Chapter Nine – A Song of Spring and Autumn
Warning: This fanfic will spoil the events of RWBY up to Volume 5. The story picks up immediately after the events of Downfall
A deafening roar resounded from within the Dust mines. Rocks and shards of Dust were expelled from its mountainous depths as the Grimm dragon burst free from its rocky confines, spreading wings that were as large as ship sails and as black as night. The dragon flapped its monstrous black wings and a powerful gale storm struck the terraced, wattle and daub houses of Mantle-3, tearing apart the roofs, sweeping away their fences, shattering their glass windows. And as the dragon ascended higher into the night, its massive black body blotted out the shattered moon of Remnant, casting a great oppressive shadow over Mantle-3. Nothing was eternal under the Grimm dragon's dreaded flight, not even darkness itself. Its bone white maw opened revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, but it was what came after that devastated the Dust-mining city.
A powerful stream of fire erupted from the dragon's jaws, setting fire to row after row of buildings, their cheap tinder frames burst into tall dancing amber flames that longed for the dark sky above. Shrill screams sounded from inside the buildings as the citizens were cooked alive, trapped in the place they once called home. The dragon completed its pass over the city, leaving behind a trail of death and burning cinders and rolling black smoke. Letting out a thunderous triumphant roar, the beast dipped its wing and circled around, its crimson eyes scoured the burning city for the Relic. Its belly lit up with amber flames - the beast was determined to raze another column of the city with a breath of dragon fire and it would not rest until Mantle-3 was a sea of fire and the Relic was exposed to its master.
High above the city line of Mantle-3, Jansen lined up the cross hairs of the ballista, tracing the movements of the Grimm dragon as it rained death upon the city below. He engaged the catch and the unobtanium arrow streaked across the sky with a powerful surge of energy, tracing a brilliant tail of white light as it soared toward its target, but flew right under the dragon's wing missing his target by barely an inch. He slammed his fist on the ballista in rage and cursed. One down, two to go.
Jansen loaded the second arrow onto the ballista, wound up the pulleys and lined the cross hairs once again. This time, the dragon was closer, hovering above the market place, flooding the streets with wave upon wave of dragon fire. This was the moment he was waiting for - a stationary target. He engaged the catch for the second time and the arrow tore through the sky like a white comet. This time his aim was true, the unobtanium arrow struck the dragon on its scaly chest but the arrow shattered into a million rainbow shards as it collided into the tough black scales that were harder than diamond, the arrow shards rained down on the buildings below and ignited upon contact with the fire below. The Grimm dragon roared in outrage and turned its dreaded crimson eyes towards the White Castle. Flapping its massive wings, it climbed higher into the sky then flew straight towards Jansen.
Jansen picked up the third and final arrow. The future has been written, the ink has dried - surely this must be the arrow to fulfill the prophecy? He reloaded the ballista and lined up the sights for his final shot and he saw it. Just under the dragon's left breast, where his second arrow found its mark, the unobtanium had shattered not only itself but a single black scale, revealing a kink in the beast's impenetrable armor, exposing its fleshy underbelly. This is destiny. Watch over me, ancestors. Watch over this moment. Watch as I bring glory back to our family name and fulfill the prophecy. Never again will our power be questioned. He engaged the catch for the final time and the last white arrow rushed straight towards the unguarded region of the dragon's left breast just as he intended. His aim was true once again, but a jet of angry flames blew from the dragon's maw as it laid waste to the white marble of the castle. So powerful was the searing heat of dragon fire that the final unobtanium arrow boiled and melted away before it could find its mark. Jansen could only watch in horror as with a powerful lash of its spiked tail, the dragon ravaged the Donjon, tearing through the pristine white marble as though they were merely a pile of twigs, destroying the black ballista and with it, the young lord fell from his high tower and into the darkness below.
Tremaine and Drizella were surrounded by an endless ocean of burning timber, their wooden house endlessly fed the hungry flames of the dragon. The beams creaked, struggling with the effort to hold its own weight, let alone hold up the entirety of the building's upper structures. The pair knew that if the beams fell apart, the upper floors would come crashing down upon them.
"Mum!" yelled Drizella, choking as the thick black smoke started to steal her breath away from her lungs. "We have to leave. NOW!"
"You go dear," muttered the old widow to herself, fumbling open drawer after drawer. "The compass... We need the compass-"
"We don't need a compass to find our way Mum," protested Drizella. "We'll both be dead if we don't leave NOW!"
"Without the compass, this city doesn't stand a chance. We can't let the Grimm have it."
At the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a golden glint. The compass lay by the kitchen sink and Tremaine hobbled towards it. What a fool she must have been to take her eye of it, the golden compass that was the Relic of Choice. As she reached out to grab the compass by its long golden chain, a burning wooden beam came tumbling down from above and crushed the old widow, pinning her under its immense weight.
"MUM!" screamed Drizella.
Without the beam's support the second floor came crashing down and a raging wall of fire that rose to the roof above separated mother and daughter.
"Drizella... I'm okay, I can... almost reach it," croaked Tremaine weakly, she could feel the Relic at the tip of her outstretched fingers. "I'm going to throw the compass to you- "
"Enough! Why is the compass so important?"
The front door was violently flung aside. Drizella wheeled around and froze. Her green eyes teared up as they met the gleaming crimson eyes of an Alpha Beowolf. The Grimm sniffed the air and let out a howl that was louder than even the roaring flames. She held up her arms to defend herself as the Alpha raised it bone white claws that would maul her to shreds and shut she her eyes in fear. But the blow never came. She slowly opened her eyes with abated breath to find the Alpha Beowolf sprawled in the dirt, its upper torso was severed from its feet with a single clean cut. She turned towards the burning fire and saw the only person who could have accomplished such a feat. The girl was wore a long, wine red velvety dress with intricate gold embroidery passed through the wall of fire unfazed by the searing heat. In her ashen black shoulder length hair, a brilliant red gemstone sparkled bright. Her glass heels rang aloud even amidst the fire, Cinder Fall had returned.
"You.. you came back," muttered Tremaine weakly as she felt Cinder's face.
"Y-Yes, I came back. This place... It's home isn't it?" smiled Cinder, tears welled up in her eye, her voice was shaking. "The place th-that will- "
"The place that will take you in no matter what terrible deeds you have wrought," finished the old widow, she too was smiling. "It's good to have you back, my child."
She held out the golden compass to Cinder - the Relic of Choice. The Relic that the Fall Maidens of old have defended for generation after generation.
"Take it dear, since you're back you must know what it is. You've seen Akiha's memories. You know what to do," she ruffled Cinder's ashen black hair and felt the ruby rose delicately. "Succeed where she failed, Cinder. The black arrow... Its- "
"Its made of Dust from the Dust mines. Only the Dust born from the pressure of the dragon can destroy it," Cinder extended her hand to help the old widow. "You need to come with me- "
Tremaine chuckled and pushed Cinder's hand away. "Don't be silly dear, don't let an old crone slow you down. This city needs you. Promise me this, promise me you'll bring peace back to my home, no our home. Its the last thing this old woman has to ask of you."
Cinder nodded, "I promise."
She wiped the last of her tears from her face and took the Relic from the old crone but left her in the inferno behind her.
"Wait... You're not leaving her are you?" demanded Drizella. "She saved your pathetic life. This is how you repay her- "
"I'm repaying her," replied Cinder, staring at the ground. "By saving this city, so that the people will have a home to return to when I'm done. Drizella, you'll thank me some day. But for now I need you to listen to me, head straight for the White Castle do not look back, you got me? Its the most defensible place in this city, its going to be your best chance at survival."
"A-And the dragon...?"
"I'll deal with it," said Cinder, brandishing the Relic of Choice. "That thing is after this compass, your mother understood that too. So I'm taking it as far as I can away from here - don't let her death be in vain, Drizella."
Drizella nodded and sprinted down the road towards the White Castle, tears shimmering from her eyes.
Sigh... Armiel. It didn't work. I'm sorry.
What didn't work?
The Relic. Touching it didn't reinstate me as the Fall Maiden.
HAHAHAHA what? How the hell do you think logic works? What were you expecting honestly?
Sigh... I made a promise, Armiel. And I'm going to keep it. We're going to kill that thing even without the power of the Fall Maiden.
Well, you know where to go then.
Cinder turned her gaze towards the mountainous ruin, the only place left unmolested by dragon fire. The mines that hid a massive trove of Dust and gemstones. It was also the place that held the key to saving the city from the monster that would burn them to the ground. She tightened her grip on the Relic and sprinted towards the Dust mines.
Cinder stepped foot into the cavernous space that once imprisoned the Grimm dragon. High above and all around hung massive stalactites of rainbows, sparkling from the light of the shattered moon above. She laid the Relic of Choice at the heart of the cavern and closed her eye. Fall Maidens of old, I seek your guidance. She concentrated her Aura on the Dust stalactites, the cavern glowed with a brilliant luminescence and in her mind she traced the clear shape of an arrow. The cavern shook violently as stalactites of Dust dislodged from the ceiling, fusing themselves together in a white-hot molten amalgamation of material. When the lights and vibrations ceased, she opened her amber eye and a shining black iridescent arrow lay beside the Relic of Choice in the heart of the cavern.
"You..." a familiar voice came from behind Cinder.
She wheeled around to see Jansen Argyros standing by the mouth of the cavern, his sapphire encrusted sword drawn from its scabbard. He removed his heavily dented pearl white armor and threw it into the dirt.
"The black arrow. It's mine," Jansen approached slowly with his sword pointed at Cinder. "Hand it over."
"You've had your chance at your precious destiny," spat Cinder, drawing her own sword in response. "And you failed. Three times. The prophecy doesn't exist, Jansen. Destiny is a lie. We are defined by our choices - condemned to freedom in this world. We are responsible for our actions, we do things because we can and have the free will to do, not because some ancient prophecy has been pulling the strings of fate."
Jansen threw his head back and laughed his terrible laughter.
"You really have no idea do you?" smiled the Silver Eyed Warrior as he started to circle Cinder slowly. "Cinder Fall the current Fall Maiden, heir to Akiha the Fall Maiden who forged the spear that pierced the dragon- "
"That's enough!"
"Hailing from Mistral... Or so you claim when you invaded Vale," Jansen narrowed his silver eyes. "You have no idea who your parents were do you? But I do. I know everything about you. Like mine, they too were descendants of the legendary Jansen Arc himself. You fit the bill for the prophecy too, there are a Chosen Two right now... We can't have that now can we?"
Cinder grit her teeth and growled, "Is that why you made me leave this city? So that you could be the one? You're more of a fool than I thought, you keep deluding yourself with a false sense of grandeur and fairy tales- "
"Fairy tales... Don't you call them that. The prophecy is my life," barked the Silver Eyed Warrior. "The future has been written, the ink has dried. Free will is the lie. Everything has been written by destiny from the start. But sometimes, even the hand of fate must be forced... And once I kill you, the prophecy will be left with only one choice. Me."
Jansen leapt through a portal and appeared instantly before Cinder. He brought down his sword and she parried it with her's. A brilliant flash of golden sparks illuminated the cavern as Austenaster bit into Silver's Cry. A familiar burning sensation ran through Cinder's body, Aura Break was destroying her Aura from the inside out. She quickly shoved him aside and rolled aside to pick up the black arrow.
The Silver Eyed Warrior lunged hungrily at Cinder's blind left side once again, but she refused to parry his blows instead she dodged and rolled around choosing only to engage in exchanges with him when his unarmored body was left unguarded. Without the power of the Fall Maiden, her Aura pool depleted much more rapidly with every strike she was forced to trade, she knew that her time would come soon and from her previous clash with Jansen, she knew that Aura Break would eventually have its due. Cinder was forced into another blade lock, but she knew at once what she had to sacrifice, she let go of Silver's Cry to disengage from the blade lock and the silver blade spun high in the air and impaled itself into the ground.
Hey Scarface-
WHAT?!
There's something I've been wanting to try... And if I'm right about it could mean the difference between victory or defeat. But it comes at a cost - I would lose my sentience.
What? No. I'm not shutting you out, Armiel. We're doing this together. I've been defeated twice because I shut you out. I'm not making the same mistak-
You'll gain the power of a Maiden.
What? No. We're not having this discussion.
Hahahaha... I see, you've changed, Scarface... Well, it's my job to analyze our fights and give you the best possible scenarios - I'm doing that right now. Answer me, do you want to save this city? Do you intend to keep your promise?
Yes. Of course. But not at the cost-
Good. That's all I need to hear, Cinder Fall.
Did you just call me...?
Yeap. This could very well be my last words, can't hurt to have some niceties would it? Hahahaha alright then. Here... we... go!
An enormous surge of energy coursed through Cinder's Grimm arm. A sensation that was all too familiar to her, the ecstatic rush of power through her body, the empowerment from a Maiden's Aura filling up her own. Cinder clawed the black obsidian mask that covered her left face and crushed it in her Grimm fingers. For the first time in years she forced open her left eye. And when she did, it flared up with angry crimson Aura, the same crimson that Raven Branwen had in her eyes - Cinder had control over the power of the Spring Maiden.
Digging into her new-found Aura pool, she armed herself with a katana made entirely from solid ice just as Raven did at Haven Academy. Controlling the incomplete Aura of a Maiden was not unfamiliar to Cinder. For a better part of her time as Fall Maiden she was only half a Fall Maiden, even with half the power of Spring she knew she had everything she needed to end this duel.
"What... Sorcery is this?" cursed Jansen, his silver eyes widening in disbelief. "Maiden or not, it matters not to me. I've beaten you before when you were the Fall Maiden. And I'm going to do the same again."
"Do your worst." scowled Cinder, raising her katana over her shoulders.
The two warriors lunged at each other, locking blades and exchanging blows. Golden sparks flew as Aura Break consumed Cinder's Aura, but she knew she had plenty of Aura to trade, she just needed a big enough opening to finish the duel. Once again, Cinder could feel she was the better swordsman and this time without armor to protect Jansen, she landed a laceration across his calf and right arm. The Silver Eyed Warrior grunted in pain and his actions started to become noticeably sluggish. Cinder smiled, it was only a matter of time before she beat him into submission. She needed more time.
Cinder found an opening and lunged at it, executing a draw cut with her katana. But Jansen feinted his parry and instead sliced a portal through time and space, disappearing into its abyssal depths. The Silver Eyed Warrior reappeared twenty feet away from Cinder, as he emerged from the twisted portal, his eyes brimmed with a brilliant silver light. Cinder raised her hands but it was too late. Even having the power of the Spring Maiden was not enough. The cavern was bathed in silver light, the katana shattered in Cinder's hand and her body was pierced once again by a thousand white-hot knives, only this time Jansen Argyros was not holding anything back. This time the silver flames were out to end her life.
Tremaine grunted as the old widow tried to crawl through wreckage that was her own home. The roaring flames parted themselves without warning and a tall, black figure with skin as white as chalk and red irises that glowed brighter than dragon fire stepped into the clearing and looked down upon her. Tremaine's tired gray eyes widened in shock at the sight of the Grimm Queen.
Salem smiled her terrible arrogant smile that accentuated the purple veins in her white skin. When she spoke, even the flames themselves became silent and her voice instilled more dread than her looks.
"The Relic. Its here. Hand it over."
"You're too late, your grace," chuckled Tremaine in defiance. "I don't have it anymore."
Salem grabbed Tremaine by her gown and lifted her into the air. A powerful mental probe tunneled its way into the old crone's mind and she winced in pain as Salem ripped the memories of Cinder from Tremaine's mind. The Grimm Queen grinned in satisfaction.
"Ahhh yes, Cinder," laughed Salem, she released Tremaine and the old woman fell back into the dirt and broke her bones. "You're a fool to give the Relic to her. What did you think was going to happen? Cinder Fall is my pawn. She is everything that you could never do, Tremaine. Tonight, irregardless of who comes out on top, the Relic will be mine- "
"You're wrong. Everything you just said... is wrong," said Tremaine, ignoring the pain in her shattered bones plagued by osteoporosis. "The girl's changed. And when she's done with your dragon today, you can be sure she's going to come for you."
Salem knelt down and caressed Tremaine gently by her face. On one of her slender, chalk white fingers, a purple gemstone cast its brilliant light. Tremaine's graying hair regained its color, becoming a lush tea-colored brown, her pale thin skin ravaged by time became stretched taut, restored to its once beautiful complexion. The old widow was young again.
"You too were a pawn of mine, Tremaine," said Salem in a dark voice. "The power I promised you was at your fingers, all you needed to do... was reach out and take it. Plunge the dagger into the heart of your best friend, Akiha. But you were weak. Too weak. You chose to run away. You chose poorly."
"There are more important things in life- "
"Cinder, on the other hand..." Salem's mouth curled into a smile. "She was able to do what you couldn't. She was willing to take lives. She knew what she had to do for power. And as long as I have power to give her, the foolish girl will keep coming back to me."
"You're a fiend, you haven't changed at all, all these years- "
"And you've changed for the worse my dear, you've become weaker," interrupted Salem, the gemstone glowed once again. "And your time is up."
When the purple light faded, Tremaine returned to her weak, old body and crumpled to the floor. Salem reached into her black robes and pulled out a smoking black dagger, holding its curved tip pointed at Tremaine's chest.
"But... Just in case you're right," smiled Salem as she plunged the black dagger into Tremaine's beating heart. Tremaine's eyes widened. The dagger went through her heart, but the pain never came, instead her body felt numb as if the dagger had pierced something deeper than flesh. "I will be judge of Cinder Fall. And if I find her lacking..."
"You will never win, Salem," spat the old woman.
"Pity, you won't be around to see that happen," replied Salem as she withdrew the dagger and Tremaine became motionless.
A second gemstone filled the house with yellow light and the Grimm Queen vanished.
The last burning beams gave way and the house tore itself apart. Burying Tremaine in an endless inferno of dragon fire.
Cinder opened her eyes.
A great grass field stretched as far as her eyes could see. Mountains lined the horizon, but it was the eternal amber sunset from behind the mountains that caught her attention, it was a beautiful sight to behold. She reached out with both her hands to feel the wind that blew the amber leaves that fell like rain with her left hand - it was whole and human again. With the same left hand she felt her long lustrous locks of hair blowing in the autumnal wind and her smooth skin on her face, but her heart sank when she realized she no longer had Armiel with her. She was all alone.
"You're here," croaked a deep voice behind her. "Took you long enough."
Cinder wheeled around and caught a glimpse of a girl ten feet away from the only oak tree in the field. She had long flowing hair as dark as night tied into a single long ponytail, her skin was pale but not as pale as Cinder's. She was garbed in crimson armor and wore long white pants and in her hands she held an iridescent black javelin slung lazily across her shoulders. It took only one look for Cinder to judge her as one of those school delinquents types.
"You... You're Akiha."
"Ho? Don't think we've met," Akiha's amber eyes flared up with Aura and glinted with satisfaction. "Though you've seen my memories..."
"If I'm seeing you... Does it mean I'm- "
"Dead?" chuckled Akiha. "No, not quite. You do have some unfinished business, though we have our doubts whether you are worthy to finish it."
"I'm starting to think I'm not worthy too... Wait, who's we?"
A girl dressed in a white sailor uniform with short amber hair stepped out from behind Akiha. Though she was shorter than Akiha, Cinder could tell that the girl commanded immense respect from the Fall Maiden. She too had burning amber Aura erupting from her eyes.
"Who... are you?" asked Cinder.
"That's surprising Cinder," replied the girl with a wide smile across her face. "You wear my name so proudly as your own..."
"You're Fall, the first Fall Maiden," gasped Cinder and Fall nodded.
"You're not dead yet, Cinder Fall. But should you choose to..." said Fall as she led Cinder towards the oak tree. "All you need to do is hang that compass on the oak tree and you'll join us here. For ever."
Cinder stared at the compass, the Relic of Choice that hung around her neck. She flipped it open and its red copper needle spun around fervently. When she looked up, a thousand girls shuffled out from behind Akiha. All of them had amber flames in their eyes. They were all Fall Maidens, but Cinder only recognized one other. Amber the tan-skinned girl that Cinder had murdered to usurp her power and become the Fall Maiden herself.
Fall approached Cinder and held her by the hands, beaming proudly at Cinder with smile on her face.
"You've worked hard, Cinder. You've done more than what most of us have managed to accomplish in our lifetime," said Fall, holding Cinder by the hand, guiding her towards the oak tree. "For better or for worse, you're the first Maiden in decades to have done something with the immense burden that you carry. Most of them here have just lived their lives in secrecy, a hellish existence in fear of Salem and then passed the power on. Maybe it's time for you to rest - you've earned it."
Cinder removed the Relic of Choice from around her neck and reached for the branches of the oak tree.
"Miss Cinder!" a familiar voice piped up from behind her.
Cinder wheeled around and her eyes filled up with tears. She bolted towards Anastasia and hugged her tight in her arms. The girl bore the splitting image of Ruby Rose, but instead she was dressed in tattered rags. Her short hair was jet black, exactly how Cinder remembered. But it was her starry eyes, her radiant smile and her undying positive attitude that defined Anastasia.
"Ana..." cried Cinder. "I'm so sorry... I failed you."
"Don't be, Miss Cinder," smiled Anastasia. "Miss Cinder tried your best."
"Ana, if you're here..."
"That's right, Ana is a Fall Maiden too you know. Tee-hee," Anastasia spun around and winked at Cinder, her eyes erupted with amber Aura. "Miss Cinder fulfilled Ana's biggest dream just before Ana died."
"So... Drizella is the current Fall Maiden...?"
"Big sis? No, she's a big bully. Why would Ana think of her?" Anastasia laughed at the puzzled look on Cinder's pretty face. "Miss Cinder it isn't hard to figure, you're really bad at this!"
"But... It can't be-"
"Miss Cinder, come give Ana your hand," said Anastasia and Cinder did so obediently.
Anastasia handed her the ruby rose shard in her right hand. Cinder finally understood what was happening - she held the ruby in her right and the Relic in her left. The Fall Maidens guarded the Relic of Choice, more importantly the ability for humanity to make choices and by extension, free will. Her fight wasn't simply for the souls of Mantle-3, but for free will itself, her fight was not over yet. Cinder's grip tightened on the ruby rose, she knew what she had to do.
"Ana, I have to go back," smiled Cinder. "I'm the only one who can save Mantle-3 right now."
Anastasia sprang forward and kissed Cinder on her cheek, and Cinder blushed.
"Don't worry, Miss Cinder," giggled Anastasia. "All of us... We're behind you."
Reality rushed back into view.
Cinder grunted in pain as she held out her hand to shield herself from the endless waves of silver flames, but she was not alone. A thousand Fall Maidens held out their arms together and shielded Cinder from the onslaught, even Amber. A familiar enormous surge of energy rushed through her body. A sensation she had not felt since the Battle of Beacon when she fully became a Maiden for the first time. She opened both her eyes wide and they flared once again, but this time with amber Aura of Fall. A brilliant burst of amber flames enveloped her body and Cinder was dressed in a long red dress. It was nothing like the dull, wine red dress she wore after her fall. This one was bright red with glowing gold embroidery that burned as though the dress was fire itself.
When the silver flames retreated, Cinder Fall looked down upon her adversary not with hate, but with pity. The flames in her heart that once longed revenge on Jansen Argyros, or Raven Branwen or even Ruby Rose was extinguished. She was something more. She had finally became worthy. She was the Fall Maiden once again.
Author's Notes:
ALOT happens this chapter. I'm really tired as of completing this chapter so I'm not going to say much except that Marvel fans out there should immediately recognize what Salem is trying to do and I've planned this end out since the very beginning.
The next chapter or the chapter after that should be the last. Hope you guys enjoyed this story so far and look forward to the next installment as usual. Cheers!