Ruby paced back and forth impatiently across the threadbare beige carpet of her and Qrowe's motel room. Occasionally she paused to examine the darkened patches on the carpet where her boots had left moisture on the floor, the frigid air failed to evaporate the traces of snow. The room smelled of damp, though Ruby doubted her footprints were to blame. She decided to crack open the window, hopefully it would combat the slightly unpleasant odour. Trying to work the stiff and somewhat rusted lock provided welcome distraction. Finally the window's handle gave up fighting her. She slid the window upwards and wedged a slim wooden block from the window sill beneath it to keep it from closing. The wind's whistle, muted yet shrill, reached her ears but that wasn't all…
A gunshot rang out in the distance, sounding like a stick snapping in the cool, crisp air. Normally a single gunshot in one of the kingdom's scattered settlements would be little cause for concern, usually Ruby would have dismissed it as a stray Grimm being put down by a perimeter patrol. But that particular gunshot was known to her, familiar even...
That was the sound of a gunshot from Mercury's boots.
Impossible, it couldn't be… but if it was…
Ruby snatched Crescent Rose from the surface of the dresser and shouldered open the door. She descended the steps two at a time and sprinted past the bar, ignoring the mystified looks from the inn's other patrons.
"Ruby wait!" Ren yelled as the red reaper ran past him in a flurry of red petals. Nora downed her pint as her teammate grabbed her by the arm and steered her towards the stairs to retrieve their weapons from their room.
Meanwhile, Ruby burst through the double doors and out into the night. Rose petals billowed behind her, they spiralled down to the snow covered ground, moistening and turning a darker, more blood like, shade of red. A cold biting wind pinched her cheeks, the sparse street lamps failed to pierce the black veil of the moonless night. She paused, peering into the blizzard, nothing. She cocked her ear and listened.
Another gunshot.
There could be no doubt this time. She resumed her advance in the sound's direction, accompanied only by the crunch of fresh snow underfoot and the wet slaps of her rapidly dampening cloak against her legs. She suppressed her shivers and forged on down the street.
A sultry voice, as sweet and sickly as red sap syrup, stopped her in her tracks. She skidded to a halt in the centre of an intersection.
"Ruby Rose." The voice stated with a mixture of disgust and disdain. The words spoken slow and purposeful by lips that seemed to savour some long awaited pleasure in uttering her name.
Ruby turned. A female figure sashayed from the shadows. She knew who it was by voice alone. She didn't need to see the signature surety in the swagger of her steps. She didn't need to see the soulless gaze of those amber eyes that glowed as if in defiance to the darkness that engulfed the rest of her body. It was the woman who had plagued her dreams and worsened her nightmares these past few weeks.
Cinder Fall.
Ruby's shivers began anew. Though these involuntary twitches were no longer from the ever present chill of Patch's winter night. This minute yet violent shaking was a result of the near overflowing rage coursing through Ruby's veins. She stared down Pyrrha's murderer. Ruby slowly, deliberately unclipped Crescent Rose from the small of her back, her silver eyes did not leave Cinder's amber orbs for a second. She pulled the lever to spur her weapon into motion. Crescent Rose unfurled with a series of menacing clanks. The tip of her scythe's blade buried itself in the snow.
Cinder responded by opening the palm of her right hand. The fiery outline of a scimitar materialised, seemingly from nothing. The image solidified, a charcoal coloured broad blade with a gleaming edge. Orange gems appeared, embedded along the flat of the blade as Cinder willed her weapon into existence. She wrapped her slender fingers around the sword's handle. A thin line of fire traced the blade's multiple cutting edges, finally illuminating Cinder in all her finery. The snow around her feet melted, the water replacing it was soon boiled away, shrouding Cinder's shapely legs in a veil of steam. The light from her weapon was now bolstered by the glow of the designs on her red dress. Her luscious red lips parted in a smug half smile as her amber eyes lit up with unfathomable power. If she felt the cold at all she didn't show it, she remained motionless, waiting for Ruby to make the first move.
Seeing Cinder smile, after everything she had done, all the people she had killed, was too much for Ruby. The red reaper pulled the charging handle on her rifle, chambering a round. She grit her teeth as a low growl emanated from her throat.
"Still as courageous as ever I see." Cinder's husky voice cooed as her Scimitar emerged from the steam, held vertically in front of her body. A subtle harshness marred her usually dulcet tones. "Tell me, Ruby, did your courage save Penny? Did it save Pyrrha?... Your sister-"
Whatever Cinder was going to say would have to remain unsaid. Ruby let out a scream of raw rage as she swung Crescent Rose behind her. Sparks flew from the icy ground as the tip of Ruby's scythe scraped across the frozen flagstones. Her battle cry rose in pitch as she charged her opponent.
Cinder's eyes narrowed as if in annoyance as she swung her sword in a horizontal sweep well before Ruby had closed the distance. A solid wave of flame swept down the street, engulfing its entirety in a blazing inferno, scorching storefronts and shattering windows from the sheer conclusive force. A cloud of white steam hissed up into the night, soon followed by a pall of black smoke as the snow instantly evaporated and the fire took root in the surrounding buildings.
A wall of blistering heat and semi-molten glass impacted the red reaper, throwing her back to whence she came. She bounced and tumbled down the street, somehow maintaining a hold of her weapon. She slammed the curved blade of Crescent Rose into the ground and brought herself to a screeching halt. Ruby gasped for the cool winter air to soothe her scorched throat. Her shoulders rose and fell in time to her ragged breaths. She shook her head to try to rid the ringing from her ears. Her aura had absorbed the monumental blow at the cost of a third of her aura pool. Ruby cast her blurred vision back down the street.
A low, yet brittle laugh brought her back to reality. The smoke dissipated, revealing Cinder, her scimitar held casually at her side, her face as impassive and unforgiving as the stone upon which she stood. The signature chatter of Ren's machine pistols and the crump of Nora's grenade launcher reached the ears of the two combatants. Ruby turned towards the sound, concern evident on her features. Cinder's voice snatched her attention away from her friends plight. "When I finish killing you, your friends are next. Then the rest of your pitiful race."
"I'll stop you!" Ruby yelled as she dragged her scythe back into ready position. "Right here, right now. I won't let you hurt anyone else!"
Cinder cocked her head to one side as if analyzing her opponent, the smug half smile returned to her face. "You'll fail." Her sultry voice intoned, as if explaining something painfully obvious to a very young child. "Like every huntress before you. Like Goodwitch, like Ozpin… Like your mother." Cinder's smile took on a predatory quality as she noticed Ruby's eyes widen. "They still haven't told you? Even after what happened at Beacon?" Ruby didn't reply, too stunned for words. Her silence was all the confirmation her nemesis needed. "She died in pain, alone and afraid." She cooed. "I killed her. Summer Rose died screaming, by my hand." Cinder savoured every moment of delicious pain as tears welled in Ruby's silver eyes.
"DIE!" Ruby screamed hoarsely, as she charged her opponent once more. Her cloak flowed out behind her, she pulled Crescent Rose back behind her body, ready to swing the moment she came within striking distance of her target. Cinder wrapped both hands around the haft of her sword and entered combat stance.
Ruby was now less than fifteen meters from her opponent. Cinder slashed again with her burn dust infused scimitar. Another wave of flame cascaded down the street. Steel signposts wilted and curled like the stems of dried out plants. Ruby leapt into the air and swung her scythe beneath her. She pulled the trigger, the recoil sending her spinning skywards, she narrowly cleared the incoming inferno. Flames singed the edge of her cloak as she fired her weapon a second time, rocketing directly towards her opponent. A fierce yell left her throat as she slashed down at Cinder. Scythe met sword in a flurry of sparks as the cutting edge of Crescent Rose slid down the length of the opposing blade. Ruby's feet finally made contact with the floor as squealing metal suddenly clanged. The scythe's blade had met the sword's slender hand guard. Cinder deftly flicked her scimitar to the left with surprising strength given the slightness of the movement. Ruby's guard was wide open.
Before Ruby could react, the pommel of her enemies sword crashed into her cheek bone, depleting yet more of her aura and staggering her back several paces. Ruby cried out in frustration and lunged at her opponent. Cinder thrust her sword at the advancing huntress in training, forcing her to deflect the blow. Before Ruby could counter with a strike of her own, Cinder followed up with a slash, then another, and another. Her sword became a grey blur, delivering strikes in such rapid succession that most would have trouble tracking each attack, let alone blocking them. Ruby twirled her scythe in her hands and spun it around her body. The two combatants engaged in a deadly dance, two partners interlocked in a fight to the death. Cinder's face remained impassive and the deluge showed no signs of cessation. So frequent were the strikes that Ruby's aura couldn't hope to protect her from every attack. Shreds of Ruby's cloak fluttered away, cut loose by the flurry of blows. Shallow cuts littered her petite frame, from her cheek to her shin, thin red lines allowed blood to seep into her clothes. Ruby blocked and parried, scarcely able to hold her own, such was the intensity of the assault, each jolt and vibration of their weapons making contact stung her palms. The young warrior came to the horrid realisation that her opponent was toying with her.
But Ruby kept on coming. Not one step back, people are counting on me. She was gaining ground, an inch at a time, though her inexorable advance only intensified her opponent's onslaught. She blocked a slash from her left, then twisted her head out of the path of a straight thrust. Cinder transitioned into a diagonal slash that nicked Ruby's shoulder as she ducked beneath the blow. Cinder span on her heel and brought her sword down in a vertical slash. The red reaper crouched and hefted her scythe above her head. Cinder's scimitar impacted Crescent Rose with a weighty clang. Ruby relinquished her hold on her weapon with her left hand, allowing the scythe to tilt and fall across her shoulders, the blade resting on the ground beside her. Cinder's sword squealed down the length of Crescent Rose's handle in a shower of sparks that failed to ignite Ruby's cloak since it was dampened by snow, sweat and blood. The second she felt her the weight of her enemy's weapon shift off of her own Ruby pushed with all her might.
The unexpected move forced Cinder off balance. She tried to take back the advantage with a hasty one handed sweep of her sword. Ruby fired Crescent Rose into the ground and somersaulted over the attack. She fired again in midair, using the recoil to move to Cinder's left. She bounced on the balls of her feet and pulled the trigger, flipping behind her opponent. She started swinging her scythe before her feet hit the ground. Her opponent's weapon was on the other side of her body, too far away to block the attack.
Cinder's scimitar dissolved into dust and flakes of orange embers. Ruby's eyes widened as the sword reassembled in Cinder's other hand. Crescent Rose slammed into the scimitar, both blades bounced away from each other. Ruby stumbled back off balance as her adversary took her first step since the battle's beginning. Ruby's aching muscles dragged her weapon back into a defensive stance as Cinder's leg bolted forwards in a vicious kick. The attack slammed the handle of Crescent Rose into Ruby's chest, fracturing two ribs and propelling the huntress in training backwards at breakneck speed. Ruby cried out in pain and frustration as she tumbled through the air and smashed through the scorched wooden wall of a small warehouse. Her bruised and bloodied body smacked into the concrete floor, she bounced twice before rolling to a stop.
Ruby pushed herself up onto her knees and straightened her back. She shook her hair from her eyes as Cinder strolled through the opening Ruby's flailing frame had made in the warehouse wall, her scimitar held casually at her side once more. Her lips twisted into a malicious smile and a low, menacing chuckle slipped between her lips.
"What's so funny?" Ruby hissed as she tore a sizeable shard of wood from her forearm.
Cinder came to a stop and stared down at her kneeling adversary. "I doubt you would appreciate the irony."
"Try me." Ruby shot back as she used the shaft of Crescent Rose to push herself to her feet.
Cinder quirked an eyebrow. "Had I known of your existence, so much of this could have been avoided. I could have killed you in your crib, snuffed out your light with the simple flick of a wrist… with the Summer maiden's powers Autumn would have been far easier prey." Cinder smirked as a cruel thought occurred to her. "None of this would have happened. I wouldn't have needed to kill Penny… or Pyrrha. Don't you see? It's all your fault Ruby."
The red reaper let out a heart breaking scream, full of rage and pain and grief as she charged Cinder once more. Her opponent readied her weapon and met her halfway.
Cinder's sword glowed with a malevolent orange light as the blades clashed. An explosion blasted Ruby into the air, her opponent prowled through the cloud of flames and leapt after her. Ruby swung her scythe down at her airborne adversary, deflecting Cinders strike. Her opponent slashed again as gravity finally started to tear the two combatants from the air. Ruby's guard was knocked wide open, before she could recover Cinder's heel connected with her shoulder and sent her tumbling to the ground. In one fluid motion the red reaper rolled and swept Crescent Rose out behind her. She pulled the trigger, her rifle's recoil sent her straight back towards her opponent, with a cry of exertion she brought her scythe up and over her head in a vertical slash. Cinder somersaulted over her and stabbed down. Ruby fired again to hasten the process of bringing her weapon to bare. She narrowly deflected the attack. But didn't have time to dodge the kick that her attacker sent her way. Ruby's head snapped to the side as the toe of Cinder's shoe connected with her temple.
Ruby fell backwards and rolled over a wooden crate. She kicked the box along the floor towards her adversary, hoping to at least slow her enemy down.
Cinder swept her sword up and cut the crate in half with a diagonal swing and barged through the neatly bisected box without slowing her step. The red reaper stumbled backwards and brought up Crescent Rose to block. Cinder easily knocked her enemy's weapon aside with a one handed swing. Ruby's eyes widened as her opponent's left hand burst into flame. Cinder clenched her hand into a fiery fist and threw a straight jab that hit Ruby in the stomach, blasting her nemesis through the warehouse wall and back onto the street.
Her opponent followed. She strolled out into the open, dragging the tip of her sword along the edge of the rupture, eliciting sparks and embers from the wooden wall in her wake.
"Magnificent." Cinder sighed as coruscating flame danced along the clenching fist of her free hand. "I feel it now. This is the true power of a maiden." Ruby tried to rise to her feet, something inside her exploded with white hot pain and she collapsed onto her knees and whimpered, eliciting a frown from Cinder. "I'm insulted, how could your mother think you were more worthy to inherit her power than me."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand." Ruby hissed through gritted teeth as unfallen tears stung her eyes.
"Ignorant human. You think Autumn was the first maiden whose power we tried to claim?" Cinder snapped. "How could Summer ever think you were worthy of becoming a maiden? Look at you, you're pathetic!" She hissed, pointing her blade disdainfully at her fallen foe. "You have all this power… and this is all you can do with it Ruby?"
Cinder's words triggered something within Ruby, awakening a power that had long lay dormant. Her silver eyes shone with incorporeal light. The red reaper rose to her feet and stared Cinder down. Her thumb slid over the magazine release of Crescent Rose. The half empty clip clattered against the paving stones as she slid a fresh magazine into place with a dull click. She slowly, deliberately, slid back the charging lever with a threatening clack.
Ruby's words were but a whisper. A voice raw with emotion emanated from her throat. "I'll show you what I can do."
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