The sound of pencil on paper filled the otherwise quiet dormitory, their habitants all engaged in their own silent activities. Blake was, like always, lying on her bed reading a new novel, while Weiss did her homework by her side. Ruby was tinkering with her scythe once again – though this time it seemed nothing potentially lethal would be happening to her teammates.
This left Yang, sat on top of her bed with nothing to do but stare at her friends.
"Can you stop that?" She asked suddenly.
"But-"
"Not you, Ruby!" Yang shook her head. "Weiss, how can you be studying while we are endangered by a pyromaniac psychopath driven by vengeance and madness?"
Weiss put down her notebook whilst she frowned.
"Because once Mira's defeated, we will still have three years of school until we graduate." She noted.
"But that's just… boring," Yang huffed. "You're boring."
"Hey!" Weiss protested. "I'm not boring! I can super fun! Right, Ruby?"
All of a sudden, the redhead seemed to be a hundred times more interested in her weapon – if that was even possible.
"Blake?" Weiss pleaded. "Tell them I'm fun."
"Weiss is fun." Blake said, not tearing her eyes away from her book.
"Ahah!" The heiress exclaimed triumphantly.
"You know, for someone so smart, you get tricked pretty easily, Weiss," Yang pointed out. "Blake obviously only said that because she doesn't want to lose girlfriend privileges."
"Not true," Weiss shook her head, then looked at Blake. "You wouldn't lie about that, would you?"
"No, I wouldn't." The faunus replied automatically, which made Weiss smile widely and return to her studies.
Ruby shuddered a bit on her bed. Weiss's control over Blake had grown so much, it was almost scary to behold. She made a promise to herself to never allow any relationships of hers to have a dynamic like that.
"So, Ruby," Yang spoke casually – too casually. Ruby knew that tone of voice, and it never bode well for her. "Got any Cinder-y plans?"
If Ruby had been drinking anything, she'd have spit it all out at that moment.
"What?!" She exclaimed.
"I mean, are you going for that booty?" Yang rephrased innocently.
"That's- Uh… Uh…"
After a few seconds of incomprehensible mumbling, Ruby resorted to the only safe way out of this conversation, and that was jumping to the floor and running away from the room, even going so far as to activate her Semblance.
"Oh, she's totally going for that booty." Yang giggled.
Weiss shook her head slowly.
"First thing: that is just extremely inappropriate, especially since she is your little sister," she admonished. "Second thing: since when have you been comfortable with the notion of her and Cinder being together?"
"I'll never be comfortable with that notion," Yang said. "But I'm giving them some breathing space. First sign of trouble, Cinder gets a mean kick in the butt."
"Hmm. That is a Yang-like response," Weiss muttered, as if she found comfort in the fact. "I suppose Cinder deserves a chance. What do you think, Blake?"
The faunus blinked and looked at her girlfriend.
"What was it?" She asked confusedly.
"I asked you about your thoughts on Cinder and Ruby." Weiss clarified.
"Ah," Blake paused. "What do you want me to think?"
The heiress's eyes straightened with suspicion, just as Yang smiled knowingly.
Raven's days had changed, but she had yet to decide if it had been for better or worse.
Taiyang was much more approachable now. When they talked, he would sometimes laugh and smile at her words. There was still a lot of heavy, unspoken feelings between them, but she could now hope that they would stay that way – unspoken -, and disappear with time. That their relationship could be fully repaired was doubtful, but Raven was happy to just be his friend.
With that issue lessened, spending time with Yang became much easier. It was a joy to see and speak with her on a daily basis, each time learning more and more about her. Raven had made her peace with the fact that she'd missed so much of her daughter's life, and now only wanted to catch up and make memories they could one day remember together.
But there was something wrong, a fear in the back of her head that grew more with each conversation they shared. Raven could see it in Yang's eyes, in the way she'd look at her fondest friends, the strange twist she'd put to some words. Reuniting with her mother, learning who she had become, and losing – or almost losing – her closest relatives had taken a toll on her.
Raven could see it plain as day. She could see herself in her daughter, now more than ever. Sometimes, she would find herself wishing she had never revealed herself. Maybe then, Yang would have stayed the same cheerful, carefree girl she had always been.
But the past is the past, unchangeable and filled with regrets. All that she could do now was forge a new path ahead, giving Yang all the support and love she needed.
Before that, there was one last step she had to take to end this damned transition in her life. Mira was still out there, and every second she spent alive was a second Raven's family was in danger. She needed to be taken care of. Luckily, Raven wasn't the only one to know that.
She was heading for Beacon's gym to meet with Cinder when she had to take an unexpected break. Three hallways or so from it, she found Ruby leaning against a wall, taking in heavy breaths and holding a hand against her stomach.
"Ruby?" Raven hurried to her side. "What happened?"
"I made a bad decision," Ruby confessed embarrassedly. "I thought I was a hundred percent fine, but I'm not. Yang said something about… booty, and I ran away."
"…Booty?" The Huntress repeated, thinking she had misheard that word.
"Uh… It's a long story."
Raven shook her head and decided to not question the young girl further. Without asking for permission, she started to poke and examined different parts of Ruby's body, searching for any possible reopened wounds. The redhead opened her mouth to complain, but no words left it.
Without willing to, she closed her eyes and let Raven continue checking on her. Something about the moment was familiar, like this had happened to her once before, long, long ago. Ruby smiled lightly, not thinking of anything in particular.
When it was done, Ruby opened her eyes and was momentarily confused by the sight of Raven.
"You're fine," Raven asserted. She paused, taking a look at Ruby's face. "I think. Is there something wrong?"
"No. It's just…" Ruby frowned. "I guess you kinda reminded me of my mom."
"Ah," the Huntress looked away. "I'm sorry. I was out of line."
"No, it's okay. It was nice."
Ruby smiled sweetly to her. Raven was hit with a wave of emotion. It wasn't the first time that had happened while she looked at Ruby, but it felt like it – like she was looking at Ruby, and not a shadow of her deceased best friend.
"I know I have this… habit of bringing her up when I'm near you," Raven said apologetically. "It must be frustrating, being compared to your mother so often. I just want you to understand, I don't care about you because you're her daughter," she paused, wondering if her next thought was appropriate. She smiled, realizing she had been doubting herself too much recently, and that it was time to act naturally. "I care about you because you're my daughter too."
For the next few seconds, she held herself frozen, fearing she had gone too far. But then Ruby closed the space between them, hugging her too fiercely for someone who had been in pain just a few moments before.
"You're super awesome, Raven," Ruby said. "I hope we can spend more time together."
"We'll do that," Raven assured, then gave her a wink. "Yang's gonna be jealous, but that's okay. It'll be payback for her comments about booty."
Ruby blushed and looked away embarrassedly. Raven laughed and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Say, I was going to meet with a certain someone," she told. "Wanna come along?"
Mira, her eyes burning with evil. Mira, lighting the world around her aflame. Mira, her hands like claws, ready for the kill.
It had been so easy to hold those images in her head before, but now… Cinder wondered what had changed. She hated that woman as much as she always had, if not more, but when she thought about a final showdown with her… She felt tired and fearful – not herself at all.
Maybe getting so close to death had been the catalyst, or feeling the heat of Mira's fury as she squeezed just beyond her reach. Maybe her powers were being taken away just as they had been gifted to her.
Whatever had happened or was happening, Cinder could barely raise her sword to confront her imaginary opponent. Going to Beacon's gym to train had been an easy enough decision, but once she got there, she felt lost. The fact that her supposed partner had failed to show up only added more trouble to her situation.
When Raven did arrive, though, Cinder wished she hadn't, because Ruby came right behind. The redhead flashed her a smile, but Cinder couldn't muster the strength to respond in kind.
"Hello," Raven said. "I hope you don't mind an audience. Ruby thought she was fully recovered, but she wasn't. Luckily, I found her before she collapsed."
Cinder's head perked up, and suddenly her gaze was much more focused on Ruby.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah," Ruby crossed her arms and threw a mild glare at Raven. "She's exaggerating. I was just tired."
"Right," Raven rolled her eyes. "I don't trust her to make her way to her room alone, so I invited her along."
Something about Raven's explanation ringed wrong to Cinder, but she chose not to pursue the matter. It was probably something silly, like an attempt to get her to spend time with Ruby. That was something she had been avoiding for the past week.
"So, you're gonna spar with…?" Ruby questioned, taking a seat on a bench near the wall. "Didn't you lose your sword, Raven?"
"Unfortunately," the Huntress shook her head sadly. "But I suppose losing it was a mixed blessing. Now we know weapons are hardly any help against Mira. She didn't even flinch when I slashed her arm… She just ripped the sword right out and threw it away."
Cinder rubbed her arms self-consciously, wondering if she could reach endurance of that magnitude. It would probably come at a cost.
"Now, I'm pretty sure the only people who can hope to match Mira are you," Raven pointed at Cinder. "Me," she sighed. "And Yang, but she is not getting anywhere near that bitch. Not if I have a say in it."
"She'll try anyway." Ruby pointed out knowingly.
"I know," Raven chuckled. "And that's why I'll have to knock her out or something," she paused, taking in her own words. "We're not the most traditional of families. Anyway. If we're gonna fight Mira, we're going to have to rely on our strength only. I assume you know a thing or two about hand to hand combat, Cinder?"
The pyromancer nodded and raised her hands as fists. She hadn't ever taken the time to hone her skills in that department, but she supposed it couldn't be too tricky.
"Come at me." Raven demanded.
Cinder responded immediately, her feet leaving the grounds as she lunged towards her opponent with a fist stretched out in front of her. Raven took a step to the right and gripped her wrist, then slammed her down on the ground.
"Yep," Raven said. "You have no idea what you're doing."
"Look, how hard can it be?" Cinder asked heatedly while getting back up. "I'm not going to dance around Mira. She's a savage-"
"I know," the Huntress interrupted threateningly. "She almost killed me, so you're going to listen to me. Just because your fight will be brutal, it doesn't you should be undisciplined and careless. By keeping calm and focused, you'll have the upper hand."
Cinder nodded quietly, recognizing the wisdom in Raven's words. Without warning, she attacked again, sending a punch towards the Huntress's head. Raven caught it, but this time she couldn't knock Cinder down.
"Good," Raven said. "A strong stance means you can't get knocked down. That's vital. But how are you going to break out now?"
"Like this!"
Cinder swung her left leg towards Raven's torso, but the older woman just took the hit in stride, then grabbed the leg and tossed her to the floor.
The next hour carried on in a similar fashion. Cinder used every technique she knew, but nothing came close to breaking Raven's guard. She tried to comfort herself by remembering about the Branwen's formidable Semblance, but it didn't make every fall she took any less painful. Having Ruby nearby to witnesses her failures only added to her humiliation.
After a particularly nasty crash, Cinder got up and found Raven staring at her seriously, hands on her hips. The pyromancer braced herself, expecting the older woman to reveal there was no hope for her to get good enough in time to face her mother.
"Your technique is impressive," Raven said. "But you're holding back. If you start to use your power, this won't be a one-sided spar anymore."
"I could hurt you." Cinder pointed out warily.
"Like I've been hurting you for the past hour?" Raven rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'm a grown woman."
Cinder nodded hesitantly, then surrounded her fists with fire. At the corner of her vision, she saw Ruby lean forward on her bench, as if she were anxious to see what would happen next. Cinder told herself that was just Ruby's usual enthusiasm about fighting, but she couldn't help but worry.
The pyromancer dashed to Raven, launching an uppercut at her. Raven blocked with her right arm, wincing at the impact, unlike before. Cinder recognized her advantage and pressed on, managing to score a clean hit on Raven's face.
The Huntress spun around but didn't lose her composure, swinging a fist towards where Cinder had been. However, the brunette was already behind her, driving an elbow against her back and knocking her to the ground.
Raven rolled and started to get up, meaning to compliment Cinder, but was struck by a blast of fire. She reeled back and lost her balance, once again falling to the ground. Suddenly, Cinder was on top of her, her hands joined together above her head, ready to come crashing down on her opponent.
And then she blinked and jumped back, staring at Raven with fear and regret. Her flames faded away in an instant as she closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Raven said, getting back up. "I'm not hurt, you just caught me off guard. Good work."
"No. That wasn't me," Cinder stated heavily. "I'm sorry. I can't do this."
She turned around and left the gym without an explanation. Ruby got up from the bench and sprinted after her, leaving a confused Raven behind.
"Cinder!" The redhead called, catching sight of the pyromancer at the end of a hallway. "What do you mean you can't do this?!"
Cinder spun around with an expression that clearly told she didn't want to speak about the matter.
"I can't kill Mira."
"Why not?" Ruby asked worriedly. "Because she's your mother?"
"No. That's not why," Cinder sighed. "Just… let me be, Ruby. You said it yourself – hell, you shot me so I wouldn't kill her."
Ruby's expression underwent a vast array of emotions, until it settled on anger.
"Yeah, I shouldn't have done that! If I hadn't, my uncle would still be alive!" She exclaimed. "It's my fault, but I can't correct this myself. I thought you'd understand it."
"Understand what?" Cinder asked, bewildered. "That she had to be killed? Oh, of course. That's no problem. Just a walk in the park for Cinder Fall."
"Well," Ruby crossed her arms. "It's not like anything's ever stopped you before."
Cinder stared at her silently, her eyes wavering slightly. Ruby stared right back, but her resolution started to break as she noticed something she had never seen before. Tears in .
"I'm-" Ruby stammered. "Cinder, I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"
Cinder spun around and sprinted away. Ruby made to run after her, but she almost fell as pain flared again near her belly. She slid down a wall and hugged her knees, feeling as if she had just made a huge mistake.
"Blake?"
The faunus's ears perked up as she heard her girlfriend call her from the other side of the room. Weiss had been giving her the cold shoulder ever since her little… scheme had been discovered. All that Blake had intended with it was to make Weiss happy, but the heiress just didn't see her angle.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering…" Weiss looked around the room, as if to make sure they were truly alone. "Do you have… You know, a family?"
"Yeah," Blake replied instantly. "You, Yang and Ruby. Maybe Jaune and his team. They are like… cousins of some kind."
Weiss smiled, but that wasn't the answer she wanted.
"That's not what I meant," she said. "Did you know your parents?"
"…Yes." Blake replied shortly.
"So… are they around?"
"I don't know."
Weiss sunk on her bed, discouraged by the answers she was getting. Blake sighed and went to sit beside her.
"Look, it's not that I don't want to talk to you about them," she explained. "It's just that there's nothing to be said. You know you can ask me anything."
"I know," Weiss said. "It's just that… With Qrow dying, I've been thinking a lot about family. You know… If I had died during this mess, my family wouldn't even know why. They'd just show up to the funeral, clueless, and be filled in afterwards."
"Like I would ever let you die." Blake smiled, seeking to put her girlfriend at ease.
"Yeah. And if you died… Your parents…" Weiss shook her head. "My family would have never met you."
The faunus nodded hesitantly. She was more than wary about meeting Weiss's family, but one day, she'd have to do it.
"Maybe…" She forced herself to speak. "Maybe you should give them a call. I could… meet them."
"What? Are you crazy?" Weiss laughed. "I love you too much to put you through that experience."
"They can't be that bad." Blake said.
"They are. Have you ever been interrogated by Winter? How's your health? How's your posture? How's your training?" The heiress shuddered. "Let's not even think of my father."
Blake smiled. She was happy to postpone the inevitable for as long as possible.
"So…" She said. "Are you still giving me the cold shoulder?"
"Humph," Weiss looked away. "Your actions are reprehensible."
Blake planted a kiss on her neck.
"But…" The heiress sighed. "I can be persuaded to forgive them."
"Great," Blake whispered. "I'll get to work."
Cinder paced in front of Ozpin's office, building up the will to enter it. She had considered every other option presented to her, but none satisfied her.
She couldn't go to Raven. She knew all the advice she would get would be useless. Raven's philosophy towards killing was clear: it was abominable, but sometimes necessary. She might understand Cinder's position, but that would only be for the worse.
Weiss and Blake were too close to Ruby, and they seemed busy when she came to see them. The members of Juniper were too naïve, still. Taiyang… She didn't want to bother him with these matters, not after everything that had happened to his family because of Mira.
And Yang? No. Just no. She would never let Cinder forget asking her for advice if she did it.
So that left Ozpin. She didn't know what to expect of him. He had always been helpful, even kind to her, but his first priorities were towards his students' safety.
When she knocked on the door, his muffled voice replied almost immediately. She entered the office and found him seated behind his desk, examining a stack of important-looking documents.
"Are you busy?" She asked.
"I've been busy for a whole week, Miss Fall," he smiled tiredly. "The media is milking Qrow's death for all its worth, sadly. I've had to do the impossible to make sure they don't enter school grounds to examine his grave."
"Damn," Cinder frowned. "I thought I was evil."
He chuckled, then pointed to a chair across from him. She sat down and waited, hesitant to start the conversation.
"What brings you here?" Ozpin asked helpfully.
"A lot of things. But mostly… Mira," she said. "I said I was going to kill her, but… I… I don't know how to say this. I can't."
"You can't?" He repeated. "Why?"
Cinder couldn't help but feel a tad irritated. Hadn't she made clear that she didn't know how to say it?
"I don't know." She replied forcefully.
"Perhaps if you speak about it, we'll find out," he said. "You've struggled with your violent past recently, I know it. But I don't see a clear reason for you to take pity on Mira."
"I don't pity her," Cinder shook her head. "I hate her, now more than ever. She deserves to pay for her crimes."
"And you don't?"
The question struck her like a slap to the face.
"You'd… forgive her?" She asked.
"No. Not until a long time passed, at least," Ozpin said. "That is not the point. Would you forgive her?"
"No."
Ozpin nodded.
"I understand, then, that the problem lies not in her, but you," he stated. "So you would have her die, but not by your hands."
"Yes." She replied seriously.
"What made you come here, Cinder? Now. Something must have happened."
She looked away, hesitant to speak so openly with Ozpin. Yes, she had known him for some time now, but that wasn't enough reason to confide on him.
"Come on," he said softly. "You have to speak about it to someone. I won't judge."
"It's… Ruby wants me to kill Mira," Cinder told solemnly. "Ruby. She said… She said I should have no problem doing it."
"I see. And that upsets you greatly."
She nodded slowly, not speaking another word as she stared at her feet. Ozpin hid his smile behind a mug of coffee.
"I've witnessed your relationship evolve over these last months, Miss Fall. It's been much like a rollercoaster, with various ups and downs," he said. "As I see it, you've been hanging on to her, no matter the circumstances. Whatever you two have, it is very precious to you."
"Yes. I don't know what I am to her, sir, but…" Cinder paused. "She has always… Almost always, believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. I've done terrible, terrible things, but she didn't condemn me. And now…"
"Now she wants to bring out that side of you again," he said. "You're at a loss."
The pyromancer shifted in her seat. She felt like a book, being read so easily by the headmaster.
"What you have to understand, Miss Fall, is that Ruby is her own person, first of all," Ozpin pointed out. "She is a kind soul, as rare as they come, but she's as susceptible to her darker feelings as everyone else. Her uncle died because of a supposed mistake she made. It's natural for her to wish vengeance upon his killer."
"Okay," Cinder said quietly. "I… can understand that. But what should I do? Should I do what she wants?"
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "That's not something I can answer for you. But, if you want one last word of advice…" Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "Just as she has believed in you, you should believe in her."
The girl took his words in silently, wondering over their full meaning. After a while, Ozpin cleared his throat and pointed to the stacks of paper on his desk.
"Oh. Sorry," Cinder got up. "You have a school to run."
"And a friend's grave to guard," he added. "Good luck."
She hesitated in front of the door, then turned to look at him over her shoulder.
"Thank you, sir."
"Please," he chuckled. "My friends call me Ozpin."
When someone knocked on her team's door, Yang felt a mixture of guilt and relief as she jumped to answer it. Sure, she cared for her little sister, but comforting her for a whole hour with barely knowing the reason for it took its toll.
Cinder was standing in the hallway outside with a resolute look on her face. When she saw it was Yang who opened the door, though, her discomfort was pretty obvious.
"Hey," Yang smiled. "My little sister made you cry."
"I did not cry." Cinder said through gritted teeth.
"Right. Something got in your eye."
"…Can I see her?"
Yang crossed her arms, considering the request.
"Hmm… You're only half as bad as you were before," she said. "Okay. You can come in."
"I was hoping we could have some privacy." Cinder added hopefully.
"…You're lucky I'm a good older sister."
Yang went back inside the room, then exited again, dragging along Weiss and Blake, much to their confusion and annoyance. The blonde turned around briefly to leer at the pyromancer, then pointed at the room.
Cinder went inside and closed the door behind her. She looked around the room and found Ruby lying on her rope-suspended bed. Cinder smiled lightly and jumped to sit at her side.
"You know, when you told me how your team arranged this room, I thought that was a joke," she said. "Does Weiss really sleep under this?"
"Yeah," Ruby replied meekly. "She complains about it every week."
"I imagined so."
Cinder looked at Ruby's face and reached forward with her hand, moving her hair away from her eyes.
"I understand why you said what you said," Cinder muttered. "I'm not mad at you."
"That was really, really mean. And horrible. And… bad," Ruby tried to think of more appropriate terms, but she didn't have a dictionary at hand. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry about it," the pyromancer shook her head. "You can hate my mother as much as you want. I don't expect you to forgive her."
Ruby bit her lower lip worriedly.
"I… I've never hated anyone before," she whispered. "It feels horrible."
"It should feel like that," Cinder stated. "And it's not easy to fight it. Sometimes, you shouldn't even try," she leaned her head closer to Ruby's and looked her in the eyes. "Do whatever you need to do to cope, okay? I'm going to take care of her, and you'll never have to see her face again."
Ruby nodded slowly.
"Oh, one more thing," Cinder smiled. "I forgive you for shooting me. Numerous times."
"My bad." The redhead winced.
"Why did you do it, though?" Cinder asked. "You said something about Mira wanting me to kill her?"
"Yeah," Ruby shrugged. "I don't know, she's crazy. It was probably another mind game."
Cinder's gaze softened. She wanted to ask exactly what Ruby had been through, but she knew it would be painful for her to talk about.
But as she looked at Ruby, she once more noticed how strong she was. No matter how small, how young, how much torture she had suffered, she was still there, with vibrant silver eyes and a half-formed smile.
"I think's it's been a long time," Cinder said quietly. "Since I last said I love you."
Ruby blinked, not knowing how to react. Then she suddenly sat up and looked at the door of the room.
"And I think it's been a long time since you three have been listening through the keyhole!"
A series of gasps came from the hallway. Ruby jumped to the floor and opened the door. Her three teammates fell on top of each other. Weiss was the first to get up and had the decency to appear ashamed.
"I'm sorry," she said. "We, uh… Didn't hear anything."
"Right." Cinder's eyes straightened threateningly.
"It's been a long time since I last said I love you," Yang muffled a laugh. "That's the corniest thing I've ever heard!"
Ruby growled and lunged at her sister, but Yang was already out the door. The redhead chased after her, and Weiss followed more slowly, just to make sure they didn't murder each other.
Cinder looked at Blake embarrassedly.
"I didn't say anything like that." She stated firmly.
"Of course," Blake nodded solemnly. "Who would ever spout a line like that?"
The pyromancer blushed and marched out the room without saying another word. As soon as she was gone, Blake retrieved a notepad from her bed and started to scribble on it, trying to concoct a less corny spin on the phrase for her own personal use.
As Adam walked through the White Fang's Vale headquarters, he couldn't help but feel like he owned the world. With Mira gone, he was now officially and effectively the leader of the White Fang, with the power to authorize anything he wanted. For the first time, he could begin taking real steps towards his goals.
Her demise did cause some problems, though. Now he was in Beacon's radar, especially because Qrow Branwen had been killed. He expected resistance from Huntsmen and the school to multiply to aggravating levels.
And, of course, she had been good company… sometimes. In bed, mostly. Otherwise, she was just very threatening and unpredictable.
Unpredictable.
That word rang in his mind as he pushed past a set of double doors and found a whole room filled with gray, burnt-up corpses. There were so many, it was almost impossible to see the floor beneath them. And then a hand snaked over his right shoulder, and he spun around, reaching for his sword.
Mira's hand closed around his wrist, her amber eyes right in front of his own.
"Adam," she clucked her tongue. "Were you going to draw your sword on me?"
"You," he said. "You died."
"Perhaps. I like to think of it as… rebirth," she chuckled. "Like a phoenix, I rose from the ashes, anew. A lot has changed, dear."
Mira twisted her hand, and he heard the bones of his wrist break. He couldn't scream, though, as her other hand was now covering his mouth.
"I'm sorry. I was fond of you," she muttered sadly. "But I have to build my strength back up if I want to accomplish my goals. It's why your little friends died too."
He felt his insides heating up, as if fire was beginning to come to life within him.
"I bet you're thinking you don't deserve a death like this. You have so much to do…" Mira smiled. "Frankly, I've always found your antics of equality – that's what you call it, at least – ridiculous. There is no equality, Adam. There are the strong, and the weak; those who die, and those who go on."
The color in his eyes faded as he felt his life drain, almost as if it was being pulled away to her hand.
"You should be honored," Mira said. This time, there was no levity in her voice. "You're helping more in your death than you could in an entire lifetime. Your life flows into the cycle…"
He fell to the floor, lifeless.
"And the cycle will go on."
Oh, damn. The shit has hit the fan.
Unexpected news (even for me): the next chapter is the finale. Yep. Took ya by surprise, didn't it? I thought we would be having a few more chapters to go, but I don't think it will be necessary. In fact, doing more for the sake of doing more would probably hurt the quality of the story.
Still, there will another chapter after the finale, an epilogue of sorts. So don't get teary-eyed (yet).
Also, I have an alternate end scene for you guys. I hope you like it.
As Adam walked through the White Fang's Vale headquarters, he couldn't help but feel like he owned the world. With Mira gone, he was now officially and effectively the leader of the White Fang, with the power to authorize anything he wanted. For the first time, he could begin taking real steps towards his goals.
Her demise did cause some problems, though. Now he was in Beacon's radar, especially because Qrow Branwen had been killed. He expected resistance from Huntsmen and the school to multiply to aggravating levels.
And, of course, she had been good company… sometimes. In bed, mostly. Otherwise, she was just very threatening and unpredictable.
Unpredictable.
That word rang in his mind as he pushed past a set of double doors and found a whole room filled with gray, burnt-up corpses. There were so many, it was almost impossible to see the floor beneath them. And then a hand snaked over his right shoulder, and he spun around, reaching for his sword.
Mira's hand closed around his wrist, her amber eyes right in front of his own.
"Adam," she clucked her tongue. "Were you going to draw your sword on me?"
"You," he said. "You died."
"Perhaps. I like to think of it as… rebirth," she chuckled, then reached for something behind her head.
He heard the noise of a zipper being opened, and suddenly Mira's body fell apart. In her place, stood Emerald Sustrai.
"Surprise, motherfucker." She entoned gravely.
"What!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "That's impossible! You were caught in the explosion, I know it! You couldn't have survived!"
"Hmm. You caught me." She reached behind her head again.
Another zipper went down, and this time, a redhead was revealed. She looked much like Ruby Rose, but older and with a white cloak.
"You can't die if you're already dead!" Summer declared triumphantly.
"But... Why would you kill so many people?" Adam asked confusedly. "You're a Huntress, a fighter of all things evil!"
"Hmm. You caught me." She reached behind her head again.
Adam blinked several times, making sure he was really looking at Blake.
"It was me, Adam!" She shouted. "It was me all along!"
"Aha!" Adam exclaimed, then threw a Dust crystal on the floor.
The crystal exploded and released a purple gas. When it faded, Glynda Goodwitch stood where Adam should have been.
"Miss Belladonna," she said sternly. "You did not hand in your homework today!"
The faunus fell to the floor and screamed to the heavens, cursing the gods responsible for creating the concept of homework.