Chapter 12: Short stay at the Forever Fall Forest
The first place Cinder and co go to when arriving at Vale is the Forever Fall Forest. Most of them have only seen pictures and told about this forest. The only one who has ever been here in this forest is Cinder. But Cinder was only a baby, so she can't remember what they did here. Her father told her it was here she learnt how to walk.
What they didn't expect to find in the Forever Fall Forest is ruins. They used an abandoned temple as a camping site. There are a few reasons why they did this. The temple still has a roof so, in case it rained as they slept, it can protect them, and Urd loves ruins. So she wants to figure out who once lived in this temple.
"Winter and I will do a patrol around this area. Don't want any Grimm to sneak up on us," Cinder said.
"Good idea. I remember mom saying the sap from these trees draws in Grimm," Vernal said.
"Really? I thought negative emotions are what draws in the Grimm," Hermod said.
Vernal shakes her head, "Nope, the scent of sap here also draws them in,"
"How did she find that out?" Bragi asked.
"She learnt it from Beacon Academy when she attended there," Cinder explains.
"They took her on field trips? Not fair! Our school never takes us on field trips," Vor huffed.
"Probably because there aren't any interesting locations like this one back home," Ven said and shrugged his shoulders.
"Not true! There's Twilight Town! The sunset always looks the best there!" Vor said happily.
"And there's Radiant Garden. A town filled with scholars," Winter smiles.
"Of course, the book nerd will like that town," Vernal sighs.
"A book nerd that got a C- on the last test," Cinder chuckles.
Winter slumps down her shoulders, "How am I supposed to know Master Aced will make that test all about himself,"
"If it makes you feel better. That test didn't count for our final grade," Hermod said.
Ven chuckles, "Master Aced flipped his lid when he found out,"
"You could hear him from the pier," Bragi laughed.
"Hey, can I come with you?" Vor asked while jumping up and down.
Cinder smiles and puts a hand on Vor's head, "I think it will be best if you stay here and help everyone to keep an eye on Urd," Cinder says and motions to Urd. She ran around the temple and wrote in her notebook.
"And I thought I was fast," Ven said and rubbed the back of his head.
"Alright, I'll stay, but I'm going on the next patrol," Vor said. She holds out a pinky, "Promise?"
Cinder smiles and nods, "Promise," Cinder says and makes a pinky promise with Vor, "Alright, Winter, Baldr, let's go!"
Cinder, Winter and Baldr wave to their friends and head out of the temple. Sure enough, Cinder and Winter encounter some Grimm. Cinder summons her Keyblade in a golden light. Winter calls forth her upgraded Keyblade called Mirrorjade in a torrent of ice.
The girls took down the Grimm in a wave of ice and golden light. The thing they notice instantly with these Grimm is they took more hits. Another thing they notice is how aggressive Baldr is fighting the Grimm.
Cinder approaches him once the Grimm has been taken care of, "Hey, Baldr, are you okay?" Cinder asked and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You're not fighting like you usually are," Winter said with a worried tone.
Baldr grips his Keyblade tightly, and his bottom lip quivers, "It's my sister," tears start running down his face, "She's…she's dead!"
"WHAT?!" Cinder and Weiss gasped. Their eyes widen in horror. They were about to ask who Baldr's sister died but stopped themselves.
"It wasn't the Grimm that killed her. She's too strong for those monsters. It was the White Fang that struck her down," Balder explains.
"What?! How?! We are better trained than they are!" Winter shouts.
Baldr shakes in anger, "They took advantage of her kindness. You know she helps both humans and Faunus. But because she's human, they cut her down when her guard is down,"
Cinder turns to Winter, "Take Baldr back to camp and let everyone know what happened to his sister. I'll continue the patrol on my own," to ease Winter's worries, Cinder dismisses her Keyblade and grips the Yamato.
"You better come back to us and don't do anything reckless, alright?" Winter asked.
"I make no promises," Cinder smiles and walks into the forest. Winter can skillfully tell Cinder is forcing that smile.
"Is she going to be okay?" Baldr asked Winter.
"I hope so," Winter said worriedly and took Baldr back to camp. Winter is correct to be so because Cinder is making her way to a White Fang camp. She knows of their location thanks to her great sense of smell and hearing.
Cinder can feel her Shadow Aura stirring inside her heart as she approaches the White Fang camp, "It's my duty as a Keyblade wielder and Faunus princess to bring these scum to justice! It's not murder! My light will smite the ones who stain Faunus' good name!" Cinder thought.
When Cinder arrives at the White Fang camp, she draws the Yamato and summons her Keyblade. She didn't tell them why she was there or why she drew her weapons. She attacks them instantly and burns their camp to the ground with her golden light. To not doesn't fall prey to the White Fang's underhanded attacks, Cinder summons her Keyblade armour. Because armour does help strengthen an Aura's defences.
With her Keyblade armour on, Cinder looks like a fantasy knight. Her cloak is now acting as a cape.
With their leader of the camp away on a mission. The White Fang members who stood behind stand no chance against Cinder. Only one member remains. However, something is off about them. Cinder can feel it in her gut. She's proven right because this last White Fang member has Shadow Aura. She is not surprised they have a Fanus with Shadow Aura within their ranks.
Seeing their comrades die in front of them pushes them into Hyper Mode. They now have a black aura, and Cinder can see a pair of glowing red eyes under their Grimm mask. With a roar, the White Fang member attacks Cinder. Cinder is taken aback by how fast they are moving. They even manage to land a few blows on Cinder.
But this White Fang member is mindless, so Cinder needs to use skill and speed to take them down.
So she dismisses her Keyblade and sheaths her Yamato. With her training with Ven, Cinder's draw speed has increased dramatically.
It was when she was attacking hard and fast that Cinder found a weakness of Hyper Mode. Though it makes a person more robust, it weakens their Aura greatly. Once she sees an opening, Cinder strikes a fatal blow.
Cinder takes their mask and leaves the camp. But the battle left Cinder winded so she sits by a tree and takes her helmet off, "Will that happen to me one day?" Cinder wonders and shakes her head, "No! My silver eyes will hold my Shadow Aura back!"
Once Cinder has gained enough strength made her way back to the camp. Once she arrived is shocked to see an Armoured Ven standing on his Keyblade glider, "Grab on!" Ven shouts and holds out his hand.
"Oh, okay?" Cinder was confused and took Ven's hand. Ven grabs Cinder's hand and pulls her up on his Keyblade glider.
Taking off, Ven starts explaining what happened when Winter came to the camp. She explains what happened to Baldr's sister. When they saw smoke in the distance tell everyone to pack up their things. They're going to the nearest train station but Van is going to stand behind and wait for Cinder to come back.
She didn't have anyone to go find Cinder because she has faith in Cinder's abilities.
"Winter is going give me an ear full," Cinder sighs.
"Speaking of Winter," Ven said as he spotted Winter waiting at the train station. From the looks of it, the train is about to leave.
Ven lands nearby Winter. He dismisses his Armour and Keyblade glider, "H-Hey Winter," Cinder said nervously.
"Get in," Winter sighs. She grabs Cinder by the arm and drags the Lion Faunus into the train. Unsurprisingly, Winter paid for everyone to stay in the first-class car. Winter drags Cinder to the bathroom. Seeing Baldr, Cinder tosses the blood-stained Grimm mask to him. Baldr catches it and is shocked.
Seeing the blooded-stained mask did make Baldr feel a little better. He plans to put it on his sister's grave once they return to Scala Ad Caelum. Cinder's actions moved Baldr to tears.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Winter helps Cinder have a quick shower and dresses Cinder up in a new set of clothes. Cinder notices how regal they look. She is now wearing a royal blue coat with white accents, golden epaulets, and black cuffs. Winter ties a white cravat around Cinder's neck. Under the coat are a black button-up shirt and white sash. Cinder is wearing black pants, white gloves and brown knee-high boots.
Cinder also noticed the black and red hair dye had been watched off. Exposing her natural pink hair. "I'm so not going to stand out with this," Cinder sighs.
Winter smiles, "That's the idea because your mother thinks it's time for the Faunus to get to know you. So by the time you become king, you'll have their support," Winter explains.
"So that's why these clothes fit me so well," Cinder said then sighed.
Winter puts a hand on Cinder's shoulder, "Don't worry Cinder, you have your friends by your side,"
Cinder smiles, "Thank you. Say, where are we going?" she asked.
"To the City of Vale," Winter said. Little did she and the other Keyblade wielders know the city they are going through is going through a crisis.
