Raven leant against a wall in Ozpin's office, quietly watching as people arrived for their impromptu meeting. As always, she had been the first one to respond, almost immediately so. The headmaster wasn't surprised at all, but he did share his admiration of her punctuality.
Her brother, of course, was another matter entirely. He had yet to appear – even team RWBY was faster than him. Qrow was a master Hunter, with a strict training regime and a legendary list of accomplishments, but for some reason, he despised being punctual.
Half an hour after Ozpin's call, Qrow finally arrived, with Cinder not far behind. Raven felt a strange type of anxiety as she examined the pyromancer. Cinder seemed to be almost glowing, with fiery depths behind her amber eyes, but the way she walked and looked around – it was as if she was scared of everything.
Raven knew what she was looking at: a young, frightened woman with too much power at her disposal. She couldn't help but think Cinder was better off being put back in prison before she hurt someone – or herself.
"Good. Everyone is here." Ozpin said, sitting straight in his office chair. He pointed to two unoccupied chairs invitingly, but Qrow just rolled his eyes and went to stand beside his sister.
Cinder looked at the empty chairs, realizing they were close to where Ruby and the others were sitting. Yang gave her an obvious glare, so she decided to sit on the farthest one.
"Alright." Ozpin cleared his throat. He was wearing his serious-business expression, which, admittedly, was not so different from his usual expression, but it still transmitted the tone of the meeting very clearly. "I don't think I need to clarify why we are all here. As requested by Miss Fall, she was given one day to recover and reflect on her… accident. I hope that time was enough?"
"It…was." Cinder stated. There was none of her usual confidence in her voice.
"Good. Now, we would all appreciate if you'd share exactly what happened to you. It might shed some precious light on our investigations."
Cinder nodded. She noticed Ruby staring anxiously at her, as if she really wanted to hear what she had to say too. Everyone else looked the same, but in lesser degrees. They wanted information; Ruby wanted her story.
"Okay." The ex-criminal took a moment to order her thoughts. "Before I tell you what happened, there are things you need to know about me. Maybe Ruby has told some of you already, but I'd like to make sure everyone knows. I… I'm not revealing those things seeking pity or forgiveness, but rather so that you can all fully understand what happened."
"Jeez. Get to the actual talking already!" Yang exclaimed.
"Sorry." Cinder shook her head. "I never met my parents, meaning I grew up in orphanages – at least until I became a criminal. Who my father and mother were was never an important matter to me. They weren't there with me, after all, so they had no right to be in my mind."
Raven shifted uncomfortably, while Qrow narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Cinder had a silver tongue, so it was improbable she had spoken without meaning to bother his sister.
"So, as I never thought about my parents, I also never thought about where my powers came from." Cinder continued. "If people ever asked me, I told them my Semblance was fire. It was a lie, of course, even if I didn't know it." She lighted a small flame at the tip of a finger. "This is no Semblance."
Weiss frowned, her scientific mind already questioning the legitimacy of Cinder's statement. A Semblance was the only way one could control fire in such a way, especially without the assistance of Dust. But she held her tongue and decided to ask questions later.
"On to the actual reason we're here…" Cinder extinguished her flame and looked through the small crowd. "After my visit here two days ago, when I talked to all of you and made my stance clear, I returned to Iroh's, the teashop I was working for. Everything was normal, until night came."
"We were preparing to close the place when a strange walked in – a woman with black hair and amber eyes. I had my guard down, and so I didn't notice who she was. By the time I did, it was too late. She killed my boss in an instant, with fire."
"I tried to fight her, but she overwhelmed me." Cinder paused, as if she were ashamed of her revelation. "I was helpless. She could have killed me, but I don't believe that ever was her objective. She wanted me to… join her."
Yang looked around confusedly. Everyone seemed to understand the tale perfectly well, except for her.
"I'm gonna ask the obvious question." She declared. "Who was she?"
"The Leader of the White Fang, of course." Qrow grunted. "The bitch. I recognize her just by the description Cinder gave. Did you get a name?"
"Yes. A small victory, at least." Cinder's face soured. She clearly didn't believe in her own words. "She said her name is Mira Fall."
A moment of silence passed. Then the room was filled by loud questions aimed at her: what was Mira's relation to her; how could she know it wasn't a lie; how could they know she wasn't lying… She sunk into her seat and looked away, not having the answer to any of these questions.
"Everyone!" Ozpin exclaimed. Most of the present had never heard the headmaster speak loudly, and so he drew all of their attention at once. "I realize this is a surprising piece of information, but it is not relevant to the bigger picture. What matters is that we know the enemy's name. Who she is in relation to Cinder is Cinder's business, along with anyone she wishes to share it with. Understood?"
He was answered with a series of slight nods and mumbles. Once he was sure everyone was in agreement, he cleared his throat, seeming to go back to his usual, milder attitude.
"Regardless of Miss Fall's personal harm in the event, Mira's revelation is a positive turning point for us. Now that we know her name, we can further our search." Ozpin looked at Qrow. "You are our expert in more…regular, operations. You should use your every resource to find out more about Mira."
"I have two things to say. Number one: I don't take orders from you." Qrow said casually. "And number two: understood."
"Great." Ozpin smiled, then turned to look at Raven. "And you…"
There was a hint of bitterness on her face, but she nodded anyways and tapped the sword at her hip.
"The rest of you…" Ozpin looked at his younger soldiers. "Stand by. I want you ready for anything. Also, I would like to remind you that you are still students in my academy. Go to class, study, and have fun. Understood?"
"I like these orders!" Yang exclaimed cheerfully.
"What about me?" Cinder asked hesitantly.
"Why, Miss Fall, you should study too. You have Haven's reputation to uphold, after all." He gave her a comforting smile when she frowned confusedly. "You're my responsibility now. Should you be reported to any outside authority, I will come to your defense. I'm sure I can come up with some excuses."
No one could tell, but he was almost squirming with happiness, imagining Glynda's disapproval of such a rebellious attitude.
"It is in your best interests to stay within school grounds anyway. We don't know what Mira would do if she got her hands on you again." Ozpin said. "Your previous room shouldn't be occupied. You may stay there."
"Thank you." Cinder said quietly, not looking anyone in the eye.
"Now that that is settled…" The headmaster reached for his mug and shook it. His face soured. "Would anyone mind getting me some coffee?"
Every pair of eyes inside the room glared at him. He got up and grunted. So much for respecting my authority.
Emerald's eyes opened to an unfamiliar place. Only a few strands of light poured from a closed window, just enough for her to discover she was in a bedroom. Of course, the soft feeling of the mattress beneath her helped too.
Her first thought was that she had been captured, but that was quickly discarded when she realized how soft the mattress really was against her skin. Apparently, she had gone to sleep with an unsavory amount of clothing… if any at all.
She looked to the side and nearly jumped as she made out another shape beside her. Whoever it was, they had their back turned to her. Black hair, pale skin… And a strange tattoo just beneath the back of their neck.
This time, Emerald did jump from the bed, hitting her back against a nearby wall as panic flooded her system. Cinder? How? When? Why?! She hated Cinder's guts, and she was pretty sure the feeling was reciprocated!
Emerald decided to block the situation from her mind and just run away. She examined the floor of the room to find her clothes thrown about in a corner, to which she ran. She was midway through dressing herself when the bed creaked and she heard a drawn-out yawn behind her. She blushed and refused to look back at her unexpected companion.
"Emerald? Where are you going so soon?"
Emerald froze, realizing that voice did not belong to Cinder. No, it was Mira's.
Somehow, that change only made her panic more.
"Well, I understand if you don't want to stay, dear." Mira continued casually. "I do apologize for being so… abrupt. But… a woman has needs. You understand that, don't you?"
Emerald gulped.
"Y-yes, ma'am." She managed to say, her voice as squeaky as a little girl's. "Uhm… How long have I been here?"
"Oh, you don't remember? Some people would feel offended by that." Mira chuckled. "I caught you after my endeavor with Cinder. That was fun. You slept throughout most of yesterday, unfortunately. We could have had even more fun. That's a pity, isn't it?"
"R-right…" Emerald felt like she was walking on thin ice, except there was a fire-breathing dragon right behind her. "A w-whole day, ma'am?"
"A whole day."
Emerald finally managed to tie her vest properly, even with her shaky fingers. She turned around, only to yelp at the sight of Mira – who wasn't even a smidge as embarrassed as she was – and turned around to face the wall again.
"Dear, you've seen a lot of me already. I don't understand why you're so ashamed." Mira said. "Not that it's annoying. No, I find it rather… precious. You're lucky, Emerald. I'm not the kind to let my companions go after these occasions."
"Oh." Emerald was visibly shaking. "You… kill them?"
"Kill them, cut off a member, make them blind. It's as cathartic as the sex itself." The pyromancer told. "I like you, though, so you're free to go unharmed."
Emerald contained a sigh of relief and rushed to the door.
"Actually, I like you so much, I might even use you again some other time. Wouldn't you like that, dear?"
The green-haired thief froze, her hand clutching the doorknob. She felt a touch on her shoulder and nearly spun to hit the woman behind her. She hadn't heard a single noise to indicate Mira had moved, yet she was there, so quickly and gently.
Mira bent forward, her mouth brushing against Emerald's left ear.
"Wouldn't you like that?" There was none of the previous subtlety on Mira's voice. Every word was spoken firmly and harshly, to form not a question, but a threat.
"Yes, I would." Emerald's reply was almost inaudible. "Can I go?"
"Of course." Mira's voice regained its usual melodious tone. "You may go."
With no hesitancy, Emerald turned the knob and ran away, putting as much distance as quickly as she could between herself and the hellish room.
"You know, there is such a thing as being too energetic, Ruby Rose." Weiss said sharply. "Can you slow down at least a little? I want to look like a normal person on a normal trip to town, for once."
Ruby's face soured, but she obeyed anyway, dropping her speed so she was walking level to her partner and her uncle. Qrow raised an eyebrow, impressed at the heiress's ability at taming his niece. If only he was half as good as she was…
He still found it weird that Weiss had requested to accompany him on his little trip. He had been around her only a small bit, but it had been long enough to understand she would rather be as far away as possible from anyone with the surname Rose or Branwen. Yet she had been polite and, as far as he could tell, honest in her request, so he had allowed her to come with him.
Weiss was far less polite when Ruby invited herself to the trip. She only allowed her to accompany them when the redhead revealed she would be making a brief shopping spree.
"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed suddenly. "This is my stop!"
"Oh, finally!" Weiss said in relief. When she looked around, though, a frown formed on her forehead. "Wait, there isn't a weapons shop here, Ruby. They only sell clothes here."
"Yeah, duh?" Ruby rolled her eyes, as if Weiss was being very silly. "Cinder doesn't need weapons, she needs clothes!"
The heiress's face lit with realization. Of course Cinder was the motive… She always seemed to be, these days. In the back of her mind, Weiss worried about that, but she decided to not speak of it so suddenly.
"Okay." She said. "Have fun. And, for Cinder's sake, don't buy her any capes."
Ruby grunted her disapproval, then blurred away towards one a shop. Weiss shook her head then turned to face Qrow. He had his arms crossed as he glared at her, cape flowing gently in the breeze.
"What do you have against capes, little lady?" He asked slowly.
"I have nothing against them." She lied masterfully and smiled, making use of her family's training. "It's just that Cinder wouldn't look good using one, I believe. Not as much as you do, at least."
"Hmm…" Qrow smiled smugly and started to walk. "I do look uniquely fabulous, don't I?"
"Absolutely." Weiss agreed, following him. "Are we near our destination?"
"Just a bit more." He looked at her curiously. "Why is it that you wanted to accompany me, anyways? I can't think of an obvious reason."
The heiress looked away briefly, as if pondering if she really wanted to share that information.
"Well, I wanted to speak to you about a particular matter, one I believe you know somewhat well…" She said. "Brainwashing. Well, not exactly. Whatever it was that criminal did to me when we assaulted that White Fang base."
"Ah. I see… You're bothered by it. It's not a pleasant experience, right?" He asked.
Weiss did not reply, but her facial expression spoke volumes of how she felt about the matter. Qrow smiled sympathetically, knowing the experience was very unsettling, especially for someone of her young age.
"There are many types of brainwashing, or mental manipulation, as it's generally called. Some Semblances consist of invoking certain emotions on a target, or meddling with memories, or, very rarely, directly controlling someone's mind. We're lucky the White Fang hasn't got that last kind at their disposal." He said.
"I would like to learn how to defend myself against that man." Weiss declared.
"It would help to know what his Semblance is exactly, then." Qrow paused. "This is our building."
Weiss following him inside, vaguely recognizing the building from a few news reports she had watched over the years. It was a sort of headquarters for Huntsmen, where they could manage their jobs, gather information and, if needed, just rest.
Qrow nodded to a few people, who greeted him back happily. Weiss also nodded a lot more people whispering and glancing at him with admiration, as if he were a celebrity. Suddenly, the heiress felt very childish.
They entered an elevator and Qrow pressed a button to a high floor. He looked back at her.
"Do you remember anything in particular about when the man targeted you?" He asked.
"Hmm… I remember a flash of white, and then… It was strange, as if my thoughts had shifted completely. I looked at Blake, and I knew she was a faunus, and I felt so… disgusted." Weiss grimaced. "Just like I would have felt before I came to Beacon."
"That helps a bunch! He's a memory-dude!" Qrow exclaimed triumphantly, which only earned him a confused stare. "His Semblance scrambles your memories – it can make you think like when you were two, or five, or ten years ago. Hell, if he had had enough time, he probably would have made you crawl around the place like a toddler!"
"That's… not something I would have appreciated."
The doors opened, and they stepped out into a huge computer room. Qrow walked to a vacant device and sat in front of it, immediately beginning to type to the machine. Weiss grabbed a chair and sat beside him, only vaguely paying attention to his activity.
"How do I fight him?" She asked.
"Ideally, you would never let him get anywhere near you. Without touching, he can't affect you." Qrow said. "In the event that he does touch you… Well, if you're ready, you can fight his control. Keep hold of something inside your mind, like a memory, or a feeling, anything that'll anchor you to your present mindset."
"That makes sense. He might be affecting me with his Semblance, but because I'm thinking of something in the present, my memories will not change. If I, however, pictured myself as a baby, I would act like when I was one." Weiss smiled proudly. "Am I right?"
"….Probably? Heck if I know, I just knock them over the head before they touch me." The Hunter paused his typing to look longingly at the ceiling. "Well, there was that one time I dropped my guard and let myself be affected."
Weiss tilted her head curiously.
"You… let yourself be affected?" She asked.
"Yes. It was a mutual agreement, after all. He made me feel like I was eighteen again, in more ways than one."
Weiss's mouth formed a perfect 'o' as realization hit her. Then she looked away, blushing, and tapped the hilt of her rapier nervously.
"D-don't you have a job to do? Things to look up?"
"Yes, yes…" Qrow hummed with intrigue as he looked back at the screen. "Mira Fall… There are absolutely zero matches of that name in our system."
"That's odd. How long ago does your database cover?" Weiss asked.
"A couple of centuries?"
"Try searching for a Fall family tree, then."
Qrow followed her suggestion, and it wielded a few results. His eyes scanned the screen, quickly looking over some texts. Weiss tried to read along, but she could only make out a few keywords – ancestry; ritual; making – before Qrow put them away.
"This isn't the best place to read such things. Loath as I am to say it, the White Fang is everywhere, even here." He explained bitterly. He took a flash drive from a pocket of his cape and quickly plugged it in the computer, copying the files while looking around him shiftily. "Miss Schnee, taking information from the Huntsmen's database without proper registration is a serious crime, one you should never commit. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Weiss frowned. She had no idea the White Fang, or any outside force, could corrupt their way into the Huntsmen's forces. The thought made her feel a particular kind of anger – one born of sadness and helplessness. Was there truly nothing in the world that was pure and void of evil?
The way Qrow hid his flash drive and checked his scythe before walking to the elevators did not give her hope for the answer she wanted.
"Boom!"
The White Fang henchmen looked up from their game of poker, eyes widened with frighten and confusion. The metal door to their hideout rang, a dent appearing in it, before it flew off its hinges and two blonde women stepped through.
"The Branwens strike again!" The younger one yelled, before dashing to the men's table and sending it soaring through the air with a kick.
"Hey!" One goon exclaimed. "Why did you do that?! I had a royal flush!"
"Pff." Another rolled his eyes. "You didn't."
Yang knocked each of them on the side of the head, dropping them unconscious, before lunging for a third one. He bravely tried to put up a fight, but her punch shattered his guard easily, and he too was out cold. She turned to the last one, who raised his hands and shook his head.
"Nope." He said. "I'm surrendering. The Branwens win."
"Good." Yang stared curiously, noticing he was still holding his cards. "Hey, you actually had a royal flush!"
"Did I?" He shrugged. "I don't even know how to play poker. I'm here for the beer."
Yang looked back at her mother, who was watching with a look of mild disapproval.
"Sorry." The daughter mumbled. "I've gotta interrogate you."
"Well…" He threw his cards at her face, but they only bounced off and fell to the ground harmlessly. "Shit."
Yang closed the distance and lifted him by the collar of his shirt.
"Tell me where Adam Taurus is, and I won't beat the shit out of you." She threatened.
"Language!" Raven interrupted sharply.
"Mom." Yang glared at her. "I'm interrogating someone!"
She looked back at her captive, only to find out he had passed due to sheer fear. Apparently, being violently interrogated by someone while this someone's mom complained about foul language was just too unnerving.
Yang dropped him to the ground and grunted with frustration.
"You know what? This is stupid!" She said. "No one is going to rat Adam out, much less Mira! They probably don't even know she exists!"
"…You're right. This is fruitless." Raven responded quietly.
Yang's rebuttal died in her throat. She had been expecting her mother to argue with her, not to agree so quickly. It was… disappointing, and not in an amusing, childish way.
"Okay." She said. "I guess we're going back to Beacon, then."
"Yes… You go back." Raven agreed. "I'll stay here a little longer, to make sure there are no others hiding."
"Whatever. Do what you wanna do." Yang mumbled as she stepped heavily past her mother and exited the hideout.
Raven waited for her footsteps to fade off in the distance before crouching near the passed out men. She looked at them somberly, then slowly unsheathed her katana.
"You can't give me the information I need." She whispered. "But you can send a message."
Without flinching, she got up and stabbed down with her sword, piercing a man's chest with ease. She didn't dally before moving on to another and doing the same thing, and then another, until they were all dead and flooding the floor with their blood.
Raven stared at her reddened blade, a grimace on her face.
"I'm sorry." She said, then turned and walked away.
Quiet… Empty your mind…
Cinder took a deep breath. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor of her room, eyes closed, fingers interlaced. She wasn't well practiced in any methods of meditation, but this one seemed fairly obvious. If it was effective… That was a troublesome question.
Quiet… Fire, fire, quiet! Quiet. Ruby. Quiet!
Her face twisted with frustration. The most probably cause of the problem wasn't the method of meditation, but herself. As much as she tried, she couldn't keep her mind cleared for more than a few seconds. That she once had been a master of disguising her identity and emotions only added salt to injury.
Quiet… Mira. Mother? No. No! She can't be, that's… Damnit! Empty, empty…
Her futile efforts were halted when the lights were turned on. She opened her eyes and found Blake staring at her curiously from the doorway.
"What are you doing?" The faunus asked hesitantly.
"Meditating, I think." Cinder answered bitterly. "What are you doing here?"
"Ruby bought you some clothes." Blake lifted her right hand, revealing a couple of heavy bags. "You burned that outfit of yours, and your other ones are probably lost somewhere in the city by now."
"That's very considerate of her." The pyromancer frowned. "Why didn't she bring then to me herself.
"Weiss is having a talk with her… Something about giving her giving you too much attention."
"Hmm… That is a sensible thing to do."
Blake put the bags on top of Cinder's bed, then looked at her silently. She couldn't know for sure, but the pyromancer seemed both grateful and angry at the same time.
"I'm not taking sides here, but I could bring you Ruby, if you need someone to talk to." She offered.
"No. Don't do that." Cinder said immediately. "Weiss is right. Ruby shouldn't give me so much attention, especially now."
For a moment, Cinder considered telling Blake about what she was really going through – the burning, her needs, her feelings – but she already felt vulnerable enough with Ruby knowing about it.
"If you say so." Blake made to leave. "But you shouldn't keep things bottled up. That only leads to bad things. Trust me, I'm the expert of that, and I have the scars to prove it."
"Right." Cinder looked away. "I'm sorry about what Emerald did to you."
"It was my mistake." The faunus said. "Don't repeat it."
Blake left, turning off the lights and closing the door behind her. Cinder took a deep breath and resumed her meditating, but not a minute passed before she gave up.
She lied down on her side and raised her hands level to her face, then proceeded to make small bouts of fire dance around her fingers, her eyes following the flames fixedly while her thoughts made a storm inside her head.
Ozpin was preparing to leave his office for the night when Qrow barged in without warning, his cape billowing behind him. The headmaster opened his mouth to protest, but the serious expression on the other man's face made him stop.
Qrow raised his hand, revealing a flash drive, which he unceremoniously tossed on his friend's desk.
"See what is inside that fucking thing. Read all of it. I can't even describe… I'm fucking sickened." He said, arms trembling with anger. "Mira Fall. She's a monster. Cinder Fall too, probably."
Ozpin just looked at him silently while he picked up the flash drive.
"The two of them. Monsters." Qrow muttered. His eyes sparked with hatred. "But damn if I won't protect that girl. She's just…" He waved a hand helplessly. "Just read it, Ozpin. I'm gonna try to sleep now, if I can."
Without another word, Qrow turned and left the office.
Ozpin looked at the flash drive hauntingly, wondering what answers it held that could scare one of Remnant's most powerful Huntsmen.
Oh my, that's spooky. 2spooky4me, even.
So many pieces, falling in so many places. The picture is becoming clearer... Until someone comes and dismantles it again. Man, it would suck if that were to happen, wouldn't it?
[Sea diary; Day 2.
They still haven't figured out what the chapter titles mean. I fear I'm a genius, or an egotistical maniac. Maybe both. A ship approaches. It's name is S.S. Iceberg. I must sink it.
Zeroan, proud captain of S. S. Falling Petals.]
Capes-are-cool-sized thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited Falling Roses Burn Brighter!
-Zeroan