Jaune Arc: The Prototype

by Genesis.Rising.exe

Jaune Arc was a normal child from a Hunter family, He'd always wanted to be a huntsman when he was older, but before he can get training in. He was captured and experimented upon by Dr Merlot, Who was intending to create the 'Perfect' Human, the Human 2.0, The Next Upgrade. Sadly all he was able to create was the powers Jaune now wields. Jaune has quickly become the 'Prototype'

3. Arrival

Right! So, I'm still trying to get a good balance between line breaks and keeping things from being too text wall-ish. Looking back on the last chapter while the Linebreaks were necessary they were too often used so it looked somewhat tacky, at least in my opinion.

Never-Enough7407; I appreciate the 'show-don't-tell' method, But the scene wasn't supposed to be bragging about Jaune, it was to try and show just how far Merlot is willing to go, how depraved he's become. Furthermore, I'd never intended to make many Evolved I've got a solid 1 confirmed and one half-n-half between making them an Evolved or a Heller-esque character.

II

X3runner; I'm not actually familiar with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, I've heard from my nerd friends that it's okay, but Its never been my cup of tea. Your second point is blatant spoilers D:. Your third comment should be answered this chapter :3

II

Xealchim; While Arkos may be my favourite ship, it is Not the only one I enjoy. I'm not dedicated to a single ship yet, because to put it simply, I've got more ideas for ships than I have time to write and I end up exploring those mentally and have most of them crash and burn due to certain changes. That being said, If you stick to one ship in your writing, there's only so many times you can write 'Jaune Kisses Pyrrha' before it gets dull and repetitive.

II

'Leader'; Were I to even *consider* introducing an OC (which I'm vehemently against on principle) I'd need a full comprehensive breakdown of just about everything about said character. Their Appearance, Goals, Motivations, Limitations, Strengths, Weaknesses and Lines they *wont* cross regardless of advantage. Telling me to go look at another fanfiction's reviews for a description of this OC is simply not going to happen. As well written as Jaune Ryu-Long is (I have read it, I believe it's still in my favourites) The Fic lost me fairly quickly at the climax of 'cannon' volume 3. Cinder being defeated and summoning an actual dragon wasn't the problem. It was the addition of mindless, fodder OC's to throw at the protagonist in a 'He may be super powered Buuuuuut these guys aren't affected by them' sense. Instead of making the Cannon characters Evolve and grow, the author threw an army at 'Jaune Ryu-Long' in a seeming cop-out. Your point of having your OC be the progenitor of the BlackLight was equally baffling as it was annoying. Were I to implement a character like that, I'd just be using the plot of Prototype 2 and might as well use Alex Mercer in that role.

II

So, the ending of Chapter 2's Challenge, the answer was 'Mass Effect 2'. In which Commander Shepard wakes up during a violent attack on the space station that he resides in. Damn, writing this chapter was surprisingly difficult. I didn't want to vomit the cannon verbatim but at the same time I didn't want to make something too outlandish.

II-II-II-II-II-II

Beacon Academy.

The Premier Academy in Remnant. A School that usually puts out legends on a generational basis and Jaune Arc had gotten his wish, He was going to be a Huntsman. One of the best huntsmen in his generation if he had anything to say about it. The Rocking of the Bullhead sent a momentary rush of queasiness through his body that had his entire body stiffening up for a moment. It passed as the Bullhead took off, heading to Beacon's campus. Looking around he saw quite a colourful cast of people but none he recognized. A Shame. He was sat on a bench leaning against the wall of the bullhead, just waiting. Thinking back on his Sisters, they weren't pleased that he was leaving and had monopolized his attention for the month before today. If he was brave he'd say the only reason they'd let him go was because he'd been around for the last seven years. He couldn't help but smile fondly as he opened his scroll, seeing his entire family in one big background photo.

He'd gotten a ping, he opened it immediately, curious as to see what May wanted. The pair had become something akin to pen-pals after escaping Merlots laboratory, it had taken a while to get contact information and such, but they'd managed and Jaune managed to get some small measure of his outgoing personality back. This, unbeknownst to Jaune was recommended by Beacon's resident Psychologist to keep the two from become isolated or anti-social in the future.

II

'Crosshairs: U finally hitting Beacon then Jaune?'

'BlackKnight: Of Course, I can't wait! Being a Hunter is what I've always dreamed of being!'

'Crosshairs: I wonder who'll be on Ur team… I hear that little Schnee girl made waves when she enrolled'

'BlackKnight: Wait… Team?'

'Crosshairs: Of Course! Ur Still in training! They're gunna team you up with others and stuff to make sure that you'll have support and stuff if you need it. Also Safety I guess. Ugh, My Partners such a slob T.T'

'BlackKnight: Well, I guess I could play off BlackLight as a Semblance… I didn't plan for this!'

'Crosshairs: Yeaaaaaaah, you probably should have focused on what was actually going to happen rather than those boring adventures huh? ;D. Anyways, gotta go my teams gunna be late!'

II

Jaune sighed into his hand as he pinched the bridge of his nose, He wasn't ready for this! He thought he'd have years before being thrown into a squad and he'd have to show off the BlackLight. He tried to drag his thoughts off his imminent team. He looked around to distract himself and was quickly able to find a distraction! Great success! Said distraction was a 6ft brown short haired teen play fighting with 3 others… though he supposed judging by the techniques used it was more play wrestling. He watched the quartet wrestling and it seemed to be all in good fun, they'd clearly been friends before getting into Beacon. He learned after a particularly loud slam that the big one was called 'Cardin' as he'd knocked one of his friends into and consequently over the trash can. Loud wasn't always bad he supposed, on the surface they seemed fun.

His thoughts were effectively stolen as he saw a girl clad in pink and white with orange hair started zipping around a young well-kept teen clad in green with black hair. 'Zipping' because that was the only word to describe it, it was hardly regular movement, the orange haired girl was spewing what was roughly a million questions a minute, flowing to different questions without waiting for an answer… she was interesting to say the least. Through her endless questions he'd learned that the young green clad teen was named 'Ren' and via his own response that the Pink clad girl was named 'Nora'.

His thoughts were cut off as a news report caught his attention, talking about Roman Torchwick's latest crime. Jaune wasn't exactly…familiar with Vales Most Wanted, but he didn't really have to be. Torchwick was pretty well known even outside of Vale. Apparently, the robbery was foiled by a Huntress who happened to be in the neighbourhood, well hopefully it'd set the criminal back for a bit. Unfortunately, that was unlikely though. Criminals like him were like cockroaches, they were hard to stomp out completely. Jaune shook himself from that rather macabre thought as the news flicked back to one 'Lisa Lavender' who was talking about the White Fang. They were now disrupting Faunus Civil Rights protests… He could understand many things, Frustration, Anger, Deep down he could even understand their hatred. But they were only damaging the cause they sought to further.

II

A quick look over to a hologram showed an Image of Miss Goodwitch who he had had minimal interaction with back when they'd landed. The hologram was effectively introducing Glynda and ensuring that the attendees knew exactly what the stakes were at Beacon and the behaviour required. Narrowly avoiding the stampede as people flooded to the windows now that Beacon was insight… Jaune could only roll his eyes.

"Not Impressed?" A voice broke him from his thoughts, it was right next to him and he hadn't noticed, that was sloppy. As he turned to the speaker he saw a girl clad in black and white thoroughly engrossed in her book… Still, something was off with her. She'd managed to get right next to him without his notice, that… didn't happen. He could feel the smirk as she noticed his reaction, those Amber eyes flicking up to his for a moment before going back to her book.

"Not exactly, we're going to be living there for 4 years, It's a just a couple buildings" Jaune responded, rolling his shoulders in a shrug as he responded, missing the girls contemplative face. As he looked over the girl, he obvious physical appearance besides, she definitely seemed like a fighter who relied more on Finesse than brute force, a scalpel rather than a hammer… Although he did wonder about her weapon, Hunter weapons could be quite literally anything and anything else and it seemed the combinations never ended.

"Rather Grandiose though" The Girl replied, eyeing him over her book. He sword he'd recognized the title somewhere though, Ninja's of Love… He'd definitely heard of it. "Blake Belladonna" the girl tacked on at the end in a somewhat matter-of-fact way.

"Jaune Arc. Short, Sweet, rolls of the tongue, Ladies love it" Jaune replied unable to prevent his dad's usual introduction from rolling off his tongue. Pair that with a genuine smile and he could usually get a good reaction.

"Do They?" Blake replied as the corner of her mouth twitching up ever so slightly as she watched his reaction, Amber eyes flicking to him as she waited for a reaction.

Jaune naturally being a dramatic person didn't disappoint "Oh how you have wounded this poor knight's fragile masculinity, fair maiden" His voice naturally shifting to 'Ye Olde Valean', leaning back against the bullhead and placing the back of his palm on his forehead as if he were going to faint.

The quiet giggling was quiet enough that he nearly missed it, but he caught it. Shoulder's shaking and the ever so light dusting of pink across Blake's face combined with an actual smile, small but still there, was certainly a nice confidence booster for the young prototype.

As the bullhead landed and the crowd started to exit, Jaune waited. He hated being packed in a crowd, With the Blacklight his senses were enhanced, particularly smell and hearing were the stickler for crowds. Smelling over a dozen people at once was nauseating, hearing them might as well have turned you deaf for all the good it'd do.

II-II-II-II-II-II

Jaune was just walking down the ramp of the bullhead and took a single step onto the campus of Beacon when an explosion detonated encompassing a Red and Black clad young girl who seemed a lot younger than 17 and a White Clad girl who he'd bet all the Lien he'd saved up that was 'Schnee' that Crosshairs had mentioned. Jaune sighed as he approached, At least he should check if they were alright, that's what heroes did, after all.

II

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" 'Schnee' exclaimed, thoroughly enraged if Jaune had to guess, although it could just be what she was like. Atlesians were pretty… uptight from what he'd heard. As Jaune got closer he saw the little red girl about to open her mouth and was willing her to say something in retaliation…a stuttering apology wasn't what he was hoping for.

"I'm really, really sorry!" the girl seemed like she was going to die of embarrassment and legitimately seemed apologetic for what she'd Apparently done. Idly Jaune caught his new friend? Blake walking over, a book in one hand and a vial of dust in the other, impressive footwork for someone who wasn't looking where they were going. Of Course, his analysis was cut short as 'Schnee' opened up her mouth and firmly inserted her own foot.

'Ugh! You complete dolt! What are you even Doing here!? Aren't you a little young to be attending beacon?" Wow it took some serious experience to pack that much condescension and contempt into that sentence. His impression of 'Schnee' was dropping by the word and was in serious danger of flatlining. He nearly missed little red's stuttering reply.

"Well, I-I…" Little red looked like she wanted the world to open up and swallow her whole, He was somewhat annoyed now. They were here to fight Grimm and save people and she was putting on this dramatic and unnecessary bitch fit because of Dust. She'd never survive in the wilds, hell she might not survive Beacon. The Schnee Bulldozer continued, ramming as much of her foreleg into her own mouth as possible.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight Monsters so… watch where you're going!" Schnee finally finished her little tirade, expecting and waiting for another snivelling apology from little red no doubt. Jaune and the monochrome girl were approaching at roughly the same time, Now Jaune was no expert on the modern woman, but he could almost taste the girls dislike of Schnee. It was at this point that Little Red piped up, finally having enough of the Schnee's attitude.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, Princess!" Little Red seemed frustrated, Rightly so in Jaunes personal opinion. Schnee was being unreasonably in this instance and if that was how she acted after a minor accident, she wasn't going to get many friends. He and Blake had reached their destination, they were certainly enough to Interject.

"It's heiress, actually" Blake said "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellent in the world" Blake said without nary a missed beat. Jaune didn't know if that was verbatim but it seemed that way, Blake definitely had brains and Jaune could shamelessly admit she was quite the looker. Schnee seemed smug as Blake finished up, no doubt thinking the pair of newcomers were sycophants.

"Finally! Some Recognition!" Schnee's face blossomed quite nicely into a smug smirk that was so delectably punchable. Jaune was about to interject himself into the conversation, but his new friend wasn't done yet.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labour forces and questionable business partners" Blake said still in that rather matter-of-fact tone. As if it weren't an opinion, simply a fact. Little Red couldn't quite withhold the giggle as Schnee spluttered. Jaune couldn't help but twist the knife just a little deeper though.

"If her Father acts like she just did, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to be honest" In an off-hand tone to Blake. Said girl's eyebrow raised rather delicately as she for the first time since they'd met moved the book and gave Jaune her full attention. Little Red didn't seem quite so onboard with the trail of the conversation and Schnee was about go off like thermonuclear bomb.

"Wha- How dare you! I will not stand for a country bumpkin like you to insult my manners!" In the background, Schnee's servants were gathering her many belongings and placing them back on the rather gaudy rack she'd brought. Blake and Little Red were waiting for his response, naturally he gave one.

"Then sit, if it pleases you princess. Not only have you proved my point, your initial reaction to an accident wasn't checking no one was hurt, It was to degrade and attack another student verbally. When said student tried to apologise to you, you continued your diatribe and ran roughshod over any attempts at an apology." Jaune's rather bored face throughout his own little speech was making Schnee go a rather beautiful shade of red and he was ninety percent sure it wasn't from embarrassment. Little Red and Blakes giggling only added fuel to the metaphorical dust fire.

Schnee's very mature and responsible reaction, was to snatch the vial of dust from Blake, glare at the three of them venomously and storm off in a huff. Little Red was still trying to apologize regardless "I promise I'll make this up to you!" she sighed and turned to the two…one other person still with her, as Blake had walked away.

"Hey, I'm Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it" unable to avoid using that silly phrase again caused him near physical pain, at least he finished off the cheesy line with a smile. He was rewarded by Little Red blushing ever so slightly as she replied.

"I'm Ruby Rose!" She stated quite proudly, before filling a not-really-awkward silence by announcing 'I've got this thing!" and whipping out quite the monster of a scythe, taller than she was and a blade nearly as long with clear mechashift capabilities. Jaune would bet a lot of money it had some form of gun attached, his fellow teens seemed to go nuts about shoving either guns and/or dust into their weapons these days.

"It's certainly a beauty for sure, the craftmanship is stunning. Dust or Bullets?" Jaune asked getting very into Ruby's scythe. It was deadly and in any other hand he'd probably be laughing at someone for using such an impractical weapon… but for some reason it just fit with Ruby Rose.

"Bullets! It's also a gun!" smiling and cocking the weapon, blush still present due to him complimenting her baby. "So what've you got? I bet it's really cool!" Ruby gushed, In her own little world as she imagined what kind of weapon someone with Jaune's body type could use. Of course, her thought track was something along the lines of "He looks like a strength type! That means something heavy and smashy! But what calibre would he use in his weapon?" Thoughts popping into her head and being discarded faster than she could make sense of them.

"Ahem, It's an old family heirloom. Crocea Mors, it's fairly basic for now, but It's an ancient rite of passage for my family to build on the weapons our ancestors left behind. In a way I'm honoured they trusted me with Crocea Mors." Jaune replied, drawing his sword and shield, a somewhat plain Longsword and Kite shield but the craftsmanship was excellent, the pair had been very well maintained.

"Rite of Passage? What do you mean?" Ruby said, collapsing her very large scythe and placing the mechashifted weapon back on her…back. Her head was tilted in confusion, and for some reason Jaune couldn't place he was reminded of a puppy.

"In my family, when a child becomes a hunter they are supposed to build on the work their ancestors. Keeping the same values, the previous wielders had and infusing their own into the weapon they were given. Crocea Mors hasn't been given out since its original wielder my great-great grandfather used in the Faunus Wars." Jaune admitted somewhat sheepishly, He could forge an Iron Dagger and that was about it, he wasn't looking forward to learning how to Re-forge, Dust-Forge and integrate mechashift technology onto the blade of Crocea Mors, The shield was easier to improve upon but It would still be a challenge.

II-II-II-II-II-II

"YOU FAILED!" the voice alone carried enough force to shake the room they were in. Standing alone in what was essentially a throne room, was a woman garbed in black with incredibly pale skin and burning crimson eyes. Clearly something unnatural afflicted her as the sclera of each eye was black as pitch and numerous veins throughout her body stood out as black against her skin. The woman was furious, incensed even as she glared down at the battered broken form before her. She had given this subordinate one mission, and she had not only failed but allowed her target to get near-permanently out of her mistresses reach. "What could have possibly prevented you from succeeding!?"

"M-Mistress, the Maiden was stronger than reports indicated, her abilities tore through my augmentations as if I were normal person, they seemed to bypass my aura in it's entirety" The broken form spoke, head bowed in submission. The younger woman was on all fours covered in bruises, burns and lacerations. Amber eyes filled with pain, sorrow and fear, long raven hair that had been badly burned and was going to require extensive repair.

"Bypass your aura? To cut through your very soul what are you playing at Ozpin!?" The older woman snarled, Ozpin was Supposedly weakening, yet his maidens could cut through an individual's very soul!? That was a power even she, Salem, Queen of the Grimm and Inheritor of the Younger Brother's Will hadn't been able to do. "Regardless, you are our Fallen Maiden Cinder or you will soon be. You should have defeated that little girl with ease, you were trained by Tyrian and Hazel, they spared no expense on bringing you up to speed. If your Augments failed, you should have adapted to the situation…. I will give you one chance to redeem yourself Cinder. You will leave for Vale immediately, learn the whereabouts of the Maiden and you Will claim her power for your own. Do you understand me?"

"Y-Yes Mistress" Cinder spoke, body wracked with pain and crippled by overwhelming fear of the figure before her. "I may need to recruit others to Ass-" Cinder added before being cut off.

"Recruit whomever you need or desire, but you will claim the Maiden's power." Salem spoke in a tone somewhat akin to a death knell. The implication was clear, Cinder would claim the Maidens power, or she would die trying.

II-II-II-II-II-II

Cinder exited the luxurious throne room and started her broken hobble back to 'her' room. Her thoughts were of course on her botched mission, how could they not be? She had been arrogant, and it had cost her and by extension, Salem dearly. She had believed that with the power of her Augments and the training that had been beaten into her, literally, that she could handle a Maiden by herself. She hadn't even tried to ambush the Fall Maiden, she'd charged straight at her like a bull with her flesh warping into cruel and vicious claws and the fight… went poorly.

(AN: It's time for one of the cruellest sins in writing, Flashbacks. I'm so sorry.)

Cinder had been chasing the 'Fall Maiden' for months now, but she was catching up and the sheer anticipation sent rivers of adrenaline racing through her body. The predator and her prey were racing through an otherwise quite lovely forest, rich brown trees with vibrant green leaves a nice earthy scent blanketed the forest. Legs pumping, Cinder knew that she was gaining, and the anticipation only sent her running faster.

The maiden was fleeing on horseback, she lacked Cinder's augments and couldn't match the speeds Cinder ran at it because of it. Fortunately, Cinder had endurance and speed in spades and was gaining, not needing to sleep or rest as much as her prey did. She saw her prey! Standing on a dirt road facing towards the predator, a desperate final stand? HAH! She was handing Cinder the Maidens powers! Cinder exploded out of the forest in a single bound and launched herself at the Maiden, 'Amber' apparently.

The Maiden certainly didn't Look all that impressive, Brown hair, Brown eyes, brown skin… she had since abandoned her green travelling cloak and now stood there wearing a white blouse, brown vest, corset and pants on her arms where a trio of golden bands, one forming a bracer and the other two forming bracelets, a golden pair of armoured boots and a pauldron on her right shoulder completed the look.

Cinder wasn't particularly interested in what the Maiden looked like, she had been given a mission and she had no choice but to fulfil it, the fact that she got a near godly level of power out of the deal was merely icing on the cake.

They clashed, Cinder's claws slamming into Amber's staff. The dual ended gems glowing brightly and sparks flying from the friction, Surprised that the staff could withstand her claws, Cinder started picking apart the Maiden's defences, slashing viciously and relentlessly but finding nothing. Every claw swipe was blocked by that staff, Amber's face stretched into a smirk as she took an opening in Cinder's defences and slammed the white gem of the staff into Cinders gut. For a moment nothing happened and as Cinder was about to lash out a near hurricane force wind launched Cinder backwards off her feet.

Cinder sprang back onto her feet quickly and noticed that Amber's eyes were glowing, a sure sign of those powers manifesting. Cinder sprang forward again, lashing out as fast and precisely as she could, pushing aside her aggression and anticipation. It was making her sloppy. For all the good it did, they were at a dead lock regardless of how Cinder manipulated her abilities, She simply couldn't hit hard enough or fast enough to penetrate Ambers defences… and Amber? She knew it. She was toying with Cinder.

It was almost lazy the way the maiden raised her had and blasted Cinder with a lightning bolt launching her backwards again into one of the trees she had passed exiting the forest. Not letting up for even a moment, Amber amped up the lightning burning Cinder. Cinder's pride couldn't hold in the screams of agony as she was electrocuted, her flesh burning and spasming as the energy dissipated after what felt like an eternity.

In Reality it had been 5 seconds, Still Cinder rose and launched herself into the fray. She wasn't going to defeat this Maiden by overpowering her. She needed to play dirty, so she bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood and let it slowly pool in her mouth, taking ragged breaths through her nose. Finally, the Maiden made a mistake, she had, in quite an acrobatic manoeuvre, delivered series of rapid blows, each blow was thrown to unbalance her opponent, to force poor positioning and balance. As Amber spun in a pirouette, Cinder mentally crowed in victory as she waited until Ambers face swung back around.

A Cobra would envious of the perfect shot that Cinder fired from her mouth, splattering her opponents face and more importantly, her eyes in the thick viscous substance. As Amber swung sloppily with her staff attempting to hit Cinder in the skull, Cinder ducked under the sloppy swing and with near manic glee raked her claws up across Ambers torso, tearing through aura, clothing and flesh with little trouble.

That was the problem with aura you see, you had to know where the attack was coming form, true one could simply believe they were under attack from the 'front' and their aura would naturally thicken in front of them, shielding them mostly if not completely.

Before Cinder could gloat or cackle, or anything really… the area all around Amber exploded in a hurricane of flame surrounding and shielding Amber. Cinder had no choice but to leap backwards or be burned to ash. Aura may defend her, but the Maidens powers were not to be trifled with. Through the curtain of flames Cinder had lost sight of her target. Taking the slight reprieve for what it was, Cinder looked herself over and found not much out of place, she'd taken a nasty shot to the skull that had left a rather bad cut on her cheek, half a dozen nasty bruises on her arms and another seven on her torso. She'd be sore after this, but she'd be alive… which was something Cinder couldn't say for 'Amber'.

Stupid harlot, given godly power and how had she used it? Like a child realising they had a semblance for the first time! Over whelming power and no control, powerful the maidens may be, they required finesse to be truly monstrous. Imagine if the hurricane of flame that surrounded Amber now could avoid allies and only harm enemies? Imagine if each lightning bolt could chain to those close by? But no. This 'Maiden' was using it in something similar to a 'Scorched Earth' policy… it was disgraceful really.

The Hurricane of flame suddenly warped and flowed toward Cinder in a wave. Having no choice but take the attack head on, Cinder braced herself. The pain was incredible. It was like having every cell in her body flash fried, ripped apart and then the entire process reversed itself. As the fire flickered out, Amber no longer sustaining it, Cinder could see Amber again, grudgingly Cinder could admit she hadn't expected this…

Amber had used the flame around her to cauterize her wounds and had cleaned her face. Said face was twisted into a rictus of fury, as she floated off of the ground. The world seemed to shift as Lightning boomed overhead and the clouds that hadn't been there before started to weep, great torrents of water flowing down from the heavens like a monsoon.

Not Feeling up to getting struck by lightning a second time, Cinder flung herself to the side as a lightning bolt slammed down into the dirt where she stood, Cinders only warning being the heavy smell of ozone. Cinder rushed forward dodging the bolts that followed, had it only been the Lightning… she may have been able to attack.

Amber wasn't content just to bend lightning to her whim, Wind tore at her clothing, pushing and pulling Cinder trying to unbalance her. The water around her froze to Ice to trip her, the mud she stood upon became hands, pulling her down to try and drown her in earth. Cinder was fighting Remnant itself… and Remnant was winning.

Cinder, despite everything she had going for her… simply couldn't keep this up, it was one thing to fight an opponent of your skill. It was another thing entirely to face that opponent being fuelled by the power of a god with the world itself attempting to kill you. Still, Cinder wasn't going to give up here. She may not be able to defeat Amber here, as painful as it was to admit that, she'd be damned if Amber continued to grow in power… Cinder needed to cripple Amber… but how to goad her into it?

Amber oblivious to Cinder's plotting charged at Cinder, flying through the sky glowing with an ethereal light like a grossly incandescent meteor. The speed and sheer power behind the attack was staggering, how could it not be? Cinder had no choice but to fling herself to the side, not simply side stepping but actually launching herself a good fifteen feet to the side.

Many minds would be forgiven for missing it, but Cinder saw that the attack that Amber had just used while certainly crippling to hit by, even for Cinder… was very difficult to stop or turn and Cinder would be her life that Amber developed tunnel vision while using it… that was an idea.

Cinder smirked as she dodged, keeping that smirk plastered on her face as she kept dodging, never retaliating and making each dodge look graceful and more importantly Effortless. This would ignite the Maidens fury and force to her up the power of the attacks she was using, distantly she heard a crow's cry as she saw the exact moment Ambers control on her temper broke.

The glow around Amber exploded angrily taking a consistency and look like fire, raging around the maiden and lightning crackling through out as she charged, a lot faster that she had prior. Cinder warped her arms, increasing the muscle mass and density tremendously. Her hands once, quite slim and graceful became black and thick, easily bloating to near double the average humans' hand in both size and thickness.

Amber, so consumed by her rage didn't care, confident that her powers and aura would save her from any damage. So what if this cretin had warped her body? She'd be dead before the girl could do anything with those thick meaty hands. Unfortunately for Amber, Pride cometh before a fall. As she flew towards the cretin, intent on doing enough blunt force trauma across the girl's body to destroy the lungs, heart and just about every rib, she watched in horror as the cretin jumped aside. She was going too fast to stop…

Cinder snarled viciously in victory as she raised her arms up above her head and clasped one of her fists in the other. As Amber passed by, Cinder brought down her warped arms with all the enhanced strength she could muster. A perfect hammer blow delivered right at the centre point of Ambers spine. The Snap and inward bend of Amber's body as her power faded was a memory that Cinder Fall would never ever forget. The boneless near-flop as Amber's body hit the ground and sliding through the mud, the poor maiden in too much pain to even scream as every instinct she had told her to move her lower body.

Cinder however… wasn't in a merciful mood, her hair was badly burned, she had been beaten, bruised and battered and her clothing was in tatters, all of which was amplified by the fact she was drenched to the bone and spattered with mud and would almost certainly need a haircut. She flipped Amber onto her back carelessly as the Maiden writhed in pain…

There were so many things Cinder wanted to do to the Maiden… but what was the point? Being cruel here got her nothing and accomplished nothing. But looking down at the crushed, defeated, crippled maiden who was wearing her fear and pain clear on her face… any cruel intentions she may have had died an early death.

Cinder sighed, crouching down and moving Ambers hair out of her face… if Amber had to die… the least Cinder could do was explain Why it had to be that way.

"W-Why are you doing this?" Amber spoken quietly, sounding broken and afraid… But in Cinders mind flashed back to a white room, a gurney and the chafing of leather straps as a madman butchered her younger form, all the while a woman's cruel laughter rang in her ears.

"Because… I… am a Coward." The word left a bad taste in Cinder's mouth, but it was the truth. She wasn't brave or courageous enough to flee from Salem, certainly not suicidal enough to try and fight her way out. "If I don't do this… I will suffer a fate far worse than death. I don't have a choice in this."

Amber's eyes widened in surprise as she registered the meaning, her assailant wasn't here out of choice? But wait… Those powers… Ozpin had mentioned something similar to these before… The Arc boy? Her memories were hazy as a result of her pain… She could only sigh as she passed out.

Cinder looked at the fallen woman… it would be so easy to kill her now; a quick strike and she'd be dead… probably wouldn't even feel it. Right? Right!? She couldn't do it. Cinder sighed and waited. She was going to wait for the Maidens powers, she had stolen this girl's life and future… let the maiden pass on her own time.

She was disgusted with herself, she came to realize… she'd wanted power, sure. But this wasn't something she'd expected, the fear… the pain the agony her victims would experience at her hand. It was one thing to desire power deep enough that you'd think you'd kill for it. It was another to experience killing for it. The emotions of your victim laid bare, the accusatory stare in their eyes as they experience pain and suffering because of you. She was so weak.

"Well, Ain't that pathetic?" An older male voice spoke, Cinder's head snapping to the older man who'd entered the clearing. Short black hair, red eyes… the smell of cheap alcohol and a long-tailed dress shirt with black pants… Qrow Branwen. Ozpin's eyes in the world. "You go through all this effort and you don't have the balls to look her in the eyes as you kill her… It'd be funny if it weren't so Infuriating" Qrow finished, his voice getting darker at the end. His hand going back behind him and drawing a massive blade.

Cinder didn't bother to respond, she just ran. Not at Branwen, Oum no. Just away, back down the route she'd been chasing Amber down, She wouldn't have attempted to fight Qrow Branwen had she been at her best. He was so far beyond her right now it wasn't funny. Qrow Branwen was to Ozpin what Tyrian Callows was to Salem. They were both Butchers, one just butchered the 'bad guys' and thus was given free reign.

II-II-II-II-II-II

Cinder shook her head away from those thoughts.

She needed to recover and figure out a way to escape her 'mistresses' clutches. She'd seen what would happen if she failed to get the Maiden's powers. If Cinder couldn't be used to gain access to the 'vaults' beneath each school, then she would be converted into a 'Breeder' and would birth an 'enhanced' army for her Mistresses further use once Cinder passed. After all, Salem was a goddess, silly things like the passing of time had little to no relevance in her plans. She needed a way out. Soon.

II-II-II-II-II-II

Welp. That not only went longer than I wanted, It also took a lot longer than I wanted and Despite using the transcript word-for-word I still think like I wrote Weiss shittily. I think that's my inner weeb talking, I'm a sucker for Tsunderes.

Anyways! This chapter's little trivia is a bit more open ended, this is a chance for anyone who reads to have an impact on this Fic (provided I like the idea enough). In the Popular-Ish series 'Mass Effect' I want to know who your favourite companion is and most importantly, WHY! I love all 4 of the mass effect games. (Yes even Andromeda, finally a female Turian! And Papa Drak! How could you turn down your crazy gun toting Krogan uncle!) Naturally I'm quite the opinionated git and I'd love to hear some of the reasons You fell in love with our various crew members. Well besides a certain turian and his god damn calibrations. (Note: If you wanna rant about how amazing Garrus is, go for it.)

Anyone who responds I'd recommend PM'ing me to ensure that I receive your idea. It doesn't have to be a Ship or a plot point, it could even be a silly fluffy scene (I'm a sucker for them).

Anyways! As always, Read, Review and tell me what I did wrong!

Cheers!

Syndragosa