It wasn't often that Cinder got visibly flustered, but when she did, Emerald always made sure to keep the occasion as a precious memory.
Most girls their age, when worrying about clothing, would care about how good they would look in them or if they were appropriate according to the current fashion… Cinder, instead, was cursing at her clothes because they wouldn't accept her Dust. She was currently in her fourth attempt, and all the previous three had resulted in explosions and ashes.
"Got it." The raven-haired girl said, nodding with satisfaction.
She took a step back to examine the Haven uniform and smiled lightly. One of Emerald's eyebrows rose slowly as she took notice of her colleague's happiness. Cinder looked at her and instantly her smile faded.
The uniform blew up, filling the room with smoke and an acrid smell. Emerald rushed to the window and opened it, letting the foul odor out. Cinder's anger showed as two flaming fists amidst the smoke.
A few moments later, Mercury opened the door to the room and stepped in. He swung his hand in front of his face in an effort to clear his vision. It wasn't until two minutes had passed that the three could see each other clearly.
Mercury was amused by the situation, while Emerald was coughing and glaring at Cinder in accusation. The raven-haired girl was sitting on her bed with an emotionless expression, though her crossed arms indicated that she was still upset.
"I discovered something interesting today!" Mercury said triumphantly.
"That's a change." Emerald replied under her breath.
"Well, at least I was working while you were watching Cinder mess with her clothes."
They glared at each other, which made Cinder roll her eyes with annoyance. With a snap of her fingers, she called Mercury's attention to her.
"What did you discover?" She asked.
"Jaune Arc wasn't actually accepted by Beacon. He bought fake transcripts and lied his way into this academy." Mercury said.
"Wow, the staff here really is a bunch of incompetent idiots." Emerald noted.
"Hmm. I doubt that is all there is to his story." Cinder said "As foolish as some of the teachers here are, Ozpin is an experienced and wise headmaster. He wouldn't let this Arc boy stay without good reason."
"So… Jaune Arc is a threat." Emerald assumed "Which means everyone in team Juniper is a threat."
Mercury raised a finger, as if he still had more information to impart.
"Their mission schedule is little delayed compared to the other first year teams. This could be the best opportunity for us to get rid of them." He looked at Cinder expectantly.
She looked down at her lap for a few seconds, then shook her head.
"No. We aren't touching them."
"What?!" Emerald exclaimed "That's ridiculous-"
"This is my choice." Cinder interrupted, her voice dropping to a menacing tone.
The green-haired thief looked away and nodded in shame.
"If a first year team died so suddenly, it would raise a lot of suspicion. Security would be upgraded; the school staff would be changed… And worst of all, people might discover we aren't actual exchange students." Cinder explained calmly "Besides, I believe it is best to not worry about them. Their safety might be better than their elimination, even without my previous reasoning."
"And by that, you mean…?" Mercury questioned.
"Team Juniper has a significant bond with team RWBY. If any of these eight were to be harmed, we'd have the remaining seven revenge-fueled friends to fight." Cinder said "Staying away from them is our safest approach to the issue."
"I thought you said team RWBY wasn't a threat?" Emerald remembered confusedly.
Cinder looked at her fixedly, but refused to give a verbal response. Emerald shrugged and gave Mercury a significant look. He smiled and walked closer.
Cinder groaned and stepped out of the room.
When they had signed up for a mission on Mountain Glenn, the team had expected a few days spent in fear and silence. As soon as Oobleck had been revealed as their overlooking teacher, that expectation had been changed and shattered.
The man had so much energy in him, half of the girls were wondering if what was in his cup was coffee or something else entirely. Weiss was too proper to consider her teachers to be capable of using any kinds of shady substances, while Ruby had only the faintest idea that those existed.
"So… Is it spiked?" Yang whispered to her partner "Or like… Pure, liquid drugs?"
"I haven't heard of the later." Blake responded in the same tone of voice "But I wouldn't doubt it."
Oobleck had been examining the corner of a fallen building, but when he heard the faint whispering, he immediately turned around and dashed to them. Yang suddenly found herself leaning back as the teacher stared at her directly.
"Don't. Speak." He said "There are Grimm around here."
"Sure thing, doc." Yang raised her thumbs cheerily "Got the message!"
Oobleck made a little humph and stepped back, then looked around quickly. After a few seconds of that, he looked at Ruby and nodded.
"Okay, girls, we will separate into three groups." He relayed "Two of these groups will be determined by partnership."
Weiss groaned mentally, while the rest seemed to be indifferent.
"I will stay with Zwei." Oobleck determine, petting the dog at his side distractedly "I must examine these ruins. Meanwhile, you four will reduce the number of Grimm on our immediate perimeter. We will meet again, in this very spot, in two hours' time!"
As he darted away and Zwei followed him, Yang blinked in confusion. She had barely been able to understand two words out of his frenzied speech.
"What are we supposed to do again?" She asked.
"Go, Team RWBY!" Ruby squealed.
She grabbed Weiss' wrist and ran away. The heiress extended her free hand towards her other teammates in a silent plea for help. Blake chuckled with amusement and patted Yang on the shoulder.
"Come on, let's kill some Grimm." She said.
"Oh! That's what we're doing?" Yang smiled "Finally¸ some fun!"
"Okay, Weiss, this calls for Operation Red Snow."
"…What was that one again?"
"I run, you cover me?"
"Ah! Get started, then."
Ruby dashed out of an alley and immediately drew the attention of two dozen Ursas. Without any hesitation, she ran towards them, tapping into her Semblance to reach incredible speed.
Two monsters' heads were sliced clean from their bodies from her first dash, and then she turned around, for a moment vulnerable. One of the Grimm leaped at her, but a glyph appeared between it and the redhead, releasing an electric torrent that turned the beast to ashes.
Ruby dashed again, eliminating more of the Beowolves, with the remaining ones suffering from the same fate when they tried to strike her when she was slowing down. In a matter of minutes, they were all dead.
Weiss approached her partner, smiling proudly.
"Have I told I'm sorry for ever doubting your capabilities?" She asked.
"You could say it more often." Ruby said cheerfully "High five?"
The heiress rolled her eyes, but complied anyway, slapping the palm of her hand against her partner's. The two resumed their job, walking along the streets of the abandoned city in search of more Grimm.
"So…" The redhead said "You got a date."
"Excuse me?" Weiss frowned "I thought you didn't care about these things."
"Just because I like guns, killing Grim and cookies above everything else, doesn't mean I don't care about romance like everyone does." Ruby retorted, sounding a little hurt.
"Sorry. That was inconsiderate of me." The white-haired girl apologized "We should be focusing on our job. Why did you remind me of my date, anyway?"
Ruby shrugged and looked away, not sure she should answer honestly. After a few moments of consideration, she decided it would be better to give Weiss some honest counsel, even if she got angry at her for doing that, than lying and seeing her partner getting potentially hurt later.
"Well… I'm just not sure Neptune is the right guy for you, you know?" She said awkwardly "I mean, you two have known each other for… a month?"
"So what?" Weiss glared at her "That doesn't mean anything! I know him well enough by now."
"Really? What's his favorite color, then?" Ruby challenged.
"Blue, of course!"
The redhead frowned and looked at the ground. I didn't think this through.
"And what right do you have of questioning my romantic life when you're going on a date with someone you have even spent even less time with?" Weiss asked pointedly "I haven't even met this Cinder person yet."
"I-it's not a date!" Ruby shrieked "It's a friendly meeting! And you're not my mom!"
"Ooh! Getting defensive, huh?" The heiress taunted "Little Ruby's in love?"
Ruby crossed her arms and looked away, grumbling under her breath.
"I'm never giving you romantic advice again."
After another hour of eliminating more Grimm, the group rejoined and, under Oobleck's orders, found a building to use as a resting place for the night. Throughout the day, the professor had made sure to question them about their motivations, and answering him had been more exhausting than slaying any giant monster.
For a few moments, the fact that Ruby hadn't suffered under the same scrutiny had annoyed Yang, but she had been quick to accept the reality that her sister was much more certain about her job than her. Blake's and Weiss' worries had also helped to alleviate her own. They were all Huntresses-in-training, after all, even if they had such different pasts.
The blonde had been on watch for a good while when she heard faint footsteps behind her, and then Blake sat beside her, seemingly serene, as always.
"Not your turn, kitty." Yang said softly "Yours is after Weiss."
"I couldn't sleep." Blake shrugged "I'll take both of your turns."
"Meh." The blonde refused "You worried about professor Oobleck's questioning, or… something else?"
The faunus gave her a sly glance, as if she didn't understand exactly what her partner was talking about. Yang wouldn't be fooled so easily, though.
"A certain heiress, perhaps?" She teased.
"No." Blake said instantly.
"Jeez, you took that really seriously." Yang giggled "You know, for a stealthy ex-terrorist, you're pretty obvious, Blake. I think even Ruby has noticed."
"I'm being serious, Yang." The brunette warned "I don't want to talk about it. Most importantly, I don't want you to even joke about it in front of Weiss."
"You're acting like you're ten years old."
Blake's irritation grew at that sentence, but it was soon replaced by an expression of sadness.
"Listen, Yang. I'm not pretending to not like Weiss for childish reasons." She said "There's just no way we could be together, okay? She's a Schnee, I'm a faunus. The best I can hope for is friendship."
"Sorry." Yang muttered "I didn't think about that. I won't intrude in your business anymore. But if you need a shoulder, you know…?"
"Thanks." Blake smiled "How about you go to sleep for now?"
Yang stood up and turned around to return to her sleeping bag, only to find Weiss soundly asleep and one missing person.
"Hey… Where's Ruby?"
"Remember: this is not an essential part of the mission. At the first sign of trouble, or risk of trouble, we're leaving." Cinder lectured as she walked out of Beacon's dormitory complex "We'll go straight to Vale and do the deed, then-"
An alarm bell rang, coming from the city in the distance. She didn't pause, but instead hurried her steps until she could overlook the place. Mercury and Emerald settled beside her, wondering what was happening.
"You don't think…?" Emerald said.
"Sure looks like it." Mercury asserted.
"That's still days away!"
"So?" He looked at Cinder questioningly "What do we do?"
Cinder's eyes narrowed as she stared at the smoke rising from a section of the city.
"We help."
"Is everyone okay?" Ruby yelled, rubbing her eyes.
She saw her sister rising beside her, stumbling dazedly for a few seconds.
"Yep. I'm good. Hallucinated a bit, I think." Yang noted "Did anyone else see a woman in red?"
"That sounds like Ruby." Blake said, appearing by her side.
"Oh, yeah." The blonde frowned "Duh."
Weiss joined them, and together they formed a tight circle, standing back to back to repel the Grimm around them.
The first waves were taken care of with ease, them being mostly composed of minor threats like Beowolves and Boarbatusks. However, the tunnel behind them quickly became the exit of much larger Grimm, including some Death Stalkers and King Taijitus.
The team found themselves separated as they had to take care of the bigger monsters individually. As Yang fought with an Ursa Major, she saw team Juniper arrive at the scene, and smiled with relief.
Meanwhile, Weiss focused her attention at a Death Stalker. Keeping a safe distance from it, she swung her rapier through the air, sending rays of Dust towards it. The monster found itself trapped, its feet frozen to the ground.
The heiress smiled confidently and spun Myrtenaster's Dust chamber, settling for Fire so she could finish the Grimm off. A hiss behind her warned her of danger, however, and she dashed to the side.
A Taijitu's head crashed where she had been standing seconds before, sending fragments of concrete flying all around. Weiss cursed and stabbed at it, but its skin was too resilient, even against her weapon's unparalleled sharpness.
The Death Stalker broke free from the ice and surged towards her, and she distanced herself with assistance from her glyphs. She kept her cool, but recognized her tough situation; she had two large Grimm to take care of now.
When her back hit a building and the monsters finally cornered her, Blake appeared atop the Taijitu's head, attempting to slash through its hide, but she found no success. Before it could shake her away, the faunus jumped and landed in front of Weiss.
"Checkmate?" Blake suggested.
"Good choice." Weiss agreed.
The heiress stabbed the ground in front of her, sending veins of light towards her teammates. A circle of energy appeared beneath Blake, who felt power feeding into her. Suddenly, she felt as if the world was moving at a quarter of her own speed, and that if she wanted, she could tear it apart with her bare hands.
Blake gripped her dual swords and swung them in front of her, generating two purple formations of energy that sliced through the Death Stalker and the Taijitu. The faunus didn't stop, however, and kept swinging. After a few seconds, she felt the power drain away, and then the world slowed down.
She fell to her knees, breathing hard. The monster's bodies were in front of her, sliced into a hundred pieces, and were turning to smoke. Weiss appeared beside her, smiling appreciatively.
"Thanks." She said "I was in a tough spot."
"You would have figured something out." Blake shrugged.
"Of course I would." Weiss motioned to the battlefield "Now how about we get your partner out of that mess? Seriously, how did she attract so many Grimm all by herself?"
"Go, now!" Cinder commanded "Kill as many Grimm as you can, and make it as flashy as possible! We can make some good out of this situation."
Emerald and Mercury nodded and dropped from the rooftop they were standing on. Cinder watched calmly as they work through dozens of Grimm with no visible effort.
She turned to watch the rest of the fight, but didn't see much of interest. She wouldn't be joining it, of course. Her powers were too unique, and her appearance might be recognized by some if she were to stand out in that mess. Emerald and Mercury could risk their positions, but she…
Her stance faltered as she saw a swirling tornado of petals course through the city plaza, leaving a bunch of Grimm behind. However, it quickly came to a halt when a barrier of the same monsters stood in its path. Ruby became visible as she swung her scythe, glaring at her foes threateningly.
Don't be foolish. Cinder chastised herself mentally. She can handle herself. It's not worth it.
The redhead executed a quarter of the beasts before they could hurt her, but by the time she was done, the rest had surrounded her against a building. Ruby growled with annoyance and aimed at the Ursas, taking care of as many as she could before they could close too much distance.
When they started to leap at her, she switched back to a melee approach, swinging Crescent Rose at them before they could touch her. However, she had no room to maneuver, which put her at a disadvantage.
A streak of fire pierced the middle of the pack, and at first Ruby thought her sister had come to help her, but then she remembered Yang couldn't manage that kind of pyrotechnic. It took her a while to recognize her, but when the flames died down, Ruby saw Cinder standing amidst the remaining Grimm.
The raven-haired girl extended her arms to her sides, forming two swords on her hands. With grace, she dashed towards a nearby Ursa, slicing through it as if it were made of butter, and carried her momentum to the next one, which fell just as easily.
Ruby's jaw dropped as she watched Cinder move through the rows of monsters, dispatching them as if she were practicing a deadly and unstoppable dance. When it was finally over, Cinder slowly turned towards the redhead amidst the smoke of the deceased Grimm.
"Did I overdo it?"
"No! No you didn't! That was so cool!" Ruby squealed "Is everyone from Haven as awesome as you?"
"No." Cinder smirked "I'm just that special."
Once more, Ruby squealed and hugged her newest friend.
"You're so awesome!" She exclaimed "When is our date?"
"…Date?" Cinder repeated awkwardly.
"Uh… Friendly meeting!" Ruby separated from her and coughed, trying to cover her blushing cheeks "When is our friendly meeting?"
The raven-haired girl shook her head in amusement, though the slip-up had set a few too many doubts in her mind. Date? She thought. That's… Well, if she believes that's what it will be, it means I'll get much more information out of her! Of course, that's all there is to it.
Today was a good day.
Yang raised her thumbs cheekily to Torchwick as he was forced inside a helicopter. The criminal seemed more offended by her taunting him than by the officers moving him along.
The blonde turned back to the other people still in the plaza, and found Blake staring disappointedly at Sun and Neptune, who were exchanging fist bumps and smiles.
"You didn't even do anything." She noted.
"Hey, we scribbled everything that happened on our police notepads!" Sun retorted "We did what our jobs dictated!"
"Well… Information is precious, I suppose." Blake conceded.
"Who even needs the police when we have Huntsmen?" Yang interrupted "You guys suck!"
Sun and Neptune pouted sadly, then nodded in agreement. Weiss walked towards them and patted Neptune on the head.
"I think you did a wonderful job!" She said.
"Thanks, Weiss!" Sun smiled cheerfully.
"I meant Neptune." The heiress's glare could have turned anyone into stone at that moment.
Yang was about to point out how Blake had pretty much saved Weiss from being eaten alive, but a sight from the corner of her eye drew her attention. Ruby walked up to them, smiling widely, with Cinder following her hesitantly.
"Hey, sis. Cinder." Yang greeted "What's up?"
"Cinder kicked Grimm butt!" Ruby told excitedly.
She started to spin and swing her arms through the air, trying to imitate Cinder's former battle technique, all the while making ridiculous noises with her mouth. The raven-haired girl watched silently, aware of Emerald and Mercury's presence.
"Seems interesting." Yang said, grabbing her sister by the shoulders to calm her down.
"It was… cool…" Ruby agreed, feeling a bit light-headed.
Nearby, Juniper watched, most of them with confusion.
"Who's that girl?" Nora asked loudly.
"Nora!" Ren said through gritted teeth "Her name is Cinder. I think Ruby's got a date with her."
"What? Ruby has a date?" Jaune buried his face in his hands "How come she has a date and I don't?"
Pyrrha screamed internally.
Woo! Plot, plot, plot.
This chapter felt a little weird at times. There were important scenes I wanted to implement, scenes that happened during the Mountain Glenn and Breach episodes, but I really didn't feel like writing the No Brakes portions, because they would have practically no divergence from canon. I hope things didn't feel to disconnected, at least.
Thanks for the warm reception for Monochrome! I was kinda scared its introduction would drive my precious readers away, but apparently you're all okay with it. Yay!
RainingCookies: I wish I had the capacity to post two chapters of this story weekly too, but... I don't. Also, I feel like this fanfic works much better with this frequency. It would end too fast with quicker updates. Also, I won't lessen DoS's frequency to up FRBB's frequency. DoS is my baby and it always will be.
Kickass-Cinder-sized thansk to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited Falling Roses Burn Brighter!
-Zeroan