The general stared at the blonde teen in front of him, the single eye looking at him with the same amount of intensity. Ironwood allowed his eyes to drop to the stump of Jaune's right arm, the disc that attached the cybernetic arm in clear sight. It seemed that Goodwitch got lucky when she managed to cut it off, anywhere else it might have been a different story.
"Mr. Arc," The general said as he cleared his throat, "I believe you requested to see me."
"That I did general," Jaune answered back, his voice low, "Though…I didn't expect to have company."
"A security measure, we both know that it's required given your track record." Ironwood said, glancing over at their audience. Winter was there, as was team RWBY, Nora, and Ren, the general didn't approve of the younger folk watching, but the doctor insisted that it would ensure Jaune's cooperation.
"I understand that," The teen said with a growl, "But that's besides the point, I needed to talk to you about the next course of action that we need to take."
"We?" Ironwood said as his brow's raised, a interest coming into his eyes.
"Yes, we, did you think I did all of this because I was a lunatic? No…I needed everyone back in town for this," Jaune said as he looked around, "I have a plan to draw Cinder out of hiding and to kill the dragon."
"What makes you think you're in any position to tell us what to do?!" Winter yelled as she slammed her fist into the table, "You've killed my men, Atlas personal, you're lucky we're not dragging you back to face charges and…"
"That's enough Winter," Ironwood snapped as he cut off the older Schnee sister, "As much as it pains me to admit, Jaune has managed to eliminate the White Fang, capture and safeguard two valuable assets, bring two others into our protection, assist in the capture of one of Cinder's most trusted associates. What ever he has to say to us, whatever he's planning, I say we should hear him out."
"There's a good man." Jaune said with a wolfish grin, before the general turned to him.
"However, I do intend to bring you to Atlas after this is over young man, you will face trial for what you've done." The general said with certainty.
"I will gladly face a court when this is over," The knight said, "But first, we need to deal with Cinder and that dragon."
"Yes, you've done your part in eliminating her associates, though Mercury's body is still unrecovered…" The general said before Jaune cut him off.
"Don't worry about him, he's dead, I tracked him down after he sabatoged his transport. Didn't put much of a fight after I ripped off his other leg." Jaune said as he looked at the map.
"He sabotaged the ship? You didn't bring it down?" Winter asked, her eyes narrowing.
"No…I didn't, Mercury was a clever bastard, but he didn't count on me tracking him." The man in black said.
"We're getting off track, what is your plan?" Ironwood said as he moved a map in front of Jaune.
"Simple, we attack," Jaune said as he pointed at said map, "You and your troops will draw off the Grimm, me and a small team will enter and draw Cinder out, then? I deal with her."
"And what makes you think she'll come for you?" Winter asked as she sat down, staring at the teen intently.
"I've insulted her, I've undone everything she planned," The teen said as he smiled a feral grin, "She'll want me dead."
"What of the dragon? Even if you kill Cinder, that beast will keep drawing the Grimm to it." The general asked, his eyes trained on the map.
"After Cinder is dealt with, I'll leave the dragon up to whoever has the biggest bomb," Jaune said as he leaned back, "Blow it right to hell, fire should destroy any remains."
"A sound plan," Ironwood said as he mulled it over, "But what makes you think you can even defeat Cinder?"
"The power of the Maiden won't help her from my wrath," Jaune snarled, startiling the general, "Yeah, I know about it, the records in the bunker revealed much to me. The armor will allow me to get past her defenses, and it's durable enough to hold off her attacks."
"And what, pray tell, would make us even consider giving you the armor in the first place?" The older Schnee sister asked, her lips curling into a similar snarl.
"That's enough," The general ordered as he turned to face Jaune, "The armor is being repaired by Penny, when you're fully recovered, we'll be ready to begin this operation."
"Good, then I'll take my leave." The teen said as he got up and walked out of the tent, Winter looked at the general in shock.
"Why would you give him back the armor? We both know he'll take it and run after he's done with it, he'll probably go after you!" The older Schnee sister yelled, only for the general to hold up his hand.
"When the doctors where working on Mr. Arc, I had them implant a tracker into his system. After the battle is over, we'll find him and arrest him. He'll be brought to Atlas to face charges," Ironwood said as he got up, "Albeit with leeway for his actions here."
"Leeway? He killed Atlas troops!" Winter yelled, her anger rising.
"Yes, but he's also the reason why we have gotten this far in the first place, without him, we'd be tracking Cinder in Mistral right now." The general answered, Winter looked down at the map in defeat, she knew he was right. Jaune Arc was the only reason why this war might be closing in on it's final moments…
A few days later…
"You know, I said a small force." Jaune muttered as he boarded a ship, followed by team RWBY, SSSN, Ren, Nora, and Penny.
"Aw, you know you'd miss us," Nora said as she grabbed Jaune and pulled him into a hug, the Viking appeared to have forgotten all about Jaune's attempt to kill Ren a few days ago, "Besides, now we get to kill Grimm together!"
"Nora, let him go," Ren ordered, the orange haired girl frowned as she did, "Jaune, we all volunteered for this, you need help and with Atlas handling the bulk of the Grimm, you need us."
"Alright," Jaune groaned as he sat down, his armor shifting as he did, "So…you guys ready?"
"You bet," Yang said as she punched her fist together, "I'm ready to pay that bitch back for everything she's done."
"Although I wouldn't use such colorful language, I agree with Yang." Blake replied as she put her hand on the brawlers shoulder.
"I know I am!" Nora yelled with a certain amount of gusto, "It'll be just like old times! Just…like…"
"Nora," Ren said comfortingly, putting his hand on her shoulder, "We're both in, Pyrrha was our teammate and friend. We want to avenge her."
"Good," Jaune said as he got up and walked to the loading door, turning his head back to the people on the ship, "I'm sorry for what I put you through, I really am…but I'm afraid that it doesn't end till this is all over. I'm going to deal with Cinder, you keep the Grimm off my back."
"Wait, we're not fighting Cinder?" Weiss asked as she stood up.
"No…she has abilities that are far above your own, Pyrrha couldn't beat her and she was the best of us," The black knight growled, "This armor is the only thing that will allow me to fight back."
"Are you sure you don't want some backup?" Ruby asked, her voice low and dark.
"No…trust me, it's better on the ground." Jaune answered as the doors opened onto the dock of Beacon, two other ships landed beside them as well to keep the landing zone secured as the team moved in to deal with Cinder. The knight drew his huge blade as he walked into the cool night air, the moon shining in the sky. The group could see the Grimm off in the distance running towards them, Jaune snarled as he charged, swinging his sword and slicing two Ursa in half with a single swing.
The teams looked at each other, nodded, and charged, followed by team CFVY as they exited their ship. The Second Battle of Beacon had begun, Jaune roared as he charged towards the tower where the dragon lay motionless, followed by team RWBY. The group slashed, punched, and stabbed past any Grimm, stopping at the tower.
"She's here," Jaune growled as he looked up, the rest of the team following suit, sure enough, they could make out the faint glow of Cinder's clothes, "Hold the line, I'm going to finish this, here and now."
"Jaune…you don't have to do this alone." Ruby said, grabbing him by the arm.
"No…I do," The knight said as he pulled away, walking into the tower before stopping and turning to the girl, "Hey, before I go, I need to give you something."
Ruby's brow raised as Jaune reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a worn out journal.
"Once this is over, read it, trust me…it'll be enlightening for all of you." The knight said as he walked up to the elevator shaft, he jumped onto the cable and started his way up. It was time to deal with this, it was time to see her final resting place, it was time…to see the love of his life's ashes. The team all turned to face the approaching Grimm, their weapons cocking.
"Ruby…I just want to say this one last time before we start," Weiss whispered, "I love you."
"Weiss…I love you too." The red head answered back, before screaming as she charged off. The rest of the team following, this was the day they were waiting for.
The door above across from Cinder opened with a screech as the knight pulled himself through, the teen cracking his neck as he drew his blade.
"Cinder…" Jaune snarled as he stared at her, the woman smiled as she looked over him, his scarred visage, his wild eyes, his bared teeth. Yes, he did indeed look like what she imagined this thorn in her side to look like.
"Jaune Arc," The woman said as she started walking, "I knew you'd show up, I've been waiting for a long time for this."
"So have I…" Jaune said as he walked, keeping her in front of him.
"Indeed you have, impressive, considering that you've never had a day of training before Beacon," Cinder said, her eyes never leaving Jaune's, "I assume that you must have had some great secret to join Beacon, some great family name, or maybe Ozpin wanted another pawn in his game."
"Funny, I could say the same thing about you and your associates," Jaune growled, "Manipulating people who love you, that's sick."
"If you're referring to Emerald, then you needn't bother," The woman replied as well, "I'll deal with her when I see her, she deserves an award for being so sweet."
"Maybe," Jaune snarled, "But before that…you and me, we have something to discuss."
"Like what?" Cinder replied back, her hands twitching.
"Like how you're going to beg when I'm done…" Jaune snarled as he charged, his rage fueled chop narrowly missing the elusive woman. Cinder laughed as she summoned her arrows up and fired some, only for the teen to duck under them and swing at her again. The women leaped over the blade, turning around and slamming her fire infused fist into Jaune, sending him forward. The teen snarled as he slammed his blade into the ground, preventing him from falling off the side.
He looked up to see Cinder careening towards him, the Maiden powers shooting her like a rocket. Jaune roared as he brought up his blade, the woman shifted and leapt off of it, landing on her feet. The knight got up, cracking his neck as he did. Cinder had to admit, she was impressed, he had done well and he hadn't even used the armor's full potential yet. The woman smiled as she summoned her bow again, firing an arrow. Jaune rolled out of the way, raising his sword as he readied to strike back.
He raised his face to see Cinder in it, slamming her foot into his jaw, sending him careening towards the edge again. Jaune leapt to his feet, his face snapping up to her in rage. He had not come this far to fall off a simple edge of a building, he was here to end this part of his life.
At the Beacon Grounds…
Ruby yelled as she sliced off a Beowulf's arm, sending it to the ground and allowing Weiss to finish it off. The pair had become separated from the main group and where making their way back to the tower, needless to say, much easier said than done. Weiss summoned a spectral hand to swipe away some more Grimm, Ruby following through to keep the Grimm off of them.
The red head slashed another one in half, only for a yelp to make her snap back. She turned to see that Weiss had just been knocked back by Beringel, it's ape like fist knocking her into a wall.
"No!" Ruby yelled as she saw a Boarbatusk ready itself for a charge, she jumped into to try and slash at it…only for the tusk to miss her weapon and slam itself into her chest. The reaper was knocked back into Weiss, who shook her head as the stars vanished.
"Ruby!" The Heiress yelled as she saw the limp body at her feet, she ran over to look over the girl. Ruby's Aura had taken most of the blow, but she was still injured. Weiss looked up to see the Grimm approaching, she wouldn't be able to get Ruby out of here.
"Weiss," Ruby said weakly, lifting her hand up to caress the heiress's cheek, "Go…get out of here."
"No you dolt," Weiss whispered as she grabbed the younger girls hand, "I'm not leaving you here."
"Weiss, you won't be able to leave here with me, save yourself." The reaper whispered, bringing Weiss to her level.
"No…I can't, I've lost too much already, I've lost Pyrrha already, I'm not losing you again," Weiss whispered as she broke away from the embrace, grabbing her weapon off the ground, "I can't lost you again."
The ape like Grimm roared and beat it's chest as it charged, Weiss braced herself for the impact…only for it to never come. The heiress looked up to see…a spear through it's chest, the creature looked down in surprise as it faded away. Weiss looked at her savior, only to take a step back. It was a being wearing a skull mask, wearing a suit of what appeared to be bone. It drew a sword and slashed away at the surrounding Grimm, creating a brief respite.
The being looked at the pair, before gesturing with it's sword for them to follow. Weiss, after looking at Ruby, nodded and picked up the reaper carrying her as she followed the being. A few Grimm attacked them, but the being was more than a match for anything that came at it. That's when a screech filled the air, Weiss turned around to see a Nevermore swooping in for the kill.
She gasped as she looked at girl in her arms, she would never be able to make cover before the creature got to them. That's when the being stepped forward, it looked at Weiss, pointed in a direction, before drawing it's spear again. Weiss, understanding, took off running, the creature looked at the being as it came in, expecting easy pickings. Weiss looked back to see the creature raise it's spear…before throwing it, she watched as the blade rocketed through the air…before slamming into the Nevermore.
The Heiress kept running as she heard the creature fall, it's dying screech reaching her ears. She rounded a corner…and ran into Yang and Blake.
"Where have you two been? We've been looking for you!" Yang yelled before she saw Ruby.
"We've got to get her someplace safe," Weiss gasped, "We have too."
"OK, we've got this covered, get to the ships. They'll keep you safe." Blake answered, putting a hand on the heriess's shoulder. Weiss nodded as she started running, both Blake and Yang shared a look before running back towards the tower. They really hoped that Jaune was doing better than they were…
At the tower…
Jaune leaned against a pile of rubble, arrows sticking out of his armor.
"I'm impressed," Cinder said as she stared at the teen, "It took the full power of the Maiden to pierce that armor."
Jaune coughed as he fell to the floor, blood splattering the pavement as he did. The pain was overwhelming him, his eyes where glazing over.
"I wonder," The woman said as she stared at the teen, "Why didn't you use the Berserk Dust? It seems like you might have had a chance with it."
The knight dragged himself forward, not realizing where he was going, until his hand brushed something, something metallic. Jaune looked up to see it, Pyrrha's headband, shield, and sword. Cinder must of brought them together as a trophy, the knights hand closed on band. He pulled it closer, the metal shined in the moonlight. Pyrrha…his lovely Spartan, his amazon, the woman who had been taken from him.
Jaune snarled once again, dragging himself to his feet. He looked at Cinder, who smiled as she summoned her bow. He grabbed Pyrrha's blade, before roaring as he charged, Cinder loosed another arrow, which Jaune twisted and allowed to pierce his shoulder. The knight charged in, before ducking and sweeping Cinder's legs, knocking her down.
The knight leapt up, stabbing the blade into Cinder, who merely summoned a glass shield to protect herself. The blow sent her into the ground, cracking the stone, Cinder growled as she twisted her leg, kicking Jaune across the jaw. The teen growled as he leapt back, the woman jumping to her feet as well, only to yelp as a huge gear came at her.
Cinder ducked under the hunk of metal, only to find Jaune waiting there to grab her and slam her into his knee. The woman gasped as Jaune threw her up, before slamming her into the ground once again. Cinder yelled as she used the Maidens power to rocket her self out of the situation, she whirled around to see Jaune grabbing his big blade.
Cinder landed, her eyes full of rage as she drew up her bow, Jaune roared as he threw Pyrrha's shield at Cinder's arrow. The woman almost laughed, it was the same way that his love died…only this time, Jaune, with a roar of might, swung his sword and shattered the arrow. The woman yelped as Jaune surged forward, knocking her down. Cinder's eyes snapped up to see the knight standing over her, sword in hand.
Jaune stared into her eyes, his teeth bared, and he brought the blade down. Cinder closed her eyes, expecting death, only to feel the rush of air next to her. The woman opened her eyes to see…the blade in the ground next to her. Jaune stared at her, before laughing, laughing so loud it sounded like a maniac.
"What's so funny?" Cinder asked, her confusion evident.
"It's funny…I don't want to kill you," Jaune laughed out as he grabbed Cinder by her dress, pulling her up to his level, "I want you to watch…I want you to watch as everything you worked so hard to build crumbles and burns to your namesake."
He threw her down.
"I want you to suffer, I want you to know what it feels like to have everything taken from you, everything you worked so hard for to disappear in a flash." The knight laughed as he walked towards the still frozen dragon.
"That's a nice though, but what makes you think you can win?" Cinder said with a laugh.
"Simple…Salam is weakened by these events, she won't have the strength to rise up for a while. This dragon? Well…" Jaune said as his left hand suddenly transformed, a barrel produced. Green energy glowed…and was fired, a plasma ball consumed the dragon…destroying it completely. Cinder stared at the event in shock…no…this wasn't possible. He couldn't know about Salam, he couldn't have destroyed the dragon…this…this wasn't' possible.
Jaune turned to her with a savage grin.
"Go…leave, remember this day…the day that I beat you." The knight said before turning to face the now dawning sun, Cinder got to her feet. She growled as she summoned up her bow…only for a hand to encase hers, the woman turned to face…Emerald.
"Come on Cinder, it's over, let's go home." The thief whispered, Cinder looked at Jaune…before turning away. Emerald was right, it was over…but…at least she had someone left. She wasn't alone again, she hadn't been abandoned. As the pair left, Emerald looked at Jaune.
"Thank you…" She whispered, turning to leave. Jaune nodded as they left, the sun basking his face as stared at the carnage below. He pulled out his scroll and opened it.
"Jaune," Ironwoods voice filled the air, "The Grimm are falling back, my scouts are reporting that they're heading towards the wilderness. Did you succeed in killing Cinder?"
"She won't be a problem anymore." The knight answered.
"My guards are also reporting that Emerald Sustrei has escaped, have you seen any sign of her? She might have come to try and help Cinder." Ironwood asked again, having a good idea of how she got out.
"No…I haven't seen her, before you ask, the dragon is dead too." Jaune answered, his voice monotone.
"Good, so then…are you coming back to base?" The general asked, his voice low and deep.
"We both know the answer to that," Jaune said with a laugh, "You already tried to put a tracker in me, I carved it out already."
"I had a feeling you would," Ironwood said with a calm voice, "Jaune…come back, I can assure you that you will face no penelties for what has transpired these past few months. Just come back to your friends, they'll need you."
"General, I'm calling for one reason," The knight said, "I don't want you, I don't want to kill you. I want the man who lied to us, I want the man who kept secrets from us, I want the man who was willing to sacrifice a young woman for his goals."
"Jaune…" Ironwood said in a warning tone.
"I don't want you general, I want Ozpin." Jaune whispered, before crushing his scroll.
A few hours later…
"I can't believe Jaune left us again," Nora pouted as she, Ren, and RWBY walked towards the tent, "I thought we were getting back together."
"Nora, I'd assume that he had good reasons." Ren answered, Nora sighed as she leaned into the teens shoulder. The group stopped as they came to RWBY's tent…and saw a bunch of people standing outside their tent.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked as they got closer, one of the people, a guard turned to her.
"A…thing dropped something off here, we were told to only let your team in." The woman said as she gestured into the tent, Ruby looked at her oddly before entering. The team all stopped at the sight, a small girl, wrapped in a white cloak. She had black hair…but the umistakable eyes of the Arc line…
And it's done, now I will give a slight update on this story's progress. I still intend to finish it up before volume four premiers on the 23rd (I'm not a FIRST member) but with my school scedual being the way it is, that might not be possible. Second, keep on reviewing and reading, the end is in sight. There will be two more chapters and a epilogue (Though, that might be in the last chapter).
Now before you review this and ask/or complain about Cinder, here is a quick thesis. For those of you who don't know, RT officially confirmed that Cinder Fall is, in fact, based off of Cinderella. My theory is that, like Cinderella, she was abandoned and abused by her family until a "godmother," (Salam) came in and raised her up. I think that she isn't inherently evil but has been manipulated and abused into becoming evil.
Other than that, thanks for reading.