A bit of a longer chapter this time, just creeping up on 7k, but as I've mentioned before I've been trying not to worry myself over making the word counts for each chapter match, rather just going with what fits best together as a chapter.
Well, here is the chapter. I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to read and review!
Yang walked alongside the woman she still felt uncomfortable calling - Cinder. It was a slow one, a saunter that was relaxing and easy in every manner. There shouldn't have been any reason for Yang to feel nervous, anxious, or any type of emotion except relieved. Yet somehow, she found a way.
It had been a grueling year. Each day was the same routine. Get up extremely early was always the first task of the day, which was always harder than it sounded.
After a week or so, Yang got used to it; eat a lot, sleep the entire four hours, and not stay up because you had a nightmare and you're worried that a nearby satanic, unstable, and all too willing witch will slit your throat in your sleep like she did that one time after you spilled her tea.
Before even a glimmer of light by the sun's own rays was visible, Yang was eating a so called hearty meal - various types of meat that Yang usually procured herself - and through gagging coughs in her throat she would force through it because she needed the strength.
Training began then, and whether that was a direct spar against Cinder (though it was always more like a beat-down) or exercises to build up muscle and technique, exhaustion was palpable. That all continued until track of time was no more, with itsy bitsy intervals of something vaguely resembling a break.
Though yesterday was special. There was no mandatory training, no sit ups or push ups, no pain, no aching feet and sore ribs, just rest. Cinder must have sneaked her some sleeping pills the previous night, and Yang slept through till sometime in the afternoon, frantically waking up and freaking because the sun was already up. Cinder assured her and insisted she just rest up and eat. It was so bizarre that Yang even argued to let her train at one point, but then she just fell back and spent the rest of the day at ease.
Today was also unorthodox. Like the day before, Yang woke up late again, sat and had a meal; at a real table and with Cinder too! And then by the time dusk had just set, Cinder pulled her up and told her to prepare. Prepare for what she was unclear, and it was without warning.
A loud and awkward motorcycle ride later, and here Yang was strolling underneath the bright night sky, the pitch black enigma swirled with a white-grey disc in a cloudless sea of stars; streams of moonlight sank into the desert sand bleeding silver.
The desert was dark but it was also light; Yang could only hear the tiny insects and creatures that scurried around as Cinder and her stepped nearer. And yet, for how dark and senseless her surroundings seemed, every time she would look up she would be greeted by the celestial body, swinging low in the heavens this very night, as full as it could be on one half, even as the remnants of the rest floated dislodged like a child lost in the woods on the other side. She cursed herself for that analogy.
The befuddled girl had briefly thought about what Cinder was up to, taking her way out into the middle of the desert. Unfortunately, it was more than difficult to process anything while she was going eighty miles an hour and couldn't even hear herself scream, and silently walking next to evil incarnate was even more unsettling. But when she did have the time she considered that she was doing all this to kill Yang where no one would hear, but that was ridiculous. Cinder wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of training her and caring for her if her life was just going to end this way.
Some overnight camping trip to build character or something was a sound possibility. Forage for insects, something to start a fire; live off the land. There was something off though. Why was whatever this trip was still a secret and Cinder's alone? I mean, clearly she's a fan of surprises, but seriously? But through all of Yang's curiosity she never asked; to be honest, Yang never asked much of anything to Cinder.
They were approximately a half hour into the desert, on foot, because Cinder said that a vehicle would be too noisy, when Cinder finally spoke.
"I'm sure you're wondering what this is all about, sweetheart." Her voice was saccharine, though it was nothing new, nor was the ever present fear inundated with it.
A nod was all she earned.
"Well, since you've accompanied me this far I suppose its only fair that I share with you what this mission is all about." Mission? But Yang said nothing. "A reliable source tipped me to some interesting information about a girl, about your age actually. She's quite special I hear. Remarkable skills for her age; kind of reminds me of you."
The blonde let Cinder go on, uninhibited.
"Anyway, apparently she's quite the thief, and a few big corporations are losing a lot of money. And as they lose goods, people stop going there; I'm sure you know how it works." She didn't, but she kept that fact to herself. "One such corporation decided to take action upon themselves, rather that let a few bumbling policeman try and explain how a little girl slipped by their precious guns once again. Long story short, they hired a mercenary group to track down this girl and kill her. It was supposed to be an easy hit, but apparently the first idiot was knocked unconscious, and the second ended up dead."
She supposed she followed what Cinder was saying, even though everyone was a pronoun in her breifing. This mission was to find a girl that was going to be murdered. Maybe Yang could get behind this... Though the whole notion sounded a lot more noble than Yang thought it actually was.
"This group is built upon its reputation of being reliable and fast, and so far they've already failed in the latter. Better late than never though, so they're going to send a whole squad of goons to track down this girl." She put her hands together and though Yang did not look at Cinder, it was clear she was grinning. "I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Why do you need me?"
Cinder turned to her and made a face like she'd just heard that black went out of style. "My, my, how terribly bold of you. That was so uncharact-" she retorted before cutting herself off. "Is this my sweetheart? Who are you and what have you done with Yang?"
The victim would have rolled her eyes, but she didn't just in case it would earn Cinder's ire. She just loved to tease her; it got annoying sometimes, but at least the scary bit wore off after a while. To be honest, Yang didn't really mind it. It may have been a snipe at her ego each time, but since when did she care about that? It was also one of the only games that Cinder liked to play in which Yang remained without injury.
With no response from Yang, Cinder continued,
"Well, it's at least nice to know you've found your voice. It's been far too long since I've heard it. And to answer your question - you're here because I chose for you to be."
"I see... Then what will I be doing?" Yang inquired.
"Slow down dear, I'm getting to that. Here, look at me."
"What!?" she blurted.
"Come on, it'll just take a second."
Yang did as she was told, turning to her left facing Cinder. She didn't know what this was about, and she could admit that she was more than a little nervous, but she knew better than to argue with Cinder.
"Hold still..." Cinder whispered while reaching for something in her breast pocket.
"Ah-" Yang's shoulder jumped and her bones tensed at her touch. "What are you doing?"
"Relax, I'm just fixing your hair."
Cool metal grazed against the girl's forehead, a shiver ignited at the contact.
"What is this?" Yang lightly patted her bangs, which now curved up around the side of her head. The world felt a shade clearer.
"It's a hair clip; to keep your hair out of your face." she explained.
Yang's head tilted upwards, crimson orbs staring into a smiling and outwardly welcoming face. There it was, a similar tool tangled in Cinder's own ashen black hair, beautiful and swaying in the twilight winds. An odd sense of melody came over her for but a second, like she actually proud of having matching hair pins with Cinder.
Just to feel it out once more, both of Yang's hands came up to the instrument, pressing it against her head as it poofed back again each time, and then finally settled after adjusting it slightly to the side.
"... Thank you." a soft whisper was spoken.
"Of course, sweetheart. This is your first mission, so I thought it'd be nice to get you something special, not to mention practical; you can see better now can't you?"
How thoughtful... Yang had thought, and it was, but it was for a mission.
"Yes..." Yang answered truthfully.
She could, and yet no matter how Yang thought she didn't feel it, there was something that she couldn't shake about wearing her hair like this. It was like she missed her bangs being there, always in the corner of her field of vision and warm against her forehead.
It was so silly, how Yang still clung to childish things. She was still a child in fact, but her environment and experiences begged to differ. But during this particular occasion, she couldn't help but feel she was letting a part of her go.
It was strange, and only more frustrating, because her bangs weren't gone; she touched them with her own hand, felt their silkiness and wiriness both, twice to boot. They were still right there, far enough so that Yang couldn't see them, but still close enough to know that they were there.
And yet that brought on a feeling of insecurity. She never noticed it before, and maybe she took those locks of hair for granted, no matter how juvenile that sounded, but now that they were shut away, it was like Yang dropped a shield. It felt as if she just lost a barrier to the outside world, all the dangers and troubles free to assault her now.
Maybe it was now that Yang couldn't bear to look Cinder in the eyes, instead shuffling them away to the side. She felt so vulnerable, like a few strands of blonde actually protected her from Cinder's fury. And to the smallest extent she supposed they did; they would always cover one eye, or maybe it just felt different to have them out of the way.
This is so stupid. What am I doing? If I'm going to be on a mission or whatever with Cinder, then I can't be doing this right now. And so she just left it as it was, content to follow Cinder's lead.
"Sweetheart? Did you hear me?"
Yang looked to her, and jumped, but then responded, "No, sorry. I was lost in thought."
"Pay more attention next time. If this was just you on this operation then you already would have fumbled it." Cinder told her, but for some strange reason it didn't sound as derogatory as it should have. Yang averted her gaze. "There it is, that building."
Yang's eyes that had wandered the scene now focused to were Cinder had pointed, and sure enough there it was. A massive thing, it was a structure comprised mostly of metal it seemed, and barbed wire encircled the whole of it. While large it didn't appear to steal much square footage, leaning closer to a skyscraper type structure than a flat.
Tall, chimney like exhaust systems towered over the rest, spouting thick and rolling black clouds of smoke into the cool night air. Yang could even smell the pollution from where she was.
As they approached closer and closer, Yang squinted, and though she did not expect this to be easy, she espied at least a dozen men pacing back and forth with high caliber assault rifles on a series of floor, at least two on each.
"Ready, sweetheart?"
No. No, she was not ready.
Yang could hardly remember the last time she felt this way. The last she could recall was that distant memory, just a blurry silhouette of a scene of some far off place. She couldn't pinpoint the exact time or location or event of that day, but the feeling of it was distinct.
It was that feeling that you're all alone in the world, but stranger and more sudden. The young girl did not expect it in the slightest. She expected something for sure, but that was more along the lines of bloodshed and violence. She had no doubt that would still happen, but internally Yang did not expect herself to react in this way.
The natural response to the situation would be fear or opportunism. Yang was definitely scared, but not in the way she would have hoped. She wasn't crying or anxious of the loud noises and eerie solitude she found herself in, no. She wasn't even thinking about trying to escape. Quite the opposite actually.
Yang was frightened because Cinder was not by her side. She felt almost silly. How ironic was it that all this time she wanted Cinder out of her life, and then the second she actually was, and Yang was left in a foreign place, she wished she were back.
It was unexplainable. That moment, or rather string of moments when Cinder sped away down that corridor. Yang was surprised at first; she could barely even comprehend Cinder's instructions, let alone what to do with them. Cinder was gone, out of her sight and the only sign of her were the screams echoing throughout the structure.
Part of Yang yelled at her to run, run as far away as she could. But her feet did not move. She wanted to believe that was because in the back of her mind she knew that Cinder would just catch up to her, or that Ruby might be in danger. But somehow, Yang also knew that wasn't the reason either.
The reason was incomprehensible, idiotic, and just utterly wrong.
How could someone so cruel and vile make me feel this way!?
Yang almost wept then. At the feeling of longing for someone more than she could ever remember longing. That wasn't wrong if it was a good person. Cinder was not a good person.
With unexplainable pain in Yang's chest, she did the only thing she knew how, and that was to obey.
Take caution sweetheart, find the drive, and come back safely. Do not fail me.
"Of course." she whispered aloud.
And with a lengthy gaze into the direction in which Cinder ran off to, Yang promptly spun 180 degrees around, and started her own trot in that direction.
As perhaps expected, it didn't take long before someone appeared before her. Yang found herself at an intersection, a route to both the left and the right, joining up with each other about fifty yards around, with metal railing encircling the openness below. She was on the second floor of the building, and most floors seemed to carry the same design, a circular walkway with a giant hole in the middle. It was to fit in a crude-looking elevator, with a ramp on each floor to connect to.
Yang peered around the corner, and sure enough there was a large man, carefully watching the ground over the circular balcony, and like a statue he guarded a door, unlabeled. He wore camouflage pants that rolled all the way down to his calves, with a red beret atop his hat like a cherry on a sundae. That almost made Yang laugh, but it was perhaps the urgency and responsibility placed upon her that sealed it back away.
He was just as muscular as his ripped shirt indicated, too much almost in a way that made him seem unreal. But he was all too real no doubt, as was the intimidating piece of machinery he held across his chest.
Why is he just standing there? The blonde thought, and after only a brief few seconds Yang realized what was going on.
She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or upset. The good news was that she found what she was looking for. The buff guy was almost assuredly guarding something; could be a records room, maybe a drive inside... But with every good there was a bad... Well the living, breathing, tank spoke for itself.
How was Yang, the little girl, supposed to engage, fight, and subsequently kill a full grown man, who, by the way, was clearly trained and polished with an unlocked aura. All while avoiding other possible reinforcements and locating and securing a drive that Yang didn't even know looked like. Oh, and a gun. Yang had to beat a gun too.
While most likely obvious, Yang was for sure fighting an uphill battle. Her first one too; uphill and battle alike. What am I to do?
She wasn't given the time to think for in the slightest moment, so slight that Yang wasn't even sure it happened, she espied a glaring scar across the man's cheekbone. Her head cocked back behind the wall reflexively. An interim of short breaths rushed in, and Yang was flustered for a second. Of course she wasn't sure the man even saw her. It was a short glance, Yang was low to the ground, and she was as silent as a mouse.
Slowly, one eye sneaked around the corner, with the intention of checking to see if the man had reacted in anyway. The action was immediately regretted, as Yang was greeted by the angry face of a monster human hybrid. Panic set in as quick as it could possibly, urging Yang to escape back the way she came.
Her heart beat unbearably fast, her feet moved only faster, and while the clang of heavy footsteps was inaudible, it felt as if the whole metal ground shook with each stride.
What do I do!? Cinder had trained her to fight, and while the woman was clearly crazy, she wasn't stupid. She made sure Yang received tutelage in tactics, first aid, terrain; she may never been on a mission before, but she knew as much about one as someone who had never been on one could.
And with the knowledge so gratefully bestowed upon Yang, she carefully and swiftly calculated her options in her head. Fight? No, that's out. Run and find Cinder? A lot more promising sounding she told herself.
And so she did. She pushed her legs as hard as she could, and with each stride came the assurance that she was stretching the gap between her and her chaser even more, the distinct footfalls of his steps softer and softer as time went on.
But as nothing ever was cemented into certainty in Yang's mind, she found herself stopping in a patch of darkness under a tunnel like place, for both a breather and a chance to ponder.
As smart as it sounded just to flee, because Yang most assuredly was fast enough, what with her significantly lighter load, and if she could make it back to Cinder than protection would come easy, she still hesitated.
She tried to explain it to herself. Yang could rather simply run to Cinder for protection, have her beat everyone up, and then be done with it. That was perhaps the most rational and for sure the safest. But it wasn't what Yang really wanted.
How long had it been, since she'd met Cinder? The exact number was not coming to mind, but it was well over a year, for sure. Not once had Yang a chance as big as this one. What was it a chance for Yang had no idea, but what she was sure of was that Cinder trained her for a reason. It wasn't for amusement, Yang was most certain.
This- this mission, it was a test of some sort. It almost seemed choreographed, in a way; Cinder leaving when she did, tasking Yang with what seemed like the more important part...
Did she trust Yang? Enough to leave her alone with precious information? Or was it just not that important, or maybe she thought she had so much control over Yang that it didn't matter?
So maybe this girl or whatever was valuable. Maybe Cinder did really wanted her "as her own". But why? Why bring the useless girl along? Did all Cinder want was to test if Yang could beat some soldier? Nothing made sense anymore... If Cinder wanted this info so bad then she could have gotten it on her own time, on one of her days off or whatever. It was clearly a suicide mission for Yang!
Cinder just wanted Yang to die, didn't she? She's a psychopath. She doesn't need reasons for anything. Maybe she trained Yang all this time just to kill her now, like a pig fattened for slaughter. Maybe Cinder was somewhere with a camera, watching through a lens as Yang ran around flustered like a rat lost in a maze.
Now I'm talking crazy...
What were Cinder's motives that was unclear, but what was clear, were her instructions.
"Do not fail me..." Yang repeated the words uttered by her superior with a soft and delicate voice.
And she wouldn't fail, she knew that now.
Yang ducked into the shadows of an overhead canopy, away from floodlights and moonbeams. As planned her stalker came rushing towards the hall with heavy stomps. Yang fell to the floor, with one hand held over her mouth to hide her breaths. Her heart stopped in sync with the man. The tunnel-like place was pitch black, she knew that. They were both invisible to each other, but Yang knew he was right there, not a yard away, his overwhelming presence still and pressurizing.
Yang made no attempt to move, no attempt to give her away her position to someone who had no doubt been highly trained. The silence was piercing. It seemed impossible, but Yang felt almost more scared than she'd ever felt with Cinder. This man wanted to kill her. Cinder never did. Cinder wanted to toy with her, to hurt her for her own enjoyment, but never kill.
Seconds only grew longer as they passed, until time was no longer discernible to Yang. It must have been hours when the familiar pound against the steel flooring resumed. He's leaving...
Foolishly, she let out the tiniest beginning of a breath, and that was when it went off.
It roared. The rapid fire brought down upon the ground, bullets ricocheting back and forth with comparable noise to a familiar scream. They bounced back and forth, with a screeching din that rang in her ears even after the firing had stopped. It wasn't until the last few clangs that Yang surmised that he had started to walk away.
She glanced back, and there he was walking out into the light and down the corridor. Yang had done it.
But her job didn't end there.
With no time to waste Yang pushed herself up and sped back towards that special door. She made in there in no time flat, around the corner and the she found herself knocking at hidden door's doorstep. She kindly skipped the knocking part though, in favor of busting straight in. She just had to hope no one was in there, because if there as then it was a good thing she didn't celebrate too early.
It didn't seem anyone was in there, but a different problem arose. The door was locked. It was almost comical how she didn't anticipate it. She should have, and she had evaded a literal giant, so being trumped by a stupid lock was kind of embarrassing.
It made her worry for more than a second, she would admit that much, but if she just backtracked no more than a few hours ago, she would find the key to this lock. With a flick of a hand her bangs fell smoothly over her lashes, and Yang's hands moved wildly as she bent the long side of the clip and inserted it into the lock.
Was it mere coincidence that Cinder had done her hair the way she did today? The chances of that were slim to none. It was too convenient, almost as if Cinder knew Yang would need a hair pin to pick a lock.
Maybe she does know everything... But did Yang even care? No, she supposed she didn't. This may have been a test of everything Yang had learned but it wasn't like she didn't already know that. Everything was already set up; Cinder knew all that transpired and that would transpire on this mission. Yang didn't know how, but she just did.
It was still a trial though. Cinder could know that Yang would run into an altercation with a mercenary or a locked door, and she did her best to prepare her for that, but above all that if Yang couldn't complete the challenges than it didn't matter how many hair pins she gave her.
And if this was in fact merely a test with an arbitrary goal, then if Yang were to fail, then she would not be worthy, and that could only lead to pain. Cinder had all the pieces in their correct places, set up everything to go smoothly, and maybe even throw a few wrinkles just for a challenge; all Yang had to do was follow her instructions and deliver the final blow.
The door clicked. Heeding Cinder's parting words however, Yang froze, remembering her training. This was a important room, no? Surely there would be more security than just one guard and a crappy lock? Her gut feeling told her that there was more than met the eye behind this scrap of metal.
The door creaked as it edged open. It was safety first, so Yang knelt down and peered one eye through the thin lining of the door, careful not to accidentally bump the door itself. Each second was an inch more space, and yet all Yang could see were littered papers and yellow-ish walls.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't anxious. While relatively confident in her own skills - she was trained by the best - her skills really only pertained to minor combat and stealth. If there was a trap, she wouldn't know how to disarm it.
Or what if she didn't see it. Cinder always said, "Even the cleverest trap will give way to the watchful eye." but Yang didn't really know how much of that was really applicable here.
But after one more fraction of an inch, what lay before her was not very assuring to her well being.
"What is that thing?" Yang whispered to herself more than anyone, though she most certainly knew what it was.
All contact was released from the door, the blonde instantly backing up and leaving the door ajar. She glanced upwards, and sure enough there was an almost invisible but translucent piece of wire, hooked up right next to the hinge at the top of the door. It looked as taught as it could be, and there was no way that Yang knew of to disarm such a trap.
But she was not turning back now, and so she swiftly deduced that there was a single option to her dilemma: set off the booby trap.
Ooh, how she dreaded that choice, but being the only clear path forward, she took a big step to the left of the door frame. After re-clipping the pin back in her hair, though for sure sloppier than Cinder had, the girl gave the slightest push to the entrance, retracting her hand and covering her ears.
It went off for sure, no doubt. It was only as clear as day, because even while she attempted to muffle her ears it was still a threatening roar, and she could only imagine it would have broken her eardrums should she have not lessened the boom. After her twisted face and trembling body settled, she hastily banged the door fully open, and she pretended not to think about how badly her wounds would be if the bullet were to hit her, though she guessed it would have been more than just a dent in a solid steel door.
And she was in. Time was of the essence right now, so Yang immediately got to work, flicking the light switch by the door frame. She had no idea what the drive looked like, no idea where it might be placed, but Yang would have to just search through what she could and grab all the flash drives she found just in case.
The room was not large, in comparable size to Yang's own quarters, but it was stuffed to the brim with messy papers and file cabinets and a lone desk and chair in the furthest corner. Yang would have sworn a Grimm got in here and trashed the place if not for the fact that the door was locked and the stacks of folders and papers that littered the floor were in a sort of organized mess. And of course the gun tied to piano wire. Was it still smoking? Back to the stacks of papers, though; scattered across the ground for sure, but all the ones on the left seemed to pertain to personnel and hirings, while the right contained past employers and financial things.
This flash drive was a small object she was aware, but it must have been recent so Yang just skipped over the file cabinets and everything on the floor, heading straight for the desk in the corner.
Luck finally smiled upon her, for there it was! A small white drive, and it appeared someone was kind enough to label it for the past week as well as what it was - a list of targets.
"This is what Cinder was looking for..."
Yang felt almost proud; this was her first mission, and while there were indeed a few bumps along the road, she conquered it. Cinder would be so proud. Wait- Did Yang- did she care about that?
"Don't move, you bitch. Put your hands in the air." a deep, stern voice ordered.
Oh, no. Yang was flustered; should she try and run? Not yet, she told herself, because she was still facing the wall opposite her exit. She also had no weapons aside from the knife in her boot, but there was no way she would be able to reach it without a bullet through her chest.
And seeing as she was so accustomed to doing she obeyed, raising her hands into the air, but while she still retained the coverage of her position, she placed the drive onto her tongue in the same motion as her hands came up.
"Now turn around." Once again she did as she was told, slowly turning around while keeping her hands in the air. Red eyes widened. It's that same guy... The scar on his face, everything down to his clothes, and he did not look pleased.
"I think you're lost little girl." the man whose name was still undisclosed said, but it was demanding and insinuating. There was no hint of a question in there at all, and Yang was sure to not be able to feign ignorance for this one. This man certainly didn't care that she was just a little girl; all her knew was that there was an intruder to be eliminated.
"What's your name?" Yang didn't answer. Both because she couldn't without dropping the item in her mouth, and because she didn't see any real reason to. "Who sent you!?" he demanded even louder.
"Damn it! What the hell's taking Tristan so long!?" he roared to himself, and it was only seconds after that an blaring alarm rang.
"What!?"
There was only a second of time. A tiny margin of an opening for Yang to make her move. The instant the buff mercenary looked away- no, the fraction of a moment when his vibrant blue eyes averted towards the sound, Yang lunged towards the man who was standing in the doorway.
It was all a blur as she tried for the door; shouts could be heard over the alarm but nothing else, and a roughness stung her shoulder as she squeezed through the man and the door. It was like when she used to try to fit in cabinets and storage compartment when she played hide and seek, but somehow here she made it through.
The downed girl wasted no time once she was past him as she got up on her feet and ran towards whatever direction presented itself to her, but before she could take off the nameless man swung something - his rifle, her mind supplied - in an arc, and it impacted hard with the back of her head.
She fell to the ground awkwardly and prostrate, feeling like doing nothing more than just lying there and letting this man capture her or worse, but in some rare moment of strength she shot straight up and ran where she could. It was impossible to tell, but she was not far away when an inexplicable pain in her shoulder.
A bullet. Then a scream. Her scream, it was, and those familiar footsteps stomped - one, two, three, one, two, three. Then they stopped, and through Yang's confused mind she knew he was standing right above her, and that his high caliber gun was aimed right towards her.
Yang was laying on her side, against her left shoulder, while her right was covered in blood. It oozed out, she could feel it. It no doubt dripped all over her tunic, but she could feel it bleed onto her neck. The warm but at the same time all too chilling liquid as it made its way to the her chin and around her collarbone was terrible, but the worst part was knowing that she was going to die.
She'd thought she'd worked that fear out of her system a long time ago but she figured she was wrong. It might have been one of those things that could never be washed away, like true love. Yang found clarity shortly after she was shot, yet she was still mostly immobile. This was likely due to her high pain tolerance. She'd spent time building it up, involuntarily of course, but she had thank Cinder for that afterwards because she could only imagine the pain she currently felt if she wasn't so used to it. Okay, maybe she wouldn't thank Cinder.
Yang's mind clearer than it was before, now simply containing an unabating pounding instead of an all out onslaught of pain, she heard the following words hissed at her,
"You've lived far long enough, girly. I think detaching your tiny head from your shoulders is a suitable reprisal for what you've committed."
Yang remembered the feeling of rough fingers viciously grabbing at her hair. It recalled memories of Cinder doing similar. Yang would have blood drenched over her, in immense pain, and then soft, gentle fingers would run through her hair.
This was the same thing, except the opposite; it tested her roots as he lifted her up by a clump of blonde mixed with red. She remained limp like a rag doll the whole time, only motion being her mostly stagnant wince. Crimson orbs stared into those of a complete stranger, though Yang's only cracked open, while his were wide with fury.
She caught the glimpse of refracted light, only moments later finding it to be by the silver blade of a knife, and so it seemed the owner was staying true to his words. Cold tickled her jugular, edging into her skin, only an ounce of more pressure and she would be spraying more blood than she could afford to to stay conscious, and with a growl the knife-
"Nghh..." Thump.
That was the sound of a body hitting the floor. Yang's hair was released in sync with that noise, but she did not touch the ground. Her eyes peered fully open to find a warm face, and a welcome one, especially in this situation. It was Cinder. She had just slit a man's throat, just like said man was about to do to Yang, and she was holding her frame, one hand over her pouring wound.
At this time one thing repeated in the young girl's brain. Cinder Fall just saved my life. Cinder Fall just saved my life. Cinder Fall just saved my life.
"I'm the only one who's allowed to hurt her." That was what Cinder said to a lifeless corpse on the ground, but, to Yang, that didn't diminish the fact that Cinder saved her life.
All she wished was that she could say thank you, but she couldn't muster enough strength to.
"You're safe now... Did you get the drive?" her savior whispered softly to her.
The blonde nodded and opened her mouth, and thankfully Cinder realized what she was doing and gently removed the drive from her tongue.
"I'm going to set you down now, okay?"
"Thank you." Yang replied, suddenly with enough strength to, and that earned her a warm smile from Cinder.
Yang didn't notice that Cinder had walked anywhere but apparently she did, because when Yang was set down the man was nowhere to be found. The ground was solid beneath her, but she couldn't find it in her to complain, and she licked her lips and swallowed just to re-adjust after getting that thing out of her mouth. Heels clicked out of sight as Cinder walked back into the room in which Yang found the drive originally, plugging the implement into the computer.
"Rean Schwarzer, Laura Arseid, Jusis Albarea... Emerald Sustrai."
Cinder walked back to where Yang laid, presumably finding what she needed, kneeling down near her face. "Ready to go?"
"Yes." she whispered with a nod.
"Can you stand?"
"I- I think so." Yang pushed her upper body up with her hands, mildly surprised to find that her shoulder hurt only slightly and that the wound was already closed, but that was just the power of aura she knew. Cinder helped her as she got to her feet, and she was less surprised to find that she could stand easy.
From there on, Yang followed Cinder out of the building, and for sure they had overstayed their welcome. On the way, Yang passed by the dozens of bodies, but all she could think of was the one that had assaulted her. The drenched fabric of his shirt, the gash and pool of dried crimson surrounding it, the silly beret wrong-side up a foot from his body...
This nameless man; Yang held no grudge against him. He could have been the nicest man; he could have had a wife and kids and home. Yang didn't know, and she would never. All she knew was that he had gotten in the way of Cinder's objective - of their objective - and he'd paid for it.
He had paid dearly.
It was light when the two of them had left the fort, when Cinder snapped her fingers, and when a huge inferno ignited in the foreground of a rising sun.
Also, props to anyone who got the reference in this chapter. I like to put a lot of references in my stories, whether from movies or video games or literature or even other fanfiction, so pat yourself on the back if you've noticed any of them.
Also, I've been thinking of doing omakes at the end of each chapter. I've have a couple ideas for ones, but I don't want to start doing them if I won't be able to keep them up, so leave a comment if you would like that as well.