A/N: Wow, almost close to the final chapter! I personally can't wait, writing this chapter was a lot of fun. Anyway let's get to it.

Chapter 19: Anarchy in the B.A

Finish the fight.

One moment Amber was at the fields far, far away from Beacon, restrained and attacked by a trio with blurred faces. The next, she was inside a tank, stripped down to the barest needed for modesty, her staff nowhere to be seen. Like a shock, impulse coming from her body and not her mind, she kicked the glass once, enough to shatter it. In the same breath she jumped out of the damned metal coffin..

The next moment, she recognized her prison, Beacon's vault, deep under the heart of the academy. She'd been there only once, but the darkness… the monumental pillars… the globe lights were unmistakable. At least she could rest assured, she was in allied ground, certain enough that she could walk out and not need to face possible death.

Engage in deeper thought, a past maiden told her. Her tank was atlesian, given how it was a metal bed with pure function to its design. It connected to three different tubes, a cascade that went all the way up to the ceiling. She ran a hand along the surface, no dust. She had not been left here to rot, so what was it?

A rescue from Ozpin, maybe. He had the man-Qrow- looking after her, but he didn't seem to be anywhere around, how long had it been? She was sore, her muscles hurt, and the eerie, cool air of the dark vault chilled her skin in the worst way possible.

Memories returned, her face had been grasped by a different kind of Grimm, one that sapped her strength, her soul, and her maiden powers. Testing, she snapped her fingers, channelling her will, producing sparks at the mere thought. Those were still with her.

The reasons why were foggy, somewhat. They shouldn't be.

A beginning is important, as every Maiden knows. Take care, place yourself at the life of the first, many millennia ago.

Her memory worked with a will of its own, searching through eaons of knowledge to find the one. She hadn't forgotten it, because the revelation had been burned into her own mind, partially because that piece of sentience was still intact. Indeed, she remembered a girl, a sister, one of the only four lights in an old mage's life. She let the recollection vanish, giving way to a crowd, a sea of other maidens, just as vivid.

One stood out, for she did not belong, in the most strict sense of the word. The powers had been in her hand, but it was not given to her. The ex-slave. She'd killed her masters, then the incompetent defender, the cowardly Huntsman that put the law and his own ego above his duty. There was more, unfulfillment, revenge... a meeting with a powerful entity… Like it or not, her innermost secrets, her life and exploits were now known by Amber, her name was Cinder Fall.

It was vivid, Amber had underestimated her. Arrogance. No, not arrogance! Cinder looked like troubled youth, someone merely looking for a fight when they met. The attempts to scare her and her two friends with a show of power were the humane thing to do, but it couldn't have worked, she knew that now. She'd held out on using her powers not out of hubris or pity, but practicality. There was something that could be done about the girl, but she'd have to venture above first.

My equipment. She looked around, no tables, or anything of the like around them. In fact, there was a second tank! Now that she considered, if they were just monitoring her health, then a nurse or a doctor should've been around.

Oh. Ozpin didn't expect her to survive. Maybe he had a good reason to.

Or maybe the old man was ready to throw her away just like the other ones! Oh. that one was Cinder speaking. That the others didn't have anything against it was… telling.

No matter. The elevator led to his office right? Well, she'd have a word or two with him!

Heavy steps echoed across the great hall as Amber crossed it, leaving the machinery behind. Seeing the high, dark ceiling was something that under perfect circumstances would never happen again. Just underneath where she'd had such bright days and joyful memories with her past team, the place did nothing to manifest any emotion out of her, instead it sullied them. A reminder of just how deep Beacon's secrets went.

Later. She sighed and took a moment to recollect herself. Yes, she could think about the past later, but only the voices of the past could recede for a day or so. She could only wish.

She pressed the combination on the keypad just beside the doors, only for them to reveal an empty elevator shaft as they opened. The smell of burned brake fluid told her the elevator had been cut off, sent plunging to the depths below. There was something at a deeper level.

Well, at least flying will be faster. She conjured the air itself, lifting her body a couple of inches above the ground, then testing, leaning her body to see if she could still control it well. Good.

Flying past a point she could see the door to his office. At least she guessed it was, because the ticks of the clockwork mechanisms were distinct, and the tower only officially had two levels, she was high enough to feel the difference in air pressure, the vault was that far below ground.

Finally, Amber reached the door to Ozpin's station. She inhaled, concentrating, then exhaled, focused. It helped get her into the mindset to use flames. Again, she repeated the process, breathing in until her lungs reached their capacity, then breathed out, spewing flames frm her mouth, scorching the door, and some of the structure around it.

"Where the fuck are my clothes?" she said, as soon as the Headmaster was in her sight.

Ozpin grabbed his cane on instinct, "Amber?"

"Yes?"

"Your vitals had vanished from the tank. I almost thought you'd perished. We need you right now." he replied, no semblance of emotion touched his face.

And once again, she was needed. Of course, why would she expect anything less? A clean change of clothes? That can wait, we need you to keep yourself secret, wander around with a drunk watching over you, Amber. It'll be great!

She stopped flying, landing just on the edge of the elevator shaft, "What is it this time? Bandits again? More Grimm?"

Ozpin pressed a button on his computer, prompting a hologram that filled the air on top of his desk. Students fighting atlesian guards, tables were turned and used as cover, entire walls were missing, ridden with bullet holes, taken out by explosives or dust charges.

It wasn't a losing battle, far from it, but they weren't winning either, "How many?"

"Initially? Seven-hundred and four. The students had a hard time dealing with the guards, they strike fast and reposition just as quickly. Given the collective efforts of teams on-site and professors, that knocks it down to five hundred."

Impeccable intel, a clear goal, and as always not a reaction from the man, even as his students risked life and limb below. Her face almost contorted into a scowl, but Amber held herself. That's how it was with that immortal, wasn't it? It shouldn't be surprising, nobody could live for years that reached into four digits and still have their minds intact, their sanity, their compassion, it would all suffer, something had to be sacrificed.

There was no better choice than joining them, any more time spent mulling about it was time she wasn't helping save people. Again. "Good. It'll be done soon. Goodbye."

"Amber, wait!" Ozping stopped her. She raised an eyebrow, wondering. Had he forgotten to tell her something important?

"Give it a second," he said, holding up his palm.

Before Amber could question, a crash interrupted her. Something broke right through the roof, into the clear floor that presented the clockwork mechanism a few inches below, in the space between them. A locker numbered zero-four-seven-nine. Her old locker.

"We kept your equipment, and some spare clothes, just in case."

Amber smiled, "Thank you."

Ozpin's eyes crinkled when his lips curved upwards, slightly, "It was no issue on our part-"

"Now turn around so I can change!"

In the thirty minutes that followed Miss Goodwitch's briefing they reached Beacon through the lake.

They couldn't do it on an aircraft or boat, it would give away their position before arriving, but the lack of viable vehicles wasn't a problem. Well… Maybe it was a problem for Pyrrha, she didn't like diving, it was difficult getting used to the pressure, and such a long time without coming up for air felt wrong. Sure, Aura regenerated the fatigue, and they could hold their breath for the better part of an hour, but it wasn't easy. She felt the need to go up for air every second of it.

When they could finally surface, just beneath the rocky cliff that Beacon sat above, she almost let out a gasp. Again, it's just the feeling.

Nora surfaced a moment later, along with Cinder and the rest of her team. She whispered to them, "Couldn't this have happened a little earlier? At least we'd dry out climbing."

Jaune shushed her, before pointing downwards, telling them to dive down once again. A moment later, a spotlight shone down where they were, and a volley of gunfire followed. They expected it, As Glynda told them, but not that soon. Maybe the guards were on high alert, meaning the students at Beacon were probably still fighting.

They were forced to swim back to a rock formation nearby, away from the prying eyes of the squad above. Climbing up the cluster, one by one, it was just big enough to hide all five of them, though the water would sometimes rise and cover them up to their waists. Uncharacteristically, Ren was the one to break the silence, whispering to them, "You're getting competitive again, Jaune. Trying to out-strategize Team Ruby again?"

Jaune huffed, "I swear, ever since that game -" he stopped himself just before his tone could rise enough to attract attention, "You know what, maybe I am."

Pyrrha turned to her leader, "So what's the plan?"

"Well, I'm at an impasse. We know Team Ruby is going to climb up from the other side and we can't miss our timing. Climbing is slow, and it risks getting seen, which could escalate things. Plus, Miss Goodwitch told us to avoid killing, so we can't exactly blast them from here using Nora's Magnhild."

Nora smiled at the unintended compliment to the firepower she carried. Jaune continued, "I don't want us getting caught without a plan, I have no idea how hard Beacon is to defend. Any ideas, anyone?" he asked the group, and when no one seemed to come up with an answer, he asked Pyrrha.

"No ideas here. From what I read Beacon has its security measures, most of them against people, since there's so many powerful weapons, dust and intel gathered in one place. I wouldn't be surprised if the guards and the students were still fighting there right now, the lights still seem to be on too."

Cinder took the chance to help, something about the conversation had stimulated her psyche, "And, if they are, this right here is a dead end for the Atlesian Guard. They can't retreat anymore, and we're basically in their back line."

She had laid down on her side and Pyrrha's eyes made their way to her left arm, noticing how limp it was... The way Cinder still hadn't moved it… Maybe it would take time to heal, that's all. Pyrrha shouldn't be concerning herself with something like that when they were in the middle of a quest, not when Cinder volunteered. She could do it.

Jaune brought a hand to his chin, thinking, then continued, "Well that changes things a bit, I think, but we still need a better way of getting up there, I bet right now, as we speak Weiss is carrying her team in glyphs or something, so we need to get our A-game going."

There were nods across all of them, except Cinder, she looked confused about what A-game meant. Pyrrha looked at them, then remembered, "I could try something like that. My aura healed a good chunk, so I'm pretty sure I can take the extra effort now."

Jaune looked at her, worried, "One-hundred percent?"

Pyrrha knew her limits, she wouldn't drag her entire team down with her, "Carrying you guys with my semblance should be okay, I'll just have to pull your weapons up. As long as you hold on it'll be fine."

"That's good then," he responded, no hesitation, "You guys know what to do. No matter what, don't lose count."

That much went without saying.

There were advantages to using her semblance in such a way, pulling them across the air in the middle of the night. For one, they couldn't be seen as easily when Pyrrha spread them out and away from the cliffside, weaving them around the light beams of the seeker-spotlights. Another was that when Nora smashed a dozen of them as she fell from the skies like a vengeful god, concepts such as 'squad coherency' and 'holding the line' were nothing but pure fiction, the guards had to retreat, or face the might of a petite huntress capable of swinging around a war hammer with the proportions of a log at the end of a metal pipe.

It gave Pyrrha enough time to examine the area. The guards had two patrol vehicles, each stationed at a different side of the cliff. They were light, off-road models with a pair of spotlights attached to their roofs. She could count no more than twenty guards, and one quick-deploy comm station. She let the others down more gently, if only to give Nora enough time to process the difference between friend and foe. Ren and Jaune moved to their left, Cinder to the right, each gunning for a different vehicle, and Pyrrha knew why. Cutting off their mobility and isolating the group would make it easier.

That didn't mean she had to slack on the job. Inevitably, guards tried to break off from the group and drive away in the cars, and Pyrrha, for her part, could simply use her semblance to keep them there, pulling them back even as the engines struggled and tires nearly burned. They couldn't even tell why, Pyrrha wasn't the type to gesture and show off when she used her semblance.

Cinder reached one, when she pulled her weapon it was no longer a bow-such would've been impossible for her to wield at the time-she gracefully reforged it into a sword, about as long as she was tall. This one, unlike her past swords, had a straight blade and a cross guard, perhaps to compensate for the loss of an offhand weapon. It was clear she wasn't used to it, but it was effective, that much had to be said. One brutal, almost feral swing downwards and she almost separated the car's hood from the rest. One down, she could stop using her power on it.

At the same time on the other side, Pyrrha could let go from the car once Jaune held it by the rear with one hand, the other holding up his shield to protect his face from the oncoming fire. As Jaune held it immobile, Ren shot the tires out, then pointed both his guns at the group.

Pyrrha was almost disappointed in herself, she hardly got to fight that time.

After a moment, the atlesian guards threw their weapons down and surrendered. With little effort, scrap metal taken from the cars and a generous use of Cinder's semblance, they had them handcuffed, all twenty of them, then took their Identification Keycards, just to be sure. Jaune's scroll buzzed, and as he looked at it he seemed serious, even more so than before. Nora took a glance at it from behind him, and stifled a laugh.

Jaune called them, "We need to move. They're not going anywhere, come on, we'll spread out so we can cover more ground. Me and Ren, we'll free the cafeteria. Nora, Cinder Pyrrha you take the dorms, let's go!"

Ren passed by them, "Wanna bet it was another challenge from Team Ruby?"

Pyrrha's brows furrowed, why would she? "No way, I like having money."

When Nora joined them, she clarified, "It said 'twenty five down, your move Jauney boy'. It had a picture too."

Pyrrha had to stop herself from simply dropping her weapons and laughing, if anything, at least it seemed like they would get things done quickly, and that was for the better.

Cinder joined the two of them, Just in time for them to hear Jaune roaring in the distance, "So, we go in through the front door?"

Nora shrugged, "Might as well, I think we lost the element of surprise now."

As Ruby aimed down a corridor, Weiss could see, even from her vantage point, how she slowly mouthed her calculations. Completely focused on the glyph reflecting of the atlesian squad on the main courtyard below them.

If it worked, they could take out the whole squad, about seventy of them. Weiss stopped her impulse to adjust the mirror again, or else Ruby would have to start over, or they would have to reposition, something that would be unfavorable, to say the least.

With Ruby positioned on the corridor she was completely safe, as Weiss wanted. She had seen her ricochet shots before, it was possible. Unlikely, but possible.

But you've haven't bounced a shot at a ninety degree angle yet, right? It's making you nervous, enough so you're double checking every variable. On top of it they were trying to be nonlethal, something that ran counter to everything Ruby armed herself for.

Weiss noticed a mistake, a bit too late because she had to read Ruby's lips, but it was better to delay the shot for a few seconds, better than missing. The guards would just retreat again if she didn't get a perfect shot.

She whispered on her earpiece, "You don't need to account for gravity, the glyphs have that covered."

Ruby stopped for a moment, forced to mentally retreat a few steps in her equation. Exactly two seconds later, she fired the shot.

It ricocheted off a buttress, to a seeker-spotlight mounted on one of their atlesian cars. The round spun in the air for a second, having lost all velocity, then it fell in the middle of the squad that awaited below.

Good, it worked.

A moment later, a cloud erupted from the ammo round, covering the atlesian guards in a thick fog. That was Yang and Blake's cue. She could already see them, the yellow flashes of Yang cutting through the enemy lines, light and smoke bending around where Blake left her clones behind, the gunfire chorus desperately trying to follow them. A symphony of destruction they performed with impeccable tempo.

Within thirty seconds the duo would finish unscathed. Weiss ran to the window to get a better view, the smoke cloud almost reached them all the way up to the second floor.

A guard nearly hit her as he was launched from the cloud below. Weiss conjured a glyph, letting the atlesian crash into it, ending his momentum before he could touch her, "Hey! Watch it!"

"Don't wanna join the fun, Ice Queen?" Yang taunted from somewhere below.

Just as Weiss prepared to give the blonde brute a piece of her mind, Ruby joined her, "Did it work?"

"Did it? We'll have to wait until the smoke dissipates, but that's basically an extra seventy for us."

Ruby almost jumped with excitement, "Alright!."

The smoke dissipated exactly twenty-eight seconds after the shot was fired, Weiss perked up to the sound of a punch taking down the last guard, their vehicles had been turned upside down, the spotlights crushed, and again Yang stood victorious in the middle of a crowd of enemies.

Aren't we lucky we have you, she thought. Was it worth it, telling that to Yang though? Probably not, Weiss still hadn't thought of all the ways Yang could turn it into a pun.

"This is really coming out of nowhere," Ruby said, admiring the damage.

"I don't know. I'm not surprised."

"What do you mean"

"Why do you think I'm attending Beacon and not Atlas military?"

Ruby thought for a second, looking up and away before her eyes went wide, "Because our uniforms are cooler?"

"Well… There's that. I think I've seen enough white in my wardrobe for a lifetime at least."

"But what else is it?"

"It's hard to explain, you guys don't have any military here. In there you're expected to more or less always follow orders, no matter what. Orders are above everything, so I see this and it feels like it was just a matter of time."

"Until what?"

"Until someone was either stupid enough or crazy enough to try attacking an undefended Beacon. They've had guards here all the time, and we've been at war before. Could happen again."

Ruby sheathed her rifle, "Yeesh, a little bleak don't you think?"

Weiss put a hand to her hip, then shifted her weight, thinking, "Maybe. I mean, we had a long day, and it's not everyday you get to fight White Fang on a suicide bomb-train."

"There you go, you know you're overthinking it."

Ruby was right. Damn it. Well, they were spending too much time chatting and too little finding more guards anyways, "Yes. but we need to move. There's bound to be more guards to the north wing, that's close to the armory. Let's get your sist-"

The temperature dropped. It definitely wasn't the usual Vale nighttime cold, she could see frost expanding through the windows and walls.

"Weiss, what's that for?" Ruby asked, before Weiss could shush her. She made a hand signal, telling Ruby to wait there.

Necessary. They didn't know if the atlesians had anyone waiting as backup. Maximum caution was needed.

Weiss stepped lightly, first with her toes, so as to minimize the sound she made walking, then the ball of her feet, never the heels.

She was getting closer to the source, Weiss could see her breath condensate. It was coming from a room, maybe it was another student?

Well, no time like the present, she thought. With one swift movement she dashed to the door and pulled Myrtenaster, spinning the cylinder and setting it to fire.

No one. The room was partially frozen, but it had been done from outside. Weiss raced to the window, could it be a Specialist? Winter?

Outdoors, a trail of frost led her eyes to the distant courtyard, where she saw military cars encased in ice. Power that eclipsed what was inside the safe uses of her own ice dust.

Hopefully, whoever had done it was on their side.

It was one of the many hallways, adorned by green tapestry engraved in white with Beacon's emblem. Gunshots fired ceaselessly down the hall's length, chipping the dark marble floor and stone walls. They had their backs against the wall just around the corner, where they'd retreated to after ten guards had almost ambushed them.

Nora looked at Pyrrha, "No way you can do it."

Pyrrha challenged her, "No way?"

"Yeah! It's impossible."

"Not for me it's not."

Nora pouted, "Cinder, tell your girlfriend it's impossible."

Cinder looked at Pyrrha from the other side, "It does look impossible."

"Cinder!" Pyrrha called out, offended, "Ugh, watch me."

Pyrrha launched her shield, it bounced from wall to wall, once, twice… and after ten times, ten guards hit the floor.

The trio peeked around the corner, and Nora counted the fallen enemies, "That's ten, Pyrrha. Where the eleve-"

The shield bounced once more on the floor, then to the ceiling, striking air that let out an 'oof'. A moment later, the ground shimmered and deformed in the distinct shape of a guard.

Nora looked back to her, just in time for the shield to return, "How?"

Pyrrha let the smug grin take her face, "Stealth gunner. Told you I could get eleven out of this."

"Show off. Come on, let's get their cards."

Cinder glanced at Pyrrha, then Nora as she followed. "How many does that make it?"

Pyrrha thought for a second, then answered when she took the final keycard, "With the last one that's sixty."

Sixty, and that was merely how many she and team Juniper had faced. Cinder sheathed her greatsword, the reforged Midnight, to run a hand over the broken wall. So much was lost so quickly, with every fight, and in a good scenario ten times this much awaited them. Nothing could survive that intact.

A thought crossed through her mind, not dissimilar to how Nora effortlessly crashed through walls: Maybe she could use her semblance… After waking up, after something changed Cinder knew the broad strokes of what she could and couldn't do, like instinct. She knew her semblance wouldn't work on people anymore. Not much of a loss there. She could also reforge things in retrograde, make them return to what they once were.

Could it work on a wall too, not just weapons or random objects? It was almost like an itch, she had to try it.

A touch, she could feel the wall as if it was a piece of herself, perfectly aware of all the bullet holes, cracks and fissures they had caused. It cut off after a point-an arm's length-but it was so much more than just seeing, she knew! Another push, and she felt bits and pieces returning to their spots on the wall, recovering the damage.

How could fighting alongside what a few months ago were her sworn enemies feel so exhilarating?

Nora stared at her, stunned for a moment, "I didn't know you could pull a Goodwitch!"

"It's… something new."

Nora slammed her hammer down, then leaned on it, "Well, now you have to tell me that story!"

Pyrrha looked away, crossing her arms, "I think we should keep moving."

"Oh come on! You're going to leave me out of this?"

Cinder cut in, "It's a pretty long story."

The comment only seemed to encourage Nora more, "We've got plenty of time."

"I think Pyrrha has a point, there could be more guards around here" Cinder tried to explain.

Nora looked into Cinder's eyes, "Come on, please?"

Damn it, the girl was like a puppy, how could she say no when Cinder couldn't even sound the first consonant? Thankfully, Pyrrha cut in, "We don't want to be caught unaware."

"Oh please, you know very well we sweeped this area before-" Nora's eyes went wide with realization, "Oh, my god, I know what this is."

Pyrrha and Cinder looked at eachother, "And do you think it is then?"

"You two fought!" Nora announced with a smile.

"Wait, no-" Pyrrha tried.

"Don't try to deny P-Money, I get it. What happens in the field stays in the field right?" she winked at Pyrrha, her grin now turned into a sadistic smile.

Before Cinder could deny it, Nora continued, "Yea, it makes so much sense now, I mean why else would you two have spent such a long time in that dark hole? And then Cinder comes out of it practically missing an arm? It all makes sense now! You fought!"

Pyrrha buried her face in her hands, "I can't believe it…"

"We have not fought," Cinder stated, how could she explain it to Nora?

"Oh please do you really think I believe that? I didn't think you were that new here Cinder, I know all about the birds and the Grimm and I mean we heard the fighting okay?"

"That's not- I wasn't fighting Pyrrha," Cinder conceded.

"Wha-but…" Nora looked at them, from Pyrrha to Cinder, "But... you're not lying so…"

Cinder took a deep breath. She could do it, and it was only fair to tell Nora, "I… I was fighting my half-Grimm stepmother. I'm not really a student, she had me infiltrate this Academy, and I was going to betray all of you."

Nora looked at her for a few moments, incredulous. Pyrrha broke the silence, "I know it's a lot to take in, we'll have to talk about it later."

"What do you mean you haven't fought yet?"

"What?" both Pyrrha and Cinder said in unison.

"Something is wrong, you two should've fought by now!" Nora looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's the end of the semester and you two haven't fought yet! Isn't that what's supposed to happen?"

Pyrrha's eyebrows furrowed, "Nora what are you talking about?"

"Why haven't you fought yet?" She walked closer to Pyrrha, "How do you know your relationship can survive anything if you haven't even challenged each other to single combat, huh?"

"You're not making any sense, Nora."

"And one more thing! You would have shot an arrow through her heel!" she pointed a finger to Cinder, then Pyrrha, prompting a confused look from both.

"Did you have too much coffee again Nora?" Pyrrha asked.

Nora didn't listen, incensed, "Furthermore-"

"Enough!" Cinder snapped, much to Nora and Pyrrha's surprise. "...Sorry. Didn't you hear what I said? I'm a spy, I lied to you, I lied to your team! This here is all my fault."

Nora snorted, "Oh please, do you know how many teams go through this same rigmarole every year? Just last year Team Sable had the same drama going on and they resolved it in the bathroom! While I was still in there! And then Team Quartz had their coming of age right after them, I swear was stuck in there for at least two hours."

"Why didn't you just leave?" Pyrrha asked.

Nora shrugged, "It seemed like it was a whole thing, you know? I didn't wanna ruin their moment."

Cinder brought her working hand to her face, "I'm almost questioning my decision right now."

"Oh, Pyrrha, that's your cue! Beat some sense into her!" Nora said, elbowing her friend as she called her attention.

"Stop it Nora! I'm not going to fight her!"

As soon as the words left the confines of Pyrrha's mind, the floor trembled, and a mighty blast made itself known as it nearly deafened them. The lights flickered for a moment, and a heat wave passed through them, almost unbearable were it not so brief.

"Found you," A calm, feminine voice said, from another corridor. Pyrrha and Nora both readied their weapons, unaware of who approached them.

The woman was surprisingly young. Probably not much older than Pyrrha, or even Nora. The short brown hair, dark skin, and glowing fiery eyes were all things Cinder could recognize instantly, vale's Maiden. She did not walk their way, she floated, something Cinder could only guess was out of practicality, being unimpaired by gravity had its obvious perks.

With a wave of her hand, she had Pyrrha and Nora encased in ice up to their mouths.

"Sorry girls. Just hold on for a moment please," she turned to Cinder, "Miss Fall. Such a long time since we last met."

Looking at her was difficult, Cinder almost averted her gaze. Amber's aura seemed to have taken care of the scar, her face was pristine, but her expression-or rather lack thereof-was impossible to read. What could she want?

Amber was nonchalant, "Nothing to say? You know I have your memories now, right?"

Cinder's eyes went wide, she what? How was that possible, Salem hadn't… she hadn't told her it could happen. She already knew then. Was Amber there to execute her?

No. No, not now! Cinder's hand snapped to the hilt of her sword, but Amber closed the distance and grasped it before she could grip her weapon. She had done it with an ice gauntlet, encasing her hand to avoid direct contact, to avoid Cinder's old semblance.

A sickening feeling bubbled up from her gut, Cinder had to get away, she had to! She was so close, so close to something better, they couldn't take it away from her! She struggled, despite only having one good arm, yet in the end the Maiden proved superior. Cinder tried to kick Amber, yet the maiden only dodged, making the minimal effort to move out.

"Cool off for a second will ya? I'm not here to kill you!"

Cinder took a moment to breathe, "Not here to… why?"

"For one that would feel a bit weird now. Having your memories and all that."

There was a pause, and Cinder nodded in agreement.

"And for another, I needed some answers. I need to know who… your stepmother is. And I need to know if you really changed."

Had she? Cinder didn't feel different, other than the distinct lack of feeling in her left arm. She thought for a moment, was it a trick question? Did it even have an answer?

Somehow without a pulse of heat, or even a gesture of Amber's hand, the ice that restrained both Nora and Pyrrha disappeared. Both rushed to Cinder's side as soon as they were free, pointing their weapons at Amber. She merely looked at them, calmly considering.

Amber let go of Cinder's hand, "Seems like you have. Well, now I'd just feel bad."

"What was that for?" Pyrrha asked.

"It was something that needs to be solved later, it seems. Not what I'm here for anyway."

"Your point being?" Nora defied

Amber walked away carelessly, only stopping to reply, "you're also competing with Team Ruby right now, right? For the keycards if I remember correctly, to see who gets the most guards?"

Nora scoffed, "Yeah, so?"

A grin spread over Amber's face, "So you might wanna run, If I counted everything right-and I'm rarely wrong on that end-you two are tied right now, and there's only one guard left."