When Napa opened her eyes, she found a familiar sight: an infirmary. It wasn't Beacon's, though... She looked up to see Blake, Sam, and Dora there, and she gave a weak smirk.
"It wasn't a scratch, eh?"
"You idiot." Dora glared, annoyed. Napa laughed tiredly, sitting up.
"Yeah, yeah..." The wolf-Faunus frowned slightly, noticing an absence. "Hey... Where's Adam?"
"... We don't know." Blake admitted, and Napa blinked. "He's missing. He vanished just after he made sure that you got into the hospital okay." Napa's body tensed. "He said that he was going to 'make things right', but he hasn't called since he left... It's been over twenty-four hours." Napa looked down, frowning.
"I see... What else have I missed?"
"Yang's in a bit of trouble... " Dora sighed sadly. "Last night, she attacked someone after a finals match. He's supposedly being flown back to Mistral for medical treatment, his team apparently going with him."
"What?" Napa looked up, and Sam held his scroll out and showed her the video. "That's so unlike Yang... How's she doing?"
"Not good." Blake crossed her arms. "But she'll be alright, she just needs time... She insists that Mercury attacked her, but no one else saw anything. He was just walking past her." Blake looked down, then back at Napa. "Just before we left... Adam warned us about Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder."
"Cinder." Napa's eyes narrowed as her hair bristled. "The one who sent the bounty-hunters... Who is she?"
"She's just some girl from Haven, according to most people." Dora crossed her arms. "But Adam? He acted as if she and her teammates were monsters. He was really freaked-out, saying they were to blame for all of these terrible things and that he had to try and stop them."
"By himself?" Napa asked, her hair returning to normal and her expression showing worry. Silence fell.
"... We'll let you get some rest." Blake looked down, her expression grim. "After all... You were nearly dead, Napa." Napa blinked before hanging her head, and Sam smiled sadly.
"Don't worry, Science-Girl - Adam will be back soon, safe and sound... It's all gonna be okay."
Sam, Dora, and Blake left the infirmary - Blake mentioning that General Ironwood wanted to talk to her team -, and Napa laid back in her bed. She knew why her brother could not be there at that time, he had a job and all, but she hated the silence... Napa noticed her scroll on her bedside-table and grabbed it, selecting Adam's contact. She raised the scroll to her ear, taking a deep breath as it rang three times...
:This is Adam. I can't come to the scroll right now, so leave a message.: Adam's voicemail began. :If it's Blake, I'll call you back as soon as possible. If it's Dora, I'm sure you can handle Sam until I get there. Just duct-tape him to something, or try a laser-pointer. I'm sure it'll work.: Napa gave a small hum of amusement. :If it's Sam - for the last time, I'm not telling you where we hid the Pixi-Stix. And if it's Napa... Don't do anything reckless or stupid, partner. I'll be there, soon - and we'll take care of it together, alright?: She looked down, sighing softly. :If it's anyone else, you know what to do.: A beep rang out.
"... Hey, Adam." Napa greeted quietly. "It's me, Napa. I'm awake, so yay... Everyone's worried about you, Adam." Napa's fave fell slihkyly. "I'm worried. Where are you? Are you okay?" She gave a weak grin. "... Are you going to make fun of me because I'm concerned, like a good partner?" Napa laughed tiredly, then she looked down. "... I'm sorry if I scared you. Yes, I know that you're 'never scared', but I still want to apologize. Thanks for looking out for me, again." She looked up, frowning. "I need to talk to you. I'll be waiting in the infirmary, because it's not like I can do anything else... Don't do anything reckless or stupid, Edge-Lord. I'm all alone and pretty messed-up, so there'll only be so much I can do. But... I've got your back, no matter what."
/\
Adam listened to Napa's message, his expression forlorn as he stood on a rooftop in Vale, then he hung up and made a call.
:Hello?:
"Professor Ozpin, no offense, but what the fuck is wrong with you?" Adam growled lowly, livid. "I warned you about Cinder yesterday! Why didn't you get rid of her and hee team?! Yang Xiao-Long has been labeled a psychopath, Cinder and her henchmen are loose in Vale, and I blame you!"
:Mr. Taurus, I... I'm so sorry.: Ozpin spoke softly. :I had a lapse in judgement, I chose to believe someone else over you. Under General Ironwood's advisement, I called Professor Leonardo Lionheart from Haven and asked him about the students you mentioned. He gave me transcripts, history-:
"Lies!" Adam snapped, enraged. "The tournament ends tonight! If Cinder isn't stopped, Vale falls - and I will NOT let my partner, my teammates, and my friends die because of your incompetence!"
:Mr. Taurus, I-:
"If you're not going to help me with Cinder, I'm ending her myself." Adam announced coldly. "I'll see you in the morning, professor."
:Adam, please! Do not do anything r-!: Ozpin was cut off as Adam hung up. The bull-Faunus scowled down at his scroll, then he sighed as he called Blake and raised the scroll to his ear.
"Blake?"
:Adam, thank the gods! Where are you?!:
"Yang is innocent."
:What?:
"Yang is innocent. By tomorrow morning, the ones behind this will be dead or jailed."
:... Adam, what's happening?:
"Blake... I'm so sorry." Adam closed his eyes. "I thought that leaving the White Fang would be enough to stop it, but it wasn't... I'll make things right, I promise. Just keep everyone safe, and stay inside tonight."
:Stay inside? Why?:
"I'm about to fight some pretty uneven odds, and if I fail-... I'm so sorry, Blake." Adam hung up before he could hear her reply, and he closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry... I should have acted sooner."
/\
Napa sat in her hospital bed for hours.
Her armor had been repaired, it and her weapons sitting at the foot of the bed. Napa managed a small smile as she noticed that Dora had taken the liberty of painting it - everything that was once turquoise was now a rich, royal purple. The plating for her back bore a white emblem, the face of a a calm and even wise-looking wolf...
Napa ultimately decided to watch the fights. The first battle was between Pyrrha Nikos and some Penny Polendina girl (Napa thought she recognized her from the battle at the docks, but she could not be sure), then Pyrrha swiped her hands to deflect an attack, her semblance making Penny's swords fly back. The wires that controlled the blades sliced through Penny's body, revealing that she was a robot and tearing her apart.
"Ah!" Napa covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a scream. Then...
:This is not a tragedy.: A woman's voice spoke, and Napa's scroll's screen went red with the black image of a chess piece. :This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children to men who claim to be our guardians but are, in reality, are nothing more than men. Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both.: Napa slowly lowered her hands. :They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet... What do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil.: Napa's eyes narrowed at that. :What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, and now this? Huntsman and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though this could serve as his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces.: Napa's fists clenched. :Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong... But I know that the existence of peace is fragile and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... Equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are at the brink of war - yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So, I ask you... When the first shots are fired... Who do you think you can trust?: The feed cut.
"... I've got to find Adam." Napa whispered, then she sat up, wincing in pain. "Damn it..." Napa shakily got to her feet, struggling to breathe, then she walked over to her armor. Her dragonfly hair-clip sat on top of her chest-plate, and it was the first thing she grabbed.
/\
When he found her, she was standing in a place no one else belonged besides himself and Napa. She must have known that, which is why she was there, standing on that rooftop at Beacon Academy and watching as Grimm rushed towards the kingdom and school from the forests and mountains.
Adam Taurus was livid as he approached Cinder Fall, and he cursed himself for being too late to stop her plans from going into action. But, he told himself, it was possible he could stop her plans from succeeding. Whatever a Fall Maiden was, he had to keep Cinder from reaching her.
"Cinder." Adam spoke coldly, and she looked back at him. There was a smirk on her face as she lowered her scroll.
"This is a beautiful spot, Adam." She remarked coyly. "I can see why you and your partner spent so much time here." Adam placed a hand on his blade. "I wouldn't do that."
"One good reason."
"... I will destroy the White Fang and personally make certain that your kind are oppressed forever." Cinder told him quietly. "And if that's not enough to sway you, Major... Do you believe that what happened to Miss Merlot in the arena is the worst that I can do to her, to anyone? To your teammates, to Blake Belladonna?" Adam drew his blade, scowling.
"You're going to pay for what you did to-!"
"Why?" Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care so much? You don't even know her."
"What are you talking abo-? No!" Adam shook his head. "You are NOT manipulating me!"
"This isn't a manipulation. This is truth." Cinder assured, then she laughed. "Oh, Adam... That partner of yours has so many secrets." Cinder held her scroll up. "May I show you? I promise, it's fascinating. When Salem showed me exactly waht your little wolf has been hiding, it really opened my eyes to exactly what kind of man Ozpin is - he collects broken people, promises them restoration, then snaps them even further and shapes them into tools to serve his purpose. Your precious little Miss Merlot is no different."
"... No, I-"
"LOOK!" Cinder snapped, weak wisps of orange fire suddenly igniting around her eyes, then she gasped in pain and cringed as the flames went out. "Damn you, Qrow Branwen..." Adam blinked behind his ribbon as Cinder raised a hand to her forehead, then the young woman looked up at him in anger and held her scroll out. "Look... And see what she's hidden from you."
"Why?"
"You though you escaped this war by coming to Beacon, Adam Taurus, but you didn't." Cinder told him quietly. "You wandered onto the wrong side and fell in love with one of Ozpin's secret weapons."
"She's not a w-"
"She is." Cinder assured, glaring. "That's the only reason why she hasn't been put down, Adam. She's a monster, to them... But they need her." Adam blinked again, then he found himself looking at the scroll as Cinder played a video.
He knew it was wrong, a violation of Napa's trust... But he had to know.
...
Four people fled a burning village. A man with blue eyes and wild purplish-black hair held a young boy with brown hair and wolf-ears in one arm, and he looked down with worry as a little girl - also in possession of brown hair and wolf-ears - gripped his free hand and looked up at him fearfully.
"Daddy, what's happening?!"
"It's alright, sweetheart!" The man promised, then he looked back. "Khione, we must go!" A woman in white and blue looked back, a dragonfly-shaped hair-clip in her brown tresses glinting in the firelight, her eyes wide and her wolf-ears flicking back. She held a massive sword in her hands, and she looked back at the village one last time before she looked back at her family and nodded.
"Right!" She shouted, then she sheathed her sword on her back and ran over, scooping the little girl up and looking up at her husband. "Bordeaux... I could-"
"It's not safe."
"It could save lives!"
"And cost yours!" The man exclained, and Khione looked down. "Khione... The children need you." The woman blinked, then she looked up at Bordeaux and sighed, nodding.
"You're right... Let's-"
A chorus of screeches rang out in the night. Khione and the two children's hair bristled, the family's eyes widening, then Bordeaux and Khione cried out and fell down on their knees. They held their children close, and Khione looked back in fright as a group of corpse-like Grimm slowly shuffled out of the forest.
"Apathy." Bordeaux almost-whimpered, and he closed his eyes. "We're done for!" Khione blinked, then she looked down at her children. They were looking up at her in terror, but as the Apathy screeched again and another wave of weakness hit, the light faded from their eyes and they looked down.
"... We're gonna die?" The little boy asked tiredly. Khione blinked, then her eyes narrowed.
"No." She replied, placing her hands one each of her children's shoulders and kissing each of them on the forehead. "Don't let specks get in your eyes, little ones. Stay kind, stay brave, stay just, and stay resolute." She took a book from within her satchel and pressed it into her son's hands, then she looked up at her husband. "... I love you."
"Khione?" Bordeaux asked, his eyes opening and widening. Khione smiled sadly as she placed the daughter into the man's arms and made sure he had a good hold on both children.
"You can do this, Bordeaux Merlot." She told him. "I know you can." Khione stretched out her hands, and blue fire suddenly ignited around her eyes. A blast of wind knocked the man and the two children to the treeline, away from the Apathy, and the three suddenly became alert again as they left the Grimm's range. Khione forced herself to stand, and she turned and faced the Grimm, her eyes narrowed. "If you can hear me, Black Queen, I do not fear you! You may take me, but you will not take my family!"
Khione raised her hands, and clouds rapidly formed in the sky above. The wind began to howl, and Khione slowly raised into the air as the flames around her eyes blazed. Thunder roared, and Khione acted as the lightning's instructor as she began blasting the Apathy one by one, giving them no time to screech again.
"Mommy?" The little boy asked, stunned. The woman smirked as she prepared a blast of blue fire, then she gasped as she heard a scream and she looked back with wide eyes. An Ursa raised its paw over her family, and Khione quickly reacting, hurling the blast of fire at the beast. The Ursa was killed instantly, but the remaining Apathy let out a shrill call, and Khione cried out as she fell from the sky.
"Mommy!" The little girl cried out as the woman landed on the ground. Khione looked up, her eyes wide and her expression fearful, then the Apathy screeched again. The emotion drained from Khione's face, the tension left her body, and the light faded from her eyes as she collapsed onto the ground. "Mommy!"
"It's alright, sweetie..." Khione whispered as the Apathy arrived at where she was. The man covered his son's eyes as the Apathy stretched their claws out. "It's fine..."
"Mommy, no!" The little girl reached out, her eyes wide. The man clenched his eyes shut and turned his face away.
"SWEETHEART, LOOK AWAY!" He pleaded, but it was no good. The little girl watched as the Apathy began to tear at and consume her mother, her little face ashen and her expression filled with fear, horror, and unbelievable sorrow as blood, flesh, hair, and bits of armor were scattered on the ground.
"MOMMY!" The child screamed, and it all happened so suddenly. A blast of blue light left Khione's now-unrecognizable form and struck the child, and her eyes widened as blue flames ignited around them. Her hand, still outstretched, prouduced a blue flame that instantly became a column of fire that shot out and incinerated the Apathy.
"What?" Bordeaux looked up, stunned. He looked down at his daughter, at her shaking form as the fire died. "... Napa?"
"... Mommy?" The four year-old whispered, the fire around her eyes going out. She stood and ran over to the scene, seeing nothing but the shreds, ash, and her mother's sword. Khione was gone, and Napa fell to her knees, her eyes filling with tears before she let out a scream and began to sob. "MOMMY!"
Bordeaux ran over and pulled his daughter into an embrace, the shattered man hugging his broken children close and closing his eyes. All of them wept... Then, Napa's little hand reached into the ash and retrieved the dragonfly hair-clip.
...
Cinder lowered the scroll, smirking in triumph as the video ended.
"Do you understand, now?"
"... She's like you." Adam managed, taken aback. "And those powers you were talking about taking, when you took Beacon... She has them, her mother-"
"Napa Merlot is the Winter Maiden." Cinder corrected him. "Your partner's illness prevents her from using her magic, but she has it all the same. Such a waste... I have come for the powers of the Fall Maiden, Adam - at least, those I have not yet taken." Cinder gave a wicked grin. "Though... Having the magic of two Maidens wouldn't hurt. In fact, if you help me, you can take your revenge for her lies and-"
"No."
"... What?" Cinder asked, her eyes widening. Adam stepped forward, his eyes narrowing.
"No." He repeated, and Cinder blinked. "... Where did you get that footage?" Cinder's face fell. "No one would have stayed to film it, that night. No one would have cared about one fleeing family with their own lives on the line... You have that footage because this Salem you spoke of arranged it... Salem made sure that Napa's mother was killed, didn't she? She wanted the Winter Maiden's magic vulnerable, and where else would it have been more vulnerable than in a traumatized little girl?"
"Adam, I-"
"You aren't touching her, and you aren't taking Vale." Adam raised Wilt, letting his anger into his voice. "You are dying, here and now, for what you've done to my partner and my people. No more tricks, no more persuasion, no more manipulation, and no more hit-men. It's over, Cinder."
"... No, it isn't." Cinder replied, and Adam blinked. "You see, Adam, if I don't make a call in three minutes, Mercury and Emerald will assume the worst. They have their orders, should I be indisposed."
"What are you talking about?"
"The White Fang's secret project." Cinder's smirk returned. "One of them, at least... They've already begun to drop Grimm off here at Beacon to increase numbers, but what we really need is more Grimm in Vale to divert forces towards evacuation of the citizens instead of protecting the school... There is a train, Adam, beneath Mountain Glenn. It is filled with members of the White Fang, and it is currently leading a horde of Grimm under the ground and into the heart of Vale. I believe Miss Merlot's hospital is in that area, isn't it?" Adam's face fell, and his sword dipped. "I've told Emerald and Mercury that, if I do not call and provide them with a specific code-word, my life will be void and it will be your doing. They will then contact some of our allies, and they shall begin the systematic extermination of Anino Merlot and Teams CFVY, SSSN, JNPR, RWBY, and AJCS." Adam's expression filled with disbelief. "One by one, all of these lost souls and careless children you've come to care for will be snuffed out like candles. Miss Merlot will be first, obviously - she's the biggest threat, and your greatest weakness." Cinder's eyes narrowed. "I've told Emerald and Mercury to throw her out of her hospital window and into the jaws of the Grimm. That way, there is a high chance of my disciple taking the Winter Maiden's magic for Salem."
"You... You wouldn't." Adam tried, but he knew it was futile. Cinder tsked, shaking her head.
"You and I both know that I would." She told him, then she held something out for him to take - a Grimm mask, much like his old one. "This will allow me to see what you see and give you instructions. My clever ally, Doctor Arthur Watts, has even made it so I'll be able to access the feed from anywhere in the world, even after we bring the CCT down... If you put it on and lead the White Fang as only you can, I'll call my allies off and your friends will stand a fighting chance of surviving the night."
"I-"
"It's not complicated, Adam." Cinder's expression became angered. "It's now when you must ask yourself what is more important. Do you really value this human-dominated kingdom and your newfound morals over the future of your people, the success of the White Fang, and those helpless little fools you've allowed yourself to become attached to? What do you want, Adam?"
"... I want you dead at my feet, you witch." Adam scowled, but he sheathed Wilt before he reached out and took the mask. Cinder hummed softly, watching in triumph as the bull-Faunus raised the mask to his face.
"I know... But it's good to know when we've been beaten, yes?" Cinder raised her scroll. "Emerald, Mercury... Chained." Adam's expression was absolutely livid, and Cinder drew another scroll and made a call. "... Lieutenant Banesaw." Cinder smirked as Adam looked down. "This is Cinder Fall. Your hero and leader has returned from his mission... All further orders shall come to you from Major Adam Taurus." Cinder held out the scroll to Adam, and the masked man took it in a shaking hand and raised it to his mouth. Cinder raised her own scroll to her mouth, and her voice seemed to reverberate as Adam heard it both from her and from the communicators in his mask. "Hm. Let's see... How about 'bring them to their knees'?"
"... Bring them to their knees."
Well... I'm guessing that this is the part where people start shouting.
"Ice! You were doing so well! Why are you being such a bitch, again?!"
Well, if I'm being honest, it's because of things I've been setting up since this story started. In time,you may see exactly what I mean.
I only own my OCs. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks!