so than hearing about the brand new bandits that now had experimental Atlas tech.

That was her favorable interpretation of it at least, she knew how it looked. Brand new bandits never seen in any investigation before that day, all of them carrying Atlas technology that wasn't even being produced, who didn't make any demands, didn't take anything, and overall did nothing but occupy the space and fight security? To say it didn't look good for Atlas and their council was an understatement, and judging from everyone's silence they seemed to agree. Pyrrha even had to remind herself of the fact that looks could be deceiving.

It was difficult to make excuses for them. Seeing so many innocent people scared and hurt certainly made her less willing to.

Ms Goodwitch broke the silence. "CCTS, instruction: run a full system diagnosis," she said, expressionless while facing the facts revealed by the artificial assistant.

A little cold, even for you, Pyrrha thought.

The AI, even in her state, didn't seem like a just program that worked on inputs and outputs, Pyrrha would at least have tried to show some humanity. Maybe it was just the teacher's way of staying level-headed under such circumstances.

"Executing," the AI replied dutifully, its voice now monotone, "Result: operating at 100% capacity. All components present." That this pronouncement came despite barely being able speak made the fact she had been tampered with crystal clear. Pyrrha had been to CCTS towers in the past and knew for a fact this was definitely not "full capacity'.

Glynda narrowed her eyes. "Instruction: storage, now," she ordered, and the hologram of the assistant obeyed, folding itself into polygons as it retreated into her screen. The Huntress could simply do that under Beacon authority apparently. It was scary for Pyrrha to think about what else her combat instructor had the power to do, her only comfort was that such authority was in Glynda's hands, not another's.

"Team Juniper and company," Glynda directed their attention in the now familiar and commanding way she usually preferred, "You've… exceeded expectations today, all of you. Don't leave the tower until the dropships arrive. I must make a brief report."

They all nodded in agreement. Glynda left without another word, moving to the elevator at a brisk pace, moving faster than she had even in the dangerous scenario they'd faced half an hour ago.

To say that the possible betrayal by what they believed to be an allied kingdom bothered her didn't do it justice. Pyrrha knew she could be making huge assumptions, filling in the gaps with unfounded suspicions, but what facts she did have all seemed to point that way.

As soon as the elevator left the floor, she broke the silence. "Okay, was that a little strange to anyone else?"

Jaune had stared intently at the ground in front of them since the AI stored itself. He looked up, snapped back to Remnant. "You mean Ms Goodwitch praising us? A little strange, not gonna lie."

Cinder folded her arms, "I believe she means something else."

"Yes. What I mean is that whole thing with the 'bandits'," she raised her fingers in air quotes as she said the word, "There's no way those were actual bandits," There were nods and mumbled agreements across all of them

"Well then," Jaune wondered, "I'll be honest Pyrrha, I have no idea what to do from here. This was already out of our league..."

Ren looked at Nora, then draped an arm around her shoulder. Both of them were so tired it made Pyrrha question whether or not now was a good time to follow through with their mission. "That's one way to say it," he said, "We should wait for Glynda's orders, we're supposed to be learning from her after all."

Cinder's expression didn't change, but she shifted on her feet, "Well, we do need to worry about what we're going to do with this information, I have the sinking suspicion it'll be filed and forgotten within a week."

"Maybe," Pyrrha continued the thought. She hated this, knowing there might be something she could do, yet being so bound, restricted. "Maybe I'm the one who's just a little tired," she said, looking at Cinder with a smirk.

"A little?" Nora cut in, indignant, "You took the first and last watch, you were out there cutting Grimm down with us, and I don't see any sign of you slowing down. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if you're not one of those Atlesian bots."

"Well, If it helps with one of those worries, I can assure you that magnets are not my weakness." Jaune, Ren and Nora seemed to relax a little after that. Cinder was seemingly never stressed at all, as if this was old news. Could it be because she was so used to living outside the kingdom? It was hard for Pyrrha to tell, and not just because Cinder remained difficult to understand.

Perhaps it was better to leave her worries out of mind, if only to keep herself sane.

Uncharacteristically, Cinder was the one to speak up, "In any case, mulling over it would be counterproductive. I believe I saw a vending machine down the hall, it should be better than that ungodly dry jerky Ozpin calls rations anyway."

Pyrrha didn't miss the opportunity, "I'll go with you," she said, abruptly enough to startle her team. When they gave her odd looks, she explained, "Walking helps me calm down. Plus, you never know if another one of these bandits is still hiding around."

"I'm pretty sure we double checked every nook and-ow!" Ren tried to interject, before being interrupted by Nora slapping his arm. From how she gave Pyrrha a wink, it seemed Nora understood the real reason she wanted to go.

"Hey," Jaune said, "If you could get me some Mints Ahoy that would be great, I forgot the mouthwash at the dorm."

"I'll keep it in mind!" Pyrrha considered, rushing out of the room behind Cinder. From the little she knew about the transfer student, it wasn't very difficult to change gears and turn her strict laser-guided mission curiosity into more productive interests.

A thought crossed her mind, invasive and uninterrupted. She didn't really know much about Cinder outside the obvious facts, did she? The girl never really broadcast much about herself, and for a moment, everything Nora had said for the past two days hit her as soon as she saw the student waiting for her in the hallway.

"You know," Cinder cut through Pyrrha's already frail line of thought, "I've never been to a tower before. It's certainly..."

"Familiar?" Pyrrha suggested, hoping that Cinder would see the same things she did, if only to affirm that she wasn't slowly losing her marbles after only twenty four hours of uninterrupted consciousness.

"Hmm, a little. It's certainly as uninviting as the west wing," Cinder answered, perhaps only then considering the fact, "I was contemplating on how different from all of Vale it feels. One step inside and it's like we're in an Atlesian base."

It was a compelling idea. So much of the area was functional. "I've never thought about it that way... Maybe it's just this floor?"

Cinder stopped in her tracks, interested in what Pyrrha had to say, "What do you mean?"

"Well, we're here already, and I've been to other towers before, the upper floors can be really pleasing you know? Especially at this hour"

Cinder took a moment to think, "I think I'd like that. We could really use some peace and quiet, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that and we still have to fix that opening we had to open…" Pyrrha said, moving ahead of Cinder towards the elevator.

Normally, the emerald forest made for a special kind of eerie, the kind that had Pyrrha wondering whether a shadow was really just a shadow, or if it was a Beowolf or a Boarbatusk waiting to strike. It was simply something else when they were at the top floor of the tower. Refreshing would be one way Pyrrha would put it, liberating or freeing would be another. The moonlight illuminated enough of the now empty communications floor that they hadn't bothered finding the obscure switch that would turn on the lights, and when viewed through the floor-to-ceiling reinforced windows every tree, star, even the shattered moon were stunning. It helped ignore how cold it was up there, especially when the 'opening' Cinder created to enter the tower was only a few feet away from them.

She didn't mind it.

It was one excuse to sit down on the floor close to Cinder. Under those circumstances, the maintenance folk could be the ones to worry about property damage for all she cared.

"You keep looking at that opening I had to make," Cinder said, once again interrupting Pyrra's thoughts "Do you wish to fix it now, so we can return downstairs?"

"Not really," Pyrrha answered.

Cinder blinked in surprise, "Hopefully It'll be a simple matter to solve, specially with the paperwork."

"I don't mind doing the paperwork for us. It's a part of Huntress duty, boring as it may be. It keeps us clean, far away from the shady stuff some mercs pull."

"I see."

"Plus, it'll be Ozpin's problem after we fix it," Pyrrha continued, letting the smirk on her face speak for itself. Cinder looked through her bangs, one eye obscured by them, and Pyrrha could swear her heart skipped a beat for a second, was this what Nora talked so much about?

Cinder tucked the lock of hair behind her ear, smiling, "You know, if anyone else had told me, I wouldn't believe the view from a place as cold and sterile as this could be quite so beautiful." Cinder said, most definitely not looking at the forest as she looked Pyrrha in the eyes. The champion smiled back, a fresh surge of heat rushing to her face.

Pyrrha chuckled once, taking Cinder's hand, "As beautiful as it can be in the middle of a Grimm-infested forest."

"I still can't understand why on Remnant they'd choose the Emerald Forest, of all places."

"You know Atlas, we need that coverage, screw the danger!" Pyrrha lowered her voice to a derisive contralto, mimicking the Atlesian General and Headmaster. Cinder's resulting laugh was the best sound Pyrrha heard in the past day. "But silver lining, they didn't make it a main tower. Imagine what a disaster that'd be."

"At the very least it'd get a proper heating system," Cinder said.

"The cold bothers you too?"

Cinder looked away for a moment, thinking, then leaned on Pyrrha's shoulder, "Not at the moment, I'll live."

That was all Pyrrha needed to hear. She didn't know what to do from here. When was the last time she was alone with anyone? Oh, she had been isolated plenty of times before, that was for sure, but letting the walls come down like this just wasn't something she was used to. Should she say nothing and enjoy the moment?

What would Ren do?

Pyrrha visualized the scene in her mind, closing her eyes. A tiny Ren with feathered wings sprouted from her imagination to fly atop her right shoulder, yet even in her mind he was too tired to offer any advice. The devil on her left shoulder was Nora, and that was as far as Pyrrha was allowing herself to let the hallucination go.

Back to the drawing board. She opened her eyes and Cinder hadn't noticed anything, much to her relief. Thinking critically about it, and knowing Ren, she knew he'd probably say nothing at all, then he'd put one arm around Nora. Would it be too awkward if she did the same? Just thinking about it paralyzed her, made a chill take over her stomach, like staring down an abyss from the precipice.

Thankfully, she didn't have to think about it. Every question in her mind was answered instantly, when Cinder leaned closer, pressing her lips on Pyrrha's.

Cinder loved many things. Power was a given, of course. Without power one couldn't do much, achieve anything, protect anything. Lov's Grapes special sundaes? Obviously.

But so many sensations paled in comparison to the feeling of victory.

It didn't matter where it came from, big or small, the euphoria was the same. Yes, she'd aided in these wannabe Huntsmen and their little escapades, but in return, she now knew things that even Watts wished he did. First hand experience always triumphed, as she expected.

Above all of that, the one and only invincible girl was now starting to see the truth too. The truth behind the fickle alliance with Atlas, and their dirty little secrets. Cinder would be fighting alongside her again soon enough, hopefully not in favor of Ozpin.

After the airship arrived in the morning with the paramedics, guards and council witnesses, Cinder occupied herself with double checking the injured during the trip. She needed to make sure none of them were even tangentially related to the white fang, it made her job much easier, and it offered some extra bits of information, the greatest weapons she'd ever get. As a bonus, it took her mind off how crowded the ship was.

"Damn it," Glynda Goodwitch cursed under her breath, she was staring out the window, scanning the park they'd be using as a landing area. Cinder followed Team Juniper, intrigued. It didn't take a very thoughtful inspection to realize why Glynda was suddenly annoyed.

There were reporters, media vehicles just waiting for them.

Interesting, Cinder thought. Perhaps a source at the Council tipped them off? No one else could know the location of the dropoff point other than Glynda, Team Juniper, Cinder herself and Beacon personnel. From the fact Glynda rarely made publicity stunts, or even accepted interviews, she sincerely doubted it could have been her. Most people who knew about her, or about her work only did due to witnessing it personally.

Cinder could relate to that. As much as there were many evils she would love to expose, media attention was not something she was fond of, especially when it could put so much of her work in jeopardy.

Team Juniper didn't seem to care about the attention either, and Cinder knew Pyrrha most definitely did not leak such information while they were at the tower. Thinking about the champion, she scanned the crowded room trying, finding her occupied signing some employees fan merch. Pyrrha noticved her staring, and smiled. She was too kind.

"This is going to be a headache," Glynda sighed the words. "Team Juniper and company! I'll need you at my side at all times once we step outside. We'll be leaving last, after the tower personnel, and since we did not schedule any interviews today, we are most definitely not making any statements today. Understood?"

"Understood!" Team Juniper answered in unison.

"I will order the guards to keep them safe. When I return, I expect all of you to be prepared."

As soon as Glynda was out of earshot, Cinder turned to Nora. She seemed to be the one most willing to let information escape, so the choice was almost second nature, "Any idea why Ms. Goodwitch doesn't like the press that much?"

Nora shrugged. She didn't seem as adversarial as she was before, something that gave Cinder some amount of inner peace. "From what I hear? She doesn't like the way they glorify some know that she's always acting so mean, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but she never really did anything bad. She's always all business, talking about consequences of failing a mission, and how dangerous things can be... The lives we need to protect."

"It's definitely a different picture compared to what you see in the TV. Stories of some lone Huntsmen or Huntress that doesn't care about the rules beating the odds and saving everyone by going rogue and 'doing what must be done'. Cartoons of those types standing for truth, justice and all of that."

Nora laughed, amused at the thought of the cheesy cartoons and afternoon shows, "Yeah, all that nonsense," she looked down for a moment, before tuning to Cinder, re-energized, "You know what I think is funny? I'm pretty sure Glynda wants us to be the opposite of that. Call me cuckoo for cocoa puffs but that's my opinion."

The comment piqued Cinder's curiosity, "Why do you think that?"

Nora brought a finger to her chin, thinking for a few moments before she continued, "You know that a few months ago Cardin wouldn't stop pestering Jaune, right?"

"Well yeah, it was pretty public," Cinder bluffed, hoping Nora wouldn't notice that she didn't know who this 'Jaune' person was.

"Yeah, Cardin even blackmailed him. But the thing is that he'd always do it when there weren't any teachers around."

"He was a coward like that huh?"

"Yeah! And I wanted to break his legs but apparently that's 'too much'," Nora made air quotes as she said the words, "Can you believe it? Anyways, you should've seen Glynda's face when me and Ren walked up to her office with pictures of Cardin bullying Jaune."

"Was she angry?"

"Hah, more like completely furious. I'm pretty sure Cardin is due to participate in detentions until he graduates. That, and he's on some sort of probationary program."

"And that's her way of shaping us?"

"I wouldn't say it like that, but I think she cares. Yesterday It would be crazy for me to even think about it, but right now I keep asking what would have happened if I hadn't done what I did. If Glynda hadn't done anything and I just decided to break Cardin's Legs just like I wanted to."

"From what I hear, it does seem like Cardin kind of deserved it…"

"He did," Nora moved to the window, staring not at the crowd, but someone else."I just can't shake the feeling I would have been like those wannabe huntsmen they cast for those silly tv shows. The type that just says 'screw the rules, I'll do what's right' then goes shoot up a warehouse or something. That doesn't think before doing something like that."

"I think I understand what you're saying." Cinder admitted. Nora was much more intelligent than she initially expected, she could respect that, despite the girl making what Cinder would call questionable career choices. "I'm not very fond of those shows either if I'm being entirely honest. In real life, it's not as simple as shooting one bad guy and walking away to live happily ever after."

"I know right? They never show that. Those wannabes they glorify, they'd see us starving in the streets and wouldn't even look twice."

Cinder couldn't say much about that. She knew that Nora didn't mean her when she said 'us', but couldn't understand how one naive, brutish girl hit the mark so clearly. In that moment, She understood her better than the day before, she knew that Nora had been through the same, lived the same.

Perhaps she could extend a hand to the rest of Team Juniper as well.

The airship's doors opened, reminding Cinder and Nora to rush to Goodwitch's side. The tower workers were the first to leave, as expected. Despite the guards best efforts, the media still pestered the employees. Cinder couldn't blame them, not directly. They too were victims of the cycles so many had grown accustomed to, idolizing the ground walked by Huntsmen just for the next headline.

What were they even asking? There wasn't much to learn from their perspective, and the cameras on every victim were just terribly unnecessary, hadn't they gone through enough? Now they had to take annoying questions like 'what was it like', 'who saved you' and other hogwash that made Cinder roll her eyes as she heard it.

Some tried to race towards Glynda, in attempts at catching a rare interview. Cinder did not enjoy them one bit after the teacher used her telekinesis to put up walls, turn their cameras away and outright break the ones of the more persistent reporterns with minimal effort.

Even when she was her ally, the Huntress was still someone Cinder would rather avoid angering.

"Miss, a word please?" a thoroughly average looking reporter shoved a microphone in Cinder's face. Before Cinder could decline, he continued, "Are you the one who saved that cat faunus? Do you have any comments?"

What kind of question was that, and what kind of fool was she dealing with? She looked at the victim he pointed at, one of the hostages from the floor she infiltrated. The ridiculous tool in front of her didn't even know that the woman wasn't a cat faunus, not that Cinder would have expected mere media to know or care. Not when the man standing in front of her couldn't have the decency to call the woman what she and many others would prefer to be called instead, a feline faunus.

"She's a leopard faunus," Cinder answered, not slowing down her pace in the slightest. Glynda looked back, but did not object. Perhaps this didn't count as enough of a statement for the teacher to intervene.

And perhaps Cinder could get away with a little more. She allowed the man to come closer again.

"Wait! Miss! How do you know?" the slimy pest that once again took her kindness for granted invaded her space as he stumbled behind her.

"I asked her," Cinder answered once more, and this time, from her end, the conversation was done. Perhaps others would take him as an example and stop pestering them.

She moved to Team juniper as they escorted the workers to the assembly. Beacon Had set up emergency tents for the returning teams. At least had a system in place, having the armored guards to more than standing around, they would be the ones to take victims home safely. Team Juniper's job was done.

Pyrrha turned around, moving backwards as she followed Glynda's pace, "Whoa, that was intense," she said as soon as Cinder joined them.

"Was it? I didn't mean to be," Cinder said. She genuinely couldn't tell.

The blonde one whose name kept slipping Cinder's mind faced them, "Yeah, I almost thought that guy was a goner from the way you were looking at him. I don't blame you though."

Had she let her emotions run rampant without noticing? It didn't matter, she didn't give it a second thought.

"Everyone," Ren said, "Team RWBY is here."

Oh my, Cinder thought. The one and only, with a silver-eyed leader, the annoying heiress and the ex white fang princess of Menagerie, all within her grasp. Opportunities to gather information like this didn't come often.

It had to be destiny.

Cinder knew who they were very well. The first one to approach was Ruby Rose, followed by the other three. She was energetic, greeting them all before stopping in front of Cinder.

"Have we met before?" Ruby said, tilting her head as she scoured through her memory.

"Yes, I'm Cinder Fall," she extended a hand to greet Ruby, "I believe we've met before, during Oobleck's class."

"Oh yeah," Ruby said, "I remember now. You know, speaking of Oobleck, he just told us about what you guys did yesterday! I wanna hear all about it!"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"What she means," Weiss, the heiress, cut in, "Is the news is spreading pretty fast. A group of students liberating a ruin zone from bandits?"

Yang howled with laughter, "He was speechless for at least five minutes, you should have seen his face."

"I don't think I've ever seen Oobleck slow down," Blake added, "Let alone stop talking."

'I'm pretty sure things are being exaggerated," Pyrrha said, already she was attempting to curb the rumors. Perhaps the champion had experience with how damaging even supposedly good reputation could be.

Yeah," the leader of team Juniper said, "Glynda did most of the work, and the bandits were all in the tower."

Wait, is he Jaune, or Juane?, Cinder thought.

Yang folded her arms, smiling, "Still, it's pretty impressive. I mean, we get on the news because we blow a Paladin to smithereens fighting Torchwich, and you all go and one-up us. If I was a little more competitive I'd think you guys are trying to rival us.``

"Oh," Nora said, "Are you suggesting a rematch?"

"Anywhere, anytime," Yang answered. So the brawler was cocky too, what a combination.

Weiss groaned, annoyed at her teammate's antics, "Anyways, congratulations on your first mission." she offered them a genuine smile and a curtsy, "We're moving to ours today. Wish us luck."

As they said their goodbyes and moved back to their waiting spot, Juane spoke,"Wait! Where is your mission?"

"Mountain Glenn!" Ruby answered as they walked away. For a second, Cinder could swear she saw her backpack moving on it's own, until a dog poked his head out of it.

Was that a corgi?

"Are you the one who saved that cat faunus? Do you have any comments?"

"She's a leopard faunus."

"Wait! Miss! How do you know?"

"I asked her."

"That was the only statement given by a Beacon student after the fact. Twenty four hours after it was declared a ruin zone, Beacon's anti-disaster measures liberated the Atlas owned tower in the Emerald Forest region."

"What could this mean? Is it a statement of solidarity with those filthy terrorists known as the White Fang?"

Roman turned off the TV as he let it sink in. He was swamped with work, so many things to manage. Dust crates they had to smuggle, hideouts he had to score, money he had to launder, even Paladins they already had on the way to Mountain Glenn. At that moment he didn't care about any of that.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the massive headache creeping in. Neo looked at him, worried.

"Neo, dear. I think we've got a problem," he said.

A problem I should erase? Neo asked, using what limited sign language she knew.

"No, not that kind. I need you to take over things for a while, okay?" he asked. Neo nodded, to his relief.

Why? She asked.

"You know that psycho Adam is going to lose his shit after this. So I'll need you on your guard."

Neo stopped for a moment, thinking, before nodding in agreement again.

"It seems like I'll personally have to do damage control, as always."