Jaune found Cinder in her room with the lights off. She was just staring at a computer screen with bloodshot eyes, typing furiously.
"Uhhh. Are you okay?" asked Jaune.
Cinder's eye moved in Jaune's direction, glaring at him.
Jaune sighed and looked around the room. Cold was playing in the background and there appeared to be entire cartons of ice cream lying around the room.
"Bad day, huh?" asked Jaune.
"Ugh Ughhh ugh ughh," said Cinder.
Jaune sighed. This conversation could potentially go on forever.
"I know this is pretty sudden and random of me, but would you want to be the lead singer of my death metal song?"
Cinder stopped typing and looked at Jaune curiously, at least that's what Jaune interpreted it as. Cinder's face had just as many expressions as her voice.
"It's for Salem," Jaune quickly added. "I'm going to make a song that I think she'll like, but I don't exactly have the voice for it. That's where you come in."
Jaune raised his eyebrows and winked at Cinder, hoping that she'd get the message.
Cinder rolled her eyes at him and went back to typing.
"Come on!" Jaune shouted. "Whatever you're doing on there can't be more important than this!"
In a fit of frustration, Jaune grabbed the computer from Cinder and looked at it. She was on a fansite for Team RWBY and leaving mean comments wherever she could.
One particular comment read, "Team RWBY getting character development is like waiting for a solar eclipse to happen where you live. You'll probably be dead before it happens."
"Trolling?" asked Jaune. "You went from being a feared and powerful antagonist...to...to an internet troll?"
Cinder looked away and pouted.
"You're definitely coming with me," said Jaune. He flipped on the light switch in her room, causing Cinder to hiss at him like a cat.
After dragging Cinder out of her room, Jaune had her set up in Salem's basement. The basement was more like a large dungeon where various torture devices could be found. It was as metal as it got.
"Who's that?" Jaune asked as Cinder sat down. There was a woman standing beside her with green hair.
"I'm her translator," said the girl. "Name's Emerald Sustrai."
"How did you-"
"I picked up Cinder's SOS signal."
"That's what those grunts were?"
Emerald nodded.
"Whatever," Jaune shrugged. "Let's just get on to rehearsal."
"Ughh Ughh Ughh GUhhu!" Cinder groaned.
"UGHHH!" Jaune growled. "What is it now?"
"She says she wants nothing to do with you and would rather be back in her room," said Salem.
Jaune slammed his palm against his forehead and took a deep breath. So many things had gone wrong throughout the day and the last thing he needed was this.
"Can I ask why she doesn't want to be here," Jaune said with forced kindness. It was clear to everyone else that he was fuming underneath. The heavy breathing and dark red face gave it away.
Cinder leaned over to Emerald and grunted something in her ear. Emerald then stood up and said, "She says it's because 'you's a bitchass.' Her words, not mine."
Jaune felt his entire body shake as he tried his best to suppress the anger building up.
"Look," he said through a tightened mouth, "All I'm asking is for you to sing me one song. Just one. Do you think you can do that?"
Cinder and Emerald looked at each other for a moment and smirked.
"She says she'll do it," says Emerald.
"Good," said Jaune. "I was seriously considering the thought of throwing you both into the Iron Maiden over there."
After talking a bit with Cinder and Emerald, Jaune finally had a workable idea. He would sing a random song while playing electric guitar. Cinder would sing a few songs from a song he wrote and Emerald would use her semblance to make it seem like they actually sounded good. It was completely foolproof and would put Jaune in a favorable position with Salem.
"The song I've written is about a young girl pained by the loss of a loved one. Forced to endure life without a mother figure, this young girl argues against her inner self and the spirit of her mother."
"Red Like Roses Part Two?" asked Emerald. "Did you even try to write something original? This isn't even death metal."
"This is the death metal cover," said Jaune with an arched eyebrow. "Sing it, Cinder!"
Cinder held up her sheet and began to sing the lyrics. They were loud, booming, and pretty intense. Jaune was almost surprised that this kind of voice was coming from Cinder of all people.
"This is going to be great!" Jaune said after the song had been finished. "Cinder, you're going to be a death metal legend after this!"
"I'm glad to hear that," said Cinder. "I've needed some way to get over my crippling eye loss."
Jaune and Emerald both gasped at what they were hearing.
"C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CINDER!" Jaune shrieked, causing his voice to crack. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR VOICE?"
Cinder clasped her hands around her throat and gasped. "No…." she whispered. "It came back, and so suddenly too!"
Jaune bit his lips and kicked at the wall. "Damn it!" He shouted. "Shit! Shit! SHEEEEEEEEEEIT!"
"It appears your plan is a failure after all," said Emerald. "It's a shame too. I was honestly enjoying the song."
"It isn't over yet," said a very deep voice. It was deeper than any other voice Jaune had heard. Everybody looked to see who this mysterious voice belonged to.
"I have come to save you all," said Neo.
Jaune looked at Emerald, hoping she was pulling some kind of illusion. To his shock, Emerald was just as stunned as he was.
"Ummm...have you always...you know," Jaune said awkwardly.
"Had this voice?" asked Neo. She chuckled in her strangely deep voice. "That's a mystery that shall remain unanswered. For now, allow me to sing your song for you."
"I'm really expecting to wake up from another dream," said Jaune. "This is too weird for me to believe."
"I still can't believe I have my voice back," said Cinder.
"Too bad the same can't be said about your eye," Jaune joked. He could feel her fingers pressing into his shoulders like a steel claw.
Even with Cinder dislocating his shoulder, Jaune couldn't help but smile. Things were finally starting to look up.