A/N: So I did it again...I broke my record. 2,867 words before A/N.
Please don't expect chapters of this length, I got possessed this time.
I got some more notes at the end.
I don't own RWBY or RT
Guilty Rose Chapter 1
Cinder sat at the table, doing her best to ignore Watts who was trying to get a rise out of her. Her patience with the man was reaching its limit though.
"Why must he always annoy me after Salem's training!"
Cinder gritted her teeth in frustration.
"I failed once, and even Salem said it was no fault of mine!"
Suddenly, Cinder was broken from her thoughts when the dark mistress herself made her grand entrance and sat at the head of the table.
"I have called you here today to here what Tyrian has found out about the fall maiden who escaped our grasp four months ago."
"Ah, yes, what are the consequences of Cinder's failure?"
Cinder couldn't take it anymore. She picked her words and filled them with all the venom she could muster.
"At least I've only failed once."
"Enough! I believe I've already discussed this matter with both of you, do not make me repeat myself. Now, Tyrian."
The insane scorpion faunus bowed his head to Salem. He seemed oddly tame, but that may have been due to his injuries.
"Yes my mistress. After your source revealed that the maiden had reached Beacon, I followed her path to discover why as you ordered. I persuaded a tavern owner who had seen her to tell me what he knew."
Tyrian cackled maniacally for the first time, but soon cut short with a grimace.
"He told me that she had taken an interest in another costumer, the one and only Guilty Rose."
Cinder stiffened at the mention of the girl's name. She may have only met the girl once years ago, but that girl had such an impact on her.
"Naturally, I had to investigate further. I found five bodies further down the road, carved up really nice, as well as the carcass of the horse the maiden loved so much. They had been dead for a while, at least two days before Cinder and her pets were in position."
Cinder flinched at how her referred to her and her subordinates.
"Yes, all of this we know, but why did it take you so long to give us a full report?"
"The bodies belong to those of the Oni. Tracking down the rest of the tribe took longer than I thought. The freaks attacked me on sight. They used these freaky aura piercing bullets, too. I nearly had to kill the lot of them. Their leader was the only one I didn't immediately kill. After some more persuasion on my part, I found out that the tribe had been trying to hunt down their little monstrosity. Turns out, she's the one who brought the maiden to Beacon Academy."
Cinder bit the inside of her lip.
"No, she can't go to their side."
Cinder had to think of something fast. She knew her mistress would do anything to deprive Ozpin of an asset like Rose. An idea came to mind, an idea that she had to act on even if there would be consequences.
"M-mistress, your plan to send me to Beacon as an exchange student. I would like to begin the plan sooner."
"Oh, and why is that?"
There was clear venom in Salem's voice, but also intrigue. Cinder couldn't back out now.
"I would like the chance to recruit the Guilty Rose."
"Ah, yes, I remember you mentioned this before. I must ask why we didn't recruit her when you first discovered her."
"Hazel said she wouldn't amount to anything, I will admit that we discovered her while she was locked in a cage."
"Hazel, is this true?"
"Yes, Mistress, we had just failed to recruit the Oni Tribe to our cause. Cinder had made a mention to take the girl with us. I thought she was just pitying the girl."
"I see, do you believe you can convince the girl to come to our side. She has already been under Ozpin for several months now."
Cinder fidgeted under Salem's gaze. She had to think of something, anything. Then it struck her.
"I have a way to know if I can convince her."
"I will trust your judgment. However, if you can't convince, I expect you to deprive Ozpin oh such an asset by any means necessary."
Cinder's blood froze, but she nodded slowly.
Salem turned her head back to Tyrian and inspected him once more.
"You mentioned unusual bullets, is that why you are so exaggeratedly bandaged?"
"Y-yes mistress, I thought they were normal aura piercing bullets until I tried to heal myself with aura. The wounds not only didn't heal, but I bled more."
"Has Watts inspected your wounds?"
"Yes mistress, the bullets left some sort of residue that prevents the wounds from healing. The bleeding out is just the body pumping additional blood to the wounds that are supposed to be healing."
"Very interesting, do we know any more about these bullets."
Tyrian slumped in his chair, only taking shy glances at the queen of grimm.
"No mistress, I did not recover any of the bullets, nor did I ask about them."
Tyrian's voice was cracking. His face showed his physical pain at failing his mistress.
"I see, I'm disappointed, but maybe the last member of the Oni Tribe knows. Cinder, do not fail me."
"Yes, mistress."
….
It was a great night for a little heist, even if the ones he was stealing for were less than agreeable even by criminal standards.
Cinder, a girl about ten years younger than him, always seemed both distracted and irritable. She kept promising to castrate men that looked at her a little too long. But she always paid when she was supposed to. She also didn't ask the unreasonable. No, it was her associate that did that.
"Adam fucking Taurus"
Roman honestly could say he didn't have a racist bone in his body. He had no time nor patience for it. He was a professional criminal after all. Despite this, Roman could only describe Adam as a rabid animal. Roman saw the bull faunus for the raging fanatic he was. There were no ideals in Adam, just hatred. What did he need all this dust for anyway.
Roman continued to strut down the sidewalk with Junior's men accompanying him. He found it surprising how cheap their services were, but then again they were just there to hold the bags.
They found their destination, an obscure dust shop. Dust til Dawn. Roman looked over the outside with an approving smirk, disregarding a black and red motorcycle out front. He took a deep breath of the cool night air. Tonight was a great night for a little heist.
….
Rose was trying to read some weapon magazines while she waited for Glynda Goodwitch to finish her shopping. The two of them had gotten close over the last six months, or at least close enough that Glynda to that she takes the wolf faunus with her on errands to Vale. They even ride Rose's motorbike every so often. Rose continued flipping through the weapons magazines, trying her best to learn the terminology. It was an arduous process. She hated killing, and that's all these weapons were designed to do. With a small huff, she closed the magazine. She put down the magazine before adjusting the hood on her cloak.
"It still feels weird wearing a cloak, but it's this or wear 'proper clothes'."
Rose shuddered at the thought. When Glynda first bought Rose a new outfit, Rose kept writhing in them until she was allowed to change back to her preferred attire. After all those years, 'proper clothes', as Glynda called them, became a hindrance and felt stifling. So Rose convinced Glynda to let her wear cloaks over her clothes instead. Footsteps behind her awoke Rose from her thought.
"Alright kid, put your hands up."
Rose glanced at the man, he was a gangster wielding a sword. Rose froze, not out of fear of the man, but of her own instincts. Every muscle in her body prepared to kill the man before he could kill her.
"No, please don't."
"I said put your-"
When the man raised his sword to her, Rose couldn't resist her instincts anymore and lashed out. Her kama cut into his chest and he dropped to the floor screaming in pain. The sudden movement dropped her hood.
"Hey!"
A second gangster can running around the corner. Rose's mind had yet to catch up to her body's actions. Her body moved on its own again. She lunged at the man, deflected his sword, and drove her right combat knife into his ribcage. The man slumped to ground. Rose looked to the front of the store to see three more gangsters, a man with a bowler hat, and the shopkeeper.
"Lay down your weapons and turn yourselves in!"
….
"Adorable, scarred, terrified, and deadly. I never thought my luck could possibly be this shitty."
Roman, with all his years as a criminal, knew when it was time to make a hasty exit. And staring down the Guilty Rose in person definitely qualified as one of those times. Junior's bunch of bumbling idiots just laughed at the girl and took stances.
"I'm not letting theses shitheads speak for me."
Roman reached into his pocket discreetly and sent a premade text to Cinder.
"Well, get her!"
The idiots charged the girl, Roman took this moment to bolt out of the door. He managed to make it to the building across the street before one of Junior's men came flying through the shop's front window. Roman abandoned his normal suave demeanor to scramble up the fire escape. The gunshots behind him quickened his pace.
"Fucking idiots, I said not to fire your guns!"
….
Rose delivered two semblance infused punches to the gangster's face, knocking him out. She immediately scanned for Roman. The only sign she had of him was a glimpse of white disappearing over the edge of a roof. Rose launched a kama to hook on the roof's edge and reeled the weapon in to ascend. She made it up just in time to see Roman board a bullhead. She charged, but Roman an uncut burn crystal at her. It arced until it landed right in front of the wolf faunus. She braced for an explosion that never came.
"Such a waste, it wasn't even activated."
Glancing back at Roman, her heart sunk. He had aimed the bottom of his cane at the crystal.
"It's been a pleasure, Red!"
Rose braced again. This time the explosion happened, but Rose was left unaffected by it.
Roman watched the dust clear to reveal a woman with a riding crop. He barged into the cockpit.
"We've got a huntress."
Cinder turned the bullhead's controls over to Roman and left the cockpit. She summoned her bow and several arrows made of a mix of burn and explosive dust. She saw the huntress and another figure. She quickly took aim at the huntress, loosing the arrows. The huntress blocked the explosions easily.
"I can handle fresh huntsman, but she's a veteran."
Before either Cinder or the huntress could continue their battle, two black and red knives with cables attached pierced the hull of the aircraft. Cinder was switched to her dual swords to cut the cables when the girl attached to them reached the bullhead. Cinder wasn't prepared for the two feet that were planted into her chest, knocking her on her back. Now looking up at the girl straddling her stomach, she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Rose?"
Cinder immediately searched the wolf faunus' neck for the charm she made. Her heart sank when she saw it wasn't there. But then Rose clutched at the empty air around her neck.
"Cin?"
Before they could continue to question each other, the ship lurched. Cinder found a handhold, but Rose just allowed herself to be thrown from the bullhead while halfheartedly reaching out to Cinder. Rose watched the aircraft fly off while feeling Glynda's semblance wrap around her. She was sat down on the roof, still trying to understand what she just saw.
"Rose, are you alright, I heard gunshots and saw the men on the street."
Rose snapped her head to Glynda, remembering the dying man in the shop below.
"Oh no."
She did something she had rarely ever done, Rose activated her semblance on her whole body. She utilized her full semblance to reach the shop in only two and a half seconds. She rematerialized next to the dying man, tears already streaming down.
"I-I am so sorry. Please don't die."
Rose tore off her cloak, bundled it up and pressed it to the man's chest. He grunted weakly in response. She already new the wound was fatal. She knew, but she had to try and save him.
"Come on, stay with me."
She channeled all the aura she could muster into him. It seemed to give him some strength. Strength he used to reach into his breast pocket and pull out a picture. He was only able to lift the picture up for a moment, coughing blood from the mere effort. After the moment was over, the man fell limp as the last of his life left him.
"NO, NO, NO! PLEASE, STAY WITH ME!"
Rose tried to pour more aura into the body, but the body no longer accepted it. He was dead. Rose looked over at the picture, she needed to know what was so important about it. Pain racked her chest as she reached for the bloodstained photo. When she lifted it up, her fears came to life. She covered her mouth to muffle her horrified scream and sobbing. The picture was of the man, a woman, and two children.
….
Glynda held Rose in her arms as the poor, broken girl cried herself hoarse. All the while, she directed the police and paramedics. The two bodies were covered and carried out of the shop. Rose convulsed upon seeing the covered stretchers.
"I killed them."
Her words came out tiny and hoarse. Glynda knew she couldn't understand how much pain Rose was in or what she had gone through. After six months, that's all Glynda knew for certain about Rose. She still remembered the first night.
"If it's okay with you, can I sleep in your room."
Glynda wasn't sure of what to make of the girl's request. A known mass murderer was asking to sleep in her room.
"Why?"
Rose looked to the ground and clutched at her neck.
"Ozpin said that it would be best if I stay with you. There's no guarantee I won't be recognized while here. So until I have a team."
Glynda growled for a moment, then sighed.
"I understand, I'm going to have words with the good headmaster, but you can stay with me."
The night went on much as Glynda's nights usually went. She read while watching the news. After a while Rose came out of the bathroom stark naked with an utterly blank look on her face.
"What in the name of dust do you think you are doing?"
Rose didn't respond, she grabbed the cover off the bed meant for her and continued walking to the corner of the room. With a rehearsed twirl, she wrapped the cover around herself and sat down. Glynda walked over to check on the wolf faunus. The girl's breathing was slow and rhythmic but her eyes were still open. Once Glynda reached arm's length of Rose, the girl reacted by pulling a knife out of nowhere. Glynda immediately recoiled and Rose put the knife away.
"What the hell did they do to you?"
Glynda whispered this with a hand over her mouth.
Glynda held the girl a little tighter. Unfortunately, Glynda didn't notice one of the faunus paramedics glaring at the pair while typing into her scroll.
….
"Cinder, you're reporting in early, has something happened?"
Cinder was doing her best not to smile at the news she had for Salem. She was still walking to her office in the warehouse while she held her scroll to her ear.
"Yes, I saw the Guilty Rose tonight."
Suddenly a crash interrupted Cinder's thoughts. She quickly went to investigate when a roar was let out.
"SHE'S HERE! THAT BITCH, GUILTY ROSE IS HERE IN VALE!"
The roar belonged to Adam. Cinder stopped outside the room and witnessed the frenzy he was in.
"I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME, YOU BITCH! AND YOU'LL BE ALL MINE!"
Cinder remembered she was still on the phone with Salem. She quietly bolted towards her office to get the privacy she now desperately needed.
"I'm sorry mistress."
"No, I heard the commotion, that was unsettling. Now you had a report on your target."
"Yes mistress. I saw the Guilty Rose, and she gave me proof that I might be able to convince her."
"I see, that is good news for us, I suppose. But this now makes Adam a bit of a concern."
"Yes mistress. He's always been blinded by his zeal, which makes him easy to control."
"In this case it may work against us, do what you feel is necessary."
"As you wish."
A/N: So I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it was a trip to write. I got the feels just writing it.
Anyway, there's a lot I add last minute to this chapter, and that will be it on major additions to the story. Please keep the suggestions coming, I do pay attention to them and I do take them seriously.
Also, the Kylo Ren style tantrum from Adam was for fun. But this will be a very serious matter in the story.
Please follow and review!
Thank you again for reading!